Across the country, educational and religious leaders of all faiths and denominations are speaking out about the threat that California Senate Bill 1146 poses to religious freedom.

On Thursday, August 11, California’s Assembly Appropriations Committee will vote on Senate Bill 1146, which would incorporate “gender identity” into the state’s non-discrimination policies, in particular those that regulate institutions of higher education. If passed, SB 1146 would undermine the free exercise of religion in California, particularly at religious schools such as Thomas Aquinas College, while also depriving low-income students of much-needed tuition assistance.

On August 22 some 102 freshmen from across the United States and abroad — the Class of 2020 — will mark the beginning of their four years of study at Thomas Aquinas College. Welcoming the students for the start of the academic year will be the Most Rev. Robert Barron, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles, who will offer the Convocation Mass of the Holy Spirit and preside over the matriculation ceremony.

On Friday nights throughout the 2016-17 academic year, the students of Thomas Aquinas College will have the privilege of attending lectures from some of the nation’s most distinguished scholars — covering a wide range of topics — through the St. Vincent de Paul Lecture and Concert Series.

After several weeks of delay, due to the need to sort and remove rock, workers were able to complete rough grading for the College’s newest building, St. Cecilia Hall, at the end of June. They then commenced on building retaining walls around what will be the building’s lower level, site of a future coffee shop and student recreation room. This past week they poured the concrete foundation for the first of these walls.

“One of the greatest joys we experience on the Board is confidence that the Faith is lived, taught, and discussed daily by our students,” says Bernarda Neal, a member of the Thomas Aquinas College Board of Governors.

By Dr. Brian T. Kelly (’88)

Note: The following remarks are adapted from Dean Brian T. Kelly’s report to the Board of Governors at its November 14, 2015, meeting. They are part of an ongoing series of talks about why the College includes certain texts in its curriculum.

Audio:

[audio=Dr. Michel Accad -- SATS 16]

Hylomorphic Elements and the Cell Theory:
A Basis for Biological Law

Dr. Michel Accad
University of California, San Francisco
John Paul the Great Catholic University
West Coast Meeting, Society for Aristotelian-Thomistic Studies
June 17, 2016

Audio:

[audio=Rev. Andrew Younan -- SATS 16]

If a Photon Falls in the Woods:
An Aristotelian Answer to a Quantum Question

Rev. Andrew Younan
Professor of Philosophy & Biblical Languages
John Paul the Great Catholic University
West Coast Meeting, Society for Aristotelian-Thomistic Studies
June 16, 2016

Audio:

[audio=Dr. Carol Day -- SATS 2016]

Space and Time in Modern Cosmology

Dr. Carol Day
Tutor
Thomas Aquinas College
West Coast Meeting, Society for Aristotelian-Thomistic Studies
June 16, 2016

Introduction