Spellman Hall Evacuated Due to Likely Prank

E-Mail from Public Affairs:

At approximately 7:20 p.m. this evening, some students in Spellman Hall noticed a suspicious smell in the first floor stairwell. It occasioned students’ coughing and gagging as they inhaled the fumes in the stairwell. The students immediately reported the smell to the Public Safety Associate stationed at the desk. She, in turn, contacted the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and was told to pull the fire alarm to evacuate the building. Read more

Letter from Rev. David M. O’Connell, University President

To the Class of 2012:

Welcome to The Catholic University of America, your campus home for the next four years! Once again, the university greets the largest freshman class in its history, the third year in a row that the total new student population has surpassed the preceding one!

Washington is a great place to study, live and work, as you will soon discover. And CUA is the one university in town that will introduce you to all the dimensions of life in the nation’s capital. As president of CUA, I truly hope that you will take advantage of all the good things that both the university and the city have to offer you in the days and months and years that lie ahead of you.

No doubt, you have already seen the phrase on banners and signs all around the place, “Reason. Faith. Service.” Those three words represent what we hope will be foundation of your experience here. The university’s motto, “Deus Lux Mea Est (God is My Light),” is the basis of that hope.

Accept the challenge to study and work hard: that’s why you are here. Achieve success and strive to reach your fullest potential: that’s what will bring you satisfaction here. And share yourself generously with others: that’s what will give you life here.

CUA is a Catholic university, yes, but more than that: it is the national university of the Catholic Church in our country. Are we perfect? No. Will there be some bumps along the road? Perhaps. But our identity and mission and purpose as the Church’s university in the United States are the inspiration that has kept us going for over 121 years and that will keep us going for generations to come. All the college rankings and guides and “best of this or that” mean nothing to us if we fail to live up to our name and what it represents: “Reason. Faith. Service.”

Last year, Pope Benedict XVI chose to come to our campus to deliver an important address about Catholic education. We felt so privileged by his visit. His message was so clear: “Only in faith can truth become incarnate and reason truly human … in this way our institutions make a vital contribution to the mission of the Church and truly serve society.”

Welcome to the university where reason, faith and service will inspire you to learn, to live and to make a difference in our world.

May God bless you always!

Very Reverend David M. O’Connell, C.M., J.C.D.
President

Letter From the Orientation 2008 Student Coordinator

As the 2008 Orientation Student Coordinator at the Catholic University of America, I would like to welcome each and every new student to Catholic University of America. For the past eight months, I have worked with numerous members of the CUA community to make the new student experience memorable and informative. This program could not have happened without the hard work and dedication of the various offices around campus and our incredible 2008 orientation staff. I would like to take this time to thank each and every one of them for their support in welcoming you.

Though it is hard for me to believe, I was standing in the back of the Pryz a mere three years ago listening to Father O’Connell and the student coordinator of Orientation 2005 speak. I have to admit that I remember very little of what the speakers said. Instead, my eyes were taking in the crowded room and my mind was racing as I wondered: if I would ever feel comfortable in this intimidating new environment or if I would actually be friends with the strange people surrounding me. I felt very small and unsure of myself and quite nervous. I can now say with courage of conviction that Catholic University has become not only the school where I will earn my undergraduate degree, but more importantly, the place where I have developed into an independent and confident adult.
This year’s theme for orientation is Doors Opening. If you have used the Washington Metrorail system, these words are most likely familiar to you. As you begin and continue your life at CUA, so many doors will open. As the metro system opens its doors to Washington DC, Catholic University will open doors to new friendships, academic opportunities, and experiences that will last a lifetime. As these doors open, you will experience a multitude of challenges, joyous experiences, and possibly times of anxiety and sadness. Know that you are not alone in facing those challenges. I know from personal experience that you can turn to faculty and friends to help you during these times and these relationships will give you the courage to continue despite setbacks. This is truly a caring community.

