Although bailouts, derivatives, and mortgage defaults dominate the headlines about the economic recession, the downturn has left more people homeless right here in Milwaukee. Last January 28, the Milwaukee Continuum of Care, a broad-based alliance of area organizations committed to ending homelessness, counted 1,660 homeless people in shelters, transitional housing, and on the street. The MCC volunteers surveyed 919 homeless adults, of which 34 percent were chronically homeless. Obviously, these numbers do not even take into account those who had found temporary shelter with family or friends. Joe Volk, executive director of Community Advocates, a local group serving low-income individuals and families, said in October that he expected even more Milwaukeeans had become homeless since January due to increased unemployment.

The winter brings added hardship for the homeless as the search for shelter becomes crucial. Some municipal governments, including New York City, have put in place “Code Blue” systems, where the government takes specific and public actions to protect the homeless when the temperature falls below certain thresholds. Milwaukee does not have an official “Code Blue” alert system in place, but not because the city doesn’t care about homelessness.

In fact, the city and county governments and the Milwaukee Shelter Task Force, a group of shelters and other organizations serving the homeless, collaborate during cold weather to suspend rules so shelters can take in more people, identify additional facilities that could be used to keep the homeless warm, protect those serving the homeless, and educate the public. According to Ken Schmidt, chair of the Milwaukee Shelter Task Force, “on the surface, the ‘as needed’ cold weather response in Milwaukee may not appear to be as organized as other urban centers,” but “this may be because the preventative activities are not publicized in the same way.” Schmidt commended the city and county officials, calling them “sensitive to the issue, quick to action and more than willing to be cooperative with the shelter system’s efforts.”

Of course, every person in the Marquette community realizes homelessness’s persistence just by walking around campus. Like everyone else, I have been asked for money countless times, and I have also witnessed public safety officers removing the homeless from campus. On many occasions, I have been just as guilty as most students of refusing to make simple eye contact with the homeless, of passing by faster than I need to, of failing to acknowledge their humanity. I find it easy sometimes to emotionally distance myself from “them” instead of reflecting on why I am walking to class while others walk the same streets just trying to survive. Even referring to these children of God as “the homeless” allows us to mentally separate ourselves from their lived reality. Although we seldom refer to ourselves as “the housed” because we are so much more than where we sleep, we write off a diverse group of people by labeling them for what they lack.

At an urban Jesuit university like Marquette, discussing homelessness almost seems cliché, a rite of passage on the journey toward becoming men and women for others, or something along those lines. Although often failing to acknowledge the homeless people we pass by, we at least acknowledge homelessness as a problem in Milwaukee. Yet the problem seems too immense and intractable for overstressed college students to deal with. Homelessness does not lend itself to easy long-term solutions, and even participating in community service activities can feel pointless and frustrating.

If they decide to “be the difference” on this issue, many students end up advocating for yet another government program, such as Milwaukee’s housing trust fund. Regardless of the merits of any individual government, non-profit, or business program, we set ourselves up for disappointment by relieving ourselves of a certain level of personal responsibility and projecting our hopes and expectations unto a given program. With a complex social problem such as homelessness, a successful program certainly relieves suffering and saves lives, but no social engineering scheme or technocratic magic can “solve” the problems of social marginalization and deprivation and the spiritual decay which permits this to continue.

When Jesus said, “What you do unto the least of these, you do unto me,” he challenged the social hierarchy that pushed “the least of these” to the margins of society and called upon his followers to acknowledge that everyone has intrinsic worth in God’s eyes, regardless of the artificially constructed norms of ostracism and division. Until we, as individuals, can meaningfully reach out to the homeless fellow travelers of our streets, “we” collectively, whether viewed as society or the church or the government, can never truly come alongside them and address the problem.

Direct action and advocacy remain important tools but fail to address the way we emotionally distance ourselves from those in need and the resulting dehumanization of us all. As Lilla Watson and other Australian aboriginal activists told sympathizers in the 1970s, “If you have come to help me because you feel called to help me, please go away … but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, please stay and let’s work together.” Only when we realize our own individual responsibility to our homeless neighbors will we ever be able to work together with them to end homelessness.

Popularity: 1% [?]

