Bentley students are currently working on bringing Livesphere to campus, an app that can bring the Bentley community together socially. With an aggressive marketing strategy and ever-changing technology, Livesphere should be on everyone’s phones!

So, what is Livesphere? It is a social platform specific to the Bentley campus where you can post anonymously or display your username. Once you download the app and create an account, you will see inverted triangles at various points on a campus map. These “bubbles” are very similar to the setup of a Facebook wall in that you post comments, pictures, and statuses. The purpose can be practical; for example, “The shuttle stop at Miller is pretty full, you better get here quickly!” or “Someone puked in the Collins elevator – avoid!” But it doesn’t have to be a location; you can create a Bubble for different interests, such as music or movies. In fact, you can create a blog by opening a Bubble and setting restrictions so no one else can post on it.

The beauty of this app is its freedom – you can post anything! But you may be wondering about security issues. Because you need a .edu email address to register, you do not have to worry about an outsider viewing this social hub. In addition, you must be within a 3 mile radius of campus in order to access the app. Of course, with such freedom there is the risk of misuse, so a report button has been installed. After a certain number of clicks, the comment is temporarily deleted, pending review by the creators. If they find it to be made with a malicious intent, they will permanently delete the comment. Multiple offenses by the same account will result in a frozen account, barring the user from future posts. However, they want to make the message of freedom of expression very clear and stay true to Livesphere’s original intent. Therefore, the comment will only be permanently deleted if the intent is malicious (i.e., cyberbulling). For any other reason, upon review, the comment will be reinstated on the Bubble.

The app, developed by Arvind Gupta and Santosh Sharan, is making its way on campus. Through mutual friends, Katie Baker and Kelsey Bowe began the marketing initiative. Quickly gaining momentum, the duo attracted the interest of Marina Mirabal and, most recently, Sean Rodrigues and Moussa Hassoun hopped on board. The team is making serious efforts to get the word out by making sure that every door in every residence halls (even the often forgotten Cape, Castle, and North campus) is adorned with the flyer. There are new changes every week to keep up with other social media trends. Just recently, they added a Twitter component, allowing you to hashtag and search different topics. By semester’s end they want 25 percent of the Bentley population to be registered. With the evolving features and availability in the App Store and Android Market, there is no excuse – download it today!

This year, Bentley University is proud to send out its first team to participate in the Hult Global Case Challenge, the world’s largest international case competition for college students.

The Bentley Hult Case Team has made it to the Regional level and is now preparing themselves for the Global competition.

Bentley’s Hult Case Team (BHCT) has five members: Moussa Hassoun, Dan Weidel, Ryan DeChance, Malini Samtani and Susie Jeong.

All of them are undergraduate students and are majoring in various fields, giving them a well-rounded perspective and great tactical advantage.

The Hult Global Case Challenge’s theme for this year is global poverty, which is divided into three different tracks: Engineering, housing, and education. The group has chosen education as their subject for the challenge.

The Regional Finals will take place in five cities in all over the world: Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai, and Shanghai.

The team will compete with 17 other universities and colleges in the region, which include Harvard, MIT, Columbia and Yale. The region’s top presentations for each track will compete with the top three from the other four regions in the Global Final in New York City.

President Bill Clinton, CEOs and executives of some of the world’s biggest companies will be the final judges. A prize of $100,000,000 of seed money will be awarded to the Global Champions of each subject to put their plans into action.

The teams’ task in the Regional Final is to study a case given by the faculty of Hult International Business School and the IXL Center and present a substantial solution to the panel of judges. BHCT has come up with a strategy for the case, “One Laptop per Child.”

Their objective is to convince the jury that their idea can be actualized in many Third World countries. Specifically, 10 million children will be provided personal laptops in the next 10 years.

Despite the excellence of the idea, there are some difficulties that BHCT will have to face in the competition. Moussa, captain of the BHCT, says that cultural differences and lack of technology in Third World countries will be the two greatest obstacles of their ideas.

Moreover, because some members of other teams are graduate students, adding to the fact that some are from the Ivy League universities, the competition will be very challenging. “It’s a little bit intimidating,” said Moussa. Nevertheless, he is confident that BHCT has been preparing well for the Hult Case Challenge.

The team is working productively and everybody contributes equally to the group.  Moussa believes his team will definitely make a good shot on this competition.

The Regional Finals will take place in the five cities on Febuary 24 and 25. The Global Final will be held in New York City, on April 25 and 26. Our Bentley Hult Case Team will be working really hard for the next month to prepare their best for the competition. Good luck to our Bentley Hult Case Team!

For more information about the Hult Case Team Challenge, visit hultglobal-casechallenge.com/2012/.

The Bentley Eco Reps, crucial members of the Residence Hall Association, are currently working to make Bentley a greener campus. This year, RHA expanded the role to allow up to three Eco Reps on each hall council, and together, they have made an outstanding impact on the Bentley community and beyond.

Last semester, the Eco Reps initiated a project that involved performing a sustainability audit of a small company, seeking to help the facility become more environmentally friendly. Spearheaded by Alicia Risigo, former president Maddie Bulkley, and current president Justine Andrews, the team worked with Jumpstart Therapy, a fitness center and occupational therapy clinic for children and families in Oakville, Connecticut.

According to Risigo, “It was awesome working with a company that had a mission statement towards nutrition and health, as being sustainable goes hand in hand with that.”

President Justine Andrews said, “The Eco Reps were looking for a way to have a greater impact and show how being green relates to businesses; the solution to that was conducting a company audit. The Eco Reps first created a list of criteria to cover in the audit which included categories such as electricity use, paper use, and general ‘green education’ for the company to pass on to its customers through actions and business practices.”

The next step of the audit involved the owner of the company, Catherine Risigo, coming to Bentley campus to give an informative presentation on the operations of Jumpstart Therapy. The Eco Reps took notes and asked thorough questions about the details of their practices in order to better understand areas for green improvement.  After the presentation, the Eco Reps met and prepared a summary report including such things as the benefits and cost savings of switching to LED lights and reducing paper use.

Catherine Risigo wanted to make her business more sustainable in order to show her young clients the importance of taking care of the environment. Alicia said, “We were able to give Catherine Risigo some great tips on how to save money on paper and energy, as well as promote sustainability and living green to the impressionable children!”

