2019 December/January EditionThe Aquinas Scholars Honors Program

Editor: Althea Larson

THESCHOLARSNEWSLETTER

Scholars Community

Holidazzle Social Chairs State Capitol

Scholars Community

State Capitol Academic Chairs

Scholars Journal

Gratitude Liam Selden

As the year 2019 ends, I realize that in more ways than one I’ve been encouraged by those I respect to evaluate what factors have allowed me to be most successful in my academic and social pursuits. Certainly, there are a plethora of things that inspire me and challenge me daily; however, I recognize that what grants me the ability to deal with all the challenges through my life – and I suspect others here at St. Thomas – is my family. I’ve been given the opportunity this holiday season to visit more relatives in a week than I have in the past decade of my life, and it’s become abundantly clear that those who love you have a vested interest and concern in watching you succeed. Whether or not your family is connected through ge-netics, or some other equally important commonality, I believe it is of the utmost priority to thank or recognize those people who’ve played a hand in nurturing you to this point in your life (whatever that point may be). I believe that practicing gratitude serves a multifunctional purpose in providing a sense of grounding and connection to those closest to you. I encourage anyone reading this to say thanks to those who deserve it in your life.

Individual Participation and Recruitment in Social Movements

Jane Ude

Social Movements: The Structure of Collective Mobilization by Paul Almeida discusses the inner workings of social movements. In chapter six, Almeida describes how individuals may be motivated to participate in social movements. The general population can be divided into two groups: those who are not sympathetic to the movement (no sympathy) and those who are sympathetic to the move-ment (sympathy pool). People in the sympathy pool are the ones activists focus on in recruitment for a movement. There are seven dimensions that can convince a person in the sympathy pool to be a part of a social movement. These dimensions are biographical availability, beliefs and ideology, social net-works, membership in organizations, collective identities, previous participation experience and social media. The author also talks about how researchers can measure this behavior by detailing the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) project that took place in the early 2010s in Central American countries. Youth Activism in an Era of Education Inequality by Ben Kirshner is a book that discusses how young people across the nation fight to get a better education. In chapter two, Kishner describes the DREAM Activism, a movement that American youth or “millennials” have had a pivotal role in starting. It also describes how youth of color are able to mobilize into political participation through different opportunity structures. These opportunity structures include having the people most affected by an issue lead, roles that are low-commitment for people to easily participate, non-partisan movements, allowing the movements to take years to enact change, changing the way society views these issues,

Scholars Journal

Scholars Journal

and running on issue-based instead of procedural-based movements. The DREAM movement shows many examples of how individuals may be recruited to be a part of the movement discussed in the Almeida chapter. Many of the activists leading the movement are high school and college students. These groups have a larger biographical availability than most other age groups. With the fear of being discovered as undocumented, many students didn’t talk about this part of their lives before the boom of the DREAM movement. However, when being undocumented became less stigmatized, more people “came out” as undocumented, creating a network of people around the same age with similar legal status. These connections could also take place on multiple social media platforms. Once creating that connection online, people could find more specifics of the movement (protests, resources, etc.). With people coming out as undocumented online, it created a collective identity that many people could relate to. Being undocumented became a more positive aspect of a person’s identity. It is possible that DREAM activists first joined the movement because there was already an organization that incorporated their struggle in their platform. These dimensions made large contributions to individuals joining the DREAM movement. In my personal life, the most recent participation in a movement was when I participated in the sit-in that took place at St. Thomas last fall for the racially discriminatory event that took place in the men’s dorm. There were many dimensions that contributed to me participating. First, I am a college student, so I had ample time to participate in the sit-in. I am also friends with many students that were involved in activist groups. They sent me information about the sit-in, so I was informed about the sit-in multiple times. I was also in a class with one of the professors that was planning the sit-in, Dr. Law-rence. Additionally, I am a member of the Black Student Empowerment Alliance Club (BESA), a club that I have been a part of since freshman year. I heard about the racial incident from the BESA officers in an email before I received an email from the President of the university, so I trusted the group’s distribution of information more. The club coordinated an open dialogue and the sit-in, so I had more incentive to participate in the sit-in. I identify as a black woman, and since the racial incident was di-rected toward a black person, it gave me more motivation to participate in the sit-in. Finally, not only did I hear about the sit-in from the BESA email and friends, but I also saw it on various social media platforms (Instagram, Snapchat, and GroupMe). While there are other reasons that I participated in the sit-in, these were many of the ways I was influenced to participate in the sit-in, and I don’t regret it.

ReferencesAlmeida, Paul. Social Movements the Structure of Collective Mobilization. University of California Press, 2019.Kirshner, Benjamin. Youth Activism in an Era of Education Inequality. New York University Press, 2015.

