Over the past two months, students at Pittsburgh University have suffered through much fear and aggravation as they faced over 50 false-alarm bomb threats.  Tighter security has been one result of the record number of false threats; students have been waiting in lines to pass through security checkpoints when going to academic buildings and other common places on campus. Initially, the bomb threats were written in bathroom stalls in Pittsburgh University’s notable Cathedral of Learning. More recently, additional threats have been spreading across the internet.

Robert Hill, university spokesperson, has said that the school is obligated to treat every threat as if it is serious. A joint terrorism task force, including members from campus police, the department of justice, and the federal bureau of investigation have been looking into the case. Each time a building is searched and cleared; students are identified before being let back into the building.

“I feel that unwarranted fear just causes chaos and that’s what this person wants,” said junior Corinne Hogge.

Students are in the midst of classes and preparing for final exams, and the heightened tension and insanity of the situation, in addition to the new extensive security measures is really taking a toll on them emotionally and physically. Every threat is followed by an evacuation – of 29,000 students.

Some professors have been cancelling classes due to the perceived threats, and students have admitted to feeling “ripped off,” as Hogge put it. There is enormous pressure from loved ones and students pay a hefty tuition, but at the same time it isn’t easy to write off a bomb threat.

Students and faculty all need IDs to get into any building on campus, and nonresidents aren’t allowed into dormitories, including friends and family. There is a $50,000 reward for any information. Professors have also been seeking alternatives, such as holding classes outside or online in order to avoid any potentially dangerous situations.

“This has got to stop. We’re exhausted… This is disrupting everyone’s lives, and it has to end,” said university police Chief Tim Delaney.

Students are struggling because it’s hard to focus and keep track of what is expected of them in the midst of the chaos. It isn’t uncommon for students to feel a range of emotions about the situation – from frustration to helplessness and fear.

The university’s commencement is scheduled for April 29, and the date is rapidly approaching. The school and the local police have been working tirelessly to take as many safety precautions as possible, to ensure that the event goes smoothly.

“We want to solve this now. It’s shocking to me that our university, which has done so much good in the community, is being targeted this way. It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t understand this,” said Steve Tritch, chairman of Pittsburgh University’s board of trustees.

On Friday, March 16, the Bentley community suffered an immense loss with the death of 23 year old graduate student Qinpei (Vivian) Lin.

“This is such a tragic loss for our community. My heart hurts for this beautiful, bright young woman with her whole life ahead of her; and for her dear family,” said Amanda King, director of sustainability, on Lin’s Facebook memorial page. “Qinpei, we will miss you but I am certain you are bringing joy and light to millions from above. All of our love here at Bentley goes out to you and your family.”

Lin was crossing Beaver Street when she was hit by an oncoming truck. Waltham Police responded to the accident at 3:20 pm to find that the student had suffered serious injuries. According to the Waltham police report, the operator of the truck was a 41 year old male from Waltham, MA. The accident is still under investigation.

“Our hearts go out to Vivian’s family, friends, and colleagues,” President Gloria Larson said. “This is such a tragedy for all those who knew and loved this young woman.” President Larson released a formal statement saying Lin was a “bright, passionate and vibrant young woman.”

Lin was a student from Chengdu, Sichuan, China pursing her master’s degree in accounting in the Bentley MSA program and had accepted a full time position with PWC in China. She had completed her undergraduate studies at Beijing Technology and Business University with a Bachelor of Science degree in International Economics and Trade.

The Assistant Dean of the McCallum Graduate School, George Thompson, first addressed the Bentley community on Friday evening shortly after the accident revealing the impressive accomplishments she achieved throughout her life.

“During her undergraduate experience, she worked at China Merchants Securities and Kalyuan Group,” said Thompson. “Her extracurricular activities included working as the department head of the Accounting Association, vice president of Finance Association, and section leader of the College Chorus.”

There will be a service for Lin on Friday March 23 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in the Executive Dining Room of the LaCava Center. In honor of Lin’s religious and cultural beliefs, the Bentley community would like to remind attendees of Chinese and Buddhist customs. The color white is prevalent at funerals, and flowers are sent as a gesture of condolences and support. The Bentley community is committed to honor these traditions in order ensure that the Qinpei’s family feels welcome and comfortable.

Facilities has graciously provided a weeping cherry tree in honor of Qinpei, along with an assortment of flowers, near the Graduate School sign.

“I know many are still struggling to comprehend the sudden loss of such a promising young life. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to her family,” said Larson, “I know many who were close to Vivian and shared classes and friendship with her are also experiencing significant grief and sadness. Our thoughts and prayers are with each one of them as well.”

“It is customary for the color white to be prevalent at funerals, whereas red is traditionally for weddings,” said the Spiritual Life Team and The McCallum Graduate School. “For appropriate dress at the memorial, red should be avoided and dark colors preferred. In lieu of gifts, flowers can be used as a gesture of expressing your condolences and support.”

The administration would like to remind students of the availability of resources to reach out to those who are struggling to deal with this sudden death and tragic loss. The Student Counseling Center, the Spiritual Life Center, the Center for Health and Wellness and the Graduate School offices are all available for grief counseling and help.

“It’s important for us to be transparent,” said senior and president of AIA, Ryan DeChance. “It’s the student’s money, and when they elect us, they expect us to do the right thing with their money.”

DeChance and sophomore Tim Dean have spent a good amount of time each semester creating a pie chart that shows exactly how much money is being allocated to which specific clusters of student organizations on campus. They believe that transparency and well-kept records of allocations are necessary for the group to function efficiently.

“It’s an important tool for us to be able to justify our decisions,” said Dean. “We can show people within organizations the percentages.” There are 108 recognized organizations on campus, and from those active organizations, 600 events are held per academic year. Of course, this requires a very carefully weighed and allocated student budget that is both practical and representative of student wants and needs.

“Our hope in trying to be more transparent is for students to take this in mind and in turn, explain to us what they want to see more of,” said DeChance. AIA is looking for feedback from the student body as to what students would like to see more or less of on campus.

Each year, and more recently, each semester, AIA breaks down what percentage of its budget goes to which cluster, and then compares and contrasts this data to past years and current student desires. These semesterly graphs are created in order to show students and staff alike what the student activity fee is going towards.

The sections on the graph are divided by ABA clusters – “for the sake of continuity, we break this up by the same system,” said Dean. Clusters vary in size, and ABA representatives usually belong to a group within their cluster. While AIA may break down their financials by cluster, they tend to divvy up work among liaisons in a different and more equitable fashion.

Bentley is unique in that its entire student activity fee goes to AIA to be allocated among campus organizations, and campus organizations only. Some other schools in the area allocate a portion to staff and faculty, and a portion to maintenance, while here at Bentley the entire fee goes straight to supporting groups on campus. The breakdown is completely in the discretion of the members of AIA.

As noted on the graph, co-sponsorships are a section of the pie but do not necessarily belong to a cluster. When groups cosponsor events, the budget comes out of this portion instead of out of one group or another. The majority of the portion allocated to CAB contributes to Spring Day, the Halloween dance, comedy shows and so on.