As the end of April draws near, the city finally unthaws and spring truly arrives. Yet for students who drive, the melting snow merely reveals the heavy toll that Wisconsin’s harsh winters take on the city’s streets.

Over the winter, snow and rain accumulate in a street’s existing cracks. When this precipitation freezes it expands; when the temperature rises, the water melts and washes away, leaving a weakened road. As traffic continues on these roads, the weakened area eventually collapses, creating many potholes throughout the city.

These potholes are not a problem unique to Wisconsin; they can occur anywhere this freeze-thaw cycle exists. An estimated 350 million potholes mar the country’s roads, making driving both unsafe and uncomfortable.

Last month, drivers in Louisville, KY got some welcome relief to this problem, when the Louisville-based company Kentucky Friend Chicken paid to fill the city’s numerous potholes.  The repair project was part of an effort to generate publicity for the company’s “Fresh Tastes Best” campaign. The “Fresh Tastes Best” campaign is meant to highlight the company’s dedication to providing fresh, high-quality products to their customers.

To emphasize their absolute dedication to freshness, the Colonel and his crew paid to re-“fresh” Louisville’s roadways by repairing it’s pothole-ridden streets. All that the Colonel asked in return was for the city’s re-“fresh”ed potholes to be branded in non-permanent street chalk with an advertisement declaring them “Refreshed by KFC.” While the white chalk logo against the new black asphalt was certainly striking, the company assured the city that it was not permanent and would wash away with the rain.

Louisville’s Mayor Jerry Abramson seemed to have no problem with the compromise.  He stated, “Budgets are tight for cities across the country, and finding funding for needed road repairs is a continuing challenge.” As he accepted KFC’s offer, he praised the company’s dedication to the city.

While few Marquette students are affected by Louisville’s repaved roadways, the company’s most recent offer concerns every Milwaukee resident. On March 25, Roger Eaton, president of KFC, issued an open offer to mayors around the nation, asking them to nominate their city for the company’s program.  The company will choose four major American cities and pay for each city’s potholes to be repaved.

“What? That’s awesome,” Andy Merkel, a Junior at Marquette, said upon hearing about this offer. Merkel, as a native of Southeastern Wisconsin knows how bad the roads have become. “Milwaukee definitely needs to look into that.”

There are numerous reasons why Milwaukee is the perfect candidate for KFC’s “Fresh Tastes Best” campaign. The city is responsible for the maintenance, repair and resurfacing of approximately 900 miles of Milwaukee’s streets. These repairs are funded mainly through the city’s Resurfacing Reconstruction program.

A 2006 report from the Milwaukee Department of Public Works (the most recent data available) shows the substantial time and money that the city spends repairing and maintaining the streets. In that year alone, the city paid to have over 400,000 square yards of cracked pavement filled in. An additional 9,800 tons of asphalt was required by street maintenance crews to repair small asphalt cracks and potholes.

Milwaukee’s potholes are not just an annoyance for drivers. Repairing the damaged roads puts a big strain on the city’s budget, and takes away potential funding for other important initiatives.
The winter’s effect on the roads will take a bigger toll on the city’s budget this year than ever before. According to city’s 2009 budget, beginning this year there will be no federal or state-level contributions towards the Resurfacing Reconstruction program. Instead, the program’s $10.3 million dollar budget will be funded exclusively by the city of Milwaukee.

The streets of Milwaukee are clearly riddled with potholes, and thus with potential advertising for KFC. But allowing KFC to temporarily advertise along the streets in order to free up over ten million dollars in funds seems like a minor compromise.

Asked if he would mind having the KFC logo on the roads, Merkel responded: “not at all, in fact, I would go to KFC more often if they fixed the roads.”
Perhaps of even more concern to Marquette students with cars on campus, are some of the strategies that the city has used in an attempt to balance its budget.  Wisconsin state law requires that the city present a balanced budget, so the city was forced to find ways to fund their additional $3.8 million contribution to the Resurfacing Reconstruction Program. One of the ways they did so was by factoring in a $1.4 million increase in their revenues from Parking Operations, which draws it’s revenue from things like meters, towing, sale of permits and parking citations.
Allowing KFC to help Milwaukee out and fill the city’s potholes would help ease the burden of funding the Resurfacing and Reconstruction Program solely on city funds. It would take away some of the need for expected increases in parking citation revenue.

