Boston College - Sub Turri Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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sity than any of the others. First of all, the library will serve the needs of every student, whether resident or commuter, regardless of school. Then, too, the com- pleted library will provide more centralization for the numerous volumes scattered throughout the campus. The books will be treated with more care in a cozier home than in the dark recesses of Bapst and its satellites. There has been no major con- struction at Boston College since 1976, the year before this graduating class unpacked its bags. As we depart, the din rings in our ears. Incoming classes will continue to tolerate the din until, as the next few years slide by, the ringing fades away. And with this fading, Boston College will not only continue operating as a university, but it will have finished another important phase of growth, thus enhancing its tradition of superior liberal edu- cation. Prologue 3

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AN EXPLOSION OF BUILDING From 1 951 to now, there has been such an explosion of building that on reflection one wonders how we managed to keep operating as a university amid the din of construction. — from an article in Boston College Magazine, June 1979, by Charles Donovan, S.J. on the occasion of his retirement as Dean of Faculties. Amid the din of construc- tion. Anyone who spent the past year on campus certainly knows what Fr. Donovan meant by that phrase. Boston College once again faces the massive upheaval and displacement caused by construction. The face of this university once again is changing so that Boston College can con- tinue to grow as a great center of learning. Yet, despite the rapid growth and the accompanying pounding of jackhammers, Bos- ton College may well be entering its final phase of growth, at least in p hysical attributes. After all of the currently planned buildings are completed, there will simply be no more room for further con- struction on the present Chestnut Hill campus. More significantly, however, once the new library is completed, the physical needs of Boston College as a major mod- ern university may very well have been met. The Buildings which were under construction this year symbolize the various directions in which Boston College is mov- ing. The parking garage is nestled neatly under the grandstands of Alumni Stadium. In the transfor- mation of Boston College to a largely residential school, it seemed that someone had forgot- ten about that symbol of our times, the automobile, and its faithful companion, the commu- ter. The university finally faced up to its obligation to Boston area students. Therefore, plans were quickly drawn up and im- plemented for a rather non- descript, prefabricated concrete edifice in which to park cars. In the quest for the total aca- demic experience, more and more students have been seeking on-campus housing. The demand has been so great in recent years that it prompted the university to erect a three-wing, multitiered dormitory with dining facilities. Construction began before we ar- rived in September and continues as we leave in May. For too long now, the Drama- tics Society has toiled and strug- gled with inadequate facilities which did no justice to the high calibre of performance which they consistently attained. The coming 750 seat theater, to be built on the site now occupied by the ever popular Snake ' n Apple, will provide the facilities which are now so desperately needed. The Speech Communication and Theater Department will also benefit and be strengthened by this cultural addition. But, by far, the most important and significant project now in the works is that of the new library. In terms of serving academic Proposed Theater needs which, of course, is the primary purpose of all this con- struction — this structure will have more impact on the univer- 2 Prologue

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PROLOGUE