African Americans students make up 6 percent of the student population at Marquette, less than half the percentage of African Americans that reside in the greater metropolitan community that surrounds campus. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce reported in 2008 that African Americans comprise 16 percent of the city’s population.

Though students of color enroll each year at Marquette, their experiences have come with a variety of triumphs, tribulations and a unique perspective about what life at Milwaukee’s Catholic, Jesuit university has meant for them. For admissions, recruiting African Americans to come to Marquette is an intricate process. The admission staff targets students at both a local and state level. “The local level is the main target with the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) being the hot target,” Latrice Harris-Collins, admission counselor for Marquette’s Multicultural Community Outreach said. “With the Milwaukee schools being our main feeder schools they are selected based off academic rigor,” she said. “It’s not about throwing out t-shirts but getting them ready and telling them to put in the work now.” Besides informing students about the type of coursework needed, and Marquette’s average standardized test scores, the admissions office also aims to prepare students for the reality of a college workload.

“In admissions we work to create opportunities for students to get on cam¬pus and with current students we take them back as Marquette ambassadors to talk to high school students minus the sugar, they have more credibility than we do,” Harris-Collins said. Recruitment efforts in the local area has offered much success for the admissions office with more and more African American students applying. “Showing up in high schools has been most beneficial way for my Milwaukee feeder schools such as Rufus King and Riverside. I talk about application mistakes, quality essays, and making themselves a person over an ID number” said Harris-Collins. Although Harris-Collins said more students of color are applying, a 2009 MPS Research report showed that of the 13,257 students graduating between 2005-2007, only 121 MPS students (2 percent of them) enrolled at Marquette. In terms of recruitment publications and brochures, Collins-Harris said there is no specific one targeted at African American students. “We have a Multicultural Recruitment Committee; we get to give feedback about the publications. Though we have wonderful publications, we know they’re effective, sometimes appearance is everything; if they don’t look like students we’re recruiting, we make it clear,” said Harris-Collins. “Looking at the fall brochures I’ve seen students I recruit with more natural shots being included, we don’t create a separate publication.”

While more and more African Americans are coming to Marquette each year, the cost is still the biggest factor to their decision to attend. One particular program for students is the Equal Opportunity Program (EOP). Originally designed to assist black males, the program now assists students from a variety of nationalities. The EOP primarily focuses on helping finance the education of first generation college students. With 3.7 percent of students in EOP, Marquette is one of the only schools that can provide this type of program to offset costs, Marquette undergraduate admissions office reports. While the program is designed for multicultural students, the EOP does not turn students away based on race. “We never want our white or Asian students to feel they are not qualified because of their race,”said Collins-Harris. “If for example a student is white and fits the financial background EOP aims to help, than we encourage them to apply.”

Regardless of the lower enrollment numbers, African American students from the Milwaukee area and around the country still come to Marquette. However, attending Marquette has had it ups and downs. “For cultural sensitivity it can be quite annoying and frustrating to encounter ignorant and in¬sensitive individuals at an institution of higher learning,” Ewune Ewane, College of Arts and Sciences senior and Black Student Council president said. “It is also angering; one student after learning of my African ancestry, opted to greet me by saying “hakuna matata” from the Lion King.” Dealing with stereotypes has also been a unique experience for students. “On my dorm floor people often asked me to teach them to dance or thought I knew the lyrics to any rap song and after I got into a disagreement with my roommates everyone was scared of me,” Ewane said. Some African American students say they have been asked on occasion if they were on the basketball team. “Since I was tall people would automatically assume I was on the basket-ball team, but those things don’t phase me, as I know if it can happen here it can happen anywhere,” Anthony Nutting, a junior in the College of Communication said. “You have to represent yourself well; sometimes people might think I am not qualified to be here but I take it as a challenge, I like to prove people wrong, and I think I do a pretty good job of doing that.”

For many African American students they have experienced being one of few if not the only African American in their class. “In my English class I was the only black person in there and I remember sitting in the front with everyone staring at me,” said Sarah Bowen a sophomore in the College of Education. Bowen explained a similar experience in another class where she spoke up during a group presentation. “Afterwards people were telling me that I was such a good presenter, they seemed surprised. I took the compliment but are we not all supposed to be good presenters?”

Sometimes students have wondered about the amount of African Americans in their particular area of study. According to the 2009 Marquette Undergraduate Profile, 6.7 percent of the College of Arts and Sciences students are African American. “I don’t know anyone else in the chemistry department who is black,” said Maurice Sharpe a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. “It hasn’t played that much of a role in my experience so far, I went to Marquette University High School, I know what it’s like,” Sharpe said. “All I do is focus on getting my work done; everyone forms study groups but I have my own goals and make the most of things. I know that Marquette has problems with diversity but you can’t downplay the experience; I’m not sure if other colleges have the kind of equipment in the chemistry department that we do or professors that are world renowned.”

Despite an increase in the overall level of diversity at Marquette, some students feel that while the university is making an effort, more could be done on the students’ end. “While I don’t think the university has enough diversity I know they put in a conscious effort, and I feel like African Americans could meet them halfway,” said Ash¬ton Sago, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore. “The university knows what we look like but they don’t know what we like, we need to push harder by getting more people of color in office, as students we need to tell them what we want.” Students are also sympathetic to the fact that Marquette is not the easiest school to get into. “Diversity here could be better but I know people are doing a great effort to get more students of color to come here,” said College of Health Sciences senior Terrell Freeman. “It’s not like Marquette is the easiest school to get into, and its not a school that African Americans think they can get into or would want to go to. I visited campus three times on a tour and I wasn’t sold on the diversity, but I love what Marquette has to offer and since I’m from here I get to be closer to my relatives.”

Although the 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) around the country are a popular option for African American students, many said they feel a Marquette experience has given them a more realistic worldview.

“There are pros and cons to go¬ing to Marquette and an HBCU,” said Sago. “The fact is that there are six per-cent here and that the real world is not all black, our bosses, our colleagues, in the future may not always be black. I gave myself an extra push to come here so that I would not be afraid to face what the real world looks like.” While there are not many African Americans around campus students of color also feel that being at Marquette can be a mixture of pride and struggle. “Whenever times get bad I think about the people in my family that can’t read and our history of being slaves, and how there was a time we were banned from going to school,” Simone Smith, a sophomore in the College of Communication. “People fought so hard for me to go this school, I feel I should be taking advantage of this opportunity.”

Overall African Americans at Marquette emphasize that while a minority group on campus they simply want to be treated with a level of respect and open-mindedness. “I would like people to know that we are equal and we come in peace (I know I sound like an alien),” said College of Arts and Sciences senior Zach Grandberry. “It is already hard to live in a world where everything is not attainable, but for others they can achieve anything. I just want to be respected and treated as a person and not grouped or categorized because of my race and culture.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

Proselytizing is generally understood to be the act of converting one to a specific religion or belief. Marquette has had an evolving policy on the issue, but now uniformly bans active proselytizing by any University affiliated individuals or organizations.

“Accept Jesus, save yourself from the hell you deserve.” The shouts rise above the noise of traffic on Wisconsin Avenue as “Good News” pamphlets are extended to hurried students on their way to class.

Know what proselytism is? If not, you do know. You’ve just experienced it.

Proselytizing is generally understood to be the act of converting one to a specific religion or belief. Marquette has had an evolving policy on the issue, but now uniformly bans active proselytizing by any University affiliated individuals or organizations.

Dr. Christopher Miller, Vice President for Student Affairs said the policy is “more of an operational, logistical piece…it’s not a single entity, it’s a broad based policy.”

The Office of Student Development (OSD) updated the Religious Activities Policy last year, adding the phrase, “and their activities,” to its description of protocol regarding religious event approval.

The inclusion of “activities” in the scope of the University’s proselytizing policy has been felt by evangelical Christian student groups on campus, who say that since the change, OSD has restricted many of their outreach events. One student organization, the non-denominational Christian group, Campus Crusade for Christ was also asked to change their mission statement and re-submit their constitution.

Campus Crusade was asked to remove phrases from its purpose statement that Dr. Jon Dooley Senior Associate Dean of Student Development said, “could appear to contradict the University’s Religious Activities Policy” including, “winning, to lead others to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior” and the organization’s mission as “turn[ing] lost students into Christ centered laborers.”

