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Offered in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Core Curriculum offers an intensive [[great books]] program for any incoming freshmen who chose to participate. Occupying two classes a semester during freshman and sophomore years, the program has four humanities sections which start with [[Gilgamesh]] and work their way through [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], [[Aeschylus]], [[Machiavelli]], [[Shakespeare]], Milton, Dante, Bach and many more. The Social Sciences part of the program includes Hobbes, [[Locke]], Rousseau, Adam Smith, Marx, and continues through contemperary works. Lastly the science aspect of the program deals with major ideas such as big bang theory, evolution, quantum mechanics and more. Ultimately the program seeks to combine science, math, humanities, art and social sciences into a cohesive program to give students insight into their world and help them become more refined writers and scholars.
Offered in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Core Curriculum offers an intensive [[great books]] program for any incoming freshmen who chose to participate. Occupying two classes a semester during freshman and sophomore years, the program has four humanities sections which start with [[Gilgamesh]] and work their way through [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], [[Aeschylus]], [[Machiavelli]], [[Shakespeare]], Milton, Dante, Bach and many more. The Social Sciences part of the program includes Hobbes, [[Locke]], Rousseau, Adam Smith, Marx, and continues through contemperary works. Lastly the science aspect of the program deals with major ideas such as big bang theory, evolution, quantum mechanics and more. Ultimately the program seeks to combine science, math, humanities, art and social sciences into a cohesive program to give students insight into their world and help them become more refined writers and scholars.


===Grade inflation===
===Grade deflation===
The practice of scaling grades is widespread among higher education. However, when comparing BU with other schools of similarly selective admissions criteria, a significant disparity is evident. As of [[2006]], the University has never explicitly admitted that it requires professors to adhere to such guidelines.<ref name="NYTDeflation">{{cite news
The practice of scaling grades is widespread among higher education. However, when comparing BU with other schools of similarly selective admissions criteria, a significant disparity is evident. As of [[2006]], the University has never explicitly admitted that it requires professors to adhere to such guidelines.<ref name="NYTDeflation">{{cite news
|first = Samuel G.
|first = Samuel G.

Revision as of 12:50, 5 November 2006

Boston University
Boston University Seal
Latin: Universitas Bostoniensis
MottoLearning, Virtue, and Piety
TypePrivate
EstablishedFounded 1839, Chartered 1869
PresidentRobert A. Brown
ProvostDavid K. Campbell
Undergraduates15,981
Postgraduates11,446
Location, ,
CampusUrban 132 acres (534,000 m²)
Tuition$33,330.00[1]
ColorsScarlet and White
AffiliationsThe New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.
MascotRhett the Boston Terrier
Websitewww.bu.edu
For the unrelated Jesuit university in Chestnut Hill, see Boston College.

Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Although chartered by the Massachusetts Legislature in 1869, Boston University traces its roots to the establishment of the Newbury Biblical Institute in Newbury, Vermont in 1839. The University organized formal Centennial observances both in 1939 and 1969.[2]

With more than 3,000 faculty members and nearly 30,000 students, Boston University is the fourth-largest private university in the United States of America and the city's second largest employer.[3] The University offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through 18 schools and colleges and operates two urban campuses. The main campus is on the Charles River in Boston's Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood, and the Boston Medical Center is in Boston's South End neighborhood.

History

Presidents of Boston University
William Fairfield Warren 1873-1903
William E. Huntington 1904-1911
Lemuel H. Murlin 1911-1924
Edwin Holt Hughes (acting) May-Sep 1923
William F. Anderson (acting) 1925-1926
Daniel L. Marsh 1926-1950
Harold C. Case 1950-1967
Arland Christ-Janer 1967-1970
Calvin B.T. Lee (acting) 1970
John Silber 1971-1996
Jon Westling 1996-2003
Aram Chobanian 2003-2005
Robert A. Brown 2006 – present

Predecessor Institutions and University Charter

On 24-25 April 1839 a meeting of Methodist ministers and laymen from throughout New England was held at the Old Bromfield Street Church in Boston. This meeting voted to establish a Methodist theological school. The school was established in Newbury, Vermont and was called the Newbury Biblical Institute.

