Andy Stern, SEIU International President (Courtesy of SEIU Press Kit)

An employee of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 615 has been working to solicit student support for unionized employees at Boston College even though the contract between BC and its union-employees prohibits advertising negotiations between BC and the Union.

The AHANA ( for African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native-American) Leadership Council (ALC), confirmed that SEIU Local 615 employee Howard Ryan approached them to garner support for the unionized employees’ cause. Alexandra Heinz, the ALC’s co-director of political action and education, said that Ryan approached the ALC regarding their support for the Union in the ongoing dispute.

After meeting with Ryan, the Global Justice Project, the College Democrats, and university officials, Heinz and ALC President Earl Edwards decided to co-sponsor a November 2nd teach-in to shed light on the unionized workers’ position in the ongoing labor negotiations.

Ryan has also met with Kathleen Sellers, a BC graduate student who has been organizing student support for BC’s unionized workers. However, Sellers insisted that Ryan never asked her to carry out any specific task on the Union’s behalf. She described Ryan as a “conversation partner,” adding that “[Ryan] has never explicitly asked me to do anything except on one occasion, which was to explain, as a student of Catholic social teaching, why I found the Boisi discussion on Caritas in Veritate particularly interesting.”

Whether SEIU employees’ speaking to student leaders is actually a violation of Article 14, which prohibits “strikes, stoppages, lockouts, picketing, banners, or any advertisements concerning any matter in dispute between the University and the Union or the employees,” is currently disputed.

Robert Lewis, associate vice president for human resources and BC’s representative in the negotiations, was unaware that the SEIU had contacted student leaders helping the Union. Lewis believes that Ryan’s actions are a clear violation of Article 14. “It is a form of advertising the dispute. €The Union has agreed to extend the contract.€ That means all of its terms and conditions.€The Union cannot be selective about which articles of the contract they agree to extend.”

Lewis did not clarify what if any action BC would take against the Union in light of the SEIU’s contacting students about the dispute. He only added that BC “will discuss this with the Union leadership.”

In his lone statement to The Observer, Ryan said, “We believe all of the Union’s actions are in compliance with the contract.” Ryan declined to elaborate.

Ryan’s discussion with the ALC and BC Students for Worker Justice is not the first allegation that the SEIU violated Article 14. The SEIU and BC Students for Worker Justice held a public gathering outside Hillside on October 26th. Lewis contended that this act was also prohibited under Article 14, but he also noted that the Union disagreed. Sellers also disagreed with Lewis’ position.

Language from Article 14 can also be found in SEIU Local 615 contracts with Boston University, MIT, Tufts University, and Brandeis University among other universities in the greater Boston area.

Negotiations have stalled over BC’s proposed removal of Article 18 from the contract, which forbids BC from hiring outside contractors to perform union-labor. The University contends that it only wants to repeal Article 18 in order to hire outside workers to clean up after athletic events in order to save money. However, the SEIU believes that removing Article 18 would allow BC to phase out unionized labor on campus. Lewis stated that negotiations are moving slowly.

The SEIU represents 2.1 million healthcare, public services, and property services workers in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The SEIU donated over $60 million to President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, and is currently lobbying for the proposed healthcare reform bill in congress.

With two purple candles lit on the wreath, and Christmas just a little more than two weeks away, the question arises: just what is Advent all about?

The word Advent derives from the Latin word adventus, which means coming. During the four weeks of Advent, we prepare both for the remembrance of the First Coming of Christ in the stable in Bethlehem and the anticipation of His Second Coming. We commemorate the Hebrews waiting for the birth of the Messiah and wait for Him to come again in glory.

Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas, between November 27th and December 3rd. The first Sunday of Advent is also the beginning of the Liturgical Year. Customarily, the Advent wreath adorns Catholic churches and homes during the season. The wreath is a circle of evergreens, symbolizing continuous life. More specifically, the laurel signifies victory over persecution and suffering; pine, holly, and yew are for immortality; and cedar for strength and healing. The circular shape of the wreath, with no beginning and no end, stands for the eternity of God and immortality of the soul, and everlasting life through Jesus.

Four candles adorn the Advent wreath, three violet and one rose, one for each Sunday. The violet candles, lit on the first, second, and fourth Sundays, symbolize the prayer, penance, and sacrifices and good works undertaken in preparation for the Christmas season. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday, also known as Gaudete Sunday, the Sunday of rejoicing. The faithful rejoice on Gaudete Sunday because the preparation is half over and the celebration of Christmas is close. The light of the candles symbolizes Christ, the Light of the world.

As the early Church evolved, so did the celebration of Advent. The earliest record of an observation of Advent was in France as a preparation for baptisms during the Feast of the Epiphany, and was very similar to Lent. The Gelasian Sacramentary, attributed to Pope St. Gelasius I, has the first instructions for Advent liturgies. Pope Gregory VII set the number of Sundays to four.

Scripture for the season of Advent features Old Testament prophecies of the First Coming of Jesus, exhortations for justice, and proclamations of the coming Kingdom by Jesus. We read John the Baptist preparing the way of the Lord, salvation by faith, and the visitations of the Angel Gabriel to Mary and Mary to Elizabeth. The scripture readings illuminate the preparation for both the First and Second Comings of Jesus.

Pope Benedict said in his homily for the First Sunday of Advent, “Advent, this powerful liturgical season that we are beginning, invites us to pause in silence to understand a presence. It is an invitation to understand that the individual events of the day are hints that God is giving us, signs of the attention he has for each one of us. How often does God give us a glimpse of his love!”

He encourages us to step back during this Advent season and reflect on how God can better enter our lives.He reminds us, after all, “Advent is the season of the presence and expectation of the eternal. For this very reason, it is in a particular way a period of joy, an interiorized joy that no suffering can diminish. It is joy in the fact that God made himself a Child. This joy, invisibly present within us, encourages us to journey on with confidence.”

Fr. James Keenan, S.J., also touched on this subject during his homily on the same Sunday. He explained that at the first Christmas Jesus became man to share in our humanity and now we look forward to His coming again when we can share in His divinity. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website, www.usccb.org, offers scripture readings, prayers, devotions, and suggested actions for each day of Advent. The Observer wishes you and your family a blessed Advent and the merriest of Christmases. God Bless you all.

New entryway planned, students get to vote for new chairs

O’Neill Library recently announced it would renovate its first floor to add a new entryway along with a seating area, five look-up stations, scanners and printers for students. Construction will take place over winter break and the entryway should be open for students in January as the spring semester begins.

The current doorway, an emergency exit, will be enlarged and replaced with a set of glass double doors (which mirror the ones currently in use on the third floor). The first floor, which has traditionally been the location of the university’s microfilm storage and viewing center along with several bookshelves, will be relocated to another area of the library.

In the place of all the microfilm computers and storage more student seating will be added to make the library “a new destination for students” stated Mr. Thomas Wall, the University Librarian. He further added “We want to reform the image of the library to be not just an academic setting but one where students can meet with their peers and professors.”

The construction is part of O’Neill Library’s attempts to expand the role of the library” to better serve student interests, stated Mr. Wall. He added that the purpose of creating another entrance and exit in O’Neill Library was “for the convenience of the student body” and “important in rationalizing student flow” through the library, which at times becomes congested during exam week.

The issue of expansion in O’Neill Library was first addressed by Kathleen Carney, the Associate University Librarian, in 2004. However, little progress was made until March 2009, when the University hired Thomas Wall. Mr. Wall had previously worked at Duke University and the University of Pittsburgh and had worked extensively on renovating libraries to fit student needs.

He began meeting with student groups such as the Quality of Student Life and UGBC to determine what changes needed to be made to the library. Mr. Wall claims he did a significant amount of “listening to the needs” of students and “collaborating with the CTRC.”

Since then, small changes have been made to the third floor (currently the only entrance to O’Neill library) to make it more “recreational:” over the summer, the study rooms on the fifth floor were technologically enhanced with screens, in September, Macintosh computers were added to the third floor and in November, an exhibit of photographer Bobbie Hanvey decorated the windows and front entryway of the library.

The first floor renovations were designed and approved in less than six months. Ms. Carney called the move a “quick win” for the library and for the student body and hopes that many more will follow in its place. She stated that the renovation carried out over the break is by no means definite but “an evolving process” which will be driven by students.

In fact, the library is asking for student input in the types of armchairs it intends to add in the seating area. Currently, the library has five chairs on loan from its furnishing provider on display (please see photo) and asks for students to vote on their favorite before Winter Break begins. The winning chair will be purchased and placed throughout the space.

Another touch will be the addition of student artwork, which will be displayed along the walls and rotated several times a semester to enhance the idea of a student setting.

The library plans to keep this second entrance open Monday through Thursday until 9PM and Friday until 5PM. However, if the space becomes immensely popular, Mr. Wall said the university would consider expanding its hours to fit student needs.

Mr. Wall also hinted that additional renovations are in the works for O’Neill Library in the future.

A statue of Mary located near Bapst Library where students can go for private reflection.

If one had to tie the modern  crisis in the Catholic Church to a  single source, it would not seem  unreasonable to link it with the  spirit of excessive compromise  that has relentlessly undermined  and stripped away all devotions  that had the potential to serve  as a “stumbling block” to those  outside the Church.  This tendency has manifested itself in a  variety of ways, such as through  the syncretistic attitude of many  modern prelates, the elimination  of language stressing the need  for the conversion of unbelievers, and a skeptical, pyrrhonistic  attitude of many Catholics towards Divine revelation.  However, if one looks for a particular  consequence of this mentality  which strengthens and propels  all the others, they need look no  further than the decline in devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

During the Second Vatican  Council, there existed a tremendous amount of debate as to  whether or not a chapter about  the Blessed Virgin Mary ought  to be included in the Dogmatic  Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium.  While, at the insistence of the Pope and many  Council Fathers, the chapter  was included, a simple glance  at the Church over the past  forty years will demonstrate  that this part of the document  has been largely disregarded.

As Lumen Gentium says,  “the Blessed Virgin is invoked  by the Church under the titles of  Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix,  and Mediatrix”.  These titles are  not mere window dressing that  can be dispensed with whenever  ecumenism dictates it, but a theological reality dealing with the  economy of salvation.  Though  it may seem an overly bold statement to many, it is in fact sound  Catholic teaching to state that  devotion to Mary is necessary for  salvation.  This is not necessity  in an absolute sense, as if God is  powerless to save men without  the Blessed Virgin, but rather necessity on account of the way He  has ordained that graces be given  to men.  Duns Scotus, the 14th  century theologian who contributed so much to Catholic doctrine on the Immaculate Conception of Mary, was well known for  making this distinction between  the absolute and the ordained  power of God.  By His absolute  power, God can do anything  which does not entail logical  contradiction, while via His ordained power, God acts in accordance with the laws and systems  which He has freely established,  in order to benefit those to  whom He has revealed Himself.

