Marshall McLuhan - University of St. Michael`s College

Transcription

M O V I E S AT S T. M I K E ’ S • N E V E R A D U L L M O M E N T • G O O D W I L L M I N I N G
St.Michael’s
Volume 50 Number 1 Spring 2011
www.utoronto.ca/stmikes
University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto Alumni Magazine
Marshall
McLuhan
The man about campus
Contents
St.Michael’s
The University of St. Michael’s
College Alumni Magazine
PUbliSheD bY
Office of Alumni Affairs
and Development
16
eDiTOR
Mechtild Hoppenrath
COPY eDiTORS
J. Barrett Healy
Fr. Robert Madden 5T8
Betty Noakes
05
10
Never a Dull Moment
16
Good Will Mining
21
Telling Haiti’s Story
22
Movies at St. Mike’s
CAMPUS NOTeS & SNAPShOT
Francesca
rancesca Imbrogno 1T0
CONTRibUTiNG eDiTORS
J.P. Antonacci 0T7
Darren Dias O.P.
Claire-Helene Heese-Boutin
Christine Henry 9T6
Sheniz Janmohamed 0T6
William Kilbourn
Melanie Lovering
Andy Lubinsky 7T9
Philip Marchand 6T9
Catherine Mulroney 8T2
Justin Rodrigues
22
26
28
30
eDiTORiAl ASSiSTANCe &
PhOTOGRAPhY
Eva Wong & Sheila Eaton
DiSTRibUTiON
Office of Alumni Affairs
and Development
ART DiReCTiON & DeSiGN
Fresh Art & Design Inc.
COV R
COVe
Marshall McLuhan
Photo: University of Toronto Archives
and Robert Lansdale Photography
03
30
Campus Notes
Memories of Marshall McLuhan
By Philip Marchand 6T9
Making a difference in the quality of life
in South American mining communities
By Melanie Lovering
An undergrad’s website job looks behind what poverty masks:
a vigorous, creative people in its age-old struggle for survival
By Claire-Helene Heese-Boutin
The historic campus has graced the silver screen many times over
By J.P. Antonacci 0T7
In Print
Honours
Bulletin Board
Columns
ThE VIEW fROM ELMSLEy pLAcE
New
ew Ideas Benefit from Tradition
04
ALUMNI ASSOcIATION
Publication Mail Agreement
No: 40068944
08
GIVING
Please send comments, corrections
and enquiries to the Office of
Alumni Affairs and Development
University of St. Michael’s College
81 St. Mary Street,
Toronto, ON M5S 1J4
Telephone: 416-926-7281
Fax: 416-926-2339
Email: [email protected]
15
fAcULTy Of ThEOLOGy
25
SNApShOT
34
ThE VIEW fROM SMcSU
35
ART ON cAMpUS
Alumni, friends and students of
St. Michael’s College receive this
magazine free of charge.
Visit our website at
www.utoronto.ca/stmikes
2 Spring 2011 St. Michael’s
Early Insights
Seed
eed Money
Good
ood to Know
At the Kelly Café with Francesco Guardiani
At
F
From
Chicago to New York
Thunder of Monsoons
The view from elmsley place
New Ideas Benefit from Tradition
T
his year marks 100 years since the birth of Professor
Marshall McLuhan. Although McLuhan had strong ties to
both St. Michael’s College and the University of Toronto,
St. Michael’s College was home to him for many years. It is not
surprising that he found a haven here.
But why would a man viewed by many as the father of modern
media theory choose to teach at a college often seen ensconced in the
traditional values of its founders? Why didn’t such a man choose London, New York or San Francisco to join the “flower power” movement
of the late 1960s? He was an
intellectual, a researcher, an
educated man whose vision
was ahead of his time, an
outsider and more than that,
a man with deep and unwavering Catholic faith.
Creative thought does
not happen in a vacuum. It
is nurtured by an accepting,
intellectually stimulating
environment that encourages discussion and allows
established, accepted theories to be challenged and reshaped. St.
Michael’s College was that life-giving environment for McLuhan.
He was definitely a star here at USMC. When the popular media
shifted its interest to other rising stars, he remained at USMC.
Simply put, he was part of the family.
Through McLuhan, St. Michael’s College was forever tied to a
revolution in media, culture and communication—the seeds of the
concept of a Global Village. Should this surprise us?
Why not start a revolution in an intellectual environment steeped
in tradition? The Gutenberg printing press was created in a similar
environment in the late 1400s and it irrevocably changed the known
world and led it to a resurgence of critical thinking. The free flow
of information provided by the Gutenberg press had a tremendous
impact on Western societies. Information disseminated by the press
changed the world and made it a freer and more innovative place.
And now we live in the age of Internet and social media, forms of
communication McLuhan envisioned in the 1950s and 60s. McLuhan’s impact on communication and media has been compared to
the work of Darwin and Freud for its universal significance. He
emphasized connectedness and built what he called “mosaic patterns” of meaning, which today include Twitter and Facebook with
their power to communicate, galvanize and mobilize.
McLuhan studied changes in perception created by electronic
media competing with print and machine processes, an old strategy
of fragmenting reality into informational categories. He stressed how
electronic processes decentralized information, bringing simultaneous
awareness to every point in a network. As a result, the perception
of reality becomes dependent upon the structure of information.
McLuhan’s Understanding
Media: The Extensions of
Man was originally published in 1964 and eventually translated into more
than 20 languages. This
work gave birth to his famous theory “The medium
is the message.”
Professor McLuhan
left the world, and St. Michael’s in particular, an enduring legacy. Therefore,
we should not be surprised that St. Michael’s Book and Media
Studies Program is now, in 2011, the fastest-growing undergraduate program at the University of Toronto. An interdisciplinary and
historical investigation of the role of printing, books and reading in
cultures past and present, it covers such topics as manuscript and
book production, Internet publishing, book illustrations, advertising, censorship and the ways in which readers use and enjoy books
(see also www.utoronto.ca/stmikes/bookmedia). The program takes
advantage of the extensive human and physical resources already
in place at the University of Toronto, including the Thomas Fisher
Rare Book Library, the Robertson Davies Library (Massey College)
and other shared resources.
We at St. Michael’s College are grateful for having known Professor McLuhan and we celebrate a legacy that continues to thrive in
a new millennium. For information on the McLuhan Anniversary,
please visit marshallmcluhan.com/more/ F
“Professor McLuhan
left the world,
and St. Michael’s
in particular, an
enduring legacy.”
Prof. Anne Anderson csj, President and Vice-Chancellor
St. Michael’s Spring 2011 3
Alumni Association
Early Insights
USMC career reception a hit with students and alumni alike
By Andy Lubinsky 7T9, President, USMC Alumni Association Board
Do
you remember when you were close to
finishing your undergraduate degree? Were you
sure of next steps, or did you find the situation
somewhat daunting? The USMC Alumni Association Board wanted
to help alleviate some of these concerns for current students, in particular those nearing graduation. That’s why, on February 9, 2011,
USMC hosted its inaugural Career Networking Reception.
Held in Charbonnel Lounge, the event provided a platform for
USMC students to interact with established alumni from a variety
of different careers. It offered students a wonderful opportunity to
develop necessary tools to start planning a successful career. Designed
by USMC AA Board members David Cramer 0T7 and Dennis Wagner 0T6, the event consisted of two round-table interactive sessions
followed by time for general networking.
Students welcomed the small group format, appreciating the
rare opportunity to speak with seasoned professionals in an informal setting. “I found the night both informative and entertaining,”
says Dan Seljak, editor-in-chief of The Mike. “I’m sure the insight
I gained from alumni will help me with my future career,” he adds,
“but I actually found that a lot of the information helps me right
now with my studies and extracurriculars. I hope to see more events
like this in the future.”
Participating Alumni and Friends
Ainsley Gilkinson 0T9 (SMCSU Vice President 2007/2008; former
residence don) works in public relations, Sony Music Canada
Claire Gumus, Assistant Director, MBA Recruitment &
Admissions, The Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto
Frank Marrocco 6T7, a Superior Court judge
Joe Mihevc 7T6, MA Theol ’79 USMC, PhD Theol ’88 USMC,
Toronto City Councillor for Ward 21, St. Paul’s West
Bernardine Nelligan 7T9, until her 2010 retirement, worked in
education, most recently as principal of St. Edward’s School
Mark Palma 9T9 (Engineering, former SMC resident), Manager of
Enterprise Solutions for OneConnect.
Anne Trafford 8T4, a registered nurse and Chief Information
Officer at St. Michael’s Hospital
Dave Trafford 8T3, Newstalk News Director and Toronto at Noon
host, 1010 Radio.
Originally scheduled for February 2, the event was moved to February 9 because of a severe snow storm warning. Amazingly, each member
of the original alumni lineup was able to reschedule. They enjoyed the
chance to share the wisdom of their experience. Ainsley Gilkinson 0T9,
a former vice-president of SMCSU and residence don, now works in
public relations at Sony Music Canada. “I really liked speaking oneon-one with the students,” she says. “A recent grad myself, I know what
it’s like to be in their shoes, so I was happy to help.”
Toronto Councillor Joe Mihevc 7T6 encouraged great discussion
at his politics table. “Coming back to SMC is like coming home,” he
says. Mihevc earned his BA, MA and PhD at St. Michael’s.
Each alum has offered to come back for future events because
they really enjoyed the experience. The Honourable Justice Frank
Marrocco 6T7, for example, held a table of students mesmerized
with stories about his career in a Bay Street law firm.
It proved to be a collegial and enriching event. “This career reception
has helped me tremendously,” says fourth-year student Sonam Khanna.
“It was truly amazing—what lovely people I got to meet!” The relaxed
setting was encouraging for students. “The Career Reception boosted
my confidence, gave me a better idea of what’s in store and guided
me towards future planning,” says second-year student Sylvio Scarcella. “There were awesome presenters—an overall great experience.”
The board is planning more activities that match both the needs of
the students and the wealth of experience of the alumni. F
If you wish to get involved, please contact the USMC Alumni Association
at [email protected].
Campus Notes
SMC Frosh Week
St. Michael’s College decided to put a
spooky twist on last fall’s Orientation
Week. The week’s Some Kind of Monster theme for all events provided great
opportunities to emphasize the difficulties and fears many first-year students
have upon their acceptance into one of
Canada’s largest, most renowned universities. Facing their ‘monsters’ head-on at
the hands of 180 volunteer leaders made
first-year students aware of the resources
available to make the most of their time
as undergrads at UofT and St. Mike’s.
Event highlights included an SMC
Carnival, bed races (where St. Mike’s
Faculty of Theology
1st Annual John Meagher
Public Lecture
between religion and recent scientific knowledge of our cosmos.
Last October 1, Professor Mary
Ellen Sheehan IHM spoke on
“Cosmic Consciousness and
Christian Commitment Linking
the Mysteries.” Some 50 guests
came to the lecture that probed
aspects of the lively debate
Arbor Honourees
On September 20, four of
St. Michael’s outstanding
volunteers joined the ranks of
UofT’s 2010 Arbor Awards.
Chairman and CEO of Bennett Jones, a leading Toronto
reclaimed the UofT colleges championship) and a fundraiser for Shinerama,
Canada’s largest student-run campaign
that raises funds and awareness for the
fight against Cystic Fibrosis. The week
was an exceptional display of community
spirit, welcoming the Frosh and integrating them into the SMC community.
business law firm, Hugh
MacKinnon 8T1 is currently
Chair of SMC’s Governing
Board. His many other governance positions total close to
30 years of service and included
Chairman of the Roman
Catholic Diocese of Calgary.