Michael Waller, a junior in the College of Engineering who runs Campus Crusade’s Men’s Ministry and is on the organization’s core leadership team said this year there has been an increase in OSD and Campus Ministry restrictions and stipulations to their outreach events.

“We have engaged in outreach/evangelism activities in the past which have never clashed with MU’s proselytizing policy before…even though these policies have always been here, they have never been enforced as they are this year,” Waller said.

Dooley said the addition to the Religious Activities Policy did not represent a change in how the policy was implemented, but rather just clarified the existing expectations that were in practice. “No changes were made in how those events were reviewed or approved, it was simply an addition to help organization leaders,” Dooley said.

Student Development does consult and collaborate with Campus Ministry regarding the University proselytizing policy and approval of religious events, but Campus Ministry declined to comment on their role in the implementation of the policy.

Although OSD says there has been no change in the approval process of religious events, other campus Christian groups say they are experiencing a tightening in event rules as well.

Matthew Gerhard, a senior in the College of Engineering and president of the non-denominational student group, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Marquette said that although his organization was not required to resubmit their constitution, OSD and Campus Ministry are “enforcing their rules and regulations much more strictly than ever before.”

Gerhard said earlier in the semester OSD cracked down on a survey the group was distributing because it was interpreted as proselytizing and therefore “unacceptable.”

“They had us redo the survey and make it completely anonymous and we weren’t allowed to talk to anyone taking the survey. They said this had mostly to do with survey policy,” Gerhard said.

While activities such as “personal witnessing, Scripture study, worship, discussion, faith sharing” are appropriate, they “cannot be done for the purpose of converting others,” Dooley said. “The goal of “winning” people for Christ or “changing” or “converting” them is proselytizing and is contrary to the Religious Activities Policy,” he said.

Both Waller and Gerhard agree that Marquette’s ban on proselytizing through the Religious Activities policy is too restrictive. “Personally I think Marquette’s proselytizing policy does go too far in curbing student’s religious freedom on campus. Christians are commanded by God to spread the gospel in both word and action,” Waller said.

“I think what OSD is comfortable with in terms of evangelism is to allow students to come to us and then we can say what we want to say; they don’t want us going to students and saying what we want to say,” Gerhard said. “They want a very passive form of evangelism.”

The Definition Debate

The University’s evolving definition and classification of proselytism has been a contentious issue at Marquette for decades with much of the debate has focused on Marquette’s Catholic identity and obligation as a Catholic institution.

The current Religious Activities Policy currently provides two definitions for proselytizing:

1. “the University does not allow any other individual or organization to actively proselytize its members…That is, no individual or organization can coerce or pressure others or misrepresent themselves,”

2. “No individual or organization…may hold activities on campus the specific purpose of which is to proselytize, that is to make converts of members of the university community to another church or religious affiliation.”

The University’s classification of proselytism has been debated in years past and remains a point of contention for student groups like Campus Crusade and InterVarsity.

“Not only does Marquette’s policy on proselytizing curb students’ freedom, but it also is difficult to understand exactly how they define proselytizing,” Waller said. “In one sentence they refer to proselytizing as coercion and pressure while in another it is referred to as making converts of a person, which are two very different things.”

Dr. Christopher Wolfe, Marquette Professor Emeritus of Political Science and current co-director of the Ralph McInerny Center for Thomistic Studies, said the policy is well-intentioned, but not very coherent or precise.

Wolfe said that while he agrees with the University’s prohibition of coercion or misrepresentation of any kind, the policy goes too far in equating all proselytism with any effort to convert others – “even, apparently, if there is no coercion or pressure or misrepresentation,” Wolfe said.

“…Isn’t it an obligation of all Christians to help others come freely to see the truth of Christianity as they understand it?  I think the answer is clearly ‘yes,’” Wolfe said.

Wolfe also disputed the policy back in 1988 when changes were made by Campus Ministry to restrict proselytism that did not include coercion or misrepresentation. In a 1988 memo to then Director of Campus Ministry, Fr. David Haschka, Wolfe disputed the University’s across the board ban on proselytism, writing, “I think a bald prohibition of proselytism would be incompatible with the Catholic, Christian and Jesuit character of Marquette.”

In his letter, Wolfe cites the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Liberty, stating that the Declaration “asserts the right of religious communities ‘not to be prevented from publicly teaching and bearing witness to their beliefs by the spoken or written word.’” The Declaration also indicates that there are reasonable limits that should be considered.

Dooley said that Marquette does support the Declaration on Religious Liberty and that the University is committed to the quest for truth, “which implies the need for investigation, conversation, and dialogue,” Dooley said. “Religious questions are part of that search and part of students’ development of a religious identity.”

But for Wolfe, Marquette’s definition of proselytizing and Religious Activities Policy remains muddled.

“I think what has happened is twofold.  First, people have rightly become more sensitive about coercion, pressure, misrepresentation, and harassment.  That’s good.  But, second, many people have come to adopt a position of religious indifferentism:  it doesn’t matter what you believe, but only that you are sincere. That is a deep misunderstanding of Christianity,” Wolfe said, “Sincerity is good, but believing the real truth matters.”

Popularity: 3% [?]

