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Emmanuel News

campus news

DECEMBER 2011

Performing Arts Dept. Earns Oustanding Theater Performance Award In addition, several Emmanuel students were recognized by the ACTF. Douglas Dame ’13 and Robert Gabriel ’11 were nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship for Spelling Bee, Robert McCall ’13 was nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship for Sleepy Hollow, and Brendan McMahon ’12 earned a nomination for the ACTF/Barbizon Award for Excellence in Stage Management.

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“We are overjoyed at this recognition for our students,” said Assistant Professor of Performing Arts & Director of Theatre Scott Gagnon. “I am so deeply grateful to work with so many talented and dedicated students in such a supportive environment. Ours is admittedly a small department, but we grow more and more each year. I feel this honor only reaffirms something we’ve known for a long time–that in addition to so many other wonderful things, our program right here in the heart of Boston is a wonderful place to study and do theater.”

Gagnon received word of the department’s selection during the College’s production of It’s A Wonderful Life during the weekend of December 3rd and announced the news to his

Students presented The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in the spring 2011.

students and the audience during the performance’s curtain call. Emmanuel was chosen among 165 shows in the region. Thirteen performances were held for consideration, which also included the department’s fall produc-

Dance Marathon Raising Money for Children’s Hospital Boston CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

So far, students have garnered support from friends, family, Emmanuel faculty and staff, as well as from local businesses, such as Jillian’s Boston and Howl at the Moon, both of which have offered the group space for future events. Over the next few months, students plan to continue to raise awareness and promote their efforts on campus. They are producing a monthly newsletter to share ongoing information with the Emmanuel community and plan to hang a large-scale thermometer showcasing their fundraising progress in the Maureen Murphy Wilkens Atrium in the Jean Yawkey Center.

Students will continue to work toward their goal until April 14th when they will hold their dance marathon celebration in the Jean Yawkey Center gymnasium.

Saints @ Work Connects Students with Alumni in Fields of Interest CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

Yassara Gomes ’12 and Belinda Valcourt ’12, both of whom were interested in better understanding the day-today responsibilities within a laboratory setting. Barton also incorporated information on the interviewing process, résumés and cover letters, and how to apply to jobs after graduation.

“The program gives alumni a chance to give back to the students of Emmanuel College. It felt good to share my experiences,” said Barton, who also feels that the program is a great networking opportunity for both students and alumni. Added Director of Internships and Career Development Mark Kenyon, “It provides a mentorship component as well, and networking that can lead to future opportunities.”

These opportunities have enticed more students and alumni to join the program as it has developed. This year, there are 30 shadow opportunities

with Emmanuel College alumni ranging from the Class of 1976 through 2011. The Office of Internships and Career Development has expanded the shadow program to include all interested employers, not just alumni.

However, alumni participants do make up the majority of shadow volunteers.

Kenyon acknowledged the importance of alumni in the success of this program and in building a strong image for Emmanuel College.

“A big part of it is for alumni to think back on their Emmanuel experience and wish they knew then what they know now,” he said.

Kenyon believes that to build a stronger legacy, alumni should stay connected with the College and help open doors to students. For MacIntyre, it opened the door to her future.

“I would not be here if it was not for the Saints at Work program,” she said.

tion of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, marking a rare occurrence in ACTF’s history to have two productions from the same college up for consideration at the same time.

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival is a national program dedicated to the recognition of excellence in collegiate theater.

The Emmanuel College Department of Performing Arts has been involved with ACTF since 1999. In 12 years, the College has presented 60 shows, six of which have been held for award consideration.

Dance Marathon Raising Money for Children’s Hospital Boston The first annual Emmanuel College Dance Marathon is moving along smoothly. With four months of fundraising left, students are already a quarter of the way to their goal of raising $15,000 in donations to Children’s Hospital Boston.

ing local children’s hospitals. Last year, college dance marathons across the country helped to raise more than $8 million. The program culminates in a 12-40 hour-long dance marathon in the spring to celebrate the group’s accomplishments.

