Boston College magazine

108 Pages·2003·11.9 MB·English

by  Boston College. Office of Communications

also: the collector faith-based CATHOLICISM COWGIRL BLUES
/ /
BOSTON COLLEGE
magazine
WINTER
2 3
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J
A
NATO AMBASSADOR NICHOLAS BURNS
'78
—
PROLOGUE
Diplomatic
missions
"Now, I wonder what he meant by that." Metternich, on mate diplomatic act.
being informed ofthe death ofa rival diplomat on the eve ofthe Kennan would certainly be in my Diplomacy Hall of
Congress ofVienna Fame, and not simply because containment worked, but
—
because he wrote only one memoir and it's well done strik-
I've been searching the Web for an institution that honors ing oddities in diplomatic self-account. George Marshall
— —
diplomats a diplomat's hall of fame, if you will and it's would be there, too, for saving Europe; and Raul
been tough going. I've turned up halls of fame for dentists Wallenberg, Angelo Cardinal Roncalli, and Chiune
and chambers of commerce that count diplomacy among Sugihara, for saving lives. And I'd find a place forTalleyrand,
the characteristics required of inductees. I've found college because whatever his (many) faults, attention must be paid to
sports halls of fame that recount exploits accomplished a man who survived diplomatic service under six successive
against the "Diplomats" of Franklin & Marshall. And I've French tyrannies, including the revolution, Napoleon, and
turned up rival halls of fame for players of a board game the Bourbon restoration. (Once asked who was winning a
called "Diplomacy." But it appears that no set of town or battle in the streets of Paris, Talleyrand replied, "We are."
city fathers has yet determined to build The Diplomacy "But who are 'we'?" an aide countered. "That I shall tell you
Hall ofFame ("And unwind at the end ofyour tour with an tomorrow," said the ever-discreet Talleyrand.)
aperitifin the Richelieu Cafe!") as a way to return traffic to And finally Dag Hammarskjold, the U.N. secretary gen-
Main Street. eral who is less well known today—for his distinguished
It's probably just as well. However essential diplomats are diplomatic career than for his diary "a sort ofwhite book
—
to the proper management ofthe world, their credit card re- concerning my negotiations with myself and with God,"
ceipts, boiled shirtfronts, nibbled pencils, top hats, liver was the way Hammarskjold referred to it. Posthumously
pills, and other memorabilia ofsuasion, cunning, resolution, published (Hammarskjold died in a plane crash in the war-
and patience are hardly likely to draw the kind of crowds torn Congo in 1961), Markings earned its late author com-
that the National Freshwater Fishing Hall ofFame regular- parisons with Pascal and Kierkegaard, sold 450,000 copies
ly brings to Hayward, Wisconsin, for example. in 18 months, and has been reprinted so many times that
This is not to say that diplomatic lives are necessarily dull Knopfno longer keeps count of editions.
A
and unheroic, but that they are necessarily hidden. slim, even anorexic, volume. Markings is the kind of
— — —
Successful diplomacy whether it'—s being practiced by Raul work tense, puzzling, pained, overwrought that you'd
Wallenberg or von Ribbentrop depends precisely on expect from a lonely, driven, and often exhausted admirer of
avoiding the transparent celebrity that is the natural right of early Christian mystics, a man who made a moral point of
pioneering oral surgeons, businessmen of the year, and the apologizing ifeloquence inadvertently crept into his expres-
man who pickled a muskie in aJim Beam bottle. sions ofdiplomacy by day, and who wrote to God at night if
Machiavelli, who is said to have invented modern diplo- he had the strength. Markingswas a slog when I picked it up
macy in his "Advice to Raffaello Girolami When He Went in 1964, and it's a slog today, maybe one ofthose best-sellers
As AmbassadorTo the Emperor," there instructs his protege that are bought not to be read but because the purchase of
to study the local prince well, to listen to gossip, to keep his them brings the soul some comfort.
own counsel, to send frequent reports, to host "banquets Whether this is so doesn't matter. Nor does it seem to
and entertainments," to find ways to make repeated infor- matter at this date whether Hammarskjold was the martyr
mation in those frequent reports seem fresh, and should the to peace that he was made out to be after his death shocked
need arise "to conceal a fact with words, [to] do it in such a the world. (He received a posthumous Nobel.) What gets
way that it does not become known or, if it does become him into my Hall in any event is that he carried two books
known, that you have a ready and quick defense." to the Congo, and they were Martin Buber's /and Thou and
This is not a role to be played by Clint Eastwood, but Thomas a Kempis's Imitation ofChrist. In Leopoldville, he
Henry Kissinger; not Russell Crowe, but George Kennan, had them at his bedside, where any chambermaid could have
the real-life exemplary diplomat who conceived the West's seen them and seen who he reallywas. Talk about indiscreet.
