Spread out over a Tuesday afternoon and a Wednesday morning, the Internship Fair provided all students with the opportunity to talk with potential employers and obtain information about available internships and how to apply for them.

Students from all undergraduate classes at Boston College were invited to attend the fair. The Career Center encouraged students to wear business casual attire and arrive prepared with their resumes.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Career Center hosted its first round of organizations in the Heights room. Some of the attendees were Bay State Realty Solutions, Boston Center for the Arts, Children’s Hospital Boston, Hanover Insurance Group, Hill Holiday, Liberty Mutual, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

The fair continued Wednesday morning, hosting an entirely different group of organizations invited by the Career Center. This group included Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay, CBS Radio Boston, Gallagher Benefit Services, ING, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, Northwestern Mutual Financial Network—The Wellesley Group, and Prudential Financial.

The 2012 Internship Fair allowed students from nearly all majors to find and speak to representatives of organizations that offer jobs for individuals with their applicable skills.

As it hosted several financial organizations, the event was particularly helpful to majors in the Carroll School of Management.

In addition to encouraging students to attend the Internship Fair, the Career Center also provides students with multiple resources to aid them in finding and landing spring, summer, and fall internships.

For instance, students can attend Drop-In Question Hours Monday through Friday from 1pm to 4pm and on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings from 5pm to 7:30pm at the Career Center. Furthermore, undergraduates can schedule appointments with Career Counselors by calling 617-552-3430.

The Career Center also conveniently listed online internship sources in the brochure for the 2012 Internship Fair. These resources included two main BC internship databases, the Internship Review website, the Internship Series Online website, and Internmatch website.

Finally, the Career Center also listed the upcoming Spring 2012 events in the Internship Fair brochure. Specifically, these events include but are not limited to How to Find and Land a Great Internship on Wednesday February 1st at 5pm and Wednesday February 15th at 4:00pm, the Government Careers Information Forum on Thursday February 23rd at 12pm, the K-12 Education Career Fair on Monday February 27th from 3:30pm to 7pm, and the Science Career Networking Night on Wednesday March 14th at 7pm.

Clearly, the 2012 Internship Fair was one of the many helpful events made possible by the Boston College Career Center that aid students in the process of finding, applying for, and landing internships.

Undoubtedly, the Career Center will continue to succeed in providing students with opportunities to apply the skills they are learning at Boston College in the work field.

bc.edu

BC Law Students for Reproductive Justice website excerpt

On their website, TFP highlighted the Boston College Law School group, “BC Law Students for Reproductive Justice (LSRJ),” which, according to Gabriella Agranat-Getz, Vice-President of BC LSRJ, is an official group recognized by BC Law which receives student funds just like other student organizations.

According to the bc.edu website, “LSRJ works on reproductive health and choice issues such as global family planning, comprehensive sex education, contraceptive equity and birth control options, safe, legal and accessible abortion, privacy regarding sexuality, and medical care for healthy pregnancies, among others.”

Agranat-Getz defended the presence of the group on campus, telling The Observer, “It would be a disservice to students and the school to limit student groups to one particular view point and it’s very important to expose students to different viewpoints.”

TFP Student Action argues in its protest, which has garnered over 10,500 signatures so far, that the presence of this group is inappropriate at a Catholic university.

“It seems almost incomprehensible that such things, so blatantly against the law of God and nature, could be tolerated in any Catholic setting,” wrote William Stover in TFP’s announcement of the protest.

In an interview with The Observer, John Ritchie, TFP Student Action Director, shared why he thought the presence of LSRJ was inappropriate at Boston College.

“At a Catholic university, any discussion about the right to life must be based on the foundation of Catholic moral teaching and Natural Law.  The Church considers the sin of abortion to be such a heinous act that, according to the Code of Canon Law 1398, ‘A person who procures a completed abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.’”

“That’s why I find it particularly shocking that a pro-abortion student group such as ‘Students for Reproductive Justice’ which attempts to legitimize the illegitimate is allowed to operate at Boston College. Its existence only gives pro-abortionists a platform to spread confusion about the morality of an issue that is, in reality, crystal clear and non-negotiable,” said Ritchie.

Speaking directly about LSRJ at BC Law, TFP said in its protest that, “The term ‘reproductive justice’ is itself a mockery of justice, for it seeks not to respect, but to abolish true justice. Real justice bestows upon all the right to life, which abortion denies and tramples. The promotion of ‘contraception’ and ‘choice issues’ simply contributes to the total abolition of respect for innocent human life.”

TFP also questioned the mention of “global family planning,” of which they wrote, “the tragic results of which are playing out in China, where more than 13 million abortions – and many forced abortions – take place each year.”

Agranat-Getz, said that the BC LSRJ does not only address issues regarding abortion, but also talks about other topics, including contraception and health care.  Agranat-Getz also said students and faculty been supportive of their group.

“Considering that we’re a reproductive justice group at a Catholic university, I was very impressed last semester by the turnout by students at one of our panels.  There were more students there than at other law school events I’ve been to, so students clearly want to hear about the issues regarding reproductive justice.  In that sense, I think we are accepted,” she said.

“I’ve met people who don’t agree with what we stand for, but I haven’t met people who don’t think we should exist as a student group on campus,” added Agranat-Getz.

Nate Kenyon, Director of Marketing and Communications at BC Law, defended the group’s presence on campus.  On behalf of BC Law, Kenyon provided this statement to The Observer:

“Law school students, like all Americans, have a constitutional right to organize and express their views. Providing a forum for free speech, however, does not imply endorsement or acceptance by Boston College Law School. Student groups such as the St. Thomas More Society [at BC Law], which promotes an understanding of the Catholic faith and its values, rely on the same constitutional protections at non-Catholic law schools that protect Students for Reproductive Justice at BC Law.”

In September 2010, BC Law defended listing Planned Parenthood’s contact information on their website’s pro-bono page when Kenyon stated, “As law students who will be making important decisions for clients in only a few years, we feel that our students can educate themselves and make their own decisions based on what’s best for them” (BC Law eventually removed the link after an article in The Observer and a subsequent protest by TFP).

Ritchie disagrees with this approach, however, saying, “What’s next?  Should Planned Parenthood be allowed to set up a clinic on campus and ‘let students decide for themselves’ whether or not to have an abortion?’”

TFP’s protest was also directed toward DePaul University, Fordham University, Georgetown University, Santa Clara University, and Seattle University, and it comes just a few months after Siena College cancelled a pro-abortion speaker following another TFP protest, according to Ritchie.

However, not all Catholic Universities believe pro-abortion positions in a Catholic environment can be defended on the grounds of free speech.  In 2004, for example, Catholic University of America president, David O’Connell, refused to allow pro-choice speakers on campus.

Defending his decision, President O’Connell wrote, “I consider any pro-choice advocacy — whether deliberate or accidental, whether presented under the guise of academic freedom or right to free speech — as incompatible with that fidelity [to our Catholic identity and mission] and not worthy of The Catholic University of America.”

TFP Student Action is a project of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property.

-Previous to BC where did you teach? How does it compare?

Between 1997 and 1999 I taught at one of the Australian Province’s highschools, St Ignatius College, Adelaide. I taught Chinese language and religious education, and was involved in everything else from campus ministry to football coaching besides. During the course of my doctoral studies at the Australian National University (2004-2008), I also tutored a class in a Masters Program in Asian Studies.

A highschool is obviously a different kettle of fish in that the time spent with students can be a lot more intensive, without time for much individual research. Here, at least nominally, I get some time out of the classroom and away from other responsibilities to try to focus on my own academic research. Even so, I’ve enjoyed each place.

-Being from a different country and culture, what differences or similarities have you noticed about the way things are here in Boston?

I admire the generosity and enthusiasm of my students here at Boston College, and on the whole many work hard and have a real ambition to succeed. I also am struck by how many different projects or activities students are involved with. In the Australian university set-up most students do not live on campus and thus many are involved in projects and activities off-campus, so there is not necessarily the same village or community feel that there is at Boston College. I like the fact that walking between lower and upper for instance, one will probably see someone one knows. As for dissimilarities, I am very much aware of the role of geography. Australia is part of the vibrant Asia-Pacific, and thus these regions are just so much a part of our visual and cultural world. Every so often I have to take myself down to Super 88 for a bowl of comfort noodles, to smell some pho and to hear Asian languages all around me.

-What do you like most about being in Boston, and part of the BC community?

I like Boston as a city and I especially like the mix of cultures. For instance, one can go to the MFA and see Japanese woodblock prints and then have some lazy beers and a burger. I enjoy the local sports (Lucic!) and also enjoy the visual layout of the city. The spring blossoms along Beacon Street are worth the wait. As a Jesuit I go where I am sent, but I do very much enjoy the BC Jesuit community and the broader college community too.

|  -What do you like most or find intriguing about the BC students you teach?

