February 2015 - Lourdes University

February 2015
I ssue 6
The Vit ruvian
Lourdes University's Premier Arts & Sciences Magazine
February 2015
The Vit ruvian
I ssue 6
Mission Statement
As a Lourdes Universit y student organization, we
will strive towards the same excellence in written and
visual communication that is the goal of university
learning outcomes. The cont ent of the Vitruvian shall
ref lect the integrity, intellect ual curiosity, and service to
global societ y that is inspired by the evangelical pursuit
of truth inherent within Franciscan ideology. The
Vitruvian is born of the necessity f or awareness and will
spark an interest on campus and ignite a global
conversation.
Purpose
The Vitruvian will st rive t o empower t he individual
with knowledge of bot h t he local and global communit ies
and create a stronger individual and communit y at large.
The Vitruvian will creat e t he necessit y of awareness
and in turn will spark a movement of readers who begin on
Lourdes Campus and t ravel t heir t hought s around t he
world.
The Vitruvian is born of t he necessit y f or awareness
and will spark an int erest on campus and ignit e a global
conversation.
February 2015
I ssue 6
The Vit ruvian
A dopt?Don?t Sh op!
by
Bri ttany Col l i er
4
Social Comparison Theory
and the Lourdes Community
by
Denzel l A nderson
6
A Non-Tradi ti onal Lourdes Communi ty:
One Student?s Perspecti v e
by
Jenni f er L. Brow n
9
Compani ons on th e Journey
by
Si ster Ruth M ari e K ach el ek , OSF/ S
12
Sti ck s and Stones
by
Patri ck Pi ck eri ng
14
Ph otos Courtesy
of Ch ri stoph er Rei d
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February 2015
The Vit ruvian
I ssue 6
A dopt?Don?t Sh op!
by
Bri ttany Col l i er
Animals are a signif icant part of
our community. From beloved pets that
are lucky enough to be considered part
of the f amily, to the ones that are in
shelters waiting to be adopt ed or strays
on the street s, it is clear they are a
f orce that cannot go unaddressed.
Fortunately f or the Toledo community,
there
are
several
dif f erent
organizat ions that do all they are able
to f or animals in need in our area. One
of these organizations is called Planned
Pethood, and f rom personal experience
of adopting several cats f rom them
over the years, I can declare that they
are excellent at what they do. Planned
Pethood?s mission is to reduce the
overpopulation and suf f ering of dogs
and cats through educat ion and
low- cost spay/neut er programs and to
rescue, vet and place adopt able dogs and
cats into good permanent homes. Their
website,
www.plannedpet hood.org,
def ines adopt able as dogs and cats that
pose no health or saf et y risk, which
makes the animal unsuit able f or
placement as a pet.
various adoption events at dif f erent
locations in our town. At these events,
cats or dogs are available to meet
prospective owners. And if all goes
well, they will be heading home to a
loving, f orever f amily. In order to
ensure the saf ety and well- being of the
animals in their care, bef ore being able
to adopt an animal one must f ill out an
adoption f orm that will be reviewed by
a staf f member. They review each f orm
to make sure that the animal will be
compatible with each person hoping to
adopt. All of the cats that Planned
Pethood has saved have come f rom
Toledo and all of the dogs they save are
f rom Northwest Ohio. Many of these
Planned Pethood does a number
of things to accomplish their mission.
Several times per month they have
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February 2015
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animals were at risk of being
euthanized and wit hout the help and
devotion of Planned Pethood and other
organizat ions like them, they probably
would have been.
Adopting an animal f rom a
shelter is so important because it clears
room f or the organizat ion to save other
animals that may also be at risk of
being euthanized. The more animals
that are adopted, the more room t here
will be to take in and take care of other
animals in need. Overpopulation
should not result in a death sent ence to
innocent animals, and, thankf ully,
there are people in the world who f ight
to save them. While it is true that
animals can be purchased f rom
breeders or f rom other organizat ions,
I ssue 6
they may not be reputable and in some
sad cases may not be taking great care
of the animals. By adopting an animal
f rom a reputable organization like
Planned Pethood, business is taken
away f rom the untrustworthy ones and
that will hopef ully discourage them
f rom continuing on.
