'I am a homeless Boston College Double Eagle' I see myself as a role model and this is one reason why I would like to join Teach for America. I graduated from Boston College in 2001 with a 3.2 grade point average. While as an undergraduate student, I hosted potential students, some with whom I still remain in close contact. Despite the odds, I am fit to lead and I feel that Teach for America is right for me. I seek to join Teach for America for specific reasons. My qualifications will enable me to perform the job functions for this position with precision and accuracy. I am capable of being trained, and learning more about the role of Teach for America, and about urban poverty and disparities in general. I will be an effective corps leader because I know what it feels like to be impoverished in a major city like Boston.
Currently, I am homeless and have been for the past five months. I have lived outdoors in the cold New England weather, and when possible, I have lived in homeless shelters.
However, this is not always an option. It's been very difficult but these experiences give me more insight into the plight of urban poverty, and the need to be ready to adjust at any moment.
These experiences are only one facet of my background. In addition to a strong liberal arts background, I also have a solid background in math, including college-level calculus.
My background in the liberal arts gives me the flexibility and the ability to think outside the box. I can relate to people of many different walks of life. As a homeless man, I have also learned to live in many different settings. By being isolated from others, I understand the importance of community building.
As an adopted child, I was raised in an all-black neighborhood in a house and was bused out to Lakewood Ranch, which is a suburban community in Bradenton, Florida, where I was raised. I did not come to Massachusetts as a homeless person.
Yet, these experiences do highlight the true nature of poverty. Not being a part of a community helps me to understand how important it is to grow and develop.
Shedrick Gavin BC ' 01
Administration must practice greater interfaith sensitivity Last Thursday evening, the University hosted its fourth annual convocation to officially welcome nearly 2,300 first-year students to the Boston College community. Yet, it was clear that not everybody felt so welcomed.
Surprisingly, the administration must have missed the fact that Sept. 13th was also the date of the highest holy day of the Jewish religion, Rosh Hashanah. Even more shocking, however, was the message posted on the Office of the First Year Experience's Web site stating, "all first-year students are required to join us for this event."
Ironic for an institution so committed to interfaith dialogue and the spiritual well-being of its students, no? While it is understandable that BC is a Jesuit university and is therefore deeply rooted in its Catholic tradition, I find it incredibly insensitive for the University to explicitly require all first-year students to attend convocation without even recognizing the existence of Rosh Hashanah and the reality that dozens of Jewish students, like myself, would be placed in an awkward and even humiliating situation.
However, the University's record of insensitivity did not stop there. To top it off, the Office of the Dean for Student Development planned its annual Student Activities Fair for the following day, which also happens to be the second and final day of Rosh Hashanah, thereby making it very difficult for observant Jewish students on campus to participate in the day's activities and for BC Hillel to organize a table for the event. I ask Fr. Leahy and the BC administration to act with much more sensitivity when planning future official University events, especially those which explicitly require the attendance of the student body.
BC, while preserving its Jesuit tradition, should still make every effort to welcome students of other faiths; its actions last week unfortunately seem to blot that reputation.
I hope that the BC administration will act more considerately in the future so that it can finally live up to the words of the opening hymn of convocation "all are welcome in this place."
Leon Ratz A&S '11
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