August saw the release of The Princeton Review's 2005 Best 357 Colleges lists. Boston College appeared on three of the 64 lists that Princeton Review compiles to gauge student life on college campuses, including the No. 5 spot on the "Alternative Lifestyles Not an Alternative" list, which ranks the schools with the most discrimination against homosexuals based on the Princeton Review's survey process.
"We were disappointed by the Princeton Review ranking on alternative lifestyle because we think it is unrepresentative of Boston College and its campus climate and culture," said University spokesperson Jack Dunn.
"The Princeton Review Rankings are notorious for being a methodologically flawed, recklessly subjective sampling that has little validity among the nation's colleges and universities," Dunn continued.
A representative for The Princeton Review was unable to be reached for comment. Its website, princetonreview.com, outlines the procedure that The Princeton Review uses in compiling its lists, which offer rankings in categories such as academics, administration, demographics, social life, and extracurricular activities.
According to the website, The Princeton Review surveyed 110,000 students at colleges across the country for this year's edition. The survey is conducted in two ways. An online version is available for anyone who visits The Princeton Review website, and a paper version is administered on campuses by Princeton Review representatives. The website said that 90 percent of surveys are filled out online.
According to princetonreview.com, "When possible, and when the college is willing, our contacts will arrange for an e-mail to be sent to the entire student body encouraging them to fill out our online survey."
Dunn said there was no attempt to send a mass e-mail to BC students regarding the Princeton Review survey.
According to the website, each school on The Princeton Review's list of the nation's best colleges is surveyed at least once every three years. "The reality is that, unless there's been some grand upheaval at a campus, we've found that there's little change in student opinion from one year to the next," the website stated.
"The reaction of everyone I've talked to about the Princeton Review ranking was shock," said Mike Yaksich, Undergraduate Government of Boston College director of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) issues and A&S '05.
Yaksich cited a number of well-attended and well-received programs on campus last year, including Guess Who's Gay panels and the "Gay? Fine by me" T-shirt campaign. A new GLBT resource website, bcglbt.org, has recently been launched. The website offers a listing of support groups at BC, religious resources, a listing of notable GLBT alums, and GLBT-related courses at BC.
Given the positive changes that have occurred on campus in the past few years, Yaksich said he was certain BC would drop off the "Alternative Lifestyles Not an Alternative" list.
While he questions The Princeton Review's methodology, Yaksich said he recognizes the rankings' importance. "Ultimately, the rankings have some value," he said. "It's the only ranking out there for this issue. This might be the only ranking that a gay student reads."
The Princeton Review admits that its survey is qualitative and anecdotal, and that results can sometimes be inaccurate. According to its website, The Princeton Review considers all objections to its rankings, and makes adjustments when warranted. Yaksich said that he is in the process of contacting The Princeton Review to protest BC's place on the list.
BC ranked 10th on the "Students Pack the Stadiums" list, which measures the popularity of intercollegiate sports, and 20th on the "Great College Towns" list, which is based on respondents' assessment of their schools' surrounding community.
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