One of the suggestions the Eco Reps made was that instead of advertising events with flyers, she reach out to people via mailing lists.  They also informed her on how much energy her appliances were using. For example, one of the big appliances she had, but didn’t use much, was a refrigerator, which is the number one energy consuming appliance.

“With all the ideas we shared with Catherine Risigo, we also gave her management techniques to make sure her staff was on the same page as her as they were going green,” Alicia said. “It was a great successful project!”

Alicia submitted the final plan to the company over winter break, and they will be following up with them in the spring semester to see how they have used the report.

When asked about the project, Amanda King, manager of Sustainability and head of the Eco Reps, said, “It was a great opportunity to see our Eco Reps apply their sustainability and analytical skills to assist a local company in identifying opportunities to become more sustainable, efficient and save money as well.”

Trees on Trees on Trees

On November 30, an RA reported that students may have been smoking weed outside or Oak Hall. When police arrived, no students were found puffing the magic dragon. As a few of you might know, smoking marijuana is illegal in these parts. However, if Bentley really wants to stop students from blowing trees, why are seven of the nine freshman dorms named Alder, Birch, Cedar, Elm, Maple, Oak and Spruce? If suspicious odors are such a problem, why does the entire campus smell like manure whenever some landscaping is done? If Bentley is that concerned about students being high, then why was it built on a hill? Obviously, marijuana has a distinct, interrupting smell, but the tone at the top seems kind of fishy, too.

Ants Being Birches

On the first of December, Facilities was notified of an ant problem in Birch. Ants in trees, big shocker there right? Nonetheless, there are many ways in which these ants could provide us with some sort of value. If Bentley starts charging students to have cable, maybe we could use the ants’ antennae to pick up another local signal. Their antennae could also help people to get cell phone service in more remote areas, such as the Service-Learning Center. Last, but not least, throwing ants at people is a great way to say “get away from me, the restraining order is still pending.” The way we see it, we don’t have an ant problem, we have a freshman problem. Accept the ants as your friends, and your life will improve dramatically.

byePhone

A student walked into the Police Station to report that his iPhone was stolen. Unfortunately, this student was sadly mistaken. He left his iPhone on a library table, and (gasp!) it wasn’t there the next day. Now he doesn’t know where it is, and he can’t seem to track it down. Now,  shouldn’t there be an app for that? Isn’t there an app for everything? If this person’s iPhone has turned into a youPhone, please return it to the Police Station. Say you randomly found it while volunteering, or something. Remember, Santa’s watching.

Want a Soda, Pop?

University Police received a call last Tuesday reporting that an elderly man was causing a disturbance. Apparently, the man was rummaging through a dumpster on campus in search of bottles and cans. When an officer responded, however, our old friend was nowhere to be found, furtively avoiding the wrath of the law. However, there is no need to worry, students of Bentley University. While cops failed to bottle-up this Sprite old hag this time around, they’ll be sure to Dew the right thing and throw his butt in the can when he fizzes up again. No rest until we capture the Fanta-m of the Dumpster!

Someone Call Ski Patrol!

Last Wednesday, University Police was notified by a rather disturbed student that there appeared to be an offensive, anti- Semitic image painted on a rock behind Collins Hall. The distasteful image was painted in bright gold spray paint and was prominently displayed for everyone to see. When closely examined, however, it was determined that the image was actually the logo for the Ski and Snowboard Club and not a hurtful, Nazi symbol.
Well, skiers and snowboarders are at it again. First they single-handedly account for the tragic death of one of the greatest actresses of all time (Natasha Richardson, mother in The Parent Trap), next they make us root for the scariest ginger since Carrot Top (Shaun White), and now this? The nerve of these people…just painting huge logos that look like swastikas all over our school like they own the place. Well guess what? Not anymore! Your reign is over! Get your skis/boards out, ‘cause here comes a blizzard of bad public opinion…MWAHAHA!

Light up the Forest

Last Monday afternoon, a Resident Director reported that two males claimed that the smoke detectors in their room had been tampered with while they were away. A University Police officer validated this claim, and also discovered drugs and drug paraphernalia littering the room. Apparently, one or more of these boys’ roommates had been using the room as their own, personal weed pad over the holiday and had failed to notify his roommates of his plan. The violators will be judicially charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with fire equipment.
These reporters believe that this was merely a minor misunderstanding. The gentlemen were probably under the impression that they actually lived in a forest, where it is “ok” to smoke. Such a situation can happen when you live in an eight-man suite. Guys: Just because your roommates smell like apes and your common room is as clean as a swamp doesn’t mean that you are actually living in a real forest. It can be tricky, but try to keep that in mind next time you light – up there.

DOCUMENTED FRESHMAN PUKE COUNT:

At last, the torrid puking streak comes to an end. After two straight weeks in the double digits, the frosh chucked up a deuce this week, pun certainly intended. These two barfs bring the semester total to 57. You guys have one more weekend before finals start… Do you have any puke left in you? This is the fourth quarter, kids… Leave it all on the toilet! And in the stairwells. And the halls…

By Kristin Tomasi

On December 1, President Gloria Larson sent an e-mail to the Bentley community in response to the recent Penn State and Syracuse University scandals.
She began by reminding readers, “Difficult situations like this are also an opportunity to reinforce the ideals and priorities that a community holds dear.”

She then summarized pertinent sections of the Bentley Beliefs for students and the Code of Ethics for Faculty and Staff. These ideals remind the Bentley community that “we are all responsible for the health and safety of our members and guests on campus.”

President Larson urged readers to be a “caring colleague, classmate, roommate and community member and act when you think something inappropriate or wrong is taking place.”

She further reminded readers that “we hold everyone in the Bentley community to the same high standards and will not tolerate illegal, abusive or unethical behavior.”
President Larson concluded by noting that “our actions reflect on the entire Bentley community.”

“The situations at Penn State and Syracuse should serve as a wake-up call to all campuses,” she said. “We felt it was important to remind all of our community members that they can and should report what they see or experience. We also wanted to ensure everyone that reports would be taken seriously and appropriate follow through would be conducted.”

The Bentley Beliefs and Code of Ethics “provide an important framework when there are gray areas,” said President Larson. “If everyone knows there is a strong foundation to begin with at Bentley, they will feel more inclined to question unethical or inappropriate behavior – knowing they will be supported.”

“The Bentley Beliefs originated in the Student Affairs division in the mid ‘90s. They wanted to develop a guide that reflected the values they collectively believed should inform behavior among the staff and students,” said President Larson. “The Beliefs now serve as the foundation for our daily work with students.”

