Boston University Communication Students Ill-informed about Marriott Murder

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Map of Marriot Hotel in Relation to Boston University Campus


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By Williette Nyanue

BOSTON-Though there is excitement at Boston University surrounding the recent murder at the Marriott Hotel just minutes away from the university, and arrest of B.U. medical student, Philip Markoff, many College of Communication students have not been intently following the details of the case.

“Can you just give me some background information?” This is the question three consecutive students asked on Tuesday afternoon, when they were approached for their response to the recent arrest of Markoff, the alleged murderer.

“I only heard about it because my grandma called and was like ‘AHH! I heard there was
a murder at BU,’ ” said Christa Majoras, a 21-year-old film student.

Though she does occasionally write for the schools newspaper, in regards to the recent details of the case, she admits, “I am pretty uninformed about it.”

Even those students who have knowledge on the murder are not fully aware of the events surrounding the arrest.

21-year-old Allison Strauss said she first read about the case from a link on the social website Twitter. She followed up by reading the articles published in the school’s newspaper, Daily Free Press, and on the school’s website, BU Today.

These sources, however, were published before the arrest of Markoff, and were outdated within minutes as the story continued to develop.
When asked her opinion on the guilt or innocence of Markoff, she admitted she was not aware of the actual evidence brought against Markoff.

“Oh I’m not that informed,” Strauss said.

While students seem to have a general knowledge of the case and can understand the gravity of the situation, Katherine Razzouk, a junior in the college, reminded reporters that the life of a college student doesn’t stop because of a nearby murder.

“I’m sorry,” said Razzouk. “I’ve had a lot of work to do and have been in a hole lately. I have two papers to write and I’m kind of out of it.”

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Update: President Obama's Second Prime Time News Conference

Photo Courtesy of MinnesotaPublicRadio.org

By Williette Nyanue

Q&A:

Growing Defict: President Obama planned to possibly sacrifice a growing deficit, in order to reform healthcare, energy, education, and budget spending. "Let's make the investments that ensure that we meet our growth and target, as opposed to us not making these investments, and we still have these problems," said President Obama. The president did, however, plan to cut the deficit in half by instating these reforms. "If we don't do these things, we won't grow," said Obama.

No Global Currency: President Obama said that he did not think there was a need for a global currency.

Homeless Children: "I am heartbroken that any child is homeless," said Obama and he planned to alleviate this situation by making sure that their parents have jobs in the immediate future. "It is not acceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours," said President Obama. The president planned to put into action programs and reforms to aid the homeless.

Race: "The American people are judging me the way that I should be judged," said Obama.

President Obama's Second Prime Time News Conference

By Williette Nyanue

Opening Statement: President Obama directed his opening remarks to the American public, assuring them that, though the process of rebuilding the economy will be hard, through his stimulus plan, Americans will begin to see progress. Regarding the recession, President Obama stated that, "it will take many months to lead us out. There are no quick fixes and there are no silver bullets." Though President Obama recognized the difficulty that the next few months will bring, he encouraged Americans to not give up hope. "We will get there if we travel that road as one nation, as one people...Let's look toward the future with a renewed sense of confidence that we will prosper."

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Students get first look at StuVi 2 During Tours

Photo Courtesy Of Boston University Website

By: Williette Nyanue
Edited by: Taylor Miles

Published: Thursday, March 19, 2009 in the Daily Free Press


Boston University students waited eagerly inside a partially constructed room in Student Village Phase II on Wednesday, unsure of what to expect on the first-ever open tour of the newly constructed towers of the West Campus high-rise.

“We’re going to have a rec room with a bunch of Wiis, supposedly, and a nice little deck area, which will be nice to just lay out when there is nice weather,” College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Jennierose Rizzo said.

During the first half hour, about 200 people toured StuVi 2, BU Housing Director Marc Robillard said, and students continued to file in at a steady pace for the next two and a half hours. The 15-minute tours showed groups of about 25 students both a typical eight-person suite in the south tower and a four-person apartment in the north tower. The second round of tours will take place Thursday.

“Students seem pretty happy with what they see,” Robillard said. “They’re concerned because they don’t know about the room selection process, if they’re going to get in, but they’re excited.”


Floor plan of the suite style rooms in Stuvi II



Photo Courtesy of Boston University Website

Each apartment and suite is arranged around a partially furnished common room. Features of the new towers include 24-hour front door security, a bicycle storage room, central air conditioning and a multi-purpose room, according to a tour flyer. Many rooms offer clear views of downtown Boston or Nickerson Field.

College of Communication freshman Ariana Recoraro said she enjoyed the tour and wants to live there next year. However, she was somewhat disappointed by the length of the tour and how the rooms were only partially furnished.

