By Lacey Nemergut

National Public Radio (NPR), one of America’s most prestigious and well respected news programs, recently accepted Daniel Merica, Bentley alumnus from the class of 2010, as the executive producer of the Intern Edition, a highly competitive position for those in the field of journalism.

Because NPR is a union-run station, Merica and their other 39 interns are prohibited from producing content. However, to make up for this stipulation, NPR releases a fully intern-run production, featuring the ideas and expressions of their youngest members.

“It is really an honor to work for an organization like NPR and work with some incredibly accomplished and intelligent interns,” said Merica, whose job involves working with bloggers, reviewing and editing their work and directing the general operations of the Intern Edition.

This spring’s Intern Edition, with the theme “Not quite there,” focuses on how people currently in their 20s are serving as catalysts for a changing definition, perception and reality of adulthood.

After his internship at NPR, Merica will continue his career working for Cable News Network (CNN).

“Starting in June, I will begin a three-month training fellowship at CNN,” said Merica. “My passion is for television journalism, especially political reporting, so being able to work at a network like CNN is something I never thought I would be able to do this early on in my career. I am hugely honored.”

Merica acknowledges Bentley University in regards to his developed interest and discovered passion for journalism. After studying abroad his entire sophomore year in Australia and France, Merica realized that he no longer wanted to pursue his intended Business Management major, and he proceeded to pursue a career in the field of journalism.

“I credit Bentley with providing me with an incredibly solid foundation to start my career. Between going abroad to working with The Vanguard to Project Haiti, Bentley allowed me to not only learn inside the classroom, but from outside experiences, as well,” said Merica.

Furthermore, Merica attributed a portion of his early success to the surrounding Bentley community and the unique opportunities that Bentley offers its students.

“My growth from freshman to senior year at Bentley was truly remarkable and I am very thankful for a number of people in Waltham who helped me get where I am today,” said Merica.

This Bentley alumnus hopes to eventually work his way to on-air political reporting.

For the last four years, I have had the distinct privilege of being one of the many news correspondents on The Vanguard staff. Covering stories ranging from Greek Life to Sodexo, from Bentley’s hook-up culture to SGA, I have been gifted with the opportunity to get a brief look at many of the subsets of the Bentley community that make it what it is.

While I would like to be able to say that my stories have changed Bentley, in a way, I am more proud to say that the work that I have done through The Vanguard has changed me even more. Being privy to the experiences that The Vanguard has provided me with has truly defined my college career, and while I have been left with a great deal, two salient ideas remain at the forefront.

My time here has provided me with a unique and comprehensive view of the place that many of us call home. Whether it was interviewing students anonymously or sitting in the center of the Bubble gathering group information, it became clear to me that as Bentley students, we all have opinions and we all have stories to tell.

Journalists are meant to bring those stories to bear and while I have enjoyed doing that, for the good of the University, I believe it is important that students realize they need nothing more than their voice to get their story out there. That is the first thing I have taken away from The Vanguard.

At times, Bentley comes across as a muted campus, not particularly vocal about any one issue. I reject the belief that it is because we all don’t care; apathy is not an acceptable excuse or answer. During my freshman year, a senior told me, “It is because they don’t listen, that’s why I don’t care.” This quote has stuck with me to this day.

While at times it may seem that administrators and staff don’t choose to listen to student input, my four years of experience have proven this to be false. There are hundreds of administrators and staff that deeply care about the students and their concerns, putting aside other duties to rectify injustices.

While they may be willing to help, some administrators do have headphones on and are unable to hear anything more than the most vocal students. My advice to those of you who don’t feel listened to is simple: Raise your voice. Do it respectfully, but if you demand attention, you will get noticed.

“Decisions are made by those who show up,” wrote author Aaron Sorkin, and nothing could be truer here at Bentley. If you continue to show up, voice your opinions effectively and speak for what you believe in, it would be impossible for you not to have a hand in the decision. At The Vanguard, I have viewed my role as being the arrow that pointed the issues on campus that needed to be addressed. Whatever it was, I hoped to provide unbiased, knowledgeable coverage of an issue, bringing it to bear in a very public way.

While I believe this has been accomplished, none of it would have been possible without the help of hundreds of people. The list of those people who I need to thank would truly take this entire publication. My editors, my fellow writers, my friends, people I have interviewed, people who questioned me and yes, people who yelled at me, you all deserve a great deal of thanks.

My final lesson from The Vanguard stems from all those I need to thank. The truth is, no one is a “self-made man/woman,” because it truly isn’t possible. Everyone is given help by someone in their lives and shaped into the person they are because of this influence. My advice is to continue to listen to those people and hope that their numbers grow. I would rather be a successful man who got a lot of help than an unsuccessful, self-made man.

I would even say listen to your detractors. Someone who was upset with me about a Greek Life article once wrote that I need to “take a journalism 101 class.” While I don’t think this is what he intended, I took his advice to heart and will be attending American University next year to get my Masters in International Broadcast Journalism. Whoever you are, thanks for the advice.

On May 16, when I look back at Bentley, I will do so knowing that the people here are some of the most outstanding, intuitive and caring people that I have ever met in my 21 years of life. It has truly been an honor.
Thank you for everything.

Dan Merica
News Correspondent

Written by: Dan Merica

Plans proposed by Sodexo for the LaCava Lower Cafeteria call for space that is currently occupied by the Women’s Center and Commuter Association to be changed, with both groups now stuck in a limbo between keeping their current offices and being displaced to unknown locations on campus.

The proposed layout of LaCava has the Women’s Center displaced in favor of dining booths and the Commuters Association office listed under “placeholder,” with no specific plans yet implemented in that space. There has also been alk of using this space for adjacent professor offices.

“Although we are saddened by the abrupt announcement of the changes to LaCava, we are confident that Bentley will do its best to accommodate our needs and find us a space that is similar to our current location,” said Edith Kwok, President of the Women’s Center.

Dr. Kathleen Yorkis, Vice President of Student Affairs, called the situation “incredibly unfortunate,” but said that there was no direct decision to displace the two groups. “It was more general in that this entire space needed to be done,” said Yorkis.

In an interview with The Vanguard, Traci Logan, Chief Operating Officer of Bentley, stated she believed that it would have been better to put the same “placeholder designation” used for the Commuters Association office on the Women’s Center.

Logan went on to say that if comparable space could not be found for these groups, the current aspects in the design for the space do not have to be there.

“If people are open-minded about what the right spot might be, and in that open mindedness they feel there is no other stop on campus that would be appropriate, I am not going to force them to move,” said Logan.

Conversation between representatives from the two organizations and the Bentley administration are ongoing.

Written by: Dan Merica

After a year of both challenges and successes, Puja Shah, President of Student Government Association, finds it difficult to leave the position she has decided not to run for again, but believes that her tenure as president “really set the student government up for the next year.”

“It wasn’t an easy decision,” said Shah. “I talked to a number of people, I got so much advice, and I think this decision was, even considering all the challenges, the hardest decision I had to make this year.”

The 2009 – 2010 academic year presented a number of challenges to SGA, though Shah is confident that overall, SGA has had success.

SGA sustainability efforts, working closely with a number of other groups on campus, have led to $340,000 in energy savings, while the goal of streamlining the smoking policy on campus was achieved when a bill passed earlier this month.

In addition, the Sodexo Quality Project Group produced a report regarding what needs to be changed to make dining on campus more enjoyable.

While Shah is proud of the work SGA has completed in their project groups, when asked what she thinks SGA has done truly remarkably this year, she quickly answered, “Our outreach efforts.”

“For the first time since I have been on student government, more people know about SGA and what we do,” said Shah. “No, it is not at the level that I wish it was, but I think that we have significant strides this year.” Shah called this her “original goal” from when she became SGA President.

Even with the successes for SGA, this year has not been devoid of “areas that could be improved,” as Shah put it. Day of Service, a day that planned to bring Bentley students together to partake in community service around the Waltham area, was one project that Shah hoped could have happened under her presidency.

Though certain projects did challenge Shah and SGA, the most challenging aspect of her position was representing the student voice when whoever is making the big decisions “doesn’t always want to consider it.”

“The student voice isn’t considered sometimes, and I think that is the most frustrating part [of my position] because we are here to represent the voice of the students…” said Shah. “I am not saying that our voice as students should be the end all be all, but I am saying that [the lack of consideration] is hurtful sometimes,” she continued.

Shah cited changes made over the summer in 2009, namely the cutting of the Newspaper Readership Program, the revamping of Seasons Dining Hall, and the changes to IT 101 as areas in which SGA was left out of the loop and situations that challenged her. “I think first semester we spent a lot of time kind of playing catch up for all of the changes that were made over the summer,” said Shah.

These were areas that caused a friction with the administration, placing tension on the relationships that Shah believes are so important to the success of SGA.

“Ultimately, what it comes down to is that student government is the voice of the students, and we don’t take that lightly,” said Shah. “We do our best to represent what students want, but I think there is always going to be that disconnect between administration and students.”

With these aspects inherent to the position, Shah believes that there are insights that she has learned over the last year as president that would benefit her successor. When asked what her biggest piece of advice would be, Shah stated, “Remember what is true to you… It is very easy to get caught up in [the position].”

As the gavel of SGA president changes hands again, Shah is optimistic about the future, believing that both candidates running for president would be strong representatives of the student body.

With a year of experience behind her, when asked what SGA has meant to her, Shah struggled for an answer, stating, “I think that on April 22, when the turnover meeting happens, and I pass the gavel on, that is when it is going to hit me that student government is no longer a part of my life and I am not longer a part of student government. I think then I will probably know what to say.”

Written by: Dan Merica

With large-scale changes to dining options on campus, primarily the total renovation of the Lower Cafeteria in LaCava, one student who was tasked to monitor these changes and represent the student voice through both the Food Service Advisory Board (FSAB) and Student Government Association (SGA) is questioning whether the student voice was really considered in these decisions.

SGA, the representatives of the student voice on campus, was notified of the laid-out plans for LaCava on Tuesday, April 13. But according to Julianne Britt, Director of Purchasing and Contract Services, discussions on physical changes to LaCava occurred between Sodexo representatives and the office of Student Affairs as early as February.

Emily Santos, SGA senator and SGA representative of the FSAB, a board that meets bi-weekly to speak with Sodexo on the concerns of students, stated, “I was completely unaware of [the laid-out plans] until they were presented and Jamie held up the board with the pictures on it at the meeting.”

Santos went on to say that while she knew that there were plans to renovate LaCava, she was never asked for input as the representative of SGA on the FSAB. “All throughout the year, when someone has been deliberating renovating LaCava… I was not at all a part of the process, despite my supposed position as the voice of the students on the Food Service Advisory Board,” said Santos.

When asked whether she believed SGA and the FSAB should have been worked in earlier, Traci Logan, Chief Operation Officer of Bentley, stated, “From my perspective, absolutely they should have been worked in.” She later stated, “I think that anytime you have a space like this that is going to be used by faculty staff and students, it is really important to engage them.” It is important to note that Logan assumed the duties related to this article only weeks ago.

While Santos feels as if SGA was left out of the loop regarding the LaCava changes, Puja Shah, President of SGA, and Doreen Floyd, advisor to both SGA and FASB, defend the communication between SGA and Sodexo on a whole.

“The administration approached us as soon as they were able to,” said Shah, and while she did state that it was clear that these plans had been in the works for awhile, she believes that SGA is “consistently working in collaboration with the FSAB to address daily food concerns on campus.”

Floyd echoed that sentiment, stating that through the FSAB meetings with SGA representatives, students have continually been represented in on-campus dining changes.

Efforts were made to work students in as soon as plans were set on paper, according to Kathleen Yorkis, vice president of Student Affairs, who went to present the plans to SGA three days after being presented with them.

Yorkis went on to classify this project as “late,” stating that the tardiness of the project is reason for the lack of SGA input.

“Usually a project like this is on the books through the fall and winter months, and this project has really only appeared in the spring months,” said Yorkis. “I can understand how people would feel that way because SGA in particular has worked diligently month after month to improve a long list of things.”

Yorkis went on to say that she believes the way this has played out it is very “unfortunate,” but that she does not believe “there is any intent or devious actions in play which are trying to be disrespectful of the student voice.”