During your time here you will have the opportunity to broaden your knowledge of the world, to freely exchange ideas and thoughts with bright and enthusiastic students and professors and to mature emotionally and spiritually. The administration and faculty are amazing people to work with and will provide you with guidance about your future. I have found that CUA provides a protective environment while allowing you to become an independent and confident adult ready to face the challenges of the real world.

You also have the perk of being only a metro ride away from one of the most interesting and fun cities in the country. You will have the opportunity to do homework in local coffee shops, go monument hopping, and attend inaugurations, state funerals, and maybe even attend the national tree lighting ceremony

But I must say these activities would not have been the same with out my friends. I encourage you to meet as many people as you can while you are here and to become involved in campus activities. You will become a stronger, more confident, and empathetic individual as a result of your participation in these programs. Your involvement will be the basis for developing wonderful friendships and memories that you will cherish forever. Take pride in being a CUA student because you are now part of a very special community. I can tell you that my time here has flown and I am having a hard time accepting the fact that my life here is almost over. However, I feel very blessed to have been able to attend this college and to have the privilege of participating in so many aspects of student life.

I understand this is an exciting and anxious time for new students. Please know that we are all here to help you through this transition. Don’t hesitate to ask for help, directions to class, how we adjusted to studying in college, or even about groceries, favorite restaurants, and movies. We would love to share the benefit of our experiences with you and to get to know you personally. By spring time, you and your new friends will be reminiscing about all the wonderful times that you had at CUA. You will feel like you have been part of the CUA community forever.
On behalf of the Orientation Staff, I wish the class of 2012 great success and happiness! Welcome to CUA.

- Beth Palmisano
Orientation 2008 Student Coordinator

Letter From the Speaker of The Student Association

Welcome New Students!

Orientation is always a very exciting time of year for CUA because it is when student leaders and various offices on campus welcome new members into the CUA family. We have been working diligently preparing for your arrival and are looking forward to helping you transition smoothly into CUA life.

The Student Association General Assembly (SAGA) is especially excited for the upcoming school year! SAGA was formed at the end of the last school year to be the representative student government on campus. So SAGA is just as new to CUA as all of you and we hope to make this year an exceptional one for student life on campus.

Throughout Orientation weekend, you will have many opportunities to familiarize yourself with student life. Student leaders, including Residential Assistants, Orientation Advisors, Student Ministers and other student leaders, have all been preparing to welcome you to CUA and will be encouraging you to get involved in different elements of student life. Be sure to participate in all the Orientation events to get to know your classmates, as well as the student leaders.

Once the school year begins, please continue to participate in activities including the Freshman Retreat, Cardinal Adventures, Fall Fiesta, attending athletic games and other events. One of the best ways to transition into life at CUA is by getting involved with various student organizations, which will allow you to meet fellow students and become active in student life. All the student organizations are very excited to welcome you to CUA. Look out for information about student organizations.
Another great way to get involved in campus life is through the different service opportunities available. Service to the community, both on campus, as well as in the surrounding area are both rewarding and incredibly beneficial. There are numerous service opportunities that allow you to get to know different students on campus and familiarize yourself with the neighborhood surrounding the University.

SAGA is looking for elected student leaders among the freshman class to serve the student body. An elections information session will be on Wednesday September 3, 2008. Student government is a great way to get involved on campus, as well as serve the campus community.

We hope that you have enjoyed your new experiences at CUA thus far and know that many more will follow. Please be sure to let SAGA know if there is anything that can be done to make your first year experience the best that it can be.

Once again, welcome to CUA!

Afifeh Alaween
Speaker
Student Association General Assembly

Advice from a Former Freshman

As Yogi Berra once said, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” Although quite colloquial, Berra’s thoughts on life are as incredible as his baseball talents were (I’m not just saying that because I’m from New York).

Call me horribly cliché, but as we grow older, things inevitably change. The leaves on the trees surrender to the crisp chill of fall, babies learn how to talk and realities become, well, new realities.