Emmanuel is one of six Boston-area schools participating in Dance Marathon, a nationwide movement that raises money for hospitals within the Children’s Miracle Network. The program is entirely student run and commits 100% of donations to help-

“It is a long-term opportunity for individuals to come together as a group and help out those in need,” said Jimmy Oxsalida ’12, who serves as one of Emmanuel Dance Marathon’s fundraising and sponsorship co-chairs.

“After a year of planning and fund-

raising, the dance marathon itself is an end-of-the-year party for all of the hard work.”

Recently, Assistant Director of Student Activities Kevin Farrell, who serves as Emmanuel Dance Marathon’s advisor, and students attended a Dance Marathon Kick-Off Event sponsored

by Children’s Hospital Boston. The event was an opportunity for participants from area schools to meet, share fundraising ideas and discuss planning details. Emmanuel stood out from the rest in terms of its progress to date as

for the position. He didn’t have an elite, Ivy-League education, nor did he have a book published, a requirement to be appointed an assistant professor with tenure in the sociology department at the University of Chicago.

Rather than eliminating him early in the process, the university named him a visiting professor for one year and gave him a light teaching load, allowing him to complete the book he had been working on for several years. He finished the book, Power, Racism, and Privilege: Race Relations in Theoretical and Sociohistorical Perspective, in the winter quarter of 1972 and was offered the tenured position after the sociology faculty read it in manuscript form.

Another successful example of affirmative opportunity is the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), which attempts to achieve what the sociologist James Fishkin calls “equality of life chances.”

According to this, “if we can predict, with a high degree of accuracy, where individuals will end up in the competition for preferred positions in society, merely by knowing their family background, race, or gender, then the conditions that affect or determine their motivation and talents are grossly unequal.”

The HCZ “floods” 97 blocks of Central Harlem with educational, social and medical services to create a comprehensive safety net for the residents in that area. Their notable “Baby College” teaches parents essential skills, such as reading to children and alternatives to physical discipline.

Eighty-five percent of parents who have attended the Baby College report they spend more time reading to their

“This program, a program that enhances opportunities, clearly demonstrates that with sufficient resources and dedication, it is possible to achieve the goal of equality of life chances in this country and thereby overcome the cumulative effects of chronic economic and racial subordination.”

A former MacArthur Prize Fellow and president of the American Sociological Association, Wilson was awarded the National Medal of Science, the highest scientific honor in the U.S., in 1998, and was named one of America’s 25 most influential people by Time magazine in 1996. Wilson has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of Education and the Institute of Medicine.

He is the author of a number of notable and award-winning publications, including The Declining Significance of Race, The Truly Disadvantaged, and When Work Disappears: The World of the New Urban Poor. His latest book is More than Just Race: Being Black

“We realize it is going to take a lot to reach our goal,” said Oxsalida. “But we feel we have the fundraising strategy and the resources both on and off campus. It is going to be a challenge, but we feel we can achieve it.”

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The Civil Rights and Women’s Movements. Antiwar and student protests.

The 1960s and 70s was a time in American history when the country was in the midst of great social change. On college campuses, many students of the generation felt that they lacked a voice. For AfricanAmerican students at Emmanuel at the time, there existed a need to bring about awareness of African-American issues and unite black students on campus in order to gain that strong voice. Out of this need arose the Black Student Union (BSU).

children than they had in the past, signaling a significant shift in cultural behavior. The HCZ’s programming has also helped place 650 students in college and supports them through graduation.

The most impressive evidence, Wilson said, is seen in the performance of students in the HCZ’s “Promise Academies” on New York’s statewide math and English tests. When the tests were given in 2009, the scores of the children from the Promise Academies far exceeded those of children in the traditional public schools and matched those in the upper middle-class white suburbs.

“It is ambitious,” said Farrell. “But it shows our students are dedicated to making a difference.”

