Stoked

STOKED

By Meidema Sanchez Assoc. News Editor Just as the Dustbowl served the needs of students in the past, Stokes Hall will serve the needs of both students and faculty in the future, according to the Boston College administration.

The construction of Stokes Hall has been a bittersweet endeavor. Though the building is impressive, it took the place of the beloved Dustbowl, BC’s once greenest pasture.

Stokes Hall is officially opening in January, in time for some spring semester courses to use its 36 classrooms, including an 80-person miniamphitheater.

The theology, history, English, classics, and philosophy departments will be moved into Stokes Hall. It will also house the A&S honors program, the A&S service center, the Academic Advising Center and the First Year Experience office.

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It will thus be the nexus for the humanities at the university.

“Like everyone in my department, I am really excited about moving out of moldy old Carney into fresh new Stokes,” Kalpana Seshadri, a BC English professor, said. All the light and air coming from all the windows will put everyone in a good cheer, Seshadri added. “I can’t wait,” she said. “It all sounds wonderful.”

In fact, $143 million later, the building represents one of the largest commitments to the liberal arts made by an American university in the last decade.

“Stokes Hall embodies this university’s enduring commitment to the liberal arts,” David Quigley, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said in October 2010 when ground was broken on the Stokes Hall project.

Jesuit Catholic tradition has emphasized for centuries the civilizing and

liberating power of an education, according to Quigley. This education is “rooted in the humanities disciplines that will call Stokes home,” he said.

In addition to new classrooms and spaces for various departments, Stokes Hall will also provide more meeting spaces for students and a café. A grassy area will surround the pedestrian walkway on the east side of the building, between Stokes Hall and Fulton Hall --- presumably an attempt to provide a green space for students that makes up for the lost Dustbowl.

“As an eternal lover of the Dustbowl, I have to say that I am very pleased about the construction of Stokes. I think that having several humanities disciplines in the same building will encourage an exchange of ideas that would have otherwise been more difficult,” Valerie Avila, A&S ’13, said.

Eevee Colon, A&S’13, agreed. “It

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may actually refresh these ideas as well because it’s a new building,” she said.

The students’ opinions about Stokes Hall affirm what Patrick J. Keating, executive Vice President of BC, wished. He said that the university was confident that the community would be understanding and supportive of projects that will benefit BC. “With all of the approved construction taking place on campus, there will be some inconveniences,” Keating said. “It is an exciting time in the university’s history.”

The building is LEED certified — it adheres to ‘green’ standards about building construction, a program promoted by the U.S. Green Building Council — in keeping up with BC’s new green building commitment. This means that the building makes efficient use of energy, conserves water and is built with sustainable or green resources and materials.

As a result, BC will have a reduced environmental footprint.

Boston College’s 10-Year Master Plan: Step One Stokes Hall 1. Commit Boston College to becoming the leader in liberal arts education among American universities.

2. Develop and implement a student formation program that will be a contemporary model for colleges and universities committed to student formation.

3. Identify and support selected research commitments that will achieve excellence and distinction in addressing urgent societal problems.

4. Identify and commit targeted resources to selected natural science emphases that will establish Boston College as among the leaders in these areas.

5. Build on the strengths and reputations of Boston College professional schools to establish leadership in critical professional areas.

6. Become a significant intellectual and cultural crossroads by leveraging Boston College’s international resources and partnerships and its Jesuit and Catholic networks.

7. Commit Boston College to becoming the world’s leading Catholic university and theological center.

The rest of this plan will be carried out through an additional $1 billion in construction.

www.bcgavel.com

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