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For those students who perhaps do not commute or keep a car on campus, there are still incredibly compelling reasons to support a KFC “Fresh Tastes Best” initiative in Milwaukee. The millions of dollars spent by the city on repairing and repaving the streets could be spent on a number of meaningful city projects.

So, what can you do to make sure that Milwaukee is nominated for KFC “Fresh Tastes Best” initiative? According to the letter issued by the company, the request must come from the city’s mayor.  Milwaukee residents can contact Mayor Tom Barrett at (414) 286-2200, or by email at mayor@milwaukee.gov to voice their support for allowing the Colonel and his crew to repair the city’s potholes. In the meantime, report Milwaukee potholes by calling (414) 286-2489 or filling out an online form at http://www.mpw.net/Pages/Infrastructure/potholeMaintenance.html

Popularity: 8% [?]

Since 2002, Timothy M. Dolan has led the Milwaukee Archdiocese as Archbishop. His tenure included dealing with a wide array of priest abuse scandals, a petition by local priests to make clerical celibacy optional and the collateral damage left behind by former Archbishop Rembert Weakland. By all accounts, if Dolan were to get a report card at the end of every year, it would certainly include straight A’s.

On Monday, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Timothy Dolan as the new Archbishop of New York. This private Vatican information was first reported by well-connected Italian journalist Paolo Rodari, who writes for the Vatican Watch periodical Il Reformista.

For those not in the loop, New York is the United States’ most important Archdiocese, according to the Catholic News Agency.
With regards to political hierarchy, New York, along with the Bishopric of Washington D.C., holds the most influence on Capitol Hill. This move reassertes the importance of the United States Catholic Bishops in a time of constant change throughout both the political and economic realms of the country.

Critics of the move state that Dolan is not one to take a hard line and stand up against the anti-Catholic, anti-conservative sentiment given off by the current presidential administration and others such as Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Well known for his dislike of Archbishop Dolan, Marquette Theology professor Dan Maguire has been quick to criticize the appointment. Maguire, who is banned from speaking in all parishes in the Milwaukee Archdiocese, was quoted in the New York Times on Tuesday,
criticizing the Church’s failure to listen to Theologians.

However, those who back the appointment of Archbishop Dolan say that he would bring the “soft touch” of a “pastoral leader,” according to the Catholic News Agency. Dolan’s attention to detail and hard line conservative stances are viewed as great counter-culture counters to the anti-Catholic policies of the current administration.

According to Rodari, Archbishop Henry Mansell of Hartford, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta, Archbishop John Myers of Newark and Archbishop Roberto Gonzalez Nieves of San Juan, Puerto Rico, were all being considered for the appointment.
Whatever happens, Archbishop Dolan’s great legacy in Milwaukee, both as pastoral leader and man of the people, will never be forgotten. His contributions to the Archdioceses of Milwaukee and St. Louis have prepared him well for New York, and his down-to-earth style make him a great candidate for any Bishopric.

Popularity: 10% [?]

The best part of Marquette’s location being near downtown Milwaukee is all of the hidden treasures that can be found when you are least looking. The Fashion Ninja in the Third Ward is one of these treasures.

The Fashion Ninja is located on Plankinton in the Indie Fashion Market just before St.Paul. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary fashion store. There are designer pieces for sale in the front of the store. There are small batches that are made some are even limited to only a dozen pieces. These pieces are sold from the founder of Fashion Ninja, Arika Ikeler, but can also be found online. In the back of store is where classes are held.

According to the school’s Web site, “‘The Fashion Ninja School of Sewing and Design’ was founded by Arika Ikeler in 2003. Since the school has grown into a supportive sewing and design community for individuals interested in learning more about Fashion Design. Arika is the fashion designer who helps others learn about fashion design. She instructs specifically tailored advice and strategies to encourage her students to execute their own design ideas successfully.”

