Author: Answer Wall

When you see an injustice, there are basically two ways of trying right it: 1) try to correct that instance of injustice: feed a homeless person, or perhaps even help them get to a soup kitchen, or even help them find a job and a home. 2) try to address the systemic social problems that cause an injustice such as widespread homelessness: expensive health care, unemployment, inequity in schools, or a social safety net full of holes. Path #1 requires generosity and is hard to scale up to solve widespread social ills. Path #2 requires a lot of struggle for slow changes you may not see in your lifetime, and is therefore hard to convince people to undertake. It’s possible that BC’s focus on path #1 leads people on path #2 to attend other schools.

I was horrified to hear of this terrible event, and I’m sorry you feel like BC doesn’t care. Though I know it might not ameliorate the lack of a public statement, my library assistants have heard nothing but care and concern from BC staff, students, and faculty. As to the population: a recent Pew survey estimated that nationally, recent college graduates were about 3% Jewish, and Boston College Hillel estimates BC’s Jewish population at 2%. I doubt that’s enough of a difference to influence concern about antisemitism. I’m sure BC as a whole cares; perhaps student groups could help encourage BC to turn that care into a public gesture of some kind.

Thank you! I love you too. The short answer to the question of getting hit by a car is “no”. The university does not have a policy of extending free tuition to anyone hit by a car on campus. However, if you are hit by a car, you likely have a civil case on your hands. The exact outcome of the case (whether you receive money, have to pay out money, who the parties to the lawsuit are, etc.) will depend heavily on the exact circumstances of your accident. Even in the best case, it will be at least a year before you see any money. Some cases can drag on for a long time (5 years or more) and you will have graduated long before they’re over. All of that is to say that not looking before crossing the road isn’t a good path to a scholarship. I think many students assume others will stop if they walk. Unfortunately, too many people aren’t paying attention to the roads these days, and that’s a very dangerous assumption to make. Be safe. Look both ways.