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THE SCENE
MARKETPLACE
Football preview
Classic Nick stomps onto the scene with its classic programming block, C3
Potential candidates emerge for the 2012 presidential election, D4
Montel Harris isn’t letting his knee injury get him down for the 2011 season, B4
KEEPING BALANCED
Thursday, Spetember 8, 2011
Vol. XCII, No. 26
No Fall Concert this year, says UGBC University places temporary moratorium on all large-scale concerts in Conte Forum By Taylour Kumpf News Editor
In response to concern about excessive rowdiness at campus events, the University has placed a temporary moratorium on all large-scale concerts in Conte Forum, placing the UGBC into a position where it will not be able to offer the Fall Concert this year. The UGBC recently announced the
move, which came from the Student Programs Office (SPO), with the support of Patrick Rombalski, the vice president for Student Affairs. The University is currently exploring a strategic plan to deal with the issue with drinking and medical transports at events. In a Sept. 6 letter to UGBC president Michael Kitlas, A&S ’12, Mark Miceli, associate director of SPO said that the primary reason for the moratorium “is
an increase in disruptive behavior on the part of BC students and a corresponding increase in the abuse of alcohol at these large-scale events. “Given the large number of transports at both of the large-sale Conte concerts last year, we felt that something needs to change,” Miceli wrote. “We simply cannot have an average of 35 medical transports for alcohol intoxication at these events. Clearly students are engaging in high risk drinking as a result of the concert, and we need to develop a strategic plan to address this serious issue.”
See Concerts, A4
Class of 2015 breaks admissions records By Molly LaPoint Asst. News Editor
There were 32,974 applicants to the Boston College class of 2015, a 10 percent increase over last year and a new University record. The admissions office was more selective than last year, accepting 28 percent of applicants, as opposed to 31 percent last year. The target number for the class is 2,280, but there are currently about 20 more students enrolled than this, said John Mahoney, director of undergraduate admission. The exact number of students will not be official until October. “May 1 is the standard candidate reply date,” Mahoney said. “After that, we have to assess where we are and take candidates off the wait list.” In addition to accepting more students from the wait list, BC also loses some students who are accepted to other schools off their wait lists. “Through spring and summer it really is a moving target,” Mahoney said. International students who are citizens of foreign countries comprise 5 percent of the entering class, and 25 different countries are represented. However, many more students have international ties. “The international flavor of the student body is closer to 10 percent if you count
dual citizens and U.S. citizens living abroad,” Mahoney said. Children of alumni make up 14 percent of the class of 2015, a number that is relatively common, Mahoney said. Usually, this number is somewhere around 15 percent. The mean SAT score for the enrolled students of the class of 2015 is 2014, with a middle 50 percent range of 1920 to 2135. For those who submitted ACT scores only, the middle 50 percent range spanned from 29 to 32, with a mean of 30. “Both mean scores rest very comfort-
News Editor
Boston College placed higher on this year’s “Little Race / Class Interaction” and “LGBT-Unfriendly” lists in The Princeton Review, though administrators dismiss these statistics. The lists, which were released as part of The Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges” rankings, rank colleges based on several criteria surrounding student life, academics, and athletics. This year marks BC’s third consecutive year on the “Little Race / Class Interaction” list. The University placed fifth this year after placing ninth last year. On the list for “LGBT-Unfriendly” schools, the University made its second appearance in two years, increasing two spots from 10 to eight. In recent years, however, the University has been on a positive upward trend in the industry standard U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Colleges” rankings, improving by nine spots in a seven-year period. The Report’s rankings come out on Sept. 13. The methodology of The Princeton Review’s study is different than most. The Review bases its surveys off representative
See Class of 2015, A4
Alex Trautwig / Heights Editor
Burns Library (shown above) houses the oral history records sought by British authories.
A fight for the record books University defends sensitive tapes on Northern Ireland By Daniel Tonkovich Heights Editor
mollie kolosky / heights editor
Administrators shrug off latest ‘Review’ rankings By Taylour Kumpf
ably in the top 10 percent of national test takers, which gives some sense of the quality of the class,” Mahoney said. The number of AHANA students applying also broke the University record. This year saw an 11 percent increase in applicants, bringing the number of AHANA students applying to 9,692. Twenty-nine percent of the applicants were AHANA students, which Mahoney said is reassuring because a little over 30 percent of graduating high schoolers are AHANA
data collected by university officials every three years. Students, however, can log on to The Princeton Review’s website at any time and fill out surveys that ultimately effect their schools’ rankings – a statistical procedure that some school officials have questioned. The University has dismissed Princeton’s rankings in the past due to their methodology. “From the University’s perspective, the Princeton Review is methodologically flawed and unrepresentative of the actual campus climate,” said University Spokesman Jack Dunn. “In reviewing the analysis, as few as 22 to 99 student respondents, out of 9,000 undergraduate students, can determine BC’s placement on these particular surveys. From a statistical standpoint, the survey has no validity, and from a practical standpoint, it does not accurately portray student sentiment on campus.” Regarding the group of respondents, Dunn said, “To the extent that there are any students who feel that BC is not a full-welcoming community, then all of us have to continue to work hard so that everyone sees the campus as the open and inviting place
See Rankings, A4
An international showdown involving British police, the U.S. Justice Department, and former IRA members has Boston College placed on the frontline. The University is currently engaged in efforts to quash a federal subpoena for access to confidential interviews regarding a period known as “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland that lasted from 1969-1998. In May, the U.S. Department of Justice, acting on behalf of the Police Services of Northern Ireland, issued subpoenas
welcome back, gasson!
ordering BC to release interviews of Brendan Hughes and Delours Price, two former Northern Irish republican militants, stored in its archives. The interviews, housed in the John J. Burns Library, are part of the Belfast Project, an oral history project conducted in the late 1990s by Irish journalist Ed Moloney. The collection contains approximately 30 to 50 oral histories from both republicans and those loyal to the British Crown. Many of those interviewed for the project engaged in activities in the hope of victory for their desired role of Britain in the governance of Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Directed by Moloney, Anthony McIntyre, a former Irish Republican Army member, interviewed Republicans, and Wilson McArthur, a former unionist militant, documented the experiences of
See Subpoena, A4
Campus loses two students over summer Community mourns two students’ deaths By Adriana Mariella Assoc. News Editor
Alex Trautwig / heights editor
Gasson Hall (above) has reopened this fall after undergoing a series of renovations. The first floor now features a study lounge for student and faculty use.
While the start of a new year leaves the campus seeming fuller than ever, the Boston College community begins this semester two members short. Kristine Topel, A&S ’12, and Toochukwu “Tony” Nwokedi, ’13, who both passed away during the summer vacation, are mourned by both their home and school communities. Topel, of Deerfield, Ill., was killed in the early hours of June 14 in her native Illinois after being struck by a train. The Chicago Tribune reported that the conductor noticed something on the tracks but was unable to stop in time. At BC, Topel was a biology major and was
See Deaths, A4