News

America’s historic presidential election is the subject of classroom and dining hall conversations at Holy Cross today.

Early reports suggest that there was a record turnout among young voters across the country. On Mount St. James, hundreds of students watched Barack Obama win a landslide victory to become the next president on a projection screen in Crossroads in the Hogan Campus Center.

Holy Cross students in the Washington Semester Program were in the heat of the action, in newsrooms and government offices.

Kelly Doherty ’10, interning at OMB Watch, a nonprofit government watchdog organization, began her Election Day at 6 a.m., working at the polls in Arlington, Va., in the Aurora Hills district.

Christopher Hayden ’10, who is also working for “Meet the Press,” didn’t comprehend the magnitude of the evening until 1:30 a.m.

“I was on the set with presidential historian Michael Beschloss, who was speaking with Brian Wiliams,” says Hayden. “Mr. Beschloss remarked that America has fulfilled Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream. America judged Barack Obama not by the color of his skin but by the content of his character.”

Casey Lee ’10, who is working for MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews ’67, was at the NBC studio throughout the night, monitoring exit polls, conducting research, and poring over wire reports.

Throughout the campaign, Holy Cross students were involved in getting out the vote, most especially the final weeks. A combined total of 776 students registered to vote in voter registration drives that the College hosted this year and last (this number does not include students who registered on their own).

Students at the College were also involved in numerous efforts to increase awareness on and off campus, including phone banking, canvassing, and holding signs at the bottom of College Hill for both presidential candidates. A faculty round-table discussion titled “The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime?” and a student debate just days before the election drew big crowds.

More Election coverage:

• View photo of students reacting to election returns in Crossroads.
• Read a short reflection by Kevin Palumberi ’10 who is spending the fall semester in the nation’s capitol as part of the Washington Semester Program.
• Read blog entries on the election written by two students studying abroad: Catherine O’Connor (Florence, Italy) and Megan Emmich ’10 (Dublin, Ireland).
• Read what professors had to say leading up to the presidential election in local and national media outlets in Holy Cross in the News.

Related Information:

• Alumni Success Story: Chris Matthews ’67

• Worcester News Tonight/NECN (Nov. 5, 2008)
Worcester residents react to Obama’s victory

• Telegram & Gazette (Nov. 6, 2008)
Kindred candidate: Young people united to get Obama elected

A group of students in the naval science program at Holy Cross ran in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., last month, raising $16,764 for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, a non-profit that assists wounded Marines, sailors and their families. The team raised more funds than any other in the nation.

Sea Thomas, Marine officer instructor in the department of naval science at Holy Cross, said 17 of his students — or 40 percent — accepted his invitation to run with him at the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon to support injured Marines.

Under the direction of Thomas, the midshipmen — future Navy and Marine Corps officers — started their fundraising efforts on Sept. 23.

“These young men and women are a daily inspiration,” wrote Thomas in his e-mail, seeking support from donors. “Their commitment to country and service is extraordinary, and I feel blessed to work with such fine people on a daily basis.”

Thomas explained the important mission of the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.

“The young Americans returning from combat, especially those who have sacrificed so much in defense of our country deserve to be honored,” Sea wrote. “This means doing our best to help improve the quality of life for a Marine who has lost her vision in combat, helping to pay for a bathroom modification for a wheelchair bound veteran, or helping the wife of a wounded Marine afford a plane ticket to be at her husband’s bedside.”

The message resonated; before long, it had circulating far and wide. Sea even heard from a past colleague stationed in Florida. The e-mail directed readers to a Holy Cross team site which contained more information about the marathon and the individual bios of each team member that Sea says proved influential for family and friends.

“More remarkable than the money raised is the fact that we had so many donors: 245 total,” says Thomas. “This tremendous generosity will translate into meaningful improvements in the lives of our wounded heroes returning from combat.”

The team was composed of 11 students from Holy Cross, three from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and three from Worcester State College.

The Holy Cross students were: Laura Bloomfield ’09, Blaise Cummo ’09, Katelyn Curran ’11, Timothy Drain ’09, Matthew Dangler ’09, Ryan Nelson ’10, Brynn Olson ’10, Conor O’Neil ’09, Timothy Pellegrino ’10, James Stenger ’10, and Andrew Wing ’09. WPI students were Michael Collins, Tyler Hay, and Ashley Saylor. Worcester State students were Danny Hamler, Michael McDevitt, and John McJunkin V.