As the great Marian theologian St. Louis de Montfort says,  drawing on St. Bernard of Clairvaux and St. Bernardino of Siena,  “God the Holy Ghost…has chosen  her to be the dispenser of all He  possesses, in such wise that she  distributes to whom she wills, as  much as she wills, as she wills and  when she wills, all His gifts and  graces”.  It was the will of God  to become incarnate and reveal  Himself through Mary, and, as de  Montfort says “to commence and  to complete His greatest works  by the most holy Virgin ever since  He created her”.  And as God  is eternally and essentially unchangeable, it is only logical that  He continue to work through,  with, and in her Immaculate  Heart in time and in eternity.

When Marian devotion is  understood to be necessary in  this way, it becomes quite obvious why its decline is such a  grave threat to the Church.  If  one deliberately takes the Mediatrix of all graces out of the  salvific economy, they are essentially saying that God’s ways are  insufficient, and need to be altered to better fit with the modern culture of compromise and  syncretism.  Conversely, however, if Catholics recognize and  honor Mary’s sublime dignity as  the Mother of God and ask often  for her intercession, it logically  follows that she will obtain for  them the grace to know, love, and  embrace the truth, and conquer  the threats which the Church  faces in this modern crisis.

When Cardinal O’Connell, Archbishop of Boston, passed away in 1944, he was buried under a chapel in Brighton, on the campus of St. John’s Seminary.

When Cardinal O’Connell, Archbishop of Boston, passed away in 1944, he was buried under a chapel in Brighton, on the campus of St. John’s Seminary. He had the chapel constructed in 1928 for this very purpose, saying publicly, “in that crypt is the place my body, after death, shall repose until the Judgment Day.”

The Cardinal went on to confirm this desire in his 1943 will, and his wishes were carried out the next year. For six decades, his remains have been interred on the Archdiocese land.

However, the land where the chapel stands is no longer a part of the campus of St. John’s Seminary, no longer even land owned by the Archdiocese of Boston. In 2004, the Archdiocese sold the land to Boston College in order to make restitution to the victims of the abuse scandal at the time. According to Boston College’s University spokesman Jack Dunn, as a condition of the sale, the Archdiocese agreed to move the Cardinal’s body to a location more befitting a Cardinal Archbishop.

When Boston College received approval to move forward with the 10 year Master Plan, and began expansion to the Brighton Campus, the necessity to fulfill this agreement was realized. The Archdiocese and Boston College filed a joint petition in Probate Court of Massachusetts for approval to relocate O’Connell’s remains.

Statues of angels stand guard in front of the chapel

In the official statement from Boston College, Jack Dunn says, “In jointly filing the petition, Boston College supports the decision to establish a permanent resting place at St. Sebastian’s School in Needham, which Cardinal O’Connell founded in 1941. The University believes that this resting place, at an Archdiocesan site, is respectful of the late Cardinal and his heirs, faithful to our Catholic heritage and best in accordance with his wishes.”

In the months since the filing of the petition, however, several of O’Connell’s surviving family members have come forward in protest of the relocation. Twenty-two family members signed a court filing objecting to the proposition, describing it as “irreparable damage to the mortal remains of the cardinal.”

Richard Iannella, the Suffolk County register of probate, recently told the Boston Globe, “I don’t recall ever seeing this type of case before…It’s not that often that somebody comes in and asks to exhume a body.” The Probate Court usually sees cases of divorce, adoption, and wills.

The family member at the forefront of the debate is O’Connell’s grandnephew, Edward W. Kirk, a Cape Cod lawyer, who is representing the family in court. “Here you have a man whose connection to both of those institutions is intimate and intricate, and yet here those two parties are suing his family for his removal. It is very strange and it’s most unfortunate that it had to come to this.” Kirk said in a phone interview to the Boston Globe, referring the Archdiocese and Boston College, from where O’Connell is an alumnus.

Altar in chapel where Cardinal O'Connel is buried

The O’Connell family’s filing outlines the Cardinal’s history with the Archdiocese and the university. He was instrumental in the development of the Brighton land. Since the Archdiocese no longer owns that land, Kirk argues, it has no right to try to relocate O’Connell’s body. He also claims that no one has no right to move the body because it has been properly buried.

The probate court scheduled the hearing on the case for February, but Kirk plans to attempt to move the case to land court for real estate issues. Jack Dunn, University spokesman, has simply said, “We await the court’s ruling in anticipation that the decision of the Cardinal Archbishop and the Archdiocese of Boston, supported by Boston College, will be upheld by the Probate Court.”

The Observer will continue to release information on this topic as it develops. For additional coverage, please see the September 22nd issue on our website.

A speaker tackles the challenges consumerism presents during the discussion.

The Church in the 21st Century Center and the Boston College Women’s Resource Center  presented the seminar Unwrapping Faith for Our Children:  Helping the Young Challenge  Consumerism.  The discussion  focused on the detrimental impact that our consumer culture  has had on the development of  children and strove to define the  true meaning of the holiday season.

Questioning the material  excess that is seen during the  holiday season was the major  premise of the night.  Dr. Juliet  Schor, professor of sociology  at Boston College, started the  night off with a commentary on  the question of material excess  at Christmastime: “There has  been a pretty rapid acceleration  in the commercialization and  targeting of children,” she said.   “And according to polling that  has been done by the Center for  the New American Dream, the  vast majority of people feel that  the holidays have become far  too commercialized, and have  lost the original spirit.”

Of the small group in attendance, most of the people were  mothers, therefore the perspective of mothers was examined.   It looked at the particular strain  that mothers are prone to during the holiday season as a result  of too much concern over material presents and decorations.   “Being parents and mothers, especially given the daily barrage  from the media on how much  we are spending, commercialism does affect us,” Schor explained.

Dr. Mary Doyle Roach, from  the College of the Holy Cross,  contended that, “Childhood itself is being marketed to us…we  believe that the presents that we  give to our children are somehow reflective of our own social  status.”  Those in attendance  nodded in agreement to this  statement.  Schor mentioned  that even in those families that  put price limits on the amount  of money to be spent, it has still  been reported that the pressure to spend in excess is high –  something that takes away from  the true meaning of the season  of giving.

From an economic standpoint, the strain that our consumer culture exudes is no  less, either.  For example, polling shows that high numbers  of families purchase expensive  presents around the holiday season just because that is the perceived norm.   “There are  a significant  number of people who go into  debt in order to  finance the holiday season,”  Schor said,  “even though so  much of what  we are giving  are things that  we do not actually need.”   Such financial  burdens could  be averted if  the pressure of  our consumer  culture and the  emphasis on  showing affection through  material goods  were lessened.

Consumer  culture and  its effects on  children were  talked about in  a more dramatic manner, but  not to anyone’s  surprise.  Schor  compared our  commercial culture to sugar, in  its addictive and detrimental nature: “The more oriented to consumer culture that our children  are, the more likely it is that they  will suffer from depression, a  lack of self-esteem and fighting  with parents.”  Roach added,  “our consumer culture has lost  the sense of children as gifts of  God…children have now become  mere objects to be cultivated.”

So, the conclusion was  reached that the more media  that children are exposed to, the  more likely those children are to  become consumers themselves  – not a shocking revelation in  the least.  As for the solution in  combating these trends, that received resistance.

According to Schor, “the  best strategy is to control the  environment that our children  grow up in…as much as we can  limit children’s exposure to  such media as television and the  computer, the more we will be  able to curb their consumer desires and habits at an early age,  before they can develop them.”

Of course, no one doubted  the truth inherent in this statement.  Countless studies have  proven that there is a direct correlation between higher media  exposure and greater consumer  tendencies.  However, asking  to rid ourselves of the media  in general just seemed far too  extreme.  To do so would be to  deny the positive effects that the  media does have on our culture.  Roach provided a more  down-to-earth perspective,  speaking about both the fleeting  pleasure and disappointment  associated with materialism and  our consumer culture.  She said,  “Gifts have become something  that we deserve, that we need…  and we have to challenge this  traditional sense of gift-giving.”  Translation: We need to  move back towards viewing the  holiday season as a time of reconnecting with our loved ones,  not as a time of stress due to the  pressures of a consumer culture.

Even expenses such as Christmas trees can make wallets feel light during Christmastime.

As we enter the upcoming  weeks of frenzied shopping and  holiday spending, mixed signals  make it difficult for anyone to  predict the future economy.  Unemployment hit an all time high  of 10.2 percent in October, yet the  stock market seems to be continuing its upward trend.  The statistics could indicate a further delve  into recession, or the beginning of  a long awaited economic recovery.   Which brings us to the important  question: what does this mean for  Christmas shopping?

A Gallup poll in early November revealed that Americans  plan to spend approximately the  same amount on holiday shopping as last year: $638 on average.   Although the numbers remain  the same, demographics have  changed.  Young adults generally plan to increase spending on  Christmas gifts this year, while  middle-age adults plan to cut back  on spending.  Adults over the age  of 55 are planning to maintain  spending.

While some may be alarmed  to learn that most Americans  plan to match one of the worst  years for retail spending during  the holidays, most experts agree  that the devastating 3.4 percent  drop in spending last year will not  be repeated.  Years when Americans predicted that their spending would equal or exceed that  of the year before were typically  followed by strong growth in sales  during November and December.  It was only those years when  Americans estimated lower expenditures than the year before  that usually resulted in minimal  or nonexistent growth.

Therefore, because those  polled in November predicted  that they would generally maintain their spending levels from  last year, it is not likely to see the  same kind of devastating drop in  sales as in 2008.  Whether this  means that sales will grow or simply remain stagnant is yet to be  determined, however.  According  to CNN.com, “analysts are generally calling for retail sales to either fall no more than 1 percent  or rise no more than 2.4 percent  during the November-December  period.”  Exact predictions cannot  be made.

Black Friday, one of the  biggest days of shopping during  Christmas season, saw an 8.6 percent decrease in average spending from last year.  Consumers  typically spent $106 daily over  the weekend – down from $116  last year.

The decrease in spending  could be a result of a general decision to spend less on presents this  Christmas, or could be connected  with an overall change in what is  considered “normal” spending.    Many argue that the past year  has cultivated a redefinition of  “normal” spending to be a more  frugal one.  It is also possible that  consumers simply plan to spread  out their holiday spending during  the weeks leading up to Christmas, rather than knocking out the  entire Christmas to-do list in just  one day.  Time will only tell, as  statistics continue to roll in during the remaining weeks in December.

Keeping the uncertain future  of the economy in mind, here are  several tips for budgeting during  the Christmas season:  • Decide on a concrete  dollar amount you want to allocate for spending, and stick to it.

• Use cash rather than  credit cards.
• Be discerning when creating a list of those to purchase  gifts for; try to limit presents to  one per person.
• Consult craft stores and  magazines for ideas as to making  presents rather than purchasing them.  Added bonus?  You appear  thoughtful and devoted while saving money.
• Shop online at sites like  Overstock.com or Amazon for  bargains.