NATO
containment policy toward the Soviet Union in a celebrated Our story on Ambassador Nicholas Burns begins
1947 ForeignAffairs article under the iiom deplume "X," a re- on page 38.
naming so self-effacing that it may constitute the consum- Ben Birnbaum
—
BOSTON COLLEGE
ij^mi
^CHl^ftS
Tfiagazine
WINTER 2003 VOL. 63 NO.
1
28 4t
20 Lost generation imij woif DEPARTMENTS
When
Siegbert Feldberg began to acquire self-portraits by 2 LETTERS
"degenerate" German artists in the 1920s, he had no idea how
LINDEN LANE
important his collection would become. Or did he? 5
• At ease • Asia minor •
Fiddleheads • Lex Internet •
28 Fidelity crisis
George Welgel Hip-hop bards • College Bound •
There's more to the American Church's travails than malfeasant Time share • Love, peace, happi-
bishops and criminal priests. ness • Senior moments • Final
exam Houseguests
•
The
38 diplomat Charks Tmehean 32 ADVANCEMENT
Perhaps the only thing Shultz, Christopher, Berger, Rice, 62 Q&A
Powell, Clinton, and two George Bushes have in common is BC historian Franziska Seraphim
that they've all trusted Nicholas Burns '78. on postwar Japan
65 WORKS & DAYS
Rodeo
46 drive Joan Burbkk '68 Mayor of Minneapolis
R.T Rybak '78
The rise and fall of the Indian cowgirl queen
CLASSNOTES
Follows page 32
SPECIAL section:
COVER U.S. Ambassador to
THE CHURCH IN THE 21ST CENTURY NATO Nicholas Burns '78
(center) with President George
Cany Wills • Daue Denison 'James M. O'Toole • Richard Higgins Bush and Secretary ofState Colin
—
FIRST PERS—ON finding change in a changeless Church Powell at the NATO meeting in
THE MEDIA Boston Globe reporters face their Catholic readers Prague, November 21, 2002.
THE CARDINAL William Henry O'Connell set the style Photo by Corbis.
—
RECOMMENDED READING women and the Church
—
THE VICTIMS reflections on faith and loyalty
—
RESIGNATION the mixed legacy of Cardinal Bernard Law
LETTERS
BOSTON COLLEGE
CRISIS RESPONSE andgrowing archive ofrecorded Aquinas on fraternal correc-
magazine Your special issue on the crisis eventspostedfor viewing on-line, tion: "Note that when danger
in the Church [Fall 2002] was go to www.bc.edu/church21. to the faith is imminent, then
WINTER 2003
VOLUME 63 NUMBER 1 excellent, especially the article superiors can be admonished
by Kenneth Woodward, "In In "First Night" [Fall 2002], by subordinates, even through
EDITOR
Crisis Comes Opportunity." Richard Higgins reports that public argument."
Ben Biinbaum
DEPUTY EDITOR Like Woodward, I want a Jack Connors,Jr. '63 "offered "See how these Christians
AnnaMarieMurphy disciplined discussion ofthe Boston College's evolution love one another?"
big issues. As a lifelong pro- into a largely lay-administered NORMAN WELLS'50
J.