“Timothy Pellegrino, who was in charge of the team, simply did a spectacular job,” says Thomas. “He organized all aspects of transportation, lodging, and communications with the marathon staff; the entire operation went off without a hitch.”

He continues: “John McJunkin was the ‘team trainer’ — he prepared physical training plans and ensured that each runner was sticking to a solid training schedule. As a result, all runners finished the race, even though this was the first marathon for nearly everyone.”

The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund raised $252,255. The fundraising goal was $150,000.

Pictured: Conor O’Neil ’09, Andrew Wing ’09 and Blaise Cummo ’09 pose for a picture during the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C.

Related Information:

• Naval Science (NROTC)

The oldest book on books.google.com got hundreds of years older at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29.

After months of poring over digital photography and initial transcriptions, students gathered in the St. Isidore of Seville Computer Lab at Holy Cross, where they conducted their work, to watch and celebrate as the electronic edition of a 10th century manuscript of the great mathematician Archimedes became available on the project’s Web site.

The manuscript was recycled when the original text (the palimpsest) was scraped off, and overwritten to create a prayer book in the 13th century. The discovery of the palimpsest in 1906 created a sensation in the scholarly world because it includes works of Archimedes that are nowhere else preserved. The manuscript disappeared during World War I, and only resurfaced in the 1990s.

For the past decade, the Archimedes Project, made up of an international team of scholars, has worked on the conservation of the badly damaged text. With the aid of digital imaging processing, the project has been able to bring out parts of the palimpsest not previously legible.

Beginning in March, 10 Holy Cross classics majors (and a group of undergraduate Greek students at Furman University) worked with digital photography and initial transcriptions of the palimpsest by classicists at Oxford and Stanford universities. After adding accents and punctuation to the bare letters recorded in the manuscript, the students created documents structured in XML following the guidelines of the Text Encoding Initiative. The resulting electronic texts can be used to generate print editions and web pages, or can be queried and manipulated interactively.

The XML texts can also be coordinated with the digital images to make possible illustrated interactive editions unlike anything that can be achieved in print. A second team of three Holy Cross students worked in parallel with the editorial team to evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches to indexing texts and images.

The Holy Cross editorial team included: Jennifer Adams ’10, Jennifer Curtin ’10, Christopher D’Alessandro ’10, William G. Dolan ’10, Scott Dube ’10, Michael Kinney ’10, Joshua Whelan ’10, Katherine Schmieg ’09, Patrick Walsh ’09, and Stephanie Wheeler ’09.

The following students participated in the experimental indexing of texts and images: Michael McGlinn ’08, Greg Kakas ’08 and Danielle Bacon ’09.

Also, digital models of the manuscript were produced by Gabe Weaver ’04, a graduate student in the department of computer science at Dartmouth College. Weaver majored in classics and mathematics and computer science at Holy Cross.

The Holy Cross group was directed by Neel Smith, associate professor of classics, who says the release of this information to the public is significant.

The manuscript is the unique source for two of Archimedes Treatises, The Method and Stomachion, and it is the unique source for the Greek text of On Floating Bodies. Discovered in 1906 by J.L. Heiberg, it plays a prominent role in his 1910-15 edition of the works of Archimedes, upon which all subsequent work on Archimedes has been based. The manuscript was in private hands throughout much of the 20th century, and was sold at auction to a private collector on Oct. 29, 1998. The owner deposited the manuscript at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, a few months later. Since that date the manuscript has been the subject of conservation, imaging and scholarship.

Archimedes was arguably the greatest mathematician of antiquity. His writings creatively blend ideas from pure and applied mathematics to solve an astonishing range of problems, from whimsical puzzles to fundamental mathematical values (e.g., he showed how to approximate pi to an arbitrary degree of precision), and mathematical models for physics (e.g., in hydrostatics, and mechanics).

Related Information:

• Classics

More than 70 Holy Cross students gathered in Hogan Suite A on Wednesday evening to watch a spirited debate between the College Democrats and College Republicans — the first time this election season the opposing organizations have met in such an event.

Daniel Klinghard, assistant professor of political science, moderated two teams of four. Patrick Burns ’12, Brandon Peck ’11, Jake Smith ’12, and Joe Volpe ’11 represented the Republican perspective, while Matt Cain ’09, Alicia Molt ’09, Claire Rheaume ’09, and Chris Szkutak ’10 argued the Democratic stance.