Given how competitive life is, and especially if students want to enter prestigious graduate schools, I am always struck by the creative ways people seek to fill out their c.v. I know that much of the service is genuine and again I am in awe of the generosity of the students, but I have to laugh when I see that rather than work for something like Catholic Relief Services or Jesuit Refugee Service – reputable and effective agencies – students are tempted to start their own agencies. Rather than work in an orphanage, for instance, people seem to feel they have to start their own. I also think students are far too busy, not just with a large course load, but often because they’re trying to do a gazillion majors and a plethora of minors. I’d be encouraging more chats with friends, reading Czech dissident literature and walking around the Res.

|  -What is your favorite class to teach, or class you have enjoyed the most?

I enjoy the Asia in the World Core class, as the topic matter is interesting and I know it is mostly new material for people. I do think that 230 students is a little much in that I very much enjoy trying to get to know my students and to be able to engage in meaningful conversation with them, but those numbers make that difficult. My study and writing seminar is a class I very much enjoy – although its an intensive writing course – as the students get to work with the rare books in the Burns library and get to feel like “real historians.”

|  -Have you developed any new classes here at BC, or would you like to?

My electives – From Sun Yat-sen to Shanghai 2010, and the study and writing, are both new and I’ll probably do them a few more times. I’ve had a few ideas about new classes and perhaps something like a course on Mao (“Monster or Messiah”), on a history of photography and the manner in which history can be studied through visual imagery and then something on indigenous history. I’d also be interested in something on Asian diaspora, including in the Pacific-rim. But, the core will probably keep me chained down for some time.

|  -I know you spent a lot of time over the past few years on the research, filming, etc… for your Matteo Ricci project, do you have any other similar projects you are working on/want to work on?

A project that is gathering a bit of dust at the moment concerns a collection of photographs taken by a number of French nuns working in rural China in the late 1880s through to the 1930s. The images are just great and the stories of those communities really deserve to be told. I’m also trying to work out what to do with a group of tombstones that I found lying in a field in the backblocks of Hebei. They were in a heap covered in farming debris and include the headstones of a number of bishops, martyrs and scholars. These too deserve to be rescued from obscurity.

|  -On the project about Jesuit transcontinental exchange and Ricci, what would you say was the most rewarding part of all that work?

The Ricci projects I’ve been involved with recently – a documentary and a book exhibition – were especially rewarding in that they afforded me an opportunity to educate people not only about that history but also about the state of the church in China today. By using the story of Ricci I was also able to encourage others to reflect on what is happening now. It was great that the Jesuitana collection in the Burns Library could also be made available to a larger audience.

|  -Lastly, if you could give some basic advice to grad students who want to become history professors like yourself, what would it be?

It varies in different countries, but the U.S. experience is basically that one does research and teaching. Often one aspect suffers because of the time that is spent on the other. Thus, in order to get much writing done, it can be tempting to shut the office door and not engage with students. Personally, I think that’s a mistake. My advice is to recall those professors who made a difference in one’s own academic journey. Most probably that professor was generous with their time and inspired a love of learning. We are custodians of a future and thus as we receive so ought we give. The challenge for a grad student is to be professional and disciplined in one’s research output (and thus summer is a key time for research) and yet available for one’s students. For me academia ought be a conversation and not a silent retreat, and thus I’d encourage grad students not to forget that universities are also about the undergrads too, and not begrudge the time that that knock on the door may result in.

With the help of the funding from these awards, Professor Weerpana will, as a part of a research group, “make strides in key research areas that apply chemical and mass-spectrometry tools to study cancer and aging.”

Born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Professor Weerpana obtained her high school education in Nairobi, Kenya. Later in life, she travelled to the states, as she “was an undergrad at Yale University, and got [her] Ph.D. in chemistry at MIT.”

Before setting foot on the Boston College campus as an assistant professor, Weerpana “was a postdoctoral researcher at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, CA.” She arrived at BC in the summer of 2010.

Directing her attention to her specific area of study within the Boston College Chemistry department, Professor Weerpana explained, “I specialize in chemical biology, and use techniques from organic chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, and analytical chemistry in my research.”

This spring semester, Weerpana is teaching CH562, the second semester of Biochemistry. The course is described by Boston College as concentrating “on the structure of nucleic acids, recombinant DNA technology, mechanisms of gene rearrangements, DNA replication, RNA synthesis and splicing, protein synthesis, control of gene expression, membrane transport, and hormone action.”

In regards to the classes that she hopes to teach at BC, Weerpana specified, “I am excited to teach any classes at BC that lie at the interface of chemistry and biology – this includes courses geared toward understanding the fundamental chemistry that underlies biological systems, and the application of chemical tools to gain insight into biology.”

She continued, “On the research front, my lab is currently pursuing a diverse set of projects, and we hope that results from these preliminary studies will open up new avenues of inquiry in the future.”

Weerpana characterized her research as that which “applies chemical probes and mass spectrometry to investigate protein activities dysregulated in cancer and aging.” Her research group’s “ultimate goal is to identify protein activities that contribute to cancer pathogenesis and the onset of aging and age-related degenerative diseases.”

In addition to her obvious passion for chemistry, Professor Weerpana harbors a particular enthusiasm for her work and students at Boston College. She detailed, “I very much enjoy all aspects of my work here at BC. I have been fortunate to interact with a great group of undergraduate and graduate students in classes that I have taught, as well as in my own research group.”

Moreover, she expressed her extremely high regard for chemistry students of Boston College, adding, “BC chemistry/biochemistry students are some of the brightest and most enthusiastic students that I have encountered, and I look forward to future interactions with these students in both the classroom and the laboratory setting.”

An exceptional contributor to the Boston College Chemistry department in terms of both her research and her teaching abilities, Assistant Professor Weerpana is a vital addition to the College of Arts and Sciences who will, with the help of her recent awards, continue to make strides in the research field of chemistry.

Sponsored by the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and UGBC, the screening was followed by a Q and A panel that was enjoyed by a substantial audience of faculty and students alike. Featured in the panel were Professor of Sociology and Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program Sharlene Hesse-Biber, Doctoral Candidate and Teaching Fellow in the Department of Sociology Emily Barko, and Visiting Professor in the Communications Department Heather McIntosh. Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film aims to raise awareness about the damaging misrepresentation of women in the media that has led to generations of skewed perspectives on women’s role in society.

As part of a larger movement to end sexism, the film suggests initiatives that include boycotting degrading television shows and publications as well as sexist advertisements for products, and making an effort to see movies that are written and directed by women.

While discarding fashion magazines and reality TV is a lot to ask of this generation, awareness is the first step towards empowerment. According to the film, it may be time for society to grow out of watching the beloved Real Housewives of New Jersey and Beverly Hills. Without encouraging entirely anti-media sentiments, the film stresses changing the conversation through which we perceive gender roles in the public sphere of media and politics.

A colorful myriad of empowered women and men, including intelligent and unrelenting high school students and news personality Katie Couric, share their experiences and encourage audiences to be advocates of change armed with a new perspective.

This provocative and enlightening film tells the multi-generational story of the anti-sexism movement using awakening statistics and empowering statements from respected women in the media and the political world, including advocate Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Intensely bombarding image collages contain content relevant, familiar, and also a bit nostalgic; the film uses clips and images from The Simple Life, Mean Girls, Dolce & Gabbana advertisements, and the rapper Nelly’s music videos, among many others. Evidently, the film held the audience’s attention.

Using the modern catalysts of change such as Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, Youtube, and Twitter, the message of Miss Representation will undoubtedly be heard by today’s youth.

Those interested in joining the movement should visit MISREPRESENTATION.ORG, see the film, and Take the Pledge.

DOBC is a student run organization, led by Director Corinne LeVine.  Corinne is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, and began dancing at age three.  Assistant Director Honor Flannery, Secretary Annalise Sundberg, Treasurer Mary Breen, Events and Publicity Officer Karen Karnicki, Technical Manager, Amy McDermott, and Costumes Coordinators Caroline Rixey and Jackie Davis round out the list of officers.  Forty-two students belong to the organization, which choreographs their own numbers and runs their own rehearsals.

“Intrigue” was not an easy show to prepare for.  The girls rehearsed weekly, beginning in late September, sometimes with their number’s rehearsal time slated to begin at 11pm.  As the date of the show grew closer, rehearsals lasted for hours several times a week, including Friday and Saturday nights.  The girls sacrificed so much of their free time in order to produce an impressive final product, and judging from the applause each number received, they succeeded.

The show began with a Kaskade and David Guetta mashup, entitled “Cirque,” choreographed by the officers of DOBC.  Several lyrical numbers followed.  The two tap numbers, a rendition of “Mercy” by Duffy, and “Faith” by George Michael, stood out as highlights of the show.   “Americano,” choreographed by Alex Lorditch, also seemed to especially captivate audiences.  After the intermission, “Black Balloon,” by the Goo Goo Dolls, choreographed by Cassie Callahan and dedicated to Mike Racanelli, a recently deceased BC junior, seemed especially moving and poignant.

