Volume XI, Issue 6

The Gadfly “To persuade and reproach” - Socrates, The Apology

Vol. XI, Iss. VI November 17, 2009

Don’t Forget Your Pants!

One subject I think needs addressing is the recent fashion trend that is fast gripping the female Franciscan population. I am speaking of long sweaters with leggings. I don’t think I’m alone (I could be wrong, however) in thinking that this is not a very attractive way of dressing. Perhaps you are one of those people who, upon seeing these leggings with sweaters that barely cover a young woman’s derrière, think, “Gosh, doesn’t she realize she forgot her pants (or skirt) this morning?? Didn’t anyone tell her?!” The primary emotion that rises to the surface

upon seeing this is embarrassment. Not embarrassment for myself, but embarrassment for the unfortunate young woman who forgot her pants. I feel like shouting “No one look!” Then immediately shielding and rushing this young lady off somewhere to find some suitable clothing.

Now ladies, before you get all angry with my saying this, think about this: leggings are not pants. If they were, they would not be called leggings. Leggings were made to go under things, like skirts or pants to keep you warmer. I think a lot of the

young men around campus would agree with me in saying that wearing leggings that hide nothing and leave nothing to the imagination are very distracting, and not in a good way. You might as well walk around with nothing on but your underwear. Perhaps you are now rolling your eyes at this and saying it’s not that bad, but trust me, it is. I’ve heard men complain about it. Would you walk around with just a sweater on, letting your rear end play peek-a-boo with those around you?

Of course not! (Or perhaps you (Continued on page 4)

The Christian Music Debate Many here at Franciscan University are fans of Contemporary Christian Music.

Most see this genre of music as another means of praising God, and out of this comes a certain disdain of secular music. However, I must admit that I am a fan of secular music. Now before I am driven off of campus for

blaspheming against Christian music, let me defend myself.

I love a lot of different types of music.

I can move from Alphaville - dc Talk Macy Gray - Jimmy Eat World - Coldplay all in one iTunes sitting.

What I love about these artists is their individuality and creativity with

both the lyrics and music. Notice that I mention C hr i sti an band dc Talk. But the reason for my liking their music does not have much to do with the fact that they are a Christian band but rather because their music is wholly t h e i r o w n .

My main issue then, with Christian Continued on page 6

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St. Clare, pray for us!

Staff: Michael J. Ruszala (M.J.R.) Amanda LaMuro (A.L.) Tony Leccece (T.L.) Emilyn Haremza (E.H.) Daniel Romeyn Davis (D.R.D.) Maria Cecilia Rocha (M.C.R.) Copy Editor Caitlin Garrett (C.G.) Layout Editor: Rosalie Doudna (R.D.) Business Manager: Charles Pobee-Mensah (C.P.M.) Editor in Chief: Gillian LaMuro (G.L.)

** Please note that the views held in the individual articles do not necessarily express the views of the whole staff. **

Interested in joining our staff?

Email us at notestothegadfly@gmail.com

~Mission Statement~ The Gadfly is an attempt to “bite the sleeping horse” in the spirit of Socrates. It is a student publication whose purpose is to facilitate discussion concerning campus and cultural issues as they pertain to students of Franciscan University. It aims to be a forum for open, well-thought out, and honest discussion towards the end of knowing and loving truth in its most robust sense.

Advisor: Dr. John White Advisor Extraordinaire

If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit. Oh, the humanity. Oh, the furor that one harmless little article can cause. Fearless writer Emily Rolla had only to let a phrase slip about “weaker sex” and “high-heels” and uproar was born. Letters, comments, and full articles were sent to the Gadfly, some quite zesty!

Unfortunately only one can be printed in full due to space, but the Editor felt her cockles warmed by the fervent, well, for lack of a better word, feminism of the student body. Naturally, our male readers (and some staff: you know who you are) found nothing wrong with it and one even asked if he could write an article in defense of bikinis. He was denied, but here is a sample of the collective outrage:

have ever been so mad after reading ANYTHING in my entire life!

Ridiculous!” ~Patricia Phipps

“What about those who because of sports injuries to their knees and ankles can't handle those spikes which she expects us all to wear?

Also, men should treat us as the gentler sex no matter what we wear! When did it become our responsibility to dress up to be treated like a lady? I don't think I

“We sincerely hope that the article “In Defense of High Heels” was merely a planted attempt to create the exciting controversy that the Gadfly has been somewhat lacking this year, because to think that there are actually members of our student body who ascribe to such

“First of all: since when did high heels need to be defended?