The Resident Assistant position remains one of the most sought after and highest paying jobs on campus. RAs receive free room and board, a $1000 cash stipend and professional development. Many people apply for the job because of positive experiences with their own RAs. Others want the high compensation or a boost on the résumé.
Marquette RAs work for the Office of Residence Life, called ORL in RA lingo. ORL hires RAs based on their individual and group interviews, letters of recommendation, and grade evaluations. Often ORL hires only one-third of the applicants, making the position one of the most competitive on campus. “From the time we begin the interview process for RA candidates, we concentrate on helping them understand the responsibilities of the position,” Dr. Jim McMahon, Assistant Vice President and Dean of Residence Life said.
RAs play a major role in the implementation of programs and policies, according to ORL’s Web site. Many of ORL’s policies, however, are unpopular with students. These include visitation hours, opposite sex overnight policy, and alcohol regulations. Some policies like quite hour restrictions are more appreciated by residents. “Quiet hours are the only way that I get any sleep at night. Otherwise the people next door to me would never turn their music down,” Laura Dowd, a sophomore in the College of Business, and Schroeder Hall resident said.
Like their residents, RAs praise and condemn various policies too. “Upon taking the job you understand it is more important for you to follow the policies even if you don’t completely agree. RAs sign a contract saying they will follow all policies. An RA shouldn’t take the position if he can’t completely follow ORL policies,” said Ryan Samz, a former O’Donnell RA and current Teach For America teacher in New Orleans. “Do I wish I could share a beer with some friends? Yes. Do I understand why it’s important that we don’t allow underage drinking? Yes,” another RA said.
Both students and RAs said they sometimes feel antagonized by the rules in their residence halls, though for different reasons. A common gripe among freshmen and sophomores is that their RAs are “out to get them.” Others suggest that their RAs handle policy violations inconsistently. “A friend of mine was allowed to throw her alcohol away rather than being written up,” Becca Levernier, a sophomore in the College of Business and Schroeder resident said. Levernier added that the opposite sex overnight policy is enforced differently from RA to RA.
Some RAs maintain that their residents do not understand the purpose of the policies they must enforce. Others say their residents do not realize that an RA’s job is on the line if he or she fails to document a violation. For these reasons, trying to maintain open relationships while living with residents becomes difficult, Andrew Glaser, a senior in the College of Business and former O’Donnell RA said. Upholding seemingly unfair policies makes RAs the bad guys and “puts us at odds with our residents,” he said. The RAs and McMahon agreed that enforcing rules in the community RAs personally are a part of is a unique and challenging aspect of the job.
The RA position is demanding in several ways: academically, professionally, socially and emotionally. While there were many responses from former RAs as to what type of person it takes to succeed in the position, the common theme between them all was an emotionally mature one. As an RA, you are not only responsible for yourself, but you are also responsible to up to 30 other people. Says one former RA, “at times you are carrying a burden for other people, and it can become really heavy.” Adds former McCormick and O’Donnell RA Frank Karioris, who is now the Operations Coordinator of Housing Services at the Illinois Institte of Technology. “As college students, we are not necessarily prepared for things we are presented.”
Besides having their disciplinary duties, an RA must “take a sincere interest in the welfare of his/her fellow students,” according to ORL’s website. However, ORL does not do nearly enough to help RAs with this emotional burden, said many RAs, including Alex Elliott a graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences and a former Cobeen RA. “We have to maintain confidentiality, and our hall directors are often busy,” Elliott said. Though there are many resources in place to help RAs deal with this extra emotional burden, many former RAs said they are not always used or advertised by the residence hall directors or ORL. The former RA adds “the system is there, but it’s not used as it should be.”
Dr. McMahon disagrees. “We do intensive training, some of which includes simulations of very real issues that they are likely to encounter, and a great deal of which introduces them to the support services that are in place to assist them in their work. This includes the Counseling Center, Health Services, Campus Ministry and Public Safety,” he said.
To further help RAs deal with many of the emotional challenges involved in the position, Elliott suggests that RAs be required to have mandatory meetings with their hall ministers. Although hall ministers live in every residence hall, she said they are often too busy to provide emotional support for RAs. Other improvements proposed by former RAs include more compensation, staff development, and discussion of the issues RAs face.
Although former RAs agree that application materials do not – and realistically cannot – provide an accurate picture of what RA life is really like, Dr. McMahon said ORL does their best to ensure that RAs are well equipped to handle the requirements. “I understand that we cannot prepare staff for all of what they may encounter, so we look to hire candidates who demonstrate positive leadership, good judgment and decision-making skills so that they will utilize the tools that we provide to respond well to situations and issues that arise,” he said.
Despite ORL’s efforts to prepare students, some former RAs said that they received inadequate preparation to help others with their emotional crises. “The first year is really the training for the second year,” said Amber Erickson, a former Cobeen RA and Arts and Sciences graduate. “RA training lacks quality social counseling training,” added Remington Tonar, a former Schroeder RA and current graduate student at Loyola in Chicago. “While the University would like to restrict formal counseling and mentoring duties to the Counseling Center, much of what an RA deals with, especially with freshmen, is related to counseling and mentoring their residents. I personally know many students who feel their RAs were ill-equipped to handle their own emotional and social isolation needs.”
But given the burdens of the job do many RAs come back? Many said they return because of close relationships with their staff members. “The best aspect of the job is learning and growing with your staff and residents,” Samz said, adding “I loved my staff and wouldn’t have traded it for anything else during my tenure at MU.” Former RAs say the relationships they form with their staffs are some of the strongest they have ever had. “I developed wonderful relationships with my staff members and cannot even count the number of good memories I have with them,” said Erickson. Another former RA says her mostly negative experience was worth it because “I wouldn’t have met my best friends if I hadn’t been an RA.”
This benefit may be due in part to ORL’s focus on teamwork. “Teamwork is stressed during all of the training programs, during weekly staff meetings, and in a Peer Facilitation class. These relationships are often cited as among the most rewarding part of being an RA,” McMahon said. Though this is not the case for everyone, it is a major perk in a position where you’re liable to spend breaks, holidays, and basketball games in an empty building rather than with your family or friends.
Other RAs stressed that the relationships developed with residents are the best part of the job. Though it is sometimes forgotten by RAs themselves exactly what the purpose of being a resident assistant is, the residents should be the main focus of the job. “The best aspect of the RA job was the residents,” said Glaser. Tonar added, “The RA position is rewarding in many aspects, but primarily for the opportunity to help younger students through the myriad of collegiate experiences that we all face year after year. As a fellow student, the RA is given this unique opportunity to counsel and guide his or her residents on their journey.”
The professional development is another large draw. While being an RA alone isn’t enough to engender job prospects, the position does supplement the Marquette educational experience. One hall director agreed that the experience of a Marquette RA is one that helps develop maturity, dedication and character. “It is easy for me to tell the difference between students who have served in leadership positions such as the RA role from those who have not, just by their outlook and professionalism,” he said.
Generally, what offset the emotional burdens and possible social and academic pitfalls were the financial support, the lasting relationships with staff members, and resident interactions.
What can be improved about the RA experience? Perhaps there should be a more realistic representation of the challenges applicants will face if selected. Perhaps mandatory meetings with hall ministers are key. Or maybe it would take a reminder to RAs that they do not need to always share those burdens. Says the former hall director, “One of the common missteps of RAs is to let their residents’ emotional burdens become their own. It is something that is talked about during training and throughout the year, and in some ways a testament to our RAs on how much they care about our students. At the same time it is important to remind staff that they are responsible to their residents, but not responsible for them.”
“This is an on-going concern for us at Marquette,” McMahon said. “Students today arrive on campus with a fair amount of emotional baggage. Most of our RA’s choose this job because they care about others, are empathic and want to help wherever they can. A good counselor knows how to help others without taking on their burdens, but this can be difficult for RA’s. That is why we stress how to refer troubled students to the various support services across campus.” He stressed that ORL continually strives to help RAs through referral services, Hall Director development, and an RA class in which RAs can come together and discuss their issues with professional staff.
The RA position undeniably produces headaches and hassles, but a large majority of current and former RAs said the overall experience was worth the troubles. “I don’t want to lie and say it was amazing all the time. It’s tiring. It’s stressful. It’s a lot of work,” Erickson said, “but I felt like I made a difference for some people.”
One would be hard-pressed to find a perfect job on or off campus. The RA position is no exception. Though he finds the entire experience worth it, “the loss of social life, terrible working hours and no privacy almost made it not so,” Glaser said.
Because of its scope, complexity, and requirements, the resident assistant position is probably never going to be summarily presented in all its full detail. The experience of a Marquette resident assistant varies as widely as the experience of a Marquette student. It is important for residents and their RAs not to forget that an RA is still, and foremost, a student. Trying to maintain a healthy balance of being a student, employee, friend, and enforcer is a tough test.
As a former RA himself, McMahon outlined the best aspect of the job. “What I find most rewarding is the large number of RAs who report that being in that role was the most challenging and rewarding student experience that they had ever had. And once in the work world, they realize the importance of the training and experience they had as an RA.” And Karioris puts it best when he says, “RAs are still growing into what they want to become and the RA position can be such a monumental change that whether they know that or not, the impact the job

Popularity: 6% [?]

Concrete canoe? Is this a joke? Concrete doesn’t float.

Yes it does, and it doesn’t just float because it’s in the shape of a canoe. Engineering students here at Marquette University and 13 other schools in the Midwest build canoes out of special concrete and race them as part of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Great Lakes Conference, an annual civil engineering student competition.

The concrete canoe team consists of about 20 civil engineering students who work throughout the school year in order to complete a canoe to enter in the competition. The team members are all part of the ASCE. ASCE oversees the competition by providing guidelines, some funding and the final judging. The competition rotates between host schools each year; this year Notre Dame was the host.

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Work began long before the team was cruising through the water in their green canoe.

As early as September the team was already preparing for the April competition. The team started with the basics. They had to build a stand to hold the mold for the canoe, the mold which is made out of large Styrofoam blocks and a plastic tent to control the humidity when putting the concrete into the mold.

While the majority of the team went to work building these necessary pieces, Steven Graziano, a senior civil engineering student, began designing the concrete mix. White portland cement, fly ash, slag and silica fumes make up the cement portion of the mixture. The aggregate of the canoe is mostly composed of glass beads and recycled concrete. The mix also contained water and shreds of fiberglass as reinforcement as well as chemical admixtures, powders and fluids that help control the workability of the concrete.

“It’s one of the most exotic mixes I’ve ever seen,” said David Newman, laboratory manager for civil and environmental engineering and technical advisor to the team. “That’s just not done; you don’t make buildings or roads out of that stuff. That’s strictly for this and there aren’t really any guidelines written on how to design that.”

The only guideline for the mix was that it had to contain at least 25 percent recycled materials. This year’s team decided to adopt the motto “It’s not easy being green,” and used 100 percent recycled materials for their mix. The rest of the mix was open-ended and was devised with technical ability and creativity.

“The technical ability that students leave here with is essentially a given,” said Dr. James Crovetti, ASCE faculty advisor for the team. “It’s really what can they do to work with other people and get outside their box of comfort, and to be able to look at a problem from different perspectives, then find a solution and not get frustrated by the challenges in front of them.”

