News

Tuesday Night Catholic Devotions hosts Stations of the Cross

By Ashley Barletta News editor

On April 12, the Tuesday before Easter Break, the Tuesday Night Catholic Devotions (TNCD) group hosted a Stations of the Cross walk around campus.

TNCD always tries to hold an event that pertains to Easter. It all depends on how much time there is to prepare and what supplies might be needed.

“One year we walked around Christ the King Chapel, from one station to another, and read biblical passages,” said Olivia Gaffron, senior criminal justice major.

“We passed out paper booklets to everyone and had our friend Jake play the piano and sing songs such as, ‘Jesus Remember Me,’ from Taize.”

This year, the Stations began and ended in Christ the King Chapel with multiple stops around campus in between. These included the Mary statue in the outdoor grotto and the magnolia tree outside of Christ the King Chapel.

“It was such a blessing that we were given such wonderful spring weather. It was warm, and I truly enjoyed walking around the campus with the group,” Gaffron said.

Not only did participants have the chance to reflect on Jesus’ life, death, and sacrifice, but they also reflected on the past year of their own lives.

The event that TNCD holds varies from year to year, but participation in the group has gone down, so leaders have to improvise.

“In 2019, we had actually planned a Stations of the Cross where the leaders, along with some helpers (and maybe MYRACLE too), acted out the stations in the front of Christ the King Chapel,” Gaffron said.

“We found costumes and props and we had a small gathering of people show up.”

The leaders of TNCD are students and are always looking for different activities to do that group members will enjoy. The point of the group is to take away stress, not put more of it onto students.

TNCD is a Campus Ministry group that meets every Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Some of their activities, like the Stations, are Catholic-related, but some of the other activities held are more geared toward fellowship among participants.

Some of the other activities that TNCD has hosted in the past are paint nights, baking nights, rosary-making, and vision board making.

Once a month, TNCD hosts Eucharistic adoration and exposition in Christ the King Chapel. This includes periods of silent prayer and song. Fr. Jim Piszker is also available for confessions during adoration.

Overall, TNCD is a group that will welcome anyone, Catholic or not. Anyone who chooses to join does not need to commit to showing up every week, only when they have the time.

Fortunately, the weather was nice enough for the Stations of the Cross to take place outside.

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The fourth station, “Jesus meets his mother,” was prayed in front of the Mary statue in the outdoor grotto.

Literary Festival events are ‘alive and kicking’ this April

By Hannah Brooks Features editor

For readers, writers and literature enthusiasts alike, the Mercyhurst English department has a meaningful opportunity for you. The longtime tradition of the Literary Festival is underway and set to continue on through the rest of the month.

Whether you are an English major, literature connoisseur or just a student looking for some fun events to attend, the Literary Festival certainly has some offerings that you just might enjoy.

The festival events began on Saturday, April 2, with a speech from author Marie Benedict.

The event included the initial talk with Benedict, which included her backstory of going from a ten-year career as a lawyer to being a successful author, a question-and-answer session and ended with a book signing.

Benedict has authored a number of award-winning books, including “The Personal Librarian,” “The Other Einstein” and “Carnegie’s Maid.” Tables were set up throughout the PAC lobby, one offering a few of Benedict’s books for sale.

The second event, “Alive and Kicking,” took place on Tuesday, April 12, as a celebration of musicians, mainly in the folk genre, who produced music prior to 1982 and are “still alive and kicking.”

The event included performances by Jim Tometsko & Friends, Clint Jones, Jimmy Cuneo, Brittany Barko Krugger, Kevin Sullivan and additional performances by Mercyhurst students.

The event is described by Jeffrey Roessner, Ph.D., professor of English, as being “fairly informal,” though lots of fun and gives the Mercyhurst community a chance to get on stage and make music with each other.

The next event will take place on Thursday, April 21 and will be a speech by Liberian-American poet Patricia Jabbeh Wesley.

The event will feature a speech from Wesley, followed by a workshop the next day which English students are invited to attend.

Wesley is a prominent poet, having authored several popular books such as “Becoming Ebony,” “The River is Rising” and “When the Wanderers Come.”

