The Gavel | The Progressive News Source of Boston College

March Madness Blog: Predictions, ‘Barackets’

By Robert Rossi, Assoc. Culture Editor -
The first week of March Madness is the most exciting sporting event of the year. There are limitless possibilities, and millions of Americans fill out their own picks each year, watching excitedly and then disappointingly as their dreams of a perfect bracket vanish in a sea of upsets. [...]
Editorial: Drinking age should be reevaluated

For much of the United States’ history, the government has struggled with how to legislate the use of alcohol. From Prohibition to the call to lower the drinking age during the Vietnam War as part of “redefining adulthood” to the current controversy over the drinking age, the United States, unlike other Western countries, is [...]
Presenters link climate change to population

By Kevin Fagan, Asst. News Editor -
In an event sponsored by the College Democrats of Boston College, BC Students for Sexual Health, and the Americans for Informed Democracy, two representatives from the Sierra Club and the Population Justice Project gave presentations on Tuesday on how family planning and global warming are linked, as well as [...]
Pop&Circumstance: Covering our bases

By Blair Thill, Gavel Blogger -
Whenever American Idol season roles around, I find myself anxiously awaiting new interpretations of classic tunes, new and old. David Cook was the first contestant to truly revolutionize this contestant mentality, giving us lite-rock versions of pop confections such as Mariah’s “Always Be My Baby” and MJ’s “Billie Jean.” Season [...]
Speakers debate drinking age issues

By Andrew Slade, News Editor -
Among college students nationwide, the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21 is perhaps the law most frequently broken. According to internal studies at Boston College, just 25 percent of incoming freshmen describe themselves as non-drinkers. While some point to numbers like these as evidence that current drinking laws are [...]

‘Threepenny’ to examine dark side

By Lea Freeman, Asst. Culture Editor -
The Threepenny Opera, by Bertolt Brecht, will debut in Robsham Theater at the end of April. Directed by Boston College Theater Professor Stuart Hecht and with set design by fellow Professor Crystal Tiala, The Threepenny Opera examines the darker side of civilization. Set in a world where corruption is [...]

Book targets those disenchanted by Harry Potter

By Daniel Monan, Culture Editor -
The Magicians, by Lev Grossman, is many things. It is a blatant parody of the Harry Potter and Narnia series. Yet, while other books have attempted to hop on the boy-wizard-bandwagon (to say nothing of the growing hoard of teen vampire rip-offs) it uses its associations with the previously mentioned series [...]

Editorial: Implications of the meaning of ‘progressive’

The Gavel presents itself as “the progressive news source of Boston College.” What do we mean by “progressive news source?” How does our definition of “progressive” shape the presence and role of our publication? These are some of the questions we hope to answer for readers and in so doing assert ourselves as a new, [...]

Students present ways to further GLBTQ acceptance

By Tue Tran, Editor-in-Chief -
There are many degrees of homophobia. From the flippant usage of “that’s so gay” to injuring someone due to suspicions of him or her having a non-heterosexual orientation. At Boston College, GLBTQ students have expressed concern about the campus climate with regard to issues of sexual identity and the lack of [...]

BC campus needs Queer Resource Center

While establishing the Society of Jesus, the very organization that would provide as the inspiration for the founding mission of Boston College, St. Ignatius outlined one of the major tenants of his new organization, cura personalis. Cura personalis, which translates to “care of the whole person,” instructs Catholics to provide individualized attention to the needs [...]