BSU Gala Celebrates Organization’s Four Decades on Campus

McLaughlin Hakim Lecture Addresses Affirmative Opportunity in Obama Era CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

well as its fundraising goal, which is double that of any other local school.

More than 40 years later, the BSU is the second-longest-standing organization on campus following the Yearbook Committee. The BSU boasts some of Emmanuel’s largest events, while raising awareness of societal issues and black culture, seeking to unite all students of the Emmanuel community. As current BSU advisor, Director of Multicultural Programs and Associate Director of Student Activities Damita Davis suggested, the BSU needed to celebrate its accomplishments over 40 years, and celebrate big.

Emmanuel’s production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, seen above, was chosen as one of 2011’s “Outstanding Overall College Theater Productions” by the the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

Ready For Their Encore Performing Arts Dept. Earns Nod for Oustanding College Theater Production The Emmanuel College Department of Performing Arts’ spring 2011 production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has been selected as one of the “Outstanding Overall College Theater Productions of 2011” by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (ACTF). This is the first

On December 3rd, the BSU hosted a 40th Anniversary Gala at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel to commemorate many years of hard work and dedication, honoring those who have created a legacy for the organization. The honorees included the BSU’s first president, Dr. Charlotte

such award for the department. As part of the acceptance, the Emmanuel troupe will present an encore performance of the production at the ACTF regional festival to be held January 25th-30th at Fitchburg State University.

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IN THIS ISSUE

Saints @ Work Pairing Students w/ Alumni Over Winter Recess

Hakim Lecture: Affirmative Opportunity in Obama Era

2 Students Volunteer with Coat Boston Project

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campus news

campus news

Saints @ Work Connects Students with Alumni in Fields of Interest

“Meeting a person one-on-one definitely brings the student a step further than other applicants,” she said.

Getting closer to her junior year, Annie MacIntyre ’12 felt she was supposed to have figured out what she wanted to do with her communications major.

She had some ideas, but no practical work experience, and was feeling unsure about the path she was on.

When she heard about the “Saints @ Work” job shadow program last winter, sponsored by Emmanuel’s Office of Internships and Career Development, she recognized it as a chance to gain some clarity about her future, and to get her foot in the door of the professional world. “It’s a great opportunity to get out there and experience what I would like to do . . . to move forward in my career,” she said.

MacIntyre was matched with Suzanne Wenz ’94, the regional director of public relations at Boston’s Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, who served as a resource to her, even after the program concluded. MacIntyre met with Wenz for lunch and discussed the hospitality industry and the potential job opportunities that it offered, to give her a

Saints @ Work takes place over winter break, during which students have the opportunity to shadow alumni at their jobs for a full or half day, or simply grab lunch with them, and ask any career-related questions. The program was developed to help students gain practical work experience, and make connections in the working world that could open up many different career opportunities for them.

Annie MacIntyre ’12 was paired with Suzanne Wenz ’94 through the Saints @ Work program and turned the experience into an internship at Boston’s Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel this fall.

better idea of what she wanted to do with her life.

MacIntyre kept in touch, and turned her shadowing experience into a public relations internship at the hotel this fall. She credits Saints @ Work for providing the necessary steppingstone toward a potential career, and now

feels more confident than ever about the direction she is headed. Wenz, meanwhile, who has been a part of the program since it started in 2010 and has had several Emmanuel students shadow her, enjoys the experience of giving back to the Emmanuel community. She finds Saints @ Work beneficial for both students and alumni.

“It is so beneficial to connect our students to people who are out in the working world, and open their minds to the possibilities that are out there,” said Assistant Director of Internships and Career Development Dan Jalbert.

For Derek Barton ’09, the laboratory administrator for Myers and Balskus Laboratories at Harvard University, making the connection was important.

He was paired with biology majors CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Emmanuel’s ONE Campaign Ranked 24th Nationally in Campus Challenge This fall, Emmanuel’s ONE Campus Challenge campaign is holding strong in 24th place among the nearly 2,600 colleges and universities participating nationwide.

