PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
APRIL 25, 2024 VOL. 31 NO. 16
Physicist Aids NASA Research on Asteroid
INSIDE 2x Around Headline Campus
New UGBC leaders; BC Ireland, 25 xxxxx. years along.
x Headline 3 Welcome Visitors xxx.
University hosts, and thanks, Margot and her family. xConnell Headline xxxxx.
BY ED HAYWARD STAFF WRITER
8 BC Arts
Faculty poets Shrayer and Weiskott to present new works.
photo by seho lee
Dance Organization of Boston College was among the acts to perform on April 13 in Conte Forum as part of ALC Showdown, the annual showcase for BC student dance groups.
Defending the Constitution
Practically right from the day it was written, the United States Constitution has led a dual existence as one of the country’s most prized documents, and one of its most criticized. In their new book, Keeping the Republic: A Defense of American Constitutionalism, Professors of Political Science Dennis Hale and Marc Landy examine why the Constitution has come under fire throughout its history, whether from notable statesmen, writers, pundits, and academics or ordinary American citizens—and they explain why that criticism is misplaced. By and large, the complaints about the Constitution stem from frustration with perceived obstacles to achieving political or legislative aims, say Landy and Hale. Depending on the specific issue, suggested remedies include doing away with the U.S. Senate, the Electoral College, the presidential veto, and/or federalism, or reforming the U.S. Supreme Court to make it more democratic—all of these decried as elements of an obsolete or undemocratic
Constitution that hampers the process of governing. As the authors note, actions have sometimes replaced words in diminishing or bypassing the Constitution, including by presidents—from Truman embarking on the Korean War without any congressional approval to Reagan’s Iran-contra scandal to Obama’s executive order granting working papers to illegal immigrants, and Biden’s voting reform bill. Keeping the Republic argues that, by placing effective limits on the exercise of power, the Constitution is simply doing the job it was created to do: providing for a free government. The Constitution is the difference between a country in which the people rule, and one in which people can do anything they want, say Hale and Landy, and the restrictions it sets on American political life is not a problem, but a solution to a problem. “We felt, based on what we were reading or hearing, that the critics didn’t really understand the Constitution, or more broadly, the idea of a Constitution,” said Hale. “They don’t like the shape and sub-
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“We are delighted to share this approach to ‘whole child education,’ and to bring it to bear on poverty’s impact within Ire-
It’s one of America’s foundational documents, so why do so many people seem to dislike or even want to get rid of it? A new book by political scientists Hale and Landy explains that the Constitution is doing what it’s supposed to do. BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR
Associate Professor of Physics Cyril P. Opeil, SJ, is among a select few scientists who will study asteroid samples as part of an international research effort to shed light on the nature of asteroids, how the planets formed, and how life might have emerged on Earth. Fr. Opeil is one of the rare researchers with experience studying the low-temperature thermo-physical properties of meteorites
land’s high performing school system.” —City Connects founder Mary Walsh photo by caitlin cunningham
City Connects Program Will Expand Into Ireland BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER
Boston College’s long tradition of engagement with Ireland will soon experience a growth spurt. City Connects, the BC-developed school-based intervention system, will officially launch the National Centre for City Connects Ireland (NCCCI) on May 30 at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, the initiative’s first foreign expansion.
Irish Minister for Education Norma Foley is anticipated to attend and inaugurate the evidence-based program that effectively addresses the out-of-school challenges that directly impact students’ capacity to thrive and achieve within the educational system. Founded over 20 years ago by Mary E. Walsh, the Lynch School of Education and Human Development-based City Connects has operated domestically in 90
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Given the issues with forced migration and armed conflict around the world, we are all the more obligated to respond with evidence and bring the tools of disciplines—like implementation science—to strengthen systems holistically. –salem professor in global practice theresa betancourt, page 5