The start of the spring semester marked the transition back to BC for students who travelled and studied abroad during the fall semester. Many students choose to study abroad during their time here at BC, as we have a very prominent international program with over fifty percent of students having an experience abroad by the time they graduate. BC sponsors programs in thirty countries, including destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. External programs are an alternative option for students who find programs not sponsored by but approved by BC that they wish to participate in. For students at BC, the opportunities are endless.

One aspect of studying abroad that is most appealing to students is the opportunity to travel to multiple countries. Students in France, for instance, oftentimes use the weekends as mini-vacations in different parts of Europe. Kevin Chapin, a junior in the Carroll School of Management, shared his experiences from studying abroad in Parma, Italy for the fall 2011 semester. He notes, “The entire experience far exceeded my expectations. It’s incredible to be able to travel every weekend to all these different countries.”

Every international program has a variety of housing opportunities from which students can choose. Kevin lived in a group of apartments called the “Villa.” On the topic of housing, he states, “I had a villa family. We would have meals together every Wednesday where everyone makes a dish and we all sit together in the common room. Those were always fun nights.”

New friends met during an international experience are often responsible for creating the most lasting memories. Kevin remembers his favorite nights as those spent with Anna, an Italian “nonna” and the host of his weekly cooking course. He marvels at her cooking abilities and shares, “She would call us her ‘bambini Americani’ and would feed us ridiculously well.”

The major setbacks that most students run into when planning to study abroad are lack of funding and lack of time to plan. Kevin started planning for study abroad freshman year by making sure that he could get classes to count for art history, cultural diversity, and his Italian minor. He also advises students to start saving as early as possible because studying abroad is very expensive. Students can find resources for planning, deadlines, and scholarships on the BC website under the Office of International Programs.

Some students worry about the transition back to BC after studying abroad for a whole semester. Students can keep in touch with friends and family in America, however, by using international cell phones, the Internet, and blogs. Kevin did not find the transition back to BC too difficult and says, “Abroad was an amazing experience, but I loved coming back to BC and getting back into the daily routine. I definitely recommend keeping a blog while abroad because it is a great way to keep people updated on abroad adventures.”

Kevin’s advice for students contemplating studying abroad is, “If you have the chance and it fits in your schedule, everyone should study abroad. If you’re adamant about learning a language, there truly is no better way to learn it than to be fully immersed in the culture itself where you speak it everyday.”

Studying abroad is perfect for students wanting to become fluent in a foreign language, especially for those minoring in a language like Kevin. He concluded, “It is rare that you will ever have the chance to live in a foreign country again for four months, so take advantage of it while you still can.”

Andy Rota/The Observer

The Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration in Bapst's Irish Room.

Andrew Rota, one of the organizers on the project, said that planning for this chapel began earlier in the semester after students expressed interest in having the Eucharist exposed for adoration throughout the week.

“Once the logistics were worked out, we invited students to commit to adoration for an hour each week, during one of 9am-5pm weekday hours. At first we were unsure that all 40 hours could be filled, but students’ enthusiasm surprised us and we filled the slots soon.” Catholics believe that the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist, is truly the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Eucharistic Adoration is a devotional practice where Catholics pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass. Usually the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in a vessel called a monstrance.

“To see Jesus visibly present under the appearance of the small white host is much more conducive to intimacy than hidden away in the tabernacle,” explains an article by the Franciscan Friars of Marytown.

The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen committed at his ordination to complete a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration every day of his priesthood.

“The Holy Hour is not a devotion; it is a sharing in the work of redemption. ‘Could you not watch one hour with Me?’ Not for an hour of activity did He plead, but for an hour of companionship,” wrote Sheen.

The French Priest, St. Peter Julian Eymard, wrote “Eucharistic adoration is the greatest of actions. To adore is to share the life of Mary on earth when she adored the Word Incarnate in her virginal womb, when she adored Him in the Crib, on Calvary, in the divine Eucharist.”

The Eucharistic Adoration chapel is in the Irish Room of Bapst Library, to the left of the circulation desk on the first floor, and the Blessed Sacrament is exposed from 9am until 5pm every weekday on days when classes are in session.

“Though the chapel has been open for less than a week, the response has been amazing. Students and other members of the Boston College community have been stopping into the chapel throughout the day to pray for a few moments, an hour, or more,” said Rota.

“All are welcome to come to the chapel when it is open to pray before Jesus in this Most Holy Sacrament,” said Rota.

For BC spectators on the stationary bikes and ellipticals, fencing is a sideshow in the Plex circus: mildly entertaining, yet immensely complicated. (The Plex is really more like the opera than a circus: you go to see, and to be seen.) It is simple, however: like most sports, the only way to win in fencing is to outdo your opponent, both mentally and physically. How to score is a matter of taste and context. Souders chooses speed; Patel accuracy, and Reilly is the bruiser on the foil squad. The combination of strategy and agility is crucial; a fast hand and reflexes can be the difference between a win and a loss during a close match. There are few common traits among each fencer’s style, apart from superior coordination, reflexes, and their dedication. Effort is the currency of success, and the fencing team has made down payments.

The Eagles have welcomed six new freshmen as well as sophomore Justin Jossick, who are all proving to be great assets to the team. Freshman Berent LaBrecque has found the support of the team to be helpful both on and off the strip.

“The team has really helped me start off college on the right foot, allowing me to have an instant connection with upperclassmen who could understand my problems adjusting to life at BC.”

Head Coach Syd Fadner plans to have the fittest and fastest team in New England this year. Accordingly, your Eagles have begun the season with speed and agility drills designed to condition competitive athletes for success. The team is also committed to scheduled lifts twice per week in the Conte weight room. Last season left the Eagles poised with a good outlook, as well as a growing desire to reach individual and team goals.

“Having goals is critical for any kind of achievement. Long-term ambitions fill every practice with infectious energy and determination,” said Rosenbauer, who is looking forward to her last year on the team with bittersweet anticipation.

Coach Fadner emphasizes teamwork and sacrifice in her preparation for the season. But as in all sports, victory is not an equation of abstracted ability. Winning a match is not a measure of the objective superiority of any team; nor does victory measure effort or teamwork alone. The final score does not measure the minor challenges or the lesser victories. The roots of success are reflected in Wordsworth’s inner happiness, “manners, virtue, freedom, power.” Winning does not encompass the private victory, but the importance of trying your hardest, and knowing that you did so.

The fencing team will compete hard this year -albeit in front of small crowds- and will enjoy every moment of it.

The team will officially open its season with the NEIFC Fall Invitational at Smith College on November 5.

