November/December Issue, Part 2

Second half of the newsletter below!

New Orleans in Autumn
by Mark Motz

My first thought as I was walking to S2 to meet up with my group to go to New Orleans was how eerie it was. The campus was absolutely quiet except for the people doing work, either the Garbage Men emptying trash cans or the Alpha Omega cleaning company. Granted, it was before the crack of dawn, but as I reflect on the whole experience, New Orleans was the same way. While we were working on our worksite, we noticed that the only people that were around us were fixing the houses, be it contractors or other volunteer groups - there was no one else. No children playing tag in the front yards, no runners, no dogs, no laughter.
After a fifteen hour drive and very bumpy bridge across Lake Pontchartrain we found ourselves at Marian Central, our home for the next few days. After a quick briefing and welcome by Operation Helping Hands Staff we were led to the old music room where there were a large number of bunk beds set up. We set our stuff down and went to the lounge to take it all in and meet our building mates. There were students from Xavier University and a few older volunteers from Youngstown OH. The Xavier students were in New Orleans as part of their semester of service and those from Youngstown had been down several other times.
Our tasks consisted of all exterior jobs such as caulking and painting houses. We were split up into three groups, but all did about the same things. Our group was sent to Ms. Adam’s house where she taught us her way of weatherproofing though “wood glue” and caulk. The newer/resided houses in New Orleans have wood siding that needs to be water tight in the cracks. After filling in the cracks we painted the whole exterior. While time consuming, we were able to see what we accomplished over a two day span.
The next worksite needed to have its yard mowed. By mowed I mean, weed whack and then attempt to mow. There is a law in New Orleans that states that if your yard is unmanaged they repossess your land and everything on it. New Orleans has several laws and customs that are not all that sound, such as bulldozing houses that may be fixed and leaving those that are completely flattened.
Exterior jobs are all that can be done right now and therefore we are working on the houses that are almost complete and there is so much more to do. Many houses are just frames, and some are just the concrete front porches.
I am looking foreword to going back to New Orleans and do more, but for now, I encourage you all to continue praying and if given the chance, go down and help with the Katrina cleanup.

Kelly Bohrer: New Member of CSC Family
by Susan Handle Terbay

The Center for Social Concern in Campus Ministry welcomes Kelly Bohrer as our new Coordinator of Community Outreach. Kelly comes to us with a background steeped in Marianist traditions and living a faith life through social justice and community service activities. Kelly formerly worked as Biology Lab Coordinator at the University of Dayton. In her previous job she enjoyed finding ways to help students in their educational, personal and spiritual growth and to achieve their leadership potential. In so doing she continued to educate herself on social justice issues and created innovative service-learning projects.

Kelly’s husband’s name is Jeff and they have a little 18-month-old, Jonathan, to complete their family. Young Jonathan’s favorite activity is throwing balls, so it is no wonder that he loves seeing the moon in the darkened sky and expresses his delight to his mommy upon seeing it.

Kelly and Jeff are members of Queen of Apostles parish at Mt. St. John, as well as members of a Lay Marianist Group – The Well. For years they were youth ministers at their parish but currently minister to the youth through service trips and youth liturgies at Bergamo.

Aside from enjoying her family life, Kelly loves to hike and snow ski. Years ago she used to downhill ski – now she does cross country. Animals are also very important creatures in her life. When visiting Liberty Hall, stop in and see her beautiful angel fish – a touch of nature in her office.

Because nature helps ground Kelly during stresses in her life, her favorite bible quote is: “…Learn a lesson from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work; they do not spin. Yet I assure you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was arrayed like one of these. If God can clothe in such splendor the grass of the field, which blooms today and is thrown into the fire tomorrow – will he not provide much more for you?”
Matthew 6:28-31.

Welcome Kelly!!!

Activist Interview – Gordon Schweitzer

1. How did you become active in social justice?

- I became active as a result of my peers. My roommate, Joe Melendrez, got me initially interested in retreats at UD. My experience in retreats inspired me to act and make a difference.

2. Why do you think service clubs and student government are important to the UD community?

- These organizations are important to UD because they allow students to take action. Without these organizations, students would not have avenues to make a difference and apply what they learn about the world into action.

3. What community service or activism experience has impacted you the most?

- I have gained the most from Metanoia. Metanioa allowed me to open up and learn more about myself. With this understanding, I have become a better servant of the community.

4. What on-campus event are you looking forward to the most this year and why?

- I am looking forward to MFest the most. This event provides an opportunity to slow down for a while and enjoy friends, music, and food along with being a great service of the community.

5. What can we do to get more students involved in community service?

- Students can pay attention. If you want to be a leader or become active, pay attention to opportunities, applications, emails, etc.

6. What is one way that you think the UD community can improve in its living out of the Marianist charism and "Learn, Lead, and Serve" motto?

- I encourage members of this community to take risks and explore themselves to figure out what is really important to them and to follow what gives them true, lasting happiness.

FACE AIDS Week
by Holly DeHaven

When one thinks of HIV/AIDS the images of people from Africa usually comes to mind. I can honestly say that I used to be one of those people who categorized this diseases only being a problem in one part of our world affecting only certain people. Over the summer I got the chance to attend the CRS College Resources (Catholic Relief Services)/NCAN (National Catholic AIDS Network) Conference. While I was there I interacted with people from all over the country who were working to raise awareness about the HIV/AIDS pandemic. I also met people personally affected by HIV/AIDS. One person in particular truly changed my perception on this movement and her name is Connie. Connie has had AIDS for over 20 years. Through hearing her story I learned about the stigmatization that she has faced since receiving her diagnosis. Her friends, family and even church have questioned and segregated her. She is a woman who has to take over 90 different pills a day and endures much pain and suffering not only from medication but also from society. She is a woman who has AIDS because of a blood transfusion she received many years ago. Many people around the world are not informed properly about HIV/AIDS and they only view the people affected by it through statistics. However, those statistics are real people who have lives just like us. Many people don’t want anything to do with this disease because some feel that it is too big of a problem to solve and it doesn’t personally affect them but HIV/AIDS does affect everyone in the world. It is part of almost every country including the United States. Men, women and children die from this disease everyday. It is a disease of the human family therefore it does affect us because as Christians we are part of the Body of Christ. Being part of the Body of Christ means when one part suffers we all suffer. It is important to join with our brothers and sisters around the world to fight this disease through awareness, advocacy and fund-raising.

During the week of November 26th November 30th people will have the chance to learn more about this issue. Helen Keller once said, “I am only one but I am still one, I cannot do everything but I can still do something, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” As individuals at this University lets take the time to inform ourselves and take action to stop this disease.