commentary
Commentary
Verdict is in on the Anderson Student Center
01 May 2012 by Dave Nimmer / 1 Comment
Dave Nimmer has visited the Anderson Student Center often enough in the last three months that he feels he’s ready to offer his opinions on whether the building lives up to its promise and the hype that has followed the January opening. Read his assessment today in The Scroll.
Hateful Acts Have No Place on Our Campus
30 Apr 2012 by Dr. Jane Canney and Dr. Susan Huber / No Comments
Sadly, a homophobic slur was found written on a poster on a faculty member’s office in the Summit Classroom building on Tuesday evening, April 17. The University of St. Thomas Hate Crimes and Bias-Motivated Incidents Policy outlines the community expectation for all faculty, staff and students to practice civility and respect in all interactions. Any use [...]
Pretty Darn Really Cool, Part II
27 Apr 2012 by Carol Bruess / 3 Comments
Carol Bruess regaled you last week in The Scroll about those pretty darn really cool alumnae who showed up earlier this month at a Women Connect event. In her quest to identify more pretty darn really cool people, she remembered her buddy Jim Waska, “the super nice guy at the FedEx window” in Murray-Herrick. Read about Jim today in The Scroll.
A “Great” and “Wonderful” Appointment
24 Apr 2012 by Doug Hennes / 1 Comment
Nobody was surprised when John Tauer was named as head coach of the St. Thomas men’s basketball team on Monday, but the news conference still generated a nice turnout and a lot of smiles and claps on the back. Read more about them today in The Scroll and on tommiesports.com.
Pretty Darn Really Cool
17 Apr 2012 by Carol Bruess / 1 Comment
Carol Bruess, queen of positive-thinking superlatives, almost ran out of them in writing about last Saturday’s Women Connect brunch on campus. The group put on a high-energy event that featured, among others, Semhar Araia, a 1999 alumna who has loads of connections in Washington, D.C., including knowing a certain president. Read about Women Connect – and what you missed if you weren’t there – today in The Scroll.
I’m a Big(ger) Kid Now . . .
13 Apr 2012 by Lisa Weier / 1 Comment
Lisa Weier’s sister is getting married next month, and that brings back memories of when they played “wedding dress-up” as little girls. Now the real deal is about to happen, Lisa reports today in The Scroll, and she’s feeling a bit older as a result.
Let’s Move Forward, Not Back
10 Apr 2012 by Michael Orth / No Comments
Mike Orth, president of the Undergraduate Student Government, was a little nervous when he went to a neighborhood meeting to talk about building stronger relationships between students and neighbors. But once he got there, he realized everybody wants the same thing: a prosperous and livable neighborhood. Given that common goal, he writes today in The Scroll, it’s time for everybody to work together.
The Truth That Lies in “Time Flies”
04 Apr 2012 by Martha McCarthy / No Comments
Martha McCarthy no longer is in school, but the 2011 St. Thomas alumna says she still is startled at how fast this semester is flying by. She has some advice for seniors today in The Scroll: Enjoy the spring, because it will be gone before you know it, and you will be joining her in “The Real World.”
‘Passion Play’ Still Burns Brightly
30 Mar 2012 by Dave Nimmer / No Comments
Twenty years after Dave Nimmer participated in a modern version of the “Passion Play” at St. Thomas, he remembers the serenity he felt that evening. It still gives him solace to this day, and he explains why in The Scroll.
No Pinterest? No Twitter? No Way!
27 Mar 2012 by Carol Bruess / 4 Comments
“Oh, the pain and the agony!” writes Carol Bruess in describing the reaction of communication and journalism students when told their assignment was to “unplug” for four straight days and write about the experience. No cell phones, no computers, no television and no radio. They survived, Bruess reports today in The Scroll, and she shares the essay of one freshman who believes that technology “has evolved into a creature with a restrictive stranglehold on our society.”
A Winner Talks to Winners About Winning . . . and Watches
15 Mar 2012 by Doug Hennes / No Comments
Ted Riverso stopped by St. Thomas the other day to talk to the women’s basketball team about what it takes to win a national championship. He should know. His Tommies won the 1991 NCAA Division III title, and Riverso shared those moments – and what he carries from them to this day. Read what he had to say today in The Scroll.