The teams answered a series of questions based on four topics: foreign policy, the economy, education and healthcare, and energy and the environment. Each team had two minutes to respond to the initial question, and one minute for rebuttals.

The debate, sponsored by CAB Cross and Scroll, the Black Student Union, College Democrats, and College Republicans, quickly became heated. The Republicans countered Barack Obama’s calls for increased international diplomacy by emphasizing the importance of the military in foreign policy. The Democrats contended that John McCain’s healthcare plan was not viable, highlighting discrepancies between his proposed measures and actual healthcare costs.

When the floor was opened to questions, students interrogated both the Democrats and Republicans on energy proposals, particularly with regard to nuclear energy and reduction of carbon emissions.

Preparation for the debate was rigorous. College Democrat Szkutak said: “I spent a lot of time looking at all of the different takes on the issues, including third parties. I read analysis in newspapers and magazines in order to get a grasp of the implications of each candidate’s platform.”

College Republicans Burns and Smith turned to the Internet. “I prepared by taking the time to look at both the McCain and Obama Web sites in order to get a clear understanding of both sides before I went into the debate,” said Smith. Added Burns, “I made sure I knew what was being said by both candidates beforehand.”

“I’m very impressed with the level of preparation,” said moderator Klinghard. “The debaters came with the intent to participate in a discussion on policy, not just throw partisan barbs.”

Molt, of the College Democrats, summed up the overall impressions of both sides: “I applaud the efforts of both the College Democrats and Republicans in promoting political dialogue on campus. I was happy to see such a great turnout and so much interaction between the debate teams and the audience.”

Which team won? It seemed to be a draw, according to interviews with audience members.

Grace Dubuque ’11 said, “I thought the Republicans were the stronger speakers and their arguments came across with more clarity.”

Yayra Kuakumensah ’09 respectfully disagreed. “I think the Democrats were very eloquent and articulate — they presented their points clearly.”

By Kaitlin Juleus ’09

Related Information:

• Voter Registration/Education Web site

The current issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the College of the Holy Cross is among the top producers of Fulbright Awards for U.S. students in the past year. Holy Cross is tied for eighth place among the nation’s colleges offering bachelor’s degrees with seven 2008 graduates receiving the grant to study abroad for a year. A total of 24 Holy Cross students applied for Fulbrights last year.

“The Fulbright Program is a competition that emphasizes both scholarship and cultural/diplomatic exchange,” says Anthony Cashman, director of Holy Cross’ Office of Distinguished Fellowships and Graduate Studies. “Holy Cross’ liberal arts education emphasizes language training, a very strong study abroad program, and a high level of participation in community service, three factors that make our students well suited for the Fulbright.”

Started in 1946, the international academic-exchange program offers grants that are awarded by binational Fulbright commissions and financed by the U.S. government and the government of each country in which the awards are available. This year the United States contributed nearly $221 million to the fellowships. About 1,500 students and 1,300 scholars from the United States and abroad are studying and working on Fulbrights this academic year.

The seven Holy Cross Fulbright winners, and their current places of study, are:

• Justin Brooks, Australia
• Alison Casserly, Switzerland
• James Corbett, Germany
• Robert Dudley, Germany
• Thomas Gaffney, China
• Anne Schroeder, Korea
• Catherine Turner, Taiwan

Read more about the seven Holy Cross Fulbright winners.

Read the Chronicle story (by subscription only).

Related Information:

• Holy Cross in the News

Members of the College and Worcester communities came together in the College Hill Civic Association building on Tuesday, Oct. 21 to celebrate the completion of phase one in the Cookson Park restoration project. Though the rain forced the ribbon-cutting indoors, it didn’t dampen the excitement of those in attendance. All of the speakers attributed the success of the project to a perseverance and progression of the partnership among Holy Cross, the College Hill Civic Association, the City of Worcester, the Holy Cross Student Government Association (SGA), the Holy Cross Marshall Memorial Fund, and neighborhood residents.

In 2000, the College dedicated $20,000 to revitalize Cookson Park, an 18-acre park between Kendig Street and Boyden Street. The project has been divided into four phases, the first of which was the construction of the Cookson Field Playground and the pocket parking area abutting the College Hill Civic Association building. Phase one took about six months and $115,000 to complete. The other three phases propose trail clearing, an overlook and clearing, and additional parking, with a total estimated cost of $600,000.