While Graziano did most of the technical heavy lifting, he did not do it alone. “There were a lot of times where I would go to Dave and we’d run into some sort of road block and together… we would put our heads together and figure out something.”

In the beginning of February, the team poured the canoe. While Graziano and a group of students finished measuring all of the components of the mix in the lab, project manager Patrick Carruthers a senior civil engineering student and another group of students were waiting in a room in the basement of Cramer Hall with the mold. The first bucket of concrete made its way over and the team started putting concrete in the mold inside the hot steamy plastic tent while the smell of concrete and sweat filled the air.

The tent kept the level of humidity high, which gave the team more working time with the concrete. Hours and a few buckets of concrete later the canoe sat in the mold, complete with fiberglass reinforcement between two layers of concrete. But it was nowhere near finished.

The canoe still needed to cure for several weeks, before the next steps could take place, which included water-grinding the inside and outside of the canoe to make it smooth as well as sealing it to keep it from absorbing more water.

After four weeks, disaster struck. When the team attempted to remove the canoe from the mold, it cracked in half. The canoe had bonded to the mold and was not able to shrink while it cured. The reinforcement also had ripped.

“It was like getting punched in the stomach,” said Graziano. With the competition less than four weeks away, the team had suffered a big blow but remained committed.
“We were going with or without something,” said Patricia Fleming, a junior civil engineering student and ASCE Marquette Chapter president.

The team knew what they had to do. “We sat there, talked about how it sucked, and then we were like: What do we have to do to get a new one?” said Carruthers. Fortunately, a few dedicated members: Adrianna Stanley, a senior civil engineering student, Ryan Chapman, a junior civil engineering student and Graziano were able to repair and put the mold back together over spring break so the team could pour a new canoe when everyone returned.

“All-in-all, it was something that needed to be done and we accepted that,” said Chapman.

With less than two weeks until the competition the team poured their second canoe, giving them only a week for it to cure and a few days to finish the water grinding and sealing. Four days before heading to Notre Dame the canoe slipped right out of the mold without cracking. This time the team had switched reinforcements as well as lined the mold with plastic wrap to prevent any bonding issues.

With the final coat of sealer still drying, the team loaded the canoe into a trailer on a Thursday afternoon and departed for Notre Dame. Every bump the trailer went over on the three and a half hour drive could have caused the canoe to crack, but it made it in one piece.

Early next morning the team headed to St. Mary’s Lake on the Notre Dame campus. The sun wasn’t quite up yet; it was cold and clouds were looming overhead. The team unloaded the canoe and placed it on its stand while the other teams started to trickle in and do the same.

With temperatures in the mid-30s and gusts of wind blowing across the lake, the team carried the canoe into the water for the first time. It floated.

The team started filling the canoe with water as part of their first test. The first test is the swamp test, where the canoe must be fully submerged and then float to the surface. The team took their hands off the canoe and it started to float. The team cheered, emptied the water out of the canoe, hauled it out and tried to stay warm until their first race.

After all the teams had gone through the swamp test and had their canoes judged for specifications, the races began. The first race was the women’s slalom/endurance race. In this time-trial race the participants had to weave through a set of buoys and then paddle around a far buoy and cross the finish line. The Marquette team helped Fleming, Stanley and Kaleianuene Akaka, a senior civil engineering student into the canoe. The team was excited to see the canoe move on the water for the first time. Ready and in position, the girls raised their paddles and were through the finish line in five minutes and eight seconds placing fourth. At the end of the day, the Marquette team took seventh overall in the races. However, the competition did not end there. The races were worth only a small portion in the overall canoe competition, which included a design report, a presentation as well as the canoe itself.

The conference also includes other competitions such as manila folder bridge, concrete golf, wastewater treatment, a mystery competition, technical paper report and a steel bridge competition.
On Saturday morning and afternoon, the team participated in manila folder bridge as well the wastewater treatment, technical paper and mystery competitions. Carruthers and Graziano also gave their presentation on the canoe. The judges were impressed with the fact that the team was able to use 100 percent recycled materials as well the fact that they were able to come together as a team to construct a new canoe in such a short amount of time.

Saturday was the final banquet when all the teams gathered for dinner. As the final results and awards were announced, everyone on the team was taken by surprise. The Marquette team had placed third in the concrete canoe competition, less than 5 points away from University of Wisconsin-Madison, who has dominated the competition in the past, and often competes in nationals.

“It was an insane feeling. Being there at the banquet and hearing our name called for third place, all of us were in shock,” said Fleming. The team took fourth overall as well as first in concrete golf and second for Stanley’s technical paper.

Popularity: 37% [?]

Marquette has a theatre. Marquette has a theatre department. Marquette has a theatre major. Really.
“I have gotten on the L.I.M.O. and told them to go to the Helfaer Theatre, and they have pulled up in front of the Varsity. That happened twice,” said Jessica Orr, a junior double major in Theatre Arts and Communication Studies.

The Helfaer Theatre is actually located next to Lalumiere Language Hall and is right behind the Haggerty Art Museum. It houses the program, students and faculty for Marquette’s only art degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts. Theatre Arts is a major in the Diederich College of Communication.

Both faculty and students in the Performing Arts Department recognize that the theatre is not well-known at Marquette.

“When I meet other professors and faculty, they are often surprised to learn that there is a theatre department on campus,” said

Debra Krajec, an adjunct associate professor of Performing Arts. And not only the professors and faculty are unaware of the program, the students remain oblivious as well.

“They just don’t know [we’re here],” said PJ Berns, a senior Theatre Arts major.

There seem to be a variety of reasons for this university-wide lack of knowledge.

“I don’t think the arts are very prominent on campus,” said Jenni Shine, also a senior Theatre Arts major. “We don’t have a music department or a visual arts department or anything else to tie into [the theatre]. I think we’re more focused on sports and academics.”

Records held by the Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Marquette University Libraries (UNIV C-11.1 Series 1, Box 1 “Carousel”) show that Marquette once had the awareness and focus on theatre it lacks today. In 1954, Rev. John J. Walsh, S.J., the chair of the theatre department at the time, traveled to New York to personally ask Oscar Hammerstein II for the rights to perform “Carousel.” Marquette became the first amateur company allowed to perform the musical.

According the Thomas Jablonsky’s book, “Milwaukee’s Jesuit University: Marquette 1881-1981,” the theatre tradition continued in 1963, when “Oliver Twist” was in such high demand on campus that extra performances had to be scheduled, totaling 78 performances in all. Theatre’s reign on Marquette’s campus continued into the 1970s with the construction of the Helfaer Theatre in 1974.

After the theatre was built, the prominent Marquette interest in the theatre began to dwindle.
Provost John J. Pauly believes that the advent of multiple other types of entertainment has been another source of the decreasing appeal of theatre to the University as well as to the public in general. However, as an ardent advocate of the theatre program, he believes that Marquette should “reclaim that part of our history.”

The current program offers quality that deserves just as much appreciation as the theatre offered earlier in Marquette’s history.
“Marquette theatre is as good if not better than many professional shows that I’ve seen,” said Bonnie Auguston, a senior French and Theatre Arts double major.

And behind these performances is the intensive education in all aspects of theatre that Marquette theatre students receive.
“What we offer that is totally different from any other school is a BA program in a liberal arts school with a Jesuit mission and a top-notch theatre program,” said Stephen Hudson-Mairet, the Performing Arts Department Chair. “A Marquette education is so strong. Here they become the whole artist. We educate them beyond how you move on stage. That theology class ties in to that performance you are working on. Drama’s about being human and if you don’t know anything outside of these four walls you don’t know what it means to be human. So we encourage our students to go out and experience life, which they can do here at Marquette.”

Marquette’s Performing Arts Department is constantly working on improving this education. The department is currently applying for accreditation through the National Association of Schools of Theatre. According to Hudson-Mairet, the department needs to make some improvements to achieve the full accreditation, such as increasing the number of faculty, as it currently only employs five full-time faculty members. However, he hopes that Marquette will receive an associate membership or a deferred membership in NAST this spring.

This accreditation could mean extra money for the department, which already has a strained budget, only another aspect of why many Marquette students do not know the theatre exists: there is no money for advertising.

“I am given an allotted amount of money each year, and out of that has to come the money for the staging, the costumes, the lights, the guest directors and everything we do here in the theatre,” said Hudson-Mairet. “And out of that same budget I have to find the money for advertising, so it doesn’t end up being a lot of money that we can spend on advertising.”

