Our Octobers were pretty full of activities. We started school around mid-September and both November and December had holiday vacations, so October was replete with classes, exams, mixers, football games, Homecomings . . . and more. A cornucopia.
On campus
1964
Evangelist Billy Graham came to BC on October 7 and his appearance filled Roberts Center with several thousand students, faculty members, and community members. Heights article
The Heights also reported in an interview with Bill Flynn, director of athletics, that BC was building six tennis courts behind McHugh Forum.
A “Tea” for female resident students of the School of Education was held on October 28 in Kirkwood Hall. The 150 students who attended were “introduced to” Edward Hanrahan, SJ, “dean of resident students” (previous mention was Fr. Hanrahan as “dean of resident men”) and Mary Kinnane, a member of the Education faculty and “dean of women.” Marion Mahoney, “director of women’s housing” was also in attendance. Topics reportedly discussed were “How to develop a more integral relationship between the girls and the University” and “The female students’ contribution to the academic and social aspects of Boston College.”
1965
The caption for the photo above in the Heights of October 8 is” “Eagles assemble for the annual B.C.-Army game riot. At this rally in front of Roberts Center the predominantly dorm student group prepares to ‘charge’ for [Cleveland] Circle.”
“The first girl to march with the BC Band,” as the Heights described her, also twirled a baton or two as well. Bobbi McKuskie ’69 (Nursing), at right, attained many honors as a baton twirler and was, at the time of her BC debut, also reigning New Hampshire Junior Miss.
1966
The Heights article previewing the upcoming Penn State game referred to “new coach” Joe Paterno.
The October 21 Heights had a note that the Council of Resident Men was to hold a contest, open to all students, to “Name the Coffee House.” The winner would receive free admission for two people for a year. Can I guess?
A column in the same issue by Mimi Hirsh entitled “Fashions Flailed: Villagers, Preppies, Seven-Day Drunkies,” provided what she described as A “tongue-in-cheek and, therefore I hope, mildly inoffensive cross-section of typical clothing types at Boston College,” both male and female. It’s certainly “cheeky.”
1967
The first weekend of “parietals,” in which resident men were permitted visitations by women in their rooms, took place October 14/15. Despite numerous restrictions, etc., the Council of Resident Men, which had long advocated for parietals, said the results were “excellent.”
An exhibit entitled “Education USSR” opened the week of October 16 in Campion Hall (Education). Anatoly Dobrynin, Soviet ambassador to the United Nations, officiated at the opening ceremonies. According to the Heights article, the month-long exhibit was accompanied by 32 Soviet educators, technicians, and artists.
In its October 20 edition, the Heights began carrying articles by the “Liberation News Service,” a “new left,” antiwar news service.
In the same edition, sophomore Hillard Pouncy had an op-ed entitled “The Negroes’ frustrating fight.”
The outside world
1964
The “Free Speech Movement” was launched at the University of California, Berkeley. Nikita Krushchev was succeeded as leader of the Soviet Union by Leonid Brezhnev. China became the world’s fifth nuclear power. The Rolling Stones made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. More locally, Boston’s WSBK-Channel 38 began broadcasting.
1965
President Johnson signed the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which ended quotas based on national origin. Pope Paul VI made the first ever visit by a pontiff to the US. On the day before the New York World’s Fair closed (October 17), a time capsule was lowered 50 feet into the ground. Among many other items, it contained “credit cards, a bikini, contact lenses, birth control pills, tranquilizers, a plastic heart valve, a pack of filter cigarettes, an electric toothbrush, and a heat shield from Apollo 7.” The capsule is to be opened in 6939. The 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch in St. Louis was completed.
1966
The Black Panther Party was created by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. Bobby Orr made his debut with the Boston Bruins. The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded.
1967
Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African-American justice on the US Supreme Court, Cuban Ché Guevara was executed following capture by the Bolivian army. LBJ signed an executive order expanding federal affirmative action programs to include women. “Stop the Draft” week started in front of induction centers in 30 cities around the US. The first “rock musical,” Hair, premiered in New York’s East Village. A Viet Cong ambush killed 64 and wounded 75 members of the US Army’s 28th Infantry Regiment on the Battle of Ong Thanh, South Vietnam. Up to 100,000 people participated in antiwar protests in Washington, DC. Navy pilot John McCain was captured after his plane was shot down over Hanoi, beginning more than five years in captivity.