Arika is the only instructor at Fashion Ninja. There are 2 classes, a beginning and an intermediate level class. The classes cost $385 for an 8 hour class. The beginner’s level course is called Introduction to Clothing Construction. This class requires no prior experience, and offers the basics of clothing construction in one day. The objective is to learn how to operate a sewing machine, create successful seams, adjust machine controls, change the needle, and learn how to engineer clothing. This class provides a solid foundation in building upper body garments, pattern development, textiles, and types of seams, seam finishes, sleeve installation, best construction order, quality engineering, and the creativity in fashion design. Sewing machines are available for students to use. The intermediate level course is The Art of Fashion Draping and involves the fundamentals of draping a design on a dress form, making a pattern from the draped design, and construction techniques, stressing the importance of proper fit, sizing a design, and craftsmanship.

The next two classes are March 27 & 28, Construction and Draping respectively. In April,Construction is the 24th and Draping is on the 25th. For more information go to www.fashionninja.com or stop by or even call.

by Amy Wilson
amy.wilson@mu.edu

Popularity: 1% [?]

The Warrior staff sat down with Milwaukee’s new Archbishop, Jerome Listecki. Listecki is replacing the ever-popular Archbishop Dolan, who was appointed Archbishop of New York. Listecki, a Chicago native, was an auxiliary bishop there until he was appointed to the Diocese of La Crosse. The new Archbishop appears to be a very kind and amicable man but at the same time an ardent defender of the Faith Given it is not the place of the laity to judge him, the Archbishop was quick and ready to respond to all of the questions we gave him.

Q: Could you give us a list of your top five priorities in Milwaukee?
A. Top five priorities in Milwaukee… I don’t have a top five, but I have a top priority. My priority, and I think I share this with every bishop who occupies the position, [is] that literally I would consider myself successful as an archbishop in terms of my leadership if I help people to grow in holiness. Because everything we do is rooted in that, holiness. That is the vocation that all of us are called to, whether you’re priests or religious or lay or married or whatever, you’re called to a vocation of holiness. And if I don’t understand that as my single priority, then I really shouldn’t be occupying the position. So basically it’s a call to holiness. Now within that context of course I have certain obligations to do: I want to grow vocations to the priesthood and religious life, I want to make our schools strong, I want to help our social issues, you know I know that within the urban area you’re talking about 26.6 [percent] unemployment. All those things I want to address, I want to do in the context of religious leadership. But everything has to be seen as helping us build to that aspect of holiness. You know, I don’t know what your ultimate goals are in life, but your ultimate, ultimate goal should be to be with our Lord in Heaven. That’s what it is. And that’s the ultimate, ultimate goal for all of us here.

Q: What are your thoughts on Wisconsin’s new bill, which mandates that schools which teach sex education must teach students to use contraceptives?
A: Well I think the bill from my perspective is missing something, it’s missing that the primary educator of children are basically their parents and sometimes when there is a usurpation on the part [of parents] the government says, “Well, we know best.” Without the consultation of the local communities, without the consultation of parents, you know then suddenly you’ve taken away something which is basically a natural right that parents have. The second thing is as a religious leader, especially as a Catholic leader, I’m disturbed by the fact that educators would say this is the only way to be able to teach sex education, and sex education without values is just [license?]. It doesn’t have the respect [of] the dignity of the person, it doesn’t necessarily have those things. There’s kind of an inherent aspect well, kids are going to do this so therefore we should just make sure… I have a little more respect for our kids than that. So I would hope that educators would come to understand it could be approached in different ways, supported by the community in different manners, and pull in the parents who are primary educators to understand that.

Q: Former Archbishop Weakland has been a lightning rod on many issues in this archdiocese for years, ranging from his payment of hush money to a former lover, to his responses to child sexual assault by priests, to his writing of a book that celebrates his homosexuality. Many Catholics believe he has brought scandal to the faithful, and are confused as to why he was permitted to be a concelebrant at your installation Mass. By allowing Weakland to be so publicly on display in this archdiocese, are you not advancing his agenda and continuing to confuse Catholics in this archdiocese?
A: No, I hope not. My predecessor was not Archbishop Weakland, my predecessor was Archbishop Dolan. People who want to [jump over, leapfrog,] and go back because of some hurtful issues they’ve experienced, as far as being, you say, allowed. He is the former, if you want to say for better or for worse, he is the former Archbishop of Milwaukee, so his presence there would have been conspicuous whether he was there or he wasn’t there. So basically he was there. But hopefully people are concentrating on this being a new moment in relationship to Archbishop Dolan, and those who want to pull it back I think they do a disservice to Archbishop Dolan, they’re kind of saying like he wasn’t here for 6 years. Well, I’ve been to about 7 communities right now, and I can tell you archbishop Dolan has been here, and his relationship to the community and to the people is such where they have a great sense of…they loved him, they loved his persona. And that’s basically what I’m following, that’s what I’m building. And there is, as far as the agenda, I have one agenda and that agenda is to follow the church and be faithful to the church. And that’s in all of the teachings of the church, every aspect of it.

