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Eighteen students, including myself, traveled to the Warren Conference Center in Ashland and engaged in-depth conversations, activities, and reflections on contemplative action and living a life of intent during Holy Cross’ inaugural social justice weekend workshop last month. The retreat, sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Education, featured speakers from various academic and professional areas from Holy Cross and other organizations.

Titled “Walk With Me,” the workshop tackled important questions such as “What are our obligations to one another?” and “How do we build communities marked by freedom, mutual respect, and civility?”

We started with a reflection exercise on our call to service facilitated by Kristine Cyr Goodwin, associate dean for student life. During the workshop, we discussed balancing contemplation with action. Two faculty members from the Hiatt Center for Social Justice Education at Beaver Country Day School — Robert Principe, director of educational leadership, and Katherine Beaudowin, director of community engagement — provided an interactive presentation on “Social Action: The Humanity of It All” and offered concrete strategies for change.

Other presenters included Jacqueline Peterson, vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students; assistant chaplains Rev. Gregory Lynch, S.J. and Virginia Coakley; Jonathan Mulrooney, associate professor of English; and Diane Fox, visiting assistant professor of history.

The workshop was powerful and truly life changing. In commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it enlightened us to issues of social justice, race, war, and poverty from a global perspective to our own Holy Cross community. These issues are often undermined and easily put on the back burner and many times not acknowledged.

As Desmond Tutu has stated, however, “Each one of us can make a contribution. Too frequently we think we have to do spectacular things. Yet if we remember that the sea is actually made up of drops of water and each drop counts, each one of us can do our little bit where we are. These little bits can come together and almost overwhelm the world. Each of us can be an oasis of peace.” We are the drops of water that make up our community, our city, our world. Grassroots activism is necessary to bring about change.

Social justice is the foundation for righteousness and moral standing in any profession. We learned and understood how to promote social justice from a Jesuit perspective, teacher’s perspective, administrative perspective, artist’s perspective, historian perspective, and Chaplains’ perspective. We can start by making people aware of disparities which exist and go unnoticed in our everyday encounters at Holy Cross. Civil rights activist Cesar Chaves once said, “Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed.”

Here are some reflections and comments from workshop participants:

“The social justice workshop was an extremely worthwhile experience, not just because of the enlightening lectures and discussions, but because it gave me an opportunity to meet more people outside of my usual circle of friends. I would highly recommend the workshop to further consider the meaning of the Jesuit vision to be ‘men and women for others.’ ”
— Marjorie Corbman ’09

“It is unbelievable how this retreat brought a handful of Holy Cross students together, all very passionate about different causes. Having spent the weekend reflecting upon one another’s experiences has further opened my eyes to the unique experiences many students have to offer. The speakers were great, and really encouraged us as students and advocates for social justice, to take action, no matter how small that action may be. Overall, it turned out to be a weekend about finding hope and rejuvenation in what may seem like an overwhelming undertaking.”
— Kasandra Antoine ’09

“The weekend retreat was a wonderful opportunity to bring together various campus leaders to have a thoughtful and thorough discussion on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We also got the opportunity to hear from several faculty members and administrators in a setting outside the classroom, which helped us all take note that diversity is an issue that all of us can and should be addressing in whatever capacity we can.
— Grace Campion ’09

By Kledia Spiro ’ 10

Spiro, of Worcester, is a psychology and visual arts double major with a concentration in Asian Studies. She is a Nutrition, Exercise, and Eating Disorder peer educator; a Student Program for Urban Development volunteer for an Apolistic church; and member of Holy Cross’ “Hate: Not Here!” committee.

Participants and speakers in a four-part symposium titled “Moral Responsibility for the Legacies of War,” which was sponsored by the Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at Holy Cross from Feb. 3 through 19, shared riveting stories.

The symposium engaged students, alumni and members of the community in thoughtful discussions of post-war ethics.

Here are a few of the stories.

In her talk, history professor Diane Fox told the story of a Vietnam War veteran. Mr. Binh was a special forces soldier living in tunnels, bare-headed, bare-footed, bare-chested, camouflaged by spreading his body with mud — mud contaminated with the chemical defoliant Agent Orange sprayed by U.S. forces to denude the forests. Today, Binh suffers from multiple diseases of the skin, the nervous system, the circulatory system and the digestive system, and his wife and children suffer, too. He asks for Americans to demand that government ceases production and use of harmful chemicals.

