MetroWest Daily News Op-Ed: The Good Old Days of Strict Jesuit Discipline

The MetroWest Daily News published an op-ed about BC expansion plans and the latest property sale by the Archdiocese.

Brighton seems a bit far a-field for a TownOnline paper based in Framingham. But the author, Frank Mazzaglia, can remember back to days when there weren't loud off-campus parties, drunken students falling face down in the middle of the street, on-campus students setting a dumpster afire, and so on:

Of course, there was a time when discipline at Boston College was so tight that it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Older alumni can still remember a code of conduct with such strict Jesuit discipline that it even involved appearance. Male students came to class wearing a shirt, tie, and suit jacket.

The no-nonsense culture of campus life demanded respect that extended not only to each other but to area residents and private property. In those days, it is doubtful that neighbors would have raised much of a fuss about an extended campus. Things have changed.

Now the best that B.C. seems capable of doing is to support a Neighborhood Center which provides services to the community. It's an attempt at bandaging relationships, but doesn't come anywhere close to resolving neighborhood concerns over sleepless nights because of rowdy students, late-night parties and disrespectful behavior.

The good old days, I guess, for those long-term residents who can still remember them.