Reggie Jackson led the Eagles with 18-9, and got it done in crunch time. He dunks on a helpless Cane, Ronnie Jackson with 0:20 to go.

It was a nerve-racking afternoon in Conte Forum, which ultimately ended joyously as the Eagles knocked off the Miami Hurricanes, 61-60. The Eagles were led by Reggie Jackson and Corey Raji. The duo combined for 35 electrifying points. Jackson demonstrated the pizzazz while Raji displayed his usual grit.

The Eagles seemed to have great control over the game midway through the second half. Their lead grew to sixteen with 12:07 left. Jackson and Raji were the only Eagles in double figures. Sanders was sidelined with a bummed ankle, Joe Trapani was sub-par due to the flu, and Josh Southern struggled. Biko Paris’ was underwhelming as well.

Raji’s grit was rewarded again. He was constantly around the glass, fighting for position and diving for loose balls. He put up an impressive 17-9. His hot play has kept the Eagles afloat with Sanders sidelined and Trapani ill. He recorded many unflashy points but his effort and production were impressive.

While Raji was the tough grinder, Jackson was his usual self. He danced around with his tongue out, his pants sagging and his headband barely resting on his dome. All that show led to another good game for the sophomore though. His explosiveness was on display against Miami. He dropped 18 points and brought down 9 boards. His leaping ability was truly extraordinary.

The last two minutes of the first half were the Reggie Jackson show. He almost touched the new banners hanging from Conte’s rafters while hauling in a rebound. His dunk with under a minute to go in the game that was called a charge was mind-boggling. He epitomized the phrase “jumping out of the gym” on that play.

While those two shined, it was not as rosy for the rest of Al’s boys. Trapani only contributed five points, but one must realize he was a game-time decision due to an influenza diagnosis. It is reasonable to give him a pass, but one must come down harder on some of the other strugglers.

Southern only contributed 6-7. He missed multiple opportunities for easy, close points. He also dropped many passes, which led to turnovers. Cortney Dunn played pretty well, however, off the bench. He added two very impressive blocks. His defense has been promising, and he should see more time as the season progresses.

Biko Paris added seven assists, but seemed inadequate compared to Jackson. It will be interesting to see how Al works his rotation when the whole squad is back and healthy. I would advocate for a lineup of Jackson, Sanders, Raji, Trapani and Southern, but my gut tells me that Al will choose otherwise. He picked Biko to start the year and he is usually a man of great faith. It will be hard for Skinner to reserve Jackson though if he continues to shine in the prime time.

The Eagles made things far more uneasy than they had to be, but a win is a win. They brought home their first conference win. This was as big of a win that you can have in December. It is the type of game that BC must win to get into the tournament. BC will probably have to win 10 ACC games and today was a good start. They must especially win their home conference games.

Harvard comes over next and then they will take on A-10 power University of Rhode Island. They do not have another conference game until January 9th when they travel down to Clemson. The game against Miami was a good start, but they must focus on these non-conference games ahead. While they cannot help a ton, they can certainly hurt.

Tattoos can either be a meaningful piece of art to mark one’s  body or they can be the product  of a long, regrettable night in  the city. These marks have long  been considered to be only for  those on the fringe of society,  but as society has increasingly  accepted this as a legitimate art  form, the tattoo has increased  in popularity and frequency especially among college students.

Even the Boston College administration has not decided to avoid  this obvious phenomenon, sending out an email to the student  body before the school year began giving some advice for those  potentially “thinking of ink.” The  email naturally discouraged students from acquiring “ink,” listing all the negative effects that  could be posed by getting a tattoo.

Some of the potential negative side effects listed included  discrimination in the workplace  and the potential for infections.  Despite these warnings, one  should not be completely deterred from expressing themselves in the form of tattoo. But  my first piece of advice is that  you should probably be in a proper state of mind when you make  the decision to get a tattoo.

Not  to sound like a broken record of  your parents, but this is pretty  much a permanent choice you  are making. Either you will live  with your tattoo for the rest of  your life, or you will live with the  scar from the removal. That removal, P.S., often costs ten times  more than getting the tattoo.  This is a pretty important decision  and the potential negative effects  are definitely there.

Discrimination does, in fact, occur in the  workplace and there is a chance  for a tattoo to become infected.  But a simple cure for both of  these problems that could result  from a tattoo is the use of plain,  old fashioned common sense.  For instance, if you decide, soberly or not, to get a tattoo,  maybe the full face Mike Tyson- like tattoo or the tear drops are  not the best choice. This might  put you at a disadvantage during the hiring process.

A place  that is not commonly seen, unlike the face, would be a good  place for a tattoo. Also, check  out the tattoo parlor before the  day you actually get the tattoo.  This prevents you from making  a poor choice in a state of inhibition. Just look around and that  in itself may be an indicator of  whether this is the best place to  have an open, exposed wound  being prodded by a needle.

The choice of a tattoo is the most  important part of the process.  This is the stage that makes the  difference between the trashy  “tramp stamp” and a meaningful  piece of art that is an expression  of yourself as a person.  Maybe  look at some pictures on the internet or look at the examples  provided by the parlor. Pick  something meaningful to you  and that will be meaningful for a  while to come. For instance, the  name of a boyfriend or girlfriend  has universally been decided  upon as a bad choice for a tattoo.

Getting a tattoo is an important  personal choice, but you should  seriously weigh all the potential  positive and negative side effects before you make this major decision. A tattoo can either  be a wonderful thing or it can  be a horrible memory of a foolish night. So think of this before  you walk into the tattoo parlor: do you really want “Notre  Dame Sucks” printed on your  chest for the rest of your life?

Jackson displayed feathery touch against Miami

Reggie Jackson has been filling the stat sheet early on in his sophomore season. Following up an impressive freshman season in which he played in all 34 games, Jackson is playing more minutes than any of his Eagle teammates thus far. He’s shooting 44 percent from the field and 68 percent from the free throw line.

He averages eight rebounds a game, and is racking up assists, steals, and blocks. Eager to learn from the coaching staff, Jackson wants to do anything he can to help the BC basketball team win, which he did very successfully in the Eagles’ win over the undefeated Miami Hurricanes on Sunday afternoon, scoring the last four points to break a 57-57 tie. With twenty-two games left in the regular season, Jackson talks about the road ahead and what it will take to win it all and finally break into the Final Four. He sits down in his first interview with The Observer to talk about the SuperFans support, tough games against Duke and UNC, his plans for Christmas, choosing zero as his number, taking his game to the next level, the team’s trip to the Virgin Islands, crazy Boston weather, and preseason media polls.

The Observer: In the Miami game you scored the last four points to snap a 57-57 tie. You scored off of an offensive rebound and then made both free throws with 2.3 seconds left for a total of 18 points. Were you happy with the way you played? Is this the first of many exciting ACC wins? How important was it to win your first ACC game, especially against an undefeated team?

Reggie Jackson: There are still things I can do better but I am content with my performance because it helped us get a win. I’m sure there will be more exciting wins this season, but if winning by double digit figures is dull, I’d rather have more dull wins than exciting wins this year. But this is a much-needed win so that we can be atop the ACC right now and we know Miami might be ranked when polls come out so we knew this win would really help out right now. Plus, all wins in this conference are big so we are going to keep trying to rack them up.

O: This season, you have been filling the stat sheet and have been compared to former BC player Jared Dudley who now plays for the Phoenix Suns. What does it mean to you to be compared to an NBA player when you are only in your sophomore season?

RJ: The first I heard it was after the Michigan game. It’s not really a big deal though. I mean, they compare high school players to NBA players, but I am happy to be compared to him. At the same time though, I am my own player.

O: You are from Colorado so you must be used to cold weather, but what do you make of the crazy weather Boston has had? Snow in October and then a 70-degree day in December.

RJ: It is definitely weird, but I am used to it. In Colorado Springs, we will have about two feet of snow, but we’ll be in shorts because it is sunny out. Boston is the same, just a bigger city.

O: You have a number of games over Christmas break, so you will not get to go home, but will you get to see any family or do anything special for Christmas?

RJ: I definitely don’t get to go home, but I am actually grateful because this year I get to be with my teammate Corey Raji and his family. They were kind enough and willing to have me over for Christmas. Our other teammate Cortney Dunn is coming to. So the three of us are going to New Jersey to enjoy our few days off, well two and a half days. I am just happy that I’ll get to have a home-cooked meal for Christmas.

O: Anything on your Christmas list?

RJ: Well, I would like to win out the month of December. Rack up them W’s. And just spending time with my teammates. Oh, and school can hurry up and end this semester, too.

O: You have one conference game this Sunday and then all non-conference games until you play Clemson on January 9, 2010. Do non-conference games mean as much to you as conference games? Do you have a different mindset when you play a team like Maine as opposed to Miami?

RJ: You tend to look past these things, but we lost to two non-conference teams in the Virgin Islands so that kind of brings you back down to Earth. It hurts us, but it humbles us. We’re not looking past anybody right now, but in a way, there kind of is a different mindset.

O: You guys are off to a good start this season (6-2), with your only two losses coming to Saint Joseph’s and Northern Iowa, both games played in Saint Thomas. Is the team not a fan of the Virgin Islands?

RJ: People keep asking me how our trip was, and it was an okay trip. We were able to have some fun and enjoy the sunny weather while getting away from the harsh cold. We did get to go snorkeling, which was great team bonding for us, but we left there one for three. We lost two, but we just have to accept what happened and move on

O: You have a string of home games coming up, most occurring over winter break. Does the team notice when the SuperFans aren’t there cheering them on? Does it make any difference?

RJ: It would be a lie to say it doesn’t make a difference. Coming out of the tunnel and then only seeing ten fans hurts, but we do understand people want to go home over break. We’re just grateful people still show up. We do appreciate them attending our games when January rolls around though.

O: Is there any reason you chose zero to be your jersey number?

RJ: I wore 21 in high school, and I couldn’t have that. Then I couldn’t have one through four, so zero seemed like the next best thing. It kind of reminds me why I strive so hard to one day be a great player.

O: You had a really good freshman season, playing in all 34 games for the Eagles. You had the honor of being ACC Rookie of the Week, as well as scoring double figures in 12 games. What are you looking to improve on this season? Do you see any improvements thus far?

RJ: To have a better understanding of what Coach Skinner wants out of offense. I think it showed in the first two games, but maybe hasn’t over the course of the last five. I am just trying to find my way, have shots go down. There’s a lot left to play.

O: In an interview with The Observer, Bob Ryan said that you had the second most exciting freshman season in Boston College’s history. Had you heard that and does that mean anything to you?

RJ: No, I’ve never heard that before. That’s flattering to hear, but I can’t imagine my freshman campaign was more exciting than players such as Troy Bell, Craig Smith, Jared Dudley, Tyrese Rice, and those before them. It is a great honor to be mentioned amongst those players before me, but I’m really looking to have a strong sophomore campaign and take this team as far as I can into March and possibly April.