In 1847 a Congregational Society in Concord, New Hampshire, invited the Institute to relocate to Concord and made available a disused Congregational church building that was able to seat 1200 people. Other citizens of Concord covered the remodeling costs. One stipulation of the invitation was that the Institute remain in Concord for at least 20 years. The charter issued by New Hampshire for the relocated institute named it the "Methodist General Biblical Institute", but it was commonly called the "Concord Biblical Institute."

With the agreed twenty years coming to a close, the Trustees of the Concord Biblical Institute purchased 30 acres on Aspinwall Hill in Brookline, Massachusetts as a possible relocation site. The Institute moved in 1867 to 23 Pinkney Street in Boston and received a Massachusetts Charter as the "Boston Theological Institute."

In 1869, three Trustees of the Boston Theological Institute obtained from the Massachusetts Legislature a charter for a university to be called "Boston University." These three were successful Boston businessmen and Methodist laymen, with a history of involvement in educational enterprises and became the Founders of Boston University. They were Isaac Rich (1801-1872), Lee Claflin (1791-1871), and Jacob Sleeper (1802-1889). (Today, Boston University's three West Campus dormitories are named after them.) Lee Claflin's son, William, was then Governor of Massachusetts and signed the University Charter on 26 May 1869 after it was passed by the Legislature.

One provision of the short charter, as reported by Kathleen Kilgore in her book, "Transformations, A History of Boston University" (see Further Reading) the Founders directed the inclusion of the following provision, unusual for its time:

No instructor in said University shall ever be required by the Trustees to profess any particular religious opinions as a test of office, and no student shall be refused admission . . . on account of the religious opinions he may entertain; provided, nonetheless, that this section shall not apply to the theological department of said University.

Every department of the new University was also open to all on an equal footing regardless of sex, race or (with the exception of the School of Theology) religion.

Early Years (1870-1900)

Marsh Plaza and the buildings surrounding it was one of the first completed parts of the Charles River Campus.

The Boston Theological Institute was absorbed into Boston University in 1871 as the BU School of Theology.

In January 1872 Isaac Rich died, leaving the vast bulk of his estate to a trust that would go to Boston University after ten years of growth while the University was organized. Most of this bequest consisted of real estate throughout the core of the city of Boston and was appraised at more than $1.5 million. Kilgore describes this as the largest single donation to an American college or university to that time.

By December, the Great Boston Fire of 1872 had destroyed all but one of the buildings Rich had left to the University, and the insurance companies with which they had been insured were bankrupt. The value of his estate, when turned over to the University in 1882, was half what it had been in 1872. As a result, the University was unable to build its contemplated campus on Aspinwall Hill and the land was sold piecemeal as development sites. Street names in the area, including Claflin Road, Claflin Path, and University Road, are the only remaining evidence of University ownership in this area.

Boston University established its facilities in buildings scattered through the less fashionable parts of Beacon Hill, and later expanded into the Boylston Street and Copley Square area before building the Charles River Campus after 1937.

Academics

Students take a break on the steps of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Colleges and schools at Boston University include:

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) was formerly named the College of Liberal Arts (CLA). The School of Management (SMG) was formerly named the College of Business Administration (CBA). The School of Nursing (SON) and the College of Practical Arts and Letters (PAL) are units that have been discontinued.

The University offers a large number of degree programs for bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees. There are also numerous opportunities for students to travel and study abroad, with internships overseas and in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.. As of 2005 it has a 15:1 student-teacher ratio despite its large size. The College of Arts and Sciences also offers a "core curriculum", a program that provides small classes in classical liberal arts studies.

