The Heights

The Sin of Silence

Catherine May • September 13, 2025

Several American institutions have forever ruined their reputation by folding to the Trump Administration. This past July, Columbia University, for example, agreed to pay a $200 million settlement to the...

Charlie Kirk, Boston College, and the U.S. Free Speech Crisis

Skyler Safriet • September 10, 2025

News broke Wednesday afternoon that conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot in broad daylight at a Turning Point USA campus engagement event at Utah Valley University.

Queer Students Should Not Be Treated As Second Class Citizens

Gabriel Hallberg • May 1, 2025

I would like to specifically address why I was deeply offended by what Fr. Butler said. You cannot claim to love everybody and then discriminate in how you give your love and who you give your love to. Jesus asks us to love unconditionally, without discrimination, and with special care for the most vulnerable. Matthew 25:40 makes this clear: “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Strength in Unity: How BC Can Navigate Uncertainty and Support Science

Sofia Smirnov • April 25, 2025

Science has traditionally been a steadfast pillar of the global community, advancing the common good. Recent shifts in policies and funding priorities, however, have introduced newfound uncertainties into the scientific world. The purpose of this piece is to remind the Boston College community of the importance and interconnectedness of all sectors of science—and to offer a source of inspiration to overcome this period of transition and ambiguity.

Don’t Fear the Heat

Peter Coquillette • April 2, 2025

For years, as Americans—and even as Boston College students—it has felt increasingly difficult to find something that unites us. But we often overlook a unifying cause foundational to the United States:...

Newton’s Nicotine Ban Is Idealistic, Not Realistic

Nick Voll • March 12, 2025

Imagine the year is 2065 in Newton, Mass. On a rainy Saturday morning, I walk into my local 7-Eleven and make my way over to the checkout. I place a lottery ticket, a six-pack of Coors Banquet, and a...

Advocacy Paves the Way for Legacy

Colleen Blascik • February 17, 2025

Just two weeks before the start of my freshman year, I was welcomed into a community that completely shifted the trajectory of both my life and experience here at BC. The BC F1RST College Transition Program (CTP) provides support and guidance to help students succeed. They offer programs that foster relationships with faculty, encourage the use of university resources, and cultivate intentional connections that will benefit students throughout their college careers. It was truly heaven-sent for a student like me, who grew up in Georgia and was moving across the country for the first time in my life.

BC Alum and U.S. Senator Ed Markey’s Inauguration Absence Was Undemocratic

Nick Voll • February 2, 2025

Just two days later, President Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States of America. BC’s most visible alumnus was noticeably absent from the ceremonies, presumably mourning the demise of his once proud basketball program. Markey, along with several other members of the Massachusetts delegation, including U.S. Representatives Bill Keating and Ayanna Pressley, consciously decided not to attend Trump’s inauguration.

From Panic to Partnership: BC Professors Are Rethinking AI in Higher Education

Emily Wang • February 2, 2025

AI, like past innovations, should serve as a tool to enhance and challenge existing learning methods, improving their efficiency and validity, rather than becoming a crutch that stifles genuine learning.

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.

A Case for Compassion

Mary Zimmerman • November 17, 2024

This morning, I started to write a radically different article. After a painful U.S. election, I wanted to issue a call to action and a plea for hope in the face of what seemed like utter hopelessness. The first paragraph quoted Emma Lazarus and the second lamented Arizona’s passage of Proposition 314. Frustration poured onto the page. Then I got an email. My friend died this afternoon.