Q: What would your response be if Marquette University followed the example of Notre Dame and awarded Obama, who is publicly pro-abortion, an honorary degree at the commencement ceremonies in May?
A: Well first of all, I hope and I’ve said this already on the Charlie Sykes show, I think Father Wild would be too smart. I want to hear back from both of you to tell me that this Jesuit priest would not be smart enough to understand he should consult with the local ordinary before inviting and giving a platform to somebody. Now you tell me, do you think that Father Wild would be that ignorant of that fact that he would do that?

You’re not sure? Well I have a little more confidence in him than that. I would think he would consult. And that issue was… that’s exactly what happened. That Notre Dame decided as if they were an independent entity, you know that didn’t have any responsibility to anyone. This is church and you’re in communion when you’re in church, it means you’re in a relationship and the position of the bishop if you study your theology and study your ecclesiology that the position of the bishop is like literally representing one of the 12 apostles, the call of the apostolic succession is found there. So you know it’s very hard when an institution is so large like Notre Dame, obviously Marquette shares in that situation, where it sees itself apart from the relationship of its own identity, where it belongs, that there’s a problem and in the Notre Dame situation there was that problem, they did not consult with basically the local ordinary, the common courtesy to talk to them about what would that do to the community, what would that represent? It flew in the face of the USCCB (US Conference of Catholic Bishops), who said you don’t give platforms to individuals who have contrary positions or honors to contrary positions. So both Cardinal George as well as Bishop D’Arcy spoke against that. My letter was in support of that because very basically it was[in] support of that communion that should exist and that has to exist if we’re going to represent ourselves as the Church. I would want to believe having met Father Wild that he seems like a fine man, that he would do that, that he would call me up and say this is what’s going to happen. “Listen, Archbishop, what do you think?” Sit down and we’d talk.

Q: How would you rate Marquette University as a Catholic institution of higher learning on a scale of 1-10 and why?
A: As an institution of higher learning, it’s one of the most noted universities. As far as Catholicity, that aspect has to be dealt with in terms of both an internal perspective as well as an external perspective. I can tell you that having come from the communities in Chicago, Marquette is sought after as a place to go. Obviously Chicago has a number of Jesuit institutions, St. Ignatius, Loyola Academy, that literally draw a number of students. Now I bet even some of your classmates are Chicagoans or from the Chicago archdiocese. The Jesuits are noted for their commitment to academic excellence. Marquette shares in that tradition as a Jesuit institution. But when I said, you have to take a look at externally and internally at the Catholicity that means that, I don’t know Marquette well enough to see internally how it adheres to Catholic identity, and how they make that Catholic identity known, but that’s why I hesitate to give you an answer on a 1-10, because it would be an ignorant answer. I could tell you externally it’s obviously looked upon as a Catholic institution, and I know there have been difficulties in the past with some faculty members who’ve maintained positions that challenged that. It’s an external and an internal question that basically has to be answered. And I probably could answer that better for you in 3 years than I can today, because I’m basically coming here just giving you my sense of Marquette

The Archbishop provided complete answers to each question we threw at him. He seems to be up front and honest with all his answers, merely hoping to impart the truth to his flock. Milwaukee could not have asked for a better Archbishop. Listecki seems poised to do great things for Milwaukee. His concern lies not with the passing things of this world but with the enduring things of the next, making his priority the faithful’s growth in holiness. We ask a lot from a new archbishop but trust that we’ll receive a great deal more than we expected. May God bless him in all his work.

by Adam Ryback
adam.ryback@mu.edu

Popularity: 1% [?]