Second: the article is offensive because it pretty much says that femininity and womanhood are defined by the.... shoes you wear..???... If heels are the model of femininity than why don't we see the Blessed Mother parading in heels or all the nuns we see around campus? If you ask me the nuns are more a model of femininity and grace and class than any pair of heels.

Heels are a fashion statement and not in any way THE standard of femininity.” ~ Jackie Hill

Continued on page 4

Letter to the Editor “You cannot put the same shoe on every foot.”-Publilius Syrus Throughout the ruckus stemming from a recent article that suggested that high heels make a woman seem more womanly to men, I found myself wondering why such a statement got everyone so riled up. After I had my moment of impassioned disgust regarding the article, I continued about my business a lil’ more aware of the ideas of womanhood on our campus.

During fall break, I spent a

few days with my brother, a college professor, and his wife, a stay at home mom, and both graduates of Franciscan U. Within an hour or so of being in the immaculately clean and extremely well organized apartment, I thought, “How the heck did my brother get such a woman to marry HIM of all people?!” Homegirl has got it goin’ on! She had the 1- and 3-year-old boys occupied, clean, and fed all while keeping the apartment clean and Contunued on page 5

St. Martha, pray for us!

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The Bubble Within Is Franciscan a bubble? For years, this question has been pondered by student writers, moaned about by readers, commented on by friars, joked about by teachers.

But this article isn't really about the Franciscan “bubble” as it is about the “bubble” in our own thinking. Yes, I believe there is a problem with FUS students connecting to the outside world, and yet I believe we need this Franciscan “Catholic bubble” – or “oasis” – to show us where we've gone wrong, introduce us to genuine Christian community, and support us and help us grow in the Catholic faith if we are to be catalysts of change in the outside world. Today, we're always ready to blame our problems on society or on our leaders or on those around us – i.e. on the Franciscan “bubble” – but we're not always ready to take personal responsibility, to fight when it's worth fighting, to stick with it when the going is tough. Thus, this article is more about our own personal thought patterns and our own commitment to growth – about what we can get out of Franciscan with a mindset geared toward engaging the outside world.

Is there really a problem with FUS students making the connection to the outside world? There certainly is. Just talk to alumni from recent years and you'll see the struggle and the shock many of them go through as the reality sinks in that many Catholics don't even care about their faith, that many Catholic schools punish for orthodoxy, that Mass at a great many parishes – even ones trying hard – hardly resembles the GIRM, and that 85% of their non-

FUS friends have lost their virginity many times over. The world outside FUS isn't the better world – it's what's been handed on to us in our culture of spiritual patricide.

Yet this is what most of us are called to go out into – the venue where we must witness to the truth of the Gospel through an authentic Christian life.

It's my sixth year here at FUS now that I'm finishing up the M.A. Theology program. I'm not here to avoid the outside world, but to get the education I need for it. Keeping in touch with old friends, I know what my fellow graduates from '08 (and before) are going through, and wanted to build up as much “real world” experience as I could right here at FUS while getting my masters. It takes some thinking outside the box – some turning over old rocks – but I'm convinced that with the right commitment, we can prepare ourselves at least to be slightly less shocked, slightly less black and white, and slightly more ready to give a mature witness in the face of what's out there. I know that this experience of a simulated “real world” at FUS isn't fully comparable to my friends' experiences as teachers, reporters, and seminarians, but I also know that I am better off because of it.

So what are some examples of things I've actually done to put myself into a “real world” mindset while still at FUS? Well, for starters, it's my third year as an RA. Other RA's agree that if FUS is a bubble, RA's aren't in it. We become part of the lives of a wide variety of groups and individuals (Continued on page 7)

Tell us what you think!

Email notestothegadfly @gmail.com

Professor Quotes of the Week:

"You know around is the only direction you should fool in. It never works if you fool in a straight line." ~ Dr. Holmes

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would, in which case, this article is pointless for you to be reading) So why does wearing some thin, skin-tight leggings make it any better? Just because they’re not transparent (like pantyhose) doesn’t mean they’re okay.