Beyond a financial donation, members of the College community, particularly students, have demonstrated a commitment to the revitalization project. The speakers present provided testimony to the student involvement. “Holy Cross has really made the difference in this project,” said City Councilor Barbara Haller. Councilor Haller brought her five-year-old grandson, Ezra, to the ceremony to test out the new playground, which he declared, “good.”

Evelyn Dutton, a lifelong resident of the College Hill community and member of the Civic Association, praised the continuing work and effort of Holy Cross student involvement in the project. She explained how much she and the rest of the association appreciate the “help, sweat, and continuing effort [of the students] to help us make this a great neighborhood.” She also referenced the art project that resulted in the series of mosaics on the side of Jenkins Hall, an initiative in 2003 that involved both the Holy Cross and College Hill communities.

More than anything, student participation and presence at the event showed the continued collaboration between the College and the surrounding community. Melissa Ogonowski, a member of the class of 2009 and SGA director for environmental concerns was the representative student speaker of the ceremony. “The partnership engages students in the College motto of ‘men and women for others,’ and we’re glad we can continue that for the Worcester community,” said Ogonowski, a political science major with a concentration in environmental studies.

Ed Mullaney ’09, SGA co-chair, was also present at the ceremony, and after the ribbon cutting said that “the SGA will be committing to a revitalization of the Civic Hill Association building in addition to ongoing efforts to restore the park.” Student efforts involve Earth Day clean-ups, faculty incorporation of the park into academics, and possibly dedicating a team of students during the annual Holy Cross Cares Day.

City Manager Michael O’Brien called the project a “celebration, by all accounts.” However, this celebration was not limited to the completion of a phase of the Cookson Park revitalization project. It was also a celebration of the continued partnership with the city, “this park bears testament to relationships…we share the same space,” said Kathy Robinson, special assistant to President Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J.

By Alicia Lincoln ’09

This year, more than 50 Holy Cross student-athletes are working together to make a difference in the Worcester community, and to support global causes. The student group’s efforts will be very visible this year during Family Weekend.

The Holy Cross Student Athlete Advisory Committee, an NCAA-mandated group at all Division I, II and III colleges and universities, is now in its 19th year. Through the committee, student athletes become involved in the campus and Worcester communities, promote their sports, and improve communication between the athletic department and athletes.

The group will be selling purple carnations at the Holy Cross-Lehigh football game, which is taking place during Family Weekend on Oct. 25. The proceeds will go toward the Haitian Relief Fund, which assists those affected by the devastation of Hurricane Ike. The fund was suggested by defensive soccer player Peter Siclari ’10, who had his native Haitian teammate, Wesley Laine ‘10, in mind. Holy Cross alumna Kathleen Lynch Moynihan ’80, who works for St. Boniface Haiti Foundation, an aid organization in Haiti, helped arrange the fund.

At least two students from each athletic team are on the committee. Executive board members are cross country and track captain Elizabeth Alizzi ’09, track captain Lauren Tallon ’09, softball captain Mandy Correale ’10 and football offensive lineman Luke Botting ’09.

Ann Zelesky, associate athletic director, and Jen Kagno, manager of home events and promotions, oversee the committee, and several coaches attend the meetings. Baseball coach Gregory DiCenzo and women’s volleyball coach Marritt Cafarchia have greatly contributed to SAAC by attending meetings, sharing ideas on publicity and fundraising, says Zelesky.

“We have more events coming up; we are starting small,” says Alizzi. “We will be running our third annual food drive during the Nov. 8 football game against Fordham, from which all proceeds will go to Worcester food banks. Non-perishable items, such as canned foods, boxed mixes like brownies, mashed potatoes, and rice will be collected at the gates around the football stadium. Contributions from all are greatly appreciated.”

The group will also hold a “Launch-A-Ball” contest on Nov. 8, an in-game promotion where SAAC plans to sell 200 tennis balls to fans for $1 each. Upon purchase, the fan’s name is recorded, and at half time there will be a target on the 50 yard line, and everyone who purchased a ball will throw it onto the field. The fan who throws the ball closest to the target wins. The winner will receive a prize.

The carnation sale on Oct. 25 is one of several new additions to the slate of Family Weekend events. Also new is a two mile fun run/walk which will take place on Oct. 25.

The weekend will also feature music on the Holy Cross campus for families to enjoy. The College Choir will perform from 8 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 24, followed by the Jazz Ensemble Concert at 10. After Saturday’s athletic events, the Chamber Orchestra Concert performs at 3 p.m. and the Dance Ensemble at 3:30 p.m. Finally, the College’s a capella groups Fools on the Hill, Delilahs and Off the Record will entertain at 9 on Saturday night.