Each of us students has recognized what I like to call the ‘college dream.’ We knew we would live it one day, no matter what your version of the ‘college dream’ was. We’ve considered the typical Animal House frat party fantasy, walking around dirty frat houses smashing guitars in togas. We’ve imagined yelling in the stands on a cold November afternoon wearing nothing but jeans and body paint. We’ve asked ourselves how far away we can possibly get from our small towns.

I have realized in my life that the best way to make God laugh is to tell Him you have a plan. The college dream does not always become what we thought it would be. Sometimes when we consider college life, we forget that it goes a lot deeper than going to parties and remembering the times we probably couldn’t remember anything from the night before. College is about finding out if our true dreams are more than fantasies. We discover that our dreams can be careers. We begin to understand our place in the world; where we will work, who we want to spend out time with, things we love, things we hate, the way of life that will make us smile each day.

I’m positive that I am not the only one that has drastically changed during their time at the University. There aren’t many moments that we can concretely observe these changes. There are the obvious occasions, like graduation day. My landmark day has always been the first day back at school. Each year that I come back to Catholic, I feel like a new person. It means that I am this much closer to being the woman that I dreamed I would be. We remember the places we came from, or even the residence halls we lived in last semester. We feel like we’ve come back to a different home, but the same home we have been molded by. We recognize our place in the CUA community, and welcome the new pieces of the community that we undoubtedly encounter.

I’ll spare the other Yogi Berra quotes I could have used to explain how I feel. What seems so simple however, becomes an important revelation to me every time I see the Basilica in the distance. The simplest way to conclude my tiny tirade would be to tell each of you not be scared of the weird places life takes you. At college, you come here knowing that things are going to be ‘different’, but no one understands what ‘different’ ever really entails. To the first year students, I welcome you, and hope you take more than you planned to receive from coming here to the University.

Page Two - 8/22 (Orientation 2008 Issue)

The 5th Column by Kyle O’Donnell

It’s 6:45 a.m. a month before the semester begins and you’re anxiously waiting for Cardinal Station to work so you can pick your classes. But there’s one problem- Cardinal Station is the worst website on the internet. I’d rather get a “this page cannot be displayed” than have to struggle with Cardinal Station.

After sprinting across campus because the internet has gone down in your residence hall, you join a mob of angry pajama clad students.

Finally at 7:00 a.m. when the cyberselection begins you pick all of your classes and click submit. Does it work? Of course not! The site completely overloads and displays an error message for 10 minutes until it starts working again. Some people are just frantically pressing refresh as if they are playing Tetris on crack. Others are just slamming the enter button as if pressing harder will get the site to work. The girls all start panicking, and then it’s REALLY a mess. When finished selecting classes you would think everyone would just get off the computer so others could use them. But not here- instead everyone checks there Yahoo mail, school mail, and then spends at least ten minutes on Facebook. Computer etiquette has never been a forte of a CUA student.

This scenario applies to many, but there are always those exciting mornings that you over sleep. Second semester of 2008 my roommate, Chris Pierno, and I wake up by the alarm clock at 9:00 a.m. and scramble to our computers only to find out that all of our classes we wanted are full.

Another unpleasant situation is when you look at your schedule on Cardinal Station in late summer and discover conflicting classes. When finding out from the architecture department that a class has been changed without notification on Cardinal Station, you realize just how user-unfriendly the site really is. Instead of working and getting paid a few hours a week, I can now read Aristotle and fail philosophy. Thank you Cardinal Station for making me broke.

We all appreciate the new Cardinal Station that miraculously appeared without warning a few weeks ago, but we are still waiting to find out if the site can handle the largest school population ever on the day of choosing second semester classes. During the 2007-2008 winter break, the Pryz put up flashy signs and added weird artwork throughout the room to try and make it seem new-and-improved, but we all know that the food is still just about as nutritious for you as eating raw sewage.

Cardinal Station has fun new features and a new color scheme, but can it handle this year’s students? For the sake of all of the CUA students, please work Cardinal Station!