The finale consisted of an uplifting mash-up, fittingly entitled, “Intrigue,” in which each grade was singled out and applauded, and the officers were introduced at the end.  In the program, Director Corinne LeVine wrote that “‘Intrigue’ is the culmination of curiosity, imagination and creativity; it is our own unique interpretation and expression of the world as we see it.

Dance offers us the opportunity to explore sensation, music and emotion in an unconventional way.”

The girls of DOBC certainly succeeded in making the audience experience performance in an unconventional and enjoyable way.

Andy Rota/The Observer

Dozens of students signed the “Support Love” poster displayed in on-campus residence hall.

Director of the Office of Residential life, George Arey, and BC’s Director of News and Public Affairs, Jack Dunn, both defended the poster’s presence in the residence hall.

“The poster was part of an educational awareness program that RDs [Resident Directors] and RAs [Resident Assistants] sponsored in Edmond’s Hall.  They have put up multiple posters and will continue to do that throughout the year,” said Dunn.

The poster was “part of a longstanding effort to promote respect and tolerance on campus,” he added.

“The Office of Residential Life is very committed to developing communities based on respect and our Jesuit Catholic value structure,” said Arey.

The poster was in the same style of the “Support Love” t-shirts distributed by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Leadership Council (GLC) at Boston College.  However, Arey said that he did not think the intent of the poster was to join the “Support Love” campaign.

“My understanding is that it was purely an RD-RA thing.  It was the RD and at least one of the RAs in Edmond’s [who] wanted to be able to educate around this particular week.”

“There was no direct affiliation that I know of that crossed over [between the Office of Residential Life and the GLC],” said Arey.

Dunn claimed that the poster was only meant to be educational, and did not cross the line into advocacy.

“Our policy as a Jesuit Catholic university has been to provide support for our gay and lesbian students and to provide educational awareness consistent with role of a Jesuit Catholic university; […] we have not tried to embrace the position of advocacy because that would put us in conflict [with the Jesuit Catholic mission],” said Dunn.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved. […] Homosexual persons are called to chastity” (CCC 2357, 2359).

In addition to Sexual Chocolate, the show featured performances by Phaymus, The Boston College Dance Ensemble, Synergy, Fuego Del Corazon, F.I.S.T.S., and MASTI.

Each student admitted to the show paid $10 for his or her ticket, and every seat in Robsham was filled by the time the hosts took the stage to introduce the talented dance groups. The members of Sexual Chocolate made clear in their playbill that “proceeds will be donated to Bird Street community center in inner city Boston for educational programs.”

Additionally, the proceeds “will also go to support the ALC Volunteer Corps service trip this semester, namely the annual winter service trip to the Delta Mississippi region where they will be working with Teach for America in Clarksdale Middle School.”

First to take the stage was Phaymus, “founded in 2004 by Kevin Owens and Jermaine Curtis,” whose members incorporate jazz, modern, tap, and cultural dances into their hip-hop routines. The performers excited the audience members with their dances to Kelly Rowland’s “Motivation” and Kesha’s “Blow.”

Next was the Boston College Dance Ensemble, “a student run organization that provides opportunities for approximately thirty talented dancers to choreograph and perform.” The group began with a routine to a rendition of Rihanna’s “Only Girl (In the World).” BCDE gives back to the community by giving all of its generated proceeds to the Boston College Campus School.

After BCDE came Synergy, a hip-hop dance company “started in the fall of 2004 by former Director and Assistant Director Whitnie Low (’07) and D.J. Leak (’07).” A strong demonstration of hip-hop talent, Synergy “competes at various venues across Boston and the East Coast.”

Boston College’s only Latin dance team, Fuego del Corazon showcased its members’ talents with several Latin routines. Fuego aims to “promote and heighten the awareness of Latin culture and traditions within the Boston College community and the greater Boston area through dance.”

Following Fuego, F.I.S.T.S. took to the Robsham stage. Its name standing for “Females Incorporating Sisterhood Through Step,” BC’s only all-female step team delighted audience members with its firefighter-themed outfits and loud, rhythmic performance.

Then, MASTI, “the South Asian Student Association’s official dance troupe,” showcased its members’ expertise in the art of Indian dance. The group awed the audience with its routine, which was set to Bollywood music and western beats.

Finally, Sexual Chocolate, BC’s only all-male step team, took to the stage. Sexual Chocolate “is dedicated to developing an unbreakable brotherhood through step, always bringing a new and fresh look to the art.”

Its members were dressed as reindeer, elves, penguins, and snowmen to get the audience into the Christmas spirit. They performed a clever skit that revolved around doing a “Christmas deed,” which was ultimately to dance excellently for the audience.

As Lauren Shaw, A&S ’13 exclaimed, “the show displayed an excellent array of dance types that captured the audience’s attention for the full two hours.” Obviously, Sexual Chocolate’s show was an extreme success.

The exhibition of Irish paintings entitled, “Imagine Ireland: A Year of Irish Arts in America/An Initiative of Culture Ireland,” was organized by the Culture Ireland and the Office of Public Works, Ireland, with the support of the Boston College Center for Irish Programs and Boston College Libraries.

Another exhibition that serves as part of the series is entitled, “Painter, Illustrator, Author: Irish Art in the Twentieth Century.” The exhibit demonstrates how the passion for Irish painting seen in other exhibits cannot be merely contained in oil and canvas.

According to the exhibition, the book has been a medium through which Irish painters have expressed their craft as illustrators, designers, and writers. Burns Library has placed volumes of its Irish and Fine Print collection in dialogue amidst the Irish paintings and illustrations to provide a multidimensional context for the art.

As a companion exhibit to “Burst the Heart Open,” “Painter, Illustrator, Author: Irish Art in the Twentieth Century” seeks to understand the paintings of artists such as Jack B. Yeats, Louis le Brocquy, Norah McGuinness, and Barrie Cooke through a consideration of their artistic endeavors printed within the pages of books. Taken together, the exhibits invite the viewer to experience the richness of Irish art in a variety of media and emphasize the fruitful collaboration between Irish painting and literary art in the twentieth century. Students curious about Irish art and history should take the time to stop by the exhibit at Burns Library.

Dana Flynn/The Observer

BC's Christmas Tree in O'Neill Plaza

Students milled around the festive scene, and some stayed the whole time.  Shortly after 6 pm, Father Leahy spoke, reminding students that Jesus was among them now, and Christmas would soon be here.  The tree was then lit, and the tall evergreen, bedazzled with Christmas lights, drew gasps and applause from the crowd.  Festivities continued until seven, until students began to return to their dorms to carry out the spirit of Christmas throughout the rest of the season.

For many trying to survive the last weeks of classes before finals, the joyous tree lighting is a welcome respite from the hectic studying and paper writing.  For Alexandra Long, a senior, “the tree lighting is something I always look forward to.  I’m really sad it’s my last BC Christmas tree lighting, it just doesn’t seem like Christmas before BC comes together and does something so fun like this.”

Senior Hannah Leary also looks forward to the tree lighting: “The tree lighting always makes me feel like a kid again.  I like taking a break from being a stressed-out college student and coming here and listening to Christmas carols.  It really makes a difference.”

As Christmas break rapidly approaches and the end of the first semester draws near, the Christmas tree lighting highlights the spirit of the holiday season, brings friends together, and provides a break from the stress of impending finals.  UGBC’s efforts do not go unnoticed at this especially stressful time!

Andy Rota/The Observer

BCSDH distributed 2,000 dental flossers near Upper Campus.

BCSDH told The Observer that students on campus are not given easy access to oral care products that could prevent gingivitis and periodontal (gum) disease.

“Right now, students have to travel to the bookstore or, when it’s closed, City Convenience, for disease-preventing products.  This isn’t right,” said Nathanial Sanders of BCSDH.

BC Students for Sexual Health (BCSSH), another group of students, were distributing condoms near Upper Campus at the same time.  BCSDH suggested that students ignore the condoms and instead focus on the more relevant and pressing issue of dental health.

BCSSH confronted BCSDH as they were handing out floss to students.

“I approached the group and introduced myself, and asked them to do the same.  I then told them that I accepted the fact that BC students have different opinions on this issue and welcomed a dialogue,” said Marion Halftermeyer of BCSSH.

“I did, however, explain to them that I thought this was not the best way to start a discussion about these issues and that the comments they were making were very rude and disrespectful,” she added.

BCSDH said they handed out 2,000 floss packets to students, while BCSSH said they handed out 1,000 condoms.

Mike Villafranca, BCSDH, noticed that “A lot of people threw down the condoms at our feet and took floss instead; people seemed thankful that there was an alternative available.”

Andy Rota/The Observer

BCSSH challenges the peaceful distribution of floss near Upper Campus.