O: You have a season high of 20 points in the game against Providence, you’re averaging 14.6 a game, you have a 44% field goal percentage, and you’re making 68% of your free throws. With a large portion of the season remaining, and, almost all of your ACC play, what do you want to improve on?

RJ: Just controlling the game better. And my free throw percentage should definitely be in the 80’s. I have a lot of work to do.

O: Last season, you guys upset number 1 North Carolina and beat number 6 Duke in really exciting games. Do the SuperFans have those same kind of exciting games to look forward to this season? Maybe some more upsets?

RJ: I guess if you want to consider us the underdog then yes. We have UNC at home, so SuperFans can see that game in person. They’re playing well, but I don’t see any reason why we can’t compete with them. And Duke will be tough. We have them at home and on the road, but it should be exciting and hopefully the SuperFans will be behind us, just as excited.

O: BC was picked to finish 9th in the ACC in a preseason media poll. Do you put any stock in that or do you just figure that at the end of the season your record will speak for itself?

RJ: You know, it kind of hurts to be picked ninth. But I’ve been joking around with my teammates that at least we weren’t picked last because we were picked 11th last year. We are slowly making progress through our careers. We have one or two years of good experience under our belts and we feel like we can make some noise. But at the end of the season, our record will speak for itself.

O: With that said, how do you think BC will finish in the ACC? Will you be a contender?

RJ: We feel that we have the talent to win it all, to get the ACC championship. We have all of the tools, too, we just have to work every day to improve. If we buy into coach Skinner’s system, then we can be right up there with the best in our conference and in the nation.

O: What will it take for this team to be a contender in the ACC?

RJ: All of us accepting our individual roles and knowing exactly what we’re supposed to do so we’ll be better as a unit. At the end of the day, it comes down to defense. We’ve seen how good we can be, but we’ve also seen how bad we can be. If we come out with a great defensive effort every night, we really have a chance to make some noise.

O: What are the team’s goals for this season?

RJ: Well, I would say Coach’s goals are to be competitive and for us all to have a better understanding and just really buy into his system of defense. But pretty much every player I know wants to win it all. We want to win in the regular season and give ourselves a better chance to make a run in the tourney. We are all tired of being the team with the most wins in history without ever making it to the Final Four. We’d all love to go to Indy this year.

O: Do you have your own personal goals for this season?

RJ: Just to win as many games as possible. To seize the moment and to learn as much as I can from this coaching staff. Coach Skinner was in the NBA, and the coaches can really help me take my game to the next level. I want to learn as much as I can while I can. And then just doing whatever I can in any way I can to help this team win.

That Eagle’s Nest piano kid, Dennis Carr, performs at Music for Mark, held in McElroy Commons.

McElroy echoed with the  sounds of Music for Mark, a 9.4- hour music marathon in honor  of Mark Herzlich, the now famous BC linebacker diagnosed  with Ewings Sarcoma. The  length of the marathon refers to  Herzlich’s number on the team  – 94.

Eleven different BC performance groups and individual  artists, including Ayla Brown, a  BC student and semi-finalist in  Season 5 of American Idol, per-  formed in the event.  Each hour, on the hour, a different group or  performer was featured, from  11 a.m. to 8:40 p.m. The performances were connected by the  piano playing of McElroy’s own  piano man, Dennis Carr.  Carr  also coordinated and managed  the entire event, and proposed  the marathon to the event sponsors – the Emerging Leader Program, BC Dining Services, and  UGBC.

A proceeds table was located in the lobby outside of  the Chocolate Bar. One hundred percent of the proceeds  collected were donated to Uplifting Athletes, a non-profit organization dedicated to cancer  research.  Even without a card  machine allowing students to  donate eagle bucks to the cause,  the event resonated with them,  and the fundraiser managed to  raise over $1000 to the cause in  loose cash donations.

Additionally, for every $5  donation, donators earned a  chance to win an autographed  Matt Ryan helmet.  In order to  win the helmet, the donators  had to be present at the end of  the night when the drawing was  held.  Lucky freshman Trevor  Morris won the helmet.

Heavy Feather, a rap group  on campus, kicked off the event  at 11 a.m., and were followed at  12 p.m. by the Madrigal Singers, an acapella group who sang  Renaissance-period music and  Christmas carols.  Voices of  Imani performed at 1 p.m., singing Christian songs, in keeping  with their commitment to faith-  based music.  A quartet from BC  bOp!, a jazz group, continued  the music at 2 p.m.  An emerging artist and freshman, Connell Driscoll, performed next,  and was followed by the Dance  Organization of Boston College dancing to “Silent Night”  and “All I Want for Christmas is  You.”

Taylor Wagner, a sophomore, felt that “the DOBC dances really got the people watching into the Christmas spirit,  and stopping by Music for Mark  was a great way to spend the  day.”

Swingkids followed, socially dancing to their favorite music.  The Bostonians followed,  and sang some of their set, along  with an apparent crowd favorite  – a Lady Gaga medley.

Ayla Brown then performed  at a little before 8, impressing  the crowd with each song.  After  performing her first song, entitled “Know You Better,” from  her CD, she performed “Unwritten,” by Natasha Beddingfield, a song she sang on American Idol.   She then sang a Jessica Andrews song, entitled “Who I Am.”  Ayla then prompted the room to give  Dennis Carr a standing ovation  for all of his hard work, recognizing the magnitude of the  event and his dedication to the  cause.

The second half of Ayla’s  set concluded with “Where are  you Christmas,” during which  her mom started crying, “I  Quit,” from her CD, and “Ain’t  No Mountain High Enough,”  the song she auditioned with for  American Idol. Ayla announced  that the event had raised over  $1000, drew the winning ticket  for the Matt Ryan helmet, and  ended the night.

The proceeds from the  marathon will benefit Uplifting Athletes, a non-profit organization of college football players,  which raises money for research into rare diseases.   Dennis Carr, the brains behind Music for Mark, plays the piano in-between group performances.

Boston College defeated its rival BU in the first meeting of the year

In front of 6,000 hostile Boston University fans on Saturday night, the Boston College Men’s Hockey team put on an excellent performance at Agganis Arena, defeating the BU Terrier’s 4-1.

After falling behind 1-0 in the second period, the Eagles responded with four unanswered goals in the second and third period to silence the BU crowd and return home victorious to Chestnut Hill. Along with their solid performance offensively, the defense had a stellar performance.

Junior goaltender John Muse was named the number one star of the game, tallying 30 saves in a very good performance between the pipes.

In a very physical game, the two teams went into the locker rooms after the first period tied 0-0. Returning to the ice, BU got off to a quick start when sophomore Nick Bonino snuck a wrap-around goal past Muse just over two minutes into the period.

The Eagle’s offense appeared to be having trouble beating BU’s goaltender Kiernan Millan as the second period continued. With four powerplay opportunities in the first and second period, BC’s offense was not able to capitalize on any of them. The offensive woes changed drastically for the Eagles with just over two minutes left in the second. Assisted by junior Joe Whitney and sophomore Jimmy Hayes, defensemen Carl Sneep fired a rocket from above the circle that beat Millan high side.

The Eagle’s continued on their offensive tear in the third period. Just 38 seconds into the final frame of the contest, sophomore defensemen Edwin Shea scored the first goal of his college career, slapping a rebound past Millan into an open net. Shea’s goal gave the Eagle’s a 2-1 lead and the team did not look back, netting two more goals to complete their convincing 4-1 win over the Terrier’s.

Joe Whitney and Brian Gibbons finished off the scoring for the Eagles. Gibbons goal was perhaps the most notable of all five scored in the game, skating through the BU defense and beating Millan gloveside high. The goal left Agganis Arena completely silent, except for the small contingency of BC fans that had much to cheer for.

On the defensive side of the ice for the Eagles, goalie Muse finished off a solid weekend of work. Against UMass Amherst on Friday night and BU on Saturday, Muse surrendered a total of only two goals. BU outshot BC 31-27 in the contest, but big saves by Muse allowed the Eagles to shut down the Terrier offense after taking the lead early in the second.

Now in sole possession of second place in Hockey East with a record of 8-3-2 (6-3-2 in H.E.) the Eagle’s are looking to extend their current five game winning streak with two more Hockey East matches on the road to finish out their December schedule.

After New Year’s, the team will travel to Denver for the Wells Fargo Denver Cup, and then return home for another contest against BU.

The Chapel which holds Cardinal O'Connell's remains

Most know of the dispute between the family of the late William Cardinal O’Connell and the Archdiocese of Boston regarding the movement of his remains. When Boston College bought land formerly belonging to the Archdiocese in 2004, it agreed to move the Cardinal’s body in a respectful manner as a condition of the sale. While it would do no harm to leave the Cardinal’s remains in place, as the family wishes, it is not clear whether not the Cardinal himself would have wanted to be buried on land not owned by the Archdiocese or whether he would have felt that his body could be properly reverenced in a more developed environment.

Further, when the family and the Archdiocese finally come to an agreement about where the body should be moved, the transference must be treated with the utmost solemnity. In the Church, bodies of holy men and women who are declared saints get moved often and there is a protocol for this. While there is little movement to canonize Cardinal O’Connell, his body, as that of a bishop, should be treated with the same sort of care out of respect for his office and his dedication to the men and women in the Boston area.

The Archdiocese should transfer the body with the utmost care, which must include a solemn Mass in remembrance of O’Connell, officiated by the current Cardinal Archbishop. We hope that the Boston College community could participate in such an event, perhaps lending support through the means of a choir. The seminarians at St. John’s Seminary should be invited, as should the Jesuits of Boston College, administrators, and priests of the Archdiocese. This could be an event which helps bridge the ties between the Society of Jesus and the Archdiocese of Boston. Too often it seems as though secular priests and those of the Society clash on matters of theology, lifestyle, and allegiance. An event such as this could be a reminder that all Catholics are fighting for the same purpose and are brethren under the same banner. Catholics believe that respect is to be shown to bishops in this life. It is important that a gesture be made towards him after death as well.

Christmas Tree at Boston College

BC celebrated the start  of the holidays with Holiday  Week, sponsored by UGBC. Last  week had its share of holiday  fun, and students turned up in  droves to bask in the Christmas  spirit.  Although the weather  was a little warmer than usual,  students delved into the traditional holiday spirit as if a White  Christmas were just around the  corner.

UGBC filled the week  with events, including a tree  lighting on Tuesday, Breaking  the Barriers Ball on Wednesday, ice skating in Conte Forum on Wednesday and Thursday, an Off-Campus Pub Crawl  on Thursday, and sleigh rides  around campus on Saturday.

