Video: Seniors Pause to Reflect Before Starting Their Final Semester

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., had been on campus for exactly two weeks when he delivered the presidential address at Senior Convocation on Jan. 23. He was most recently vice president for mission and ministry at Georgetown University for eight years. So it was fitting that just as seniors were about to begin a process similar to the one he just completed in coming to Holy Cross, they suggested he speak about the transition he has made over the past few months.

Senior Convocation invites seniors to reflect on their first three and a half years of college and to consider how they will use their remaining time at Holy Cross to shape their lives and their life’s work.

Held in St. Joseph Chapel, the events — consisting of talks, personal stories, music and performances—challenges seniors to ask themselves, How can I best use the time I have left at Holy Cross?

In addition to Fr. Boroughs’ thoughtful address, students pondered that question by listening to Andrew DeVivo ’12 deliver a scholar address, Ronald Jarret, dean for the Class of 2012, offer his words of guidance, and taking in a number of performances from members of the senior class.

Senior Convocation is sponsored and funded by a college initiative called “Exploring Purpose: Programs on Reflection and Vocation.” The purpose is to help students find ways to pause and reflect on the acts and actions which shape a meaningful life’s work.

Following the convocation, the senior class gathered for dinner in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom, which included more music and performances.

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Justice Clarence Thomas ’71 Receives Honorary Degree from Holy Cross

Posted on January 27, 2012 by admin

Stating how deeply humbled he was, Clarence Thomas ’71, associate justice of the United States, accepted an honorary degree from Holy Cross during Academic Convocation on Jan. 26.  Before a capacity audience in the Hogan Ballroom, he delivered a moving address — at one point pausing to collect his emotions —and expressed gratitude to Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J. ’49, president emeritus, for his mentorship and for the connections and intellectual growth he experienced at the College, in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The honorary degree was presented in recognition of his legal career, service to the College as a former trustee, and especially to students who study in the Washington Semester Program, and his tenure on the nation’s highest court.

“I must say that I’m a little embarrassed and uncomfortable receiving this honor for doing what I’m expected to do as a graduate of Holy Cross and required to do as a citizen for this great country,” he told students, faculty and staff in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom. “I am appreciative and humbled and I’m unworthy yet I am profoundly and deeply honored. It is I who should be honoring Holy Cross and all the wonderful teachers, administrators, and staff who helped me more than four decades ago. And it is I who should be boldly expressing my gratitude for all that they did for me.”

In the traumatic wake of Rev. Martin Luther King’s murder, Justice Thomas had quit the seminary where he was studying to be a priest, and been kicked out his home by his grandfather. He said he would not be where he is today without Fr. Brooks, and the education he received at Holy Cross left him a changed man.

“From predestination to existentialism and from natural law to nihilism, Holy Cross required that I travel the disciplined and rugged terrain of theory and thought of the transcendent and the palpable,” he said. “It is here that I enjoyed the first brief glimpses of what it meant to be educated. It is here that I came to enjoy classical music and reading. It is here that I tried to exchange the cloak of animus and self-pity for that of hopefulness and charity. It is here that I tried to sort out the difference between collectivism and individualism and came to treasure the latter and abhor the former. It is here that I came to more fully understand deferred gratification, struggle and commitment.”

Thomas said it was the College that also helped him find his faith once more: “It was here directly in front of the [St. Joseph] chapel, on the morning of April 16, 1970 that I promised Almighty God that if he took hate out of my heart, I would never hate again. He did, and I have not.”

In his remarks, Thomas talked about his relationship with Fr. Brooks, whose commitment to the ideals of equality and social justice, brought him and scores of other African-American men to Holy Cross.

“When all is quiet at the end of this life, I hope that those few, those very few, who might have cause to remember that one day long ago,” Thomas said before pausing to hold back tears, “a lonely kid from Georgia had no place to go, and when they wonder who took him in and helped him to heal and to prosper, let them hear their answer in the quiet whispers of the wind sweeping across Mount St. James: the Cross, the Cross, always the Cross.”

In his welcoming remarks, Rev. Philip Boroughs, S.J., president, emphasized the importance of the event.

“It is highly unusual for the College community to convene outside of Commencement season to confer an honorary degree on an individual, so indeed today is a very special day,” he said.

Following the convocation, Diane Brady, author of the critically-acclaimed book, “Fraternity,” which follows five African-American men, including Thomas, through Holy Cross and their relationship with Fr. Brooks, conducted a lighthearted question-and-answer session. Their discussion touched on many topics, including the atmosphere at the College in the late 1960s, the protest that served as the African-American students’ bold statement against racism at the College, and the importance of children’s education and a liberal arts education.

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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas ’71 to Speak, Receive Honorary Degree at Holy Cross

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

Clarence Thomas ’71, associate justice of the United States, is at Holy Cross today to speak to the campus community and receive an honorary degree. His visit to campus comes weeks after the widely praised publication of “Fraternity” by Diane Brady, which tells the story of president emeritus Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J. ’49, and his work in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death to recruit and mentor African-American students, including Thomas, to Holy Cross.

