Cardinal Stafford Stands by Criticism of Obama

Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, head of the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See, is standing by controversial comments he made about President-elect Barack Obama during an on-campus lecture last Thursday. In an address hosted by the John Paul II Institute on Marriage and Family, Stafford called President-elect Barack Obama’s policies “aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic,” said that his election was “a cultural earthquake” and that Obama campaigned on an “extremist anti-life platform.” (YouTube Video)

The story about the Cardinal’s comments was posted on CUATOWER.com on Friday and audio of his remarks was added on Monday. Since its posting, the story went viral online and has been picked up by CNN, CBS, ABC, Catholic News Service, National Catholic Reporter and the Drudge Report. Read more

Capitol Steps Leave No Politician Behind

By Alex Carrion

The political satire group Capitol Steps performed in front of a packed crowd at the Pryzbyla Great Room last Monday. Politics is usually something that is hotly debated, especially among politics majors at the University. But when the show began, it was soon clear that Republican or Democrat, no topic would be too serious to laugh at.

Capitol Steps began performing in 1981, when several Senate staffers got together to make a small show for then Congressman Charles Percy. First designed to be a legitimate nativity song, performer Brad VanGrack explained that the original concept design was abandoned when “we couldn’t find three wise men or any virgins” on Capitol Hill.

The result was a free-for-all parody of songs that made fun of every well known political figure in the 80’s, sparing no one, including their own employers.

Since then, the group has performed for over 27 years, and every show since has had one thing in common: these comedians take no prisoners. Starting with a nice parody of a well known Broadway show, the group was quick to trumpet how excited the leftist media was for a new black president by singing “Obama Mia! Here we go again!” From start to finish, songs from Dancing Queen to Stayin’ Alive and even The Sound of Music were parodied to show how ridiculous Washington can be at times.

When songs weren’t being copied, words were being twisted into hilarious nonsense. The finale, called Dirty Lies, had VanGrack appear onstage doing little more than replacing the first letters of some words. Seeming harmless enough, VanGrack showed how dangerous a jumbled vocabulary can be, discussing the Road to the Election, or as he liked to call it, “The Load to the Erection”, as well as “Spelliot Itzer”, and how he was “Hanging Bores with bot hotties!”

While one could ask such comedians where they get their material from or how long they can keep up their work, it seems obvious that so long as politicians don’t stop having scandals or holding radical positions, there will always be work for Capitol Steps. As VanGrack put it, “The songs [we write] tend to just write themselves because Politicians are so messed up that sometimes the stuff just comes pretty naturally!”

Cadet Cardinal - Web Extra!

Be sure to check out Ben Newell’s article on the Catholic University students who take part in ROTC. He accompanied them on their weekend training session from Nov. 14-16. He also got some great photos and videos, which The Tower is highlighting here.

There is also a video hosted on the Tower’s YouTube account which was shot by Ben Newell and edited by Stephanie Coxe.

Center Stage’s “Looking Up” Spreads a Message of Hope from One Tragic Loss

by Christina Wolfgram

Center Stage Theater Company’s “Looking Up” is a testament to the strength, friendship, and most importantly, the hope that can grow from loss.

Kaitlin Hitchings, a senior musical theatre major, got the idea for the cabaret after a fellow student and close friend, Lauren Alcantar, died of Ewing’s Sarcoma, a malignant round-cell cancerous tumor, during both their sophomore years. “Things happen in your life that you can’t control, but you have to incorporate them in a positive way – that was Lauren’s life,” said Hitchings.

Alcantar was a musical theater major who lived in Portland, OR for most of her life. Alcantar is known for her beautiful voice and spirit. She died at the age of 20 on May 20, 2007.

Though Lauren’s moving story inspired the show, Hitchings made sure that the content was relateable to any audience. Read more

CUA Tower Story on Cardinal’s Comments about Obama Goes Viral

A CUATOWER.com story on a Cardinal who called President-elect Barack Obama’s policies “apocalyptic” has gone viral online and has even been picked up by CNN.

The audio and photo used in the story were provided to a CNN producer by the Tower. CNN also contacted the Vatican and the Obama transition team. Both choose not to comment on the story.

When CNN reached him in Rome, Cardinal Stafford stood by his remarks and said he has no regrets, but declined to have to phone call recorded. He does believe, however, that his remarks can be misunderstood. His take on the word apocalyptic, said Stafford, is different from common western references to the end of the world.

In his understanding, “apocalyptic” means resistance to the divine and natural laws on reproduction and the preservation of human life.

Stafford told CNN that he does believe that Obama’s stance on abortion rights condones violence towards unborn children. He also told CNN that he does not speak for the Vatican.

Engineering Students Examine Explosions of Coke and Mentos

Letting the imaginations of engineering students run wild can cause some explosions, especially when they are given Diet Coke and Mentos.

Students participated in a competition on Friday, November 7, where they were asked to create a nozzle which would shoot the highest fountain of liquid into the air. Nozzle size could not exceed the size of the two liter bottle of soda in height or diameter.