The smallest college is the University Professors Program (UNI), which is an interdisciplinary program that allows students to pursue a broad range of academic interests. With a student to faculty ratio of 4:1, UNI offers students a broad education in a more personalized atmosphere. Students take a common, intimate, "Core" program consisting of liberal arts courses taught by University Professors in small seminar settings. They then work closely with an advisor to craft a course of study which will lead them to an interdisciplinary degree, culminating in a senior thesis.

Core Curriculum

Offered in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Core Curriculum offers an intensive great books program for any incoming freshmen who chose to participate. Occupying two classes a semester during freshman and sophomore years, the program has four humanities sections which start with Gilgamesh and work their way through Plato, Aristotle, Aeschylus, Machiavelli, Shakespeare, Milton, Dante, Bach and many more. The Social Sciences part of the program includes Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Adam Smith, Marx, and continues through contemperary works. Lastly the science aspect of the program deals with major ideas such as big bang theory, evolution, quantum mechanics and more. Ultimately the program seeks to combine science, math, humanities, art and social sciences into a cohesive program to give students insight into their world and help them become more refined writers and scholars.

Grade deflation

The practice of scaling grades is widespread among higher education. However, when comparing BU with other schools of similarly selective admissions criteria, a significant disparity is evident. As of 2006, the University has never explicitly admitted that it requires professors to adhere to such guidelines.[4]

The school's independantly-run newspaper, The Daily Free Press, as well as the The New York Times, have published articles exploring the existence of grade deflation. An article published on the website BU Today, (written by Boston University staff) asserted that "the GPAs of BU undergrads and the percentage of As and Bs have both risen over the last two decades. Currently, the average GPA of a BU undergraduate is 3.04, with about 81 percent of all grades earned in either the A or B range." The article went on to note that although the university attempted to curb grade inflation and inconsistency in the late 1990s both the percentage of "A's" and GPAs have been rising since.[5]

Rankings

File:BUCASnight.jpg
Nighttime view of the College of Arts and Sciences (center right) and the School of Theology (center left).

The Times Higher Education Supplement ranks Boston University the 28th best university in the United States, and the 66th best university in the world, in its 2006 list of the Top 200 universities in the world. In their 2005 list, BU was ranked 21st in the United States and 54th in the world.[6]

Newsweek (International Edition), in its August 2006 list of the Top 100 Global Universities, ranked Boston University the 35th best university in the United States, and 65th best in the world[7].

The Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University ranks Boston University 47th best overall university, and 45th best undergraduate university in the United States (two schools ranked above BU are graduate schools only; UCSF and Rockefeller), as well as 81st best in the world, on its list of the Top 500 universities in the world[8].

US News & World Report ranks Boston University 57th among national universities. Boston University was also ranked 22nd among U.S. law schools, 28th among medical schools, and 37th among business schools. The Biomedical Engineering Graduate and Undergraduate Programs are ranked #7 and #8 respectively in the nation and rising by U.S. News and World Report. The undergraduate program is also the sixth largest ABET-accredited program in the nation.

The Financial Times ranks Boston University's MBA program as the #1 U.S. School for Career Progress.[9]

The Wall Street Journal ranks Boston University's MBA program 41st nationally and the Information Technology department is ranked 10th in the world for academic excellence (September 2005).

Forbes ranks Boston University's MBA program 46th among domestic MBA programs (August 2005).[10] They also ranked Boston University as the 25th most Entrepreneurial college in America.

The School of Management is ranked among the top 25 programs in the US by Entrepreneur magazine (April 2005).[citation needed]

Business Week ranks Boston University's MBA program among the top 50 in the country, and its undergraduate business program #30,[11] including a Quality of Education ranking of #15.[citation needed]

Campus and facilities

The "BU Beach", located behind Marsh Plaza and the College of Arts and Sciences building, is a popular place for students to gather during warm weather. It gets its name from the wave-like sounds produced by cars passing on nearby Storrow Drive.
File:BUBeachPeople.jpg
Students enjoy a springtime respite from the long New England winter.