Long sweaters and leggings do not draw eyes to the most flattering curves you have, ladies. Mostly, my eyes are drawn to the sweater line, not believing that that’s all she’s wearing. I admit myself to being in shock at seeing so many young ladies around campus donning practically only a long sweater. I asked one fine young man of my acquaintance what he thought of the alleged “legging phenomenon” and he said this: “They are not womanly in the least as pants,” so he kindly suggests and requests that you “Put some pants

Continued from page 2

mentalities is frightening… It may be very true that men are more likely to act courteously towards women who dress nicer, but this is a behavior that should be reprimanded, not facilitated…

Women (and indeed, all people) are not more or less deserving of respect based on the clothes they are wearing. This is the same logic that often accompanies the idea that scantily clad women are more deserving of rape, an offensive belief that at least a percentage of Franciscan students still ascribe to.” ~Maureen Dunn and Julia Underwood “Any guy who even dared to tell me I need to dress up would be sent away with his tail in between his legs after I schooled him on

St. Radegunde, pray for us!

on!”

You want young men to look in your eyes, right? Feminine curves are great, I’ll be the first to admit that, but if a young man never makes it past your thighs and hips, how is he ever going to realize what a beautiful face you have? And I know that Franciscan is supposed to be chock-full of holy young men who treat you with the dignity of a woman and see you with the eyes of God, but come on, we have to give them some help. We can’t wear something that is extremely challengfind ourselves in asay unique ingWe to overlook and then laboratory here at Franciscan “What? You can’t look at my University—a face and treat me microcosm like a real and magnification of woman just becausethe I’mChristian wearing confrontation with secularlegculture some skin-tight, revealing gings? What’s wrong with you, pervert?” Seriously, they’re only human! They struggle too! You say you want young men to treat

you like a woman? Well, start dressing like one!

The key to a strong feminine allure is mystery. Leave something to the imagination. Wear something attractive that doesn’t reveal every single curve you have. Make him want to pursue you so that he can find exactly what it is about you that makes you so beautiful and special (because you are). And I’m not just talking about your body. Don’t put all the goods on the shelf, honey, or he’ll just window shop and move on! Now don’t get mad, don’t get sad, don’t get indignant or fussy, just don’t forget your pants (or skirt) next time!

being more respectful and not so shallow to girls. Why should we have to put all the effort in looking nice when guys rarely look nice for us ladies? That is such a double standard. Honestly, if a guy cannot appreciate a girl for who she is on the inside then he is not worth the time and effort of such a beautiful lady. “ ~Amanda Harper

little slack. We bet that the men keeping chivalry alive and well (thanks, guys!) are equally as likely to open that door for the woman wearing Jimmy Choos as the one in Old Navy flip-flops (both perfectly acceptable footwear).” ~Martina Wilson

“Two women who are still icons of strong, feminine class and beauty are Audrey and Katherine Hepburn. Audrey, a ballerina, often wore flats and Katherine was renowned for wearing pants instead of a skirt (because she understood that “girly” clothes did not make her a “grown up” or more feminine)… Finally, let's cut the gentlemen on campus a

-CTSC

By the way, I think we should all commend Ms. Rolla for taking a stance that was so obviously contrary to popular opinion, defending it, and boldly attaching her name to it. You may not agree with her, but one has to admire her guts and ability to grab the attention of the student body in a way that no one before her has done! Well done, Ms. Rolla.

Enjoy! ~ The Editor

St. John, pray for us!

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Continued from page 2

the kitchen filled with baked goods and food for dinner.

Every cabinet and drawer, along with the refrigerator and freezer were perfectly organized and ready for use. Everything was very efficient and cozy at the same time. My brother’s wife doesn’t wear high heels or make-up every day; rather, she walks around barefoot and crawls around the floor with the boys. Is she less of a woman? Do men treat her with less courtesy?

My friend Shannon is a Wellesley College graduate, and is as feminist as feminist can be. She does not have children, is not planning to be married anytime soon, and believes that women can achieve everything men have the ability to achieve. Despite all of this, Shannon loves to wear bows in her hair, designer dresses, cardigans, and prefers heels, wedges, flats, and boots far to tennis shoes and will continue to do so her entire life. Her dreams are as big as her personality and her aspirations in life reach beyond the realms of motherhood. “Hurry! Someone take a picture of me doing something domestic,” Shan-

non yelled one of the few times she donned an apron last summer. This was followed by her request; “The recipe says to place dough on lightly dusted surface. Can someone bring me a lightly dusted surface?” Clearly, Shannon’s gifts lie elsewhere.

As a graduate student at Yale, Shannon excels in the classroom and is sure to be successful. Is she less womanly than my brother’s wife? Is she a better representation of womanhood?

