Author: Answer Wall

You could do worse than to find everything by the writers in the Lowell series this spring: https://bit.ly/bc-lowell. For more, peruse this New Yorker list of essential reads of 2023. On this list, Paul Murray, Ben Austen, & Ben Lerner all spoke at BC recently, BC’s Min Song introduced Viet Thanh Nguyen in his inaugural Norton Lecture at Harvard, and Jon Fosse was featured in an O’Neill Library book display. A staff favorite is Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. BC’s own Elizabeth Graver wrote the can’t-miss Kantika.

Two resources you might want to try: Academic Coaching from the Connors Family Learning Center (bit.ly/BC-connors) or Wellness Coaching for managing stress, time, and academics at the Center for Student Wellness (bit.ly/BCStudentWellness)

Whenever people are on the cusp of a major change, there’s added pressure on friendships with all these questions roiling the mind & heart: Where will we all be next year or the year after? Will distance make us drift apart? Who will you & I become? Life is hard: hang on to each other, come what may.

Certainly! Fast Fourier Transformations (FFT) translate waves. FFT takes a complex wave and efficiently breaks it down into individual frequencies, revealing the components present and their intensities. This process is essential in fields like signal processing, audio analysis, and telecommunications, providing insights into the frequency makeup of signals in a fast and efficient manner. Check out the library catalog to learn more. We suggest starting with The Fast Fourier Transform by Brigham or Digital Signal Processing: A Practitioner’s Approach by Rangarao and Mallik.

For a bit of both romance and fantasy with a Polish folkloric twist, one of my helpers recommends Uprooted by Naomi Novik. Dragons, enchanted forests, and wizards await you–happy spring break!

The writer/journalist/podcaster Daniel Alarcón in his talk last night at Gasson told the fable of the library that collapsed because the architect didn’t account for the weight of the books, which is what happens when you lose sight of your mission. Any mission or set of values is something to strive for, and BC does in general strive to uphold its values. But BC is also composed of humans, and humans are bound to fail sometimes. You’re part of BC. If you think BC is failing to uphold a value, hold your community to account.

Did you know that rubbing the toe of St. Michael in Gasson Hall is supposed to bring academic good luck? For this and other fun facts about BC rituals and traditions, I suggest checking out Legends of Boston College (O’Neill Library: LD473 .L4 2004). And if you want to dive deeper on a particular topic, Burns Library (home of the University Archives!) is always ready to help you with your questions about the history of BC and its community members: https://libguides.bc.edu/burns/contact

Underrated: Pine Tree Preserve – check it out, so peaceful! Overrated: Frips. Why frips when you could have real fries?

Srsly

You might recall she mentioned an anthology of Native American poets she edited. We have that book: When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through. (O’Neill Library: PS591.I55 W47 2020). I’m sure you’d also like the work of another poet she mentioned, Ada Limón, all of whose books we have: bit.ly/bcl-ada-limon.

Last I knew there were cozy spots on the ground floor of Gasson Hall. But I’m biased for O’Neill Library; it’s full of soft chairs, but I’ve seen humans sleep at tables, in carrels, and even on the floor in the stacks. (There must be something restful in library air.) But I think the best spot of all is The Spot. IYKYK.

Lots of great buildings on campus, but I really like the chunky rectangular lines of my home.

The flip side of uncertainty is possibility.

Ask yourself: what prompted her to go upstairs? Have those circumstances changed?

I would seek advice from the department, your faculty, and the Career Center (bit.ly/BC-career). There are many resources for finding internships (including global opps) on this page from the Career Center: bit.ly/BCInternshipOpps.

Well, I am not u, but maybe someone else is? Nope! You are a unique individual!

Take a left at Charles Bridge and walk along the Vltava until you get to The Dancing House. If you keep walking you’ll get to the Visehrad Cemetery where lots of famous Czechs are buried. You’re also following in reverse the protest march that sparked the Velvet Revolution in November 1989. There’s a memorial to the student protestors on Narodni Street a little further back.

Being a university president is a tough job; it is impossible to please everyone (just look at what happened recently to several presidents). Ultimately, Fr. Leahy reports to the Board of Trustees, so he takes direction from them. It is up to the Board to determine if Fr. Leahy should resign, and they seem very happy with the upward trajectory of BC’s academic reputation and endowment.

I can’t leave my supportive role here for the floor above me, but I encourage all of my human helpers and fans to go!

? Based on my experience watching students every day, the risk may not be as great as she fears. Just be there for her, and make sure she understands that failing a test is not the end of the world and does not mean she is a failure. Maybe suggest she check out peer tutoring at the Connors Family Learning Center (bit.ly/BC-connors) and also talk with her prof.

There seems to have been some misunderstanding here. But if you mean me (The Answer Wall), I will have to thank you but respectfully decline; I am in a committed relationship with The Lobby Door.

I’ll let you two work this one out between you