Updated: Boston College Expansion Gets Ugly

Tensions always run high when a college announces expansion plans. While the school might relish the notion of shiny new facilities and dorms, nearby neighbors fear the relative quiet they enjoy will turn into a never-ending frat party.

But posters on popular sports-themed forums (forums that are not affiliated with the school itself) have taken the animosity to a whole new level, writing threatening and anti-Semitic remarks about community activists.

Michael Pahre, who writes the blog Brighton Centered, is one of those activists. He reports that his home address was posted on the forums, and that he believes a board reader showed up at his house. While that’s frightening enough, some of the comments left on the site are downright chilling.

At Eagle Insider, bumpers wrote [of a female Jewish activist]: “Then ask her whether her relatives at Dachau were too terribly upset with discrimination.” That was preceded by a post by carolinaEagle08 stating that “someone should euthanize this bitch.” Another user, eaglemaniac95, followed up with a reference to the wife of Adolph Hitler: “Clearly her name was Eva Braun before she changed it.”

There are also references to “mysterious fires” being set in the neighborhood and horse’s heads in newspapers.

For its part, BC administrators aren’t taking the situation lightly. While the college doesn’t have any direct connection to the forums, administrators are looking at their legal options and considering banning on-campus access to the site.

Indeed, shortly after this item was posted, we received a phone call from Jack Dunn, a BC spokesperson who wanted to make the school’s position clear.

“The website in question has no connection to Boston College,” Dunn said. “It is an independently-operated website for self-proclaimed Boston sports fans, a few of whom I suspect have no connection with BC, or any other college for that matter. We are working with Boston Police to see if the site would remove these offensive postings.”