PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Northeastern coastal cities such as Boston and New York City could face serious flooding and rising sea levels by the end of the century because of global warming, according to a study released this week.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control has been predicting global sea level rise for years, but the study by Jianjun Yin, a University of Florida professor, is the first regional projection. Computer model simulations forecasted an additional eight inches of sea level rises for New York and Boston compared to the rest of the world.
“The northeast coast of the US will face some of the largest sea level rises,” Yin said. “This amount makes it one of the most vulnerable regions all over the world.”
Ronald Stouffer, a climate scientist who worked with Yin on the study, said sea levels would still rise even if carbon emissions were reduced. Stouffer said the Northeast must prepare for the predicted changes by moving houses inland, building higher seawalls and making other infrastructure changes.
“There will be some climate change we will have to adapt to,” Stouffer, who works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said. “Actions taken today can reduce the amount of climate change in the far future.”
Though scientists said global climate change and rising sea levels are generally accepted projections, not all agreed on what action should be taken in light of Yin’s study.
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay spokesman Bruce Berman said if the study was correct, the harbor would be in “serious” trouble. Berman said the additional 8 inches in sea levels predicted for Boston could bring tides around 16 feet by 2100.
“That would put parking lots and basements and buildings underwater,” Berman said. “Does that mean we have to abandon North End and move to Brighton? I don’t think so.”
Berman, a Boston University marine policy professor, said carbon emissions must be reduced, and rising sea levels must be taken into account when planning infrastructure projects.
Peter Stone, a professor of climate dynamics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he is skeptical of the study’s findings.
“Certainly, I’m not saying sea levels won’t rise,” Stone said. “How much they will rise is very uncertain.”
Carl Wunsch, a physical oceanographer at MIT, also said the models are unreliable, and though the chances of sea levels rising globally are 100 percent, the chances of additional rises projected for the Northeast are less.
“The best way to look at these things are as descriptions of things that could happen, and worry about what you should do just in case,” Wunsch said.
Wunsch compared preparing for rising sea levels to fire insurance on a house; precautions could include moving away from low-lying areas, protecting wetlands and building dykes. Rising sea levels could spread salt to ground water, which is used for drinking water in places like Cape Cod. Population growth in such areas may be discouraged, he said.
Regardless of whether the study’s predictions are realistic, people need to consume less, Michaela Hanyes, president of the BU Environmental Student Organization, said.
“It’s not what people want to hear right now,” Haynes, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, said. “When it comes down to it, that’s the only option.”
Showing posts with label The Daily Free Press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Daily Free Press. Show all posts
Friday, April 10, 2009
Split on health care
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Health care policy is no less controversial at Boston University than throughout the rest of the nation, and students are divided on which candidate offers the better plan.
In a survey of 105 randomly selected BU students, 57 students said they supported Obama’s health care plan, 40 students said they supported McCain’s plan, five students did not support either plan and three supported parts of both plans.
In another survey of an American government lecture yielding 56 responses, 38 students said they supported Obama’s health care plan, 14 said they supported McCain’s, three did not answer and one did not support either plan.
Health care is the policy with the biggest difference between candidates, strategy and policy professor in the School of Management Jim Post said. More than 40 million Americans are uninsured, and that number is likely to rise as unemployment worsens, he said.
Similar to the candidates’ approaches for addressing the economic crisis, Obama’s health care plan is “comprehensive” and focuses on problems with the system while McCain’s plan takes a “narrower” view, Post said.
“McCain has this idea that a tax credit could be a good device for the freedom to choose health coverage and also money to do it,” Post said. “McCain cannot guarantee $5,000 will be enough for people to buy the coverage they need. The fear is that insurance companies will simply raise prices.”
But the effectiveness of either policy cannot be truly evaluated until they are actually implemented. Obama’s plan has a greater chance of working, but funding is still a question, Post said.
“The difference is that these two candidates have a fundamentally different view about the role of government in modern society,” he said.
“McCain’s view is generally a preference for a smaller government role –– use it when you absolutely have to. Obama’s philosophy is that government is integral to providing a social and economic well-being . . . there’s always a job for government.”
Ian Clark, a College of General Studies sophomore, said he chose Obama’s plan over McCain’s because Obama plans to offer tax credits for health care to small businesses, relieving strain on employers who are having to deal with increasing the minimum wage.
“A tax credit would create an incentive to offer better health care instead of cutting corners to try to stay above bankruptcy,” Clark, who is a politics student, said.
Clark said McCain’s plan to give $5,000 tax credits for health care to families and individuals makes less sense because health care plans usually cost four times that amount.
Eric Leist, a College of Communication sophomore, supports McCain’s plan because it gives people more power.
"I believe that people should have a choice as to what health care plan they get, and it shouldn’t be a mandated thing the way Obama wants it to be,” Leist said. “I don’t know if it would work or not, but in theory, [McCain’s] idea to give everyone a credit toward a health care plan … is a better idea than Obama’s."
Meaghen Hamill, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said she thinks Obama’s plan is better because it puts responsibility on businesses.
“Who knows what people would do with [McCain’s tax credit] money?” Hamill, who is also a government student, said.
Health care policy is no less controversial at Boston University than throughout the rest of the nation, and students are divided on which candidate offers the better plan.
In a survey of 105 randomly selected BU students, 57 students said they supported Obama’s health care plan, 40 students said they supported McCain’s plan, five students did not support either plan and three supported parts of both plans.
In another survey of an American government lecture yielding 56 responses, 38 students said they supported Obama’s health care plan, 14 said they supported McCain’s, three did not answer and one did not support either plan.
Health care is the policy with the biggest difference between candidates, strategy and policy professor in the School of Management Jim Post said. More than 40 million Americans are uninsured, and that number is likely to rise as unemployment worsens, he said.
Similar to the candidates’ approaches for addressing the economic crisis, Obama’s health care plan is “comprehensive” and focuses on problems with the system while McCain’s plan takes a “narrower” view, Post said.
“McCain has this idea that a tax credit could be a good device for the freedom to choose health coverage and also money to do it,” Post said. “McCain cannot guarantee $5,000 will be enough for people to buy the coverage they need. The fear is that insurance companies will simply raise prices.”
But the effectiveness of either policy cannot be truly evaluated until they are actually implemented. Obama’s plan has a greater chance of working, but funding is still a question, Post said.
“The difference is that these two candidates have a fundamentally different view about the role of government in modern society,” he said.
“McCain’s view is generally a preference for a smaller government role –– use it when you absolutely have to. Obama’s philosophy is that government is integral to providing a social and economic well-being . . . there’s always a job for government.”
Ian Clark, a College of General Studies sophomore, said he chose Obama’s plan over McCain’s because Obama plans to offer tax credits for health care to small businesses, relieving strain on employers who are having to deal with increasing the minimum wage.
“A tax credit would create an incentive to offer better health care instead of cutting corners to try to stay above bankruptcy,” Clark, who is a politics student, said.
Clark said McCain’s plan to give $5,000 tax credits for health care to families and individuals makes less sense because health care plans usually cost four times that amount.
Eric Leist, a College of Communication sophomore, supports McCain’s plan because it gives people more power.
"I believe that people should have a choice as to what health care plan they get, and it shouldn’t be a mandated thing the way Obama wants it to be,” Leist said. “I don’t know if it would work or not, but in theory, [McCain’s] idea to give everyone a credit toward a health care plan … is a better idea than Obama’s."
Meaghen Hamill, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said she thinks Obama’s plan is better because it puts responsibility on businesses.
“Who knows what people would do with [McCain’s tax credit] money?” Hamill, who is also a government student, said.
Obama largely favored for economic recovery
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
At Boston University, Barack Obama means business. When it comes to economic issues like jobs, health care and investments, much of the BU community trusts Obama more than it trusts John McCain, a survey suggests.
In a survey of 105 randomly selected BU students, 79 said they thought Obama is most capable of “fixing” the economy and 17 said they thought McCain is most capable.
In the same survey of an American government lecture yielding 56 responses, 49 students said they thought Obama would do a better job overall of remedying the economy, five students said they thought McCain would do a better job overall and two students said neither candidate.
Students responding to the survey explained their choices mostly in terms of the candidates’ tax plans. Mark Caputo, a School of Management senior, said he supports Obama’s plan because it lowers taxes for middle-income families and raises taxes for the top 5 percent of incomes.
“My general perception of McCain’s plan is that it doesn’t seem to help the people that need it,” Caputo said. “The tax and health care benefits don’t help middle-class people.”
Emily Weaver, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman, also said McCain’s plan of cutting taxes for the wealthy will not help to revive the economy.
“To fix the economy, you have to spend money,” she said. “McCain is hesitant to increase taxes on the upper class because he thinks they would help the economy on their own accord. They should be taxed more because they have more to give.”
Students from the government class also said they supported Obama’s tax cuts for lower-income families. Arielle Crayton, a College of General Studies sophomore, said she agrees with the Democrat on who should get taxed, and lower taxes for lower incomes are “obvious.”
Morgan Keenan, a College of Communication junior taking the government class, said her CGS capstone project on Arizona’s economic problems led her to decide that Obama is more able to improve America’s economy.
“The Arizona economy has the worst deficit in the nation,” Keenan said. The state’s estimated deficit for 2008 is $1.7 billion, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
Though students said they thought Obama’s tax plan and overall economic plan are preferable to McCain’s, professors pointed out flaws in both plans, such as inattention to the budget deficit. Andrew Reeves, a BU political science professor, said neither candidate has answered the question of how they will fund their plans with the enormous deficit.
“I think it’s a failure on both their parts,” Reeves said. “When asked during the debate, McCain said he would cut spending by a few billion, which is not that much, and Obama didn’t say anything. They’re not forthright about plans to limit their own grand plans.”
Gaps in the plans aside, Reeves said the candidate’s promises are “irrelevant,” because they would still face the long process of Congressional approval, interest groups and other road blocks.
“It’s unlikely they will be able to say, “‘Here’s my plan; I’m going to enact it,’” Reeves said.
Political science professor Douglas Kriner said Obama’s plan will bring taxes back to the way they were before President Bush took office, but said the promises are simply “partisan rhetoric.” He said he doubts whether either candidate can reduce the deficit because whatever Obama might raise in tax revenue would be spent on his other initiatives, and McCain might raise taxes but would also increase military spending.
“There’s no way he [McCain] can balance the budget,” Kriner said. “But we’re not sure balancing the budget is good. Keynesian economics say to increase the deficit in an economic downturn.”
SMG strategy and policy professor Jim Post said both candidates agree the economic bailout was a necessary, though less-than-favorable policy to help the failing markets. But Post pointed out that the candidates supported the bailout with different philosophies in mind.
McCain blames the crisis on corruption and advocates removing the “bad guys” from the corporations. Obama’s method could change the entire system, under the assumption that the crisis occurred because of a lack of government regulation, Post said.
“McCain would be more inclined to create a quick fix. Obama would be more inclined to create a systemic fix,” Post said. “A quick fix happens faster but is probably less complete.”
Both candidates are “being unrealistic” about their tax plans, because the U.S. faces about $2 trillion in debt, Post said. The next president will have to raise taxes as a source of revenue and cut spending in all areas, including health care, Social Security and defense.
“McCain’s not going to change anything, he’s jut going to keep giving tax breaks to big corporations who waste money and resources,” Katie Loeb, a CAS junior, said. “It’s a cycle.”
Join the party?
Because most students support Obama’s economic plan, it’s no surprise that most BU students are likewise voting for the Democratic candidate.
Of 105 randomly surveyed BU students, 85 said they would vote for Obama and seven said they would vote for McCain.
But in the same survey, when asked to select which economic plan they supported without knowing which plan coincided with which candidate, 62 chose Obama’s economic plan, 15 chose McCain’s economic plan, 25 did not choose either plan and three students picked a combination of both plans.
Bethany Croke, a CAS senior, said the economy is “obviously” very important, especially because she is searching for a job, but the candidates’ economic plans will not affect her vote.
“I’m just going by party lines,” Croke said.
Most students said the economy is an important issue, but some said they had made their decision before the candidates addressed the failing economy. Caitlin Flannery, a CAS freshman, said she thinks students vote based on their upbringing and their parents’ political views.
Lorah Ludwig, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman, said she has no preference for either candidate’s health care plan, but she is voting for Obama because “we need a change.”
“McCain is a Bush,” Ludwig said. “It’s the same thing.”
Alike Abroad
Some students said they focus most heavily on the candidates’ foreign policies. Rachel Greenfield, a CAS freshman, said the war in Iraq is a more important issue than the economy in general.
Andrew Bacevich, an international relations professor, said Republicans and Democrats generally do not differ on international security, which is reflected in the similarities of both candidates’ platforms on defense spending.
“Both parties are committed to the proposition that the U.S. should remain militarily supreme,” Bacevich said.
Bacevich said that though both candidates want to increase the size of the military, the army and navy are already so large that the increases are not significant. Also, both candidates are “over-promising” the benefits of their defense budget plans, such as McCain’s vow to freeze all non-defense spending for a year and use “all savings from victory” in Iraq and Afghanistan to reduce the deficit.
“Since victory in Iraq and Afghanistan is not likely to happen any time soon, it’s really kind of an empty promise,” Bacevich said.
Government students also showed disparity between their choice for president and the economic and health care plans they support. In a survey of students in an American government lecture, 49 out of 56 students said they would vote for Obama, five out of 56 students said they would vote for John McCain and one student plans to vote for libertarian candidate Bob Barr.
However, in the same survey that presented the candidates’ economic plans anonymously, 37 students chose Obama’s economic plan, five chose McCain’s, and 12 students did not answer or did not support either plan. Two students supported a combination of both.
Politics professors said the economy is one of the most important factors in voters’ decisions, especially during this election.
“The economy is first and foremost on voters minds today,” Douglas Kriner, a political science professor, said. “In a time of a financial crisis, voters are feeling the pinch. They’re voting on pocketbook issues.”
Professor Reeves said voters do not vote specifically on candidates’ economic plans but according to whether the party currently in office has served voters well economically during the president’s term.
“What matters more is how you’re doing . . . if you have a job, a 401k,” Reeves said. “Obama will get a lot of votes because he has a ‘D’ and not an ‘R’ beside his name.”
At Boston University, Barack Obama means business. When it comes to economic issues like jobs, health care and investments, much of the BU community trusts Obama more than it trusts John McCain, a survey suggests.
In a survey of 105 randomly selected BU students, 79 said they thought Obama is most capable of “fixing” the economy and 17 said they thought McCain is most capable.
In the same survey of an American government lecture yielding 56 responses, 49 students said they thought Obama would do a better job overall of remedying the economy, five students said they thought McCain would do a better job overall and two students said neither candidate.
Students responding to the survey explained their choices mostly in terms of the candidates’ tax plans. Mark Caputo, a School of Management senior, said he supports Obama’s plan because it lowers taxes for middle-income families and raises taxes for the top 5 percent of incomes.
“My general perception of McCain’s plan is that it doesn’t seem to help the people that need it,” Caputo said. “The tax and health care benefits don’t help middle-class people.”
Emily Weaver, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman, also said McCain’s plan of cutting taxes for the wealthy will not help to revive the economy.
“To fix the economy, you have to spend money,” she said. “McCain is hesitant to increase taxes on the upper class because he thinks they would help the economy on their own accord. They should be taxed more because they have more to give.”
Students from the government class also said they supported Obama’s tax cuts for lower-income families. Arielle Crayton, a College of General Studies sophomore, said she agrees with the Democrat on who should get taxed, and lower taxes for lower incomes are “obvious.”
Morgan Keenan, a College of Communication junior taking the government class, said her CGS capstone project on Arizona’s economic problems led her to decide that Obama is more able to improve America’s economy.
“The Arizona economy has the worst deficit in the nation,” Keenan said. The state’s estimated deficit for 2008 is $1.7 billion, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
Though students said they thought Obama’s tax plan and overall economic plan are preferable to McCain’s, professors pointed out flaws in both plans, such as inattention to the budget deficit. Andrew Reeves, a BU political science professor, said neither candidate has answered the question of how they will fund their plans with the enormous deficit.
“I think it’s a failure on both their parts,” Reeves said. “When asked during the debate, McCain said he would cut spending by a few billion, which is not that much, and Obama didn’t say anything. They’re not forthright about plans to limit their own grand plans.”