“While I fully support dialogue about this issue, I feel that the Boston College Students for Dental Health was being disrespectful and inappropriate in their comments. I feel the best way to engage in diplomatic dialogue is through calm conversation. This is not what BCSDH was attempting to do,” Parry and Halftermeyer wrote.

Villafranca disagreed, and instead said that the main goal of BCSDH was to encourage conversation on a very important campus issue.

“Students don’t realize that nearly one in 25 people under the age of 34 have periodontal disease, and it just gets worse as they get older.  They need to take steps to prevent it now, and the university just isn’t facilitating that,” said Villafranca.

According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, periodontal disease disproportionately affects those at or below the poverty line, and those without a college education.

“The time has come for dialogue that brings together all concerned voices to discuss dental health on BC’s campus,” said Villafranca.

“We’re not encouraging students to eat sweets, but if students choose to do so, they should be protected,” said Sanders, adding that students should not be forced to pay for this basic health service.

The theme of the final lecture was “Recognition and Compassion” that Bateson briefly prefaced as “Humans, other species, and the biosphere: The pattern that connects us all.”

The central theme to be understood in the lecture series, and eventually in her upcoming book, is the statement that “we are all aware of conflicts that arise out of the perception that some other group is different and alien, yet some of the most basic and profound relationships of human life are built across difference.”

Bateson immediately delved into her effective lecturing process by sharing anecdotes and stories followed by a broad analysis that demonstrated how her stories put her book’s themes into action and raise pervading questions about human relationships, difference and love.

She dedicated the lecture to a recently deceased colleague of hers, a biologist, whose work focused on symbiotic relationships on the cellular level, and particularly on the mutually advantageous relationship between the nucleus and outer cell. Bateson exemplified her thorough range of knowledge as she discussed this seemingly unrelated line of work of her colleague.

Bateson explained that, in productive ecological systems, highly specialized organisms evolve in ways so that their lives interlock; they aren’t in direct competition with one another, but are rather interdependent specialized elements, examples of symbiosis. Bringing this information into perspective, Bateson provoked thought in asking, “upon seeing this operation between profoundly different organisms of simple level of evolution, what does it suggest about this on the human level, human relationships and interactions?”

Bateson went on to discuss the history and recent surge in the field of cybernetics, or the study of the process during which information comes in, is processed, and goes out. Started by experts looking at natural systems that had the ability to self-correct, cybernectics has evolved into an immensely studied field with the emergence of the internet. People today talk more about systems of theory and think about communication. However, when we talk about living systems, Bateson argued, we are talking about something with multiple interacting interdependent parts processing information to adapt to the environment

Bateson went on to argue that this invites us to look not just at organisms but also at communities, families, households, political parties, nations, and churches in this way.

“Cybernetics makes poets of us,” she continued, “it teaches us to look at the world metaphorically. Cybernetics provides the tools for saying how a lake is like a city, how a forest is like a university, how a church is like a body.”

Throughout the series of lectures, she discussed how love involves recognition of commonality and of difference and how we take those recognitions into our interactions with people from other cultures. This makes it possible for people to empathize with, recognize, and respond to the joys and sorrows of another person. Bateson questioned, “Can we teach ourselves not just to respect or be good stewards to the natural world but to do so because we empathize with it?”

She encouraged the theory of looking at Earth as a living organism with the capacity to self-correct and to allow one to bring whatever compassion one has for other living things to all living things on the earth. She went on to say the metaphor is only useful if based on real commonalities one truly imagines and attempts to understand as a way of loving across difference.

Bateson ended by posing the challenge to think about the love of the natural world and how that could be empathetic love.

According to Matson, the award is “a grant amount that you can use to support your writing in a variety of ways—leave time, research, travel.” She continued, “The grant is wonderful, but feeling affirmed in the manuscript I sent is the best thing of all.  It gives me the excitement and energy to push forward on a project whose exact shape has been difficult to get right.”

Matson has been a professor in the English Department at Boston College for about twenty-three years. This semester, she teaches Contemporary American Poetry, and next semester she will teach an Advanced Poetry Workshop. Matson explained that “as chair of the department [she] [has] a reduced teaching load.”

Having taught Contemporary American Poetry on a regular basis, Professor Matson tends to “to mix in at least a few different works each time it’s offered, to make it new for [her] each time.”

Matson attended Portland State University during her undergraduate career, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English. Afterwards, she attended the University of Washington for her MA and PhD.

Matson elaborated, “I did my MA in Creative Writing and my PhD in English at the University of Washington.” She continued, “While there I was a teaching fellow.  But this has been my first and only job since getting my PhD.”

Before relocating to the Boston area, Matson, a native of Portland, lived in Seattle for seven years during her time at graduate school. Though admittedly attached to the Pacific Northwest, Matson now happily deems Boston her home. She detailed, “I live in Newton with my husband, three sons, and standard poodle [Oscar].”

Not only does she enjoy living in Newton, but Matson also demonstrates obvious delight in teaching at Boston College. She characterizes BC students as “bright and ambitious and ready to go.”

Moreover, she is incredibly fond of, and impressed with, her colleagues in the College of Arts and Sciences. Matson declared, “My colleagues in the English department are accomplished, interesting, caring people. But I’ve found that that’s actually a hallmark of the place as a whole—great people.”

With her recent award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Professor Suzanne Matson is evidently as impressive as her colleagues. The English Department is undoubtedly strengthened by her dedication to and enthusiasm for reading, writing, and teaching.

Now chairman of the Philosophy Department at BC, Madigan joined the Boston College faculty in the fall of 1979. Recalling his past teaching jobs, Madigan explained, “I taught for a year at Fordham University (1973-74).  I have also taught as the Miller Visiting Associate Professor of Classics at John Carroll University (1996-97) and as Wade Professor of Philosophy at Marquette University (1999-2000).  I served as rector of the Jesuit community at Le Moyne college from 2002 to 2005.”

Madigan grew up as a native of New York City. In 1963, he entered the Jesuits and “studied classics and philosophy in…Jesuit seminaries” that were divisions of Fordham University in New York City. Afterwards, he studied both philosophy and theology in Toronto, Canada. Madigan detailed, “I was ordained priest in 1977, received my Ph.D. from the University of Toronto in 1979, and have been teaching at Boston College ever since.”

Directing his attention to his teaching of philosophy at Boston College, Madigan named “ancient philosophy, especially Aristotle, and ethics and political philosophy, especially the Aristotelian tradition” as his special interests in his field. According to Madigan, “Before becoming chairman of the Philosophy Department, I regularly taught PL 524 Introduction to Ethics and PL 505 The Aristotelian Ethics.  For some 20 years I have been teaching the first year Honors Program course Western Cultural Tradition.”

Though he has been heavily involved in the Boston College Philosophy Department for 32 years, Reverend Madigan still hungers to revisit past courses and construct new courses. Particularly, Madigan “would love at some point to return to Introduction to Ethics and to The Aristotelian Ethics.” Moreover, he “would very much enjoy developing a course on the 18th Century Enlightenment and its contemporary relevance.”

Indeed, there is a reason for which Madigan has remained at BC for so long. He explained, “I very much enjoy interacting with the capable and hard-working students of Boston College, graduate and undergraduate.  It is particularly invigorating to work with students who take ethical, political, metaphysical, and religious issues seriously.”

Addressing his recent appointment to the Fitzgibbons Professorship, Madigan elaborated, “The Albert J. Fitzgibbons Chair is funded by a very generous benefaction from the Fitzgibbons family.  Their intention is that the Chair should engage with contemporary philosophical, ethical, and religious issues facing society today.”

Though his new role in the Philosophy Department does not require him to teach a particular course, “it does carry with it the supervision of the Albert J. Fitzgibbons Lecture Series, which is also oriented toward contemporary philosophical and especially ethical issues facing Society.” Madigan is particularly excited by the Lecture Series, as he added, “We have had a number of very accomplished philosophers speak in this Lecture Series and I hope that we will have many more in the future.”

A truly dedicated member of the Boston College faculty, Reverend Arthur R. Madigan, S.J. has demonstrated his passion for the study of philosophy throughout his years on the heights. Undoubtedly, the Boston College community congratulates him in his award of the Albert J. Fitzgibbons Professorship in Philosophy.

Duncan Rawlinson

Noam Chomsky

Almost a whole half hour before the lecture, a more-than-capacity crowd eager to encounter this wonderful mind greeted Chomsky, who calls nearby MIT his home.  After a quick introduction, Chomsky himself came to the podium in the midst of thunderous applause. With no notes or power point slides, the astounding philosopher spoke candidly and directly, displaying the enormous depth of his knowledge of the topic.

Chomsky started off by addressing the idea of a cognitive process. He described the development of a young child and his relative motor skills. Delving deeply into early humanistic unconscious thought, Chomsky described intellectually his idea that humans possess a distinct higher aptitude for processing language. Chomsky described how as an infant, one’s mind is still evolving.