Julie McFerran has vol
unteered for seven years at
St. Michael’s College. She
started out at the Kelly Library, where her involvement
grew over the years to now
include being a member of the
Friends of the Kelly Library.
McFerran also helps with
Alumni Association events and
works for St. Mike’s Office of
Continuing Education. She is
Campus Notes
Vatican correspondent John Allen (L) and
SMC Assistant Professor Darren Dias O.P.
A Vaticanista’s Reflections
The annual Kelly Lecture was given last September 28 by
John L. Allen Jr., Vatican correspondent for the National
Catholic Reporter and a Vatican analyst for CNN and
National Public Radio. Allen is widely published, including
in the New York Times and the Boston Globe. In his lecture,
entitled “Covering the Vatican and the Church: A Vaticanista Reflects on Challenges Facing the Church Today,” he
spoke about the need for the Catholic media to focus on
the positive aspects of being a Catholic. Approximately 400
people came, leaving standing room only. The lecture was
held in partnership with Salt and Light Television, to be
aired on their channel.
also known around campus for
her warmth and kindness.
Marie Tosoni 4T3 supports
SMC in many ways and has attended College events regularly
since her graduation in 1943.
She is solely responsible for
keeping ties with the 4T3 class.
She has been class representative
for 67 continuous years.
For the past 30 years Lex
Byrd has organized minor
league football in North
York, coaching boys and girls,
many of whom come from
underprivileged homes. He
is known to have personally
covered some of the costs involved, to the point of helping
send some of the children on
scholarships to the United
States. He was head SMC
Intramural Football coach for
15 years, leading the College
to eight championships. Much
loved by all his former players,
he continues on as a referee
in the Boozer Brown alumni/
student touch football game.
Chicago: The Musical
Selling out
two of its
four performances, the
St. Michael’s
College
production of
the hit musical Chicago proved
a huge success. From December
2 to 4, talented SMC students
danced and sang their hearts
out in this sharp-edged satire set
in Roaring Twenties Chicago,
featuring a dazzling score and
staging inspired by Bob Fosse.
Director-choreographer Shakir
Haq further enhanced the
production with a live orchestra
and the slapstick humour of a
vaudevillian emcee.
Celtic Prose
The Celtic Studies Speakers
Series began October 12
with readings by five visiting Irish writers: Catherine
Dunne, Celia de Freine,
Lia Mills, Ivy Bannister and
Mary Rose Callaghan. The
event continued a week later
with Celtic Studies Artist-inResidence Kevin Barry reading
from and discussing his work.
Time Out behind
Bright New Doors
Director of Campus Ministry
Marilyn Elphick invented
“Stress Busters” to combat the
strain students feel in November
and March, when exams and
papers loom large and sleep
takes a back seat. Chaplaincy offers free hot chocolate, chocolate
chip cookies—and free hugs.
Last November, more than
120 students, staff and faculty
came for the treats. Also, no one
can miss the chaplaincy offices
anymore as the doors recently
received a fresh coat of paint in
deep blue with light blue accents,
the words “Campus Ministry”
rendered in brilliant yellow.
Family Huddles
St. Michael’s College Family Day and Boozer Brown
Football Game is a favourite
annual event at the College;
it took place last October 16
on a beautiful sunny fall day.
More than a dozen alumni
showed up to play the current
SMC generation’s flag football
team. It was a highly competitive game, where the alumni
came out on top, winning 5
touchdowns to 3, to successfully defend their title. Adding
to the festive mood of the
day, the game was followed
by lunch, where alumni and
students had the chance to
mingle and talk about their
respective days at the College.
T-Shirt Drive
SMCSU and the residence
council (SMRC) sold
smart black t-shirts with
a pink ribbon imprint
along the side saying
“St. Michael’s College” and
a Little Engine That Couldinspired slogan on the
front, reading “I pink I can,
I pink I can.” The shirts
sold out in no time, raising
$500 for the Canadian
Breast Cancer Foundation.
The doors now match the
banners, looking bright and
welcoming to all at SMC.
Varsity Blues
Achievement Awards
At the annual Varsity Blues
Achievement Awards
(formerly known as ‘Academic
Excellence’), the Faculty of
Physical Education and
Health recognizes outstanding
Varsity Blues student athletes.
St. Mike’s award recipients at
the November 29 ceremony at
the Isabel Bader Theatre were:
Jakub Husika, Varsity Blues
Football Award of Merit (Football); Samantha Poon, Henry
T. Vehovec Award (Swimming);
Stefan Srnic, Mike Fieldus
Spirit Award (Tennis), and
Tyler Turcotte, Blues Hockey
Spirit of ‘84 Award (Hockey).
Congratulations to them for
their great efforts and for representing the College so well.
the children of SMC alumni
(and their parents) gathered
in the Coop, where tables of
many crafts stood ready. While
waiting for the parade, the kids
made Christmas ornaments and
Thank you, Eva Wong
drew pictures galore while their
parents enjoyed refreshments
and talk. And yet again, Santa
made his special, advance appearance. The families then left
to watch the parade, returning
later for more hot chocolate
and cookies and to say their
goodbyes, until next time.
Repeat appearance
The Terracotta Warriors
of Chinese Emperor Qin
Shi Huang
Toronto’s annual Santa Claus
Parade took place on Sunday,
November 21. As is custom,
Last October 15, a personalized guided tour of The
Warrior Emperor and China’s
Another formidable success: Organized by the
Friends of the Kelly Library, the 8th Annual Book
Sale raised more than $25,000 to buy laptops for
student use. Check SMC website for Fall 2011 sale.
On 28 February 2011, Eva Wong retired from her position
of Alumni Affairs Associate for the University of
St. Michael’s College. For almost 23 years Eva Wong has
graced and blessed the staff and work of the Alumni Affairs/
Development offices, as well as the alumni, faculty and students.
Over her years she became to many the College’s voice
and spirit. We will sorely miss her selfless dedication, helpfulness, intelligence and kindness. With deep appreciation and
gratitude for the contribution she has made to St. Michael’s,
we extend to her our best wishes and ask for God’s continued
blessings upon her and her family. —Fr.Robert Madden CSB
Terracotta Army exhibition at
Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum marked another installment in the popular USMC
Alumni Tour & Talk series. In
this largest show of its kind on
display ever in North America,
rare and precious artifacts
never before seen outside the
People’s Republic were displayed, including several large,
imposing terracotta warriors
made in 210 B.C.
After the tour, the group
enjoyed an exclusive interactive
presentation on ancient China
by UofT East Asian Studies
professor Dr. Linda Rui Feng.
A special thanks goes to Andria
D. Minicucci for organizing
this exclusive event.
APPOINTMENTS
Drs. Coleen Shantz and
Michael Attridge were
granted tenure by the Collegium in September and
November 2010 respectively.
Shantz has an MA in Theology
and a PhD in Biblical Studies;
she joined the Faculty of
Theology in 2003 and is
Associate Professor in New
Testament Studies. Attridge
has a BA in Communication
Studies, an MA in Theology, and completed his PhD
in Theology in 2003. He
joined the USMC Faculty of
Theology in 2004 as Assistant
Professor, serving his first five
years as Director of Basic
Degree Programs. F
Giving
Seed Money
When OSAP turns down a working student,
St. Mike’s steps up to the plate
By Christine Henry 9T6
E
ach time you check that small box beside the line
“Student Aid” on the St. Michael’s College pledge form, you
are helping fulfill a young person’s dreams. Can one gift,
however small, make that much difference? You bet it can. Because
of you, more than 600 lives were changed this year at St. Michael’s,
and our students could not be more grateful.
Meet Daniel Henry McNicoll. He will graduate this June with
an undergraduate degree in politics and English. Getting to this
point, however, has not been easy. The only child of a single, selfsupporting mother, Daniel is no stranger to the harsh financial
realities of life.
After graduating from Toronto’s Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School, Daniel knew that paying for university would prove
difficult. While his mother, Ann Marie Giallonardo 7T2, had ensured
Daniel had an academic plan for university in place, three major crises
that happened in quick succession changed everything financially: in
2000, his mother became unable to work due to illness and has since
relied on disability support; also, his extended family in Timmins was
irreparably hurt by two events. Daniel and his mother were left with
no safety net. Indeed, Daniel faced issues that created a challenging
situation, but this is one determined young man.
Since starting university in 2006, Daniel has worked full-time to
support himself both economically and academically as well as to
assist his mother financially, all the while carrying a full academic
load throughout the year. Despite his best efforts, the money coming
in was stretched to the limit. Also, a gruelling work schedule left
little time for Daniel to take part in SMC’s extra-curricular activities
and volunteer opportunities.
Where are the government programs for students like him? Daniel found himself in a quandary: because of his personal income,
OSAP declined funding for him, giving no consideration to the
complex economic issues he was juggling in his life. Confused about
this OSAP decision, Daniel’s mother suggested he speak to someone
in SMC’s Registrar’s Office. “I was raised by my mother to never
give up on my dreams,” Daniel says, “as she also was.”
Daniel’s appeal to SMC for support changed his university career. His meeting with Pauline Maskwa in the Registrar’s Office was
a revelation in what can be done if one does not give up. “I was
treated in a compassionate and understanding manner,” says Daniel.
“Ms. Maskwa not only listened to me, but she truly heard my story
and genuinely wanted to help. It was reassuring and I felt validated.”
He ultimately received scholarships for the 2009 and 2010 academic
years. Daniel continues his full-time work and academic schedule, and
is able to keep his studies in the Honours range. “The support helped
enormously to relieve the intense pressure I was under,” he says.
As a third-generation SMC student, Daniel always had a special
connection with St. Michael’s College. In addition to his mother,
his grandfather, Henry Giallonardo, was also an SMC/UofT graduate. “My mother always speaks so fondly of the years she spent at
St. Michael’s, and now I’ve come to see why she feels that way,” he
comments. His mother’s dearest friends remain the ones she made
at St. Michael’s: Daniel’s godparents, in particular, Don and the late
Terry Pagnutti, both 7T2 alumni, as well as another constant supporter of Daniel’s endeavours, Adriana Albanese 7T2.
Inspired by family friend and mentor, the late Chief Justice Gregory Evans, Daniel’s career goal is to become a lawyer. “The judge was
a huge influence on my life,” says Daniel. “He spoke so eloquently
about the law. The judge, my beloved grandfather and my incredible
mother are my role models.” Daniel has applied to law school and
hopes to be accepted later this year. “I would not be able to pursue
my dreams if I had not received such compassionate, ongoing support
from SMC,” he says. “I’m humbled by the generosity.”
“I’ll always be connected to St. Mike’s,” Daniel continues. “It is a
part of my family now, both on and off campus. The profound impact of the College’s kindness, both financially and emotionally, will
continue on—a truly positive ripple effect as I go forward in my life
and I reach for my goals. We are here on Earth to make life easier for
each other, and this funding program epitomizes that.” Determined
to give back, Daniel has made a commitment to become a regular
SMC donor once he is settled in his career. F
Daniel McNicoll’s is not a unique situation. Many students work close
to full-time hours to support themselves through school. SMC steps in
when students have exhausted all other resources. The College offers
financial support in the form of scholarships (awarded to a registered
student who meets particular academic and, in some cases, financial
need criteria) and bursaries (awarded to a registered student who meets
financial need criteria.)