“The tour was kind of quick, but you got the point,” Recoraro said.

Although the cost of living in StuVi 2 is more expensive then most on-campus housing, many students said the price tag was not a concern.

“It’s so worth it,” COM freshman Andrea Aldana said. “It’s a much nicer living arrangement, and it’s new.”

Rizzo said she agreed.

“I think the newness of it, after living in Danielsen [Hall], which is an older building, makes it worth the money,” Rizzo, who plans on living in StuVi 2 next year, said.


Floor plan of the apartment style rooms in Stuvi II.


Photo Courtesy of Boston University Website

Although the towers do not have their own dining hall, and the apartment-style living spaces have only one bathroom for four people, as opposed to two in StuVi, there are new features exclusive to StuVi 2, Robillard said.

He said a new feature differentiating StuVi 2 from the original StuVi is the “dormitory component,” an eight-person suite with a required dining plan.

“It’s designed for students going from their freshman year to their sophomore year to keep large groups of students together, but still provide single room opportunities,” Robillard said.

Construction on StuVi 2 is scheduled to be finished in May, and students will start moving in this fall.

After 30 years of Policy, Professor Calls for Differentiation on Immigration

Photo Courtesy of the African American Studies Program at Boston University

By Williette Nyanue
BOSTON- Dr. Linda Heywood, director of the African American Studies Program at Boston University, has seen nearly 30 years of changing U.S. immigration policy, and though she sees justification for some of the changes, she noted where the government needs to make changes.

Heywood, an immigrant from Trinidad in the British West Indies with skin true to the color of a brown Crayola® crayon, short, sandy-brown hair, and big, thin-rimmed glasses, remembered a time when it was relatively easy to enter the U.S.

“I had family in England and Trinidad who used to come to the U.S. on holidays just to do their shopping,” she stated, seated behind her desk full of books, articles and legal pads half-full with scribble.

She said her own immigration to America was also relatively easy. She followed the example of her aunt, brother and sister, who immigrated to the U.S. in the late 60s to work.

In the summer of 1969, during a six-week period, she visited the U.S. for the first time on a temporary visitors visa to visit prospective colleges. She eventually chose to attend Brooklyn College.

In a very noticeable accent, she said her choice of Brooklyn College was an easy one partly because she had many relatives who had lived in New York since the 1920s.

Trinidad’s strong connection to the U.S. also influenced Heywood to make the migration.



Photo Courtesy of Google Images Edited by Williette Nyanue

“My family from New York would come down to Trinidad in the summers so I always knew what was going on in America,” Heywood said. “I had been getting Martin Luther King’s messages regarding civil rights, all the speeches, everything. When Kennedy died, I was in high school, and we all cried. It was like we were part of the American transformation.”

She cited the large British West Indian population in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights area, resulting from an increase in Caribbean migration to the U.S., as added help in adjusting to life in New York.

According to Heywood, eventually changing her visiting visa to a student status was relatively easy and cheap, once she was actually was accepted to Brooklyn College.

Though immigration policy was lax in the 60s, “now, because of September 11, there is stricter approach to immigration,” says Heywood, who became a citizen in the 80s, after her marriage to a U.S. citizen, Dr. John Thornton.

Heywood, who frequents Brazil for her work on the African diaspora, noted the differences between U.S. and Brazilian immigration policy.

“At Brazilian airports, you’re not subject to the tight security, and you don’t get the sense that people are looking at you with suspicion.” In America, “no matter what type of immigration status you have, you have to deal with a bureaucracy,” said Heywood, pronouncing almost every syllable of each word.

Heywood said that though she does see the need for stricter immigration policy, citing the criminality that accompanies immigration due to poverty and illegal status, she does not agree with the stigma associated with immigrants, or the harsh treatment some wish to impose on illegal immigrants.

“There definitely needs to be border control, but it has to be done in a way that you don’t criminalize everyone who is an immigrant,” said Heywood,

“But in terms of human rights, we shouldn’t jail people just because they’re here illegally,” Heywood said. “These people are just working. I’ve met people coming up from the Caribbean who are temporary workers and go to work during seasonally. Why can’t we have that type of policy?”

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Lawyers Lend Voices to Domestic HIV/AIDS Epidemic

By Williette Nyanue

BOSTON- Though the government has invested millions into the domestic HIV problem, those funds have not proven to be successful in achieving their purpose, said the American Bar Association HIV panel Saturday afternoon to a crowd of 30.

According to Ravinia Hayes-Cozier, director of government relations and public policy at the National Minority AIDS Council in Washington, the government has given $28 million to abstinence-only before marriage programs,” which she said have had “absolutely no impact on sexually transmitted diseases or HIV.”