The processes that leads humans to be able to do such things as read, write, and hear remain primitive but in flux. This is where Chomsky suggests we begin to develop the process for language as well. The world-renowned professor claimed that humans contain a distinct part of the brain that holds the key to their understanding of language.

This section of the human brain develops much like any other human feature: through exposure. Chomsky insists that as a child, even as one is growing in the womb, he hears language all around him. This hearing triggers his cognitive language “system” into action and begins his development towards learning how to simply speak that language. Thus, Chomsky concludes that all humans possess an innate ability for the understanding of language in itself. Chomsky describes his idea as one of “minority” opinion, but none the less revolutionary in itself.

Throughout the rest of the lecture, Chomsky described the evolutionary processes that may have occurred that lead to the development of such a unique process. The man who is called the “father of modern linguistics” dazzled the crowd with his intellect and his knowledge, concluding with an informative question-answer session.

Although his ideas were largely theoretical and intellectual, the crowd couldn’t help but acknowledge Chomsky’s ability to discuss in such detail his findings. Certainly Chomsky has spent a lifetime’s worth of study on his ideas and takes a definitive pride in the study of linguistics, a study that still remains relatively young.

Chomsky’s impressive visit reminds us at Boston College of how lucky we are to live in what can be called the intellectual “hub” of the universe. To have a man of Chomsky’s nature simply down the road and available for visits gives students the grand opportunity to indulge in discourse that much of the world would never experience.

This semester, the College of Arts and Sciences at Boston College introduced over a dozen new faculty members to its various departments. The school wishes to provide these professors with a warm welcome by informing students of their specialties and origins, and has profiled five of these new faculty in order to facilitate their integration into the BC community.

In the Chemistry Department, Jeffery Byers is now an assistant professor. Having received his Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology, Byers concentrates on organometallic chemistry and its applications to organic, inorganic, and polymer chemistry.

Before joining the BC community, he was a postdoctural fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is currently a professor of Mechanistic Organic Chemistry. David Quigley, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, says of Byers, “[he] promises to continue our strong tradition in organic chemistry.”

Additionally, Dawei Chen has joined the Mathematics Department as an assistant professor of mathematics. He specializes in algebraic geometry, and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. Before assuming his post at Boston College as a professor of Calculus II, he served as a research assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

According to Quigley, “Dawei Chen is one of several new hires in Math as we build a world-class doctoral program that will have substantial benefits for our undergraduates.”

This semester, the Theology Department welcomes Richard Gaillardetz, now Joseph McCarthy Chair in Catholic Systematic Theology, who is in Quigley’s view “an important public intellectual in the contemporary Catholic world.”

At the University of Notre Dame, he pursued his academic concentration in Catholic systematic theology and focused on the theology of the Church. He served as Thomas and Margaret Murray and James J. Bacik Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Toledo before journeying to Boston. His fall 2011 course is titled Vatican II: History, Interpretation, Reception.

In the Economics Department, Julie Mortimer joins the BC faculty as associate professor of economics. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles where she concentrated on industrial organization, and went on to become an associate professor of economics at Harvard University. She joined the BC community as a professor of Industrial Organization: Competition and Antitrust this fall. Quigley calls Mortimer “a remarkable teacher and a cutting-edge researcher.”

Finally, the History Department adds Sylvia Sellers-Garcia, an expert on Colonial Latin America, early modern Spain, spatial history and cartography, Guatemalan history, and the history of empire, to its faculty. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Before arriving at BC, she was an assistant professor of history at the University of Cincinatti. Her fall 2011 course is titled Study and Writing of History: Writing the Conquest of the Americas.

As is evident from her strong background in Latin American history, “Sylvia Sellers-Garcia strengthens [A&S’s] offerings in Latin American Studies both as a promising historian of the region and as a published novelist,” says Quigley.

The addition of such accomplished professors to the faculty of A&S should excite students further as they approach the period of course selection for the Spring semester of 2012. As Quigley effectively notes, these new professors “strengthen our ranks this academic year.”

Bracher started her academic career at Boston College back in 1987. She started out with a story of her freshman year that sounded familiar to many audience members. It was game day and she went to a party in the Mods. One thing led to another and before she knew it, she woke up in Xavier, even though she lived on Newton. This well-heard-of story exemplifies the “hook up culture” here at Boston College. Students hook up in hopes of finding a relationship, when in fact this might be the most ineffective way of finding a relationship. One person usually wants something more than the other person, and this leads to confusion and heartbreak.

Bracher continued this pattern of not taking charge of her relationships until one day a friend pointed out to her,“you do not need to be treated like this.” She then realized that if we as students do not love and respect ourselves, we cannot expect others to do the same. Particularly, the words of Maya Angelou, “we teach people how to treat us,” struck a chord with her. Bracher changed her ways and is a true testament to the fact that a sustainable relationship can be developed here at Boston College; in her sophomore year she started dating a boy, and today, twenty three years later, they are happily married with three children.

Sure, they had a few bumps in the road with their relationship: they broke up senior year and went through other tough times together, but Bracher says it was, and still is, the healthiest relationship she has ever been in. Instead of meeting at the Mods, their first date was a proper double date with her roommate and her roommate’s boyfriend. Their relationship developed slowly, and six years later, they got engaged.

In the question and answer session that followed Bracher’s speech, she gave relationship advice to students. She advised students not to be needy because it isn’t good as it causes the relationship to be lopsided, to find themselves before they find someone else to share their lives with, to be willing to let each other grow, and to be trustworthy. Bracher aimed to promote healthy relationships, and showed that these relationships are indeed possible here at Boston College, though they might take some time and work to develop.

There will be six Agape Lattes, sponsored by the Church in the 21st Century and Campus Ministry, over the course of the academic year. The next and final one before the end of the semester will take place on Tuesday, December 6th at Hillside Café.

Over a thousand BC students ventured into the city to celebrate the end of midterm season and the return of the football team to Alumni Stadium, enjoying the company of friends and acquaintances across all four classes.  The event went off without a hitch, and was enjoyed by all.

Students dressed to impress and danced the night away to the sound of a D.J. playing recent chart-topping hits, including songs by Rihanna, Avicii, and LMFAO.

Those who preferred to remain on the outskirts of the crowded Republic Ballroom dance floor relaxed at tables, enjoying chicken fingers, pizza, and chips.

The culmination of the night occurred at 11:11, when maroon and gold balloons fell from the ceiling to commemorate the 11th day of the 11th month of 2011.  Attendees cheered, hoisted students onto shoulders, and engaged in playful games of don’t-let-the-balloon-touch-the-ground.

The event was fortunately accompanied by minimal issues involving excessive drinking, an ongoing concern for Boston College administration.

All students were subjected to bag and coat searches prior to entering the ballroom, and not permitted to return after leaving the area.

Security officials were posted around the premises, ensuring the safety of all in attendance.  The measures taken by UGBC and BC administration were met with success, as confiscation of alcohol was minimal and students requiring transport from the event was substantially reduced.

For seniors, Homecoming marks the “first-of-the-lasts,” the beginning of many goodbyes that will be taking place over the coming months.

“I spent the night running into both old and new friends,” according to Hannah Leary, A&S ’12.  “It was great for all of us to be together – and, for me, a reminder to not let any part of the year go to waste.”

From triptych sketches to watercolor to sculptures, there is a variety of art forms available for viewing pleasure. Students of all different majors and inspirations created beautiful works that reflect their artistic talents.

One sculpture on display was created by Joon Park. The title of the piece is an ancient Chinese proverb which means keeping someone at arms length with false respect. This proverb is derived from one of the ancient analects of Confucius, who taught his student Fan Chi how to serve deities in a virtuous way.

Confuscius’s values are deeply embedded in Chinese values, and some of them conflict with those of Western values. While Confucianism teaches respectful distance, Christianity encourages its followers to have intimate and close relationships with God.

In his work, Park personally intended to emphasize distances in between objects rather than the physical contiguity of things. He explained that he used many materials, including hydraulic-setting cement/ceramics and Roman hand-engraving/Chinese calligraphic elements, to juxtapose the distinct technologies of two leading civilizations: the Roman Empire and the Ming Dynasty.

A very different, yet equally inspired and complex piece was a mixed media triptych created by Senior Catherine Howard and inspired by “Binding Friendship: Ricci, China, and Jesuit Cultural Learning,” a Burns Library Exhibit. Howard’s piece is entitled, “A Labyrinth of Cultural Understanding: Chinese Culture Joins Jesuitana Tradition.”

Her piece is done on decorated paper and “incorporates collage and acrylic paint to materialize a cross-cultural exchange through understanding and unification within the rich history of the Jesuit mission in China.” The natural negative space amidst the bamboo paper on the left panel melds with the black Chinese script that signifies the word “friendship.”

With the Chinese focus on advances in paper and transmission of knowledge in a traditional way, the first panel represents the lands conquered by the scientific inquiries and religious motivations of the Jesuits.

