CAMPUS

February 10th, 2009

Debate over Crucifixes at Boston College

The Observer at Boston College recently broke a story about professors quietly protesting the introduction of crucifixes into the classrooms at Boston College over the Christmas break. Some professors have refused to teach in classrooms with either crucifixes or icons. Some professors have said that they feel betrayed by Boston College in that they were recruited to teach at a university where they were explicitly told by administrators that Catholicism would be downplayed. The breaking story has scored an outpouring of support for University President Father Leahy as parents and alumni have repeatedly made the case that a Catholic school should follow a Catholic Tradition.

Posted in Blog
By Michael Reer

February 3rd, 2009

BC Students REACT

Very rarely do I find a student group that initiates a solution to a problem that society is blind to. Most student groups seem to be subsets of larger organizations (such as College Republicans or College Democrats). A group of women from Boston College, however, recently started the group REACT with the intention of ending human trafficking in the Boston area. The struggle to end human trafficking in Boston remains under the radar to many inhabitants of “Bean town” and a mere three police officers have been assigned to ending this modern form of slavery. Most of these officers remain tied up with trying to rehabilitate and normalize the lives of women who were previously victims of human trafficking.

Posted in Blog
By Michael Reer

January 21st, 2009

Two Schools of Thought

I had a very interesting discussion with a former member of the Heritage Foundation this past Sunday about the unique nature of American universities. Now a student at St. John’s Seminary in Boston, Dan Moloney patiently explained to me over lunch that most students never realize that American universities are a curious hybrid of English and German cousins of high education. The English model emphasizes the importance of personal religious development and relationships with the divine, as seen through their historical function in preparing young men for the ministry. The German model, meanwhile, derives from a sense of the university we are more familiar with, namely that of the research university.

Posted in Blog
By Michael Reer

January 18th, 2009

From Animal House to the Academy

The moment I opened the front cover of From Animal House to the Academy, I knew I was about to fall in love. Jeffrey Langan’s new book opens with a quote from Pascal’s Pensees, one of my all-time favorite philosophical works and the best argument I have ever seen for an existence that extends beyond what we can see, touch, or hear. Professor Langan’s book is brilliant in that it argues that colleges should not just be concerned with educating students for successful life in the workforce while giving them the cliched “college experience” that so many use to “find themselves.” Instead, Jeff argues that colleges need to also concern themselves with the souls of their students, enabling them to see a more complete truth than they ever could have imagined.

Posted in Blog
By Michael Reer

January 9th, 2009

BC Football, Bringing Back Classy

With the New York Jets looking for a new football coach, BC Coach Jeff Jagodzinski was one of the first in line to interview for the position. Learning from a reporter that the “ball coach” at BC was interning for the New York Jets without giving him prior notice, Athletic Director Gene DeFillipo told “Jags” that if he interviewed for the job, he would be fired. Jags interviewed with the Jets and DeFillipo held true to his promise, firing Jags earlier this week.

Posted in Blog
By Michael Reer

January 1st, 2009

Why I Refuse to “Imagine”

Watching the revelers in Time Square last night, I was inspired with the usual feelings of optimism and hope for the new year. What confused me about last night, and every other New Year’s celebration in NYC, was the playing of the song Imagine during the closing seconds of 2008. Simply put, I think that the world John Lennon describes is not the liberal utopia that so many on the left blindly take it to be, but rather a theoretical hell that is as ridiculous as it is horrifying.

Posted in Blog
By Michael Reer

December 26th, 2008

Economy Effects Universities

For many college students not looking to immediately enter the workforce in the next year or two, the current state of the economy has little or no real significance. To graduating seniors, the significance could not be more real as jobs become increasingly scarce and starting salaries become increasingly less competitive. The question of many students and parents entering the realm of higher education, however, is how the matrix of colleges and universities will be effected by the economic downturn. Will the monetary tightening seen across the country prohibit students financially from entering expensive universities such as Boston College?

Posted in Blog
By Michael Reer

December 24th, 2008

Update on V-Monologues at B.C.

The production of the Vagina Monologues at Boston College, as our Ed-in-Chief Michael Reer reported on earlier, has ruffled some feathers.

The Cardinal Newman Society and Campus Report Online have both issued broadsides against the play. The story was also picked up at Phi Beta Cons, the higher ed blog of National Review Online.

Posted in Blog
By CJ Ciaramella

December 22nd, 2008

Are Exams Effective?

As I slowly recoup from my devastating exam marathon (six exams in six days with 13 hours of sleep spread over five days), my bitterness towards the entire higher education system is slowly waning. One of the most ridiculous gripes I heard during the exam period was that exams are not effective simply because it is impossible to properly prepare, study, and understand the material from an entire semester in a very small window of time. I would argue, however, that this is exactly why exams are so effective.

Posted in Blog
By Michael Reer

December 21st, 2008

Re: Education First, Saving the World Later

By Donato Infante