A new record was set this year by junior Nicole Ildeofonso and senior Fran Corso, whose fountains individually reached 34 feet each. A record height of 33 feet was set last year by current senior Joe Cochrane. Read more

B.J. Novak Video

A short video from B.J. Novak’s performance at the Catholic University of America, shot by Michael Oliva.

Fifth Column November 7, 2008

Where do I even begin? I’m privileged to have the school community’s ear this week. A duty that has been admittedly challenging over the course of the semester is a blessing in light of the monumental moment that occurred on Tuesday. I am overwhelmed with ideas to touch on, all encapsulated by the election of President Barack Obama.

So I have a new challenge now – an embarrassment of riches. How to best paint this juncture in American history? Do I focus on the humor of the last few days? The moment on Tuesday night when my companions and I, sitting in my apartment, muted Obama’s televised speech to listen to my upstairs neigbor cry out “We can do it! 45 years! We can do it!” to no one in particular? Being high-fived by complete strangers as I walked down the street at 1:00 AM Wednesday morning? Listening to a woman crying out “My uterus is mine!” as she pranced down U Street?

Should I talk about how great it feels to be in DC right now? Over 90 percent of us voted for Obama on Tuesday, so the mayhem that ensued that night was exciting not only for its power but also for its uniformity – it’s rare to have such a consensus in any given population, especially one as divided as DC can be. I’ve lived in this city for a long time, and I’ve been to my share of political demonstrations in the last four years – all of which were responses to a perceived injustice or bonehead move on the part of the political system: the election of George W. Bush, the war in Iraq, and so on.     Tuesday’s demonstrations were intoxicating for their scale, their longevity, and their unadulterated positivity. All of the tropes of a large-scale protest were present – the energized throngs, the yelling and chanting, the politically-themed accessories, the makeshift musical stylings of people armed with buckets and vocal chords. The only thing missing was the anger and disappointment that usually mark such gatherings in D.C. Strangers hugged, people boogied from atop bus stop shelters, and car horns blared endlessly as drivers expressed their joy, for once, at being stuck in D.C traffic.

Should I get, like, kind of emo? This is the first time in my adult life that I have known a president that I actively like. As a person. He seems nice! His wife is fashionable! His children are well-behaved! (I’m easy to please.) Will he be a great president? Will he “fix” America? Well, I’m neither a political junkie nor a soosthsayer, so I’m not really qualified to make that call. There’s  no telling how the next four years is going to play out – there’s only so much we can predict based on what any leader promises us, and I think we’d be hard-pressed to come to any sort of universal conclusion about how Obama is going to run the country. It’s almost irrelevant. What is relevant is his obvious intelligence and reassuringly positive attitude towards our nation’s potential. The best part? These attributes are going to represent the United States in the political Miss Universe pageant for the next four years. How awesome is that?

I know this probably sounds like a blasphemous dumbing-down of “our nation’s highest office,” but within that turn of phrase lies the rub – along with this altitude comes a global, mediated prominence that many of us felt that George W. Bush did not deserve. Yes, I do have faith that Obama’s grace and diplomacy will guide us as successfully as any president reasonably can through what’s sure to be four sticky years, but I am mostly beyond pumped that his personal attributes will be representing me during that period! (A selfish concern for appearances - how typically American is that?)

Student Photos from Election Night

House Hosts Tours of Caldwell Exorcism Room

The exorcism room in the attic of Caldwell Hall was open to students for tours on Halloween night last Friday, hosted by The House. The House welcomed over 350 students, a record number for House events this year, for a night of food, games and tours that retraced the steps of the famous exorcism that supposedly occurred in Caldwell Hall’s attic.

Rev. Robert Schlageter, the Chaplain & Director of Campus Ministry, helped The House receive special permission in order to open the attic, which is normally locked, to student tours for the night. Throughout the night House members Kelsey Flynn, Josh Baum and Jonathon Jerome led small groups of students up the stairs of Caldwell Hall and through the attic where students were able to stand in the room that the exorcism is said to have occurred. As students walked into the exorcism room they were able to view a bed and a kneeler placed in front of photos pasted on the wall with faces scratched out.

People generally consider the film The Exorcist when discussing exorcisms. Interestingly, the troubled priest in that film was played by Jason Miller, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright and University alumnus.
One of the stories told on the tours was the tragic death of Rev. William Fogarty in June, 1896. According to a Washington Post article regarding the event, a sick Fr. Fogarty could not sleep and had gone to the fourth floor of Caldwell to get fresh air when he lost balance and fell out of the window, falling to his death. When at the hospital, however, doctors found no bruises or cuts on Fogarty’s body.

Many students came dressed in their Halloween costumes. The House members dressed as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, lightening the mood for those that came back white faced and anxious from their visit to the legendary exorcism room.

Judith Guccione and Ryan J. Reilly wrote this story.

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