A major portion of Class Cab’s funding goes towards subsidizing the Bahamas trip. DeChance and Dean went further in explaining that the next largest portion, club sports, spent its majority on tournaments, whether it was on transportation, lodging, or entrance fees.

AIA is committed to providing students with what they want and need on campus. As DeChance and Dean point out, even if a student were to only attend Spring Day each year he or she was a student here, that student would still be capitalizing on his or her Student Activity Fee.

The point is that all students have the opportunity to capitalize on the events put on through the student activity fee that each student pays. There is real value to each of these events, where students can take out much more than what they have paid initially or put in.

“AIA will rarely fund something if they don’t feel that students are gaining from it,” said DeChance. He and Dean went on to explain that the committee really appreciates smaller events that grow on campus. Diwali is a good example, pointed out Dean, of a small event that grew exponentially over the years. AIA is looking for more events such as this that will both fulfill a student desire and provide students with an enriching experience.

A student activity fee survey, to be released after Spring Break via e-mail, will allow AIA to see what students would like to see more of on campus. The survey will assess how well the student activity fee is serving students currently, and then it will determine how to allocate this money, according to student desire. The incentive is for students to have their voice heard, and for students to understand how each of their student activity fees is broken down.

“So we’re turning to the student body to see what new ideas we should entertain,” said Dean. The committee is eager to hear new ideas for events on campus. Groove Boston is the perfect example of a new idea that was brought up to AIA last year; some of the extraneous funding from the year before carried over and turned into the funding for Groove Boston this past year. The committee is looking for more projects like this one.

“AIA is very much a support network for organizations on campus,” said DeChance. There are 9 liaison positions that are open to run for this upcoming April. Information will be sent out soon to the general student body. The positions are open to everyone and students are encouraged to both apply and to share their thoughts through the student activity fee survey. Contact Ryan DeChance, Timothy Dean, or the committee at GA_AIA@bentley.edu for more questions or comments.

By Sindhu Palaniappan

Bentley will be offering four new Bachelor of Arts programs in addition to a business studies major this coming fall. The new majors include: actuarial sciences, public policy, sustainability sciences, and Spanish studies. The business studies major, or BSM, functions similarly to the LSM paired with a BS degree. This new BSM, consisting of the six general business core classes and two business electives, pairs well with the new majors.

“These majors pair well with a business background,” said Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences Juliet Gainsborough. She went on to explain these new majors go above and beyond what they would at a normal institution, in the sense that these four new majors, paired with the BSM, prepare you for different types of jobs in the business arena.

“Many students make the decision not to come to Bentley because they aren’t entirely committed to business,” said Dean Everett. “All of the new majors fit our business mission, and offer a unique pairing [of both liberal studies and business] that no other institution yet offers.” He went on to explain that majors like the Spanish studies major aren’t just about training students to speak Spanish, but they are intended to teach students the culture and the history, so students can both learn to be fluent and perhaps learn to work in business in a Spanish speaking country.

The Actuarial Sciences program is a development from an existing program – some students currently attending the university major in mathematical sciences with a concentration in actuarial science. Dean Gainsborough explained that this develops that concentration into a free standing major, providing students interested in being actuaries a much better and well-rounded education, both geared towards preparing for their examinations and allowing the university to be recognized as having a specific program for actuaries.

“A career as an actuary requires a combination of strong quantitative and communication skills with a good foundation in business. Bentley is a great place to pursue training for this career since the ability to combine liberal arts and business education is exactly what is required,” said Professor Kimball.

Another new major offered is Public Policy, which is housed in the global studies department.

“The nice thing about pairing this major with the BSM is that it could prepare students to go into the government or the government relations arms of any private business company. Public policy expertise and business principles also extend into non-profit organizations,” said Dean Gainsborough.

The new Bachelor of Arts programs do an immaculate job of catering to what students would like to learn more about, and applying it to something that related to the job field post education. Sustainability Sciences teaches students about natural sciences, environmental public policy and psychology, global challenges, sustainability, and more. The major includes field visit courses that range from Cape Cod to Peru.

“While many other colleges and universities offer excellent environmental science or environmental studies degrees, we will be the only one to pair it with a business studies major. That will give our graduates an advantage when seeking employment and career growth opportunities in the rapidly growing sustainability planning sector of the increasingly energy-intensive and technology-centered economy,” said Professor Rick Oches.

Spanish Studies is not just about the language, but about fluency, the culture, the history and the politics of Spanish speaking regions.

“Schools may aim to prepare students to be [language] teachers or translators, but we want to teach students business principles so they can work for Spanish companies or US companies that work in Spanish speaking regions,” said Dean Gainsborough.

Professor Jane Tchaicha expanded on the experience, explaining that non-native speakers would have the opportunity to study a semester abroad in Spanish speaking countries, and native speakers would have the opportunity to complete an internship in a Spanish-owned and operated company.

These majors and the business studies paired major will officially be online this Fall, however current freshmen and sophomores can go to the respective departments and retrieve the paperwork in order to declare this fall.

“It’s almost a certainty that as knowledge and society evolve, universities have to evolve too,” said Dean Everett. “What we’re really after is educating students, not just attracting them. We can’t just be teaching one set of majors and not paying attention to the changing society around us.”

This past week, the Boston Ballet presented its first show of the 2012 season at the Boston Opera House. Titled Simply Sublime, the show was broken into three distinct sections.

“There are three very different ballets we’re presenting,” said Boyko Dossev, a company member. “The first one is Les Sylphides, a very romantic ballet – very beautiful, very poetic.”

The next is Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia. “The choreography is genius,” said Dossev with a genuine smile. The third portion of the show is Symphony in Three Movements by George Balanchines.

This show kicks off director Mikko Nissinen’s tenth anniversary with the company, and therefore a very special one to him. Les Sylphides, the first portion of the show, is a product of St. Petersburg’s Imperial Ballet School.

It’s exactly what you would expect at the ballet – tiny graceful women in large flowing tutus, and men classically dressed in black and white, assisting them with jumps and leaps (a whole lot of toe pointing and frills).

The next portion, Polyphonia, was starkly contrasted with the first piece. “Polyphonia is so incredibly musical and so clean architecturally,” said Mikko Nissinen.

The movement and the music in the portion, along with the lighting and the reaction of the audience, are all perfectly in tune.

There is humor and a play on shadows and asymmetry with the dancers. Dressed very plainly in black leotards and spandex, the dancers almost look like they are in rehearsal and not the actual show.

There are sporadic movements that go along with the eccentric piano music – the stage almost looks like a play gym. Just swap the toddlers in for incredibly beautiful and classically trained dancers.

The performers teased the audiences’ aesthetic tastes by mirroring each other on stage, or stepping far enough forward or backwards so as to manipulate their shadows on the plain back wall.

It was hard to focus on just one dancer since there were so many other effects being played up. This portion of the show was easily the best and the least traditional.

Finally, the full band started playing colorful costumes flooded the stage. Symphony in Three Movements, the third and final act, began with the stage completely filled with dancers.

This went hand in hand with the big band playing in the orchestra pit, another stark contrast in comparison to the piece before which was just a piano and a few dancers at a time.

The dancers moved quickly and played up the geometry of the stage (read: they didn’t point their toes as much).