This would be more understandable if it didn’t fall on each of us to pay taxes fueling things we don’t agree with. Certainly many of us aren’t too keen on spending our paychecks on two separate wars—one of which had little to nothing to do with acts of terror against the U.S. The Tax Foundation has estimated that, on average, Americans fork over about 28% of their income to the government (varying by socio-economic status, of course). At least some of that goes into projects like the “Bridge to Nowhere,” big business bailouts, and yes, even health care. That last part is apparently a problem. The new HHS insurance reform called “The Affordable Care Act” also provides breast-feeding support, domestic violence screening, and preventative hygiene resources as well. Not to mention, prescription birth control is often used for more than just contraceptive purposes – the pill, for instance, helps women regulate their periods and can also help against acne.

Here’s a list, straight from www.hhs.gov, describing what insurance has to provide under the new law: • well-woman visits; • screening for gestational diabetes; • human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing for women 30 years and older;

• human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening and counseling;

• FDA-approved contraception methods and contraceptive counseling;

• breastfeeding support, supplies, and counseling; and

• domestic violence screening and counseling.

Perhaps there’s more to this new initiative than “an assault on the pocketbooks of Catholics.” Realistically speaking, most Catholic women would actually be in favor of these reforms. Research shows that about 98% of sexually active women of the Catholic faith rely on birth control. And, Catholic populations aside, Boston College caters to a far more diverse array of students with beliefs across the board (as is the case with most universities). Students of different beliefs are going to be sexually active—that’s common sense on a college campus. What does it say of the Catholic mission, which purports to act for the good of others, when BC won’t provide the health resources necessary for students to make informed decisions about their bodies? At the very least we might all be able to agree that effective birth control is a better alternative to abortion, which is more likely to happen when people don’t get the sexual education and resources they need.

This seems to be more a question of generosity rather than religious crisis. Is there harm in providing the resources necessary to protect from situations that none of us want to see happen (i.e., the stress and difficulty of unwanted pregnancy)? For those people who rely on birth control—Catholic or not—this new health initiative is more about accessibility to avoid future tragedies or hardships. The decision to use birth control—moral or not—should be left to specific individuals to make in the confidentiality and security of their own lives and their own faiths. Perhaps, with that understanding, we can put the pitchforks away on health reforms that make reliable birth control possible for people who could really use it.

There are two basic reasons for this misconception. First, large campus service groups tend to resonate with “low Masses.” These groups undoubtedly do great work and they present an excellent example to others. Students who frequent “high Masses,” however, tend to frequent St. Joseph’s project, the St. Thomas More Society, Sons of St. Patrick, and Gratia Plena, groups which also perform excellent works, albeit less publicly because the groups are smaller. Second, is the influence of liberal theology on campus, which has brought frequent misreadings of the Bible to the student body. Prime among these misreadings is the concept that Christ disapproved of the Sadducees and the Pharisees because of their mode of worship. Consider, for example, Matthew 15:8, which states: “these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” and Mark 7:6, which states “…Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’”

A careful reading of Christ’s words reveal not that the high form of worship was condemned, but rather that any form of worship is dead without the other half of the Gospel, namely the love, mercy, kindness, and forgiveness preached by Christ. In fact, the higher forms of the Mass have several conceptual advantages over the lower forms.

While wearing ties to Mass, kneeling before the Sacrament, and participating in the pageantry of the cult may seem stuffy to some, these formalities do present a profound sense of the supernatural and reverence for what the Sacrament conveys. This profound sense of and reverence for the supernatural strengthens the seriousness of the charge Christ gave humanity regarding love, mercy, kindness, and forgiveness, and reinforces that these virtues are not niceties to be striven for, but rather commandments by which we are ordered to live.

Thus while some see Luke 10:25-37 as a condemnation of the higher forms of worship, the proper interpretation sees the Parable of the Good Samaritan as Christ’s warning to Catholics that they should not be comfortable in correct worship alone. This sense of comfort, though, while present in all forms of worship, is possibly even more prevalent in lower forms of worship which strive to see Christ as a friend, an equal, or a being who finds satisfaction in all we do. Not only is this theologically and philosophically incorrect when taken to the extreme, but this self-endeared message also endangers Christ’s central message of love, mercy, kindness, and forgiveness by fostering a culture of informality around it. The mandate from the Creator thereby becomes a mere suggestion, an idea which we are free to accept or reject as if it was some byproduct of a CSOM brainstorming session. A seriousness in worship leads to a seriousness in Christ. A seriousness in Christ leads to a seriousness in His message.

A seriousness in His message will lead to the establishment of the Gospel as the rule of society, something Catholics must continue to strive for.

Congratulations!

Oremus pro invicem. (Let’s pray for one another.)

Richard A. Watson, M.D.
Past President, Catholic Medical Asso (USA)

Those who oppose his thought do so because they enjoy the benefits they receive by existing as a “separate entity” and play the race card whenever it helps their cause, which is despicable. What I would like to see next is an article that calls for the removal of the AHANA and GLC from UGBC. Those two groups are not a part of the elected process and should not be granted permanent seats on the board purely because of their lack of “Whiteness” or alternative sexual preference.

I did not know about your paper until recently, when I heard of this article. I would once again like to compliment you on your work in revealing the truth. Further, I would like to be added to your listserv. I am interested in getting involved.

Thank you,
Nick

Claudio Coello (1642-1693)

“Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.” St. Rose of Lima, patroness of America, was famous for uttering and living these words. Born to wealthy parents in Peru, Rose was baptized as Isabel de Herrara. Her name later changed to Rose, inspired by the belief that her face changed when it was exposed to a mystical rose.

She was beautiful, but she feared that this beauty would distract her and others from their true focus: God.  When complimented on her complexion, she rubbed her face with hot peppers to ruin it. She always fought vanity and used extreme measures to maintain her devotion. She ruined her hands, cut off her hair, and wore rough clothes.

She practiced mortification of the flesh as a way to bring her closer to God, though this practice was never encouraged by the Church. She revered the Blessed Sacrament and modeled herself after St. Catherine of Sienna.

As she grew older, her dedication only grew and at the age of 20, she joined the Third Order of St. Dominic. She practiced extreme acts of penance, going without nourishment for days, except for Holy Communion and water. In her weakened state, she did not even allow the comfort of rest, sleeping on a bed made of “broken glass, thorns and stone.” But though her physical body suffered, she often experienced revelations from God.

Throughout her life, St. Rose helped the poor of Lima and was renowned for her charity. She is considered the patron saint of embroiders, florists, gardeners, needle workers, people ridiculed for their piety, the Americas, India, Peru, the Philippines, and the West Indies.

With the advent of the new school year, the construction on Stokes Hall remains well under way and is scheduled for completion in October of next year, according to Executive Vice President Patrick Keating. It is expected that the hall will be opened and fully occupied by January 2013.

