The Gadfly Vol. XVI, Iss. II
“To persuade and reproach” - Socrates, The Apology
February 14, 2012
One More Government Mess-up less!), the hearings were adjourned before the bill could even be addressed! Botch C: inefficiencies, miscommunication, and lack of due diligence on the side of the government stalled the bill even further, thus wasting more time of everyone involved (not to mention delaying the benefits of the bill for the citizenry!). Botch D: The government supposedly operates with agreed-upon rules, but during the life of this bill the rules were quickly amended and dropped at will, hindering the bill’s passage. Botch E: A bill requiring a much larger amount of the government’s discretionary funding, but only aiding a much smaller number of citizens, was easily Before I go into the exact details of this bill, I championed by the government, largely due am duty-bound to first stress the failures to sponsors with stronger political clout. associated with this bill’s attempted passage. Botch A: the bill’s sponsoring senator did not It’s about time we vote these bums out of perform up to quality standards by providing Washington, right?! Wrong. Sorry, dear reader, I am not writing about the US govno support once the bill was introduced. Botch B: when the private citizen was actual- ernment, but about our very own Franciscan University Student Government (FUSG). ly called to attend government hearings on And the bill? It’s a simple bill to extend the the bill (with a requested expert witness, no An ongoing government debacle has largely escaped the scrutiny of the mainstream media. A very simple, much-needed bill is being overly-debated, passed around, and generally mishandled. This bill certainly will not significantly change the face of the American way of life, but it will positively affect a large majority of the government’s constituents. Moreover, the bill does not require any increase in government spending, but rather diverts some of the government’s discretionary funds. To make matters even better, this succinct bill was recommended not by a professional politician, but by a private citizen!
hours at Finnegan Fieldhouse (Sunday, anyone?) for the remainder of the semester. I am not here to damage any reputations or name any names; I respect all our student leaders and appreciate their service. That said, my goal is to simply relay the truth and help inform the people who FUSG is liable to: us. If you are in favor of this bill, or at least would expect our own student government to not act like the current US government, let FUSG know! Finally, that bill that was agreed upon without a hitch? It was a bill to set aside $15,000 to the graduate-week festivities. While I don’t know the specifics of this legislation, other than the price tag, it seems that we could respectfully honor our graduates with less than $15,000…and I’m graduating this year.
Kevin LeRoy
Students for a Fair Society: La Via Media Standing amongst students, one may hear any variety of topics. These range from philosophical debates – often debates which were settled by Aristotle, Bonaventure or von Hildebrand – to where one is going to lunch. The food, be it bodily or intellectual, is always of the utmost importance for Franciscan students. In theory, each student at Franciscan University is dedicated to the truth, be it immediate truths, such as what to eat, or the perennial truths, such as the existence of moral absolutes. This is why it irks me to no end to hear lies and calumny against other students. I heard a student yesterday speak of the Students for a Fair Society (SFS) negatively. In itself, there is no problem with this. Each person is entitled to an opinion on any given topic. It was not so much the negativity that roused suspicion in me so much as it was what was directly said. His two statements were calumnious, both of which were then directed first at the SFS, then at another student directly. The first statement, “Students for Socialism” was immediately followed by what this student considered to be a qualifier, “Students for Abortion”. Then, said student proceeded on his tirade against
SFS, speaking of other students with a rather regarding the Five Non-Negotiable Policies, laid out in the USCCB’s document “Forming disdainful comportment. Consciences for Faithful Citizenship”. Here, Often, our student body compartmentalizes it would be absurd to say the Democratic politics, placing one on the right and another Party line is better suited to Catholic on the left. The Right, often considered synthought. The non-negotiable policies are the onymous with the Republican Party, and the most important regarding political elections, Left, often equated as the Democratic Party, but we must also admit that there are more are the two extremes of political discourse. policies to take into account to find the best You are one or the other, so say many of our Catholic candidate. To clarify, I am not saystudents. Even as one begins to examine ing we need to avoid the questions of aborthose independents, they are scrutinized by tion, cloning, et cetera, but we must also look their Rightist or Leftist tendencies, and are at the other social justice issues that have a henceforth judged as a Rightist or Leftist less significant moral weight so as to find the accordingly. Ignoring the poor logic of this judgment, I do propose an idea which may be most fitting Catholic candidate. new to many, and exceedingly obvious to When we look at topics like immigration, others: Catholic identity demands a via media, health care, and the death penalty, we are called to see the big picture. While it is true a middle way. that the Church does leave room morally for I am not speaking of bending or changing the the death penalty, many of the American theology or philosophy of the Church, but bishops have called for a repeal of this policy. rather I am suggesting a deeper personal I, on principle, am for capital punishment but evaluation of the Church’s claims, so as to I too see the absence of necessity in the avoid the dichotomous nature of American American system. politics. Often, many approach the idea of politics, as Catholics, from a necessarily Republican bent. I will be the first to admit, this seems to be the most perfect way for us. The Republican Party line is most fitting as
We have the ability to hold convicts in prison, and in some instances, reform them, but (See Fair Society, page 7)