The Daily Free Press
Year xliii. Volume lxxxxiv. Issue XII
PANELING Professors, students debate role of U.S. in Syria, page 3.
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Monday, September 23, 2012 The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University
GO ‘ALL THE WAY’ Cambridge play explores life and times of LBJ, page 5.
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PAT ON THE BACK Field hockey wins 1st game against Patriot League team, page 8.
WEATHER
Today: Sunny, high 64. Tonight: Clear, low 42. Tomorrow: 68/46.
Data Courtesy of weather.com
Protesters gather in opposition to Keystone pipeline Bulger to forfeit more than $25 million to gov’t. By Steven Dufour Daily Free Press Staff
In an attempt to influence politicians before the Obama administration decides whether to approve the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, about 80 people assembled in front of the Massachusetts State House Saturday to protest the plan. The gathering, which was organized by the environmentally focused advocacy group 350 Massachusetts, featured a collection of street theater protests, with several participants dressed as major politicians and business executives in favor of the pipeline that would link Canadian oil reserves to the Gulf Coast. “They [TransCanada, the corporation that proposed the pipeline] are trying to basically connect existing northern and southern pipelines with very little benefit for us,” said Michele Gielis, a 350 volunteer. “There have already been major spills, and essentially none of the jobs it promises will last. We felt we had to get our voice out against it, and that’s how this [protest] happened.” The protest was one of many across the nation from 350. It included protesters dressed in black, listing the names of the “bad guys” and a literal tug-of-war between the two sides and their supporters. The protest concluded with a balloon popping, symbolizing the U.S. popping its carbon bubble and moving toward cleaner
By Kyle Plantz Daily Free Press Staff
MICHELLE JAY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
A section of the protest group pretend to be pipeline supporters and hold up signs at a protest on the Keystone Pipeline Saturday afternoon at the Massachusetts State House.
forms of energy, protesters explained. “It seems pretty clear that if we want to stop using fossil fuels, we have to stop endorsing its development,” said Sam Grossman, 56, a resident of Lowell at the protest. “It’s not that I disapprove of the business, but this is dirty energy, and it’s pretty logical not to do this.” Before any further action can be taken, the pipeline must be approved by the U.S. State Department, and a decision is not estimated to be made until 2014.
If approved, the project would build a 36-inch diameter tube from Alberta, Canada, heading southeast through Nebraska and finishing at endpoints in south Texas, while passing through several U.S. crude reserves in the process. TransCanada estimates it will create approximately 9,000 construction jobs for the 1,179-mile tube, and about 7,000 jobs nationally in the manufacturing of supplies.
Protest, see page 2
U.S. Senators aim to improve higher education legislation By Trisha Thadani Daily Free Press Staff
The U.S. Senate began an initiative to update the Higher Education Opportunity Act on Thursday so universities such as Boston University can provide students with an affordable education. BU spokesman Colin Riley said there are complex politics involved in the reformation of the act. He said BU’s biggest concern is that the changes to the act ensure higher education is available to all. “We really care about those issues of access and affordability,” Riley said. “We want to make sure that it [higher education] is available to people from all backgrounds, and that BU is able to provide that education, and students are able to apply and afford it.” Officials have begun a public discussion with student advocates and leaders on how college could be more affordable and valuable to inform Capitol Hill officials before they make changes to the act, according to a U.S.
