CAMPUS ACTIVISM
VANESSA CARLTON
features
ARTS & rEVIEW
sports
Boston College students express political spirit in subtle ways, B10
The piano diva highlights new tracks in Robsham, A10
The football team loses by 31 points on national television, B1
embarrassment
Monday, November 7 , 2011
Vol. XCII, No. 41
Admissions benefits from volunteerism SAP is a volunteer program because it can be, leaders say By Molly LaPoint Asst. News Editor
daniel lee / heights staff
A Student Admission Program (SAP) volunteer tour guide (above) leads a group on a tour.
The Student Admission Program (SAP), which is entirely volunteer-based at Boston College, has over 800 volunteers and 10 different programs that allow students to get involved in reaching out to prospective students. “It’s a volunteer program because it can be,” said Jeffrey Portu, head coordinator of SAP and A&S ’12. “We have a great
group of volunteers that are really ready to show what BC is about.” This provides a benefit to the University, because it shows the dedication of the student body that wants to share their experiences with high school students interested in BC. “It’s a nice thing to be able to talk about,” Portu said. The 10 different programs of SAP allow students to be involved in a variety of ways, and only two of the programs – campus tours and panel – are application-based. The other programs are greeting, where volunteers speak with visitors before their tours, outreach, AHANA outreach, and international outreach, where volunteers connect with applicants and accepted students, media,
office management, volunteers who help check students in and answer calls, day visits, and high school visits. “It’s a great way to get involved,” Portu said. “With more numbers, it just means we can do more things.” Though the tour guide program is similar to other schools, Portu said, the other divisions of SAP are what makes the difference. “We’re able to think outside the box,” he said. “Our other programs make us stand out.” During the summer, SAP hires 18 students as paid employees, and they work full time leading tours and participating in info sessions as panelists. During the year,
See SAP, A4
BCSSH, Bell exchange words on CoRo
15-to-40 Connection comes to BC
By Taylour Kumpf
Students promote cancer awareness campaign on campus
News Editor
On the Friday of Halloween Weekend, members of Boston College Students for Sexual Health (BCSSH) were distributing condoms near McElroy Commons when Karl Bell, assistant director of the Student Programs Office (SPO), challenged them regarding their rights to distribute at that location. According to Nick Domino, BCSSH member and A&S ’12, Bell challenged them in an effort to make sure members of BCSSH remain informed on their distribution rights and to ensure that the conversation continues to happen with young members. “BCSSH is a very young group right now,” said Domino. “[Some of the students] who were distributing condoms did not know about our constitutional right and the paperwork we have regarding what [property belongs to Newton versus what belongs to BC].” BCSSH distributes condoms periodically on the sidewalks of College Road – on Newton property. Jessika Parry, chair of BCSSH and A&S ’14, said, “BCSSH met directly with Karl Bell [that Friday] and the incident was resolved.” When approached about the discussion, Bell clarified questions about BC’s distribution policy. “Policy governs BC,” he said. “There is a code of conduct that all students should follow. We have no policy that governs activity that doesn’t happen at BC, and condoms are not distributed on campus. If they are though,
See BCSSH, A4
By Katherine McClurg Heights Editor
daniel lee / heights staff
President Leahy (above) helped celebrate National Vocation Promotion Day, recognizing the need for men to join the religious life.