DESIGN DIRECTOR
AndrewCapites fessional social scientist, I op- university that nevertheless ProfessorEmeritus, Philosophy
pose ordaining women and remains Catholic in identity
SENIOR DESIGNER
JasonWallengren married men, for reasons that and mission as an example for The crisis in the Catholic
are "sociologically com- the broader Church." Church is not about sexual
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
GaryWayne Gilbert pelling." After witnessing the Ifthe whole Church were abuse. This "crisis," like a
drastic decline ofmainline to be run the way Boston cancer, has been festering for
SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Lee Pellegrini Protestant denominations, I College has been run, tradi- a long time. The purpose of
hesitate to reject clerical tional Catholic teaching would the Church, like Christ's own
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Deborah SmuUyan celibacy. And over the past be presented on an equal foot- ministry, is to be a guide for
30 years, I have been close ing with every other philoso- those who are willing to do
—
EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS enough to several local phy in the world attacked, what they know is right. In
Nicole Estvanik
Tim Heffernan Protestant leaders to observe criticized, and routinely de- order to provide this spiritual
the way that strong policy clared inferior to, say, Marx- guidance, the Church must be
Readers,pleasesendaddresscliangesto: controls by church boards of ism. The Ten Commandments led by individuals who have
DevelopmentInformationServices
MoreHall220, 140CommonwealthAve. politically conservative laymen would have to be replaced by been willing to make this rare
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www4.bc.edu/update.html pastors impotent. Correctness. Criticizing a pro- them, there is no Church.
Pleasesendeditorialcorrespondenceto: About the inadequacies of tected group would result in To say that the Church is a
OfLfaiwcereonfcMearHkoeutsien,g1C2o2mCmoulnliecgaetRido.ns our priests as lecturers, I dis- immediate excommunication. democracy that should be
ChestnutHill,MA02467 agree with Woodward. In a The Pope would be a guided by laypeople is to vali-
Boston CollegeMagazine small parish in the non- mostly powerless, fundraising, date the failed mission ofthe
ispublishedquarterly(Winter, Catholic South, I am fascinat- handshaking figurehead, and Church. Can you imagine the
Spring,Summer,Fall)byBostonCollege,
witheditorialofficesattheOffice ed by the tenacity ofthe the Church would be run by crowds tellingJesus how to
ofMarketingCommunications,
617-552-4820,Fax: [phone] faithful. At an age when I an unelected council of run his ministry?
have learned to listen fiercely laypeople. One does not need an or-
ISSN0885-2049
PeriodicalspostagepaidatBoston, to the words ofthe daily And a large percentage of ganized Church in order to do
PMoAst,maasntdera:ddsietnidonaadldmraeislsicnhgaonfgfeicsest.o gospel and to attend carefully Church revenue would have what is right. Yet a true com-
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lies by humble priests who athletics program. young, are turning away from
Copyright2003 Trusteesof
Boston College. Printedin U.S.A. seem to speak from superior TONYSCHLWO '93 the Church, for the simple
Allpublicationsrightsreserved. —
minds, hearts, and lives. Cherry Hill, NewJersey fact that it has no power no
BCM
isdistributedfreeofcharge Thankyou. I envyyou all power to help them in their
toalumni,faculty, staff,donors,
andparentsofundergraduatestudents. the opportunity to discuss Praise for the casting offonto daily struggles, no power to
Itisalsoavailablebypaidsubscription at
therateof$20foroneyear(fourissues). these issues in this forum. a sea oftroubles in Conte overcome the problems in
Pleasesendcheckormoneyorder,payable JOHN MACDOUGALL'53 Forum ["First Night," Fall their lives. To see that the
toBoston CollegeMagazine^to: J.
Subscriptions Hiintsville, Alabama 2002]. Christians have not Catholic Church had no
LawrenceHouse, 122 College Road
ChestnutHill,MA02467 fared well in forums. power to protect itselffrom
Editor's note: For those who can- It's not for me to offer a the influences ofevil was no
www.bc.edu/bcm notattend Church in the 21st solution to the prevailing hi- surprise.
Century events inperson, Boston erarchic and hieratic hubris, Start with your own life.