Department of Education blog post. “Since students will benefit the most from these efforts … the department wants to hear feedback from [students and officials] … to hear their thoughts on how best to promote college affordability and value while ensuring access and success for disadvantaged students is encouraged, not discouraged,” the post stated. In order to combat rising college costs, U.S. President Barack Obama created a new agenda in August to create a ratings system to rank colleges based on accessibility, affordability and outcomes that may also shape any changes made to the legislation. “President Obama directed the U.S. Department of Education to develop a ratings system to better inform students and encourage institutions to improve,” the blog post stated. “In the future, President Obama has proposed to use the rating system to steer taxpayer dollars toward high-performing colleges.” Before these ratings are published on the
College Scorecard for the 2015-16 academic year, Department of Education officials will use the feedback it receives from public comments, students, families and the higher education community, according to the blog post. Jeray Thelwell, a College of Engineering junior, said he would have utilized the ranking system when he was applying for colleges if it was available at the time. “I would have used it more when I was deciding what schools were in my price range, but also to figure out which ones were good for the major I was looking at,” Thelwell said. Drew Salad, a School of Education junior, said since financial aid was such an important factor in his application process, a ranking system would have been helpful to him. “Since I come from a family with only one working parent … financial aid is the only thing that is making it possible for me to come
Education, see page 4
Prosecutors asked a judge on Friday to order ex-mobster James “Whitey” Bulger to forfeit more than $25 million, allowing them to seize all of his assets that he generated by racketeering and other crimes he committed during his years as a mob boss, including any future profits he might make. Evidence shown during Bulger’s eightweek trial indicated that he brought in about $25.1 million from drug dealers, businessmen and property, according to a motion filed by prosecutors in the U.S. District Court in Boston. “Accordingly, based on the evidence and testimony presented at trial and the Jury’s August 12, 2013 verdict as to the Defendant, the United States is entitled to an Order of Forfeiture … against the Defendant, in the amount of $25,162,800,” the motion stated. “This amount represents proceeds of, and interests acquired and maintained as a result of, the Defendant’s racketeering conspiracy.” Bulger, 84, was convicted of 31 of the 32 counts against him including racketeering, extortion and money laundering during his time as mob boss of the Winter Hill Gang in South Boston during the 1970s and 1980s, as reported by The Daily Free Press on Aug. 12. Jurors found him guilty in 11 of the 19 murders he allegedly participated in. “The Defendant’s racketeering conspiracy spanned decades. ... The evidence at trial established, and counsel for the Defendant submitted to the jury, that the interests acquired and maintained ... totaled ‘millions upon millions upon millions of dollars,’” the motion stated. In the motion, prosecutors included a chart that detailed many of the extortions that witnesses testified about during the trial. Bulger made more than $20 million in weekly earnings in the 1980s from a cocaine trafficking ring, according to the motion. During opening and closing statements, Bulger’s lawyer, J.W. Carney Jr., conceded that Bulger raked in millions from the drug trade. Bulger was captured in June 2011 after being on the run for more than 16 years — one of the longest manhunts in U.S. history. He was caught hiding in an apartment in Santa Monica, Calif. with his girlfriend Catherine Greig.
Bulger, see page 2
First electronic message board installed by MBTA for aging Green Line By Steven Dufour Daily Free Press Staff
KENSHIN OBUKO/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Boston Celtics first-round pick Kelly Olynyk and secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Richard A. Davey promote the newly built MBTA electronic message board Thursday at Kenmore Station. These message boards inside Kenmore Station now tell passengers which Green Line train will arrive next.
In order to update the oldest subway system in America, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority installed the first electronic message board on the Green Line on Thursday. “This really is the beginning of significant Green Line improvements,” said Richard Davey, secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. “It’s a small step today but an important step. And it’s a reminder to our customers that we haven’t forgotten about you and the Green Line.” The Blue, Red and Orange lines already display how far away approaching trains are from the station. The Green Line tracking technology is required to be more advanced because it deals with weather and traffic above ground, which is not a concern on other lines, according to a Thursday press release. A schedule of when the tracking technology will be installed will be available in the coming months. In an effort to welcome him to the city, Davey invited Boston Celtics rookie Kelly Olynyk
to the ceremony, because they both graduated from Gonzaga University, Davey in 1999 and Olynyk in 2013. Olynyk said he is still getting used to the T as the basketball team prepares for an Oct. 7 opening game against the Toronto Raptors. “Hopefully I get a chance to ride a couple of these, help the fans and experience some of what the fans do,” he said. “It’s always great to give back, and it’s always great to get out and interact with the fans. They’re what makes us run.” Davey and Olynyk presented the boards at a small ceremony in Kenmore Station, and then took a train from there to North Station, which is immediately below the Celtics home court in the TD Garden. There are two signs in the station — one underground near the bus port entrance, and the other inside the south entrance. They display the two upcoming outbound trains, and whether they are B, C or D lines. They do not display
MBTA, see page 4