Semester Wind Down

This semester's BuBeat blog has been an exciting adventure. Being able to inform students, faculty, staff, alumni and prospective students has be great! Over the semester we've published many blogs about activities on and off campus. These have included study abroad opportunities, RSO happenings and events held at Bellarmine. We hope you enjoyed our weekly postings and we hope you continue to read the next BuBeat blogger's entries! Have a great break!

2006 December Graduation

Graduation can be an exciting time for students. Embarking on the real world allows for great career opportunities and an exciting adventure. More than 230 students will experience this in just a few weeks.

Bellarmine will have commencement on December 20th for its 2006 December graduates. The university will award more than 235 diplomas. The ceremony wil begin at 5 p.m. in Knights Hall. Helen Prejean will deliever the commencement address.

Bellarmine will award 27 doctorates, 121 master's degrees, and 90 undergraduate degrees. Other awards include the Archbishop's Medal of Scholastic Excellence which is awarded to the graduates haveing the highest cumulative grade point average.

How do you spend the holidays?

After protesters rallied outside of a Sacramento Wal-Mart, the retailer decided to change the usual “Happy Holidays” slogan used by employees. Wal-Mart is now encouraging all employees to greet customers with their choice of holiday cheer. This change in holiday tradition allows employees to express their religious and holiday celebrations. All people celebrate the holidays in their own special way and Wal-Mart is attempting to acknowledge this. According to Aledda Jackson, freshmen economics major, “I think the change in Wal-Mart's policy allows for equal treatment of all religions. Now people who celebrate holidays such as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa will be recognized.”

Students on campus are excited about the holidays and sharing the special time with their family. LaShayna Thomas, junior business major, says “for my family Christmas is the only time my family gets to see each other since we're always separated. We spend the time enjoying each other's company, eating, and catching up. We also celebrate Christmas by not only giving, but by celebrating the true reason for the season, the birth of Christ.” According to McKenzie Cox, sophomore history major, “we all go to my Grandma's house on Christmas Eve and eat dinner then spend the night and wake up the next morning at the crack of dawn, open presents and eat breakfast.” In the end, if you greet friends with “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah,” it doesn't matter. The season is about giving, being with family, and remembering “your” true meaning of the holidays.

The Guatemala Group

Each year, a select group of Bellarmine students are chosen to participate in a spring break trip to Guatemala. This is not a typical spring break trip; it is not about having fun, relaxing, or partying. This trip is about service, it is a chance for students to broaden their world view, to see first hand what the term “third world country” means and what life there is like. It is a chance to try and effect change, even if only within yourself.

This year thirty-five students, led by Bob and Dotti Lockhart, will travel to Guatemala where they will work in a community by building, repairing, painting, distributing food and clothing, and getting to know the people of the community. The group, though Bellarmine associated, will travel and work under Hearts In Motion (H.I.M.). H.I.M. is an organization that has worked to provide care and medical treatment for communities, and opportunities for individuals to participate in mission experiences throughout Guatemala for more than ten years. However, this does not men that H.I.M. covers the cost of the trip for participants, as travel, transportation, and lodging for the ten day experience will cost about $1500 dollars per person.

Since this is a service learning experience though, participants are not asked to pay the cost themselves, but rather to raise it. This year, each group member is asked to raise about $850 each by themselves and then the remainder by participating in group fundraisers. The individual funds will be raised by sending letters to family and friends, and the group funds raised through events held at and around Bellarmine.

Right now, the group is collecting donations of clothes, toys, furniture, books, and knick-knacks for their annual garage sale. This is their biggest fundraiser, and always promises an abundance of good deals for Bellarmine students and community members alike. This year the sale will be held in Frazier Hall on January 27, from 6:00am until about 1:00pm. If you can’t make it to the yard sale, make an effort to contribute to attend one of their other events next semester. If you are too busy to attend an event, find a group member and give them a donation – every bit helps. More than that though, it lets the group, and the university, know that the Bellarmine community supports the group, the trip, and all that they represent.

17th Annual Rally to Demand Closure of the School of the Americas

This weekend Bellarmine students and residents throughout the Louisville community will join thousands from across the nation at Fort Benning, Georgia to demand a dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy in the form of the closure of the controversial School of the Americas (SOA).

The SOA, now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon released training manuals used at the school that advocated torture and execution. There have also been hundreds of cases of documented human rights abuses connected to soldiers trained at the school. Yet, no independent investigation into the facility has ever taken place.