The overall show was both impressive and highly entertaining – needless to say, I felt pretty cultured leaving the Opera House that night.

By Sindhu Palaniappan

For the past five years of its existence, Rhythmic Graffiti has been one of the biggest shows on Bentley’s campus. The show welcomes family members, friends, fans and students to fill Koumantzalis up to the brim. Four different groups on campus participate: CRAZE, of course, the Bentley Dance team, FIRE Step Squad and the Fire Dance team. In addition to these four groups, multiple dance teams from outside participate, bringing fans, music and different moves to the stage.

CRAZE began as a Latin dance group in 2004 and has since evolved into a hip hop team well known at Bentley and in the Greater Boston area. Their annual collaborative show, Rhythmic Graffiti started in 2007, and this year marked their fifth anniversary.

The show began with an acknowledgement of Steph Hubbard, CRAZE Alum and choreographer for the team. Co-hosts and seniors Brian Collatos and Mike Cunningham were comfortable and witty on stage, involving audience members and calling attention to specific details. After a brief video highlighting each of CRAZE’s performances over the last five years, the show kicked off with a performance by the CRAZE seniors.

Bulletproof Funk, best known from America’s Best Dance Crew, took the stage next and got the crowd cheering. They performed in pairs and blew the crowd away with slow motion moves and incredibly synced motions to intricate beats.

Cunningham and Collatos came out to introduce CRAZE next with a little skit, showing off their “CRA” and “ZE” tramp stamps, received the night before after a crazy night at Skellig (or so they claim). The team came out and put their all on stage, showing Bentley what they’re made of. Next, Wellesley’s dance team graced the Koumantzalis stage, followed by another Bentley performance.

The FIRE dance team, established in 2010, came out next, showing off their flexibility and grace. Following them, the FIRE step squad took the stage, moving only to the sound of their claps, stomps and voices. Chris Auger from ABDC, also known as “Monster Breezy,” took the stage next, performing a story routine. He spliced together vocals and bits of different songs and remixes, in order to tell a story while he danced on stage alone.

Bentley’s dance team came out next, doing a hip hop routine in the spirit of things. Other teams that performed included Static Noyze, a well-known group that was featured on America’s Best Dance Crew, Brandeis’ hip hop group, another crew called Next Slap Bracelets and others. Static Noyze did another story type of presentation, conveying different scenes to the crowd purely through music, dance and facial expression. When Static Noyze finished up, a senior near the front said, “I cried!” The performance was very touching.

Hint Water sponsored the event and all proceeds went to the Dizzy Feet Foundation, an organization that promotes dance education across the country.

By Sindhu Palaniappan

The Falcon Society is a group of students who have displayed excellence in their field of study and have also contributed substantially to the social and cultural activities of the University. Involvement in outside organizations extends beyond membership; these students are active and dedicated leaders who have made significant improvements and contribution to Bentley.

The current members of the Falcon Society, as voted in by past members, are Lacey Cumming, Nicole D’Achino, Ryan DeChance and Ryan O’Keeffe. Students need to be nominated by someone within the Bentley Community – faculty, staff or other students. Once nominated, students receive an application to complete, which requires documentation of all involvements at Bentley, as well as permission to release grades and judicial records.

Personal statements and letters of recommendation are optional supplements to the application (and since we’ve all done college applications, it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch).
As outlined by the current four members of the group, decisions are based on these five criteria:

Leadership: The extent to which the person has demonstrated influence, and guidance to organizations, teams, etc. Points to be considered include responsibilities involved, how much the person is called upon by others, the variety of duties and so forth.

Contribution: In what ways has this person positively impacted the University community, including improvement of student life, creation of a new policy or program, revitalization of an organization, athletic advancement and academic advancement?

Diversity: How broadly has this person been involved (variety of their organizational commitments and interests)?

Continuity: Is this person consistently making contributions to the Bentley community?

Character: Is this person living up to the ideals set forth in the Bentley Beliefs?

Nominations are submitted from the middle of December up until early February. Once nominations are in, candidates are contacted and applications are due by the end of February. Decisions for members to be inducted are sent out by the middle of March. There is no interview process, mainly a paper application that is reviewed and discussed at length by the current members of the Falcon Society and Doreen Floyd, the faculty advisor for the group.

“The goal of the Falcon Society is to recognize student contributions to the Bentley community during their time at Bentley,” said Lacey Cumming. “The student-run society looks to honor students each year based on their contributions to all fields at Bentley including academics, athletics, social and cultural activities.”

This small and selective group currently holds positions in the Center for Women and Business, ABA, Admissions, CAB, Ambassadors, Greek Life, Acapella, AIA, SAAC, Service learning, APO and the field hockey team. Nominations will be opening up soon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I Love You Because is a modern-day musical love story centered around three couples who fall in and out of love. APO will be performing the show November 17 – 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Koumantzelis Auditorium, and it’s free of charge with a Bentley ID.

In the play, Jeff and Austin are brothers and complete opposites. Jeff, played by sophomore Jose Gutierrez in a breakout role, is a typical guy. He wants a friends-with-benefits relationship, and tries to avoid “true love”. Austin, played by lead and senior Brian Hasbrouck, is a precarious and calculative character, described as a “pussy-whipped, tight-ass Republican”.

Marcie and Diana are roommates with equally opposing personalities. Diana, played by senior Phoebe Johnson, is a hopeless romantic who has entered a “desperate abandon” phase in her relationship. As an actuary, she is equally calculative and sometimes uptight. Marcie, played by sophomore Jennifer Balacuit, is a free thinker and a liberal, playing a stark opposite Austin, with whom she falls in love.

Freshmen Ben Gutwetter and Katie Kradolfer play the barristas gone therapists, who offer both liquor and serious advice to the “heartbreak crew” (the four listed above).

Act I opened with a musical number in New York City and then some banter between the characters. The play includes many musical numbers, all accompanied by a hired music crew. Erin Huelskamp (director) and Emily Howe (music director) have been working with Alpha Psi Omega for the past few months in order to put this together. The play also includes witty and crude humor, and some interesting puppet scenes.

The story in the play is pretty relatable; everyone falls in and out of love, and everyone pines for something or another that seems unattainable. The characters and the students who play them are so easily warmed up to. Between drunken jokes and heartfelt solos, they’re guaranteed to win the audience over with their genuine passion for the story and the play. Not to mention, the songs in the play are pretty catchy.

The play comes together at the end with the characters realizing the difference between saying, “I love you, anyway,” and “I love you, because.” The audience is able to watch these characters grow from loving each other in spite of flaws to loving each other because of who they are. The characters in the play are intimate, and it’s obvious that the cast itself has a wonderful chemistry.

The show was chosen a year in advance, and Huelskamp and Howe were hired for this play specifically. “Shows of this type are right up my alley. I love the comedic side of things, and I love the movement and the choreography. This is why I applied to be a part of this,” says Huelskamp.

“None of these students thought they were singers or dancers or movers,” said Huelskamp. “‘We’re Bentley students, we don’t do that,’ is what they’d say. But I really think this was a good thing for them. It’s exciting to embrace something so new, and in some ways it’s challenging. Jose Gutierrez is brand new to this, and I think his experience particularly was transformative. He definitely started in a different place and look at him now. And Brian – Brian is the lead male and the producer for the show; he’s someone who knows theatre inside and out.”