The panelists agreed that the current largest federal program designed to help HIV/AIDS patients, The Ryan White Program, is not enough.

Though the panelists would “ask for an extension” for The Ryan White Program, set for reauthorization this year, panelists are pushing for the passage of the “The National Aids Strategy, of which Ryan White will fit into,” suggested Denise McWilliams, who is the director of policy and legal affairs at the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts.

Along with the hopes that the National AIDS Strategy Act will pass, the panel presented the audience with a number of ways in which the Obama Administration and the legal community could make sure that the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic does not go neglected.

McWilliams noted that there is a “stigma associated with HIV that doesn’t come with diabetes or breast cancer” and hinders patients from getting tested, making the need for effective government run HIV/AIDS programs that much more important.
Catherine Hassens, founder and executive director of the Center for HIV Law and Policy in New York, proposes one way to end that stigma. President Obama must put in an executive order making it clear that “government agencies cannot use HIV infection in itself as a basis for the categorical exclusion or restriction for applicants or employees from any position or program.”

McWilliams suggested that lawyers lobby for more Syringe Exchange Programs (SEPs), because though there are only three Massachusetts, these programs have reported a “marked reduction in the number of transmissions in clients.”
SEPs allow people to bring in dirty needles in exchange for clean needles and also offer HIV testing as well as substance abuse treatment.

First-time conference attendee Carolyn Mikula said she had never before heard of the Syringe Exchange Programs. “My first reaction was, why are we distributing drug paraphernalia to people?” stated the 25 year-old Duquesne Law student, “but when she showed the statistics, and that it works...It’s kind of one of the those things where we can’t be idealistic.”

In a 2008 report on HIV/AIDS in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control reported that there were about 35,314 new cases of HIV/AIDS in adults, adolescents, and children in 2006 in the 33 states with confidential name-based HIV reporting. According to the same study, about 73 percent of these diagnosed cases were men, and 50 percent of all reported diagnoses were attributed to male-to male sexual contact.

According to the report, of the diagnoses of HIV/AIDS reported in 2006, blacks were affected the most accounting for nearly half of all cases documented. Another change in the new diagnoses of HIV/AIDS was the increase in women who account for about 27 percent of all reported cases, up 7 percent from 1995.

Hayes-Cozier suggested that the Obama administration first attack the issues regarding poverty due to the increasing relationship between the new cases of HIV/AIDS reported by people living in poverty-stricken areas. “If we don’t do something about poverty, we will never do something about HIV/AIDS,” suggested Hayes-Cozier.

This discussion was part of the ABA’s Mid-Year conference, held at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center. The weeklong convention brought together lawyers from all over the country to discuss issues ranging from domestic violence to committee and business meetings to, homelessness and poverty.

If there was one consensus of the panel, it was that the Obama administration has work to do regarding the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic. “If we believe there is a crisis, we should have a stimulus reaction and I believe today we do not have a stimulus for HIV/AIDS,” stated Hayes-Cozier.

Filmmaker Moved by Immigration

Photo courtesy of Google Images

By WIlliette Nyanue
Published: Monday, March 2, 2009 in the Daily Free Press


The small, everyday tasks are what make adjusting to a new life in a new country so difficult, film maker Anne Makepeace said Thursday night.

Makepeace told students at a lecture and screening of her documentary “Rain in a Dry Land” that even going to the doctor in a new country and can seem like a daunting task. About 25 students came to listen to Makepeace speak of her experiences documenting the lives of two Somalian families as they started new lives in America.

“I get carried away by wanting to tell a story,” Makepeace said. “Frankly, something just gets my heart.”

Makepeace said the documentary was inspired by an article she read five years ago. The movie chronicles two families from their time in Kenyan refugee camps through their arrival in the U.S. The documentary shed light on the difficulties faced by Somalian migrants to the United States, including not only language barriers, but also American customs.

Makepeace said the challenges the families faced surprised her.

“I thought that they would run into racism, but it didn’t happen like that,” she said. “Things don’t happen the way you imagine them.”

Instead, common American activities became daunting tasks for the new migrants. The film documents everything from the families’ first plane rides to their first trips to the grocery store to their first rides on an escalator. Each scene of firsts shows authentic reaction to each member’s encounter with American life.

In one scene, Aden, the head of one household, tries to open a medicine bottle. After about five minutes of struggling without success, he throws the bottle in frustration.

“Those scenes were excruciating to me. The thing is that those moments that are really painful are the ones that touch people the most,” Makepeace said. “It’s important not just to show the triumphant moments, but to show them all.”