On November 8 the commissioning of the first Littoral Combat ship (LCS) took place at Veterans Park. Cold, rainy weather did not stop over 9,000 people from attending a ceremony that included speeches from the Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations. Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter formally commissioned the ship when he stated, “May God bless this war ship and all who sail in her.”

The USS Freedom is the first of a class that will eventually include 55 war ships, designed to defeat growing littoral (shallow, or “brown water”) threats with an incredible array of war fighting capabilities according to a program issued by the United States Navy for the ceremony. What is unique about the LCS design, amongst many other things, is that it has many different interchangeable mission packages, or mission modules. These mission modules are contained in standard shipping containers, and can be easily interchanged aboard the ship. Moreover, these mission modules can be pre-positioned or airlifted anywhere in the world where there is a port. Thus, the Freedom can hunt mines one day and easily be converted to counter surface threats the next, without having to return to its homeport, according to the program.

For the time being, these mission packages include anti-surface, anti-submarine and mine-hunting modules. These modules rely largely on unmanned craft to carry out missions, keeping sailors and personnel out of harms way. According to the U.S. Navy, there could eventually be as many as nine warfare packages, including a special warfare, humanitarian and Marine Corps package.

Along with its plethora of war fighting capabilities, the Freedom was also designed with speed and maneuverability in mind. A combination of diesel and modified Boeing 777 jet engines enable the freedom to operate at sustained speeds of over 40 knots (56.5 mph), impressive for a 377 foot-long ship, according to the Navy. Just like a jet-ski, the ship uses water jets for propulsion and steering, instead of a traditional propeller and rudder. Because of its capabilities and unique design, the ship is said to not be a ship at all, but “a jet-ski on steroids.”
For the time being, the Freedom will be undergoing extensive sea trials to help the Navy finalize its plans for future ships of the class. However, according to Lt. Cmdr. Rich Jarret, Blue Crew operations officer, “the Freedom brings unprecedented capabilities to the table and it is very possible that she will be deployed to conduct missions before the trials are fully completed.”

Popularity: 8% [?]

In 1978 William Thorn, now journalism chair and associate professor, never dreamed he would be doing work with the Vatican regularly, but 30 years later he is still heavily involved with media issues that are related to the Catholic Church.

He was teaching photography and reporting when the Dean of the former College of Journalism, James Scotton, approached him.

“Scotton said, if you were to put on a conference about the situation with the Catholic Press, who would you invite and what would it look like?” Thorn said.

Thorn successfully put together the first conference and was then put in charge of the Institute for Catholic Media, and he began to investigate the future of the Catholic Press. The Institute was started in 1948 after World War II and provides research grants, readership studies and pulled into the work of the U.S. Conference of Bishops.

Then a Jesuit visitor from Rome needed someone at Pontifical Gregorian University, the first Jesuit University founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in Rome. The University was starting a new program and Thorn was invited to be the first full time faculty member. In 1982-83, while on sabbatical, he moved to Rome to begin teaching at the Center for Communication. It was there that he got a call from the Vatican asking him for help with a documentary on media relations for seminarians. He was invited back to the Gregorian in 1985, 1987 and 1980 to teach short courses on church and the media, but backed down when he was invited to be a part of the drafting committee on Pope John Paul II’s document, Tantus Nove, or “New Era.”

“I was one of 17 or 18 from around the world in the final drafting committee, and one of three who wrote the final draft,” Thorn said. “When he (Pope John Paul II) came into a room, he filled it. He had a desire to get to know everybody.”

He continued working with the Vatican after that and was president of the teachers and researchers division of the International Catholic Union of the Press for 10 years.

By this time he was in Rome or elsewhere in Europe every four months for conferences. Pope John Paul II was very interested in communication issues. Thorn had several audiences with him and was in Rome in 2005 when he died.

Recently, the Vatican called him to put together another conference, which will take place in 2009 at Marquette and will be co-sponsored by the Vatican and Marquette on the theme of how institutions’ Catholic identity influences classes. It is a part of a Vatican initiative to listen to faculty teaching advertising and public relations, broadcast and electronic communications, communication studies, journalism and film and how Catholicism is reflected in how the professors teach and what problems they have.