Howard went on to describe her second triptych, explaining, “the wonder of the labyrinth that emerges from the shimmery paint in the second panel represents the process of walking together to find understanding. Matteo Ricci’s quest to meld cultures proved a winding journey and difficult process of creating dialogue between faith and culture.”

Casha Cappuccio’s piece of work “Untitled” was a colorful and intriguing cartographical sketch also inspired by the “Binding Friendship: Ricci, China, and Jesuit Cultural Learning” exhibit. Cappuccio combined ideas from both Eastern and Western cultures in a cartographical sketch that showed that the Chinese symbol for journey is drawn on her left shoulder and the symbol for change is on her right shoulder.

A map painted on her chest presented a cartographical representation of her life journey; it depicts the world, and for her, the journeys that “have changed [her] life and will remain close to [her] heart.”

Many fabulous and diverse pieces of art await recognition in the Bapst Student Library. This Fall Student Art Show will be running through December 1.

Students and faculty alike gathered in Higgins to hear Professor Bateson.

Mary Catherine Bateson is a writer and cultural anthropologist who has written and co-authored many books and articles and who lectures across the country as well as abroad. She has taught at Harvard, Northeastern University, Amherst College, Spelman College and abroad in the Philippines and in Iran. Since the Fall of 2006, she has been a Visiting Scholar at the Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility at Boston College and is a special consultant to the Lifelong Access Libraries Initiative of the Libraries for the Future, with an emphasis on conceptualization, testing and implementation of her Active Wisdom model for community dialogues as a signature program of the Initiative.

During the past few years, Mary Catherine Bateson has completed a book entitled Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom on the contributions and improvisations of engaged older adults, written to raise consciousness of the changing life cycle and to encourage older adults to claim a voice for the future.

James Wise, the Boston College Capstone Program Director, provided a beautifully articulate introduction. In discussing his personal inspiration drawing from her book Composing a Life, Wise joked, “psychotherapists all over Cambridge must have lost a fortune with that book,” for Bateson offers a way to look freshly at our lives.

Bateson began her lecture by saying, “We are all aware of conflicts that arise out of the perception that some other group is different and alien, yet some of the most basic and profound relationships of human life are built across difference.”

Bateson argues that relationships require both similarity and difference and that we need to recognize the strange in the familiar and the familiar in the strange. The lecture series will draw on Professor Bateson’s own research and experience as a cultural anthropologist as well as on the literature.

Bateson set the context for this fifth of six lectures by explaining the topics discussed in past lectures of the series. Then, Bateson began discussing race and the fact of shocking cultural differences. She laid out her plan to tell two personal stories related to the themes in which her reaction revealed her own innate kind of racism that causes her to be put off by the way people look. Bateson stressed, “being put off by what is unfamiliar is a universal human characteristic.”

Bateson told the story of her immersion in the Philippines for a year and her experience of entering a room of Americans a year later and suddenly thinking that they weren’t her people and that they looked weirdly “flabby and pink.”

Bateson discussed what to do when one encounters a profoundly different human being. She argues that it is hard to grow up in the US without absorbing a little racism, but she asserts that we must be aware and self-conscious about this and make an effort to connect across difference.

In Bateson’s strategy, the first step is to learn the language. Bateson argued that as a traveler in a foreign place, one must be willing to humble oneself as a show of respect to another culture.

Next, Bateson underlined that there has been a lot of talk about cultural relativism versus cultural relativity. She explained that cultural relativism’s meaning has changed. Originally, it meant the context and interconnectedness of cultures, but it has since shifted to likely be an ideology in which any behavior should be accepted as part of a culture. Bateson argued it shouldn’t be an ideology of “everything goes” but rather an approach to things as suspending judgment until one understands how it fits into the context of the culture.

Bateson described her title as anthropologist as one who sees the intricacy of cultures and seeks to understand the context in which everything fits. Her mantra is, “you are not what you know, but what you are willing to learn.” Observers must be willing to know they are ignorant and to make mistakes for the sake of learning, and they must have respect for culturally different people.

Bateson ultimately stressed that the only way to express respect is to invest in the learning process with an open mind. She concluded by advising the audience members to “take the trouble to understand the relationship between custom and culture” in their interactions with the unfamiliar, because there is a lot to learn.

Open Access Week at Boston College is part of a global event entering its fifth year. It is an opportunity for the academic and research community to continue to learn about the potential benefits of Open Access (OA), to share what they have learned with colleagues, and to make OA a new norm in scholarship and research.

“We are in the recognition stage” said Wall of OA as something that aims to transform the way in which research is conducted, maximize research investments, increase exposure of published research, erase economic barriers to knowledge, and enhance the advancement of scholarship.

A short video gave faculty perspectives of OA accompanied by Collection Services Librarian Brendan Rapple’s engaging introduction that explained that OA “in a nutshell is full text availability online” as opposed to the current state in which publishers restrain access to authors of scholarly articles.

OA literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. What make it possible are the internet and the consent of the author or copyright-holder. The introductory pamphlet states, “The question is not whether scholarly literature can be made costless, but whether there are better ways to pay the bills than charging readers and creating access barriers.”

OA has been embraced by reputable universities such as Harvard, Duke, Princeton, and now Boston College. The keynote speaker in a lecture entitled “Born Digital: Scholarship, Libraries, and Open Access in a Digital Era” was Professor John Palfrey, Henry N. Ess Professor of Law and Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources at Harvard Law School. As an expert on intellectual property, international law, and Internet law, Palfrey is a published author of three books and an advocate of OA.

The symposium aimed to raise awareness beyond the library of scholarly discussion to a global access to “preprints of scholarly papers that are free and open to everybody.” Professor Palfrey went on to explain the moral and ethical imperative to reach beyond our universities to give global access to knowledge in the new online era.

Professor Palfrey argues that OA is about individual communities as well as higher ideals shared by these great institutions participating in OA and their obligation to share that knowledge. With the current year-to-year 44 percent price increase in scholarly journals, much of the information remains inaccessible to most of the population. In an attempt to fix this, OA digitizes publications to create a shared corpus of materials to vindicate the “free to all” idea that graces the archway into the Boston Public Library.

Following the keynote speech, faculty members from a plethora of subjects inquired about OA with enthusiasm as it takes hold at Boston College.

Concluding the symposium was a panel of BC faculty including Alec Peck, Interim Associate Dean of the Lynch School of Education, Christopher Baum, Associate Professor and specialist in Economics in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, John Gallaugher, Associate Professor and specialist in Information Systems in CSOM, and finally the Moderator Jane Morris who is the Scholarly Communication Librarian at Boston College and who organized the successful event.

The event was sponsored by Thomas B. Wall, University Librarian, and David Quigley, Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The event was a wonderful opportunity to recognize the achievements and immense passion of faculty scholars at Boston College in light of the promising Open Access which will undoubtedly celebrate the scholarly articles of BC’s talented faculty and share them with the world.

The movement specifically targets awareness for men’s health issues, including prostrate cancer and other cancers that affect men.  Movember has spread worldwide, and now includes over 1.1 million participants.  These participants, termed Mo Bros, are walking advertisements for men’s cancer awareness, and serve as reminders that men suffer from specific cancers that are less advertised than more common types of cancers. Movember was launched with inauspicious beginnings in Melbourne, Australia and has grown into a truly global movement.  Formal campaigns have been launched in ten countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, and Ireland.

A former Observer Editor-in-Chief is also taking part in the cause, in order to honor his grandfather, recently stricken with prostrate cancer.  Michael Reer and his father are not shaving this month to show support for his grandfather through his trying time.  The father-son team is also attracted to the movement because it allows them to pay tribute to Michael’s grandfather’s mustache.

Reer stated, “For me, the object of Movember is to show support for my grandfather by emulating him while raising money for a good cause.  My goal for this month is to raise $1,000 for cancer research and to get a good laugh out of my grandpa when I show up for Thanksgiving.” Therefore, Movember has become a deeply personal activity for Michael and his father, and they hope to raise $1,000 throughout the month for the cause.

You can join or support Team Reer at the Movember website here: http://us.movember.com/mospace/1766964/ or make a team of your own here: http://us.movember.com/register/.  It’s a great cause for men to become involved in and The Observer encourages all of campus to become involved! Movember helps men become more aware of the health issues they face, spreads knowledge about the types of problems that could arise, and hopefully will lead to higher earlier detection rates and higher rates of cancer survival across the globe.

Four students sharing the role of “Eve” (played by Molly Holden, Dana Bogan, Tessa Donovan, Sarah DeVizio) narrated the performance, guiding viewers through a world of Botox, plastic surgery, gym memberships, eating habits and tattoo artistry, revealing the multiple facets of what women believe it takes to have “a good body.” Before each of the monologues, an “Eve” would appear and set the scene for the next one. Moving through Los Angeles, New York, Rio, Africa, Italy, and India, the audience meets a different woman, each with her own unique perspective on what her body means to her.