“We work very hard to meet the needs of the students and the staff here on campus,” said Jamie Cornacchia, general manager of Sodexo. “When students or Bentley comes to us with a concern, we do everything in our power to address it, and it can be seen all over campus, especially in Seasons.”

According to Cornacchia, “Students were consulted in surveys and focus groups two years ago,” regarding a number of large changes to dining option on campus, and in that survey the Lower Cafeteria was “brought up as a tired space in need of redesign.”

Through that survey, it was decided that the first round of dining option changes would be to Seasons Dining Hall. According to Shah, “Last spring, when we were told about the renovations to Seasons, we were told the original proposal from Sodexo was to renovate the Lower Cafeteria.”

The decision to forgo renovations to LaCava in favor of renovations to Seasons was due to the frequent use of Seasons as the hub of student dining on campus.

With plans now drawn up, whether students were considered prior to or not, “There is a lot of work to do,” said Yorkis.

On Wednesday, SGA got started on that work, setting up a station to collect student feedback in LaCava. The table was in cooperation with Britt, Cornacchia and Andrew Shepardson, dean of Student Affairs.

With efforts now shifting towards including more direct student input in the LaCava plans, the question of how fluid the drawn-out plans are comes into question. When SGA was presented with the plans, Cornacchia was adamant that the plans remained very fluid. “The plans are definitely going to be tweaked in the upcoming weeks before construction begins,” said Cornacchia. “But soon after graduation, this project must get rolling.”

Yorkis was less hopeful on the fluidity of the plans, stating that they were “not too fluid because of the timing, because if we go back to the drawing board, the construction schedule will never be able to be met.”

As the year comes to an end, there is a planned start date of “right after graduation,” according to Yorkis, and time now becomes the greatest challenge for the incorporation of more student input. When asked whether she thinks it can happen, Yorkis stated, “We have to make it; that is part of the challenge.”

After year of strife, leaders pleased with progress but aim for more

Written by: Dan Merica

After years of swelling tension and misunderstandings between Greek Life and the Student Affairs Office, these strains are slowly subsiding after a number of meetings in which Greek issues were aired to the administration.

Though most Greeks believe that these problems are far from resolved, the relations with the administration, according to Rebecca Stewart, President of Delta Phi Epsilon, are remarkably better than in the past.

“I think there are definitely going to be changes that people might fight,” said Stewart. “But I think it is for the better because if we keep pushing the admin, then Greek Life will probably just disappear.”

In response to these meetings, which included Greek representatives from each sorority and fraternity on campus, along with Student Affairs staff, a letter was written outlining some of the steps that need to be taken to continue cordial relations.

A number of grievances were addressed in the meetings, and subsequently answered in an e-mail sent by Maria DiLorenzo, Assistant Director of Student Affairs, and Christina Witkowicki, Director of Greek Life. While the grievances included issues from Greek housing to funding and relationships with the community,  main concerns expressed by both Stewart and Martha Perry, Greek Life Project Group Leader, were about university policies towards Greek Life and public relations on campus.

“The policies are the things that people were generally most upset about,” said Perry. “The solution to that was that each president and their national representative is going to sit down with Christina and decide what fits best at Bentley.”

According to the letter sent by Student Affairs, this group discussion is a short-term solution. Addressed in these conversations will be questions regarding co-sponsoring events with Bentley organizations which have alcohol, party registration policy and socializing with fraternity/sorority organizations that are suspended or not recognized.

A good deal of tension also stemmed from the feeling that the administration was overstepping their regulatory bounds by trying to enforce not just Bentley polices, but fraternity or sorority policies as well. Doreen Floyd, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, addressed this issue saying, “Our goal is not to regulate policy for other organizations, but to work with our students to figure out how to make sense of it all.”

While policies have created friction with the campus and the administration, many members of Greek Life believe that their presence on campus and the view of non-Greek students towards Greek Life was not favorable. “We don’t want to have Greek Life versus the rest of the campus,” said Stewart, who went on to say that while the perception of Greeks may be linked with partying, it is important to remember that they do a great deal of philanthropy as well.

Student Affairs and Witkowicki stated that Greeks on campus believe the publicity they receive is “not positive.”
“They were interested in more of a presence in publications, such as admissions brochures, spoken more positively about in campus tours, and had more positive articles written about them in The Vanguard,” wrote Witkowicki.

A survey will also be sent out to students regarding their view of Greek Life on campus. “The surveys are intended to provide a broader perspective of the strengths and challenges of the community as perceived by others,” wrote Witkowicki. In addition, a specific survey regarding perceptions of Greek Life is going to staff and faculty.

The survey is slated to go out by the end of the semester. Greek Life will also be making a presentation next semester regarding the possibility of Greek-specific housing coming to campus. In addition, the possibility of mini-grants and funding from AIA for campus-wide events was addressed as a possible way to involve the Greek community. “We are looking at increasing some of the development programming offered to fraternity and sorority members to help aid this change,” said Witkowicki.

When asked whether either of them believed that these changes will be followed through, both Stewart and Perry were hopeful that they would carry them through, but they acknowledged that there would always be tension.

Stewart stated that they are working on “a healthy balance between us pushing them, and them [the administration] pushing us. We are trying to eliminate the negative tension between Greek Life and the administration.” However, Perry went on to acknowledge that there will always be tension, saying, “The most important thing is that we work through that tension and work together.”

Witkowicki pointed out that their commitment has always been centered on helping students be successful and take responsibility for their own behavior. When asked about the feasibility about these changes and where they currently stand, Witkowicki wrote, “Almost all of the action items in the memo have already been started.”

“They are really showing that they want to work with us,” concluded Perry. “We haven’t come to final conclusions yet, but that willingness to work with us makes a big difference.”

Written by: Jezerc Begaj & Dan Merica.

Since 1992, Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) has been the organization at Bentley, according to current President Christina Beshaw, “for financial information professions: which include accountancy, finance, economics-finance majors, as well as CIS majors.”

Drawing from some of the most popular majors at Bentley, BAP has used its resources to bring a number of different speakers on campus and bridge partnerships with some of the largest firms in different financial professions.

“Beta Alpha Psi gives you the skills you need to grow as a professional,” said Beshaw. “Not only to be recruited, but develop you so that you are the best student for those roles and positions in firms.”

Over the last year, BAP has brought partners from BDO Seidman, KPMG, Grant Thorton, Ernst and Young and Boston Scientific, all providing insight from their specific areas of expertise, ranging from lectures in ethics to building your executive presence. While their events may range in topic, for many BAP members they all boil down to networking.

Though BAP uses Greek letters and is identified as a fraternity, Beshaw pointed out they are “not in Greek life.” She went on to say that BAP is a professional organization, “what sets us apart is that we are an honors organization, and firms know that.”

Because firms know that, according to Beshaw, “they come to us asking ‘can we present, can we volunteer with you, can we do this with you,’ because they know that our members are what they want for their firm.

In addition to working with organizations at the hope of future employment, BAP also participates in service activities with the same organizations. On campus, BAP members volunteer as tutors, helping GB 112 students in both one-on-one and small group sessions.

BAP, because it is an honors fraternity, screens inductees by having requirements in overall GPA and major GPA, in addition to requiring that each member is one of the following members: accounting, economics, finance, economics-finance or computer information systems.

“At one of our other big events,” said Beshaw, “we have a volleyball tournament in the fall where eight firms come in and they bring five to six professionals with them and play in the tournament.” This event acts as an informal way for students to network.

According to the Beta Alpha Psi website, there are currently 286 recognized chapters, providing a large network for Bentley BAP members to associate with.

When asked what BAP means to her, Beshaw stated that she has truly grown as a professional. “BAP really pushes you to get out there and make the effort to meet with the firms and meet other students who are interested in the industry.”

With monthly networking events and close relationships with a number of professors on campus, as well as financial support from the accounting department, Beshaw was clear that she wanted BAP to continue to grow.

“For the future,” said Beshaw, “we hope to have more events with more finance companies, strengthen the chapter, make it more cohesive, and continue being a superior chapter.”

Written by: Dan Merica

As part of a New England-wide celebration of Francophone culture, Bentley students and staff came together to welcome Professor Samba Gadjigo of Mount Holyoke College to campus on March 25. Gadjigo, an expert on the renowned Senegalese director Ousmane Sembene, screened the 1975 film Xala and captivated the crowd as he presented them on topics ranging from the history of Sembene to French colonialism.

Francophone, a term that refers to “French-speaking”, is used to describe the worldwide spread of French culture.
“Very often we send students out to become international, this is an opportunity to stay on campus and bring the international here,” said Jane Tchaicha, Chair of the Modern Language department and organizer of the event.
According to Gadjigo, Ousmane Sembene, called the father of African film, believed that an artist had the responsibility to not only entertain, but a social and political responsibility as well. “They cannot stand behind the fence as if they are not part of society or say they are writing just for themselves,” said Gadjigo.

In speaking with Tchaicha, she exuded excitement in bringing Gadjigo to campus. “He can offer a prospective about Ousmane Sembene that we can’t find anywhere.” Throughout his career studying African film and especially Sembene, Gadjigo had the opportunity to interview and interact with the late director and discuss his numerous productions.
The film Xala is the story of a Senegalese businessman who is taking his third-wife around the same time that the period of French colonial rule is ending in Senegal. After taking his third wife, the protagonist, El Hadji is struck with a xala – a curse of impotency. The movie is his quest to lift the curse, taking El Hadji on a deep look into post-colonial Senegal.

Senior Katy Hoover, a student who worked closely with Professor Tchaicha, believes that Xala “asks the question, ‘How does a country move beyond colonization?’”Hoover has participated in two short term programs with Tchaicha, one to Morocco and one to Senegal.

Hoover went on to say that she believes that Xala and the discussion with Gadjigo’s is not only beneficial for French students and students who are interested in Senegal, but for all business students as well. “This film is actually about the transformation from colonization to modernization and that is something as business students that we have to be aware of these opportunities in developing countries.”

Gadjigo evidenced through his discussion that while Sembene’s work speaks directly about Africa, it can resonate with the entire world. “He was born in Senegal, but the world was his home,” said Gadjigo.

“Although he talks about Senegal, talks about Africa, I think he also talks to all the people around the world who have been marginalized,” said Gadjigo, “whose voice has been stymied and who are in search of self-representation and self expression.”

Gadjigo also discussed his upcoming book, “The Making of a Militant Artist,” a biography and discussion of the life of Ousmane Sembene, his contribution to African film and his lasting contribution to society.

“I am very proud that Bentley can be part of the celebration,” concluded Tchaicha, “It makes us past of this international community.”

Both Tchaicha and Hoover were direct in their hopes that events like this that bring international discussion to Bentley, will continue. “Events like this continue to bring unique insight to the Bentley community,” concluded Hoover.

No smoking is permitted near buildings

Written by: Dan Merica

The Student Government Association (SGA) unanimously passed a bill on Tuesday that effectively harmonizes smoking policies at Bentley, clarifying the rule that states no smoking can occur within 25 feet of campus buildings.

While the bill does not require administrators to take the actions suggested, in this case, many of the recommendations suggested in the bill are already being worked on.

The bill simply enforces the 25 feet rule and posts signs at entrances, aligning with the Massachusetts state law prohibiting smoking within 25 feet of any public facility. The bill also reconciled the difference between the Bentley University Student Handbook and the Human Resources policies that apply to staff and faculty.

“I’m really proud of the work on this project this year because it addresses a concern among students that we know arises every year,” said President of SGA, Puja Shah.

Chris Hayes, Vice President of Student Affairs, lead the project group that looked into the discrepancies of policies. In order to sequester student input, SGA put a survey out to the Bentley community regarding their feelings in smoking on campus.

“Nearly 70 percent of the respondents to the survey that we sent out in the fall agreed or strongly agree that people smoking right outside buildings irritated them,” said Hayes.  He went on to say that 77 percent of students also believed that smoking should be prohibited 25 feet from on-campus buildings.

“This information gave us the confirmation that this is an issue that bothers people and needed addressing,” concluded Hayes.

Prior to the passage of this bill, Hayes and the SGA Senators on the Smoking Policy project group worked with facilities to move ash trays away from buildings and put ash trays in areas that a great deal of smoking occurs. Though this bill is meant to change smoking habits, Hayes was specific in pointing out that this bill is “not meant to tell people they can’t smoke on campus.”

