Dear Students:

I write in my role as acting vice president for student affairs to inform you of what I have learned regarding several reports of bias-motivated incidents within Xavier Hall this past week.

The first incident occurred early Saturday morning, when students living on the Multicultural Learning Experience (MLE) floor on the third floor of Xavier were awakened by individuals running through their corridor, banging on their doors, and knocking over trashcans in their hallway.

BC Police identified two first-year students who admitted to their actions.  The students were contrite and forthright with BCPD, and insist that they had no knowledge that this particular hallway housed MLE students.  The matter is still under investigation, and the students face disciplinary sanctions for their behavior through the Office of Student Conduct.

I hope all of us can learn from this incident, and realize the pain that can be caused by reckless behavior. No one at Boston College should ever be made to feel unsafe or threatened, particularly within the confines of their residence hall.  This conduct will simply not be tolerated.

In addition, I want you to know that BC Police and Student Affairs are looking into two separate reports from this week, one of students allegedly laughing while walking through the MLE corridor, and the other of students allegedly using offensive language while singing a song.  We take any allegation of bias-motivated behavior seriously, and we will do our best to investigate these matters and resolve them through our conduct process.

As an alumnus of Boston College and a parent, I have great affection for BC.  I believe that our students are intelligent and caring, and that we should all care for and support everyone who is a member of this community. 

I also believe, however, that it is an honor and privilege to attend this University, and that anyone who is found to have made their classmates feel unwelcome or unsafe through their actions has violated community standards and should be held accountable. 

As we deal with the stresses of this particularly challenging year, let us all commit to treating each other with dignity and respect in all of our dealings.  That is the BC way, and it is the standard to which we intend to hold all students throughout their remaining time at Boston College.

Sincerely,

Michael Lochhead 
Executive Vice President and Acting Vice President for Student Affairs