Purple Heart recipient Bryan Adams found himself battling an inner rage, struggling to assimilate back into society, following a tour of duty as a sniper in Iraq. Fortunate to recognize and find treatment for his post-traumatic stress disorder, the 24-year-old veteran is now a student at Rutgers University, an activist for veterans’ services, and the face of a public service campaign for CommunityofVeterans.org.

Now, the conversation continues online. The Center presents audio recordings of all four events on its Web site and encourages an ongoing dialogue through its online forums.

Learn more about the series, listen to the talks and post your comments »

For Eco-Action co-chairs Meghan Tighe ’09 and Maria De la Motte ’10, and for senior advisor Sarah Bolthrunis ’09, the club is more than just a diversion.

“Outside of our academic work, our involvement with Eco-Action is our top priority,” says Tighe, “and we’re truly passionate about it.”

Their commitment explains why Eco-Action, which a few years ago had only a handful of members promoting sustainability, is now a major organization at Holy Cross.

The group is taking full advantage of the serious dedication of its members. Within the next six weeks, Eco-Action will move ahead with a variety of ambitious projects to lay the groundwork for future environmental efforts at the College.

Their plans this semester include sending a delegation to the Power Shift youth conference in D.C.; sponsoring a panel discussion on coal addressing the impacts of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia; planning Agua Action, a campaign against bottled water; contributing toward the development of Holy Cross’ community garden; becoming a Red Sox “Green Team”; and coordinating Trash or Treasure, a recycling and donation program for unwanted dorm items during move-out.

Here is a glimpse at some of Eco-Action’s upcoming initiatives.

Power Shift youth conference
During spring break, 15 Eco-Action members will join 8,000 students across the country at Power Shift ’09, a national conference in Washington, D.C. The three-day conference focuses on achieving crucial climate action. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is among the featured presenters, along with green jobs activists Van Jones.

During the trip, students will also visit Capitol Hill to meet with Massachusetts Congressman James McGovern and Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry and their staff to discuss federal climate legislation. Each of the students contributed to the cost of the trip, while the Student Government Association and Environmental Studies provided additional support.

Coal panel
A presentation by mountaintop removal mining activist Dave Cooper in November inspired Bolthrunis to continue to raise awareness about the destruction of coal mining and coal use. Holy Cross students visit the Appalachia region annually.

The panel will be a multi-speaker referendum, including former industry consultants, activists, and Robert Baumann, assistant professor of economics at Holy Cross, who has researched the economics of the Appalachia region. It will be on March 25 at 7 p.m. in Hogan Jenks Suites B/C.

“This is a social justice issue, which is why the Chaplains’ Office is involved,” Tighe says. It is set to coincide with the service groups which will spend their spring breaks in the Appalachian region of the country, where coal is a paramount concern. Speaking of the students traveling to the region, Bolthrunis says, “We want at least one of the groups doing service projects over Spring Break in Appalachia to see some of these things while they’re there, and we’re working to make that happen.”

Agua Action
The impetus for this project developed from the “Purple Goes Green” water bottles sold on campus. For Tighe, the bottles have had limited success. “They’re a positive step, but it frustrates us that so many students still drive miles to Target, then come back with a giant case of plastic bottles.”

To counteract this trend, Eco-Action is running Agua Action, a fundraiser and awareness campaign. The group will sell reusable water bottles and raffle off Brita filters for students. Eco-Action is hoping to raise $500 for Rural Water Ventures, a non-profit which funds water projects and environmental education in Nicaragua. We’ve chosen to donate to Rural Water Ventures because they not only fund water projects, but work alongside local partners to ensure their systems are manageable and sustainable,” says De la Motte.

The group plans to collect plastic bottles from the trash on campus, and use them to create a sculpture. It’s more striking than posters, and, as Tighe notes, “It turns waste into art!”

Trash or Treasure
During move-out, students discard thousands of items that are still valuable and could be reused, donated, or recycled. Last year, Eco-Action teamed up with Dump and Run, an established organization which helped the group recycle some of the items. This year, the entire process is student organized — from the new name Trash or Treasure — to the logistics.