The  festivities began on Tuesday –  the first day of Advent – with the  lighting of the Christmas tree in  O’Neill Plaza.  From 5 p.m. until  around 6 p.m., students enjoyed  Christmas music, hot chocolate,  and pictures with Santa as they  anxiously awaited the lighting  of the tree.  Student clubs displayed small, individual Christ mas trees, which they each  decorated, along the sweeping  steps of O’Neill plaza.  The trees  stretched all along the back of  the plaza and can now be seen  lining the center walkway of  the Dustbowl.  Shortly after six  o’clock, Father Leahy reminded  the attendees that Jesus is present in the crowd, and we should  be “mindful that soon Christmas  would be with us.”  The tree was  then lit, showcasing thousands  of multi-colored lights, and the  crowd applauded. Attendants  enjoyed the event until around  seven; the tree can be seen every  night in O’Neill Plaza.

On Wednesday, the Breaking the Barriers Ball, which  was held in Gasson, combined  the spirit of Christmas with the  spirit of inclusivity and togetherness.  Tickets cost $10 each,  and the event allowed students  to mingle with each other and  faculty while enjoying live entertainment, raffles and refreshments.  BC’s piano man Dennis  Carr, along with BC bOp!, provided the music.  Sophomore  Jill Long spoke of the importance of reaching out to other  races this holiday season.  The  ball also included a surprise visit from Father Leahy.

On Wednesday and Thursday night, students could rent  skates and go ice-skating in  Conte Forum.  From 9:45 pm to  1:00 am, students enjoyed free  skating in Kelley Rink.  Lines  were over an hour long, even if  students arrived early, but everyone seemed to believe the  skating was worth the wait.   Skaters were permitted twenty-minute intervals on the ice, and  enjoyed hot chocolate and giveaways.  Students appeared in droves; a few people even came  dressed as Santa.

On Thursday night at 9  o’clock, free transportation was  provided for of-age students  who wished to attend UGBC’s  off-campus pub night.  Students  headed out to the Wonder Bar  on Harvard Ave.

Sleigh Rides, and the promise of candy canes, brought students to Linden Lane (by Bapst  Library).   A horse-drawn carriage gave students a traditional  Christmas experience as it car-  ried them through middle campus on Saturday night – even  through the snow!    The events of Holiday  Week are becoming beloved  traditions, clearly evident in  the student turnout for the tree  lighting and, of course, ice skating.   Holiday Week is becoming  an integral part of BC’s Holiday  season.

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.

The University of Spoiled Children is still extremely talented, and it should be a fun, yet daunting task, for the Eagles. Our maroon and gold still have several weeks ahead of them in the bubble in preparation, but the regular season has drawn to a close and it is time to analyze what happened and where it is going.

In some senses, this season was very typical for Boston College. They went 8-4, which is right around where we finish every year. We are playing in a mediocre bowl, which is to be expected because of our weak traveling fan base. Thank God we do not have to watch the Eagles take on the Trojans on the Smurf field in Boise. At least San Franisco can probably scrap together enough mashed potatoes to feed the Eagles in the holiday season. A marquee opponent also beats playing a service academy, regardless of their triple option threat.

While we were unable to get over the hump this year, it would have been kind of absurd if we had. BC was picked last in the ACC in the pre-season coaches’ poll. Although we are often picked last in the pre-season polls, one had a reason to believe that the coaches might actually be right this year. We had the most tumultuous offseason in BC history since the mid-1990s gambling fiasco.

We lost our head coach in truly bizarre fashion. We lost our best player and sure-fire first rounder in Mark Herzlich for the season due to his battle with cancer. Our quarterback transferred and/or was kicked out for loving XBOX too much. A man who was picked 118th overall in the 2003 MLB draft came in and tried to resurrect the situation. Even though he was only picked four slots after Jonathan Papelbon and four ahead of Ian Kinsler, that did not necessarily mean he would be the next Matt Ryan. Needless to say, a cloud of uncertainty hovered over the program heading into the season.

Shinskie certainly was not Matt Ryan this year (fyi, he graduated high school in 2003, the same year as Ryan), but he showed signs of some potential. He usually played well at home, except for the UNC game. He struggled greatly on the road though and cost the team some games, most glaringly the debacle in South Bend. It will be interesting to see what the coaches make of his season and whether or not they will stick with him for next year. It will also be interesting to see what Shinskie wants to do. One must think that he will certainly come back for at least another year and see how it goes.

It is feasible that there will be a slightly open quarterback race in the offseason. Incoming freshman Chase Rettig has impressed some and has the reputation that, if true, should certainly challenge Uncle Dave. The gunslinger from San Clemente, CA, was offered by Lane Kiffin and the Volunteers, which is saying something due to his recruiting prowess. One would have to figure that to-be sophomore Michael Marscovetra would have to be in the running as well. The freshman played some this year and did not look all that bad. There were whispers in the football hierarchy that Spaz actually liked Marscovetra in the beginning but DeFilippo was pushing hard for Shinskie. Thus, it should figure to be a three-headed battle from January on (Rettig enrolls in January.)

While hopefully the quarterback situation figures itself out, we seem to be set at halfback with 2nd-team, All ACC sophomore Montel Harris. Harris rushed for 1355 yards and 13 TDs this season. While we lost Josh Haden to a silly transfer and likely to an underwhelming, pirate-loving school in Carolina, we still have some depth at halfback. Deuce Finch showed some talent in his play this year which was cut short by mononucleosis. Sterlin Phifer was redshirted, but could figure into the mix. Incoming freshman Andre Williams is also supposed to be a rather talented ballplayer. The Pennsylvanian could be our power back as he weighs slightly over 200 pounds as a high school senior.

The line should be quite solid, assuming Mark Spinney can step up for the graduating Matt Tennant. That is a tough order however as Tennant is a finalist for the Rimington Trophy (nation’s top center). Anthony Castonzo will anchor that line at left tackle. The rest of the offense has some promise, as well. Lars Anderson and Chris Pantale return at tight end which gives them some solid depth there.

There will certainly be some hype following Colin Larmond Jr. this offseason. The sophomore is probably the most athletic player on the team and he showed signs of greatness. He hauled in 26 catches and 5 TDs but showed true flashes of brilliance. However, he was also inconsistent and had some key drops. His drops against UVA and UMD are just some that come to mind. They will need him to elevate his play as Rich Gunnell and Justin Jarvis are departing for the real world and/or a future in football. Hopefully Clyde Lee can bring his practice skills to the game as the team has previously said that his speed is electrifying on Shea Field. Incoming freshman Shakim Phillips and Bobby Swiggert will also fight for playing time.

The defensive side of the ball should be solid, especially if Herzlich can return. The man is made of titanium both literally and figuratively. If he and freshman-freak Luke Kuechly are patrolling backfields together next year, it could be scary for all ACC quarterbacks. The secondary returns a good portion of its members, excluding the hammer, Mr. Marcellus Bowman. Roderick Rollins is also departing from the Heights.

If the Eagles are able to generate a better pass rush they should have a good defense. Our bona fide punter Ryan Quigley returns, but we must replace Sid Vicious. The man with the most points in BC history is finally leaving BC, a hard day indeed. It seems that Quigley or freshman Nate Freese will replace this legendary SuperFan.

Thus, while we must find a new opener for next year, Hofstra axed its football program, it could be a fun season next year, especially if a few things fall into place. I will leave you with two images that should leave you in a fury of anticipation: Montel Harris striking a mean Desmond Howard-esque Heisman pose in early September, and Mark Herzlich running out of that tunnel with Alumni Stadium ringing as loud as Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night.

The Archdiocese of Boston  issued directives for flu prevention, effective as of October 31,  2009, that include regular cleaning of Holy Water fonts, suspension of the distribution of the  Precious Blood, a non-physical  sign of peace, and a request that  ministers of Holy Communion  are to “distribute the consecrated hosts with care, being cautious not to touch the tongue or  the hand of the communicant.”

These directives have also  been implemented at Masses on  the Boston College campus.  Ellen Modica, Campus Minister for  Liturgy at Boston College, said  that “we made the announcement for four or five weeks  straight” to inform students  about the liturgical changes.

“We have also…made it clear  to our Eucharistic Ministers that  if they are feeling sick at all [...]  they should be home in bed [but]  if they are coming to Mass […]  they should let us know they are  not feeling well and [we will] get a  substitute for them,” said Modica.

Father Casey Beaumier, who  celebrates Mass at St. Joseph’s  Chapel on Upper Campus, said  most students attending Mass  understand the new policies.  He  said that many students still wish  to offer the sign of peace, but that  they should “gesture at that time,  there shouldn’t be a handshake.”

Father Robert VerEecke,  pastor of St. Ignatius Parish, said  that they too are observing the  directives but hope that the liturgy will return to normal soon.

“I’m hoping that the cup  will be restored soon. It already  is in other parishes. This is what  many people feel the absence of  most profoundly. At the last supper, Jesus said to ‘take and eat’  and ‘take and drink’. Without the  offering of the blood of Christ,  people are feeling that some-  thing very important is missing  from the celebration of the Eucharist,” said Father VerEecke.

The Archdiocese of Boston  affirmed in its directives that,  “the faithful retain the option  of receiving Holy Communion  on the tongue or in the hand,”  but, in what some consider a  controversial decision, other  bishops have asked parishioners to receive only in the hand.

Bishop Frederick Henry of  the Diocese of Calgary, Alberta,  issued a directive on November  5, 2009 for flu prevention that included the temporary suspension  of Communion on the tongue.

“To the faithful of the Diocese of Calgary, I recognize  the distress these changes to  our sacred liturgy may cause  for some,” said Bishop Henry.

The predicted distress has  been evident in complaints on  blogs and in letters to Bishop  Henry.  The Congregation for  Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued  Redemptionis Sacramentum in  2004, which states that “each of  the faithful always has the right  to receive Holy Communion on  the tongue,” and some Catholics say that even temporary  suspension of reception on the  tongue is a violation of that right.

Still, many parishes have opted to request that parishioners refrain from receiving on the  tongue to prevent possible spread of the flu.  Father VerEecke said  that at St. Ignatius, “We have  asked people who usually receive on the tongue to consider  receiving in the hand at this time  ‘for the common good’. Many  have generously been willing to  make the change at this time.”

The threat of H1N1 flu, considered “widespread” in Massachusetts by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), has forced  many to reconsider daily rituals,  and the Catholic Church is no  exception.  The Archdiocese of  Boston has averted most controversy by allowing the reception of Holy Communion on  the tongue, though many still  hope that the restrictions on the  sign of peace and reception of  the chalice will soon be lifted.

Language is critical in human relationships. Its precise function is to convey meaning. A successful gauge of language is how easily understanding is facilitated. Having been in college a few years now, it seems as if the general tendency of academia is toward sophistication. Is this truly necessary to be considered “smart?”

I have seen many doctoral theses in the library. As I curiously flip through them, I cannot help but wonder at the phenomenon that they all manifest. With so specialized a vocabulary, and sentence structures hardly conducive to being spoken aloud, they beg the question, “Who will read this?”