Visit the Family Weekend Web site for a complete schedule of events.

By Claire Luke ’10

Montserrat, the new universal program for first-year students designed to integrate more effectively academic, co-curricular and residential experiences at the College, teamed up with Dining Services to bring first-year students “Cooking with Angelo.”

Angelo Berti, a chef at the College since 1992 who hails from Italy, started the night off with dough and rolling pins. “You’re a painter, you have a canvas, go for it,” was Angelo’s advice to the students.

Students could choose from plain, wheat, garlic and herb, or whole grain dough. Then they added sauce and could choose from toppings such as fresh mozzarella, chicken, sausage, olives, spinach, peppers and mushrooms.

“I love pizza, I love cooking, and I wanted the chance to meet other people,” said participant Cady Koenigs from Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

During the lessons the students learned about more than just pizza, “WWII soldiers used to use garlic as antiseptic for their wounds,” explained Angelo. “Olive oil is like liquid gold, it helps skin tone and my mother used to sunbathe in it.”

Angelo credits his mother for everything he knows about cooking. She owns a villa in Italy.  “I was a military brat; I traveled the world living half my life in Europe and half in the U.S.”

After the pizza, Angelo showed the students how to make calzones, stromboli, foccacia and fried dough with ricotta cheese and fresh berries for dessert.

Lenore Montanaro from North Kingstown, R.I., made a pizza piled with lots of cheese and used peppers to form the letters “HC.”  “My favorite thing about cooking with Angelo was not only learning to cook Italian food, but being able to interact with other Holy Cross students towards a common goal of making pizza,” explained Montanaro. “I met students who I never would have met otherwise.”

The best part of the whole evening – the students got to try everything! They even were allowed to bring some of the ingredients back to their dorms to make future creations.

“It’s important that students develop the interpersonal skills to talk and work easily with people they have never met in a variety of situations,” explained Nancy Andrews, director of the Montserrat program. “These skills are vital in our rapidly changing world.”

Montanaro says she will definitely use what Angelo taught her in the future. “I attempted to carry my finished pizza back to my room.  It never made it there. The girls in my dorm ate it before I was back in my room,” exclaimed Montanaro.  “Now my friends and I make pizza and other foods in the Hanselman dorm kitchen.”

If you don’t feel like going to Kimball and you want to learn how to cook in your dorm, don’t miss the next “Cooking with Angelo.”

Angelo and the dining services team will be at it again Nov. 6 in Wheeler Hall and Dec. 4 in Mulledy Hall.

To sign up or for more information contact Faye Caouette.

Angelo’s Sweet and Fruity Fried Dough (Serves six)

Ingredients:

1 dough ball
1 ½ cups Canola oil
½ cup flour
1 fresh pineapple or one can of Dole tidbits
½ cup raw cane sugar (brown sugar or regular sugar are fine too)
1 pint fresh strawberries
½ stick of butter
1 ½ cups of ricotta or soft cream cheese

Cooking instructions for dough:

1. Cut dough ball into six portions and cover with cellophane
2. Let portions rest and proof for one hour at room temperature
3. Dip dough in flour and stretch out into circular fashion with fingers
4. Place oil in small pan and heat (to test for readiness, put a small, eraser-sized piece of dough into the oil and when it floats and bubbles, oil is ready)
5. Place dough in pan and cook for one to two minutes, or until bottom is golden brown
6. Turn dough over and repeat process
7. Place dough on plate and spread with ricotta or cream cheese
8. Sprinkle with ½ – 1 tsp. of sugar

Fruit (any fruit combination will do):

1. Clean and core pineapple
2. Cut pineapple into ¼ inch slices
3. Cut strawberries into ¼ inch slices
4. Heat ½ – 1 tsp. of butter in a pan
5. Add ¼ – ½ cup fruit and ½ – 1 tsp. sugar
6. Stir and cook fruit for 30 seconds
7. Place fruit on fried dough
8. Add whipped cream
9. Enjoy every morsel

Related Information:

Photo Gallery: Cooking with Angelo

Last year, prospective students eagerly read Colleen Curran’s first-year blog. Some students even contacted her on Facebook to learn more about Holy Cross.

As a second-year student, and a loyal following, Curran has enthusiastically agreed to continue blogging — a job she “loves.” “My short experience at Holy Cross has been magnificent, and I really want to let everyone know what life is truly like on the Hill,” she says.

