INSIDE
INDEX
Vol. CIV, No. 14 © 2022, The Heights, Inc. www.bcheights.com Established 1919
THIS ISSUE
NEWS.............A2 ARTS...............A8 METRO...........A4 OPINIONS.......A9 MAGAZINE.....A7 SPORTS........A11
www.bcheights.com
Monday, September 26, 2022
Chestnut Hill, Mass.
MAGAZINE
OPINIONS
Columnist Punnya Kalapurakkel discusses college stress and how she often feels like an orb bobbing along through life.
News editor Erin Shannon shares her recipe for the Fraise 75—a twist on the classic French 75.
A7
A9
A Year After Newton Imposed Harsh Restrictions on Gun Stores, Gun Control Advocates Want More By Annie Li Heights Staff
A year has passed since a proposal to build a gun store in Newton embroiled residents in debate. Following public backlash and a City Council response posing greater zoning regulations, it’s unlikely a firearms store will open in the city anytime soon. Now, some local gun control advocates say there’s more work to be done. “I was extremely relieved and happy that the gun store did not open,” said Laura Towvim, a founding member of the Newton Gun Violence
Prevention Collaborative (NGVPC). “But as part of that process, I learned that there are 10 … gun stores within a 30-minute drive of my house. So there’s not a gun store in Newton, but we’re surrounded by lots of other communities that don’t have any regulations on the books.” In early June 2021, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and the City Council approved Newton’s first-ever zoning restrictions and regulations regarding firearms businesses, gun makers, and gun ranges. In a 23-to-1 City Council vote, Newton approved new measures requiring potential firearms businesses to have a special permit and a
two-thirds majority vote of approval from the Newton City Council to open in the city. “The zoning amendment also incorporates buffer distances from residences and sensitive uses [such as] daycare centers and schools,” Fuller wrote in a newsletter update in June 2021. The amendment lists other buffers around parks, libraries, and places of worship. “A gun store will make us all less safe,” a 2021 NGVPC petition with over 10,000 signatures reads. “While Newton’s gun ownership rates are low, the presence of a gun store guarantees that there will be more guns
STEVE MOONEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
in the hands of Newton residents, as well as residents in surrounding areas. Research is clear that more guns in a community lead to more
CNN Anchor Jim Acosta Speaks at BC By Thomas Coder Heights Staff
Truthful journalism is paramount to the preservation of democracy, according to CNN anchor and chief domestic correspondent Jim Acosta. “O ur demo crac y is only a s strong as those who are willing to defend it, and it’s only strong when we have the courage to tell each other the truth,” Acosta said. The Boston College Clough Center for the Study of Constitu-
BRODY HANNON / FOR THE HEIGHTS
BC Volleyball Pulls Away Late in the Fifth to Take Down Duke Boston College volleyball’s ACC opener against Syracuse on Wednesday came down to the wire. BC opened the game with a win in set one, a loss in sets two and three, and then saved itself from defeat with a clutch win in set four. The Eagles and Syracuse went back and forth in set five, but BC came up short. The first four sets of BC’s Sunday matchup against Duke were a mirror
See Gun Control, A6
News
Sports
By Amuruche Enwereji For The Heights
deaths through homicides, suicides, and accidental shootings.”
image of Wednesday’s contest. The Eagles split the first four sets with Duke 2–2 and battled the Blue Devils through the fifth. But on Sunday, the Eagles flipped a switch and remained composed in the game’s final moments—exactly what they failed to do on Wednesday. BC (12–3, 1–1 Atlantic Coast) edged out the Blue Devils 15–12 in the fifth set, earning its first win on its new home court in the Margot Connell Recreation Center. BC won with set scores of 22–
tional Democracy hosted a lecture and roundtable discussion exploring the current state of journalism and its relationship to democracy in the United States on Thursday night. During the lecture, Acosta recounte d rep or ting on b oth of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns and how the 2016 campaign especially fostered hostile public attitudes toward certain news outlets.
See Acosta, A2
Metro
25, 25–12, 25–19, 21–25, and 15–12. “We just took a tough loss in the fifth set against Syracuse, and this game was the number one priority for the week,” BC outside hitter Katrina Jensen said. “We wanted to show that we can pull out of an ACC match as winners and prove to ourselves that we can still hang in this conference and prove to people that we’re a force to be reckoned with.”
A Conversation With Rep. Auchincloss
See Volleyball, A11
See A5
PHOTO COURTESY OF MATT CORRIDONI