Along with Fr. Brooks and Brady, Justice Thomas will speak and reflect on the impact his time at Holy Cross has had on his life.

Before that conversation takes place, in a special Academic Convocation, the College will confer on Justice Thomas an honorary degree, recognizing his intellect, legal career, service to the College (as a former trustee and especially to students who study in the Washington Semester Program), and his tenure on the nation’s highest court.

The Academic Convocation will begin at 4 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom, immediately followed by the book conversation in the same location. The event is expressly for the campus community. A Holy Cross ID will be required for entrance.

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Holy Cross Lecture to Address Global Access to Healthcare

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Danielle Kane

Lisa Cahill

Lisa Sowle Cahill, the J. Donald Monan Professor of Theology at Boston College, will give a lecture titled “Catholic Social Teaching, Bioethics and Justice” on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Rehm Library, Smith Hall, at the College of the Holy Cross.

The lecture is one of the Deitchman Family Lectures on Religion and Modernity, presented by the College’s Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture. It is free and open to the public.

Cahill will talk about access to healthcare around the world as well as healthcare debates happening in the United States from the perspective of a theological ethicist and progressive Catholic. Cahill does not want to cede the “religious perspective” to fundamentalists and the pro-life movement, nor does she want to submit to a political liberalism that champions individual autonomy as holy writ. In her book Theological Bioethics: Participation, Justice, and Change (Georgetown University Press, 2005), she calls for progressive religious thinkers and believers to join in the effort to reclaim the best of their traditions through jointly engaging political forces at both community and national levels. Just access to health care, she argues, must be the number one priority for this type of “participatory bioethics.”

A former president of the Society of Christian Ethics and the Catholic Theological Society of America, Cahill is also the author of Sex, Gender, and Christian Ethics (Cambridge University Press, 1996); Family: A Christian Social Perspective (Fortress, 2000); ‘Love Your Enemies’: Discipleship, Pacifism, and Just War Theory (Fortress, 1994); and other books.

To learn more about these events and find lectures online, visit www.holycross.edu/mcfarlandcenter.

About the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture:

Established in 2001 and housed in Smith Hall, the McFarland Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College’s commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is interreligious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.

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PR Executive and Former Journalist to Debunk Industry Myths

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Cristal Steuer

Eric Starkman

Eric Starkman, president and founder of STARKMAN, a public relations agency based in New York, will give a talk titled “Think Public Relations is About Schmoozing and Spinning?” on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Suites B & C at the College of the Holy Cross. It is open to the campus community.

According to Starkman, public relations is widely perceived and portrayed as an industry dominated by well coiffed men and women who spend their day lying, spinning, and schmoozing reporters.  “While there are no shortages of practitioners who fit this mold, those who are most successful at PR are highly creative and analytical thinkers who adhere to the highest standards of ethics and integrity,” he says.

Starkman, a former journalist, will talk candidly about the challenges and rewards a career in public relations can offer, as well as the blurring lines between journalism and public relations.

Since 2004, STARKMAN has hosted a Holy Cross intern every summer, and three recent Holy Cross graduates currently work at STARKMAN (Erin Carpenter ’11, Lauren Olney ’10, and Amanda Tamburino ’10). “Without exception, every Holy Cross graduate we’ve worked with has been incredibly bright, disciplined, and imbued with impressive humility,” exclaims Starkman. “We’ve learned from experience that there is an inverse correlation between humility and talent, and we’ve come to appreciate that you can’t graduate from Holy Cross without considerable hard work and dedication. At STARKMAN, a Holy Cross degree isn’t regarded as just a piece of paper, but as an acknowledgement of a meaningful accomplishment.”

Starkman worked more than 15 years as a reporter and editor at major newspapers in the U.S. and Canada, including the Wall Street Journal, The Toronto Star, The Montreal Gazette, The Detroit News, as well as American Banker. Prior to launching STARKMAN, he oversaw the corporate communications practices at established agencies in the New York area, including Morgen-Walke Associates. He had worked earlier as a copywriter at W.B. Doner & Co., a Michigan-based advertising agency.

Bloomberg BusinessWeek writer Diane Brady credits him for giving her the idea to write Fraternity (Spiegel & Grau, Jan. 3, 2012), her recently published book about the story of the Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J., ’49, the longest-serving president of Holy Cross, who recruited and mentored a group of African American men who came to Holy Cross during the racially tense times of the late 1960s. More information on Fraternity

The event is co-sponsored by the Summer Internship Program, Career Planning, The Agency and the Prebusiness Program.

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Behind The Scenes: Writing the 2012 State of the Union Address

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Holy Cross in the News

In a new video released by the White House, Jon Favreau, a 2003 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and director of speech writing for President Obama, talks about the process of writing the 2012 State of The Union Address.