Wesley, in addition to being an award-winning poet and author, is also a human rights activist, anti-war advocate and prominent literary scholar.

This event will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Taylor Little Theatre and all students are both invited and encouraged to attend.

The final event will celebrate the creative works of Mercyhurst students—this will be the unveiling of Mercyhurst’s well-known literary magazine, The Lumen.

Every aspect of the magazine from the cover, artwork inside and the creative works, are produced by Mercyhurst students.

This year’s editors-in-chief were Ash Carr and Emma Coppolo, who worked along with graphic designers Megan Perusek and Sydney Dietz.

The cover and works will be unveiled to the public at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 28, in Taylor Little Theatre.

In addition to the official unveiling, students will also be awarded both for their works and for the P. Barry McAndrew critical literature essay award.

The entire month of events is overseen by the English department at Mercyhurst, with Roessner coordinating most of the events. Roessner says that the event is a great experience for all students to enjoy and features prominent literature in society.

“We bring terrific, engaging writers to campus to speak about their work and their careers. It’s an excellent opportunity for students to get to hear from well-known authors who make literature come alive and speak to us in the here-andnow,” Roessner said. “Literature is not sealed in the covers of a dusty book, it is a vital presence, commenting on issues that matter to us all.”

The rest of the month is geared towards appreciation of inspiring literature.

Be sure to head over to the Taylor Little Theater on April 21 to attend Patricia Jabbeh Wesley’s speech—and then head back a week later, on April 28 to appreciate the literary works of your fellow Mercyhurst classmates with the official Lumen unveiling and awards ceremony.

Contributed photo

Marie Benedict kicked off the 2022 Literary Festival with a lecture and workshop on Saturday, April 2.

Contributed photo

Patricia Jabbeh Wesley will speak in Taylor Little Theatre this Thursday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m.

Merciad

IN A MINUTE Earth Day

April 22 is Earth Day. MAC/SAC will be hosting an event in the Student Union on Earth Day from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m.

There will also be an Earth Day lecture on April 27 at 7 p.m. in the Mercy Heritage Room.

This lecture will be given by Lisa Britton. Her speech will be titled “Creating a Healthier Future Using a Holistic Approach to Sustainability.”

Springfest tickets

Springfest is upon us! It will take place on April 23 in Warde Hall Parking Lot, featuring Bryce Vine and DJ Ca$hEra.

Doors will open at 5:45 p.m. Enter through Zurn hall when you arrive.

Be sure to get your FREE ticket for Springfest 2022, April 20 and April 21 at the MSG table in Grotto Commons.

Illumination presentations

Illumination is Mercyhurst’s annual celebration of student scholarship.

This year, it will be held on April 20 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the Waterford Room at Ryan Hall.

Students who present at Illumnation will have the chance to show off their research from many different fields of interest.

Mercy Gala

On April 30, MAC/SAC will be hosting a Mercy Gala in the Student Union Great Room.

This event will begin at 8 p.m. and end at 11 p.m.

This is a formal event and this year’s theme is “Heavenly Bodies.”

Music and refreshments will be provided. There will also be chances to win prizes throughout the evening.

School shooting at Erie High

By Bella Lee Staff writer

2022 has without a doubt been a difficult year for everyone. The continuation of the COVID pandemic, international war, the list goes on. However, there was a very difficult situation that hit very close to home for the Mercyhurst community.

On April 5, the Erie community was shaken to the core when it was reported that a shooting occurred at nearby Erie High School.

The shooting, which took place at 9:20 in the morning, injured one student, who is in stable condition. An unnamed student, who was identified as a suspect, turned themselves in the next day.

Following the news breaking of the school shooting, police responded on location and the school was placed on lockdown, during which the police swept the school and made sure it was clear of any further dangers. The students were then dismissed to be picked up by their parents or take buses home.

Erie High remained out of session for the rest of the week, and were off the following week for Spring Break.

The school and the school district are currently working on a comprehensive plan to allow students to return safely. Counseling and other professional services have been made available for students and their families.

“We are devastated and angered by this senseless tragedy, and we are all hoping for the full and speedy recovery of the student involved,” superintendent Brian Polito said.

“I want to thank district and city police for their very prompt and thorough response.”