“We have a lot of departments where a majority of the faculty aren’t Catholic. How does that work? What about student population,” Thorn said. “You can’t force anything on them. How do you maintain a professional stance, but still maintain your Catholic identity?”

Those attending the conference will hear what issues college faculty members at other Catholic Universities have with identity.

Thorn said that he has gotten into a lot of high-level involvement that he could never have imagined as a doctoral student.

“It looks like my connection (with the Vatican) isn’t going to end soon,” Thorn said, “After Scotton got me into this, it’s been something very important to me. Sometimes God has plans that we don’t know about. I really think this reflects what has turned into a lifelong commitment to put my intellectual and professional life into the Church.”

Scotton claims that he wasn’t too involved in Thorn’s vocation.

“I didn’t choose him, he chose himself,” Scotton said. “He’s been active in communication in the church for many, many years. He has a tough job.”

On October 12, Thorn joined a distinguished number of Catholic men and women as a new member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Order of the Holy Sepulchre dates back to the first Crusade and has very strict restrictions on members. According to Thorn, there first has to be a recommendation from either the Archbishop of the candidate’s local diocese, an officer in the order, a bishop or a local knight. The recommendation then has to be approved by the archbishop, then the regional Cardinal, then finally the Vatican. The candidate is notified by letter if he or she is accepted and is required to fill out paperwork, and references are checked. Thorn’s wife, Victoria, was also nominated.

Thorn said that it was very common for husbands and wives to be nominated together.
“I suspect I was nominated because of all the years I worked with the Catholic conference with media and communication issues,” Thorn said. “(My wife) founded Project Rachel in 1985, which is the official post abortion outreach of the Catholic Church in the United States.”

Project Rachel is now world-wide and is in almost all American diocese.

“When all is said and done, only our faith in God matters,” Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy Dolan said at the ceremony at the Basilica of St. Josaphat, 601 W. Lincoln Ave.

Over 400 knights and ladies from the Midwest came to the ceremony to welcome the 60 new members of the Order.

Thorn is from Janesville, Wis. He received his undergraduate degree from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He did his masters work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his doctoral work at the University of Minnesota.

After doing his master’s, he went to Los Angeles to “seek his fortune.” He soon realized he couldn’t make a lot of money freelancing and decided to start teaching. He met his wife in 1971.

“I came to realize I liked teaching better,” Thorn said.

In 1975 he came to Marquette because George Reedy, the former press secretary for Lynden B. Johnson was the dean of the former College of Journalism.

“Everything is here if you want to teach journalism,” Thorn said. “That’s why I chose Marquette over other schools. I had more fun teaching, so I stayed here.”

Popularity: 14% [?]

As many people went out to vote yesterday, some people voted on a paper ballot, others used a touch screen computer and others sent in their absentee ballots. But just because you voted does not mean that your vote was actually counted, especially for those people using computers.

In fact, as people began early voting, it was discovered in West Virginia, that the machines were flipping votes to other candidates. These machines must be calibrated correctly in order to function properly. But if someone were to hit the top person, and the machine picks a candidate three or four down from that person, that is not a calibration problem; this is a problem with the actual software designed to count the votes.

In Davidson County, Tennessee, Patricia Earnhardt continually tried hitting the “Obama” button on the machine, but it would not register. After a while she said she had the poll worker help her, who tried hitting it a couple times, and it lit up Green Party Candidate Cynthia McKinney. The poll worker cancelled the vote, but Patricia continued to have trouble with the machine, and left the voter booth very uncertain of how her vote turned out.

It is amazing how much faith people place into the voting machines and voting process. It seems like it would be very simple for these machines to be tampered with in one way or another to determine an election. There are people who claim to know the secret of how to hack these machines. In fact, only one machine needs to be hacked: the one that tallies up the votes from all other machines. Simply tell that machine what numbers you are looking for and you are all set.

People barely trust each other, yet when someone walks away from that voting booth, they are convinced that they have cast a ballot for candidate A or candidate B. Perhaps that was not the case. Perhaps, these things are already decided for us. Forget about democracy being taken away if you vote for the wrong person.