Within Eco-Action, a committee of five members has been coordinating all aspects of the project, from publicity to communicating with Student Programs for Urban Development. Eco-Action will donate useful, valuable items to SPUD sites and the Salvation Army, preventing everything from bedding to food from ending up in landfill. Student volunteers will collect materials in each dorm and consolidate the unwanted items.

Having the entire project run by students will “streamline and institutionalize” the process, Bolthrunis says. The group hopes to make Trash or Treasure a yearly event that reduces the amount of waste produced by students when moving out, while also strengthening Holy Cross’ relationship with the Worcester community.

By Ross Weisman ’09

Related Information:

• Eco-Action
• Student-led Eco-Action group sets ambitious agenda this academic year

Alumni network

Last November, the annual Junior-Senior Career Networking Evening at Holy Cross saw a record number of alumni (60) and students (more than 200) participate in the event, which took place nearly two months after the economy took a nosedive.

The attendance indicates the tough job market facing students. But it also demonstrates the unwavering commitment of alumni willing to offer assistance to students and fellow alumni.

Even a young alumna who was on a business trip on the day of the event didn’t want to miss the opportunity to help, explains Bob Wally ’68, who oversees career networking at Holy Cross. After landing at Logan airport that afternoon, she drove directly to campus in time to meet with students.

“Given the tough economic climate, the willingness of alumni to offer whatever career advice and support they can is truly something special and very characteristic of a Holy Cross graduate,” says Wally, assistant director of alumni relations.

Perhaps that has never been clearer. In what is being billed as the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the College’s Career Network offers a benefit that others looking for employment in the shrinking job market may lack.

The Holy Cross Online Career Network boasts nearly 5,000 alumni willing to provide support and serve as a valuable resource to fellow alumni and students in nearly every imaginable field.

The Alumni Relations office has noticed an increasing number of alumni utilizing the network. The number of inquires that Wally directly received via e-mail doubled from December to January.

“There are a wealth of online career services available to alumni including career advisors, job postings and links to career resources,” says Wally.

Alumni are encouraged to register for the Holy Cross Online Community to take advantage of the services. His office has been proactive in anticipating the needs of alumni and reaching out to them with career services. Most recently, Wally and John Winters, director of the Career Planning Center, offered a program titled “Networking 101” to alumni in financial services in New York City on Feb. 9.

Here on campus, students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the Career Network. Last semester, the Alumni Relations office and Career Planning Center presented a new program for seniors titled “An Introduction to Networking and the Holy Cross Alumni Network.”

“It is at difficult times like these when the added and long range benefit of a Holy Cross education, the strength of the alumni network and commitment to being ‘men and women for others’ is so important,” says Wally.

Student and Alumni Career Network

Alumni Career Services
If you are seeking career advice, or if you would like to serve as a career adviser, contact Bob Wally ’68 at rwally@holycross.edu or 508-793-3758.

Related Information:

The power of Holy Cross networks (Holy Cross Magazine)

The odyssey of collector and scholar Kent Bicknell began, inauspiciously enough, outside a New Hampshire hockey rink almost two decades ago.

“They were having a rare books sale, and I thought ‘well, I like antiques’ so I decided to go take a look,” he said during a recent visit to Holy Cross.

Bicknell, who specializes in the influence of Asian spirituality on formative American thought, now concedes that he’s almost lost track of the size of his collection. A rough estimation puts the number “somewhere in the hundreds of texts.”

A segment of Bicknell’s collection is residing as a part of Compilations: Three Exhibitions on Books, which runs through March 31, in the Cantor Art Gallery at Holy Cross. Bicknell’s portion, titled “Imprint: From Walden to Graceland, 200 Years of Asian Spiritual Traditions in Western Thought,” is a rare assemblage which includes books belonging to Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain, and even Elvis Presley, among others.

The idea for Bicknell’s exhibit at Holy Cross came about when Todd Lewis, professor of religious studies at the College, was invited to give a presentation at the Sant Bani School in Sanbornton, N.H., which Bicknell helped to found in 1970 and where he continues as principal. While there, Lewis was able to view some of Bicknell’s manuscripts, which were on exhibit in the school library. After consulting with Roger Hankins, director of the Cantor Art Gallery, it was decided that Bicknell’s collection would make a logical addition to the formative Compilations exhibit.

