The Heights

The U.S. Rewrites Its Mineral Playbook

Jose Garcia • May 5, 2025

Mining has become a focal point of the Trump administration's agenda. It has continuously emphasized the significance of the natural resource industry since January, evidenced in both the proposed Ukraine deal and the potential acquisition of Greenland. Both acquisitions are being evaluated not only for their strategic significance to the United States, but also for the immense mineral value embedded in their land.

Period Poverty on a Privileged Campus

Elizabeth Pozniakova • May 5, 2025

We’ve all had at least one period-related trauma. I’m willing to bet my quarter (that I’d need for an empty dispenser, so it’s useless anyway) that this trauma ensued from a lack of preparedness. As much as I’d love to be considered a “period fairy,” with an arsenal of cotton products and medications in my backpack for the battleground that is my uterus every month, it is more my style to frantically ask strangers for tampons when the time comes.

Queer Students Should Not Be Treated As Second Class Citizens

Gabriel Hallberg • May 1, 2025

I would like to specifically address why I was deeply offended by what Fr. Butler said. You cannot claim to love everybody and then discriminate in how you give your love and who you give your love to. Jesus asks us to love unconditionally, without discrimination, and with special care for the most vulnerable. Matthew 25:40 makes this clear: “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

BC Secures Third Place in Beanpot, Tops UMass 13–6 at Fenway Park

Sarah Vergura and Maria Stefanoudakis • April 29, 2025

Boston College baseball returned to Fenway Park on Tuesday evening for the third-place game in the 2025 Beanpot Baseball tournament, beating UMass 13-6 behind nine runs in the final two innings.

Enjoy the Ride

Scanlon Mellowes • April 29, 2025

“Like I said before, your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.” — Anthony Bourdain I will proudly boast that one of the best habits I adopted over the past year is decentralizing social media from my day—specifically, deleting TikTok and setting strict time limits on other apps. My head feels clearer, my to-do list takes priority, and instead of mindless content consumption, I fill my evenings with journaling, working out, and spending time with friends.

The Art of Pretending

Lucia Hernandez • April 29, 2025

When I first walked into my Duchesne dorm room, it smelled like someone else’s laundry. Its prison-like walls were marked scratches that promised a story, and so did the dented door. I had inherited just half of it for a year. But I pretended like it had been mine all along.

The Last Word

Pat Connell • April 27, 2025

When I was a little kid, my older sisters told me I was never going to touch the bottom of the pool. I wasn’t “old enough.” It’s amazing how memory works. I forget so much of my early years, but I vividly remember swimming down those 10 feet, floatie around my waist, curling my fingers against the small white tiles—just to spite them.

It’s Called a Cliche for a Reason

Tommy Roche • April 27, 2025

In the words of a better columnist than me: We’ve arrived, inevitably, at the end of things. Unlike her, I can’t make my last Heights column a bohemian masterwork of creative self-reflection. But I can leave you with a few of the world’s most common pieces of advice—phrases so familiar we call them cliches. Overused? Maybe. But, through my life at BC, I’ve come to believe they’re overused for a reason.

Strength in Unity: How BC Can Navigate Uncertainty and Support Science

Sofia Smirnov • April 25, 2025

Science has traditionally been a steadfast pillar of the global community, advancing the common good. Recent shifts in policies and funding priorities, however, have introduced newfound uncertainties into the scientific world. The purpose of this piece is to remind the Boston College community of the importance and interconnectedness of all sectors of science—and to offer a source of inspiration to overcome this period of transition and ambiguity.

GCal Culture and the Death of Spontaneity

Jaya Gautam • April 15, 2025

A couple months ago, I ran into a friend of mine at Hillside. I hadn’t seen her in a while, so I proposed dinner plans at some point that week. “I’d love to,” she responded. “But let me check my GCal …” In seconds, her computer was open, and Google Calendar (colloquially referred to as GCal) was pulled up.

Graduation Might Ruin the World Tour

Dee Espinosa • April 15, 2025

Saweetie’s not the only one performing on campus. One of my friends is a Boston College microcelebrity. Everyone either knows him personally or at least knows of him. Whenever I walk anywhere with him on campus, he’s bound to bump into someone he knows every ten feet. When this happens, I joke that he’s on his “Campus World Tour,” with stops like the Rat, Gasson Quad, or the stairs next to Iggy as hotspots for his loyal “fans.” Ever since then, I’ve started treating my own walks on campus like I’m on tour. My friend’s more like Flo Rida—a crowd favorite. Me? I’m more like Saweetie—a little less mainstream, met with mixed reactions.

Across the Pond: The Story of My Life (in London)

Makayla Hickey • April 15, 2025

“The memories you make abroad are the ones that will last a lifetime.” I’d be willing to bet that nearly everyone studying abroad has heard this sentiment in some form or another. Whether it was older cousins telling stories about their semesters in Italy or professors wishing me luck on my semester away, the idea that my travels would take up permanent residence in my memory was drilled into my conscience before I even left Boston.