A number of students who spoke with The Vanguard welcomed the bill passage; however, many of them questioned the effectiveness of enforcement.

“I get nervous every time I see Campus Police, expecting them to say ‘You can’t be here,’ but they never do,” said senior Miriam Friedman, “and as police offices, I think it is their job to say something.”

Senior Jon Michaud, who admitted that he is a smoker, said that the reason he smokes near buildings is out of habit.

“You can compare my smoking habit to drinking coffee,” said Michaud. “Some people in the morning get up, get a coffee and walk up to class, throwing their cup away outside a building. I smoke on the way up and just finish my cigarette outside a building.”

Both Friedman and Michaud agreed that the policy is necessary and it needs to be how enforced, however, they both do not feel that students should be written up by Campus Police for smoking within 25 feet of campus buildings. “This should not be something that people are ticketed for,” said Friedman.

Even Director of Public Safety and Chief of University Police Ernest Leffler stated at the March 31 SGA meeting that he did not desire to see Campus Police in full enforcement of the smoking policy.

In order to help ensure this policy is followed, SGA is working with University Police and Facilities to put no smoking signs at a number of entrances and exits of buildings. In addition, SGA plans to continue efforts in educating the Bentley community regarding the policy.

“This is a project that SGA will continue to work on through next year. We will be communicating the policy to all members of our campus at the beginning of each semester to remind them of the guidelines and to ask for their cooperation,” concluded Shah.

Written by: Dan Merica

This year’s Spring Day concert will feature headliner Ludacris and as opener, Jay Sean, on April 24, according to Jessica Kenerson, Campus Activities Board (CAB) advisor.

Matt Doe, Music Entertainment Committee Chair for CAB, called Ludacris possibly the most well-known entertainer to perform at Bentley. Doe went on to say that the concert is, “easily the biggest combination of artists we have ever had.”

Ludacris’ most recent CD, Battle of the Sexes, currently holds the number one spot on the Billboard Top 200 list, while his song “How Low” is number 10 on Billboard Top Radio Songs.

Up-and-coming artist Jay Sean had a number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and U.S. Billboard Pop Songs with “Down.”

Kenerson pointed out that both artists “are household names” because of the success they have experienced on the charts.

“Based on artists’ availability and our budget for the event, I think we’ve picked two artists that will appeal to the vast majority of the campus,” said Andrew Leffler, CAB President.

The announcement of two hip-hop and R&B performers breaks from the tradition of the last three Spring Day concerts in which there have been two acts, one rock group and one hip-hop and R&B performer. Last year, Spring Day featured opener Blue Sky Reality, with headliners Sugar Hill Gang and Third Eye Blind.

“You can’t please everyone, no matter who you go with, whether it be rap or rock, and there is always going to be a population of the student body that is not thrilled,” said Kenerson, who went on to commend CAB for doing a “really great job” throughout this process.

A number of rumors regarding who CAB has invited to campus surfaced over the last few weeks. “I think as it got closer to the announcement, more people started to hear about Ludacris. I honestly don’t know how, though.”
In addition to the two artists that have been confirmed to perform, Doe revealed that the Music Entertainment Committee looked at a number of different artists, including Snoop Dog and 50 Cent in the rap genre. In contrast, the leading rock band was Dropkick Murphys.

While all those interviewed were energized that Ludacris and Jay Sean will be performing, Kenerson stated that the selection of artists for this year’s event was “limited.” “This year the drop-off in artists was tremendous,” said Kenerson, “so that if we didn’t go with the Jay Sean and Ludacris combination, the drop off in an opener especially was very vast.”

After last year’s Spring Day, a survey went out to the Bentley community asking them what they thought of the performers and who they would like to see next year. “Based on last year’s survey,” said Leffler, “students indicated that they wanted a more current artist, and we believe Jay Sean is the perfect fit.”

Spring Day will be held on April 24 throughout the entire day, with the concert being held in the Dana Center at 5:00 p.m., with doors opening at 4:30 p.m.

Written by: Dan Merica

In a move to stymie vandalism and littering on campus, Student Affairs has asked a number of student groups to participate in an on-campus cleanup program each Saturday morning. The move has split the leadership of different groups, with some questioning whether asking student leaders to help is an effective, sustainable way to keep the campus clean.

“This initiative is an effort to try and get the entire community more aware of their own behavior because now students are part of the solution,” said Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Doreen Floyd.
It is that sentiment, however, that some student leaders disagree with. “As student leaders, we are committed to our roles and our organizations because we truly love what we do,” said Student Government President Puja Shah. “While it is important to give back, it is not our responsibility to clean up after our peers.”

Though Association of Bentley Activities (ABA) President Tyler Williams does think the idea is good in theory, he echoed Shah’s statement by saying, “I think we [student groups] should help in coming up with a way to curb vandalism, not be asked to be the way.”

The initiative was proposed at a March 5th meeting with representatives from Student Affairs, Resident Hall Association (RHA) and SGA. In e-mails that went out asking organizations to participate, it was made clear that attendance was not required and it would be acceptable if some members of a group wanted to attend and others didn’t.

“I don’t want any student group to feel required or pushed into doing this,” said Andrew Shepardson, Dean of Student Affairs.

RHA was the first organization to agree to the campus cleanup and brought out twenty members on Saturday, March 20. RHA President Marc Santilli stated that RHA participated because the student population “needs to start to take accountability for where we live and not rely on others to clean up after ourselves.”

Santilli pointed out that leaders are meant to set examples for the rest of the community and show that people are serious about keeping the campus clean.“If a ‘leader’ cannot set a good example for those in that person’s community,” said Santilli, “then I do not believe that person is a leader in the first place.”

President of Campus Activities Board (CAB) Andrew Leffler and Williams both pointed out to The Vanguard that while they were against the idea, at time of print their respective executive boards have not decided whether they will participate.

Williams proposed that cleanup duties like this be tasked and utilized as a judicial tool, requiring students that are caught breaking Bentley policies to clean up the campus. “It should be part of the judicial arsenal,” said Williams.

Allocation and Internal Audit Committee (AIA) Chair Elise Hanaoka does plan to participate in the campus cleanup. However, she was clear in pointing out that she believes this plan is not a way to actually solve the problem of vandalism and littering. “Whether it is student leaders cleaning up campus or Facilities,” said Hanaoka, “those who vandalize and create the messes are still being cleaned up after with no consequences or level of accountability.”

For that reason, among others, Shah notified The Vanguard after consulting the Executive Board that they “will not be participating in the weekly campus cleanup initiative.”

“I understand that when student leaders are called on by administration, it is difficult to turn away,” said Shah, “but why should we overlook an opportunity for us to come together and find a better solution?”

Many of the student leaders did feel that while this initiative is addressing a worthwhile cause, asking this of already very involved campus leaders is a practice that cannot be sustained over the long term. “What they’re asking of us is not a sustainable solution,” said Shah. “SGA stands with administration to find a better, long-term initiative.”

When asked what the future plans of this initiative are, Dean Shepardson pointed out that he hoped this plan would not have to continue if used effectively. “Hopefully the student culture will grow into one that says, ‘Let’s take care of ourselves, so that no one needs to clean up for us in the morning,’” said Shepardson.

“The more students who understand and appreciate how much work it takes to keep this campus looking beautiful,” said Shepardson, “the more they will be invested to keep this place beautiful.”

Written by: Dan Merica

On Saturday February 13, Student Government Association (SGA) hosted the second biannual Boston Inter-Collegiate Leadership Conference, a gathering that brought together student leaders from ten other schools in the area. The comprehensive agenda addressed a number of issues, including smoking policy, sustainability, budget cuts and Haiti relief efforts.

Members of Bentley SGA admitted that not being able to access the budget makes their job more difficult. President of SGA Puja Shah also pointed out that it was “ironic” how SGA was struggling to communicate with students, “considering we are trying to represent the students.” Shah called the lack of communication between SGA and the students, “our biggest barrier.”

Shah highlighted communication, both with students and the administration, as priorities on her list of areas to gain insight on. While she did say that Bentley’s SGA has a great relationship with the administration, she also pointed out that she admired the way Northeastern deals with budget planning.

“Between November and March, SGA sends out surveys asking students, ‘What are your top priorities for the budget,’” said Shah. “They then meet with their senior vice president and they go over what is important to students and ask the administration to please pay attention to this.”

Schools in attendance included Boston College, Brandeis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University and Harvard University, among others.

Though the schools in attendance varied widely, Senator Brendan Gerrity and Senator Ryan Aucoin, the two organizers of the event, both agreed that all schools had common issues to address and could learn a great deal from one another.

“We feel we can learn a lot from all the other schools,” said Gerrity. “Boston College and Boston University have different issues than we do and although they may be much larger schools, they can bring a lot of knowledge to our organization and to our students.”

Vice President Kathleen Yorkis opened the event and welcomed all those in attendance. She highlighted a few areas that she was looking forward to hearing about, including timely discussions like Haiti relief and social networking, as well as issues like smoking policies and town relations, issues that according to her “were discussed 20 years ago.”

Aucoin echoed Vice President Yorkis, stating, “A lot of the time, some of the issues we may be going through now, schools have gone through those issues in the past and because of that they can give us great advice as how to deal with the issues we are currently going through.”

Other outcomes of the event included interest in language-learning floors in different dorms, as well as the possibility of creating a new position within SGA that deals directly with sustainability.

Haiti relief was discussed at length, with President of the Association of Bentley Activities Tyler Williams representing Bentley’s Project Haiti team. Among ideas discussed were online donations, concerts for fundraising and the possibility of partnering among universities in relief efforts.

“One of our goals is to push this forward and to make sure that it [the BILC] does not die with us today,” said Aucoin. That goal was reached when, at the end of the conference, Boston College agreed to host next semester’s conference in the fall of 2010.

Aucoin went on to say that he was “very impressed” with how the conference played out and said he looked forward to attending next year.

“It is great to have leaders from all different schools come together and share their experiences,” concluded Aucoin.

Written by: Dan Merica

Published on January 15, 2010, Bentley University: A Plan for Carbon Neutrality sets Bentley on a path towards complete carbon neutrality by 2030. The plan, which solicited contributions from a large cross-section of the Bentley community, is being spearheaded by the Manager of Sustainability Amanda Navarroli and Bentley’s Sustainability Task Force.

The plan takes a three-pronged approach to physically cutting carbon emissions, first with the process known as retro-commissioning. “We have a really aging building population here on campus,” said Navarroli. By retro-commissioning these buildings, Navarroli said that Bentley will go back into the buildings to “make sure they are still behaving the way they have been intended too.”

According to the plan, “Bentley could possibly reduce fossil fuel consumption by 5 percent and use of electricity by 3 percent” by retro-commissioning our on-campus buildings.

Bentley will also continue to participate with heat recovery and ventilation controls through upgrades that are already in progress and will continue. According to Navarroli, the benefits from these upgrades will be seen in 2012 and onwards.

Concerns have been expressed over some of the heating practices used in the past, with students crying foul at the practice of regulating heat and air based on the outside temperature and the time of day.

“I guess it’s an effective way to go green,” said senior Nicole Crupi. “But I still don’t think they should just because I am cold all the time.”

When asked whether there will be any controls of heat and air to on-campus housing under this plan, Navarroli stated, “Absolutely not. The technologies that we are trying to put into our buildings now are supposed to make students more comfortable. That’s the goal.”

“It’s unfortunate that students really feel like this is going to be something that is done at the expense of their comfort…” said Navarroli, stressing the importance for her and her coworkers to remember that “students live here, they don’t just work here.”

In addition, Bentley plans to purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs), investments that allow an entity like Bentley to pay a higher premium per kilowatt of energy, while at the same time investing in the renewable energy market of the United States.

It is assumed that with increased investment, over time the prevalence of renewable energy sources will rise, forcing the price of energy to go down.

While a great deal of effort and attention is being given to making Bentley carbon neutral, when compared to other colleges and universities in the area, Bentley produces lower emissions.

In the 2007-2008 academic year, the total net emissions of green house gases at Bentley were 21,944 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, a number that breaks down to 4.4 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per full-time student. This compares favorably to other schools in the area, with Brandeis University producing 7.6 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, and Babson College producing 5.6 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.