“My mother always speaks
so fondly of the years she
spent at St. Michael’s,
and now I’ve come to see
why she feels that way.”
Never
a
Dull
Moment
cover
story
Memories of
Marshall McLuhan,
the man about campus
By Philip Marchand 6T9
Marshall
McLuhan.
I
do know that at one point during my first year as an
undergraduate at St. Michael’s College in 1965 I became aware
of a sensation close to awe emanating from the classroom of a
professor in the College’s English department. This man’s classes, I
heard, had something to do with “television.”
I didn’t know it at the time but that professor, Marshall McLuhan, was about to become internationally famous. He had already published two books, The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of
Typographic Man (1962), and Understanding Media: The Extensions
of Man (1964), which challenged the way we regard media of communication and technology in general. Shortly to come was a massive wave of publicity rarely granted an academic—an article in
Harper’s magazine entitled “Marshall McLuhan: Canada’s Intellectual Comet,” a profile in New York magazine by Tom Wolfe, a cover
story in Newsweek, an endless series of newspaper and television
interviews. By the time I took a course from him in “Modern Poetry
University of Toronto Archives and Robert Lansdale Photography
I cannot remember
exactly when
I first heard of
and Drama,” in 1968, he was a bona fide celebrity.
In the 70s there was a reaction against the McLuhan phenomenon, so much so that by the time of his death in 1980 his reputation
had faded. He seemed destined to be written off as a fad. Thirty years
later, however, on the occasion of this year’s centenary of his birth
in Edmonton, he is increasingly recognized as a seminal thinker.
The world of Facebook and twittering has dramatically vindicated
McLuhan’s vision of the global village, of electronic technology as
an extension of the human nervous system.
There are still former students and teachers at the College with
vivid memories of McLuhan—not as a celebrity, not as a solitary
genius, but as an amiable, warm-hearted, unpretentious, if occasionally eccentric presence on campus. “McLuhan often smoked
a cigar throughout class,” recalls theologian Dan Donovan 5T8,
who took a course in pre-Elizabethan poetry from McLuhan in
the late 50s. As was his habit, McLuhan in this course talked
about everything but pre-Elizabethan poetry. Donovan recalls
him mentioning the Ford Edsel, a recently manufactured automobile distinguished by its “horse collar” or toilet seat grille. Some
said the grille made the Edsel look like an Oldsmobile sucking a
lemon. McLuhan had another perspective, however. “For him,”
Donovan comments, “the grille symbolized the shift from print
to oral culture.”
This sort of observation had by then become characteristic of
McLuhan, one of the founders of the academic discipline now
known as “cultural criticism.” His first book, The Mechanical Bride:
Folklore of Industrial Man, published in 1951, was steeped in this
kind of criticism. However scintillating McLuhan’s remarks in this
vein were, however, they alarmed many of his students. At that
time, marks depended almost entirely on how students fared in
their final exams—the function of professors in the lecture hall was
to provide their listeners with abundant notes on the subject, for
regurgitation on exams.
McLuhan was aware that many of his students were upset by
his freewheeling observations, and to make amends he gave an annual lecture on how to write exams. “If you were confronted with
a question about an author you had not read, he outlined a certain
calculus you followed in constructing an answer that seemed to be
somewhat related to the question,” Fr. Claude Arnold, a future St.
Michael’s English professor, recalls. “It was an answer that was not
so specific that it could be pinned down as right or wrong.” The key
was playing with the exam questions—breaking them down into
sub-questions, inventing contrary opinions and then comparing
them and contrasting them, and so on.
As for his own marking of exams and papers, McLuhan did
his best to minimize effort. “He felt the best way to correct an essay
would be to do it when the student was present,” Fr. Robert Madden 5T8 recalls. This was not a bad idea, and also had the virtue for
McLuhan of calling upon his forte of extemporaneous, one-sided
dialogue. Sometimes he startled colleagues with how far he could
push this idea. Arnold recalls a meeting of the university’s combined
English departments in which McLuhan, who had become very
interested in the early 60s phenomenon of speed reading, explained
his marking techniques. Students would be given appointments
to discuss their essay. “When there was a knock on his door, he
would pick up the student’s paper and speed read it and come to
his judgment as to its merit,” Arnold remembers. “By the time the
student had entered his office and sat down, McLuhan had done
his work. The response of his colleagues was somewhat quizzical.
They didn’t seem to know whether he was serious or whether he
was pulling their legs.”
Some of McLuhan’s confreres at St. Michael’s College were occasionally annoyed at McLuhan’s tendency to dominate conversations in the faculty dining room. The great scholar of mediaeval
philosophy, Etienne Gilson, a mind steeped in the lucidity of French
thought, did not always appreciate McLuhan’s high powered conversation, filled with wide-ranging leaps of creative intuition. A story
circulates that Gilson once inquired after Mrs. McLuhan’s health.
She’s fine, McLuhan said, except for signs of deafness. Deafness,
Gilson pointedly replied, can sometimes be a blessing.
It was not surprising that some of McLuhan’s colleagues were
suspicious of his dazzling talk. David Cobb, a writer for a weekend
“Anybody who can take a look
out at the universe, who can see
what is going on out there, and
not believe in God is fast asleep”
entertainment supplement called Showcase, part of the now defunct
Toronto Telegram, recalls phoning McLuhan for comments on various subjects, such as a recent song by Frank Sinatra, in the late 60s.
“McLuhan was at that time such a marvellous touch for instant
quotations which would prop up any callow journalist’s piece about
almost anything,” Cobb remembers. “McLuhan was my go-to guy
on three, four, maybe more occasions. I would call him and Marshall
would come up instantly with an incredible, quick and snappy comment that was way beyond my powers to deconstruct.”
Eventually McLuhan had to ask Cobb to stop phoning him.
“I said, ‘I’m really sorry, Professor McLuhan, is it possible I have
misquoted you at any time?’ He said, ‘No, that’s the trouble. You
didn’t misquote me at all. The trouble is that I have to defend my
position Monday morning in the common room. You give me these
things to comment on, I do my best but I don’t think them through
and my colleagues have thought it through on the weekend and
they say, ‘Surely you don’t mean this?’”
McLuhan’s Path to St. Michael’s
Like many young professors, McLuhan taught at various
universities before finding his lifelong academic niche—in his
case, St. Michael’s College.
The Edmonton-born, Winnipeg-raised McLuhan received a BA
and MA in English literature from the University of Manitoba. He then
spent two years, 1934 to 1936, at Cambridge University, where he
eventually acquired his doctorate. After a year as a teaching assistant
at the University of Wisconsin, McLuhan took a job as an instructor
in the English Department of St. Louis
University, a Jesuit institution, in 1937.
In 1944 he became head of the English
Department at Basilian-run Assumption
College in Windsor, Ontario.
McLuhan’s final move was to St.
Michael’s College in 1946. It was a logical
move in more ways than one. McLuhan
had close ties with Fr. Gerald Phelan,
president of the Pontifical Institute of
Medieval Studies at St. Michael’s College.
Phelan knew McLuhan’s mother, had
been an admirer of the young McLuhan’s work, and facilitated McLuhan’s
conversion to Catholicism in 1937. The
priest who was directly responsible for
McLuhan’s hiring at St. Michael’s College,
however, was Father Louis Bondy, then
superior of the Basilians at the College
and its de facto president. “He was perceptive enough to know that, as he put
it, McLuhan was too big for Windsor,” his
sister Pauline Bondy, a friend of the McLuhan family, once remarked.
This was an era in which the various colleges of the University—
St. Michael’s, Victoria, Trinity, University College—had their own English
departments and made their own appointments. McLuhan was well
known as an advocate of the “New Criticism” he had picked up at
Cambridge, a method of analyzing literature not completely appreciated
by all members of the other English departments.
Centenary Activities
There are numerous celebrations and McLuhan-themed activities planned
for this year. The focal point of many of these activities is the McLuhan
100 Project, mounted under the aegis of UofT’s McLuhan Program in
Culture & Technology, the City of Toronto’s Economic Development and
Culture Division, and the non-profit organization Mozilla.
For information, contact the McLuhan 100 website,
www.mcluhan100.ca.
Yet, for all his occasional glibness, McLuhan was always eager
to learn from his colleagues. Gino Matteo 5T9, a colleague in the
English Department who was developing expertise in film, remembers McLuhan calling him for help with a film projector. Upon
arrival, Matteo discovered that the projector was actually a video
recorder. For many teachers, that would have been the end of the
discussion but McLuhan, his curiosity aroused, asked Matteo about
the difference between celluloid and videotape. “I said, ‘Well, one is
basically chemical, having to do with light hitting on material, and
the other is basically electronic,’” Matteo remembers. “We got into
a great discussion about the physics of
differing ways of projecting image and
sound. It was exhilarating.”
Some made the mistake of thinking they could impress McLuhan with
self-consciously clever insights. St. Michael’s Executive Director Emeritus of
Alumni Affairs and Development Brian
O’Malley recalls a member of the audience asking McLuhan a long-winded
question after a McLuhan talk. McLuhan replied with one of his famous
one-liners. “As Zeus said to Narcissus,”
he commented, “‘Watch yourself.’”
Professor Frederick Flahiff 5T7, of
the former St. Michael’s College English
Department, recalls an undergraduate
seminar led by McLuhan in which a
participant—a young woman who
may not even have been a student—
presented a Halloween pumpkin and
asserted that this was the last vestige
of the mask in our society. After a momentary, uncomfortable silence, McLuhan continued with the class. “It was not that she was
intending to embarrass McLuhan, but that her gesture came out of
left field, and left field was not where McLuhan was at that point,”
Flahiff comments. “I think one of the assumptions made by many
people was that McLuhan was far out with regard to all things.
They assumed any far‑out gesture would be grist for McLuhan’s
mill. It was not at all.”
Such people were puzzled by many of McLuhan’s down to earth
routines, such as his daily attendance at noon Mass at St. Basil’s
Church. Yet, as Brian O’Malley comments, “He was a man of quite
incredible faith. Simple faith. He used to say, ‘Anybody who can
take a look out at the universe, who can see what is going on out
there, and not believe in God is fast asleep.’”
In many ways, McLuhan conceived his vocation as one of waking
up students. It was not an easy job. If he woke up one student per
year, he once observed, he was more than successful. Whether or
not he managed to wake me up, I hesitate to say—but I do know
his classes never failed to be, in Matteo’s word, exhilarating. F
fAcULTy Of ThEOLOGy
Good to Know
A recent Faculty of Theology survey reveals a high level of student and alumni satisfaction
By Darren Dias O.P.
C
hallenging, inspiring, and rewarding are the words most
frequently used by current Faculty of Theology students
to describe their experience at the University. While
alumni who graduated within the past 10 years often describe their
St. Michael’s education as solid, rigorous, scholarly, comprehensive,
formational and life-changing,
life-changing the term challenging appears at the
top of their list, too.