According to Krajec, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel no longer covers academic theatre, which means it is harder to reach the Milwaukee and Marquette community. So, the department had a public relations class work on ideas to promote the theatre on campus and even instated a committee of public relations students to provide additional help.

One of the promotions to come out of the class was the institution of “Date Night” on the second Thursday performance of every mainstage show. According to Hudson-Mairet, this has really increased ticket sales on that night. Another promotional idea was “Philanthropy Friday,” where the theatre offers the opportunity to student groups with a philanthropic outlet to sponsor a Friday mainstage performance. The theatre would then give $1 from each ticket sold for that performance to the student group’s charity. This particular promotion has not been successful for the department yet, but Hudson-Mairet remains positive and hopes to continue working on it.

Another idea to increase ticket sales is the ability to sell tickets online. Hudson-Mairet hopes to have this service running by next year.

The Performing Arts Department also has one advocate at the administrative level: Provost John Pauly, former Dean of the College of Communication.

“I tried to bring the special needs of the theater program into the normal budgeting and planning processes of the Diederich College, and of the university as a whole,” Pauly said.

If and when the Performing Arts Department is able to reach the majority of the student body, it will only enrich the Marquette student’s college experience.

“[Theatre] is different than reading a book. It’s different than going to see a movie. It’s your peers up there, going through that… watching them walk in the shoes of this person; it makes it a personal experience for you too,” Krajec said.

Popularity: 13% [?]

At Marquette University, mission is everything. Mission is, or should be, the reason behind every major decision made by every office on campus. It is, and should be, what drives this University to become the very best that it can be. Especially this time of year, mission takes on a new meaning. It transcends the ambiguous and becomes a concrete reality in the form a week geared towards celebrating what it means to be Marquette University.

Every year, Mission Week offers Marquette administrators, faculty, staff, students and members of the Milwaukee community a chance to evaluate the meaning and impact of Marquette’s mission on the world around us. It allows the abstractness of “mission” to take on a more practical and vocalized meaning, and in doing so, allows this Mission Week to motivate students in a special and unique way. Past Mission Weeks have included a wide diversity of speakers from a variety of different backgrounds, mostly centered on social justice issues.

This year, the many Mission Week activities seemed to focus on enriching student’s minds with diverse perspectives, and providing programs and lectures whose intent was ethical decision-making and acknowledgement of one’s impact on others. iAct, the theme of this year’s Mission Week, implies that students play a very active role in the definition and formation of Marquette’s mission on a daily basis.

According to Rev. Douglas Leonhardt S.J., of Marquette’s Office of Mission and Identity, “The Mission of Marquette as a Catholic Jesuit University is what gives us our deepest identity. Stepping back and focusing on our mission can make us more aware of what really defines us as Marquette.”

One major challenge to the continued success of Mission Week is keeping it fresh and dynamic. To counter this, Leonhardt says, “Mission Week gets tweaked each year so that the activities and programs stay fresh, attract more participants, and help people reflect on the pillars of: faith, excellence, leadership and service. Each year the planning committee has many new members from the student body, faculty, administrators and staff, so new ideas emerge.” Leonhardt continued to say that he hopes that all students are able to take advantage of Mission Week events, as it is a very special time for the University as a whole.

The keynote speaker, Dr. Shirin Ebadi, was poised, seemed well spoken (although the whole speech was translated), and had a very direct message for the Marquette community. To Mara Branli, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, “it was really pretty simple for me: she is not afraid to dream…but she is truthful in that our dreams cannot stay in our imaginations, we must bring them into reality through action.”

For freshman Scott Luke, College of Business, “I think it was really neat to witness a Nobel Peace Prize recipient. It is always interesting to hear someone not native to the U.S. give a perspective of what other nations globally think of the U.S. and its policies. Dr. Ebadi had a great message and profound messages about Islam and human rights.”

Those who were in attendance seemed truly interested and open to what Ebadi was saying, however due to the reactions of many in attendance it seemed that the opinions of the crowd were congruent with those of the speaker. Perhaps this is another reason why a wider variety of student tickets should have been made available, to ensure a greater diversity of students. An event attended by just as many, if not more, middle-aged attendees as students does not provide members of the Marquette student body with the opportunity to learn, or be exposed to new ideas. In fact, the erupting applause and standing ovation that occurred after her praise of President Obama demonstrated that many in the audience really enjoyed having their own personal beliefs ratified.

Whatever one’s personal political stance or viewpoint of Ebadi is, it is hard to deny her ability to inspire. One particularly touching moment was when Ebadi exclaimed, “Non-Democratic Islamic governments don’t hold the key to Heaven; suicidal operations will not take you to Heaven. The framework of Democracy is human rights laws… [and] weapons such as religion and ideology should not be in the hands of the government.” Her sentiment echoed through the room as her translator relayed the message to everyone in the ballrooms, and it became evident that no matter how negatively she views the previous U.S. administration, Ebadi is truly passionate for human rights.

One disappointing feature of the event is that Ebadi did not stick around for a panel discussion or question and answer segment following her keynote. It would have been interesting to hear her publically expand on her wide political stance on some of her more polarizing views, especially those towards the former President Bush and U.S. intervention abroad. Regardless, a successful Mission Week needs a successful keynote speaker, and has been the case in the past, the keynote did not fail to get people talking.

One problem this year’s Mission Week faced is that many students were unable to attend the Mission Week keynote, either due to the time it was planned for, or poor ticket distribution schemes. Either way, Mission Week continues to be evaluated, that it might be implemented better next year. A few suggestions have been raised for improving Mission Week here at Marquette by students, staff and faculty alike.

In evaluating Mission Week as a whole, Leonhardt says, “There are the two major events of Mission Week, the Mass on Sunday and the keynote speaker, which are always well attended. But some of the other events during the week, which are well planned, but poorly attended, need evaluation.” In reference to these events, Leonhardt reflects, “perhaps they need to be changed or dropped entirely. We do an evaluation after Mission Week each year, during which we ask questions about numbers attending and whether they accomplished their goal of bringing people together and focusing on a particular aspect of our mission.”

Many people noticed a discrepancy between the amounts of faculty, staff and administrators present and the number of students. In a random polling it was concluded that, for the vast majority of students, the time of the event was the major deterrent.

Mike Hennicke, a junior in the College of Education, said of Mission Week, “I went to the last Mission Week speaker. Sadly, I would have loved to go [this year], but 4 p.m. on a Thursday? I had class and a meeting.” Scheduling was the issue for seniors Brandon Rindfleisch, Arts & Sciences, and Greg Shutters, Communication, as well as many others who had prior academic commitments that afternoon.

Further, many students are not fully aware of what Mission Week is. They know that there is something outside of the ordinary going on, but never take the initiative to learn more. The Mission Week planning committee also faces the challenge of raising awareness and interest among the student body.

The challenge of an event such as Mission Week is to ask members of the Marquette community, what does “mission” mean to your identity? At a Catholic University, the question changes slightly: What does “mission” mean to my relationship with Christ? This challenge to students and faculty stands as a constant reminder of a lesson learned by many at a Tuesday night 10 p.m. Mass two years ago. When showing off the beauty of the chapel one night, Rev. John Naus S.J. pointed to the arm-less Jesus (lost during a bombing in WWII), which hangs on the back wall of the St. Joan of Arc Chapel. According to Fr. Naus, “we are all called to be the arms of Christ reaching out to the Marquette community, to those who need us.”

Perhaps rather than searching out a great keynote speaker, we need only look to the people we have right here at Marquette to learn something about being men and women for others. After all, what would Mission Week be if it were simply one week? Mission Week, at Marquette, should be every week.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Bringing up academic advising during standard small talk among Marquette students is sure to bring about a series of broad, but equally fervent responses. Academic situations vary from student to student, but academic advising at Marquette and its effectiveness in preparing students for graduation is often described as either a nightmare or a godsend.

ADVISING’S TWO WAY STREET FOR STUDENTS

While students who enter Marquette as first semester freshman are assigned a departmental major adviser, transfer students follow a somewhat different advising track. Meghan Dolan, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences transferred to Marquette from the University of Arizona at the beginning of her sophomore year. She said advising was a factor in her decision to transfer.

