Over the past eight years Saint Joseph's University has enjoyed the leadership of a highly qualified and devoted president. Timothy Lannon, S.J., has guided our university's external affairs, expanding the campus and academic curriculum to improve the institution's reputation, as well as the internal health and well-being of the community.
Academic excellence. The financial stewardship of the university. The health and well being of the entire campus community. Faculty morale. The profile of the university in the external community.
On March 31, an email from Student Body President Kelly McGlynn, '11, announced to members of the 10th University Student Senate (USS) the results of the Spring 2011 elections.
In the midst of unexpected circumstances surrounding the search for our 27th university president, the Board of Trustees is successfully keeping students aware of new developments in the reopened search.
Over the weekend a student-coordinated demonstration took place in Center City Philadelphia, at which local youth identified themselves as illegal immigrants.
As students were finishing midterms and packing up for spring break, Saint Joseph's University's President Timothy Lannon, S.J., released a statement to the university community regarding the employment of Thomas Gleeson, S.J.
Recently, the university received the unfortunate notice that Joseph O'Keefe, S.J., would be unable to assume the presidency of Saint Joseph's University.
It's 2:30 a.m.
What's more, it's snowing.
The construction that began last semester on the Post Learning Commons marked yet another checkpoint on the Bridge Plan's initiatives to expand the university.
For decades instances of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church have been swept un- der the rug and ignored.
Now another accusation of four priests sexually assault- ing children in the Archdio- cese of Philadelphia has come about.
As the university continues to expand, it becomes increasingly necessary to consider the relationship between campus and neighborhood residents. In recent years Saint Joseph's University's relationship with its Merion neighbors has experienced increasing tension. Now, in the aftermath of the Zoning Board hearings that enabled the university to build on the Maguire Campus, this relationship requires our attention more than ever.
In his State of the Union Address, President Obama stated that education needs to change in our country. He talked about how our standardized test scores are weak, primarily in math and science.
On behalf of The Hawk, we would like to welcome Joseph M. O'Keefe, S.J., to Saint Joseph's University. While we thank President Timothy Lannon, S.J., for his eight years of service, we are also excited to have a new president, with new ideas, and a strong focus on making Saint Joseph's a more prominent university.
St. Joe's students heard complaints in the beginning of this month from Manayunk and Roxborough residents. Neighbors have expressed concerns over the fact that students are being disrespectful and loud when throwing parties in the neighborhood. With the upcoming winter break, neighbors and students alike have the chance to reevaluate their expectations for the new year.
Members of the Saint Joseph's University Student Senate (U.S.S.) were voted into their current seats last November. They'll leave those seats next May.
In recent months, the Office of Residence Life has reached out to Greek Life in an effort to create on-campus housing options for upperclassmen sorority and fraternity members at St. Joe's. This semester's conversations with both Greek Life groups and members of the University Student Senate (U.S.S.) has lead to rumors of Lapsley Lane houses or different floors in upperclassmen apartment buildings going Greek for the 2011-2012 academic year.
Five years later after its initial purchase, we will finally be able to use the James J. Maguire '58 Campus. While we are excited for this new addition to campus, we wish there had been more student involvement during these past five years.
On Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010, a groundbreaking ceremony, with all its pomp and circumstance, took place at the future home of the John and Maryanne Hennings Post Learning Commons.
On Sept. 22, college communities across the country were shocked to learn about the tragic death of Tyler Clementi, a first year student at Rutgers University. Clementi committed suicide after his roommate and another Rutgers student posted video and commentary online that concerned Clementi's romantic encounter with another man in his dorm room.
While the incidents of cruelty and intolerance that occurred at Rutgers may seem to be isolated to that campus community, it is critical that Saint Joseph's University recognizes that our community shares many of the issues that led to Clementi's death.
Last week represented a significant first for Saint Joseph's University: Diversity Awareness Week. We commend the Office of Multicultural Life and students for taking the initiative and getting St. Joe's to talk about diversity in a positive light. Far too often we speak of diversity in a negative way on campus, or fail to speak of it at all.
State Police responding to neighbors' complaints
The relationships between off-campus students and their Overbrook and Wynnefield neighbors have historically been negative. Students have often shown disrespect, in both words and actions, towards their neighbors—particularly when alcohol is involved.
In recent weeks, changes to Saint Joseph's University's employee health care benefits has caused significant and justifiable concern. While it is understandable that the university needs to make changes to many areas of the operating budget during a rough economy, the way in which the new health care plan was communicated to faculty and staff was less than ideal.
