by Logan Cook on April 20, 2023

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Opinion

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While you can find Colleen Hoover’s novels in the Providence College bookstore, wedged between the checkout line and candy aisle, it may not be in your best interest financially. Instead, I’d recommend the Phillips Memorial Library as your top contender for not only price but experience as well. The simple notion of checking out books free of charge paired with the library’s convenient location and accessibility from 8 a.m. until midnight are just a few of the many reasons why you should check off your reading list here. 

After a jam-packed summer of reading romance novel after romance novel, I was pretty disappointed when the fall semester rolled around and my Hoover supply dwindled. Thinking I’d no longer have the time between my schoolwork and extracurricular activities and plagued with the inaccessibility of my hometown library, I inadvertently dropped recreational reading altogether. In fact, it wasn’t until Christmas break neared that I became open to the idea of checking out books again. 

 The library does carry some great comparable titles to Hoover and recently acquired her novel Never, Never as well. Titles found on the library’s bestseller bookcase were Cover Story by Susan Rigetti, which follows three female leads who work at ELLE Magazine; More than Words by Jill Santopolo, which follows a mayoral candidate speechwriter; and In Five Years by Rebecca Serle, which follows a  high-powered corporate lawyer. All have their own backstories, character development, budding romances, and staggering plot twists, and all three were intriguing and exciting. 

These three authors did a great job describing the New York City setting, from the apartments to the workspaces to the social scene.

The bestseller section in the College’s library is one of the best sections, but it is often overlooked as students rush to class. My recommendation is that all students who enter the library glance at this shelf at least once or twice before leaving; you can find the shelf just past the 24-hour space. Whether you’re there to study, attend tutoring, or just to use the printer, it’s in your best interest to check out a book or two before you go. You never know what adventure your next novel will take you on, or whose life it’ll have you envisioning as your own one day.

by The Cowl Editor on September 19, 2019

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Campus

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by Hannah Langley ’21

News Co-Editor

On the afternoon of September 18, 2019, the Providence College community came together to celebrate 100 years since the College’s official opening. The event, held on Slavin Lawn, was open to all members of the PC community. 

Free food and desserts were available to all, and tables were set up throughout the lawn so that people could come together and spend time with friends and faculty.

Back in 1917, the College was founded by a small group  of Dominican friars and the bishop of Rhode Island. After only receiving a land grant of 18 acres and $10,000 from Bishop Harkins, the Catholic community in Rhode Island came together to raise over $150,000 to build Harkins Hall. It took one year for Harkins Hall to be built, and by September 18, 1919, the College was able to open its doors and begin teaching.

The College began with only 71 male students and nine Dominican friars. Harkins Hall was the only building on campus, as PC began as an all-male commuter school. 

The first residence hall, Aquinas Hall, was not built until 1939 under the leadership of Bishop Harkins and Father John J. Dillon, O.P, who was one of the first few presidents of PC. 

Other Dominicans included Father Meagher, and subsequent presidents, such as Father Robert J. Slavin, O.P., and Father John F. Cunningham, O.P.

Although 100 years have passed since PC opened its doors and much has changed, including the addition of nearly 100 acres of land, the admittance of women, and the opportunity to pursue over 50 different majors, the main message of the school — to provide a Catholic education in the arts and sciences —has not changed.