Lower Campus, 1967 (Sub Turri photo)

Second semester. In the busiest stretches of basketball and hockey seasons. Beanpot. Winter Weekend. Still cold. Here’s a sampling of what was going on at BC and in the world in Februarys, 1965-68

1965

Ad, The Heights, February 12, 1965

Lots of attention to the Peace Corps. The Heights of February 12 ran a page one story on Peace Corps recruiters coming to campus and a two-page feature — “If You Would Like to Change the World” — on the Kennedy administration initiative. Broadcasting to hundreds over the campus phone lines, WVBC, subject of a page-long feature in the February 19 Heights, was “The Voice of Boston College.”

1966

The campus residential community was gripped by “the grippe” in mid-February. Campus officials were forceful in declaring that the vomiting and severe stomach cramps were not connected to food served on campus. (Why would anyone think food in McElroy might have been the cause?) We’ll expand on the topic later, but the February 18 Heights devoted its editorial pages to the living conditions BC resident women endured at the time. An editorial chastised the administration for providing only “lip-service and sympathy” rather than long-promised action. An article reported the history of women’s housing and another described “The Present Situation.”

Scene from sophomore (1968) skit, “Days of Wine and Robes”

The Heights of February 25 reported on a meeting of the “Food Committee” of the Council of Resident Men with “Mr. Coughlin,” director of food services. The Food Committee provided Mr. Coughlin (no first name mentioned in article) with a list of 14 recommendations and Mr. Coughlin did approve the request for different kinds of ice cream. There was a two-page spread in the same edition on “The Ed Skits,” the popular competition among classes in the School of Education. More on those also to come.

1967
Citing the “nature, aims, and tactics” of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the February 10 Heights reported, the Campus Council, governing body for BC students, rejected SDS’s application to be recognized officially as a BC student organization. Page 2 of the same edition featured a large ad for an organization most often pretty secretive. The National Security Agency was looking for “Mathematicians with Versatility & Imagination.” Starting salaries of $7,729-$12,873 were offered, with the promise that “increases follow swiftly.” There was also another feature article on Middle Earth, featuring a photo of classmate Bill Dalton. The February 24 edition carried the announcement that BC had accepted an invitation to the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

1968
Our final semester at BC started off with the announcement in the February 2 Heights of the resignation of President Michael P. Walsh, SJ, effective June 30. He had been president since 1958 and also said his successor would be a Jesuit. Two articles in the same edition reflected something of the political turbulence and uncertainty of the time — growing national student support for the presidential candidacy of Sen. Eugene McCarthy and a report that draft deferments to attend graduate school were in doubt.

Outside world

1965
Police in Selma, Ala., began the month by arresting over two days more than 1,200 civil rights protestors. An editorial in the February 9 edition of the Washington Post about a series of joint US-South Vietnam air attacks on North Vietnam, said, “. . . withdrawal from South Vietnam would not gain peace, but only lead to another war,” and added, “The United States Government has taken the only course available to it, if it does not wish to surrender.” The home of Malcolm X in Queens, New York, was firebombed on the night of February 13. He, his wife, and four children inside are unharmed. A Canadian flag featuring a red and white maple leaf design made its debut February 15. On February 21, Malcolm X was assassinated by rival Black Muslims as he prepared to give a speech to the Organization of Afro-American Unity. He was 39 years old.

1966
The board of governors of the National Hockey League voted February 9 to double the size of the NHL, to 12 teams. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann goes on sale February 10 and quickly rises to the top of the best-seller list. The first observance of “Festivus” takes place February 12. The Soviet Union launched two dogs aboard a satellite into orbit on February 22. They orbited the earth for 22 days and returned safely.

1967
The month began with an increase in the federal minimum wage from $1.25 to $1.40. The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour made its debut February 5 on CBS. The Beatles released on February 13 a “double A-side” 45-rpm record containing Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. The Pontiac Firebird made its first appearance on February 25.

