Thesis advisor: Marilyn Matelski / Every college basketball team competes at the highest level, and has goals both on and off the court. But how often do those goals align themselves with the university that the team is affiliated with? This thesis examines the relationship that the Boston College men’s basketball team has with the University through the lens of social identity. Through library research, participant observation, and one-on-one interviews with individuals around the team and the university, a pattern of the relationship emerged. By focusing on doing things the Boston College way, recruiting a “BC type of kid,” keeping sports in its place, and by creating relationships with different publics outside of the team, the men’s basketball team strives to align itself with the university’s social identity. This thesis will map out what this unique interaction entails and attempt to provide a comprehensive look of the social identity of the men’s basketball team and how it relates to the social identity of Boston College. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Communication Honors Program. / Discipline: Communication.

Thesis advisor: Paul Gray / This study aims to determine the various sociological factors that play a role in determining the post-graduate career plans of Boston College seniors. Post-graduate options explored include (1) Entering the work force, (2) Continuing schooling, (3) Volunteering, (4) Traveling, (5) Other. Emphasis has been placed on the study of socioeconomic background, influence of others in the decision-making process, and the influence of the Jesuit education. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology Honors Program. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Sociology.

Thesis advisor: Brian Gareau / This study examines how attitudes of environmental concern affect the behavior of students on the Boston College (BC) campus. Conventional wisdom suggests that attitude would determine behavior, but past studies have been unable to find a connection between environmental attitude and behavior. This suggests that there are other factors at play, in addition to environmental concern. Using survey and in-depth interview data, this study focuses on the influence of the following factors: monetary cost, convenience, habit and visibility of consequences. The findings suggest that attitude itself does influence environmental behavior, but that the aforementioned factors play an important role in either increasing or decreasing the rate of behavior. I conclude by suggesting that the impact of cost as a barrier to behavior speaks to the importance of structural change in order to increase the rate of green behavior. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology Honors Program. / Discipline: Sociology.

Thesis advisor: John Cawthorne / As a student at one of the nation’s leading universities, Boston College, it seems imperative to look at the university’s aims and accomplishments with a critical eye. The conceptual goals of higher education, particularly liberal arts education, have been the object of philosophical and political conversations for centuries, and it is important that universities continually assess their status through deliberative discussions. This paper seeks to analyze the liberal arts education provided at Boston College in relation to historic conceptions of higher education, current understandings on methods of this education, and the possibility of disparities between what Boston College claims to provide and what students, in reality, receive. Further, this report seeks to make comparisons between the liberal arts education provided by the honors program at Boston College and that which is delivered in the regular core program. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Lynch School of Education.

Thesis advisor: Thomas E. Wangler / The story of the transformation of St. Benedict Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, originally a small Catholic student center, into a controversial and socially disruptive religious community is little known today even by most Bostonians. Some sixty-five years ago, however, the Center's public activities under the leadership of its chaplain, Leonard Feeney, S.J., were the focus of intense controversy and publicity, nationally and internationally as well as locally. In the 1940s, there was no clear theological consensus on the possibility of salvation for non-Catholics. Although there seems to have been a notable hesitation on the part of theologians and hierarchy alike in Boston to issue an official pronouncement on the Church's theology of salvation, there was at the same time an unhesitating consensus among them that Fr. Feeney's rigorist interpretation of the Catholic doctrine extra ecclesiam nulla salus ("no salvation outside the Church") was not that of the Church in the modern age. Complex social and cultural factors were at play in the controversy. Ultimately, though, any historian attempting to make sense of the ideas and actions of Fr. Feeney and the members of the Center is confronted with the fact that they took theology seriously, and so also must the historian who hopes to understand them. My thesis in this dissertation is that a uniquely explosive combination of theological developments, social flux, and intersecting personalities led to the eruptions at St. Benedict Center. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Thesis advisor: Celeste Wells / This essay investigates the experience of Latin American international students at Boston College (BC) and how their preconceived notions impact both their experience pre and post arrival to college. Boston College culture, language barriers, academic pressure, housing arrangements and American norms are all factors that fuel the identity crisis that Latin American students experience at Boston College. These factors either drive Latin American students to engage in Boston College culture or, on the contrary, impel students to isolate themselves from American culture and from befriending other Americans. As seen through the conversations with students, the latter experience can often lead to dissatisfied outlooks and the longing to return to the students’ host countries. This study highlights the thoughts and experiences of Latin American students at Boston College while also providing solutions on how to improve the International Assistant Program (IAP) at Boston College. The solutions put forward in this study aim to encourage other universities across the globe to improve their immersion programs so that the needs of international students can be met. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Arts and Sciences Honors Program. / Discipline: Communication.