Boston College Community Mourns the Loss of One of Its Own

During his astonishing and illustrious career on Capitol Hill, which lasted 46 years from 1962 to 2009, Ted Kennedy tirelessly championed the disenfranchised in the United States and the world. Most notably, Kennedy brought about legislative reforms in the areas of: voting rights, immigration, education, minimum wage, national service, AIDs policies, veterans assistance, and poverty, especially in developing African nations. Over 300 of the bills written by Kennedy and his staff were passed into law. As President Obama explained, “For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health, and economic well-being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts.”

Healthcare, which the Senator called “the cause of my life,” was central to his mission to bring beneficial progress and change into everyday American life. Kennedy served as chairman for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. As a result of his graft, many children, elderly, and disabled persons received healthcare coverage. Kennedy’s ultimate goal was to enact universal healthcare laws.

One of the things for which the Senator is best remembered is his unparalleled commitment to bipartisanship. Members of both the Democratic and Republican parties considered Kennedy an iconic figure and a symbol of progress in both Washington and in American history, long before his death on August 25, 2009. Thomas Mann, a scholar, called Kennedy “an amazing and endurable presence. You want to go back to the 19th century to find parallels, but you won’t find parallels.” A poll of Republican Senators ranked Kennedy first in bipartisanship, and Senator John McCain described the Senator as “a legendary lawmaker” for whom he had the utmost respect. In April 2006, Time Magazine ranked Kennedy as one of the ten best senators for his commitment to bipartisanship and his legislative abilities.

A brilliant orator, Kennedy once declared, “Never let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” This statement reflects the Senator’s own commitment to bettering the United States and life for all people, while his personal life was, to put it delicately, far from perfect. Kennedy was involved in several scandals, including his publicly promiscuous behavior and drinking in the 1980s and his nephew’s rape on the family’s beach compound in Florida in 1991. For these actions, Newsweek called Kennedy “the living symbol of the family’s flaws.”

Moreover, Kennedy’s rise to the political forefront and any possibility of a presidential run were squelched by what the press dubbed the “Chappaquiddick Incident.” In July 1969, Kennedy drove Mary Jo Kopechene, who campaigned for Robert F. Kennedy’s presidency in 1968, home from a party on Martha’s Vineyard. The Senator’s car plunged off a bridge, and Kopechene died. Although he escaped, Kennedy did not immediately report the incident to the police. The overall police investigation was inconclusive, and suspicions regarding the accident have generated several books and articles.

Amidst these controversies, Kennedy remained a pillar of the Democratic Party. He was a survivor— of the Kennedy curse, of a plane accident in 1964 that left him with chronic back pain. He was the last surviving child of Joseph Kennedy and Rosa Fitzgerald, whose other two sons, John and Robert, were both victims of assassination. The New York Times’ obituary for Ted Kennedy illustrated the complexities of Kennedy the man and the Senator, when it read, “He was a Rabelaisian figure in the Senate and in life, instantly recognizable by his shock of white hair, his florid, oversize face, his booming Boston brogue, his powerful but pained stride. He was a celebrity, sometimes a self-parody, a hearty friend, an implacable foe, a man of large faith and large flaws, a melancholy character who persevered, drank deeply and sang loudly. He was a Kennedy.”

Although he was educated
across the river at Harvard and
later received his law degree from
the University of Virginia, Senator
Edward Moore Kennedy, who
is the third longest-serving senator
in US history, was highly influential
at Boston College. His
work in the United States Senate
embodies the Boston College tenet
of serving as “a man (or woman)
for others.”
During his astonishing and
illustrious career on Capitol Hill,
which lasted 46 years from 1962
to 2009, Ted Kennedy tirelessly
championed the disenfranchised
in the United States and the
world. Most notably, Kennedy
brought about legislative reforms
in the areas of: voting rights, immigration,
education, minimum
wage, national service, AIDs
policies, veterans assistance, and
poverty, especially in developing
African nations. Over 300 of
the bills written by Kennedy and
his staff were passed into law.
As President Obama explained,
“For five decades, virtually every
major piece of legislation to
advance the civil rights, health,
and economic well-being of the
American people bore his name
and resulted from his efforts.”
Healthcare, which the Senator
called “the cause of my life,”
was central to his mission to bring
beneficial progress and change
into everyday American life.
Kennedy served as chairman for
the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
As a result of his graft, many
children, elderly, and disabled
persons received healthcare coverage.
Kennedy’s ultimate goal
was to enact universal healthcare
laws.
One of the things for which
the Senator is best remembered
is his unparalleled commitment
to bipartisanship. Members of
both the Democratic and Republican
parties considered Kennedy
an iconic figure and a symbol of
progress in both Washington and
in American history, long before
his death on August 25, 2009.
Thomas Mann, a scholar, called
Kennedy “an amazing and endurable
presence. You want to
go back to the 19th century to
find parallels, but you won’t find
parallels.” A poll of Republican
Senators ranked Kennedy first in
bipartisanship, and Senator John
McCain described the Senator
as “a legendary lawmaker” for
whom he had the utmost respect.
In April 2006, Time Magazine
ranked Kennedy as one of the ten
best senators for his commitment
to bipartisanship and his legislative
abilities.
A brilliant orator, Kennedy
once declared, “Never let the perfect
be the enemy of the good.”
This statement reflects the Senator’s
own commitment to bettering
the United States and life for
all people, while his personal life
was, to put it delicately, far from
perfect. Kennedy was involved
in several scandals, including his
publicly promiscuous behavior
and drinking in the 1980s and
his nephew’s rape on the family’s
beach compound in Florida in
1991. For these actions, Newsweek
called Kennedy “the living
symbol of the family’s flaws.”
Moreover, Kennedy’s rise
to the political forefront and any
possibility of a presidential run
were squelched by what the press
dubbed the “Chappaquiddick Incident.”
In July 1969, Kennedy
drove Mary Jo Kopechene, who
campaigned for Robert F. Kennedy’s
presidency in 1968, home
from a party on Martha’s Vineyard.
The Senator’s car plunged
off a bridge, and Kopechene died.
Although he escaped, Kennedy
did not immediately report the incident
to the police. The overall
police investigation was inconclusive,
and suspicions regarding
the accident have generated several
books and articles.
Amidst these controversies,
Kennedy remained a pillar of the
Democratic Party. He was a survivor—
of the Kennedy curse, of
a plane accident in 1964 that left
him with chronic back pain. He
was the last surviving child of Joseph
Kennedy and Rosa Fitzgerald,
whose other two sons, John
and Robert, were both victims
of assassination. The New York
Times’ obituary for Ted Kennedy
illustrated the complexities of
Kennedy the man and the Senator,
when it read, “He was a Rabelaisian
figure in the Senate and
in life, instantly recognizable by
his shock of white hair, his florid,
oversize face, his booming
Boston brogue, his powerful but
pained stride. He was a celebrity,
sometimes a self-parody, a hearty
friend, an implacable foe, a man
of large faith and large flaws, a
melancholy character who persevered,
drank deeply and sang
loudly. He was a Kennedy.”

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