> BC Calendar, further readings Collegeprovides video andaudio nor to tame the bureaucratic Take one moment at a time
' links « back issues
• BC bookstore discounts webcasts ofmanypresentations at beast "in ecclesia." On a fra- and do what you know is
no charge. Toperuse the sizeable ternal note, savor Thomas right. Your transformation
2WINTER 2003
.
will follow. When you change, the failures ofthe bishops." REPUTATIONS for the man were supremely
your community will also Their failure to do what? To Re "Fighting Words," by Seth evident.
change. address the "lavender clerical Jacobs, in your Summer 2002 ERNIEGULLA'60
M-VRTINDROZ'76 subcultures" that they have al- issue: I remember standing on Modesto, California
Temple City, California lowed to "flourish within their the bow ofthe USS Henrico as
seminaries and priestly com- a young ensign in early 1961, In rereading the letters on
In his survey ofrecent books munities." while work was being done on Dr. Tom Dooley in the Fall
on the clerical sexual abuse The implication that ho- the anchor chain in prepara- 2002 issue, I wondered why
scandals ["Divisions ofthe mosexuality and pedophilia tion for a seven-month tour to I had not written one my-
Faithful," Fall 2002] Charles are inextricably linked, the the Far East. Dr. Tom self I met Dooley in Laos
R. Morris tips his hand early one inevitably leading to the Dooley's name was brought and was aware ofhis CIA
on. Mr. Morris has arranged other, is as offensive as it is up somehow, and I remarked connections. We in the
his bedside reading in two or- baseless. The Right (those re- that I was reading his book American Embassy, whom
derly piles as the stacks conve- freshing conservatives) has Deliver UsFrom Evil. he belittled, were very skep-
niently "break roughly along had a field day dispensing this The first-class bos'n in tical about his efforts in
'conservative' and 'liberal' particularly insidious brand of charge replied that he had opening a small medical
. . .
lines." No need to wonder disinformation. served with Dooley in the center in northern Laos,
which line ofcritical analysis Let's be clear, the sexual early 1950s. When I men- more aptly described as a
occupies the higher moral abuse scandal engulfing the tioned the rumors ofDooley's first aid station.
ground. It's the conservatives, Church is about pedophilia, sexual orientation his reply We felt at the time, and I
in Mr. Morris's view, who not homosexuality. was: "What does that have to still do today, that any effort
"strikingly and refreshingly ROBERTJ, KANE'71 do with his good works?" to improve public health in
. .
tend to be much tougher on Granby, Connectiait His respect and admiration Laos should have been made
BOSTON
Tune in to presentations by the former Poet Laureate Robert
Pinsky, the Pulitzer-prize winner CarryWills, orthe Boston Globe
Oi
C reporters who broke the story on sexual abuse in the
irrG E
Boston Archdiocese. Or learn about the struggles of the first
FRONpRO^ African-American CPAs from CSOM Professor Theresa
Hammond. Travel the Rust Belt with English Professor Carlo
Rotella, author of a book on the culture of America's aging
Your seat^ reserved. Always. industrial cities. And visit a long-lost Boston College as it was
caught in the i950s-era promotional film Towers on the Heights.
Now at Front Row, a new streaming video Web To see what's available at Boston College Front Row today,
and to learn about what's coming, visit www.bc.edu/frontrow.
site sponsored by Boston College Magazine, you
We've saved you a very good seat.
can sit in on lectures, readings, and otiier
University cultural programs any day you like, Boston College Front Row is a service 0/Boston College Magazine and
is produced in partnership with the University's colleges, schools,
any time you like, from anywhere in the world. academic departments, and research centers.
BOSTON COLLEGE FRONT ROW - M A pj. fREEj AKfe^lWAYS ON
HOSION COLLEGEMAGAZINE 3
on the national level, where it crofilm: It saves wear and tear RIVALRY RAID flourish he would spin, re-
would have reached many on fragile newsprint, and the I'm sorry to contradict the ar- move the cape, and lay it over
more people, rather than in microfilm can last 50 to 75 ticle by Kilian Betlach ["Off a chair. All ofthis telegraphed
the isolated and distant north, years. Microfilm also copies the Wall"] that appeared in his fascination with Dracula
an area that was ofinterest to easily and stores compactly. the Summer 2002 issue. I and Dracula's real-life coun-
the CIA. As a professional public li- came to Boston College in the terpart, Vlad the Impaler, a
When I served in Laos, in brarian and a former archivist, fall of 1969, and the writing subject he researched and
1954-56, there was only one I am keenly aware ofthe dif- on Gasson Hall had already wrote about with his BC col-
European-trained doctor in ferences between research or been there for some time. league Dr. Radu Florescu.