Larson further described the Code of Ethics as an “evolving document that has been amended periodically since it was created. While no code can cover every possible situation, used in combination with an individual’s own good judgment and the counsel of colleagues, we feel the standards set forth in the Code provide a valuable foundation.” An Ethics Committee was then formed to support the Code and provide assistance.

“An institution’s reputation, character and future success are defined and guided by its values and its ethical culture,” said Michael Hoffman, executive director of the Center for Business Ethics. “I think we have to be constantly vigilant and work even harder than perhaps we have in the past to make sure that we are maintaining an ethical culture within the Bentley community.”

The Ethics Committee, under the leadership of Judy Malone, is working to increase its presence on campus. At its December 5th meeting, the committee “laid out a strategic plan for increasing the visibility of the Ethics Committee and its mission,” said Hoffman. “We decided on a number of action points which have already begun to be put into motion.”

One action point is to make community members aware of “who they can contact and how they can go about reporting a potential violation of Bentley’s ethical principles.”

“We are also going to review our help line, Ethics Point, to make sure that they are serving our community in the best possible manner,” said Hoffman. “Ethics Point is the help line or hot line that a member of the faculty or staff, or students for that matter, can call if they feel there’s been an ethical problem or if they’re just seeking advice.”

Ann Dexter, executive director of Human Resources, sent a follow-up e-mail to the Bentley community on December 2. She provided a list of contacts in a variety of offices on campus whom community members may turn to in order to seek help with concerns regarding inappropriate behavior.

By Lissie Martin

About three years ago, the idea of gender neutral housing (GNH) was first rumored on Bentley’s campus. At first, there wasn’t enough student interest to push the idea, but last spring the Student Government Association (SGA) and Residence Hall Association (RHA) teamed up to propose a bill to implement it on Bentley campus.

Maggy Reynolds, in conjunction with Brett Kirkland, president of RHA, led SGA to present the idea to Residence Life. John Piga, director of Residence Life, and Ron Ardizzone, director of Housing, both agreed that GNH would be a beneficial housing option to offer, and they have worked with SGA and RHA throughout the whole process.

“I really don’t like to push ideas unless there is enough student support for it, and for GNH there is,” said Ardizzone.

Schools in the Northeast, including Brandeis, Clark, Tufts, Babson, Colby, Northeastern, Suffolk, Brown and UMass Amherst, all currently have some form of GNH available. In fact, during the Boston Intercollegiate Leadership Conference, Bentley learned it was one of the few Boston schools that did not have a GNH policy.

It was ultimately decided that the GNH option will be available on North Campus B for the 2012-2013 academic year.

“Part of the reason why we picked North Campus is because the space is conducive to a new environment,” said Ardizzone.

The bigger layout of the apartments is ideal for this trial program. There are 48 available spots for this program, and students can either live in an apartment with two doubles or two singles, both of which have two bathrooms.

The application process will resemble the current process of other specialty housing options, such as Wellness Housing and the Global Living Center. If accepted, students bypass the housing lottery. A similar trial process was used for the Global Living Center, which started in Miller and expanded to Orchard North. Depending on the popularity of gender neutral housing next year, the program could possibly be expanded to other dorms.

Some people are speculating the trouble that could be caused by couples living together. However, according to Ardizzone, this is not a large concern because the same concerns could be brought up about same-sex couples living together.

“The main challenge will be working through roommate conflicts because they will be different than what we currently see now, but that is what the RDs and RAs are there for,” he said.
With the buzz about this new housing option available, many students are already eager to take advantage of this opportunity.

Abby Mixer, vice president of the Class of 2014, said, “I am so excited for gender neutral housing. I think there are a lot of people who have both guy and girl friends. And if my best friend is a guy, I think that I should be able to live with him.”

Rachael Cassagrande, a sophomore, said, “I think that gender neutral housing is a good option for people who have close friends of the opposite gender, not for people to exploit if they want to live with their significant other.”

By Lacey Nemergut

With finals in sight, many Bentley students have begun cramming for their tight schedules of exams. This finals season, many who are prescribed and not prescribed for the drug, Adderall, are feeling even more pressure with such a stressful time approaching and this type of stimulant, out of stock.

Given the nickname “academic steroid”, the drug increases level of focus and productivity, helping to eliminate any inclination to give in to frivolous distraction.

“I have been prescribed Adderall (or its equivalent) on and off since elementary school, yet it wasn’t until college that I began to take it regularly, as prescribed,” said Carl Forziati, a senior. “Before I came to Bentley, I really only took it when I had to (or when I was ‘forced’ to), at first because I didn’t like the way it made me feel. Adderall has a host of side effects, but arguably the worst, for me at least, was that it seemed to strip me of what made me ‘human’ when I was under its influence; some say they feel like a zombie when prescribed it for their ADHD, I would say I felt more like a machine.”

“Some of my students have reported how difficult this has been,” said Stephanie Brodeur, coordinator of Disability Services. “They are forced to try different medications, or a different type of Adderall (extended-release versus instant-release), and this can impact their studying, it can disrupt their routine (when they take their medication), they can experience different side effects, and the change may be hard on their body.”

Elliot Gordon, a senior, shared his personal experiences. “The DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration] sets annual quotas on the production of controlled substances like amphetamine (the active ingredient in Adderall), but is slow to respond when they underestimate the aggregate need. I had to call eight different pharmacies just to find a substitute for Adderall.”

“It is a very complicated situation, one that has pitted big pharma against big government. The drug manufacturers say that DEA quotas on the active ingredient in the drug prevent them from producing more stock until 2012,” said senior Elliot Gordon. “The DEA says that the quota is adequate and the manufacturers’ distribution patterns are to blame. This situation is an irksome reminder that government bureaucracy can interrupt millions of lives before the spotlight of public scrutiny can be ignited.”

The root of the problem is distribution of the drug as oppose to a physical pharmaceutical shortage. This includes both legal and illegal means of distribution.

Adderall is often used illegally by college and high school students looking to increase their productivity. The most common users revealed by the study were white male undergraduates at highly competitive schools, especially concentrated in the Northeast area.

“I think people who abuse it think because it’s a prescribed drug that it’s safe,” said Jessica Traue, assistant director for Health and Wellness and coordinator of Alcohol and Other Drugs Education.