The next time you or someone
you know is interested in adding a new
pet to the f amily, be sure to visit the
local animal shelters f irst. Not only will
you be saving the animal(s) you adopt,
but you will be enabling the shelter to
save other animals as well. For more
inf ormation on Planned Pethood, visit
their website or check them out on
Facebook and Twitter.
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I ssue 6
Social Comparison Theory
and the Lourdes Community
by
Denzel l A nderson
The American social psychologist ,
Leon Fest inger, est ablished a theory
known as t he Social Comparison Theory,
which argues t hat humans are nat urally
attract ed t o similar individuals and tend
to, unint ent ionally, avoid dissimilar
individuals. How of t en is t his observed
through t he communit y t oday?
Hmm? Today, another day, I notice
the same athletes who hang with the
same athletes at the same times. Here, I
notice the two non-athletes hanging with
the same non-athletes over a salad from
the deli. The same teams hanging with
the same teams again. The same majors
hanging with the same majors. I n
general, I see the same people hanging
with the same people regardless of the
reason why. Wow, another day of the
same athletic team eating in the dining
hall in the same spot. I wonder what I am
going to eat today. I have class in a few
hours so I think I am going to grab and
go as usual.
And so I did, on a f rozen February
morning. My roommat e and I depart ed
home. At 10 o?clock, I walk int o the
Franciscan Cent er and not ice t he same
people st anding around where I address
them wit h a f amiliar head nod. Some I
actually know, sit t ing in t he same spot
conversing wit h t he same people. I walk
into Ohio Hist ory wit h Dr. Hodge, and 97
percent of t he st udent s are again sitt ing
next t o t he same people. I f ind myself
writ ing my name on my seat as well. Class
is over, and my next move is t o meet wit h
my f riend, Rachel, until my next class at 2,
where I enter and not ice the same people
sit ting adjacent to the same people. At the
Formal Dance, in the Den, in the gym,
out side, in the cars, in the caf eteria, in the
ASC, and in class I see the same people sit
next to the same people. Day af ter day,
semester af ter semest er, do you f ind
yourself socially and environmentally
consistent? Why are we more comf ortable
wit h people who remind us of ourselves
and something about our lives? I mean
that is why we int eract wit h ot her right?
Or is it too much to be socially
spont aneous?
I believe everyone has morality
(rules to living) and ethics (principles that
direct our rules to produce certain
out comes rat her they are good or bad). So
to help me f ully underst and the rules to
our social int eractions wit hin the
Sylvania communit y, here is what I did: I
int erviewed 28 dif f erent st udents here at
Lourdes over the age of 25 and asked them
f or mild experiences, good or bad,
comf ort able or uncomf ort able. There were
no discriminatory requirements f or me to
int erview
someone;
the
process
spont aneously occurred. But what I f ound
almost identical and ideal in every
sit uat ion was that all 28 of them come to
Lourdes to obtain their degree only. So,
they do not attend LEAP event s, or attend
our commons (apart ments) to hang around
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or play ping pong downst airs in t he Ebeid
Center, nor do t hey at t end at hlet ic event s.
Their main concern is obt aining their
degree.
One st udent , aged 31, f rom Fremont,
OH, has experienced a neut ral environment
f rom Lourdes f or she keeps t o herself . The
interact ion bet ween her and Lourdes is
mutual; she does her t hing and Lourdes
provides her a service t o help her. As I
asked about her experience wit hin the
Lourdes communit y and t hings we could do
as a communit y t o bet ter accommodate her
situat ion, she addressed t he terms
?discriminat ion? and ?dishonest y.? Not
that she has wit nessed t his in our
communit y, but speaking f rom personal
experience since she has very lit tle
interact ion wit h t he Lourdes community.
She t old me t hat all is well wit h her and
Lourdes. In general, she doesn?t appreciat e
backt alk, meaning individuals who have
problems wit h somet hing or someone and
who do not address t he concern verbally to
the source, but inst ead t hey t alk behind the
back of t he issue. Not only does she det est
this concept generally but especially when
it?s a problem about her. She f avors
conversat ion and dialoging t o work out
unclear sit uat ions regardless of the
problem. She would rather t ake bad news
f rom honest y t han bad news f rom
dishonest y. This met hod of communication
is bett er f or her t han observing t he dislike
and animosit y on t he body language of an
individual.