Take a look inside the West Wing as President Obama, Favreau, the other speechwriters and the policy team brainstorm ideas, rewrite language, reorder ideas, and put the finishing touches on this year’s address.

This “Holy Cross in the News” item by Kristine Maloney.

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Holy Cross Lecture to Explore Cradle of Christian-Muslim Relations

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Danielle Kane

Eliza Griswold

Journalist and poet Eliza Griswold, author of The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010), will talk about her travels and research in North Africa and Central Asia, where high concentrations of Christians and Muslims live, in a lecture on Thursday, April 19 at 4:30 p.m. in Rehm Library, Smith Hall, at the College of the Holy Cross.

The lecture is one of the Deitchman Family Lectures on Religion and Modernity, presented by the College’s Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture. It is free and open to the public.

Griswold spent much of the past seven years traveling in Africa and Asia between the equator and the line of latitude 700 miles to the north, known as the tenth parallel. It is here, far from the Middle East, where more than half of the world’s two billion Christians live along with half of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims. She tells the 1,500-year-old story of how Christianity and Islam have come to intersect and interact and finds that the most important forces shaping the future of the world’s religions are those contests unfolding within them, not between them.

Griswold won the 2011 Anthony J. Lukas prize for The Tenth Parallel, a New York Times best seller. She also received a 2010 Rome Prize from The American Academy in Rome for her poetry. She is currently a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and formerly a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Her reportage on religion, conflict and human rights and her poetry have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, Harpers, The New Republic, among many others.

Griswold’s lecture is part of a series titled Beyond Borders, on the global movement of people and ideas.
To learn more about this event and find lectures online, visit www.holycross.edu/mcfarlandcenter.

About the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture:

Established in 2001 and housed in Smith Hall, the McFarland Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture provides resources for faculty and course development, sponsors conferences and college-wide teaching events, hosts visiting fellows, and coordinates a number of campus lecture series. Rooted in the College’s commitment to invite conversation about basic human questions, the Center welcomes persons of all faiths and seeks to foster dialogue that acknowledges and respects differences, providing a forum for intellectual exchange that is interreligious, interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international in scope.  The Center also brings members of the Holy Cross community into conversation with the Greater Worcester community, the academic community, and the wider world to examine the role of faith and inquiry in higher education and in the larger culture.

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Holy Cross Ranks Second in Long-Term Study Abroad Participation

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Daniel DeConinck ’13

Holy Cross ranks second among baccalaureate institutions in the United States for long-term study abroad programs, according to a new report released by the Institute of International Education.

Long-term study abroad programs are defined as taking place during a full calendar or academic year. Though Holy Cross offers single semester, month-long summer programs, and faculty-led study tours during school vacations, the majority of programs require students to learn overseas for the entire academic year.

“We are very proud that we continue to rank at the top among schools in the percentage of students we send abroad for the full academic year,” says Brittain Smith, director of the Study Abroad Program. “We believe that the year experience is the most transformative and allows students to become multicultural global citizens.”

This year’s ranking marks the fifth time in the last six years that Holy Cross has made the top five, and the third straight year Holy Cross has occupied one of the top two positions. Last year, Holy Cross was ranked first and Smith College second; the schools traded positions this year.

The increasing number of summer and short-term study abroad programs is opening the door for Holy Cross students looking to give international study a try, explains Smith. “We hope that first-year students who may be unsure about studying abroad for the full academic year will take advantage of these programs and discover that a longer stay abroad will appeal to them after all,” he says.

With 122 students studying abroad for the full academic year, Holy Cross is one of just three baccalaureate institutions in the country with more than 100 participants, according to the report.

The national results were published in Open Doors 2011, the annual report compiled by the Institute of International Education. The institution, which was founded in 1919, is an independent not-for-profit organization that receives funding from the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The report relies on data from the 2009-10 academic year — rather than the 2010-11 academic year — to find the total number of U.S. students who study abroad because these numbers are reported only after students receive credit for their academic programs.

View the report.

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“Red Bulls Owe Tax on Harrison, New Jersey, Arena, Judge Says”

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Holy Cross in the News

In a Bloomberg BusinessWeek article, Victor Matheson, associate professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross, discusses the recent tax-court judge’s ruling that stated that The New York Red Bulls, a major league soccer team named after its billionaire owner’s energy-drink company, owes $3.6 million in property taxes to Harrison, New Jersey.

“Sports teams seem to be more successful than most businesses in securing tax breaks,” he said. He elaborated by explaining that the reason for this is because a sports team cannot be as easily replaced as other businesses. He compared the Red Bulls’ situation to a similar case involving the New York Giants  and East Rutherford, New Jersey.

This “Holy Cross in the News” item is by Sara Bovat ’14.

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Video Archive of McFarland Center Lectures Available Online

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Danielle Kane

Throughout the year, the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture brings in renowned scholars and thought leaders from around the globe for lectures and programs that explore issues of meaning, morality and mutual obligation. Students, faculty and staff, alumni and the broader community are encouraged to attend these events to glean knowledge and enrich the exchange of ideas. But when it’s not possible to get to Holy Cross, you often can find audio and video recordings of the lectures online.

