At the height of the Great Famine in the 1840s, as tens of thousands of Irish immigrants poured into Boston, the Rev. John McElroy embarked on a dream to establish a Jesuit college where sons of Irish immigrants could receive a Catholic education.
McElroy, pastor of St. Mary’s Church in the North End, faced fierce anti-Catholic sentiment. But he persisted, and in 1863 obtained a charter for a new school in the South End. As “pious revenge” for the city’s resistance, he named it Boston College.
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Amazing to see what afordable higher education was able to do for lifting the poor out of poverty. It is unfortunate that the modern BC looks more like Harvard then the initial Jesuit mission.
I laugh when people say "Oh, B.C. is a good school!" Well, it is, but a lot of it has to do with the almighty dollar.
Yes, IMO, it has lost its true mission, quite some time ago, too.
As you well know, in past generations, my parents and even mine, there were many kids who commuted and who were the first to go to college. But a lot of them abandoned the liberal tradition of caring about the needs of those who don't have: They, instead, went into business and finance and voted conservative. The hell with those who don't have.
It is a great school but in some respects BC has forgotten "from whence it came".
Correct. Inviting Condolezza Rice to speak at commencement? (Or was it an honorary doctorate, or both? And Margaret Thatcher?)
But, and never forget this: BC owes its riches to those alumna who went into finance and accounting, etc. They are not, IMO, the intellectuals and so they would support the right wing far more often, not being well informed or interested about world affairs.
B.C. got rich from those people, the money making conservatives. Not from the intellectual crowd. Remember that.
Martha - let me get this straight
People who work in finance and accounting are not well informed, not intellectual, not interested in world affairs and are right wing money making conservatives.
Thanks for that brilliant insight!
Oh hear they voices one in song Holy Cross, Oh Holy Cross! Thy spirits loyal, true and strong Holy Cross, Oh Holy Cross! Thy purple banner floats on high, While songs of praise swell to the sky. Thy honored name will never die, Holy Cross, Oh Holy Cross!
Brother went to B.C. and so did I for grad school; uncle was a very active alumna of Holy Cross <s>.
BC has evolved into a great school. When I was a kid, BC stood for beer can. How times have changed! Doug Flutie's contribution to BC's popularity is immeasurable.
I hold an MSW from B.C. and one of my brothers has a B.A. from B.C., so I am no enemy.
But I do not think it is so wonderful that, for heaven's sake, a university should have evolved into a "great school" because of that Hail Mary pass(which I watched happen, live), and other athletic events.
I do not support major football or other competitive sports between colleges at the level at which they have reached.
BC does a very good job of manipilating the US News ranking methods. One measure of exclusivity/selectivity is the ration of applications to admission. Anyone who has taken a BC admissions tour knows they play up the sports/Fluty connection, the BC network and other social aspects of the school. This plus the great location and facilities results in huge numbers of applications. They work really hard at pushing people to apply. On our tour little if anything was made of academics. Not sure what it is now, but 8 years ago it was $60/application. To ensure they cover the approx. 2,200 or so freshman needed they might accept 10% of the pool, knowing that not all accepted students will take the offer. Because the application pool is so large, the acceptance ratios, inital and enrolled, are very small, making BC "very selective" by fact of statistics as much as anything else. That said, a solidly very good school.
What must also be remembered is the vital role Cardinal Cushing played in supporting the development of public higher education in Massachusetts. Cushing recognized very early on that a college education was a crucial element in moving his parishioners into the middle class, and that the state's Jesuit colleges and universities simply could not provide the seats for the large number of returning WW2 veterans (and later their baby-boom children). Despite the opposition of other private colleges in the State, Cushing spoke out publicly for an expansion of UMass, and lobbied for the creation of the state's Community College system. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his foresight and progressive views on educational opportunity.