Apart from its showing at the College, Bicknell’s collection has also been featured in several cities around the country, including Boston, San Francisco, Albuquerque, New York City, Washington, D.C., and others. He also maintained a small exhibit at the Grolier Club in New York City for some time.

The continuing interest in Bicknell’s collection can be attributed to the unique nature of the works which he has acquired over his career.

One notable example, and the oldest work in the exhibition, is Henry David Thoreau’s personal copy of R. Spence Hardy’s A Manual of Buddhism, which dates to 1853. The volume on display also passed through the hands of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Bronson Alcott, before being given away by a descendent of the Alcott family in 1923. The manuscript was part of a package of materials from India which Thoreau fondly referred to as “my treasure,” and bequeathed to friends shortly before his death.

Other volumes are impressive not just for their age, but because they provide an intimate window on the private thoughts of their owners. Dating to 1889, Mark Twain’s copy of Aryan Sun-Myths: The Origins of Religions is filled with the satirist’s irreverent musings. Pondering the nature of historical “saviors,” Twain scrawls “I feel an honest reverence [for saviors] … I was only meaning to slur those liars their followers.”

Some of the texts are tied to more recent cultural figures. Jack Kerouac, as a member of the Beat Generation, is often more closely associated in popular imagination with Asian spirituality than either Twain or the early Transcendentalists. Several artifacts from Kerouac’s library have made their way into the collection, as have documents from early 20th century literary figures Aldous Huxley and Ezra Pound.

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion, however, is a book belonging to another mid-century American icon, Elvis Presley. His copy of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, which was given to his uncle, is heavily annotated with phrases on the meaning of the text.

The exhibit draws many surprising and hidden parallels between Asian thought, and the intellectual and cultural development of America. As Bicknell notes, “the histories of thought are all marvelously interwoven, and it’s up to us to uncover the connections.”

By Ross Weisman ’09

Pictured: The Poems of Celia Thaxler, with watercolors by Louisa C. Richardson, 1896, from the collection of Kent Bicknell.

Related Information:

• Cantor Art Gallery

A summer internship in 2007 at the Product Stewardship Institute encouraged Sarah Bolthrunis ’09 to change her entire semester abroad plan. Originally set to spend the spring of 2008 in Washington, D.C., through Holy Cross’ Washington Semester Program, Bolthrunis underwent a change of heart that led to her decision to go to South Africa instead.

“I thought I was interested in environmental policy, but I had a policy-based internship position with PSI over the summer and I thought, why spend another semester sitting behind a desk without getting any hands-on scientific experience?” she says.

During the fall of her junior year, Bolthrunis, who is a double major in economics and Environmental Studies, which is self-designed, searched for a semester-long Study Abroad program that suited her scientific inquisitiveness. She found herself drawn to the opportunities offered through the Organization for Tropical Studies. She chose the African Ecology and Conservation program in South Africa and became the first student in Holy Cross history to go to South Africa through OTS.

The program, which is based in Kruger National Park, South Africa’s largest game reserve, aims to expose students to the rich cultural and ecological diversity of South Africa by immersing them in hands-on scientific research. Though the program boasted trips across the savanna to sites in Cape Town and the Nyley Reserve, it was the program’s scientific emphasis that attracted Bolthrunis.

“The program interested me because it consisted of research that was science-based rather than economics-based, and that was the kind of experience I was looking for,” she says.

Bolthrunis’ curriculum consisted of four courses, two of which were entirely field-based in the national parks of South Africa where she and the other abroad students also lived. During her field-based courses, Bolthrunis participated in countless biodiversity surveys, collecting data that was reported to park officials for their use.

She also had a chance to organize and conduct her own independent field experiments, one of which involved surveying archaeological sites, which the government has no funding to study, and determining how vegetation differed from that of nearby unsettled lands. She also surveyed the tourists of Kruger National Park in order to place a monetary value on ecosystem services. She asked people how much they valued objects in nature against objects with a fixed price.

“I really liked this project because it combined my two majors. It was fascinating to see how much people valued things compared to others,” she says.

The biological studies were only part of Bolthrunis’ abroad experience. She also spent time with women in rural South African villages, explored the Cape, climbed Table Mountain, and went on countless game drives through the Kruger Park. Her experience with nature throughout has motivated her to push herself even harder in the student-led Eco-Action group once she returned to Mount St. James.