It would be good f or t he communit y,
she argued, that if we discussed our
concerns wit h each ot her, more people
I ssue 6
"It
would be good f or
the community, she
argued, that if we discussed
our concerns with each
other, more people would
benef it"
would benef it. She mentioned an example
of how this concept played int o her being
discriminated against. Instit ut ionally, she
was treat ed one way because the source
believed she was Caucasian. Once the
source realized she was Latina, they
altered their int eraction towards here and
didn?t explain why. This is simply an
everyday experience that she wishes could
reverse it self . ?If there is an issue just tell
me? Rene says. We as a community can
learn f rom this. We all have opinions,
comments, concerns, and quest ions. In this
era our young people are more likely to
address these components through social
media rat her through human- to- human
language. The obsessive abuse of social
media these days is an explanat ion to why
are social skills are deplorable, why
unnecessary preventable accidents kill
yearly,
and
why
priorities are
out- of - order.
Anot her st udent, 53 years of age,
appreciat es the love, care, compassion,
consistency, service, reverence, loyalty,
and sacrif ice Lourdes has shown her since
1999. For Lisa, she is one beautif ul
example of a st rong woman wit h drive and
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February 2015
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The Vit ruvian
mot ivat ion f or all reasons t o care f or her
two babies. She admit s t o having a language
disorder, which complicat es her public
speaking skills and writ ing. However, she
has been at Lourdes since 1999 and has
obtained her Bachelors and Mast ers wit h all
the accolades Lourdes have t o of f er. With
countless semest ers of having hard times
speaking in f ront of people and applying her
thought s t o paper, she says Lourdes ?has
helped t remendously? and t hat she ?would
have never succeeded? if she were
anywhere else.
Wit hin the communit y are individual
people t hat make up t hat communit y. A
young woman I int erviewed ment ioned how
here at Lourdes she experienced isolation in
a course. She ment ioned basically how
?they should be mindf ul of immigrants? and
the f eelings t hey have t oo. She also said that
just because immigrant s come f rom
dif f erent places, t hat does not mean they
are composed of a dif f erent subst ance. 6
other immigrant s out of 12 t ot al said the
exact same t hing. 4 remaining f rom the
other 6 ment ioned a great welcoming f rom
the st af f and very lit tle welcoming f rom the
student s. 1 f rom t he remaining 2 said they
had no issues but it t ook f or someone to
speak t o t hem. The last young man said ?I
love Lourdes, t here are a lot of beaut if ul
people here, and some neglect ed me f or a
while because of st ereot ypes bef ore they
actually got t he chance t o know me.?
The last
10
non- immigrants
ment ioned t he high densit y of young energy
and t he excessive t echnology abuse they
observe in class. I asked t he 10 people if they
could describe Lourdes sociably in one word.
Here are the responses: ?neutral,?
?encouraging,?
?nice,?
?helpf ul,?
?generous,? ?divergent ,? ?involved,?
?elegant,? ?supportive,? and ?obliging.?
But , of course, these att itudes only
developed
when
ot hers
began
int eracting wit h them.
Ref lect ion: I put challenge of the
Social Comparison Theory to of us all.
As a communit y, we should value each
ot her?s words, f or we make up the
prosperit y in the communit y. It was an
enormous challenge f or me to hear that
in class no one would sit next to them,
or they could hear pseudo- st ereotypes
being discussed behind them or people
making f un of their cult ure?s sanitation.
We are one society, one service, one
f amily. If perpetuated, we would stand
toget her, so let?s every day. Let?s not
take f or grant ed the ability to
rat ionalize our thoughts and f eelings
towards each ot her. Let ?s become more
aware of how to speak to one another. A
comf ort able communit y environment
will creat e the road to prosperity within
the environment to ride as smooth as
the natural wave of dolphins in water.
For a fist will always be greater
than individual fingers.