“The shooting at Erie High School this morning is very saddening,” said Joe Schember, the mayor of Erie.

“Schools should be safe places where children learn and grow. I am receiving great updates from Superintendent Brian Polito and Police Chief Dan Spizarny. I know this is difficult for parents to hear. But remember: all students are now safe! We must all stay away from the area until Erie’s Public Schools announces a dismissal process. My thoughts and prayers are with the students, teachers, administrators, and all the Police Officers who have secured the building. What they all need right now is our love and support.”

This marks the 22nd school shooting in 2022. This adds up to 114 school shootings since 2018, with 24 each in 2018 and 2019, 10 in 2020 and 34 in 2021.

Out of these, 32 people have been injured and six have been killed. The most recent death was that of a 12-year-old student at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville, South Carolina on March 31, the most recent school shooting before Erie High.

An incident such as this hitting so close to home, the community is left wondering if such an event could happen again. No one perished, but this leaves everyone reeling and cherishing time with their loved ones.

We must all remain as safe as possible and work together to prevent this from happening again.

Housing selection process begins

By Isabella Johnson Staff writer

As the spring semester draws to an end, the housing selection process for the 2022-2023 school year is underway. Housing selection is important for returning students in order to pick their desired roommates and housing residence.

The first step for housing selection can be found in the Housing and Meal Plan Portal.

“Housing selection is an online process that is made up of several steps. Step one is the housing agreement or contract,” said Associate Director of Residence Life Ashley McCartney.

This agreement has two sections. The first is terms and conditions—overall rules, where to find Residence Life policies and procedures, and important dates for the next steps. The second section of the agreement is a questionnaire. The responses are used when we are matching students with roommates, especially if later in the year Residence Life needs to assign another student to an empty spot. In the Housing and Meal Plan portal, under under ‘Housing Forms’ one can find the Housing Contract.

Along with filling out the housing contract, students may also form their roommate groups through the Housing Portal, but only once a student has completed the housing contract.

To do this, select Roommate Group Selection in the menu and change the term to Fall 2022. Then, Roommate Search becomes an option. Search using a person’s last name, and be sure you double check the spelling, then click “Begin Search” and that person should appear underneath the search bar. Each member of the group will need to request each other member to “mutually confirm” your roommate(s). “This way we can be sure that everyone in the group knows or at least agrees to live with each of the other members,” said McCartney.

To decide who gets first priority in choosing their living situation, Residence Life uses a point-based system. How quickly your roommate group was formed, along with some other factors such as year and number or credits, dictates how many points you have and how quickly you get to choose your housing.

“While students are forming their groups, Residence Life is determining each student’s housing points. Housing points are determined by looking at each student’s credit total and their conduct history. We only look at credits from completed courses and any credits for currently enrolled for the Spring semester. We cannot consider summer or Fall credit hours for classes that haven’t started,” said McCartney.

“Housing points are then added up and each group will be assigned a housing point total based on the group members who have all been mutually assigned. These group totals are done based on mutually confirmed groups as of April 13.”

Groups are then sorted by housing point totals. Each group is assigned a very short (about five minutes) timeslot based on their group’s rank. These times are then communicated to the students via their Mercyhurst email.

Important dates for housing selection start with April 20, when townhouse selection times are sent to each townhouse group. The groups will be able to select their preferred living space at their designated time on April 21.

Groups that were unable to get a townhouse will need to reform to fit a three or four-person apartment by April 25.

On April 26, selection times for three or four-person apartments will be sent out. Selection for these apartments will take place on April 27. Selection times for groups of three who want a four-person apartment will be emailed on May 3, or May 4.

During the week of May 16, Residence Life will reach out to any groups of two or less in order to help them form a complete group and find housing.

“On the date and time of your selection, you will log into the housing portal. There will be a section on the main menu allowing them to see your time slot. Once it is your time, you can log in using a button that will become available on their main portal page. Only one member of the group needs to be available at this time,” said McCartney.