The carbon neutrality plan came after Bentley’s President Gloria Larson signed the President Climate Commitment in 2007, an agreement between 668 signatory colleges and universities that mandates attention to carbon emissions.
The commitment asks college presidents to “initiate the development of a comprehensive plan to achieve climate neutrality as soon as possible,” a task that Bentley completed with the completion of the January 15, 2010 plan.

According t the plan, the mission is “to raise the environmental consciousness of the Bentley University faculty, staff and students by instilling sustainability principles into campus culture through educational activities that take place outside of the formal classroom.”

The goal laden plan provides missions and targets for certain types of programming to create awareness and educate the Bentley population, as well as to stress sustainability in offices from Service Learning to Career Services.

While the plan holds Bentley to a high standard in terms of its plans for future carbon neutrality, Navarroli was clear in stating that this plan is a “living” document with the ability to be changed and updated over time.

“I think it is very important for people to remember that this is just a list of ideas,” said Navarroli. “It’s really important to remember that there are some things that may not be feasible. They are great ideas and we have definitely tried to put stress tests on them to make sure they are reasonable, but we may learn they aren’t feasible and that is why we can change them at any time,” she continued.

This plan makes it clear that Bentley, with the help of Navarroli and the Sustainability Task Force, is serious about carbon neutrality by 2030. In saying that, Navarroli concluded by stressing how important including the entire community was.

“Encouraging Students, Faculty and Staff to become engaged in solving environmental issues on campus is imperative” reads the plan, “…and will ensure that Bentley’s sustainability efforts are not simply the actions of a small group of administrators but the accomplishments of the entire community.”

Written by: Dan Merica

Members of  Bentley’s recognized fraternities distributed a poster at the recent Activities Fair stating that Kappa Sigma, a local unrecognized fraternity, was not recognized by Bentley. The flyer has caused a fight within the Greek Life community.

The white poster reads at the center that “Kappa Sigma is NOT a real fraternity at Bentley,” followed by, “They never have been,” near the bottom. The poster was approved by the office of Student Life on January 22, bearing the Bentley approved stamp, provided by a work study student in the office, as most posters are approved in this manner.

“Obviously it’s slanderous and it’s negative and I wanted to bring it to the administration’s attention so [those who made it] are held accountable for it,” said Brian Bovino, grand master of Kappa Sigma’s Waltham Chapter.

“I speak for all unrecognized organizations when I say that I don’t think we should be subject to negative flyers on campus. It’s not like we are out to get other organizations,” said Bovino.

Christina Witkowicki, director of Greek Life at Bentley, declined to comment over the situation.

The Activities Far during Spring semester is a major part of Greek recruitment for the recognized Greek organizations, as Rush events are occurring around the time of the fair and Spring pledge classes are the life-blood of Greek Life. Kappa Sigma, being unrecognized, could not host a table at the Fair.

Jeff Salveson, president of Alpha Gamma Pi (AGP), and Daniel Boyer, president of Intra-Fraternal Council (IFC), both claimed to have very little knowledge of the flyer, though Salveson did say, “It was made just to see if it could be made, if it could get approved and Bentley approved it so people have it just in case they want to use it.”

Salveson did state that he personally believed “it isn’t necessary to use it for any event that I could think of. However, if Kappa Sigma did decide to claim they were an on-campus fraternity and recruited as such, that might be a different story.”

Bovino said he was flattered when he heard about the flyers, stating, “They are entitled to their own opinion. If they need to make flyers bashing our organization, then we are clearly doing something right. That’s how I look at it.”

“Kappa Sigma doesn’t make any efforts that I can see to try to provide anything good to the Bentley community,” said Salevson, who went on to say, “What I mean by that is they don’t try to organize any certain events. They don’t try to do anything like that.”

Both Salveson and Boyer also expressed apathy towards Kappa Sigma. “My own fraternity is my own concern and my duty to fulfill for IFC is my concern,” said Boyer. “So for now if Kappa Sigma is something out of control, which it is, I have other things to worry about,” he continued. Salveson echoed Boyer, stating, “I don’t have a problem with them because to be honest I don’t have any contact with them whatsoever.”

Kappa Sigma colonized Waltham in 2008 when Bovino, Antony Khalife and Michael Martin were disenchanted with Greek options at Bentley. “We had seen what the other fraternities had to offer and we weren’t very impressed,” said Bovino. Bovino went on to say that what they wanted was more of a focus on community service and fundraising.
Bovino told The Vanguard that Kappa Sigma currently has 30 brothers but is hoping to raise that number to 50 this semester. They have created ties with the Waltham Public Works and Police Departments.

In addition, Kappa Sigma held their first annual golf charity outing last year and is slated to hold the second event on May 2. All funds raised from that event will go to aid military veterans.

When asked whether he believes that Kappa Sigma is drawing potential rushes from recognized Greek Life on campus, Salveson stated, “They may draw from people who are interested as a whole, but from an AGP standpoint, I don’t think they take any of our potential rushes away from us.”

According to Bovino, Kappa Sigma did attempt to become recognized by Bentley when they were first interested in founding a chapter of Kappa Sigma. Bovino claims that when he contacted the administration about colonizing, they were told to wait, but the administration “never got back to us.”

The organization colonized without recognition from Bentley and tried to acquire recognition on campus, but Bovino said, “The school wasn’t crazy about it and the other organizations weren’t crazy about it.”

As for the future of Kappa Sigma, Bovino realizes how recognition could help, namely in promoting and holding events on campus. At the same time, however, “As an organization right now, we are running great as an unrecognized fraternity, and I have nothing to complain about.”

 “[All orgs] all started somewhere, they had founding fathers, and those founding fathers didn’t like what was offered so they started something new,” concluded Bovino. “And that is exactly what we did.”

Written by: Dan Merica

With Valentine’s Day lingering only a few short days away, many young men and women on campus are evaluating where they stand with one another, skating the line between two people who are “hooking up” and two people who are dating.

With almost total unanimity, eight students, one male and one female from each grade, stated that hooking up is generally more common that dating at Bentley.

The Women’s Center Executive Board exemplified this sentiment by saying, “We think dating first is less frequent today; the opportunity to date is less available for people our age and on our campus especially.”

Though nearly all the students questioned said that hooking up was favored over dating, many students struggled with why a culture of hooking up is taking root.

For one female senior, the culture exists because guys don’t have to go through the dating process to get what they want. “Guys can get with a girl without having to wine and dine her, and if they can get what they want without taking her out to dinner, why are they going to?” the student said.

A male sophomore agreed with this, stating, “There is no courtship or foreplay in any respect when it comes to hooking up.”

With that type of courtship generally void, most students agreed that the majority of hook ups originate at parties and under the influence of alcohol.

In the statement from the Women’s Center, all the members agreed that alcohol plays a large role in the hooking up culture. “We identify alcohol as a ‘social lubricant.’ It seems that alcohol often enhances one’s confidence and acts as an enabler,” they said. 

The Women’s Center went on to point out that many people use alcohol as a justification for any action they made in the past. “It gives them a sense of removal and allows them to say, ‘I was drunk so it didn’t count,’” concluded the Women’s Center E-Board.

While Bentley may be a culture more grounded in hooking up, there was little to no unanimity in how hooking up is defined from person to person.

When The Vanguard sampled sixty random students in an unscientific study and asked them, “How do you define hooking up?” the responses varied from “just making out,” to “anything between making out and sex,” to “just sex.”
Though the definitions of hooking up may vary, according to a 2006 National Collegiate Health survey, a majority of Bentley students are either opting to not have sex or are monogamous.

According to the results, 63.8 percent of student responded to only having one or no sex partners in the last school year. While the number of people who had no sexual partners in the last year between men and women was comparable, 25.8 and 27.7 percent respectively, the numbers for one sexual partner in the last year show that women are more monogamous than men. According to the survey, 29.4 percent of male had only one partner in the last school year, compared to 47.7 percent of women.

In 2008, a survey of students from all over the United States by the National Collegiate Health Assessment found that a larger number, 75.8 percent of students, reported having 1 or 0 sexual partners in the last 12 months. The sample size for this survey was 26,000 students.

Those questioned who were dating someone, whether on campus or off, did say that sometimes, keeping a relationship can be difficult. One female sophomore described that occasionally parities attempt to broadcast your relationship status to all those in attendance.

“Yes, it is often more difficult to get into certain parties when you are dating someone and people know it,” said a sophomore female as she was describing a stop light party she attended. At the party, you wore red if you were dating someone, yellow if it was complicated and green if you were single.

“In my situation my boyfriend would have been uncomfortable if I wore anything but red,” said the female. She also stated that occasionally guys take her relationship status lightly, something that was confirmed by a male junior.

“It’s a challenge,” said the male. “It’s fun, it’s interesting to see how she reacts to certain things. It’s intriguing,” He continued. A male senior stated that sometimes he looks at boyfriends as just “minor obstacles,” and a male freshman said that he has broken up two relationships in the last three years.

All these opinions clearly point to some subjectivity in the hook up culture at Bentley, Mixed in with all these opinions are clear-cut emotions on the situation, ranging from acceptance to disgust.

While a male sophomore said, “It gets me down. I am sick of all that stuff,” a male junior said that he accepted the hook up culture, saying, “I don’t feel there is a need to have girlfriends and boyfriends on campus.”

Female explanations had just as many emotions, with one female senior saying it would be nice to have a boyfriend that she connected with on campus, and a female sophomore expressing disdain for some males by saying, “Their main priority is not going to be that I want to talk to this girl because she is a cool girl that I want to get to know. Their main priority is to get laid that night or as far as they can go.”

With hooking up becoming more and more common on college campuses around the United States, many believe that social norms will continue to change, causing students to redefine what it means to be in a relationship with one another.

Written by: Dan Merica

The Campus Activity Board’s (CAB) spring semester comedy show will feature Judah Friedlander, who plays writer Frank Rossitano on NBC’s hit comedy 30 Rock. According to CAB Comedy Chair Kevin Penley, Friedlander’s comedy act, entitled “Judah Friedlander is the World Champion,” will be the headliner of the February 18 act.

“Judah is a familiar face and his name, because of 30 Rock, will be familiar with people,” said Penley. He went on to say that, personally, he is “really excited” about Judah’s show.

Friedlander has been featured in over twenty movies, including Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Wet Hot American Summer and American Splendor. He has also received acclaim for his roles on VH1’s Best Week Ever and HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.

“In the past we have found the people on TV shows go over well with Bentley, and I expect it to be pretty full,” said Penley.

The 40-year-old Friedlander has been pursuing standup for 18-years, and according to Punchline Magazine, he “effectively works the crowd with his laugh-out-loud-worthy retorts.” Friedlander recently announced that he plans to release his first comedy album in 2010.

According to his biography, Friedlander is “a great athlete, gets tons of chicks & is a role model to children. And he’s better than you at everything.”

CAB will also be promoting this comedy show under the guidelines of the new Green Initiative that the organization is taking up. “We won’t actually be using professional posters for this event,” said Penley. “We will be using Facebook, Twitter and also A-Frame boards around campus,“ he finished.

Aside from his work in front of the camera, Friedlander is recognized by his witty, homemade trucker hats. He makes up all the sayings on the hats, which are sold on his website and include phrases like, “Champion of the World,” “World Runner-Up,” and “Regional Semifinalist.”

In addition to hats on his website, Friedlander sells a spaceship for $10,000,000 that will, “make you cool and popular,” as well as a Judah-Bot, “a full life-size robot of Judah… Great for lying around the house and doing nothing” for $1,000,000. Friedlander also sells a nude picture of himself for $500; however, the website states, “SOLD OUT! Sorry ladies.”

During the interview, Penley spent some time looking around Judah’s website and laughed-out-loud when he saw some of the goods he was selling. “I would imagine that anything he does in his life has some humor in it,” said Penley.

Friedlander is the second NBC comedy writer to come to Bentley in the last three comedy shows.  Past shows have included Patton Oswalt in the fall of 2009, B.J. Novak, a writer for NBC’s The Office, in the spring of 2009,  and Stephen Lynch in the fall of 2008.

The show will be held in Koumantzelis Auditorium on Thursday, February 18. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show will start at 7:30 PM. Admission is free with a Bentley ID and five dollars without a Bentley ID.

