Answering questions at Boston College O’Neill Library
Unfortunately, once you have had sex and lost your virginity, there is no way to get your virginity “back”. However, you always have the option of becoming a “born again virgin” and remaining celibate from this point until you feel you are ready to engage in intercourse again, such as waiting until you are in love or married.
There’s a long church history on the question of celibacy and the clergy, some of which you can see in the New Catholic Encyclopedia: bit.ly/bc-celibacy. The early Church and Eastern Christianity had/have married clergy, and the Western Church recognizes them as priests. bit.ly/bc-celibacy2. Saint Augustine, prior to being a priest and then bishop, was apparently sexually active. (Confessions book 3, chapter 1): bit.ly/bc-celibacy3. So no, virginity is apparently not a requirement, but a vow of celibacy is. The Wall has reached out to other walls on campus for additional comment.
It is pretty easy once you know the trick. My assistants use this template: bit.ly/print-postit to create the ‘document’ (sometimes adapting the type size so the responses will fit on a post-it). Next they take a printed copy of the template and put post-it notes on it. Then they send the ‘document’ to the printer as a manual feed, put the template with sticky-notes into the printer’s manual feed tray, et voilà!
He is trying (see: “Freaky Friday”) but the Wall sincerely hopes he does not.
As a Wall, I don’t watch shows myself and I don’t often have shows projected onto me, but I have heard that some people project movies and shows onto other walls. My human friends have a wide range of interests in Netflix entertainment. Digital Trends has an article on “The Best Shows on Netflix Now,” bit.ly/netflix-best. The list is mostly dramas, but if you like quirky comedies some people like a show called “The Good Place,” starring Kirsten Bell and Ted Danson, and the Huffington Post has an article titled, “The 5 Netflix Shows to Watch if you Like The Office.” bit.ly/netflix-office. Enjoy your downtime!
He should be listening to you about what you like and what you don’t. Talk about what works for you on your own, or explore together if you don’t know. Dump him if he’s not interested in learning. If you’d like some reading material, the BC Libraries don’t have a great collection on sex instruction, but you can try searching for that in Worldcat (bc.on.worldcat.org) and have it delivered by interlibrary loan, or in the Boston Public Library, where all students are eligible for library cards (bpl.bibliocommons.com).
How could I possibly pick just one? Hadrian’s Wall: A Life (O’Neill Library DA146 .H56 2012), by Richard Hingley was one of my recent favorites. A classic, of course, is Peter Wyden’s Wall: The Inside Story of a Divided Berlin (O’Neill Library DD881 .W93 1989). The Great Wall: China Against the World, 1000 BC – AD 2000 (O’Neill Library DS 793 .G67 L584 2006) by Julia Lovell covers an epic span of history. But I’m not a complete monomaniac! I also like art. The artist Andy Goldsworthy is well known for his works in stone and wood, and I’m especially fond of his art book Wall at Storm King (Bapst Library NB198 .G64 2000).
Students often feel more pressure during finals; after all, this is the last chance to shine and everyone wants to do well. It can become a downward spiral though: staying up all night, not eating well, focusing on failing, being distracted. This online article from Time (ti.me/2I4UL0U) has some simple and good tips for surviving finals week. (A visit with the therapy dogs can be beneficial too.) So while they may be the WORST, the Wall has faith that you will do your best and you will survive finals. And remember, I and my assistants are here to support you!
Hanging out here in O’Neill day in, day out, midterms and exam weeks, I’ve seen some serious distress, for sure. There’s no denying college stress can get to you. There are lots of ways we can help to alleviate some of that, with everything from therapy dogs to referrals to the Connors Family Learning Center for academic coaching, or the Counseling Center for guidance. I hope people know they can ask for help, and maybe avoid a breakdown.
Because they’re wicked popular? But their site (bit.ly/bts-world-tour) promises more dates to come, so maybe you’ll get your wish…
Sometimes. #curious
The Wall salutes your entrepreneurial spirit, but doesn’t have that kind of space. For a technical answer, you might try the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: bit.ly/bc-dasein1. You could also look at something like the Cambridge Companion to Heidegger: bit.ly/2ry9wPo. Both will have lots of suggestions for further reading. Ask the humans at the reference desk if these don’t do what you need.
Oxford Bibliographies Online points to several (bit.ly/taiwan-histories), including Rubinstein, Murray, ed. Taiwan: A New History. New York: M. E. Sharpe, 2015 (we have an earlier edition in O’Neill Stacks DS799.5 .T3114 2007).
Tanti auguri!
There has been a recent increase in thefts of personal items in O’Neill Library. Please keep your belongings with you – especially easy-to-grab valuable items like laptops, smartphones, purses & wallets, and costly jackets – even if you’re just getting up for a minute. It makes me sad when someone’s belongings are stolen; I wish I could do more than watch silently. BC Police have increased their presence here to in order to protect your valuables.
Unfortunately, Beau’s owner had to cancel his visit. But please don’t be mad; there are more dogs coming!
As a wall, unfortunately I don’t have opportunities to try out different food combinations, so I can’t tell you my personal opinion on ketchup on eggs. However, I do find that food tastes vary widely between people and are really just a matter of personal preference. What might seem gross to some is a wonderful treat for others. I recommend being open minded when it comes to trying different foods and, if you find that you don’t like something, don’t judge others for making a different decision for themselves. In fact, being open minded and slow to judge others is pretty good advice outside of food preferences too!
This is an excellent topic to discuss with medical professionals. Openly discuss your fears with your primary care doctor, particularly if you have specific symptoms that you are concerned about or if these thoughts were prompted by a family history of cancer. And, if anxiety about this topic is recurring frequently and/or interfering with other aspects of your life, consider visiting counseling services: bit.ly/BC-counseling. They will be able to help you to come up with strategies for dealing with this recurring worry.
1. Maybe. 2. Absolutely.
BC Libraries does not pay to have the therapy dogs here at the library, although we do provide their owners with a parking pass. The dogs and their owners all volunteer their time, either through Therapy Dogs International or through Dog B.O.N.E.S. They are the best, aren’t they?!