Bentley Against Malaria is a new campaign which, alongside the Council of Charitable Acts (CCA), is working to send bed nets to children and to families in Africa to protect them against Malaria-carrying mosquitos. Bentley has registered a team with “Against Malaria,” and is working to raise awareness through Facebook, Twitter, and those neat little posters seen around campus.

Against Malaria is an international organization that provides families with nets at no charge – so far they have put in place 1,735,224 nets and counting. They have over 450,000 donors, and their goal is to make that number in the millions. They also sponsor fundraisers and partner with distributors to make the process more efficient. They have just recently passed the seven-million-dollar milestone in donations and they plan to keep raising. Recent reports indicate that infant mortality due to malaria is falling, from the largest cause to the third largest, showing that these nets truly do make a difference at such little cost to us.

“Estimates put the deaths from malaria between one and three million people every day, and there is still no vaccine for it,” said Moussa Hassoun, the Bentley student who is spearheading the campaign. “The best way to stop the spread is to take preventative measures by blocking out mosquito infections in the first place – by covering residents when they sleep.”

The nets are just $5 each, and each net lasts for two years. One-hundred percent of all donations go to funding the nets themselves, and they are sent and installed for free by the Red Cross Foundation periodically.

“We are aiming to raise anywhere between 6-10 thousand dollars through selling merchandise and having open donations,” said Hassoun. “We’re also looking for different organizations to host events with, such as RAs, RHA, Class Cabinet and Panhellenic Council, to name a few.”

They are planning on selling t-shirts, carnival cups, cantines, bracelets and sunglasses, among other things.

The inspiration came from something Hassoun did a few years ago with his family.

“We started our own group on the site to raise funds – at the time it was formatted in the form of a competition between teams,” he said. “The team has been extremely organized and helpful in figuring out exactly how and where we want to spend the money we raise – this is, ultimately, to help those dying of malaria since no vaccine has been released.”

The campaign is always open to students looking to get involved – the group is in talks with a large number of student organizations to get different campus departments involved.

As Hassoun said, “Social responsibility is one of the main teachings of Bentley, and this would work perfectly in line with that mantra.”

Contact Hassoun_mous@bentley.edu for more details.

Southwest Airline held a contest four weeks ago called the “30 Million Point Giveaway,” and Bentley’s own Evan Honeyman, an avid fan and shareholder of the company, decided that he needed to get involved. Included in this contest’s prize is the opportunity to become Southwest’s Chief Reward Officer, a position responsible for nationally promoting their loyalty program called “Rapid Rewards.”

After submitting a resume and answering a few out-of-the-ordinary questions from Southwest (“If you were an animal, which one would you be and why?”), Evan found out that he was a finalist. As a finalist, he needs to submit a two-minute video attesting to his capabilities of being a good CRO in a fun and creative manner. The Bentley community has been nothing but supportive, and Honeyman expresses his gratitude and appreciation for it.

By Sindhu Palaniappan

Culture Fest 2011, a 10-day celebration of different cultural backgrounds, kicks off this Saturday. This year is bigger and better than before, with a full 10 days of events and more campus department involvement.

“There’s something for everyone!” said Brianna Morrissey, a junior who is very involved in the planning process.

Culture Fest begins this Saturday in Koumantzalis with SASA’s annual Diwali performance – a festival of colors and dance. The theme for this year’s show is “My Big Fat South Asian Wedding,” and it features everything from classical to modern fusion dance.

The week continues with lunch and the band Rumba Africa at seasons on November 7, followed by the Red for Africa Campaign later in the day. Throughout the week there will be a station in Seasons serving cultural dishes from Africa, China, India, Guatemala and Thailand.

Since the food is probably one of the best parts of any given culture, in addition to a new station at Seasons, throughout the week the language departments will be holding cooking periods. From sushi making to Spanish cooking to Chinese culinary, students and faculty from different language departments will be hosting these mini cooking shows for all students to attend.

The week also features some great informational sessions – from studying abroad to facilitated discussions about health and beauty around the world. There is also a talent show on November 10 for students to highlight some of their cultural talents.

The 10-day celebration ends on November 15 with the ever-popular Food Festival, featuring foods from all around the world, the band Los Sugar Kings and hungry Bentley students.

Urges students to get involved

By Sindhu Palaniappan

“You guys – you are not the leaders of tomorrow,” Khazei said to a table full of Bentley students anxiously waiting to hear from him. After a few confused glances towards each other and an unbearably uncomfortable silence, he continuesd, “You’re the leaders of today!”

Alan Khazei recently ran for a democratic seat in the U.S. Senate for the state of Massachusetts, although he recently dropped out. Khazei has been touring college campuses for three years now; he really believes that the younger generation can make all of the difference. Once a student at Harvard College and later Harvard Law, Khazei is a social entrepreneur that is passionate about giving back – as evidenced by all of his work with Be The Change, a national coalition devoted to building non-profits, and AmeriCorps, a federal community service program.

Along with his work with Be The Change and AmeriCorps, Khazei co-founded with his Harvard roommate a now national program called City Year. “City Year depends on 17 – 20 something’s – you are the generation that has a gift.” City Year, a partner with Bentley’s Service Learning, is an incredible program that allows students to donate a year to help inner city students in various locations around the country. “The 18 to 30 year old demographic is the group that voted in the first African American president in our nation’s history,” Khazei continues, further hitting home that the young generation is not only the group that senses injustice – but the group most apt to do something about it.

As the son of immigrants, a mother from Italy and a father from Iran, Khazei really feels like he is living the American Dream. “My father left a country of oppression and came to the US for its ideals and the freedom our citizens enjoy. My mother instilled in me this: That every person has a gift.”

There’s been a shift in what Americans want, Khazei said. People used to ask, ‘what can I do for my country?’ until fairly recently, where it turned into ‘am I better off than I was 4 years ago?’ There is a new selfish or self-centered focus, people aren’t trying to give back but instead they’re trying to figure out what they can take.

There are four keys points to this campaign, he made clear: (1) Unemployment – especially with the younger crowd. If you don’t have a job your first year out of college, you’ll be much worse off ten years down the road. (2) Poverty in the States. 46 million people, that’s 2 out of every 5 families, have fallen into poverty in the last 2 years. (3) Education – after “spending over 20 years with students in inner cities, one thing that is to be learned is that any child, with high expectations and a good learning environment, can succeed,” says Khazei. 30 years ago, 75% of jobs only required a high school diploma. Now, 66% of jobs expect some form of higher education. “Loan debt is like mortgage – it’s crippling.” (4) Service and Political Reform – “Young people lead everything,” says Khazei, “from ending genocide in Sudan to the LGBT movement, to Occupy Boston and Occupy Wall Street, all the way to Tiananmen Square. You move beyond social issues, your generation just looks at what work needs to be done, and then gets it done.”