The University's main Charles River Campus follows Commonwealth Avenue and the Green Line, beginning near Kenmore Square and continuing for over a mile and a half to its end near the border of Boston's Allston neighborhood. The Boston University Bridge over the Charles River into Cambridge represents the dividing line between Main Campus, where most schools and classroom buildings are concentrated, and West Campus, home to several athletic facilities and playing fields, the large West Campus dorm, and the new John Hancock Student Village complex.

As a result of its continual expansion, the Charles River campus contains an array of architecturally diverse buildings. The College of Arts and Science, Marsh Chapel, and the School of Theology buildings are the university's most recognizable and were built in the late-1930s and 1940s in collegiate gothic style. A sizable amount of the campus is traditional Boston brownstone, especially at Bay State Road and South Campus where BU has acquired almost every townhouse those areas offer. The buildings are primarily dormitories but many also serve as various institutes as well as department offices. From the 1960s-1980s many contemporary buildings were constructed including the Mugar Library, BU Law School and Warren Towers, all of which were built in the brutalist style of architecture, drawing mixed opinions. The most recent additions to BU's campus are the Photonics Center, Life Science and Engineering Building, The Student Village (which includes the FitRec Center and Agganis Arena), and the School of Management. All the these buildings were built in brick, a few with a substantial amount of brownstone. These buildings have been praised for successfully combining elements of old Boston (brownstone, brick, and federal architecture) with contemporary elements.[citation needed]

Cultural life

Located at the junction of Fenway-Kenmore, Allston, and Brookline, the university has long enjoyed these neighborhood's cultural offerings. In the Fenway-Kenmore area are the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and Landsdowne Street, home to many of Boston's music venues. Allston has been Boston's largest bohemian neighborhood since the 1960s. Nicknamed "Allston Rock City," the neighborhood is home to many artists and musicians, as well as a variety of cafés, and many of Boston's small music halls. At the southern border of campus is the town of Brookline. Known for its intellectual atmosphere, Brookline's Harvard Street offers such draws as independent and foreign films at Coolidge Corner Theatre, and readings by esteemed authors at the Brookline Booksmith. Being located in such surroundings, in addition to having a College of Fine Arts, a College of Communications, and the University Professors Program, has enabled the university to foster a strong creative and artistic community.

On campus, the student union hosts a number of concerts and performers at "BU Central" and Metcalf Hall. BU is home to the Huntington Theater Company at the BU Theater (called the Huntington Theatre before its purchase by the University) as well as Boston Playwrights' Theater. Visiting artists' work are displayed in one of the university's three gallerys, with the university often hosting discussions between artists and the community.

Student housing

Main Article: Boston University Housing System

Boston University's housing system is the nation's 10th largest among four year colleges. BU was originally a commuter school, but the university now guarantees the option of on-campus housing for four years for all undergraduate students. Currently, 76% of the undergraduate population lives on campus. Boston University requires that all students living in dormitories be enrolled in a year-long meal plan with several combinations of meals and dining points which can be used as cash in on-campus facilities.[12]

Housing at BU includes large dormitories, smaller dormitories, and apartments. The large dormitories include Warren Towers, the largest on campus, as well as West Campus and The Towers.

The smaller dormitory and apartment style housing are mainly located in two parts of campus: Bay State Road and the South Campus residential area. Bay State Road is a tree-lined street that runs parallel to Commonwealth Avenue and is home to many row houses commonly referred to as "brownstones."

South Campus is a student residential area south of Commonwealth Avenue and separated from the main campus by the Massachusetts Turnpike. Some of the larger buildings in that area have been converted into dormitories, while the rest of the South campus buildings are apartments.

Boston University's newest residence and principle apartment-style housing area is officially called 10 Buick Street, a part of The John Hancock Student Village project. The apartments at 10 Buick Street are open to juniors and seniors only, and house more than 800 students in suite-style apartments.