Although the last data sampling conducted by the American College Health Association done in the Spring of 2011 revealed that students asked within the last 12 months if they had taken any prescription drugs that weren’t prescribed to them revealed that out of 105,781 responses only 7.8 percent revealed that they had, this study was conducted nationally and not specific to a certain school or major concentration.

However, Traue said, “I don’t think that there’s research that’s been done [specifically] at a business school,” where the atmosphere is often overly competitive.

“Anecdotally, I will say that I’ve met with students who have admitted to using a drug that wasn’t prescribed [revealing] having really negative side effects and not liking it,” said Traue.

However, despite this common assumption, Traue detailed numerous common and uncommon side effects associated with the drug. Her greatest concern was the fact that unsubscribed users lack medical examination and full analysis of their physical health. The drug may react with other prescribed medicines or aggravate a preexisting condition.

According to the FDA’s website, what doctors prescribe as the immediate-release Adderall, as opposed to the extended-release Adderall, is in shortage. Immediate-release gives users immediate temporary results.
“The immediate release [Adderall] may be more likely to be abused because the effects of it are more immediate,” said Jessica Traue, assistant director for Health and Wellness and coordinator of Alcohol and Other Drugs Education.

“Somebody who is on top of their studying, their sleep and their time management isn’t going to put themselves in a situation where they would need to take a drug to aid in studying [unless prescribed],” said Traue. “Some overwhelming feelings and academic stress come from poor time management or not having a positive stress outlet. Almost 30 percent of college students cite stress as a contributor to a lowered grade. Things can seem a lot more daunting if someone procrastinates, is overly focused on work and doesn’t have balance. To manage stress in addition to managing your time, I do suggest some sort of outlet…taking advantage of intramurals, signing up for a fitness class, attending an arts program – all of these can help with stress and reduce the [perceived] need to take a drug that is not prescribed to you as an academic aid.”

“ATTENTION! For years, the ‘freshmans’ have been oppressed and forced to live in small, cramped villages with limited resources while the rest of the democratic republic of Bentley lives in luxury! We are not allowed: Personal transportation, to cook food within our homes, personal restroom facilities or bedrooms, freedom of speech during ‘quiet hours,’” and the list goes on.

This demanding outcry has been presented by the Freshmans Liberation Army, better known as the FLA, here in the “Democratic Republic of Bentley”. The FLA was formed in the Terrorism & National Security (GLS 242) here.

GLS 242, taught by Professor Asbed Kotchikian, explores motives behind terrorist groups and ways that national security can react, and they did so by hosting their very own terrorist exercise throughout the semester. The exercise was aimed at teaching students to learn that there are different perspectives involved, and to teach them to react to challenges that both societies and governments face.

The class was allowed to volunteer for sides, and it was almost split down the middle. Both the “terrorists” and the “government” came up with their own structure – the “terrorists” chose a leader and split into a radical wing and a conciliatory wing. The “government” chose a president and advisors, along with a security structure.

The exercise functioned on the assumption that different years at Bentley were different ethnicities; the “Freshmans” were the most discriminated against and therefore were the ones who struck up a rebellion. Their main goal was to gain their own nation, also known as Lower Campus.

The government first issued a formal address to the citizens after the FLA attacked the school’s library. Thankfully, the library had been evacuated at that point; the government found it necessary to take all possible security measures to insure safety and stop the “terrorist group.” The government then released detailed findings from an investigation, including real pictures of freshman housing here at Bentley.

“As a terrorist group, the students learned the importance of gaining sympathy within the nation,” said one student. “The ‘terrorists’ needed to keep their role as the victim that was being oppressed in order to gain the upper hand. In the game, as well as in reality, crossing the line from being labeled as a ‘freedom fighter’ to a ‘terrorist’ will cause any group to lose support.”

“It is necessary to really look at what somebody is asking for instead of writing them off as those radical lunatics that are beyond a normal person’s comprehension,” said another student. “If you do not do this, you are avoiding the issue and will never find a lasting resolution.

After doing plenty of research about terrorist groups and the ways they go about demanding certain things, and the procedures in which the government goes about dealing with this demands, the students were asked to take action within this exercise. The government in this case ended up giving the ‘Freshmans’ monetary support in order to better their living conditions, which surprised the FLA. The government learned how difficult and time consuming it was to draft a public statement, and then take action from there while keeping everyone happy. Many students in the ‘government’ section were unhappy with the final action taken – and had very different opinions.

“I was pleasantly surprised to see how the students managed to utilize what they learned and what we talked about in the course about the motivation of groups and how, more often than not, terrorist groups are nothing more than disfranchised and disgruntled segment in a society whose voices are not heard and hence they resort to terrorism,” said Kotchikian.

What the course aimed to teach both its own students as well as students outside of the class is to not believe everything you hear. However much a source tries to be objective, a bias will emerge because people are human.

“Understanding the different circumstances that cause people to become terrorists can help them better understand why terrorists exist,” said one of the GLS 242 students. “Sometimes, the line between good and evil is not very clear. People like Nelson Mandela or America’s founding fathers could technically have been classified as terrorists, so it is important to see all sides of a conflict before deciding which side to support.”

This course was introduced in 2002, but never before this semester has an exercise such as this been conducted. The students were able to put themselves directly in the shoes of a “terrorist,” per say, while other students were put in the shoes of the “government,” responsible for reprimanding and rectifying rebellious behavior while keeping the public happy. It’s easy to criticize our government as it acts now, and it’s easy to form opinions on terrorist groups whom we learn about through a biased media. But it’s far from easy to put yourself in either set of shoes to actually learn what goes into the actions taken by both groups.

Brian Bramzwig, currently a junior at Bentley, is an up-and-coming Boston hip-hop artist who recently entered into a shopping agreement backed by one of the largest entertainment companies in the U.S. The exact terms contained in the agreement have not yet been released.Such agreements generally grant the shopping agent the right to exclusively represent the artist for a period of time, generally nine months to two years. The objective of the agreement is to have the shopping agent secure a recording contract for the artist.

Bramzwig was recently discovered by ProducerBoyz in combination with DJ Peter Parker and Coast to Coast Records. Originally from Westchester, NY, Bramzwig has accumulated a fan base of several thousand followers across the States. He has performed at venues like the Middle East in Boston. Recently, he released a collection of songs entitled The Pre-Game as a promotion for his coming debut mixtape The Roaring Twenty. He will be returning to the Middle East on November 30.

