Jesuits At Their Own College Referred To As "They"

"A classroom is a place where I am supposed, as a teacher, to teach without any bias, to teach the truth. And when you put an icon or an emblem or a flag, it confuses the matter," said Amir Hoveyda, the chemistry department chair.

For 18 years, I taught at a university where I was allowed to teach in an environment where I felt comfortable. And all the sudden, without any discussion, without any warning, without any intellectual debate, literally during the middle of the night during a break, these icons appear,"

Hoveyda said.

Dwayne Eugène Carpenter, chair of the Romance Languages and Literatures department and co-director of the Jewish Studies Program, said the placement of religious art is in fact divisive. These symbols, he said, are not neutral.

"I think it's naive to believe that affixing crucifixes is going to fan the flames of religious devotion. On the other hand, it can have a negative effect on students"

who might see them as creating an unwelcoming environment.

Another remark of Carpenter's gets to the heart of the issue. He said, "I think there were many people who were upset. But my sense is the majority say, 'This is a Catholic school; they're going to do what they're going to do.' I would go on the record as saying, 'It is true. It's a Jesuit institution and as such it has every right to place images wherever it wants. It's just that it's not a very smart thing to do.' "

The most noticeable thing, to me, in Carpenter's sentence, is the sense of disconnection from the Jesuits or the mission of the College.

He refers to them as "they" and sees this as part of an "identity crisis" on the part of Boston College.

Both Carpenter and Hoveyda say that they don't remember seeing any religious art when they started teaching there.

Hoveyda said, "I can only tell you from my personal experience if I saw the same icon when I interviewed in December 1989, this place would not be under consideration for me. I've had several offers to leave. If I knew icons of this type would appear… I most likely would not have made the decision I did [to stay]." (Blogger Note: It Never To Late!)

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