Gaps in the plans aside, Reeves said the candidate’s promises are “irrelevant,” because they would still face the long process of Congressional approval, interest groups and other road blocks.
“It’s unlikely they will be able to say, “‘Here’s my plan; I’m going to enact it,’” Reeves said.
Political science professor Douglas Kriner said Obama’s plan will bring taxes back to the way they were before President Bush took office, but said the promises are simply “partisan rhetoric.” He said he doubts whether either candidate can reduce the deficit because whatever Obama might raise in tax revenue would be spent on his other initiatives, and McCain might raise taxes but would also increase military spending.
“There’s no way he [McCain] can balance the budget,” Kriner said. “But we’re not sure balancing the budget is good. Keynesian economics say to increase the deficit in an economic downturn.”
SMG strategy and policy professor Jim Post said both candidates agree the economic bailout was a necessary, though less-than-favorable policy to help the failing markets. But Post pointed out that the candidates supported the bailout with different philosophies in mind.
McCain blames the crisis on corruption and advocates removing the “bad guys” from the corporations. Obama’s method could change the entire system, under the assumption that the crisis occurred because of a lack of government regulation, Post said.
“McCain would be more inclined to create a quick fix. Obama would be more inclined to create a systemic fix,” Post said. “A quick fix happens faster but is probably less complete.”
Both candidates are “being unrealistic” about their tax plans, because the U.S. faces about $2 trillion in debt, Post said. The next president will have to raise taxes as a source of revenue and cut spending in all areas, including health care, Social Security and defense.
“McCain’s not going to change anything, he’s jut going to keep giving tax breaks to big corporations who waste money and resources,” Katie Loeb, a CAS junior, said. “It’s a cycle.”
Join the party?
Because most students support Obama’s economic plan, it’s no surprise that most BU students are likewise voting for the Democratic candidate.
Of 105 randomly surveyed BU students, 85 said they would vote for Obama and seven said they would vote for McCain.
But in the same survey, when asked to select which economic plan they supported without knowing which plan coincided with which candidate, 62 chose Obama’s economic plan, 15 chose McCain’s economic plan, 25 did not choose either plan and three students picked a combination of both plans.
Bethany Croke, a CAS senior, said the economy is “obviously” very important, especially because she is searching for a job, but the candidates’ economic plans will not affect her vote.
“I’m just going by party lines,” Croke said.
Most students said the economy is an important issue, but some said they had made their decision before the candidates addressed the failing economy. Caitlin Flannery, a CAS freshman, said she thinks students vote based on their upbringing and their parents’ political views.
Lorah Ludwig, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman, said she has no preference for either candidate’s health care plan, but she is voting for Obama because “we need a change.”
“McCain is a Bush,” Ludwig said. “It’s the same thing.”
Alike Abroad
Some students said they focus most heavily on the candidates’ foreign policies. Rachel Greenfield, a CAS freshman, said the war in Iraq is a more important issue than the economy in general.
Andrew Bacevich, an international relations professor, said Republicans and Democrats generally do not differ on international security, which is reflected in the similarities of both candidates’ platforms on defense spending.
“Both parties are committed to the proposition that the U.S. should remain militarily supreme,” Bacevich said.
Bacevich said that though both candidates want to increase the size of the military, the army and navy are already so large that the increases are not significant. Also, both candidates are “over-promising” the benefits of their defense budget plans, such as McCain’s vow to freeze all non-defense spending for a year and use “all savings from victory” in Iraq and Afghanistan to reduce the deficit.
“Since victory in Iraq and Afghanistan is not likely to happen any time soon, it’s really kind of an empty promise,” Bacevich said.
Government students also showed disparity between their choice for president and the economic and health care plans they support. In a survey of students in an American government lecture, 49 out of 56 students said they would vote for Obama, five out of 56 students said they would vote for John McCain and one student plans to vote for libertarian candidate Bob Barr.
However, in the same survey that presented the candidates’ economic plans anonymously, 37 students chose Obama’s economic plan, five chose McCain’s, and 12 students did not answer or did not support either plan. Two students supported a combination of both.
Politics professors said the economy is one of the most important factors in voters’ decisions, especially during this election.
“The economy is first and foremost on voters minds today,” Douglas Kriner, a political science professor, said. “In a time of a financial crisis, voters are feeling the pinch. They’re voting on pocketbook issues.”
Professor Reeves said voters do not vote specifically on candidates’ economic plans but according to whether the party currently in office has served voters well economically during the president’s term.
“What matters more is how you’re doing . . . if you have a job, a 401k,” Reeves said. “Obama will get a lot of votes because he has a ‘D’ and not an ‘R’ beside his name.”
Union approves green fee proposal
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
The Environmental Student Organization's proposal for a $10 per semester student fee that would fund green initiatives was approved by the Student Union last night.
The optional "green" fee, which will go to improving campus recycling and pay for energy efficient light fixtures, would be similar to the Sports Pass that students can opt not to accept.
According to the ESO proposal, "Revenues from the fee will go into a fund that will be spent on a wide range of initiatives to improve the environmental performance of the Charles River Campus."
ESO President Rachel Leone said the fee, which her group has been working on, must still be approved by the administration before being put into effect.
"We came up with the idea at the end of last year . . . because we're concerned about sustainability on campus, or lack thereof," Leone, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, said.
The BU Sustainability Committee -- an ESO initiative -- which has already been approved by President Robert Brown, will allocate the funds, according to the Proposal to Establish the Green Fee and Promote Sustainability At Boston University.
Leone said rising tuition costs are partially attributed to inefficient energy costs, and the green fee would save not only energy but money in the long run.
"We could have smart heating and cooling systems that turn off and on when it's hot or cool enough in the buildings," she said. "In [dorms], it's a billion degrees, and people open the windows, and it's wasting energy and money."
The committee's co-chairs will be Vice President for Operations Gary Nicksa and CAS geography and environment professor Cutler Cleveland, according to the proposal. The committee will also include Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore, various office representatives, faculty and students.
The Environmental Student Organization's proposal for a $10 per semester student fee that would fund green initiatives was approved by the Student Union last night.
The optional "green" fee, which will go to improving campus recycling and pay for energy efficient light fixtures, would be similar to the Sports Pass that students can opt not to accept.
According to the ESO proposal, "Revenues from the fee will go into a fund that will be spent on a wide range of initiatives to improve the environmental performance of the Charles River Campus."
ESO President Rachel Leone said the fee, which her group has been working on, must still be approved by the administration before being put into effect.
"We came up with the idea at the end of last year . . . because we're concerned about sustainability on campus, or lack thereof," Leone, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, said.
The BU Sustainability Committee -- an ESO initiative -- which has already been approved by President Robert Brown, will allocate the funds, according to the Proposal to Establish the Green Fee and Promote Sustainability At Boston University.
Leone said rising tuition costs are partially attributed to inefficient energy costs, and the green fee would save not only energy but money in the long run.
"We could have smart heating and cooling systems that turn off and on when it's hot or cool enough in the buildings," she said. "In [dorms], it's a billion degrees, and people open the windows, and it's wasting energy and money."
The committee's co-chairs will be Vice President for Operations Gary Nicksa and CAS geography and environment professor Cutler Cleveland, according to the proposal. The committee will also include Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore, various office representatives, faculty and students.
Solar panels are newest bright idea from sedGreen committee
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
The School of Education is teaching Boston University how to save money -- and the planet -- from its rooftop with the installation of seven solar panels and a wind turbine, which will make the school run partially on alternative energy, officials said.
The panels and turbine, scheduled to be finished this week, are part of an educational exhibit funded by SED and initiated by a student and faculty committee called sedGreen, said SED science education professor Doug Zook.
"The solar panels will feed into the grid system and give electrical power to the building," he said. "The contribution will be small, but we hope to show educationally that this solar energy is important."
Zook said he thinks other BU schools do not think about environmental issues enough or commit to being more energy efficient. He said he would like to see the university administration invest in more green efforts, such as new heating systems that depend less on oil.
"If the university made a really big commitment, in the long run they would save lots of money," Zook said. "Who knows -- maybe even tuition wouldn't have to rise."
Rachel Leone, BU Environmental Club president, said solar panels are expensive, but because SED is a small building and the panels will not power all its electricity, the savings of using solar energy will eventually make up for the cost.
Leone, an SED senior, said she hopes the initiative "will motivate the rest of the school."
"We have all this roof space that gets wasted . . . roofs are basically absorbing heat and making the city hotter," Leone said. "They're taking advantage of this space."
SED junior Juliana Potts said she thinks the solar panel project is "a really excellent program," because many people are uninformed about alternative energy sources, and other schools and colleges within the university should take similar initiatives.
"It's unrealistic to say BU should be solar powered, but awareness is important," Potts said. "SED is small and many people don't come in here . . . maybe it would be helpful to have it in a bigger place."
Donald DeRosa, an SED science education professor, said he hopes the school can raise awareness on campus and show students BU does care about the environment.
"The use will not change the building significantly. It's an old building and we would need a lot more solar panels and a bigger wind turbine," he said. "But it will be a statement and a concrete example of what needs to be done on campus and the steps to be taken."
DeRosa said the project is especially significant for SED because the next generation of teachers need to be able to pass along the message of global responsibility to their students.
SedGreen has been promoting eco-friendly habits for about a year, including campaigns about recycling and reducing energy consumption, said committee Chairwoman Theresa Redmond.
"I think that colleges and universities are in unique positions where they can set up dormitories and buildings to support green initiatives," Redmond, an SED first-year doctoral student, said. "For students I think that will be a huge draw for [them] if they decide to go there."
The School of Education is teaching Boston University how to save money -- and the planet -- from its rooftop with the installation of seven solar panels and a wind turbine, which will make the school run partially on alternative energy, officials said.
The panels and turbine, scheduled to be finished this week, are part of an educational exhibit funded by SED and initiated by a student and faculty committee called sedGreen, said SED science education professor Doug Zook.
"The solar panels will feed into the grid system and give electrical power to the building," he said. "The contribution will be small, but we hope to show educationally that this solar energy is important."
Zook said he thinks other BU schools do not think about environmental issues enough or commit to being more energy efficient. He said he would like to see the university administration invest in more green efforts, such as new heating systems that depend less on oil.
"If the university made a really big commitment, in the long run they would save lots of money," Zook said. "Who knows -- maybe even tuition wouldn't have to rise."
Rachel Leone, BU Environmental Club president, said solar panels are expensive, but because SED is a small building and the panels will not power all its electricity, the savings of using solar energy will eventually make up for the cost.
Leone, an SED senior, said she hopes the initiative "will motivate the rest of the school."
"We have all this roof space that gets wasted . . . roofs are basically absorbing heat and making the city hotter," Leone said. "They're taking advantage of this space."
SED junior Juliana Potts said she thinks the solar panel project is "a really excellent program," because many people are uninformed about alternative energy sources, and other schools and colleges within the university should take similar initiatives.
"It's unrealistic to say BU should be solar powered, but awareness is important," Potts said. "SED is small and many people don't come in here . . . maybe it would be helpful to have it in a bigger place."
Donald DeRosa, an SED science education professor, said he hopes the school can raise awareness on campus and show students BU does care about the environment.
"The use will not change the building significantly. It's an old building and we would need a lot more solar panels and a bigger wind turbine," he said. "But it will be a statement and a concrete example of what needs to be done on campus and the steps to be taken."
DeRosa said the project is especially significant for SED because the next generation of teachers need to be able to pass along the message of global responsibility to their students.
SedGreen has been promoting eco-friendly habits for about a year, including campaigns about recycling and reducing energy consumption, said committee Chairwoman Theresa Redmond.
"I think that colleges and universities are in unique positions where they can set up dormitories and buildings to support green initiatives," Redmond, an SED first-year doctoral student, said. "For students I think that will be a huge draw for [them] if they decide to go there."
Student reports Esplanade robbery
Sixth reported robbery in a month; police release suspect sketch for March 29 attack
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Two men pulled a knife on a Boston University student walking on the Esplanade near the Sherborn Street bridge, took his wallet, iPod and cellphone and then told the victim to get out of the area, Friday night around 11 p.m., police said.
The victim described his attackers as two Hispanic men in their late teens or early 20s, both about 155 pounds and between 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-8, said BU Police Department Sgt. Jefferey Burke. They were both wearing dark jackets and dark skull caps.
Another robbery the same night was reported to the Boston Police Department around the same time, further down the Esplanade away from the Charles River Campus, BUPD Sgt. Jack St. Hilaire said. The victims gave similar descriptions of their attackers, St. Hilaire said.
BPD has not released a sketch of the Esplanade attackers, Burke said.
BUPD has made available a sketch of another man suspected of attacking a woman on Park Drive March 29, St. Hilaire said. The men are not thought to be the same, and Boston police will likely use the Esplanade robbery victims' descriptions to create a sketch this week, he said.
"A picture is worth a thousand words," St. Hilaire said. "We can't put out a sketch if victims can't identify the person, because it's dark and the person is covered."
The victim of the March 29 robbery was able to see her attacker, who made off with her wallet, St. Hilaire said.
The man, described as a "heavyset black male in his 30s," robbed the Law School student near Audubon Circle in South Campus. He stepped out from behind a U-Haul truck, took the victim's wallet and fled, police said last week.
Police are not connecting the Park Drive incident with a string of robberies in West Campus near Commonwealth Avenue, including three March 8 and a robbery and indecent assault March 30, St. Hilaire said.
"We have a high level of confidence that it's not the same person," St. Hilaire said. "There was one reported to us Friday night, one was reported to Boston, and the rest of the suspects were described the same way . . . The one that's dissimilar is the dark male on 463 [Park Drive]."
Burke said the Park Drive suspect is still at large, and the attack is not related to previous attacks. Burke said he assumes the sketch was not released until April 3 because "sometimes people aren't available for follow-up right away."
BPD spokesman Eddy Chrispin said the agency is participating in an ongoing and active investigation to find the Park Drive suspect, but they have nothing to announce thus far.
On Saturday night, a man who attempted to rob a woman in Allston near the Massachusetts Turnpike was arrested, according to a BPD incident report.
Officers responded to a radio call reporting the attempted assault around 9:26 p.m., and found a large double-edged knife in the pocket of Oscar Renderos, 25, according to the report. He was charged with assault with intent to rob and carrying a dangerous weapon, the report states.
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Two men pulled a knife on a Boston University student walking on the Esplanade near the Sherborn Street bridge, took his wallet, iPod and cellphone and then told the victim to get out of the area, Friday night around 11 p.m., police said.
The victim described his attackers as two Hispanic men in their late teens or early 20s, both about 155 pounds and between 5-foot-5 and 5-foot-8, said BU Police Department Sgt. Jefferey Burke. They were both wearing dark jackets and dark skull caps.
Another robbery the same night was reported to the Boston Police Department around the same time, further down the Esplanade away from the Charles River Campus, BUPD Sgt. Jack St. Hilaire said. The victims gave similar descriptions of their attackers, St. Hilaire said.
BPD has not released a sketch of the Esplanade attackers, Burke said.
BUPD has made available a sketch of another man suspected of attacking a woman on Park Drive March 29, St. Hilaire said. The men are not thought to be the same, and Boston police will likely use the Esplanade robbery victims' descriptions to create a sketch this week, he said.
"A picture is worth a thousand words," St. Hilaire said. "We can't put out a sketch if victims can't identify the person, because it's dark and the person is covered."
The victim of the March 29 robbery was able to see her attacker, who made off with her wallet, St. Hilaire said.
The man, described as a "heavyset black male in his 30s," robbed the Law School student near Audubon Circle in South Campus. He stepped out from behind a U-Haul truck, took the victim's wallet and fled, police said last week.
Police are not connecting the Park Drive incident with a string of robberies in West Campus near Commonwealth Avenue, including three March 8 and a robbery and indecent assault March 30, St. Hilaire said.
"We have a high level of confidence that it's not the same person," St. Hilaire said. "There was one reported to us Friday night, one was reported to Boston, and the rest of the suspects were described the same way . . . The one that's dissimilar is the dark male on 463 [Park Drive]."
Burke said the Park Drive suspect is still at large, and the attack is not related to previous attacks. Burke said he assumes the sketch was not released until April 3 because "sometimes people aren't available for follow-up right away."