“Bramzwig has seemingly found a way to walk the tightrope that divides pop music with lyrical content that inspires and educates listeners, through his uses of socially relevant references and witty word play,” said Ben Fowler, current president of the Bentley Entrepreneurship Society. Fowler acted on behalf of Bramzwig during the negotiations; he handles all managing and financing responsibilities, and has played an essential role in Bramzwig’s progression as an artist. Fowler can be credited with the realization of the rapper’s newfound success.

“Every night before I go to sleep, I think about music and how much it means to me and the people I love,” said Bramzwig. “This has been a dream I have been chasing my whole life; it’s mind-blowing to fathom the thought of dreams becoming reality.”

Evan Honeyman, named Connecticut’s Future Business Leader in 2009 and a student here at Bentley, offered the deal to Bramzwig. Honeyman will partially take on the responsibilities of shopping the artist to major record labels and independent distribution companies.

“I am extremely excited about this opportunity,” said Honeyman. “Bramzwig is a talented individual and entertainer. I look forward to working with him and his team.”

Bramzwig’s music can be found online at www.youtube.com/bramzwig. Ben Fowler can be contacted at bramzwig@gmail.com. Evan Honeyman can be contacted at evanhoneyman@gmail.com.

By Lacey Nemergut

City Year is an international non-profit that unites high school and college graduates to serve a year in some of the most underserved inner-city schools across the country. Acting as mentors, tutors and role models, City Year corps members help alleviate the educational dropout crisis.

Bentley University was the first university to partner with City Year as a Give a Year partner, and now many acclaimed Universities have followed in Bentley’s footsteps. This is a truly unique and life-changing opportunity provided to young people and greatly supported by the Bentley community. For more information about City Year and the Bentley Give a Year scholarship program, please contact City Year Alumna ’11 and Give a Year Marketing Coordinator Kiernan Patenaude in the Service-Learning Center, Morison 101, ext. 2723, patenau_kier@bentley.edu.

Sophomore Molly Godfrey discusses her decision to take a leave of absence during her sophomore year to serve with City Year Los Angeles and Bentley’s Give a Year program:

So many people struggle with the idea of giving up a year of their lives, and rightfully so. City Year is a big commitment and at times, it is quite a challenge. Long hours and days, with the overwhelming task of helping to teach some of the most difficult, academically struggling students in the toughest of inner-city schools takes a toll on you.

Despite all of that, I can hands-down say this is the best job in the entire world. I don’t know any other job where you can work 12 hours a day and leave every night feeling so empowered and that you truly made a difference in a child’s life and that you cannot wait to return in the morning. The kids keep you going. Their energy is unlimited and they never slow down.

The real challenge exists in the classroom when the reality hits and you see how badly the school system has failed these kids. Resources are scarce and students continue to get passed along grade to grade without really ever learning the material. Standardized tests are also a huge problem because students are taught for the test and lack basic broad skills. On my first day of school, I was hit with the horrible reality that my ten-year-olds could barely read, add and subtract. Those are skills fifth graders should have well grasped.

A lot of the problem also exists in family support because so many of their parents do not understand English, as they come from poor immigrant families. Most of them lack any formal education, even a high school degree. So much of my job lies in trying to motivate my students to see the long-term benefit of education and helping them to push themselves when everything in their environment tries to bring them down. Poverty and gang involvement are problems my ten-year-olds face; it’s heart breaking. Their heads aren’t in their schoolwork, and I try to keep them focused and make school a positive place they want to return to day after day despite what may be going on at home or on the streets.

I serve because I am filled with gratitude for the extremely fortunate life I’ve been given. I’ve had an extremely supportive family and friends, and the opportunity to go to Bentley, an amazing educational institution. I knew I had to give back and City Year was the perfect opportunity. It all hit home for me the other day after a tutoring session with one of my students. Moments like these put my experience back into perspective, no matter how much I miss home or how much easier my college life seems at times.

My student and I were doing his math homework and he was struggling with long division. I told him, “You can totally do this, it’s just multiplication and subtraction and you’re super smart, I know you can do both of those.”

He stopped and turned to look at me. “Miss, no one’s ever told me that…” He could tell I was confused and said, “That I’m smart, no one’s ever called me smart.”

That’s why I serve. Because every kid deserves to be cared about, and sometimes we take for granted how easy our lives have been. These kids are going to end up changing me more then I may change them, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision to serve with City Year.

In Boston alone, 20 percent of the population is impoverished. The average income of a woman living on welfare is $17,000, far below the $51,000 needed to pay for rent, health and child care if she were to have two kids. In contrast, the average tuition cost of a Bentley University student disregarding scholarships and financial aid is around $53,000.

The Bentley Microfinance Group Superstar Conference addressed some of the issues of poverty and offered models that have been implemented in the past to alleviate financial struggles. A lot of what Microfinance does is lend out small loans to those who are living at or below the poverty level, and cannot receive help from banks. Most of these Microenterprises lend their money based on a technique called social collateral, a lending method that allows money to be loaned out only if the previous loan has been paid back.

In other words, a person waiting behind someone cannot receive a loan until the person in front of them has fully repaid the loan. This instills a sense of urgency upon the person paying back the money being borrowed. If they default on the loan, others waiting to receive loans would not be entitled to receive capital. Generally, most of the loans are repaid periodically to push the borrowers to fulfill their obligations.

The added pressure of someone overlooking one’s shoulder (peer monitoring), and the financial incentives serve as other reasons of the high success rate in following this mechanism. If all the loans were repaid, the group would have been allowed to take out more money to invest in and borrow. In the end, everyone won. Borrowers obtained the necessary capital to start their small businesses and earn small profits while Microenterprises felt good about creating jobs and stimulating the economy.

The highlight of the event, however, was the loan shark game. Participants randomly received one of five loan client profiles: Arnold, Brad, Charlie, Dianne and Evelyn. Each client profile had different behavioral characteristics, work experiences, referral bases, financials and reasons for needing a loan.

For instance, Charlie has been in the magazine business for twelve years since receiving a marketing degree from UMass Lowell. His financials for the past five years have been solid and his company has been making a profit for four out of the five years it has been in business.

