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 support from the University.

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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 of others as well as a distinct respect for the unique circumstances and concerns of others. With that philosophy in mind, Boston College was founded as a Jesuit institution for higher learning.

However, the motto of cura personalis has at times been ignored by the BC administra­tion as specific parts of our community have been neglected — specifically the GLBTQ com­munity. Steps have been taken by the administration to heed the call of St. Ignatius, but more steps still need to be taken — including the creation of a GLBTQ resource center and the institutionalization of several programs including, but not limited to, “Queer Peers.”

Some in the BC community argue, that as a Catholic institu­tion, any support of the GLBTQ community by the university administration could be perceived as a condoning of homosexual­ity — which contradicts Catholic teachings on the subject. How­ever, in a letter by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Bene­dict XVI, titled “On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons,” stated that homosexuality “is a proper focus for the Church’s pas­toral care. It thus requires of her ministers attentive study, active concern and honest, theologically well-balanced counsel.”

The words of Pope Benedict XVI have been met with action across the campuses of Catholic universities around the United States. Almost 20 years ago at Fordham University, the then president of the university, Rev. Joseph O’Hare, released a public statement backing the GLBTQ community in which he stated, “Catholic teaching insists that all individuals be treated with respect and understanding as they work to integrate their own sexuality into their personal lives.”

Similar action was taken by the Jesuit-run Santa Clara University as they declared that support for gay organizations is “the Catholic thing” to do.

At Georgetown University, the administration took a similar approach to that of the BC ad­ministration: a silent co-existence with GLBTQ organizations, but a lack of a true involvement in the issue by the university. Then, in October of 2007, two attacks motivated by anti-gay bias, both involving homophobic slurs and physical assault occurred to a Georgetown student. In response, the Georgetown university admin­istration increased their support of GLBTQ students — includ­ing the opening of a GLBTQ Resource Center.

However, the BC community cannot afford to take the same path as the Georgetown com­munity did. We cannot afford to wait for a catalyst, such as a hate crime, to finally motivate the ad­ministration to become substan­tially involved in the issues that the GLBTQ community faces on campus.

The university should be commended for the steps it has already taken to assist the GLBTQ community on cam­pus – including the creation of the GLBT Leadership Council (GLC). However, more action is needed. Recently, GLC has unveiled a rough outline on ad­ditional programs and resources they would like to see made avail­able for the GLBTQ community on campus including a Queer Resource Center, a student-men­torship program, and the creation of a GLBTQ alumni network. Not only does the university need to become a more vocal advocate of solutions to GLBTQ issues on campus, but also, the administra­tion simply needs to show more support for its own students and the problems affecting them.

By Alison Athey, Assoc. Features Editor -

Many Boston College students have heard horror stories about the Plex, from students on the elliptical machines for hours on end to girls eating packets of Splenda so they won’t pass out while exercising. These are signs of a pervasive culture of disordered eating that has created a formidable presence on campus.

Forty percent of female college students have eating disorders, according to the Massachusetts Eating Disorders Association. To combat this widespread problem, Feb. 21 – 27 is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Dur­ing NEDAwareness there will be several online seminars that call upon healthcare practitioners, social workers and all those affected by eating disorders to raise awareness by organizing events in their own communities.

“Our aim of NEDAwareness Week is to ultimately prevent eating disorders and body image issues while reducing the stigma surround­ing eating disorders and improving access to treatment,” says The National Eating Disorder Associa­tion (NEDA) Web site.

“There is a difference between being healthy and being sick. There is such a fine line and it is being crossed all the time. It’s scary,” a Boston Col­lege senior who has had several close friends with eating disorders.

This student, who asks to remain anonymous to protect the privacy of her friends, remembers a close friend putting herself on Weight Watchers in the sixth grade. Instead of eating balanced meals on this diet program, the young girl would save all of her “points” for Twiz­zlers and Hohos.

Many BC students know that anorexia is characterized by restricted eating habits and that bulimia is based on binging followed by compensatory behaviors. The physical consequences of these disorders are far-reaching, among them nose bleeds, stained teeth, inability to menstruate, hair loss and the development of lanugo, a soft, coating of hair on the arms, face and back that occurs when body fat decreases too significantly. Accord­ing to the American Psychological Association, anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychotic disorder at 10 -15 percent.

No single cause of eating disorders is known, but research­ers believe that it is linked to a combination of factors, including genetics, depression, anxiety, famil­ial difficulties and imbalances of the neurotransmitter Seratonin.

Distorted self-image is a critical feature of eating disorders, and many sufferers experience feelings of inadequacy. High-achieving people with perfectionist tendencies are also vulnerable to disordered eating, which is a characteristic typical to students at competetive universities.

Women at BC may be especially at risk for developing eating disor­ders. NEDA states that anorexia is more prevalent in young, upper-middle class women, who make up a large proportion of the student body. However, anyone can develop an eating disorder, regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, size or sexual orientation.