Written by: Dan Merica

Two women have been charged in the stabbing of Bentley student, senior Rafael Pena, in the upper chest early Wednesday morning inside Fenway Hall.

Breanne Fraser, 21, of Cranston, RI, and Sarah Monta, 19, of Danvers, MA, plead not guilty to assault and battery with a deadly weapon, along with one count of armed robbery yesterday afternoon in Waltham District Court. Fraser and Monta were arrested by University police after the 3 a.m. incident.

Both suspects will be held without bail until Wednesday, February 10, when a “dangerousness” hearing will be held in the Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn, MA. Fraser and Monta hung their heads in court, covering their faces from the cameras of news and print media.

Pena has been released from the hospital and is in stable condition despite receiving what authorities called a “deep stab wound.”

According to the official Bentley University arrest report, at approximately 3:25 a.m. on February 3, police officers were dispatched to Fenway after receiving a report of a male stabbed by 2 females following an argument. One officer was posted in the Farm Lot at a car with a Rhode Island license plate. This was believed to be the suspect’s car.

Another officer responded to Fenway, where Pena was found in the lobby with a deep stab wound to his upper right chest, along with blood on both his shirt and hands.

Another officer at this time observed two girls walking on Beaver Street towards the Farm Lot. After much resistance, the two girls were then handcuffed and put into separate police vehicles. No weapons were found on either suspect.
Neither Fraser nor Monta are Bentley students. According to Lieutenant Bill Williams of the University Police Department, “the people who were taken into custody knew the person who was stabbed.”

According to the arrest report, Fraser stated that money for sex was involved in the dispute. She stated that Mr. Pena had said, “I guess I’m not going to have sex, so how about a blow job for $50 dollars,” to which both women said no.

The arrest report also stated that the evidence found in the women’s purse and pockets consisted of two different types of perfume and lotion, lipstick, Chap Stick, lip gloss, birth control, nine condoms, and lubricant jelly, among other items.

Both women accused in the February 3 dispute also have a court date in Boston Municipal Court, where they were involved in an another altercation with a man living in a Boylston apartment. According to Jake Whark, spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the altercation stemmed from a disagreement regarding sex for money.

“Monta and Fraser came to the door and stated that it would be 200 dollars for one girl and 300 dollars for two girls,” said Whark. He went on to say that “the officers took the women into custody, and during the booking process found 300 dollars in the same denominations as the money the man involved said he had given to the women.” According to the police report, the women were “uncooperative and hostile” to the January 6 responding officers.

It was the prior incident coupled with the Bentley stabbing that forced the Middlesex District Attorney’s office into labeling the pair a danger to society and ask for the denial of bail.

When asked whether he could confirm if these women were prostitutes, Williams stated that he has no knowledge of that, but stated that “I would not be surprised that they were involved with something like that.”

Students were notified of the stabbing via an e-mail at 7:16 Wednesday morning from Dean of Student Affairs Andrew Shepardson. “We will share more information with the community as it becomes available,” read the e-mail.

“However, I do want the community to know that the situation is being addressed,” the e-mail also stated.
As the story was breaking this morning, students told The Vanguard that they were concerned with the lack of information they were getting.

“We all wish we knew more,” said senior Katie Brodrick. “Right now everyone is watching the news, and the news knows more than the students,” she added.

Sophomore Bree Johnson echoed Brodrick’s concerns by saying, “We have enough information as far as not having to be worried about the rest of our community, but would like to hear more.” Johnson went on to say that what she wants is an explanation, stating, “I would like someone to let me know how two girls with a knife got into Fenway… I would like to know how this happened.”

To quell students’ fears, Dean Shepardson sent out another campus-wide e-mail at 5:15 p.m., outlining a number of tips from the University Police Safety and Security Report, as well as recommendations for what to do “while you are out and about.”

“Thank you all for looking out for each other,” read the e-mail. “We all need to be a part of the solution in keeping our campus safe,” it stated.

Doreen Floyd, assistant dean of Student Affairs, recognized the growing concern among students, stating, “We want to make sure that students feel safe on this campus, because they should.” At the same time, though, she recognized the reality of the situation.

“At Bentley this thing is not typical,” said Floyd, adding “but we all walk around with the perception that this is a very safe campus, and it is in large part, but I think we live in greater society and things can happen.”
Jon McColgan and Rebecca Langweber contributed to this report.

Written by: Dan Merica

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, girls and guys all over campus are trying to define their physical relationships with one another in the hopes of having an enjoyable Valentine’s Day, and perhaps night.

According to Jen Casavant, assistant director of Residence Life, these physical relationships, many of which are defined as “hooking up.”

Even with the possibility of hooking up on the rise, it is the definition of “hooking up” that not only leaves participating students miffed, but also causes staff to pause in an effort to find the right words to describe the phenomenon. Dr. Brenda Hawks, associate director of Counseling and Student Development here at Bentley, says that in the counseling office, “We let the client define what it is.”

Dr. Hawks goes on to explain that each student exhibits his or her own definition of what hooking up is. “I think it really is an umbrella term now for this generation, but it is anything sexual that happens,” said Dr. Hawks.

Casavant agreed with Dr. Hawks, saying that she believed it was “any sort of sexual activity that is not within the context of a committed relationship.”

While the definition of hooking up may differ from person to person, there is some unanimity in the agreement that hooking up can leave the participants at a disadvantage, both now and once they leave Bentley.

“As a therapist, what I see a lot are people who are lonely,” said Dr. Hawks. “There are a lot of lonely people here at Bentley.” Dr. Hawks went on to say that at Bentley a student is lucky if he or she has two or three emotionally intimate friends, “who really know the intimate stuff in his or her life… In some ways that is what a romantic, intimate relationship can give people.”

What comes with that lack of emotional intimacy, according to Dr. Hawks, is an inability to accept yourself as well as partners in relationships.

“The most important thing about being intimate is being able to accept the range of humanity in yourself and in another person,” said Dr. Hawks. “I think especially at Bentley we have this push to be perfect… but inside we all are a little chaotic. What an intimate relationship gives people is just an incredible acceptance of themselves and of the other person. That is what people are missing,” she concluded.

Students look to fill the void that comes with a lack of emotional intimacy, something that Casavant believes can be detrimental in the long run.

“If you don’t have this stable, emotional relationship with someone to rely on, you are constantly replacing it with the physical…” said Casavant, which she believes can eventually create a “sense of anonymity amongst people.”

“If that is all we are seeing one another to be good for, if I am meeting men and all I see is a potential hookup and that is it, what does that do to my sense of self worth?” Casavant pointed out.

When attempting to fill that void with continual emotionless, physical relationships, both Hawks and Casavant pointed to the fact that students will occasionally turn to substances like drugs and alcohol.

Substances also play a large role in whether a hookup occurs at all. Dr. Hawks supports this by stating, “I bet you that most people don’t hook up unless they have been drinking…  and if you have only met people and had intimacy when you are drunk and hooking up, how do you go about dating?”

Bentley students are not the only group of college-aged kids that are participating in the hookup culture. According to a recent Stanford University study, 75 percent of college students have had one hookup by senior year, and the average number of hookup relationships per person over their time in college is 6.9, as opposed to 4.4 traditional dating relationships.

“A long time ago you had a relationship with someone and it could lead to sex,” said Dr. Hawks. “Now you have sex and it could lead to a relationship,” she finished.

The idea behind hooking up, a physical relationship before an emotional relationship, is nothing new, with the “free love” era of the 1960’s and 70’s as evidence of that. However, what may have changed is the way that hooking up effects the development of students.

“I think it hurts males and females differently,” Dr. Hawks said, stating that at this time in development, men are grappling with being comfortable in an emotionally intimate relationship, while women in college are dealing with “autonomy, feeling independent, and owning their strength and power.” This can lead to development issues because, according to Dr. Hawks, “There is a disconnect between what they need and what hooking up gives them.”

This disconnect not only applies to heterosexual couples.“In gay relationships, often the same could be true… they may feel they got what they wanted but not what they needed,” Dr. Hawks explained.

Both Dr. Hawks and Casavant agreed that some cases of hooking up do work and both parties involved get what they need. However, they question the reasons for hooking up as opposed to dating.

“For some people, hooking up works fine,” said Casavant. “But for the vast majority, they convince themselves it’s what they want and that it’s OK. But is it really or are you just doing it because that’s the culture?” she concluded.

“A culture of hooking up has the propensity to be dangerous emotionally, but you can’t make a blanket statement because everyone is different,” said Dr. Hawks. “But when I think about what is necessary to be a full, happy human being, hooking up really doesn’t provide you opportunities to do that,” she finished.

See next week’s edition for Part Two of our Valentine’s Day feature: Intimacy in the Hook Up Era: Students.

Written by:  Dan Merica

Results to a December 9, 2009 Student Government Association (SGA) survey regarding smoking polices at Bentley showed that 68.1 percent of students get irritated “when people smoke right outside entrances to buildings or in busy areas on campus.” This number is up from 51.3 percent of students in 2006 who “admitted to being strongly irritated to people smoking on campus.”

Currently Bentley has one smoking policy for students and a different policy for faculty and staff. While smoking is banned inside campus buildings for anyone on campus, the discrepancies arise in the policies for smoking outdoors.

According to the Student Handbook, which students are required to abide by, “smoking is permitted outside on campus grounds.” The Human Resource Handbook stipulates that, “Smoking is also prohibited within 25 feet of entranceways to buildings.” SGA hopes to remedy these discrepancies by changing the Student Handbook policy to no smoking within 25 feet  by the next academic year.

“The 25-foot policy already exists. We are looking to make it more consistent for the entire community…” said SGA President Puja Shah. “It’s not the same and that’s the issue.”

Results of the survery reported that a majority of Bentley students,  58 percent, agree  that the 25-foot policy should be extended to all buildings on campus. The survey results were analyzed by a SGA project group, started last semester and headed by SGA Vice President of Student Affairs Chris Hayes, to look into recommendations on Bentley’s smoking policy.

“Smoking has always been an issue on campus… and it does come up every single year in Student Government… “ said Shah. “We decided this year we were going to dedicate some serious time to this and kind of hit this on the head and take care of what we need to.”

A number of issues have arisen by the prospect of extending the 25-foot rule to students as well as faculty and staff. One issue was the prospect, due to the tight proximity of academic buildings, of students being unable to conveniently smoke between classes.

“If you actually took a campus map and drew 25 feet around each building, you are going to run into issues because the campus is already so small and condensed,” said Shah. Hayes echoed Shah’s comments, saying that SGA will work with facilities to find areas where the 25-foot rule should apply and where it wouldn’t work. “That is something that we have to look out for,” said Hayes.

The issue of enforcement is also a concern, with SGA’s minutes from November 3, 2009, simply stating, “Chief Leffler does not have the resources to enforce a new policy with his staff.” Shah went on to address that concern by agreeing that, “It doesn’t make sense to hire 5 new officers to patrol smoking on campus.”

The current policy at Bentley is one of self-enforcement, a policy that SGA admits isn’t working but will continue to be the only viable option for enforcing smoking rules. Shah and Hayes did point out  that in addition to changing Bentley policy, SGA will be supporting smoking cessation and educational campaigns to create awareness among the Bentley population.

“We have talked about self-enforcement and we understand that is not working right now,” said Shah. “We are hoping the RA staff around the residential buildings will help, we are hoping the campaign policy will help, we are hoping that the educational campaign will help.”

Hayes stated that he is confident  students will, “have a more active part in enforcement,” with the awareness campaigns that are forthcoming creating interest in helping stop the issue, much like how the Bentley community responded to vandalism in 2008 and 2009.

When the idea of completely banning smoking from campus was floated at two SGA meetings as a way to deal with smoking issues, however, a number of concerns were raised. Namely, SGA was concerned that with Bentley being such a highly residential population, banning smoking would be effectively asking certain students to stop cold turkey.

In a December 8th, 2009 meeting, SGA minutes state that, “365 colleges/universities have banned indoor and outdoor smoking over the past few years in an effort to model health behavior.” 

When asked if there is any possibility of SGA recommending a complete ban on smoking at Bentley, Shah emphatically stated, “No… 95 percent of our campus is residential students. It would be absolutely absurd for us to ban smoking on campus.”

SGA made it clear that nothing is set in stone as of yet and that there will be continual checks to see how the campus is responding to certain changes and what could be done to make the initiative more effective.