He wishes to take out a $12,000 loan to expand his business and hire an IT professional. Charlie struggles personally, though. He is hard to get in contact with and cancels meetings last minute. On the other hand, Dianne is an excellent character. She is easy to maintain contact with and her commitment is undeniable. She got her entrepreneurship degree with a concentration in technology from Northeastern but has since been struggling to maintain a job. She wants to take out a $20,000 to start her own business. This is it for her as she quit her job to devote her time and energy into the start-up.

The idea was for a student to match up their profile with a bank that would agree to give him or her loans. To simulate the process of obtaining a loan in the real world, BMG withheld the names of the various banks and lenders. Students had to walk around the Student Center and talk to a “representative” of Bank of America, ICICI Pvt. Ltd (Bank in India), ACCION (U.S. Microfinance group), Fore-

ign Microfinance Group and loan shark without being directly told of each entity’s criteria. For example, the Foreign Microfinance Group was looking to give out loans to a group of six to eight people in poor, financial standing. The loans taken out had to fall within $10-$500. If Charlie, an individual looking to take out a $12,000 loan, came and delivered his pitch to the Foreign Microfinance Group, he would instantly be turned away.

The challenge then was to find the right lender based on what was learned during the student’s interaction with the representatives. Unfortunate-

ly, some are more helpful than others. The loan shark would offer incredibly high interest rates ranging from 100 percent to 780 percent and physically threaten a client if he or she did not pay back the loan. ICICI Pvt. Ltd was a little more forgiving, offering loans to those with at least five years of tax filings and a clean credit history.

Throughout the game, it was evident that there would not be any withheld emotions. Quickly, with what seemed like a simple task suddenly turned into a frustrating one. Students revealed that it was much harder than they expected after being rejected by various lenders. Some even went to four lenders before finally arriving at the fifth and reaching a successful deal. Other students were humored by the loan shark’s ridiculous proposals and accepted, saving them from struggling any further.

The Superstar Conference turned out to be very successful. Everyone who went expressed interest in the Bentley Microfinance Group. If you wanted to attend the event but could not for any reason, the entire event was videotaped so stay tuned in the upcoming weeks for details on where you can watch the recording.

On October 21 and 22, Bentley University competed for the very first time in the Deloitte FanTAXtic competition in Boston, placing second in the regionals. They also won an award of $200 per student, as well as $2,000 for the Bentley Accountancy Department.

The Bentley team was comprised of team leader Alexa Kaklamanos, Moussa Hassoun, Jessica Borgonzi, Kaitlyn Hooper, Kara Stark and faculty coach Professor Tracey Noga.

Bentley University was one of 40 schools competing. Bentley was one of 90 teams since schools were allowed up to two teams.

The Deloitte FanTAXtic competition is a real-life simulation of a business case presentation with a tax emphasis, where teams are given a business case two weeks prior to the competition and have to critically analyze the business’s strategies. They have to come up with not only the smartest recommendations for that business, but also those with the greatest tax savings.

They are supposed to present their recommendations in a 10-15-minute presentation to a mock board of directors, role played by Deloitte professionals.

After their presentation, they hold a Q&A where the mock board of directors critiques their recommendations; the teams are expected to adequately defend their recommendations, even when they go against the views of the board of directors. The Deloitte Professionals judge the team on its presentation, recommendations and defense.

Out of the 90 teams competing, nine teams progressed beyond regionals to the National Competition in Texas, and nine other teams received regional honorable mention. The Bentley team was one of the latter.

Team members expressed their gratitude about receiving regional honorable mention.

“I really enjoyed the Deloitte tax case competition,” said Kaklamanos. “It was a great experience in terms of practicing the presentation, research and group collaboration skills we learn at Bentley (especially in GB301).  We had an excellent team of students and I am very proud of our accomplishment of receiving honorable mention.”

“We were very satisfied with the results, especially since this is Bentley’s first team in this competition,” said Hassoun. “Placing second in regionals was a complete honor, one that all of our members are happy to be a part of. Hopefully this is a good stepping stone for future Bentley teams to get the number one spot and move on to nationals in Austin Texas.”

Hooper expressed the difficulty of the challenge.

“At first, I was a little hesitant about the level of research that would be required, but looking back I think we all did a great job,” said Hooper. “The presentation came out amazing and it was a wonderful networking experience to go and interact with Deloitte professionals. Every member of the team was so supportive and helpful, which I think was a large factor in our success. A lot of hard work went into the case competition and I am very proud of our placement.”

Borgonzi said that the Deloitte competition “was a great way to apply the concepts we learn in class to real-world experiences. Our team was able to come together very well, and I believe it was through our strong teamwork that we were able to win second place in the competition.”

“As far as our tax competition it was a learning experience and a great way to broaden our knowledge of the tax profession,” said Stark. “Working on a case simulation allowed us to apply what we have learned in the classroom to real world tax situations. The five of us had a wonderful time networking with Deloitte professionals and benefitted a great deal from the expertise of our faculty advisor, Professor Noga. It was all around a worthwhile experience and something Bentley should continue to participate in the future years.”

Professor Noga, the faculty advisor, said, “Bentley will participate next year and I am confident we will have a national finalists team. Hopefully some of our younger members will participate again next year and lead the team.”

Tablet Troubles
University Police received a complaint last week about an iPad that had apparently been stolen from a classroom in Smith. The owner had left to use the restroom, and when she returned her computer had vanished.
The culprit here is mind numbingly clear: It was Steve Jobs. Ok, we all know you were paranoid about protecting your products, but this is really too far. You just HAD to resurrect yourself and steal every Apple product on the planet so that you can bring it up to the “cloud” with you, didn’t you? Have a little pride, man. Bill “Pearly” Gates is laughing at you right now. (Too soon?)

A Trough Night
There was a little too much horseplay going on in Fenway on the night of Saturday 15. University Police received a call from a student who reported that spilled liquid and hay were scattered throughout the building. Apparently, some Smarty Jones thought it would be cool to show his Funny Cide by wasting valuable training resources.

Mentally, this dude must have been un-Stable. You don’t just strew water and hay around like it’s nothing! Once this is squared straight away, an RA (or a War Admiral) will most likely crack the whip on this Easy Goer.

Crash Into Me
Last Monday at about 8:30 a.m., a caller reported having almost been hit by an oncoming vehicle while she was crossing the street. The caller, who is a staff member, told University Police that it was a Bentley Facilities car that nearly caused the collision.