He goes on to talk about how “Diversity is the wrong discussion. It means everyone is at the table. Inclusivity, however, means everyone around the table is equal.” From a man of such diverse backgrounds, he seems to be an authority on the topic. He closed by presenting an idea for students right here at Bentley to use – an idea that would allow us to use our voting power to accomplish things for everyone – how it should be used. “Promise them that you’ll give them a 100% voter turnout, if they can promise you more jobs openings,” he said, stressing again that if anyone has power – it’s out generation.

This year, the Panhellenic Council is hosting their first ever Charity Denim Drive. Over 400 pairs of designers jeans for men and women, as well as jackets and tops from Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters and Free People, will be sold to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Everything is brand new and discounted 40 – 60 percent.

The jeans and tops are either from last season or they are samples of products to be made and therefore can be discounted and sold to raise money. This is the first time the Panhellenic Council is putting on an event like this – the idea came from one of the Council members’ friends from back home. All of the proceeds will go to the AFSP, an organization that is very near and dear to one of the Greek Life members.

Jeans are to be sold at around $55 – $80, and tops from the stores mentioned above will be starting at around $15. There are over 60 volunteers and the Panhellenic Council is looking for more. E-mail GA_panhelleniccouncil@bentley.edu for more information, and check out the actual Drive on November 4 from 12 to 4 p.m. in the Back Bay.

The Chesterbrook Learning Community is an organization that recently received grant funding, thanks to a few Bentley students and a forward-thinking writing class. Chesterbrook is a low-income housing facility located right here in Waltham, and many students are familiar with it because of the Service Learning hours they’ve put it there.

By: Sindhu Palaniappan

“Bentley students have these great, really innovative ideas,” said Henrietta Genfi, assistant director of the Advising Center. “A grant could help them back that.”

A Diversity Mini-Grant, that is – something awarded by the school’s Faculty and Staff Diversity Council. These grants are an opportunity for the Bentley community to receive money to help with diversity initiatives on campus. A grant can help fund the experience of finding a way to involve staff and students in a cultural experience, or something new and innovative.

Bentley has been offering these grants for four years now, making them open to undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni. The students are allowed the opportunity to read and discuss with each other in an open and informal setting. It’s something that isn’t offered often at a school like Bentley.

Many new experiences have been made possible by the grant. For example, a group of RDs took students to multiple African American museums and held open discussions. Exchange students from Brazil set up a Brazilian fair, where staff and students could enjoy Brazilian food, hear speakers and see demonstrations. One year, Genfi and Kevin Piskadlo, dean of Academic Services and director of the Academic Advising Center, took a group of students to New York City to see Broadway’s In the Heights. They looked at what it was like to live in the Hispanic projects, and then went to Washington Heights afterwards.

Genfi shared her perspective on the progress report and final presentation to the council which accompanies the funding.

“It’s a great opportunity to be able to explore the diversity around this area, and at the end of the day, the work isn’t that bad at all,” said Genfi.” I’ve done it – you just need to report on what you’re doing, and then what you’ve done. You aren’t doing any extra research; you’re just presenting what you’ve done so far.”

The Diversity Council is looking for students who want to pursue something with a passion; an event that will go beyond just funding for ethnic food, but instead a project that is creative and will impact the Bentley community.
“I know there are some wonderful ideas out there to be shared with the Bentley community, and I have truly enjoyed the opportunity to evaluate and award mini-grants,” said Melissa Sawyer, senior associate director of Undergraduate Career Services. “At times it was challenging to narrow down who should receive grants. I look forward to that ‘problem’ again.”

For more information, contact the Diversity Council at GA_DiversityMini-Grants@bentley.edu. The application for a Diversity Mini-Grant can be found at http://campus-life.bentley.edu/cultural-spiritual-life/diversity/faculty/mini-grants.

By Sindhu Palaniappan

A big problem at universities across the country is a poor system of instant communication. Sure, there’s e-mail and Facebook, but if you need to reach a large group – say, your e-board – right before a meeting to alert them that there has been a room change, it’s pretty much impossible.

Michael Keaton (Princeton ’11), along with Brian Jacobson (Bentley ’12) and Michael Perl (Princeton ’11), realized this major issue and decided to tackle it head on. What they came up with was a brand new platform called SwoopTEXT, which gives students and faculty alike instant and mass communication.

They first realized the issue during Keaton’s and Perl’s time at Princeton, and figured that the staff and faculty could really use a mass text message system to organize their senior events, like commencement, for example. Thomas Dunne, Princeton’s dean of Undergraduate Student Life, was all for it; after one e-mail out to the senior class about the new platform, about 50 percent of the seniors signed up for and loved it. Starting this year, Princeton groups and events will operate fully on this student-run, start-up communication platform.“All students need is text capability. SwoopTEXT doesn’t exclude those without smart phones or constant access to the internet,” Keaton said.

“And it syncs to your Google or Outlook calendar automatically,” said Jacobson.

Not only is there a calendar of events function and a communication function, but each school on the platform also has a virtual Activities Fair posted throughout the year.

“Princeton only has one Activities Fair a year and Bentley only has two,” Jacobson said. “This way, students who are apprehensive about approaching a table at the fair can check out a group and its events online through SwoopTEXT any time of the year.”

The Explore Your Campus feature allows you to request to join or follow groups on campus, as well as view any events and write-ups they choose to make public. Since the Activities Fair aims for members instead of followers, it’s perfect for both students and organizations to get involved and promote themselves outside of their core membership.

There are some key advantages to communicating through the platform, too. First and foremost, it’s easy and user friendly, and students generally use text messaging more than e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.

“Texts have their own inbox,” said Keaton. “They are immediate and succinct messages you can access without a smartphone or an app or Internet-capable phone.”

The best part is that all numbers and information remain private. Numbers are encrypted, so leaders can send out notifications through text, but they can’t access your personal information.

“Students do things that are last minute or spontaneous, and this makes communication much easier,” said Keaton. “Say tennis practice gets pushed back because of the weather – here’s an easy way to alert everyone.”

There are different tiers of power on this system – you can be a leader, a member, or a follower. So, whether you’re a captain of a team, a member or a fan, there is news and event information for everyone, as well as a means of communication from captain to members and/or captain to fans.

SwoopTEXT allows you to sort by year and by gender, and it has the capability to make custom sub groups so you can send out the right information to the right people quickly and efficiently. There are built-in privacy features that allow students to choose in what format and how often they receive communication.

“We’re just trying to create one centralized place where students can access everything at once,” said Jacobson on the topic of integrating social media with SwoopTEXT. “There’s a problem when there isn’t one centralized interface.”
Princeton is using Swoop TEXT this year for all of their events, and student governments from state schools as well as the top 10 universities in the country have requested accounts and trial versions. Bentley administration is in the process of working with the SwoopTEXT founders this semester.

“What we’ve noticed is that there seems to be a strong pull from all sorts of different organizations – athletes, theatre arts, Greeks and so on – so we’ve built something that can add value regardless of organization structure,” said Keaton.
You can register for free at swooptext.com with an e-mail address and a cell phone number, both of which stay private to other members.

Contact Brian Jacobson at jacobso_bria@bentley.edu or Michael Keaton at mkeaton@swooptext.com for more information, and stay posted for more information about SwoopTEXT at Bentley.