“I didn’t have an adviser at the University of Arizona,” Dolan said. “I didn’t know who to go to with questions about required courses and what ones would go with my major. I didn’t know who to talk to, and just had a general lack of direction.”

Dolan said after being accepted into Marquette, she received an e-mail from the Advising Department at the College of Arts and Sciences over the summer and then was able to then meet with an academic adviser to map out the courses she needed before she registered for classes.

“I met with my adviser before school even started and we talked a lot, which was really nice. She set up sheets and helped me map out my gen eds and everything I needed to do to graduate on time, and how I could get classes to double count for requirements, because I behind on credits,” said Dolan. “She’s been super helpful.”
Dolan met with her adviser twice more throughout her first semester, and said her adviser made herself very available to discuss any questions and concerns.
“She was really good about making sure I was adjusting and fitting in and making friends, making sure I was in the right classes.”

After her first year at Marquette, Dolan was assigned a major-specific adviser to meet with every semester before registration.

“I have a specific academic adviser now, but she’s relatively new and I’ve always wondered, do they really know what I need other than what’s a good major-related course for me to take?”

As positive as Dolan’s advising experience as been, College of Communication junior Joe Gacioch hasn’t been as fortunate, his advising experience at Marquette has been, in his words, “below average to say the least.”

Gacioch entered Marquette as a broadcast and electronic communication major, and was initially assigned a faculty member in that department as an adviser. Gacioch switched to Public Relations, subsequently changing advisers.

“She was either in her first or second year at MU, so she was unclear as to what classes I had to take to fulfill core, college and major requirements. As such, I basically had to figure out my requirements on my own,” Gacioch said.

Gacioch explains that although he is required to meet with his adviser, he usually has his classes already picked out.
“I was in Johnston Hall, not just her office, for eight minutes for my last advising session,” Gacioch said.

In addition to his poor experience, Gacioch said many of his friends have also had “below average experiences with their advisers.”
“I think that many students are unsatisfied with the advising system, as a whole, because of the lack of required sessions.”

MARQUETTE’S ADVISING STRUCTURE AND PHILOSOPHY

Each college at Marquette individually organizes and assigns advisers to students who have declared a major, but the Advising Center in the College of Arts and Sciences has a distinctively comprehensive program for Arts and Sciences students, transfer students and students who have an undecided major.

According to their Web site, the Advising Center utilizes full-time professional advisers who are available to assist students with “choosing a major, utilizing study skills techniques, determining career goals, selecting and scheduling courses and preparing for professional school.”

The Advising Center promises that their advisers will know students well and meet individually until a major is declared and other questions regarding courses, majors and careers are answered.

Brenna Vogel, who is an Academic Adviser at the Advising Center for College of Arts and Sciences takes that promise seriously. As a full-time pre-major adviser, Vogel works with 150 students on a one on one basis. Vogel typically meets with freshman, sophomores and transfer students from other universities or colleges within Marquette until they are paired with a faculty adviser in their area of study in the College of Arts and Sciences.

“I really get to know the students that I serve,” Vogel said. “I aim to see each student three times a semester, more if he/she wants. If a student is on academic probation, I meet with him/her weekly to make sure that we are working together to achieve academic success.”

Vogel also assists students with study abroad plans, summer school options and to ensure a smooth transition from high school to college, holds workshops on time management, organizes the College Majors Fair and does curriculum presentations during Orientation and Preview.

“I love what I do and I love my students. Advising is extremely rewarding and truly gives me a chance to get to know students on a personal level. My goal is to embody “cura personalis,” care for the whole person – mind, body, and spirit.”

MAJOR ADVISER PERSPECTIVE

College of Communication Associate professor, Dr. Ana Garner has been a faculty adviser for 16 years, and said faculty are expected to become familiar with the requirements of the major, college and university when advising students.

“The College of Communication has always held information sessions as things changed. Since faculty oversee requirements and course content they are usually familiar with changes that occur. The information sessions help fill in the gaps.”

Garner said College of Communication faculty undergoes supplemental training as academic requirements change and said balancing an advisee load is a part of being a faculty member just as much as teaching and researching.

“It is part of the ebb and flow of academic life, thus advising demands change as we move through the academic year in the same way the other work does.”
In his role as chair of the political science department, Dr. Lawrence LeBlanc, who has been advising and teaching at Marquette for 40 years, is responsible for assigning and meeting with all students who declare a major in political science.

“Yes, I would consider myself accountable to the College for the efficiency of the advising program in Political Science,” LeBlanc said. Students can either choose or be assigned an adviser after meeting with LeBlanc. He said, “the ability for students to choose their adviser is important.”

“I make every effort to be sure that students have advisers they will be comfortable working with,” LeBlanc said. “Advising is very important, but not all students see it as very important. Some want help not only with course selection but with working out, or at least thinking about, career plans and options. Others do not and are very self-reliant in making decisions on such matters.”

LeBlanc, who received the College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Advising Award in 2006, said he was given no training on advising when he first came to Marquette.

“From time to time I went to advising workshops, particularly when I served as a Freshman Adviser in the College of Arts and Sciences. I do not require that the faculty undergo special training.”

Despite the lack of a formal training program, LeBlanc said the faculty in his department consult among themselves and share knowledge and insight on advising.
“Our objective is to provide first-rate advising to students, and I would say that we almost invariably achieve that.”

Popularity: 19% [?]

With the election over and the semester coming to a close, The Warrior thought it might be a good idea to shift focus and briefly survey the state of Catholicism on campus. As a Catholic institution of higher learning, fostering an environment that provides students the tools and knowledge necessary to deepen their faith should be a priority. Marquette’s mission statement attests to this responsibility when it notes that its “Catholic identity is expressed in our choices of curricula, our sponsorship of programs and activities devoted to the cultivation of our religious character, our ecumenical outlook, and our support of Catholic beliefs and values.”

The university’s Catholicity is at the core of its identity, and many of the standards and rules in place are rooted in Catholic values. On the surface, it would seem that the University is overwhelmingly Catholic.

However, despite the rhetoric promulgated by the University, what does one actually find when they look beyond the crucifix in every classroom? How active and informed is the Catholic majority at Marquette? Do the programs the University initiates have a positive impact on the faith of students on campus? How effective is Marquette at fostering and promoting its Catholic identity? On the other hand, are students doing their part to advance their faith? Certainly most students are aware that the University has an Office of Campus Ministry, which works closely with Christian and non-Christian student organizations alike. However, how many students, especially those that consider themselves Catholic, actively seek to take advantage of what Campus Ministry has to offer? Are students actively seeking to deepen their understanding of their faith?

These questions are complex and can be very subjective; indeed finding comprehensive answers to these inquiries may not even be possible. However, seeking to encourage thought and discussion on this topic, The Warrior interviewed a handful of students, faculty and staff who are involved with various aspects of spirituality at Marquette. These people are all in positions that allow them to observe and comment on the state of Catholicism on campus. They were asked to answer a series of questions evaluating Catholic activity amongst students and then grade the campus’ Catholicity in several categories. The findings of this brief survey of selected individuals highlight many of the things that Marquette and its student body are doing correctly to further the University’s Catholic identity. It also reveals some areas of deficiency that could use some improvement and attention. Hopefully, the following exposé will shed light on some of these shortcomings and serve as a call to action, urging students, faculty and staff alike to work towards a University that is unashamedly, and passionately Catholic.

The questions that were asked can be divided into five categories dealing with participation in religious activity, knowledge of Catholic teaching, involvement of non-Catholics, emphasis among students on prayer and emphasis on social justice and service. The interviewees were then asked to provide suggestions for bettering those categories that they feel need improvement. The following will provide five different perspectives on these questions from active students and staff.

Student A

Catholic Outreach is one of the larger, regularly meeting, Catholic student organizations on campus. As such, active participants of Outreach are an ideal source for opinions on campus Catholicism.

One regular female attendee of Catholic Outreach, who wishes to remain anonymous, believes that, “for a Catholic school, there are definitely not a lot of Catholics participating in religious activities on campus…if Catholics really wanted to grow in their faith, they would be more active and look for ways to build on their relationship with Christ.”
She expressed their concern with the low attendance at Campus ministry sponsored retreats and activities, as well as the low participation in Catholic student groups, expressing the desire to see new faces at these events.