There are many on-campus re­sources available to students with dis­ordered eating. University Counsel­ing Services and University Health Services offer some psychological and nutritional counseling. The University also employs a nutritionist available by appointment on Tues­days and Thursdays. The Women’s Resource Center (WRC) offers a variety of resources for people who struggle with disordered eating, as well as those who care for them.

“There are weekly support group meetings for those struggling with eating issues, and in the WRC we regularly see students strug­gling with eating issues or friends of students struggling with those issues,” says Rachel Lamorte a staff member at the WRC and A&S ’10.

The group, known as HOPE (Healthy Options for the Pressure of Eating) is facilitated by two graduate students who have extensive training in the area of eating issues.

The WRC is not planning any events related to National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. Instead, they organize Love Your Body Week in the fall semester and offer ongo­ing services throughout the year.

“We try to make Love Your Body Week focused on healthy body image promotion and eating issues awareness to make it a positive week while also getting at some incredibly difficult issues,” says Lamorte, who was the chief coordinator of the event in 2008 and 2009.

“We’re always looking at the efficiency and effectiveness of our programs and we’ve had many stu­dents give positive feedback about Love Your Body Week,” she says.

Despite these services, BC students still hear those same horror stories from the Plex. It is clear that eating disorders have a large and negative presence on campus, but many students do not know how to help friends or address peers who engage in unhealthy eating and exercising habits.

The WRC Web site offers detailed advice to students who are concerned about loved ones who struggle with eating. They offer a guide on how to set up interven­tions, what to expect in the process, and a perspective on the subjective experience of people with disor­dered eating.

“It is so easy to go on with­out addressing [a friend’s eating disorder],” the anonymous source says. “If you catch it early enough, though, they can be helped in a relatively quick fashion, as opposed to being sent away [for treatment].”

When confronting a friend about his or her eating behaviors, it is im­portant to know common mistakes to avoid — telling a friend that she looks “disgustingly thin” can be in­terpreted as a compliment, whereas telling someone in recovery that she looks “healthy” can be seen as code for “fat” — but without the encour­agment of loved ones, few people know how to reach out for help.

“Many people who recover acknowledge the importance of friends who believed in them and kept trying to reach through to them,” says the WRC website.

Especially on college campuses, where residence halls become a second home to many students, friends and roommates can play an important role in helping to reduce and raise awareness of disordered eating.

By Meg Lister, Gavel Writer -

Every day, every person, somewhere, somehow, sits down on a toilet. Approximately 20 percent of these squats take place in a public bathroom. Moreover, a significant percentage of these public bathroom stalls are graffitied with personal reflections, confessions, poetry, prose, questions, and answers. We’ve all seen these markings, and perhaps even contributed to them. Each sentence or phrase is totally anonymous, untraceable, and yet provides an interesting insight into our culture. Continue Reading

By Kevin Fagan, Asst. News Editor -

Greece may be the land of pleasant weather and the healthy Mediterranean diet, but concerns about the magnitude of Greek debt are affecting both U.S. and European equities markets and causing concerns about the recovery from the recession. Even though Greece represents just 2 percent of the European economy, Greece affects all of Europe because it uses the Euro, an international currency controlled by the European Central Bank in Germany. Continue Reading

By Robert Rossi, Assoc. Culture Editor -

Since the start of spring semester, the CLXF (Claver-Loyola- Xavier-Fenwick) dorm on Upper Campus has been victimized by a series of break-ins and robberies. At least five separate rooms have been broken into and thousands of dollars worth of electronics have been stolen.

The break-ins began before most students returned from winter break. The dorms were re-opened to the majority of the student body on Saturday, Jan. 16. Athletes and participants in cer¬tain school-sponsored programs were allowed to return earlier, however, meaning that the dorms were accessible with an EagleOne card before Jan. 16.

Tom Swiderski, A&S ’13, returned to his dorm room on the second floor of Claver during the early afternoon of Jan. 16, making him one of the first arrivals in the CLXF building. Upon entering his room, he noticed a sizable gap atop the dresser where his televi¬sion once sat.

“I thought that maybe my roommate Kishan, who owned the TV, had taken it with him over break, but when I called him he said, ‘Of course I didn’t,’” Swiderski said. “Earlier, someone had told me that his TV had been stolen over break, and so I feared ours had been stolen too.”

That someone was also a resi¬dent of the second floor of Claver, who left his television in his room over the break. Based on the dates that the last residents in both rooms left for break, it became apparent that the robberies had not occurred before the dorms were closed in December. And because many students besides the three residents of each room knew the room access codes, many on the floor came to the conclusion that the robberies were carried out by one or more residents of the CLXF building.

BCPD was contacted as soon as the owners of the televisions arrived back on campus and con¬firmed that they had left the TVs in their rooms. The resident assis¬tant of the second floor of Claver compiled a list of people known to have access to both rooms, but no suspects appeared on both lists.

