News

It was a banner season for Holy Cross’ men’s and women’s rugby clubs.

Both clubs won the Division IV New England Rugby Football Union Playoffs in Newport, R.I., on Nov. 8, and the women’s club went on to win the Division IV National Championship in Philadelphia the following weekend, beating Albright College 44-7.

“We are very proud of their hard work and dedication,” says Kristen Gleason, assistant director of Student Programs and Involvement for recreation. “This is a significant accomplishment for these student groups. The Holy Cross women’s club has been a force in New England Division IV play during the last few years.”

The women’s team season record was 10-0. Senior captains Mary Beth Cotty ’09, Stacy Powell ’09 and Kate Donovan ’09 attribute the successful season and national championship wins to the hard work and dedication of all the players.

“Not only is it the first time we’ve made it postseason, but also the first time we took home the championship,” says Cotty. “Because we won the New England Championship, we will be moving up a division to Division III, which we’ve been aiming to do for four years.”

The New England Championship game against MIT was “an incredibly close match,” says Cotty. The end score was 17-10.

Though the men’s club did not compete in a National Championship, as the New England Union is the country’s only union with a Division IV men’s league, their performance this season marks a great start to their recent recognition as an official student organization.

By Claire Luke ’10

Related Information:

• Office of Student Programs and Involvement

To rapturous applause from a sold-out Hart Center, four all-time Crusader basketball greats were honored at the halftime ceremony of the Nov. 16 men’s basketball game, where Holy Cross overtook St. Joseph’s 73-69 in overtime victory.

George Kaftan ’49, Bob Cousy ’50, Togo Palazzi ’54, and Tom Heinsohn ’56 witnessed their jerseys being lifted to the Hart Center rafters — the first time Holy Cross has held such a ceremony for any former student-athlete.

The former Crusader standouts are the only four basketball players in school history to twice earn first team All-America honors. In addition, each of the four played on a Holy Cross national championship team — Kaftan and Cousy were part of the 1947 NCAA Championship, while Palazzi and Heinsohn were members of the 1954 NIT Champions.

View the photo gallery.

MEDIA COVERAGE

The Boston Globe (Nov. 16, 2008)
Holy Cross honors some of its classiest

Telegram & Gazette (Nov. 16, 2008)
Holy Cross honors four basketball greats

Telegram & Gazette (Nov. 17, 2008)
Crusaders soar on banner day

Pictured: Bob Cousy ’50, George Kaftan ’49 and Holy Cross athletic director Richard M. Regan, Jr.
Related Information:

• Holy Cross in the News

• Holy Cross Athletics

Walk by the Cantor Art Gallery on the first floor of O’Kane Hall, and you are likely to do a double take.

Are those really more than a hundred wooden statues in the gallery?

Last week, artists Yin Peet and Viktor Lois spoke about their current installation, Peace Between Human and God on two different occasions. At Wednesday’s Artists’ Talk and Friday’s Gallery Walk-Through, the duo offered details behind the exhibit.

The installation by Peet and Lois happened by chance during a visit to Taiwan. In December 2005, driving past a highway bridge under construction, they spotted a line of wooden Daoist deity statues. After uncovering 153 different figures, Peet expressed her hesitancy to remove them from their place.

The two artists, each from different religious backgrounds, were confronted with their first test. Lois, a Catholic, and Peet, raised in the Buddhist tradition, found that they viewed the deities very differently.

“I had my own superstitions,” said Peet, who is an adjunct professor at Holy Cross where she is currently teaching the course The Art of East Asia through the College’s Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies. “These deities are equivalent to saints in the Christian canon. Each [deity] has his/her own religious ‘duty’ as well as his/her own fate and life.”

Lois, though, had no problem putting the deities in the back seat of the van they were driving. “It was easy for me to treat them simply as art objects,” he said. “Our two brains, our two cultures needed to come together.”

And they have. Peet and Lois have used their differences to their advantage to create an exhibit that draws upon both Asian and Western traditions. In conjunction with their contrasting cultural and religious practices and the use of archeology, painting, sculpture, and photography, the exhibit “promotes an understanding of Taiwanese deity culture.”