A robust Listen and Learn audio archive dates back to 2008 — featuring provocative and timely talks on climate change, health care, theology, war, the recession and more — but now the McFarland Center invites you to “watch and learn,” too. Last fall, the McFarland Center’s events were video recorded and made available, for free, on its website and on iTunes U.

“Getting our lectures online has been integral to advancing the McFarland Center as a resource for expanding intercultural and interreligious dialogue,” said Thomas M. Landy, director of the McFarland Center. “We have hosted some stellar talks that appeal to a wide range of people. The online archive not only helps our faculty and students enhance their classroom learning, but also it enables us to reach a worldwide audience who can then further the discussion.”

Featured video now online includes four sessions of the McFarland Center’s inaugural colloquium on Catholics and Cultures called “Contours of Catholic Life and Practice Today.” The colloquium, held December 9, 2011, introduced a global initiative to study the diverse beliefs and practices of Catholics around the globe. Landy, who first envisioned the Catholics and Cultures project, explained in his talk that American Catholics account for only 6 percent of Catholics worldwide, and thus, their perspective on the Church may differ from those of the majority of Catholics worldwide.

“Cultures bundle and prioritize beliefs differently than one another, and generally not along the lines the American culture wars expect,” Landy said. “[American] Catholics need to be aware of the priorities that the other 94 percent bring to the table.”

Distinguished international scholars of cultural Catholicism were invited to speak at the colloquium and will serve as advisors to the Catholics and Cultures initiative moving forward. Viewers can watch the talks by Rowena Robinson, of the Indian Institute of Technology, on Indian Catholicism and Rev. Thomas G. Casey, S.J., dean of the faculty of missiology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, on Catholic theology in a global context.

A highlight of the colloquium, a panel of Holy Cross seniors shared their personal encounters with diverse Catholic cultures, through study abroad, immersion programs and other lived experience — in Spain, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Peru, South Africa, El Salvador and Ireland. As Andrew DeVivo ’12 opened the session, he said, “The College of the Holy Cross is living proof that faith is transnational.”

Video Highlights from Fall 2011:

  • Media executive Maria Eugenia Ferré Rangel ’89 shares how her family-owned newspaper, El Nuevo Dia, has overcome industry challenges by engaging readers and empowering them to become better informed, involved citizens on the island of Puerto Rico. more »
  • Investigative journalist E. Benjamin Skinner exposes the global scale of modern-day slavery with incidents of human trafficking and bondage he witnessed in Haiti, South Africa and other parts of the world. more »
  • MIT economist Esther Duflo explains how randomized trials of measures to address poverty — distributing bed nets to prevent malaria, setting up inoculation camps, and tracking students by academic progress — yield proven outcomes that sometimes contradict anti-poverty policy and popular thinking. more »
  • Author Paula Fredriksen describes Christian and Jewish relations in antiquity, sheds light on the origins of Christian anti-Semitism, and tells how she happened upon texts by Augustine of Hippo in the 4th century that provide a singular and rigorous defense of Jews. more »

The semester ahead promises even more enlightening lectures and discussions, on the cradle of Christianity and Islam, the ethics of health care, poetry from the Holocaust, and an in-depth look at poverty in the United States, 50 years ago and today. As always, the McFarland Center encourages your participation in these events at Holy Cross. But if you can’t be here, you may always Listen — or watch — and Learn online.

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Holy Cross Spring 2012 Concert Series

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Cristal Steuer

Taylor & Boody Organ

The music department at the College of the Holy Cross will present the following musical performances on campus during spring 2012. All events are free and open to the public. For additional information, please contact the music department events line at 508-793-3528.

Sun., Jan. 29; 3 p.m.
Neil Cockburn, Organist
Head of Organ Studies
The Conservatory, Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Tues., Feb. 21; 8 p.m.
Eight Études and Some Fantasies
Matthew Jaskot, Piano
Brooks Concert Hall

Sun., Feb. 26; 3 p.m.
John Grew, Organist
Professor of Organ Emeritus
McGill University, Montreal, Canada
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Wed., Feb. 29; 8 p.m.
Holy Cross Chamber Orchestra
Brooks Concert Hall

Tues., March 13; 8 p.m.
Bugallo-Williams Piano Duo
Music for two prepared pianos
Brooks Concert Hall

Sun., March 18; 4 p.m.
Kevin Hoenig ‘12, viola
Brooks Concert Hall

Sun., March 25; 2 p.m.
Sarah Cicchetti ‘12, violin
Brooks Concert Hall

Sat., March 3; 3 p.m.
Julia Hamilton ‘12, cello
Brooks Concert Hall

Thurs., April 12; 8 p.m.
Spring Jazz Concert
Brooks Concert Hall

Fri., April 13; 8 p.m.
Holy Cross Choir
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Wed., April 18; 8 p.m.
Holy Cross Chamber Orchestra
Brooks Concert Hall