REACH KYLE AT 26ODONNK@CUA.EDU

Notes & Asides

The University has decided to ditch the term “undecided major,” while instituting the term “exploratory student.” Administrators changed it because they were fed up with students who kept complaining about what they were referenced as. In today’s news, the same students are now complaining about the term being changed.

As part of the ongoing campaign to save energy at the University, The Tower would like to do its part by encouraging students to save water by showering together, conserve heat by cuddling up with a friend at night, lay off the AC and take off some clothing and go green by going with a keg instead of a 30 pack next time you’re at the liquor store.

Students now have more than eighty television stations to choose from. Among the new additions is Fox Business, BBC America and the Military Channel…but still no HBO. Apparently the University is not a fan of Real Sex or Cathouse.

Don’t you just love your Orientation Advisor? They’re the coolest kids at school. They have to be. Only cool kids come to school a week early to hang out with freshmen.

So how about all of those parents offering Orientation Advisors tips for helping their kids move into the dorms yesterday? It’s a shame they couldn’t accept them. If yours happened to though, you can be proud to know that there is a 90 perecent probability it went to support underage drinking. Thanks!

We’re launching a new website today at CUAtower.com. Make sure you check it out. If you don’t we’ll publish something bad about you. For a little motivation, we put some embarassing Youtube videos online for your enjoyment.

Student Spotlight: Dominic Decker

Perhaps a perfect representation of all the qualities that make Catholic University students unique, Dominic Decker takes pride in his accomplishments. A junior English major with a Pre Med concentration, Decker spends his time participating in various activities on and off campus. Hailing from St. Paul , Minnesota , Decker is truly unique.

He is a member of CUA’s Honors program, which he truly enjoys. As far as his on-campus activities, Decker is a Resident Assistant in South Neighborhood. Last year, he was a Resident Assistant in Centennial Village . Decker is also a Cardinal Ambassador, which he takes great pride in, and has been doing since his freshman year.

As far as his off-campus activities, Decker spends his free time as a patient care volunteer at Children’s National Medical Center , in preparation for his future aspirations to pursue a medical career. Decker himself declares “I really busy myself with things!”

His journey to Catholic began in his freshman year of high school, during a visit with his father. “It happened just by chance. We were clearly lost, and we didn’t know where we were going, and a group of students approached us and asked us where we needed to be. They gave us directions on campus. That was my first impression of Catholic. The students were so friendly and willing to help and I just knew that it felt right here.”

Record Number of Frosh Enroll

The class of 2012 is the largest class in the history of the University, with more than 900 first-year students. This is the third consecutive year that has set a record for freshmen enrollment.

The Office of Admissions received over 5,000 applications for first-year admission, boosted by publicity from the papal visit in April, with most applications coming from the mid-Atlantic region.

“I’d like to think that all of our efforts have contributed to that,” said Christine Mica, director of Admissions.

Pope Benedict’s visit last April coincided with the time students had to decide whether to enroll and brought national attention to the University.

“I certainly don’t think the Pope’s visit hurt,” said Mica.

Admissions has worked closely with the Alumni Office to increase applicants by recruiting alumni to encourage students to apply to the University. In addition, the Athletics Department hired an admissions athletic recruitment coordinator to work on increasing the number of athletic recruits who are interested in the University. A full-time staff in Admissions also traveled across the country to meet and recruit students.

The strategic plan of the University includes a goal to enroll even more students by 2010, though the size of this class has complicated University housing as it is.

Freshmen are required to live on-campus, leaving a greater number of students who need rooms than ever before. Housing Services had to place some new freshmen in temporary spaces in lounges in Regan and Ryan Halls and converted doubles to triples in Centennial Village. Flather Hall also underwent renovations that increased the dorm’s capacity. Opus Hall, scheduled to open in January, will help relieve the crunch next year.

Some students who submitted their housing applications after the priority deadline and are expected to live in temporary housing for at least the first eight weeks of classes. Students will receive a discounted rate for as long as they are in those spaces.

Mica said the University will be focusing on retention rates this year. As part of the effort, Admissions will study which applicants would be most likely to stay for all four years.