On the topic of catechized students, Student A sees a sharp division between those who are informed on the teachings of the Church and those who are not, saying that the University and Catholic organizations should “focus more on catechesis and discovering church doctrine…it would be awesome if there was more discussion on Catholic topics such as how to pray the Rosary, Eucharistic adoration and John Paul II’s theology of the body.”

Despite these shortcomings, she feels that the University does an excellent job of getting students of other faiths involved, noting that ecumenism is important and that Marquette performs its duty to people of other faiths superbly. However, she warns that, “Marquette, especially Campus Ministry, focuses so much on trying to include everyone that they sometimes forget that they are really Catholic at heart and must uphold Catholic values above all others.”

In addition to ecumenism, Student A sees Social Justice as one of the University’s strengths, and iterates that she’s “really proud” of Marquette’s dedication to service. Although, she cautions that students must be careful not to over-emphasize the service aspect of the faith and forget about other elements like the Eucharist and prayer, saying, “the root of service is Christ, and we must grow in a relationship with Him before any real service can be done.”

As a means of improving the Catholic environment on campus, Student A suggests hosting panels on Catholic topics like Sacraments, marriage and on controversial topics like homosexuality to provide more ways that students can further explore their faith.

Manresa Intern

Manresa intern Emily Schumacher, who works in the Office of Campus Ministry, also provided some of her thoughts on these questions. In answering the first inquiry about participation, Schumacher poignantly highlighted that it is very difficult to define a faith-based activity, as many students –she believes – pursue their faith in their own way. She also pointed out that although it appears that students lack information on what the Church teaches, this is a universal problem that is not specific to Marquette. Schumacher also believes that the University definitely tries to involve people from other faiths in its faith-based activities, saying that Marquette needs to “remain true to our Catholic core, but not be exclusive.”

On the topic of prayer, Schumacher believes that students on campus are spiritual and overwhelmingly engage in some sort of prayer, whether it’s in the Catholic tradition or not. Social Justice is something she says is very important to certain students, and something that Campus Ministry does an excellent job of. On this subject, she would like to see the Catholics who are heavily involved in liturgical circles engage in more service, and vice-versa, as these are both essential aspects of the faith.

Beyond this, Schumacher views the impending Campus Renew program as a positive addition to Marquette’s arsenal of faith programs. Campus Renew is a program that consists of small faith communities that allow people to connect with their faith alongside of others. Currently, the core team for this initiative is training and preparing for the program’s official launch next semester.

Student B

Another student respondent, who is active in Campus Ministry activities, also wishes to remain anonymous. This student offered a different angle regarding the level of participation among Catholic students. He surmises that if Mass attendance is included, 80 percent of students are involved in some type of religious activity, saying that “there is an overwhelmingly strong base of participation.”

This student also sees an adequate amount of catechesis amongst Catholic students, asserting that “many people know the basics of their Catholic faith and have their own way of living it.” Adding, however, that “there is a lot of misunderstanding on the Church’s teachings regarding human sexuality, particularly contraception, and I think it would be beneficial to have a program about that…without any bias against the Church.”

On the subject of ecumenism, Student B feels that the University does a good job of this, and that many retreats and activities sponsored by Campus Ministry do an excellent job of involving those of other faith backgrounds. He adds that Marquette has especially excellent opportunities for service, but cautions as Student A did, that a “very small number of people often forget that the service, justice and peace which we promote is centered on our faith and need to re-realize that no difference in the world can be made without the grace of God.” For suggestions on how to improve the shortcomings he perceives, Student B notes that Campus Ministry is doing a great job of making improvements, citing the addition of Catholicism 101 programs. In addition, he proposes tapping into other aspects of Ignatian spirituality in order to “help develop the spirituality of our campus and help keep our service faith-oriented.”

Actively involved alumnus

To obtain an entirely different perspective on these questions a Marquette alumnus who is still heavily involved in campus activities was chosen. This gentleman wished to remain anonymous, but was able to contribute several interesting thoughts to this conversation.

Like Schumacher, this alumnus noted the complexity of having to pinpoint who qualifies as a Catholic, but believes that among those who identify themselves as such there is a high level of involvement with various faith-based activities on campus.

Addressing the level of catechesis among students, the alumnus said that from his perspective the level of knowledge of Catholic teaching varies greatly by subject area and that it is rare to find students that will know everything about everything.

He indicated that he believes the level of prayerful experiences at Marquette is relatively high, saying “I think it’s a gift” that so many students engage in formal and informal prayer.
He also mentioned that the level of service at Marquette is very positive, although noted that it may be advantageous to “renew the emphasis on the inherent connection between community service and faith.”

On top of this he added that it is essential for the University to continue strengthening and maintaining the overall culture of faith so that it permeates the culture on campus.

Liturgical Director

To provide yet a different angle on the state of Catholicism on campus, The Warrior turned to Gretchen Baumgardt, the Director of Liturgy in Campus Ministry. From her position she sees a lot of students, “who are very committed to participating in Campus Ministry-sponsored activities,” but admits that the there is a struggle “with getting beyond the choir of folks that tend to participate in everything, and finding ways to encourage new people to get involved as well.”

On the subject of catechesis, Baumgardt believes that there is always room for improvement, noting that, “there is so much to learn and discover about the Catholic faith that isn’t elaborated upon fully in the Catechism of the Catholic Church or in one’s experience of a theology course.”

However, despite this, Catholics at Marquette still place a big emphasis on liturgical prayer but, Baumgardt adds that during her time as a hospital chaplain she was reminded that prayer is a “very intimate experience for people and is something that is difficult to evaluate.”

She concludes by pointing out that Campus Ministry is currently working on addressing the catechetical needs of students through new faith formation opportunities and reflection groups.

The GPA of Catholicism on campus

In addition to interviewing a select group of involved people, The Warrior also surveyed twenty Catholic students, faculty and staff to obtain a grade for Marquette’s Catholic culture. The categories stipulated were Sunday Mass attendance, attendance of weekly faith activities, knowledge of Catholic doctrine, involvement in social justice and service work, orthodoxy of student body and participation at liturgy. The grades gathered average out to:

Sunday Mass attendance: B
Participation at Liturgy: AB
Attendance of weekly faith activities, including weekly Mass: B
Knowledge of Catholic doctrine: C
Involvement in social justice and service: AB
Orthodoxy: BC

From these few interviews and surveys it can be seen that opinions on the state of Catholicism are diverse, and depending on one’s perspective, the way the University improves the culture of faith on campus changes. As mentioned before, the questions we asked are very complex and intricate questions. In no way was this exposition of perspectives intended to be a scientific analysis of Catholic students. Its sole purpose is to provoke thought and dialogue on the issues and questions addressed. The people interviewed and surveyed, including those whose names have been withheld, are all involved in areas of spirituality on campus that give them the ability to observe the state of Catholicism at Marquette. Their views are valuable, and varied.

Hopefully, the perspectives offered here cause readers to pause and reflect on what it means to be a Catholic and Jesuit university, what form that identity should take and where each individual fits within that bigger picture.

Popularity: 24% [?]

What a long and strange race it has been.

The past year we have watched a wide array of candidates vie for the chance to be our forty-fourth president until it finally came down to the two major contenders for the office, Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama. Both ran aggressive and well-funded campaigns, with the candidates together raising over $1 billion for the first time in history. Furthermore, a huge percentage of Obama’s funds were donated by individuals, with a significant number of small contributions coming from people who were giving to a political campaign for the first time.

Obama’s success overall can be to a great extent attributed to the huge number of first-time voters, contributors and volunteers that came out in support. Americans were inspired and moved to action more than ever before.

Election Day itself seemed to go smoothly, certainly more so than the tempestuous races of recent years. Across the entire country voters cast their ballots yesterday, electing Barack Obama by margins unseen by a Democratic candidate in decades.

Jason Rae, Chair of Wisconsin College Democrats, remarked, “I think we saw Americans wanting change, wanting to believe again in their government and in their country. Tonight’s result showed that the American people believe Senator Obama and his vision for America.”

But what does this vision entail? President-Elect Barack Obama has laid out extensive plans for his administration, which include tackling the current economic crisis as well as taking on key issues which require widespread reform. Addressing the present state of the economy will clearly be top priority for the president elect. Obama has stated he will attend to the housing crisis as one of his first acts, providing incentives for banks to refinance or buy outstanding mortgages. He also plans to change bankruptcy laws to empower judges to modify families’ mortgages, allowing more Americans to remain in their homes.