Sat., April 21; 3 p.m.
Kercofa Francois ‘12, piano &
Alexandra El-Bayeh ‘12, bassoon
Brooks Concert Hall

Sun., April 22; 5 p.m.
Holy Cross Chamber Singers
Brooks Concert Hall

Tues., April 24; 8 p.m.
Carol Lieberman, violin & others
Holy Cross Chamber Players
Brooks Concert Hall

Thurs., April 26; 4 p.m.
Stephen Drury & Stuart Gerber
Music for piano, percussion & electronics
Brooks Concert Hall

Fri., April 27; 8 p.m.
Chamber Music Festival
Brooks Concert Hall

Sat., April 28; 4 p.m.
Danielle Libatique ’12, soprano & piano
Brooks Concert Hall

Sun., April 29; 3 p.m.
Philippe Lefebvre, Organist
Organiste Titulaire
Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, France
St. Joseph Memorial Chapel

Fri., May 4; 8 p.m.
Gamelan Concert
Brooks Concert Hall

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“Marines urinating on Taliban corpses: Putting words to the picture”

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Holy Cross in the News

In a commentary for National Catholic Reporter about the recently leaked video of U.S. Marines urinating on Taliban corpses, Jerry Lembcke, associate professor of sociology at the College of the Holy Cross and a Vietnam veteran, argues that the incident brought to light a “disturbing underside of American society”

“Atrocities in war happen, sure. But their staging by troops for the purpose of photographic documentation is behavior that makes no sense outside a cultural context in which the commitment of atrocities is conflated with martial accomplishment,” he wrote

Lembcke, who is also the author of Hanoi Jane: War, Sex, and Fantasies of Betrayal and The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam, continued, “When the clouds of denial, confusion and excuse-making generated by the photographs are parted, we’ll see beyond the insensitivity and narcissism of the posing poseurs and see the still-uglier sight of a country that lost its sense of place in history, its people supporting wars only because the troops have been sent to fight them, its troops displaying their own degradation as a badge of honor.”

This “Holy Cross in the News” item is by Sara Bovat ’14.

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“Creative Ingenuity: Cuban Art at Holy Cross Gallery”

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Holy Cross in the News
Worcester Mag featured “Cuban Artists’ Books and Prints, 1985-2008,” a new exhibition on display in the College of the Holy Cross’ Cantor Foundation Resource Gallery.

Roger Hankins, the director of the gallery, explained, “The Cuban books in the show are primarily produced at the Ediciones Vigía, a collaborative artisans’ press founded in 1985 in Matanzas, Cuba, and the books are mostly assembled out of humble and often found materials that carry a disarmingly complex visual weight.”

Because of the struggles between Russia and Cuba two decades ago, artisans faced challenges to produce their beautifully crafted art. Therefore, the exhibit draws special attention to the artistas’ “dedication, diligence and drive to maintain their artistic visions” throughout the nation’s political turmoil.

This “Holy Cross in the News” item is by Sara Bovat ’14.

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Blog: McClay ’13 Studies Zoology in Africa During Semester Abroad

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

NAME Mary McClay ’13

HOMETOWN San Diego

AREAS OF STUDY Biology major with an environmental studies concentration

WHERE SHE’S STUDYING South Africa through Duke University’s Organization for Tropical Studies

WHY SHE CHOSE AFRICA “My love for animals spans all the ecosystems of the globe, but my true passion lies in the fauna of the African ecosystems. My goal is to work with big cats, particularly cheetahs, and there is no greater place to study the dynamics of big cat ecology and conservation than Africa!”

WHAT SHE’S MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO “Being immersed in the grandeur of Kruger National Park and encountering the animals I’ve only seen on a TV screen or in the San Diego Zoo.”

WHY SHE’S BLOGGING “As a participant in an OTS program, I want to share my experience with any students who may be interested in one of their programs.”

Read the blog »

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Students ‘Jump Around the World’ to Raise Money for AIDS Research

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Cristal Steuer

Dance

Students at the College of the Holy Cross will hold a 12-hour dance marathon from 9 p.m. Jan. 28 to 9 a.m. Jan. 29 in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom. All members of the Holy Cross community are invited to participate. All proceeds will go to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS foundation (EGPAF). 

“Our theme is ‘Jump Around the World,’ so every hour will feature a different region of the world and there will be music, activities, and multicultural group performances to keep dancers awake and energized,” shares Linsey Barker ’12, organizer of the event. 

A psychology major with a pre-med concentration, Barker says, “I have been a dancer almost my entire life—I began taking lessons when I was 6. And to me there is nothing greater than staying up all night dancing and raising money for a truly incredible cause.” 

The Elizabeth Glaser foundation teams up with different colleges to host dance marathons, including the University of Southern California, Boston University, American University, and DePauw University in Indiana.