The hall is the first of many projects in BC’s Master Plan as a large-scale plan for construction and remodeling on various areas of the Boston College campus, the construction on Stokes Hall began in late fall of 2010. Intended to serve as an academic building, the new hall will house thirty-six classrooms as well as the Humanities Department. It will host professors of Theology, Philosophy, English, History, Classical Studies, and the Arts & Sciences Honors Program.

The hall’s namesake is trustee and former board chairman Patrick T. Stokes of the Boston College class of 1964, who donated $22 million to the school.

According to Dr. Patrick Keating, the building will be constructed in the same Gothic style as the rest of the BC campus.

The new campus green will be large, he assures students, with the building occupying a space of 183,000 square feet, and is “likely to be used in a manner very similar to the original space.”

Stokes Hall will be built on Middle Campus between Lyons Hall, Fulton Hall, and McElroy, and will replace what was previously the Dust Bowl. The removal of the Dust Bowl, a popular gathering place on Middle Campus for students, was a cause for concern and upset for some; the steady progress of construction and the approaching date of completion, however, has also increased excitement about the new hall.

“The Stokes construction only bothers me because I miss the Dust Bowl,” junior and Political Science major of the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program Lauren Shaw said. “However, I look forward to its completion and would like the construction to be finished in time for the 2013 graduation, my graduation.”

Junior Molly Finley shares similar sentiments.  She elaborated, “The Dust Bowl was the only main green space on campus. I am going to miss being able to eat lunch or hang out with friends there.” She continued, “As a math major who has most of her classes in Carney, [however], I will appreciate the new facility and I will enjoy having a place to grab coffee before or in between my classes.”

After the completion and opening of Stokes Hall, the Master Plan calls for a few new projects immediately to follow. Among these are a new dining hall on the site where Carney presently stands, the start date of which is yet to be determined, and a new residence hall where More Hall now stands on the edge of lower campus, which is planned to begin in the spring of 2013. Projects under the Master Plan are expected to continue for at least the next decade.

As the walls of Stokes consistently rise upward, students and faculty alike watch in excitement as they anticipate the completion of the new academic building. Hopefully, the project will be completed as soon as promised.

A Catholic university is one which attempts to prepare its students for their future careers, challenges them to be liberally educated, and further asks them to explore the “big questions” of life.  Being a Catholic institution, by definition the institution begins with a certain set of presumptions, namely that there is a God, that God is Jesus Christ, and that Jesus Christ ordained the Catholic Church to continue His ministry both on earth and in heaven.  These presumptions are certainly not institutionally irrefutable, nor should they be.  Refusal to reexamine these presumptions from time to time encourages decay and lassitude, which is why BC should reexamine its core curriculum in order to ensure that its students have the opportunity to grapple with such questions in the university setting.

While the university mandates that students take two semesters of philosophy and theology, the variation in the core curriculum is too broad to ensure that all students receive a basic education in Catholic thought and values.  While trying to force this Catholic thought on students would be counter-productive, exposure to Catholic thought would allow each student to decide on their own, in a critical classroom setting, what he or she believes in, and would fulfill the mission of the university.  The university needs to reexamine the philosophy core curriculum, in particular, ensuring that each student reads a minimal amount of Catholic thought, perhaps consisting of pieces of Aquinas, Pope Benedict XVI, Augustine, Chrysostom, and Athanasius of Alexandria.

I wish I could understand exactly why BC will not expose all of its students to some elemental level of Catholic thought.  From my experiences at BC, I think there are two prevailing schools of thought employed by the university; diversity and plurality.  Contemporary Catholic thought is undoubtedly identified most closely with western civilization, but mandating classes in philosophy deriving from western thought would not inhibit students from taking classes in other schools of philosophy, such as East-Asian philosophy, with their electives.  The two classes are simply not mutually exclusive in a four-year BC experience, where there is plenty of room for each student to pursue his intellectual passions.

Second, since Vatican II, the Church has effectively disregarded the phrase, “No salvation outside the Church.”  I disagree with this phrase when it is used in a manner inconsistent with the notion that those outside of the Church may be saved through the Church after death, because the phrase presumes to know in which manner God judges the individual.  However, just because we do not know every criterion upon which God judges individuals does not mean that we do not know any of the basic criteria on which God judges.  In fact, the Church professes that she does; otherwise there would be no Church.  Therefore, BC should not be afraid to mandate some reading of Catholic thought, because the Church inherently confesses that correct Catholic philosophy is inherently closer to the fulfillment of the truth than schools originating from pagan or non-Christian roots.

Finally, a definitional point.  Boston College really should not claim that it gives students a Catholic education if students are never exposed to anything Catholic in their education.  A Catholic education does not give students an opportunity to explore religion if they reach out to the Jesuit community.  A true Catholic education is assertive to the point that it is proactive in exposing students to the Jesuit tradition.

BC is beginning to reap what it sows.  Many of the university’s most complex debates are irresolvable because the two opposing parties walk into discussions with different philosophical views and presumptions.  For example, the conflict between this newspaper and the Students for Sexual Health or the Vagina Monologues is not one about whether or not condoms on campus encourage sexual behavior, or even if a play which degrades women to nothing more than their sexual elements is frankly sexist, inappropriate, or demoralizing.

Rather, this is a debate which should have begun in theology, philosophy, and perspectives.  The differences in opinion are dissolvable to questions such as “Do I believe in God?  If so, what type of God do I believe in?  Does this God reflect what I personally want God to be or what God actually is in reality?  How does this realization impact how I treat my body and the bodies of others?”

Does this mean that all differences will go away if BC changes its core curriculum? Of course not, but the first step in having a meaningful discussion on differences of opinion is to recognize just how deep these differences are and what lies at their core, and that’s something that BC should be facilitating.

I appreciate greatly the time that your staff took to cover the events of CARE week, including the Nurture through Nature art exhibit and lecture.

However, I did want to point out an important mistake in the reporting on my lecture that week. The author of the article states, “She (McCoy) talked of recent trips to India and Nicaragua where she studied the natural environment and worked with native women to teach them how to sustain the land.”

In fact, the Intersections program to Nicaragua is primarily an experience in which BC faculty and staff go in order to learn from the people whom we meet in Nicaragua. In my own experience, the encounter with the women of FEM taught me a great deal about the empowerment of women, especially with respect to their own connections between sustainability and femininity. My lecture was intended to communicate some ideas I had learned from them, not anything I taught to them.

I point it out especially because there is still a cultural tendency of North Americans to privilege their knowledge over that of Central and South Americans. With respect to the topic of my lecture, the opposite is true: we as Northerners learned much more from them than I imagine that they learned from us. I am grateful to FEM for their hospitality and wisdom.