How love and acceptance washes
me away from the pain and
suffering that thirst me,
For the Wolf Pack hunts collectively.
-Denzell Anderson
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The Vit ruvian
I ssue 6
A Non-Tradi ti onal Lourdes Communi ty:
One Student?s Perspecti v e
by
Jenni f er L. Brow n
I pull int o the parking lot with ten
minut es to spare. Just enough t ime to
inhale my dinner and f inish reading the
last f ew conf using lines of "Faerie
Queene". Unf ort unately, I barely
remember the cont ext . My at tempts at
comprehension were interrupt ed by
preschool tantrums, teenage emotional
meltdowns, and commercial- sized piles
of laundry. But I am here; I have been up
since 6:00 a.m., dropped three children
of f at daycare ? one of whom spit up on
me three times bef ore leaving the house,
completed an eight hour workday
including two client meetings ?
thereaf ter realizing that my three year
old had once again mist aken my suit
sleeve f or a tissue, organized the sports
drop of f and pick- up schedules f or two
kids, somehow helped my eleven year old
solve
a
visual
mat h
problem
telephonically, provided my husband
wit h step- by- step instruct ions f or
cooking spaghett i, inched my way
through I- 475?s rush hour traf f ic, and
still managed to gather up the energy and
determination to show up f or class at
5:30 ? albeit with a Grande Biggby Sugar
Bear latte, wit h extra shot and extra
whip in tow. Bef ore trading my work
bag f or my school bag, I glance behind me
at the three car seats sitting calmly in
the back and f eel a pang of sadness at
their vacancies. By the time I get home,
the little ones will be tucked under
their covers and on their way to sleep. I
can only peek through a crack in the
door and watch them dream. I stare out
of my car window at the beautif ul
stained glass mosaics of MAH and
think, ?What am I doing here? Do I
belong here ? in college? I am a 32- year
old mother of f ive. Clearly, I do not
belong with the university crowd.
Right?? Despite my doubts, I gather
my things, take an eager swig of
caf f eine, and head to class.
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Lourdes prof esses to be a ?diverse
community?? and invites its st udents
to be part of that ideal; but what
exactly def ines ?community?? Do I
have to actively
accept
this
?communit y? or am I part of it by
def ault simply because I pay tuition?
When I began my college lif e at
Lourdes, the majorit y of classes were in
the evenings because the st udents
commut ed here f rom one place or
another. I was here when Caf é Lourdes
was the Dining Hall, and the major buzz
on campus was that Lourdes would
f inally maintain an at hlet ics program.
My point here is that I st art ed at
Lourdes College when it simply
maintained the st at us quo that it had
protected f or many years ? promoting
higher education in the liberal arts
primarily to non- traditional st udents.
I have watched the transition f rom
stat us quo, to the integration of
traditional st udent s, to a f ull- f ledged
universit y with dorms, sport s teams,
and organized st udent activities. These
changes necessitat ed a complete
rest ructuring
of
administ rative
practices, course of f erings, and class
schedules that seem to cater to those
living on campus and f rust rat ing those
who have limited time and f lexibility to
commut e. And thus, the line between
the ?traditional? and ?non- tradit ional?
I ssue 6
"When
I began my college
lif e at Lourdes, the majorit y
of classes were in the evenings
because the students commuted here
f rom one place or another. I was here
when Caf é Lourdes was the Dining
Hall, and the major buzz on campus
was that Lourdes would f inally
maintain an athletics
program"
student has been drawn.
