Parents

At their last classes on Friday, the students tackled Proposition 32 from Euclid’s Elements, then contemplated the significance of the title of Flannery O’Connor’s short story “The Enduring Chill.” During recreation time, most either played in or watched the student-prefect soccer game, making the most of their final hours on campus. All are eagerly looking forward to tonight’s banquet and dance.

On Thursday afternoon, the penultimate day of the 2014 Summer Program, most of the men, joined by Fr. Sebastian, the prefects, and even some of the College’s student workers, played in a 3-on-3 basketball tournament on the campus courts. Other students took to the volleyball and tennis courts, or spent the time socializing with their many new friends. And a group of some 30 ladies ventured into Santa Paula, where they scoured the shops for clothes to wear to Friday night’s soiree, then paid a visit to a local coffee shop.

In class Tuesday morning, students got a chance to show off their talents for demonstrating Euclidean propositions. They were surprised, they reported, at how complex they now regarded questions that they once considered simple, such as, what is a point? The class was over at 10:30 a.m., but Euclid remained on their minds all day.

Sunday began with Mass in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, with early risers attending Mass in the extraordinary form at 7:15, and the rest of the group going to the ordinary form Mass at 9:00. Because students would be spending the day in Los Angeles — and not returning until late in the evening — there was then a study session in the library, so that all would have time to prepare for Monday’s classes. Afterward came lunch, and then students, prefects, chaplains, and a few tutors boarded three coach buses for the city.

After rising early on Saturday morning, over 100 Summer Program students joined the prefects on a hike through the Los Padres National Forest. The trail, which borders the campus, leads to the refreshing (but cold!) Punch Bowls — two naturally formed pools of spring water.

The students greatly enjoyed the three-mile canyon hike, climbing over boulders, crossing the creek beds, and finally enjoying lunch and a dip in the cool water at the top.

After dinner on Friday night, students met up in St. Bernardine of Siena Library for a dramatic — and, at times, hilarious — reading of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. To allow as many students to participate as possible, some of the major roles were divvied up among several actors. And delighting all with his performance of Algernon “Algy” Moncrieff was none other than the Summer Program’s director, Dr. Christopher Decaen.