Makepeace said she has high hopes for her documentary.

“I hope it’s going to do good,” she said. “I hope it’s going to educate mainstream America about who these people are, teach them more tolerance and educate people in social services dealing with people.”

Although the documentary has brought awareness to the cause, getting Aden a job to support his family and providing tutors for refugees, its monetary success has been limited, Makepeace said.

“These movies don’t make a lot of money,” she said. “You are lucky if you have enough money at the end to pay all of the people that you are indebted to.”

Attendees of the screening, which was part of Boston University’s Cinematheque lecture series, said the documentary was both educational and inspiring.

“A film like this shows that you can be a good human being, filmmaker and also have a really good film,” Cinematheque programmer and film professor Gary Peary said.

Suffolk University senior Lauren Noyes said the documentary introduced her to a new world.

“I’ve never been very familiar of the conditions,” she said. “It kind of educated me. I had a lot of sympathy. It had to be tough getting used to the American way. It’s hard.”

Politics go Poetic

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

By Williette Nyanue
Published: Monday, January 26, 2009 in the Daily Free Press

As America celebrates the recent presidential inauguration, citizens should not forget the importance of the humanities and art, Iranian author and professor Azar Nafisi said to a crowd of more than 300 people Friday.

Nafisi, the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, which is about her life in Iran, spoke at First Parish Church Meetinghouse in Cambridge Friday to a crowd expecting a reading of her newest book Things I’ve Been Silent About. Instead, Nafisi focused on the significance that poetry and humanities play in politics.

“At this time of crisis when we are bailing out everything, who will bail out thought and imagination,” Nafisi said.

In early December, Nafisi became a United States citizen at a time of “crisis and hope” that reflected other times in history, she said.

“If we are evoking Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and our founding fathers, those are the poetic people,” Nafisi said. “They were original. That’s why they have their place in history.”

To change the future, citizens should not let political systems take away memories and thoughts, Nafisi said. She said she has done so by writing them.

“I want the book to be both a homage and a declaration of independence from my parents and my country of origin,” she said.

Melinda Barbosa, a 23-year-old Somerville resident, said she did not mind that Nafisi did not have a simple book reading.

“She just told you how intimate it was and how difficult it was for her to write it, it must be hard to talk about it,” Barbosa said.“I liked how she tied in the political aspect into how we should value humanities more.”

The controversy over Nafisi’s portrayal of Islam is not always a bad thing, Barbosa said.

“It shows people’s interest in culture,” Barbosa. “Something being your culture versus something being wrong.”

Vicki Halal, a teacher from Medford, said she wanted Nafisi to read more passages, rather than the points she fixed on.

“It gave a glimpse into the life of women and showed how even in a culture, poetry was still alive and women still had a desire to read and learn,” Halal said. “But I wanted more talk about the book.”

Nacira Guenif, a 50-year-old French scholar who attended, said Nafisi’s broad approach to issues at the reading was shying away from criticism that her work stereotypes Iranian women and their country. Nafisi’s “politically correct” approach to women’s issues in the Middle East was apparent, Guenif said.

“She talks of the political incorrectness to talk about women in Dafur, in Iran, but never mentions Gaza,” Guenif said. “It is such a big deal now, how can she not mention it?”

Stuck in the City: Boston

By Williette Nyanue

BOSTON-In a city where the Red Sox are idolized, not everyone is a fan. “I think they are annoying,” states 21-year-old Boston University student Ryan Matsuura. While staying in Boston, Matsuura officially adds the Red Sox to the list of teams that he dislikes.

Though he sits in his chair swiveling from side to side looking a little nervous about the interview, he loosens up at the mention of sports. Matsuura, a student of Japanese descent, expresses his love for every Bay Area team except the 49ers.

“I follow everything sports,” he states, “I even saw Barry Bonds hit his record-winning home run.”

Though experiencing this milestone in baseball history could give Matsuura bragging rights, his off-the-cuff manner of speaking makes him appear humble. His love for sports unites him with thousands of other Bostonians, even in a place very far from home.

More than 3,000 miles away from his hometown of Saratoga, Calif., this small-town sports fan ventured to Boston University looking for a new big-city experience, only to find that his heart was really back on the West Coast. Not a fan of the East Coast winters, Matsuura chooses to brave them until he finishes his schooling in either finance or law, after which he hopes to return to California.

Dressed casually in blue jeans, a gray sweatshirt, and white sneakers, he has brown eyes that stand out behind thin dark rimmed glasses. He states some interesting facts about his life, “Steven Spielberg went to my high school…he hated it.”
With his nonchalant manner of speaking, his nervous gestures become less apparent, and Matsuura appears more relaxed as the conversation continues.