Currently, Bolthrunis serves as the senior advisor for Eco-Action and is organizing a panel to discuss issues in coal on March 25. She also serves as a student representative on the Presidential Task Force on the Environment, an organization that is devising a strategy to reduce Holy Cross’ carbon emissions.

Additionally, Bolthrunis’ time in South Africa not only satisfied her scientific craving, but it also helped clarify her career aspirations.

“I hope to do policy work that merges the quantitative valuation and analysis of economics with the deep feeling of responsibility for preserving our environment that I have found in my trip abroad,” she says.

“What nature can do and what it presents to us, not just in terms of beauty but also in terms of functionality, is amazing. It confirms for me the reason why it’s important to value these things, and I feel sorry for people who don’t see that nature is worth preserving.”

By Anthony Curotto ’09

Related Information:

• Eco-Action

Mathew Schmalz, associate professor of religious studies and director of the College Honors Program at the College of the Holy Cross, has been selected as the newest panelist for “On Faith,” a Web site on religion produced jointly by Newsweek and The Washington Post.

As a panelist, Schmalz will respond regularly to questions posed by Newsweek editor Jon Meacham and Washington Post reporter Sally Quinn, both of whom moderate the site. His writing will be featured alongside other panelists, including Arun Gandhi, grandson of India’s legendary leader Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi; Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize winner and author of Night; as well as preeminent religion scholars from across the country. Prior to this appointment, Schmalz had written for “On Faith” on occasion as a guest contributor.  Other guest writers include the Dalai Lama, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, and television journalist Barbara Walters.

Schmalz is an expert in Catholicism in the non-Western world, new religious movements, and religions and politics of India and Pakistan. He is a prolific writer, and his essays, articles, and op-eds have appeared in numerous newspapers, journals, and anthologies, including The Best American Spiritual Writing 2008.

A member of the faculty since 1998, Schmalz earned his A.B. from Amherst College and his M.A. and Ph.D from The Divinity School at the University of Chicago. He received a Watson Fellowship for independent research in Pakistan and India, and was also awarded a U.S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hays Fellowship for his dissertation research on Catholicism in rural northern India.

Schmalz is the second member of the Holy Cross community invited to participate in the “On Faith” Web site. Student Ani Nalbandian ’09 was selected in 2007 as one of six students to be a regular contributor to the college blog, “Faithbook.”

By Alicia Lincoln ’09

Related Information:

• Mathew Schmalz’s panelist page
• Orthodox Idyll – Ani Nalbandian’s blog

While Worcester lies some thousand miles east of Illinois, the city holds its own special connection to the Prairie State’s most famous political export.

Abraham Lincoln, born 200 years ago last week, was a young congressman when he visited Worcester on behalf of Zachary Taylor and the Whig party in 1848. It was a brief stop on his Northeast speaking tour, but his arrival was still important enough to merit an invite to dinner with the governor.

Mark Savolis, head of Archives and Special Collections in Holy Cross’ Dinand Library, has a keen eye for these tangential associations. Savolis delivered opening remarks at a Feb. 12 celebration, which, in conjunction with an archival exhibit in Dinand Library’s Reading Room, marked the 200th anniversary of Lincoln’s birth. After Savolis spoke, research librarian John Coelho delivered the primary lecture on Lincoln’s unique and evolving place in history.

For Coelho, who spoke of the renewed emphasis on the nation’s 16th president, the anniversary exhibit was a timely moment to reexamine the mythology of the man from Springfield.

“With the all interest during this Presidential campaign, Lincoln has come back to the forefront of our political thought,” Coelho says. And while we view him today as one of the most dynamic figures of American history, the president himself was a quiet thinker who considered public office more a “stewardship” than a position of power.

The library event was originally intended as a quiet accompaniment to the Archives exhibit, which is on display through the end of the month. Instead, word of the morning’s planned celebration quickly spread and almost 50 people jammed the playfully festooned Faculty Room for the remarks.

The exhibit, curated primarily by Archives work study students Casey Monahan ’09 and Genevra LaVoci ’09, along with archival assistant Susan Selby, is an amalgamation of material from Holy Cross and from Savolis’ personal Civil War-era collection. It runs the gamut of Lincoln memorabilia — from embossed campaign envelopes to copies of Leonard Volk’s famous plaster casts of the President.