Study results also worth noting include that of today’s students,
only 17 per cent are members of religious communities or the clergy,
half of them are married, and St. Mike’s female student population
is significantly higher than at comparable institutions. Also, of the
students surveyed:
• 73% have held leadership positions in ecclesial and civic
organizations
• 57% are employed
• 82% are active in their worshipping community
• 50% are involved in social justice initiatives outside of St. Mike’s
Alumni feedback includes the following results:
• 85% would pursue theological studies all over again
• 92% are active in their worshipping community
• 95% felt their education prepared them for their current work
• 97% would encourage young people to pursue theological studies,
a religious vocation or ministry
• 60% were offered employment before graduation
Staying in touch
The survey also shows that 68 per cent of alumni would like to have
even better contact with the Faculty than already exists. In order to
achieve this, alumni are asked to please keep their contact information
up to date at www.alumni.utoronto.ca/addressupdate F
The Faculty of Theology survey took place under the direction of Faculty professor Darren Dias O.P. in preparation of the decennial visit
later this year from the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), an
organization of more than 250 schools in Canada and the U.S. that
conduct graduate-level degree programs to educate persons for the practice
of ministry and for teaching and research in the theological academy.
St. Michael’s has been an accredited member since 1972. For more
details, please visit www.utoronto.ca/stmikes/theology/ats/index.html
73%
57%
have held leadership
positions in ecclesial
and civic organizations
are employed
50%
82%
are involved in
social justice initiatives
outside of SMC
are active in their
worshipping community
92%
are active in their
worshipping community
85%
would pursue theological
studies all over again
95%
felt their education
prepared them for their
current work
97%
would encourage young
people to pursue theological studies, a religious
vocation or ministry
60%
were offered
employment before
graduation
Continuing Education’s course
in Corporate Social
Responsibility has helped
make a difference in the
quality of life in South
American mining communities
On
October 15, 2010, millions of viewers witnessed
the dramatic rescue of 33
miners as they were raised, one by one, from
Chile’s state-owned San José copper-gold
mine after a collapse sealed them 2,000 feet
underground for 72 long, dark days. Rarely a
week goes by without mention of yet another
mining disaster, but this story held the entire
world rapt. It created a new breed of heroes
out of a previously ordinary band of working
class men and focused attention on Chilean
President Sebastian Pinera and other leaders
who demonstrated the highest degree of political and social responsibility.
One thousand Canadian mining and exploration companies operate 5,000 projects in
100 countries around the world, representing
80 per cent of global operations, employing
more than 300,000 Canadians domestically
and thousands more abroad. Despite the efforts
of industry associations and the federal government to improve its track record, the Canadian
mining industry’s reputation has not always
been heroic. It’s an industry that has proven
problematic to supervise or even legislate, as
shown by the failure of the federal government’s Bill C-300 as recently as last fall.
Without clearly defined guidelines, even
“responsible” companies can find themselves
embroiled in environmental or human rights
situations that range from damaging to downright disastrous. It is not surprising, therefore,
that the past decade has seen increased attention paid to “Corporate Social Responsibility”
(CSR) as one way for companies to address
the needs of the communities in which they
operate and, at the same time, mitigate the
risks inherent in those operations.
The roots of CSR can be traced back to
the environmental and consumer protection movements of the 1960s. It was in the
A local resident receives care through
Guyana Goldfields Inc.’s medical outreach program
PHOTO COURTESy gUyANA
y
yANA
gOLDfIELD INC.
1990s, though, that business associations like
the Conference Board of Canada highlighted
the value of CSR to their own members by
publishing research and offering opportunities for professional development through
business networks like the Centre for Business
in the Community. In 1999, that centre’s director, George Khoury, responded on behalf of
the Conference Board to an invitation from
St. Michael’s to collaborate in the development of a certificate program in corporate
social responsibility through the College’s
Division of Continuing Education.
Continuing Education Director Mimi
Marrocco 6T9 describes the program’s evolution from conceptual to concrete: “George
understood CSR very well and he knew that an
academic institution with a history, whether it
was religious or social, would link with CSR in
the way that he and his team at the Conference
Board understood it. It was really a coming
together of values. Our history allowed us to
actually do something in this area because we
knew something about ethics and we knew
something about the environment.”
“Well before climate change attained its
current high profile,” Marrocco points out,
“the Elliott Allen Institute for Ecology and
Theology at the University of St. Michael’s
College was addressing greenhouse gas emissions, carbon credits and other complex issues
relating to ethics and sustainability.”
By 2003, St. Michael’s had piloted and
25 years of continuing education at usmc
1986
1990
2005
Six courses are attended by
Senate approves the Con-
The Master of Arts in
160 students (by 2011,
tinuing Education Council
Catholic Leadership is
60 courses will enroll as
and its mandate to provide
developed by the faculty
many as 1,800 students)
certification and other ac-
of Theology
creditation programs
1988
1991–1999
2005
first ethics conference is held,
Senate approves Certificate
Bill Pr13 receives royal assent
entitled “Ethical Issues in
in y
youth Ministry; Catholic
in the legislature of Ontario,
Home Health Care” (other
Health Care Leadership;
adding the Division of Con-
conferences on the media
Catholic Health; Education
tinuing Education to the
and genetics would follow)
Leadership, and Social Services
description of the University
of St. Michael’s College.
1989
2000–2002
June 2011
first partnership is struck with
Senate approves Certificates
St. Michael’s will host
the TToronto Catholic District
in Catechesis of the good
the national Continuing
School Board, expanding
Shepherd and in Corporate
Education Conference
later to five more Boards
Social Responsibility
“Sense and Sustainability”
launched a CSR Certificate Program, to be
offered in three modules totalling 11 days over
the course of a year. The program is the first
and only one of its kind in Canada, offering
business leaders an opportunity to meet in
groups of 20 or fewer to discuss research and
reflect on topics like ethics, environmental
sustainability, employee engagement, community investment and human rights. Since
its inception, the program has welcomed
dozens of community investment managers,
human resources officers, vice presidents of
sustainability and CSR, along with a variety
of leaders from large and small businesses as
well as from the public and the not-for-profit
sector. Participants come from across Canada
and the United States, and in recent years,
from as far away as Mexico, South America,
Africa and Europe.
When the class of 2009–2010 first met
Diego Vega Castro-Sayan, a lawyer from Lima,
Peru, fellow students were impressed by his approach to the “personal coat of arms” exercise
used to break the ice with group members. His
family crest included a hand-drawn symbol of
honour—a trait that he explained was inherent in all Peruvians.
Peru is home to the highest percentage of
the mining operations in South America and
ironically, many of them are Canadian-owned
or operated. “Peru is a country with a long
mining tradition, generating great economic
expansion. But conflicts have emerged. Socially responsible relationships between the
communities, the government and the mining
companies are indispensable, ”explains CastroSayan, a professor at Lima’s Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicada. As coordinator of its
Graduate Diploma in Law, Mining and Development, he understands firsthand the desire
of the Canadian mining industry to take bold
action to improve its reputation and enhance
its relationship with host countries.
Aware of the need for strategies to
strengthen his country’s ability to protect its
natural resources, yet prosper in its economic
partnerships, his perspective is realistic: “In
CSR, companies align their behaviour and
principles with the expectations of stakeholders. But CSR is voluntary work for companies, not an obligation. Civil society must
recognize the values of CSR, but also stand
together in subjects like environment, free
market, democracy and anti-corruption.”
His participation in the St. Mike’s CSR
certificate course had a defined purpose—to
help him introduce CSR into his own law
school’s syllabus. Castro-Sayan had researched
his educational options throughout North
America, but settled on St. Mike’s because of
its comprehensive content, workable format
PHOTO COURTESy DIEgO VEgA CASTRO-SAy
AyAN
Ay
yAN
Diego Vega castroSayan, a lawyer from
Lima, peru, poses in
front of the Mantaro
River in Junin, central
peru, where illegal
mining affects natural
waterways
a Beacon for Values-Based
liberal arts learning
Continuing Education at St. Michael’s was officially launched on April 1, 1986, with $10,000 in
seed funding from alumni and the Catholic Education foundation of Ontario. Its mandate: to
serve learners interested in values-based liberal arts.
The unit has grown steadily, attracting a loyal following under its director, Dr. Mimi Marrocco
6T9, who has served terms as the President of the Ontario Council for University Lifelong Learning
and the Canadian Association of University Continuing Education.
“Universities struggle to maintain outreach programs,” says Marrocco, who believes that the
College’s commitment to faith and values-based adult education has helped it thrive and survive
for 25 years. “It is sustained by its community—alumni, friends and lifelong learners for whom the
classes have become a second home. We’re still small, but we build on that. Our students are loyal
and they appreciate the broad range of opportunities for general interest courses.”
“Continuing Education at St. Mike’s,” she adds, “is our form of corporate social responsibility or community outreach. We’ve made a commitment to share our tradition of liberal arts,
values-based programming. The community appreciates that and responds by participating. In
some instances our CE students become donors, or the other way around.”
and the Canadian connection.
After the second module in the spring
2010, Castro-Sayan returned to Peru and
immediately put his learning into action, developing and delivering 12 hours of relevant
seminars to his legal peers in Arequipa, the
country’s second-largest city, in southern Peru.
This is an area rich with mineral deposits, he
explains, where many of Peru’s reported social
conflicts related to mining originate. “Lawyers
here have an increasingly central role in promoting the benefits of CSR and ethical leadership in companies,” he adds. He endorses the
philosophy that good CSR practices must be
driven by host countries, but is concerned,
because “some communities believe that companies must solve all their problems. That is
a big mistake, happening in some of Peru’s
rural areas where mining companies are sometimes replacing the government.” He hopes his
program to reach out to local lawmakers will
prevent this trend from taking hold, adding
“Eventually, I would like to expand my work
in other relevant places like Cajamarca, in the
Peruvian Andes, the site of South America’s
largest gold mine, called Yanacocha.”
Ayaana Jean-Baptiste, a current international
student enrolled in the program, is looking to
the CSR Certificate to hone her skills as the
onsite human resources and relations manager
for Guyana Goldfields Inc., a Toronto-based
mineral exploration company.
Canadian born, she was raised and is now
working full time in her mother’s native Guy
Guyana. Jean-Baptiste admits that the country’s
multi-ethnic population of Amerindians,
South Asians, Afro-Guyanese, Chinese and
Portuguese makes for a complex cultural mosaic. The government employs a variety of
approaches to enhance the country’s social
Making a World of Difference
While representatives of the G-8 and the G-20 were meeting in Huntsville and in Toronto
last June to discuss the global economy and aid to the developing world, representatives from
St. Michael’s Continuing Education were meeting in Antwerp. They were invited by the World
Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF) to be part of an inaugural workshop
for international industry executives. Supported by leading industry members and in co-operation
with the United Nations, the workshop was hosted by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre.
CE Director Mimi Marrocco and CSR Certificate instructor Ron Knowles spent five days
in Antwerp. They and their fellow workshop participants, too, were discussing the global
economy and aid to the developing world. But their talk included diamonds, and gold, and
silver, and precious gemstones as they introduced executives from the diamond and gemstone industries to the principles and practices of CSR. More importantly, their talk included
the ways in which the mining and gemstone industries could become active participants
in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (see below). Other presenters included a team from the United Nations NGO section and a consulting firm headed by
Michael Hopkins, a professor at the Middlesex University Business School in London, England,
and the University of Geneva.
Says Marrocco, “Meeting with these executives in Antwerp reminded us that the first step in
any CSR training is to make a credible business case for CSR. These folks were at the point where
that’s what they were looking for—they needed it, they wanted it and at the end of three days,
there was an ‘aha’ moment, where the business case emerged for them.”
