wounded warriors
‘Grand Room’
features
ARTS & rEVIEW
sports
BC football and the Under Armour team support the Wounded Warrior Project, B10
The mesmerizing musical filled Bonn with curiosity and laughs, A10
Boston College Eagles sneak out two close victories over the weekend, B1
taking care of business
Monday, November 5, 2012
Vol. XCIII, No. 41
Rombalski will leave after four years as vice president By David Cote News Editor
After four years at Boston College, Patrick Rombalski, vice president for student affairs, has announced that he will be leaving his post over the coming two weeks. “I am writing to announce that after four rewarding years at Boston College, I have decided to leave my position as Vice President for Student Affairs to pursue broader interests in the field of higher education,” Rombalski wrote in a letter to colleagues. “In the near term, I will be attending to personal issues. I will also be consulting as well as continuing my involvement in volunteer programs.”
Rombalski came to BC in early 2008, after serving as vice president for student affairs at John Carroll University outside Cleveland, Ohio. Rombalski also served as dean of students at John Carroll, director of residential life at the University of Scranton, and associate director of residential life at Fairfield University, which are all Jesuit institutions. During his first months at BC, Rombalski established a strategic plan for the division of student affairs, creating an overall vision under which the division could improve. “I came into a division of student affairs that the staff said was in great need
See Rombalski, A4 eun hee kwon / heights staff
Students delivered lectures on topics ranging from feminism, to neo-natal care in third world countries at the third BCTalks event by ESS.
campus spared sandy’s worst
bc talks showcase research Eight undergraduates share knowledge at the third BCTalks By Brigid Wright Heights Staff
On Sunday, Nov. 4, Education for Students by Students (ESS) presented its third series of BCTalks lectures. BCTalks is modeled off of the famous TEDTalks, a conference that combines technology, education, and design disciplines and educates the community on “Ideas Worth
Spreading.” BCTalks is designed to give undergraduates an opportunity to share research, passions, and knowledge in a social setting. BCTalks was co-founded by Lisa Piccirillo, A&S ’13, and Conor Sullivan, LSOE ’13, in collaboration with ESS. BCTalks was inspired by the success of other ESS programs, such as BC Splash and the foreign language night classes
now offered on campus for undergraduates. The overall goal of the event is to spread information and passions from student to student in a setting that is less conventional than a classroom. The lecture series has shifted and developed since its first series, cutting the number of speakers from 14 last fall
See BCTalks, A4
Fleabag show overcrowds O’Connell Show delayed, some turned away at door By David Cote News Editor
experience, so that’s where the orientation came in, and the lunches,” said Alexis Cox, co-director of this semester’s BC Splash and LSOE ’14. “We really feel that if we can improve the student experience, students will want to come back. It improves their day, they’re more willing to participate, which makes it better for our teachers who are participating.” Cox and co-director Barron Flood, A&S ’13, both said that Education for Students by Students (ESS) co-president Conor Sullivan, LSOE ’13, encouraged them to get involved in the program. ESS is the Registered Student Organization (RSO) that includes BC Splash, BC Talks, and BC Nighttime Education Students Teaching Students
Despite the popularity of the show, Saturday night’s 10 p.m. My Mother’s Fleabag performance hosted a much smaller crowd than in previous semesters, after many guests were asked to leave due to overcrowding in the O’Connell House. Before the 10 p.m. show began, guests crowded both the upper and lower levels of the O’Connell House for the performance. Before the show could start, however, the BCPD and Karl Bell, assistant director of the Student Programs Office, asked students to step down from the balcony. “The OCH has a very limited capacity and guests are prohibited from standing in the balcony to watch performances,” Bell said. “The OCH manager, BCPD, and I were concerned about student safety at the show. We took measures to make certain that each student/guest at the show was seated and that the number of guests did not exceed the capacity of the house for performances.” Bryan Cocchiara, president and director for My Mother’s Fleabag and A&S ’13, gave a similar summary of the events of
See Splash, A4
See Fleabag, A4
andrew skaras / for the heights
Local area high school students came to Boston College on Sunday for ESS’s BC Splash program. graham beck / heights editor
Although BC was spared serious damage as a result of Hurricane Sandy, several trees, including one of the famed Linden trees on Linden Lane, were brought down as a result of high winds.
Injured alum holds fundraiser Dale Ahn, BC ’11, works to spread awareness for spinal injuries By Devon Sanford Heights Editor
On Dec. 8, a fundraiser will be held for Dale Ahn, BC ’12, who suffered a severe C5 cervical spinal cord injury in 2011. The fundraiser, “Stand Up for a Cure,” will be held in Libation, a bar and restaurant in New York City. Money raised by the fundraiser will go toward Ahn’s Supplemental Needs Trust, a fund established
ESS makes a splash with its fifth semi-annual program By Eleanor Hildebrandt Heights Editor
to offset the costs of Ahn’s rehabilitation and long-term care. The estimated costs of living with a cervical spinal cord injury amount to $712,308 in the first year, followed by $105,013 each subsequent year. The Ahn family hopes that the “Stand Up for a Cure” fundraiser will help supplement these demanding expenses. “I hope for all who attend, to have a great time as it will be a comedy show,” Ahn said in an email. “More importantly, I hope everyone goes home with a little more awareness and knowledge of spinal cord injuries and the many lives affected by it. In regards to the Trust Fund, I hope
See Dale Ahn, A4
High school students from the Boston area flocked to Boston College on Sunday, Nov. 4, to learn about political structures in the world of Harry Potter, how to avoid awkwardness, and ways to prepare for college life. Over 200 BC students volunteered to teach 150 separate classes for BC Splash’s fifth program, using classrooms in Devlin, Fulton, and Gasson to acommodate approximately 600 high school students. Students arrived for registration at 8 a.m., attended an orientation at 9 a.m., and had the option to attend classes anytime from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Our focus this year was a lot on student