Peet admits that Lois’ Western ways have influenced her. Peet has become less rigid in her approach in creating artwork because much of her superstitions toward deities have vanished. “I have found that there is no harm in this work. There is no harm in presenting deities with sincerity and respect,” she says.

This change of heart is particularly obvious in the small paintings that she and Lois included alongside each wooden figure. The deities are displayed on wire stands to give the impression that they are suspended in the air.

“I want to show humor in these paintings, to show that I am not afraid of these deities,” she says. “I was much more serious when I first set out to paint these deities. I have become more playful as I’ve gone along.”

In addition to the paintings, Peet and Lois also incorporated sculpture into the installation. To further emphasize the connection between humans, God, and art, Peet used Lois’ head as the subject for the sculptures. Lois’ strong facial features are evident in several pieces — one made in clay, one in charcoal and a resin head installation.

The process of compiling the installation has been a long one, but Peet and Lois treasure the experience.

“We were able to look at each deity carefully and spend time with each one,” says Lois. This allowed them to make the necessary repairs over a two-year period on each of the statues, which had been battered by outdoor wear-and-tear.

Peet and Lois say that discovering these deities was a “right place, right time” occurrence. They have been able to build something that initially seemed ruined and worthless into an exhibit for all to appreciate and contemplate.

The two artists are happy that their first-ever collaborative installation in the United States is taking place at Holy Cross.

“Students here can learn a lot from this,” says Lois, emphasizing his desire for the audience to see the link between religion and humans, and therefore art. “Holy Cross is a very religious place,” says Lois. “I want people here to see the connection that I have made.”

By Cara Joyce ’09

Related Information:

• Cantor Art Gallery

• Press Release: The Cantor Art Gallery Presents Yin Peet & Viktor Lois: Peace Between Human & God

Health Services is every student’s answer to the common cold, and the first stop for a flu shot. But did you know that it can also be the perfect solution to a stressful week or an aching back?

In keeping with the Jesuit principle of caring for the whole person — body, mind, and spirit — Health Services offers three services.

Massage therapy has been offered for three years. Under the direction of Renee Peace, a licensed massage therapist, interested individuals can enjoy a massage for 30 minutes ($25) or an hour ($35).

Students with lingering aches and pains are specifically encouraged to take advantage of massage therapy. Clinical coordinator Debora Cain notes Peace’s commitment to focusing in on students’ problem areas.

“Renee will ask if the student has anything that’s bothering him or her,” she says. “If their back is hurting, or if the student isn’t sleeping well, she’ll use specific techniques to help alleviate their frustrations. She tailors each massage to the individual needs of the student.”

Although students benefit from massage therapy year-round, Cain notes increased interest during the College’s final exam period. “Some people will plan their massages around their exams,” she says.

This year, Health Services has introduced another kind of therapy. Hot stone massage is a deeply soothing and relaxing massage using smooth, heated stones and the therapeutic qualities of essential oils to improve energy flow and the structural alignment of the body. The service is $40 for an hourlong session.

While most colleges limit massage services to once a week, or only provide them during exam time, Holy Cross Health Services provides students with daily access to relaxation services.

Students who have taken advantage of the massages, like Daniel Libatique ’10, a double major in classics and theatre, offer rave reviews.

“I’ve used the massage service about three times now — twice with a normal massage, and once with a hot stone massage,” he says. “I normally request an hourlong massage when I’m at a really high stress point — midterms or tech weeks for shows in the theatre department — in order to relieve the tension in my body. Mrs. Peace always does the trick. I leave Health Services feeling so refreshed and reinvigorated. My friends can attest that I pester them constantly to go try the service.”

Health Services recommends the Mind and Body Connection Room for students interested in a more active approach to relaxation. This area can accommodate up to six people, and can be reserved for up to an hour.

The use of this room is free to students and is equipped with a TV and DVD player, mats, exercise balls, and free weights, and is stocked with both beginner and intermediate yoga, Pilates, and meditation DVDs.