Millennium Development Goals
Adopted by 189 nations at the UN Millennium Summit in September, 2000, the Millennium
Declaration set out a response to the world’s main development challenges. Framed as eight
specific targets, the Millennium Development Goals listed below, are to be achieved by 2015..
♦
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
♦
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
♦
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
♦
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
♦
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
♦
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
♦
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
♦
Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development
Caption TK Caption TK
infrastructure, and co-operative partnerships
with corporate partners are part of the dynamic. Even so, it can be challenging because,
she adds, “international workers or ‘expats’ are
viewed with concern as locals fear another major environmental disaster” like the Canadianbased Omai Gold Mines’ cyanide spill in 1995
into the Essequibo, Guyana’s main river.
Despite the challenges, Jean-Baptiste believes that negative attitudes, fear and misunderstandings can be avoided. It helps, she
says that “People speak highly of our company,
and when the CEO is in town, he listens.” Unlike so many of her university friends, JeanBaptiste is committed to staying in her adopted
country and making a difference. “Guyana
Goldfields is here for a minimum 17 years,
and we can make some change. I have lots of
ideas. I can sketch things out, but I need an
actual plan that can be followed so that even if
I’m not here anymore, it can continue.”
The St. Mike’s CSR certificate program
promotes ethics-based business solutions
that many Canadians would be proud to export to the rest of the world. For Diego Vega
Castro-Sayan and Ayaana Jean-Baptiste, a
comprehensive first-world educational experience helps them cultivate domestic solutions to the complicated CSR challenges
of the developing world. It’s no futuristic
stretch to imagine that their experiences with
the program will set the stage for a virtual
classroom with a global reach.
Fellow students gathered around the laptop set up last September at St. Mike’s to accommodate Castro-Sayan’s participation from
Peru for the final module of the program. His
face, familiar to all, beamed onto the screen
via Skype, delivering the news of his successful
outreach project to his lawmaking colleagues
in Arequipa. Classmates huddled en masse
in front of the laptop camera, congratulating
him for making history for St. Mike’s, his own
University and for Peru. True to his coat of
arms, he had done an honourable thing by
inspiring and educating others in a country
that simply wants the best for its citizens. It
was a proud moment. F
Melanie Lovering received her SMC/CSR
Certificate in 2010.
FIRST FLIGHT
Telling Haiti’s Story
An SMC undergrad’s website job helps look behind what poverty masks:
a vigorous, creative people in its age-old struggle for survival
By Claire-Helene Heese-Boutin
On
The author at the Hart
House Haiti exhibition
Photo courtesy Claire-Helene Heese-Boutin
January 12, 2010, more than 250,000 people
died when a massive earthquake hit Haiti. A year
later, thousands more continue to suffer from the
delayed delivery of aid and die from the spread of cholera.
In March 2010, two of my peers who knew of my passion for
Haiti told me about a job listing on the UofT careers website. PTV
Productions, a Toronto-based TV and digital media house specializing
in storytelling and documentaries, was hiring a researcher/writer for
their insidedisaster.com website. As a complement to their documentary Inside Disaster Haiti on the Red Cross response to the earthquake,
the site offers an in-depth look at Haiti and humanitarianism. My job
was to bring context to the formation of Haiti’s disastrous situation
by adding a historic timeline and a list of current aid resources. So I
told Haiti’s story as I know it, as it was told to me by my mother, my
community, my professors, books, articles, conferences, videos and
online resources. I sought to reveal the chronic injustices and resulting
vulnerability of the Americas’ second republic, for my studies have
taught me that we cannot begin to understand the reasons for that
vulnerability without knowing about the genocide of the indigenous
Taino Native Americans, the enslavement of thousands of Africans
and their successful struggle for freedom in the Haitian Revolution.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus established the first small European settlement on this island in the Caribbean Sea. With the
abolition of slavery through the Haitian Revolution, which started in
1791 with a revolt by the slaves and ended with the 1804 declaration
of independence, Haiti became the second country after the U.S. to
decolonize from Europe and the first non-European republic. Due
to the vehement racism of the period, this new black republic was
seen as a threat to the colonial systems, which depended upon slave
labour and massive environmental exploitation. The great powers of
the 19th century did everything they could to erode the foundations
of this fledgling nation. Arbitrarily declared debts, usurious interest
rates and a constant threat of re-colonization and re-enslavement
crippled Haiti before it ever got on its feet.
But Haitians have resisted through arms and thought. Despite
their poverty and lack of technology, they are a nation of prolific
artists, writers, artisans, entrepreneurs and farmers, and also a deeply
spiritual people. That is the story I know, that behind what we only
see as the western hemisphere’s poorest country hides a brave nation
that persists in its ongoing struggle for freedom.
At the time I took the job, the task ahead of me seemed daunting: how to express an epic tragedy in digestible web ‘bite’ prose that
would work as a resource; also, how to deal with the fact that my job
existed due to human tragedy. A mentor helped me with the latter
by telling me that the very act of questioning my motives was what
made it okay to be a paid humanitarian, that it is through reflection
and doubt that we continually assess and ensure the altruism of our
motives in service to humanitarian causes. The answer to my other problem came from the excellent team
with which I worked. Led by an amazing, interactive director, UofT
alumna Katie McKenna, our team of a copy editor, researchers and
new media developers helped turn my own research and writing into
an engaging website timeline. It was even more exciting to be part
of a project that resulted in an award-winning multi-platform educational resource.
Today, I am working with UofT’s “Hart House and Students
in Solidarity with Haiti.” With a screening of Inside Disaster Haiti,
an exhibition on Haiti’s story and a panel discussion on accountability in reconstruction efforts, we want to expand the work
of insidedisaster.com even further and bring Haiti’s story to the
UofT community. F
Movies
at
St. Mike’s
The College’s historic campus has graced
the silver screen many times over
By J.P. Antonacci 0T7
Illustration © John Webster / i2iart.com
It’s
a quiet November afternoon at St.
Michael’s College. Sunlight streams into the
Sam Sorbara auditorium as a sandy-haired professor lectures a roomful of eager students about the battles of the
American Revolution.
Suddenly, an explosion outside the building knocks out the lights,
rattling the windowpanes and sending pebbles and clumps of earth
flying against the glass. The professor and students race to the window, gasping in horror at the sight of an alien spaceship touching
down on the lawn.
But wait – that professor looks so familiar. Isn’t he the guy from ER?
Actor Noah Wyle, also known as the popular TV show’s Dr.
Carter, was indeed on campus last fall, filming Falling Skies, an
upcoming Steven Spielberg-produced science fiction TV series set
to debut this June on TNT. Falling Skies stars Wyle as a college
professor who uses his knowledge of military history to lead the
resistance against a hostile alien force.
There was, of course, no actual explosion outside Sorbara. The
special effects team will add that in later. Instead, explained first-year
SMC student and Falling Skies extra George Goettler, the director
yelled “explosion!” and the students gaped at an empty Orientation
Field. The crew filmed three takes to capture the reaction from different angles, and then called it a day, after spending 11 hours setting
up and filming what will likely fill about 15 seconds of screen time.
“It just really shows the deliberate and meticulous nature of filming,”
said Goettler, who joined 13 other Elmsley Hall residents as a paid
extra for the day because he was curious about how a professional
film shoot worked. He learned that show business involves a lot of
waiting. “I think the tediousness surprised me the most. As an extra,
you sit around and drink coffee, and wait to (perform),” he said,
adding that since the extras were playing students, it wasn’t too hard
to get into character.
Goettler and his SMC cast mates weren’t the first to find themselves
in front of a movie camera at the College. The historic houses have
provided the backdrop for many films, including the 2004 modern
fairy tale The Prince and Me. Julia Stiles plays Paige Morgan, a pre-med
student at a Wisconsin college who falls for “Eddie,” who is actually
Prince Edvard of Denmark (Luke Mably), studying in America incognito. “There was a scene by the Elmsley tunnel where they brought
in this rain-making machine, and it was pretty awesome!” remembers
Rod McEwan 9T5, referring to the scene when Paige flees paparazzi
harassing the couple in (Victoria’s E.J. Pratt) library and angrily confronts Eddie under the tunnel about hiding his royal identity, before
she storms off into the rainy night.
Anna Convertini 7T9 was crossing Queen’s Park when she was
asked to be an extra in The War Between the Tates (1977), starring
Elizabeth Ashley as a woman who discovers her husband, a college
professor played by Richard Crenna,
is having an affair with one of his students. “I said yes, and they asked if I
had some friends who might want to
(participate) as well,” Convertini says. “I
went back to Loretto and gathered some
of my friends. Not the most notorious
film,” she laughs, though Rolling Stones
front man Mick Jagger had a cameo as
an idealistic youth worker.
The 1990 comedy The Freshman saw
a young Matthew Broderick film a scene
in the quad in which he frets about his
unusual job transporting endangered animals for Penelope Anne Miller’s powerful father, Marlon Brando, spoofing his
Godfather role. The two are supposedly
at Miller’s Catholic College in New York,
but the sharp-eyed viewer can spot the
More House sign in the background.
The two actors walk in front of the silver
St. Michael’s sculpture, while dozens of
students lounge on the grass, watched by
several nuns and priests. “Some of the
extras wore cassocks, and some Basilians
joked about putting on their cassocks and
lining up with them at the end of the
day to collect pay!” remembers St. Mike’s
Fr. Robert Madden.
College staff and students usually
don’t disturb the Hollywood stars who
ply their trade on campus. No one
bothered Robin Williams while he was
filming Good Will Hunting—a performance that earned him a Best
Supporting Actor Oscar—because no one could recognize him, thanks
to his full beard. Similar to the Falling Skies shoot, Williams’s classroom scene was shot at night, with large, crane-mounted spotlights
aimed at the fourth floor windows to make Carr Hall—doubling for
MIT—look bright as day.
Several College staff recall seeing Kelly McGillis— Tom Cruise’s love
interest in Top Gun— repeatedly run out of a supposedly burning Brennan Hall for a scene in The Third Twin (1997), a largely forgotten film
based on the novel by Ken Follett, starring Larry Hagman (best known
as J.R. in the long-running TV series Dallas) as a mad scientist who
plays at human cloning. Fr. Madden recognized McGillis as Harrison
Ford’s co-star in Witness. “One pleasant afternoon I noticed (McGillis)
sitting in a lawn chair in front of Windle House reading, maybe going
over the script. I introduced myself and congratulated and thanked her
for her performance in Witness,” Fr. Madden recalls. “She was gracious
and pleased and asked a few questions about the College. I did not
ask her for her autograph!” Stephen Fish, SMC’s Director of Facilities
and Services, remembers chatting with
Hagman about his star turn in the 1960s
sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.
Most productions are filmed and
wrapped without leaving a trace. But
The Prodigious Hickey, a TV movie based
on Owen Johnson’s Lawrenceville Stories, transformed the look of the campus
from the mid-1980s to the early 1900s.
SMC played Lawrenceville School, the
Princeton prep school attended by Zach
Galligan’s William “Hickey” Hicks. Stephen Baldwin and Canadian comic Dave
Foley had supporting roles. “It was a very
large production,” said Kevin Dancy 8T9,
Associate Dean of Students. “They covered
Elmsley Place completely in peat moss so it
would look like a dirt road—which it did
at a distance—lined it with period automobiles, and put wood grain mactac on
the glass and aluminum doors of Brennan
Hall so they would look like oak. It was
quite effective.”
