Boston College - Sub Turri Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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• ..■r - ' « ' • • •• v ' V ■.•• ' ' ♦ ■ • ■. . .• %.%ii:; .■ mark on the students who spend their undergrad years in the Hub. Picture a senior whose pres- ence always dominates the room she is in. Chances are that this person is much different from the shy and removed freshman who came here with the same name. The unique fla- vor that Boston simmers into students has had a hand in the metamorphosis from teena- ger-acting-iii e-an-adult to an actual adult. This change is most noticable in the senior ' s wardrobe. You can ' t remember when you first saw her because she was so non-descript that she faded right into the woodwork. She was there, however, stand- ing diminutively in her preppy uniform. The standard docksid- ers, navy blue cardigan com- plete with alligator, and whale covered dickies were offset by her virgin-white turtleneck and the contrite I ' m gonna join the yearbook smile. She studied all the time and she only took off her tortoise-rim glasses to rub her eyes. The next time you saw her was a year or so later. You passed her outside of the Nick- elodeon Theatre. She was now attired in a more comfortable outfit, consisting of a Levi ' s jean jacket and a pink Lauren polo with the collar turned up. She still had a sweater with her though because somewhere in the back of her mind her mother ' s voice was warning her about catching a cold. She had gained a certain amount of self- assurance and this popcorn- tossing-girl-having-fun had come a long way. Then, outside of the Metro one night junior year, you noticed the change. She had the same face but that was about alt. You stared at her from top to bottom then bot- tom to top. She had on white character shoes and tight voilet colored pants clung to her legs. She had traded in her Polo shirt for a navy blue sweatshirt which she wore inside out. A studded double belt was around her waist. Black shades covered her eyes even though it was past midnight and when you com- mented, she explained that she liked it that way. Her hair wasn ' t quite the ail-American gid- next-door cut that she had come with. She now wore it with a streak of pink in the front and a duck tail in the back. An abundance of jewelry adorned her person now. Friday nights were when she went out on the town. Working hard for good grades was still important to her but school work was done during the week only. The sweater whicii nctu ueen nne for cuddling up with Shal espeare had been replaced with a tweed overcoat that would keep her warm while waiting for theT. The last time you saw her, a few weeks ago, she had toned down. The pink streak was gone and she was in a blue pin- stripe on her way for a job inter- view in town somewhere. What had happened to her? She had grown up and established an identity of her own. Living in Boston, shopping at its stores, working in its offices, and par- tying in its hot spots had effected her development. Take a moment to think about how you changed and the part that this city has played, it is probably greater than you real- ized. T.H. McMorran BOSTON 3f

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The Bostonian Transition Students come to Boston from all over the nation. Their first impression is So this is Boston. Big fat hairy deal. The freshman from New York will raise his eyebrows in scorn while scoping out the skyline with its lonely Pru and j. Han- cock towers. He will think to himself how NY, NY could do better even on the Lower West Side. The inhabitant of Los Angeles will get off the plane and immediately hold his breath because he is suspicious about breathing air he can ' t see. Conversely, the farmboy from a western ranch that is the size of Rhode Island will stand in amazement staring up at the sl yscrapers and ask. How they git them thangs so tall? Then, of course, those from certain parts of jersey will shamefaced- ly hide their dioxin detectors in their footlockers and only take them out to check their sleep- ing roommates for contamina- tion. Whomever the person is and no matter what part of the country he comes from, after one semester he is more of a Bostonian than he could know. He she can ask for a tonic when they want a soda. The student can hop the T to Aku-Aku in order to get blown-away scor- pion bowling without fear of being stung to death. And he she can use Mom and Dad ' s credit card as a divining rod to find the fastest way to Filene ' s Basement. After four four years of sight-seeing, shopping, din- ing, dancing, museum-going, researching and just partying, the kid from anyplace west will be a genuine Bostonian. During a student ' s four years at BC little more than the desire to ' do ' Boston, a guide book. and a pocketful of change for the T can turn him into a New England sophisticate. Easy ac- cess to Boston, albeit slow at times, allows a BC undergrad to supplement his education with day visits to the Hub of the universe around which all things revolve. There is not a student or major on campus who cannot benefit from the immense resources the city has to offer. There are two ways for the freshman and future Bostonian to view the city. The first is that he can expand his mind by studying the history, museums, art galleries and libraries. Bos- ton can become a living labora- tory full of information and in- ternships with librarians and assistants waiting in their dusty offices for an industrious stu- dent to come by. This is an op- portunity not often pursued though it is always rewarding. The other way the new stu dent can attack the city is to tr to forget everything he ha learned and blow his mine away. Along this more travellec path there is inexhaustable en tertainment in the form of danc ing as diverse as swing, disco and even square dancing. Then is a wide range of food style: offered from the Italian cuisin( of the North End to the deli cious and fresh seafood of the Harbor. There are restaurant: that serve anything from Arabi to Cuban foods and any variet in between. For the shoppe there is antiquing along the Charles St. windows. There i; the Coop in Cambridge, there are the bull market carts o Quincy Market, and there is al ways Filene ' s Basement. What ever a person ' s interest is in the city, Boston leaves an indelible 18 BOSTON

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There is a legend in Boston about a nnan named Charlie. Charlie is the man who never returned from his ride on the MBTA. Would he ever return? Well he hasn ' t yet. Charlie has never been able to pay his fare to get off the T . So he still sits in the window and waves at his wife every day because he is too poor to leave . . . T was short for MBTA — Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Boston ' s subway system. For many Bostonians, T stood for transportation, trouble, traffic, terrific, train, trolley, and trauma. The problem was not with the cars themselves: they were in remarkably good condition. The trains themselves were quite clean, fast and convenient. For sixty or seventy-five cents many Bostonians had the same problem Charlie had — they never had enough change to pay the fare. Naturally the best part of the T, (or worst, depending on your viewpoint) was the people. Half the fun was watching the charac- ters that got on. Hopping on at the BC stop, passengers consisted of alligator-badged preppies in docksiders and Nantucket tans: near Harvard Ave. the T was inundated by leather-jacketed hoodlums out for an evening ' s prowl; Kenmore Square deposited an odd assortment of students. Orientals and baseball fans; Copley resounded with the clinks of money from the pockets of the well-to-do shoppers on Newbury Street: Park smelled faintly of incense and Cuban cigars as the Krishnas boarded in search of converts: from Government Center a daily batch of shiny-shoed young executives headed for their prestigious Downtown offices. In between stops, a myraid of passengers might board — every- one from bag ladies to eccentric millionaires, from authors to airplane pilots, from foreign students to government workers. In this group of people, it wasn ' t hard to think that Charlie might be sitting somewhere along the aisle. He ' d fit right in! — KW, KK, KG 4l Hi i 20 BOSTON Bostonian folklore has a legend about Char- lie and the MBTA. Like Charlie. Bostonians and visitors alike have a variety of experiences on the ' T, from finding change, missing train, riding down the rails and just watching the people.