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High rollers compete for licenses to build new Massachusetts casinos, D1
After a strong start, the men’s hockey team defeated Providence 4-1, B1
The Scene takes a look at some of 2011’s lesser-known pop culture gems, A10
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Vol. XCII, No. 47
BCSSH and BCSDH exchange words outside McElroy By David Cote Heights Editor
This past Friday, Dec. 2, a relatively new student group calling themselves the Boston College Students for Dental Health (BCSDH) distributed individually wrapped flossing packets to students on the sidewalk between Upper Campus and McElroy. At the same time, BC Students for Sexual Health (BCSSH) were distributing condoms to students as they have done on several occasions during the last two years. Michael Villafranca, founder of BCSDH and A&S ’14, said that he and other mem-
ALC dept. promotes continuity
bers of BCSDH were “encouraging students to throw away the condoms and take floss instead.” According to Villafranca, the group is composed primarily of members of the Sons of St. Patrick, the St. Thomas More Society, and the Pro-life Club, but other members are unaffiliated with these groups. During the distribution, Marion Halftermeyer, a member of BCSSH and A&S ’13, approached Villafranca. At that time, Halftermeyer introduced herself and asked who Villafranca was and what he and the BCSDH were doing. The message of BCSDH, according to Villafranca, was to tell students, “Make a
better decision this weekend, take some floss instead and skip the condoms.” According to Jessika Parry, president of BCSSH and A&S ’14, the members of BCSDH were “screaming very inappropriate and disrespectful things” during their floss distribution. “We had just gone over to introduce ourselves and to say that we felt that the way they were expressing their point of view was inappropriate and they weren’t being very respectful to us,” Parry said. On his response to Halftermeyer, Villafranca said, “I basically told her I didn’t have time for a conversation right then because I was handing out floss, but I’d
like to have the conversation at a different time.” After the brief discussion, both groups continued to distribute their respective items. Nick Domino, BCSSH member and A&S ’12, commented that no real dialogue occurred on Friday. Rather, he said that the members of BCSDH acted inappropriately towards students of BCSSH. During the distribution, students responded in a variety of ways. Some took both condoms and floss, some took a condom from BCSSH, which they then
See BCSDH, A4
Honors Program director steps down
McMenamin gives reflective last lecture
By David Cote Heights Editor
A new department created by the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) will help the organization achieve continuity in its future endeavors, the council’s leadership says. The department, which will begin as a pilot program next semester, will focus on the policy changes ALC works on over a multi-year basis. “In the past, any policy work was handled by the president and vice president and, based on the administration, they would take on different initiatives, but that’s a really ineffective way of working on policy,” said Gururaj Shan, president of ALC and A&S ’12. Over the past eight weeks, Shan and Alicia Martinez, vice president of ALC and A&S ’12, have had weekly meetings with ALC’s directors and assistant directors to focus on exactly how ALC works on policy. “We’ve been trying to take a look at ALC’s current structure and see how we can improve it and change the organization so it’s capable of achieving its goals over the next five to 10 years,” Shan said. While discussing different policies that each administration focused on, Shan mentioned both the hate crime protocol and the social experiment, now known as Backgrounds. Each of these issues was focused on specifically by one administration, but lacked support from preceding and succeeding administrations. “These issues are not going to get resolved in one year,” Shan said. “You need a few years working with administrators to get anything accomplished in these areas.
See ALC, A5
sang lee / heights staff
David McMenamin, director of the Pulse Program, gave his last lecture Tuesday night.
By David O’Donaghue For The Heights
photo courtesy of the office of news & public affairs
Mark O’Connor (above) began working in the directorship of the A&S Honors Program in 1981. He will travel to Belgium next spring.
O’Connor leaves his post after 14 years as program head By Molly LaPoint Asst. News Editor
After being part of the directorship of the College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program for 30 years, Mark O’Connor has decided to step down as the program’s director. O’Connor began teaching as an honors professor in the 1970s, and assumed the position of assistant director in 1981, after doing post-doctoral work in Poland.
He has been the program’s full director for 14 years. “I thought, ‘It’s about time to think about someone else leading the program,’” he said. “It’s a question of generational generosity—it’s time for someone the age I was to have the chance I had.” Allowing the program to have a new director will give different professors the chance to shape the program, O’Connor said. “We have so many bright faculty
Occupy movement comes to bc
members,” he said. “It’s about giving those bright faculty members the chance to get involved in the mix.” David Quigley, dean of A&S, will be serving as interim director of the program. O’Connor said that this is positive, because he represents a different era of academic thought. “Dean Quigley is not only brilliant; he’s a couple of academic generations
See O’Connor, A5
Heights Editor
Editor’s Note: This is the final installment of a three-part series addressing the challenges and role of higher education in the post-recession economy.
daniel lee / heights staff
See Last Lecture, A4
BC’s many interdisciplinary studies promote dialogue By Daniel Tonkovich
Occupy protesters gathered outside O’Neill Library Wednesday afternoon, marking the first time the movement has come to campus.
On Tuesday, Dec. 6, the Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) continued their Last Lecture series with a talk given by David McMenamin, director of the Pulse Program. The Last Lecture Series is a biannual event put on by AID that was started by Randy Pausch a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. After being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, Pausch gave a final address to his students in Sept. 2007 reflecting upon the great questions and challenges of life. His speech has inspired the Last Lecture series at other universities around the country. McMenamin is a professor of philosophy and the director of the Pulse program at Boston College. He has been a member of the BC community for over 20 years and an influential voice in higher education. McMenamin’s popularity with his students was strongly demonstrated by the incredible amount of attendees who packed themselves into Gasson 305 on Tuesday night. Students crowded into the room to hear him speak, lining small spaces behind the seats, sitting in close quarters on the floor, and even listening from the hallway. Rough estimates on attendance were between 110 and 130 people. McMenamin found the attendance “a tremendous compliment to myself that so many of you would come out here because you believe I have something worthwhile to say. “I only have a few things to say and myself to offer. I just hope I can be at least entertaining, although I should probably
The knock on academics by some has often been that it is difficult to understand the applicability of their research to the daily lives of individuals. A constant challenge for the universities and institutions that employ them has been how one makes research and the knowledge it offers come alive and be applicable to the lives of ordinary people. Most universities establish research centers and programs to assist in understanding the applicability of the institution’s generated research. While Boston College is no different in offering programs, and hosts 29 research centers to do just that, its competitive advantage comes in its interdisciplinary approach, placing material within a more compre-
hensive context of intersecting fields and the ever-changing global landscape. “Boston College is home to some world-class centers and institutes that address critical issues for contemporary society,” said David Quigley, dean of A&S. “Led by groups of faculty, these centers of excellence often connect several BC schools and make a substantial contribution on and off campus. As we work to ‘light the world,’ our centers and institutes are doing essential work in bringing the expertise and resources of this great university to individuals and communities in need.” Quigley was quick to distinguish the Clough Center for Constitutional Democracy as one of the many centers at BC that promotes interdisciplinary dialogue on contemporary issues through conferences, lectures, workshops, publications, and engagement with undergraduates. The center focuses on the reflection of
See Higher Education, A5