O’Neill Library

Hi, I’m the Answer Wall! I’ve been perched in the O’Neill Library lobby at Boston College since February 2017, except for a year in 2020 when I went fully online. Ask me a question by posting a post-it on me in O’Neill Library. I’ll answer within a day on weekdays. I snooze on the weekends, because answering questions is hard work!

Wise Wall, where is the best place to eat pizza?

Wise Wall, where is the best place to eat pizza?
Wise Wall, where is the best place to eat pizza?

I only eat post-its, so I’ll have to defer to my library assistants on this one. Here are their answers:

  • OTTO in Coolidge Corner, Brookline
  • Stoked Wood Fired Pizza (Washington Square in Brookline)
  • Pizzeria Regina is really good and pretty; if you are up for a road trip, the Pizza Barn in Center Ossippee, New Hampshire is amazing.
  • Brooklyn, NY (specifically Elegante on 5th Ave. in Bay Ridge, but the whole borough has hidden gems)
  • Frank Pepe (Chestnut Hill), Pino’s (Cleveland Circle), Dirty Water Dough (Back Bay), and Mortadella Head (Somerville)!
  • Maruca’s Tomato Pies, Asbury Park, NJ boardwalk
  • Nearby? Crazy Dough’s. Far out? Anywhere in North End has got to be good.
  • Gary’s Pizza in the South End for authentic Roman style pizza
  • The Pizza Factory in Amesbury (if you’re willing to travel)
  • Maybe not the best pizza, but the most Boston pizza experience is going to Galleria Umberto in the North End. (Green line to Haymarket. Take cash. It’s cafeteria style.)
  • Stoked in washington sq
  • Bardo’s at Castle Island Brewery has crust that is so crispy and buttery (a la Detroit-style, although they claim it’s South Shore-style). Try the dill pickle version!
  • Pizza Project at the Speedway 100%
  • Regina’s
  • Anywhere but Bill’s in Newton. Ziggy’s on Washington St has good slices.
  • Pino’s

Oh wise wall, tell me a story to help worried freshman get excited about this semester, please. –’27

Oh wise wall, tell me a story to help worried freshman get excited about this semester, please. –'27
Oh wise wall, tell me a story to help worried freshman get excited about this semester, please. –’27

The big secret about college is you’re actually here to learn how YOU learn: partly about what’s in your classes, mostly about how to get along on your own and relate to a whole bunch of new people from different backgrounds. College is to set you up for continuing to learn how to learn for your whole life, so you do NOT need to get it all right today. Be patient, be curious. You’ve got this. And lots of people on campus can help when you feel like it’s a lot. Because it is. But you’ve got this.

Any tips for lectures and reading assignments

Any tips for lectures and reading assignments
Any tips for lectures and reading assignments

The purpose of notes on lectures and reading is to organize YOUR thoughts, not to list someone else’s. When they’re done well they end up being a summary in terms you understand of the themes and topics. Sometimes that’s a multi-step process (write down what you heard/read, then fill in the parts you don’t understand, then connect it to the rest of what you’ve learned), and that’s the part I think lots of people miss. It’s also the part an AI summary can’t do for you. Also, my friends downstairs at the Connors Family Learning Center can set you up with a tutor to talk about setting up a system that works for you. bit.ly/BC-connors

Wall, what is the universe made of?

Wall, what is the universe made of?
Wall, what is the universe made of?

Those kinds of questions usually fall under metaphysics, and you’ll get different answers depending on what kind of expert you ask. I’m feeling philosophical rather than astronomical, so maybe start with this very short introduction to some early Greek philosophers who were super interested in questions like that: bit.ly/greek-universe

Hi wall — is it normal to feel a little bit lonely

Hi wall -- is it normal to feel a little bit lonely after all-day-long and fun orientation events?
Hi wall — is it normal to feel a little bit lonely after all-day-long and fun orientation events?

It is totally normal to feel some loneliness after a full day of social activities. Fortunately, the semester starts in a few days, so there will be plenty of opportunities in and outside of class to meet and hang out with people. Welcome to BC!

Best adventures around for new graduate students?

Best adventures around for new graduate students? Preferably on campus.
Best adventures around for new graduate students? Preferably on campus.

Take the green line to some cool parts of town!
-Coolidge Corner. Shops and restaurants abound.
-Back Bay. Copley Library, shopping, boba tea, and more!
-On campus, be sure to look up lectures in the Lowell Series, find this fall’s theater production schedule (Enemy of the People, Midsummer Night’s Dream), and in general get in the habit of scrolling through events.bc.edu.
-Go for a walk in the Webster Conservation Area, Hammond Pond Reservation, and nearby Houghton Garden

What’s your favorite wall, other than yourself?

What's your favorite wall, other than yourself?
What’s your favorite wall, other than yourself?

Aside from family (Mom is a sea-wall on the north shore), I have to say China’s Great Wall. Huge fan. It was never very effective keeping out the Mongols, but it’s a massive success as a tourist attraction, and as one US President famously commented, “It is indeed a Great Wall.”