We asked her to share some more information about herself — including her favorite meal on campus, favorite part of freshman year, and her most embarrassing moment on Mount St. James.

Major and concentration: English and prelaw

Hometown: Alpharetta, Ga.

Favorite place to study on campus: Bottom floor of Dinand Library at one of the big tables.

Best part of freshman year: There are so many! If I had to choose just one, it would probably be the First-Year Program final banquet at the end of last year. All of the professors spoke about how their different disciplines answered our FYP question, “Given that we are both creators and producers, how then shall we live?”

Honorable mentions: Having a study picnic outside before second semester finals with all of my friends and my Manresa retreat.

Worst part of freshman year: When my computer crashed. Ironically enough, my computer crashed on the same night as the FYP banquet. It was really stressful because I still had three papers and several FYP journal entries to write. I was also concerned about losing my 5,000-plus photos from freshman year. Anyway, it all worked out.

One thing I would have done differently freshman year: Spent more time exploring Worcester. There’s so much in Worcester that I haven’t experienced yet.

Most embarrassing moment on campus so far: So many but one really comes to mind. One day during my US Intelligence Communities class last year, I was so hungry that I began to eat a bagel during our five-minute break. Well, I continued to eat it throughout class, and Professor Bruce Bunke, political science lecturer, made a joke about the freshman eating during class. I had my mouth full at the time, so my response was something like, “blllllrarh.” What made it even worse was that I was the only freshman in the class, so I was surrounded primarily by seniors. It was certainly not one of my finest moments.

Honorable mentions: Slipping down the icy Dinand stairs, randomly speaking in French during a class or two, and letting a Southern drawl slip once or twice.

Favorite meal on campus: Breakfast — the chefs at Kimball make excellent omelets, French toast, and M&M pancakes.

Favorite smoothie: Healthy Smoothie: Acai Berry. Not-so-healthy smoothie: Chocolate Peanut Butter Energizer

Favorite class so far: I can only pick one?! I’d probably go with my FYP class, Freedom and History. The class really inspired my current concentration in literature.

Favorite professor: Professor Bunke, Professor Thomas, Professor Kee, and Professor Juilfs. It’s a tie, and I just cannot decide between them.

Favorite thing to do on the weekends: Hopping on one of the SGA shuttles to Boston (sometimes Providence) and just spending a day in one of my favorite cities in the world.

Favorite club on campus: Liturgical ministry.

Favorite restaurant in Worcester: Bocado (a tapas bar) or Brew City (their eggplant parm  is delicious!).

Favorite place to hang out in Worcester: The Salvation Army – my friends and I once found a classic wedding dress from the 1980’s. Another fantastic place is Caffé Dolce.

One thing that surprised me most about Holy Cross: I was surprised at how easily I fit in.

One thing I would change about Holy Cross: I would love to see a made-to-order restaurant area. I love the feel of Kimball, but there are times that I really crave a made-to-order entrée. It’s trivial, I know, but it would be nice!

Favorite season on campus and why: Autumn. Everything about it is just fantastic. The apple cider, the changing colors of the leaves, the smell in the air, the crisp bite in the wind — everything is just so beautiful.

Favorite Holy Cross sports teams to root: Rugby, basketball, swimming, football.

Favorite professional sports teams to root: Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins. I might’ve grown up in the South, but my parents are die-hard Boston sports fans.

Related Information:

• Holy Cross Blogs

The Holy Cross Admissions staff has an admission to make: they want you to better understand the college application process.

That’s why they’re blogging again this year about how Holy Cross selects next year’s freshman class. In their blog entries, they’ll share important tips, and address tricky questions like whether or not to submit test scores or apply early decision. Even Ann McDermott, director of Admissions, will offer her perspective.

The blog is a way to keep the lines of communication open and to make what is sometimes seen as a mysterious process more transparent.

It also helps prospective students get acquainted with the friendly Admissions staff. You’ll learn, for instance, that Julia Sanders grew up in Worcester; Drew Carter recommends reading poet Billy Collins (a Holy Cross grad, by the way); Diane Soboski loves hitting the waves in New England; and Lynn Verrecchia ’01 is a fan of the paint color “caliente” and loves to travel.

Bottom line: Read the blog to familiarize yourself about the process, get answers to your questions, and learn more about the Admissions officers. You may meet them face-to-face when you visit campus or when they travel to your hometown.

Related Information:

• Admissions
• Holy Cross Blogs