BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
TENNIS
A friendly rivalry develops between the men’s and women’s teams Page 6
Hear what the Lorian thinks of the newest Disney movie Page 5 April 6, 2017 — Vol. 95, Issue 13
Speaker crosses the border with immigration stories by CASSANDRA BUSCH | executive editor
On March 30, Loras hosted the “Immigrant Families Under Fire: Call to Compassion in the Heartland” presentation in the ACC ballrooms at 7 p.m. The featured speaker of the event was award-winning journalist Margaret Regan. The event also featured two immigration attorneys from Catholic Charities, a question and answer session with all three guests, and booths with representatives from local organizations working with immigrants and the issue of immigration in the area. Regan is an award-winning journalist currently living in Tucson, AZ, originally hailing from Pennsylvania. She originally worked as a French editor for TV Guide magazine and as a children’s book editor at McGraw-Hill in New York before becoming a journalist. She has been a journalist in Tucson for over 25 years, but began writing about the border and immigration in 2000. Since one of the most popular crossing places for immigrants from Mexico is through the Arizona desert, she described how the events taking place in her state’s backyard were impossible to ignore. She read from her second and most recent book titled “Detained and Deported: Stories of Immigrant Families Under Fire.” The book has won numerous awards. In the excerpt, she described one of her visits to the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona, where immigrants who are caught illegally in the country are taken. The center, as Regan described, was like a prison. Visitors are carefully monitored and unable to take photos. Regan described numerous acquaintances that she knew in the facility, many separated from their families, desperately trying to reunite with them and stay in the country. Arizona has not always been the most popular place to cross the border into the U.S. However, after border regulations were tightened both above and below the state, where it before had been relatively easy to cross into the country, now the journey has become extremely dangerous, as the Arizona desert holds many perils. “As soon as those safe crossings were boarded up, it was like a squeezing balloon,” Regan described to her listeners. Related to the more dangerous crossing conditions, she told stories of people like Josseline, who crossed the Arizona border at 14 years old with her brother and the help of a “coyote” to reunite with their mother. Their mother was already in the U.S. and had saved enough money to send them with the coyote. However, the journey is extremely dangerous, especially
Students work the kinks out in mock interviews
by BRENNAN PIVNICKA | staff writer
photos by CASSANDRA BUSCH
Keynote speaker Margaret Regan joins immigration attorneys Yer Vang and Mike Mbanza, along Sister Mira (who provided the presentation’s introduction) to respond to a question during the Q&A portion of the presentation.
through Arizona, and Josseline fell ill on nition of “criminal” from someone committhe second day. She was abandoned by the ting a crime while here illegally to anyone coyote and the rest of her group, and her crossing the border undocumented. little brother had to tell her mother when Regan transitioned from her speech into he reached her that her daughter did not the idea of inspiring compassion in one’s make it. neighbors. The speakers, two attorneys, Besides stories of crossings and numer- do this through their work in immigration ous immigrants she had come into contact cases with Catholic Charities. Yer Vang and with, Regan told stories of visiting depor- Mike Mbanza discussed their own experitation facilities, both for-profit and not, ences in working with immigrants. Mbanza which operated more like prisons. On one had been a refugee himself, seeking politirecounting of a specific visit to one of these cal asylum. He wanted to become an immifacilities, Regan described an gration lawyer to help others interaction with one of the like him, and he described guards, her voice dripping They asked me why I the passion he has for doing with sarcasm. wanted to do this, to so by describing his inter“He said, ‘This used to be view with Catholic Charities. a prison, but we’ve renovated work for them... and I “They asked me why I it!’ Oh, what a great architect cried. They understood wanted to do this, to work you must have had!” Regan for them. I went to answer from my response. had just finished displaying the question, and I cried. Mike Mbanza I cried during my job ina photo taken of that facility, immigration legal where a “community room terview. But I never had to representative and lunch area” looked like a answer that question. They typical prison cafeteria areas. understood from my reThen, when Mexicans are sponse,” Mbanza described. back on the Mexican side of the border, After discussing their work briefly with they often have no money, no IDs, and are the Catholic Charities, the floor was opened destitute, frequently living in shelters and to question and answer, prompting many sometimes being preyed upon and put to impassioned responses from listeners on work in the drug trade. Regan described both sides of the issue. The event was atthe endless cycle that seems to occur, with tended by a wide variety of people, rangno end in sight as the Trump administra- ing from students to many members of the tion plans to add over 10,000 new ICE (Im- community, and even some from out of migration and Customs Enforcer) employ- state. It provided an open forum for many ees and continue building more physical to express their views and learn more about wall along the crossing areas. Regan dis- the issue of immigration as it is discussed cussed how Trump has expanded the defi- more and more frequently.
