Fallen Mods should serve as university capital fundraiser Many thanks to Neil Johnson for his "It's a Mod, Mod World," published in your Nov. 13, 2006 edition. I was happy to learn more about the early days of the Mods. During my freshman and sophomore years, I lived in Mod 43A which, sadly, no longer exists. My placement in the Mods as a freshman and my two-year experience there, prior to moving to the Rezzies (aka, Edmond's Hall) as a junior and senior, certainly enhanced my Boston College experience. For this young student, the Mod environment helped promote focus, balance, and a lifetime of memories. My only complaint, which I continually express to my daughter Carol, A&S '08, is that I never got a chance to say goodbye to Mod 43A before it was removed. Perhaps, if more Mods are scheduled for removal, BC can offer small pieces to former residents as a fundraiser to benefit our great University.
Peter Crummey BC '78
Redeclaring majors leads to more thoughtful reflection I wanted to reassure any first-year students in the College of Arts and Sciences who may have been shocked by the attention-grabbing front page headline of Tyler Marangi's story on declaring/re-declaring their majors (January 22) that there is no draconian administrative effort underway to interfere with or limit their choice of majors or courses. While it is technically correct that the choice of major carried over from the admissions application will be "deleted," the purpose is not to interfere with choices, but rather, as the remainder of the article accurately details, to encourage students to make more thoughtful, reflective choices based on their experience in the first year of college. Since we have always encouraged students to do this, this is not really a policy change (remarkable or otherwise), but is just a change in the procedure for declaring majors that we hope will lead to more thoroughly considered and more satisfying choices.
J. Joseph Burns Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Programs
Students the secret to research center's national success We were tickled to see our name in the "Thumbs Up" column of the Monday January 29 issue of The Heights. It is only fair that we acknowledge one of the secrets to our success - BC students. Currently, we have 10 students working here - half undergraduate and half graduate. We get a lot out of them. They undertake literature reviews, manipulate large data sets, and write preliminary drafts of articles. They are simply indispensable! We also like to think they get a lot out of us. They co-author our publications, write terrific theses, and get fabulous jobs when they move on. It's a match made in heaven!
Alicia H. Munnell Director, Center for Retirement Research
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