DINING PULLS THROUGH
RUNWAY IN LYONS TAKEN FOR GRANTED
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BC Dining Services braves four winter storms in three weeks to feed students, A8
The Fashion Club held its second annual Fashion Show this weekend, B8
Strong offensive efforts by Brown, Clifford, and Hanlan cannot stop No. 10 Notre Dame, B1
www.bcheights.com
HEIGHTS
THE
The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College
established
1919
Monday, February 23, 2015
Vol. XCVI, No. 11
elections
Ca
d Mik n a y d e i s s
a n d Jo s e m se Ja
1,486
1,168
757
Th a i om v as and Oli
Napoli and Hussey take UGBC election, will serve as president and executive vice president BY CAROLYN FREEMAN News Editor Glints of navy blue, green, and teal sparkled in celebrations around campus after a Friday night announcement that Thomas Napoli, A&S ’16, and Olivia Hussey, A&S ’17, would serve as the president and executive vice president, respectively, of the Undergraduate Student Government of Boston College (UGBC) for the 2015-16 school year. The decision, handed down by the elections committee, came after Napoli and Hussey concluded the election with
a 318-point margin over their closest competitors, Cassidy Gallegos, LSOE ’16, and Michael Keefe, A&S ’16. Candidates James Kale, LSOE ’16, and Jose Altomari, A&S ’16, rounded off the candidate list, finishing third in the race. Napoli and Hussey earned 1,486 votes; Gallegos and Keefe earned 1,168 votes; and Kale and Altomari earned 757 votes. In total, 3,411 students voted—over one-third of the undergraduate student population. The majority of the junior and senior votes went to Gallegos and Keefe, while the majority of the freshman and
sophomore votes went to Napoli and Hussey. This is a decrease from last year, when 4,332 students voted. The Napoli-Hussey campaign platform consisted of three divisions: advocating, uniting, and improving. Much of the team’s plan related to Napoli’s work as chair of UGBC’s Institutional Policy Review committee. A revision of the BC student guide and a comprehensive free speech proposal were central to the team’s proposed reforms. “Olivia and I are both incredibly honored to have received the support of the BC com-
munity,” Napoli said. “We cannot wait to get started working with students across campus in pursuit of a unified campus voice.” Moving forward, Napoli and Hussey will pick the other vice presidents to make up the rest of the members of the Executive Council. All of the vice presidents will be appointed by Napoli and Hussey except for the vice president of Diversity and Inclusion, which is elected within the AHANA Leadership Council and the GLBTQ Leadership Council.
See Election Results, A3
In Copley, a convergence of culture at Annual Ball DI Programming Board hosts ball to celebrate AHANA community BY JENN SUH Heights Staff Nearly 650 students gathered at the Westin Copley Place in downtown Boston to celebrate the AHANA community at the Annual Ball on Saturday night, hosted by the Undergraduate Student Government of Boston College (UGBC). The four-hour long event, which ran from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., was planned and organized by the Diversity and Inclusion (DI) Programming Board, a subdivision of UGBC. “The purpose of The Annual Ball is to have an event where students can come together and have fun in
an inclusive and open environment,” said Alisha Wright, manager of the DI Programming Board and A&S ’15, in an email. “We really like Ball because it brings together people of so many different backgrounds and walks of life, and that has become a major goal for this event.” The theme of the event was “Arabian Nights,” and posters explaining the history behind different facets of international culture were displayed throughout the ballroom. “We chose Arabian Nights as our theme because we thought it would be beautiful, and because we wanted to be able to teach our guests about a culture that may be unfamiliar to them—in this case it was Saudi Arabian culture,” Seth Blanke, assistant manager of the DI
See Annual Ball, A3
JOHN WILEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Lily Peng, A&S ’17, cofounded the BC chapter of Lean In, and has been serving as co-chair of the upcoming “Own It” women’s summit.
Confidently bridging BC’s gender gap Sophomore Lily Peng takes leadership on women’s issues to larger scale with summit BY JOHN WILEY Editor-in-Chief
YANYI WENG / HEIGHTS STAFF
The Westin Copley Place played host to the Annual Ball, sponsored by UGBC, on Saturday night.
Lily Peng, A&S ’17, remembers her hometown of West Hartford, Conn. as a bubble. Before arriving at Boston College, she had given little thought to women’s issues. Her father—a scientist who Peng remembers little of growing up—died of cancer when she was 10. Peng’s mother worked under her father in the same laboratory, and after his death, was left to find another job. As Peng entered West Hartford’s Hall High School, her mother enrolled in an MBA program, beginning work toward a degree that would take six years to earn attending night classes after work. (She would receive her diploma at
age 50, the same year her daughter enrolled at BC.) As Peng continued her schooling, her mother would frequently remind her that, as immigrants from China, she and her father arrived at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York with only 50 United States dollars to their names. That it was important to not stress herself out and enjoy her education. And that the problems Peng faced were relatively small when compared with the issues women of her mother’s generation were forced to confront. Peng spent her high school years heavily involved in volunteer work, founding a club for it in her high school and then serving as co-president. She never particularly noticed in West Hartford barri-
ers that might limit the accomplishments of female students. Coming to Chestnut Hill, Mass., she was particularly surprised to hear a 2012 statistic that the average woman at BC would see her self-esteem significantly diminished as an undergraduate—while the average man would leave with an increased sense of confidence (all while maintaining a lower GPA than his female classmates). The fall of her freshman year, Peng was quick to notice male students dominating classroom discussions. She would find herself silently sitting with answers to questions the professors would ask. Men in the classroom would respond quickly (and ofttimes incorrectly) while Peng’s thoughts frequently went unshared. At the 2013 University involvement fair, Peng signed up for BC’s Women in
See Own It, A8