Much of the material is incredibly poignant, as in an original edition of The World newspaper documenting Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre, or in the mourning ribbons and the copies of eulogies delivered for the fallen leader after his death.

Some of the exhibit is even specific to Worcester. There are programs from a memorial service in the city, and from a centennial celebration at Mechanics Hall, as well as pages from a Holy Cross scrapbook with a color rendering of Lincoln.

And while they may have had a monopoly on historical documents, Archives was not the only segment of the College celebrating Lincoln’s special day.

Several professors called attention to the important anniversary, though perhaps none so colorfully as history professor Rev. Anthony Kuzniewski, S.J. His class, Lincoln and His Legacy, had a celebration when a student, Bob Farrelly ’09, who shares the president’s Feb. 12 birthday, arrived to vigorous applause while sporting a stovepipe hat from the Lincoln Museum. Afterward, the class watched “The Young Mr. Lincoln,” a biography film.

Students reacted positively to the experience. “Celebrating Lincoln’s birthday within the context of the current administration really brings into focus the sacrifices made in that era,” says Chris Goebel ’09, a history major with minors in economics and philosophy. And while it was a fun diversion, “the celebration of the president’s birthday gave our class a chance to reflect on these events for our world today.”

For his part, Fr. Kuzniewski had a strong impetus to make the day memorable.

“We’re all still the beneficiaries of Lincoln’s legacy,” he says, “and it’s important to observe that.” Besides, as he points out, the opportunity “only comes once a century, so it’s good to take advantage of it!”

As for a specific association between Lincoln and Holy Cross, founded in 1843, Savolis admits the possibility exists.

“Lincoln would’ve left by train to Providence. If he looked up at the right time,” Savolis says, “he might just have glimpsed the top of Fenwick Hall on his way out of town.”

By Ross Weisman ’09

Related Information:

• Archives and Special Collections

As the freshmen of the Holy Cross women’s ice hockey team took to the ice for the first time this year, they did not know what to expect. Though prospects for the season ahead looked promising, they knew a lot of hard work would need to be done if they wanted to have a winning season. Twenty wins and only two losses later, the team claims the best record on campus, and has far exceeded the hopes and expectations of freshmen and upperclassmen alike.

While the Crusaders ended last season with a successful record of 16-8-3, only two seniors returned for the upcoming season. This did not discourage the team, but it did not get their hopes too high, either. Eighteen games into the season, however, they remained unbeaten and realized how much talent and skill their team still possessed.

“I knew we had a pretty good team from the start of the season, but I could not have imagined we would be this successful,” said Jocelyn Kratchmer, a sophomore recipient of an Eastern College Athletic Conference Player of the Week Award.

Players and fans alike praise Coach Peter Van Buskirk and attribute some of the success to his excellent coaching and recruiting skills. This year, he has formed an impressive front line. Kratchmer has combined with freshman Stacey Hochkins and senior captain Stephanie Couzin to become the highest scoring line in the league, and have led their team to be the second highest scoring team in the league, as well.

Even more impressive is that this skill and consistency carries over to the defensive end of Van Buskirk’s team. Sophomores Lindsay Atkison and Monique Gallant, and freshman Carly Dominick-Sobol have all started in goal this year and have each picked up at least four wins. This rotation has an extremely remarkable save percentage of more than 90 percent.

Though there have been many memorable moments and victories for the team this season, the undisputed favorite is their second victory over Manhattanville, ranked No. 10 in overall Division III play. The Crusaders were able to topple Manhattanville on their own rink with a dramatic, come from behind, overtime victory of 2-3.

“Manhattanville is a very good team and I think that was the best game our team has played all year. Everyone was playing great and contributing to the win,” said Kratchmer.

Coach Van Buskirk echoed this sentiment. “It was a special day for them, and they had about 1,000 people at the game in New York,” he stated.

Though the Hart Center does not get nearly as many supporters to attend the women’s games, the players would love to see their fan base grow.

“We don’t get a lot of recognition around campus, but I’m hoping our success this year will change that,” said Kylee McIntosh, freshman recipient of an AT&T Crusader of the Week Award.