During all my time gazing at the
stained glass, staring sleepily at my
prof essors, or shedding tears over
looming due dates, I never questioned
whether or not I was part of the
Lourdes community ? or, more
accurately, I never considered that I
might have to actively join the
community if there was such an
entity. The mere f act that every time I
check my e- mail f or important
class- related notif ications, I am
inundated with invitations to become
part of the Lourdes community, makes
me wonder if I am truly a part of it or
not. What are the qualif ications? Is
there an application process? What are
the criteria f or being labeled ?a part of
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February 2015
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the community? versus being ?a
non- part of the communit y?? Is it
similar to being a tradit ional st udent
or a non- t radit ional st udent? I
suppose in my ignorance, I believed
myself to have already chosen the
Lourdes community when I enrolled as
a student, but I have clearly
misunderstood
the
multi- tiered
communit y system. It appears to me
based upon the numerous f lyers and
signs and e- vit es, that the way in
which one joins this communit y is by
attending sporting event s and ice
skating outings and laser tag
extravaganzas. But where do these
communit y- qualif ying
activities
leave those of us who have children
with their own sporting events, or
jobs that do not accept ?school
shopping trip? as a valid absence? Are
we then precluded f rom the
communit y because of our inability or
rather, unavailabilit y to at tend these
events?
I ssue 6
signif icant changes to its class
structure and administration, I still
believe that the essence of an
education at
Lourdes remains
unchanged. We all have struggles that
at times encourage us to give up or
cause us to ask ourselves ?do I belong
here?? Whether those struggles
include balancing your educational
and athletic commitments, smiling
through the night job you took in
order to live on campus and earn your
degree, or sacrif icing time with your
children so that you can provide your
f amily with a better lif e; the f act that
we all endure those struggles, gather
up our things, take an eager swig of
caf f eine, and head to class makes us all
equal participants in the Lourdes
community. Now, the membership
f ees are another discussion?
When I began my journey at
Lourdes, it seemed that I and my peers
shared a common goal ? to achieve a
college degree f rom a liberal- arts
cent ered institut ion that possessed a
solid moral and et hical core and
f ocused on it s st udents individually,
yet
collect ively. Despit e some
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I ssue 6
Compani ons on th e Journey
by
Si ster Ruth M ari e K ach el ek , OSF/ S
Most people think joining a
religious community is a pretty radical
choice ? no marriage, children or
f reedom to do what you want . I was 19
when I joined the Sylvania Franciscan
Sisters in 1946. World War II had just
ended and there was an excit ement in
the air. I ran into a f riend f rom school
who had joined the Franciscan
community and she looked so happy. I
wanted what she had f ound. Yes, I had
a boyf riend but I f elt God was calling
me and I answered. When I make a
choice, I put my whole self into it. I
never looked back.
and school was identif ied. My of f ice
became command central!
Mixed with my scientif ic
aptitude, I was also blessed with
artistic talent ? sometimes a challenge
to balance both. I learned the medieval
technique of egg tempura and painted
the San Damiano cross which hangs
today in Queen of Peace Chapel. Fif t y
years later, the colors are as vivid as
the day I painted them. I also did most
of the calligraphy on the chapel
ceiling.
I spent much of my lif e in
education, teaching science bot h in
grade schools and high schools and
eventually becoming a school principal
and assistant superint endent . One of
my claims to f ame in the Toledo
Cat holic Schools Of f ice was on a day
when all the schools were closed
because of snow, I trudged on f oot to
the of f ice and spent the day drawing a
detailed map of nort hwest Ohio on the
entire wall of my of f ice. Every parish
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I ssue 6
I spent many years in leadership in my community but always desired to
work directly wit h the poor. My most satisf ying ministry was direct ing an
outreach cent er in eastern Kentucky f or abused women. My lif e had been so
dif f erent than the women in this Center. I was af raid that I would not be able to
earn their trust. I f ound that a cup of cof f ee with them at the kitchen table broke
down a lot of the dif f erences between us. I came to love these women and they
saw me as a companion on their journey. My most harrowing experience came
when I was driving one of the women to an appointment. We realized that we
were being f ollowed by her abuser. I stepped on the gas! Knowing the back roads,
I f ound a way to lose him. This was our Bonnie and Clyde adventure.
My lif e has been f ull. I f ound the happiness I saw in my young f riend years
ago. Being part of a communit y means you are never alone. I always had the
support of my sist ers and they had mine. We have been companions on an
incredible journey. I am blessed.