“Students will have the opportunity to log in and see all available housing options based on their group size. A group of five will only see five person townhouses. Since we only have five such townhouses, they will only be able to see those townhouses. If there are six groups trying for those five, and all prior groups pick, that sixth group will not see any options. They will then have to either reform into two separate groups or join other groups to take part in a later selection time. We build in this ability to allow for regrouping after Townhouse selection.”

After signing up for their preferred living space, students will receive confirmation of their housing assignment over the summer through an email from Residence Life.

“Students who choose housing as part of the housing selection process will be picking their own housing assignment. As such they should note where they picked. There will also be an option within the Housing Portal until June 1 to view the Fall 2022 assignment. Once June 1 hits, this option will be hidden until mid-July,” said McCartney.

Housing assignments and roommate information will be communicated in addition to move-in information in mid-July, similarly to how it is communicated to first year students. This should confirm what students already know after participating in the housing selection process.

The administration at Residence Life recognizes that the process of housing selection can be a very stressful time for students. However, they are here to help with any questions or concerns and can be reached at reslife@mercyhurst.edu.

“I know that housing selection is a very anxiety driven time. Students are very interested in specific housing types that are limited. We strive to ensure that this process is as equal as it can be. We do not give priority outside of the housing points process,” said McCartney.

Be sure to pay attention to deadlines, create plans and backup plans with your potential roommates, and sign in during your timeslot for the best chances at your preferred living space next year.

Celebration of Scholars recognizes faculty research

By Libby Bullinger Copy editor

One of the aspects that makes Mercyhurst unique is that faculty and staff are focused on their students first, unlike at other institutions where professors are more interested in conducting their own research and teaching on the side.

Even while focusing on this student-centered approach, Mercyhurst faculty members are still highly engaged in their own scholarship in addition to teaching.

On April 19, the Faculty Scholarship Committee hosted a Celebration of Scholars to recognize and honor this kind of academic achievement for faculty around campus.

The event took place from 3-5 p.m. in the Mercy Heritage Room and was open for all faculty to attend.

The Celebration of Scholars is a Mercyhurst tradition dating back over a decade.

Phillip Belfiore, Ph.D., who currently serves as the Director of Graduate Special Education and Applied Disability Studies, helped to establish the initial Celebration of Scholars in 2010.

At the time, Belfiore was working as Vice President for Academic Affairs, but now the celebration is organized through the Faculty Scholarship Committee on the Faculty Senate.

Despite the change in organizations, Belfiore is still highly involved in this event by collecting and organizing the works of scholarship into a booklet that will document all work at the Celebration.

The structure of the event was informal and allows faculty from across various areas of campus to admire one another’s scholarship. Although there have been some brief presentations in the past, most of the work was displayed on tables that allowed attendees to walk around and view each display throughout the event.

The Celebration of Scholars is inclusive of faculty from a wide range of disciplines on campus.

“In the past we have had films/ videos of dance performances viewed on laptops. It is designed as a casual gathering of folks to refresh, have a drink, and talk with colleagues from across the university,” says Belfiore.

Some of the research and projects that were presented are solely faculty conducted, while others involve some degree of student participation.

Each year the Celebration honors work from the previous calendar year, so for this year’s event faculty submitted research from 2021.

Although there were many submissions presented by 30-40 faculty members, some notable contributions this year are from Jodi Staniunas Hopper, Rich McCarty, Ph.D. and Chris Magoc, Ph.D., who all wrote entire books last calendar year.

Christy Rieger, Ph.D., English professor and co-chair of the Faculty Scholarship Committee also spoke briefly on the importance of faculty scholarship at a teaching-oriented university.

This event was a great opportunity for faculty to congratulate and celebrate one another on academic achievements in addition to expanding their horizon outside of their own academic area of expertise.

One way this was done was through extending invitation to academic administrators, the president of the university and the Athletic Director and coaches on campus.

Encouraging campus employees to come together for events like this one is just one of the ways of creating a sense of community at Mercyhurst.

The goal of the Celebration of Scholars is to be as inclusive as possible with recognition of works of scholarship in various forms including book and chapter publications, journal articles, conference presentations, juried art exhibits, performing art shows, grant awards, and anything else that demonstrates scholarship at Mercyhurst. The Celebration also included regional, national, and international works.

Check out this upcoming event:

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

This weekend’s campus events