Upper Campus, Main Gate

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• 20 September 1971 – A white security guard, who previously “permitted cars onto the upper campus to unload students’ possessions refused entry to a car driven by [black students attempting to deliver food for a Black Talent Program picnic].”  “According to witnesses, a verbal exchange took place between the guard and the students … Several students threw small objects at the guard, including a pebble-size stone which allegedly struck him in the head. The guard was not injured.” Though Dean of Students Edward Hanrahan, SJ, claims the guard’s actions were “in keeping with policy,” students saw this action as “the latest in a series of harassment directed against them by university officials. They … cite the alleged ‘shadowing’ of black browsing in the bookstore by bookstore personnel, the attempt by the housing office to replace the new pillows in the black dorm with old ones, and the tirades directed against their new appointment to the Black Studies program by the A&S faculty chairmen during the summer.” (Bernard Bellon, "Blacks charge administration harassment," The Heights)
• 17 March 1980 - Dr. Charles Smith, [Associate Professor in the School of Education], is verbally attacked by white BC students as he was driving [through the Upper Campus area, where Hammond Street and College Road converge with Beacon Street]. The students yelled racial slurs, including n—-r and s—-k, at him and threw their beer and pizza at his car. Two BCPD officers refuse to allow Smith to accompany them to the scene of the crime or Upper Campus to identify suspects, who were never found. (Karen Shire, "Professor Racially Attacked on Campus," The Heights)
• April 2004 - Members of ONE protested by Boston College's Main Gate entrance on Marathon Monday, dressed in black with blindfolds over their eyes, which represented “the University's blindness to their demands.” They also carried signs with messages such as "Racists, sexists, and homophobes work here," and "Boston College is blind to racial justice." The next day, the group gave a presentation on the history of student activism at BC and past issues regarding AHANA student enrollment. (Carolyn Mattus, "ONE Movement Spreads Message," The Heights / Photo by Todd Seekircher).