Ceremony promotes vocations By Marc Francis For The Heights
“My soul is thirsty for you, oh Lord, my God,” chanted the audience in St. Mary’s Chapel on Sunday evening. Exploring one’s thirst for God is exactly what Boston College alumni Mario Powell, Jeremy Zipple, and Sam Sawyer—three Jesuit seminarians studying for the priesthood —spoke about during the celebration of National Vocation Promotion Day. On this day, Jesuits all over the world recognize the constant need to engage men who are contemplating joining the religious life. “The Society of Jesus is a community of brothers and priests who work for the betterment of society, and on this day we
encourage people to embrace a calling,” said Rev. Terrence Devino, S.J., director of Manresa House and special assistant to the president. Sawyer was adamant about this event taking place, since it is the first time BC has honored all those who have undertaken a vocation in such a conversational manner. When asked what the gathering at St. Mary’s aims to accomplish, Sawyer said, “We want to give people the chance and opportunity to ask if the religious life is possible for them—‘Can I start to think about this?’” The Jesuits recruit 30 to 40 people every year, one of which is usually a BC graduate. The Society encourages self-exploration and believes in a need for such reflection-
centric activities. “Whatever stage of life we are at, we can always examine how we live our lives, and how we respond to God’s grace,” said University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., during his homily. Devino accentuated the importance of reflection through his flier advertising the event, which said, “Ignatius didn’t hear God calling until hit by a cannonball. What will it take to get your attention?” The signs present in people’s lives can be difficult to interpret. All of us have a vocation. The vocations discussed at St. Mary’s are of a religious nature, and the process of recognizing such signs was thoroughly
See Vocations, A4
This year, approximately 72,000 15 to 40-year-old people in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer. Cancer is the No. 1 disease-related cause of death of people in this age group, yet cancer survival rates of this age group have remained near stagnant for the past 35 years. Despite the significant cancer-research advancement made since 1975, there has been very little improvement in young adult cancer survival rates. One of the primary reasons for this is a lack of awareness of cancer risk among this age group. Because the risk of being diagnosed with cancer increases with age, many young people ignore some of the most common warning signs of it. The 15-40 Connection is an initiative to bring awareness to the incidence of cancer in young adults and promote early detection. Their mission is to create awareness of the fact that cancer survival rates for this age group have remained devastatingly high in addition to promoting health awareness, self-advocacy, and action, so the life-saving advantages of early detection may be possible. In response to the shocking survival rates, the 15-40 Connection was born. In 2005 Jim Coghlin worked to begin an endowed fellowship to support the work of
See 15 to 40, A4
Boston College celebrates its first Native American Heritage Month The Society of Native American People, a relatively new campus group, excitedly marks its first year By Sara Doyle For The Heights
Friday marked the first celebration of Native American Heritage Month at Boston College. The opening celebration, which took place in the Heights Function Room, featured performances from the group The Wolf Cry Singers and vendors selling traditional Native American jewelry and other crafts. Native American Heritage Month is a nationally recognized event, but is new at Boston College. The Society of Native American People (SNAP) has been working to have Native American Heritage month marked at BC for a few years. “I guess it was just a matter of time. Hopefully we’ll get awareness out and keep it going in the future,” said Andy Petigny, the associate director of
AHANA student programs. According to Petigny, celebrations of Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, and other cultures have been at the University for several years. “We’re really excited,” said Amelia Scott, president of SNAP and A&S ’13. “We’re relatively new, and that makes having this month even more exciting.” There are more events planned for the rest of Native American Heritage Month. Today, the Annual Dream Catcher Workshop will be held in the Walsh Function Room at 9 p.m. This event, which has been occurring for the last three years, is an opportunity for students to make their own dream catchers. On Nov. 16, there will be a screening of the film We Still Live Here, a documentary about the return of the Wampanoag language. The writer and director will also be present at the event
to have a question and answer session with students. Finally, there will be a collaboration between SNAP and the Chinese and South Asian Student Associations on Nov. 28, called “So You Think You Can Cook?” This event is a cooking competition between the three cultural groups, and will be judged by a non-partial party, with sampling available to students. SNAP is a fairly new cultural group on the BC campus. It was founded in the 2003-2004 academic year. They have been working to spread awareness, and have finally managed to have Native American Heritage Month celebrated at BC. “It’s a really great opportunity, because most students don’t know about SNAP,” Scott said. “Native American culture is just as relevant as other culture groups, and we want to get to be more well known.” n
graham beck / heights staff
The Wolf Cry Singers (above) were featured at the Native American Heritage Month opening ceremony.