“We are going to have future meetings to check in and see how we are progressing,” concluded Hayes. “It is definitely a working process.”

Written by: Dan Merica

YouTube traffic currently makes up 70 percent of Bentley’s 200 Mb bandwidth usages and is bringing the Bentley network to a crawl according to an e-mail to the Bentley community from Vice President of Information Technology for Student Government (SGA) Chris Dukich. A solution to the problem has proven particularly difficult to find.

“If everyone was listening to streaming music and moved from audio stream to video streaming it would be the equivalent of increasing the student body from 4,000 to 40,000 from a network bandwidth perspective,” said Jonathan Everett, director of IT Client Services.

The trend of YouTube usage skyrocketed in the last two years due to Napster’s music service being withdrawn from Bentley computers in the summer of 2008.

SGA’s public meeting minutes, available on their website, show the actions that SGA took to investigate different avenues to provide music to students once Napster was no longer viable. On SGA’s September 23, 2008 minutes, then Vice President of Information Technology, Eric Ginthwain, reported that, “We are looking to implement a new program by the end of October [2008].”

In October of 2008, Doreen Floyd, assistant dean of Student Affairs and advisor to SGA, showed disconnect with SGA, stating to The Vanguard that, “We are under the assumption that nothing will be done until next year.”

“I think stuff changed that we were just unaware of,” recently said Floyd. “When we said that we would get a service next semester or by the beginning of this year, we were just operating under the assumption that there were plenty of services available and all we had to do is pick one.”

This assumption proved to be wrong, with almost all music providers cutting college and university programs, making it, as Dukich put it, “just out of the question,” to pay the new fee.

In an e-mail to The Vanguard, Everett stated that, “A music service is not part of Bentley’s academic mission.  Bentley has never funded a music service on campus,” pointing to the fact that a grant and the SAF were used to pay for the service. Everett went on to say, “The administration has assisted with implementation of music services, but has never directly funded the effort.”

According to Floyd, the Napster program cost Bentley 55,000 dollars per year for 3,800 subscriptions, though it was first funded by a grant in 2006-2007, and with the Student Activity fee in 2007-2008.

Without a college or university program, Dukich stated, “those costs went up about exponentially.” According to Dukich, the cost of supplying 4,000 students with Rhapsody would cost 623,520 dollars plus tax per year.

On December 2, 2008, SGA minutes reported a survey regarding music options on campus which had 833 student responses, with the most common request being a large music selection with few advertisements. “After this, the project will be handed off to administration to continue the process and implementation,” reads the SGA minutes. Later the minutes state, “Bill passed unanimously after a vote.”

“I think that what SGA did was they recommended a service without having a lot of back up information,” said Floyd, “so at that time they discovered, ‘oh, there is no college or university program,’ so the way we were able to offer Napster to students… that just wasn’t available.”

“What happened is that even after the survey was sent and after we passed the bill, we couldn’t find a program that could come onto campus,” said SGA President Puja Shah, “It’s not that the administration said no, it wasn’t that there was no budget, it was that there was simply not the service.”

“I think it goes back to the students,” concluded Floyd, “student government is the vehicle to try and push agenda items forward, so if students are saying that we want a service they should help us to find something that is available, they should request that… SGA is a representative organization.”

SGA believes that the best way to fix this issue with bandwidth and address the need to provide students with an option for legal music enjoyment is to encourage students to use other music streaming sites and not YouTube.

Imeem, Last FM and Grooveshark were all suggested, free ways for students to access music. However, according to Puja Shah, “Grooveshark is the one we have found that is by far the best. To be completely honest… it is better than Napster.” She later said, “We recommend Grooveshark. SGA approved.”

Dukich agreed with Shah, but also implied that students may be unhappy with this due to the previous student trend of abusing Napster music downloads.

In speaking about the downfalls on programs like Grooveshark, Dukich stated, “The only reason why I could see… that people are doing is taking the licensing music and stripping that license off it and using that music for their iPod… that is something Bentley can’t support.”

This all became necessary with the discontinuation of the Napster service, which was at a discounted rate because of their college and university program.

According to Napster, the reason for discontinuing the program was because “this program is not a focus of Napster’s core strategy nor is it a significant source of revenue for the company… we are not actively pursuing new university customers and likely will not renew existing agreements.”

Multiple sources confirmed the reason why another downloadable music program has not been provided for students are because there are currently no viable, affordable options in the market.

“It’s a very simple issue,” said Dukich, “that college program was cut across the board… I am all for Napster, it’s just that those college discount programs were what made it affordable for institutions across the country.”

Even though with no viable option comparable to a downloadable music service like Napster being recommended by SGA, their work continues.

“I meet with a lot of people on a regular basis and I have a good handle on what is going on behind the scenes,” said Dukich.  He went on to promise that this work will continue.

Written by: Dan Merica

The Bentley University Fed Challenge team placed second in a highly competitive field last month, an accomplishment that team advisor and Economics professor Aaron Jackson calls, “Absolutely a success.”

The competition was arranged into four brackets, with five teams competing for a place in the final round. Bentley placed first in their first round bracket, defeating Framingham State, Quinnipiac University, Clark College and Middlebury College.

In the final round, Bentley faced off against Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Dartmouth College. Bentley finished as the first runner-up in their second round group, behind only Harvard, the defending/perennial champions.

All of the 20 schools who participated in the competition are asked to make a policy recommendation to the Boston Federal Reserve Bank. The Bentley team recommended that Boston Fed keeps, “rates low for an extend period of time,” said Jackson.

“In terms of the competition itself, almost all other teams had the same policy recommendation,” said Jackson, “so the winning aspect is more the presentation and how you put all the elements together.”

Team member and senior Austin Smith called their final presentation, “the best that we could do,” saying, “We finally nailed it. It was a great feeling because out first presentation wasn’t perfect and I would have been upset if it ended there.”

Laura Jackson, team member and senior, agreed with Smith, stating, “In the final round of the competition we performed better than we ever had before and I was more than happy with how it all came to an end.”

Bentley had competed in this event for three straight years with mixed results. The change that was made to this year’s team was that what was once solely an extracurricular activity was now made into a class, allowing student’s time to prepare their presentation as they would for any other class.

“The class really allowed the team to hone their skills and gave them the time to really prepare and rehearse their presentation,” said Professor Jackson.

The team members agreed that the class brought the team together, allowing them to develop a synergy with one another. “The competitive nature of those in the class really motivated people to work hard,” said Smith.

“The structure of the class gave us the perfect platform on which we could discuss the state of the economy in a way different than the normal classroom lecture that we are used to,” said Laura Jackson.

Though all participants were happy about their success, losing to Harvard was a tough pill to swallow. When t-shirts were made at the start of the semester, the back simply stated that the team’s first goal was simply to, “Beat Harvard.”

Senior Yiyi Xia joked that, “beating Harvard would have been nice, but we’ve got to leave something for the next year’s team to do.”

Professor Jackson knew the goal to beat Harvard was lofty, but doable. “Harvard, I hate to say it, they are almost unbeatable. I watched their presentation last year and it was basically flawless.” He did point out that many spectators in attendance said that Bentley and Harvard were neck and neck.

The Fed Challenge class is planned to be offered next year and will solicit applications from interested students late in the spring semester.

“The class is there to support what monetary policy is,” said Jackson “They really get a lot out of it in terms of knowledge of current policy and understanding how monetary policy is formed and implemented.”

This year’s team members were J. Kingsley Greenland, Laura Jackson, Austin Smith, Jane Mei, Jeanette McKenna, Rohith Lokareddy and Yiyi Xia. Team advisors were Aaron Jackson and David Gulley.

While congratulating and lauding the 2009 Fed Challenge team, Professor Jackson kept an eye on next year.
“There is always next year and that is what we are going to be shooting for next year is to make it to Washington DC,” concluded Professor Jackson.

Written by: Dan Merica

Strict enforcement of Greek Life policies at Bentley over the past year has caused a rift between the Greek organizations and the administration, with Bentley attributing the crackdown to insurance requirements, national Greek regulations, and the poor behavior of Greek organizations.

“It’s the perception that the chapters have that Bentley is cracking down on them,” said Director of Greek Life Christina Witkowicki, “Really, it is, ‘you guys haven’t been living by your values or policies for a long time and you have just been allowed to exist however you want.’ That is not going to fly anymore.”
“Our organizations, if you ask them, will say they are social organizations, so they are going to drink,” said Witkowicki, “That is fine but I don’t know when social became synonymous with alcohol… Unfortunately the culture of our organizations has been in the past that it is completely social, and social was defined, Thursday, Friday, Saturday night, sometimes Tuesdays.”

In an e-mail to The Vanguard, Frank Reiman, president of the fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon removed from campus for alcohol-related infractions deemed punishable by the administration, questions whether punishment is equitable between all Greek organizations. “All Greek organizations still throw parties and have gotten caught. It is funny how some receive penalty, while others incidents are swiftly swept under the table,” said Reiman.

Reiman also suggested a lack of coherence in changes to Greek Life, stating “There are no set followed guidelines for running Greek Life and it seems that a new rule is made each day at the convenience of the Greek [Life] advisor.”

According to Witkowicki, the fraternity and sorority policies are dictated by their national organizations or their insurance provider. Occasionally you have competing policies between the University, the insurance provider and the national organization; however, “the decision comes down to the strictest policy,” said Witkowicki.

A majority of Greek Life policies come from a single Greek Life insurer, Fraternal Information and Programming Group (FIPG). “Each of the national organizations is part of FIPG,” said Witkowicki. The organization outlines, in a ninety-seven page risk management document, policies that all fraternities and sororities can sign on to.
Leaders of Bentley’s fraternities and sororities have not been very receptive to the strict enforcement of late, commenting openly to The Vanguard about their contention. President of Alpha Gamma Pi (AGP), Bill Connolly acknowledged this bluntly by saying, “They want us to be completely regulated by the school.”
“I think ultimately Bentley does not want Greek Life on this campus, whatsoever,” Connolly continued. “There is a lot of emphasis on the negative aspects of Greek Life… When negative situations come out, the administration runs with them and they do everything in their power to make sure the organization is held responsible.”

One major change in enforcement is that on-campus housing with fraternity or sorority members living in them are no longer allowed to register a Bentley party, which involves a formal process with Residence Life and allows students to have a single open source of beer, along with other strict policies.
According to Witkowicki, the reason for this, “is that there are no common sources of alcohol allowed under FIPG.”

“As a Bentley student, can they [fraternity and sorority members] register party on campus? Totally,” said Witkowicki, “However, as members of their organization which is totally voluntary, they sign up to follow their national or insurance policies.”

For local organizations who are not governed by any national organization, it is to the insurance and risk management plan that they answer. According to Witkowicki, “Fraternities and sororities are one of the most uninsurable organizations in the world,” with even more difficulty in insuring a local fraternity.

Local fraternities are so difficult to insure, said Witkowicki, because, “they have little to no adult supervision, any sort of oversight, no leadership development opportunities, they just don’t provide what a national organization provides overall.”

Bentley told Connolly and AGP that the only insurance provider that would insure them was HRH Kirkland & Co. According to Connolly, “doing my own research, that isn’t true, there are other insurance companies that will insure us at 60 percent of the cost… I don’t believe Bentley is being very honest to us about this situation, they are really working against us.”

Lauren Westling, president of Alpha Phi, reiterated complaints about the strict enforcement, saying “They [the administration] are watching us very closely and sometimes I feel that if an organization makes one false move they could be put on the chopping block and gone.”

With fraternities Tau Kappa Epsilon being kicked off campus and Sigma Gamma Delta currently serving a one year suspension for alcohol violations, administrators have begun to enforce long standing Greek life policies that had previously gone unenforced for years.

“[Witkowicki] brought up policies that Bentley Greeks were previously unaware of…” said Westling, “When these things first started happening, people were apprehensive of these new rules. For right now we are just trying to follow these new procedures.”

Fraternities and sororities also occasionally have houses off campus where members live together. According to Connolly, there has been talk of proposing policies that dictate if fraternities or sororities will have to submit paperwork to Bentley on parties they have off campus.

