By Sarah Schweitzer, Globe Staff | October 17, 2006

An African-American student at Boston College has said university police failed to correctly investigate a case involving hate speech, prompting 100 students to rally this week on campus to protest the university’s response.

The alleged incident — in which a white student shouted a racial slur at the African-American student and four of her friends last week in the dormitory where they all lived — is being treated as hate speech, said Jack Dunn, a school spokesman.

The students, as a precautionary measure, have been transferred to other residence halls, Dunn said. He declined to identify which students had been moved.

By Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Education | October 18, 2006

“Balance” is a much debated topic in higher education — and if Boston College is any indication, trying to regulate balance in campus presentations can create all kinds of difficulties.

The college has adopted new rules for the speakers students may invite to campus using student activity fees. Under the new policies — which were not discussed with student or faculty leaders prior to adoption — the college reserves the right to make “necessary adjustments to require that balanced views be presented,” in light of the college’s identity as a Roman Catholic, Jesuit institution. The college also reserves the right to postpone programs to be sure that they can get such balance, and to call them off in the “rare instances” in which it is impossible to achieve balance.

By Sarah Schweitzer, Globe Staff | October 17, 2006

Boston College is giving its administrators the right to reject student-recruited speakers if their views or opinions conflict with the school's Catholic and Jesuit identity and another speaker to offer the Catholic viewpoint cannot be found.

The policy change in the student guidebook underscores the challenge facing BC as it seeks to maintain a Catholic identity even as it attracts a more diverse student body from across the nation. The move has angered some faculty and students who say the policy threatens free speech on campus.