“EGPAF is an incredible foundation that is working hard to eliminate AIDS worldwide. We felt that the money raised by our students would be well-spent if it was donated to EGPAF because they use the money to provide people with the medication and education that they need to prevent HIV/AIDS from spreading and stop it from developing,” explains Barker. 

Participants are required to raise a minimum of $100, with the goal for the marathon set at $10,000.

The Holy Cross Dance Marathon is a recognized school organization. Barker says the group “hopes to continue to raise money for EGPAF.”

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Holy Cross Sophomore Shaves Head to Raise Awareness for Pediatric Cancer

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Cristal Steuer

Marielle McKenna a member of the College of the Holy Cross class of 2014, is an active fundraiser for the St. Baldrick’s foundation, an organization that funds pediatric cancer research grants. Recently, she decided she wanted to do something more for children with cancer.

“A friend of mine shaved her head for St. Baldrick’s foundation and I thought she was crazy. I thought donating her hair was going far enough and shaving was an unnecessary extreme,” shares McKenna. “I thought I could never do something like that. Then after reflecting on it for a while and seeing how happy my friend was, I asked myself why couldn’t I do something like that!? I went online to the website and signed up as a shavee.”

Over winter break McKenna, who is from Kenilworth, Ill., and three friends made an appointment at her local hair salon. “I came to understand why shaving is a very necessary extreme: to stand in solidarity with kids with cancer,” she shares.  “It was also important to encourage people to begin questioning why hair is so celebrated in our culture and to challenge them to disengage from that way of thinking. Baldness is not something to be feared because it is different. There is beauty in being bald, in being strong, and in being a fighter.”

On campus, McKenna is trying to raise awareness about pediatric cancer as well. “With long hair being the norm for girls at Holy Cross, I felt that the “Bald is Beautiful” cause would spur the desired conversation of what defines femininity, yet I did not want to return from winter break with a shaved head and be welcomed back with whispers and stares.”

In the weeks before winter break, McKenna along with students from HC for a Cure and Student Health Awareness Peer Educators (SHAPE) sold gold bandannas (gold is the color of the pediatric cancer ribbon) to educate students and raise awareness. They decorated the gold bandannas with phrases: “Bald is beautiful,” “St. Baldrick’s 2011,” “Be bald, be brave,” and more, and everyone wore them for a day to present a unified front. “The bandannas were wildly popular and we sold out, raising more than $300, all of which HC for a Cure generously donated to my St. Baldrick’s fundraising webpage,” says McKenna, who raised more than $3,000 for the foundation by shaving her head.

During her time at Holy Cross, McKenna met Lenore Montanaro ’12, a three-time cancer survivor and above-the-knee amputee. Lenore’s brother, John, passed away in April of 2011 from leukemia at age 19. “I chose to honor both Lenore and John with shaving, which made it much more personal and meaningful,” shares McKenna.

McKenna says she learned a lot from the experience. “I know that I am incredibly lucky that I am able to shave my head voluntarily and for a worthwhile cause. I am not sick, but I am able to help those who are and understand a little of what it’s like to stand in their shoes.”

Active in the Holy Cross community, she is a member of Pax Christi and Women’s Forum, a communion minister, and a volunteer at the Nativity School in Worcester, where she teaches students American Sign Language (ASL) in an after-school program.

A Spanish major, who has taken four semesters of ASL, she is interested in pursuing a career in languages and communication.

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“Tebow Nation: Religion-sports mix has history”

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Holy Cross in the News

In a Telegram & Gazette article, Mathew Schmalz, associate professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross, explained why football fans give great attention, with mixed reactions, to Denver Bronco’s quarterback Tim Tebow’s religious approach toward the sport.

“He reflects the deep seeded hopes of people who believe that, if you work hard and have good values, then God will help you,” said Mr. Schmalz. “But then, you have those who are waiting for the other shoe to drop on Mr. Tebow.”

This “Holy Cross in the News” item is by Sara Bovat ’14.

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Holy Cross Seelos Film Series Spring 2012 Schedule

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Cristal Steuer

Movies

The following films will be shown at the Seelos Theater at the College of the Holy Cross. All films are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. For additional information, please call the Seelos Theater Box Office at 508-793-2455.

The Ides of March
Wed., Jan. 25: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated R. Starring George Clooney, Ryan Gosling and Paul Giamatti. Idealistic employee Stephen Meyers (Gosling) sets out to work on a wild-card presidential campaign for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney) and learns a lesson in dirty politics while on the campaign trail.  Rolling Stone calls it “a pulse racing thriller.”

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Fri., Jan. 27 and Sat., Jan. 28: Showing at 7 p.m. Rated PG-13. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. The final chapter begins and Harry and the gang are continuing their journey to find and destroy the Dark Lord’s remaining Horcruxes.

