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Events Highlight Needs of Disadvantaged

HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS AWARENESS WEEK The University recognized the less fortunate this past week through a series of activities during Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The week began early Monday morning with So Others May Eat and continued with activities geared towards informing students about the plight of the homeless and ways to get involved. “This whole lifestyle of love and service is about trying to do the will of God in my life every day,“ said Luis Vasquez, University alumnus and 2007 Washingtonian of the Year, who spoke Thursday nigh at CUA on Tap. He stressed the importance of giving back to the community, sharing his own personal experiences working with the homeless of Washington, D.C. [Read more...]  Read More →

Cardinal at CUA: Obama is ‘Aggressive, Disruptive and Apocalyptic’

His Eminence James Francis Cardinal Stafford criticized President-elect Barack Obama as “aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic,“ and said he campaigned on an “extremist  anti-life platform,” Thursday night in Keane Auditorium during his lecture “Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II: Being True in Body and Soul.“ “Because man is a sacred element of secular life,” Stafford remarked, “man should not be held to a supreme power of state, and a person’s life cannot ultimately be controlled by government.” “For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden,” Stafford said, comparing America’s future with Obama as president to Jesus’ agony in the garden. “On November 4, 2008, America suffered... [Read more...]

Pete the Campaigner

Last summer, as Sen. John McCain‘s presidential campaign went virtually bankrupt, senior J. Peter Donald was discouraged, until he had a run-in at a phone bank in Arlington that changed his mind. About ten feet from Donald stood Senator McCain himself, calling and asking for support. “That was when I got really fired up again,” said Donald. Since March 2007, Donald has worked in some capacity for McCain, beginning as a volunteer and rising to become a member of the advance staff. He worked through the summer of 2007 on Sen. McCain‘s  e-campaign, as part of the team that managed social networking sites, ads and other facets of the online campaign strategy. After working in the fall of 2007, he made what he saw as a difficult decision... [Read more...]

Former Ambassador Clarke Advocates Resolution for Israel

Warren Clarke, former U.S. ambassador to Gabon and career U.S. foreign service officer, spoke to University students Tuesday night about the pressing need for Israel and Palestine to reconcile. “Oil and Israel have been two important issues for the United States for a long time,“ said Clarke. “Unless there is a two-state solution, where Israel and Palestine exist side-by-side, there will no longer be a Jewish majority state.“ Clarke has represented the U.S. on the United Nations Security Council for Middle Eastern and African issues. In January of 2008, he was appointed executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), a nonpartisan organization that advocates for just and stable relationships in the Middle East. “We work... [Read more...]

University Receives Almost-Failing Environmental Sustainability Rating

The University has received a D- on the College Sustainability Report Card, despite recent efforts to improve facilities and develop programs to better meet students’ needs. “I hope this poor grade will highlight areas where Catholic can become more green-conscious,” said Kara Fenn, vice president of the University’s Green Club. “However, this assessment doesn’t tell the full story. I know in my heart the passion that many people in the CUA community have towards being Green. This semester over 60 students have signed the pledge to commit to a green lifestyle.” The Report Card evaluates and grades the 300 colleges with the largest endowments across the U.S., based on nine categories pertaining to the environment and going green.... [Read more...]

Alum, Students Unite for Homecoming Weekend ‘08

Homecoming Week 2008, “Paint the Town Red…and Black,“ has started and events will continue throughout the weekend for both current students and alumni. The week began with a concert on Monday with a cappella groups Redline, Take Note, and the barber shop quartet, Top Notch. Wednesday was a campus-wide scavenger hunt. Friday’s lunch will be a “spirit lunch,” with door prizes for students in the best spirit wear. “We had a great turn out for the concert on Monday and the groups did a great job performing. We had about 300 in attendance total,“ said HoCo co-president Stephanie Calhoun. “We‘re having a great time and we think it’s been great.“ Tonight’s annual HoCo Charity Ball will be thrown by the House and resident... [Read more...]

Book Condemning Church Heirarchy Banned from Basilica

A book discussing the sexual abuse crisis in the Church and the reasons for the decline of Catholicism in Boston was removed from The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception’s gift shop in June. A scheduled signing of the book at the Basilica was also cancelled. The book, entitled The Faithful Departed: The Collapse of Boston’s Catholic Culture, is an exploration of the events that took place within the Church during the priest sexual abuse scandal, specific to Boston, but also as a microcosm of the Church in America. “The bookstore is free, of course, to invite the speakers and carry the books it wants– and by implication to exclude others,” said Philip Lawler, the author of the book. Lawler is also an editor... [Read more...]

Senator Who Used Earmarks to Benefit University to Address Students

The University has not received an earmark in ten years, since an amendment to an unrelated bill helped the University gain land from the Armed Services Memorial Home. That earmark was, in part, placed in legislation by Senator Rick Santorum, who is speaking at the University on Wednesday. In 1998, Santorum and Senator Ted Kennedy attempted to create an earmark which required the Memorial Home to sell its excess property to the University, without placing it on the open market for bids. Both being high-profile Roman Catholics in Congress, they were reportedly asked to do so by the Archdiocese of Washington. They were hoping that the University would have been able to get the property for much less than the appraised value. After the deal was... [Read more...]

McGivney Hall Knighted As Home of Pontifical Institute

McGivney Hall, located adjacent to Mullen Library, was dedicated and blessed in a formal ceremony Monday afternoon. The Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family will be housed inside McGivney. Formerly known as Keane Hall, McGivney Hall was renamed in honor of Rev. Michael J. McGivney, the founder of the Knights of Columbus. After 12 years of neglect, the University was able to renovate the building with a $8 million donation from the Knights of Columbus. “Today is a dream come true,“ said Rev. David M. O‘Connell, University president. “From the very beginning, the University [has grown] and prospered through its association with the Knights of Columbus.“ O‘Connell,  Rev. Donald W. Wuerl, Archbishop... [Read more...]

Hard Work Gets Frosh DNC Ticket

Freshman William Washington spent the week at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Washington, a politics major, won an essay contest sponsored by the Democratic Party and D.C. Votes, an organization that works to secure Congressional voting rights for the residents of Washington D.C. “D.C. Votes gave young people in the District a chance to share their thoughts on voting rights,” said Washington. His winning essay was entitled “D.C Voting Rights: A Dream Deferred.” Washington and three other contest winners shadowed the representatives throughout the week. “We worked under the delegates, delivering papers, handing out advocacy materials and helping the delegates with whatever they needed,” explained Washington. “I... [Read more...]

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