Warm best,
Prof Marina McCoy
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Boston College
mccoyma@bc.edu

The Observer appreciates letters to the editor.  They can be sent to bcobserver@gmail.com.

Once inside, after listening to an hour of prerecorded top-40 songs, mostly about fornication(like Teenage Dream), the Spring Concert sponsored by that Catholic student organization finally began.

One of the warm-up rappers instructed the audience to put their fists in the air, and then to slowly turn their fists into a middle finger (meaning, of course, F*#& You) “to the police.” I looked at the security guards in the room to see if they were complying with the reverend on the stage. They just remained stone-faced.

Among other topics sung about by the guys on-stage — the rapper seemed to have an obsession with pussycats, because he mentioned them an awful lot. One of the lyrics to the main performer’s song included feeling “jet-lag” after a particularly mind-blowing experience with such a cat. Not sure how a cat puts you to sleep, but evidently this guy who performed gets knocked out by these knock-out cats fairly often. Must be some kind of disease. Evidently the rapper also really likes booty, too.

I asked the high-school-aged-looking gentleman next to me why he was a fan of rapper-Wale, and he explained to me that unlike most rappers, Wale does what he does because he likes to do it, not just to make it big. And I thought, gee, what a relief, because it had seemed to me up to that point that the showmen were just trying to generate hype by repeatedly mentioning their Web site address and by playing cheesy audio liners with their production company’s brand name.

Most of the audience, at least up in the front, seemed to be of high school age. The others acted like it; a few girls swooned at the rapper’s flattering words of them, while others just looked timid and uncertain. So did most of the guys around me, for that matter. They were looking for an answer to whatever void was in their lives, exactly the void that a Catholic College can fill. But the reverend on the stage certainly didn’t have the right answer, that’s for sure. Unless the answer to all of life’s voids is a booty-call, because the rapper did talk about that quite a bit.

The cussing rappers sure did seem angry, particularly at the “po-leece.” They talked alot about how black people (which they repeatedly referred to as n-words) ain’t never get a break and they ain’t going to. They expressed frustration at the government for making them suffer so much, and particularly one of the opening acts drove home the idea that upward mobility for a black man is impossible. It almost made you feel sorry for the rapper, unless you were one of the black high school students, in which case I’d suspect it’d make you feel bad about yourself.

Which made me wonder if I was really at Boston College, the same Boston College that just a short 45 years ago was so Catholic it wouldn’t even allow a student to write a thesis on the subject of contraception.

It was that Catholic, once upon a time.

I suppose times are a’changin’, and so the new Catholicism is about hating on the police and minorities, and about booty calls and getting infected by those poor pussycats. Lent? Well, don’t be hating on my hamburgers. Everybody else is eating them. Just like everybody else in the crowd is flipping off the po-leece. We have got to be tolerant now, even at the expense of committing grave sins. Sins are too controversial to talk about now — we might offend somebody by talking about what’s wrong, because somebody might be doing the wrong thing, and we wouldn’t want them to stop, now, would we? No, that would require too much grace. More than God has, I’m sure. Get with the times, God.

Poor cats.

Peter Vadala

Following four years as an assistant at Virginia Tech, Gambino returns to his alma mater taking control of a borderline rebuilding project. After making the NCAA tournament two years ago the Eagles again hit the 30-win mark for the seventh time in school history but failed to return to baseball’s version of the big dance.

BC’s 30-28 record was owed to some talented players that left for the professional ranks. Six Eagles were selected in the draft, including ace Pat Dean in the third round, but senior pitcher John Leonard elected to return to Chestnut Hill to head the BC rotation.

Leonard and junior Mike Dennhardt are entrenched as weekend starters but Gambino’s first task will be to find a reliable third option; senior lefty Nate Bayuk will get the first go at the spot.

Junior Matt Brazis – whose nine saves ranked third in the conference last season – will reprise his role as closer but the rest of the bullpen remains in flux. Senior captain Geoff Oxley will be a huge asset assuming a full recovery from Tommy John Surgery but little else is known.

The Eagles lost a lot of the meat of their order with Mickey Wiswall and John Spatola being drafted along with sparkplug Robbie Anston, who held down the leadoff spot for the past two seasons.

Anthony Melchionda was the Eagles leading hitter at .358 in 2010 and will be relied upon by Gambino to provide much of the offense along with sophomore Matt Watson and senior Mike Sudol.

With so much unknown about the Eagles’ offense the defense will be asked to step up and support the pitching staff. Matt Hamlet and Brad Zapenas form a formidable pair up the middle and will need to be rock solid once again.

Though the team will be hard pressed to make a lot of noise with a rookie head coach in the tough ACC, Gambino isn’t ready to concede anything.

The new coach brings a new philosophy and will hope to return to the promised land of the College World Series.

The lady golfers have the hardware to prove it as they took first place out of twenty-two teams at the Dartmouth Invitational, followed up by a third place finish at the Yale Fall Intercollegiate just behind Yale and Penn.

Junior Stephanie Hu led the way for the Eagles on both occasions, posting a two round score of 148 (+4) to finish tied for first overall at Dartmouth.

At Yale, her three round score of 220 (+4) earned her fourth best in a field of 73 players. She birdied more holes than any other player in the field (15) and shot a final round score of 71, catapulting her to a second consecutive top 5 finish.

Juniors Eunice Yim and Carrie Barbee have also found success in their strokes. They placed in the top 10 individuals at Dartmouth, shooting 153 (+9) and 155 (+11) respectively.

In the opening round at Yale, Senior Kelsey Rockey put a 74 on the board, good for the second lowest round on the team this season. Barbee leads the team with two eagles in five rounds of play.

With every player on the roster returning from last season, it’s no wonder that the Eagles have performed well in the early goings.

Team chemistry is not hard to find when the girls know each other’s personalities and habits in preparing for tournaments. Like a tight-knit family the team has meals together, goes on Dunkin’ runs, and takes part in loud sing-a-longs while on the road to tournaments.

But nobody will contest the fact that golf is an individual sport and that sometimes the mental aspect of the game can take over.

Hu notes that part of her game is staying loose and not letting the frustrating moments or bad shots define a round.

“I like to have fun with whatever I’m doing and work hard while I’m at it,” she said.

“I’m pretty good at not getting too upset when I have a bad hole. I think people sometimes get too upset and worked up, and it can just negatively affect their game.”

An injury forced Hu to sit out last fall, leaving her with another reason to play well this season.

To find motivation, Hu looks no further than the competition that teammates and opponents naturally bring to the course. This fueled her strong finish in New Haven.

“The girls in my group helped me play better. Having an enjoyable and competitive atmosphere was definitely a motivation to play well, to try competing on their level.”

A golfer must also find unique ways to alleviate the pressure of performing consistently at a high level. For Hu, it helps to dedicate her performance on a given day to a family member or friend she has in mind.