Aside from these main residential areas, smaller residential dormitories are scattered along Commonwealth Avenue between main school buildings.

Boston University also provides specialty houses or specialty floors to students who have particular interests.

All large dormitories have 24/7 security and require all students to swipe and show their school identification before entering.

At least one dorm, Shelton Hall, is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of playwright Eugene O'Neill. O'Neill died in room 401 on November 27, 1953 while the building was a residential hotel and is rumored to haunt both the room and the floor. The fourth floor is now a specialty floor called the Writer's Corridor.

Guest and visitor policies

File:Boston University Beach.JPG
Another photo showcasing the sculptures on the "BU Beach".

In general, Boston University is more restrictive in its guest policies than other institutions in the surrounding Massachusetts Bay area. Visitors not enrolled at the University must be signed into the residence and leave a photo ID. Overnight visitors must receive a pass requested at least one day in advance. If overnight visitors are of the opposite sex they must be "co-hosted" by a BU student who is of the same sex, unless they are immediate family members of the host. Most often this part of the policy is a formality and almost no students follow the rule that the opposite sex guest must sleep in the room of their same sex "co-host" and instead stay in the room of their host.

Guests from within the University itself must scan their student IDs ("swipe in") before 8:00 p.m. if they wish to spend the entire night. Guests must sign in after 8:00 p.m. and leave their IDs at the security desk and must be out by 1:00 a.m. on weekdays and 2:30 a.m. on weekends. They may be granted "study extensions" that must be submitted before midnight, in which case they must return to the security station to claim their student ID and leave the building no later than 7:00 a.m. A student who lives in apartment-style housing that does not opt for a dining plan, must be hosted by a resident of the dorm if he wishes to enter.[13] The student government has been trying to change the guest policy to allow all BU students to visit any other BU student at any time, but to the frustration of students there has been almost no progress in the last few years.

The penalties for violating these policies carry severe consequences from letters of warning to loss of visitor and guest privileges to expulsion from the housing system.[13]

Changes to the visitor policy are being discussed, spearheaded in large part by student frustration, but the Student Union has made little progress in convincing the administration to budge from their policies.

John Hancock Student Village

The rear of the John Hancock Student Village, with Nickerson Field in the foreground and Boston in the background.

The Student Village is a large new residential and recreational complex covering 10 acres between Buick Street and Nickerson Field, ground formerly occupied by a National Guard Armory, which had been used by the University primarily (but not exclusively) as a storage facility prior to its demolition and the start of construction. The Student Village was designed with the intention of fostering community and bridging the divide between East and West campuses.

The dormitory of apartment suites at 10 Buick Street (often abbreviated to "StuV" by students or simply "The Village") opened to juniors and seniors in the fall of 2000. In 2002, John Hancock Insurance announced its sponsorship of the multi-million dollar project. The Agganis Arena, named after Harry Agganis, was opened to concerts and hockey games in January 2005. The Agganis Arena is capable of housing 6,224 spectators for Terrier hockey games, replacing the smaller Walter Brown Arena. It can also be used for concerts and shows.

In March of 2005 the final element of phase II of the Student Village complex, the Fitness and Recreation (FitRec) Center, was opened, drawing large crowds from the student body. The center incorporates 6 racquetball and squash courts, a competition pool, a recreational pool, two gymnasia, a jogging track, and a 35-foot rock climbing wall, among other sports-related areas. Plans call for groundbreaking to begin on the third and final phase of the complex, two more residential facilities, to begin sometime in the near future.

Other facilities

"The Castle" located on Bay State Road.

The Mugar Memorial Library is the central academic library for the Charles River Campus. It also houses the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, formerly called the Twentieth Century Archive, where documents belonging to thousands of eminent figures in literature, journalism, diplomacy, the arts, and other fields are housed. Among them are Isaac Asimov's personal papers from 1965 onward, documents from distinguished alumnus Martin Luther King Jr, and the recent addition of Mary Louise Parker's personal papers.

