Issuu

September 30, 2024

Goo Goo Dolls Energize Conte Forum The 32nd annual Pops on the Heights raised $12.8 Million for BC's “Soaring Higher” campaign.

BY ASHLEY VALENZUELA Heights Staﬀ

CHRIS TICAS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Eagles Survive Nailbiter

The 32nd annual Pops on the Heights brought students, family, friends, and alumni together in Conte Forum for a celebration of performing arts. The jaw-dropping and stunning performances from Boston College’s very own student groups provided strong openers for the Boston Pops and the headlining Goo Goo Dolls.

Also known as the Barbara and Jim Clear y Scholarship Gala, Pops on the Heights raises money for BC’s students to provide greater financial aid. The event raised $12.8 million according to a video message from this year’s Pops on the Heights co-chairs, Paul and Sandra Edgerley, and Patti and Jonathan Kraft. The funds raised will go to the “Soaring Higher” campaign.

See Pops, A7

In Grayson James' first BC start, the team achieved its largest fourth-quarter comeback in program history. BY SOURABH GOKARN Deputy Managing Editor

Coming off a potentially season-defining win against Michigan State, Bill O’Brien’s message prior to Boston College football’s (4–1, 1–0 Atlantic Coast) 21–20 win against Western Kentucky (3–2, 1–0 Conference USA) couldn’t have been clearer.

“If there's a letdown, absolute shame on Boston College football,” O’Brien said on Wednesday. “We need to show up and be ready to play noon kickoff." Through three quarters of football, however, all the signs of a major letdown were materializing.

See Football, A8

SARAH FLEMING / HEIGHTS EDITOR

McMullen Opens 'States of Becoming' Exhibit The exhibit explores the immigrant experience, featuring the artwork of 17 contemporary artists from the African diaspora. See A7

CATHERINE DUTMER / HEIGHTS STAFF

BC Rises 2 Spots in U.S. News Ranks

Liquor Store to Open Near BC's Campus BY ANNIKA ENGELBRECHT Asst. News Editor

BY JACK BECKMAN Asst. News Editor NIKITA OSADCHIY For The Heights

Boston College jumped two spots to No. 37 in the U.S. News and World Report’s 2025 rankings of the best national universities in a tie with Tufts University. In this year’s rankings, U.S. News assessed nearly 1500 universities on 17 criteria, including academic quality, graduate outcomes, campus culture, strength in individual majors, and financial aid distribution, according to its website. This year’s ranking saw a significant change to its methodology, removing the six-year graduation rates of first-generation students and reallocating the metric’s weight to Pell Grant-recipient graduation rates. For the second consecutive year, the rankings placed a heavy emphasis on social mobility and postgraduate success.

See Rankings, A2

Just 27 seconds later, though, Stonehill evened things up after junior forward Lily Geist’s quick fire from the left side snuck by BC’s junior goaltender Grace Campbell. After Stonehill (0–1) tied up the game at one goal apiece, however, the Eagles (1–0) never looked back and rattled off four straight goals to defeat the Skyhawks 5–1 and start the season off with a win.

The Boston Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) approved the replacement of the UPS store at the corner of Commonwealth Ave. and Lake St. with an artisanal liquor store. The store plans to sell craft beers, kosher wines, and spirits just across the street from Boston College. Both BC and Newton officials voiced their concerns about the development and its implications for underage students. “The prospect of adding a store adjacent to campus where alcohol, a ‘forbidden use,’ could be procured (and then distributed) is counter to the progress we have achieved for the neighborhood and residents in and around the Boston College campus in recent years,” mayor of Newton Ruthanne Fuller said in a letter obtained by The Heights.

See Hockey, A9

See Liquor Store, A2

SHANE SHEBEST / HEIGHTS STAFF

BC Beats Stonehill 5 – 1 BY SEBBY FITZGERALD For The Heights

Boston College women’s hockey kicked off the 2024–25 season with a bang at Stonehill, netting a goal just under four minutes into the first period. The night couldn’t have started better for the Eagles and senior forward Abby Newhook, who glided coast-to-coast and capped the first goal of the season off by slipping it over the right pad.

Arts

Magazine

Heights Contributor Carlie Viray has adjusted to living in close quarters. Read her tips on maximizing your space in a lofted triple.

Arts Columnist Angeliki Ktoridi rounds up the quintessential fall movies, recommending different films based on your fall mood.

The Heights' Hot and Cold Takes See A6

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

NEWS........... A2 OPINIONS.. A6 NEWTON....... A4 A R T S . . . . . . . . A7 MAGAZINE.. A5 S P O R TS . . . . . A8