Letter from Boston
Cleveland Circle
By MASAKO YAMADA
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クリーブランド広場
雅子さんはボストン・カレッジ近くの地下鉄沿いに住んでいます。ボストン・カレッジは、雅子さんの通っているボストン大学と混同されがちですが、両者はだいぶ異なるようです…。
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I've mentioned several times that I live along the B-line
"T," near Boston College. BC, as it's commonly called, is not the same
as BU. Boston University is located in Kenmore Square, near downtown
Boston. BC is located in the outskirts of Boston, in a suburb called
Newton.
In Japan, there are no words to differentiate between "university" and "college" ― they are both called
"daigaku" ― but in the States the
former usually has graduate research
facilities, and the latter primarily serves
as a liberal arts school for undergraduates. BU is a university;
Wellesley is a college. It's hard to explain, but colleges are also different
from the "tandai" and "senmongakko" in Japan. The equivalent of "tandai" is called a junior
college or community college, and a "senmongakko" is called a specialty school or vocational school.
To add to the confusion, BC, in spite of its name, does have a
graduate school. So does Smith College, another of the "Seven Sisters." Another complicating factor is that although Wellesley
College is translated as "Wellesley Daigaku" in Japan, Boston College is
called "Boston College." What is called "Boston Daigaku" is Boston
University.
My point is that we should not overlook BC, in spite of its often being mistaken for BU. I think the first step in
getting to know anything is getting its name right. Perhaps BC's location isn't
as urban as BU's and its student body not as
large, but BC has a lot of things going for
it.
For one thing, it's very well-known as a Catholic college. These days, the original founding religion of any college rarely makes an impact on the curriculum, but the stereotypical BC student is still considered to be conservative, well-dressed and altruistic. Even though the student body is
very diverse these days, those old images
still linger.
Another well-known fact about BC is that is has an extremely strong football team. Interestingly,
some other traditionally Christian colleges such as Notre Dame and Brigham
Young also have very strong football teams. That may seem a little contradictory, though. Would Jesus Christ aggressively tackle the enemy? But perhaps
the fundamental discipline of Christianity and God's special blessing (?!) give those schools an edge in competition.
Whenever BC plays a home game, the area is
crowded with eager fans. College football
is taken very seriously in the States, and good tickets are much coveted.
Cleveland Circle is the main "social area"
for BC. Since it is located far from the center of Boston, it doesn't have the same amount of foot traffic
that the BU area or Harvard Avenue have. The residents seem to be
mostly BC students, young professionals, and suburbanites with families. It feels a lot more homey and safe than Allston, and
the rents seem to be a little cheaper too.
There are a lot of inexpensive restaurants and bars in the Circle. There's also
a six-screen movie theater complex that is
crowded with students on the weekends. The Circle is also where three of the
Green line "T" trains stop (the B, C, and D lines), so if the local entertainment becomes stale, one
can easily hop on a train and escape to the big city.
Cleveland Circle isn't large, but it has many of the basic amenities that a "college town" usually
has. Wellesley, on the contrary, didn't have
such amenities as cheap pizza joints,
24-hour chain stores, bars, movie theaters and convenient public transportation. That was because of the
local residents' ardent efforts to preserve peace and quiet in the town. It was
occasionally annoying, but I have to admit
that the shops and streets of Wellesley had a much more polished air than those in Cleveland Circle. Whether one prefers a casual setting or a classy
setting really depends on the
individual.
Right now I'm happy living in an environment completely different from what
I've experienced for the past three years. I really like being able to hop on the
"T" at a moment's notice, or buy coffee at
all hours, or just retreat back to my nearby
apartment when the day is over.
Shukan ST: Oct. 25, 1996
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