Each thesis is so convoluted and inaccessible as to be selfsentencing itself to oblivion. The greatest Teacher, however, spoke to the common person. The opening verse of this piece fittingly used “Word” to describe Him. Jesus used parables—analogical stories—to convey understanding.

In the Gospel of Matthew, the apostles asked Jesus why he used parables. Jesus said, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand” Matthew 13:13.

Part of the success of C.S. Lewis is indebted to the accessibility of his writing. For example, in Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis said, “In God’s dimension so to speak, you find a being who is three Persons while remaining one Being, just as a cube is six squares while remaining one cube.”

The clarity of an analogy, here, is most evident. Analogies, while never fully describing the actual essence of something, do capture well an insight that sheds light.

I do not endeavor to advocate a vulgarization of all of academia. Scholarly research has its place and the restless pursuit of further knowledge is invaluable. Contentedness and complacency with insufficient explanation or an inadequate answer is never encouraged.

It seems though, there is a spectrum between, on one end, complacency with little knowledge and on the other end, where academia falls, incredibly specialized information inaccessible to the masses. It seems that such writing gives precedence to the number of syllables over the number of insights.

The middle of this spectrum is optimal. It is understanding that conveys meaningful truth and is relatable to the audience. The essence of language is its relatability. Jesus used parables because they took people’s experiences and used them to point to something higher.

Oscar Wilde once said, “Education is an admirable thing, but it is well worth remembering from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” In other words, firsthand experience is most efficacious in learning. Therefore, appealing to an experience of a person is one way to help them grasp something better.

Sometimes I wonder whether it is the most appropriate test to have graduate students undergo oral comprehensives to a select board already well versed in the discipline-specific terminology related to the thesis. Perhaps, the true metric of an expert in his or her related discipline would be giving a person off the street an understanding and insights about the study at hand.

1.) Leftover Eagle Bucks:  The remaining money left on our  cards after purchasing a pletho-  ra of textbooks at the beginning  of the semester can conveniently  be used to purchase BC-themed  gifts for all of our loved ones  back home.  What better way to  tell Mom and Dad you love them  then to purchase their Christ-  mas gifts with their money?  

2.) REACT Shoe and  Clothing Drive: Speaking of giv-ing, when you are in the process  of cleaning out your dorm rooms  in preparation for our four-week  break, why not take a little time  to pick out clothing and shoes  you no longer want and donate  them to this organization, which  helps victims of human trafficking in the Boston area?  With  four donation sites on campus,  there is no reason why we all  cannot easily donate an item  or two to help this great cause.  

3.) Free Coffee during  Study Days:  With meal plans  running low and the French  Press Café no longer in business,  we can all be grateful for the  much-anticipated free coffee  available in some dining halls  on campus during study days.  

4.) Holiday Eggnog Drinks  in Hillside: Unlike the afore-  mentioned free coffee, sipping  on one of the Eggnog lattes  in Hillside is guaranteed to  serve as a pleasant reminder  that we only have a few short  weeks left on campus before a  long and much-needed vacation at home for the holidays.  

5.) Performances on Campus: The close of each semester  always showcases the best in the  artistic and creative performing  arts groups on campus.  High lights of this month include the  Dance Ensemble’s Seven, The  Heightsmen’s Fall Café, and the  BC Chorale and Symphony’s collaborative Christmas concert.  

6.) Friendly Faces:   Whether they are the eager and  enthusiastic Dance Ensemble  girls in the Quad, a friend who  just aced a major exam, or the  lovely cashiers in Lyons, spotting the happy faces in the  midst of all the end-of-semester chaos never fails to bring  a smile to the mouths of the  rest of the stressed-out masses.

 7.) Campus Christmas Tree Lighting:  Without a tree, it  just does not feel like Christmas  is upon us. Thanks to UGBC, we  were fortunate enough to experience a little holiday magic  with the tree-lighting ceremony last Tuesday that featured  hot cocoa, festive treats, and an  appearance by Santa himself.  

8.) Music for Mark: Although the football season has  ended, we honored Mark Her-  zlich’s battle with cancer during  this 9.4 hour fundraiser that featured performances from several  musical groups on campus, Ayla  Brown from American Idol, and  everyone’s favorite piano man,  Denny Carr.  Through this event,  we were also able to honor the  true meaning of the season by  donating to Uplifting Athletes.

 9.) Sleigh Rides: Just having our first significant snowfall  of the year in Chestnut Hill this  past week, Sunday afternoon’s  sleigh rides were by far the most  unique and festive way to expe-  rience our beautiful campus that  this newspaper has ever seen.  

10.) Studying Abroad: I  think I speak for all of us when I  say that I am really, really look-  ing forward to having a break  from BC over the holidays.  For  many of our juniors, this break  will be extended somewhat  when they spend next semester  studying abroad.  We hope they  all have exciting and enriching adventures.  Bon voyage!  Adiós! Haben Sie eine gute Zeit!  

11.) Ice Skating in Conte:  As college students, we are all  about the free stuff.  Perhaps the  most popular of these are the  two nights of ice skating in Con-  te Forum, sponsored by Nights  on the Heights.  Whether you  are skating savvy or spend the  majority of your ice time holding onto the sides, free ice skating is definitely one of the most  fun and convenient ways to en-  joy a break from our studies.  

12.) The Saint Thomas  More Society: As the child of a  librarian, I cannot help but be  impressed at this group’s holiday book exchange. More importantly, however, I believe our  entire staff is grateful that they  allowed us to take a little break  from editing to crash their holiday party last night. On behalf of  our very hungry and tired staff,  thank you.  We wish them – and  all of you — the very best during  this sometimes hectic and busy  time of year. Merry Christmas!

The College Republicans  find him most appropriate as a  guest because of his prominence  within the Republican Party.  Michael Reer, President of the  College Republicans, stated that  Thompson is uniquely positioned  to make an effective presentation  due to the “concreteness, and  feasibility of his ideas on how to  make the country a little better.”

Thompson is asking $17,500  for the presentation, and the CRs  are hoping to have 500 attendants  at the event. The significant resources committed and hopes for  high attendance demonstrate the  belief in the need for Thompson’s  message to be heard.

In an effort to fill 500 seats  the College Republicans are  gearing up for a large awareness  campaign. The event will be pub-  licized through facebook event  invites and radio advertising.  These measures will be augmenting the traditional advertising  through posters and flyers. The  Club is also opening the event to  the larger community, hoping to  include members outside of BC.

Fred Thompson underwent  his undergraduate education at  Memphis State University and,  upon graduating in 1964, he went  on to Vanderbilt University to re-  ceive his J.D. degree.

Thompson has served an integral role as a United States poli-  tician since his college years. His  positions included, but were not  limited to, assistant U.S. attorney  from 1969 to 1972, member of the  “Watergate Committee” from  1973 to 1974, and Republican  Tennessee Senator from 1994 to  2003.

Moreover, Thompson has acted in numerous movies and  television shows, typically playing governmental figures. Most  notably perhaps was his role as  New York City District Attorney  Arthur Branch on NBC’s famed  series Law and Order.

He began running for the  2008 Republican presidential  nomination in May of 2007 and  thus had to put his acting career  on hold. However, not having succeeded in winning the nomination, Thompson returned to acting in 2009, appearing as a guest  on ABC’s series Life on Mars.

Currently, he has his own  radio show entitled The Fred  Thompson Show that enables  him to voice his opinions about  the principal issues he feels are  most detrimental to our nation  today. His wife, Jeri Thompson, co-hosts the radio show. In  addition to providing his own commentary on national issues,  Thompson also interviews distinguished guests on his show,  such as New York Times best selling author James Hirsen, author,  blogger, and screenwriter Roger  Simon, and divorce and family  lawyer Raoul Felder.

At first glance, this statement is hard to understand. How can one lose what he or she seeks to save, and save it only by losing it? However, further reflection reveals the depth and undeniable truth contained in the words of our Lord.

A year ago, Father Michael Himes of the Theology Department here gave his “Last Lecture” in Yawkey as part of an ongoing series. This series was inspired by Randy Pausch, who was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. Having been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Randy sought to convey all the points about life he would want his children to know before he died.

Father Himes’ lecture focused on the verse at the beginning of this article. He told how for years he “preached and prayed” over this verse, but for awhile, misunderstood it. He said he used to think of it as a commandment, wherein Jesus was giving us the metric to which we had to live up. But he later realized, that this was not the case.

Father Himes said, concerning this Bible verse, “It’s a description. Jesus is not saying, ‘That’s how you ought to live.’ He’s saying ‘That’s how things are. You want to know what existence is like? It’s like this.’ He’s saying, ‘If you hold on to it, you won’t have it. But if you give it away, you can’t run out of it. You will see it become everlasting.’ Because being and giving oneself turn out to be exactly the same thing.”

This description is, actually, quite profound and its application ubiquitous. Do a little experiment for yourself. Imagine all of a sudden that you were the only person on Earth. Everyone vanished. For some, for awhile, perhaps, this would be a welcome change—a little peace and quiet. Soon, however, it is clear—there would be a longing for another. A life not shared is a life not lived.

Think of any job, profession, or vocation—firefighter, pilot, teacher, custodian, mother, father, brother. There’s no job where you are paid to do something that stays and remains with you. The function of each role in life is to be other-directed.

Music really drives home this point for me. I often practice in Lyons, in the practice studios on the fourth floor, which are pretty small. Now, I’m not knocking the wonderful piano studios, but, if someone were to tell me that the only place I could play piano for the rest of my life was in a studio alone, I can’t guarantee I would play much more.

However, I know there are times where I’ve played around campus for people or passersby and I lose all track of time. I look at my watch, and suddenly it’s five hours after I started, when I only intended to play for ten minutes. In that way, music has given me a glimpse of the truth behind Jesus’ words, explained by Father Himes, “‘If you give [your life] away, you can’t run out of it.”

Any one indicator does  not reveal the true state of the  economy. Trusting stock market results for real economic  news is farcical. They are a level removed from actual production, and they suffer from the  speculative whims of investors.  The end of the recession has  caused significant growth in  most stock indexes: for example, the S&P 500 has risen by  more than 400 points, or more  than 60 percent from its low of  683 earlier this year. Likewise,  the Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen nearly 3,800  points, more than a 60 percent  increase from its low.

However, is the economy  60 percent better than it was  a mere nine months ago? Of  course not. As a measurement  of recovery, the markets have  severe drawbacks.  The stock  markets have a striking inability to differentiate bubbles  from real growth, as evidenced  by record highs during the dot-com and real estate bubbles of  this decade. Possibly the only  advantage it holds is its instantaneous nature – real economic data can take more than  a month to tabulate. Consider  unemployment numbers – the  results for November are released in December.