Why am I telling y’all about these two women? What does this have to do with anything?

Hold your horses, I’m gettin’ there. Shoes and attire do not define an individual and how they should be treated. This campus would be a cold place for the majority of females on campus if the guys were shallow enough to only open doors for the girls who took the time to wear heels. Can you imagine the self-esteem issues that would cause? “Oh you look nice today, come on in!...Ooohh....sweats....sorry— no scrubs allowed!” I’m gigglin’ now, but I really think that most people have better values than that. Shoes are a personal preference, an ave-

nue of expression, a bit of style, etc. So, while for some the click click of a high heel is like a superhero’s (or heroine’s) theme song, to others the same click click could be two clicks closer to catapulting down a hill and into a puddle.

You may be thinking that my brother’s wife is the quintessential stereotype of what a feminist like Shannon would be against. However, anyone who knows anything about feminism should know that feminism is not about hatin’ on wives and mothers but to remind us that a woman is every bit as human as a man. Shannon is being true to herself in pursuing scholastic success and my brother’s wife is fulfilling her life’s desire in being an exceptional wife and mother.

Mad props to all y’all high heel wearin’ ladies, as well as to y’all rockin’ the sneakers (I’m sure your feet and knees will thank you later)! Be true to yourself and your feet!

~M.R. The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases. -Carl Jung

Pop Culture Seminar Quote: “Arthur: So this is it. We're going to die Ford: Yes. Would you like a hug? “ Arthur: No.” - The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

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St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!

Continued from page 1

music is that it is altogether too much of the same material re-

Christian bands sound alike and are just repeating the same old stuff over and over again.

Occasionally you will run across a truly independent Christian band like Creed (before they sold out), Jars of Clay, Skillet (although they

that music doesn't have to be Christian to have a good message. Generally when I'm listening to music I prefer a band that is infused with creativity. Bands like The Fray and Scythian have great music despite not being in the genre of Christian music, whereas many Christian bands sound alike and fail to capture my interest.

Maybe I haven't

just saying that the words "praise Jesus" alone fail to make a song worth listening I

accept my fate as a music heretic on campus.

You can keep your Christian Contemporary Music and I'll keep my U2, One Republic, and Journey.

All I ask for is an open

specifically Christian, hit wonder with "Tears

hiatus since 2000). All of these bands have great music with creative lyrics and meaning

I am of the belief

just because a song repeatedly says "praise Jesus" doesn't mean that it's a good song! Many secular musicians, in my opinion, provoke deeper emotions through their music than do Christian musicians by repeating "praise Jesus."

Cer-

and ing.

positive Rock on!

mean-

~D.R.D.

The Classics?!

“God is my witness that if Augustus, Emperor of the whole world, thought fit to honour me with marriage and conferred all the earth on me to possess for ever, it would be dearer and more honourable to me to “ be called not his Empress but your (Abelard's) whore.”

Heloise, Twelfth Century

St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us!

Continued from page 3

who we might not otherwise have gotten to know – people often from backgrounds very different from our own. We are faced with situations we once thought couldn't even happen at FUS, while dealing more regularly with the more common struggles students go through. Also, writing for the Gadfly is part of the experience. It gives me an outlet to take principles from the classroom and experience from Res Life, put them together, make sense of them, and try to apply them to the interests of real readers. I also pay attention to the way I read and study.

Instead of just whining about Obama, I actually read a good chunk of his book Audacity to Hope over the summer, trying to understand where he's coming from while seriously critiquing him where he goes wrong. Instead of just listening to the usual pundits on politics in general, I did my own research and looked into the Church's teaching on social issues. As for school, I chose classes that I thought would stretch me. While I usually follow St. Thomas, I took a class about his intellectual rival, St. Bonaventure. While I usually study more traditional thinkers, I'm taking another class on a modern theologian often accused of being a liberal. While classmates see me as a

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theological conservative, I'm not a reactionary. I'm really wrestling with the issues in light of Church teaching and the teachings of Vatican II. I'm interested in the background other students have in thinking what they do, and I'm even reading their books to try to understand how they got their perspective.