Of Gods and Men
Wed., Feb. 1: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated PG-13. Starring Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale and Olivier Rabourdin. Set in Algeria during the civil war of the 90s, a group of Trappist monks are threatened by terrorists during their mission. Under brutal conditions, the monks must decide whether to stay or go back to France.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Fri., Feb. 3 and Sat., Feb. 4: Showing at 7 p.m. Rated PG-13. Starring James Franco, Andy Serkis and Freida Pinto. Caesar (Serkis) is a chimpanzee who receives human-like intelligence and emotions during a drug experiment to cure Alzheimer’s disease. The drug’s creator (Franco) and a primatologist (Pinto) raise Caesar like a child. Taken away from Franco and Pinto, he is imprisoned in an ape sanctuary, and Caesar uses his intelligence to help free the other apes. 

Another Year
Wed., Feb. 8: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated PG-13. Starring Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen and Lesley Manville. The film takes a look at the lives of a happily married couple: Tom, a geologist, and Gerri Hepple, a counselor, and their relationship with family and friends.

Contagion
Fri., Feb. 10 and Sat., Feb. 11: Showing at 7 p.m. Rated PG-13. Starring Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Jude Law. A business women returns from a trip to Hong Kong and dies from an unknown infection. Her young son dies the same day.  Her husband (Damon) is immune. As the deadly disease starts to spread worldwide and panic sets in, an international team of doctors is sent to try and stop the outbreak. 

Inside Job
Wed., Feb. 15: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated PG-13. Starring Matt Damon, William Ackman and Daniel Alpert. The film examines the 2008 global financial crisis by talking with major politicians, financial insiders, academic professors and journalists.

Puss in Boots
Fri., Feb. 17 and Sat., Feb. 18: Showing at 7 p.m. Rated PG. Featuring the voices of Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Zach Galifianakis. Learn about the sword-fighting cat’s life prior to meeting Shrek, Donkey and friends.

Incendies
Wed., Feb. 22: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated R. Starring Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and Maxim Gaudette. Adapted from the stage, a set of twins travel to the Middle East in order to fulfill their mother’s dying wish and discover some tangled family history.

Moneyball
Fri., Feb. 24 and Sat., Feb. 25: Showing at 7 p.m. Rated PG-13. Starring Brad Pitt, Robin Wright and Jonah Hill. Based on a true story, Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane (Pitt) tries to find a competitive advantage to get his team into the World Series by using statistical data instead of scouts to draft his team. 

Drive
Wed., Feb. 29: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated R. Starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan and Bryan Cranston. Gosling, a Hollywood stunt man by day and criminal getaway car driver by night, gets himself into trouble after one of the heists goes wrong.
 
Margin Call
Wed., March 14: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated R. Starring Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci and Kevin Spacey.  The film follows a group of investment bankers at a Wall Street firm and the steps they take early in the 2008 financial crisis. 

We Bought A Zoo
Fri., March 16 and Sat., March 17: Showing at 7 p.m. Rated PG. Starring Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson and Thomas Haden Church. Based on a true story, recent widower Benjamin Mee (Damon) moves his family to the Southern California countryside to renovate and reopen an old zoo.

Martha Marcy May Marlene
Wed., March 21: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated R. Starring Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson and John Hawkes. After running away from an abusive cult, Martha (Olsen) turns to her sister’s family for help, but haunting and painful memories hinder her road to recovery.   

J. Edgar
Fri., March 23 and Sat., March 24: Showing at 7 p.m. Rated G. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Armie Hammer and Naomi Watts. J. Edgar Hoover (DiCaprio), the first director of the FBI, was a public figure for more than 50 years. This drama chronicles what happened behind closed doors that could have destroyed his image, life and career. 

The Descendants
Wed., March 28: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated R. Starring George Clooney, Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller. Set in Hawaii, a tragic boating accident leaves land baron Matt King’s (Clooney) wife on life support.  King, who was not very active in his daughters’ lives, is now the sole parent. While struggling with a decision to sell his family’s land, he finds out his wife was having an affair before the accident and takes his two daughters on a trip to confront his wife’s former lover.

Young Adult
Fri., March 30 and Sat., March 31: Showing at 7 p.m. Rated R. Starring Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson and Patton Oswalt. In this dark comedy, Mavis Gary (Theron), a divorced author with writer’s block, returns to her hometown in Minnesota to rekindle a romance with her high school sweetheart, who is married and recently had a baby. 

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Wed., April 11: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated Rated R. Starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. During the Cold War, Control, the head of British Intelligence resigns, after an operation goes terribly wrong. Control figures out a senior figure sabotaged the operation, and forces agent George Smiley (Oldman) out of retirement to find the mole.  

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Fri., April 13 and Sat., April 14: Showing at 7 p.m. Rated PG-13. Starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg. The fourth film in the Mission Impossible series, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team are trying to hunt down terrorists, who are planning an attack against the U.S. They trackdown the terrorists in Kremlin, but the IMF is framed for the bombing, so the team must go undercover to clear the agency’s name. 