According to those unemployment results, there  are presently more than fifteen million Americans who  are actively trying to find employment, and failing. This  amounts to a greater than 10  percent unemployment rate,  which is nearly double the average rate from years as recent  as 2007. According to the latest numbers available from the  Bureau of Labor Statistics, job  losses are still occurring in the  construction and manufacturing sectors. This report also  notes that the number of jobs  lost was the lowest one-month  loss since the recession began.

Capital investment still  lags, and the return to positive  GDP growth appears to have  been powered by increased  utilization of existing factories  without increasing staffs. The  goods these factories manufacture are sold to those who still  have jobs. According to reports  released by the Federal Government, stores are keeping  lean inventories even into the  fourth quarter, the most important quarter of the retail year.  Traditionally, nearly 60 percent of all retail sales are made  in the fourth quarter, and this  abnormal behavior on the part  of retailers indicates that they  believe sales will  be down significantly from previous years.

Consumer  confidence, an  indicator which  tries to determine how willing consumers  will spend by  measuring how  confident they  are in the stability of their income, has only  improved modestly from its  low. Those who  still have jobs are  saving instead of  spending. The  personal savings  rate has more  than quadrupled  since the beginning of the recession.

Before true  economic recovery can take place, many of the  unemployed must find work.  An out-of-work person simply does not have the money  to consume at the rates necessary for economic growth. Job  growth and economic growth  are linked – job growth will  give those who are presently  employed the confidence they  need to spend, which increases  demand, which producers will  match by increasing their labor  forces.

The recession may have  officially ended in October, but  for those out of work, things  have not returned to normal.

With the unemployment  rate hitting nearly 10.2 percent  in October, a sharp increase from  9.8 percent in September, Americans are faced with the worst  job market in over a generation.   Those who bear the brunt of  unemployment rate are 16 to 24  year olds, whose unemployment  rate is 19.1 percent.  However, unemployment is only one factor in  increased college enrollment.  The Pew Research Center  reported that along with increasing enrollment there has also  been a steady decrease over the  past couple decades in young  Americans entering the work  force directly out of high school.

The Pew Research Center estimated that the number of high  school drop-outs has steadily decreased from nearly 15.7 percent  in 1973 to 9.3 percent in 2008,  so the number of potential college students has risen.  Because  more students are eligible to attend college after receiving a  high school diploma, far fewer  are directly entering the workforce.

In addition to the increase  in eligible students, a large wage  gap has developed between college and high school graduates.   Starting in the 1980s the “college  premium,” or difference between  the income of college and high  school graduates, has steadily grown, causing many more  young adults to pursue higher  education.  Though the growing  gap has recently stabilized, it is  still an evident factor in young  adults deciding whether or not  they will attend college.

The number of well-paying  unskilled labor jobs has also  decreased greatly in recent decades, causing many employment opportunities to require a  college degree.  With new technology taking away unskilled- labor-oriented jobs previously  held by high school graduates,  new generations are seeing it almost necessary to have a college  degree to find success in today’s  society.

Many schools, such as the  Technical College System of  Georgia, which has seen its number of applications increase by  24 percent from last year to this  year, have had to sharply raise  their tuition fees.  The Economist has reported that enrollment has  increased drastically even though  “tuition fees have risen by an average of 4-7 percent.”  Even with  many Americans cutting back on  superfluous expenses during the  recession, they still seem to be  willing to pay top dollar for a college education.

The economic problem poses extra difficulties for colleges,  because as their enrollment increases, funding decreases.  Public colleges are seeing cuts in  funding from state governments,  while private universities’ endowments and investments have  been hurt by the financial crisis.   The Technical College System  of Georgia received nearly 60  percent of their budget from the  state before the state froze their  funding in an attempt to control  its own finances.  Even with tuition charges increasing by nearly $600 a quarter, the school still  has insufficient funds to continue operating as usual.  They have  had to cut Friday classes to make  up for the decrease in funding.

As the economy begins to  recover over the next few years,  the possibility that increasing  college enrollment will begin to  slow remains; however it seems  that the general trend within  modern society to pursue higher  education will continue to reign.

Pick up any newspa-  per and it’s a guarantee there  will be a bank-related head-  line on the front page. Insol-  vent and laden with toxic as-  sets, banks are looming large on  Washington’s political agenda.  

Inspired by Sweden’s successful government-owned banking system, economists such as  Alan Greenspan are drawn to  the idea of nationalization as a  solution for America’s financial  crisis. But it is important to keep  in mind that Sweden’s banking  system is significantly smaller  than Americas and what works  for a smaller financial system  might be harmful to a larger one.  This difference makes Sweden’s  banking system less of a reliable model for the United States.

Consequently, shareholders rushed to get what little cash  they could, causing the price of  shares in CitiGroup and Bank  of America to drop by 30% and  34% respectively. This drop in  share price was detrimental  to an already dangerous situa-  tion and left everyone with the  question: What do we do now?  

The most probable way for  the government to nationalize  a bank would be to convert pre-  ferred stock to common stock.  The government currently owns  preferred stock in CitiGroup and  Bank of America, which does not  give the shareholder voting rights  in company decisions. However,  if the government converted its  preferred stock to common equity (common stock), it would  result in about 40% government ownership of the banks.  In other words, the institution  would be nationalized because  the government now has voting rights in these companies.  

While there are more details  that constitute this process, the  conversion from preferred stock  to common equity is the primary  method of nationalization. Once  Washington has this ownership,  it would be in charge of the decisions and lending policies of  the bank. Management would  also be replaced by bureaucrats  until the bank was considered  “healthy,” in which case it would  be sold back to a private party.  

At first glance, the idea  sounds beneficial. It is easy to  view banks as sick patients,  and the government is the doctor providing aid to the patient.  Once the patients are better  again, the doctor lets them go  so that they can go back to its  normal routine. So what is the  problem with this solution?

 First, if the government  owned a bank, its investors would  get fewer returns on their invest-  ments than they would if the bank  were privately owned. This undoubtedly would delay, and even  harm, the precipitate process  of bringing banks back to life. It  would prompt investors to stop  investing, and there would be no  flow of credit—clearly not conducive to bettering our economy,  since lack of investment and credit is what initiated the recession.  

Second, nationalization  could cause taxpayers to lose  money. If the government were  to own significant portions of ei-  ther Citigroup or Bank of America, it would be the equivalent  of saying taxpayers own parts  of these companies. Converting  preferred stock to common stock  costs money, which would result  in higher taxes to pay off the ex-  pense of converting the stock.  Some might argue there is a lu-crative end of the deal for taxpayers: when financial system starts  running again, they will benefit  from being shareholders in the  company. However, this begs the question: If taxpayers were to  own 40% of the common stock  in Citigroup or Bank of America,  how much power will taxpayers  then have in company decisions?  Putting taxpayers, who may be ig-  norant of, or indifferent towards  the situation, in charge of company decisions with banks this fragile could be conducive to disaster.  

I believe there are several  effective alternatives to nationalization. For example, the govern-  ment could cheaply buy toxic assets, such as defaulted mortgages,  and put them all in one “bad bank,”  which a private party would  eventually purchase at a low  cost. This would give Citigroup  and Bank of America a chance to  build themselves again, with the  toxic assets removed from their  balance sheets. This would be a  and the government, without  the taxpayers, and it seems like a  much “cleaner” solution, one that  would be free of the ambiguity of  power, control, and responsibility  that comes with nationalization.  

With our country in a critical state, it is crucial to devise a  solution to the financial crisis  as soon as possible. Personally,  I do not believe nationalization  would be the most construc-  tive solution. I believe this process raises problematic issues of  uncertain authority, as well as  higher taxes for all social classes.  While no one knows of a fail- proof solution, creating “bad  banks” seems like a more rea-  sonable and affordable method  of restoring the financial system.

The Friends of Jaclyn foundation (FOJ) is a nonprofit organization that improves the quality of life for children with pediatric brain tumors, as well as their families, by matching them with a college or high school sports team based on where they live.

The team “adopts” the child in a ceremony that cements their unique bond.

After the team adopts the child, a special and deep relationship is formed. The child attends the team’s games as a guest of honor and receives supportive text messages, emails and phone calls from players and coaches.

The adopted child gains the support of an entire sports team and the team gains insight into the value of life that these children with brain tumors are uniquely able to provide.

BC’s women’s lacrosse team was matched with Judith Theriault and adopted her in March 2008. Theriault, a senior who will be 18 in March, is the captain of her high school swim team.

Theriault’s parents, Larry and Kathleen, found out she had a brain tumor when she was three and a half years old.

The diagnosis came one year after her twin brother, Larry, had been diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Theriault’s brain tumor is currently in remission, but her brother is now going through chemotherapy to get rid of his second brain tumor.

Head coach Bowen Holden said the most rewarding part of the FOJ experience has been getting to know the entire family, which she says is just incredible.

The Theriault family, from Peabody, Massachusetts and the lacrosse team have gotten to know each other very well, as Theriault is very involved with the lacrosse team. She attends every home game unless it conflicts with something in her own schedule. She is in constant contact with the players. She attends team dinners, team functions, all of their holiday parties, most recently including their Thanksgiving meal, and she even spent the night on campus a couple of weeks ago.

Holden says that Theriault, who she describes as always smiling and probably having the biggest heart of anyone she knows, has the most positive view on life, despite having gone through the hardships that accompany being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

“The biggest lesson that Judith has taught us is to remind us on a daily basis that there is more to life than lacrosse, and the challenges we face on the field aren’t anything compared to what she has gone through,” said Holden.

The FOJ organization values love, support, and friendship, all of which are evident in the bond between the lacrosse team and Thierault.

The lacrosse team got involved with the FOJ foundation after Holden was contacted by the UMass lacrosse head coach, a former assistant at Northwestern, who knew BC’s team was involved in community service—they were awarded the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Community Awareness Award for 2007. Holden said she jumped at the opportunity to get involved.

There are currently over 150 children with brain tumors that have been paired with high school and collegiate teams in 18 different sports.

The foundation was inspired by Jaclyn Murphy. Her father, Dennis Murphy, started the foundation after she was diagnosed with a medulloblastoma, a malignant brain tumor, in March 2004 when she was only nine-years-old.

Jaclyn became close to the Northwestern University lacrosse team through her own lacrosse coach who had connections with the team. When she told her dad that she knew of another girl who needed a team to support her, the foundation was born.

The goal of the foundation is “for Jaclyn to be able to continue to touch people with her smile, her kind heart, her hope and faith that some day there will be a cure! In the meantime, it is our hope that through Jaclyn’s example, we can help to improve the lives of other children and families dealing with pediatric cancer.”

As has come to light with Herzlich’s battle with cancer, while sports are important, especially here on BC’s Division I campus, there is more to life than sports.

The women’s lacrosse team should be admired for their efforts off the field just as much for their efforts on the field. Thierault can teach us all a valuable lesson. As Holden put it, “when you see someone who has been through so much, it makes you realize that nothing is better than your own life.”