One extra got some surprising wardrobe advice from an SMC expert, Dancy
recalled: “I remember speaking with the
extra dressed as a nun, who said, ‘We
were standing around waiting for the
shot when an older woman came up
to me and said, ‘You’re wearing that all
wrong, dear! Here, let me help.’ It turns
out that the woman was herself a nun
who remembered her fellow sisters wearing the same habit, but the wardrobe people had mixed up the details
and some of it was out of order or upside down. The extra was astonished that there should be experts in period liturgical dress walking
around St. Mike’s who could just pop up and help out for free.”
According to the Internet Movie Database and City of Toronto
records, popular Canadian TV series Being Erica and Degrassi: The
Next Generation were recently filmed at the College, and several commercials were set in the dorm rooms.
Fame on the silver screen may be fleeting, but there are other perks
to hosting these productions. Thanks to the Falling Skies shoot, the
walls, doors, and radiators in Sam Sorbara got a new paint job. F
“The extra was astonished
that there should be experts
in period liturgical dress
walking around St. Mike’s
who could just pop up and
help out for free.”
Snapshot
A Cup of Joe…
…with Francesco Guardiani
PHOTO: CHRISTINE HENRY
A
core requirement in St. Mi
chael’s Books and Media Studies
program, the course entitled “Mass
Media in Culture and Society” continues to
attract large numbers of students, at times
more than 300 undergrads. Professor Francesco Guardiani from UofT’s Italian Department has taught the class since the program’s
inception in 2004.
St. Michael’s: Your course SMC219Y has
always been extremely popular. What do you
think draws students to it?
Francesco Guardiani: I don’t think it’s me
but the subject, which is cross–disciplinary,
so you have to work to make it interesting.
I have an approach that caters to the students’ needs. Marshall McLuhan said:
“A good teacher saves you time.” I truly
believe that. McLuhan also said that in
the year 2000, the teacher will be a “specialized generalist.” To be too much of a specialist can be dangerous.
SM: What brought you to the University of Toronto’s Italian Department?
FG: Northrop Frye is who drew me here. I earned a doctorate in
comparative literature in Italy; Frye was the topic of my thesis.
Then I came here and he was my teacher. I joined UofT in 1978
and never left.
SM: What keeps you coming back to teach year after year?
FG: When I first got my job here, I was asked if I wanted to retire
early (so as to determine how much of my pay I would contribute
annually to my retirement fund.) I said then I was going to retire at
the earliest age possible. That age passed seven
years ago. Now I feel as if I will never retire.
Apart from teaching, I produce one scholarly
work a year and that keeps me happy. Also, I
have been a visiting professor at the University
of Sao Paolo in Brazil.
SM: Where else have you taught abroad?
FG: Every year, I volunteer at a high school
in Macerata, Italy. I lecture on a subject I gave
the students the year before. For example,
each student is assigned to transcribe a few
pages of an old manuscript so they learn the
abbreviations, characters and grammar of the
time. Essentially, though, they are learning
about Baroque culture. During the school
year, their regular teacher sends me their
work, and I lecture on it when I go back to
see them.
SM: And when you’re not teaching, what do
you like to do?
FG: I run every day. Well, at least I try. I average 50 to 60 kilometers a week, and 100 km during marathon training. I’ve run seven
marathons. If you run, you have license to eat, and I love food. I
also play the guitar. On Sunday afternoons, I play for so many hours
I stop counting, maybe five or six. I play until my fingers bleed. I
have developed real calluses.
SM: Finally, how do you take your coffee?
FG: Black. This was a discovery from a friend. He said that you suffer a bit, but it’s all coffee. I don’t suffer at all any more. I will have
espresso, but only after a meal. F
IN PRINT
Moreness Versus
Chicken Talk
Lamport and McLuhan at City Hall
By William Kilbourn
AN
exCerpt
exC
Cerpt froM
fro the author’s
1970 essaY in The
Toronto Book, An Anthology of Writings Past
and Present, William Kilbourn ed., Toronto 1976.
At issue at the time, the widening of St. Joseph Street.
“A moral victory! A moral victory! We lost!” cried Pogo triumphantly the day after that U.S. presidential election when Adlai
Stevenson went down for the last time.
What St. Michael’s College lost last week in Toronto City Council
was its attempt to stop the city from widening the street that cuts
through the heart of its peaceful retreat from the traffic roar of Queen’s
Park Crescent and Bay Street.
Council decided to reject the compromise proposed by
the college—the reconstruction of the present 24-foot width in
return for an extra traffic lane to be gained by the abolition of onstreet parking.
Instead, with much self-congratulation upon its own spirit of
compromise, Council agreed to widen St. Joseph Street to 28 feet
instead of the original 30 feet proposed by the Works Commissioner,
who, as he pointed out himself, had magnanimously rejected his
own staff’s request for 44 feet and the tree removal that were really
needed for smooth traffic flow.
And yet, Pogo was right—this time, anyway. The moral victory lay in the process itself, and in the political education it produced, rather than the end result. The message was not that Council
generously surrendered two feet of roadway for grass, but that a lot
of people got involved in city politics. And the initiates did not then
drop out. They stuck with it. …
… One side benefit of the St. Joseph St. affair was the delightfully
surreal episode of a debate in Public Works Committee between
Allan Lamport and Marshall McLuhan—both of the at the top of
their form—a marvelous non-meeting of minds. Mr. McLuhan talked
against the cult of ‘moreness,’ while Alderman Lamport, in the name of
progress, led several of his famous dead horses to water.
Mr. Lamport is an ornament and oracle of City Hall for many
reasons—one in that he is some sort of cousin to Dublin’s Leopold
Bloom and that his use of language can resemble Finnegans Wake on
occasion. He has a delightful way of unconsciously coining new words
with double meanings (e.g. mis-cheevious) or inventing names to suit
his view of character (e.g. “Alderman Newell” or Alderman “Fuel” for
Alderman Sewell). Mr. McLuhan and Mr. Lamport have one patron
in common—James Joyce.
Here are some more of Mr. McLuhan’s remarks, along with
those of aldermen and other deputation members, to the Public
Works Committee:
Mr. McLuhan: Moreness is not conducive to sanity or dialogue. The
university is a place of dialogue, encounter, awareness. The present
program of moreness may make the next dialogue impossible. There
is disadvantage in dialogue with a large truck. I cannot converse with a
“Moreness is not
conducive to sanity or
dialogue. The university
is a place of dialogue,
encounter, awareness.
The present program of
moreness may make the
next dialogue impossible.”
jackhammer. Even economists see that the cult of moreness is finished.
The GNP is no longer the test for health. By the time economists can
see something, you may be past the point of no return. They are the last
to see anything. They are drunk with figures. Moreness is the alcoholic’s
dream of a cure. The cure is at the bottom of the next bottle.
Alderman Lamport: Yes, the subject is the campus and what you
are doing to it. The subject is moreness. You want moreness.
Alderman Bruce: Who does McLuhan represent? Himself?
Voice from deputation: Us—St. Michael’s College.
Alderman June Marks: May I ask our commissioner what ways
there are to improve pedestrian safety if we widen the street?
Mr. McLuhan (sotto voce): A tunnel of love.
Mrs. Marks to the deputation: Are you aware that the contract
is already let?
Voice from deputation: Yes.
Mrs. Marks to the president of St. Michael’s College: Did you
consult your ward alderman [i.e. Alderman Marks]?
The President of St. Michael’s, Father Kelly: I felt it was enough to
consult the Public Works Department.
Mrs. Marks: To encourage dialogue on something is excellent but
this is only sociological talk. Solitude is nice but you go to cottages
for that. Traffic congestion, not better flow, will hurt solitude.
Mr. Lamport: The widening will do a lot of good in the area and
I’m surprised at the furor. Father Kelly’s been most fair, and we have
to rely on the more dignified type in the community like yourself,
Father, to be objective. But it would only be something created by
pressure if we don’t widen the street.
Alderman William Archer: You got Sunday sports by pressure,
Lampy.
Mr. Lamport: That wasn’t done by small minds. The city cannot
progress if every little satisfactory improvement is due for a fight
by a local group. You can’t stop making automobiles. They create
employment. The city’s become great by people who have strong
minds. Let’s not talk chicken talk.
Mr. McLuhan: Every bureaucracy in the world is breaking down,
including yours and the university’s, through speed-up—the factor
for breakdown is the efficiency of speed. Anything that speeds up
an environment around another environment destroys the environment it surrounds.
Altogether, there were about twenty hours of this, at seven meetings
of Council and committees. For parts of it at least, I regret there
isn’t a City Hall Hansard. … F
Excerpt published with permission by Elizabeth Kilbourn.
Every year, the City of Toronto organizes The Toronto Heritage Awards.
The “William Kilbourn Memorial Lecture” is held in conjunction with
the Awards presentation. It was introduced in 1996 to honour William
Kilbourn’s legacy and his commitment to Toronto as a viable, liveable city
that honours its past and plans for its future.
Honours
A Call for New Patterns of Ministry
A 2010 MDiv graduant’s reflections at Convocation
By Catherine Mulroney 8T2
Photo: Kevin Dancy
W
hen I decided to return to St. Mike’s to do
graduate work, I soon became used to fielding the
same questions from puzzled friends and colleagues:
What did I, as a Catholic lay woman, envision doing with a degree
in theology? Where did I think it would get me?
As Dr. Elizabeth Johnson’s address to the Faculty of Theology’s fall
convocation demonstrated, however, there is not only a place, but
also a need, for the diverse collection of theology students—men and
women, ordained and lay—who study alongside each other today.
Few could argue with the theologian’s asserting that, as graduates, we
were being launched into turbulent times, an era fraught with war,
poverty, ecological crises and a host of other enormous challenges.
While these may be the issues that grab headlines, however, there
are also opportunities to do good in the world, chances, she stressed,
that colour “desperate situations with hope.” Theological studies help
both to identify and to respond to those moments.
Johnson observed that any kind of post-secondary work is a
luxury, with graduate studies even more so. A particular privilege
is the chance to focus on theology, a discipline St. Anselm labelled
“faith seeking understanding.” Theological work, Johnson said, allows students to dig to the core of faith, a place to encounter the
infinite mystery of divine love, which, she noted, calls us to respond
to God and neighbour without distinction.
That experience and insight brings with it a responsibility to
share our gifts with others, she stressed. Her breakdown of the
demographics of the graduating class indicates this will happen in
a range of ways and places.
Twenty-five years ago, for example, fully 80 per cent of St.
Michael’s Master of Divinity graduates were candidates for ordination. At the most recent convocation, 90 per cent of MDiv recipients
were lay people, and most were women. (When I first graduated
from St. Mike’s in 1982, the very notion of a woman theologian
“At the most recent
convocation, 90 per cent
of MDiv recipients
were lay people, and
most were women.”
would still have seemed an oxymoron to many. As Johnson noted,
times change.)
Those numbers reflect the changing reality in the Church today.
An increasingly broader range of people is being called to serve
in increasingly creative and innovative ways. My graduating class
gathered in St. Basil’s Church included those from such diverse fields
as education, law and journalism; it was a class where retirees sat
next to those just starting out in life, those in religious life beside
classmates married with children.
Some will serve in active ministry, while others will offer their
services in more informal parish or volunteer work. Still others will
take their newfound knowledge to the workplace, the ballot box
or the bridge club, acutely aware of the need for a just and loving
society, armed with skills and tools gained through their studies to
help make a difference.
