write_rss_two([{"feed_image_url":"","title":"They came to sing!","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Tue Nov 17 20:54:10 CST 2009","description":"What is the greatest musical instrument? The human voice, of course. When you put dozens of those voices together under a gifted director, you have a near heavenly experience. Nothing could better describe just such an experience than last weekend.<\/p>\n\n
The 2009 Minnesota Collegiate Choral Festival was held, and choirs were invited to submit blind CDs of their work. From the many entries, the following five choral groups were selected: Minnesota State University-Mankato, Northwestern College, St. John\u2019s University, the University of Minnesota-Duluth and the Chamber Singers from the University of St. Thomas.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/11/they_came_to_sing.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Dogs laugh, too","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Mon Nov 09 23:03:31 CST 2009","description":"
Every Sunday, I make the hour-long trek home to visit my family and enjoy my parents\u2019 delicious home cooking.<\/p>\n\n
One Sunday, as my parents rummaged around the kitchen preparing dinner, I kept hearing, \u201cBailey, no! . . . Off the counter! . . . Bailey! That\u2019s not for you; don\u2019t eat that! . . . Down, Bailey!\u201d Our one-year-old red lab puppy, Bailey, loves helping out in the kitchen. Sensing my parents\u2019 irritation, I got up from my lazy nap and took the crazy pup outside for some exercise.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/11/dogs_laugh_too.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Elephantine emotions on (and after) Opus Prize night","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Mon Nov 09 08:10:50 CST 2009","description":"
We\u2019ve had two engaging and thoughtful blogs already about the Opus Prize and its winners. Can there be more to say? More to write? More to convey?<\/p>\n\n
As a back-stage, behind-the-scenes, on-stage and fully engaged participant in the Opus Prize preparations and production, I say, \u201cYes! Yes! Yes!\u201d Such a grand event provided all who attended mountainous lessons and elephantine emotions. Here are a few of the reflections and comments both overheard and intentionally noted during and after last Wednesday evening\u2019s event.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/11/elephantine_emotions_on_and_af_1.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Seeing the face of the Lord","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Thu Nov 05 13:58:06 CST 2009","description":"
I don\u2019t know how the other five Catholic universities that hosted the Opus Prize Foundation awards did, but I can\u2019t imagine that any one pulled it off with more spirit, sensitivity and sentiment than the University of St. Thomas Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n\n
St. Thomas hosted the 6th annual awards ceremony to honor the work of three social entrepreneurs around the world \u2013 unsung heroes who are working to solve society\u2019s most vexing and persistent problems. The winner, Aicha Ech Channa of Morocco, received $1 million and the other two, Sister Valeriana Garcia-Martin of Columbia and Father Hans Stapel of Brazil, each received $100,000.<\/p>\n\n
The crowd at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis was large and enthusiastic; people got to their feet for a half-dozen standing ovations.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/11/seeing_the_face_of_the_lord.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Want to hear amazing stories?","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Sun Nov 01 20:38:52 CST 2009","description":"
When I was in Bogotá, Colombia, for the Opus Prize due diligence visit last May, members of our group would often express our fascination with the ambient, saintly presence of Sister Valeriana García-Martín. As she graciously led us through her facilities, we simply lost count of all the times her loving character and powerful aura left us stunned.<\/p>\n\n
In short, she is an extremely remarkable woman, and I will be absolutely honored to see her again at the Opus Prize event on Wednesday evening. I also look forward to meeting the other two finalists for the $1 million Opus Prize: Aïcha Ech Channa of Casablanca, Morocco, and Father Hans Stapel of Guaratinguetá, Brazil.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/11/want_to_hear_amazing_stories.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Making an awesome impression","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Sun Oct 25 13:06:03 CDT 2009","description":"