Despite their exceptional record, the Crusaders will not be able to compete in the national tournament. They are ineligible to play as a Division I school playing in a Division III league.

Still, the Crusaders are looking to finish out the season with two strong wins when they host Plymouth State on Feb. 20 and Southern Maine on Feb. 21 at the Hart Center, and advance to the ECAC Open Tournament on Feb. 28 and March 1.

By Mary Moczula ’11

Pictured: Jocelyn Kratchmer ’11

After winning the Division IV National Tournament with the Holy Cross women’s rugby team last fall, Marina Vornle von Haagenfels ’10 probably thought that her year in sports could not get much better. As she drove home from Vermont’s Killington Mountain Resort last weekend, however, she was able to add Women’s Individual United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association’s Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference Thompson Division Champion and First Place Season Overall Finisher of the Year to her list of outstanding accomplishments.

Vornle has been the undisputed ski team leader this season. With a first place victory and four other podium finishes at the ECSC Thompson Division races, she earned a total of 118 points. Though racers from St. Lawrence gave her much competition, it was Vornle’s consistency throughout the day that allowed her to finish on top of the women’s individual standings. Her performance also helped lead the Holy Cross women’s ski team to finish ninth overall in the division.

Vornle, a physics major from Westport, Conn., remembers skiing for as long as she can remember. Throughout high school, she raced competitively and obtained many honors, including being named the team captain and Most Valuable Player all four years. Her success is no surprise to her teammates who witness her talent in action each year.

“She is one of the most focused racers I have ever met,” said Flynn Govern ’09, Holy Cross ski team president. “Her sincere dedication to racing and love of the sport keeps her riding that chairlift time and time again.”

Though these accomplishments are quite noteworthy, the Vornle family is no stranger to such victories. The Men’s ECSC Thompson Division Skier of the Year was Vornle’s older brother, Nicholas Vornle of Boston University. While sweeping the top positions was an exciting aspect of the weekend, Vornle noted that having her brother’s presence and support was the best part. She considers him to be one of her top inspirations and respects his accomplishments as well.

Competing in both the Eastern Division of the United States Collegiate Ski Association, and within the Thompson Division, the Holy Cross ski team begins their season in the beginning of January with a training camp at Sunday River in Maine.

“The Holy Cross Ski Team is very supportive and fun. It doesn’t matter how good you are, it is just nice to get out onto the slopes and have a good time,” said Vornle.

With no coach to set up organized drills or training sessions, the team relies on their student president and pure desire to stay dedicated to the sport. With such freedom and personal responsibility, Vornle stated that each player does as well as they want to do. She emphasized that anyone can join and no race experience is needed.

Vornle will race in her last event of the year at the Eastern Regional Championships on Feb. 21 and 22. As the only Crusader to qualify for this race, she hopes to do Holy Cross proud at Waterville Valley, N.H.

By Mary Moczula ’11

Pictured: Marina Vornle von Haagenfels ’10 poses with her medals.

Things are getting hairy at the College of the Holy Cross — and for good reason.

It’s “MANuary,” a month-long celebration of “phenomenal facial hair,” from Jan. 21 – Feb. 21, that will benefit Locks of Love, an organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. The beard growing contest, conceived of by sophomores Matthew Clemente and Mark Reeth, even has faculty and administrators putting down the razors and collecting pledges for charity.

Here’s how it works. Male participants agree to grow their facial hair (in any form) for a month with the assistance of a female “sponsor,” who, in addition to providing moral support when things get itchy, helps raise money and awareness of Locks of Love. This is the first year the fundraiser has been held at Holy Cross and 31 pairs of “MANuarians” and sponsors are taking part.

Each team has committed to raising at least $100, with 90 percent going to charity and 10 percent going to fund future events for the Class of 2011. Prizes will be given for the most money raised and the most outrageous facial hair.

The initiative has people talking — both on campus, and in the media.  Clemente and Reeth will appear live on Boston’s FOX25 Morning News on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 8:20 a.m. and 8:50 a.m. to talk more about their fundraising efforts. They will be joined by a stylist from Barbershop Lounge of Boston (catering exclusively to men’s grooming), who will treat them to a shave on the air.

You can also follow their progress online at FOX25’s Web site.  In response to the producer’s request, the pair has been posting blog entries, as well as daily photo updates of their facial hair, as a way to promote their cause and upcoming live segments.