The show began with a short series of monologues, revealing the dissatisfaction Eve feels for her body.  Some of these women join Eve in their discomfort with their bodies. The audience encounters an Italian woman (played by Meghan Crosby) who wants a breast reduction, and a model (Catty Gambardella) who has become a living Barbie doll due to excessive plastic surgery.

Not all women depicted are unhappy with their bodies. An African tribal woman (Nzinga Williams) is thankful for every part of herself because it helps her do the things she needs to do on a daily basis. She thinks of her body in terms of nature. An Afghani woman even risks her life to get Eve some ice cream in an effort to help Eve to question her relationship with her body.

This thought-provoking performance drew attention to the external and internal conflicts women face that shape the way they view their bodies. Sophomore Molly Holden described her involvement with the production as a positive experience. “Being part of the Good Body cast helped me see how media skews our perception of beauty and also made me more comfortable with my own body,” Molly explained.

“Girls should realize the images we see in the media are not attainable for the most part, and we should engage in dialogues as a means to change this.”

According to Director of the Women’s Resource Center Katie Dalton, “The programs [offered] aim to give students the tools to recognize what characterizes healthy and unhealthy relationships with one’s body, to identify strategies and develop a motivation to build a healthier relationship with one’s body, and to evaluate the false and problematic ways that our society and media present the body and manipulate our understanding of beauty.”

In order to plan the week, “The student director, Jaclyn Kundrat ’12, and the vice director, Nicole Laniado ’13, composed a planning committee of representatives from offices and student groups across the university.” Dalton assured that each member of the committee “brought a unique perspective” in order to ensure that the needs of each group of students at BC were met.

The offices represented and that cosponsored events were Art Club, Boston College Libraries, Office of Health Promotion, Dining Services, Women’s and Gender Studies Program, F.I.S.T.S., ALC’s Women of Color Caucus, Office of AHANA Student Programs, Sexual Assault Network (SANet), Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, UGBC Women’s Issues, University Counseling Services, and Mosaic.

Among the various events that were part of the week were Eat This, Not That: BC Dining Edition, Loving Your Body After Trauma, Disordered Eating: How to Help a Friend, and a performance of Eve Ensler’s The Good Body.

When asked about the goals of the Women’s Resource Center in hosting Love Your Body Week at Boston College, Dalton listed three main aims: “To give students the tools to recognize what characterizes healthy and unhealthy relationships with one’s body, to identify strategies and develop a motivation to build a healthier relationship with one’s body, [and] to evaluate the false and problematic ways that our society and media present the body and manipulate our understanding of beauty.”

With its vast array of events hosted by different student groups, the committee seeks to educate as many students as possible about the ways in which they can love their bodies. Specifically, Dalton explained that they “anticipate educating over 600 students through all of the programs.”

Though the Love Your Body events only span one week, the Women’s Resource Center is determined to promote positive body treatment and image throughout the school year. Dalton detailed, “The WRC is seeking to offer more intentional Love Your Body Week continuing education programs. We will be working with the Office of Health Promotion to plan a spring semester event.”

Featuring events that attracted students from all groups around campus, the Love Your Body Week events proved a success for the goals of the Women’s Resource Center and the groups with which they worked to organize the week.

Prior to becoming Dean, Rogeau served as a professor of contracts, real estate law and Catholic social thought at Notre Dame for 12 years. He graduated from Brown University magna cum laude with a major in International Relations, and went on to receive his law degree from Harvard Law School.  He worked as a professor at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law, and then eventually joined the faculty at Notre Dame Law School.

His most recent book, Christians in the American Empire: Faith and Citizenship in the New World Order, explores the theological underpinnings of Catholic social thought as it applies to law.  He explains that many of the ideas underlying American law and public policy in areas like poverty relief, immigration and redress for racial discrimination come directly from Catholic social teaching.

He, however, is generally antagonistic towards conservatism, and takes positions that find Catholic social teaching and conservatism diametrically opposed.  He wrote in America Magazine that in the 2008 election, “hostility was typically directed in that election toward any Catholic who failed to share the view that abortion was the only issue that mattered in selecting a candidate, the message to Catholics of color was particularly stark: Not only were we not ‘real’ Americans in the coded language of Sarah Palin and the Republican Party base; we were not ‘real’ Catholics either” (Real Americans, Real Catholics: Race Religion and the 2008 Election). He finds that African-Americans are “invisible to the Republican Party” and that is something they have learned to live with.

In the same article, Rogaeu writes, “What does an all-or-nothing strategy toward criminalization of abortion say to women in these communities, women who are also routinely vilified for having too many babies? Rather than being offered hope through support for the creation of a society in which poor mothers could envision futures of solidarity and participation for their children, they are told that more of them need to be prosecuted as criminals.” His leftist views are further explained when he boldly says, “Eight years of Republican leadership have failed this nation. President Obama gives many of us hope that the United States can once again be something more than a trading floor for monied elites so shameless in their greed that, having fought tooth and nail for decades to prevent meaningful regulation of their financial activities, they now seek to cover their outrageous losses with public funds.”

Manent is a leading figure in the French rediscovery of political philosophy in the 1970’s and 80’s after the long hegemony of Marxist and postmodernist (“post-structuralist”) currents of thought. In 1978, with Raymond Aron and others, he helped found the French Quarterly Commentaire. Manent is currently completing a new book on Montaigne and a collection of essays on the “theological-political problem.”

Sponsored by The Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy as part of the John Marshall Lectures in Political Philosophy, the lecture brought out a large crowd composed of undergrad and grad students alike as well as many faculty.

Manent’s earlier books (Naissances de la politique moderne, Tocqueville and the Nature of Democracy, An Intellectual History of Liberalism, The Anthology Les Libéraux, and The City and Man) seek to understand the political and theological origins of modern liberalism, including its spiritual costs and benefits.

His more recent work centers on the health and development of modern liberal democracies. Works such as A World beyond Politics? (2001) and La raison des nations (2006) analyze the “depoliticization” of contemporary Europe and make Manent a significant critic of the European project in its present form.

In Les métamorphoses de la cité: Essai sur la dynamique de l’Occident (2010), Manent explores the West’s great “political forms”: the City, Empire, Church, and Nation, and its substitute for religion, the “religion of humanity.”

In this lecture, Manent took the podium with a light-hearted and humble demeanor despite his international status. Returning to BC in light of a recent work, Manent explains his aim to make sense of the West in terms of political history and political philosophy.

Manent discussed democracy in the United States, specifically in light of our economic crisis. He argues unemployment will wreak havoc where the benefits of democratic life have been taken for granted. When also considering the decline of the European Union, Manent argues that now we have come to doubt American ascendency and European Unity at the same time. Therefore, Manent continues, progress has been deeply undermined, and it ironically comes on the heels of democractic victory.

With the establishment of the United States in a truly democratic revolution, Manent argues it resulted in lack of strong political figures and consequently our own idea of democracy has shrunk to such a degree that we see it as a regime.

Manent explains that what we must learn is that what is best in democracy is not the most pleasing, and indeed not the most democratic. Therefore, we must try to compose a better understanding of what we are.

Manent argues that because the US was founded as a democracy and still can draw upon that foundation, American prospects for success are much better than those of the European Union in both of their current predicaments.

Manent also argued that in considering history, the progressive, or weak perspective, on history is not helpful today because it sweeps events into irrelevance. For Manent, progress is not simply improvement, it is the element of energy through which people pursue things. After comparing progress in different modern regimes and political structures, Manent established that our understanding requires abandonment of the notion of decline and fall.

“We need to unlearn progress as well as decline,” says Manent. He goes on to argue that progress and decline shouldn’t be considered traits of human beings. Rather progress is something necessary in the notion of human progress, for we are always trying to improve things.

Manent maintains that, while we can recognize a symmetry between progress and decline, it is not natural for human beings to make things worse. He concludes, “the notion of progress is only meaningful and necessary within the context of human action.”

In our current situation, we must reconsider the state of the West and the European Union. Manent says, “Our loss demands our attention.” Therefore, we must come to see decline as economic progress because it motivates human action. Manent further explains, “We need to understand Human action as encompassing progress.”

He argues that we must avoid the disposition of the observer at all costs and rather embrace human action.

In considering the type of action which comes into play, Manent expressed his belief that true action is the actualization of human expression.

Michalczyk has been a professor at Boston College since 1974. He began his college education “at the University of Scranton but finished at Boston College in 1966 in Philosophy and French.” Shortly afterwards, he received his MA degree in French Literature in 1967, and finally pursued and received a PH.D. in Romance Language and Literatures with a film focus from Harvard University in 1972.

Before arriving at Boston College to teach, though, Michalczyk “taught French and film at Loyola High School, a Jesuit prep school in Towson, Md.” Additionally, he taught French for one year at Harvard before joining the BC faculty.

According to Michalczyk, he was the Chair of the Boston College Fine Arts Department for nearly fifteen years and now remains Co Director of the Film Studies program.