The George Sherman Union (GSU) located next to Mugar Memorial Library provides students with an expansive food court featuring many popular fast-food chains, including Panda Express (which opened Fall 2006), Starbucks and D'Angelo's. The GSU also provides comfortable lounge areas in which to study. The basement of the George Sherman Union is home to the BU Central lounge, which hosts concerts and other activities and events. There is also a United States Post Office in the basement of the GSU.

The DeWolfe boathouse in Cambridge, Massachusetts across the Charles River from the main campus.

"The Castle" located on the West end of Bay State Road is one of the older buildings on campus, and one with an interesting, if not exactly accurate, history. According to lore, the castle was built by millionaire William Lindsay for his daughter Leslie Lindsey Mason as her wedding gift. However, she was killed when her ship, the Lusitania, was torpedoed and sunk by German submarines on May 7, 1915. In fact the building was commissioned by William Lindsay for his own use in 1905, long before his daughter's honeymoon on the Lusitania.[14] In 1939, the University acquired the property by agreement with the city to repay all back taxes owed; these funds were raised through donations from, among others, Dr. William Chenery, a University Trustee.[15] It served as the residence of the University president until 1967, when President Christ-Janer found it too large for his needs as a residence and turned it to other uses. It is now a conference space. Underneath the Castle is the BU Pub, the only BU-operated drinking establishment on campus.

The recently opened Florence and Chafetz Hillel House on Bay State Road is ranked the number one Hillel House facility in the world. Having four floors and a basement, the BU Hillel facility includes lounges, study rooms, a kosher dining hall and a J.P. Licks ice cream store. The house serves as a focal point for BU's large and active Jewish community. It hosts various speakers as well as shabat services.

Barnes and Noble at Boston University is the university's bookstore, which is located on Kenmore Square. Consisting of five floors the bookstore holds all BU students' needs ranging from books to clothes to coffee. Materials for others schools such as the Boston Architecture Center are also sold through the store.

Accessing Boston University

The Campus Trolley diner on the corner of Granby Street and Commonwealth Avenue. The BU College of Arts and Sciences building is visible in the background

Most of the buildings of the main campus are located on or near Commonwealth Avenue. The Kenmore Square area of campus (including the Boston University Bookstore, Shelton Hall and Myles Standish Hall) may be accessed using the Kenmore Station Stop on the MBTA Green Line B, C and D trains. Most of the rest of the main campus may be accessed using the B trains of the Green Line. The B train Blandford Street Stop is near the Metcalf Science and Engineering Building, the School of Management, the School of Education. The Boston University East Stop serves the College of Arts and Sciences and the Warren Towers dormitory. The Boston University Central Stop serves Marsh Plaza, the George Sherman Union and Mugar Memorial Library. The Boston University West Stop is directly across from the College of Fine Arts. The St. Paul Street Stop is close to the Student Village, which includes the Fitness and Recreation Center and Agganis Arena. The 57 Bus also runs along Commonwealth Avenue and into Brighton; however, many students prefer to travel by the trolley as there is no fare going outbound.

The Medical Campus is served by the CT1 Bus which runs along Massachusetts Avenue.

Boston University has recently introduced the Boston University Shuttle (BUS) which serves to connect the Main Campus, Boston University Theatre, and the Medical Campus.

Student Activities

Athletics

Inside of Agganis Arena after a hockey game.
Outside of the Fitness and Recreation center.

Main article: Boston University Terriers

Boston University's NCAA Division I Terriers compete in basketball, cross country, golf, ice hockey, rowing, soccer, swimming, tennis, track, and wrestling, while the Lady Terriers compete in basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, and track. Boston University athletics teams compete in the America East, Hockey East, and Colonial Athletic Association conferences, and their mascot is Rhett the Boston Terrier. Boston University recently constructed the new Agganis Arena, which opened on January 3, 2005 with a men's hockey game between the Terriers and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. Boston University has won 27 Beanpot titles, half of all 54 Beanpot Championships thus far. The annual tournament includes Boston College, Harvard University, and Northeastern University.

