Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
A university president must be many things- fund raiser, cheerleader, lightning rod, planner, money manager and thought leader to name a few. Nobody can do it all well, so the best presidents surround themselves with talented experts. The management team at BC seems to be doing well in their various areas (endowment is strong, admissions remains selective, reputation is excellent), so I believe Fr Leahy is doing an overall good job. Can he do a better job? Sure, like everyone else.
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The images on those posters don’t seem particularly representative of ordinary people, that’s for sure. If people decide to aspire to those body shapes, that’s a lot of potential failure, because human bodies are delightfully varied, and really shouldn’t be asked to fit such a narrow range of shapes. You might be interested in the anthology of essays The Politics of Women’s Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance, and Behavior (O’Neill Library HQ1206 .P56 2010).
Spend time alone. For real. Shut down social media for the day and go by yourself to a new place. Say take the T into downtown Boston and explore. You get the idea — the solo road trip. Other tips: rekindle a lost childhood friendship; spend time with an elderly relative; and tap into what gave you joy when you were a kid. Or join that club or organization (or get a job) you may have been too embarrassed or fearful to embrace in high school. And allow yourself to say no and yes.
No, I don’t. I’m a wall. I can’t even pick up a pencil, let alone sharpen it. These little pencils are carried here by my assistants from the containers at the Circulation and Reference desks whenever they notice they’re dull. If you notice they’re dull, it would be super-helpful if you grab a few from one of those desks, if you have the time and inclination.
A lot of people, they don’t think it be like it is, but it do. It could be worthwhile studying either the problem of evil (AKA theodicy: bit.ly/bc-theodicy1) or perhaps the liberation from suffering that is the goal of Buddhism (bit.ly/stanford-buddhism). Or any major religion, really – all of whom in some way attempt to come to terms with the question: why does suffering exist?
Yes, of course it is. Stop chasing the empty promise of future rewards. You are blessed with cake. Enjoy the cake you already have.
My helpers who have lived elsewhere are baffled that Bostonians treat air conditioning as optional. It’s very strange, especially given the Urban Heat Island effect.
![What is QSLC? [response: qual of student life committee]](https://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/aw111418-1.jpg)
Your fellow student is correct: it’s the Quality of Student Life Committee. Their orgsync page (bit.ly/bc-qslc) says they’re about instituting change at BC by talking to the administration and distributing the Boston Globe and New York Times at Dining Halls. They meet on Monday nights in Gasson 209.
I’ve answered this once before, last Spring: There are dependable resources on political leanings of college students in general, such as the Panetta Institute surveys (bit.ly/panetta-surveys), and there are dependable measures of past voting by district, such as the CPVI (bit.ly/wiki-cpvi). BC’s district (MA-04) has a CPVI of D+9, which means it is 9 percentage points above the share of democratic party votes in the last two presidential elections. But there are few dependable college-by-college surveys. MyPlan.com (bit.ly/myplan-college-politics) ranks BC as 392/500 “most liberal” colleges and 112/500 of “most conservative” colleges, based on ratings by about 11,000 MyPlan.com users. Sound method? Doubtful. Do the math – if 500 colleges are rated by 11,000 raters rating their alma maters, that’s barely 22 raters per college on average.
Systemic racism is endemic to the US and institutions in it. I’m not sure quite what acknowledging that fact at BC would look like. BC has an Office for Institutional Diversity (bit.ly/BC-OID) that grapples with institutional racism with programs & resources, and recognizes that faculty and staff of color and students of color deserve additional support to contend with living with racism, through diversity and affinity groups. Of course, there’s always more that can be done; that’s the nature of institutional racism. Please contact the OID or other campus offices with your ideas about what should be done.
I recommend telling Dining Services: bit.ly/BCDiningComment
![[redacted] republicans](https://library.bc.edu/answerwall/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/aw111418-5.jpg)
Bus to NYC: $35.00/4 hours. Flight to LA: $600.00/6.5 hours. Likelihood that living in Boston means you know someone in: NYC: 80%, LA: 40%. And the walls are waaaaaay taller in NYC. Is my answer obvious yet? But LA has my full sympathy right now b/c fires. đ
Well you can’t control how old you look without going to some extreme measures that I wouldn’t advocate. Maybe wearing a fake mustache? As you grow older, you’ll look older (sorry that’s not helpful). As to where to find parties, you should think of it more as finding friends that you can go to parties with (or that can invite you). Check out some of the clubs around campus or volunteer for a service project.
According to Res Life, BC doesn’t provide them, but you can email them a suggestion at reslife@bc.edu. Best of luck, I think it could make for a nicer living situation!
Yes! I have faith in you. Boston is a great post-college city. Your first job may not be perfect, but you’ll learn a lot about yourself.
Well, first you have to learn how to transform into a pile of cinder blocks and some mortar. Then you have to listen and learn from everyone that walks by you for about 34 years. And then, if you work really hard, you can begin to communicate with humans via post-it.
I have directed my subordinates to look into this matter and will get back to you when they have gleaned some information.
Update, 11-14-18:Â BC has to balance student wishes with banks’ needs when placing ATMs on campus. If you have a suggestion, contact the treasurer’s office at 2-3041, and tell them. They can take it into account when making decisions. However, keep in mind that banks often place ATMs based on where they will most profit, which is not always perfectly aligned with customer convenience.
As a part of a building, anything that could cause a fire concerns me. As long as it’s kept away from flame, I’m fine with tinder – in fact, I have many wall-friends made of wood. Oh. You meant the dating app? No judgment on how people want to find significant others or live their lives. Tinder can be good or bad depending on how one uses it.