the whole country, and he was academic libraries and public ROTC was removed in 1970 Several years ago, when my
the Minister ofHealth. Half libraries. One distinct differ- or 1971, so Betlach's protest then 13-year-old son had to
the newborns died during ence is that public libraries do theory doesn't add up. write a history paper, I showed
their first year, and the aver- regularly and systematically During my freshman year, him their bookIn Search of
age life expectancy was about "deaccession," or weed mate- I was told by my RA (a first Dracula, and suggested that he
—
40 years. rials offtheir shelves as a year law student who had just read it. In the process ofbeing
—
Tom Dooley would have professional responsibility in graduated from Holy Cross) fascinated, he learned a great
achieved more ifhe had done order to make room for books that the defilement had come deal about medieval history,
something to improve those that will suit the changing in- at the hands ofHoly Cross se- the fall ofConstantinople, and
statistics, rather than satisfy- formation and diversion needs niors the night before our big the rise ofthe Ottoman
ing his own ego by helping a oftheir clientele. rivalry game in 1967 or 1968. Empire. Not a bad legacy for
few people in the mountains This is an accepted prac- That was later confirmed by a truly dedicated teacher of
ofnorthern Laos. tice, and it is taught at library my brother-in-law, Richard C. history.
YALERICHMOND '43 and information schools Mahony '69. DAVID G.POWER72
Washington, D.C. throughout the United States. THOMAS S.HERMES 73 Belmont, Massachusetts
Books are deaccessioned be- Winnetka, Illinois
SHELF SPACE cause oftheir condition or Editor's note: Boston College
MCNALLY RECALLED
Larry Wolff's article "Shelf outdated information; because Englishprofessor Carlo Rotella's
Life" [Summer 2002] was a there are duplicate copies in I read with great sadness of Good with Their Hands:
delightful ode to libraries. the library; or because a par- Professor Raymond McNally's Boxers, Bluesmen, and Other
However, I have to take ex- ticular book simply does not death. I had the great good Characters from the Rustbelt
ception to points made about leave the shelfand has little or fortune oftaking a number of has beenpublished by the
the San Francisco Public no enduring value. classes with him during the University ofCalifornia Press.
Library's hasty weeding of I work at a branch library late 1960s and early 1970s, in- Rotella's anicle on women's box-
books: An article in theJune within the Austin public li- cluding European history and ing, "Get Busy, Girlfiiend," in
BCM
2001 issue oiLibraijJomyial brary system. It's a small especially several classes in Winter 2002, was drawn
listed the problems in San storefront location that holds Russian history. Although he inpartfi-0771 this book.
Francisco, and chiefamong fewer than 40,000 volumes. was a teacher ofmagnificent Also, Against Consolation,
them was moving into a new The branch librarian and I generosity, charm, and intel- by Robert Cording, Ph.D.'77, has
central library that had less routinelyweed books so that lectual breadth, I remember beenpublished by CavanKeny
shelfspace. That is a rarity. we can accommodate others him most for his sense of Press. Cording's collection includes
As for discarding old news- we have ordered. drama and theatricality. thepoem ''Pause: (forRobert),"
papers: Librarians use interli- Historical collections, on In those days, he wore his which appeared in BCM!? Spring
brary loan tools such as the the other hand, rarely deac- hair rather long and flowing 1999 issue.
Online Computer Library cession. And the analogy of (although not as long or flow- Both volumes are available at
Center database first to be the San Francisco library does ing as most ofhis students a discountfrom the BC Bookstore
BCM
sure that an original issue ex- not necessarily fit with the did), and he wore a black cape by logging on to the Web
ists at another institution. mission ofsuch esteemed in- to class. site: www.bc.edu/bcm
While most agree that look- stitutions as the Widener McNally would enter the 501/welcomes lettersfrom readers.
ing through an old newspaper Library at Harvard or the lecture hall with a flair, strid- Letters may beedited for length
is more enjoyable, there are Bapst Library at BC. ing down the steps to the and clarity, and must be signed to
be published. Ourfax numberis
certain advantages to preserv- MICHAELABRAMOVMA'92 stage with his cape flying out [phone]; oure-mail address
ing historical materials on mi- Austin, Texas behind him. Then, with a is [email protected].
