The New England Classic
New Classes For Street-Smart Students To Be Held On Comm Ave.

New Classes For Street-Smart Students To Be Held On Comm Ave.

School January 25, 2018 The New England Classic

COMMONWEALTH AVE. — The Office of the University Core announced Thursday that Boston College students would soon have the opportunity to enroll in courses taught... New Classes For Street-Smart Students To Be Held On Comm Ave.

COMMONWEALTH AVE. — The Office of the University Core announced Thursday that Boston College students would soon have the opportunity to enroll in courses taught directly on Commonwealth Avenue. The classes, held in the middle of Boston’s beltway during rush hour, signals a key step in the University’s efforts to integrate its three main campuses.

“In our Institutional Master Plan, one of our main goals is to ‘create one campus,’ where the Main, Newton, and Brighton Campuses are meshed together,” said university spokesman Jeffrey Ashfault.

Commonwealth Avenue is the primary obstacle in the way of achieving this goal, explained Ashfault. To work around this, Boston College administrators decided that the best solution would be to make the busy thoroughfare a bona fide part of the campus.

Beginning in fall 2019, students can take such Core Renewal classes as “On the Rocks: The Martini and Film,” paired with “On the Rocks: Minerals Used in Paving,” and “Reading Signs: Nonverbal Communication in Society,” alongside “Reading Signs: What Traffic Signs Mean.”

Each pair of courses will be taught by an experienced faculty member, as well as an uncompensated employee of the Boston Department of Transportation.

When asked for comment, representatives of both the Newton and Boston Police Departments said that neither organization had been consulted for the plan, and that the move would likely violate city ordinances.

In response to these statements, Ashfault maintained that students would call Commonwealth Avenue their classroom soon enough, adding, “In the worst case scenario, students get hit by a car and can sue for their tuition.”