Issuu

Monday, May 3, 2021

BC Issues Reponse on Dziak, Province Silent Leahy writes that Jesuit leadership alone had authority over Dziak assignments. JACK MILLER Heights Senior Staﬀ

Editor’s Note: Jack Miller is a former Heights news editor who was selected by Editor-in-Chief Owen Fahy to report on the University’s response to the April 26 Heights article. Miller was selected because he is not a member of the 103rd Board of The Heights and not involved with the original article. He was given access to review the editorial processes fairly and without bias. Heights editors who were involved with the sourcing, reporting, or editing of the original article were not involved with the writing or editing of this article. Boston College has criticized the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus for failing to respond to allegations that Rev. Ted Dziak, S.J., emotionally abused multiple students and sexually abused one volunteer. The response follows Heights reporting that members of the BC community informed University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., of Dziak’s inappropriate behavior. The University said that omissions concerning Leahy’s authority over Dziak’s future placements contributed to an unfair characterization throughout the article. BC had directed questions about Dziak to the East Province. The East Province did not respond to The Heights’ four requests for comment ahead of publication or the five requests made since. “[The East Province’s] negligence has helped to create a false narrative, which has unfairly impugned the integrity of Fr. Leahy,” Associate Vice President for University Communications Jack Dunn said in an email to The Heights. In an April 26 Heights article, Tim Ballard, a DePaul University graduate, alleged that Dziak raped him four times on a 2004 mission trip in Belize. Ballard’s accusations were first reported by nola.com. The April 26 article indicated that Leahy had been made aware that Dziak engaged in emotional abuse and inappropriate behavior with BC students. There are no known allegations of sexual abuse from Dziak’s time at BC. Dziak directed the University’s Ignacio Volunteers program, which organized student service trips. In the spring of 1998, Dziak announced that he would be leaving BC for an all-boys Jesuit Catholic high school in Jamaica. The Heights first asked the University for comment on Ballard’s allegations against Dziak—by then reported on by nola.com—on April 23. At the time, the University declined to make a public statement and directed The Heights to the East Province instead. Between April 23 and April 26, The Heights informed the University that

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the request for public comment had grown more urgent but did not specifically ask about Dziak’s behavior at BC. In response, the University reiterated that The Heights should reach out to the East Province. “I stand by our reporting and am confident that the article is entirely true,” Owen Fahy, editor-in-chief of The Heights and MCAS ’22, said. “Any omission was due to a source not responding by press time. Every individual and entity named for this story was given a minimum of 48 hours to respond.” On April 27, Leahy published a statement responding to The Heights’ reporting. In it, Leahy revealed that he spoke to Dziak in the fall of 1997 about complaints made by members of the BC Chaplaincy before informing his Jesuit superiors of the situation. Leahy emphasized that he was not Dziak’s religious superior nor did the Province consult him about any subsequent assignments. “The Heights made a crucial error in rushing to publish an article without obtaining all of the facts needed to present an accurate account of what transpired during Fr. Dziak’s time at Boston College,” Dunn said. “We referred The Heights to the USA East Province of Jesuits because Fr. Dziak is a member of the province and has had no connection with Boston College since he left in 1998.” The East Province did not respond to multiple inquiries from The Heights ahead of the April 26 article. The Heights reached out to the Province’s office four times during that period: once on the evening of April 23, again on the morning of April 24, and twice in the afternoon of April 25. The Heights left three messages on the East Province’s main phone number across the four calls in advance of the article’s release. “The refusal of the province to respond to The Heights and any other media inquiries on this issue is shameful and irresponsible,” Dunn said. “They should have acknowledged Tim Ballard’s claim against Fr. Dziak with the Jesuit Volunteers International in Belize in 2004 as well as the action Fr. Leahy took in 1997 when issues regarding Dziak’s conduct arose at BC. They should have explained to The Heights that Jesuit assignments are made by the Province, and that Fr. Leahy and Boston College had no role in his placements before or after his time at BC.” The East Province has not responded to subsequent requests for comment from The Heights. On April 28, The Heights emailed James Skurka, the East Province’s contact for advancement and communication. On the same day, The Heights left a voicemail for both Skurka and the main Province office. A staff member for the East Province confirmed on April 29 that she had passed a message from The Heights on to the communications department. The Heights left another message for the main office on April 30.