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (American Version)
Wed., April 18: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated R. Starring Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer. An English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel, investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander band together to solve a 40 year-old mystery and reveal the long-hidden secrets of a very wealthy Swedish family.

Hugo
Fri., April 20 and Sat., April 21: Showings at 7 p.m. Rated PG. Starring Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz and Christopher Lee.  Set in 1930s Paris, Hugo, a young orphan boy who lives in the walls of a train station and fixes clocks, gets wrapped up in a mystery concerning his late father and a robot.  

My Week With Marilyn
Wed., April 25: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated R. Starring Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne and Kenneth Branagh. The film is based on book by Colin Clark about the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl, which starred Marilyn Monroe (Williams) and Laurence Olivier (Branagh). Clark introduces Monroe to British life and they spend a week together, where Clark learns about Hollywood pressure and her struggles with fame. 

War Horse
Fri., April 27 and Sat., April 28: Showing at 7 p.m. Rated PG-13. Starring Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson and David Thewlis. Directed by Steven Spielberg. During World War I, Albert’s (Irvine) beloved horse is sold to the cavalry, and he enlists in the army. Albert’s journey takes him across Europe as the war continues.

We Need To Talk About Kevin
Wed., May 2: Showings at 3 and 8 p.m. Rated R. Starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly and Ezra Miller. Based on a novel about a fictional school massacre, a mother grapples with her grief after her teenage son goes on a killing spree.  

Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows
Fri., May 4 and Sat., May 5: Showing at 7 p.m. Rated PG-13. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Jared Harris. Sherlock Holmes (Downey Jr.) and Dr. Watson (Law) take on their rival Professor Moriarty.

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Holy Cross Students to Discuss Genocide Prevention at Public Policy Symposium

Posted on January 12, 2012 by

On Jan. 28, more than 25 Holy Cross students will meet to discuss the nature of genocide and the emerging international policy norm known as the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) as part of the sixth annual Presidential Scholars Public Policy Symposium on campus.

The annual symposium provides an intellectually challenging forum for Presidential Scholars to explore compelling issues of public policy with their peers. Previously the scholars have confronted policy challenges related to global warming, U.S. immigration, global health issues, domestic violence, and the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.

Presidential Scholars hold academic merit scholarships, most of which are awarded based on achievement in high school. The College awards all the scholarships, e.g., the Brooks (music), Bean (classics), and Clavius (science) with the exception of the Gates Millennium Scholarship. Unique among Presidential Scholars are the Charles A. Dana Scholars, who have demonstrated academic excellence, leadership, and sterling character. Dana Scholars are selected from applicants who have earned a minimum 3.5 cumulative grade point average and have been recommended by faculty.

Participants in this year’s symposium come from all four class years and a wide variety of majors.

The symposium will be facilitated by Charles Anderton, professor of economics at Holy Cross, who is an expert in the economics of genocide and co-author  (with Holy Cross economics professor John Carter) of “Principles of Conflict Economics: A Primer for Social Scientists” (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

Following an introductory overview of the multidisciplinary field of genocide studies, Presidential Scholars will work through a case study of the 1994 Rwandan genocide by means of a documentary film and breakout discussion groups.

During and after lunch, the scholars will form into groups to take part in a real-time simulation exercise on the operational and policy challenges of implementing R2P. This simulation is also used in the real world to train diplomats and military officers. Like them, scholars will confront a crisis situation in which a nation stands at the brink of civil war and civilian massacres. Following a simulation debrief, the symposium will close with an overview of likely future directions in the work of genocide prevention.

The event is hosted by the Dean’s Office and coordinated by Christina Chen, director of Academic Services and Learning Resources.

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Campuswide Multifaith Prayer to Celebrate Faith Traditions at Holy Cross

Posted on January 12, 2012 by

On the afternoon that spring semester classes begin, the Chaplains’ Office will hold a Campuswide Multifaith Prayer to celebrate the rich faith traditions that are represented at Holy Cross. Students, faculty and staff are invited to gather and participate on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 4 p.m. in Mary Chapel.

The prayer will be led by Rev. Philip L. Boroughs, S.J., president, and Virginia Coakley, assistant chaplain and director of Protestant and ALANA (African-American, Latin American, Asian-American, and Native American heritage) ministry. Members of the Holy Cross community representing their respective faiths will also read or sing prayers from their traditions.

The service will include a litany of thanksgiving that affirms the gifts and strengths of numerous religious traditions and provides for congregational participation.

Paul Melley, assistant chaplain and director of liturgical music, will coordinate the music.

This is the first time such a multifaith service has been held by the Chaplains’ Office, and Director Marybeth Kearns-Barrett hopes it will become a traditional opening to the College’s spring semester.  “The idea came about through conversations Virginia and I had about ways for the Chaplains’ Office to be more inclusive of all members of the Holy Cross community,” she says.  “We see it as an opportunity for our community to grow in understanding one another.”

A reception will follow in the gathering space adjoining the chapel.

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