4WINTER 2003
LINDEN LANE
Home economics: Professor Catherine Schneider in her kitchen with the students of Economics 234
Meal
plan
A&S PROGRAM BRINGS STUDENTS AND FACULTY TO THE TABLE
Hobbes peered mournfally past his scratch-preventing collar, won-
dering why his food dish had been placed in the basement, and why
dinner for 10 Boston College students was suddenly more impor-
tant than his own. Little did the sad-eyed cat realize his importance.
—
A
pet along with a teenager studying upstairs and a meal that
hadn't been zapped in a microwave or rolled out on a cafeteria
—
cart represents something many university students miss from time
to time: the warmth of a home. So when economics professor
Catherine Schneider invited the students from her "Economics
KOSTON COLLEGE MAGAZINE 5
and Catholic Social Teaching" lot ofstudents had younger where I am?" Moore overheard pan. The students, some of
class over for dinner, they all siblings whom they missed," he more than one asking. whom had left parents with
showed up. Some were hungri- says. "To come to a house The psychology professor empty nests, nodded in under-
er than others, for both food where a couple ofkids were stresses that the day is simply a standing. "My mom doesn't
—
and conversation, some more running around was really way to relax no lofty objec- even go to the grocery store
comfortable than others in the neat." tives, no working toward a sea anymore," said one.
uncharted territory ofa profes- The A&S subsidies, which change in the classroom dy- Most ofSchneider's guests
sor's home. But all were primed reimburse professors up to namic. "Forget goals," he says. had never been invited to a
to view a lesser-knoviTi speci- $150 per semester, caught on "It is really a nice day." professor's home, but for Nina
men ofthe university: the pro- quickly. In 2000, the program's Suryoutomo, a senior econom-
fessor as human. firstyear, 47 faculty dinners at- ics major from Fremont, Cali-
"Many students come in tracted 709 students; 1,055 stu- IN PROFESSOR Schneider's fornia, this was her fourth time
with sort ofunbridled respect dents attended 78 dinners in Newton home, the class sat dining with faculty. Two meals
for professors, to some extent 2001. And in 2002, some 2,470 around the living room coffee had been held in homes; one
awe," says psychology associate students dined with their pro- table, munching appetizers: was prepared by students in a
professor Michael Moore, who fessors on 134 separate occa- tortilla chips with guacamole, dorm kitchen; and one took
regularly invites his freshman sions. Even as increasing cheese and crackers, and que- place at a restaurant in China-
seminar students to his house numbers apply for the subsi- sadillas that Schneider's hus- town. Under the A&S pro-
on Cape Cod. "Between the dies, says Quinn, "there's a band, Bob, had turned out in gram, menus and location are
respect and the awe you get tremendous return on what re- the kitchen. Most had traded at the professor's discretion,
—
distance it tends to make pro- ally is quite little money." sweatshirts for nicer sweaters; though alcohol is not allowed
fessors a Httle less like people. In some cases, the program the lone boy in the class had (undergrads may be under
Butwhen I plod along on the planted an idea with faculty rustled up a buttoned business age). Schneider has hosted two
beach with them in my baggy who hadn't thought ofenter- shirt for the occasion. other dinners with another
swimsuit and talk about how taining students before. In oth- Talk took root tentatively, professor, but this was her first
few fish I catch, it tends to ers, the fund subsidized what about Schneider's son at solo effort.
make me more accessible." professors previously had car- Carnegie Mellon University, "This is the healthiest I've
The barbecued chicken ried out on their own. Moore, about the interests ofthe high eaten in a long time," said
served byMoore and the who has been at BC for 26 schooler studying upstairs. Tanya Kilabuk, a junior eco-
lasagna, turkey, and apple crisp years, has long invited his stu- Then dead silence, broken by nomics major fromJackson-
that Schneider placed on her dents home or on fishing trips. Schneider's comment about a ville, Florida, during dinner.