By Sindhu Palaniappan

Coming soon to campus: The Bentley Arts and Music Festival. This is a joint production of the “Arts and Media Cluster,” which was initiated by Bentley’s own radio station, WBTY.

The goal of the event is to promote the arts on campus, and mainly to show that Bentley students know how to have fun and be creative…when they aren’t worrying about business classes. Needless to say, there is a lack of arts and media, but Bentley is one of few business schools that does a ton to celebrate the arts, both academically with Liberal Studies Majors, and socially with events and organizations on campus.

As a result, WBTY and a number of other organizations have pooled together their resources to put on a celebration of the arts and media on Monday, April 18, on which day there are no classes as it is Patriots’ Day. The event will take place on the Greenspace from 2 to 6 p.m. and will feature quite a few kick offs and freebies.

Funding has been put towards BAMF shirts, similar to the Consent Day shirts. And of course, an ice cream truck has been hired to supply ice cream for free for the day. Sponsoring organizations include Alpha Psi Omega, the Arts and Lectures Programs, Ballroom Dancing, Bentley Marketing Association, Bentley TV, Bentley Student Artists, Campus Activities Board, the Jazz Band, the Literary Society, the Masters of Bentley A Cappella, WBTY and yours truly, The Vanguard.
The Arts and Lectures Program will be bringing DJ Big Walt to keep the music going, and the Bentley Student Artists will be holding an art competition and a workshop on the Greenspace. The Jazz Band will be playing a set and WBTY will be providing extra DJs.

CAB is running their “Cash CAB” event at the same time, providing even more food and trivia for students to take part it. The Literary Society is launching this year’s Piecework Magazine, which is an annual compilation of students’ writing and art work.

Shirts will go FAST and it’s supposed to be nice out, so stop by the Greenspace on the 18th for a dose of music, media and art.

By Sindhu Palaniappan

On Wednesday night, April 13, Alpha Psi Omega (APO) gave a preview of their upcoming play All My Sons, which will preformed this Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. each night in Koumentzelis Auditorium.

All My Sons is a passionate story about the loss of innocence and the deep seeded truth coming out. The main story revolves around a family, Joe Keller, his wife Kate and their two sons. Chris, the pushover son left at home, grows a great amount in front of the audience. Larry is the other son who has been missing at war for three years, and his loss has left turmoil and hostility among family members.

The main characters of the play put their hearts on stage, and convincingly fit into their appropriate roles. Sophomore Ryan MacPherson plays the main character Chris. Anne, “Larry’s girl,” and the woman with whom Chris shares a mutual affection, is played by Sonia Sedova. Brian Hasbrouck plays the father, Chris Keller, and sophomore Ali Kane plays the mother, Kate Keller. Sophomore Brandon Muir plays Anne’s irate brother, George Deever. Charming 12-year-old Zack Rocklin-Waltsch from the Waltham Children’s Theater also plays a role in the show. I won’t try and seem too biased, but he may have been my favorite…

In all seriousness, the play is incredibly moving. Time and time again, the characters in the play are faced with plot twists and fragile familial relationships on the brink of tipping. There are overwhelming secrets between the family members, and the play leaves you asking questions at every turn. Albeit a smaller cast than normal this year, the students are nothing short of exceptional in their roles. I found myself engrossed during the first act, feeling slightly shocked and jarred when the intermission lights came up.

The play deals with heavy issues, internal family fights and secrets, death, dishonesty and conversely the shocking truth, so understandably it’s quite easy to get caught up in.

Marathon Monday is right around the corner. Bentley’s own Renee Soucy is running this year while giving back to the community at the same time. Last year, Soucy ran to raise money for autism awareness; this year, she is running for the Perkins School for the Blind, located in Watertown, MA.

“Last year, I met a blind runner who ran the marathon with the help of two aids,” said Soucy. So she decided to help out with a school for the blind this time around. “Perkins was my top choice,” she said.

This is Soucy’s second time running the marathon. After training for weeks and running last year with a time of four hours and 15 minutes, she aims to finish this year in less than four hours. The training from mid-December on should pay off; Soucy has been running 40 to 50 miles a week. After running half marathons like the Hyannis half and the Quincy half, Soucy’s goal is to run 700 miles over the span of training and the actual marathon itself.

Running for a charity requires a total donation of $3,250. Soucy has been getting the word out on Facebook and through a donations site, support.perkins.org/goto/rsoucy. She and 19 other runners will be representing the Perkins School this April. This donation is a huge help to Perkins as well, since it is a nonprofit business.

Soucy has been volunteering at the Perkins School on her own behalf throughout the year to develop personal connections to those she is helping through donations. She has gotten the opportunity to work in the early learning center, which allows her to take the kids out on field trips and spend as much time with them as possible. Working so closely with children who are blind or have physical disabilities, as well as working with the other aids at the school, makes Soucy feel like she has developed a personal connection to the cause she is helping.

“It’s inspiring to know that you can put so much effort into something and accomplish something real. This is what made me consider coming to graduate school,” said Soucy.

After taking a year off between undergraduate studies at UMass Amherst, Soucy felt inspired by the tangible benefits of running the race last year, and decided that the next thing she should tackle is graduate school.

Soucy reflects on how it feels to run the marathon saying, “The last six miles are the hardest. Heartbreak Hill at mile 18 is especially challenging because you run out of energy. The crowd is like nothing else, though; everyone is just cheering your name,” she said.

Be sure to check out Soucy’s cause and see the runners on Monday.

By Sindhu Palaniappan

This Sunday at the Middle East Nightclub and Restaurant in Cambridge, Bentley’s own Brian Bramswig will be commanding the crowd. Bramswig, better known as B Bramz, is a sophomore rapper from Westchester, New York.

He will be competing with nine other local artists in front of hundreds of people. When asked about how the nerves are kicking in, he laughed it off.

“I’ve been serious for a year now, and I’ve just worked in a real recording studio. This is my second big show, and I’m not nervous at all,” he said.

The winner gets a deal for a professional music video, and there are cash prizes for the runner ups. This is a unique experience for Bramswig, as opposed to his past home shows.

“It’s a new crowd instead of a venue filled with friends, and I’m pumped,” he said.

Bramswig is in a musical genre of his own, something he likes to call “college rap” (you may have seen the shirts around campus).

“It’s not about struggling or growing up in the ghetto. It’s music that’s fun to listen to. It’s entertaining and clever,” said Bramswig.

And that’s an understatement; not only does Bramswig have talent, but he’s also an artist who puts thought and heart into his lyrics, while being incredibly relatable to his college audience.

An accompanying friend and fan of his music went on to talk about how passionate Bramswig is on stage, and how it shows when he performs.

Feel free to check out the music at facebook.com/BBramzMusic, or Google “B Bramz” and click on any of the top five links.

By Sindhu Palaniappan

The 20th anniversary of National Association of Black Accountants invited back NABA’s 20 past presidents and executive board members. Each executive board member was honored by the current president, Calvin Harris Jr. and senior, Gerly Adrien, a member of Bentley’s NABA chapter.

