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The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 Vol. XC, No. 24
THE HEIGHTS THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2010
BC falls behind in alumni donations
BY MICHAEL CAPRIO News Editor
AND KRISTEN ZALE For The Heights
BY PATRICK GALLAGHER Assoc. News Editor
AND CATHERINE CYPHER For The Heights
See Donations, A4
Mabida and Raab restructure cabinet Three new cabinet positions added to roster
Notre Dame, Holy Cross boast more donors
Fewer than 25 percent of Boston College alumni, including 28 percent of undergraduate alumni, give money to the University, compared to 51 percent of all alumni at Holy Cross, 49 percent at Notre Dame, and 31 percent at Georgetown. Now, the University is trying to increase the proportion of seniors who chip in before they graduate as a means of getting them into the habit. But administrators said they have found the effort is easier said than done. University officials said pushing hard for contributions to the senior class gift will help boost future alumni giving and improve the University’s donation percentage, which is one of the measures used in all-important rankings. “We’re trying to get seniors to make a gift,” Vice President and Special Assistant to the President Rev. William Neenan, S.J. said. “At Holy Cross, 90 percent [of seniors] make a gift. Here, we’re trying to get 50 percent. They’re trying to create a climate that you’re expected to pay – that you’re expected to pay back.” Seniors, still paying tuition and in
www.bcheights.com
KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Both students and local businesses were forced to make adjustments following the contamination.
Water shortage affects community BY JI HAE LEE For The Heights
AND MICHAEL CAPRIO News Editor
The City of Boston has lifted a contamination warning that left nearly one third of the Boston population unable to use tap water from Saturday to Tuesday afternoon following a rupture in a main water line that affected over 29 local communities. Boston College dining services responded to the incident, providing free boiled water to students. “We got our first notification of the water issue at around 3:30 p.m. on Sun-
day through a phone call,” said Megan O’Neill, the associate director of dining services. “We responded as quickly as possible by immediately shutting off anything that had tap water flowing to it. We also set up what we call the ‘hydration stations,’ where students were able to get free boiled water.” Dining services employees boiled as much as 600 gallons of water every 30 minutes, and hired a tanker truck with 8,000 gallons of sanitary water. Washing dishes was not an issue for employees, as the dishwashing machines operate at 180 degrees, O’Neill said.
See Contamination, A3
During last week’s inauguration, Micaela Mabida, president of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) and CSOM ’11, swore in the 201011 cabinet of 70 members. The cabinet selection process, which differed from previous years, drew criticism from some within the campus community. In selecting the cabinet for the next academic year, Mabida and Patrick Raab, vice president of the UGBC and A&S ’11, chose from among 197 applications. “It was a two-tier system,” Mabida said. “First, we took applications for executive directors, and executive managers – we call that our senior leadership team.” During the second tier of the process, directors conducted their own interviews for cabinet members. The final cabinet was approved by Mabida and Raab during an April 13 UGBC meeting, Mabida said. Three new cabinet positions were added to the roster this year – directorships in international relations, campus awareness, and fine arts. The directorship of fine arts was temporarily in jeopardy this year. The directorship was previously occupied by Kathie Chang, A&S ’11, whose position was taken off the UGBC cabinet roster earlier in the process. Mabida said that, during the initial review, it was determined that it would be more effective for student organizations to hold their events through the Art Club. “There were legitimate concerns over the effectiveness of the directorship and
KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Mabida and Raab instituted three new cabinet positions this year within the UGBC. whether the student body could benefit more from a structure in which all departments would be held accountable to their own arts programming in cooperation with the Art Club,” Mabida said. But two weeks later, and following further discussion with executive directors and managers, Mabida and Raab reinstated the directorship. “Throughout our review, a renewed directorship was proposed, including a more integrated role within the cabinet,” Mabida said. “It was decided this renewed role could potentially be most effective in ensuring that the tremendously talented students at our school were represented.” Mabida and Raab’s decision has drawn criticism from within the arts community. “The position was reinstated two weeks after it was cut, and they didn’t even call me back for an interview,” Chang said. She said that she felt the recognition
See Cabinet, A3
Romance language cuts planned Curricular changes will affect role of adjunct and part-time professors BY MICHAEL SHIPPIE For The Heights
The romance languages and literatures department will undergo curricular changes during the next academic year, drawing criticism from some in the department. “The cuts will have to be made throughout the University, in all departments,” said Elizabeth Rhodes, chairwoman of the Hispanic studies program, a program likely to be influenced by the coming changes.