“It is a private, quiet, and peaceful space away from the hustle and bustle; it’s conducive to tuning everyone out,” says Cain. “At the gym this isn’t possible since there are so many people.”

Students interested in scheduling a massage, or reserving the Mind and Body Connection Room, can stop by Health Services or call 508-793-2276.

Cain says the College is committed to educating students on healthy living.

“A lot of students don’t know how to handle their stress well,” she says. “These services provide a healthy way for students to deal with the stresses that everyday college life brings.”

Cara Joyce ’09

Related Information:

Health Services

Seven years ago, an Emergency Medical Technician certification class debuted on campus. The state-approved course prepares students to take the written and practical exams to be certified as an EMT Basic in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Since then, the course has seen a nearly 100 percent rate of completion and has produced more than 30 people that can be depended on in an emergency.

It’s fitting that the class, which was proposed by Holy Cross students, has such a high pass rate.

“The kids are really sharp,” says Lieutenant Alan Bebka, assistant director of public safety, who organizes the course each year. “The kids who take this are a cut above. They do it on their own time and it’s not cheap. It’s a pleasure spending time with them.”

The course, taught by South County EMT Associates, is offered during the fall and spring semesters. And while it’s true that it is not cheap (cost for the course is $700, plus the book and state testing fees), it pays off. Students have landed jobs as EMTs in the Worcester area, and in their hometowns while on breaks, at summer camps and even in the athletic trainer’s office at Holy Cross.

The course at Holy Cross is unique in that it is open to members of the wider community. This year’s class includes two Holy Cross Public Safety officers and five firefighters from surrounding towns. Last year, five Public Safety officers took the class.

For Holy Cross Public Safety officers, completion of the course means officers have taken nearly three times more hours of medical training than required. The number of College officers who have voluntarily taken the class shows the Public Safety department’s commitment to excellence, says Bebka.

What’s more, it offers a rare opportunity for students and Public Safety officers to work together in a classroom setting. “It’s a chance for students and officers to see one another in a different light,” says Bebka.

About one-third of the students who take the course are in the premedical program at Holy Cross, and Bebka believes that it has been useful for other students who are interested in service-related careers.

With more than 115 extra hours of course work and classes held twice a week, it is clear that students taking the course must have a real passion for what they are learning.

“No one takes this class for any reason other than they care about the process,” says Bebka.

Paige Harrison ’10, a psychology major with a premedical concentration who is in the class says, “the EMT class has been a joy to be in. I’m sure that the information the instructors have provided us will prove to be immeasurably helpful in the future. I look forward to continuing to learn in this class and going on to take the state exam.”

By Kaitlin Juleus ’09

Related Information:

• Public Safety

The election is over. The ballots have been counted, the electoral votes have been tallied, and President-elect Barack Obama is already announcing decisions about his administration. As we look back on a marathon campaign that lasted longer than two years, one of the most contentious series of primaries our country has seen, and a race in which neither candidate stood out as the clear frontrunner, one question emerges: Exactly what happened in the election of 2008?

On Monday, students and faculty gathered for a panel discussion in the Hogan Campus Center at Holy Cross to find out. Donald Brand, professor of political science and B. Jeffrey Reno, associate professor of political science participated in the panel that Reno called “a tradition among the American government faculty” at Holy Cross.

The political science department holds a similar panel every two years after major elections, but this year it held particular importance. “We felt there would be a lot of student interest in analyzing the election,” said Brand. “Students have been particularly involved in this election, so now it is time to step back and reflect on the process.”

The discussion began with an analysis of the numbers, as Brand looked at the results of the popular vote and the Electoral College. Comparing the electoral maps of past elections, he highlighted the relative continuity seen on the maps from 2000 to 2004, and the dramatic “flip” of nine states in 2008. “These states decided the margin of victory for Obama,” he said.

Reno also offered analysis about the results. He told students not to assume that Obama won due solely on the strength of his platform, or that McCain lost simply because he was outmaneuvered. “The winner is the candidate who has the best strategy coupled with the perception that he has the best ideas,” said Reno.