Michalczyk teaches courses at BC primarily dedicated to the examination of socio-political issues in film. For instance, he has taught Propaganda Film, European Film, Latin American Cinema, Holocaust and the Arts, Conflict Resolution Film, and Genocide and Film.

Directing his attention toward the films he has premiered, Michalczyk explained that he has introduced most of his works to the crowds at the Museum of Fine Arts. Moreover, “many [of his films] were shown on PBS, and some were shown internationally.” Additionally, “a good number are used in classes and conferences.”

Among the films that Michalczyk has created are Confronting Amnesia: Frozen Memories of the Russian Gulag from the Conflict Resolution Series, Michael’s Eagle Eyes from the “I’m in Here” Series, and The Cross and the Star: Jews, Christians and the Holocaust from the Breaking Barriers Trilogy.

The Fine Arts professor has also written multiple books that include Italian Political Filmmakers (1986), Costa-Gavras: The Political Fiction Film (1984), and The French Literary Filmmakers (1980).

Currently, Michalczyk is in the process of developing a feature script entitled “Anya” for potential future production. The script tells the story of “a young girl coming of age in a coal-mining town in Pennsylvania where she encounters disturbing anti-Semitism, especially in her father,” according to the professor’s Curriculum Vitae.

A true champion in his cultural and film endeavors, Michalczyk received the prestigious culture award, known as Les Palmes Academiques, from the French government “for his contributions to, and study of, French culture and language for more than 25 years.”

Moreover, a member of BC’s Art Council, Michalczyk was awarded the “Boston College Alumni Achievement Award for Arts and Humanities” in 2003.

Enthusiastic in the study of culture and film, Professor Michalczyk has proven a vital part of the Boston College Fine Arts faculty.

According to The Boston Globe, “The Atlantic Coast Conference’s expansion to 14 teams with the inclusion of Pittsburgh and Syracuse from the Big East is being portrayed as a simple move to expand its footprint in the Northeast.” Additionally, the expansion is reportedly “driven by the football-dominated television contracts.”

Though football television contracts seem to be pressuring the ACC to grow, basketball is serving as motivation as well. “According to sources in the Big East and ACC, the idea is to reestablish the ACC as the preeminent conference in college basketball and was a predatory strike at the Big East, which, while struggling to improve its BCS rankings in football, had established itself as the runaway leader in basketball,” reported The Boston Globe.

However, Boston College Director of Athletics Gene DeFilippo assured The Globe, “‘It had nothing to do with basketball…It was football money which drove expansion. It was football money and securing our future.’’’

Not only did DeFilippo explain the reason for the ACC expansion, but he also expressed negative sentiments towards the potential addition of UConn to the ACC. He told The Boston Globe, “‘We didn’t want them in…It was a matter of turf. We wanted to be the New England team.’”

The Globe exposed the alleged reason for Boston College’s icy rejection of UConn, detailing, “[BC] was still fuming over what it perceived to be vitriolic comments made when BC was finally invited to join the ACC and started competing in 2005. UConn and Pittsburgh filed a lawsuit against BC, and Calhoun made comments about never playing BC again.” Thus the negative feelings between BC and UConn have been mounting for the past eight years.

In response to the article in The Boston Globe, The Hartford Courant ran a story about the evident feud, citing comments from UConn president Susan Herbst. According to The Courant, Herbst assured, “‘I don’t believe in institutions fighting each other…We are colleges and universities, after all. I have absolutely nothing against any educational institution, Boston College included. And we never would.’”

After the article about ACC expansion surfaced in The Globe, DeFilippo released a statement to the presidents and athletics directors of the ACC that promised them that Boston College will from now on remain silent on the issue of the conference’s expansion.

DeFilippo stated, “I would like to apologize for any negative effects caused by my recent interview with a Boston Globe reporter.” He continued, “while I harbor some ill feelings toward the University of Connecticut regarding the lawsuit, depositions and derogatory comments from UConn officials when we announced our decision to join the ACC, it was inappropriate to express personal feelings that might have been construed as the position of Boston College or the Atlantic Coast Conference.”

Though DeFilippo’s apology makes clear that BC will now refuse to comment on the issue of the school’s feud with UConn, the articles run by both The Boston Globe and The Hartford Courant only serve to increase the attention paid to the expansion of the ACC as well as the tension between Boston College and the University of Connecticut.

The performance was entitled “Making History and Music-The Jesuit Musical Tradition,” and featured polyphonies written by the famous Tomas Luis de Victoria. Although often times this type of  “church” music may seem monotone and boring for the modern listener, the Ensemble Plus Ultra’s beautiful harmonies and polyphonic sounds rendered the music both soothing and complex.

As the group has only nine total members, the audience was awe-stricken as the group projected the sound of a full chorus. The audience was wowed by complex melodies that created many distinct sounds and harmonies. For each new song, the singers readjusted their positions, shifting high parts and low parts, creating multifaceted sounds that were both collective and individual as well.

There was cutting contrast in the beauty of each performer’s voice: the men could hit the highest of notes, while the women could just as well hit the lowest of bass notes. The diversity of their ranges allowed the group to create sounds that are hardly ever heard, especially in modern music.

The audience was equally impressed when listening to the group sing only in Latin, the language that de Victoria wrote in. The time and energy put into this performance was evident, as there didn’t seem to be any hesitations, or false notes; it was perfect. In a world where so many artists auto-tune or digitally enhance their voices, it was impressive to hear such perfect singing without any amplification or enhancement.

Not only was it amazing that every singer in the ensemble simply had a beautiful voice, it was incredible that the performers were able to work together so beautifully in blending their voices to create such a unified sound. There were no solos for this performance, but rather the members of the group focused on a total sound.

This type of ensemble’s goal is to create a culture through music by taking notes and twisting them in such a way that paints a picture in our mind. While listening to the performance, one couldn’t help but shut his eyes and let his imagination run wild as the notes encouraged colors and images to flow throughout his mind.

It was a concert that one wishes would never end, as it forced listeners to appreciate just how impressive an instrument the human voice can be. Every song received large ovations culminating with the patented standing ovation as the Ensemble closed its performance.

The group itself will perform three more times in the Boston area, ending with a large performance at the First Church in Cambridge. At this performance, the Ensemble will perform both de Victoria’s classics, as well as some 16th century English and Spanish music.

Morgan Chalfant/The Observer

Next semester, Professor Young plans to teach a graduate seminar in Social Psychology.

Recently, Boston College Assistant Professor of Psychology Liane Young was awarded a 2011 Early Career Award for Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Social Neuroscience.

Young attended Harvard University for her undergraduate education and majored in Philosophy “in order to pursue [her] interest in bioethics.” Writing her thesis “on the role of intention in moral judgment, [Young] became intrigued by how people…make moral judgments in the first place.”

Upon graduating, Professor Young continued her graduate education at Harvard in Cognitive Psychology from the fall of 2004 until the spring of 2008. Afterwards, she “was a post-doctoral fellow at MIT in the Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences…[and] was also a visiting scholar in the Department of Philosophy at MIT.”

According to Young, in July of 2011, she “joined the Department of Psychology at Boston College as an Assistant Professor to continue [her] research on the cognitive and neural basis of human moral judgment.” She conducts her research “using methods of social psychology and cognitive neuroscience, including functional neuroimaging (fMRI), studying patient populations with selective cognitive deficits, and modulating activity in specific brain areas using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).”

Next semester, Professor Young plans to teach a graduate seminar in Social Psychology. Moreover, she assures that “Thereafter, [she will] teach a course on the psychology of morality, which [she is] excited to create from scratch.”

According to the text written for a grant given to Young, “Her work in cognitive science and neuroscience as well as moral philosophy has been disseminated in top journals, at national and international academic conferences, interdisciplinary events, and via news media.”

Particularly, “Dr. Young’s work has been cited, in total, approximately 987 times from 2006 to date. She has received general media coverage for her research in the New York Times, National Public Radio, The Economist, CNN, NOVA, Scientific American Mind, Nature, Science, FOX News, ABC News.”

Addressing the specific research she is currently doing in the lab, Professor Young explains that she is focusing on “the psychological and neurological components of moral judgment and decision-making in neurotypical populations and populations with high-functioning autism as well as clinical psychopathy.” Moreover, she and her colleagues are “also investigating the psychological basis of moral self-concept and self-deception, and the attribution of responsibility and mental states to groups versus individuals, allies versus enemies, and self versus other.”

In addition to her research and teaching work at Boston College, Professor Young will be giving some upcoming academic talks. For instance, she will be speaking at the Society for Social Neuroscience in Washington, DC in November of 2011, at a TEDx in the Netherlands in November of 2011, and at the NYU Center for Bioethics in March of 2012.

Professor Young has “also written a few pieces for popular audiences” as well as book chapters, which can be viewed on her website https://www2.bc.edu/liane-young/. BC students interested in psychology and the particular research of which Professor Young is part are encouraged to investigate her publications.