While I am still far from fully understanding other views or in succeeding in this project of connecting orthodoxy to the outside world, I am trying to follow St. Thomas' example of giving a fair, honest, and charitable presentation of all his opponents' views before beginning to critique them. If there were no truth in a position or worldview, no one would believe it. But many people believe half-truths, and this distorts the reality. In Vatican II's Nostra Aetate, we read even of other religions that they “often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men” (no. 2). Often error is intertwined with truth, and we overlook the truth in rejecting the error. Just because a certain idea is often found with a certain false belief doesn't automatically mean it's a bad idea. If we are to bring others to the truth, we must allow the truth to speak for itself – often a truth they already possess but in an incomplete and distorted way. In

Vatican II's Dignitatis Humanae, we read, “The truth cannot impose itself except by virtue of its own truth, as it makes its entrance into the mind at once quietly and with power” (no. 1).

In conclusion, we can take steps to prepare ourselves for the outside world while staying right here at FUS. We can't just blame the so-called FUS “bubble” for all our shortcomings, but should use creativity and take personal initiative to get the most out of what we have available to us right here and now. The problems of FUS students connecting to the outside world are real. But I think living and studying with a mindset of rigorously engaging that world can help us become better prepared to show others the truth they already know in a partial way and to lead them to revealed truth in the fullness of the Catholic faith. ~M.J.R.

*As a disclaimer, I strongly recommend that especially freshmen and sophomores get a solid understanding of the faith before diving into the ideas of potentially unorthodox thinkers – it's much easier to start with true faith than hope for a intellectual conversion someday later on!*

WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! WRITE! Tell us wha t you think by emailing: notestothe gadfly@gmail.com

j|Çx? j|à tÇw jtzzxÜç Boys to Men: Bullies to Sweethearts?

We girls should all remember being picked on when we were little by that stupid icky boy in our class. We'd run home to Mommy, probably crying, and her response would be, "It's because he likes you, sweetie!" (I actually never experienced this phenomenon... Moving on!) So, whether little Billy really did have a crush on little Susie is entirely irrelevant. We've now laid the groundwork for the mindset in women, "If he does ____, he must like me." (___ can be good or bad. How crazy are we, ladies?)

Girls become women, and realize that if a guy's a jerk, he's a jerk. Boys become men and...what? Start being nice to girls only if they're romantically interested?

While the rest of the world may deem this sentence Gospel Truth, I'm sure some girls (myself included) can testify to the contrary. But this isn't a personal thing; it's a warning. Especially to the female students in the good ol' bubble of Catholic Disneyland.

Face it, ladies, men are made right here. Maybe not quickly, maybe 100% don't get all the way there, but men are formed correctly on this campus. As a friend to some of the nicest, most considerate guys here, I'm issuing this Public Service Announcement: Just because they're nice, just

because they're considerate, does not mean they are looking to date you.

The fastest and easiest way to get hurt around here is to see Joe Smith open a door for you and assume he wants you to bear all twelve of his Catholic babies.

The outside world may laugh, and yes it's for sure an extreme.

But what about those guys who become friends? Here's a sample scenario: They hang out all the time, he waits for her, opens the door for her, joins her in the cafeteria, is willing to help her if she ever needs it, is just there for her in general.

The diagnosis?

If you responded, "He obviously likes her," you'd be dead wrong.

This mindset is to blame for most of the heartache and drama in a female’s life.

Sure, the possibility of interest can be disproved by observing Behavior X, but whether or not that means the opposite can be proved by Behavior Y...well, common sense should tell you not so. To draw conclusions such as the above for the scenario mentioned previously is a breakdown in communication, a leap in the dark over a cliff. It needs to stop. In decades long past, to make his intentions known, a man had to go about it in a very systematic, very obvious way.

This was because all men were to be gentlemen to all women. So

this, "He must like me because he's nice to me," didn't hold any water at all back then.

Granted, as evidenced by Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, men could still lie or change their minds, or even be misunderstood. However, it was a far less likely occurrence, and when it did happen, it was certainly more the man's misstep. Now it's on us.

I'm not suggesting reinstating the entire courtship process from 200 or 300 years ago (although some of the practices would be pretty darn romantic). No, I'm simply stressing caution. Due to the complexity of communication today, there are so many dots in the picture, it's easy to connect them incorrectly.

So, to sum up, much of life can be made nicer and easier by one simple phrase: When you assume, you make an Ass out of U and Me. Remember this. And when some guy gets ridiculously frustrated because you don't notice his efforts, he'll either grow a pair, or quit. And, ladies, if he quits, he wasn't worth your time to begin with.

~ Elizabeth Michalski

[all rules and statements null and void while in the act of flirting]