Other hot election topics were touched on, including the role of race, the economic crisis, and, yes, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate. (For those concerned about Palin’s possible return to the lower forty-eight, Reno offered his perspective: “I’m not too optimistic about Sarah Palin’s future.”)

Most interesting was whether or not the election’s results give a mandate to the Obama administration. Each professor responded with a firm “no.”

“Since there is no clear mandate, the Democrats ought to follow John Kerry’s advice and not abandon the political process of debate and compromise in favor of relying on procedure to bully their agenda through the House and Senate,” said Reno.

Brand reminded the audience that the president has an independent constitutional authority that, if carried out correctly, does not require a mandate. “The American political system is not designed to be run on the basis of mandates,” he said.

Questions from the audience ranged from speculation about the influence of the Latino vote to the influence of “Saturday Night Live.”

Did students leave with a better understanding of the election? Ryan Hickey ’09, a political science major and a current student in classes taught by Brand and Reno, offered a positive review.

“Overall, I thought the talk provided some good insight into how the election unfolded, and what the Republican minority will do to rebuild between now and 2012,” he said. “Personally, I’m very optimistic about President-elect Obama and I’m looking forward to seeing how he will address our economy and the war in Iraq.”

Kaitlin Juleus ’09

Related Information:

• From Mount St. James to Washington, D.C., Election Night Excitement Grips Students

The Class of 2010 and 2012 Class Councils plan on brightening up the holidays for underprivileged children around the world.

They are participating in Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse and inviting the Holy Cross community to drop off gift-filled shoeboxes in the Hogan Campus Center.

Since 1993, more than 61 million shoe boxes have been packed, shipped, and delivered across the globe through the program.

This year, organizers of Operation Christmas Child are hoping to reach eight million children in more than 90 countries on six continents. Holy Cross students are helping to meet that goal.

Gbenimah Slopadoe ’10, a political science major, first introduced the program to campus three years ago. The organization holds special meaning for him. Slopadoe first encountered Operation Christmas Child as a refugee in Ghana, where he distributed boxes at an orphanage. Although he is currently participating in the Washington Semester Program, the 2010 and 2012 Class Councils are carrying on his work.

Jenny Learned and Dana Parsons, Class of 2010 community committee cochairs, are working with Ali Doyle, Class of 2012 secretary, to reach out to students, faculty and staff. They are also encouraging resident assistants to get their residence halls involved.

“We are doing this project to reach out beyond our small community at Holy Cross and help children in need,” says Learned. “It’s also a great way to share the Christmas spirit.”

How you can help:

1. Get a standard size shoe box, and, cover the box with Christmas wrapping if possible.
2. Fill the box with “small gifts” that you feel will delight a child. Examples include stationery, toiletries, toys, and candy. Visit www.samaritanspurse.org for examples and more details. Also include a personal note or prayer inside the box.
3. Label the box with the gender and age range of the possible receiver. Age ranges are 2-4, 5-9, and 10-14. Stickers will be provided when you turn in your box.
4. Include $7 to defray the cost of shipping.
5. Put a rubber band around the box and drop it off on Nov. 13, 14, 20 & 21 from 12 to 4 p.m. at the kiosk in Hogan Basement.

By Claire Luke ’10

Every year, Holy Cross welcomes newly minted Ph.Ds to teaching positions that may last a semester or a year. However, it is not every year that five of these visiting professors and lecturers happen to be young Holy Cross alums.

“These women and men intuitively understand Holy Cross undergraduates — their strengths, their expectations, the challenges they face,” says Timothy Austin, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College. “They also inevitably serve not only as instructors but also as role models for the current generation of Crusaders, demonstrating simply by their presence the very real promise of academic success that a Holy Cross degree provides.”

Here are snapshots of the Holy Cross graduates who have returned to the classroom.

Daniel DiCenso ’98, visiting instructor in music
DiCenso, who majored in music with a concentration in medieval and Renaissance studies, went on to rack up several degrees after graduating from Holy Cross. In 2001, he earned a master of arts in musicology and a master of science in education from the University of Pennsylvania and in 2005 he earned a Ph.D. in education, also from UPenn, and a master of arts in classical studies from Villanova University.