Scholars Journal

Why the Pine Tree? Daniel Obendorf

I remember at a young age always looking forward to putting up our family Christmas tree. It was always a highlight of the year, and there was a beauty to the lights, ornaments, garland and star. From watching TV commercials to decorating downtowns to even just walking down the quad, Christ-mas trees decorate the scenery and represent the arrival of the holidays. But where does this tradition actually come from? Why is it a pine tree that represents the holidays? It does not take much research to find the incredible story of the Christmas tree. In the 710s, St. Boniface traveled from England to the pagan country of Germania to convert the people to Christiani-ty. While on his mission, he and his companions encountered a village where worship centered around a huge oak tree (anywhere from 7-9 feet in diameter) called “Jupiter’s Oak.” Once a year, the people would sacrifice a child to the tree asking the gods for good crops that year. St. Boniface happened to arrive in this village (modern day Mainz, Germany) during the celebration. Appalled, St. Boniface went to the leadership of the village and commanded them to not kill the child or he would cut down the tree. When they went ahead, preparing the sacrifice, St. Boniface took up an axe and felled the tree with a single stroke (although some sources claim a massive wind helped knock down the tree). The peoples of the village saw the gods did not strike down St. Boniface and were amazed. Behind the fallen tree grew a small German pine tree, which St. Boniface pointed to and said that just as this tree pointed up to the heavens so should mankind’s worship point up to the True God in Heaven and not the things of this world. Much of the village converted that day, and all Christians placed a small pine tree in their home to remind them whom they are made to love and worship. St. Boniface took the wood of the giant oak and made a small chapel in the town that he called the Chapel of St. Peter. The tradition of the pine tree was very common in Germany for hundreds of years following, and slowly the tradition evolved into an Advent practice to remind the people of Christ’s birth at Christmas. As a result of his missionary work in the country, St. Boniface is the Patron Saint of Germany as well as the Christmas tree. The Christmas tree is possibly the most recognizable symbol of Christmas and the holidays today. Just as St. Boniface was able to turn the people of the small village away from their practice centered on material gain, the Christmas tree should remind us not to focus on the goods or empty pleasures of the modern world but on the things that truly matter. Christmas and the holidays have always been a time for family, friends and rest, and so taking a lesson from the Saint, let us not focus so much as to what is under the tree or what others do for us, but on those that matter the most to us and what we can do for them. Most of all, lift our gaze from the gifts under the tree and look up to the Heavens and give thanks to God for all the good things He has done and given us this past year.

Scholars Journal

Scholars Journal

MENstruation Olivia Checkalski

In this video, I interview 16 men on the University of St. Thomas campus about periods to gauge menstrual knowledge. In the course of this video, viewers will see men answer a range of questions and complete various tasks including a demonstration of how to use menstrual products, and labeling the female reproductive tract. While watching men fumble with tampons and struggle to pronounce “endometrium,” you will not only laugh, but also learn about women’s health in the process. Click the image below to watch the video.

Scholars Abroad

London Business Semester Megan Gamme

I spent this past semester in England through the London Business Semester. While there, I was lucky enough to visit nine different countries and although they were all truly amazing, my favorite was defi-nitely Greece. A few friends and I traveled to Greece and Southern Italy during fall break starting in Santorini. When we arrived, we were surprised to see how few people were there and quickly learned that tourist season had just ended. Throughout this trip we spoke with waiters, our hotel owner and many other locals who taught us so much about how tourism impacts their country. Restaurants that require reservations days or even weeks out were completely empty. Included are some of my favorite photos taken on this trip, which still do not do this beautiful island justice.

Scholars Abroad

Scholars Abroad

Chefchaouen, Morocco La’Dajia Deloney

Throughout my experience in Europe, I had been seeking gems of culture that would make my expe-rience fulfilling with the understanding that my tourist status would shield me from authentic culture, watering down the truth of the destination. This understanding forced greater intentionality in how my trips were approached, but it also became a limitation for the freedom of my presence. I quickly learned that it would be difficult to learn everything about a place within a three- or four-day visit. I did not need to be the most informed to get something out of my experiences. My presence was enough; I was enough. I learned about myself a little bit more, taking pieces from the people I would meet, the food I’d try, the emotions I’d feel. It is not that deep, and it does not have to be difficult or revolution-ary. In this photo, I was in Chefchaouen, Morocco. While there, I noticed that I was becoming a reflec-tion of my environment, which did not equate to the reflection of myself. And this was not the first time in my life. Taking a step back during this moment allowed me to move forward with more of myself.

Scholars Abroad

Czech Republic Maria Neuzil

This plaque is a memorial to the anti-communist resistance in the former Czechoslovakia. On No-vember 17, 1989, a peaceful student demonstration was violently suppressed by the police, which triggered more protests that ultimately led to the fall of the regime. This saying — “When, if not now? Who, if not us?” — was one of the rallying cries of the movement. This November marked the 30th anniversary of the revolution, and it was celebrated across the country with concerts, festivals, march-es, and other cultural events.

When, if not now?Who, if not us?

Upcoming EventsFebruary

Upcoming EventsFebruary

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16 17Women’s Housing Supply Kits7:00 - 8:00 p.m.

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