BPD spokesman Eddy Chrispin said the agency is participating in an ongoing and active investigation to find the Park Drive suspect, but they have nothing to announce thus far.
On Saturday night, a man who attempted to rob a woman in Allston near the Massachusetts Turnpike was arrested, according to a BPD incident report.
Officers responded to a radio call reporting the attempted assault around 9:26 p.m., and found a large double-edged knife in the pocket of Oscar Renderos, 25, according to the report. He was charged with assault with intent to rob and carrying a dangerous weapon, the report states.
Board of Trustees unanimously names Knox as new chairman
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
The Boston University Board of Trustees named Robert Knox chairman of the board in a unanimous vote last Friday, officials said.
Knox, a '73 College of Arts and Sciences and '74 Graduate School of Management alumnus, has been vice chairman since 2004, BU spokesman Colin Riley said.
"He will begin his term at the annual meeting of the board in September," Riley said. "[Current Chairman] Alan Leventhal provided some wonderful leadership and Bob Knox is going to continue that."
Knox is currently the senior managing director of Cornerstone Equity Investors, a New York-based company he co-founded in 1984, and has been a member of BU's Board of Trustees since 1997, Riley said.
"Being chairman of the board requires long-term oversight, guidance, support and bringing all the knowledge and experience to provide council," Riley said. "They work very closely with the administration on how to guide, how they can help."
New governance rules put in place in 2007 will have Knox serving a maximum of six consecutive years, Riley said. The six-year limit is the reason Leventhal will step down.
"Alan Leventhal's term was up," he said. "There was a sub-committee that formed and eventually led to Bob Knox becoming chair."
Ivan Bernier, Board of Trustees assistant secretary, said the vote for Knox was unanimous.
"It was the consensus of the trustees that he would be the best candidate for the job," Bernier said. "He's involved in many of our committees. His dedication to the university and long service on the Board of Trustees made him an excellent candidate and at this point will serve him well as the new chairman."
Julie Sandell, ex-officio board member, said Knox qualifies for the position "because of the activities and work he's done for the board"
"For several years he's been one of the vice chairmen for the board, been the chairperson of several chair committees," said Sandell, who is also the chairwoman of the BU Faculty Council. "He's very enthusiastic and a very strong supporter of the university. He is really committed to BU."
Leventhal was chair during a time of transition, in which he handled the "reorganization of [the] board itself, the new term limits, new faculty council chair, finding a new president and the first couple of years of [a] new president," but Knox faces even more challenges from this transition, Sandell said.
"The new chairman of board will be person who is in place as the university moves forward," she said. "Now that we have our new president and that process has settled down, lots of strategic planning process is going on at the university, with plans to expand faculty and improve student services and buildings. The board is going to be very active and it's a very exciting time to be chairman of the body."
Knox and his wife Jeanne Knox donated $500,000 to the Fund for Leadership and Innovation in 2005, designated for President Robert Brown to use. Jeanne Knox chairs the Parents Leadership Council at BU and, outside of BU, Knox is the senior managing director for Health Management Associates, Inc.
Knox guest lectured at the School of Management and spoke at the 1999 SMG commencement. SMG also awarded Knox the Distinguished Alumni Award for Service to Alma Mater.
Staff reporter Rachel Rose-Sandow contributed reporting to this article.
The Boston University Board of Trustees named Robert Knox chairman of the board in a unanimous vote last Friday, officials said.
Knox, a '73 College of Arts and Sciences and '74 Graduate School of Management alumnus, has been vice chairman since 2004, BU spokesman Colin Riley said.
"He will begin his term at the annual meeting of the board in September," Riley said. "[Current Chairman] Alan Leventhal provided some wonderful leadership and Bob Knox is going to continue that."
Knox is currently the senior managing director of Cornerstone Equity Investors, a New York-based company he co-founded in 1984, and has been a member of BU's Board of Trustees since 1997, Riley said.
"Being chairman of the board requires long-term oversight, guidance, support and bringing all the knowledge and experience to provide council," Riley said. "They work very closely with the administration on how to guide, how they can help."
New governance rules put in place in 2007 will have Knox serving a maximum of six consecutive years, Riley said. The six-year limit is the reason Leventhal will step down.
"Alan Leventhal's term was up," he said. "There was a sub-committee that formed and eventually led to Bob Knox becoming chair."
Ivan Bernier, Board of Trustees assistant secretary, said the vote for Knox was unanimous.
"It was the consensus of the trustees that he would be the best candidate for the job," Bernier said. "He's involved in many of our committees. His dedication to the university and long service on the Board of Trustees made him an excellent candidate and at this point will serve him well as the new chairman."
Julie Sandell, ex-officio board member, said Knox qualifies for the position "because of the activities and work he's done for the board"
"For several years he's been one of the vice chairmen for the board, been the chairperson of several chair committees," said Sandell, who is also the chairwoman of the BU Faculty Council. "He's very enthusiastic and a very strong supporter of the university. He is really committed to BU."
Leventhal was chair during a time of transition, in which he handled the "reorganization of [the] board itself, the new term limits, new faculty council chair, finding a new president and the first couple of years of [a] new president," but Knox faces even more challenges from this transition, Sandell said.
"The new chairman of board will be person who is in place as the university moves forward," she said. "Now that we have our new president and that process has settled down, lots of strategic planning process is going on at the university, with plans to expand faculty and improve student services and buildings. The board is going to be very active and it's a very exciting time to be chairman of the body."
Knox and his wife Jeanne Knox donated $500,000 to the Fund for Leadership and Innovation in 2005, designated for President Robert Brown to use. Jeanne Knox chairs the Parents Leadership Council at BU and, outside of BU, Knox is the senior managing director for Health Management Associates, Inc.
Knox guest lectured at the School of Management and spoke at the 1999 SMG commencement. SMG also awarded Knox the Distinguished Alumni Award for Service to Alma Mater.
Staff reporter Rachel Rose-Sandow contributed reporting to this article.
Fighting for fair trade
By Katrina Ballard and Andrea Rodi
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Purchasing a $4 latte not only hurts American consumers’ wallets but also the pockets of coffee growers in developing countries.
Tadesse Meskela, manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said his farmers are only getting paid a little more than $1 per pound for coffee beans. Life is only sustainable when the minimum price of coffee is set at least $20 per pound, Meskela said.
“Farmers suffer through cultivation, picking the coffee, digging the ground, and they only get a dollar; it’s not fair,” Meskela said. “The price of coffee has to go up so that farmers can keep producing coffee, and it’s also important for us to have enough money so that our kids can go to school and so we can have clean water.”
Starbucks Coffee is the world’s largest purchaser of Fair Trade coffee and says it is a socially responsible corporation. The Starbucks Fiscal 2007 report states, “We’re committed to seeing that farmers receive an equitable share of the purchase price we pay for the coffee they produce.”
The company announced at the end of October it would double its number of Fair Trade purchases by 2012 to 40 millions pounds a year.
“We just wanted to let people know what we’re doing, and we probably needed to do something else major to get that out there,” Brian Fisher, store manager of the 874 Commonwealth Ave. Starbucks, said.
Last year, Starbucks purchased 352 million pounds of coffee in 25 difference countries. Of that 352 million pounds of coffee, 20 million pounds was Fair Trade Certified coffee — just 6 percent.
“We get rained on our Fair Trade stance. It’s pretty unfair, to be honest,” Fisher said. “If we could purchase all Fair Trade we would; there’s just not enough quality out there.”
Starbucks also has developed its own fairly traded certification process, called Coffee and Farmer Equity (CAFÉ), with Conservation International. The company purchases 65 percent of its coffee from this “third-party” certifier, claiming CAFÉ pays farmers higher than Fair Trade.
Ronnie Cummins, national director of Organic Consumers Association (OCA), said Starbucks’ initiative to increase Fair Trade purchases is a result of pressure from consumers and activists who are skeptical of CAFÉ standards and demand more Fair Trade coffee.
“Their stock price is falling, they just closed locations . . . people are thinking twice about shelling out four to $5 for a cup of coffee,” Cummins said. “They have to practice what they preach if they want to retain their customer base.”
HOW TO TRADE FAIRLY
Fair Trade is an innovative, market-based approach to sustainable development that helps small-scale farmers and workers in developing countries gain direct access to international markets, Katie Borrow, public relations manager for TransFair USA, said in an email.
“In a world without Fair Trade, you let the markets decide, and the developing world’s producers simply aren’t on enough of an even playing field, presently, for this to work,” Borrow said.
“Small-scale coffee farmers often cannot recover their production costs or earn enough to invest in their futures, due to low prices, market volatility, lack of pre-harvest financing and isolation, creating a cycle of poverty.”
Coffee prices are set by the World Trade Organization, which is largely dominated by power countries like the United States and England. The power countries that can afford to send more than 100 representatives make decisions on coffee prices, while developing countries that can only afford to send one or two representatives have little to no input on the decision-making.
Fair Trade is an improvement over the regular coffee prices set by the World Trade Organization, Meskela said.
“I support fair trade companies 100 percent. That is why we say it is fair,” Meskela said. “They are paying double the price of the conventional price.”
TransFair USA is a nonprofit organization, one of 20 members of Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International and the only third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States, Borrow said.
In addition to coffee and tea, TransFair USA certifies bananas, chocolate, cocoa, flowers, honey, rice, sugar, vanilla and wine. Every fair trade label customers see on products in the United States goes through TransFair.
Critics of the Fair Trade movement say it focuses less on the farmer and more on the prices, Fisher, of Starbucks, said. In some cases, Fair Trade prices will be lower than world coffee prices because as the market changes, coffee prices change, but Fair Trade prices are still set in stone.
Fair Trade requires that farmers live on cooperatives, which are voluntary collaborations of farmers living on shared but equally distributed farmland.
“[Cooperatives] are a good thing! Cooperatives are owned and democratically controlled by its employees,” Borrow said. “Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide democratically how to use their Fair Trade premiums.”
Starbucks is such a large corporation that it must purchase through cooperatives, which may include 2,000 farmers with two to three acres of land each.
“We couldn’t talk to 2,000 farmers in Terazio [Costa Rica] and get good coffee,” Fisher said.
Cooperatives are not a completely good thing, as argued in the 2006 film Black Gold, a documentary on the lives of coffee farmers in Africa. Cooperatives often force farmers to move off their own land to usually smaller patches of land so that they’re able to participate in Fair Trade.
Cooperatives are also sometimes built on the land of indigenous peoples in Africa, which displaces the indigenous communities, sometimes taking away their homes and food sources, and takes a toll on the environment that was not previously used for agriculture.
“It’s one thing to pay certain percentage per pound to owners of coffee plantation; it’s another thing to pay to cooperatives of workers to share the money,” Cummins, of OCA, said.
Genuinely democratic and transparent cooperatives are an important means for organization if they are run well, Meskela said.
“The [cooperatives] have to be investigated, then, after that, if they are supporting people and bringing coffee down to producers, they are accepted by certification of the Fair Trade mark,” Meskela said. “The fairness is what you have to consider.”
WHICH COFFEE IS THE FAIREST ONE OF ALL?
Fair Trade’s restrictions are a factor in why Starbucks only purchases 6 percent of its coffee from TransFair, Fisher of the Comm. Ave. location said. Certification takes several years for farmers, and some do not have the time or capital to go through the process.
“We need quality,” Fisher said. “It’s about good stuff and having it year after year after year.”
However, CAFÉ is meant to promote fiscal transparency and ensure the farmers receive the right amount of money. The practice also supports community initiatives, such as building hospitals and schools, holding coffee tastings and establishing farmer support centers.
“We want to be a beacon of hope for a giant conglomerate,” Fisher said. “If we show the world a giant corporation can do good and give back … instead of making money hand over fist, we’re giving half the money away.”
Cummins of the Organic Consumers Association said CAFÉ is a “controversial in-house certification” that Conservation International deemed equivalent to Fair Trade. He said Starbucks finally decided to increase Fair Trade purchases after pressure from customers and activist groups.
“They claimed all along they were paying fair trade coffee, but no one ever believed it because they were making their own certifications,” Cummins said.
A customer at the Newbury Street Starbucks, Naseem Alizadeh, said she did not see any Fair Trade coffee in the shop. She said she supports Starbucks’ initiative to increase its Fair Trade purchases “if it’s legitimate Fair Trade and not just a gimmick to get us to buy it.”
Some smaller Boston coffee shops claim to be committed to fairly traded coffee. Espresso Royale sells it because of its conscious customer base, Chuck Hale, store manager, said. He said café-goers feel better about themselves for buying coffee from a company that pays its growers a reasonable price.
The shop located on Commonwealth Avenue sells Jim’s Organic Coffee, which is not under the Fair Trade “brand name,” Hale said.
“The tea company we buy from is not Fair Trade, but his tea is actually a better price to growers than Fair Trade,” Hale said. “There’s a difference between Fair Trade and fairly traded.”
Jim’s Organic Coffee purchases some of its coffee from TransFair, but the company certifies much of its products through UTZ Certified, a European organization that requires farmers to be provided with health care, clean water and education.
Jim’s also buys products that are Rainforest Certified, bird-friendly and approved by organizations like Child Aid, which protects against child labor, and Water Aid, which ensures clean water.
“It’s the lifestyle of the farmer instead of money. [With TransFair standards], we don’t know where that money is going,” Emily Sheehan, spokesperson for Jim’s Organic Coffee, said.
“With Fair Trade, you’re limiting yourself,” Hale, of Espresso Royale, said. “You can’t buy the best coffee.”
Cummins said he has only seen a Fair Trade certified coffee as the Coffee of the Day once at Starbucks, which he thinks indicates the company is not serious about Fair Trade. He said people will begin buying coffee from local competition, because those shops circulate money through the community while Starbucks’ profits go “right to Seattle.”
“They have a long way to go,” Cummins said. “Our recommendation to ethical-minded consumers is to find a local coffee shop that serves Fair Trade every day.”
Meskela said that coffee farmers advise people to fight for the poor and continue to produce sustainable coffee. He said his people do not need aid from the United States; they need to become a part of the world market and self-sustainable, but they can only do so if they are paid fairly.
“People in our country are lining up with us and campaigning to make things fair,” Meskela said. “We need activists to drink Fair Trade coffee to make the world a better place for producers and to pass on a better world to the next generation.”
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Purchasing a $4 latte not only hurts American consumers’ wallets but also the pockets of coffee growers in developing countries.
Tadesse Meskela, manager of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said his farmers are only getting paid a little more than $1 per pound for coffee beans. Life is only sustainable when the minimum price of coffee is set at least $20 per pound, Meskela said.
“Farmers suffer through cultivation, picking the coffee, digging the ground, and they only get a dollar; it’s not fair,” Meskela said. “The price of coffee has to go up so that farmers can keep producing coffee, and it’s also important for us to have enough money so that our kids can go to school and so we can have clean water.”
Starbucks Coffee is the world’s largest purchaser of Fair Trade coffee and says it is a socially responsible corporation. The Starbucks Fiscal 2007 report states, “We’re committed to seeing that farmers receive an equitable share of the purchase price we pay for the coffee they produce.”
The company announced at the end of October it would double its number of Fair Trade purchases by 2012 to 40 millions pounds a year.
“We just wanted to let people know what we’re doing, and we probably needed to do something else major to get that out there,” Brian Fisher, store manager of the 874 Commonwealth Ave. Starbucks, said.
Last year, Starbucks purchased 352 million pounds of coffee in 25 difference countries. Of that 352 million pounds of coffee, 20 million pounds was Fair Trade Certified coffee — just 6 percent.
“We get rained on our Fair Trade stance. It’s pretty unfair, to be honest,” Fisher said. “If we could purchase all Fair Trade we would; there’s just not enough quality out there.”
Starbucks also has developed its own fairly traded certification process, called Coffee and Farmer Equity (CAFÉ), with Conservation International. The company purchases 65 percent of its coffee from this “third-party” certifier, claiming CAFÉ pays farmers higher than Fair Trade.
Ronnie Cummins, national director of Organic Consumers Association (OCA), said Starbucks’ initiative to increase Fair Trade purchases is a result of pressure from consumers and activists who are skeptical of CAFÉ standards and demand more Fair Trade coffee.
“Their stock price is falling, they just closed locations . . . people are thinking twice about shelling out four to $5 for a cup of coffee,” Cummins said. “They have to practice what they preach if they want to retain their customer base.”
