The Boston College
Chronicle Published by the Boston College Office of University Communications february 2, 2017 VOL. 24 no. 10
INSIDE Award winner to 2 •Tony speak on campus •TIAA CEO relishes his visit to BC •A busy semester break for the Career Center releases 3 •University letter on Trump order •Alumna is keynote speaker at MLK dinner
Ibero-American Conference of Theology Feb. 6-10
University to Host Groundbreaking Theological Forum By Kathleen Sullivan Staff Writer
Boston College will host a historic meeting next week of more than 40 theologians from Latin America, Spain and the US to discuss ways to unite both the practice and theology of the Church to complement Pope Francis’ vision of a poor church for the poor. According to organizers, the Ibe-
ro-American Conference of Theology is the first-of-its-kind gathering of Hispanic theologians in the US and scholars from Latin America and Spain, who will address three key topics: globalization, social and economic exclusion, and the challenge of interculturality or the integration of different cultures living in the same place. The conference – which takes place Feb. 6-10 at the BC Connors
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“What I came away with was a sense of debate as a great equalizer.We were in this place unlike any we’d ever been, and with people whose lives were very different than ours. But once you’re in a debate, all that matters is the rhetorical back-and-forth.”
cellular 4 •Researching pathways to disease
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–Sean MacDonald (left) with fellow Fulton Debating Society members (L-R) Harrison Kenner, Jenna Bilak, Naveen Senthilkumar and Kelvin Lin during their visit to MCI-Norfolk.
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Sisters 6 •Latin-American Exchange Program at BC
Center in Dover, Mass. – is being attended by two papal delegates, Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and Bishop Raúl Biord Castillo, SDB, who together will present the group’s work to Pope Francis. “The theologians will be reflecting on the contribution of Latin American theology to Pope Francis’ reforms,” said School of Theology
TOUGH QUESTIONS
and Ministry Visiting Associate Professor Rafael Luciani, one of the conference organizers. According to Luciani, Pope Francis believes in a ministry and theology that follows Argentine liberation theology, or so-called theology of the people, which places great emphasis on the lives of the poor. “He sees that the Church – both the pastoral and the academic – must be in the Continued on page 5
BC Senior Wins Churchill Scholarship By Jack Dunn Associate Vice President of University Communications
Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences senior Jesse L. Mu has won a coveted Winston Churchill Scholarship for graduate study in the United Kingdom at the University of Cambridge, the Churchill Foun-
For these Fulton Debating Society students, going up against a team of prison inmates was, in some ways, like any other debate. Except that it wasn’t. •Fr. Costantino settles in as St. Ignatius pastor Additions; 7 •Welcome BC in the Media; Quote/ Unquote; Jobs
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By Sean Smith Chronicle Editor
The five Boston College Fulton Debating Society members had emptied their pockets, put their valuables into secured lockers, passed through metal detectors, and entered what to senior Naveen Senthilkumar seemed like “an air lock” – a small chamber with another door in front of them. “And then the big metal door behind us clanked shut, and we couldn’t hear anything,” recalled Senthilkumar. Up until then, the impending visit to the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk had seemed like “just another debate” to Senthilkumar and his Fulton teammates. But by the time the BC undergraduates, along with Director of Debate John Katsu-
las, entered this passageway, the fact that they were in a mediumsecurity prison suddenly “seemed very real,” he said. Yet within a matter of minutes, the BC visitors were in the prison auditorium and things seemed familiar again: At the front of the room was a podium and tables, one for the Fulton team and the other for their opponents that day – a team of MCI-Norfolk prisoners that had invited the students to come debate them, and now warmly greeted their guests. Just like any other debate. On this day, Dec. 3, the Fulton Debating Society would lose narrowly to the Norfolk Prison Debating Society on the question of whether the US should impose a carbon tax on greenhouse gas emissions. But the outcome of the event went well beyond points for
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analysis, reasoning, rebuttal and other elements of debate. For the Norfolk prisoners, it represented the revival of a hallowed tradition that began in 1933, but also a much-needed intellectual and social activity. The BC students, meanwhile, found themselves contemplating questions of crime, punishment and redemption, while gaining added appreciation for their extracurricular interest. “What I came away with was a sense of debate as a great equalizer,” said Sean MacDonald ’17. “We were in this place unlike any we’d ever been, and with people whose lives were very different than ours. But once you’re in a debate, all that matters is the rhetorical back-and-forth.” “Contestation doesn’t require Continued on page 4
Jesse Mu ’17
dation has announced. Mu, a member of the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program who majors in computer science and minors in mathematics, is the first Boston College student to win the prestigious award since Elizabeth O’Day in 2006. Churchill Scholarships are awarded to the nation’s top students in science, mathematics and engineering, and provide a year of graduate study at the University of Cambridge, based at Churchill College. A total Continued on page 6
“Our goal is to empower students to lead self-directed, meaningful professional lives. So the earlier we can work with them, within the overall context of the BC mission, the more beneficial it is to everyone.” –Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Career Services Joseph Du Pont, page 2