A Hero That Needs To Be Honored

There are certain dates that everyone, no matter how they old they were at the time, remembers exactly where they were, who they were with, and most importantly, the impact the event had on their life. September 11th, 2001 is without any doubt the worst day in the history of our country and perhaps the worst day this world has ever seen. Nearly 3,000 men, women, and children will always be remembered for the sacrifices they gave to our country. The Boston College community lost 22 distinguished alumni but the story of Welles Crowther, class of 1999, is one of the most well known 9/11 stories ever documented. If you don't know the entire story, please take ten minutes out of your day and watch this video. It will forever change your view on that day and will perhaps inspire you to remember this man and what he did. 

For those of you that do know the story, it goes without saying that this man is the type of individual that each parent should try and mold their kids to be like. Welles Crowther could have just left the south tower of the World Trade Center with the rest of his coworkers. Instead, he went back and without his heroic acts, 7 or 8 more individuals would have lost their lives on that dreadful day. 

One of the main hallmarks of the Jesuits and their mission is to be a "man/woman for others". If you can find a better example of any person being a man for others than Welles Crowther, please feel free to email me. I'm not an administrator, admissions director, or teacher but if we could get just a couple of graduates each year to be like Welles Crowther, then there is no reason why Boston College cannot be the best university in the world. That man epitomizes everything that a BC graduate should be and for that reason, this university should do something to let every student, fan, alumni, visitor, etc know who he is and what he did on September 11th, 2001. 

Now, there are numerous ways the school can honor Welles, whether it be a statue, a section of Conte Forum dedicated to him, a banner, a building bearing his name, or as one twitter follower suggested, an honorary degree in his name for the service of others. While I think a degree would be awesome, there needs to be something that every single person who visits campus can see and learn about this remarkable story. Maybe they could even paint a red bandana on the ice and leave it there from here on out? 

This university has had a lot of notable graduates that have been recognized in some way, shape of form (Tip O'Neil, Snooks Kelly, Doug Flutie) but in my opinion, no Boston College graduate deserves more recognition than Welles Crowther. 

Go Eagles and Rest in Peace, Welles.