DiCenso was the first Holy Cross alumnus to receive the highly competitive Gates Cambridge Scholarship, which allowed him to attend the University of Cambridge in England where he pursued his Ph.D. in medieval music, to be conferred in the summer of 2009.

Studying in Europe provided DiCenso a unique opportunity to delve into his primary area of research, 9th-century chant, which he describes as the “meeting point” between his background in classical studies and music. He holds the distinction of being the only person in North America to have handled all of the manuscript sources of chant for the mass dated before the year 1000 A.D.

On the Hill, DiCenso can be found teaching History of Western Music I and African-American Music: From Blues to Rap.

Nicholas Ganson ’98, visiting assistant professor in history
The history department has also received a decorated Holy Cross alum. During his senior year at Holy Cross, while completing his degree in biology, Ganson took two history courses with Professor James Flynn. He quickly found himself enthralled with the subject matter and decided to pursue a graduate degree in history. In 2000, he received a master’s degree from Boston College, specializing in Russian and Soviet history.

Ganson was then admitted to the Ph.D. program in history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 2003-04, he received a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship and conducted eight months of research in Moscow archives on the Soviet famine of 1946-47. His dissertation, which was funded by a Social Science Research Council Dissertation Write-Up Fellowship, focused on the causes and broader historical implications of the famine. Ganson earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina in 2006.

Now teaching courses in European and Russian history at Holy Cross for the year, Ganson feels compelled to bring his research to the next level.

“I want to make the jump to public policy and see how my findings might be useful in concrete situations,” he says. “The next step is getting my research to a larger audience, determining how my findings might be applied in a practical way to public policy.”

Ganson’s first book, The Soviet Famine of 1946-47 in Global and Historical Perspective (Palgrave Macmillan), is set to hit shelves in the spring.

Jennifer Hughes ’97, lecturer in biology
Hughes, who majored in biology at Holy Cross, received her Ph.D. in genetics from Tufts University in 2002.

Interested in molecular evolution, Hughes opted to do a postdoctoral fellowship at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, where she worked to sequence the Y chromosome of the chimpanzee in order to determine the chromosome’s effect on human disease.

Having completed the project earlier this year, Hughes now heads projects that will sequence the Y chromosome of two other primates, and is happy teaching genetics at a liberal arts college.

“I really enjoy teaching and working with undergrads, and I loved my experience in the biology department as a student at Holy Cross,” she says.

Iris Ponte ’00, lecturer in psychology
Ponte majored in psychology and a concentration in Asian studies at Holy Cross, and went on to Tufts University to study Applied Child Sciences, receiving her master of arts in 2003 and her Ph.D. in 2008.

In 2006 and 2007, Ponte studied in China as a Fulbright scholar to collect data for her dissertation on behavior management in preschools. In combination with that research she took on another project on the emotional effects of heritage tours on adopted Chinese children. Having walked hand in hand with some of these seven-to-11-year-olds as they observed the orphanages they might have inhabited forced Ponte to ask the question: Are these trips always a good idea?

In the spring, Ponte will return to her postdoctoral fellowship at the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development at Tufts University to write and produce her findings.

“When it fits you, go for it,” she says. “Holy Cross always gave me that support, and that’s why I had to come and give it back.”

Amy Vashlishan ’02, visiting assistant professor in biology
Vashlishan, who majored in biology, received her Ph.D. in genetics from Harvard Medical School this past spring. Her research focuses on the genes involved in balancing the activity in circuits of neurons. Such balance is required for normal cognition and behavior and, when perturbed, can lead to diseases such as epilepsy.

She describes herself as “a neurobiologist using genetic approaches,” and has taken particular interest in energy metabolism and how genes that respond to energy sources (like food) affect how the brain works. She hopes that this research will result in increased knowledge of how diet affects brain function and is able to alleviate symptoms associated with disease, like epilepsy.

At the moment, however, Vashlishan is focused primarily on teaching.

“The students here are responsive and eager to learn, and I enjoy being able to connect with and challenge them from a foundation of common experience,” she says.

