• Patrick L. Kennedy (COM’04)

    Patrick L. Kennedy (COM’04) Profile

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There are 25 comments on One Address, Many Stories

  1. Why on earth would you lose the name of a proud old residence with such an illustrious history, not to mention erasing the nostalgic memories of thousands of alumni? And to change it to an unpronounceable name? I appreciate that this Kilachand alum has donated money, but, for heaven’s sake, erect a plaque! Make it a large one! Giant, even. But leave Shelton Hall, and our memories of our precious college years, alone!

    1. Kilachand
      Pronounced: Kill-a-ch-and

      Name changes are really common among universities for more donations. It will probably still be called Shelton by students forever.

      1. Yeah, Kilachand takes exactly as long to say as my last name, Kennedy. Granted, some Americans balked at names like Kennedy a few generations ago, but imagine what a boring country this would be if we never accepted those with “unpronouncable” names.
        (That said, I’m pretty terrible at adapting when a place or business is renamed. I still call Great Woods (whatever it’s really called) Great Woods. I think I stopped calling Jam’n 94.5 “WZOU” maybe last year.)

      1. Racist? Oh please. I have no idea what “race” this person is; it is a difficult name. Period. Why must some people start playing the Racism Card when they hear something they don’t like? To paraphrase, “Let Shelton Be Shelton.”

        1. It’s not slightly racist, it is racist. But maybe you’d prefer discriminatory. It’s that, too. Why do you consider Kilachand harder to say than Shelton? Or Sheraton?

    2. can I agree with you like… THOUSAND TIMES. they are ready to cover up history for money. I mean don’t get me wrong, donations are great (maybe BU will FINALLY upgrade CAS building) but like represented in this article there is such a history behind. you just ready to take that sign down because some wealthy man donated money. he gave MONEY not HISTORY.let’s put a monument with his name near library, put his picture near the president’s but please PEOPLE! come on really……..

    1. It’s a good thing. It was such a joke when I arrived on campus nearly three years ago that I didn’t even bother. Now the program is actually begging to look compelling.

  2. What is the reason for the defensive introduction about how many times the name changed? It points to the question you don’t want asked, why? Isn’t renaming an landmark a little like renaming your child? Confusing and again, why? It has to be about money. Yet another sign of the less than desirable changes in this instituition.

  3. So what’s happening with the enclosed roof? Can you still get a band up there? Swing dancing is still popular (thank God) and there are lots of great bands that play 20s-30s jazz such as the New Black Eagles and John Clark’s Wolverines. And bands such as The White Heat band bridge the gap between the 30s and the 50s!

  4. While I agree with everyone who’s said that the new name is ridiculous (and not likely to stick; how many years did it take people to stop calling 575 the Hojo?) I think the bigger point of irritation is the “haunting.”

    Seriously, I don’t understand why BU feels the need to have their dormitories haunted by notable figures. Shelton is no more haunted by Eugene O’Neil than Myles is by Babe Ruth. Both buildings are cool with a ton of history, and I don’t know why they need to be haunted to be notable. Ghosts aren’t real, and it’s fairly silly for such a prestigious institution that’s trying to refocus on STEM fields to perpetuate this childish nonsense.

  5. Ron, great call on the swing dancing. I know MIT hosts regular dances in a first-floor auditorium, and they’d be pretty jealous if BU brought the swing back to this rooftop ballroom, with its excellent views. Someone needs to make this happen!

  6. AP. I hate to burst your bubble but ghosts are real. I, too, spent a good anount of time in Shelton as my friend lived there in ’86. I think it was 401 because I had just lived in that number at another college.

    In 2008 I played The Exorcist and Emily Rose after having premonitions to take them back. The house in Maine freaked out. It is a very expensive one, not “The Old House.” It changes how you view everything. It was backed up by an internationally speaking “ghost whisperer” if you will. The knocking on the walls lasted for about two years. It is my parent’s home and in a prominent area as well. I have witnesses to that knocking. Hard to miss, it gets quite loud. You will see this in a major motion picture that I wish I could go into detail about. I moved to Hollywood (West and Hollywood) last year to see this through after helping writers and developers get other projects out on television. I am not kidding about this. Please don’t make sweeping assumptions about something you have not experienced. I cover this in great detail as it seems the flat earth sociey is alive and well. I have written this before in relation to Shelton Hall on the web. Skeptics are often people who have not yet experienced the subject. It almost has the feeling of being hip or one up on others. It is also wrong.

  7. Nice piece, PK. I love that we not only learned about Shelton’s past, but the Sheraton’s past! Kilachand made an exceedingly generous gift in honor of his parents. I think it’s fitting that we honor him accordingly and continue the tradition of renaming this building. It’s a new chapter! Congats, BU!

  8. I lived in this hall from 1970-1972 and loved it. One of our huge rooms in our suite overlooked the Charles river. Our cafeteria served wonderful blueberry muffins in the morning, and once a year,lobster. All these young women walking with their trays to their table, with red lobster legs hanging over the trays, was quite a memory. Being from the west coast, this was all very new for me.

  9. This is a great article. But I don’t understand the line “And no, there was no BU founder or president—or anyone, for that matter—named Archibald Cornelius Shelton.” What is this a reference to?

  10. Great article: I lived in suite 401 from 1972 to 1974. Though I never experienced the site of apparitions of Eugene O Niel, there were unconventional things about the 4th floor. Yes the lighting is somewhat dimmer, and the elevator was quite old and at times would stop on random floors. 401 faced the rear of Shelton Hall and had a view of the Charles River and Memorial dive. It was a double suite with the bathroom on my side. One strange thing was a telephone that was at the entrance to the suite inside that would ring for no reason with no one on the other end. I always thought that was strange. Over all the Shelton Dorm was great. It was only dorm with a glass roof and a beautiful music room, complete with a grand piano and a huge mirror that took up one third of the wall. It was and still is a classy place.

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