"My
most harrowing experience
came when I was driving one of the
women to an appoint ment. We realized
t hat we were being f ollowed by her abuser. I
st epped on the gas! Knowing the back
roads, I f ound a way to lose him. This
was our Bonnie and Clyde
advent ure"
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February 2015
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Sti ck s and Stones
by
Patri ck Pi ck eri ng
The current digit al environment
has connect ed t hose around t he globe on
an unprecedent ed level. Any bit of
inf ormat ion is virt ually a click, t ap, or
command away. My previous article f or
The Vit ruvian discussed t he sensit ivit y of
personal dat a, and how data- mining
compromises t he securit y of that
inf ormat ion. We are all of course
sensit ive t o our own personal dat a, but
how sensit ive are we and should we be to
negative inf ormat ion being put out there
about not only our own belief s and
cultural ident it ies, but also t hose of
others?
Over our wint er break t he role of
sensit ivit y, in regards t o t he out put of
inf ormat ion (part icularly by t he media)
was all over t he news. I am sure a
majorit y of you are f amiliar wit h the
f iasco t hat happened wit h t he f ilm, The
Interview, as well as t he horrif ic events
that t ook place in Paris at t he Charlie
Hebdo of f ices.
The incident s in Paris were a result
of a series of crass cart oons depict ing the
prophet
Muhammad
in
various
compromising posit ions. Out raged by
Charlie Hebdo?s sat irical cart oons of
Muhammad, the brot hers Cherif and Said
Kouachi, who were associat ed wit h
Al- Qaeda, responded wit h violent act s of
I ssue 6
"Any
bit of inf ormation is
virtually a click, tap, or
command away"
terrorism. The harsh realit y is that 12
people were massacred in response to
these cartoons.
The alleged North Korea hacking
of Sony, and bomb threats to theaters
that showed The Int erview, were
because Nort h Korea took of f ense to
their Supreme Leader being mocked and
assassinated f or the sake of comedy.
Many have claimed that Sony was
creat ing a publicit y st unt with the
entire movie. And perhaps they were,
but it is hard to believe that they
expect ed such a backlash f rom the
alleged North Korea hackers. The
hackers, who call themselves the
?Guardians of Peace,? st ole private data
f rom the Sony servers, and threatened
the homes of Sony employees. The
hackers released damaging personal
emails that insult ed not only celebrities,
but also the President, and tarnished the
reputat ion of many high ranking Sony
execut ives.
In response to the North Korean
backlash, President Obama st ated, "We
cannot have a society in which some
dict at or some place can st art imposing
censorship here in the United States.?
He continued, "Or even worse, imagine if
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February 2015
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producers and dist ribut ors and others
start engaging in self - censorship
because t hey don't want t o of f end the
sensibilit ies of
somebody whose
sensibilit ies probably need t o be
of f ended. That 's not who we are."
In bot h inst ances of Charlie
Hebdo and The Int erview, t here was one
culture poking f un at anot her in the
name of satire or comedic relief . Free
speech suggest s t hat it is wit hin our
right t o be able t o publish whatever we
like about whomever, but does that
mean we should? I do not agree with or
condone belit t ling anot her cult ure or
belief , but I also do not condone violence
as a response t o f ree speech. Thus, I am
stuck personally on where t o draw the
line. Self censorship is a scary t hought ,
but so is disrespect ing anot her belief or
culture and t hen hiding behind or even
abusing f ree speech. Just because you
say ?no offense? does not make what
you are saying any less offensive. There
is a difference between being polite and
respectful, and then being politically
correct.
I ssue 6
cult ures and belief s, but not at the sake of
f ree speech, especially when that speech is
aimed at the truth. However, if something
is produced to mock or belit tle another
belief or cult ure, it should hold no weight
in the lit erary, journalistic, or
entert ainment world. It is not f or me to
say if this was the int ent ion of either the
cartoonists and edit ors at Charlie Hebdo,
or to all those involved in making The
Int erview, but it is saf e to say the manner
in which Cherif and Said Kouachi, and the
hackers of Nort h Korea ret aliated is
egregious to say the least.
As President Obama alluded to,
does t he media now have t o be so
polit ically correct in t his digit al age that
they now have t o self - censor everyt hing
they put out t here f rom f ear of some
sort of backlash? I wish I had a
def init ive answer, but I do not . It will
always be import ant t o be sensit ive to all
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