See Dziak, A2

IKRAM ALI / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Arts Fest Takes Over the Quad BC’s artists displayed their various talents over the weekend, taking advantage of the warm weather. See Arts Fest, A5

Class of 2021 Reﬂects on the Past Year BC’s seniors look back on a unique last year of college. BY ANNA LONNQUIST Magazine Editor BY STEPHEN BRADLEY Assoc. Magazine Editor BY MC CLAVERIE Asst. Magazine Editor

For the past three years at Boston College, Megan Kern has lived in the fast lane, she said. Like many BC students, she sacrificed sleep and time with friends in order to take on more, both academically and extracurricularly. But when COVID-19 struck the United States in March 2020, Kern, Lynch ’21, was forced to accept that she had to slow down. Now, as she goes about her daily habit of writing down her favorite parts of each day, her per-

spective on what she values has shifted. Although Kern was not able to have a “normal” senior year, the lessons she learned are something that she will carry with her in the future, she said. Similarly, many seniors had to cope with the loss of what would have been the culmination of their BC experience—senior year and the traditions that come with it. Though traditions such as Mod weddings, Senior Week, and Commencement may not exist in their typical forms, many seniors have said this past year on the Heights has provided unique opportunities for learning and personal growth. COPING WITH THE UNKNOWN After BC students were sent home last March due to COVID-19, many current seniors said they struggled to imagine what it would be like to return to a modified campus. With so many unknowns surrounding the return to campus for the fall semester, current seniors experienced a range of emotions.

“I think things came in waves—kind of like a grieving process,” Tatiana Niebuhr, MCAS ’21, said. “I knew deep down already that my senior year was not gonna look like the way that I wanted it to or the way that we were promised to have our senior year look like.” As the pandemic continued, current seniors became increasingly aware that things were not going to return to normal for some time. “So, like, right when the pandemic hit we were like, ‘Oh, we’ll see you next year at the tailgate and the football game,’” Czar Sepe, MCAS ’21, said. “I mean, it was stupid, but, like, we kind of didn’t know yet.” As the spring progressed, students became nervous about BC’s ability to reopen in light of other universities across the country announcing plans to operate remotely, Ellie Rueve, MCAS ’21, said.

See Seniors, A6

Flowers Flaunts Skills on the Field The receiver is slated to lead the 2021 squad. ETHAN OTT Asst. Sports Editor

Overtime, Boston College ball. Phil Jurkovec adjusts his armband and looks ahead to the 25-yard line at his three receivers. Closest to the right sideline is Zay Flowers, Jurkovec’s go-to receiver. Jurkovec takes the snap from under center—four steps back, two shuffles forward—and lets the ball fly. Flowers hadn’t played in an overtime game since his junior year of high school. Against Pittsburgh, that fact didn’t matter.

He sprints downfield with his signature speed, looks up when the grass below his feet turns maroon—signaling he’s found the endzone—and leaps over one defender with another at his back. Five seconds after the snap, the ball is in Flowers’ hands. The scoreboard flashes 30-24, and BC has the go-ahead score it needs. “I’m pretty good at overtime,” Flowers said in his post game press conference. In BC’s overtime win against Pittsburgh, Flowers and Jurkovec may as well have been the only two Eagles on the field, as the duo accounted for all but six of BC’s points. When he entered the locker room after the game, Flowers had assembled one of the best performances of his season with 162 yards and three

METRO: Art Market

ARTS: Campus Exhibit

A new art market is running every Saturday at Copley Square............................................ A3

Student artwork was put on display from Thursday to Saturday across campus.............A5

INDEX

touchdowns, one of which won BC the game. Nonetheless, Flowers remained levelheaded after the game, as he did all season and has throughout his football career. “I knew it was coming,” Flowers said in that press conference. “That’s why I made the play.” Four days later, Flowers’ name was on the 2020 Biletnikoff Award watch list honoring the best receiver in the nation. His success, however, was not limited to one contest. By exceeding expectations game after game in 2020, Flowers earned The Heights’ 2020-21 Breakout Male Athlete of the Year honor.

NEWS.........................

See Flowers, A11

MAGAZINE.............