2012 Hockey preview
Both the men and women’s squads look to return to the Frozen Four, C1.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Vol. XCIII, No. 35
Bates brings fresh perspective New AD hopes to maximize student development By Greg Joyce Heights Editor
The search is finally over—Boston College has its new athletic director. Fifty-three days after Gene DeFilippo announced his retirement as AD, University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., announced on Tuesday, Oct. 9, that Brad Bates is the new AD on the Heights. “There’s nothing I’m going to say today that is going to be sufficiently profound and memorable. But what will be memorable, and continues to be, is the extraordinary talents and leadership of the Boston College students,” Bates said. “I really look forward to getting to know them and working with them.” Until today’s decision, Bates had been the AD at Miami University in Ohio since 2002. Prior to that, Bates worked at Vanderbilt for 17 years, serving as the senior associate AD before he left. “I want to thank Father Leahy for this exceptional opportunity, and to publicly acknowledge
See Bates, A4
daniel lee / heights editor
Harvard president awarded first sesquicentennial medal Faust speaks on the benefits of liberal arts By Sam Costanzo Asst. News Editor
Drew Gilpin Faust, president of Harvard University, was honored as the first recipient of Boston College’s Sesquicentennial Medal in a ceremony on Wednesday. BC President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., said in his introduction that Faust’s scholarly career has brought “a world of distinction to the academic setting.” In her remarks, Faust focused on the value of a liberal arts education in the modern world. Faust, a Civil War historian, noted that after the Civil War a generation of reformers founded the first research universities and pushed for a greater focus on rationality and practical education. In this new world of education, she said, the teaching of character and the development of broader thinking skills were often ignored. “Fact and value were no longer so easily aligned,” she said. “In Boston, this argument played out between Boston College and Harvard in a battle of words that would have done the Beanpot proud.” Harvard allowed its students to create a curriculum based on their own interests, while BC focused on molding character through a set program of study. Although Harvard has since adopted a more focused curriculum, Faust said, the debate over the benefits of a liberal arts education continues today.
“In our need to know facts … we forget the fact that we are all interpreters who need not just information, but meaning,” she said. Even research universities rely heavily on the often-serendipitous union of fact and curiosity, Faust said. According to her, this tension is essential to the advancement of universities and, in turn, of the students that attend them. “The scholarship that has served as the beating heart of research universities is founded on curiosity,” she said. Faust noted that BC’s fundamental prin-
See Faust, A4
daniel lee / heights editor
Drew Faust, president of Harvard University (above), spoke in Robsham yesterday evening.
Brad Bates, former AD at Miami University in Ohio, was introduced as Boston College’s new AD at a press conference on Tuesday.
GLC hosts events for annual National Coming Out Week
UGBC hosts discussion on dining issues
By Brigid Wright Heights Staff
Dining Services admins explain changes to system By Brandon Stone Heights Staff
On Tuesday, UGBC hosted a panel of Boston College dining officials to answer questions about the changes made to BC Dining Services (BCDS) for the 2012-2013 school year. The event, titled “It’s Grill Time: State of the Heights with BC Dining,” took place at 6 p.m. in the Murray Function Room. The goal of the event was to create an event through which students could raise their questions and concerns, thereby helping BC officials to make more student-friendly policies. Last year, a similar panel on concerts helped bring back a fall concert for this year. The event began with a presentation by Helen Wechsler, director of BCDS, who enumerated the features of BCDS that make it distinct, before explaining why this year’s changes were necessary. Notably, according to Wechsler, BCDS is one of only three self-sustaining dining operations in the greater Boston area. Self-sustaining means that BCDS is funded entirely by money spent directly by students on their meal plans. No fund-
See Dining, A3
matt liber / heights staff
Tom Brokaw (left) and Luke Russert discussed politics and the media in Robsham on Tuesday.
NBC legend, rising star take the stage in Robsham Theater By Mary Rose Fissinger Heights Editor
On the stage of a packed Robsham Theater on Tuesday, NBC News journalists Tom Brokaw, H ’90, and Luke Russert, BC ’08, had a conversation about the current state of the media in America, the presidential election, and the duties of our generation. As part of the Chambers Lecture Series, The Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics sponsored the event, titled “Ethics in the Newsroom,” which functioned as a casual public interview of Brokaw on an array of topics relevant in American news today. “I see a lot of undergrads here. I hope you weren’t forced to come to this for class
This week, the GLBTQ Leadership Council (GLC) is hosting a series of events to celebrate National Coming Out Week (NCOW). The events are designed to create awareness of the GLBTQ community on campus and offer support for those who are exploring their sexuality. Many of the events are socially oriented, allowing students and faculty members to network and find support on campus. Others are more educational, with lectures, panels, and discussions offering information about different struggles the GLBTQ community faces. On Tuesday night, GLC’s freshman outreach program sponsored a “Gayme Night,” where students and faculty members got the chance to play board games
and network with a supportive community. Wednesday night, a panel of experts and members of the GLBTQ community discussed youth and teen GLBTQ suicides and the role religion plays in them. Joshua Tingley, GLC president and A&S ’13, described tonight’s event, Guess Who’s Gay, as the keynote event of the week. “Since [Guess Who’s Gay] was created as an event, it’s been done over and over again year in and year out,” Tingley said. “It is really an event meant to break down stereotypes.” The event is audience interactive, where a group of students stand behind a curtain as they are asked questions. The questions range anywhere from “What’s your favorite TV show?” to “What’s your
See NCOW, A4
credit,” joked Russert at the beginning of his introductory speech, in which he spoke about the ways Boston College had played into his development as a man and as a journalist. He asserted that BC had forced him to look at situations from many different perspectives instead of confining himself to conventional wisdom, and that here he had learned self-sacrifice and the necessity of being active rather than apathetic. He then segued into the media focus of the event. “We live in a media age where speed is put above all else … a media age based on speed above truth,” he said. He denounced
See Brokaw, A4
robyn kim / heights staff
The GLC hosted a discussion of issues facing GLBTQ youth, and the role religion plays in them.