HOW TO TRADE FAIRLY
Fair Trade is an innovative, market-based approach to sustainable development that helps small-scale farmers and workers in developing countries gain direct access to international markets, Katie Borrow, public relations manager for TransFair USA, said in an email.
“In a world without Fair Trade, you let the markets decide, and the developing world’s producers simply aren’t on enough of an even playing field, presently, for this to work,” Borrow said.
“Small-scale coffee farmers often cannot recover their production costs or earn enough to invest in their futures, due to low prices, market volatility, lack of pre-harvest financing and isolation, creating a cycle of poverty.”
Coffee prices are set by the World Trade Organization, which is largely dominated by power countries like the United States and England. The power countries that can afford to send more than 100 representatives make decisions on coffee prices, while developing countries that can only afford to send one or two representatives have little to no input on the decision-making.
Fair Trade is an improvement over the regular coffee prices set by the World Trade Organization, Meskela said.
“I support fair trade companies 100 percent. That is why we say it is fair,” Meskela said. “They are paying double the price of the conventional price.”
TransFair USA is a nonprofit organization, one of 20 members of Fair Trade Labeling Organizations International and the only third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the United States, Borrow said.
In addition to coffee and tea, TransFair USA certifies bananas, chocolate, cocoa, flowers, honey, rice, sugar, vanilla and wine. Every fair trade label customers see on products in the United States goes through TransFair.
Critics of the Fair Trade movement say it focuses less on the farmer and more on the prices, Fisher, of Starbucks, said. In some cases, Fair Trade prices will be lower than world coffee prices because as the market changes, coffee prices change, but Fair Trade prices are still set in stone.
Fair Trade requires that farmers live on cooperatives, which are voluntary collaborations of farmers living on shared but equally distributed farmland.
“[Cooperatives] are a good thing! Cooperatives are owned and democratically controlled by its employees,” Borrow said. “Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide democratically how to use their Fair Trade premiums.”
Starbucks is such a large corporation that it must purchase through cooperatives, which may include 2,000 farmers with two to three acres of land each.
“We couldn’t talk to 2,000 farmers in Terazio [Costa Rica] and get good coffee,” Fisher said.
Cooperatives are not a completely good thing, as argued in the 2006 film Black Gold, a documentary on the lives of coffee farmers in Africa. Cooperatives often force farmers to move off their own land to usually smaller patches of land so that they’re able to participate in Fair Trade.
Cooperatives are also sometimes built on the land of indigenous peoples in Africa, which displaces the indigenous communities, sometimes taking away their homes and food sources, and takes a toll on the environment that was not previously used for agriculture.
“It’s one thing to pay certain percentage per pound to owners of coffee plantation; it’s another thing to pay to cooperatives of workers to share the money,” Cummins, of OCA, said.
Genuinely democratic and transparent cooperatives are an important means for organization if they are run well, Meskela said.
“The [cooperatives] have to be investigated, then, after that, if they are supporting people and bringing coffee down to producers, they are accepted by certification of the Fair Trade mark,” Meskela said. “The fairness is what you have to consider.”
WHICH COFFEE IS THE FAIREST ONE OF ALL?
Fair Trade’s restrictions are a factor in why Starbucks only purchases 6 percent of its coffee from TransFair, Fisher of the Comm. Ave. location said. Certification takes several years for farmers, and some do not have the time or capital to go through the process.
“We need quality,” Fisher said. “It’s about good stuff and having it year after year after year.”
However, CAFÉ is meant to promote fiscal transparency and ensure the farmers receive the right amount of money. The practice also supports community initiatives, such as building hospitals and schools, holding coffee tastings and establishing farmer support centers.
“We want to be a beacon of hope for a giant conglomerate,” Fisher said. “If we show the world a giant corporation can do good and give back … instead of making money hand over fist, we’re giving half the money away.”
Cummins of the Organic Consumers Association said CAFÉ is a “controversial in-house certification” that Conservation International deemed equivalent to Fair Trade. He said Starbucks finally decided to increase Fair Trade purchases after pressure from customers and activist groups.
“They claimed all along they were paying fair trade coffee, but no one ever believed it because they were making their own certifications,” Cummins said.
A customer at the Newbury Street Starbucks, Naseem Alizadeh, said she did not see any Fair Trade coffee in the shop. She said she supports Starbucks’ initiative to increase its Fair Trade purchases “if it’s legitimate Fair Trade and not just a gimmick to get us to buy it.”
Some smaller Boston coffee shops claim to be committed to fairly traded coffee. Espresso Royale sells it because of its conscious customer base, Chuck Hale, store manager, said. He said café-goers feel better about themselves for buying coffee from a company that pays its growers a reasonable price.
The shop located on Commonwealth Avenue sells Jim’s Organic Coffee, which is not under the Fair Trade “brand name,” Hale said.
“The tea company we buy from is not Fair Trade, but his tea is actually a better price to growers than Fair Trade,” Hale said. “There’s a difference between Fair Trade and fairly traded.”
Jim’s Organic Coffee purchases some of its coffee from TransFair, but the company certifies much of its products through UTZ Certified, a European organization that requires farmers to be provided with health care, clean water and education.
Jim’s also buys products that are Rainforest Certified, bird-friendly and approved by organizations like Child Aid, which protects against child labor, and Water Aid, which ensures clean water.
“It’s the lifestyle of the farmer instead of money. [With TransFair standards], we don’t know where that money is going,” Emily Sheehan, spokesperson for Jim’s Organic Coffee, said.
“With Fair Trade, you’re limiting yourself,” Hale, of Espresso Royale, said. “You can’t buy the best coffee.”
Cummins said he has only seen a Fair Trade certified coffee as the Coffee of the Day once at Starbucks, which he thinks indicates the company is not serious about Fair Trade. He said people will begin buying coffee from local competition, because those shops circulate money through the community while Starbucks’ profits go “right to Seattle.”
“They have a long way to go,” Cummins said. “Our recommendation to ethical-minded consumers is to find a local coffee shop that serves Fair Trade every day.”
Meskela said that coffee farmers advise people to fight for the poor and continue to produce sustainable coffee. He said his people do not need aid from the United States; they need to become a part of the world market and self-sustainable, but they can only do so if they are paid fairly.
“People in our country are lining up with us and campaigning to make things fair,” Meskela said. “We need activists to drink Fair Trade coffee to make the world a better place for producers and to pass on a better world to the next generation.”
Running on empty: BU RideShare struggles with participation
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Peter Kelly is just trying to save the environment. Instead, six months after joining BU’s RideShare program, he still doesn’t have a carpool buddy.
Kelly, the Assistant Dean of the School of Management, joined a carpool program at his previous job and immediately registered for RideShare at Boston University after he read about it in a BU Today article about Earth Day last April.
Kelly is one of just 35 people listed on the RideMatch public search page. A mass email to the entire listing –– which included eight students and two former students –– yielded 14 responses. Only one BU employee said he found a match through the program, and he has been listed on the site for six years.
“I would recommend it because I know one of the problems is there are no participants. If there were 500 participants, there’s a reasonable likelihood I would end up with a match; it’s not like I’m recommending it because it’s been a fabulous success,” Kelly said.
As gas prices and concerns about the environment continue to increase, more and more Massachusetts businesses and colleges are taking advantage of ride sharing, either through a state service partnership called MassRides or through their own programs.
BU Parking Services hosts RideShare, a program helping faculty, staff and students find alternative methods of commuting, such as carpools, vanpools, the T and the BU Shuttle, according to the Parking Service’s website.
The users register on the website with their zip code and driving schedule and can also specify their preferences for gender and smoking habits. The public listing allows anyone to check the profiles of those already listed.
Ron Slade, Office of Environmental Health and Safety assistant director, said he first put up a listing to find a driving partner when the program began at least six years ago. Six months ago, someone not listed on the website found Slade’s name and contacted him directly to carpool. The two live in Andover, and Slade’s match works across the street from BU.
“After all, I’m the assistant director of Environmental Health and Safety,” Slade said. “I’m conscious about the environment, but obviously I want to save money, also. If you can find the right partner, it can be a real win-win.”
Slade said because only about 30 people have registered for RideMatch out of thousands of employees and students at BU, he thinks the program is not well marketed. BU could provide incentives to encourage participation, like cheaper parking tickets or more priority parking, he said.
“It would be nice if someone could research what some other companies are doing to help promote their programs,” Slade said. “Certainly a no-brainer would be to advertise it more. It’s a terrific concept with traffic jams, the cost of gas, pollution –– there are numerous reasons to try to make this program work.”
A lack of interest is the only problem. Slade said there are only three parking spots designated for carpool vehicles in the Warren Towers lot, and he finds the spots full every day. He and his RideMatch partner both have green parking stickers on their cars, but he suggested that partners should be able to buy their passes at a reduced rate.
“It’s not an effective program right now,” Slade said. “For whatever reason, people are not yet using it.”
Kelly, a Newton resident, said RideMatch is “under-promoted,” but he thinks because many BU employees use the T, there is not much incentive for people to seek out a carpool program.
“It’s hard to imagine why there would be so few participating,” he said. “I’ve mentioned it to different people, and they were unaware the program existed, but they were not people motivated to participate.
However, Kelly said BU is a community concerned with environmental issues, and if more people knew about the RideMatch program, they would use it for conservation reasons. He said finding a perfect match with two schedules is impractical, but commuting even a couple days a week helps.
“People in general are becoming more aware as their role as actors in the environment,” Kelly said. “It’s a very big part of our lives at work, and the workplace is an important place for us to exercise that responsibility.”
John Hall, a College of Communication professor, said he was successful in finding a one-time carpool partner last Thanksgiving for a trip to New Jersey. He said he heard about the program from BU Today or an email and posted a note on the RideMatch listing on which he is no longer registered.
“I think it’s an easy-to-use service connecting people who can help each other out,” Hall said. “I imagine students don’t have a lot of money and could use a ride going home. I only used it once, and I didn’t see any problems with it.”
Some of those contacted said they have found matches on their own. Bob Given, database administrator for BU Information Systems, said he signed up for RideMatch eight years ago when he saw the program’s website, and he forgot about it until contacted for this article.
Given, who lives in Watertown, has commuted with three other people he met at BU, and now he commutes with his wife, who works at a BU library. He said the administration can only do so much to promote RideMatch, like sending out mass emails, and people should seek out rides themselves.
“Most of the time, you just hear about people who live in the area,” Given said. “There’s quite a bit of responsibility on the individual. If they need a ride, they need to go out and see what’s available.”
Melissa Sankey, a School of Education graduate student, put her name on the RideMatch website in August, but she has since found her own commuting partner, Sankey said in an email.
“I live on the Cape and wanted to share the long ride and expenses with someone else,” Sankey –– who found a carpooling buddy in class –– said.
“I don’t think people know about the RideShare program,” Sankey said.
Paul Kelly, environmental manager in the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, said Parking Services is responsible for promotion of the RideShare programs. Parking Services failed to respond to four emails over the past three weeks, and it refused an interview during several phone calls and two visits to the office.
Kelly said he worked with Dwight Antherton, director of Parking Services, to update BU’s RideShare program a couple years ago, to comply with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection standards.
“We have to submit a RideShare program report, and we have to meet certain criteria for the state,” Kelly said. “We have to provide carpooling parking, because of the size of the university and the size of the employee base.”
He said the DEP awards points for certain transportation services that companies offer their employees, such as carpooling, incentives to use the T, ZipCar partnership, carpool parking and bike racks. Companies are required to have a certain number of points.
“Believe it or not, we already had things in place anyway; it was just a formality we had to make a report,” Kelly said. “There were some things we had to change … otherwise we were fine.”
Other colleges and businesses around the state said they are having more luck with ride matching programs. Some are using MassRides, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation’s program for commuters and students. Kay Carson, MassRides project manager, said the government initiative works directly with employers to develop methods of alternate transportation.
MassRides, like BU Parking Services, uses a computerized system to match up workers with similar routes and schedules for carpooling. Other MassRides options include preferential parking for carpoolers, vanpools, bicycle parking and promotions about other services.
Carson called the program “travel demand management.” The EOT initially intended to reduce traffic congestion and infrastructure wear, but employers are looking into MassRides for financial or environmental reasons.
“With gas at $4 a gallon, people are much more interested in our services,” Carson said. “All of a sudden people are contacting us, either companies or individuals, asking, ‘Can you help me find some alternatives for my employees?’”
Businesses also want to reduce the number of employees commuting to work because they can reduce the parking demand and purchase less land for lots, Carson said. In other situations, when a company relocates, it will establish a vanpool to transport employees to the new facility.
Brooks Automation, a manufacturing company based in Chelmsford, is a MassRides partner that began using vanpools after its Mansfield location closed in 2006, Human Resources specialist Linda Artz said. Nine employees still use the van every day, but the company has been adding more services in light of rising transportation costs.
“Monthly, we were getting communications out here to employees encouraging them to go online and find a [ride] match,” Artz said. “Mainly, the company was trying to be proactive.”
Donald Alger, senior environmental engineer for Allegro Microsystems, said his company’s MassRides program “has been going very well” since its implementation several years ago. Allegro, based in Worcester, has about 600 employees, of which, 125 people are carpooling or interested in carpooling.
Alger said the company’s biggest carpool includes four people, three from Connecticut and one from Beverly. When employees cannot find a ride with coworkers, they can search more than 10,000 entries on the MassRides statewide listing.
“We’ve been doing it even before MassRides came around, but it’s grown a lot over the last three to five years, especially since the price of gas is going up a lot,” Alger said.
Judy Tarr, “head scooper” and owner of an Eastham Ben and Jerry’s shop, said the MassRides program allows her to hire teenagers from all over Cape Cod. She learned about the program from sitting on a public transportation committee with a MassRides representative.
“It’s a great perk when you’re hiring people,” Tarr said. “It really increases the pool of employees you have to pick from.”
A number of private ridesharing websites have also developed and offer a national base of customers. Google ranks eRideshare.com as the No. 1 rideshare website in online traffic and media coverage, with 463 listings in Massachusetts, the site’s Executive Director Steven Schoeffler said.
The website, founded in 1999, is similar to MassRides in that users fill out a profile including their destination and travel times to find a match. The service is free to everyone except companies with more than 200 employees, in which case the employer pays a fee for public or private group postings.
Schoeffler said the website markets not only to employees and students but also to travelers, seniors and parents of children pursuing activities such as clubs, sports and music classes. He said he started promoting the site through search engines.
“I was really excited about power of the Internet to connect people,” he said. “I think there’s a huge need for senior transportation.”
Shoeffler said eRideshare’s traffic nearly quadrupled between February and July this year probably because of gas prices. He said this suggests people carpool for primarily financial reasons over environmental concerns, but drivers do not realize that the depreciating mileage value of their cars is more significant than the cost of fuel.
“People don’t get it,” Shoeffler said. “They don’t understand how much they’re paying for the vehicle itself. The IRS and American Auto Association estimate the per-mile cost of driving a vehicle at about 55 cents a mile, including gas.”
Carson of MassRides said the state program caters to colleges by hosting events with participation incentives, such as trips and iPods, to inform students of different travel opportunities. It also solicits schools and businesses to find an interest.
“We do a regular series of events with them when semesters change so people can sign up,” Carson said. “Student schedules always change, so we have to keep their commute profile updated.”
Boston College, Cape Cod Community College, Salem State and the University of Massachusetts––Boston are a few partners in the area, she said.
Boston University is also listed as a partner on the MassRides website (www.commute.com). BU Parking Services declined to confirm RideMatch’s affiliation with MassRides, and there is no mention of MassRides on Parking Services’ website.
David Biggs, director of student development for Cape Cod Community College, said the MassRides program did not work well for students who claimed the program could not set up matches quickly enough. Instead, the Office of Student Life developed its own program.
Biggs said the office posted a bulletin board in the cafeteria with sign up sheets, which are collected every Friday. The office sorts through the forms and finds similar routes, then it passes on the students’ contact information to each partner.
“As far as our office is concerned, students are responding, that’s good news,” Biggs said. “The bad news is they’re coming from so many different areas of the Cape at so many disparate times, it’s hard to find matches.”
Biggs said students need to be flexible with their schedules to find a ride, and there are not enough students willing to drive instead of ride. However in some cases, as many as four to five students might be sharing one ride.