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On March 11, Loras hosted the “You’re Hired!” mock interview competition. Taking place throughout the day in the campus library, this event served as an opportunity for students to experience interview situations and enhance their skills and abilities in the field of interviewing. It was organized by the Center for Experiential Learning and the Loras Student Chapter of the American Marketing Association. Participants are required to be students of Loras College who are not already committed to a job or internship. Multiple companies volunteered representatives to participate in the event, including Cottingham & Butler, Kendall Hunt Publishing, Express Employment Professionals, Sam’s Club, and Heartland Financial. Students arrived at the library from 3-7 p.m. and met with one of the representatives separately for a mock interview. Every “interview” is designed to cover the basics of the standard interviewing process and also give each student helpful criticisms regarding their impressions and social abilities. The candidates were evaluated in terms of three elements: overall assessment, general categories, and specific behaviors. Students were divided into teams, and their “scores” on each mock interview were tallied following the event for prizes. Team captains were selected in advance for each group, and were responsible for selecting team members, preparing the team for the competition, and registering members for specific interviews and ensuring their participation. This year saw 27 student competitors take place in the event, which went smoothly and on schedule. The mock interview competition will return next year and is highly recommended for all students studying fields of business or who simply wish to gain insight into the interview process.
Catholic Sisters: ‘Get in the Habit’ of kindness by JESSI RUSSO | press release
DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Catholic Sisters of the Upper Mississippi River Valley launched a new campaign in March to encourage people to be kind toward one another. The message – “Kindness: Get in the Habit” – was created to counter the continued divisiveness seen throughout the country. It was shared on billboards, in movie theater and TV ads, through social media posts and in Catholic school classrooms. “We want to call attention to what we should be doing for each other,” said Sister Toni Harris, OP, Prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. “We are to be feeding the hungry and welcoming the stranger. We are to be practicing compassion, as Jesus taught us. Simple acts of
kindness can change the world, one person at a time. We need these actions right now especially.” The campaign includes billboards displayed in six communities, from the Quad Cities to La Crosse, WI, including three locations in Dubuque and one in Kieler, WI. The billboards feature an image of a homeless person being handed a cup of coffee. The accompanying text says, “Kindness: Get in the Habit.” Six similar images – all illustrating the kindness theme – were featured both on social media sites and on the big screen– including Dubuque’s Mindframe and AMC movie theaters. “Those of us in the U.S. sometimes take water, food, shelter, clothing and respect for granted,” said Sister Teri Hadro, BVM, President of the Sisters of Charity, BVM.
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O ur sisters and brothers in need help us understand the real meaning of the Gospel and gift us with the opportunity to live Jesus’ message today and every day.
Sister Teri Hadro, BVM,
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president of the Sisters of Charity
“Our sisters and brothers in need help us understand the real meaning of the Gospel and gift us with the opportunity to live Jesus’ message today and every day.” The campaign ran during the fourth annual National Catholic Sisters Week, March 8-14, 2017.
The Catholic Sisters of the Upper Mississippi River Valley represent 12 congregations whose collective mission is to spread the Gospel message in the 21st century. They are sent, as Jesus was sent, to do good works and meet the needs of the times. They are the Sisters of St. Francis-Clinton, Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary-Dubuque, Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, Benedictine Sisters of St. Mary Monastery-Rock Island, Sisters of Mercy-West Midwest Community, Congregation of the Humility of Mary, Sisters of St. Francis-Dubuque, Sisters of the Visitation, Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey and the Carmelite Nuns. Find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/catholicsisters.