Issuu

November 4, 2024

Hafley and Grant Remain Highest-Paid BC Employees The two coaches, who collectively earned nearly $6 million, were also BC’s top earners during FY22. BY ANNIKA ENGELBRECHT Asst. News Editor

Former football head coach Jeff Hafley and men’s basketball head coach Earl Grant maintained their status as Boston College’s highest-paid employees during the 2023 fiscal year (FY23), ac-

cording to the University’s 990 tax filing. Hafley earned $3,768,321 and Grant earned $2,114,853. Hafley left the Heights in January 2024 after four seasons to become the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator. After Hafley and Grant, the

next five highest-paid employees were John J. Zona, the University’s chief investment officer and associate treasurer; Tem Lukabu, former football defensive coordinator; Andrew C. Boynton, Carroll School of Management dean; David Quigley, University provost and dean of faculties; and Michael

J. Lochhead, BC’s executive vice president. Zona earned $1,049,364; Lukabu, who left the Heights in February 2023 to be the outside linebackers coach for the Carolina Panthers, earned $854,983; Boynton earned $762,863; Quigley earned $726,117; and Lochead

earned $594,509. BC earned $792,980,918 from tuition and fees, a $18,421,706 increase from FY22. The Univ e r s i t y ’s n e t a s s e t s w e r e $6,509,364,247 by the end of the year, a $37,035,501 decrease.

See FY23, A2

With Smart Playgrounds, Bers Enhances Learning BY MOLLY FUNK For The Heights

CHRIS TICAS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BC Sweeps St. Cloud State With 2–1 Victory The victory secures a four game winning streak for the Eagles.

BY LUKE EVANS Sports Editor

As St. Cloud State’s Cooper Wylie sent a pass toward Barrett Hall in an effort to clear the puck from the Huskies’ defensive zone, Boston College men’s hockey’s James Hagens’ stick flew between the Huskies. In one fluid motion, Hagens sent the puck out of the air and directly toward Gabe Perreault. Tactfully keeping the puck on his stick, Perreault shifted his way toward Isak Posch and tucked the puck into the net from point-blank range to give the Eagles a 2–1 lead just over three minutes into the final frame. “I thought we did much better tonight managing the puck in that line, I think they

hunted very well, and then they made real sound decisions with the puck so they didn’t have as much back-and-forth play,” BC head coach Greg Brown said of the Perreault, Hagens, and Ryan Leonard line. Despite a five-minute major penalty on Drew Fortescue in the final two minutes of the game that could have led to disaster for No. 2 BC (5– 1–0), the Eagles held on and left Minnesota with a road sweep of No. 10 St. Cloud State (6–3–0). “The guys really dug in,” Brown said. “We got a couple great blocks, tough shots from the flank, and we did a great job clearing the pucks from the front of the net. And Jacob [Fowler] was solid as usual.”

See Men’s Hockey, A11

“Learn through play” is a simple principle that has guided Marina Bers through her work in computer science and education for years. Today, she’s developing “smart playgrounds” which intend to teach elementary children computational thinking in a hands-on experience unlike any other. One where children can program slides, swings, and games through play, developed especially for children who are often left behind in educational development. “We’re bringing computer science education into the playground, and kids can still play outside, play with each other, and develop fully while learning concepts of computational

Fall A Cappella Show Displays Breadth of Student Talent Five a cappella groups took the stage on Saturday, showcasing a wide range of musical styles. See A9

See Playgrounds, A6

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARINA BERS

PRSA Statement Blasts Trump Rally Remarks BY ANNIKA ENGELBRECHT Asst. News Editor

HENRY VANDERVOORT/ FOR THE HEIGHTS

thinking,” Bers, the Augustus Long Professor of Education at the LSEHD with a secondary appointment in the Department of Computer Science, said. In our society, which is hyper-focused on screen time and technology, children must learn to navigate computational thinking skills at an exceedingly young age, Bers said. While some shy away from exposing children to technology, Bers has always believed that technology has potential to promote positive development and learning for young children. “I always saw technology as a tool that will help people become better people and better versions of themselves,” Bers said.

The Boston College Puerto Rican Student Association (PRSA) issued a statement on Oct. 30, condemning remarks made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliffe spoke at former President Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27. “There’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now—I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” Hinchchliffe said at the rally. In the statement, the PRSA emphasized that Hinchcliffe’s remarks “perpetuate a harmful rhetoric that is reflective of the discrimination Puerto Rico has faced for centuries.” Adriana Mayol, co-president of PRSA and MCAS ’25, said she was appalled after first hearing Hinchcliffe’s remark. “My instant reaction was, ‘Why, where, what was the context?" Mayol said. “And then I saw that there was no context to it, and so I was like,

'There’s no need.'” Mayol and Jacob Bojito, the other co-president and MCAS ’25, said that passing off harmful and racist rhetoric as a joke allows the individual to be viewed as blameless. “They can say, ‘Oh, it was a joke,’ and brush it off as if the joke isn’t perpetuating racist ways of thinking, as if it’s not bringing up things that people live with on a daily basis,” Bojito said. For many Puerto Ricans, Hinchliffe’s statement wasn’t a joke, according to Bojito, and the passing off these remarks as jokes “is dismissive of the reality that Puerto Ricans have lived.” “We have been referred to as things a lot worse than garbage,” Bojito said. “People have treated us like second class citizens since our island was annexed to the United States, and this is kind of just, again, [is] something that reflects something that has existed for so, so much, so much longer.”

Arts

Opinions

To celebrate the anniversary of 1989 (Taylor’s Version)'s release, Heights Contributor Kaylee Dunleavy shares her definitive ranking of Swift's re-recordings.

It's fair to feel cynical. But Columnist Tommy Roche reminds us that we do not live in the darkest timeline, and that we ought to acknowledge this truth.

A10

See PRSA, A2

Unpacking Newton's Political Makeup Ahead of the Election

See A4

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

NEWS........... A2 OPINIONS.. A7 NEWTON....... A4 A R T S . . . . . . . . A9 MAGAZINE.. A6 S P O R TS . . . . . A11