“We want to admit students who are going to be the next set of student leaders and participate in all aspects of life at CUA,” said Mica.

Catholic Rises in College Rankings

The Univeristy jumped six spots to in the U.S. News and World Report “America’s Best Colleges” rankings, which were released early this morning. Last year, Catholic University was ranked 122th, in the 2009 guide it moved to 116th.

The rankings are calculated based on a number of categories including peer assessment, graduation and retention rate, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, and only for national universities and liberal arts colleges, graduation rate performance.

U.S. News and World Report also ranks America’s Best Graduate Schools, High Schools, and Hospitals.

The print version “America’s Best Colleges” will go on sale Monday.

Campus Pub On Tap for Pryzbyla

For over three decades, a campus pub known as the Rathskellar served as a place for University students to meet up, hang out, kick back and enjoy a beer. Now a top university administrator wants to build a new pub in the Pryzbyla Center and name it for his friend and classmate who died last spring.

Preliminary plans call for the new pub to be named Murphy’s, after Mike Murphy, class of 1974, according to Frank Persico, University chief of staff. Murphy, 55, died in May 2007 after a two year battle with cancer.

Murphy was on the board of a charitable organization that donates a large sum of money to an organization when one of its members dies. Persico said the name of the organization could not yet be made public.

In 2006, Murphy told Persico that he wanted the money donated to Catholic University and asked what type of project the campus needed most.

After consulting with University President Rev. David M. O’Connell, Persico told Murphy that campus needed a campus hangout to replace the Rathskellar, which closed when the Pryzbyla Center opened.
At the time, there was nothing in the plans to replace the Ratt when it closed after the completion of the Pryzbyla Center in 2003. The Ratt was located in the bottom floor of Cardinal Hall. Today the space is used for storage and the old wooden bar is the only part that remains.

“He couldn’t fathom that there would be no old carved wooden benches and no new version of Franklin, the ubiquitous bartender of our era,” wrote Persico in an article for the summer issue of CUA Magazine. “He wondered where the lasting CUA friendships would be formed.”

One potential spot for the new pub is the current location of the bookstore. The bookstore could be moved to south campus after the area is developed. The original look and feel of the Ratt will be recreated in the design of the new pub.

Persico envisions an area with pool tables, dart boards, ping pong tables were students can socialize. Persico received his undergraduate degree from CUA in 1974 and has worked in different positions at the University for the past 34 years.

“One of the ideas is to have a wall with pictures and names of all different CUA grads with the last name Murphy,” said Persico. The pub and wall will not be a shrine to Murphy, but would instead be his way of improving CUA student life.

At the opening of the pub, Persico plans to throw a huge party and present an oral history of the Ratt.

Preliminary plans are to serve alcohol only in the evening and to make it solely for those over 21.
The University plans to send out solicitations sometime in September asking for donations for the construction of the pub. Persico said the reaction to the article that ran in CUA Magazine has been very positive, and he has received dozens of e-mails from people interested in contributing. Alumni and friends already donated over $10,000 in just a few days.

The fund Murphy started is substantial, but will only cover about 20 percent of the $250,000 the University wants to secure before construction begins.

“People enjoyed having a place on campus to socialize,” said Persico, who lived in Flather for four years during his time as an undergraduate. “The Ratt was a place you could go and drink responsibly.”

When the drinking age was 18, students could approach an administrator if they believed a student needed help without worrying about the judicial side of things, said Persico, who previously served as dean of students. He said that he understands why the law was changed, and said there are pros and cons to the current drinking age.

Still, he belives that an on-campus pub can be successful.

“It will give students something to look forward to when they turn 21, sort of a special place for upperclassmen,” said Persico.

University Taps Abdo Development to Transform Southside into Condos, Townhouses, and Retail

Catholic University plans to demolish three residence halls on South Campus in the next few years to make way for an array of condominiums, apartments, restaurants and shops, the school announced in late May.