“It’s easier for me to play for someone else, than to play for myself,” she said.

This is a testament to a selfless attitude that complements her competitive edge. Hu even knows the right music to have stuck in her head while playing, allowing her to find rhythm on the course.

As her beat goes on, the team is on track for a memorable season both on and off the golf course.

The team last competed in the ECAC Championship in Egg Harbor, NJ on October 3-4. The 36-hole tournament featured a 14-team field at Twisted Dunes Country Club.

Of  course, with any sport every end goal has stepping-stones to victory. Our first two games were cakewalks, and everyone knew it. Our first challenge would be Virginia Tech and Tyrod Taylor.

As our offense stepped onto the field to start the game, I felt good watching Montel Harris picking up some easy yards, but when the ball was in Dave Shinskie’s hands I was skeptical. He had not yet proven himself to be this team’s leader in more than 15 games as the starter, but today was going to be different. It was a new day and a fresh start for Uncle Dave; however, it was the same old story.

We struggled all game in getting into an offensive rhythm and the two drives that got us into the red zone ended in a crucial interception and a play stopped painfully short of the goal line. Our entire offense was in shambles, and Shinskie was not helping matters.

I know that many people look down on Shinksie for his poor performance, but there comes a point in the season where the question becomes, “why is he still starting and why are none of the coaches helping him?” For me, the blame now sits squarely on the shoulders of Gary Tranquill, the offensive coordinator. If Dave is going to be the starting quarterback then you need to call plays that are to his advantage.

Such as: in a first or second down situation, run a play with an outlet receiver or running back for Shinskie to check down. Watching him play in one game can tell you he does not have the “clock” in his head that says “hey, time’s up, get rid of the ball.”

Another good idea for Coach Tranquill would be to recognize the mismatches on the field. What I mean here is that when Momah and Coleman, wide receivers who are both well over six feet tall, are being covered by players who do not reach their shoulders when on their tip-toes, they should be running fade routes for a jump-ball; Little changes like these can be game breakers.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I still think Mike Marscovetra should be getting the nod to start every week, but I cannot make that decision. And like I said before, Shinskie does not help himself out by throwing an interception from the Tech seven yard line, fumbling on a soft hit, scrambling with no time on the clock to the one yard line, and throwing a second pick later in the game.

If we go back to my two suggestions, we can turn those bad plays into touchdowns. From the seven yard line with Momah and Coleman on the field, a fade route is practically a guarantee. Instead of Shinskie running for four yards when he needed five, have Harris pop out on a flare and let him dance into the end zone. And for the second interception…there’s no help for Dave. He threw the ball way too soft for the play.

Saturday’s game was not a pretty sight to see, especially for parents who travelled to the Heights and paid for tickets, expecting to enjoy the game. The only promising point from the game was that our defense held the high-powered Virginia Tech offense to a mere 19 points, giving up only one touchdown. Although we gave up 343 yards of offense, it was spread out over 11 drives. Luke Kuechly was a force to be reckoned with, earning team MVP honors for the game, and Herzlich is looking better than ever, flying across the field and intercepting the ball.

Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech upsets me because it was a very winnable game that we lost, but that’s not what upsets me the most. It’s not our offense. It’s not our defense. It’s not even our coaching staff. It is the “SuperFans” that do not deserve their title. These Fair Weather Fans are the hundreds of yellow-shirted students that left the game at halftime, the end of the third quarter, and any time before that clock hit triple zeroes. My respect goes out to those of us who stuck through it all; through the interceptions, the sacks, and the overall poor offensive play. It sickens me to see our stadium go from a packed student section, loud with cheers, to a silent scattering of gold, only a shadow of the glory it should be.

With Notre Dame coming to Chestnut Hill for this edition of the Holy War, I can only hope. I hope that the coaches start Marscovetra. I hope that the plays are called to our strengths and not our weaknesses. I hope that our defense never quits, even if they play every second of the game. But most of all, I hope that when the clock in Alumni stadium hits zero on Saturday, October 2, I can look around in the stands and see every Super-fan still standing, still cheering, and still proud, no matter what the scoreboard says.

On August 26th 2010 the world will celebrate the 100th anniversary of a poor nun from Calcutta, Agnesë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, better known as Mother Teresa. This anniversary marks the centennial of a woman who has made some of the greatest accomplishments in history. Mother Teresa founded a religious order called “Missionaries of Charity” who, since 2007, have 600 missions, schools and homes in 120 countries where thousands of her nuns currently work.

Mother Teresa’s mission in life was to do the will of God, especially by the corporeal works of mercy: To feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, and bury the dead. Her literal participation in these works has help feed, clothe, care for, love, and bring the light of God to a countless number of people worldwide. She even was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom to name a few.

The Catholic League wants to honor this saintly woman by a simple gesture of having the Empire State Building lit up on August 26th in blue and white, the colors of the habits of the nuns she founded. This act of having the Empire State Building lit to honor groups or people is common: It was lit to honor 9/11, the Gay Pride Parade in New York, and to honor the Chinese Communist Revolution just to name a few.

Yet there is a problem. The Empire State Building refuses to do so, without any reason. Yep, they have no problem lighting the building in yellow and red to honor Chairman Mao who had an estimated 77 million people killed while he ruled over Communist China. But a woman who in her poverty and love helped a countless number of children, sick, and poor- the heck with her!

Descent Americans should not be surprised. Even the US Postal Services were harassed by the UCLA because they are planning on issuing a stamp to honor Mother Teresa. Believe it or not there is an anti-Catholic and liberal bias of the media today. This is not complete by any means, but the mainstream media has historically been cautious and critical of the Catholic Church. Why one may ask? I think it is because the Church is the largest, strongest, and most consistent voice promoting true morals and ethics, and the Church voices herself against the possible problems with secular liberalism. The Catholic Church is the voice of Christ in the world.

So it seems whatever committee who allows the colored lights to shine at the Empire State Building wants to give a lesson to children, women, men, and most directly the Church: If you desire to truly help the helpless and love the lonely, you better do so with the lights off. But as believers we do not fear, for we have our own Light, and Christ the True Light will shine through any darkness, even the darkness that will cast a shadow in the skies of New York on August 26th.

The author is a fourth year seminarian at St. John’s Seminary in Boston, Massachusetts.

Congratulations!  You have completed your first semester as chair of the theology department, and it has included the very important milestone of approving a new mission statement.  This is already a great success.

As you are aware, Father Leahy has stated that his vision for Boston College is that it become “the world’s greatest Catholic university.”  This is quite a goal, and you are going to play a large part in the process.  Certainly the merger with Weston is the beginning of something great at the graduate level, but there is still an important role to play for the non-ecclesiastical faculty.  If I may, I would like to propose to you a way forward for the department.