On November 28, Dubai  World, the corporate face of  the emirate, requested that it be  granted the ability to forgo six  months of interest payments.   This request sent shockwaves  across global markets, ultimately  resulting in a drop in the Dow  Jones Industrial Average by 150  points on November 30th.  Investors worried that European  and American banks that had  lent Dubai money now contained  toxic investments in a time when  even the slightest financial miscalculation can cause a world of  hurt.  But in the grand scheme of  things, Dubai and the Arab Emirates are not the major worry.   Foreign banks have only an estimated 130 billion dollar exposure  to the United Arab Emirates, and  United States banks only hold 13  billion dollars of this exposure.   This 130 billion dollars is only 0.4  percent of the total cross-border  exposure for foreign banks.  Most  of the debt utilized in the Emirates is actually from domestic  banks located in Abu Dhabi.

The main concern that the  Dubai debt default crisis has  revealed is that debt-riddled  economies across the globe may  be in a tremendous amount of  trouble.  Heavily indebted countries, such as Greece and Great  Britain, may have concealed debt  bombs that could explode in the  coming months.  Dubai’s potential crisis is essentially a warning  that the primary issue economies must address is not liquidity, but solvency. The debt across  the globe, in both emerging and  established markets, has greatly  increased because of many nations’ attempts to stave off recession through debt financing.   Considering the current state of  affairs, could a major sovereign  default problem arise like the Argentine Economic Crisis in 2001?    Is Dubai the first domino in a  string of debt defaults by nations  across the globe?  Most financial  analysts and economists think  not.  Because of low interest rates  across the globe, the chance that  highly-indebted nations, including the United States, default on  debt is very low.

Central Banks across the  globe continue to take measures  to ensure that global interest  rates stay low.  If these measures  fade away and central banks lose  interest in buying up government  bonds, global interest rates could  skyrocket.  Investors across the  globe would lose faith in the ability of heavily-indebted countries  to repay investments and effectively utilize capital.  Such an  outcome is already visible in U.S.  – Chinese economic relations,  where Chinese private investors  are no longer buying up U.S. gov-  ernment debt due to lack of faith  in newly implemented United  States government policies.

Overall, Dubai has raised  significant fears in the health of  the global economy and the problems that could develop in the  near future for many heavily-indebted nations.  Whether a country’s economy is emerging or fully established, debt management  should be on the forefront of its  government’s economic policies.

To the Editor, As a dues paying member of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), your coverage and subsequent editorial regarding the ongoing negotiations between our union and the University was most interesting and appreciated.

Forget about any other demands or issues the union may have. The entire discussion is about overtime, and Article 18, if removed, would allow Boston College to bring in outside contractors to do the work that the present union members can do. In some ways this smacks of union-busting.

Please do not get hung up on the $30-40 per hour rate support personnel can earn on over-time. To achieve those rates an employee commits to either six or seven continuous work days.

Overtime pay is the carrot that encourages employees to sacrifice family time, primarily on weekends, to generate much-needed additional revenue.

Many of our members come from Central and Latin American countries. The overtime pay allows many to participate in the pursuit of the “American Dream.” To some employees, overtime represents about 25% of their income.

Make no mistakes: the jobs done now on overtime have to be done by someone, whether it is done by an outside contractor or by the in-house staff.

The most-telling paragraph in your article says, “The University was unable to say how much it spends overall on these overtime costs…” The difference between what it costs the University versus outside contractors would be most-interesting.

Rest assured, any and all monies the University Spends on overtime is money well spent. To sit behind the sanctity of a computer and pontificate on the $30 per hour figure creates a malady common in today’s society, i.e., a rectal-cranial conversion. The remedy is simple – a plumber’s friend (plunger). A few applications on the exposed surface would and should correct this problem.

Respectfully submitted,

[Name Omitted]

Merry Christmas.

Yes, I just said it. There are some of us who are not content with the barriers of plastic political correctness, who are tired with bored corporate cards spouting ‘Happy Holiday’ greetings, as if the person who gave it to us didn’t know exactly which holiday we celebrated.

Some say there seems to be an attack on specifically Christmas. Society feels the need to diversify and be different and exotic, which leads to things like the ‘Hams: great for Hanukkah’ fiasco, an event that happened two years ago when a posh delicatessen in New York ignorantly posted signs advertising the non-kosher centerpiece for the devout Jew.

While our vocabulary relating to nontraditional religious holidays increases and our use of Christian colloquies slides in a downward spiral, there is a better reason for why ‘Happy Holidays’ has become the greeting of choice for the many Hallmark card devotees: almost total indifference.

Some will say that is cynical, but then again, the basis of cynicism is the distrust in the sincerity of human motives. The motives in this situation lie in the subconscious mind, and must be examined before my proposition can be simply knocked away as pure pessimism.

‘Happy Holidays’ is the easy thing to say. A phrase that pops out of mouths quickly, as you wouldn’t have to worry about saying ‘Merry Christmas’ to a Wiccan (a modern Pagan) by accident (that is if you know any Wiccans). It is the thing you can say without knowing anything about someone, and also shows that you don’t wish to know much more about them. It seems a bit of an antisocial act in that way.

The other reason could be the lack of personal convictions, or the fear of voicing said convictions in the public forum. Perhaps that fear stems from the belief that maybe someone might be offended, or the conviction might have to be defended in public, which would cause a scene. We don’t live in a country where our founding fathers died for our freedom to express our religion and to talk about it to be politically correct pansies who go out to discuss the state of their tulips.

There’s a reason we live in America, where we have an open forum to discuss how we feel, and we should take advantage of what many others only wish they had. Seeing that the majority of the country is Christian, it is rather interesting that minorities are getting the special treatment. I’m not saying they don’t deserve to be acknowledged, but it’s ridiculous how anything with the name ‘Christmas’ is being changed to ‘holiday’.

The controversy over the ‘holiday’ tree business is a clear example. We seem to be maximizing the religious significance of other faith’s holidays at the expense of minimizing the significance, both religious and overall, of Christmas. An example is when a New York public school system permitted Hanukkah menorahs, the Muslim star and crescent, but banned a Christmas nativity scene, only allowing a Christmas tree to be substituted, which is a sign primarily of secular Christmas.

The minority is being favored, which should stop. Both the minority and the majority should be given the same amount of attention and glitter, not either over the other. We need to stop being indifferent, and start caring more about our fellow Americans, and really, our fellow human beings, and using the God-given (as our founders declared) freedoms with which we are endowed.

‘Happy holidays’ should be dumped in the cliché bucket so we can all move on. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Eid al-Adha , and a happy New Year to all.

Sincerely, Alex Taylor

One can expect the media to attack Christmas. No store owner wants to lose the sale of an Ipod or a new flat screen TV because a Jewish or Muslim person was offended by the sight of the word Christmas in their store. Christmas has unfortunately been the victim of the dreaded “political correctness,” or PC. PC is important to think about in regards to race or sexual orientation, but the last time I checked, Christmas was never an attack on either of those.

Recently, the terms Chrismukkah or Chrismakwanzika have also been used to degrade the importance of Christmas. Chrismukkah was a term popularized by TV’s The O.C, and is used more as a tongue-in-cheek joke than a legitimate substitution for Christmas. Holiday Week is a much more formidable threat.

We go to a Jesuit school and to some of us that still matters. We chose to attend a Jesuit school because we trust their beliefs and their way of teaching. We chose to pay $52,000 a year over many cheaper options because we thought we were getting something different.

The use of the term “Holiday Week” may not seem like a big deal, but the fact that a Jesuit school is willing to use a PC word in substitution for one of Christianity’s biggest celebration is alarming to me.

By the time I have eaten breakfast  at the American student center, read  my daily allotment of emails, and  worked on a bit of German, the  skies are normally clear enough  to see the late morning mists falling through the trees on their way  down the hills.  It is not until noon  that I welcome an interruption in  daily tasks – an interruption which  occasionally still manages to catch  me by surprise.  While the culture  has become increasingly secular,  the architecture still holds a remnant of the religious fervor that  Europe once knew and held so  close.  Heidelberg, like most German cities, is void of skyscrapers.   The churches are still the tallest buildings in the city.  And at  noon, the bells flood the narrow  streets, calling the city to prayer.

The bells of the Jesuitenkirche and  Heiliggeistkirche probably fall on  the dead ears of tourists more often than anything else, but they toll  nonetheless for the few people who  will listen.  How often is it God  calls on us in the middle of our day  when we least expect it? And then  how often is it, later after time to put  our day in perspective, we realize  how often we failed to listen?  How  often, like the tourists listening to  the bells at noon, do we treat God’s  voice as mere background noise?

The Advent season is well underway, and we have been hearing  during this liturgical year a series  of Gospel readings from Luke.  The  Evangelist writes about the preparation for Christ – how the entire  world was slowly “turned” for a  few brief moments to focus on a  small manger in Bethlehem.   I am  not sure if any respectable theologian has ever claimed December  25 as Christ’s actual birthday, but  if any have then they have missed  the point.  The global Church celebrates Advent and Christmas to  make sure that, for a few weeks every year, we can be “turned” as well,  to focus on what really matters.

It is exciting to wonder what those  shepherds were like, abiding faithfully to the Jewish law and prayerfully serving God in small ways.    But God rewarded that simple faith  and readiness to respond to Him by  giving them the greatest news in all  of history: Israel’s Messiah is born  and you are to greet him.  Advent is  a time when we, like the shepherds,  prayerfully await Christ’s entering  into our lives.  We see the directions  God has laid out for us, and we re-  spond generously, allowing God  to “turn” our lives as he sees fi t.

As college students, the challenge  of hearing those bells ring and taking time out of our day for prayer  and anticipation can be quite grueling.  During this time we are  normally mentally and physically  taxed to an extreme thanks to fi nals,  involvement in clubs, packing bags,  all night writing sessions, Christmas parties, and wishing friends a  good break.  But are we taking time  to fi nd God in the midst? Are our  studies merely tools for an eventual  career? Or do we see ourselves and  our scholarly pursuits subsumed  into the plan God has for us, the  vocations He wants to bless us  with, and the service He wants us  to render unto our brothers and sisters? Is our daily labor, and ever our  leisure, helping Boston College as  a whole to “turn” slowly, in every  waking moment, closer towards  its broader mission of giving God  glory in all things?  Our lives often  lack bells ringing at noon, reminding us to prayerfully take a knee  in the middle of our busy days.

Although it is not always easy for  me to see a connection between  memorizing a dozen new German  verbs and building the Kingdom  of God, it certainly helps to have  the bells remind me of the bigger  picture that I am a part of.  Such  is Advent.  As much as I look forward to seeing my home country once again, I will revel in the  last couple weeks here, with the  bells there to shift my focus for a  few moments every day at noon.

From Germany, wishing everyone back home a most blessed  Advent and a Merry Christmas.  Max Bindernagel posing in front of one of Germany’s historic cathedrals.