During the spring 2011, the College finished 26th overall in the national intercollegiate competition, which seeks to determine which college or university’s student body can execute the most effective global poverty-fighting campaign. ONE is an organization that aids in the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease by “raising public awareness to support smart and effective policies and programs that are saving lives, helping to put kids in school and improving futures.” Cofounded by U2 front man

Bono, ONE includes two million supporters worldwide.

This year marks the fifth annual ONE Campus Challenge. The program is collaborating with Living Proof, a showcase of stories about people making a difference in some of the world’s poorest regions. The competition allows students to use their creativity to help spread both ONE and Living Proof’s message on their campuses and beyond. Each campus earns points by completing action-oriented challenges, including inviting faculty, alumni, parents and friends of the school to sign up online and support them in the competition.

For more, visit http://campus.one.org.

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McLaughlin Hakim Lecture Addresses Affirmative Opportunity in Obama Era William Julius Wilson, the Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor at Harvard University, addressed “Affirmative Opportunity in the Barack Obama Era” during the Catherine McLaughlin Hakim Lecture Series on November 15th.

Wilson opened his talk with the results of a 2008 Newsweek poll, which observed that nearly three-quarters of Americans disapprove of “giving preferences to blacks and other minorities in things like hiring, promotions, and college admissions,” an idea consistent with earlier polls, including a 2003 Time/CNN poll in which a majority of Americans were not in favor of “affirmative action admissions programs at colleges and law schools that give racial preference to minority applicants.”

Wilson explained that to understand the opposition to racial preference as a way to overcome inequality, two factors need to be considered. The first factor is racial—the perception that blacks are responsible for their own economic situation and are undeserving of government support. The notion of the federal government’s obligation to improve the living standards of blacks because they have faced longtime discrimination has not exceeded the support of more than one in four whites since 1975.

The second factor is the heavy reliance on individualistic explanations of social behavior and outcomes, including a perceived lack of effort or ability and poor moral character, rather than the structural origins of poverty and welfare, such as inadequate schooling, low wages, or a lack of jobs. In other words, people are poor or on welfare

Emmanuel students assisted City Mission Society of Boston with Coat Boston, which partners with Citizens Bank Foundation to distribute more than 2,000 coats each year to Greater Boston-area children.

Students Volunteer with Coat Boston Project On November 18th, 16 Emmanuel College students joined Assistant Professor of Economics Dr. Rebecca Moryl to help City Mission Society of Boston (CMS) with its Coat Boston project, which provided more than 400 brand-new coats to children in need from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. The Emmanuel students unloaded hundreds of new coats into the cafeteria and auditorium of the William E. Russell School in Dorchester and set up display racks for the following day’s giveaway event.

CMS, the oldest social service agency in Boston, is a social justice organization that unites communities and transforms individuals through service and education. CMS works to help the youth and adults of Boston achieve their full potential by providing opportunities for individuals and communities to engage in social action. This is the third year of its Coat Boston project, which works in partnership with Citizens Bank Foundation to distribute more than 2,000 coats each year to Greater Boston-area children.

Russell School Principal Tamara Blake ’98 greeted the Emmanuel students and thanked them for their time and hard work as did CMS Executive Director Rev. June Cooper.

William Julius Wilson

because of their own personal shortcomings.

talents hindered by their environments, regardless of race.

Where conservatives are rallying to abolish affirmative action programs, some liberals have argued that there should be a shift from affirmative action programs based on race to affirmative action programs based on economic class or need.

However, Wilson said, the class-based approach would reduce opportunities for blacks, excluding them from desirable positions as conventional measures of aptitude are likely to show the cumulative effects of race, of living in segregated neighborhoods, of attending lower-quality, segregated schools, and of being raised by parents whose resources have also been limited by their race.