INSIDE THE SCENE
A roving pop culture columnist reflects on his time at BC, C1
SPORTS
The Hispanic studies program is the second most popular minor at BC. Each year, professors find themselves teaching large classes, in some cases up to 70 students per class. It has also been of some concern that students who take Spanish often do not take classes past 600-level electives, and remain in basic grammar courses, Rhodes said. To allow more students to quickly rise through the grammar courses toward upper-level electives, the department has cut several 300-level courses, and combined the Naturalmente 1 and Naturalmente 2 courses into a one-semester intensive program, Rhodes said. From this program, students can move to Contextos, a required literature course for the major or minor, as well as any of the subsequent upper-level electives, covering topics ranging from crime in Spanish culture to Don Quixote. Rhodes said that students will now be able to engage in Hispanic literature, history, and culture. But some are not optimistic about the planned changes. “The decisions made by the department have missed an opportunity to integrate into the humanities and
universal global issues,” said one professor in the department, who prefered to remain anonymous. The professor said that the department’s decision to eliminate grammarfocused courses will place the jobs of part-time and adjunct professors in jeopardy. “The tenured professors and the head of the field want to focus on specializing, which interestingly enough secures their positions,” the professor said. “The parttime and adjunct professors will be able to teach half the classes they are able to teach now, and gain half the money, when new hires enter BC.” “These professors will have no opportunity to ever attain tenure, and forever live on the risk. They already make significantly lower salaries and do just as much work, and are just as intelligent.” Rhodes said, hiring professors for long-term positions is a more complicated process. “In order to hire tenure-track professors, the University must conduct a nationwide search, and the most qualified will be hired,” Rhodes said. KEVIN HOU AND ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITORS ; MICHAEL SALDARRIAGA / HEIGHTS GRAPHIC
See Languages, A4
Butler to take over ministry efforts
Baseball grabs two wins in midweek series, C8
Rev. John Butler, S.J., will replace Rev. Joseph Appleyard, S.J., who will be leaving BC this summer
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BY DANIEL TONKOVICH For The Heights
Oil spill has catastrophic effect on Gulf, D4 Classifieds, A5 Crossword, A5 Editorials, A6 Editor Picks, C7 Police Blotter, A2 BC Tube, B2 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 Forecast on Washington, D2 Weather, A2 Videos on the Verge, B2
COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Rev. John Butler, S.J., will serve as vice president of University Mission and Ministry next year.
A familiar face from on campus will soon lead the University’s Mission and Ministry efforts. Rev. John T. “Jack” Butler, S.J., will take the role of vice president for University Mission and Ministry, according to a statement released by the University this week. He will succeed Rev. Joseph A. Appleyard, S.J., who has been named assistant and adviser to Rev. Myles Sheehan, S.J., the provincial of the New England Province of the Society of Jesus. University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., praised Butler in a statement, calling him a talented and energetic individual who is deeply involved at Boston College. “Fr. Butler is a Jesuit who is widely known on campus, and someone who cares deeply about the University’s
mission, especially the intellectual and religious dimension,” Leahy said. “I look forward to working with him in strengthening Boston College.” Butler has strong ties to the BC and New England Jesuit communities. He is a graduate of St. Thomas University and also holds degrees from Providence College, Loyola University in Maryland, and the former Weston Jesuit School of Theology. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1991 and started his career at BC as a campus minister in 2002. In 2007, Butler was appointed the inaugural director of Manresa House, which provides information and guidance to students at BC who are considering the priesthood and religious life, and since his appointment he has brought the house regional acclaim.
See Butler, A4