It seems as if the department really has two sub-divisions.  I am going to speak first about comparative theology, and then second about Catholic theology.  I think having both makes Boston College a stronger academic institution.  It is important, however, that the comparative theology scholars never become religious relativists, for truth does matter.  It may be of great benefit for all the members sometime to travel to Rimini, Italy to attend the annual Communion and Liberation Meeting for Friendship among Peoples, which is, in many ways, exactly what the department should be working towards: a non-relativistic but a non-hostile discussion of comparative theology.  Of course, the comparative theology professors should draw from all traditions: Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Buddhist, Shinto, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim.  There should even be Protestant theology, but of the Karl Barth type, a serious scholar.  I completely trust that you will strengthen this part of the department, as it is the part you do most of your own work in.  I do think it is fitting that, since it is a Catholic theology department, the chair should always be a Catholic.  I believe this is already required.

However, my main concern is for the other half of the department.  This other half should be teaching Catholic theology, and as Ex corde ecclesiae says, that means all those teaching it should be Catholics who have the mandatum.  Does anyone have the mandatum in the department?  I am sure some would be able to get it, and maybe they already have, but no student knows coming in who they might be.  I would greatly appreciate it if those who could receive the mandatum did, and then this was known publicly, as it would make choosing classes easier for students.  Some students do want to know what the Church teaches and they do want to know who they can trust to tell them that.  At the same time, I don’t think we should just go fire anyone who does not have the mandatum.  But we need to begin heading in the right direction for the implementation of the document.  Can we at least require that all new tenure-track hires for this half of the department are Catholics who have the mandatum and require that to receive tenure they have the mandatum?  This would at least begin to restore some theological sanity to the department.

I know that moving in this direction will make you thoroughly unpopular, but it is the right to thing to do both for Boston College and for the Church, and I imagine you would have the support of the administration.

Thank you for considering my suggestion.

Daniel Molinaro

The Eagles continued their streak of dominance against the RedHawks in Detroit tonight with bursts of unanswered goals. This year marks the fourth year out of five that the Eagles have eliminated Miami of Ohio from the NCAA Hockey Tournament. (Ironically, BU knocked Miami (OH) out of the tourney the other year. Beantown dominance!)

Ben Smith started the scoring late in the first period to give the Eagles a 1-0 going into the first intermission. The break did not stop the Eagles’ momentum at all as they scored two goals in the first 3:10 of the second period, off the sticks of Jimmy Hayes and Joe Whitney.

The rest of the period was offensively quiet, but BC and goalie Muse continued their stellar defense, not allowing any goals. The RedHawks scored their lone goal five minutes into the third period to narrow their deficit to only two. Just when it looked like Miami (OH) may stage a comeback, things fell apart quickly for the Red Hawks. Cam Atkinson netted a goal, followed by Patch Alber and Paul Carey within a mere 90 seconds to increase the Eagles’ lead to five.

The scoring looked to be over at this point, but Ben Smith ended the game just how he started it to give the Eagles a 7-1 lead, which turned out to be the final score.

Ben Smith led the way with two goals and an assist, although this was a great overall team effort by BC. The Eagles scored their 7 goals on only 30 shots against a team that allowed an NCAA Division-I leading 1.84 goals per game in the 2010 season.

Wisconsin beat RIT 8-1 to reach the final. With both BC and Wisconsin achieving impressive wins to reach Saturday’s final, it should be a good, high-scoring game.

The final will be on Saturday, April 10, at 7 p.m. on ESPN. The #4 Boston College Eagles (28-10-3) will look to defeat the #3 Wisconsin Badgers (28-10-4). On Saturday, the Eagles will be looking to avenge their 2-1 loss in the 2006 NCAA finals against the Badgers (which was also in Detroit, but at the Joe Louis Arena).

The Eagles last won the title in 2008 and are certainly coming into this game with momentum, having won the Beanpot and Hockey East title. Not to mention, steamrolling the top-ranked team in the nation tonight.

GO EAGLES :)

Seminary formation includes some exposure to the regular pastoral responsibilities of parish priests, such as visiting the sick and teaching confirmation classes.  A larger portion of our time is devoted to study.  In fact, once we are ordained priests, most of us will have spent six years in full-time studies.  The first two years are spent in the pre-theology program, which covers study of philosophy from ancient to modern, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and Spanish, Latin, and Greek languages.  The last four years are spent in theology studies, which include courses on scripture, systematic and moral theology, and Church History.  There are also courses like “Homiletics,” and “The Sacrament of Penance,” which specifically aim to prepare future parish priests for the more practical aspects of their ministry.

In addition to the time we devote to our academic coursework and pastoral responsibilities, we spend over two hours each day in the seminary’s Chapel.  Indeed, the Chapel could be considered the most important classroom in the building.  Every day, we attend Mass and pray the Church’s formal Morning and Evening Prayer in common.  The entire community also attends a Holy Hour of Adoration daily at 5pm, during which time the Consecrated Host, the Body of Christ, is placed in a sacred vessel on the altar.  Here, in silent, loving prayer and adoration before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we seek the grace of God in helping us to follow Him.  Here, too, we ask His aid in living a life of celibacy and humility, so that in imitation of His own self-sacrificing love on the Cross we may be able to offer ourselves completely to Him and to His Church.

In the silence of the Chapel, an outsider might begin to sense why so many men with potentially bright futures in all sorts of careers would instead decide to pursue the path towards priesthood.  As Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York has put it, “The Priesthood is a call, not a career; a redefinition of self, not just a new ministry; a way of life, not a job; a state of being, not just a function; a permanent, lifelong commitment, not a temporary style of service; an identity, not just a role.”  The seminary is not about forming professionals in a particular career.  No, we seminarians have set aside marriage and wealth because we have recognized and responded to God’s loving plan for each of us.  In the last analysis, in fact, the seminary exists precisely as a school of God’s love, training men who will eventually become ministers of that love to the Church and to the world.

Nicolas Twaalfhoven is a seminarian studying at St. John’s Seminary for the Archdiocese of Boston. He a graduate of the Boston College class of 2006 and currently in Third year of Theology at St. John’s, in the class of 2011.

No matter what we do, God will always love us.  But sinning is not a matter of whether God loves us.  It is a matter of whether we will accept His presence in our lives. As with all relationships, we can choose to let ours with God die.  An examination of conscience is an opportunity to assess this relationship and the ways we have hurt or killed it.  Looking the relationship over, we can see occasions where it is not what it could be, and with God’s help we can then make it stronger than it was, removing the stumbling blocks that keep us from following God and being as close to Him as we could.

