BU STUDENT CHARGED AS ‘CRAIGSLIST KILLER’
After School of Medicine second-year student Phillip Markoff was arrested April 20 and charged with the murder of 26-year-old Julissa Brisman and with the armed robbery and kidnapping of Trisha Leffler, 29, the Office of Admissions began to hide copies of The Daily Free Press with headlines about Markoff from groups of prospective students, according to an April 23 Daily Free Press article.
The BU administration, meanwhile, has remained tight-lipped on Markoff’s arrest, offering few statements to the media.
Students said they were ‘shocked’ that the ‘Craigslist killer’ might actually be a Terrier, according to an April 22 Daily Free Press article.
‘My dad freaked out and was like, are you sure you still want to go to BU?’ Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman Casi Pasquirell said. ‘I told him it’s a little too late for that.’
BU’S ECONOMIC WOES
President Robert Brown announced that BU faced a projected $10 million budget gap for fiscal 2010 in January.
Brown attributed the budget gap to a combination of increased financial aid applications and a 24.1 percent endowment decrease, according to a Jan. 23 Daily Free Press article.
Although Brown implemented a hiring freeze in October to protect university employees’ jobs, layoffs are necessary, though not on a faculty level, Brown said. Brown said he aims to balance the budget by increasing administrative efficiency and cutting funding areas that do not further his Strategic Plan.
ELEVATORS MALFUNCTION, WARREN TOWERS EVACUATED
An electrical malfunction and power outage trapped 20 students in the Warren Towers’ elevators and forced residents to evacuate the building April 25, according to an April 26 Daily Free Press’ article.
‘There was a massive short circuit that generated a lot of heat,’ Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve Macdonald said.
No one was injured by the malfunction, but about 1,600 Warren Towers residents had to remain outside the building for several hours as officials assessed the situation. Officials estimated damages of $300,000.
College of Arts and Sciences freshman Mark Meltzer said he was in an elevator when the power went out.
‘I got in the elevator, going up to the fifth [floor] . . . the power died,’ he said. ‘Nobody was freaking out. We were sitting there, talking.’
STUDENT’S UNEXPECTED DEATH
BU students mourned the unexpected death of College of Communication senior Victoria ‘Tori’ Rubino on March 8.
Rubino, 22, had gone home to have her wisdom teeth removed and passed away in her sleep due to unknown causes over spring break in her New Jersey home, according to a March 16 Daily Free Press article.
Students gathered at the Marsh Chapel a month later for a memorial service, where College of Arts and Sciences senior Katrina Weed said Rubino ‘lit up every room she was in’ and possessed the ‘strongest sense of self, always so confident in everything she did,’ according to an April 7 Daily Free Press article.
POSSIBLE GUNMAN IN CAS
Students said they were surprised Feb. 4 upon finding out classes went uninterrupted despite reports of an unidentified male carrying an ammunition clip with a bullet inside in the College of Arts and Sciences hallways.
The area of 705 Commonwealth Ave. swarmed with police and SWAT teams while a potentially armed man got away unidentified, according to a Feb. 5 Daily Free Press article. Many students said they were disappointed that BU lacks a true lockdown system, relying instead on a voice and text message technology to alert BU faculty and students of emergencies.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Boston University hockey fans got a big treat mid-April when men’s hockey advanced to the Frozen Four national competition in Washington, D.C.
The Ice Dogs’ climactic win in the last few minutes of the championship game sent BU hockey fans screaming and jumping ‘-‘- even 436 miles away in Agganis Arena, according to an April 13 Daily Free Press article.
‘It was earth-shattering sound after the second goal,’ College of Fine Arts sophomore Tom Fuchs said. Fuchs attended the game screening in Agganis, as reported in The Daily Free Press. ‘It was incredible. Everyone was jumping, screaming, throwing popcorn, confetti and everything. Everyone was taking pictures with their cell phones of the screen. It was a lot of fun. People did not stop screaming and yelling for five minutes straight.’
BU students and fans cheered on the exalted hockey team in a parade the following week celebrating the big win.
STRING OF CAMPUS ROBBERIES
Boston residents have also experienced the consequences of a poor economy, as robberies near, on and around BU’s campus increased early in the semester.
Each robbery victim was reportedly talking on his or her cell phones immediately before being robbed, according to a Feb. 1 Daily Free Press article.
On Jan. 19, two students were robbed at gunpoint on Gardner Street, on Jan. 14, an attempted robbery took place at 189 Bay State Road and in February, a BU employee was robbed outside the Metcalf Center for Science and Engineering. The employee was thrown against the building while three attackers stole her cell phone and fled down Blandford Street, The Daily Free Press reported.
BU Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jack St. Hilaire said that students make a very easy target for petty robberies.
‘Why would you target students?’ he said. ‘They’re popular targets, because they have nice little gadgets. They have cell phones, iPods, and that’s what [criminals are] looking for.’
STUVI 2 NEARING COMPLETION
As construction on the Student Village Phase II nears its expected May completion, making it ready to open for the fall 2009 semester, many Boston University students said they were impressed with the new on-campus residence.
With both apartment- and suite-style rooms, StuVi 2 received high praises from students who toured the building in March, according to a March 19 Daily Free Press article.
Many students said spending more money to live in the Student Village might be worth it, The Daily Free Press reported.
‘It’s a much nicer living arrangement, and it’s new,’ COM freshman Andrea Aldana said.
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