1968
Former Vice-President Richard Nixon announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President on February 1. Federal minimum wage went from $1.40 to $1.60. Planet of the Apes premiered February 8. The first active demonstration of a 9-1-1 emergency call was made February 16. That same day, the US Selective Service announced the removal of draft deferments for most graduate students seeking master’s degrees. On February 24, Fleetwood Mac released its eponymous debut album. The South Vietnam city of Hue was declared secure and rid of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops February 26, bringing defeat to their Tet Offensive. On February 27, CBS news announcer Walter Cronkite opined on a national broadcast that it was “now more certain than ever” that the war in Vietnam would end in stalemate and urged negotiation.

Januarys for us at BC began in the doldrums, as we returned to dorms and/or classes from the holiday break, and quickly became busy, as term papers and final exams loomed ahead.

Only six editions of The Heights were published in the four Januarys — two each in 1965 and 1966, one each in 1967 and 1968 — indicative of the attention directed elsewhere. Here’s some of what was going on at BC and in the outside world in Januarys 1965-68.

On campus

1965
That year’s editors expressed what some, many, all of us felt in their editorial “Angst and January” (January 8). After suggesting that the month be simply eliminated, the editors point to the dual burdens of term papers and finals, along with the external cold. (Though this year’s cold has been historic.) They conclude with the unsurprisingly androcentric view that the only positive aspect of it all is that “. . . beards can grow in freedom . . . .” The January 15 edition included a feature article about the freshmen basketball team, i.e., our classmates.

1966
Not much. Januarys were busy in the winter sports — basketball and hockey — but we’ll try to talk about those separately.

1967
Classmates Len Sienko and Bob Abruzzo were part of a trio of students who represented the “Ad Hoc Committee to Oppose the Tuition and Room Increase” in meeting with University officials. The article in the January 13 Heights said Fr. Dorr had agreed to an open forum to “explain” the increases. An ad in the same issue provided a coupon to BC students that would entitle them to half-price at the nearby Burger King on Brighton Avenue. That would certainly alleviate the burden of such “regular” prices as $.19 for a hamburger and $.29 for a giant shake.

1968
Joe Yukica was announced as the new coach of the BC football team. The January 12 Heights carried an interview with Coach Yukica by classmate Reid Oslin. In it, Yukica said something that seems today very anachronistic, but was relevant at the time. Just several days earlier, in late 1967 and early 1968, 16 major college football teams played in 8 bowl games. Comparing BC to those football powerhouses, Yukica said, “Boston College doesn’t belong in bowl games. We don’t give out those 50 scholarships each year, and we are not the type of school to let in every football player that wants to come here.” Saying his teams would be solid, aggressive, and tough, he added, “Let the wins and losses fall where they may.”

The outside world

1965
Alabama quarterback Joe Namath signed with the New York Jets for a then-unprecedented $400,000 contract on January 2. US President Lyndon Johnson announced his plans for a “Great Society” in his January 4 State of the Union address. He was inaugurated on January 20 for his first, (spoiler alert) and last, full term as President after succeeding the assassinated JFK in 1963. Sir Winston Churchill, prime minister of England during World War II, died January 24, two weeks after suffering a stroke, at the age of 90.

1966
A group known previously as “The Warlocks” appeared for the first time with its new name, the Grateful Dead, in San Francisco on January 6. Batman, starring Adam West, made its debut January 12 on ABC. Robert Weaver, on becoming the first secretary of Housing and Urban Development, became the first African-American in a US presidential cabinet. The number of US troops in South Vietnam topped 200,000 for the first time. On January 18, the New York Stock Exchange’s Dow Jones Industrial Average exceeded 1,000 for the first time. Bob Knievel of Montana appeared for the first time leading “Evel Knievel and the Motorcycle Daredevils” in Indio, Calif., on January 23.