It seems that this year, St. Joe's has made a greater effort to be honest and open about its relationship with students. Whether it's this afternoon's unprecedented town hall-style meeting between the student body and President Timothy Lannon, S.J., or the presentation of fiscal year 2011's budget earlier this semester, the university has been relatively responsive to the concerns of its students.
On Tuesday, April 13, an unprecedented event took place at St. Joe's. Students took control of an issue that affects so many on Hawk Hill and did something about it—and they didn't need a tragedy, controversy, or incident to make it happen. For the first time in a long time, a conversation about race and diversity at St.
Many students at St. Joe's were surprised to learn recently that registration for fall 2010 courses would not take place as early as it has in years past. Originally estimated by some as a three-week delay, the actual wait turned out to be about a week.
Last November, The Hawk published an editorial in which we challenged members of the university administration to reconsider the Styrofoam to-go containers being offered in the Crimson Café. Though immensely popular, these containers were adding to an already big problem here at St.
In these times of economic difficulty, graduation looms for many seniors as the end of an era at Saint Joseph's University and the beginning of life in the "real world." It's a place where textbooks don't provide answers and money determines an awful lot about how individuals can spend their time.
This month brought the thirtieth anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador by a death squad during the civil war of that country. Here at St. Joe's, the occasion was marked with a solemn mass last week. Romero's legacy is particularly important at institutions like this university, where social justice is an integral part of what we consider a full education.
Early on Friday morning, many St. Joe's students in the City Avenue apartments had their studying or sleep interrupted by the sound of gunfire from outside their window. An off-duty Philadelphia police officer had chased a suspect who had allegedly held up the nearest 7-Eleven convenience store into the Borgia parking lot.
After federal proposals for a sugary-drinks tax failed at the national level, the city of Philadelphia has now turned to them as a way to solve its persistent budget shortfall. Beginning in January of 2011, sugary drinks—including, most notably, soda—will be taxed at a rate of 2 cents per ounce.
Every year before spring, many students try any method they can to lose weight before hitting the beach or other exotic locations. For too many, losing weight so quickly involves a practice that has come to be known as "crash dieting," where those taking part will eat as little as once a day.
Last week was St. Joe's biannual career fair. Every semester, hundreds of students, from sophomores looking for internships to seniors seeking jobs, attend in their professional attire. It can be an opportunity to get some face-to-face time with employers who are willing to hire those students with little or no experience.
This past week, Saint Joseph's University administrators endorsed the Cap and Bells production of "White People," a play by J.T. Rogers. University officials claimed—correctly—that the social issues presented in the play were too important for students to miss out on, deciding last-minute to make tickets free for the entire student body.
For almost two years, Saint Joseph's University administrators and members of the Merion Community Coalition (MCC) have duked it out over the proper use of Maguire Campus. The former Episcopal Academy campus is home to 38 acres of land, perfect for classrooms, student spaces, and athletic fields.
When a blizzard descends, it's perfectly understandable that students have a lot on their minds. What, for instance, can be adapted into a sled now that the cafeteria no longer has trays? How, when the snow stops, can one dig out a car without a snow shovel? And, most importantly, how many classes will be cancelled? So it's understandable that in the excitement that comes along with a big snowfall, students have other things on their mind.
It's easy to judge books—and people—by their covers. So easy, in fact, that stereotypes often replace honest conversations on campus. Like many other groups on campus, Greek Life has its share of stereotypes. It's a common understanding that second semester freshman, in addition to searching for friendship and connections on campus, are also looking for a way to fill their cups when they apply for membership to a Greek organization.
When a blizzard descends, it's perfectly understandable that students have a lot on their minds. What, for instance, can be adapted into a sled now that the cafeteria no longer has trays? How, when the snow stops, can one dig out a car without a snow shovel? And, most importantly, how many classes will be cancelled? So it's understandable that in the excitement that comes along with a big snowfall, students have other things on their mind.
For many St. Joe's students, the biggest disappointments of the holiday season involved what lay under a tree. But for some of our peers and millions of Haitians, this Christmas season will forever be marked as one of immense destruction and heartache—a strike to the very soul of a nation.
One of the things students expect from our school is safety, both of ourselves and of our possessions. Even when we are not here, we expect that the security institutions that protect us during school remain intact to guard our apartments and our TVs, iPods, jewelry, or whatever else we may leave in our living spaces.
It's that time of year again. In the midst of wracking your brain for answers and the meaning of life for final papers and exams, instructors leave the room for 20 minutes and expect you to write a few more sentences about the class you probably didn't even want to be awake for.