“The government program is still there,” Biggs said, who didn’t know how well MassRides was doing at the college. “But ours is alive and well and doing its job.”
Peter Kelly is just trying to save the environment. Instead, six months after joining BU’s RideShare program, he still doesn’t have a carpool buddy.
Kelly, the Assistant Dean of the School of Management, joined a carpool program at his previous job and immediately registered for RideShare at Boston University after he read about it in a BU Today article about Earth Day last April.
Kelly is one of just 35 people listed on the RideMatch public search page. A mass email to the entire listing –– which included eight students and two former students –– yielded 14 responses. Only one BU employee said he found a match through the program, and he has been listed on the site for six years.
“I would recommend it because I know one of the problems is there are no participants. If there were 500 participants, there’s a reasonable likelihood I would end up with a match; it’s not like I’m recommending it because it’s been a fabulous success,” Kelly said.
As gas prices and concerns about the environment continue to increase, more and more Massachusetts businesses and colleges are taking advantage of ride sharing, either through a state service partnership called MassRides or through their own programs.
BU Parking Services hosts RideShare, a program helping faculty, staff and students find alternative methods of commuting, such as carpools, vanpools, the T and the BU Shuttle, according to the Parking Service’s website.
The users register on the website with their zip code and driving schedule and can also specify their preferences for gender and smoking habits. The public listing allows anyone to check the profiles of those already listed.
Ron Slade, Office of Environmental Health and Safety assistant director, said he first put up a listing to find a driving partner when the program began at least six years ago. Six months ago, someone not listed on the website found Slade’s name and contacted him directly to carpool. The two live in Andover, and Slade’s match works across the street from BU.
“After all, I’m the assistant director of Environmental Health and Safety,” Slade said. “I’m conscious about the environment, but obviously I want to save money, also. If you can find the right partner, it can be a real win-win.”
Slade said because only about 30 people have registered for RideMatch out of thousands of employees and students at BU, he thinks the program is not well marketed. BU could provide incentives to encourage participation, like cheaper parking tickets or more priority parking, he said.
“It would be nice if someone could research what some other companies are doing to help promote their programs,” Slade said. “Certainly a no-brainer would be to advertise it more. It’s a terrific concept with traffic jams, the cost of gas, pollution –– there are numerous reasons to try to make this program work.”
A lack of interest is the only problem. Slade said there are only three parking spots designated for carpool vehicles in the Warren Towers lot, and he finds the spots full every day. He and his RideMatch partner both have green parking stickers on their cars, but he suggested that partners should be able to buy their passes at a reduced rate.
“It’s not an effective program right now,” Slade said. “For whatever reason, people are not yet using it.”
Kelly, a Newton resident, said RideMatch is “under-promoted,” but he thinks because many BU employees use the T, there is not much incentive for people to seek out a carpool program.
“It’s hard to imagine why there would be so few participating,” he said. “I’ve mentioned it to different people, and they were unaware the program existed, but they were not people motivated to participate.
However, Kelly said BU is a community concerned with environmental issues, and if more people knew about the RideMatch program, they would use it for conservation reasons. He said finding a perfect match with two schedules is impractical, but commuting even a couple days a week helps.
“People in general are becoming more aware as their role as actors in the environment,” Kelly said. “It’s a very big part of our lives at work, and the workplace is an important place for us to exercise that responsibility.”
John Hall, a College of Communication professor, said he was successful in finding a one-time carpool partner last Thanksgiving for a trip to New Jersey. He said he heard about the program from BU Today or an email and posted a note on the RideMatch listing on which he is no longer registered.
“I think it’s an easy-to-use service connecting people who can help each other out,” Hall said. “I imagine students don’t have a lot of money and could use a ride going home. I only used it once, and I didn’t see any problems with it.”
Some of those contacted said they have found matches on their own. Bob Given, database administrator for BU Information Systems, said he signed up for RideMatch eight years ago when he saw the program’s website, and he forgot about it until contacted for this article.
Given, who lives in Watertown, has commuted with three other people he met at BU, and now he commutes with his wife, who works at a BU library. He said the administration can only do so much to promote RideMatch, like sending out mass emails, and people should seek out rides themselves.
“Most of the time, you just hear about people who live in the area,” Given said. “There’s quite a bit of responsibility on the individual. If they need a ride, they need to go out and see what’s available.”
Melissa Sankey, a School of Education graduate student, put her name on the RideMatch website in August, but she has since found her own commuting partner, Sankey said in an email.
“I live on the Cape and wanted to share the long ride and expenses with someone else,” Sankey –– who found a carpooling buddy in class –– said.
“I don’t think people know about the RideShare program,” Sankey said.
Paul Kelly, environmental manager in the Office of Environmental Health and Safety, said Parking Services is responsible for promotion of the RideShare programs. Parking Services failed to respond to four emails over the past three weeks, and it refused an interview during several phone calls and two visits to the office.
Kelly said he worked with Dwight Antherton, director of Parking Services, to update BU’s RideShare program a couple years ago, to comply with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection standards.
“We have to submit a RideShare program report, and we have to meet certain criteria for the state,” Kelly said. “We have to provide carpooling parking, because of the size of the university and the size of the employee base.”
He said the DEP awards points for certain transportation services that companies offer their employees, such as carpooling, incentives to use the T, ZipCar partnership, carpool parking and bike racks. Companies are required to have a certain number of points.
“Believe it or not, we already had things in place anyway; it was just a formality we had to make a report,” Kelly said. “There were some things we had to change … otherwise we were fine.”
Other colleges and businesses around the state said they are having more luck with ride matching programs. Some are using MassRides, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation’s program for commuters and students. Kay Carson, MassRides project manager, said the government initiative works directly with employers to develop methods of alternate transportation.
MassRides, like BU Parking Services, uses a computerized system to match up workers with similar routes and schedules for carpooling. Other MassRides options include preferential parking for carpoolers, vanpools, bicycle parking and promotions about other services.
Carson called the program “travel demand management.” The EOT initially intended to reduce traffic congestion and infrastructure wear, but employers are looking into MassRides for financial or environmental reasons.
“With gas at $4 a gallon, people are much more interested in our services,” Carson said. “All of a sudden people are contacting us, either companies or individuals, asking, ‘Can you help me find some alternatives for my employees?’”
Businesses also want to reduce the number of employees commuting to work because they can reduce the parking demand and purchase less land for lots, Carson said. In other situations, when a company relocates, it will establish a vanpool to transport employees to the new facility.
Brooks Automation, a manufacturing company based in Chelmsford, is a MassRides partner that began using vanpools after its Mansfield location closed in 2006, Human Resources specialist Linda Artz said. Nine employees still use the van every day, but the company has been adding more services in light of rising transportation costs.
“Monthly, we were getting communications out here to employees encouraging them to go online and find a [ride] match,” Artz said. “Mainly, the company was trying to be proactive.”
Donald Alger, senior environmental engineer for Allegro Microsystems, said his company’s MassRides program “has been going very well” since its implementation several years ago. Allegro, based in Worcester, has about 600 employees, of which, 125 people are carpooling or interested in carpooling.
Alger said the company’s biggest carpool includes four people, three from Connecticut and one from Beverly. When employees cannot find a ride with coworkers, they can search more than 10,000 entries on the MassRides statewide listing.
“We’ve been doing it even before MassRides came around, but it’s grown a lot over the last three to five years, especially since the price of gas is going up a lot,” Alger said.
Judy Tarr, “head scooper” and owner of an Eastham Ben and Jerry’s shop, said the MassRides program allows her to hire teenagers from all over Cape Cod. She learned about the program from sitting on a public transportation committee with a MassRides representative.
“It’s a great perk when you’re hiring people,” Tarr said. “It really increases the pool of employees you have to pick from.”
A number of private ridesharing websites have also developed and offer a national base of customers. Google ranks eRideshare.com as the No. 1 rideshare website in online traffic and media coverage, with 463 listings in Massachusetts, the site’s Executive Director Steven Schoeffler said.
The website, founded in 1999, is similar to MassRides in that users fill out a profile including their destination and travel times to find a match. The service is free to everyone except companies with more than 200 employees, in which case the employer pays a fee for public or private group postings.
Schoeffler said the website markets not only to employees and students but also to travelers, seniors and parents of children pursuing activities such as clubs, sports and music classes. He said he started promoting the site through search engines.
“I was really excited about power of the Internet to connect people,” he said. “I think there’s a huge need for senior transportation.”
Shoeffler said eRideshare’s traffic nearly quadrupled between February and July this year probably because of gas prices. He said this suggests people carpool for primarily financial reasons over environmental concerns, but drivers do not realize that the depreciating mileage value of their cars is more significant than the cost of fuel.
“People don’t get it,” Shoeffler said. “They don’t understand how much they’re paying for the vehicle itself. The IRS and American Auto Association estimate the per-mile cost of driving a vehicle at about 55 cents a mile, including gas.”
Carson of MassRides said the state program caters to colleges by hosting events with participation incentives, such as trips and iPods, to inform students of different travel opportunities. It also solicits schools and businesses to find an interest.
“We do a regular series of events with them when semesters change so people can sign up,” Carson said. “Student schedules always change, so we have to keep their commute profile updated.”
Boston College, Cape Cod Community College, Salem State and the University of Massachusetts––Boston are a few partners in the area, she said.
Boston University is also listed as a partner on the MassRides website (www.commute.com). BU Parking Services declined to confirm RideMatch’s affiliation with MassRides, and there is no mention of MassRides on Parking Services’ website.
David Biggs, director of student development for Cape Cod Community College, said the MassRides program did not work well for students who claimed the program could not set up matches quickly enough. Instead, the Office of Student Life developed its own program.
Biggs said the office posted a bulletin board in the cafeteria with sign up sheets, which are collected every Friday. The office sorts through the forms and finds similar routes, then it passes on the students’ contact information to each partner.
“As far as our office is concerned, students are responding, that’s good news,” Biggs said. “The bad news is they’re coming from so many different areas of the Cape at so many disparate times, it’s hard to find matches.”
Biggs said students need to be flexible with their schedules to find a ride, and there are not enough students willing to drive instead of ride. However in some cases, as many as four to five students might be sharing one ride.
“The government program is still there,” Biggs said, who didn’t know how well MassRides was doing at the college. “But ours is alive and well and doing its job.”
Lecture explores links in religion, psychology
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Religion often stands alone as separate from the state, but not necessarily separate from psychology, as some graduate students and professors learned last night at the Photonics Center.
More than 40 people from the School of Theology attended the first in a series of monthly lectures about the connection between the studies of religion and psychology as studied by the Albert and Jesse Danielsen Institute. The three-year lecture project is funded by a $500,000 grant given to the Institute last April by the John Templeton Foundation.
Boston University philosophy, theology and ethics associate professor Wesley Wildman gave the first lecture in the series called "Religious and Psychological Well-Being."
Danielsen Institute Executive Director Robert Neville said the community will enjoy a "long-range study of what experts in religion can learn from experts in psychology . . . and what psychologists can learn from religion."
Neville said Wildman was the best choice as a primary speaker because of his 10 years of research on religious experience. Wildman's lecture emphasized what he said is the need to study the complexities of religion from many viewpoints.
"Religious experience is very important and not very well understood," Wildman said. "There have been a lot of attacks on religion in the media . . . but it is possible to take seriously religious experiences despite these attacks."
Wildman presented historical and current examples of understanding spiritual encounters using psychology and science.
Psychology, he said, plays an important role in forming beliefs and interpreting experiences of all religions.
"It's important [to study the two fields together] because if you don't, I think you're a little bit limited in ability to see what's going on internally in the community," said School of Theology graduate student Roy Smith.
Smith said Wildman also addressed society's role in forming religious understanding.
"It's not possible to interpret [religion] without biases, because we bring our experience and cultural context," Smith said.
In addition to the lectures, the Templeton Grant has also financed graduate seminars and regular meetings of a faculty research group, whose findings will result in a publication of the team's discussions. Wildman said the publication will be the grant's most beneficial component for BU.
"BU stands to profit most importantly for cutting-edge research of human life. . . . It's good for BU to be the forefront of thought for that," Wildman said. "I found it moving [to meet] so many different people and angles to the topic."
Religion often stands alone as separate from the state, but not necessarily separate from psychology, as some graduate students and professors learned last night at the Photonics Center.
More than 40 people from the School of Theology attended the first in a series of monthly lectures about the connection between the studies of religion and psychology as studied by the Albert and Jesse Danielsen Institute. The three-year lecture project is funded by a $500,000 grant given to the Institute last April by the John Templeton Foundation.
Boston University philosophy, theology and ethics associate professor Wesley Wildman gave the first lecture in the series called "Religious and Psychological Well-Being."
Danielsen Institute Executive Director Robert Neville said the community will enjoy a "long-range study of what experts in religion can learn from experts in psychology . . . and what psychologists can learn from religion."
Neville said Wildman was the best choice as a primary speaker because of his 10 years of research on religious experience. Wildman's lecture emphasized what he said is the need to study the complexities of religion from many viewpoints.
"Religious experience is very important and not very well understood," Wildman said. "There have been a lot of attacks on religion in the media . . . but it is possible to take seriously religious experiences despite these attacks."
Wildman presented historical and current examples of understanding spiritual encounters using psychology and science.
Psychology, he said, plays an important role in forming beliefs and interpreting experiences of all religions.
"It's important [to study the two fields together] because if you don't, I think you're a little bit limited in ability to see what's going on internally in the community," said School of Theology graduate student Roy Smith.
Smith said Wildman also addressed society's role in forming religious understanding.
"It's not possible to interpret [religion] without biases, because we bring our experience and cultural context," Smith said.
In addition to the lectures, the Templeton Grant has also financed graduate seminars and regular meetings of a faculty research group, whose findings will result in a publication of the team's discussions. Wildman said the publication will be the grant's most beneficial component for BU.
"BU stands to profit most importantly for cutting-edge research of human life. . . . It's good for BU to be the forefront of thought for that," Wildman said. "I found it moving [to meet] so many different people and angles to the topic."
New BUPD position to focus on public safety
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
The Boston University Police Department recently hired Scott Pare, former security chief at Logan International Airport, to help improve security on the BU Medical and Charles River campuses as deputy director of public safety.
Pare's 30 years of experience with the Massachusetts State Police force will be an important part of new initiatives, particularly security at a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory being built at the Boston Medical Campus, BUPD Chief Thomas Robbins said.
The lab, which is at least 75 percent finished, will house Ebola, anthrax and plague for high-level research. Security at the lab has long been a concern for community groups.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said Pare has been with the BUPD for two weeks already.
"He's very eager to assist with the professional police department that we have here and keep it focused on its mission," Riley said.
"With the advent of the [National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories] project, his experience at Logan Airport working with Homeland Security and counterterrorism action would be invaluable in both campuses," Robbins said.
Robbins said Pare would benefit biolab security with transportation of biological agents, security of the lab itself, processing procedures, training public safety officers and other safety measures.
Robbins was brought onto the BUPD in June 2006, leaving his position as Massachusetts State Police superintendent.
"Chief Robbins is a formal colonel of the state police . . . He knew of [Pare's] expertise," Riley said.
BUPD Captain Robert Molloy said he thinks Pare is professional and knowledgeable though he's only been with the force for a short time.
"He has lots of experience and a command presence that I think is going to be a great asset to the command staff here at BUPD," Molloy said.
The Boston University Police Department recently hired Scott Pare, former security chief at Logan International Airport, to help improve security on the BU Medical and Charles River campuses as deputy director of public safety.
Pare's 30 years of experience with the Massachusetts State Police force will be an important part of new initiatives, particularly security at a Biosafety Level 4 laboratory being built at the Boston Medical Campus, BUPD Chief Thomas Robbins said.
The lab, which is at least 75 percent finished, will house Ebola, anthrax and plague for high-level research. Security at the lab has long been a concern for community groups.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said Pare has been with the BUPD for two weeks already.
"He's very eager to assist with the professional police department that we have here and keep it focused on its mission," Riley said.
"With the advent of the [National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories] project, his experience at Logan Airport working with Homeland Security and counterterrorism action would be invaluable in both campuses," Robbins said.
Robbins said Pare would benefit biolab security with transportation of biological agents, security of the lab itself, processing procedures, training public safety officers and other safety measures.