Every now and then I get an email message, a note or a phone call from a stranger about a good deed or thoughtful act done by someone at St. Thomas, and I think to myself, \u201cThat\u2019s one of the reasons I love working at this university.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The latest example came out of the blue last week from Jean Stack of St. Cloud, who, with her children, had a chance encounter on Oct. 17 with four St. Thomas students at the China Star Buffet in St. Cloud. She didn\u2019t know who they were, but believed they had been at the St. Thomas-St. John\u2019s football game that afternoon in nearby Collegeville. They were wearing St. Thomas t-shirts.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/10/making_an_awesome_impression_1.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Dealing with persistent social problems","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Wed Oct 21 09:35:22 CDT 2009","description":"
In less than two weeks, St. Thomas will play host to a very big deal: the Opus Prize Foundation and the awarding of $1.2 million to three social entrepreneurs from Brazil, Colombia and Morocco. The winner will get $1 million in a ceremony Wednesday, Nov. 4, at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n\n
Other schools that have hosted the foundation include Marquette, the University of San Francisco, Notre Dame and Catholic University. So it\u2019s an honor for St. Thomas to be chosen by Opus as a partner in recognizing unsung heroes who deal with society\u2019s most persistent social problems.<\/p>\n\n
What I don\u2019t want you to forget is a campus organization that also is dealing with a persistent social problem: the lack of people of color working in newsrooms, public relations and ad agencies across the country. Trying to raise those numbers is the goal of ThreeSixty, the fledgling non-profit that\u2019s been at St. Thomas since 2001. Its annual fundraiser comes two days after the Opus event \u2013 Friday evening, Nov. 6, in Binz Refectory.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/10/dealing_with_persistent_social_1.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Shout Out to Admissions","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Mon Oct 19 10:42:44 CDT 2009","description":"
It took only one step inside the lobby doors of OEC and I could literally sense the goodness. Was it the seven-dozen cookies, 10-dozen donuts, countless slices of banana bread or puffy muffins neatly lined up on large tables welcoming Tommie Days visitors? Was it the delightful bouquets of purple flowers on the tables, a sunny sight on a dark and rainy fall morning? Was it the warm aroma of fresh coffee and juice greeting the gaggle of guests?<\/p>\n\n
\u201cTommie Days\u201d unfolded right outside my office on the first floor of OEC last Thursday and Friday. The sounds of our helpful Admissions counselors answering similar if not identical questions over and over again, each time with an authentic smile in their voice, filled the halls. As I eavesdropped in between meeting current students and \u2013 I\u2019ll admit \u2013 snacking on a cookie or two, I experienced a real source of sweetness on our campus. Yes, define the term \u201csweet\u201d however you will: \u201cawesome,\u201d \u201cdelightful,\u201d \u201cpleasing to the senses\u201d or \u201cgratifying.\u201d I think the work of our Admissions staff is all that, and more.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/10/shout_out_to_admissions.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"How we feel about St. Thomas","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Mon Oct 12 16:43:43 CDT 2009","description":"
What do you expect \u2013 from your family? Your friends? Your employer?<\/p>\n\n
For some reason, I had a number of conversations recently with St. Thomas employees about their feelings regarding the university. I\u2019m not sure why. Maybe it\u2019s the high unemployment rate. Maybe it\u2019s the overall economic uncertainty. Maybe it\u2019s just that stage in people\u2019s lives and employment.<\/p>\n\n
Attitudes varied.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/10/how_we_feel_about_st_thomas.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Missing the past. Loving the present. Excited for the future.","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Wed Oct 07 21:24:38 CDT 2009","description":"
I have a conflicting relationship with the month of September, and now that it is behind me for another year, it\u2019s time to talk about it.<\/p>\n\n
Who doesn\u2019t love the fall colors, or getting hopelessly lost in a corn maze, and you can\u2019t beat the feeling of sleeping with the windows wide open, allowing the cold, crisp air to force you under a mound of blankets you haven\u2019t seen since last winter. There is also excitement and energy as campus comes back to life, and that\u2019s why I love the month and all the promises of the new academic year.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/10/missing_the_past_loving_the_pr_1.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"In the Neighborhood","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Mon Oct 05 14:07:51 CDT 2009","description":"
As someone who lives \u201cin the neighborhood,\u201d I reap many benefits: a two-minute (on foot) commute, the pleasant serenade of bells atop the library and daily conversations in my front yard with current, former and future students who stroll, bike and scurry to and fro (each providing a youthful energy and enthusiasm to living, as we call it, \u201cin the zone\u201d).<\/p>\n\n