The call to respond now goes out to lay and ordained together—
men and women—to create collaborative patterns of ministry. As
Johnson observed, “You are the future” used to be a platitude tossed
at graduating classes. It’s a phrase that carries particular resonance,
however, for current theology graduates.
Smiling as I watched my classmates receive their degrees and diplomas, I felt confident the Church is in good and caring hands. F
Top: Fellow USMC Theology and Continuing Education
graduands celebrate at the November 6 Convocation
Left: On a sunny November 10 afternoon, Dean of
Students Duane Rendle 9T0 leads some 150 SMC grads
to St. Basil’s for the celebratory Convocation Mass
Bulletin Board
BULLETIN BOARD publishes pertinent information about recent developments
in the lives of St. Michael’s alumni and alumnae. Thank you for the
contributions you have made. Please keep the “news bits” coming; the
effectiveness of BULLETIN BOARD depends on YOU.
By Father Robert Madden, CSB
[email protected]
Apologies to Stefano Picone
and Health, and his late father, Jim
0T4, Chartered Accountant, for
Carson, were featured in the fall
a mistake in his web site in our
2010 issue of the Faculty’s maga-
last issue; it should be: myCAsite.
zine, Pursuit, for their support
com. Stefano was named the 2010
of the Faculty. St. Michael’s has
recipient of The Anthony Lacavera
also benefited from their support
Entrepreneurship Award, presented
over the years. Paul and his wife,
by Forza Giovani, an Italian-Canadi-
Dawn, live in London, ON.
an Youth Organization based in the
Greater Toronto Area.
Rose Naunheimer Colautti 7T5
retired after 32 years of teaching.
Rick Belliveau 6T5, although
She was honoured at a special
retired from his diplomatic work
festive reception and dinner, and
in the Canadian Dept. of Foreign
presented with a travel gift for
Affairs, has not been idle. In
her and her husband, Paul. He
2006, he was called back for
and their three sons, Matthew,
Rosemary Burns Ganley 5T8 and her husband, John, live in
some temporary duty as Chargé
Jesse and Benjamin, joined in
Peterborough, ON. For six years they lived on CIDA contracts
d’affaires in Tunis, from where he
the celebrations.
in Jamaica and Tanzania. They returned to Peterborough to
was later dispatched to head up
found, 30 years ago, an international development NGO called
a rescue team being assembled
Marie Comiskey 9T3 and Jeffrey
“Jamaican Self Help,” which still flourishes today. From 2001 to
in Cyprus to evacuate Canadians
Meyer, Medicine 9T3, travelled
2006, she helped Ted Schmidt 6T1 edit Catholic New Times.
out of Lebanon during the crisis
to Korea in spring 2010 to adopt
Rosemary wrote in October 2010, “With some energy left and
with Israel. Rick continues to live in
their second child, Jackson Comis-
seven grandchildren living far away, I decided to jump into local
Ottawa, where he serves on some
key Taehoon Meyer, a younger
politics. I am running for municipal council in Peterborough,
volunteer boards, among which
brother for daughter Emily, 8.
October 25. Shades of SMC Student government!” Rosemary
are Ottawa Heritage and the
Jeff recently became the first
later reported, “I earned 1700 votes and the winner got 2400.
Catholic Family Services Ottawa.
psychiatrist to receive the Royal
I was interviewed on CBC Ontario Morning as ‘an interesting
College Medal Award in Medicine
loser’! I have had a wonderful time with this campaign and
Paul Carson 6T7, retired Execu-
in the award’s 60-year history for
hope it inspires other women to run.”
tive Assistant to the Dean of the
his discoveries that explain the
UofT Faculty of Physical Education
monoamine theory of depression.
Marie began doctorate of Law
University. He recently published
President, Institute for Advanced
for Ethics in Leadership in Calgary,
studies at the University of Michi-
a translation, complete with criti-
Catholic Studies and Alton Brooks,
AB, was recruited to join the
gan Law School as a U.S.-Canadi-
cal notes and a study, of Hegel’s
Professor of Religion, University
faculty of Mount Royal University
an Fulbright Scholar; she is now a
Greater Logic (Cambridge), and an
of Southern California, is a 2011
of Calgary. This term, he teaches
visiting fellow at UofT’s Centre of
edited trilingual volume entitled
recipient of The Association of
a course on the separation of
Criminology as she continues work
Karl Leonhard Reinhold and the
Catholic Colleges and Universities’
church and state. Justin continues
on her doctorate.
Enlightenment (Springer Verlag).
Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh CSC
to pursue his interest in music and
He is currently working on a
Award, presented for outstanding
directs the Il Sono vocal ensemble
Tony Comper 6T6, retired Chair-
sequel to his 2005 book on the
contributions and extended service
in Calgary.
man and CEO of the Bank of
concept of “human vocation”
to Catholic higher education. The
Montreal, and his wife, Elizabeth,
in the late Enlightenment. He
award citation notes, “In his cur-
Michael Kremer 8T0 is a profes-
were named Members of the
reports that, apart from
rent position, he fosters the deep-
sor in the Philosophy Dept. of the
Order of Canada 1 January 2011.
academia, he enjoys a rich family
ening and broadening of Catholic
University of Chicago. Michael has
The honour recognizes their
life, travelling extensively with
intellectual life in an ecumenical
3 daughters: Lucia, a student in
philanthropic work, of which
his wife, Sheila, and keeping
and inter-faith context.” In his ca-
education at Benedictine College,
St. Michael’s is a beneficiary.
track of the progress of their
reer in education, Fr. Heft has held
Atchison, Kansas; Teresa, in first
four children.
several administrative positions.
year at Loyola University, Chicago;
Karen Cuggy-Murphy 9T1
received the Master of Science De-
Don Healy 6T8 marked his 65th birthday
gree in Childhood Education from
by reaching the summit of Mt. Everest. The
Daemen College, Buffalo, NY, 22
achievement was also proof of his success-
May 2010. Karen is an Occasional
ful recovery and rehabilitation after surgery
Teacher for the Halton Catholic
for a broken hip, received while bicycling a
District School Board. She, her
few years ago. After his feat, relatives and
husband, John, and their son,
other friends sponsored his venture with
D’Arcy, live in Oakville, ON.
donations to the support of the Hospital
and Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled
Robert Desmond 7T5 lives in
Children in Nepal. Needless to say, his wife,
Seattle, WA, is a registered nurse;
30 years and for the First Nations
Clinic for 12 years.
George Fowler 7T5 and his wife,
Cola, continue to live in Washing-
Joyce Kury Healy (Cl ’70), son Brian and
Photo COURTESY Don Healy
he has worked with children for
daughter Mary welcomed his triumphant,
safe return to their home in Manhattan.
Joyce had accompanied Don on the initial
leg of the expedition.
ton State. Recently George’s translation of Chinese novelist Lin Zhe’s
Catherine Grisé 5T9 has just pub-
Bridget Ganey Hitchcock 9T3
(pen name of Zangh Yonghong)
lished her latest book, Jean de La
and her husband, Randy, continue
Young High School, Chicago.
novel, Waipod Gucheng, was
Fontaine: Tromperies et illusions.
to reside in Alaska. They now live
Michael’s wife, Angela Gugliotta,
published by AmazonCrossing, Las
Retired from UofT’s French Dept.
in the second house they built and
a lecturer in Environmental Studies
Vegas, NV. George is a freelance
since 2001, she lives in France for
recently welcomed their second
at the University of Chicago, died
translator of Chinese, Indonesian,
several months each winter with
daughter, Lola, a baby sister for
recently after a lengthy illness.
Malay and Tagalog. He and Cola
her husband, Cameron Tolton Vic
Connor, 4. Bridget continues her
have two sons, Hilary and George.
5T8, and continues to do research
work as a physiotherapist.
Anne Doyle McClure 6T8 and
her husband, Dave, continue
on 17-century French literature.
Giorgio di Giovanni 5T9 contin-
Roswitha, in 11th grade in Whiney
Justin Jalea 0T7, having com-
to live in San Diego, CA. She
ues teaching and doing research in
Fr. James L. Heft SM, MA
pleted his Intern Fellowship with
and Dave welcomed their first
the Dept. of Philosophy at McGill
Theol.’71, DST ‘77 SMC,
the Sheldon Chumir Foundation
grandchild, Elinore, daughter of
Bulletin Board
son Marc and his wife, who live
Global Evolutionary Shift” at
man”) Course. Susan planned,
Douglas Moggach 7T0 is a
in Seattle. Daughter Shannon re-
Rice University, Houston, TX.
organized and hosted the very
professor in the School of Political
successful, well-attended gather-
Studies at the University of Ottawa,
ing in St. Michael’s Charbonnel
and holds the University Chair in
cently became a partner in her law
firm; she and her husband live in
Patricia Kelly McGee 6T8
Philadelphia, PA. Youngest daugh-
welcomed grandson McGee
Lounge. Susan reports that son
Political Thought. He has recently
ter, Kari, and her husband live in
Madore, 8lb, 7oz, son of her
Adam 0T2 and Nicole Mascar-
published Hegelianismo, Republi-
San Diego and are expecting their
daughter Tara.
enhas 0T1 married 8 August ’09
canismo, e Modernidade (ed. and
and presented her and Kurt with
trans. Roberto Hofmeister Pich),
first child. Anne is retired,
but keeps busy with volunteer
Metzler News: Susan Adam
their first grandchild, Paul Nicholas
Edição PUCRS (Catholic University,
work, reading, some travel,
Metzler 7T4 continues in her
Metzler, on 12 July ’10. Daughter
Rio Grande do Sul), Brazil, 2010. In
“and (she writes) have taken up
practice of law with a firm in
Erin 9T8 and Geoff Cobham
March 2011, Northwestern Univer-
golf (again).”
Toronto; she and her husband,
9T9 were married 1 May ’10 with
sity Press, Evanston, IL, will publish
Kurt Metzler, live in North York.
Justice Robert Bigelow 7T3 of-
his edited Politics, Religion, and Art:
John McGee 5T0, STB Theol ’55
On 5 September ’10, Susan once
ficiating. Keeping it all in the SMC
Hegelian Debates. This summer, his
continues to lecture in continuing
again hosted her bi-annual mini
family, Geoff is the son of Robert
chapter, “Aesthetics and Politics,
education programs, most recently
reunion of some late ‘60s and
6T3 and Anne Kavanagh Cob-
1790–1890” will appear in Cam-
a course entitled “The Emerging
early ‘70s former students in the
ham 6T4 and brother of Vanessa
bridge History of Nineteenth-Cen-
World View: Understanding the
SMC “Western” (later “Fresh-
Cobham LeGallais 9T4.
tury Political Thought, Cambridge
University Press, eds. Gareth Stedman Jones and Gregory Claeys.
REST IN PEACE
MacDonald, Anne Elizabeth Matthews
4T5
Doug has recently been designated
Mah, Valiant
5T9
“Distinguished University Professor” by the University of Ottawa.
Adams, Julie I. Woods
6T1
Martin, Grace R. Lucarelli
7T3
Assalone, Josephine
8T1
Massel, Patricia A. Kelly
5T1
Attridge, C M M T Forde
5T1
McCabe, Mary Katherine Dawson
4T1
Tim 6T8 and Mary Agnes
Bajer-Farkavec, Irene Bajer
7T4
McEvenue, Marjorie S. Cherry
4T0
Schlueter O’Brien 6T8 were
Barzan, Anthony P.