1967
Ronald Reagan was sworn in as governor of California on January 2. The song Light My Fire by The Doors is released January 3. On the same day as the first “Human Be-In” was held in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, Louis Leakey announced on January 14 the discovery of pre-human fossils in Kenya, evidence of the earliest known ancestors of Homo sapiens. In what was then only unofficially known as the Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs on January 15 to win the first AFL-NFL interleague championship. That same night, the Rolling Stones made their second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, but only after agreeing to change the lyrics of their song Let’s Spend the Night Together. Mick Jagger instead sang “Let’s spend some time together.” Albert DeSalvo, convicted as the “Boston Strangler,” accused of the murders of 13 single women in the Boston area, was sentenced January 18 to life in prison. A fire aboard Apollo 1 on its launchpad January 27 killed the three American astronauts inside — Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee.

1968
US Senator Eugene McCarthy (D-Minn.) announced January 3 he would challenge President Johnson for the Democratic Party nomination. Mattel’s “Hot Wheels” toy cars were introduced January 4. The price of mailing a letter in the US increased from 5 to 6 cents on January 7. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) announced January 12 plans for a universal emergency phone number in the US. For various reasons, the best choice seemed to be 9-1-1. Johnny Cash gave a concert January 13, which was recorded, at Folsom State Prison, California. In the first regular season college basketball game to be broadcast on national television, #2 Houston defeated #1 UCLA, 71-69, at the Houston Astrodome on January 20 in the “Game of the Century.” The battle of Khe Sanh began early the morning of January 21 in South Vietnam. Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In made its debut January 22 on NBC. On January 23, North Korean forces seized the USS Pueblo, claiming violation of its waters while spying, and imprisoned its crew of 82. A series of widespread attacks by Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces on January 30 began what would be called the “Tet Offensive.”

Two-page spread in Sub Turri. Who was Santa? Anybody know? We know, of course, who the Grinch was. :)

During Christmas break, most of us were home . . . working on term papers and other projects due soon after we were to return in January and preparing for final exams that would occur about the same time. Actually, I was not engaged in such worthy and potentially beneficial activities. Instead, I was enjoying the holidays — Christmas parties, New Year’s Eve, seeing friends, spending time (very little) with family and extended family. I expect nearly all of our class did much the same.

The semester schedule then seemed almost diabolical. The fall semester went past the end of the calendar year and hung around until mid-January. That extended break from school was a font of temptation to procrastinate. Whilst we were frolicking about during the holidays, every once in a while the “nag,” that part of our brains that doesn’t frolic, would send piercing signals. “What about that exam? You didn’t do that great in the midterm, how are you gonna catch up?” “You should really be doing research for that term paper!” It was annoying, but, in my case, at least, grossly unsuccessful. I think I always returned to school after the break with everything still to do and much less time to do it.

Merry Christmas to all! Hope to see you at our reunion in June!

December 11, 1964 Heights

Decembers were a bit truncated . . . and cold. I think most everyone was thinking ahead to Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and a break. Thanksgiving holidays only a short time back whetted our appetites. Here’s some of what happened at BC and in the world in Decembers 1964-67.

On campus

1964
Apparently not much was going on. The Heights, in its two issues that month, pretty much focused on routine events and activities.

1965
The December 3 edition of The Heights contained announcements of significant academic changes. The Deans Council had decided to change the rules about class attendance. Department chairs also announced that there would be expanded programs and electives in Philosophy and Theology.

Heights features editor Michael Egger had a column about the “Boston College Girl,” in which he took BC to task for how it met its obligations to women students. Mansplaining? Or ally?

The December 17 edition reported on something that would take on more significance in coming months but certainly had its effect at the time. The headline tells the story (as it should): “Drury Commission to Study Christmas Dinner Sickness.” The article notes that resident students were already complaining about the quality of food in McElroy before the December 12 meal. “Hundreds of students complained of stomach cramps, gas pains and diarrhea as a result of the food served at the McElroy banquet,” said The Heights. (I always remember the culprit as “roast beef au jus.”)

1966
BC’s annual gift to students in December was the announcement of a tuition increase. For 1967-68, it was to go up $200 to $1,600. Room and board was to increase $100 to $1,050. The new charges were not out of line with other local schools. But still . . .

