The Gadfly
December, 2013
Volume XVIII
Issue 3
“Bite the sleeping horse.”
Franciscan, the Helicopter Parent Mary Ann Foster
When people think of Franciscan University, an image comes to mind. This image is not accidental: it is the product of advertising. Every college campus in the country creates an image of both their school and, more importantly, their students. After all, the accomplishments of the college graduate are a great way to show off the importance of spending thousands of dollars getting a degree. At Franciscan, most recognize that the image of the student is fairly unique.
From the inside, this vision for the students is embodied in policy. At Franciscan, the professors also have a unique situation. Their relationship with the students is defined by teaching; that’s pretty standard. They’re also being forced to adjust to the relatively modern influx of more college-goers paired with a lessening desire in those students to actually commit to internalizing academic studies. The generational gap doesn’t help, either. The professors were stu-
dents once, a long, long time ago (the 60s). This time of their lives is often brought up to incite horror in the innocent Franciscan student with tales of hippie compounds and loose sex. Sometimes they like to glorify Franciscan as a heavenly oasis compared to these other institutions where “anything goes.” Many Franciscan professors would not be able to maintain their current instructional methods at other institutions, be it the kind of faith-based or inspired curriculum or ability Please continue on page 4
The Revolutionary Character of English Thought
Nearly five hundred years ago, an unprecedented revolution took place in a great country, and a brave man gave his life – and his head – to stop it. Eighty years after him, another man attempted to undo the effects of the revolution by starting one of his own, and this man died trying to do so. This country is, of course, England, and these two men are, respectively, St. Thomas More and Guy Fawkes. And though one gave his life to stop a revolution and the other gave his life to start one, both More
Anthony Halstead
and Fawkes have something in common: they died for something they believed in. The common student here at Franciscan hardly needs to be told about the heroic martyrdom of Thomas More. More was a brilliant child and his academic success made him a prominent lawyer and scholar, though for a period of about three years he lived in a religious community discerning the priesthood. Deciding that he was not called to it, he returned to his position of being a lawyer and quickly 1
ascended the political hierarchy. He became married and had four children, though in 1511, his first wife died. He remarried shortly thereafter. He continued to ascend the political ranks and his fame throughout Europe grew, and eventually wrote his famous Utopia. But in 1517, Europe was stricken with one of the greatest disasters it has ever faced: the Protestant Revolution. More wrote as an apologist against Luther and the English Protestant reformer William Tindal. Finally, in 1529, he became the Please continue on page 7