7T6
McLarty, Mary McSloy 4T4
presented on 1 July ‘10
Blainey, William J.
4T7
McLister, M. Frances Ryan
5T5
with their first grandchild, Emery
Burns, John F.
5T8
McNamara, Vincent J.
4T4
Elizabeth O’Brien, 6lb 9oz, 19.5
Butkovich, Claire M.
4T5
Mogan, Murray A.
5T3
inches long, by son Colin. Mare and
Cassidy, Julie Landriau
5T2
Morrisey, Ernest C.
4T8
Tim reported, “Mother and father
Cullen, Rev. Ronald J. CSB
3T8
O’Halloran, Rev. Robert T. P. CSB
5T5
are doing well. Grandparents…are a
Dalla Rosa, Sergio M. E.
7T0
O’Neill, Yvonne Anne Bray
5T7
little more goofy than usual.”
Defilippis, Michelina Macine
8T7
Osborne, Joann F.
5T2
Della Porta, Joanne
6T9
Patzwald, Paul
9T8
Edward O’Connor 7T5 has
Embler, Edith Marie Smith
6T1
Phillips, T. A. M. McDonough
4T9
been working on a textbook
Gerry, Ronald A.
7T3
Quinlan, Patricia Ann
7T5
co-published with a Native group
Grant, Donald N. J.
8T3
Renahan, Lydia
7T9
from the Six Nations Reserve.
Gunning, Marilyn C. C. Monahan
5T5
Shipton, James F.
6T3
Upon completion of the work, he
Harber, Sister Helen
4T8
Stobie, Margaret Ann Marie
7T3
and his wife, Karen, plan a week
Hogan, James D.
5T8
Sullivan, Sister Lenore Dorcas IBVM
6T0
bicycling through Provence, in
Kane, Thomas H. J.
5T3
Turnbull, Robert M.
5T4
France. He hopes to return to fic-
Kelly, William M.
4T2
Walker, Allan R. P.
7T1
tion writing upon their return. He
Kostuk, Roy M.
5T6
Walker, Franklin
4T9
and Karen live in East York, in the
Law, Rev. Ed
5T1
Welt, Marjorie K. C. Baechler
4T5
Greater Toronto Area.
Lindsay, Sr. Celima IBVM
5T8
Witzel, Mary S. A. Zuber
4T2
Lychy, John 5T8
Jason Ohler 7T7 has not been
idle since his retirement from the
University of Alaska, S.E, in Juneau.
and Patty is a researcher for the
member, sits on another board
as a teacher, teaching English as a
He recently published Digital Com-
UofT Law Faculty. Their daughter
and a town committee, and does
second language in Seoul.
munity, Digital Citizen, Corwin
Megan recently received her PhD
other volunteering. She also
Press, 2010. The book looks at the
in Public Health and Nutrition
looks forward to attending some
Gregor and Kate Figueiredo
rise, effect and possible dangers
from the University of North
UofT lectures given in Markham,
Wallace 0T2 welcomed their sec-
of digital communities, and “how
Carolina (Chapel Hill). She has
in her words, to “keep the grey
ond child, Robert Tierney Wallace,
education can help prepare students
accepted a position directing a
matter stimulated!” Fred serves
7lbs, 19 Dec. ’10, a baby brother
for a world that will need them to
research project in Burundi with
as a court services officer at the
for daughter Ellie (Eleanor Ann), 2.
use technology effectively, creatively
the International Food Policy
Newmarket Court House. Their
Kate describes Robbie as “an early
and wisely.” For further informa-
Research Institute in conjunction
older son Andrew has taught in
Christmas present!”
tion: http://tinyurl.com/25b4h4i.
with Catholic Relief Services. Patty
Guatemala and Seoul, Korea,
Jason also maintains a wiki about
and Dick have two other children,
served as an educational assistant
Christina Wong 0T3 recently
digital citizenship topics: http://tiny-
Alyson and Jeffrey.
in a class for autistic children in a
received a Canada Council for the
local high school and is studying
Arts Grant; a theatre company
url.com2pb7nus. Jason and his wife
live in Arizona, and spend summers
Elaine Adam Stoneman 7T3
in the Queen’s University Educa-
had applied on her behalf. On
in Alaska.
and her husband, Fred Stone-
tion Faculty. Younger son Thom,
1 September’10, there was a
man, are retired and continue
after graduating from the Ryerson
dramatic reading of her recent
Dick 6T7 and Patty York Parker
to live in Newmarket, ON. Elaine
Theatre School and spending some
play, A Song for Tomorrow, at the
6T9 continue to live in Toronto,
remains active and involved in
time as a waiter and actor, is now
Ernest Balmer Studio in Toronto’s
where Dick has his law practice
community living as a board
also following in Elaine’s footsteps
Distillery District. F
Upcoming A lumni Events
The Perfect Pint
Wednesday, May 4, 6:00 pm
Bedford Academy Pub
36 Prince Arthur Ave., Toronto
Join us for the 3rd Annual
USMC Beer Event.
Meet old friends and make
new ones while sampling
classic Irish pub fare with a
pint of your favourite brew.
Stay tuned to the USMC website
for up-to-the minute details
10th Anniversary of the
Henri Nouwen Archives
Tuesday, April 26, 7:30 pm
Alumni Hall, Rm.100
“Henri Nouwen: A Spiritual
Master for Our Secular Age”
A public lecture by community
builder, lecturer and writer
Fr. Ron Rolheiser OMI.
In celebration of the 10th
anniversary of the Henri Nouwen
Archives and its partnership
with The Henri Nouwen Society
2011 Spring Reunion – May 27, 28 & 29
Honouring years ending in ‘1’ and ‘6’
Friday, May 27
11:00 am
Class of 6T1
50th Anniversary Mass
St. Michael’s College Chapel
(below St. Basil’s Church)
12:00 noon
Class of 6T1 50th
Anniversary Lunch
Charbonnel Lounge, Elmsley Hall
Saturday, May 28
1:00 pm
USMC Campus Walking Tour
Starts at John M. Kelly Library
2:00–3:30 pm
Lecture Celebrating the
Centenary of SMC Professor
Marshall McLuhan’s Birth
Charbonnel Lounge, Elmsley Hall
2:00 pm
The Donovan Art Collection Tour
led by Fr. Dan Donovan 5T8
6:30 pm
USMC Honoured Years’
Pre-Dinner Cocktail Reception
Odette Lounge, Brennan Hall
7:00 pm
St. Michael’s Alumni Association
Annual General Meeting
7:30 p.m.
USMC Honoured Years’ Dinner
Sam Sorbara Auditorium,
Brennan Hall
8:00 pm–midnight
USMC Alumni Spring
Reunion Reception
Sunday, May 29
11:30 am
USMC Alumni Spring
Reunion Mass
St. Michael’s College Chapel
(below St. Basil’s Church)
12:30 pm
USMC Alumni
Complimentary Brunch
Sam Sorbara Auditorium,
Brennan Hall
For more information on
events, please contact the
Alumni & Development Office.
Tel: 416-926-7260 or
toll free: 1-866-238-3339
Fax: 416-926-2339
Email: smc.alumniaffairs@
utoronto.ca
Website: www.utoronto.ca/
stmikes/alum-dev
the view from smcsu
From Chicago to New York
2010/11: a spectacular year on campus and beyond
By Justin Rodrigues, President, St. Michael’s College Student Union
A dazzling score and staging inspired by legendary choreographer Bob Fosse helped St. Mike’s
student performers to another musical triumph at UofT’s Hart House Theatre last December
S
MCSU continues to thrive with the support of St. Mike’s
students. In early December, SMCSU Arts sponsored a production of the popular Broadway hit Chicago. Following on
the heels of last year’s success of West Side Story, this year’s production
was another triumph. It was undeniably popular, drawing more than
2,000 people to Hart House Theatre over an exuberant weekend.
Two of the four performances sold out entirely!
New this year was SMCSU’s participation in the USMC Alumni
Association Board’s inaugural Career Networking Reception. On
February 9, seven notable alumni came back to campus to offer
advice to current students. It proved a great opportunity to pose
questions to professionals in such career areas as politics, law, education, marketing and general business, media and public relations,
health care and graduate school—a great chance for students to
get a head start on life after school in the work world.
The Mike has launched an exciting new website that includes
a TV feed. With its sleek, modern look, and its take on the news
of the day, the site makes it easy for students and alumni to keep
track of what is happening on campus. Catch the latest issue here:
http://readthemike.com. Exciting stuff!
Earlier in the school year, Student Clubs Day was a phenomenal
success, with former SMC resident and Wind Mobile CEO Tony
Lacavera playing host. Also, in recognition of the fact that the majority of St. Mike’s students commute to school (including yours truly!
auth.), SMCSU placed special emphasis this year on increasing the
profile of events that engage students who don’t live on campus.
For the record, “Free Food” is always a good draw!
Also, for the first time ever, SMCSU organized a Reading Week
trip to New York this year, to savour the Big Apple’s bright lights and
glamour. SMC travellers took in New York’s sights and sounds and
checked out such historic sites as the Empire State Building and the
Museum of Modern Art. The group of about 50 students shared some
luxurious dining and even took in a Broadway musical. Needless to say,
the trip made for some outstanding experiences, including developing
new friendships in addition to getting to know this incredible city,
creating a lot of unforgettable memories. F
Art on Campus
Thunder of Monsoons
By Sheniz Janmohamed 0T6
How can an umbrella shield us from this media monsoon?
We’re still wet, though we’ve shut off the digital monsoon.
He claims to channel the light and speech of thunderstorms.
But his lips dribble venom, coated with the dew of monsoons.
Her compass slips overboard, her boat swells with seawater.
Yet she continues to paddle into the rainy sheen of a monsoon.
On the next ark, prepare for bomb sniffer dogs and metal detectors.
What would Noah do if no dove arrived? Call for another monsoon?
In this room of mirrors and smoke, the ceiling is only a screen of stars.
When Israh greets with her salaam, listen for the thunder of monsoons.
A ‘Ghazal’ poem from Bleeding Light, Poems, TSAR Publications, Toronto 2010,
written while a student at St. Michael’s Loretto College. Sheniz Janmohamed
is a spoken-word artist and freelance writer, and the founder of Ignite Poets, an
initiative for young poets working together for peace.
Ghazal—a poetic form dating back to 7th-century Persia, consisting of couplets
and a refrain, in which, traditionally, each line contains the same meter or length.
In the last couplet, poets often refer to themselves
Israh—the pen name
Salaam—an Arabic greeting meaning ‘peace’
PHOTO COURTESY THE Donovan Collection
“In the Beginning” by Ontario artist Peter Hill; Lightjet on Dibond, 2010, 33” by 72.2”
Reproduced with the artist’s permission, it is part of St. Michael’s Donovan Collection
Make a Bequest
Legacy gifts
What a wonderful opportunity to say Thank you, St. Mike’s, for
being such a significant force in our lives, and for reaching out to
help young people striving to participate in the College’s mission
of post-secondary Catholic education in a changing world.
Please join us in ensuring that SMC is there for future generations through a bequest in your Will to St. Michael’s College.
Mickey 6T0 & Annette 6T3 Convey Spillane
For more information, call (416) 926-7286, 1 (866) 238-3339 or email [email protected]
Office of Alumni Affairs and Development
81 St. Mary Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1J4

Marshall McLuhan - University of St. Michael`s College

Transcription

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