PUBLISHED BY THE BOSTON COLLEGE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
JANUARY 15, 2026 VOL. 33 NO. 9
University Preps for Reaccreditation Process BY SEAN SMITH CHRONICLE EDITOR
PULSE students like those shown above help create a welcoming atmosphere where guests feel respected and seen, says Haley House Executive Director Reggie Jean.
A Community Service The BC PULSE Program nears 50 years of collaboration with Boston’s Haley House Founded in Boston’s South End, Haley House is a multifaceted nonprofit offering a soup kitchen; permanent affordable housOne of Boston College’s most enduring ing; urban agriculture; education and trainand meaningful community partnerships ing, including the Life Foundations Trainbegan with an undergraduate’s curiosity. ing reentry program; and a social enterprise In 1972, David Manzo was a first-year restaurant. PULSE connects students with student at the Heights who was intermarginalized communities and social jusested in the Catholic Worker Movement. tice organizations like Haley House, pairFounded in 1933 by Dorothy Day and ing hands-on service with academic study Peter Maurin and rooted in social justice, in philosophy and theology. the movement created a netEvents to commemorate work of decentralized com“I’d get there around six in the partnership’s 50th anmunities, known as Cathoniversary, which coincides the morning, letting in 50 lic Worker Houses, that with the 60th anniversary or 60 guys who had been welcome people in need of of the founding of Haley housing, food, and resources. sleeping on the street or at House, are planned for later Manzo wanted to know if the Pine Street Inn,” recalls this year. Boston had a Catholic Work- David Manzo ’77. “It was That Friday night when er House, so he asked James basic in those days, a cup of he accompanied Fr. Halpin, Halpin, S.J., who was then Manzo met Kathe McKenna, coffee, something to eat.” director of BC’s Program for one of Haley House’s foundthe Study of War and Peace. ers. In 1966, inspired by ac“Fr. Halpin said ‘Sure, it’s called Haley tivists like Day and Maurin, McKenna and House,’ and got a car and took me there her husband and co-founder, John, opened on a Friday night,” recalled Manzo, who their apartment to men they saw sleeping graduated in 1977. on the street by their South End apartThat visit would set the stage for an afment. This laid the foundation for Haley filiation between Haley House and BC’s House, which soon grew into an official PULSE Program for Service Learning that nonprofit initially offering a soup kitchen will mark five decades this year—PULSE’s run by a live-in volunteer community. longest running continuous community It was exactly what Manzo was looking partnership. Continued on page 7 BY ELLEN SEAWARD SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Boston College has begun preparations for its decennial reaccreditation review by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), which will culminate in a site visit by a team of educators next year. University President William P. Leahy, S.J., has appointed Special Assistant to the President Peter Martin to lead a University committee that will prepare materials for the process. Committee members include Associate Vice Provost for Assessment and Accreditation Jessica Greene; Vice President for Institutional Research and Planning Mara Hermano; Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President Carrie Klemovitch; and University Libraries Associate Director for Academic Programs and Special Projects Seth Meehan. As part of the NECHE reaccredita-
tion—the most recent occurred in 2017— BC will undertake a self-study during the coming months that will address key issues and topics in academics, student life, organizational effectiveness and other areas; the document will be submitted next January. The NECHE delegation, composed of educators and administrators from peer institutions, will visit the campus for three days in March of 2027, during which time it will review the self-study, speak with members of the BC community, and examine supporting documents before issuing a report. Both the self-study and the visiting committee report will be integral to the decision on BC’s accreditation status. While good standing in a regional accreditation association is a requirement for participation in federal programs that support higher education, Martin said the process also presents an opportunity for BC to take stock of its academic and formational Continued on page 4
Study: Patterns of Recreational Cannabis Use Among Adults Changing Due to Legalization BY PHIL GLOUDEMANS STAFF WRITER
A new study led by Boston College School of Social Work Professor Summer Sherburne Hawkins found that recreational cannabis legalization in the United States is driving increases in cannabis use among adults with historically lower consumption, as opposed to increasing use among those who already consumed cannabis. The research, titled “The Impact of Recreational Cannabis Legalization on Cannabis Use in US Adults from 2016-2023: A Quasi-experimental Study,” and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, contributes evidence that cannabis use—the most frequently consumed illicit drug in the U.S.—is spreading to new populations. Despite a December 2025 executive order, cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance under U.S. federal law, but as of January, 24 states—including Massachusetts—and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational cannabis
for adults 21 and older, with most allowing commercial sales. “Analyses of state-representative data from 2016 onwards indicated that recreational cannabis legalization is contributing to rising levels of adult cannabis use by increasing the proportions of adults using cannabis,” said Hawkins, who also serves as associate director of BC’s Global Public Health and the Common Good program. “Demographic groups with lower levels
Continued on page 6
INSIDE 2 Venezuela’s ‘Crucial Pivot’
Q&A with BC Law’s Daniela Urosa.
3 One Sweet Ride
Romance blooms on BC shuttle.
8 Lowell Humanities Series Spring schedule starts Feb. 4.