New research confirms that the school continues to support known human rights abusers. For example Col. Francisco del Cid Diaz was allowed to return to SOA in 2003 for further training despite having been investigated by the United Nations for ordering the shooting of 16 indigenous peasants in El Salvador after his initial session at the base.

“This school is responsible for training militaries that then use the techniques they learned against their civilian populations,” says Nancy Jakubiak, a grandmother in Louisville, Kentucky, who has been protesting for years at Fort Benning. "Closing the SOA would send a strong human rights message to Latin America and the world."

There is hope for this mission too, as support for the SOA continues to erode, and even transform into opposition. Earlier this year, the governments of Argentina and Uruguay announced that they would cease all training at the school, becoming the second and third countries to announce a cessation of training, following the 2004 announcement of Hugo Chavez that Venezuela would no longer send troops to train at the school. Last year over 19,000 people gathered for the annual protest, creating the largest demonstration to date in the 16 year history of the protest. According to coordinators, this year’s protest has the potential to break that record yet again, as more and more people become aware of the situation in Fort Benning every year.

Huber's Family Farm and Restaurant

Huber's Family Farm and Restaruant is a very familiar attraction to Kentucky and Indiana residents. The farm is located in Starlight, Indiana and is about 45 minutes away from Bellarmine. The farm features many cool things to do. During the summer hours you can pick strawberries and apples. During the fall and winter season you can pick pumpkins and cut down your own Christmas tree!

The farm offers a full service restaurant that features tasty home cookin'! Items for lunch include: country fried chicken, Huber honey ham, fried biscuits with apple butter, homestyle vegetables, chicken & dumplings, and homemade fruit cobblers. You can also enjoy wine made in Huber's own winery.

Other attractions at the farm include:
Volleyball
Basketball
Tug of War
Horseshoes
Fishing
Golf Chipping
Paint Ball Shooting
Guided tractor and wagon rides
Feed the Fish and Ducks
Bon-Fires
Mini Farm...
Tractor
Garden
Windmill
Barn
Playground
Fly a Kite
Little Farmer Country Motor-cross
The Amazing Maze through the corn field

The costs of the different events vary.

If interested in visiting Huber's please call: 1-877- Joe- Hubers

BSU Bowling Night

The Black Student Union is a student run organization which promotes the unity of black students and diversity on campus. The organization hopes to bring miniorities together and create unity between all races. BSU held a free bowling event on Friday, November 10th. The event gathered over 20 minority students and supporters of minority organizations. The president of BSU, Alecia Prince, hosted the event. The bowling night was the first event for the newly declared RSO and turned out to be a big success.

Before the bowling event held at Rose Bowl, many students gathered at Dr. Milton Brown's house to discuss important issues about campus and treatment of miniorities. Many students and staff attended the event and hope to continue to host events such as these.

If interested in joining the Black Student Union please contact Alecia Prince for more information.

International Education Week

Next week promises to be an international affair, or rather several, as BU observes International Education Week. Each year, Bellarmine hosts a wide array of speakers and activities with international ties in observance of International Education Week (once called Heritage Week), and this year will be no exception.

On Monday, FLOW and the International Club will present the “Flow in Different Area Codes” show. This showcase will present several different types of dance from all over the world, to be performed by Bellarmine’s own FLOW performers. The show will start at 8:30pm in Frazier Hall, but there will be various, internationally themed appetizers prior to the show, beginning at 8:00pm. Tickets for the event are $5, and can be purchased from any member of FLOW.

There are a variety of things happening on Tuesday, especially during free period. From 11:00 – 12:00 there will be tables in the café for Just Creations, the Guatemala Group, and the International Club. A representative from Just Creations, a Louisville based store that promotes Fair Trade, will have an area set up in the café to talk to any interested students about how Fair Trade works, who it benefits, and also what Just Creations does, and what they sell. The Guatemala Group will be selling Guatemalan crafts and coffee in an effort to raise money for this year’s trip. The International Club will be attempting to entice students away from café fare, selling a delectable assortment of Kizito cookies and muffins. Then, Tuesday evening the International Club will be hosting an internationally themed Jeopardy game at 8:00pm in the Anniversary classroom.