These changes were confirmed by Witkowicki, saying that the, “University can’t do anything about that, it is
your private house, however, their national organization has jurisdiction over that.” Policies on common sources of alcohol are included in any fraternity or sorority parties off campus as well.

“We don’t necessarily have jurisdiction over it, but their headquarters does,” said Witkowicki, “headquarters relies on Bentley to at least notify them.”

The issue of over regulation by Bentley is a new feeling for sororities and fraternities. Connolly acknowledged this bluntly by saying, “They want us to be completely regulated by the school.”

Witkowicki acknowledged this regulation by pointing out that if someone did join a fraternity or sorority to party, they joined the most widely regulated organizations on any college campus. “That is not what this is supposed to be about; it is supposed to be something greater,” said Witkowicki.

The future of Greek Life is evolving as Bentley works with national organizations and insurance providers to enforce policies. “We’ve got to suck it up and figure out how to make it work or some of these organizations won’t be here anymore and it’s not because Bentley is trying to get rid of them, it is because the national organization will come in and get rid of them,” concluded Witkowicki.

With the administration not relenting on enforcement of policies, but willing, as Witkowicki puts it, to “partner with any organization,” most fraternities and sororities are just looking to operate within the rules.
“To us,” said Westling, “making sure we stay on campus is more important than perhaps continuing our traditions that are no longer allowed. We are in it for the longevity of everything.”

Connolly and Westling both acknowledged that their time with Greek Life has been the best part of college, with both saying that their brothers and sisters will be the friends they keep forever. The issue that they see is with being, as Connolly put it, “stereotyped,” and saddled with negative connotations.

“I think that Gloria Larson and administration and everyone at Bentley just need to realize that we are good people,” said Connolly, “and we want to be here and we want to do well at Bentley and we want to do good for Bentley.”

Written by: Dan Merica

Students with the Value 10 meal plan, which offers students 10 swipes per week at Seasons dining hall,   pay more per swipe than a student who pays out of pocket, according to an analysis of figures on the Sodexo website.

Students who reside in apartments and are eligible for a plan that offers five swipes a week, a Value 5 plan, pay $6.87 per swipe compared to $11.83 per swipe for those with a Value 10 plan.

If a student has no meal plan and walks into Seasons, they pay $10.50 for lunch or dinner and $7.50 for breakfast.

Only students who live in apartments are eligible for the five-swipe per week or Value 5 plan, according to Bentley rules. And only students who live in campus apartments or off campus can opt to not have a meal plan.

Paul Clemente, vice president of Business and Finance, recognized the difference and pointed to their necessity in the universities upkeep. “In order to operate the university, we have healthcare costs, utility costs, financial aid, a lot of expenses going up, and you need to generate the revenue from those costs,” said Clemente.

Part of Bentley’s licensing agreement with the city of Waltham stipulates that all students who do not have full kitchens in their room must have a certain level of meal plan. In the current Bentley meal plan system, that mandate kicks in at the Value 10, the lowest value anyone without a full kitchen can have and the most expensive plan per meal.

Graduate student Owen Bacewicz noticed continuing changes to the meal plan in his five years at Bentley and decided to take a closer look at the real costs of a meal at Seasons. Bacewicz took the annual cost of each meal plan, subtracted the varying discretionary money and then divided that dollar amount by the number of meals per semester.

“I don’t think students really understand what their meal plans are paying for…” said Bacewicz, “Being a student here for five years, living in Forest hall as an RA, the meal plan is a big chuck of students price tag, and I just wanted to learn a little about where the money is spent.”

“With mandating that students without kitchens have to have a meal plan,” said Bacewicz, “students lose any bargaining power on that side.”

According the breakdown of numbers from the Sodexho website, the cost per meal of the Value 5, Value 10, Value 15 and Value 17 is $6.87, $11.83, $8.36 and $7.78 respectively.

Ranging between $1780 and $4730 annually, with meal plans come a number of swipes at Seasons, the campus dining hall, as well as a specific amount of discretionary dollars that can be used at the five retail options on campus.

The breakdown of the numbers exposed a large disparity between costs per meal of each plan. Speaking about the $4.95 jump between Value 5 and Value 10, Bacewicz stated, “The jump up is at the minimum requirement for suites and the law Bentley abides by… I see a possible issue but I recognize the disparity between the two. I think there is reason behind it that no one really understands.”

Doreen Floyd, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs explained the large jump by saying, “When you look at the cost of each plan, you can’t just look at the cost of Seasons, you have to look at the cost of the overall plan.”

The lowest meal plan offered and one that is not available to students who fall into the mandate area, the Value 5 Plan, according to General Manager of Sodexo James Cornacchia, is a “give-away plan.” “Sodexo makes no money off that plan and neither does Bentley,” said Cornacchia.

Bacewicz said the meal plan set-up made him wonder, “Where is the money going?”

Cornacchia said, “The answer is I don’t have an answer because I do not set the prices.” He went on to say, “When the prices get set by Bentley, just the way the math works out, that is the way that prices work out.”

Prices for everything from tuition to room and board go through a long process of evaluation before students are notified of the change. Once a group of Bentley administrators, including Vice President for Business and Finance Paul Clemente, student affairs, Sodexo and a number of student committees decide on the meal plan prices, the board of trustees is asked to vote on the changes and then the students are notified.

“We try to improve the plan every year and I believe we have met that every year,” says Clemente.

Sodexo, a multi-national company that serves universities all over the world, works with Bentley to give input on the cost of meal plans. According to Cornacchia, “I get a daily rate for each meal plan from Bentley, so say there are 1000 people on this meal plan, times a daily rate so I give that daily rate to Bentley and they come up with the annual semester charge.”

Sodexo, working as a for-profit company, does not receive all meal plan charges, though with some of the meal plan charge going back to the university. “I need to make a profit, it’s my labor, it’s my food,” said Cornacchia, “Bentley is just lending me the space… I can tell you right now, I do not get all of that. I do not get all 4320 dollars or whatever a meal plan costs.”

Bentley on the other hand, a non-for-profit university, used the money in the upkeep of the facility, which cost around 8 dollars a square foot, according to Clemente. “Anything that doesn’t go directly to support the food you are receiving goes to support student activities,” said Clemente, stating that money raised from the meal plan goes to things like revamping the Student Center and keeping up facilities like the library and the Dana Center.

“In addition, what goes into the prices is more than just the cost of food and what Sodexo charges,” said Clemente, “We have heat, light, debt service on the building and custodians.”

Since 2000, the average annual Bentley meal plan has gone up a total of $500, from $4050 to $4550. Colleges in the area, as well, have experienced the slight increases; however, with the rise in cost, Bentley still stays near the median of their competition. According to an investment report supplied by Clemente, meal plans at Boston University cost $4000, at Boston College $4450, at Bryant $4700 and at Brandeis $4900.

“We are simply trying to maintain competiveness…” said Clemente, “our goal here is to maintain the greatest possible services among a broad spectrum of students.”

In order to serve more students, Bentley and Sodexo have incorporated a number of retail options into food services at Bentley. One of the pitfalls of giving students a number of options, in terms of both hours and establishments, is some of these retail options, like A&W, do not break even.

In light of the numbers discovered, Bacewicz contemplated the idea that by charging a higher premium at Season’s, Bentley and Sodexo could possibly be propping up what would be failing establishments without Bentley’s help.

“We learn in the classroom that unless you run your operations efficiently, you can’t make in the market then you fall out and someone else comes in…” said Bacewicz, “We pay for a meal plan and what does that mean? And if they are supporting the failing establishments on campus, what does that say on the teachings in the classroom?”

In response to those claims, Cornacchia did admit that A&W was not a profitable establishment, however said, if “you are saying Bentley is putting in money to keep AW profitable that is not the way it works.”

Cornacchia explained to the Vanguard that when a space becomes available at Bentley, Sodexo calls in a representative from Sodexo to take a look at the space and they tell Cornacchia and Bentley representatives what is able to fit in the parameters supplied. Sodexo then buys the franchise cost and establishes the option at Bentley, charging Bentley for running and supplying the establishments.

While neither Floyd not Clemente nor Cornacchia would confirm that Bentley will be removing A&W, all addressed the fact Bentley and Sodexo are looking at options to what could go into that space.

All administrators pointed out the meal plan is more than just Seasons and the retail options, it is a part of Bentley culture. Bacewicz believes he is speak for students, however, when he states “If you are going to call it a meal plan, that’s great, but then tell us what you mean by that, where is that money going to go?”

Written by: Dan Merica

To the dismay of students seeking jobs across campus, the Office of Student Employment has recently sent out a number of e-mails muddling the possibility of job openings this semester.

Assistant Director of Student Employment Candice Garabedian stated, “The Student Employment Office is working with students who have contacted us because they are having difficulty finding an on-campus job in order to utilize their Federal Work Study eligibility. As soon as we have placed those students, we will open up the on-campus job list to all students who would like to find on-campus employment.”

A second e-mail was sent as a correction by Garabedian to clarify the situation, where she stated “The Student Employment Office has determined that jobs will not be open to students who have not been awarded Federal Work Study as part of their financial aid award for the fall semester.”

In an interview with Donna Kendall, executive director of Enrollment Management and Financial Aid, also contradicted the first November 4 email. “Looking at the jobs that are available, and the number of incoming students that are on the list, I will safely say that it may be another month until we open it up,” said Kendall, speaking about the prospect of opening the jobs to all students.

Student Employment, an office that makes it possible to employ both students with and without Federal Work Study, has begun to experience the effects of a slowing economy. With more students using their Federal Work Study, there has been a shortage of jobs available to students without work study.

“We have not awarded any more work study this year than we have last year, I think it is a combination of more people that have the work study award want to take advantage of it than in the past,” said Kendall.

A number of Bentley students, as part of their aid package when admitted to Bentley, were given work study, which gives them priority in on-campus jobs. For the last few years, the number of those who have work study using this aspect of their package was around 70 percent, according to Kendall. “We are seeing that number creep up a little bit this year,” said Kendall.

According to Kendall, each employment department at Bentley, whether it be the help desk or athletics, is asked the spend 70 percent of their hiring budget on work study students, giving them the ability to spend 30 percent on students without work study. “They are managing so that they end at that 70-30 target,” said Kendall on the different departments.

“Once the school year starts, we want to focus on making those jobs available to look for…” said Kendall, “at the beginning of the school year, jobs are only available to students with federal work study.” In the past year, around the end of September, once administrators feel that all work study students are taken care of, jobs are available to all students.

At this time, with more students utilizing their work study package, student employment is not confident that all students with work study have been taken care of. “It’s about a handful of freshman,” said Kendall, a number which has gone down from a couple dozen in late September.

Sophomore Mukena Mbiye, hired by the Student Center’s Event Staff under federal work study spoke at length about the benefits of the work study program. “It provides me some money so that I can use it to pay expenses… it saves me because I do not have a car on campus.”

Through Kendall made it clear that the Bentley is committed to finding all interested students jobs, she also stated “We feel a greater commitment to those students [work study students], because we told them in order to meet your costs, you are going to have to work…we don’t have that came sort of commitment to the other students who did not apply for aid or maybe did apply for aid and didn’t have need based eligibility.”

With some students not being able to find employment at Bentley, many are left asking why. “I get an email that they were still trying to find a job for work study students,” said sophomore Nick Gowder, “I am kind of upset and I am disappointed that I can’t get a job on campus.”

Written by: Dan Merica

In a time of tight budgets, clubs and organizations are striving to curtail the number of give-aways to Bentley students. However, to some administrators, cutting giveaways is more than just a budget remedy, it is a necessary change to the Bentley culture.

“Bentley students go crazy for t-shirts,” said Jessica Kenerson, program coordinator for Student Activities. “I personally have no problem giving Bentley students something at an event, but I don’t want to give away something they are just going to throw away the next day.”

To some students, the cutbacks have been apparent, while others haven’t noticed. To all students, however, the cut in free giveaways to students means a change to the Bentley experience.

“Somehow at Bentley we have enabled a culture where you need an incentive to go to something,” said Maria DiLorenzo, director of Student Activities and Family Programming. “It is unfortunate, you wish there was a natural desire without the incentive.”

Kenerson echoed DiLorenzo’s sentiment, stating “all governing bodies are stressing putting focus more on the event, not just the giveaway.”

