Monday Morning Update

March 02, 2009

Film Festival: Tuesday, March 3, the Martin Institute will host four award-winning short movies from the Angelus Film Festival, the largest student film festival in the world. This year's selections examine the consequences of protest, forgiveness in the wake of genocide, religious belief versus moral responsibility, and an officer's guilt. Sponsored by the Martin Institute, Mission Division, and Honors Program, the festival is free and open to the public. For more, visit here.

Lincoln's Legacy: The public's fascination with President Lincoln is such that, in the two years before his 200th birthday, 90 books were published about him, according to scholar Frank Williams in his recent Salameno Lecture. Speaking to a packed Martin Institute, Williams noted that 16,000 books and pamphlets have been written about the 16th president. For a summary of the Salameno presentation by the former Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, visit here.

Service in India: On his recent trip to India, President Mark Cregan, C.S.C. '78 explored post-graduate opportunities for members of the senior class. As a result, this summer we expect five or six graduating seniors to head to the city of Agartala in northeast India. There, they will teach English at the Holy Cross School, which educates 3,500 students. To see a photo-essay of the warm welcome Fr. Cregan received from his Indian hosts, visit our latest Stonehill Snapshot.

Hook up culture: How do students reconcile sexual freedom with spiritual longings? An expert on how religious traditions impact daily life, Donna Freitas discussed this sensitive issue with students during a recent visit to campus. Based on her research, the Assistant Professor of Religion at Boston University suggests many students are not comfortable with the casual sex culture but they struggle to bring their bodies into conversation with their religious beliefs. For more, visit here.

Alumnus Honored: Brockton's newest public school bears the name of Manthala George, Jr. '62, an educational leader and former superintendent of the City's public schools. Opened in January, the Manthala George Jr. School will serve 750 students in a state-of-the-art building. The son of Lebanese immigrants, he majored in economics at Stonehill and dedicated his professional life to community service. In 1995, George received the Stonehill President's Medal for his contributions to public life.

MLK Essay Winners: Six students from high schools in and around Boston and Fall River won prizes for their reflections on how to live as brothers and sisters while meeting the challenges set by Saint Paul and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now in its third year, the Stonehill-sponsored contest coincided with our celebration of Black History Month and attracted 179 submissions which were reviewed and judged by a panel of Honors Program judges. For more on this story, visit here.