Our Young Alumni Are Doing Quite Well in The Job Market
14 Mar 2012 by Susan Alexander / 1 Comment
Susan Alexander has been worried about the economy, our tuition and how much we contribute to the earning power of our graduates. So she went to “Dr. Mike” for answers and came away from their conversation feeling very reassured. She shares those answers today in The Scroll.
Got Coconut Bra?
06 Mar 2012 by Carol Bruess / 2 Comments
Carol Bruess used to see eyes rolling every time she talked about teaching a January Term course … in Hawaii! But she insists the class has incredible value, and today in The Scroll she relates what happened on this year’s trip (which she was not on) to explain its “profound cultural and academic service-learning experiences.”
To Merit or Not to Merit
02 Mar 2012 by Susan Alexander / 1 Comment
The Faculty Senate is considering a report from the Merit Pay Task Force, and Susan Alexander has some words of advice from her days of teaching Principles of Microeconomics: Keep in touch with your inner primate, and treat people fairly. She explains why today in The Scroll.
Final Thoughts: Welcome, Students
01 Mar 2012 by Mike Orth / No Comments
The new student center is more than just a building
Stars, Rome and Home: My Spring Semester (So Far)
24 Feb 2012 by Lisa Weier / No Comments
Lisa Weier is having one of those semesters … busy, as usual, but nothing out of the ordinary enough to merit attention as a solo topic for The Scroll. So she has decided to weigh in on a number of issues.
Ooh, Tan . . .
22 Feb 2012 by Susan Alexander / 1 Comment
Susan Alexander learned all kinds of intriguing tidbits after she wrote in The Scroll earlier this month that purple is her favorite color. She now knows what trochaic tetrameter is, that violet – and not necessarily purple – may best define St. Thomas, and why her personal color is “logical tan.” Seriously! Read about this and take your own color (aura) quiz today in The Scroll.
What’s News . . . Or Not
20 Feb 2012 by Dave Nimmer / 1 Comment
Dave Nimmer got around to comparing headlines the other day and concluded that St. Thomas, where talk is about mice in buildings, the demise of old couches and the towing of expensive cars, is in “very good shape” considering the gloom and doom elsewhere. Or it could be, he writes today in The Scroll, “that trouble and turmoil are relative.”
These Seniors are What’s Right with Division III Athletics
17 Feb 2012 by Dr. John Tauer / No Comments
John Tauer is going to miss Carolyn Dienhart, Tommy Hannon, Ali Johnson, Peter Leslie, Haley Loesch and Sarah Smith after they graduate – and not just because they have played on championship St. Thomas basketball teams over the last four years. As Tauer writes today in The Scroll, he will miss these six seniors because of their teamwork, their character and the way they have inspired others on and off the court.
The Anderson Airport
14 Feb 2012 by Martha McCarthy / No Comments
Martha McCarthy isn’t suggesting that St. Thomas rename the Anderson Student Center, but the 2011 alumna sure finds a lot of similarities between the building and an airport. One difference: Our “hub,” she notes today in The Scroll, is “much prettier, and packed with purple pride.”
Ooh, Purple
10 Feb 2012 by Susan Alexander / 1 Comment
Purple is Susan Alexander’s favorite color, and she explains why today in The Scroll.
A Good Relationship
07 Feb 2012 by Carol Bruess / No Comments
Carol Bruess loves good relationships, and you might expect that, given her personality and the research that she does. She sees all kinds of healthy relationships here at St. Thomas, built on attributes such as mutual affection, hard work and good old-fashioned communication, and she writes in The Scroll today that she hopes you will show up to see them on display Wednesday at the “Years of Service Celebration.”
Tired of Buying Textbooks? Rent them!
03 Feb 2012 by Dave Nimmer / 3 Comments
Everyone knows textbooks are expensive, but the St. Thomas Bookstore is trying to provide alternatives for students, including a new Rent-a-Book program that will save students a lot of money. Dave Nimmer writes about the program today in The Scroll.
Alert From the Department of Dog Advocacy
01 Feb 2012 by Susan Alexander / 3 Comments
Susan Alexander was all set to roll out a big political campaign on behalf of dogs at St. Thomas. Then she read the university’s Political Activity Policy and realized she would need to shelve her plans to champion the rights of canines that have come to trust her as their leader on campus. Read about her predicament today in The Scroll.