St. Joe's hasn't had much technological luck this past semester, and students understand that the Office of Information Technology (IT) is doing the best it can with a difficult situation. But after months of dysfunctional service, it is necessary to question why such a problematic system remains the first choice for the university.
Considering it's attracted such vehement criticism from local Catholic groups, Unity Week's name doesn't really pack the punch you'd expect from a controversial annual event. Originally called "Rainbow Week," Unity Week began in 2001 as an effort by faculty and students to promote awareness of issues facing the LGBTQ community at Saint Joseph's and beyond.
On Friday, Oct. 9, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced the closing of two Catholic high schools. In June 2010, Cardinal Dougherty High School and Northeast Catholic High School for Boys will close their doors after decades of declining student populations.
Students arriving at St. Joe's last year were greeted by Aramark's pledge to reduce their carbon footprint with new, more eco-friendly policies. This year, that promise has evidently been put aside in favor of paper cups and Styrofoam take-out containers. New policies enacted by Aramark this year have changed how Saint Joseph's students are able to obtain their food.
After 80 nerve-wracking days, the Pennsylvania state legislature finally agreed to measures that would potentially end the bitter budget fight in Philadelphia. State legislators proposed a bill on Friday that would channel $700 million toward Philadelphia's budget over the next five years, despite concerns over city and state deficits.
When we were in elementary school, teachers felt the need to tell us that a dog eating our homework was not an acceptable excuse. They never mentioned anything about the Internet doing it. It's been a common refrain in classrooms at Saint Joseph's the last three weeks, though, thanks to the numerous difficulties MySJU and Blackboard have been experiencing since the school year started.
"Change" was the catchphrase of the 2008 election season, but the word came into play here at Saint Joseph's University as well. This year, an extremely ambitious vision for the university, which has been in play for years, finally came to fruition with the start of construction in Campion and the Fieldhouse, along with the official acquisition and opening of the Maguire Campus.
You can't always see diversity. As a college campus that struggles with a certain degree of homogeneity, Saint Joseph's University has committed itself to dealing with the issues that affect the more visible minorities on campus-racism, sexism, xenophobia, etc.
When it comes to impressing its neighbors, St. Joe's may be fighting an uphill battle. Over the course of the conflict with Lower Merion residents surrounding the improvements to Maguire Campus, the university has been accused of accepting "80 percent of its applicants" because it's "big on sports," suggesting that the quality of the students is below par.
Last spring, Saint Joseph's University revised its smoking policy in order to comply with the laws set forth by Philadelphia County. The city-wide smoking ban, implemented in January 2007, prohibits smoking within 25 feet of public buildings. While we fully support the university's compliance with Philadelphia law, the inconsistent placement of "designated smoking areas" and a lack of regulation makes for an ineffectual policy.
This past week, controversy over fliers created by the College Republicans pushed issues of free speech to the forefront of conversation at St. Joe's. The flier, which advertised the group's first recruitment meeting of the fall, featured an image of President Barack Obama as a Heath Ledger-style Joker.
A recent quote attributed to a Merion Community Coalition (MCC) member, Irene Glickman, in this weekend's Philadelphia Inquirer has left St. Joe's administrators, faculty, and staff fuming even more than the decision by the township's Zoning Hearing Board to halt alterations to the baseball fields on Maguire Campus this past Thursday.
Like the incident that occurred last October in McShain Hall, the discovery of racially-charged graffiti in an Ashwood elevator before break indicates that the struggle to overcome discrimination and ignorance is far from over at St. Joe's. Though many students may attribute this incident and similar ones involving discrimination-sexism, homophobia, class issues-that go unreported to the actions and ignorance of a small group of individuals, the issue stems from all of us here at St.
Last week, Pope Benedict XVI unwittingly brought the Catholic Church into recent global trends of religious tension and violence. In response to statements he made last Tuesday, al Qaeda militants in Iraq declared a war on the Church and burned an effigy of Benedict in an enraged protest.
It is apparent that Saint Joseph's cares about attaining the facilities it needs to be counted among the ranks of the best schools of our size and demographic in the Northeast. The administration has done a commendable job making Maguire a cohesive part of the campus footprint in less than a semester's time, the expansion of Campion Student Center appears to be moving swiftly, and the renovations to the Fieldhouse are already generating excitement among rabid basketball fans.
The Hawk is now composing editorials as a staff. Each week at our editorial board meeting, we will discuss issues that we believe are on the minds of students, and put forth our consensus. To an extent, we also aim to reflect the general feelings of students.
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