The Heights

The Heights for the Holidays

Olivia Franceschini • November 10, 2020

It hit me for the first time this week that come the end of the semester, I’d actually be going home—and I felt sick. But, at the same exact time, I’m homesick too. There’s a three-way-tug-of-war among loving where I am, missing home, and also being scared to go back home.

Pennacchio-Harrington: Being a Part of BC, Even Apart From BC

Rita Pennacchio-Harrington • November 3, 2020

Aside from the Weeks of Welcome, classes have been a new and exciting experience across the board. Although I do believe I’ve truly missed the feeling of being in a real classroom, in general, students are very kind and eager to meet others, even over Zoom.

Girardot: BC’s Reliance on Adjuncts is Exploitative

Doug Girardot • November 2, 2020

I began the investigation into these numbers two years ago when I was a reporter, not a columnist, for The Heights. The benefit of sharing this information in the form of a column rather than a news article is that I can say, without penalty: These numbers are insane. They are insulting. They are exploitative.

Carter: Amy Coney Barrett’s Originalism is Dangerous. Very Dangerous.

Sophie Carter • October 27, 2020

Originalism is a deeply partisan, political ideology that shrouds itself in the language of protecting the Constitution and democracy through serious intellectual rigidity. With Barrett now confirmed to the Supreme Court, the convincing, yet hollow, rhetoric of this formidable ideology on the court will be a force to contend with if we want to protect civil and human rights in America.

Franceschini: Some Thoughts on the Freshman Fifteen™

Olivia Franceschini • October 27, 2020

Despite my body changing, I’m still happy with the way I look, which isn’t something that comes as easily as it sounds. This extra weight that I’ve gained is a reminder that anxieties don’t just disappear. Confidence is fluid, and it will slip away from you if you let it. Feeling good about yourself is a constant process of self-reassurance.

Pennacchio-Harrington: Advice From a Remote Freshman

Rita Pennacchio-Harrington • October 20, 2020

As I said earlier, the key to college is finding balance. And with the right planning, you can find that you have enough time to enjoy both the deep, interesting discussions in your Ecology and Evolution review on Thursdays and the joyous occasion of Facetime Fridays with a friend who lives 2,576 miles away.

Skunk Hunting Part 3: At World’s End

Grace Christenson • October 20, 2020

You may now refrain from sending me drunk texts/photos/dms/videos about/of the skunks you see. You’ve collectively sent enough content for a medium-length documentary. I’m good, guys.

Franceschini: A Freshman, Football, and the Pandemic

Olivia Franceschini • October 13, 2020

College football might not be what it’s been for every single freshman class before us. But I wouldn’t trade the memory of watching the game with my floor on a blurry projection on the lounge wall for anything.

It’s Definitely Not Pronounced “BAG-el”

Olivia Franceschini • October 6, 2020

“Bay-gull” is the Goldi-locks of the word’s pronunciation. It references bagels’ Eastern European roots while also maintaining the adaptations both the baked good, and the word itself, have made over time. One thing’s for certain: It’s definitely not “bag-el.”

Carter: Government’s Mismanagement of COVID-19 Causes Ordinary People to Fall More Behind

Sophie Carter • October 6, 2020

The government’s mismanagement of priorities and dysfunction within its coronavirus response has resulted in extreme hardship for much of the everyday population, and without serious reflection on how to help people to survive these difficult times, many more people will die preventable deaths, suffer from extreme stress, and lose out on valuable early education.

Christenson: Boston College Is Not a Good School—But It Can Be

Grace Christenson • September 29, 2020

Columnist Grace Christenson asks a question that high school seniors across the country are asking themselves right now: Is Boston College a good school? Well, that depends on what you mean by good. But if we’re using the University’s coronavirus response as a measuring stick, the answer is no.

Girardot: BC and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year

Doug Girardot • September 29, 2020

Columnist Doug Girardot writes that in their reopening rhetoric, BC officials did everything in their effort to downplay the realities of college life in a pandemic. The flurry of summer emails students received in their inboxes and the maroon and gold technocratic signage littered throughout campus have suggested a conditional promise of normalcy: If you do all these things, then we can have school just like usual. But this is a dangerously fantastical apodosis.