Club Sports

Boston University students also compete in athletics at the club level. Twenty seven club sports are recognized by the university, including: Baseball; Volleyball; Men's Lacrosse; Snowboard; Ultimate; Kung Fu; Fencing; Rugby Football; Synchronized Swimming; Women's Water Polo; Women's Rugby; Alpine Ski Racing; and Equestrian Team.

The BU Dinghy Sailors are the most recent BU team to win a national championship for the school at the varsity level, having won the ICSA Collegiate Nationals in 1999.

Student Publications

There are several student publications on campus. The Daily Free Press (often referred to as The Freep), an independent student-run newspaper and the fourth largest daily newspaper in Boston, has been publishing since 1970. It provides students with daily campus news, Boston and Massachusetts news, sports coverage, editorials, arts and entertainment and special feature stories. "The Daily Free Press" is published every regular instruction day of the university year and is available at BU dorms, classroom buildings and university hot-spots.

In Fall 2005, a new student paper, The Source, a weekly newspaper with extensive arts and entertainment coverage published by Greenline Media, began distribution on the campus. The Source is distriubuted to all students' mailboxes.

The Student Underground, a "monthly radical journal," which is "a not for profit, student and youth run newspaper collective" published by BU students since 1997. The Sam Adams Review is a monthly student-run newspaper "providing news for the American Spirit." The Underground focuses on underground or alternative political and cultural activity, while the SAR caters to conservative readership. Neither have any official recognition by the University.

The Brownstone Journal publishes undergraduate research, scholarly articles and essays, and literary work in translation. Clarion is BU's undergraduate literary arts magazine. Pusteblumeis the student journal of translation. The Back Bay Review is a student-run journal of literary and critical writing, and Burn Magazine is the newest addition to the field.

Boink, a student-run sex magazine features BU students posing nude and articles discussing sexuality, unrecognized by the University. Boink was developed after Harvard students began publishing the H-bomb, a pornography magazine.

Community Service Center

One notable office on campus is the Boston University Community Service Center (CSC)[2]. The CSC is a non-profit and almost entirely student run office within Boston University. The CSC has one paid staff member, the Coordinator of Programs and Administration (COPA), a position currently vacant; the search for a new COPA is underway. The CSC offers 13 different volunteer opportunities for students in different issues that affect the Boston community and the world as a whole. Some of the general issues the service of CSC volunteers address include: hunger, children, disabilities, and education assistance. The CSC has 13 programs, with the addition of Student Studio in the Fall 2006 semester. Eleven of these programs are continual commitments throughout the school year and they are as follows with a brief description.

  • Afterschool, volunteers tutor elementary school students and participate in recreational activities and arts and crafts.
  • Children's Theater, volunteers write and perform plays to perform at Boston schools and daycare centers.
  • Joining Hands, volunteers work with various agencies that serve people with disabilities in Boston.
  • Making Music, volunteers offer their talents to instruct children one-on-one in instrument or vocal lessons.
  • Multicultural Advancement Partnership Program (MAPP), volunteers work with people of limited English fluency helping them adjust to life in Boston.
  • Project Hope, several groups of volunteers work at sites throughout Boston that serve the population who have HIV/AIDS.
  • Siblings, volunteers are one-on-one mentors and share cultural, recreational, and educational experiences with their "sibling".
  • Student Food Rescue, this award winning program works to fight hunger in Boston and runs the largest college food salvage program in the nation.
  • Student Studio, the CSC's newest program as of September 2006, is an art mentoring program with middle school children. A one-on-one interaction in visual arts is the main service of Student Studio.
  • Voices from the Middle, volunteers help 8th graders write and perform their own play based on a social justice issue.
  • Wizards, volunteers introduce the wonders of sciences to elementary-school children with a different hands-on experiment each week.