The December 14 edition had a small feature on the “coffeehouse,” Middle Earth.

1967
In the December 1 issue, it was reported that BC had added a new computer. The new IBM 360 doubled the number of computers to two. This model IBM offered 128K bytes of storage, and cost $13,000 a month to rent. Yowzah!

Same issue had another article on conditions in the women’s residences, based on a visit by Heights editors and interviews with several residents.

It’s basketball season and the biggest student organization at BC is . . . the Courtside Club, according to The Heights. Fifteen hundred hoop freaks! And why not? The preseason AP poll put the Eagles at #7.

The Heights Review in the December 1 issue included the short story, “Psalm,” by former Stylus editor and classmate Richard Sawaya that resulted in its censorship by the University and his resignation.

No more Jim Miller. The December 15 Heights reported that Miller, not offered an extension of his contract, chose to resign. In an editorial, “Was it only the coach?,” The Heights described Miller as a “gentleman” who had been made “a scapegoat for the many-sided failings of a costly and frustratingly unsuccessful program.”

A feature article celebrated the 20th anniversary of the School of Nursing.

The outside world

1964
Mario Savio stood in Sproul Plaza at the University of California, Berkeley, on December 2, and told the students before him that “you’ve got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon all the apparatus, and you’ve got to make it stop.” The Free Speech Movement began. The FBI arrested 19 men on suspicion of their involvement in the killings of three civil rights workers in Mississippi. The US Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional a Florida law that prohibited cohabitation by black and white persons of different genders. Martin Luther King Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize. Singer Sam Cooke was shot and killed in Los Angeles in what was ruled justifiable homicide. Canada raised its new flag, with a maple leaf design. The James Bond film, Goldfinger, had its US premiere.

1965
The Beatles released the album Rubber Soul. Pope Paul VI proclaimed the end of the Second Vatican Council. A Charlie Brown Christmas debuted on CBS. The Dating Game made its debut on ABC. Doctor Zhivago is released.

1966
Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabar) made his basketball debut with UCLA. Walt Disney died at the age of 65. The destroyer USS O’Brien became the first American ship to be hit by shells from North Vietnamese shore batteries, which killed two sailors and wounded four others.

1967
South African physician Christiaan Barnard and a team of surgeons carried out the first human heart transplant. Otis Redding was killed in the crash of a small plane in Wisconsin, at the age of 26. The Concorde, the world’s first supersonic commercial airliner, made its first appearance in Paris. Evel Knievel crashed his motorcycle after attempting to leap over the fountains at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas.

Norman Rockwell’s iconic vision of Thanksgiving. Was yours like this in the Sixties?

I don’t remember ever not looking forward to Thanksgiving. Especially while a student at BC.

If it wasn’t the first holiday of the fall semester, it was the first multi-day one, giving us a four-day break from classes. After nine weeks or so of school, didn’t we like that!

Resident students, at least most of them, went home for the holidays, and commuters slept in and kicked back. Freshman year, I invited my roommate, who was from San Francisco, to spend the holiday at my family’s home.

I remember using the break to catch up with old friends from high school, visit some of the high school hangouts. While we were now college students, we weren’t by much and the familiar faces and places were comforting to see.

There’s a lot of talk now about family dynamics at Thanksgiving. What’s the protocol for discussion (perhaps more often argument) about the issues of the day? Should everyone shut up? Avoid politics and cultural issues? Listen to the “old folks” talk about the “old days” or just stick in your earbuds and go on social media?

At least later in our time at BC, e.g., 1966, 1967, I remember things becoming somewhat tense at the Thanksgiving table. It was mostly about Vietnam and ancillary issues, like the draft, draft-dodgers, etc., but also politicians like George Wallace and LBJ. My dad and I sometimes got to the point where my mother and sister would get up and leave us.

Once again, what seems new and distinctive has forerunners.

We wish all our classmates and their families safe travel and a wonderful Thanksgiving.