Although we\u2019ve always adored living adjacent to campus, last weekend proved to be an exciting opportunity to fully embrace the richness and to witness the extent to which we really do live in \u2013 to borrow Father Dease\u2019s recent words \u2013 the best<\/em> place. Our newfound appreciation of life in the neighborhood was all thanks to our dying \u201cBig Old Tree.\u201d<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/10/in_the_neighborhood.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Some habits die hard","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Thu Oct 01 17:05:36 CDT 2009","description":"I am trying to be a modern media consumer: reading blogs, checking e-mails, browsing websites, seeking links and checking \u201ctommiemedia.com\u201d \u2013 daily. The student website looks good, particularly when student journalists climb on a story quickly and smartly.<\/p>\n\n
They did exactly that on a couple of breaking stories recently. The first was a lockdown at St. Paul College after a student reported seeing a man with a gun. It happened late in the morning, and at 12:55 p.m., tommiemedia.com posted the story. The other example of perseverance and awareness is the updating of the cases of H1N1 flu on campus; Brent Fischer reported that the number doubled in a week. The 90-second video updates look crisp and clean, but they\u2019ll be more interesting when the students roll in video to go with the pictures.<\/p>\n\n
So, I am<\/em> trying to get with the new media flow. But this past week also has been an opportunity to revel in slow-and-old television \u2013 with Ken Burns\u2019 documentary, \u201cThe National Parks: American\u2019s Best Idea.\u201d<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/10/some_habits_die_hard.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Experience the richness of your college years","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Sun Sep 27 22:50:21 CDT 2009","description":"During this final year at St. Thomas, I will cherish more than anything else the opportunities given to me to grow as a person.<\/p>\n\n
The unique characteristic of St. Thomas is how it intertwines all elements of life in its curriculum. Opportunities abound to pursue a plethora of academic, artistic, social, athletic and professional interests. This is our greatest strength. Our graduates cannot help but be well-rounded individuals.<\/p>\n\n
Unfortunately, I noticed that some of my friends who walked south through the Arches after graduating last spring were apprehensive to leave the confines of John Ireland\u2019s statue. Some of this hesitancy can be explained by a natural fear of the unknown, but another element may have been at play in their minds: never again would they be challenged in the same way to become a more holistic individual.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/09/experience_the_richness_of_you.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Donna Brazile and me","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Wed Sep 23 13:14:10 CDT 2009","description":"
On Monday, Donna Brazile \u2013 CNN and ABC commentator, the first African-American to direct a major presidential campaign, author and political activist \u2013 kicked off St. Thomas\u2019 CommUNITY series.<\/p>\n\n
Now you might wonder, \u201cWhat could Susan Alexander \u2013 nerd economist, academic, shunner of the limelight \u2013 have in common with Ms. Brazile?\u201d A lot, I now think. Furthermore, I\u2019d be willing to bet that almost everyone in that crowd of hundreds who stuffed OEC Auditorium felt a bond with her.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/09/donna_brazile_and_me_1.html"},{"feed_image_url":"","title":"Sharing Acts of Kindness","feed_description":"A blog by St. Thomas community members","item_date":"Sun Sep 20 22:16:26 CDT 2009","description":"
![\"aokLogo.JPG\"](\"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/aokLogo.JPG\")
<\/p>\n\n
Editor's note: Father Erich Rutten, director of Campus Ministry, contributed this guest column to The Scroll.<\/em>\n\n
We\u2019ve all seen them \u2013 quirky, sometimes funny and sometimes annoying bumper stickers.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cEnvision whirled peas.\u201d \u201cDog is my co-pilot.\u201d \u201cWhen everything\u2019s coming your way, you\u2019re in the wrong lane.\u201d But there is at least one bumper sticker that is worth taking to heart: \u201cPractice Random Acts Of Kindness And Senseless Acts Of Beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Last spring, in the heart of the financial crisis which has impacted so many and in the midst of the tragic disappearance and death of freshman Dan Zamlen, members of our community got together to promote a campaign to support \u201cActs of Kindness\u201d at UST and in our local community.<\/p>","feed_title":"The Scroll","link":"http://blog.stthomas.edu/thescroll/archives/2009/09/sharing_acts_of_kindness_1.html"}]);