A panel of journalists, including the editors of Boston College’s independent student print newspapers, the Heights and the Observer, and the student programming director of WZBC, discussed the rights, responsibilities, and power of campus media, November 5 in Devlin 008. The conversation focused on what all agreed were the most likely sources of controversy—editorials and opinion pieces—and the unusual challenges of putting out a campus paper. Michael Reer ’10, editor-in-chief of the Observer, commented that he saw the mission of his paper to “share the good news, investigate when things aren’t going well,” and to offer opinion pieces that “make you rethink an opinion you already have.” But in the relatively small, tight-knit community of a campus, he said, opinion pieces have disproportionate influence, and editors should be mindful. The panelists agreed that regular turnover of both readership and staffs—with publications losing their most seasoned editors and writers at Commencement each spring—points to the need for continual conversation about standards and coverage. Ryan McDaid ’10, WZBC program director, offered Boston College’s AM station WVBC, with its regular talks shows, as a venue. Above (from left) are, Thomas Mulvoy ’64, former managing editor of the Boston Globe (and one-time Heights staff member); Jamel Bell, assistant professor of communication; Jon Marcus, former editor of Boston magazine and adjunct member of the communications department; Reer; Alexi Chi ’10, editor-in-chief of the Heights; and McDaid.

Some 250 juniors and seniors came to the Heights Room in Corcoran Commons on October 27 for the annual Post-Graduate Volunteer Fair, a chance to talk with representatives of 50 nonprofit organizations about volunteer opportunities after graduation. The event was sponsored jointly by the University’s Career Center and the Volunteer and Service Learning Center. Presenters ranged from providers of emergency aid for war victims to wilderness-based support programs for troubled teens, and from the Augustinian Volunteers to WorldTeach. According to Kate Daly, assistant director of the Volunteer and Service Learning Center, the goal of the fair is to help students find their “best fit.” Currently, 35 members of the Class of 2009 serve with Teach for America, and Boston College ranks seventh among universities of its size in graduates entering the Peace Corp. Above, from left, are Phil Schneider, business manager of the Nativity School of Worcester, Massachusetts (a tuition-free Jesuit middle school for inner-city boys), William Hood ’11, Kristen Kehlenbeck ’11, Courtney Allessio ’11, and Sean Dillon, Nativity’s acting principal.

Becker went on to manage the Leslie’s art department from 1875 to 1900. He saved some 650 original sketches by artists sent in from the field on subjects as diverse as America at the time. The exhibition First Hand: Civil War–era Drawings from the Becker Collection continues through December 13, 2009, at the University’s McMullen Museum. Read more about Civil War–era sketch artists in Boston College Magazine’s Summer 2009 issue.
 

Flash 10+ required to view interactive feature.

The German Embassy chose Boston College earlier this year as one of 30 colleges and universities (and the only one in Boston) with which to co-celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The embassy approached the University, says Michael Resler, chair of the German studies department, in part because of its record in sending Fulbright scholars to Germany (eight last year alone). The month-long commemoration that began October 15 includes both a lecture series and a film series and represents the combined efforts of the University’s fine arts, German studies, history, and music departments, as well as the Institute for Liberal Arts and the Jesuit Institute. Above, on October 21, passing students add graffiti to a scale replica of a section of the wall, designed by adjunct associate professor of fine arts Mark Cooper with Tyson Jang ’09 (now a philosophy graduate student), Luke Kelly ’10, Joon Park ’10, and Cathy Sun ’10. At a ceremony the same day, a representative from the German consulate in Boston presented Boston College with a piece of the original Berlin Wall.

Using recycled clothes and other materials, students scissored, glued, stitched, pinned, and painted in preparation for Re-Sewn, an eco-friendly fashion show sponsored by Undergraduate Government of Boston College, Ecopledge, and the Art Club.

The 209 Boston College alumni who died in the line of duty during U.S. military conflicts—15 in World War I, 158 in World War II, 6 in the Korean War, 29 in the Vietnam War, and 1 in Afghanistan—will be commemorated on a new memorial wall bearing their names. Situated on the north side of the Burns Library lawn, the serpentine wall, which is 70 feet long and 20 inches high along its front, slanting upward to 24 inches, will be dedicated on Veterans Day, November 11, in a ceremony at which retired Marine Corps General John J. Sheehan ’62 will speak. Preceding the dedication, University President William P. Leahy, SJ, will be principal celebrant at a Mass in St. Ignatius Church.

In the photo above, masons position the inscribed granite panels on October 13. For more information on the dedication, click here

Based on the aerial sport played by witches and wizards in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books, the quidditch tournament sponsored by Undergraduate Government of Boston College on October 4 drew 16 teams, including Dumbledore’s Army, The First Years, and Hermione’s Broomstick, the ultimate winner. Collegiate quidditch, which first appeared on campuses in 2005 and has spread to more than 180 universities and colleges across the country and beyond, uses volleyballs as quaffles (for scoring), and dodgeballs as bludgers (for hurling at opponents). Broomsticks must be carried between the legs, with one hand always on the broom. Matches in the tournament lasted 12 minutes, with the golden snitch—a student dressed in yellow and carrying yellow flags—racing onto the field at minute 10. Above, Casey Hsiung ’12 (falling), grabs a flag off the snitch, winning the game for her team, They Who Must Not Be Named.

An October 1 celebration in Gasson Hall’s Irish Room marked the creation of the Accenture Professorship in the Carroll School of Management and honored the chair’s first holder, professor Katherine Lemon. In his welcome, University Provost Cutberto Garza thanked the 16 Accenture partners—all Boston College alumni, parents, or both—who established the chair and noted that the position includes an endowment “to create opportunities for undergraduates to assist the Accenture Professor with his or her research.” Carroll School Dean Andy Boynton introduced Lemon as an “internationally renowned marketing expert . . . an award-winning author . . . and a devoted mentor to undergraduates, graduate students, and junior professors.” In her presentation, “Customer Management: Reflections, Responsibilities, and a Roadmap for the Future,” Lemon cited the desire to “harness the power of marketing for good” as her motivation for getting into teaching and described the “fun of seeing something you teach a student come to life in his work.” Above, before the talk, she was joined by former Accenture partners (from left) Patrick J. Hogan ’67 (P ’01, ’96), Woodruff W. Driggs II ’86, Gregg M. Sweeney ’85, and Steven R. Burns ’82.

The Robsham Theater Arts Center’s performance season opens October 7 with the premier of Code Monkey, a musical comedy written and directed by adjunct associate theater professor Luke Jorgensen ’91. Set in a pharmaceutical company, the play is based on songs by Jonathan Coulton, a former “code monkey” (computer programmer) turned singer-songwriter. “I was taken by [Coulton’s] satire of office life and technology,” says Jorgensen, who recounts “working backwards” from the songs to produce a script. Students fill the play’s 16 cast positions and serve as stage managers, costume and lighting designers, and multimedia developers. Above, on September 17 in the Bonn Studio Theater, Jorgensen (in blue shirt) directs (from left) Meghan Crosby ’12, Christopher Graham 10, Margaret Maguire ’13, and Margaret Carr ’10.