Robbins was brought onto the BUPD in June 2006, leaving his position as Massachusetts State Police superintendent.
"Chief Robbins is a formal colonel of the state police . . . He knew of [Pare's] expertise," Riley said.
BUPD Captain Robert Molloy said he thinks Pare is professional and knowledgeable though he's only been with the force for a short time.
"He has lots of experience and a command presence that I think is going to be a great asset to the command staff here at BUPD," Molloy said.
Delegate bows out as Obama fights on
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Boston University freshman Brendan Ryan can now say he and Sen. Barack Obama have something in common: Both experienced defeat in the most recent primary election.
Ryan, a College of General Studies student who ran on the Rhode Island ballot in hopes of becoming an Obama delegate, will not go on to the Democratic National Convention this August.
"I was pretty disappointed," Ryan said. "I would have liked to have been able to go, but it was the first time I ever ran for anything, so I wasn't expecting too much."
Ryan picked up 7,228 votes in his district. He placed 14th among 16 delegate candidates and, although he did not win a spot at the convention, he won his home precinct.
Democratic primary electors appointed the top seven "vote-getters" from Ryan's district as elected delegates, Chris Barnett, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Secretary of State Elections and Civics Division, said. Ryan had a smaller chance of winning a delegate spot because Obama lost to Sen. Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's primary election and was consequently allotted fewer of the seven delegates.
Barnett said voters typically do not recognize the names of delegate candidates, so many factors could explain their votes.
"I'm sure there are all sorts of methods voters use," he said. "For example, alphabetical order . . . There are countless answers to the question of how voters make their choices."
Ryan said that although he will not go to the DNC, the experience was still worth his effort.
"It was cool to know that so many did vote for me in the first place that I never met," he said.
Ryan said his father thinks his Irish last name could have won him votes in an area largely populated by Irish Americans.
"Mostly people are just picking randomly," he said. "A lot of people don't understand what they're voting for, anyway."
He said he could see himself running as a delegate again in the future, depending on the candidates. Although his family and friends would have liked to see him win, they have been very supportive, he said.
"I'm very glad I did it. It was definitely very interesting," he said. "I got to do something not a lot of people get to do."
Boston University freshman Brendan Ryan can now say he and Sen. Barack Obama have something in common: Both experienced defeat in the most recent primary election.
Ryan, a College of General Studies student who ran on the Rhode Island ballot in hopes of becoming an Obama delegate, will not go on to the Democratic National Convention this August.
"I was pretty disappointed," Ryan said. "I would have liked to have been able to go, but it was the first time I ever ran for anything, so I wasn't expecting too much."
Ryan picked up 7,228 votes in his district. He placed 14th among 16 delegate candidates and, although he did not win a spot at the convention, he won his home precinct.
Democratic primary electors appointed the top seven "vote-getters" from Ryan's district as elected delegates, Chris Barnett, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Secretary of State Elections and Civics Division, said. Ryan had a smaller chance of winning a delegate spot because Obama lost to Sen. Hillary Clinton in Tuesday's primary election and was consequently allotted fewer of the seven delegates.
Barnett said voters typically do not recognize the names of delegate candidates, so many factors could explain their votes.
"I'm sure there are all sorts of methods voters use," he said. "For example, alphabetical order . . . There are countless answers to the question of how voters make their choices."
Ryan said that although he will not go to the DNC, the experience was still worth his effort.
"It was cool to know that so many did vote for me in the first place that I never met," he said.
Ryan said his father thinks his Irish last name could have won him votes in an area largely populated by Irish Americans.
"Mostly people are just picking randomly," he said. "A lot of people don't understand what they're voting for, anyway."
He said he could see himself running as a delegate again in the future, depending on the candidates. Although his family and friends would have liked to see him win, they have been very supportive, he said.
"I'm very glad I did it. It was definitely very interesting," he said. "I got to do something not a lot of people get to do."
Cutting back on paper costs
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
When the first personal computer was created, publicists of the 1960s envisioned a “paperless office,” or an office of the future, in which all records would be electronic. No filing cabinets, no memos, no forms and no paper checks.
In reality, the PC has doubled the use of office paper in the last 20 years, because printing is now cheaper than ever, according to an Oct. 9 article in The Economist. But more recently, paper use is starting to decline because of innovations like the “paperless” paycheck.
Half of students employed by Boston University are enrolled in direct deposit, allowing for their paychecks to be put straight into their bank accounts, according to Mary Ann French, director of the Student Payroll Office. Currently, check stubs containing pay advice are printed every week to correspond with these direct payments.
French said that if students have not picked up their pay stubs for more than six weeks, departments should mail the stubs to the employee. Some departments return unclaimed stubs to the Student Payroll Office.
State offices across the nation are already using technology to eliminate wasteful check stubs like those printed for direct deposit users, according to PaperlessPay.org. The website defines paperless pay as “eliminating paperwork in every phase of the payroll process, reducing costs and delivering faster, more convenient employee service.”
PaperlessPay.org categorizes Massachusetts as an “Opt-out State” in which agency employees must give consent to receive online pay advice, as opposed to states such as New York or New Jersey that do not require employee consent.
BU said it is “looking into” the option of opting-out of check stubs and receiving pay information online.
BU Comptroller Steve Singer said the Student Link and Employee Link currently allows students, faculty and staff to view basic pay information online, but the software does not have capabilities for opting-out. He said the Payroll Office is trying to develop technology that would allow employees to choose not to have their pay stubs printed.
“It’s a matter of getting appropriate resources,” Singer said. “We’ve been talking about it for awhile. It’s just to say which way is the appropriate way to go.”
Overall, more than 80 percent of BU employees, including students, use direct deposit. Some departments have as high as 95 percent using direct payment, according to Singer.
Singer said the BU Payroll Office aims to reduce paper use in areas other than pay advice. Payroll introduced electronic student account payment last year to decrease the number of paper checks and mailing costs. The Payroll Office is also currently testing online billing with a small population of students who take classes on the Web.
MASS SUPPRESSES STUBS
While state employees can choose to receive paper pay advice or to opt-out, Massachusetts is aiming to eliminate paper stubs and fully utilize an online application, PayInfo, for employees to receive all pay advice, Comptroller of the Commonwealth Martin Benison said.
The option to decline paper pay stubs was added to PayInfo last spring, and the number of employees suppressing their pay stubs has since increased from 5,000 to 18,000 out of 70,000 employees, Benison said. Among those involved are the University of Massachusetts campuses.
The Comptroller Office is promoting the initiative with advertising campaigns and reward programs, such as random drawings, to make employees more comfortable with the idea before mandating paperless pay, Benison said. Problems include how to provide access to online pay advice for employees who do not have a computer and Internet access at home.
“Some employees are very happy to get [online advice], like state police officers and correction officers,” Benison said. “They are not always at work on payday, and it’s actually an advantage because now they can get it whenever they want.”
The comptroller’s website states that eliminating state-printed pay advices saves 240 trees per year, reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 25,000 pounds and eliminates a cost of $2 million.
“We think this is a win-win situation,” Benison said. “It’s better customer service to employees, it saves the commonwealth money . . . it’s easier for everybody.”
Daniel Miguel, payroll director for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, said 15 percent of the department’s employees have signed up for paperless pay through PayInfo. The department’s goal is to go 100 percent paperless, following the example set by the comptroller’s office.
“Since we are an environmental agency, we’ve been trying to push it and trying to sell it to our employees,” Miguel said. “It’s a very good program because we save a lot of money on checks.”
Miguel said the department promotes opting-out with notifications that appear when employees log into the computer system. However, some of the department’s employees, such as those working in labor yards, do not have access to a computer.
Many other state departments have started this initiative, and those that have gone completely paperless have a less complicated labor profile, and every employee has computer access, Miguel said.
PROMOTING
PAPERLESS PAY
In addition to government efforts to reduce paper costs, private businesses and associations are also developing new ways to distribute paychecks.
Tufts University faculty and staff have been able to opt-out of pay stubs for three years through a self-service software called eServe, and the school’s Human Resource Services office is currently working to integrate students into the program, Edna Gilreath, Tufts associate director of HR, said.
Gilreath said Tufts encourages employees to opt-out to avoid security risks. Before pay advice was available online, the printed stubs often disappeared or were delivered to the wrong department.
“As far as security, it’s much, much better,” she said. “The cost of paper checks and direct deposit is huge, and it saves on man hours. It used to take four hours to print out all direct deposit [stubs] and checks for a payroll. Now it takes 20 minutes.”
Employees can check a box on eServe to decline the printed pay stubs, and they can also view and print out pay advice from the service.
Students cannot use eServe yet because Tufts needs to develop a secure password system for students, Gilreath said. Tufts payroll will “attack” the student component to opting-out after upgrading to People Soft 9 software.
TALX is a provider of HR and Web payroll services, such as ePayroll and The Work Number, that focus on methods like paperless pay to reduce costs and increase conveniences for employers. Its clients include major retailers, schools, hospitals and Fortune 500 Companies, according to the TALX website.
A 2002 TALX case study on American Greetings reports that the card company converted to paperless payroll with ePayroll because of expensive, labor intensive methods of processing and distributing printed pay advice. American Greetings now saves $20 per employee that uses direct deposit each year, and the company employs more than 28,000 people in the field, according to the TALX report.
The American Payroll Association, a professional organization for payroll managers, advocates for paperless payroll because is saves from $1.22 to $2.50 per paycheck, Robert Wagner, director of communications, said. Electronic payroll also saves gas from driving to and from the bank and saves time the employees might spend on their lunch breaks waiting in line at the bank.
“Employees generally like it, even employees hesitant to try direct deposit,” Wagner said. “Once they get used to having money automatically in their account, they don’t want to go back.”
APA conducted a National Payroll Week survey on Sept. 9, 2005 that included the question: “How would you feel if your company went to a ‘paperless payroll?’” Of 29,955 responses, 30.6 percent of people said their company already uses it and they like it, 43.4 percent said they would like it, 9.2 percent said they would be unhappy about paperless payroll and 16.7 percent said it would not matter.
The APA uses literature to educate its 25,000 members about paperless pay. The organization makes suggestions such as how to convince skeptical employees that direct deposit will not lose their paycheck or intrude on their privacy. Some members include the head of payroll for Starbucks, Toyota America, ETNA Insurance and many schools for which the APA holds an annual conference, Wagner said.
BU is currently a member of the APA. Susan Janssen, BU payroll manger, joined in 1987 and attends APA conferences for payroll managers in higher education. Janssen said the conferences are more focused on informing members about payroll laws than promoting paperless pay.
“They’re obviously advocating anything to make a payroll department’s job easier, and certainly paperless payroll would, but we’re not using them as a resource,” Janssen said.
Janssen said she foresees a paperless payroll system developing at BU along with the BU Works Project, which is a large project to update software used throughout the university, including payroll accounts and the human resources system.
“We’re very anxious to go in that direction,” she said. “It’s a benefit to the university as a whole . . . also, it would mean more opportunities to protect the security of employees.”
When the first personal computer was created, publicists of the 1960s envisioned a “paperless office,” or an office of the future, in which all records would be electronic. No filing cabinets, no memos, no forms and no paper checks.
In reality, the PC has doubled the use of office paper in the last 20 years, because printing is now cheaper than ever, according to an Oct. 9 article in The Economist. But more recently, paper use is starting to decline because of innovations like the “paperless” paycheck.
Half of students employed by Boston University are enrolled in direct deposit, allowing for their paychecks to be put straight into their bank accounts, according to Mary Ann French, director of the Student Payroll Office. Currently, check stubs containing pay advice are printed every week to correspond with these direct payments.
French said that if students have not picked up their pay stubs for more than six weeks, departments should mail the stubs to the employee. Some departments return unclaimed stubs to the Student Payroll Office.
State offices across the nation are already using technology to eliminate wasteful check stubs like those printed for direct deposit users, according to PaperlessPay.org. The website defines paperless pay as “eliminating paperwork in every phase of the payroll process, reducing costs and delivering faster, more convenient employee service.”
PaperlessPay.org categorizes Massachusetts as an “Opt-out State” in which agency employees must give consent to receive online pay advice, as opposed to states such as New York or New Jersey that do not require employee consent.
BU said it is “looking into” the option of opting-out of check stubs and receiving pay information online.
BU Comptroller Steve Singer said the Student Link and Employee Link currently allows students, faculty and staff to view basic pay information online, but the software does not have capabilities for opting-out. He said the Payroll Office is trying to develop technology that would allow employees to choose not to have their pay stubs printed.
“It’s a matter of getting appropriate resources,” Singer said. “We’ve been talking about it for awhile. It’s just to say which way is the appropriate way to go.”
Overall, more than 80 percent of BU employees, including students, use direct deposit. Some departments have as high as 95 percent using direct payment, according to Singer.
Singer said the BU Payroll Office aims to reduce paper use in areas other than pay advice. Payroll introduced electronic student account payment last year to decrease the number of paper checks and mailing costs. The Payroll Office is also currently testing online billing with a small population of students who take classes on the Web.
MASS SUPPRESSES STUBS
While state employees can choose to receive paper pay advice or to opt-out, Massachusetts is aiming to eliminate paper stubs and fully utilize an online application, PayInfo, for employees to receive all pay advice, Comptroller of the Commonwealth Martin Benison said.
The option to decline paper pay stubs was added to PayInfo last spring, and the number of employees suppressing their pay stubs has since increased from 5,000 to 18,000 out of 70,000 employees, Benison said. Among those involved are the University of Massachusetts campuses.
The Comptroller Office is promoting the initiative with advertising campaigns and reward programs, such as random drawings, to make employees more comfortable with the idea before mandating paperless pay, Benison said. Problems include how to provide access to online pay advice for employees who do not have a computer and Internet access at home.
“Some employees are very happy to get [online advice], like state police officers and correction officers,” Benison said. “They are not always at work on payday, and it’s actually an advantage because now they can get it whenever they want.”
The comptroller’s website states that eliminating state-printed pay advices saves 240 trees per year, reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 25,000 pounds and eliminates a cost of $2 million.
“We think this is a win-win situation,” Benison said. “It’s better customer service to employees, it saves the commonwealth money . . . it’s easier for everybody.”
Daniel Miguel, payroll director for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, said 15 percent of the department’s employees have signed up for paperless pay through PayInfo. The department’s goal is to go 100 percent paperless, following the example set by the comptroller’s office.
“Since we are an environmental agency, we’ve been trying to push it and trying to sell it to our employees,” Miguel said. “It’s a very good program because we save a lot of money on checks.”
Miguel said the department promotes opting-out with notifications that appear when employees log into the computer system. However, some of the department’s employees, such as those working in labor yards, do not have access to a computer.
Many other state departments have started this initiative, and those that have gone completely paperless have a less complicated labor profile, and every employee has computer access, Miguel said.
PROMOTING
PAPERLESS PAY
In addition to government efforts to reduce paper costs, private businesses and associations are also developing new ways to distribute paychecks.
Tufts University faculty and staff have been able to opt-out of pay stubs for three years through a self-service software called eServe, and the school’s Human Resource Services office is currently working to integrate students into the program, Edna Gilreath, Tufts associate director of HR, said.
Gilreath said Tufts encourages employees to opt-out to avoid security risks. Before pay advice was available online, the printed stubs often disappeared or were delivered to the wrong department.
“As far as security, it’s much, much better,” she said. “The cost of paper checks and direct deposit is huge, and it saves on man hours. It used to take four hours to print out all direct deposit [stubs] and checks for a payroll. Now it takes 20 minutes.”
Employees can check a box on eServe to decline the printed pay stubs, and they can also view and print out pay advice from the service.
Students cannot use eServe yet because Tufts needs to develop a secure password system for students, Gilreath said. Tufts payroll will “attack” the student component to opting-out after upgrading to People Soft 9 software.
TALX is a provider of HR and Web payroll services, such as ePayroll and The Work Number, that focus on methods like paperless pay to reduce costs and increase conveniences for employers. Its clients include major retailers, schools, hospitals and Fortune 500 Companies, according to the TALX website.
A 2002 TALX case study on American Greetings reports that the card company converted to paperless payroll with ePayroll because of expensive, labor intensive methods of processing and distributing printed pay advice. American Greetings now saves $20 per employee that uses direct deposit each year, and the company employs more than 28,000 people in the field, according to the TALX report.