St. Ignatius was aware of all this as he developed the examination of conscience (called the “Examen” for short) that came to be included in the Spiritual Exercises.  Ignatius says in the Exercises that the Examen should be prayed twice daily, for a few minutes each time (15 at the most), and at about the same time each day: once around lunchtime and once shortly before going to bed.  This practice was so helpful that Ignatius and other early Jesuits usually suggested to people that they continue it even after they left the retreat setting, and Jesuits everywhere are asked to do so as part of their regular spiritual practice.

St. Ignatius includes five “points,” or steps, to go over as one prays the Examen.  The first thing is “to give thanks to God our Lord for favors received.”  While this step may seem out of place in the Examen, it is important not to skip it.  As was said earlier, sin is not about breaking a rule or incurring a debt to be payed later.  It is a rupture in a relationship with God.  Because our sins only really make sense in the context of our relationship with an infinitely loving God, it is important to begin the prayer by thinking over the numerous ways in which God has shown His love just over the course of a few hours.

Next, St. Ignatius says “to ask for grace to know my sins, and to rid myself of them.”  St. Paul says that “we do not know how to pray as we ought” (Rm. 8:26), and the Examen is no exception.  In this prayer, we do not one-sidedly take stock of an account, but enter into a conversation with God about our relationship with Him, and where it has not been what it could be.

After this, St. Ignatius says “to demand an account of my soul from the time of rising [or the time of the previous Examen if it is your second of the day] up to the present examination.  I should go over one hour after another, one period after another.”  As you go over the period, get as concrete and specific as possible.  Just saying “I sinned a lot” and leaving it at that isn’t particularly helpful in looking at what is going on between you and God.

Next, St. Ignatius instructs us “to ask pardon of God our Lord for my faults.”  Again, remain in the concrete.  Look at what you have actually done, what God has given to you, and just how truly one falls short as a loving response to the other.  Let the reality of this sink in for a minute or two, and ask God’s forgiveness.

Finally, St. Ignatius asks us “to resolve to amend with the grace of God.”  The Examen is not a tool in a self-help program.  As far as sin goes, there is no “self-help”.  So we have to ask God to give us the grace to reform.  Go over what the day will look like until the next Examen with as much detail as you can.  What is God calling you to?  As you go over each event, ask God to help you respond to that call with total generosity.  Then, finish by saying the “Our Father.”

On December 8, I attended a talk by Kerry Cronin on dating and student sexuality. Like every time I have heard her speak, Kerry did a great job, and yet some students are always confused (taking, for example, her rules for hooking up, which are supposed to show the absurdity of it all, as something serious), and some disagree. This year the big question was about stealth dating. “But what’s wrong with just hanging out?’’

Kerry did a fine job answering it, but the student still seemed unconvinced. I could tell he wanted to say, “It’s a great way to get to know each other, so I’m not seeing the problem. And it’s cheaper than buying someone coffee.” At the time I wanted to stand up and give a testimonial because I think that I have enough anecdotes to prove what Kerry says true. I wanted to say this, “Look, in my time at BC, I developed a reputation of somewhat dating guru, along the lines of Kerry, except a man. A group of students all started coming to me asking for advice on the ‘other sex’s’ side as well, and Kerry is right. Stealth dating doesn’t work.”

I would continue, “They would come and say to me things like, ‘Her friends showed up and it became a group thing. I just want alone time with her.’ or ‘I don’t even know if she knows I’m interested.’ It’s not all bad, of course. I can think of one success story, but many, many more heartbreaks, like girls sitting on my bathroom floor crying until the wee hours of the morning because they thought they were making it abundantly clear this was not just ‘hanging out,’ while all the guy wanted was just a friend.”

Since Kerry’s talk, the more I think about it, the more stories I could tell. For example, my freshman year I was talking about a TV show one day, and this female from my history class, who also lived in my building, said, “I’ve never seen it. Is it good?” I said, “Come watch the first episode with me.” She did, and she was hooked. From then on, every night I went up to her room and watched an episode or two (or three!) with her and her roommate. I always sat on her bed, and during the winter months when it was a little cold, if I had come in my PJ pants, I actually sat under the covers with her. I thought it was all-innocent enough. She knew we were just friends.

Nothing physical ever happened. We were just hanging out. Her roommate was even present. This girl had even told me that she had a crush on my roommate but that was before we began “hanging out.” After the attempt at dating my roommate failed, her feelings turned to me. One night we watched a few episodes and her roommate went to call someone, my friend said to me, “I don’t know how to say this, but I like you.” It turns out she had thought all the hanging out was a sign of mutual feelings. I didn’t feel the same way, and she was crushed.

There is one way that situations like this could be prevented, and I think it’s time that Boston College seriously consider this possibility for the sake of its students’ emotional lives: parietals like at the University of Notre Dame, enforced in all buildings, with possible privileges granted to seniors, as they prepare to enter the “real world.” I had always been supportive of Boston College’s policy on co-habitation and thought that Notre Dame was over the top, but looking back, this is truly a good idea. Boston College should announce that beginning in 2012, the incoming class will arrive to singlesex dorms for freshmen. In 2013, these students who are used to it will continue to have singlesex dorms, as College Road and Walsh make the changeover. The year after Vandy, 90, and the rest and in this way, no current class (or next year’s who applied before such a policy would be in place) would be subject to a new policy, but all incoming students would be aware of the policy before arriving. This isn’t just about strict Catholic morality. It’s about the emotional lives of students as well.

One service that the BC Students for Sexual Health certainly do provide is getting people  talking.  One of the things we  need to talk about desperately  are false ethical systems permeating this campus.  While  the administration is standing  strong on the issue of the distribution of condoms, the conventional wisdom of the world even  among Catholic administrators,  it appears, is that if students  are going to fornicate, it should  at least be “safe.”  With that  in mind, the university plans  on educating students about  these matters, possibly in future  freshman orientations.

Ignoring the fact that condoms  only provide a false sense of  safety, to even suggest that  “If  a student wants to have sex, the  University should make sure  that sex is safe” misses the point  entirely.  To be very clear, I am  not by any  means saying the University  should be saying, “If you have  sex, whatever you do, please  don’t use a condom.”   I am say-  ing that the University needs to  say very clearly, it’s all risky and  all very immoral.

The reason that people say  things like “If a student wants  to have sex, the University  should make sure that sex is  safe” is because they operate  under a proportionalist ethical  system.  In this mindset, the  ethical way to act is the one in  which the negative results of  the chosen act are lessened.   In this case, the chance of a  pregnancy out of wedlock or  of disease being spread are  diminished, and it would seem  ethical to conclude that condoms should be used by those  who fornicate.