To jumpstart the economy overall, Obama has pledged to pursue another goal of his, creating a large number of new jobs in the alternative energy sector. Additionally, he has proposed a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, which will allow Congress to sell permits for burning fossil fuels. The money from this endeavor will then go to tax credits for green companies, energy research grants, and loans for improving the efficiency of plaguing industries such as car manufacturing.

Other major goals for the Obama administration include the improvement of our health care and education systems. As often discussed throughout the campaign, Obama plans to require employers to cover their employees’ health insurance and will lower costs to each family by $2500. He further will work to require health insurance for all children, with the eventual goal of universal coverage.

Great importance has also been placed on education reform and retooling No Child Left Behind to reduce its emphasis on testing and the penalizing of underperforming schools. Opposed to school vouchers, Obama instead supports increased funding allocated to charter schools and an expansion of early-childhood programs. Ultimately, Obama’s goal is to make a college education a realistic possibility for all.

Another main point laid out in Obama’s plan for America addresses the current military situation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Long holding the position that a timetable for troop withdrawal from Iraq is necessary, Obama hopes to have half of all U.S. troops out of the country by May of 2010. He further believes that our focus and resources should presently be switching toward Afghanistan to fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

In addition to simply increasing troop levels, Obama believes in the necessity of better training Afghan forces and providing assistance to Afghan civilians, giving them alternative means of making a living apart from poppy-farming. Finally, his administration will pursue means of securing Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan and reducing corruption in the area. With a solid Democratic majority, these challenging goals can viably be achieved in the years to come.

While Barack Obama has accomplished a number of impressive feats in the past months, he most notably has managed to inspire a feeling of faith in the direction our country is now headed. He has pledged to make every effort to bring Americans together, no matter their party affiliation, with the goal of improving the quality of life for everyone.

Marecca Vertin, a member of the Marquette Obama team and poll monitor, agreed that “decent health care, a decent education, and general accountability from government are not actually divisive issues for most Americans.” She added, “The huge increase in voter turnout for Obama proves that this campaign made it clear that we can get real work done together without being radically left- or right-wing but by… acting in the generally moderate interests of the American people.”

After a long and hard-hitting campaign from both candidates, cooperation will now be the key to moving forward to achieve the change Americans desire.

Matt Dambach, chair of Students for McCain at Marquette, is of the same opinion. “At the end of the day both Republicans and Democrats have the same goal of doing what is best for our nation,” he says.

Both sides can further agree that with voter turnout at incredible highs this year, the increased political dialogue among American citizens can only have positive results. Dambach commented that “one of the great positives from this election cycle is the involvement of millions of new voters; involvement which will only make our country better in years to come.” Barack Obama, now the face of our country and representative of millions of Americans, will lead this country in a new direction.

That direction is one which will bring supporters of both parties together, moving forward and making this great nation even stronger as we work together for change.

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“Am I going to be a Hall of Fame coach? No. Am I going to write a book? No. What I’m going to do is work hard today, and then wake up and do it again tomorrow.” -Buzz Williams, Head Coach Marquette Men’s Basketball

When Marquette University hired Tom Crean’s assistant coach, Brent “Buzz” Williams, to be the Men’s Basketball head coach, a lot of people thought that the athletic department had taken the easy way out. But little did the Marquette community know that Williams himself does anything but take the easy way out. From the players to the practices, Williams has overhauled the entire men’s basketball program.

“We want to be the hardest-working, most competitive program in the country,” Williams said. And he has been making every effort to make it so, showing that Marquette might have picked the right coach after all.

Young Men First, Students Second and Players Third

In Williams’ first press conference as the Marquette Men’s Basketball head coach, he stated:
“The players in the program will not be judged always in accordance with their skill set or their talent. They will always be judged as people: as young men first, as students second and as players third. And the priorities in our program, the responsibilities within our program, will always be reflective of those things.”

The academic responsibilities for the basketball players are strictly enforced to ensure that these priorities are met.
Williams is “not going to give you any leeway,” according to Liam McMorrow, the sophomore transfer from Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario, who is redshirted this season due to National Collegiate Athletic Association transfer rules.

Each player has a personal, color-coded schedule from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. every day of the week detailing class, study hall hours, tutoring, basketball practice and weightlifting among other things. The graduate student coaching assistants and coaching staff escort the players to class to make sure that they are on time and that they do not leave class early.

“He really cares about our academics,” said David Cubillan, one of three juniors on the team. And so far, it has been paying off.
“I think I speak for everyone. Everyone, as far as academically is concerned, is doing much better… he’s definitely a help,” said Robert Frozena, the only walk-on of this year’s team, about the educational push the members of the team have received from Williams.

“They’re always accountable for each facet of their responsibilities,” Williams said, and according to Williams, the reason they can be held accountable is because “their character is very, very high.”

Athletic Hunger

Four man groups, individual practice, team practice, and boot camp are only a few of the strategies that Williams has been using to prepare the team for the coming season. Yes, boot camp.

“Boot camp was seven or eight days. That was the longest seven or eight days of my life. But it was good,” said Lazar Hayward, returning junior forward. Boot camp was a series of intense practices where, Williams said, “our team is formed.” Every drill that was done had to be done correctly by each member of the team. If someone could not finish, everybody had to do it over again. Every single teammate was accountable for every other teammate. As Williams said, “Everyone has to pull their own weight… and [we have to] communicate as a team.”
Somehow, everyone got through it.

“They were blowing it out every day,” Williams said. “It’s the best I’ve ever seen.”

Not only has their stamina and teamwork been tested, but Williams has the team “doing defensive drills day in and day out,” according to Dominic James, returning senior guard. Concerns over the short height of the team have sparked the emphasis put on the defensive side of the ball.

“We are little. We’re short. That’s not going to change… we’re going to have to be extraordinary good rebounders… I don’t think we’re going to struggle offensively. I think we can score enough points to win games. The question will be: How can we prevent our size from being a detriment to us defensively?” Williams said.

Jerel McNeal, returning senior guard, who has always been known as a defensive player, is excited for this change of focus. “We get everybody else to play at a high level defensively, then [that will] make things a lot easier for everybody.”

Williams has confidence that his players will do everything in their power to keep their height from affecting how they perform. “I think they’re hungry. I think they like to play from behind,” he said.

The players also receive personal coaching from Williams as part of his efforts to know his players well.

Wesley Matthews, one-third of Marquette’s “Big 3” along with Dominic James and Jerel McNeal, described how Williams wants him to play. “I’ve got to be a beast. I have to be everywhere. He wants me to basically let loose, just play the way I play, lead the way I lead, and just help.”

Joseph Fulce, a new sophomore recruit from Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas, said, “He’s always trying to find a way to help us get better.”

As an extra impetus to becoming the best, Williams has let them know that their every effort has to be put on the court when the time comes. “If we don’t play hard, they’re not going to play… every single minute counts. Every single minute in a game counts,” Williams said.

All About God and Family

These new academic priorities and athletic strategies would not work if the team did not respect their coach. But they do.
“He’s one of the most hardest workers I’ve met in my life. I don’t think he sleeps,” Fulce said.

His commitment stands out, and not just his commitment to the men’s basketball team.

“He’s dedicated… he’s all about his God and his family,” said Dwight Burke, the only senior forward on the team. And now his family has expanded to include the basketball team.

“The thing that I really pay attention to is those 13 young men… what they’re doing off the court, what they’re doing in the classroom and what they’re doing on the court,” Williams said.

Some of the lessons he has been teaching his players have clearly sunk in.

“The most important thing that Buzz has taught us, is that every day is a work day, and if you’re not going to work every day, then you shouldn’t be here,” said Patrick Hazel, a sophomore forward.

Message to the Marquette Student Body

Although Williams admits that he has not done a good job connecting with the students, he knows how important the Marquette Fanatics are to the success of his team.

“The teams that have elite success have a major home court advantage, and the teams that have a major home court advantage [have it] because it’s derived from their student population. Our students have to continue what they’ve always been, because that changes what the atmosphere and the ambience is like at the Bradley Center,” Williams said.

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