Giveaways are not specific to just athletic events, like many students believe. Everything from the Career Fair to senior meetings, from Homecoming to the Activities Fair has a component of free giveaways.

Many students believe that free giveaways are part of the Bentley culture, something they are entitled to. “My tuition continues to go up and the free giveaways have gone down,” said senior Kristine Clements, “I don’t think that’s fair.”

There was no true start date to giveaways at Bentley, with countless events tracing a history of using them to draw in students. While the amount of giveaways was on the rise two years ago, the last two years have signaled a shift in policy.

Arguably one of the most popular types of giveaway is at athletic events, with the ever-popular FalconSpirit SuperFan T-shirt being the main draw. “The SuperFan shirt is like your pass to get free giveaways,” says Christine Palumbo, associate director of Student Activities, “We give them out at all different events.”

SuperFan t-shirts are given away at a number of Bentley sporting events and acts as a pass for other giveaways. When a student wears a SuperFan t-shirt to sporting events, more give-aways are available to them, ranging from other t-shirts to food.

Even with the popularity of SuperFan events, Palumbo noted, “The whole culture of giving stuff away has gone down; it is not half of what it used to be. Some feel that they may have lost something somehow, but the reality is that they haven’t, the money is still being used in different ways.”

When asked where else the money is being spent, Palumbo pointed out that money that would have been spent on give-aways is now being spent on the event itself.

It is not secret, however, that clubs and organizations budgets have been affected by a downturn in the economy.

“We have to give fewer giveaways,” said Kenerson, “it’s as simple as that, there is less money in the budget and not just for CAB.”

Many students understand this importance of budgeting. “Well, it makes sense to make cuts,” said senior Megan Higgins, “we shouldn’t be wasting our money on free giveaways when there certainly could be uses for the money… like paying for my financial aid.”

Other initiates have given Bentley students the opportunity to return their free giveaways. Last year, Maria DiLorenzo and representatives in the Service Learning Office organized a fundraiser that asked students to donate at least one t-shirt with some sort of Bentley insignia.

“We felt that every Bentley student had at least one t-shirt that they didn’t wear,” said DiLorenzo. While most students brought one or two t-shirts, according to DiLorenzo, some students brought bags, with one senior donating 25 Bentley t-shirts.

T-shirts went to local causes like Sandra’s Lodge and other charities, with many others going to the Bentley-supported orphanage in Ghana.

The question that many involved are left asking themselves, from students to staff, is whether free giveaways work. “Do they get people at events? Yes. Do they keep people at events? No,” lamented DiLorenzo, “It gets students to line up to show up and get their free t-shirts and then they will often leave the event instead of staying and enjoying.”

To Palumbo, it’s not about the events, but about the effect giveaway’s have on students. “You really see the ugly side of Bentley when we have giveaways,” said Palumbo, “People argue. People are mad. People get aggressive.”

“I think there is a fine line between being excessive and being spirited and I feel like we are starting to figure out where that is,” said Kenerson, “We are still trying to get our footing with that.”

Written by: Dan Merica

On Monday, November 2 at 6 p.m. Bentley students will come together to help raise awareness and money for the lauded St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In this one night letter writing event, students will be asked to send fundraising letters to their friends and family.

St. Jude Children’s Hospital was established in 1962 by the late actor Danny Thomas. Since opening it has treated children from all states and maintains around 250 patients daily, with 78 being inpatients.

According to senior Lindsay Graham, assistant executive director of Up ‘til Dawn at Bentley, “[Thomas’] idea was that no child, no matter their race, religion, ethnicity, or ability to pay will ever be turned away, so he created a hospital that not only researches for the cure to cancer, but also treats other childhood diseases.”
Up ‘til Dawn is in its seventh year at Bentley and ever since, the program has found success. “The goal is to continue at our place as one of the top schools in the region,” said Graham, “We want to raise more than we did last year, which was approximately $60,000.”

The process is fairly cut and dry, according to Graham and senior Pammy Newell, public relation chair. “So you basically bring family and friends addresses and you fill out all the information necessary and then you put your name down and that’s it,” said Newell. “We stamp it and do everything for you, it’s really quick, just come and enjoy.”

While the focus of the night is on raising awareness, there will be entertainment, with a live band playing throughout the night and there will also be a photo booth. “We have a ton of unique things this year,” said Graham.

The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital functions almost exclusively on fundraisers like Up ‘til Dawn and other private contributions. Over the last three years, St. Jude proudly acknowledges that 84 percent of all contributions have gone to research and treatment at St. Jude. Part of their fundraising campaign informs the donor how much different treatments cost, ranging from $344 for an hour of physical therapy to $573,300 to treat acute leukemia.

According to both Graham and Newell, a good number of students participate, with some having been effected, through family, friends or themselves, by some form of cancer in their lifetimes.

Both girls cited specific reasons that Up ‘til Dawn means so much to them. “I got to go down to Memphis and it was the best experience of my life,” said Graham, “Seeing the hospital put it all into perspective for me.”
Some students, like Newell, cite family history with cancer as their reason for getting involved. “I had a cousin die of cancer when I was little and it has always been important in my family to help raise awareness about childhood cancer.”

It is clear, too, that all of the work and contributions have been making a difference. In 1962, when St. Jude was established, the survival rate of acute leukemia, the most frequent form of childhood cancer, was four percent. Today, due to research and treatment breakthroughs developed at St. Jude, the likelihood of survival is now 94 percent.

The event will take place from 6 p.m. to midnight. There are no requirements on staying the entire time, all students are invited to contribute and may write as many letters as they would like.

“We hope this is an event where college kids come together to take the time to think about children with pediatric diseases,” said Graham.

“This is something that means a great deal to both Lindsay and I, we hope everyone can come be a part of it,” concluded Newell.

Written by: Dan Merica

The Bentley community was informed of the campus’ first confirmed case of H1N1 flu this week by Gerri Taylor, assistant dean for the Center of Health & Wellness.

“We have had one confirmed case of H1N1 influenza on campus and that student is recovering,” said Taylor. “We are aware that H1N1 influenza has been found at many college campuses and we are therefore monitoring our students diligently to be sure that we identify any cases as early as possible.”

With the Department of Public Health announcing last Friday that the H1N1 vaccine would be delayed again and should not be released until mid-November, the Center for Health and Wellness is continuing to address issues regarding H1N1.

Though only one case has been confirmed, the Center for Health and Wellness has asked 20 students to leave campus. According to Taylor, most cases have ended up testing positive as “strep throat, mono, bronchitis, sinusitis or viral illnesses other than flu.”

In an e-mail to The Vanguard, Taylor also reiterated the importance of going home if you have flu like symptoms. Some students with flu like symptoms have informed the Center for Health and Wellness that even with their flu diagnosis they will stay on campus and tough-it-out.

“We have several students, faculty and staff on campus with high risk conditions including asthma, diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, or family members on chemo; these people are at a much higher risk than healthy students,” reported Taylor. “Any student, faculty or staff who insists on staying on campus with a fever and flu symptoms is putting the entire campus at risk for serious illness.”

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, there have been 1,406 cases of H1N1 in Massachusetts, with 139 of those between the ages of 19-25 years old. Of those 139 cases, two people who live in Massachusetts have been taken by H1N1.

The Center for Health and Wellness is one of a number of sentinel sites in the state of Massachusetts, sites that are allowed to test twice a week for possible H1N1 cases. There are other tests, like the Rapid Flu Test that can be conducted by the Center for Health and Wellness, however, according to Taylor they are “only 30-70 percent accurate; therefore the CDC does not recommend its use.”

“The fact is, there could be other cases,” said Taylor, “we just can’t do any more tests.” Bentley has experienced some cases in which students have been administered the Rapid Flu Test and received a negative result, but have still been instructed to stay quarantined.

Due to the fact that only two tests per week can be sent to the state lab, the number of visitors to the Center for Health and Wellness, not the number of confirmed cases, according to Taylor, will indicate whether the campus is experiencing a H1N1 outbreak.

This year’s numbers have remained constant, with September 2008 drawing 838 students to the Center for Health and Wellness while September 2009 has 832 students visiting the Center. “We are really not seeing an uptick in influenza -like symptoms,” stated Taylor.

“If we begin to see a major increase in numbers of visits,” said Taylor, “this will be a soft indication that we may have more cases of the flu on campus. We have not seen this at this time.”

When asked whether she expected to have more cases of H1N1 flu, Taylor answered with a blunt, “yes.” “Most colleges have seen large numbers but I think our efforts to thwart the spread of flu have gone a long way to curb the spread,” said Taylor.

“As soon as we get the vaccine in hand, we will notify the campus and will set up clinics to provide the vaccine,” said Taylor. The Center for Health and Wellness has asked for 2,000 vaccines and has continued to lobby with the state to get the vaccine as soon as possible.

There will be two more seasonal flu vaccine clinics, on October 21 and November 10 offering all students, staff and faculty the opportunity to receive the common flu vaccine.

“We need our community to show their responsibility to each other at this time,” said Taylor. “We are not overreacting – we are trying to protect every one of our students, faculty and staff and we need everyone’s help to do this.”

The same precautions for preventing the spread of H1N1 are just as important today as they were at the beginning of the year. Students, faculty and staff should continue “washing hands, not sharing drinks, covering coughs, staying away from sick individuals, seeking medical care and staying home if they have fevers or have any flu-like symptoms,” concluded Taylor.

Dear Editor,

The truth at Bentley University, a campus that in its credo “embraces diversity and appreciates its value,” is that issues involving race sting deep for some students. These scars were evidenced in full and living color in the reaction elicited by anti-racism speaker Tim Wise, with a group of First Year Seminar students walking out of his presentation.

At the request of students, a forum was convened on October 20th, 2009, where students, faculty and staff were brought together to reflect on Wise’s presentation. The silence continued from groups opposing Wise, with only one person out of forty in attendance vocally disdaining the Wise presentation. It was a disheartening display for those who hoped to foster true discussion with a myriad of opinions exhibited.

Tim Wise certainly has an opinion, one that has been formed from prior experiences all over the United States. The point of his discussion was to foster a conversation, light a fire under students and prod them to partake in dialogue about race.

Writer Aaron Sorkin insisted, “Decisions are made by those who show up.” It is time for Bentley as a community to show up and assert their own views on this issue, not silence themselves in the shadows of a difficult subject.

When students run away from facts, it seems that they are disjointed with reality. When students remain silent, rejecting an invitation to speak with others freely about their opinions, they look fearful of a difficult conversation. My optimism abounds about Bentley students, however. We are an intelligent community, one with great promise. We have a responsibility to use our opinions to define the world we live in.

The worst reaction we could have to an anti-racism speaker is silence. While our differences on these issues may be evident, it is the way we respond to them that will define the kind of campus Bentley is and will become. Our differences on these issues are evident, but it is our similarities, the adversities that we have all faced in life, that will help foster the type of conversation needed to address issues of race.

In saying that, the power of an opinion comes with many responsibilities. When these responsibilities are shirked, you jeopardize not only your credibility, but the credibility of the larger group you associate with.

If you begin your argument behind the anonymity of the internet, be prepared to defend your point without the comfort of ambiguity. Especially on the issues of race, it shows outright cowardice to make inflammatory statements and hide behind your computer screen. At the same time, it is just as important to be willing to listen to those who disagree with you.

In no way does the silence of students imply racism. What it does show, however, is that a group of Bentley students are not ready to address the issue of race in America.

The gauntlet has been thrown down by Bentley first year students, showing administrators that more discussion is necessary to confront this issue. Education is the silver bullet to combating ignorance, it is the responsibility of Bentley to unveil students of their pre-university blinders and avail them of all worldly opportunities.

With this reaction by students in full view, questions are beginning to surface about Bentley and race. Has Bentley prepared their students to discuss issues of race? Is this reaction an indictment of the Bentley education? These are questions worth asking; questions that as students we should demand be answered.

For many students, your colleges years are the first time that discussions on race are brought up, forcing students to challenge what they once thought were deeply rooted beliefs.

This conversation is undoubtedly intimidating and in some cases daunting, however the only way you can have this conversation is by listening to those who disagree.

Decisions are truly made by those who show up. There is certainly no honor in shrinking under the pressure of a difficult conversation. It is time that everyone at Bentley, from first year students to President Gloria Larson, shows up on the issue of race.

Dan Merica