Also recognized were the Bentley Chapter’s three founding fathers, Dr. Earl Avery, special assistant to the president, Mr. Francis Thomas, NABA Boston Professional member, and Professor Lawrence Klein, a 20-year professor of accountancy at Bentley. These three men helped to establish the NABA chapter at Bentley in 1991.

The celebration was open to all of NABA’s supporters, including NABA Boston Professional members, Bentley Alumni and NABA’s Corporate Sponsors. A gentleman from a New York chapter drove down to Waltham just to show his good standing because he “wanted to represent and support the thriving program here at Bentley,” he said.

At Bentley, membership extends beyond solely black students or Accountancy Majors; NABA Bentley is dedicated to uniting business professionals and students who are committed to professional and academic excellence. Over the years, countless students have gained full-time employment and internships through NABA’s corporate relationships.

“Somehow at some time, someone did something for you,” said Harris. Harris, a CPA and the current national president and executive CEO of NABA made one thing very clear throughout the night: The organization is all about “Lifting as we climb.” Harris shared a very tender story with the audience about his days in college, when his family was homeless at a point and the “gift” of college was taken away from him.

He grounded the individuals in the room and explained how the professional world had to be one of great humanity. He contrasted the cutthroat business image that is so common today with stories of those who had helped him become who he was. His speech ended with a gentle reminder that no one is ever alone, even in a harsh world like the professional one.
Other prominent figures on campus came to speak at the event, as well. Dean Shepardson welcomed members, alumni, other students and faculty as well as professionals from sponsoring companies such as Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Grant Thornton, Liberty Mutual and BNY Mellon.

NABA is well recognized on and off campus for its awards and annual events. Most notably, the organization hosts the annual Business Bowl Case Competition. They have won Falcon Awards and diversity awards from SGA in the past. Bentley’s NABA chapter has also placed in Intercollegiate Regional Chapter Reporting and Evaluation programs.

By Sindhu Palaniappan

This past Saturday, CORE put on a show aptly titled Spare Change, not referencing loose quarters but instead playing on how all people can afford to spare or allow some new changes in their life in order to expand their horizons.

You may have seen the flyers posted up around campus or the commercials floating around Facebook for Concentrating on Recognizing Everyone (CORE), a new pending cultural organization on campus. The far-reaching organization is being spearheaded by three motivated sophomores: Brandon Oliver, Marcus Payne and Ryan Vermette.

“The group is all about bringing out cultural awareness through creative means,” said Payne. “It’s hard to make that first step and put yourself out there, so we’re here to facilitate new meetings and give people the opportunity to meet people unlike them.” The goal is to bring together both cultural and non-cultural organizations on campus.

The show consisted of different cultural and non-cultural acts – the FIRE step squad opened the show, the Bhangra team performed halfway through and Krumpers closed the show, with poetry and Cultural Testimonies performed in between.

“Everyone was on their A game, and people got a ton out of the show,” said Oliver. “The performances were the draw or the appeal of the show, but the individual speakers made the impact.”

“People came up to us afterwards and said it had in fact opened their eyes,” said Payne.

Oliver, Payne and Vermette chose relatable students to come up on stage and talk about personal subjects like upbringings, money, racial diversity and family. “Prejudgments about some of these students, whatever you thought about them before, those things were completely overthrown,” said Oliver.

And since the testimonies were made by students alone on the stage, it was very real and relatable to students in the crowd. “That’s what made it impactful; we all found common ground,” said Payne.

Oliver, one of the students who testified, admitted to being nervous before going on stage, but realized during the act that it was easy to be so open with his peers, especially when he started recognizing people in the audience. “And I practiced a million times,” he said with a laugh.

“The process last semester was to first see if people would be interested,” said Payne. “After getting a positive response, we made partnerships with a variety of groups on campus, and got to know some of these people on a different level. There were relationships behind these group partnerships, that’s what made it real. Jeanette Buntin looked over us, and the funding for the show came from a mini grant that we applied for last semester.”

“We had faith in all of the organizations involved in the show, and although it was stressful to plan, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much and had so much fun while still being able to get stuff done,” said Oliver. “Lookout for CORE, it’s a big deal!”

For more information or to get involved, e-mail payne_marc@bentley.edu; oliver_bran@bentley.edu; or vermett_ryan@bentley.edu.

Spring Comedy Show features talented students and famed comedians

By Brenna O’Connell & Sindhu Palaniappan

Thanks to CAB and Comedy Chair Patrick Maguire, this year’s Comedy Show was an unforgettable one. The main attraction was YouTube sensation Bo Burnham, along with Comedy Central opener Shane Mauss and two Bentley students, Brandon Schug and Joshua Seiden.

The show opened with Seiden, a freshman and pledge of Alpha Epsilon Pi, fusing beat boxing and juggling together to get laughs from the audience. A Marketing major from Long Island, his nerves weren’t prevalent because he was so excited to be on stage. His comfort in the limelight showed that, even though his experience had only been a few kids’
birthday parties and talent shows.

The second student opener was junior Brandon Schug. His self-proclaimed “social awkwardness” served him well in his comedy style. Schug is a Marketing major from Connecticut who put himself out there by opening for two big comedians like Mauss and Burnham. Making rounds in comedy clubs in the area, such as the Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub, Schug says performing in front of his peers is a unique experience. Doing a stand up routine and playing a little bit on his feet, Schug really got the audience laughing with his unique sense of humor.

Mauss, a seasoned comedian, was on next. Since he caught his big break in 2007, Mauss has been featured on Comedy Central, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live, as well as festivals across the world. At first, Mauss seemed to test the waters with his audience, but as his bit progressed, it was clear he was more confident and took risks; well, as confident as a self-deprecating comedian can be.

He loves to save “the edgy stuff for young college audiences, since comedy clubs and bars are an entirely different animal.” By the end, Mauss was tackling asshole jokes and drunk texting, which turned out to be a great segue to the outrageous Bo Burnham. On March 9, Mauss will reunite with O’Brien for the first time since O’Brien’s new show.
When Burnham first appeared, his introductory music blared, setting the tone. The intense music and his moves were enticing, awkward, creepy and dangerous, in that order.

In a sit-down interview after the show, Burnham shared the inspiration and reasoning behind his flamboyant, provocative show (as well as a brazen apology to that student).

Throughout high school, Burnham was a thespian at St. John’s Prep in Danvers, MA. In middle school, he was an analytical mathlete (a la “New Math”), eventually abandoning that in favor of a self-proclaimed “lazy route.” While not necessarily a “loser” in high school, he did identify with that group.

“I mean, I was never pushed into lockers or anything, but I really hate the same people losers hated,” he said. This is reflected in his victimization of himself in many of his pieces.

“Art is dead,” he said. “99 percent of people don’t care about the goodness of some act, but just the profit.” It’s this passion that fuels him to work so furiously at having a genuine show of entertainment value. “Sometimes I don’t know why I get so much praise; it feels like I’m robbing people… Of course this show was free for you guys.”

Everything Burnham does and says comes from his philosophy and ultimate vision for his craft. Influenced by counterparts in Europe, Burnham is in search for the ultimate theatrical experience. It is neither the rapping nor the singing that is his true passion, but instead writing – this is evident in his witty comedic style. He admits that his earlier work may have been crude and offensive in order to get a few laughs, but now he realizes that was a cheap way to go about it.