By Anthony Curotto ’09

Bumping into him on campus or chatting with him over dinner in Kimball, you’d probably think that Matt Harper, a sophomore from Los Angeles, is a typical Holy Cross student.  Day-to-day, he’s busy trying to decide whether to take up a double major, playing Frisbee, participating in Allies and Extended Orientation.

But when it comes to HC sporting events, Harper paints on a different persona—literally.  Meaning, he paints his face or his entire body purple.

How did this purple painting all start?

Harper links it to the school spirit of his freshman year head resident assistant, Drew Pace ’08, who dressed up as an unofficial Crusader. “I came from a high school where school sports pride was really underappreciated,” he says.  In contrast, the Holy Cross community has immense support for its athletic teams, and this is something that Harper valued as a sports enthusiast. “When I came to the campus, it just felt right.”

Harper rounded up some friends, five of whom painted their full bodies, and together they made signs to cheer on Holy Cross at the football homecoming in fall 2007. “It was great to get good support for the school in such a big game.”

So far this year, the purple paint hasn’t fully come out. “I don’t want to be ‘that kid,’” says Harper. “I try to only do full body for big games where I know there will be a good showing. I’m not doing it for attention—it’d be awkward if I was the only kid painted purple.” Harper finds that in bigger crowds, the painted-on support is appreciated by Holy Cross fans. For him, purple paint is a way to engage the spirit of the community. “I just really like the idea of camaraderie.”

Harper will be at this weekend’s home-openers.  But out of respect for the “Black Out the Hart” event, only his face will be painted his favorite color.

By Alicia Lincoln ’09

Related Information:

Holy Cross to Raise Jerseys of Four Basketball Greats

Tickets are almost entirely sold out for the game where all-time Holy Cross basketball greats George Kaftan ’49, Bob Cousy ’50, Togo Palazzi ’54, and Tom Heinsohn ’56 will have their jerseys lifted to the Hart Center rafters, a first for any former student-athlete.

The former basketball standouts, all of whom also played for the Boston Celtics, will be honored on Sunday, Nov. 16 during the halftime of the men’s basketball game against St. Joseph’s, scheduled to tip-off at 4 p.m. These men are the only four basketball players in school history to earn first team All-American honors twice. Each of the former Crusader standouts also played on a Holy Cross national championship team.

Athletic Director Richard M. Regan, Jr. will emcee the halftime ceremony. After each of the four players is escorted to center court, their jerseys will be raised to the ceiling of the Hart Center. Regan emphasized in his announcement of the event how important it will be in Holy Cross  history. “These four men were not only accomplished basketball players, but also serve as outstanding representatives of the College,” said Regan.

While the jerseys of the four players are being lifted to the rafters, their numbers are not officially being retired. While at Holy Cross, Kaftan wore #12, Cousy wore #17, Palazzi wore #22 and Heinsohn wore #24. Current Crusader junior Adam May will be wearing #12 this season, while sophomore Andrew Beinert wears #22. Cousy’s number is no longer eligible to be being worn at the collegiate level, as it is an illegal jersey number per NCAA regulations established in 1957.

The women’s and men’s basketball teams will try to uphold the tradition of celebrated excellence in their weekend home-openers.

The men’s opener on Friday, Nov. 14 will be against Sacred Heart at 7 p.m. in the Hart Center. The team was recently ranked third in a preseason poll behind American and Lehigh. The purple Crusaders will be led this year by senior captains Alex Vander Baan, Pat Doherty, and Colin Cunningham.

The women’s opener will be the following afternoon against Yale at 1 p.m. in the Hart Center. The Lady Crusaders were ranked first in a preseason poll, with Briana McFadden, ’10, picked as the preseason player of the year and McFadden and Bethany O’Dell, ’10, both named to the preseason All-League Team. The team will be led by its two seniors, Jessica Merrihue and Jessica Pearson.

