Boston College - Sub Turri Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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IN IMOK. uIk-ii iIic .• )II.-;:c a ■ planning to Iranstcr ils a ti itics lo ils new liicalion in New Ion, tills reslriclion and tlic liinilalion as lo cndou nicnt contained in the original docimicnl were rcinoN cd. The college opened on Seplend)er 5. 1864. Ils first presi- dent was the Kev. John Hapsl. S.J.. ihc lieroic (igure of an oiilrageons lar and I ' calhcring wliich had Iiccti itdliclcd lor religious reasons hy the anli-Clalhcdic fanatics of Kllsworth. Maine. And as Prefect of Studies, or Dean, as it is now called, was the Iloratian scholar and famed wit. Rev. Rohert I ' uiton. S.j. L nder such ins|)iririg leaders, the college hegan its slow but encouraging growth from lw ' nI -lwo to a hundredfold that nund)er. Though in the beginning there was but a licarllir ' aking response in proportion to the struggle and sacrifice of the founders, the increase in enrollment, however small, was noticeable. The tenth year brought one hundred and fifty students: and the youth of those days just as anxious for hoiidav s as their children, sougiil a holiday from the Reverend President when that mark was reached. For twelve years there was no professor of philosophy, and the Junior, or KJK-toric, Class of I Ik- Kalio Sliidionnti was the final ear. l ' hiloso|)ln and a Senior yeai- were added in 1876. and in the first graduating class. 1877. one A.M. and twelve A.B. degrees were conferred. The childhood of the college was normal and sir ]ng. not developing too rapidly, but gaining more vigor, more influence, and more renown, by the persistent efforts of its early directors. The classroom studies were conducted according to the tradi- tional methofls of the (Jhurch and the Jesuits, and Boston College, so young in itself, presented a paradoxical picture because of its ancient traditions of education and teaching. Societies of many kinds arose from the spontaneous enthusiasm of the students. First there were dramatic productions, featured chiefly by Shakespearean plays presented annually even u|) lo the present. Debating opportunity was early provided with the establishment of the Fulton Society in 1890. A yearn for writing was con- summated in the founding of the Stylus. 1882: and since the college has been located at Chestnut Hill, those interested in journalism have been provided a source of practice in The Heights, a weekly newspaper. Paralleled with the seventy-fifth anni- versary of the college is the twenty-fifth anniversary of the SuB Turri. The musical clid)s have their ancestor in the St. Cecilia Society, and Sodalities of the Blessed irgin Mary have always been prominent. More recent years have added a multi- plicity of clubs, academies, and seminars, to include every form of activity in busi- ness, political, social. S|)iritual. classical, and scientific life.

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NOTKWOin IIV AUDITIONS arc llu- Junior organiza- tion, the Gold ke . through which the hospitality of the college is extended to its visitors: and the Order of the ( iross and Crown, a senior honor society. In the early liays. athletics as we haye them today were |)racti ' ally non-existent, but corresponding to them was a student hallalion fornied in IH6 ' ) and called the Foster Cadets after (General John Foster, a convert to the faith which the Civil War had produced. The World W ar brought forth another student battalion, and these men, after training at Plattshurg. came back to the Heights as soldiers. Now. however, athletics throughout the nation are highly organized, and in pace with this devel- opment. Boston (College makes provision for practically every sport in which the American youth engages from football to fencing. While the college was soundly and solidly developing its internal structiae, its external structures, buildings and equipment were not in evidence. Neyertheless a succession of excellent presidents nurtured the college in these feebler days until the energy and sacrifices of the Catholic citizenry began to aid the Jesuits in expanding materially. These men the years parade triumphantly before us, for they left behind them an impression of good. We see the Rev. Robert Fulton, twice president, so keen of intellect; Fr. Jeremiah O ' Connor, the spirited orator; Edward V. Boursand of cul- tured French descent: Thomas H. Stack, beloved and profound scientist: Nicholas Russo, the subtle philosopher and autiior: Kdward Devitt, a master theologian and historian; Timothy Brosnahan. pointed logician and superb orator whose tilt with Charles Eliot of Harvard held a candle to the defects of extreme electivism and won for him and for the college national re])ute: W. J. Mullan. who added an extra vear of philosophy; and William Gannon, renowned for his eloquent and forceful speeches. These men can be said to complete the first phase of Boston College. In noting the nexus between this and the second period of development, one apparently insignifi- cant fact must be observed. F ' r. Brosnahan had purchased a large lot for athletic purposes. An exceptionally good price for the sale of this property paved the way for the transformation to take place at Chestnut Hill. Where once stood the Laurence Estate on a picturesque eminence overlooking the twin reservoirs, and where not so long ago the now Episcopal Bishop Laurence of Boston picked apples from his orchard and roamed about at will, stands the present growing institution, Boston College. Fr. Gasson, the so-called second founder of the college, purchased these 35 acres in Newton. The architects. McGuinness and Walsh, submitted the best plans in a competition which was held, and their sketches of English Gothic lines, in keeping with the beauty of the surroundings, were accepted.