Newton dining room table are When he first taught the fresh- recent BC football game. Sud- "I'll tell you what, we'll
considered important enough man "Courage to Know" semi- denly, chatter broke out in pack it up in Uttle doggie
to be subsidized by the College nar, part ofthe Cornerstone small groups, and one student bags," Schneider replied.
ofArts and Sciences. Encour- program, he searched for a way mustered the gumption to ask During dessert, an embold-
aging faculty-student interac- to connect with 16 freshmen another about her decision to ened Kilabuk had an an-
tion was a priority when who would not only be his stu- become a nun. nouncement: "I'd just like to
Joseph Quinn took over as dents, but also his advisees. He Though the conversation say that the apple crisp was
dean about three years ago. He invited the class to the Cape needed occasional nudging by fabulous. And I'd like first dibs
remembered when his eco- and announced one rule: Dis- Schneider, it moved from on any leftovers."
nomics professor at Amherst cussion ofthe course was not dorm life to study abroad to Sure enough, out came the
College invited a class to his permitted. The students ar- how Schneider met her hus- tinfoil and plastic wrap, and
home. "Itwas terrific to see rived in the morning and spent band (they attended Middle- Kilabuk and her cohorts dished
the professor in a setting with the day canoeing, kayaking, bury College together). As the up doggie bags for late-night
children and dogs," he recalls. and playing pool in the rec students ate their lasagna, snacks and roommates. No one
"It was nice to see the rest of room. Around 4:00 p.m. came Schneider recalled what went hungry, not even Hobbes,
the story." the now traditional cookout: lasagna dinners were like when who had persuaded Mr.
When Quinn taught eco- chicken, burgers, hot dogs, her college-age son Christo- Schneider to serve his dinner,
nomics at BC, he too invited baked beans, and homemade pher, a cross-country rvinner, as usual, in the kitchen.
small classes to dinner, realiz- potato salad. A couple ofstu- was still at home. She, her hus- GailFriedman
ing that the benefits often dents during last fall's trip band, and their younger son
leaned more toward the emo- couldn't resist caUing friends would each have a piece, while GailFriedman isafreelance
tional than the academic. "A on their cell phones. "Guess Christopher finished offthe writer based in the Boston area.
WINTER
6 2003
GOALS
FIELD SABRE RATTLERS
The BC Fulton Debating Society,
ranked among the top five teams in
University expands JVIiddle Eastern Studies the nation, earned its first-ever vic-
tory in the annual West Point invita-
tional tournament in November
Coached by program director John
Katsulas, the team beat out more
than lOO opponents, including past
champion Cornell University, to
take home the silver sabre trophy.
RETIREMENT FUND
The Center for Retirement Re-
search (CRR) at Boston College has
received the final installment ofan
$8,654 million Social SecurityAd-
ministration grant to promote on-
going research on retirement
issues. The total represents a 65
percent increase over the initial
grant of$5.25 million. The CRR was
founded in 1998, along vi/ith affili-
ates at MIT, Syracuse University,
the Brookings Institution, and the
Psychologist All Banuazizi (left) and historian Benjamin Braude Urban Institute. Its director is
Alicia Munnell, Peter F. Drucker
Professor ofManagement Sciences.
Aided by a $160,000 grant will also sponsor a lecture se- Women's Writing," taught by
from the U.S. Department of ries open to the University associate professor ofEnglish BIOLOGY TWO
Education, Boston College has community. Kalpana Seshadri-Crooks; The A&.S Educational Policy Com-
begun a major project to re- Courses in Arabic debuted "Good and Evil in Islam, mittee has approved a new bache-
vamp its Middle Eastern Stud- in the fall, with more than 40 Christianity, andJudaism," lor ofarts in biology to complement
ies minor. The new course of students registering for the in- taughted by honors professor the existing bachelor ofscience.
—
study is called the Middle troductory class enough to Marty Cohen; and "Islam in The BA has fewer requirements in
Eastern and Islamic Studies warrant an additional section. South Asia," cotaught by his- chemistry, physics, and math, and it
Program, and it offers an ex- An intermediate-level course tory professor Prasannan accepts non-departmental electives
panded and growing list of will be offered next year for Parthasarathi and theologian in such fields as paleontology and
classes in disciplines ranging students who wish to continue. Qamar-ul Huda. environmental law. Meanwhile,
from history to theology to Starting in the spring and Jonathan Bloom, coholder computer science majors, once lim-
fine arts. continuing next fall, several (with wife Sheila Blair) ofthe ited to a BA, may now choose to
Faculty from seven human- new classes in Islamic culture NormaJean Calderwood Uni- pursue a BS, through more exten-
ities and social sciences depart- will be offered. Project codi- versity Professorship in Islamic sive course work in their depart-
ments have been involved in rectors Ali Banuazizi, a profes- and Asian Art, inaugurated the ment and in math and science.
