The Heights will return on Dec. 6. For news updates visit www.bcheights.com The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 Vol. XCI, No. 44
THE HEIGHTS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2010
www.bcheights.com
Econ majors are on the rise B Y J I H AE L EE For The Heights
The communication, economics, biology, and finance departments have the highest number of undergraduate majors in Boston College this school year. The communication department also had the largest number of undergraduates in 2006, 2008, and 2009. In 2007, the communication department was second in size to finance. Though finance had ranked as one of the top two most popular majors from 2006
to 2008, this year, it came third after economics. The economics department has seen a surge in the number of students compared to other departments. There were 610 economics majors in 2006, and that number steadily rose each year, so that there are now 810 economics majors, according to University records. “I think the rise in economics majors is attributable to the general trend toward math and science-oriented subjects, and economics is heavily interrelated with math,” said
James Anderson, chairperson of the economics department. “More students have been pursuing math and science-oriented subjects since about a decade ago. Another reason seems to be the recent recession. Enrollment in economics tends to increase when the economy is bad. The severity and length of the current recession seems to have a heavy impact.” Anderson said that BC had seen a sharp jump in the number of economics majors during the recession of the 1980s. The rise continued for a few years until it gradually tailed off and dropped to the previous level. Anderson said that the number of economic majors may gradually decrease as the economy improves. The publication of Freakonomics, a popular compilation of articles that address economic and statistical questions, in 2005 could have also led to a spike in economics majors, Anderson said. “I think this book spurred interest in economics and showed how economics can be applicable to various sociological phenomenons,” he said. To accommodate the increased number of economics majors, the department has hired two more full-time professors this semester and is currently looking for three more
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF NEWS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Communication is the University’s top undergraduate major for the third consecutive year.
See Majors, A4
BC’s wireless network monitored Illegal downloads will not go undetected, according to ITS B Y T OM K OTLOWSKI For The Heights
St u d e n ts wh o t ry to i l l ega l ly download files over the Boston College wireless network will not go undetected, according to Information Technology Services (ITS). In one such case that occurred earlier this semester, a student was emailed by ITS, notifying the student that they had been caught illegally downloading a video while using the
INSIDE SPORTS
BC network. According to David Escalante, director of policy and security for ITS, these instances occur multiple times a semester. Inquiries into an individual student’s Web activity are opened when ITS is contacted by copyright agencies, which can detect illegal downloads of copyrighted f iles. The agencies then forward the particular IP address where the download originated to ITS, which then matches that IP address with
ARTS & REVIEW CECILIA PROVVEDINI / HEIGHTS STAFF
BY ELISE TAYLOR For The Heights
FEATURES
See ITS, A4
‘Anatheism’ revealed
Women’s soccer rolls over West Virgina to Elite Eight, B1
Merriment and deception in ‘She Stoops to Conquer,’ A10
a student. If the agency doesn’t seek to press copyright infringement charges against the student in question, BC would then deal with the student internally on a case-by-case basis. If the copyrighter seeks to press charges, the party sends BC a subpoena for the student’s name. Escalante said that BC can usually negotiate on the student’s behalf to see if the subpoena can be dropped,
Last Thursday, Richard Kearney, chairperson of the philosophy department, engaged in a conversation with James Wood, a staff critic for the New Yorker and a professor of literary criticism at Harvard University, regarding Kearney’s most recent publication,
Anatheism. The talk, titled “Re/Imagining the Sacred: Theism, Anatheism, Atheism,” is part of Kearney’s multimedia experiment on the philosophical nature of hospitality called the Guestbook Project. Kearney began by discussing the overall premise of Anatheism. In the book, Kearney said he describes the “split between theism and atheism,” which he said has left a spiritual space open, in which people can rethink the notion of God and existence in a secular context. The acceptance of this space, Kearney said, is anatheism. “It means returning to God after God,” he said. “Anatheism is an invitation to return to questions of the sacred beyond the old extremes of dogmatic
See Anatheism, A4
CAMPUS COMMUNITY GIVES THANKS
KYLIE MONTERO / HEIGHTS STAFF
Last Thursday, students, administrators, and faculty of different religious backgrounds gathered in the Heights Room for the annual Multi-Faith Thanksgiving Celebration.
Two BC undergraduates competed for Rhodes BY MICHAEL CAPRIO News Editor
Amanda Rothschild and Leon Ratz, both A&S ’11, were among dozens of finalists nationwide competing Saturday for two of the nation’s 32 Rhodes Scholarships. Although neither of the two finalists were awarded the scholarhip, both said they enjoyed the experience of being in the running for the prestigious grant. “For me, the experience was really great,” Rothschild said. “I was just happy to be in the group.” Ratz said he had similar feelings. “It was intense,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure in the room, but it was a blast.” Donald Hafner, vice provost for undergraduate affairs, said in a statement that Rothschild and Ratz fit the bill for what a Rhodes Scholar should be. “Amanda and Leon are unusually talented and active,” Hafner said. Hafner is also a professor in the political science department and is the coordinator for the Rhodes Trust Scholarships on campus. “Rhodes Scholarships have a particular orientation in that they are for people who intend to go on in public life in their own communities,” he said. “The curriculum that we have here is an excellent foundation for students who propose to do that with their lives.” Rhodes Scholarship candidates are categorized by district. There are 16 districts across the nation, each of which select two winners, giving a total of 32 students scholarships to pursue advanced studies at the University of Oxford in England. Rothschild, who plans to study for a doctorate in international politics, said in a statement that opportunities for
academic research at Boston College were key factors in the success of her Rhodes application so far. “After my freshman year, I got an advanced study grant to study anti-semitism,” she said. “And at the end of my junior year, I got a thesis advanced study grant to do research on the genocide convention at the United Nations in Geneva. “The advanced study grants were really important,” said Rothschild, a student in the A&S Honors Program from Sherborn, Mass. “I was also able to take graduate seminars in security studies with Tim Crawford [a professor in the political science department] last spring, and I was able to use that term paper to do research on genocide, which really kicked off my [honors] thesis. I developed a typology on reasons for why
See Rhodes Scholars, A4
KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Leon Ratz, A&S ’11, was one of the nation’s finalists for a Rhodes Scholarship this year.
TSA ups security measures
Full-body scanners are now operating at 70 U.S. airports
Examining the liberal arts among undergraduates at BC, B10 Classifieds, A5 Editorials, A6 He Said, She Said B8 Police Blotter, A2 Box Office, A8 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 Player X, B4 Weather, A2 Best Selling Hardcovers, A8
BY ADRIANA MARIELLA For The Heights
AP FILE PHOTO
Modified airline regulations, now including more intensive pat-downs and full-body scanners, have become an issue of national debate.
The use of full-body scanners and pat-downs at airports across the country have proved to be issues of national debate, as administrators from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) have been reluctant to re-think intrusive security procedures. Some
students at Boston College said that they will be inconvenienced this holiday season by these new security measures. John Pistole, head of the TSA, said in a report that his office will not be changing its policies and that they are the best way to keep travelers safe. The screenings, he said, are the last line of defense in protecting travelers. The new procedures will include the addition of full-body scanners, as well as additional pat-down methods. The scanners, which produce a “naked” image of
a passenger’s body, are currently in use at 70 airports across the country. While travelers have questioned whether screenings of this intensity are necessary and the only way of maintaining safety, Pistole said that they are imperative for keeping airlines safe. Most passengers will not be forced to undergo a pat-down, but those who are will be subject to the new guidelines, which allow for more invasive and personal
See Airlines, A4