The problem is that propotionalism is not compatable  with the Christian worldview.   Proportionalism cannot condemn as wrong an act as always  wrong, nor can it explain the  transformation in Christ that  grace works within the soul.   This is not the place to flesh out  all the arguments against the  erroneous teleological ethical  theories, a fuller treatment of  that was done by Pope John  Paul the Great in his encyclical  Veritatis Splendor.  It would be a  good idea for students, faculty,  and administrators to seek out  a copy.

In a virtue ethics that takes  into account the natural law,  it becomes much more clear  why contraceptive fornication  is such a grave matter.  The act  has two ends, the one of fornication and the one of contrace-  tion, making the act solely about  pleasure and thwarting the  natural law.  The danger in this  is that it inculcates a bad habit,  a vicious (meaning non-virtuous) disposition, to think that  intercouse is about pleasure  and not about self-gift that may  carry over into a contracpetive mentality within marriage.   The promotion of bad habits  among students would be a  tragic mistake, as once students  enter into the contraceptive  mindset, it will be very difficult  to free them from in, thus doing  great danger to their souls.  A  fuller treatment of this would  examine how this mindset sets  students up to be tempted by  abortion and divorce, but space  does not permit such examination.

The administration of Boston College cannot under any  circumstance begin suggesting  that students who do choose to  have intercourse should use a  condom.  They must continue to  tell students universally not to  engage in immoral behavior.  A  Jesuit, Catholic education must  not be lukewarm but care about  the whole person and not use  the students freedom as a right  to make bad choices.  While  privacy should not be violated,  it’s time for the University to  take “care of the whole person”  seriously.

Athanasius of Boston is the pen-name of a BC grad living in the  Boston area.

To the Editor:

I was quite disappointed with your article of 6 October “ ‘Coming Out Week’ Celebrated”. While it is true that this article served as a fairly objective portrayal of the event, it does not provide the whole story. As the only newspaper on campus that respects traditional (one hesitates in the post-Bush era to say ‘conservative’) values, I had expected more from your coverage.

Unfortunately, homosexuality has become an issue in our society on which openminded, fair discussion is denied. Th e National Coming Out Week events do not promote discussion, which is the very thing they say is intended, rather they hinder it. According to GLBTQ Council leadership Gasseling and Belcic, the week is meant to help people “free themselves from the constraints of ignorance-based limitations.”

People cannot, however, honestly discuss a view when one side has so little respect for the other that it calls the other’s views ‘ignorant’. If true discussion on this issue is ever to come about, neither side can be as disrespectful, uncharitable and closed-minded as the NCOW organizers have shown themselves to be.

Universities are meant to pride themselves on open-minded, fair and respectful discussion, which BC spokesman Jack Dunn intimated when quoted for your article. As a university, Boston College should seriously question its support for such discussion-limiting rhetoric as that provided by NCOW.

I had hoped the Observer would say as much, but it appears you, too, have come under the purview of the stultifying oppression of Political Correctness.

-Anonymous

To the Observer Staff ,

While I disagree with many of the things written within the pages of your paper, I respect the thought that you obviously put into your articles and opinions. I enjoy picking up your paper because it gives me an opportunity to read arguments against many positions that I hold.

What stuck me as inappropriate in this past week’s Observer came from your “Observed” section. I don’t really care if your “observations” are supposed to be satirical, sarcastic, funny, or serious in nature, there is a problem when you so openly attack the Jesuits and thus the Church that many of us call home.

You may have issues with the BC health insurance policy, but saying that it “provides Jesuits with condoms” crosses a line. It is offensive to many Jesuits as well as myself, and simply not funny. Then you continue on in another “observation” that provides insightful commentary on the homilies given by our priests on Sundays. The punchline is essentially the homilies “suck.”

You may feel a decline in the nature of homilies given, but if you would like to take issue with them you should do so in a more intellectual manner befitting of a reputable collegiate newspaper. While you may have considered these “observations” to be funny, I find it odd that you so blatantly attack the Jesuits when the motto of your paper is Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam. In trying to find God in all things, I fail to find God in your humor.

-Sam Hay
Theology Major, Class of 2010

To the Editor:

In Regards to the Article,“Can I, as a Caucasian, be a Part of Your Group?”

1. What came first, the cultural group or the “ethnic pack?” When one spends a large portion of time with a club, cultural, musical, religious, or otherwise, one tends to bond closely with the other members, forming something called a friendship.

2. Has the author considered that groups of white friends, and the predominantly white school at that, may be just as intimidating to minorities as the minorities are intimidating to the author.

3. The author has been on campus for all of three weeks at the publication of her article. She has been alive for 19 years at the most. What she has seen in her life and her time here at BC is limited and could use some broadening. The causes of the cultural divides at our school and society at large are more complex than we, that is to say, the author and me, can comprehend at our level of experience, education, and development.

As a member of a culture that is in many ways homegrown American, and yet in other ways, decidedly not, and as a minority who has reached out to both white and non-white BC, I can generally refute her article. All in all, it seems as if the author blames minorities for the lack of intercultural connection at Boston College rather than taking a look in the proverbial mirror. When it comes down to it, we’re all to blame.

Yes, even though you are white, you can join my group. If you’d like, I would be glad to give you a taste of life at Boston College for minorities.

Please shoot me an e-mail if you’re interested: jacob.ishibashi.1@bc.edu.

Sincerely,
Jacob Ishibashi

To the Editor:

I enjoy your publication a great deal. Congratulations on your excellent and generous efforts!

Is it my imagination or is virtually everyone on B.C.’s campus an opponent of Humanae Vitae or just happy never to bring up its teachings?

You would be doing an immense service to everyone in the BC community if you were to push The Church in the 21st Century to sponsor a few day symposium on Humanae Vitae as has been done at Princeton and other places. Europe, with a fertility rate of 1.3, is committing Continental suicide. Maybe you can contribute to reversing this painful decline of the West. Your fellow students are at grave risk of marital breakup if they enter marriage as opponents of Humanae Vitae.

Sincerely,
John E Joyce, A&S ‘59

I am a parent who has taken an interest in the Sustainability movement which is fanning out across the country and being embraced by college administrators in the past few years. I have come to believe that it is a serious threat to a classical liberal education and an abusive deception. While we’re all familiar with school administrators, presidents, deans…in commencement speeches stating that the students will be the leaders of tomorrow and that they will go out and create the world they want to live in, these same officials are laying the groundwork through “Sustainability” to undermine the possibility of students realizing individual and their own societal goals which conflict with their plan. Do these individuals tell you what their plan is? No, they just toss around warm fuzzy messages about caring about planet earth. I have found that the National Association of Scholars (NAS) has done the most comprehensive investigations into Sustainability and explain the movement in easily understood language. I do not have an association with NAS or with any educational or political organization. I am just very concerned about education and the agendas of those most influencing schools today.

Sincerely,
Beth Means
Parent of college sophomore

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