In addition to the beard growing contest, students are also selling T-shirts (pictured above) and collecting straight donations. In the first three weeks of their month-long effort, they raised $1,754.

“We have set high goals for our participants,” said Clemente, “and with hard work and continued effort we believe that the next two weeks will prove to be even more successful than the first two.”

For additional information, e-mail Matt Clemente at mjclem11@holycross.edu, or make a donation online.

Related Information:

• “MANuary” blog

Visitors to the latest exhibition at the Cantor Art Gallery won’t find paintings, photographs, or sculptures — most of the space is filled with books.

The gallery currently houses Compilation: Three Exhibitions on Books, on display through March 31. The largest portion, Shelter, comprises 66 works by 46 book artists, all inspired by the various meanings of the title word. Some of the more delicate pieces are mounted on the walls in cases, but most are designed for interaction with the viewer, and are placed for easy perusal.

On Feb. 4, artist and organizer Veronica Morgan visited the gallery to host a talk about the creation of Shelter and to present a selection of works to students, detailing the artists’ origins and technical aspects of creating such a book. Morgan is a Gloucester-based architect, renovator, planner, and book artist, with two pieces in the show.

Last year, Margo Lemieux, assistant professor of art at Lasell College, announced a call for an organizer to design an artist book show in Lasell’s Wedeman Gallery. Morgan responded with her Shelter concept: all pieces would be related to some interpretation of “shelter,” and proceeds from sales would be donated to shelter-related charities.

The theme was a hit, with more than 90 works submitted for inclusion in the exhibit, from as far away as Oregon and the United Kingdom. Juror Janine Wong, professor of design at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, selected a final collection of 66 pieces by choosing works that fit into a “unified whole,” with themes of “isolation, identity, location/dislocation, and psychological interiors.”

The resulting exhibition includes a wide variety of artistic interpretations, with examples of traditional codex books (hardcover and bound on the left side), snake books (a narrow strip of paper folded to create pages), fan books (long pages pinned together or hinged on one side), altered books (traditional books which have been manipulated into materials for a new work of art), and many book sculptures.

After debuting at Lasell, the exhibit has been featured throughout the Northeast at the Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, Rhode Island School of Design, Montserrat College of Art, and will conclude its run in May at Wells College.

At the gallery talk, many students from this semester’s Artists’ Books and Writers’ Tales seminar came to hear about the exhibit and find inspiration for the artist books they will be creating. The course is team-taught by Susan Elizabeth Sweeney, associate professor of English, and Susan Schmidt, associate professor of visual arts, whose flag book Don’t Book is featured in Shelter.

Artists’ Books and Writers’ Tales comprises both literature and visual arts elements, with equal time in the classroom reading post-modernist texts and in the art studio constructing original artist books. Most of the 24 students are English or visual arts majors. The students were well prepared to appreciate the quality and range of the Shelter artwork.

While there are many bound books, the exhibit contains some surprises as well.

One thought-provoking piece is a map pinned to the wall titled Map of Shelter by Dr. Maureen O’Neill of Littlehampton, Sussex, UK. The locations on the map are actually synonyms of “shelter,” and farther out the synonyms of those synonyms, and so on.

Another loose interpretation of a book can be found in Siobhan Martin’s Chimney. This artist, from Willingham, Cambs, UK, created a small paper sculpture, four-sided and tapered, which represents her chimney at home. The paper is cut in different patterns on each side, representing the different noises that come out of her chimney, such as birdsong and the wind.

One must-see piece is Jessica Peterson’s Habitat. Peterson hails from Northport, Ala., and her black-and-white snake book is a timeline of Hurricane Katrina, with simple illustrations and meaningful damage done to the delicate pages.

Morgan considers this understated book the best of the show.

The social consciousness of the Shelter exhibit is augmented by an active charitable component. Thirty percent of the proceeds of the sale of one of the books in the Shelter exhibition will be donated by the artists toward a charity of each location’s choice. The benefactors have included Habitat for Humanity and local women’s shelters. The benefits from sales at Holy Cross will go toward Abby’s House, a Worcester women’s shelter supported by the Chaplains’ Office and Student Programs for Urban Development organization.

By Alexandra Winslow ’09