The American Payroll Association, a professional organization for payroll managers, advocates for paperless payroll because is saves from $1.22 to $2.50 per paycheck, Robert Wagner, director of communications, said. Electronic payroll also saves gas from driving to and from the bank and saves time the employees might spend on their lunch breaks waiting in line at the bank.
“Employees generally like it, even employees hesitant to try direct deposit,” Wagner said. “Once they get used to having money automatically in their account, they don’t want to go back.”
APA conducted a National Payroll Week survey on Sept. 9, 2005 that included the question: “How would you feel if your company went to a ‘paperless payroll?’” Of 29,955 responses, 30.6 percent of people said their company already uses it and they like it, 43.4 percent said they would like it, 9.2 percent said they would be unhappy about paperless payroll and 16.7 percent said it would not matter.
The APA uses literature to educate its 25,000 members about paperless pay. The organization makes suggestions such as how to convince skeptical employees that direct deposit will not lose their paycheck or intrude on their privacy. Some members include the head of payroll for Starbucks, Toyota America, ETNA Insurance and many schools for which the APA holds an annual conference, Wagner said.
BU is currently a member of the APA. Susan Janssen, BU payroll manger, joined in 1987 and attends APA conferences for payroll managers in higher education. Janssen said the conferences are more focused on informing members about payroll laws than promoting paperless pay.
“They’re obviously advocating anything to make a payroll department’s job easier, and certainly paperless payroll would, but we’re not using them as a resource,” Janssen said.
Janssen said she foresees a paperless payroll system developing at BU along with the BU Works Project, which is a large project to update software used throughout the university, including payroll accounts and the human resources system.
“We’re very anxious to go in that direction,” she said. “It’s a benefit to the university as a whole . . . also, it would mean more opportunities to protect the security of employees.”
BU researchers raise $20M for blood disorders
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals, a company created a few weeks ago by Boston University researchers, announced recently it has raised $20 million to develop new drugs to treat serious blood disorders.
For the past 10 years, Dr. Susan Perrine and her husband and co-worker, Dr. Douglas Faller - both School of Medicine professors who founded the company - have been developing treatments for blood disorders. The disorders are commonly inherited diseases, such as sickle cell anemia - in which blood cells are deformed and harm organs - that can lead to infant deaths.
"[Perrine and Faller] developed new compounds that can detect [blood cell] abnormalities in the lab," said HemaQuest President and CEO Ronald Berenson.
Perrine, a specialist in blood-disease treatments in pediatrics, has treated patients for more than 20 years, 10 of which have been spent at the School of Medicine.
Although HemaQuest was created just weeks ago, Berenson said he has worked for a year to raise money for the company, and various venture capitalists have invested in it.
"[Fundraising] went really fast," Berenson said. "I went to people I knew, and they were really interested because of the team, the opportunity and the drugs, so it went well."
Berenson said HemaQuest mapped out a business plan detailing the company's strategy and costs. Company members then approached venture capitalists for funds to cover work for two years and received money from interested investors over a four-to-six-month period.
Investors include Palo Alto healthcare partnership De Novo Ventures, San Diego life sciences firm Forward Ventures and Indianapolis-based Lilly Ventures.
Berenson said the money will be used for drug development and to "test them in . . . healthy volunteers, and then patients who have these diseases."
Additionally, he said HemaQuest will provide funding for more BU research.
Faller said in addition to researching treatments for blood disorders, HemaQuest will continue drug development in other areas.
"HemaQuest has a diverse group of scientific discoveries licensed into it from our work," he said in an email. "Other licensed therapies at different stages of development are directed at . . . cancer and chronic wounds."
HemaQuest could develop the first safe drugs to treat blood disorders - such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia, a deformity that causes deficiencies in blood cells - helping millions of patients, according to a Nov. 1 press release.
"As a practicing physician, the lack of effective therapies to alleviate the tremendous suffering of patients with [blood] disorders is discouraging," Perrine said in the release. "I am excited to have the opportunity to develop targeted therapeutics based on patented discoveries made by . . . my group at Boston University."
HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals, a company created a few weeks ago by Boston University researchers, announced recently it has raised $20 million to develop new drugs to treat serious blood disorders.
For the past 10 years, Dr. Susan Perrine and her husband and co-worker, Dr. Douglas Faller - both School of Medicine professors who founded the company - have been developing treatments for blood disorders. The disorders are commonly inherited diseases, such as sickle cell anemia - in which blood cells are deformed and harm organs - that can lead to infant deaths.
"[Perrine and Faller] developed new compounds that can detect [blood cell] abnormalities in the lab," said HemaQuest President and CEO Ronald Berenson.
Perrine, a specialist in blood-disease treatments in pediatrics, has treated patients for more than 20 years, 10 of which have been spent at the School of Medicine.
Although HemaQuest was created just weeks ago, Berenson said he has worked for a year to raise money for the company, and various venture capitalists have invested in it.
"[Fundraising] went really fast," Berenson said. "I went to people I knew, and they were really interested because of the team, the opportunity and the drugs, so it went well."
Berenson said HemaQuest mapped out a business plan detailing the company's strategy and costs. Company members then approached venture capitalists for funds to cover work for two years and received money from interested investors over a four-to-six-month period.
Investors include Palo Alto healthcare partnership De Novo Ventures, San Diego life sciences firm Forward Ventures and Indianapolis-based Lilly Ventures.
Berenson said the money will be used for drug development and to "test them in . . . healthy volunteers, and then patients who have these diseases."
Additionally, he said HemaQuest will provide funding for more BU research.
Faller said in addition to researching treatments for blood disorders, HemaQuest will continue drug development in other areas.
"HemaQuest has a diverse group of scientific discoveries licensed into it from our work," he said in an email. "Other licensed therapies at different stages of development are directed at . . . cancer and chronic wounds."
HemaQuest could develop the first safe drugs to treat blood disorders - such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia, a deformity that causes deficiencies in blood cells - helping millions of patients, according to a Nov. 1 press release.
"As a practicing physician, the lack of effective therapies to alleviate the tremendous suffering of patients with [blood] disorders is discouraging," Perrine said in the release. "I am excited to have the opportunity to develop targeted therapeutics based on patented discoveries made by . . . my group at Boston University."
No butts about campus smoking
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
As Alex Stewart flipped through college pamphlets and brochures last year in search of her ideal school, a campus-wide smoking ban at Gainesville State College caught her eye.
Now a freshman at the school, Stewart says she cannot cross the street or make her way back to her dorm without being bombarded by signs prohibiting the practice, and more and more universities across the country are following suit to help students kick their cravings.
"I just think it's a better atmosphere," Stewart said. "It's a big part of our school."
The small Georgia school enacted the ban five years ago, said Gainesville State President's Assistant Leora Myers.
"Before the policy, we had several complaints having to go through smoke-filled areas from all sectors -- faculty and students," Myers said. "It seemed when smokers go outside the building, they stand outside doors, and you had to run fast through the smoke to clear the air."
Almost 100 colleges and universities across the country have completely extinguished smoking on their campuses, according to a study the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation released last month.
No school in Massachusetts made the list, though, and Maine is the only state in New England in which colleges have adopted a complete ban.
"More student body governments as well as [college] administrations and faculty have identified [second- hand smoke] as a public health concern, taking initiative to provide safe campuses," said Americans For Nonsmokers' Rights manager Frieda Glantz.
University of Mississippi associate attorney Donna Gurley said her school has received positive feedback since enforcing a ban.
"Most people who don't smoke are relieved that they don't have to walk through a cloud of smoke around buildings," Gurley said. "Of course, we have had some very vocal smokers who have complained, but. . . . most people are in favor of the policy."
Students at the University of Central Missouri are still waiting for a total smoking ban to take effect at their school after a vote to ban it last year, said graduate Ben Money, who does not believe the ban is fair.
"You can't tell people to not emit carcinogens into the same air that hundreds of semis and cars pollute daily," Money said.
Boston University, which already bans smoking in all buildings and residence halls, has no plans to adopt a total no-smoking policy, said university spokesman Colin Riley.
"I can't imagine how you would stop someone walking through campus that is a city resident from smoking," he said. "I think smokers are well aware of how non-smokers are affected."
Some BU students who do not light up are mixed about any potential ban.
"When [smoking] infringes on your ability to walk through a space comfortably, it's not fun," said College of Communication freshman Alyssa Castelli.
COM freshman Pedro Falci said students should be allowed the option to smoke.
"Even though I'm not a smoker, I think people should have the liberty to smoke if they wish," he said.
As Alex Stewart flipped through college pamphlets and brochures last year in search of her ideal school, a campus-wide smoking ban at Gainesville State College caught her eye.
Now a freshman at the school, Stewart says she cannot cross the street or make her way back to her dorm without being bombarded by signs prohibiting the practice, and more and more universities across the country are following suit to help students kick their cravings.
"I just think it's a better atmosphere," Stewart said. "It's a big part of our school."
The small Georgia school enacted the ban five years ago, said Gainesville State President's Assistant Leora Myers.
"Before the policy, we had several complaints having to go through smoke-filled areas from all sectors -- faculty and students," Myers said. "It seemed when smokers go outside the building, they stand outside doors, and you had to run fast through the smoke to clear the air."
Almost 100 colleges and universities across the country have completely extinguished smoking on their campuses, according to a study the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation released last month.
No school in Massachusetts made the list, though, and Maine is the only state in New England in which colleges have adopted a complete ban.
"More student body governments as well as [college] administrations and faculty have identified [second- hand smoke] as a public health concern, taking initiative to provide safe campuses," said Americans For Nonsmokers' Rights manager Frieda Glantz.
University of Mississippi associate attorney Donna Gurley said her school has received positive feedback since enforcing a ban.
"Most people who don't smoke are relieved that they don't have to walk through a cloud of smoke around buildings," Gurley said. "Of course, we have had some very vocal smokers who have complained, but. . . . most people are in favor of the policy."
Students at the University of Central Missouri are still waiting for a total smoking ban to take effect at their school after a vote to ban it last year, said graduate Ben Money, who does not believe the ban is fair.
"You can't tell people to not emit carcinogens into the same air that hundreds of semis and cars pollute daily," Money said.
Boston University, which already bans smoking in all buildings and residence halls, has no plans to adopt a total no-smoking policy, said university spokesman Colin Riley.
"I can't imagine how you would stop someone walking through campus that is a city resident from smoking," he said. "I think smokers are well aware of how non-smokers are affected."
Some BU students who do not light up are mixed about any potential ban.
"When [smoking] infringes on your ability to walk through a space comfortably, it's not fun," said College of Communication freshman Alyssa Castelli.
COM freshman Pedro Falci said students should be allowed the option to smoke.
"Even though I'm not a smoker, I think people should have the liberty to smoke if they wish," he said.
Prof. rocks class with law school lyrics
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Timbaland's "Apologize," a plastic microphone and a karaoke machine are just some of the state-of-the-art tools used to teach Boston University graduate students all they need to know about law.
School of Law professor Mark Pettit said he uses nearly 20 years' worth of student-written parodies in his class to encourage student participation and create an easy-going atmosphere to contrast the intimidating image of law school.
"If I make myself look ridiculous, students are much more willing to participate," Pettit said. "They don't have to worry so much about saying something that's going to make them look ridiculous."
Pettit said he began singing in his first-year Contracts class after a student wrote a poem about a case the class was studying and Pettit read it aloud. Many poems followed, and then a case spurred a lyric to the tune of The Brady Bunch theme song. Pettit said his students have been adding to his repertoire ever since.
"[The songs] make it more accessible to talk to the professor, because he shows an interest in students, and you know that he's not some grumpy troll," said first-year law student Wendy Smith.
Smith said Pettit's teaching methods help make dry material more interesting and reduce anxiety about answering questions. This year, she said she co-wrote a song to Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," and Pettit performed it in class after the Red Sox won the World Series.
Pettit said even though he has been performing in class since 1987, he is still nervous before each song because some are difficult to sing.
"Some of my performances were very weak indeed," he said. "But I think students get a kick out of it. I think part of the thing is that I'm not a great singer, and that's what makes it [funnier]."
First-year law student Ross Bul said the songs occasionally help him remember basic concepts of the cases discussed in class. Pettit's teaching style is "as engaging as his songs," Bul said in an email.
"[Pettit will] play devil's advocate to your point or jokingly yell at you to make you think you are wrong ... to get you to verbalize your answer," Bul said.
Pettit said his colleagues think his songs' growing publicity is good for BU Law and law school in general because those programs can be intimidating and students need to know it can also be fun. The Princeton Review recognized Pettit as the first for faculty quality among a list of 40 top-rated professors.
"There's no other law professor like him in the country," Bul said.
Timbaland's "Apologize," a plastic microphone and a karaoke machine are just some of the state-of-the-art tools used to teach Boston University graduate students all they need to know about law.
School of Law professor Mark Pettit said he uses nearly 20 years' worth of student-written parodies in his class to encourage student participation and create an easy-going atmosphere to contrast the intimidating image of law school.
"If I make myself look ridiculous, students are much more willing to participate," Pettit said. "They don't have to worry so much about saying something that's going to make them look ridiculous."
Pettit said he began singing in his first-year Contracts class after a student wrote a poem about a case the class was studying and Pettit read it aloud. Many poems followed, and then a case spurred a lyric to the tune of The Brady Bunch theme song. Pettit said his students have been adding to his repertoire ever since.
"[The songs] make it more accessible to talk to the professor, because he shows an interest in students, and you know that he's not some grumpy troll," said first-year law student Wendy Smith.
Smith said Pettit's teaching methods help make dry material more interesting and reduce anxiety about answering questions. This year, she said she co-wrote a song to Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline," and Pettit performed it in class after the Red Sox won the World Series.
Pettit said even though he has been performing in class since 1987, he is still nervous before each song because some are difficult to sing.
"Some of my performances were very weak indeed," he said. "But I think students get a kick out of it. I think part of the thing is that I'm not a great singer, and that's what makes it [funnier]."
First-year law student Ross Bul said the songs occasionally help him remember basic concepts of the cases discussed in class. Pettit's teaching style is "as engaging as his songs," Bul said in an email.
"[Pettit will] play devil's advocate to your point or jokingly yell at you to make you think you are wrong ... to get you to verbalize your answer," Bul said.
Pettit said his colleagues think his songs' growing publicity is good for BU Law and law school in general because those programs can be intimidating and students need to know it can also be fun. The Princeton Review recognized Pettit as the first for faculty quality among a list of 40 top-rated professors.
"There's no other law professor like him in the country," Bul said.
Course makes a public case
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Making a difference in the world can seem like a huge feat for college students, but with the help of a School of Education course, students can learn to convert their ideas into working public policy, a Boston University professor says.
Project Citizen - first offered at BU in spring 2007 - is one of four "Projects in Civic Engagement" courses developed by SED faculty to attract undergraduates who have an interest in teaching, said Charles White, the project's associate director.
According to the course description on the Student Link, Project Citizen, which will be offered again in the spring, allows students to "apply a model of citizen action" and analyze a public policy of their choosing.
"University students are very involved in community service," White said, "but they tend not to view service as a way to engage in government. Real change doesn't happen until people are involved with public policy."
Although a part of the two-credit class focuses on how aspiring teachers can better prepare their future students to become active citizens, White said the course is not exclusively for SED students.
"[Project Citizen is] an international project that began in middle schools and is going into high schools about how to monitor and influence public policy makers," White said. "We were thinking for a long time it would be great for that project to appear at the university level."
SED interim dean Charles Glenn said he is working with other BU schools to reach out to students across academic disciplines, saying public policy is a "matter of concern for everyone."
"Education is crucial to every political effort," Glenn said. "It shapes minds and hearts of future citizens, and it's essential to deal with education appropriately."
The only other Project Citizen course at the university level in the country is taught by San Jose State University political science professor Larry Gerston, who was the first college professor to incorporate the techniques in his class.
Gerston said he met White when he was promoting Project Citizen for the Center for Civic Education in California, which originally developed the program in middle and high schools.
"[Students] found it very exhilarating and worthwhile," Gerston said. "[The class] improved their knowledge of the policy making process and made them educated as citizens."
The Project Citizen class last year chose a public policy issue to research and then developed a plan of action to persuade decision makers. At the end of the course, students presented their policy to a mock panel of real politicians and teachers.