In addition to these 11 continuing programs there are two annual programs offered to volunteers in the Boston University community. These are the First Year Student Outreach Project (FYSOP)[3] and the Alternative Spring Breaks (ASB) program. These programs are generally very popular with the student body attracting nearly 900 volunteers between the two programs. The FYSOP and ASB programs occur at only one time during the year, but there are students who work to plan the events year-round.

  • Alternative Spring Breaks (ASB), is a popular program that involves student volunteers traveling to sites throughout the country to volunteer. The service done on an ASB trips addresses the concerns of many of the other CSC programs: environment, affordable housing, HIV/AIDS Awareness, and children. The students travel to their service site by car, using a large van to transport 12 students, a faculty chaperone, and minimal baggage. The sites for the ASB program are typically in the US south and midwest. For example, the program for 2007 will include 23 trips to places like Georgia, Michigan, Florida, Texas, Kentucky, Nebraska, and South Dakota. The ASB program is run by two Program Managers (PMs) and each trip is coordinated by two students who apply for the jobs in early Fall.
  • First Year Student Outreach Project (FYSOP), is a program that just celebrated its 17th year. FYSOP involves about 500 incoming Freshman and transfer students, the "First Years", who volunteer at sites throughout Massachusetts. FYSOP takes place in the week prior to the start of classes and consists of an opening day, an education day, and three days of on-site service. The First Years are split into small groups lead by upperclassmen FYSOP staff members, of which there are normally about 125. Several of these small groups make up each of the eight service issue areas. The eight issue areas are:
  • Children
  • Disabilities
  • Elders
  • Environment
  • HIV/AIDS Awareness
  • Gender Focus
  • Homelessness and Housing
  • Hunger

Every participant of the program is a volunteer, except the one program manager and the 16 coordinators (two per issue area), who are paid for dedicating their summer to planning FYSOP and their issue area. The other leaders of the program are the FYSOP staff members who spend a week training in preparation for the arrival of the First Year students.

Graduate Workshops

Willing Suspension Productions provides graduate English students the opportunity to present rare Early modern drama before a Boston audience. The program was founded in 1993 and produces one play per year.

ROTC

ROTC at BU traces its origins back to August 16, 1919 when the U.S. War Department stood up the Students’ Army Training Corps at Boston University, the predecessor to the current Army ROTC program.[16]

Today, BU is one of only a few colleges and universities across the nation to host ROTC units from all three Armed Services – Army, Navy, and Air Force (students wishing to commission into the Marine Corps study as Navy Midshipmen).

See also

Further reading

Kilgore, Kathleen. Transformations: A History of Boston University. ISBN 0-87270-070-4. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |origmonth=, |accessmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, |origdate=, and |coauthors= (help)

Saltzman, Nancy (1985). Buildings and Builders: a History of Boston University. Boston: Boston University Press. ISBN 0-87270-056-9. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |origmonth=, |accessmonth=, |month=, |chapterurl=, |origdate=, and |coauthors= (help)

References

  1. ^ "Boston University Admissions - Tuition Information". Retrieved 2006-07-13.
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  3. ^ BU Info Center - Quick Facts, retrieved May 6, 2006
  4. ^ Freedman, Samuel G. (2006-06-07). "Can Tough Grades Be Fair Grades?". The New York Times. p. B8. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ Berdik, Chris (2006-09-14). "Grade Deflation or Not?". BU Today. Retrieved 2006-10-06.
  6. ^ Education news & resources at the Times Higher Education Supplement, retrieved October 8, 2006
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  8. ^ Top 500 World Universities (1-100), retrieved August 15, 2006
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  14. ^ http://www.bostonfamilyhistory.com/neigh_bbay.html accessed 8 May 2006
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