To celebrate the start of what looks to be an exciting season, Sader Nation is hosting “Black Out the Hart” for the men’s and women’s openers. Special black Sader Nation t-shirts will be available for $5 each, which students can pick up at a Hogan Lobby table before the weekend. Students will also be able to pick up tickets for Sunday’s men’s game against St. Joseph’s

Whether you choose to wear green, black, or purple to the games, this weekend promises to be a colorful and exciting weekend in Holy Cross basketball and the College’s sports history.

By Alicia Lincoln ’09

Related Information:

• Holy Cross Athletic Headlines
• Team Spirit: The Man Behind the Purple
• Holy Cross to Honor Four All-Time Basketball Greats at Halftime Ceremony

“We don’t want you to leave here tonight and take all your money out of the bank,” joked David Chu, director of the Ciocca Office of Entrepreneurial Studies and Holy Cross’ prebusiness advisor, to a full room of students in Stein Hall. Last week, Chu and other Holy Cross experts discussed the causes and repercussions of the current financial turmoil, triggered by the subprime mortgage crisis.

The panel titled “A New Financial World Order?,” sponsored by the Prebusiness Program, included Miles Cahill, associate professor of economics; Loren Cass, associate professor of political science; Michael Lochhead, vice president for administration and finance; Lee Oser, associate professor of English; and B. Jeffrey Reno, associate professor of political science. Each was given 12 minutes to present one aspect of the causes and/or effects of the financial crisis. Professor Chu moderated.

The panel jumped straight into the issues behind the crisis. Cass explained how countries with large current account surpluses recycled their capital into the United States, looking for investments with high returns, and ending up in investing in bundled subprime mortgages. Reno delved into the history of the subprime loan and how executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac manipulated loan practices that contributed to the subprime problem.

Cahill recapped the evolution of credit default swaps, a derivative investment which are essentially insurance for bonds, and how insurers who were allowed to purchase insurance on bonds they didn’t own spawned an oversized and unregulated market.

Oser put modern economics in the context of Catholic belief, invoking the works of St. Thomas Aquinas, Pope Leo XIII, and Pope John Paul II, who proposed re-evaluation of economic morality as well as giving considerable authority to local communities.

Following the presentation, the panel took questions from the audience. When asked “Is everything changing?” the respondents said people will need to have “faith.”

“We’re seeing very similar patterns here that have occurred throughout history,” Cahill said. “The economy can and does recover, but it requires faith in the investments that people are making. Recent deregulations may have contributed to the credit crunch, and perhaps more regulation is necessary.”

Lochhead agreed. “I believe the credit markets will come back, but people will need to have faith in them first.”

The world’s finances are uncertain because the market is now so volatile, the panelists said. One thing that is certain, though, is that the U.S. government will play a major role in financial institutions, possibly becoming a major financial institution in the coming years.

“The government and the Fed are now buying stakes in banks, effectively owning your debt,” Cahill said.

“The federal government will be a big lien holder for a lot of debt, including student debt,” Lochhead added.

By Anthony Curotto ’09

Each semester, Clarence Thomas ’71, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, makes it a point to meet with the 16 Holy Cross students who take part in the College’s Washington Semester Program.

“He brings them up to the Supreme Court, spends two hours with them in his chamber, talks to each one of them individually about their career plans, what they’re doing in D.C. right now,” explains Gary DeAngelis, associate director for special programs at Holy Cross’ Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies, who directs the Washington Semester Program. “He talks to them about his life at Holy Cross and what it was like. He does this every semester without fail. ”

Most students who participate in the program comment that is the highlight of their semester in Washington. DeAngelis says it is just one of the many qualities that make Holy Cross’ program unique.

Since 1971, Holy Cross has sent 15 or 16 students to intern, study (a seminar titled Topics in Public Policy meets once a week) and conduct research for a thesis for a full semester’s academic credit. And while numerous colleges and universities boast a Washington Semester program, few include such rigorous academic requirements or high standards.

DeAngelis believes that the 40 to 50-page thesis and oral defense requirement is the only one in the nation.

“It’s a very labor-intensive program because the paper must go through three readers — two professors in the student’s academic department, and myself,” he says.

Holy Cross’ program is multidisciplinary and provides students with direct, hands-on experience as well as academic study — no matter what their major.