College of Arts and Sciences senior Kelly Connolly, who took the class last year, said she researched the BU Guest Policy. Although her project did not have any direct bearing on BU's policies, she said the project taught her valuable lessons.
"I found it to be a really engaging way to understand how our law system works and how people can actually become involved," Connolly said. "[I found that] if people are willing to take the initiative, they can have an impact on public policies that have an effect on their everyday lives."
Making a difference in the world can seem like a huge feat for college students, but with the help of a School of Education course, students can learn to convert their ideas into working public policy, a Boston University professor says.
Project Citizen - first offered at BU in spring 2007 - is one of four "Projects in Civic Engagement" courses developed by SED faculty to attract undergraduates who have an interest in teaching, said Charles White, the project's associate director.
According to the course description on the Student Link, Project Citizen, which will be offered again in the spring, allows students to "apply a model of citizen action" and analyze a public policy of their choosing.
"University students are very involved in community service," White said, "but they tend not to view service as a way to engage in government. Real change doesn't happen until people are involved with public policy."
Although a part of the two-credit class focuses on how aspiring teachers can better prepare their future students to become active citizens, White said the course is not exclusively for SED students.
"[Project Citizen is] an international project that began in middle schools and is going into high schools about how to monitor and influence public policy makers," White said. "We were thinking for a long time it would be great for that project to appear at the university level."
SED interim dean Charles Glenn said he is working with other BU schools to reach out to students across academic disciplines, saying public policy is a "matter of concern for everyone."
"Education is crucial to every political effort," Glenn said. "It shapes minds and hearts of future citizens, and it's essential to deal with education appropriately."
The only other Project Citizen course at the university level in the country is taught by San Jose State University political science professor Larry Gerston, who was the first college professor to incorporate the techniques in his class.
Gerston said he met White when he was promoting Project Citizen for the Center for Civic Education in California, which originally developed the program in middle and high schools.
"[Students] found it very exhilarating and worthwhile," Gerston said. "[The class] improved their knowledge of the policy making process and made them educated as citizens."
The Project Citizen class last year chose a public policy issue to research and then developed a plan of action to persuade decision makers. At the end of the course, students presented their policy to a mock panel of real politicians and teachers.
College of Arts and Sciences senior Kelly Connolly, who took the class last year, said she researched the BU Guest Policy. Although her project did not have any direct bearing on BU's policies, she said the project taught her valuable lessons.
"I found it to be a really engaging way to understand how our law system works and how people can actually become involved," Connolly said. "[I found that] if people are willing to take the initiative, they can have an impact on public policies that have an effect on their everyday lives."
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Union looks to improve campus security
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
The Boston University Student Union is seeking to make the Charles River Campus safer by urging the BU Police Department and administrators to add more blue light emergency call boxes and improve street lighting.
South Campus, Bay State Road and the stretch of Beacon Street between Danielsen Hall and Myles Standish Hall would benefit from safety recommendations the Union is preparing, said Union Campus Safety Committee Chairman Leo Gameng.
A meeting between the Union and the BUPD is planned for next week, Union President Adil Yunis said.
Gameng said the Union wants to add lights to heavily shaded campus areas and revamp the campus Escort Security Service.
"We need to show students that we want to keep them safe," Gameng said. "Most of the assaults happen in areas where there is less lighting."
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore told The Daily Free Press last semester that members of the Union, BUPD and other school departments conduct a Safety Walk each semester to find problem spots on campus, such as dark areas where tree growth obstructs lighting or not enough streetlights are installed. Increasing lighting is within Boston's jurisdiction, he said.
"We call [the city] every chance we get when we receive a complaint," Elmore said. "We are limited in terms of what we can do."
School of Education sophomore and Bay State Road resident Jackie Sevasta said she supports the Union's recommendations.
"I don't think I've ever even noticed [call boxes] in South," she said. "I realize that there are more upper classmen living over there, but it's still part of the campus and it feels a lot less safe."
Gameng said the Union plans to improve the Escort Security Service by implementing community patrolling after dark. He said he hopes the escorts' presence will further decrease crime.
The Union is also working with various state departments to reach its goals, he added.
"Since we are a very open campus and we have to deal with Brookline, Cambridge and Boston, trying to get everyone on the same page is very difficult," Gameng said. "But the BUPD is very strong, [and our partners] are making strikes to advocate for the university."
Though the campus crime rate has remained steady in recent years, BUPD Sgt. Jack St. Hilaire said the department supports the Union's recommendations.
St. Hilaire said call boxes are a "great tool" for urban campuses because non-university residents as well as students use them. He said people with cell phones should also have the BUPD emergency number on speed dial as an extra precaution.
St. Hilaire said BU is relatively safe compared to other urban campuses and that safety concerns are inherent in all urban and suburban colleges.
"Whether you're in a small college, closed environment or in the city, it's impossible to ensure 100 percent safety of anybody," he said.
Angela Marie Latona contributed reporting to this article.
The Boston University Student Union is seeking to make the Charles River Campus safer by urging the BU Police Department and administrators to add more blue light emergency call boxes and improve street lighting.
South Campus, Bay State Road and the stretch of Beacon Street between Danielsen Hall and Myles Standish Hall would benefit from safety recommendations the Union is preparing, said Union Campus Safety Committee Chairman Leo Gameng.
A meeting between the Union and the BUPD is planned for next week, Union President Adil Yunis said.
Gameng said the Union wants to add lights to heavily shaded campus areas and revamp the campus Escort Security Service.
"We need to show students that we want to keep them safe," Gameng said. "Most of the assaults happen in areas where there is less lighting."
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore told The Daily Free Press last semester that members of the Union, BUPD and other school departments conduct a Safety Walk each semester to find problem spots on campus, such as dark areas where tree growth obstructs lighting or not enough streetlights are installed. Increasing lighting is within Boston's jurisdiction, he said.
"We call [the city] every chance we get when we receive a complaint," Elmore said. "We are limited in terms of what we can do."
School of Education sophomore and Bay State Road resident Jackie Sevasta said she supports the Union's recommendations.
"I don't think I've ever even noticed [call boxes] in South," she said. "I realize that there are more upper classmen living over there, but it's still part of the campus and it feels a lot less safe."
Gameng said the Union plans to improve the Escort Security Service by implementing community patrolling after dark. He said he hopes the escorts' presence will further decrease crime.
The Union is also working with various state departments to reach its goals, he added.
"Since we are a very open campus and we have to deal with Brookline, Cambridge and Boston, trying to get everyone on the same page is very difficult," Gameng said. "But the BUPD is very strong, [and our partners] are making strikes to advocate for the university."
Though the campus crime rate has remained steady in recent years, BUPD Sgt. Jack St. Hilaire said the department supports the Union's recommendations.
St. Hilaire said call boxes are a "great tool" for urban campuses because non-university residents as well as students use them. He said people with cell phones should also have the BUPD emergency number on speed dial as an extra precaution.
St. Hilaire said BU is relatively safe compared to other urban campuses and that safety concerns are inherent in all urban and suburban colleges.
"Whether you're in a small college, closed environment or in the city, it's impossible to ensure 100 percent safety of anybody," he said.
Angela Marie Latona contributed reporting to this article.
Students align against new BU logo
By Sydney Lupkin
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
After a year and a half of hard work, the Boston University administration can say it has streamlined its logo and signage, but some students are questioning the projects the university signs off on.
The new-and-improved logo revealed last week, which was developed by Toth Brand Imaging, is a slight update on the previous red rectangular design -- the white line separating "Boston" and "University" has been removed in favor of slightly altered font and spacing.
"It's funny how you hear about little stuff like this, but you don't hear about major stuff," College of Arts and Sciences senior Robert Kavanaugh said. "I mean tuition goes up 5 percent every year, and I've seen my logo changing . . . it looks exactly the same."
Kavanaugh said he could not tell the difference between the old and new logos.
"I doubt people will notice," College of General Studies sophomore Angie Thrower said. "I think it was a ridiculous waste of time to bother changing it. I feel like the old one is a lot better."
BU spent nearly two years discussing and implementing the change in an attempt to unify the university, because different schools were using different versions of the same logo. BU Vice President of Marketing and Communications Steve Burgay said the new logo will not interfere with creativity.
"We never had any rules or guidelines before, people could vary it," Burgay said. "[The website] lays out all the rules . . . Like any institution we have to present ourselves in public. Diversity will happen, but we have the logo that is consistent."
Toth Brand Imaging worked on the project for about six months, coming up with five potential logos, Toth Director of Business Bob Fouhy said. The runner up for the new logo was a "more modern use of a circle," while the chosen logo was a mix of "traditional" and "modern" concepts, he added.
CAS junior Vanessa Gusick said removing a line does little to help to unify a university.
"I feel like if they really wanted to make a big impact in changing the sign, they really didn't accomplish that goal," Gusick said. "They should have used some sort of design."
Creative Director for the Office of New Media Scott Dasse said the logo is not "new," but rather "revised."
"The real work was making a system that allowed different entities to identify themselves . . . as a part of BU," Dasse said. "[The logo] wasn't sacred, we made it sacred."
CFA Executive Director of External Relations Ellen Carr said she worked with the Office of New Media on a website, which provides new logo guidelines. She added that the recommendations are not mandatory.
Dasse said the goal of the project is to make things easier.
"I don't think anyone in their right mind would be in an uproar about this looking a new way; BU is BU," Kavanaugh said. "It says Boston University. Why can't you have a bunch of different ways? Why can't you be creative? Why do you have to have one set?"
Staff reporters Katrina Ballard, Vivian Ho and Lizzy Snell contributed to the reporting of this article.
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
After a year and a half of hard work, the Boston University administration can say it has streamlined its logo and signage, but some students are questioning the projects the university signs off on.
The new-and-improved logo revealed last week, which was developed by Toth Brand Imaging, is a slight update on the previous red rectangular design -- the white line separating "Boston" and "University" has been removed in favor of slightly altered font and spacing.
"It's funny how you hear about little stuff like this, but you don't hear about major stuff," College of Arts and Sciences senior Robert Kavanaugh said. "I mean tuition goes up 5 percent every year, and I've seen my logo changing . . . it looks exactly the same."
Kavanaugh said he could not tell the difference between the old and new logos.
"I doubt people will notice," College of General Studies sophomore Angie Thrower said. "I think it was a ridiculous waste of time to bother changing it. I feel like the old one is a lot better."
BU spent nearly two years discussing and implementing the change in an attempt to unify the university, because different schools were using different versions of the same logo. BU Vice President of Marketing and Communications Steve Burgay said the new logo will not interfere with creativity.
"We never had any rules or guidelines before, people could vary it," Burgay said. "[The website] lays out all the rules . . . Like any institution we have to present ourselves in public. Diversity will happen, but we have the logo that is consistent."
Toth Brand Imaging worked on the project for about six months, coming up with five potential logos, Toth Director of Business Bob Fouhy said. The runner up for the new logo was a "more modern use of a circle," while the chosen logo was a mix of "traditional" and "modern" concepts, he added.
CAS junior Vanessa Gusick said removing a line does little to help to unify a university.
"I feel like if they really wanted to make a big impact in changing the sign, they really didn't accomplish that goal," Gusick said. "They should have used some sort of design."
Creative Director for the Office of New Media Scott Dasse said the logo is not "new," but rather "revised."
"The real work was making a system that allowed different entities to identify themselves . . . as a part of BU," Dasse said. "[The logo] wasn't sacred, we made it sacred."
CFA Executive Director of External Relations Ellen Carr said she worked with the Office of New Media on a website, which provides new logo guidelines. She added that the recommendations are not mandatory.
Dasse said the goal of the project is to make things easier.
"I don't think anyone in their right mind would be in an uproar about this looking a new way; BU is BU," Kavanaugh said. "It says Boston University. Why can't you have a bunch of different ways? Why can't you be creative? Why do you have to have one set?"
Staff reporters Katrina Ballard, Vivian Ho and Lizzy Snell contributed to the reporting of this article.
Instructors can reduce book costs, prof says
PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press
Although buying and reselling used textbooks at the campus bookstore is convenient for most students, it's not always possible to deal in used books for some courses that require the newest editions of their texts.
New editions, customized textbooks and supplemental materials are all price-increasing options for professors when it comes time to assign books each semester, Boston University College of Arts and Sciences Anthropology professor Thomas Barfield said.
"There's more than meets the eye [in regards to the textbook industry]," he said. "And students have a right to see it."
Barfield said he requires students to have new editions of textbooks only if the bookstore is short on the old edition, but publishers put out new editions when the old one stops making money, regardless of whether there is updated information in it.
"It's a toss-up to say whether it is an improvement or not," he said. "Textbooks are a big money-maker."
He said the book he required for his Anthropology 101 class last semester, Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge was half-priced because copies were left over from the year before. Professors should look for similar deals and choose supplemental material carefully to keep prices low, he said.
"[Publishers] will try to sell you a CD-ROM [and other features], and you can usually get it cheaper if you don't want those," Barfield said. "It's important for an instructor to see what can be stripped off or what should be kept."
College of Communication freshman Peisin Yang said she bought Cultural Anthropology last semester, but the Barnes & Noble at BU would not buy it back from her because Barfield did not assign it this semester.
"They told me it was customized for BU," she said. "I was definitely smarter about buying my books this semester. I checked Amazon and other places . . . because obviously I don't want to spend more money if I know I can't get any of it back."
Barnes & Noble does not buy back customized textbooks that cannot be used in future semesters, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Vice President Jade Roth said.
"A textbook customized to a particular school doesn't have any value nationally," she said.
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences nutrition professor Joan Salge-Blake said updating the textbook she authored, Nutrition and You, is essential for Nutrition 201.
"Nutrition is a moving target, so you have to update it," she said.
Finding the latest and most helpful information is the professor's most important job, said Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the Association of American Publishers.
"You want [faculty] riding on the cutting edge," he said. "Faculty may look at 100 different textbooks and 400 to 500 supplemental materials."
Hildebrand said professors should chose editions and supplemental materials according to what information is most beneficial to the students. If a professor wants to, they can usually always stay with an old edition, he said.
"If the faculty doesn't think the changes are adequate, they won't order it," he said.
Although buying and reselling used textbooks at the campus bookstore is convenient for most students, it's not always possible to deal in used books for some courses that require the newest editions of their texts.
New editions, customized textbooks and supplemental materials are all price-increasing options for professors when it comes time to assign books each semester, Boston University College of Arts and Sciences Anthropology professor Thomas Barfield said.
"There's more than meets the eye [in regards to the textbook industry]," he said. "And students have a right to see it."
Barfield said he requires students to have new editions of textbooks only if the bookstore is short on the old edition, but publishers put out new editions when the old one stops making money, regardless of whether there is updated information in it.
"It's a toss-up to say whether it is an improvement or not," he said. "Textbooks are a big money-maker."
He said the book he required for his Anthropology 101 class last semester, Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge was half-priced because copies were left over from the year before. Professors should look for similar deals and choose supplemental material carefully to keep prices low, he said.
"[Publishers] will try to sell you a CD-ROM [and other features], and you can usually get it cheaper if you don't want those," Barfield said. "It's important for an instructor to see what can be stripped off or what should be kept."
College of Communication freshman Peisin Yang said she bought Cultural Anthropology last semester, but the Barnes & Noble at BU would not buy it back from her because Barfield did not assign it this semester.
"They told me it was customized for BU," she said. "I was definitely smarter about buying my books this semester. I checked Amazon and other places . . . because obviously I don't want to spend more money if I know I can't get any of it back."
Barnes & Noble does not buy back customized textbooks that cannot be used in future semesters, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers Vice President Jade Roth said.
"A textbook customized to a particular school doesn't have any value nationally," she said.
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences nutrition professor Joan Salge-Blake said updating the textbook she authored, Nutrition and You, is essential for Nutrition 201.
"Nutrition is a moving target, so you have to update it," she said.
Finding the latest and most helpful information is the professor's most important job, said Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the Association of American Publishers.
"You want [faculty] riding on the cutting edge," he said. "Faculty may look at 100 different textbooks and 400 to 500 supplemental materials."
Hildebrand said professors should chose editions and supplemental materials according to what information is most beneficial to the students. If a professor wants to, they can usually always stay with an old edition, he said.
"If the faculty doesn't think the changes are adequate, they won't order it," he said.
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