By April Chang, For the Gavel -

“I don’t feel adequate in the men’s locker room,” an anonymous Boston College athlete said. Despite common misconceptions, women are not the only ones eating too little and exercising too much. Men’s Health magazine lists BC as the third ‘fittest’ university in the nation, and students feel that they have a reputation to uphold. It should come as no surprise that even the fittest students are still very conscious of their body image. Continue Reading

By Lake Coreth, News Editor -

You may not have tasted the differ­ence, but the sandwiches made in the centerline of the Eagle’s Nest Dining Hall are prepared with “mucho amor.” Going on her eleventh year as a Boston College employee, Ana Valdez-Jimenez proudly attends to the regulars of this busy lunch-time hotspot, even consider­ing them an extension of her own family — her hijos, or children. Continue Reading

The abstinence-only approach to sexual education is akin to putting kids in a backyard with a pool on a sizzling day. Command them to avoid the tantalizingly cool, blue water, refusing to instruct them how to swim, and eventually, when some get hot and go for a dip, their ignorance of safe practices leaves them vulnerable to drown. Continue Reading

By Kristoffer Munden, For the Gavel -

I’m a huge fan of Asian cuisine — especially Thai, Japanese and Filipino. Not very familiar with Vietnamese food, I decided to give Pho Lemongrass a try. Continue Reading

By Brett Simon, Visibility Director -

Since when has 120 pounds been too many for a 5-foot-10-inch wom­an? Since Ralph Lauren fired Filippa Hamilton in April 2009 for being too heavy.

Regardless, the company contin­ues to use her image for promotional purposes in advertisements that have been stirring up controversy. In a recent ad, run only in Japan, Ham­ilton’s body is so severely distorted that her waist appears thinner than her head. Continue Reading

By Lea Freeman, For the Gavel -

The Dramatics Society fall pro­duction, Jesus Hopped the “A” Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis, was a powerful depiction of the experiences of two men in the prison environment.

Directed by Haris Lefteri, A&S ’10, the play was presented in the Robsham Theater Arts Center at Boston College from Oct. 22 to Oct. 24 and told the stories of Angel Cruz, an inmate accused of the attempted murder of a famous cult leader, and Lucius Jenkins, a serial killer who murdered eight people. Continue Reading

By Tue Tran, Editor-in-Chief -

For the past five months, members of the Boston College community have been living month-by-month, unsure of their job situation — and they aren’t just some of the recent graduates. Continue Reading

By Lauren Skogsholm, For the Gavel -

Everyone around here is feeling the pressure of midterms and oppres­sive college schedules. Now imagine being in a band, tacking on additional time every week for endless hours of practice, songwriting, and recording at every possible chance, and booking occasional gigs in downtown Boston. How does anyone manage to do that? Continue Reading

By Matthew Gavin, Culture Editor -

A guy donning sunglasses and a cowboy hat, a girl in a fairy costume, and a man in drag bellow Madonna’s hit “Holiday” from a monolithic struc­ture. In a dimly lit alcove, a teenage girl timidly lip syncs to a raunchy Back­street Boys single. The Beatles come together over a spread of psychotropic portraitures. Against a white-washed wall, radiant colors writhe and contort in a discordant boogie. Continue Reading

By Nicholas Stratouly, Editorial Assistant -

“Drawing is a form of commu­nication,” is a line on the wall at the entrance to “First Hand: Civil War Era Drawings from the Becker Col­lection” at the McMullen Museum of Art. The quotation represents the crux of the collection: a series of drawings meant to capture the trage­dies and tribulations of war and com­municate such feelings to the public through art. Continue Reading