Opinions, Column

April 3 Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

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Thumbs Up

Croquet – Well, it really warms the cockles of our old heart to see what we saw on Tuesday on the Stokes lawn-young whippersnappers engaged in the great lawn game of croquet. Indeed, it takes us back to our younger years. Back in those days, we would get all gussied up in our spring linen suits to enjoy a causal afternoon on the front lawn. As we were beneath the Mason-Dixon line, we would seek shelter from the excruciating sun underneath the eves of our front porches and, in true Southern fashion, have an interlude replete with mint juleps and gossip.

<strong>April Fools' Day</strong> - We think that this is a mischievously fun holiday. Although we did not prank anyone at BC, we briefly convinced our parents that we dropped out of college and joined the <span data-scayt_word="U.S" data-scaytid="1">U.S</span>. Army. Don't worry, we were able, in the midst of their screams, to convince them that it was a joke before they bought a plane ticket to come up here and "straighten us <span data-scayt_word="out."" data-scaytid="2">out."</span> On another note, we have to admire the ingenuity in the April Fools' Day jokes that the fine people over at Google devise. This year, there were two major ones-the <span data-scayt_word="Shelfie" data-scaytid="5">Shelfie</span> and a Pokemon hunt on Google Maps. The <span data-scayt_word="Shelfie" data-scaytid="6">Shelfie</span> was the ability to set the theme of one's Gmail to a modified <span data-scayt_word="selfie" data-scaytid="7">selfie</span>-not of interest to us, but kind of funny nonetheless. We thought the Pokemon hunt on the mobile version of Google Maps was phenomenal. All across the world, <span data-scayt_word="Pokeballs" data-scaytid="8">Pokeballs</span> were strewn, and the challenge was issued to catch 'em all. The joke was that, if you caught them all, you would get to interview with Google. Lastly, we hope you got a kick out of <em>The Depths</em>-we really enjoyed producing it.

<strong>Johnny <span data-scayt_word="Gaudreau" data-scaytid="18">Gaudreau</span></strong> - It was recently announced that Johnny is one of the three <span data-scayt_word="Hobey" data-scaytid="19">Hobey</span> Baker finalists. This is an incredible honor-a well-deserved one as well. We hope to be able to Thumbs Up his receipt of the award soon.</p><h4 style="padding:5px;">   Thumbs Down</h4><p> <strong>Wall In O'Neill Plaza</strong> - For those of you who didn't notice, there was a wall erected in the O'Neill Plaza. Stationed next to it were students asking to see our "papers" and our <span data-scayt_word=""passports."" data-scaytid="20">"passports."</span> It was clear that they were trying to prove a point, but the wooden panels and iron gating were blemishes to an otherwise pristine plaza, and the enquiries were a bit of an annoyance, while we were trying to show off our campus to visitors. Don't get us wrong, we do believe that immigration policy is an important question in this country and one that should be addressed, but that didn't make the wall less annoying. Plus, little did they know that we always carry our passports with us.

The Ignored – We think that it was a travesty that Kevin Hayes was left off the Hobey Baker finalist list. Not only is he an integral part of the best top line in all of college hockey, but he is also an amazing player. While he is often overshadowed by Gaudreau, he contributed just as many goals and only one fewer assist to this last weekend’s play as the better-known Johnny B. Good. Don’t worry, Kevin, you are a phenomenal hockey player in our hearts and minds. For the award, however, you do seem to be S.O.L.

April 2, 2014