Perhaps your vote doesn’t even matter, and democracy was already taken away, or at the very least, tampered with. As many Marquette students went and voted yesterday, one can only wonder what happened to the vote once you left the voting booth.

Popularity: 9% [?]

The Regional Transit Authority of Southeastern Wisconsin is not a particularly new concept. It was started in 2005 by the Wisconsin State Legislature and Governor Doyle. Since that time, the task of the RTA has been to find funding for a commuter rail and/or public transportation for the counties involved with the RTA. Currently those counties include Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Racine.

The RTA wants to include Waukesha County to try to move things forward. The reason they are looking to Waukesha County could be seemingly obvious, as there are a lot of people in Waukesha County, and a lot of money in Waukesha County that the coalition wants. It would be unfortunate for the citizens of Waukesha County if they do become involved with the RTA because it would create a funnel for their Waukesha County tax dollars to go to public transportation.

The problem is that if the RTA is able to build the commuter rail between Milwaukee and Kenosha, it will instantly become a sink hole for money. The fares will not pay for it, and it will have to be supplemented by the tax payers of the counties involved.

The way it stands now, Marquette students are already supplementing Milwaukee County Transit Systems, to the tune of $41 a semester which is expected to rise next year. The claim is that the proposed increase is because of higher gas prices.

Marquette students already have enough on their tuition bills, with the increasing tuition prices, the increasing student activity fee, and health services, among other things. The last thing that Marquette students need is to have to worry about a costly commuter train being built that would cost the tax payers of Milwaukee County, and Marquette students more money.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Marquette’s Catholic community is, in many respects, self contained; very few students are acutely aware of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s recent financial struggles. While many Marquette students do not call Milwaukee home, it might concern some that the greater Milwaukee Catholic community of which Marquette is a part is facing serious financial crisis. The Archdiocese is projecting a multi-million dollar budget shortfall, due primarily to sex-abuse lawsuit settlements. On April 7 the Archdiocese released a massive reorganization of its central offices, which included the merging of several offices and programs, as well as the elimination of multiple positions.

Steve Blaha, the coordinator of faith formation programs in University Ministry also serves on the Vision 21 committee, an advisory group of the Archdiocese. On the Archdiocese’s recent financial challenges Blaha poignantly commented that the Archdiocese has “cut the fat, and is now starting to cut the muscle.” Blaha points out that the effects of reorganization disseminate down to the parish level, affecting how the ministries of individual parishes operate, and placing a larger burden on parish ministers and staff.

Jerry Topczewski, the chief of staff of Archbishop Dolan, stressed that the purpose of the restructuring was not to eliminate programs and services. Rather, the aim of the restructuring was to save as much money as possible, while preserving core ministries and outreach programs. “All ministries are important,” Topczewski notes. He highlights that the Archdiocese is not like a corporation that can arbitrarily cut costs, saying, “The services that are used the least are some of the most important. The marginalized are the ones that need us the most.”

While this restructuring does not directly affect Marquette, there are ways that Marquette students can assist the Archdiocese as it reshapes itself in these times of financial struggle. Students can, of course, donate financial assistance through The Catholic Stewardship Appeal, which is the primary fundraising operation of the Archdiocese. One-hundred percent of the money donated to the Stewardship Appeal goes directly to supporting ministries like Catholic Charities and campus ministry programs at UW-Milwaukee and Whitewater.

A second, more active, way that Marquette students can help is by donating their time and skills. Both Topczewski and Blaha emphasize that in the wake of this restructuring the call for lay volunteers has never been greater.

Nicole Steinmetz, a sophomore in the college of Arts and Sciences, currently volunteers her time teaching Confirmation classes at Christ King parish in Wauwatosa. “It’s been a really rewarding experience,” says Steinmetz. “Working in the parish has been great, and I feel like I’ve been able to make a difference.”

This willingness to volunteer, according to Topczewski, is going to be integral to the future of the Archdiocese. “This restructuring calls for people with skills to participate more actively,” he says.

Finally, Topczewski urges that students remember the Archdiocese in their prayers, so that the Catholic community of Southeastern Wisconsin might have the strength to walk through this valley of shadow and financial strife.

Popularity: 17% [?]