BU was founded by Methodist ministers in 1839 as the Newbury Biblical Institute in Newbury, VT. Ten years later, it moved to Concord, New Hampshire. In 1869, the school was chartered as a university by Lee Claflin, Jacob Sleeper, and Isaac Rich, as well as Acting President William Warren. (All of these men currently have BU dormitories named after them — Claflin, Sleeper and Rich Halls in West Campus, and the infamous Warren Towers on the East side.) Despite its Methodist heritage, BU's new charter decreed it would not refuse admission to any student based on religious preference.
In 1872, the Great Boston Fire destroyed all but one of BU buildings, and the university had to rebuild its finances and infrastructure completely in the following years. Many new buildings were erected throughout the city, but there was no unified spot to anchor the campus. To solve this problem, BU built its Charles River campus in 1937.
Chris Acone '08 adds:
“BU was the first university to admit women to all its academic programs and awarded the first PhD to a woman. Through the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement, the university was a hub of political protest and activity, earning it the nickname “Berkley East.” Since its founding, the school has continued to expand its facilities and programs, currently covering over 130 acres with 320 buildings throughout the greater Boston area, predominantly on Commonwealth Avenue.”
Boston is a vibrant city that's home to the largest population of college students in the country. The school is the city’s fourth-largest employer, and the BU administration makes a concerted effort to remain an integral part of Boston’s cultural landscape.
As reported by Chris Acone ’08:
“My favorite thing about BU has to be the surroundings. Sure, a couple miles of Comm Ave don’t make for the most picturesque campus—-no rolling greens, few ivy-covered buildings (except in brochures, where they are everywhere), and no quad to speak of, but you can’t beat the location. We’re in the heart of the madness of Fenway every spring and fall, across the river from the cultural scene of Cambridge, a quick walk from Newbury Street or a T ride from Faneuil Hall.
We are on the B line once it comes above ground, and if you really feel like it, you can ride it all the way to Boston College for a football game or a weekend party. We border on Brighton, Alston, and Brookline, each with its own unique flavor and attractions to offer. Basically, BU has all the benefits of living right in the city while still being far enough away to see the sun, not to mention breathe a little easier. And the recently undertaken Comm Ave Improvement Project has already begun to show benefits, making our main drag even better looking. All in all, we’ve got the ideal spot here for access to the best of what Boston and its suburbs have to offer."
The Charles River Campus (the main campus) tracks down the Green Line along Commonwealth Avenue for a mile and a half. The main campus contains the majority of student housing and academic buildings. Due to the constant expansion, there are a diverse range of architectural influences and styles on the main campus. The School of Theology and the College of Arts and Science were built in the 1930s and have a Gothic feel, while most administrative and smaller academic buildings are classic brownstones. Some of the larger dorms are more aesthetically severe and have a more modern feel.
The Boston University Bridge over the Charles River connects the main campus with West Campus.
The campus has made recent progress in its quest to become more centralized and less spread out. The John Hancock Student Village opened in the 1990s, introducing new fitness facilities, dorms, and a large arena for arts and other events on campus. Many new buildings and improvements are scheduled to begin in the coming years.
As reported by Alex Leavitts ’09:
"Over the past year, Boston University has dealt with opposition from its students on pivotal incidents, such as the institution's annual tuition hike (pushing the total to over $50,000 per year) or the RIAA's confrontation of numerous students. However, during the 2007-08 academic year, most of the clashes with the administration have been downscaled, focusing on students' personal concerns and preferences regarding campus life and identity.
Students have always complained about the poor implementation of the 'points' dining hall system in eateries around the Boston University campus area. At the moment, dining points may only be used at specific places in small food courts along Commonwealth Ave., such as in the George Sherman Union (GSU) or inside the School of Management. Students have asked for more choices, while they are stuck eating at a limited number of suppliers, the most prominent of which is Starbucks, with three locations spread across campus. In March, student protests circulated around Facebook and in dining hall chatter about the possible closure of Taco Bell, one of the sole fast food restaurants near BU. BU tore down a Burger King in central campus in 2005 and a McDonald's in 2007 at West Campus, actions which garnered much anger from the student community. Taco Bell, located on the ground level of Warren Towers, was a popular late-night locale for satisfying students' hunger, especially when in need of a quick and easy bite to eat. These sentiments were further fueled by the rumor that Taco Bell would be replaced by yet another Starbucks, even when an Einstein Bros had been introduced across the street in the fall semester to serve coffee and bagels. At the end of March, on the night before Taco Bell was set to shut down, students lined the small storefront to order food, resulting in a half-hour wait at some points throughout the evening. By the end of the year, BU had yet to announce its plans for a dining replacement.
Students often raise noise when the administration releases news that the BU adolescent community considers rather pointless. In January, President Robert Brown announced that the official logo of Boston University would change. Boston University would develop a new brand identity, and the logo would help unite the different colleges and diverse students. The new rectangular logo, a revised version of the old logo, updated the color and font of the original and removed a line separating the words Boston and University. Students' overall impressions were that the logo had hardly changed at all. The administration announced it had hired a private contractor for six months to design the logo and discussed the matter for as much as two years. Rumors spread that thousands of dollars had been spent to make adjustments a graphic design major could have fixed in an hour. Some students said that adhering to the new, plain, red-and-white rectangular logo hinders creativity in establishing a school identity (although members of the administration disagreed). Others considered the project a waste of time and money that could have gone toward more important issues, such as the tuition hike.
Finally, when violence hits home -- especially in the dorms -- students at BU make their voices heard. On tours, BU guides point out the multiple blue-lighted emergency phones dotting the campus route. However, in January, two female students accused two males -- students from other colleges -- of sexually assaulting them inside the West Campus dorms. The incident called attention to Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore's revision of the BU guest policy in September, which the Student Union had been pushing forward for a few years, despite administrative protests that it was too lax. Students, in response, demanded a heightened campus police presence, particularly after last year's downgrade of the student escort service, which sends out a couple of students to walk individuals home on campus. The hype surrounding the assault at West Campus exploded in the news after a similar incident occurred in the middle of campus in Warren Towers, when a non-BU student accused a male student of sexual assault in October. Other reports were filed throughout the year, yet students still complain about the lack of a police presence and a full feeling of safety on campus."