“Although it is not readily apparent that a shift to class-based affirmative action would overcome the bias for individualistic explanations of social outcomes, it could be seen as nullifying some of the negative racial perceptions that undermine support for affirmative action,” Wilson said.

This shift would recognize that the problems of the disadvantaged, including low-income crime-ridden neighborhoods, poor education, inadequate housing and cultural and linguistic differences, are not always related to racial discrimination, as children who grow up in homes plagued by these disadvantages will likely see the development of their aspirations and

While acknowledging that most Americans are against the numerical guidelines or rigid quotas in programs that have made affirmative action unpopular, Wilson advocates for “a different set of evaluative criteria—new, more flexible, yet merit-based criteria of evaluation. Criteria that is more accurate than the conventional tests in gauging the actual potential of black Americans to succeed.”

In the case of college admissions, research reveals that standardized test scores may not measure real merit and

their relation to an applicant’s future performance is questionable. High school grades are a better reflection of college grades than SAT scores in both selective and non-selective colleges, but neither measure important attributes such as perseverance, motivation and interpersonal skills. Wilson said that while standardized tests should not be abandoned, they should be given less weight and considered alongside an applicant’s initiative, leadership qualities, the ability to overcome personal hardship, honors and awards, among other criteria.

Wilson calls this approach “affirmative opportunity” rather than “affirmative action,” noting that the change is more than just rhetorical, but that it signifies a true emphasis on achieving equality of opportunity.

He calls himself a product of affirmative opportunity when it works in the ideal sense. While teaching at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1971, Wilson was invited to give a lecture at the University of Chicago, unaware that the sociology department was in search of a black sociologist and that he was being “looked over” as a potential faculty member.

“Luckily, I gave one of the best lectures I had ever given at that point in my career,” Wilson said. “And I impressed the faculty and graduate students with my deft handling of questions during the question-andanswer period.”

On returning to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Wilson was surprised that he was being considered CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

BSU Gala Celebrates Organization’s Four Decades on Campus campus that Davis says is “responsive to the call of the times.”

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Simmonds-Hammons ’71, former director of multicultural affairs at Emmanuel Dr. Sheila Nutt, former dean of students and current Academic Advisor Sister Mary T. Kelleher, SND, and Assistant Director of Admissions/Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Albert Hayle ’05, the first male president of the organization.

“The gala is an event to inspire [the BSU] to understand the legacy that they leave as a organization. It’s to show alums that what they started is still strong . . . and to celebrate people who have championed diversity,” said Davis.

During the gala, Boston City Councilman Tito Jackson proclaimed December 3rd as Emmanuel College Black Student Union Day. The BSU also received a citation from Governor Deval Patrick, presented by State Senator Russell Holmes, husband to Sheree McClain Holmes ’88, to honor the

The BSU has become a model for all other organizations to mirror in terms of longevity, according to Davis. The people who have been a part of the organization understand the impact that it has had on the Emmanuel students and campus in general. The lessons taken from the BSU go further than just the time the students have at the College, and positively influence those involved for the rest of their lives.

Director of Multicultural Programs and Associate Director of Student Activities Damita Davis speaks during the Black Student Union’s 40th Anniversary Gala held at the Boston Marriot Long Wharf Hotel on December 3rd.

organization for its amazing achievements over 40 years.

Today the BSU is representative of the larger issues that face our community, hosting programs like “Sisters, Can We Talk?” to discuss issues of women, and “Caf Talk,” an open forum for conflicts that affect our society. But while the BSU is representative of all

students of Emmanuel College and strives to form a better community for everyone, it stays true to its roots, raising awareness of African-American culture to give students of color a strong, united voice.

The BSU has come a long way from where it started, and has grown into a collected and efficient organization on

For current president Bernadine Desanges ’12, it is a longstanding tradition that can only grow with years to come. Being a part of the organization has helped open her eyes to a new perspective on the world.

“The BSU has helped support my selfesteem and allows me to question the system, read between the lines, and live life for the better,” she said.

Emmanuel News DECEMBER 2011

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