Students head west to present papers

By Lauren Rothering
Copy Editor

Saint Mary’s University students Teresa Gill, senior; Ryan Briscoe, junior; and Lauren Rothering, sophomore, will attend the ACTC (The Association for Core Texts and Courses) Student Conference at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, Calif., to present papers originally written for courses at SMU.

Gill, Briscoe and Rothering all submitted one-page proposals of their respective papers and their relation to the conference theme, “Core: Tradition and Arts, Culture, Justice,” to members of the ACTC board in early November. All three were notified of their acceptance to the conference in December.

The conference will host around 40 students from colleges and universities across the United States. Students will meet in groups of five, present their papers and have the opportunity to discuss ideas with other students outside the realm of the classroom from their home institutions. Three of the best papers delivered at the conference will be selected for publication in the online literary journal Agora, which is published out of Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Va.

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Gill’s paper is an adapted version of her senior thesis project, while Briscoe’s and Rothering’s papers were written for courses in the Lasallian Honors Program. The theme of the conference coincides with the Honors Program’s “Great Books” curriculum.

The proposals and papers themselves differ about as much as their authors. Briscoe will be speaking to “Dostoyevsky as reactionary to Western thought in his novel The Brothers Karamazov,” while Rothering will present a paper entitled “The ‘Wild Boys of Gilgamesh’: Truth in Humanity.”

Although their intellectual pursuits may differ, all three students seem to relish the thought of briefly escaping the Minnesota winter and hearing feedback from peers outside the sphere of SMU academia.

“I’m excited to travel,” said Briscoe, “but beyond that I’m looking forward to other criticisms of my ideas. I am also thoroughly excited to hear what our peers are thinking and writing about in their courses.”

While at the conference, Gill, Briscoe and Rothering will have the opportunity to participate in panels, listen to guest speakers and even explore Moraga and the surrounding San Francisco Bay area.

The conference will take place Feb. 6-8.

SMU receives 'Best in Midwest' honor

By Jessica Paulsen
Managing Editor

This summer, a national college guide designated Saint Mary’s University as one of 159 schools receiving their “Best in Midwest” honor for 2009.
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Vice President for Admission, Tony Piscitiello, said that “a lot of people put credence in that (school rankings). So by having your name, your university listed as ‘Best in Midwest’ ... it lets people know Saint Mary’s is a good place to be”.

For people looking into SMU, there is a link on the home page of the school website to the list of rankings. Past, present and future students of SMU can look at the list and decide if it is important to them.

Piscitiello said that honors like this are important because “we all like to quantify things, and this helps people do that.” Students and families can look at The Princeton Review rankings and know that SMU compares well to its peer schools.

“As an alumnus of Saint Mary’s, someone who’s chosen to go to Saint Mary’s this means a lot to me. I hope as a student you can say to your friends, ‘Well, Saint Mary’s is one of the best schools in the Midwest,’ so that reinforces the decision you made to come here,” said Piscitiello.

There are 632 colleges and universities, which represent about 25 percent of the four-year colleges in the United States, named regional best by The Princeton Review. The Princeton Review ranks colleges and universities according to region each year based on two criteria. The schools have to meet the standard of academic excellence upheld in their region and students are anonymously surveyed about their school, according to The Princeton Review website.

SMU recognizes excellence

Compiled by Lindsay Dickson
Editor-in-Chief

Many seniors were honored at two award ceremonies this month.
Read more... The first, a Student Life Awards Ceremony on April 9, awarded students of all ages and staff members for their service and leadership at Saint Mary’s University and in the community.
This ceremony was the first of its kind at SMU. Chris Kendall, vice president for student development, plans to expand on the program in future years. The following individuals received awards:

Brother Finbar McMullen Award: Nikki Richmond
Charlene “Char” Tjaden Outstanding Resident Assistant: Gary Borash
Club and Organization Advisor of the Year: Nancy Edstrom, advisor of Buddies

Club and Organization of the Year: Habitat for Humanity
Intramural Most Valuable Players: John Geske and Lee Coleman
Volunteer of the Year Award: Jessica Evers and Abby Zimmer
Oustanding Student Senator of the Year Award: Neil Leibundguth
Winona Community Service Award: Brittany Staver
Brother James Miller Award: Laura Holupchinski and Tony Freeman
Student Service Award: Kasey Schultz

A second ceremony, the Academic Honors Banquet, honored seniors for their academic work at the university. Members of honors societies were recognized and individual awards were
distributed:
American Institute of Chemists Award: Nick Swanson
American Chemical Society Award: Michael Mulhollund
Business Awards: Ana Sontag, Kevin Black,
Rebecca Yerhot, Ashley Andrescik, Amanda Christman, Tina Koecheler
Saint Thomas Aquinas Award for Excellence: Tim Hepner
Gerald E. Sullivan Award: Walt Claassen
Michael G. Flanagan Award: Andrew Winecke
Brother Leo Northam Award: Sarah Ruether
Future Alumni Committee Scholarship: Jeff David
Lasallian Honors Program Outstanding Seniors:
Tim Hepner, Kasey Schultz