“As you would expect, usually half of students who participate are political science majors,” says DeAngelis. “But we have students who are studying history, economics, psychology, sociology, philosophy, religious studies, the arts, and even premed. One might ask where is there any kind of consistency or cohesiveness in a program if you’re sending people from all these different disciplines?

“The overarching theme is public policy. Whether students are working at the National Institutes for Health doing research or at the Smithsonian doing curatorial work in the arts or on Capitol Hill or the White House it will all relate to public policy. For example, why would a premed student take part in this program? Because it’s not like it was 40 years ago, where a physician would say I’m not interested in politics, I’m a physician. Every physician in the country has to be aware of public policy. It’s true for the arts and every other field as well.”

It also engages students. When they convene for their weekly seminar, they bring their own backgrounds and engage in complex discussions.

“The students are not talking abstractly about public policy,” says DeAngelis. “What makes it an interesting seminar is that each student brings the work of their agencies into that discussion each week. One student might be arguing from the perspective of the White House, another student from a Democratic Senate office, another from one of the think tanks. They’re dealing with real issues in a tangible way. The debates get pretty lively.”

To ensure that agencies will give students substantive work, DeAngelis visits each student’s internship site twice each semester.

“One thing I hear over and over again when I visit with supervisors is that Holy Cross is the only college that sends a professor to visit the students,” he says. “Last semester it came from a director at the State Department who had been hosting students from colleges across the country for 25 years, and he said that I was the first professor he had ever talked to.”

In the last several years, students have interned at the White House, National Economic Council, Senate Judiciary Committee, Office of Senator Barack Obama, Office of Senator John Kerry, Children’s Defense Fund, National Institute of Justice, and CNN, among many others.

“This job never gets old,” says DeAngelis. “The change and development and accomplishments that I see when I visit students during the second time in the semester are astonishing. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to go down to Washington and hear their supervisors say that these are the best students we’ve had from any college in the country.”

What is it that distinguishes Holy Cross students?

“When I started asking around, agencies would always comment on the work ethic of our students,” he says. “Whether they were asked to photocopy or to help construct a speech for the president, they accomplished each task with the same enthusiasm and excitement.”

Agencies make note of that hard work. DeAngelis estimates that roughly half of all Washington Semester participants return to the nation’s capital after graduating, and some are offered a job at their agencies on the spot.

At least one student from Holy Cross has interned at “Meet the Press” each semester over the last 15 years, says DeAngelis.

“They get about 100 to 150 applications every semester from colleges all across the country, and they only accept three interns. Every semester they’ve taken a Holy Cross student. In fact, this semester they took two.”

He adds: “While the Washington Semester Program has provided students with an excellent learning opportunity it has also placed them in a situation that tends to bring out their best on many different levels.”

Related Information:

• Washington Semester student Palumberi ’10 reflects on Election Night from D.C.
• Washington Semester Program
• Alumni Success Story: Clarence Thomas ’71
• Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies

Twelve of us participating in the Washington Semester Program have witnessed history unfold before our eyes, as Senator Obama laid claim to the presidency of the United States at 11 p.m. We didn’t miss the opportunity to show our support for such a historic moment in American history.

Early in the evening, we ended up meeting at a sports bar in Arlington for dinner, and after grabbing some snacks, moved over to our residence, the Warwick House. From there we watched the returns until 11, when the final states broke and CNN (we even voted on our news coverage!) declared Senator Obama the victor. We watched as a gracious Senator McCain conceded and threw his support to the new President-elect, and then intently listened to Senator Obama’s speech held in Chicago.

We then decided to do something that truly made the night memorable: we took to the streets of Washington D.C, ending up in the back of the White House. Honking cars and trucks, signs, and chanting aside, it truly was a spectacle to witness.

The fall 2008 D.C. semester is another storied chapter in the already rich history of the Washington Program.

Kevin Palumberi ’10 is interning in the Office of Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) as part of the Washington Semester Program.

Related Information:

• From Mount St. James to Washington, D.C., Election Night Excitement Grips Students