A Tutor Talk by Dr. Christopher R. Oleson

Note: Periodically members of the Thomas Aquinas College teaching faculty present informal lectures, followed by question-and-answer sessions, on campus. These late-afternoon gatherings afford an opportunity for tutors to speak about some topic of great interest to them and to share their thoughts with other members of the community. Dr. Christopher R. Oleson delivered the following talk on November 14, 2012:

Students recently gathered on the lawn outside the Doheny Hacienda for an inter-class volleyball tournament

Posted: November 5, 2012

Members of the Thomas Aquinas College Board of Governors meet three times a year to conduct the business of the College. In the fall, a lengthier meeting allows for fellowship, study, and prayer. This year’s fall retreat, held on the first weekend of November, provided the usual opportunity for Governors to visit with one another, with students, and with members of the faculty.

When Patrick Gardner was a high-school student in suburban Milwaukee in the 1990s, two classes captured his imagination: classical literature and economics. One offered a smattering of poetry, philosophy, and history; the other, a coherent, analytical methodology by which to arrive at answers about the common good. Naively, he believed that he had to choose between the two.

He may have attended dances in St. Joseph Commons, slept in the men’s residence halls, participated in discussions about the great books, and attended Mass in the Chapel, but Travis Cooper was never actually a student at Thomas Aquinas College. Although given the frequency of his campus visits and the number of friends and family members who were students at the College, there certainly were times when he felt, or wished, that he had been one, too.

On Saturday, October 27, the students of Thomas Aquinas College hosted the 2012 Halloween Dance in St. Joseph Commons. The event’s costumes had a movie theme, complete with oompa-loompas, the Hogwarts faculty, and a contingent of superheroes. See photos below:

Posted: October 29, 2012

On the afternoon of Sunday, October 21, 2012, Thomas Aquinas College students performed at the first of this year’s two informal concerts — “Schubertiades” — in St. Bernardine of Siena Library:

Posted: October 23, 2012

One Friday evening each semester, groups of about 20 Thomas Aquinas College students from all classes — seniors and freshmen, sophomores and juniors — gather in classrooms across the campus for the semi-annual All-College Seminar. Although separate, these groups engage in a single, common activity, namely, reading, analyzing, and discussing the same text, one that is not part of the College’s ordinary curriculum. Two members of the teaching faculty lead each of the discussions, which are followed by a campus-wide party in St. Joseph Commons.

Thomas Aquinas College President Michael F. McLean and Dean Brian T. Kelly ask that members of the College community join with the students, faculty, and staff in praying fervently through November 6 for “the conversion of our country and a very happy outcome to the elections.” Additionally they have asked that priests who are alumni or friends of the College keep this intention in mind when offering Mass.

Thomas Aquinas has joined a consortium of 15 Catholic colleges and universities in filing a legal brief (PDF) in support of two lawsuits against the HHS mandate, which violates the First Amendment and federal conscience protections.