“Anyone can get up there and say, ‘Snuggies,’ and have the crowd laughing without even saying a joke,” said Burnham. But he is concerned with earning his laughs. “Comedy is about not getting what you thought you got. It’s like the King Lear model,” (the higher something is, the harder it falls). “If I can take something sacred and dark and make people laugh, that’s an accomplishment.”

With that being said, “There is definitely a moral compass to comedy,” said Burnham. This led to his own realization that, for example, his Helen Keller jokes were just too easy and in poor taste.

Presently, he adamantly defends his material, saying that nothing is meant to offend. “It’s about understanding the truth of what I’m saying.”

When asked about his journey from the humble confines of his bedroom on YouTube, Burnham compares it to “being a really tall midget”(whatever that means). The biggest challenge he had was transforming his style to performance-friendly material.

Burnham is known for his incredibly witty jokes, which usually require thought to process and understand. On YouTube, viewers have the luxury of watching videos multiple times, reading along and laughing once it all comes together. In live performances, however, the absence of such things forced Burnham to revamp his style. Instead, he “piles jokes on top of jokes,” so that the listener will catch maybe one out of every three jokes, but are still laughing anyway.

Burnham appreciates the respect that the Bentley community showed him. (He hates nothing more than drunken hecklers, although they keep him on his toes.) Improvisation is a huge part of his appeal – as evidenced by his interactions with Bentley Police Officer David.

“Making the show something different keeps me from killing myself, and the audience feels good knowing they saw something unique,” said Burnham.

By Sindhu Palaniappan

The 14th Annual Bentley Business Bowl was held on Saturday, February 26 from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Upper Campus. The event is co-sponsored by the Bentley Student Chapter of the National Association of Black Accounts (NABA), the President’s Office, Career Services and Corporate Relations, the Departments of Accountancy and Management and the McCallum Graduate School.

At 8 a.m., the Executive Dining Room in LaCava was filled with students from every class code, ranging from freshmen to graduate students, preparing to compete against their fellow classmates. Over 300 students participated in the competition. Video cameras milled around, taping parts of the competition for the Admissions Office to use to promote activities at Bentley. By midday, approximately 90 judges, consisting of professionals from the business community, alums, faculty, staff and 60 volunteers, were preparing to hear the presentations and to provide feedback to the students.

Freshmen, sophomores and juniors are given two cases, while seniors and grad students are given one more involved case. The times for presentations are divided as to ensure everyone has equal time to prepare. Teams of four or five students of the same class code present to three judges and are ranked according to their grade level. Each team receives feedback from the professionals after their presentation.

After the presentations, judges also participated in the networking and awards program, where the winning teams were announced and raffles were drawn.

Barrett Mononen, an alumnus of Bentley and a judge from EMC, said, “The interactive portion was by far the best part. I graded sophomores and I was so impressed with their level of professionalism and their unbelievably feasible solutions to some of these cases.” Other judges and professionals concurred; they were simply “blown out of the water” at how well the students were at deciphering and presenting cases on their feet.

In addition to judging and networking, sponsors provided prize money and gifts that were raffled off. Liberty Mutual was a corporate partner, and they devoted time and energy, as well as employees, for the entire day. Other sponsors included Kelmar Associates, KPMG and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Donors included Boston Scientific, Deloitte, EMC, Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton, McGladrey, PWC and Waldron H. Rand Company. Raytheon provided Bentley with ethics cases. Needless to say, there were many supporters in the corporate world, since many sponsoring companies, especially Liberty Mutual, recruit at Bentley.

Gerly Adrien, president of the Bentley Chapter of NABA, opened and closed the event, commenting on how this year’s program was “one of the best yet,” and how it was so rewarding for her to help organize such a successful event in her last year at Bentley.

One of the first-place winners in the senior level, Schantelle Henry, said that the Business Bowl is “one of those rare events where all of Bentley comes together. In one word, it was refreshing.” Some students, like sophomore Ryan Clare, agreed with the employers in that “the the feedback was the best part. It’s a real learning experience.”
Junior Greg Kokino expanded “upon abilities learned at Bentley, and then had the chance to apply them in a real life setting as opposed to a classroom.”

The Winners are as follows:

Freshmen
Michael Ahrendt, Jared Brown, Nicholas Chrysanthos, Juliet Dilillo

Sophomores
Andrew Cullivan, Elizabeth Curatolo, Stephanie Depaolo, Pat McGoldrick, , Emily Wanless

Juniors
Cody Clarkson, James Cruise, Andrew Fox, Brett Kirkland, Justin Temple

Seniors
Wondha Cadet, Schantelle Henry, Sahardeed Isa, Hamza Issack, Adriana Phillips

Graduate
Emira Ajeti, Neel Bhalaria, Turn Chugh, Tanushee Jain, Bijal Saurastri

Graduate student takes on massive snow piles to turn profit

Written By: Sindhu Palaniappan

Written By: Sindhu Palaniappan

On February 16, the Women’s Center will be presenting The Vagina Monologues in the Koumantzelis Auditorium at 8 p.m.

The Vagina Monologues was written by Eve Ensler, a playwright and female rights activist. Ensler conducted “vagina interviews” with various women and picked the most common themes to create monologues along the lines of certain prominent characters.

Christine Malloy, Gillian Cowin and Ashley King, who are producing and directing the play this year, took a few moments to talk about the show. As noted by Cowin, the production is slightly different this year, and notably more interactive. She explained that there is a transgender piece this year which is optional and has been omitted in years past. This piece, which hasn’t really been presented to Bentley before, is really powerful.

“It exposes some of the public’s fears and uncertainty. It’s something that isn’t heard about often,” said Cowin.
The crew decided to present the transgender piece this year in light of recent LGBTQ events in the news.
“It’s new and fresh, but not particularly positive,” said Malloy. “There is a lot more variety in the show; it exposes things you don’t even think of. You expect the show to push boundaries, and it does, in more ways than one. It shows different perspectives.”

King, while agreeing with what was said about the new piece, said that “Angry Vagina” was her favorite piece, because it tends to break up the seriousness of the other ones. It is delivered well and represents the variety of moods presented throughout the production.

Despite the seriousness of the topics presented in the monologues, there is always good feedback – and both genders – in the audience. Topics that people aren’t usually comfortable talking about, like rape and cancer, are openly addressed in a poignant and honest format.

“These are good, accessible messages that aren’t too serious or too overbearing for a college crowd. It’s still a night out, but it also makes you think. It broaches many different taboo topics, and the variety of moods makes it all easier to take in,” said Malloy.

Submissions from students on campus are read anonymously during the performance, and it hits close to home knowing that these submissions come from students here at Bentley.

If anyone would like to send a submission, drop it off or e-mail it to the Women’s Center or the Counseling Center. Submissions may also be e-mailed to malloy_chri@bentley.edu or tabbott@bentley.edu.

Tickets for the show are running for 2 dollars in advance, and 5 dollars at the door. Rest assured that you can enjoy a thought-provoking production and donate to a pertinent cause at the same time, since all proceeds are going to the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center.