Wednesday there will be a pizza and Profs study abroad session in Miles Hall. This presentation and discussion session will focus on summer courses abroad being taught by BU professors. Various professors will be on hand to talk about their upcoming international courses and answer questions from students. There will also be free pizza for those who attend. Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm the International Club will host Movie Night in the small science theater in Pasteur – movie TBA.

Thursday will see the return of Guatemalan goods and Kizito cookies to the café, and more activities from BAC to come.

Then, to wrap up the week on Friday the International Club is planning an ‘International Night Out’. The club will be gathering people to go to the African restaurant Queen of Sheba for dinner at 7:00pm. Each individual is responsible for buying their own dinner, but the portions at this particular restaurant are generally generous enough to split. It promises to be an evening of fun, friends, and really good food!

So there will be plenty to do next week, and plenty of opportunities to learn about, and even experience, a new culture. Take advantage of these opportunities and expand your horizons without having to go out of your way.

Festival of Faiths

Saving a Dying Planet: A Call to Action

What: Festival of Faiths
When: November 9-11,
Cost: Free

The Center for Interfaith Relations, (CIR) is a non-profit, interfaith organization whose mission is to promote and support interreligious understanding, cooperation,
and action. The CIR is sponsoring the Festival of Faiths, which is an annaul event, being held in Louisville November 9th through the 11th. "Death and Transformation" is this years headline. The ecological symposium, a conference relating to the interrelationships of organisms and their environment this festivals main event, will be held in the Cathedral of Assumption, on Saturday November 11th. I urge everyone to attend.

For more information, on festival of faith, or to learn more about CIR, please visit www.cathedralheritage.org
or call the Center for Interfaith Relations at 502-583-3100.

Helpful Holdiay Shopping

KRM Holiday Shopping Night @ Just Creations
Date: Friday December 08, 2006

Louisville has one of the largest populations of immigrants in the country, this is so because of our size, good public transportation, surplus of low-skill level jobs. The immigrants that flock to our fine city have added culture and new ideologies to help our city grow and thrive.

Just Creations, Louisville's not-for-profit international crafts marketplace, is hosting a special Holiday Shopping Night on December 8. A percentage of sales will be donated to Kentucky Refugee Ministries, which helps immigrant refugees in their asimilation to their new country upon arrival. This would be the perfect opportunity to pick up some unique international gifts for the holidays, everything from hand made paper journals to hand carved instruments, and to support KRM in their mission to provide love and care for immigrant refugees.

Just Creations is located at 2722 Frankfort Avenue. For additional information please call (502) 897-7319, or visit, www.kyrm.org

Shanty Town III

When: November 14th- 16th,
What: Shanty town
Cost: $10 donation

Hundreds of homless people die every year in America due to starvation and intense cold winters. The 3rd annual homeless awareness event is hosted by Junior Brown Scholars and Drs. Renner and Brown. This event is open to all Bellarmine Students from free period on Tuesday, November 14th, until Thursday November 16th. The simplicity of this event is meant to reflect the life of a homeless person, participants will be sleeping outside in what ever materials are left in the quad of Bellarmines campus. The main objective of this is to simulate the life of homeless people, and to bring awareness to the problem of poverty. This event will also be raising money for local charities that provide care for homeless people. All participants are encouraged to donate $10. The official registration for this event is on Tuesday. To learn more about this event contact Britanny Patton at bpatton01@bellarmine.edu

Engage Your World

Engaging Our World

Once again, the idea of global perspective is invading Louisville. This weekend, November 3-5. the University of Louisville will host the “Engaging Our World” Conference, which is aimed at raising awareness among college age students to contemporary problems confronting our global society. Conference coordinators hope that this conference will not only inform participants, but also empower them to engage the issues and contribute to the creation of possible solutions.

Throughout the course of the weekend, the conference will provide several forums to engage and enlighten conference attendees, in an attempt to provide them with a truly global perspective. For instance, this year’s keynote speaker, Mr. Paul Loeb, will speak on citizen responsibility and empowerment – his area of expertise. Loeb has spent over thirty year researching and writing about what makes people choose lives of social commitment, and what that entails. Other topics to be covered in breakout sessions and work shops will include: trade and economic justice, global health, women’s issues, immigration, and globalization.

It is not too late to register for the conference. There is a small fee, but it covers the cost of materials and lunch. To register for the conference, get more information, or to download a schedule of events visit www.engagingourworld.org . It’s sure to be an eye-opening, educational experience.