These reporters have come to this conclusion about this curious situation: It doesn’t make sense. Just think about it: Where in the name of Abraham Lincoln’s grandmother is a facilities truck going IN A RUSH?!? Facilities does not “do” timeliness: We’re pretty sure the heating system in our room hasn’t worked since Nam.

Angry Beavers
On the morning of Sunday, October 16, an officer reported a disabled vehicle that was stuck on Beaver Street. Now, we feel badly about the vehicle having a physical problem, but we think that calling it “disabled” is a tad offensive.

As you can see from our statement, we’re pretty sympathetic. That’s a quality that sets us humans apart from savage animals, is it not? Well, if you don’t think it is, then please try explaining this story to me. A vehicle gets stuck on Beaver Street? If you ask me, the beavers who occupy the street (and who the street is obviously named after) built a dam in anticipation of this differently abled vehicle. Showing no regard for human life, the beavers constructed this dam in the middle of the road, halting the poor vehicle in its tracks.

At this point, the car was hopeless. Luckily, the Waltham Police Department and a tow company were sent a distress signal, and they came to the rescue as soon as possible. Chalk another win up for humans – we really are better than swamp creatures, no matter how angry the beavers are.

Rhoasting Rhodes
Last week, University Police’s attention was sparked by a fire in Rhodes Hall. Apparently, a student was using a toaster oven when a bit of food made contact with the hot surface. When smoke began emanating from the toaster, the resident knew she was in a bit of a jam.

There was indeed a flame, butter instincts were good: She smothered the flame as quickly as possible before it could spread anymore. While the student may be toast when she goes to Judicial, she should be happy that she was not cooked for real.

We’re not Drinking This Kool-Aid
On Monday, October 17, officers spoke with a Copley South resident regarding damage to a wall. As it turns out, the student reportedly either kicked the wall or smashed it with an object. In our humble opinion, this kid is getting framed, as we all know who the real culprit is here: The Kool-Aid man.

Indeed, this annoying jug of water, sugar and red dye #40 busts through the wall to affirmatively correct you every time you say, “Oh no!” He may think he’s breaking down barriers, but he’s really just being a public nuisance. Effective immediately, we are offering a $4.57 award to anyone brave enough to bring this criminal to justice, or to Seasons.

It might be nice to have a change from Hi-C, and there are fewer walls for him to break in the Student Center. Think about it – it’s a win-win.

FRESHMAN PUKE COUNT
Our count added two additional pukers this week, bringing our semester count to 27. A relatively slow week this week… Could you possibly be growing up, frosh? Doubtful. But prove us wrong!

By Rachael Casagrande

Bentley students offered clashing opinions about the protests flooding the financial districts of cities all over the world, thanks to occupy movements that originated on Wall Street.
“I think I’m going for the 99 percent. I agree that the democratic process should be reformed. It’s not just nonsense,” said sophomore Chris Orihuela when asked about the protests.
Freshman Dan Westervelt questioned the intentions of some of the protesters. “I did hear that there are just college students who go for fun.”

He went on to say that they may just be attending the protests because everyone else was, suggesting that the occupy movements are becoming a trend rather than meaningful protests.
Other students are in complete opposition of the movement.

“It’s ridiculous. I do not think they realize how stupid and contrary their demands are,” said Ashleigh Casey, a senior.
Other students are simply looking for a clear plan of action.

“I feel like it’s something I could support if they had an agenda” said Dan Fava, a senior.

Orihuela had a similar viewpoint. “I think it’s a good demonstration of what people can do, but without a proper solution being proposed, I don’t think much change is going to be put into effect,” he said.
Regardless of the end result of Occupy Wall Street, Orihuela said, “It’s interesting to see,” and wondered how well the protesters will fare in the upcoming months.

“I wonder if they’ll actually stay through the winter because it will be cold,” he said.

Mayor Bloomberg predicted earlier on this month that the protestors would pack up once the cold really hits.

“The company that owns the public area actually wanted them to leave. They came up with the excuse that they wanted the park cleaned,” said Orihuela.

In efforts to keep the protest on Wall Street going, the protestors called on help to purchase brooms, mops, garbage bags and other cleaning supplies to clean up Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park themselves.
If the Occupy movement continues to grow as rapidly as it has since it began on September 17, there may not be an end in sight.

The Real 99 Percent
Friday evening two weeks ago, Campus Police was notified of a foul smell coming from a sink in the Student Center. The caller was utterly flabbergasted at the stench emanating from around the Seasons Dining Hall area. What a brilliant strategy here, folks. Those days of simply whining about Seasons food are in the past. Now, we’re just going to start calling the cops on Sodexo. “THIS LONDON BROIL WITH ASSORTED VEGETABLES IS A LEGITMATE CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY, AND I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT!!” Give it two weeks, and Anderson Cooper will be doing a special on us. We love it. Fight the good fight, Bentley!

Dairy Air at Mad Falcon
At 11:33 p.m. on October 5, the Student Center building manager reported that the milkshake machine was leaking. Not so coincidentally, this was also the peak time of male purchases at Mad Falcon. Indeed, the leaked milkshakes brought all of the boys to the Yella’s, where they can feed you, but they have to charge. F’real. They do. This frozen fiasco is nothing to fear, as our favorite calorie bombs have returned to their rightful place between the soda and the sushi.

Faint Impressions
On October 3, officers responded to the front benches of the Student Center where a woman had fainted on the benches. After a short time, the woman was assisted across the walkway to the Health and Wellness Center in Rhodes Hall. Thankfully, she made a complete recovery. There is only one reasonable explanation for why this could have happened: Justin Bieber himself made an appearance. These reporters suspect that he used his dark, Canadian, magical powers to apparate himself onto our little campus and attacked this unsuspecting woman with his prepubescent falsetto. The kid is a downright fugitive.

Keep Tabs on Yourself
On September 30 at 8:44 p.m., officers responded to Slade Hall, where a freshwoman had cut her finger. Reportedly, this agonizing laceration was created as the student attempted to pull a soda can tab out of her shoe. For now, we’ll ignore the insightful question of “why would one place a soda can tab in a shoe?” in order to focus on some poignant social commentary.Now, it has been said that females get a lot of attention at this predominantly male institution, and there are arguments to be made on both sides of that coin. Should this be true, however, does a female really have to pull the “cutting the finger on a misplaced soda can tab” trick in order to get some attention around here? Honestly, even if you love attention as much as Kel loves orange soda, there are better ways to get it than by bleeding profusely through your extremities. Instead, try having an engaging personality or getting your nails done. That will give you just as much attention without the unnecessary loss of hemoglobin!