“I know a lot of crazy people around here who just barge into other people’s rooms and steal food. Don’t share room codes. I learned the hard way. Make friends with people you can trust,” said Kishan Bhakta, CSON ’13.

On Wednesday, Feb. 3, another robbery occurred on the floor. A CLXF resident, who requested to remain anonymous, told The Gavel that he received a text message from his roommate inquiring about the location of his Xbox 360. He had returned to their room to find it missing. The orange Ethernet cable that had been attached was still lying on the floor.

“I have my suspicions as to who it is, but I’m not going to name names. Obviously it was someone who knew my code because nobody was in my room, nor was the door open,” the resident said.

By Blair Thill, Gavel Blogger – (Photo courtesy of americanidol.com)

When I came to college freshman year, I thought it was part of my mission to become “cultured.” I didn’t exactly know what this would entail – probably something along the lines of discussing the works of Nietzche in a coffee shop – but I did know what it wouldn’t include, and that was watching American Idol. The Ryan Seacrest-hosted series represented culture for the masses, something many people look down upon. I assumed no one in college would watch something that intellectuals scoffed at. I was partially right. I didn’t meet anyone that owned up to their love of the singing competition.

But then Gilmore Girls, my more prominent Tuesday night love, went on hiatus … and I was subsequently sucked back into my role as an “Idoloonie” (term coined by EW’s Michael Slezak) as soon as I heard Chris Daughtry. And the funny thing was, as soon as I started watching again, casual fans, die-hards, and AI virgins alike started coming out of the woodwork to watch with me. Because there’s a reason between 20 and 30 million Americans watch this reality show every week, and it’s not the reality part. It’s the fantasy of being plucked from obscurity and shot to fame in a few short months.

Anyway, all of my preceding words are necessary to the understanding of my Idol worship and the reason behind dedicating this blog post to the analysis of our newly minted Top 24. In order to do that, I’ve decided to rip a page out of our high school yearbooks and use superlatives to highlight the Season 9 crop of talent.

Most Likely to Succeed: Andrew Garcia

Why the AI producers decided to cap Hollywood week with a cliffhanger that tried to convince us that Andrew Garcia might not get into the Top 24 is beyond me. Let’s be honest: during week one of the Hollywood auditions, Andrew Garcia wasn’t just in the Top 24, he was easily in the Top 2. As soon as the consummately cool father lent his criminally smooth vocals to departed judge Paula’s smash “Straight Up,” changing it from an 80s confection into an acoustic jam, Idol chatter could talk of no one else. His group was one of the few successes of group day, and his sincere cover of Adele’s “Chasing Pavements” was robbed of more screen time. If Garcia can keep bringing the heat with his own unique take of popular songs, I just don’t see what’s stopping him from going into the Final Five.

Best Blonde: Didi Benami

This was a tough category, Didi, so give yourself a pat on the back. It’s hard to remember if any of the Top 12 girls AREN’T blonde, so it’s a great sign that you stood out – so much so that the producers decided to let us know you went through on the first day of semifinal announcements! And you deserved it. I wasn’t sure about you during your first audition because you seemed like one of those girls who cried at the drop of a hat. I hate those girls. But when you channeled that nervous energy into the Kara DioGuardi penned “Terrified,” not only did you demonstrate your potential as a singer/songwriter, you also showed that Kara can actually write music that belongs in the 21st century (unlike poor Kris Allen’s stale “No Boundaries”). That’s no small feat.

Most Likely to Crash in the Semis: Haeley Vaughn

Vaughn seemed like a great idea at first with the judges intimating, “She could be the Black Taylor Swift!” I agreed with them at first. But then I heard Haeley butcher Gwen Stefani’s “Sweet Escape” (which I already hated) and Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours” (which I love). I hope Haeley can pull it together since this season is lacking in both African-American singers and country enthusiasts, but I just don’t see it happening.

Most Likely to be Seduced by Kara: Casey James

It all started when Casey auditioned in Denver and Kara practically forced him to take his shirt off before she let him through to Hollywood. Was it embarrassing? Yes. Did he deserve to go to Hollywood no matter what? Absolutely. Casey came alive in Hollywood. He got the chance to show us what he really does: down home blues. His cover of the standard “I Don’t Need No Doctor” showed a grittiness not usually seen on the Idol stage. It also brought out a side of Kara only previously reserved for Season 8’s Matt Giraud … only worse. Kara has commented on his hottness, whether she likes his hair up or down, the color of his eyes, basically anything objectifying. It all culminated in a hug upon his invitation to the Top 24 – a hug which Kara enjoyed way too much.

By Andrew Slade, News Editor – (Photo courtesy of thestudentroom.co.uk)

When Toyota Motor Corporation issued multiple safety recalls on more than eight million of its vehicles in the United States alone over the last several months, the company further strained its already challenging financial state. With pressure from American regulators now mounting, there is internal concern regarding the auto manufacturer’s ability to restore its image in its largest market. Continue Reading