the planning, which began sev- sor ofpsychology, and freshman seminar series in Sep-
eral years ago. New elements Benjamin Braude, a professor tember with "Jerusalem." The ELECTRIC ODES
ofthe program include a lan- ofhistory, led a faculty devel- class (one offour freshman Mclntyre Professor ofEnglish
guage component; courses on opment committee that helped seminars planned) explored the Robert Barth, Sj, has released his
J.
the Islamic world beyond the design the curricula. Among art and reHgious and political second CD, English Romantic
Middle East; and a series of the new courses are "Islamic history ofthe Holy Cit)', from Poetry. Sales will benefit Burns
seminars for freshmen that will Political Philosophy," taught the perspectives ofIslam,Ju- Library. To hear samples or order
explore aspects ofIslamic cul- by political science professor daism, and Christianity. copies from the BC Bookstore, visit
ture in depth. The program Nasser Behnegar; "Muslim Tim Hejfei~nan the Full Story at www.hc.edu/bcm
BOS TON COLLECE M,U;AZINE 7
Measure measure
for
A GUIDE FOR WOULD-BE FIDDLERS
Forget Me Not
by Seamus Connolly and Laurel Martin
Mel Bay Publications; 132 pp., $24.95
By the time he was 30, Seamus Connolly was one of
Ireland's most renowned fiddlers, winning 10 consecutive
Irish National Fiddle Championships (a feat unequaled be-
fore or since) and the even more prestigious Fiddler of
Dooney competition. These days he is director of music,
song, and dance in Boston College's Irish Studies program.
He arranges music classes and concerts, oversees the
University's vast Irish music archives, and organizes the an-
nual Gaelic Roots Summer School and Festival, to which
— —
people travel from all over the world even Ireland to
learn from master players.
On mostTuesday evenings Connolly and Laurel Martin,
adjunct professor ofIrish music, teach Irish fiddle classes at
BC, and it was in that experience that the seeds were sown
for their book Forget Me Not: A Collection of50 Memorable
Traditional Irish Tunes. In a quiet, folksy way, it is a revolu-
tionary book.
Laurel Martin and Seamus Connolly
Like all folk forms, Irish traditional music is learned pri-
marily by ear, aurally transmitted from generation to gen-
eration, player to player. Certain melodic structures form then laced with the embellishments that are such an impor-
the basis of a tune, to which each musician then brings his tant element in how traditional Irish music is played. The
—
or her own stylistic filigree trills, bowing variations, and tunes were all taught to Connolly by the older Irish players
other ornamentation. These improvisatory elements are dif- he knew as a young man in County Clare. He selected tunes
ficult to teach to young students, especially those accus- that were easy to learn, and in keys that all Irish music in-
tomed to sight-reading. Connolly found that the available struments could play, so that families or groups of friends
transcriptions often failed to distinguish between the core could learn them together.
melody and the ornamentation laid upon it. So, in their "The difficulty in writing down Irish tradi—tional music is
book, he and Martin opted to provide two versions of each that you cannot put all the nuances on paper the bending
—
tune the unadorned version on one page and an orna- of the notes, the subtleties of rhythm and phrasing,"
mented version opposite. Connolly says. "One has to listen to this music really to un-
"Ifyou go from measure to measure, comparing the un- derstand it. So much is played by feefing, and there are no
adorned version with the other one," Connolly says, "you can symbols for feeling."
see exacdy how ornamentation is intended to be used. A cer- ScottAlarik
tain note will be, say, a quarter-note in the unadorned melody.
When played with ornamentation, it becomes two eighth- ScottAlarik is theprincipalfolk aiticfor the Boston Globe and
notes, or a triplet. Butit occupies the same quarter-note space the author ofDeep Community: Adventures in the Modern
Me
in the melody. That can be the hardest thing to teach." Folk Underground (Black WolfPress). To purchase Forget
Two CDs included with the book give the same juxtapo- Not with a discountfrom the BC Bookstore or to hear samples
sition, giving the melodies first in their simplest form and from the CDs, visit the Full Story at www.bc.edu/bcm
8 WINTER 2003