Farely Illegal
On October 2, two dudes thought it would be funny to evade a $170 cab fare by bolting from Miller Hall to the Collins Lot, and out of sight from there. Sure, they may have gotten away with it, but there is a serious lack of both ethics and intelligence here. First off, never evade a cab fare. That’s just not nice. This guy had the decency to drive you from Boston back to Waltham, so the least you can do is pay the man.
More importantly, however, is the lack of negotiating skills. 170 bucks for a cab ride from Boston!? What, did you take the scenic route through Worcester? Did you lose a bet with your driver that resulted in your paying five times the regular fare? There’s a negotiating class here at Bentley that you can take later on in your academic career. Take it. You need it.

Bud Buddies
Two Sundays ago, a room in Kresge Hall was reported to be smelling a bit funky. A University officer lit up his lights and rolled on over to weed out the culprits. Upon the officer’s arrival, the room’s door took a couple of blunt hits before the residents came out to open it. The officer reported that the room reeked of a lot of burnt marijuana, as well as even more air freshener. A judicial board will hash out these students’ punishments soon. So much for living the high life!

Powerless President
On October 3 at 1:10 a.m., officers reported that lights at the President’s House were mysteriously out. Obviously, they were not privy to the fact that October is, in fact, Blackout Challenge month. Our President, the lovely and talented Gloria Larsen, is not about to lose to a bunch of undergraduates. The lights were off for a reason, the President’s House is going off the power grid. For the entire month. Did you even see the President’s House on the Blackout Challenge Rankings? No. Want to know why? Because Gloria has not used any electricity. None. Touché, Gloria, your competitive spirit and social conscience never cease to amaze these two reporters.

FRESHMAN PUKE COUNT
Five more freshmen joined the ranks of our Vernal Vomiteers over these past two weeks, bringing our cumulative count to 25. Quarter century mark, and we’re only five weeks in!

Wet Laundry
University Police received a phone call on Monday afternoon about a substance that looked, smelled and tasted EXACTLY like urine found in a drier in Collins Hall. Ok, seniors, Laundry Room Etiquette 101 cram session real quick. Rule Number One: Elevator rules apply at all times, meaning no talking or eye contact of any sort in the laundry room. It’s just awkward. Rule Number Two: Never take anyone else’s clothes out of the washer. That clearly undoes the whole half-hour process. Rule Number Three: Finally, never, and I mean never, take a piss in the drier! Guys, we can’t send you into the world thinking you can pee wherever you damn well please! You’re better than that. At least do it in the washer!

Like a Rolling Stone
Forest Hall was really rocking last Sunday night, as University Police responded to a caller who witnessed two hooligans chucking stones at the fabled dormitory. Apparently, there was a contest to determine the boulder of the two culprits. Little did our two friends know, their game was on the rocks – officers responded within minutes, and the two were found molten-lava handed.
Clearly caught between a rock and a hard place, the two denied their flinty behavior. They will be charged with suspicious behavior. Word to the wise: Don’t throw stones at glass houses…even if the house is actually brick…and not really a house.

When It Rains, It Pours
Last Saturday, University Police notified Facilities of urine found on the floor in Copley North, as well as in an elevator in Copley South. Throw these two occurrences together with the Collins drier fiasco, and it looks like we have three mysterious urinations in three days. There is really only one reasonable explanation for this, Bentley: We are all under attack. The Ubiquitous Urinator has arrived. At any turn, UU may be lurking in the shadows, relieving himself for the hell of it, destroying our campus one puddle at a time. Nobody is safe. Your room could be next. Godspeed.

BAMF
On Thursday evening at 8:55 p.m., University Police received a complaint about what sounded like someone using a megaphone outside of either Copley South or Fenway Suites. However, upon arrival, officers reported no such sound, saying that the coast was clear. Phew! Well, guys, we made it by the skin of our teeth there, huh? Seriously, if they find out about BAMF (Bentley Association of Mega- Foners), heads are going to roll. What else are we going to do on Thursday nights? Watch Jersey Shore? Um…no. BAMF is where it’s at. Let’s clean it up.

Pee’s Company
Last Thursday evening, residents of a Kresge suite noticed a puddle on their bathroom floor. We’re telling you, this UU is pissed. This is a man on a mission. Our guess is that he’s a Soviet spy, because he’s Russian all over campus to find new makeshift toilet substitutes. These reporters hope is that he holds it in after this story is leaked. At this point, hope is just about all we’ve got.

Restraining Orders: A Love Story
Recently, a male student requested to talk to an officer regarding a female who had been…well…stalking him. This male was sufficiently creeped out, fearing that the female may be trying to carry out the most heartless, lethal form of biological warfare: The spread of cooties. So far, this unidentified man has escaped free of harm. As for the female, these reporters recommend that she not worry about her prospects for a misandrous relationship. There are plenty of fish in the sea. In fact, here at Bentley, there is a whole school of them.

Fire and Rubber and Stairs, Oh My!
On the morning of Monday, September 26, an officer responded to a report of something burning in Smith. This concern was soon put to rest, as no burning substances were found. However, there was a prevalent odor of burnt rubber. As it turns out, this smell came from the Trading Room, where the wheels were kicked into motion for a fantastic day on Wall Street. The Dow went up over 270 points and closed at over 11,000. Mark this case as closed – the stocks were the only things on fire that day.

“Friending 101”
Last Monday, a male resident of Orchard North stepped out of the shower, only to find a suspicious, unknown male in his living room looking at his computer. Now, don’t get us wrong, we’re all for making new friends, but let’s get real here. Creepily chilling in a complete stranger’s living room and staring at his valuables probably won’t endear you to your prospective BFF.
Common, accepted ways to meet new people include joining match.com, being introduced or joining a club. However, if you choose to bypass those three, the common courtesy is to kick off your new friendship is knocking on the door. That may go over better than a frantic explanation as to why you’re creeping on your new friend getting out of the shower. But hey, to each his own.

FRESHMAN PUKE COUNT
Due to technical difficulties, our frosh yacker tally was unavailable to our readership last week. Our apologies. We had five additions to the list last week, joined by four more this week. That brings our semester tally to 20 first-year spewers! Tisk, tisk, tisk…