Abdo Development, a DC based development and construction firm, reached an agreement with the University to develop a nine acre parcel of land after CUA conducted an extensive screening of over 40 major development companies. The firm, headed by CEO Jim Abdo, will lead CUA through the process of obtaining a Planned Unit Development (PUD) approval from the D.C. Zoning Commission for mixed-use development.

Conaty, Spaulding and Spellman Halls will all be demolished under the plan. Conaty and Spellman currently house freshman residents, while Spaulding has been unoccupied since 1991, and has since been condemned. CUA first planned to demolish the buildings in 1986 because of their separation from main campus, said Craig Parker, university general counsel.

The CUA Facilities Operations website notes that the electrical system in Conaty requires “major renovation, and the windows require total replacement.” In addition, the buildings’ “location across Michigan Avenue, room configurations and limited amenities are perceived as major obstacles for long-term residential use.”

CUA also plans to build another dormitory that will house 382 students after the completion of the 402 occupancy Opus Hall on the northeast part of campus.

Abdo said he wants to transform South Campus into an urban main street and create a gateway between Catholic University and the Brookland neighborhood. In a statement, University President Rev. David M. O’Connell said Abdo has a reputation as a community builder, which is what the University was looking for in a development partner.

“He works well with community residents and produces excellent projects,” said O’Connell. “We are excited to be able to join with him and his team.”

In an interview with The Tower, Abdo said he and his team are trusted as developers and are embraced by the neighborhoods they go into is because they are very respectful of the community.
“We’re inclusive, and our process is very transparent,” said Abdo. “We don’t pull wool over people’s eyes and we don’t tell people we’re going to do something and then not do it.”

It will take 18 months to two years to go through the zoning process, which will be phased so that CUA can continue using the buildings. Abdo hopes to begin construction of the five to eight story buildings by the end of 2009. The entire process will take up to seven years.

Some of the land will be purchased by Abdo while other parts will be on leased from the University on a long term basis. The overall maintenance and programming for the buildings will be controlled by Abdo. CUA would work in cooperation with Abdo to determine standards for what type of businesses are appropriate for the area.

“We subscribe whole-heartedly to the Catholic doctrine, and we’ll program a lot of the uses, the hours of operation, type of retailers and type of activities that take place there in cooperation with Catholic,” said Abdo.

Abdo said that he hopes to attract retail that will serve the University and the community. He ruled out big box stores and nightclubs and said he envisioned bringing services to the area that the neighborhood is lacking.

“I felt isolation when I went to Catholic, it was sort of an island all to itself,” said Abdo. “There’s a beautiful campus, which we want to compliment, but you have to go elsewhere for a lot of services.”
“We want our project to strengthen the 12th Street business corridor,” Parker said in a CUA Magazine article. Parker said the university and Abdo will avoid duplicating businesses that already exist on 12th Street.

One of the challenges Abdo found when he surveyed the area was crossing Michigan Avenue.
“It’s frightening, it’s scary, it’s dangerous,” said Abdo. “Cars are moving too fast, and it’s a very fast right turn coming off of Michigan onto Monroe.” He would like to reconfigure the Monroe Ave. and “turn the ‘Y’ intersection into a ‘T’.” In the resulting open space, Abdo hopes to create a town square with a fountain that sits beneath a planned clock tower that could serve as a meeting point.

Another central element to the project is a planned “arts walk” along 8th Street that will feature studios with roll-up display cases for artists to show off their work along a pedestrian-only cobblestone road. Abdo hopes it will become a weekend arts destination that provides working space for emerging artists. The arts walk building should be brought online in the first phase of the project.

University officials and representatives from Abdo presented their plans to Brookland residents at a number of community meetings over the summer.

Abdo founded his company more than 10 years ago and is well known in the District of Columbia for successful retail and residential development throughout the city. Notable recent projects include the development of 476 condominium and rental apartment units on the site of the former Capital Children’s Museum on H Street NE and 87 new loft condominiums in two warehouse-inspired buildings on Clarendon Boulevard in Arlington.

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