DANCE ENSEMBLE
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The student dance group drew huge crowds for its stunning fall show ‘Illusion’, A10
Which of the two main campus libraries is the better one?, B10
Eagles got dominated in 5-0 loss to cross-town rivals Boston University, B1
Monday, November 14, 2011
Vol. XCII, No. 43
BC commemorates Veterans Day with mass, ceremony Col. David Clark recognizes service and sacrifice of vets By Tanner Edwards Heights Staff
The Boston College community commemorated the service and sacrifice of the nation’s veterans Friday morning with a campus mass in St. Igntatius Church and an honorary ceremony on the Burns Lawn. The day’s proceedings began with a Veterans Remembrance Mass presided by Rev. Anthony Penna, S.J., and veterans Deacon John St. George, BC ’67, Deacon William Blazek, S.J., and Rev. Paul McNellis, S.J.
In his homily, Penna related a story from John McCain’s experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, touching on the unique patriotism of one of McCain’s fellow soldiers. The soldier, throughout his time in captivity, sewed together an American flag from uniform threads, repeating the task even after being brutally beaten for the act. Penna encouraged the congregation to turn that sort of devotion demonstrated in military service to engendering peace at home. “Are you as dedicated to the gospel values as you are to the values of this country?” Penna said. “That commitment has the power to transform the world as only God can imagine.” The commemoration continued on the
Homecoming rounds out midterm season
See Veterans Day, A4
Graham beck / heights staff
Over 1,000 students (above) made their way to the Sheraton Boston for the annual UGBC-sponsored Homecoming dance last Friday.
Students celebrate 11:11 at the Sheraton Boston By Michael Caprio Editor-in-Chief
photo courtesy of newton patch
Veterans (above) gathered on the Burns Library Lawn to commemorate Veterans Day.
At 9 p.m. last Friday, over a thousand students shuffled into the Sheraton Boston’s Republic Ballroom. By 11:10 p.m., the throng of semi-formally adorned bodies was in full sway on the dance floor – a space normally used for trade shows and corporate conventions. A woman in a red dress danced in the corner, alone; a man was kissed by the French fry buffet. At
Politics of the Obama Generation
By Mary Rose Fissinger For The Heights
By Ana Lopez Heights Editor
See Obama Generation, A4
to get everyone together. What’s great about homecoming is that you know everyone’s going to be there. As seniors, we felt obligated to go. We’re not going to be able to do this again.” The dance – one of the largest events on the UGBC calendar – comes amid a University investigation into the campus’ binge drinking culture and a moratorium on all
See Homecoming, A4
Allies host Vincent Pryor for annual Gay in Athletics event
Despite disapproval, support still in polls Despite frustration with a struggling economy and what many feel is a lack of answers from the current administration, Millennials’ re-election backing of President Barack Obama is slated to continue through the 2012 presidential election, though less than half approve of his performance thus far. Referred to as the “Obama Generation,” studies coming out of the Pew Center report that Millennials (Americans currently aged 18 to 30) “back Barack Obama for re-election by a wide margin in matchups against both Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, just 49 percent approve of his job performance, down 24 points since February 2009.” David Hopkins, a professor in the political science department, attributes being in a lower income bracket and having socially liberal leanings to the younger generation’s widespread support of Obama. He also mentioned diversity as a major contributor. Reports by the Young Democrats of
11:11, the balloons came down. This year’s Homecoming dance, courtesy of the UGBC, served as a breath of air for many students, marking the end of midterm season and coinciding with the football team’s third win of the fall. “It was a tough couple of weeks with midterms, but it was a nice event to get all your girlfriends together,” said Ji Yoon Chung, an RA in Williams Hall and CSOM ’12. “Everyone has different schedules and it’s tough
annie budnick / heights staff
Students participate in BC Splash, continuing the motto, ‘Education for students by students.’
Graduate students join BC Splash effort this semester By Caroline Kirkwood For The Heights
If only the list of classes for spring registration included courses like “Political Structures and Policies in the World of Harry Potter” and “How to Hack Life: A Guide to Hyper Productivity.” Unfortunately, this is not the case. But over 800 local high school students were given the opportunity to explore these unconventional yet informative classes through BC’s third annual Splash event, held yesterday. Splash is a one day event where undergraduate and, for the first time this year,
graduate students teach classes in their areas of interest to local high school students. BC Splash is rooted in its message “education for students by students,” aiming to create a stimulating learning environment for high school students. Hanyin Cheng, president of Education for Student by Students (the group that runs BC Splash) and A&S ’12, said, “To me, one of the goals of Splash is to instill excitement in learning for high school students, who are often not allowed a lot of freedom to take classes that they are passionate about, sometimes becoming disillusioned
See Splash, A4
Former Texas Christian University linebacker Vincent Pryor recounted his coming-out experience at the Allies’ annual Gay in Athletics event, held in Fulton Hall last Thursday. From his experiences as a young boy growing up in southern Texas, to the moment he came out to his team in 1994, which preceded the self-labeled “best game of [his] career,” in which he set the team record for most sacks in one game,
graham beck / heights staff
Vincent Pryor (above), former Texas Christian University linebacker, told his coming out tale.
Pryor shared the process through which he was able to become open about his homosexuality. He began by calling his story a “What If?” story, saying that he frequently wonders how his football career would have been altered if he had come out earlier. He then told a story of one particular instance at TCU that kept him in the closet. In 1992, a new coaching staff took over the football team. Soon after, the defensive coordinator came into the locker room where all the players were seated and asked, pointing at one of the players, “Are you a homosexual?” Pryor re-enacted the moment, pretending to be the coach and pacing around the front of the room. He pointed at someone else. “Are you a homosexual? I will not have any homosexuals disgracing my team.” Pryor said he remembered being terrified that someone on the team knew he was gay and had told. “That forced me further into the closet,” he said. He then went on to recount his experiences with homophobia starting from a young age. He told of a party he went to as a fourth or fifth grader. He and his friends were playing spin-the-bottle, and the person explaining the rules said that if a boy spun the bottle and it landed on another boy, he would kiss the girl sitting next to that boy. Pryor recalls saying, “I want to kiss the boy if it lands on the boy.”
See Pryor, A4