The Heights

Opposites Don’t Always Attract

Mary Perez • January 22, 2025

The dynamics of magnets have never captured my attention, except during one middle school science test. I can’t remember Bill Nye’s explanation of magnetic poles or electron clouds, yet one lesson from the unit stuck with me— opposites attract. The concept seems transferable to all aspects of life. Things that, at first glance, shouldn’t go together often make the best pairs—french fries and ice cream, dresses and sneakers, even light and darkness. But in these great pairings, is there a point where opposites become too opposite? In other words, can a fry become too salty for its ice cream, or ice cream too sweet for its fry?

Sauna Rules

Jaya Gautam • January 18, 2025

The first week of classes is a little like the first week of January. I’m extra nice to everyone, striving for 10,000 steps a day, and trying not to eat carbs. Then, by January 7—or the second week of the semester—I've given up on my utopian resolutions and succumbed to Late Night at the Rat.

BC Students Need To Cultivate Intellectual Humility and Fervor

Elliott Jones • January 16, 2025

The biggest challenge for fruitful dialogue, debate, and activism at BC is not the lack of intelligence nor ignorance of the student body, but is what I have diagnosed as an attitude of “keeping the peace.”

A Call to Action for the White Students of Boston College

Phoebe Barnes • January 15, 2025

Despite being a liberal arts school that prides itself on diverse admissions, an accepting atmosphere, and its commitment to Jesuit values of social justice, one only needs to look around the campus of Boston College to see that the school is not just predominantly white, but often feels overwhelmingly so. The unequal demographic is a product of a variety of systemic issues embedded in higher education. While these issues can feel too large for individual students to tackle alone, there are many ways to combat institutional racism on a personal level.

Cultivating a Secret Garden in Your Mind

Emmbrooke Flather • December 10, 2024

Every day, middle school me spent hours practicing tennis alone against a backboard, with only my imagination to keep me company. At the time, all I focused on was perfecting my form, not realizing that I was also inadvertently training something even more important: the ability to daydream.

Drafting History in Campus’ Quiet Hours

Erin Flaherty • December 9, 2024

I feel most like myself when I’m walking across campus at 2:00 a.m. on a Monday, when Gasson’s bells stop chiming, the buses stop huffing and puffing their way around campus, and the Quad’s sprinklers soak the bottoms of my jeans if I don’t maneuver around them swiftly enough.

You Are Wonderful

Skyler Safriet • December 8, 2024

You are wonderful. And I'm going to prove it to you. You, yes you, are wonderful and infinitely valuable. If you just read those words and thought, “No way, not me. Wonderful is not the word I’d use. What do I have to offer that someone else can’t do better?” Make no mistake, all the world needs you to be is yourself.

LinkedIn-sanity

Tommy Roche • December 8, 2024

I have a LinkedIn, and it feels apocalyptic. For those who don’t know, LinkedIn is the social networking website for professional development. Unlike other social media platforms like Facebook or X, LinkedIn unpretentiously admits in its vision statement that it seeks to provide economic opportunity for its users—not social utility.

Finding Festivity Amid the Frenzy

Punnya Kalapurakkel • December 8, 2024

If I had to pick a favorite month of the year, December would take the cake. It’s not exactly a controversial take. By Dec. 1 (or earlier for some of us), Mariah Carey has begun singing her familiar whistle notes, and Andy Williams has begun to proudly declare that “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down: Week of Dec. 8

Opinions • December 8, 2024

Happy Holidays! Amid the chaos at Boston College right now, don’t forget the joy this time of year brings. Now is the perfect time to give and receive kindness, care, and gratitude. Reach out and spread some holiday cheer, whether by texting your family and friends or complimenting a stranger.

Don’t Flip Me Off, Flip It Around

Isabella Pieretti • December 5, 2024

At the beginning of the school year, I felt lost. I needed to completely rearrange my classes, apply to jobs I was uncertain about, rediscover my place at Boston College after six months abroad, make amends with someone, and spend time with the friends I love while also trying to meet new people.

Newton Campus’ Comfort is Relative

Lucia Hernandez • December 4, 2024

“Who decides what comfort is, anyway?” I find myself asking this when one of the students from Upper makes fun of my current living situation.