Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
It’s not a cult, it’s a game that mixes in elements of improv theater and collaborative storytelling. There’s a good explainer at Vox. bit.ly/bc-dnd. It’s been around since the seventies, but it’s having a bit of a cultural moment right now, showing up in a bunch of popular TV shows.
Not that I know of. BC’s big feature is hills and cliffs. If you want a campus with tunnels, drop by Northeastern. You can get lost down there. bit.ly/NEU-tunnels.
I started answering questions here at BC in early February, 2017. But connecting people with the information they seek has always been my calling, since I was a tiny know-it-all boardling.
Can I ask a clarification question? Do you mean what percentage of BC Alums ever get married to anyone? Or do you mean what percentage of BC alums constitute marriages where both partners are BC alums? Finally, married by what age? It’s likely that many alums are currently unmarried, but could get married next year, or in a few decades. I’m not sure I’ll be able to find an answer either way, but defining the question is a good first step.
If a group of sufficient number is organized, you have yourself a protest. If the group is also creative and persistent and has clear demands, it may also result in changes. Do I think it’s overpriced? Well, I don’t eat, but a few of my assistants mentioned bringing lunches and getting off campus for lunch as ways to save $.
For comparison’s sake: at IHOP, a Belgian waffle is $8.59, as is the quick 2-egg breakfast (with bacon, hash browns, and toast.) Food prices are going up all over; my assistants have noticed this at Boston-area restaurants. For now, a burrito at El Pelon is still a cheaper lunch option than many dishes here at BC, though.
UCS has a growing demand for service, as do counseling offices at colleges and universities all over the US, and has been, as you’re aware, adding staff to meet demand. Though they would likely benefit from more staff, there’s also a question of budget. At what point do administrators say: we really can’t afford to put more resources in that basket this year? I don’t know the answer to that question.
During the semester, the Roman Languages and Literatures Department offers an opportunity for Spanish conversation through the Café en español, which meets on a weekly basis. All students, whether or not they are enrolled in Spanish language courses, can participate. The Café meets on Wednesdays from 1-1:50 pm in Welch Dining Room, in the basement of Lyons.
The last I heard from the walls in St. Clements is that the removal of the former Plex is mostly done and that we will now be looking to reclaim that land. Once finished, it will have additional green space, tennis courts, basketball courts, and additional parking.
I don’t have to worry about facial hair, but I suspect it must get itchy growing all the way down one’s neck. Luckily the library has a book that may answer your question: Of Beards and Men: The Revealing History of Facial Hair. Find it at GT2320 .O43 2015.
Breathe. You are almost certainly not already failing. It can feel awful when your studies start off on a bad note, though. Things to do: talk to your academic advisor about your worries. Go to your professor’s office hours and ask for their advice. Visit the Connors Family Learning Center (bit.ly/BC-connors) for lots of great peer tutoring. There is a lot of help out there.
I can’t give a recommendation, but here are the search results for Yelp for Top 10 best merguez in Boston: http://bit.ly/BostonMerguez. Enjoy!
I’m sorry you feel so down about your capabilities and situation. It sounds like some things haven’t gone well recently. I believe in you, and I know you can recover from this bad moment. I recommend getting help from others, such as at university counseling (bit.ly/BC-counseling). Please know in your heart that you’re capable and always worth the struggle, even though it might not feel that way right now.
They’re there to protect the insides of the elevator from getting scratched and otherwise broken by the construction. We often need to move big tools or other equipment upstairs, and the elevator is the best way to do that. The blue fabric is dense and doesn’t tear easily, providing a protective barrier. The same is true for the blue sticky paper on the floor in some parts of the library.
As far as music goes, absolutely. “College Dropout”, “Late Registration”, “Graduation”, and “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” are great records in my opinion. “808s and Heartbreak” and his later works are pretty divisive for all sorts of reasons, but I can appreciate Kanye wanting to do something different with his music despite whatever criticisms there may be. He seems to mainly be getting attention now due to concerns about his mental health and his Adidas sneakers, but I’ll keep waiting to hear new music that I can appreciate on a similar level as his older stuff.
My cousin the bell tower, in spite of their frequent ringing, is mute on the subject of access. There’s a clue (bit.ly/bells-clue) but it predates renovation. Here’s a bit of a virtual tour: bit.ly/BCM-gasson, and another: bit.ly/burnsblog-gasson. I’ll see what else my assistants can find out & update you if there’s news.
It depends on your definition of “fun” and “cheap”! I can think of a few: visiting local museums, Seeing a movie on a Tuesday–many theatres offer tickets for $7 or less– paint nights–locations vary–and a fun event this month is a Glow Boston Fall Fest 09/26/19–low priced tickets can be found on groupon for this and paint nights.
There are as many answers to this question as pages in this library, but they basically fall into two categories: teleological (related to purpose), or etiological (related to causes & origins). The first asks What is our purpose? and the second asks What caused us to be? Some might add a third category: phenomenological (related to experiences), which asks What is happening? You could do worse than to explore all three (teleology, etiology, and phenomenology) in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu. Me, I think we’re here to love.
To understand where courage comes from, we must understand why we need it. In The Tragedy of Pudd’nHead Wilson… (PS1317 .A1 1996) Mark Twain wrote “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear.” In his sci-fi epic Dune (PS3558.E63 D8) Frank Herbert wrote, “Fear is the mind-killer…”. Fear can paralyze us into inaction, which is, itself, an action. Doing nothing is a decision. Courage comes from an instinctual unwillingness to do nothing when something needs to be done. Brene Brown has written some great books on courage and where it comes from (bit.ly/BC-brene-brown).
Maybe start small – “Want to go get a cup of coffee after class?” and proceed from there. Have courage, and don’t react defensively if she says no. Best wishes!
