2012 fOOTBALL preview
Chase Rettig and the Eagles have everything to prove after 2011, B1.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Vol. XCIII, No. 26
campus takes on a new look
Belfast Project case may go to Supreme Court Arguments for BC’s appeal begin today By David Cote News Editor
Editor’s Note: This story is part of an ongoing series about the subpoenas of the Belfast Project.
According to a release by the Office of News and Public Affairs, “the new-look plaza is part of a series of related projects in the University’s Master Plan that will create an integrated combination of architecture and green space in the Middle Campus area.” “[The plaza] looks terrific and credit goes to Dan Bourque [vice president for facilities management] for getting it done so beautifully and on time,” said University Spokesman Jack Dunn. Construction on Stokes Hall also continued on schedule throughout the summer, with a projected completion date in December. Recent progress includes permanent walkways and lighting around the edge of the construction site, as well as further work on the building’s masonry and the tiles on the roof. The limestone work on the building’s exterior is slated for completion in Octo-
Irish journalist and Belfast Project researcher Ed Moloney, together with Belfast Project researcher and former IRA member Anthony McIntyre, recently announced their intention to bring the case of the Belfast Project to the United States Supreme Court. The pair, appealing a decision by the United States First Circuit Court of Appeal that rejected their right to intervene in the Boston College archive case, have repeatedly emphasized the case’s vast constitutional importance and potentially harmful ramifications on the fragile peace process in Northern Ireland and the enterprise of oral history. “We wish to make it clear that we now intend to apply to the Supreme Court of the United States for a hearing on a case which we believe addresses issues of major constitutional importance for Americans,” Moloney and McIntyre said in a statement. The Belfast Project legal drama began in May 2011, when interviews conducted with former IRA members Dolours Price and Brendan Hughes were subpoenaed by the United States federal government, on behalf of the United Kingdom, as part of an ongoing investigation by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) into the death of Jean McConville, an Irish widow and mother of 10 who was murdered in 1972. Participants in interviews believed that they had been promised confidentiality until their death, but the subpoenas brought legal pressure on the University to assist the United Kingdom according to a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), which assures cooperation between the two countries in various legal investigations. Though BC initially filed motions to quash the subpoenas on the Price tapes, they were denied by the courts and did not
See Construction, A6
See Belfast Project, A7
daniel lee / heights editor
O’Neill Plaza has been regraded and now features grass and trees separated by a permanent walkway (left, above right). Stokes Hall is slated for completion in December (bottom right).
O’Neill Plaza goes green, Stokes Hall nears completion, and O’Neill Library gets upgraded By David Cote News Editor
The University’s central plaza has a new, green look this fall, following construction over the summer months. The area in front of O’Neill Library has been regraded, and grass and trees have been planted to give campus additional green space in light of construction on the site of the former Dustbowl. Work began on O’Neill Plaza immediately following the end of classes in the spring and continued throughout the summer, finishing on schedule before the start of fall classes.
Freshman class one of the most competitive ever
DeFilippo steps down, says it’s the right time for ‘new leadership’ By Greg Joyce Heights Editor
Class of 2016 sets new BC application record By Molly LaPoint Heights Editor
There were 34,000 applications for the class of 2016, a 3 percent increase over last year and a new Boston College record. The acceptance rate was 29 percent, one percentage point higher than last year, with 9,800 students accepted. Although this rate is higher than last year, the quality of the applicant pool as measured by test scores went up. The middle 50 percent of SAT scores was 1930 to 2150, with a mean of 2022, up from last year’s 2014. The ACT average score was 30, with a middle-50 percent range of 29 to 32. “This is not the lowest acceptance rate in BC’s history,” said John Mahoney, director of undergraduate admission. “However, with the quality of the applicant pool improving each year, the quality of admitted students is improving as well. So, I consider this to be the most selective year in Boston College admission history.” The yield in May was 25 percent, almost 2 percent above last year’s. In recent years, the yield has generally stayed the same or decreased slightly.
See Class of 2016, A7
dave givler / heights senior staff
Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo will retire from his position after 15 years on Sept. 30.
The day the Boston College fall sports schedule began, the man at the helm of the entire department decided to move in a different direction. In a surprising move, Gene DeFilippo officially announced his retirement as director of athletics on Aug. 17. DeFilippo decided it was “the right time” for “new leadership in the athletic director’s position.” “My wife Anne and I have been discussing this decision for some time and we agree that this is the right time for me to retire,” DeFilippo said in a prepared statement on the day of his announce-
ment. “In light of my recent bout with melanoma, which is treatable, this decision became clearer to me this summer.” Not wanting to take the spotlight away from the start of the football season, DeFilippo declined an interview with The Heights last week. DeFilippo will remain as athletic director until Sept. 30, when Senior Associate Athletics Director John Kane will take over as interim director until a permanent AD is named. Leo Sullivan, vice president of human resources at BC, is conducting the search for the new AD. “Gene devoted himself to building
See DeFilippo, A6
BC will start sesquicentennial celebration with Fenway mass Office of News and Public Affairs unveils new virtual tour and smartphone application By David Cote News Editor
Boston College will begin its Sesquicentennial celebration this month with a mass at Fenway Park on Sept. 15 at 4 p.m. The event will be open to BC students, faculty, alumni, and other guests who have preregistered online. The mass is the first in a series of events that will highlight various aspects of BC’s history and dedica-
tion to education in the 150 years since its founding in 1863. Attendance at the mass is expected to be in excess of 20,000, and over 200 Eucharistic ministers have been recruited to help celebrate. The mass will be concelebrated by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, archbishop of Boston, University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., and over 100 members of the BC Jesuit community and alumni priests. After the mass, guests will be treated
to a reception and a walking tour of the baseball park. In addition, the three pillars of the Sesquicentennial celebration—scholarship, service, and arts— will be highlighted with academic symposia and speaker events throughout the coming year. The first speaker, Harvard University president Drew Faust, will visit the Heights on Oct. 10 to discuss scholarship. During her visit, Faust will be awarded a Sesquicentennial Medal in recognition of her commitment to this pillar of the celebration. Faust’s visit will be the first from a Harvard president since former Harvard
president Nathan Pusey visited the University for BC’s Centennial Celebration in 1963. Also in October will be the first of six academic symposia designed to highlight BC’s deep investment in service and societal outreach. On Oct. 5, BC Lynch School of Education (LSOE) professors Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Dennis Shirley will lead a symposium titled “Public Education and the Future of Democracy.” The second of the six symposia, “Religion and the Liberal Aims of Higher Education,” will be held on Nov. 8 and 9,
See Sesquicentennial, A6