2008 Woodie Awards
AC students spare a day to change the world
Kim Maleno
Issue date: 2/18/05 Section: News Stories
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We all see them - the homeless veterans on the corner of Salisbury Street and Park Avenue. Maybe we give them a few dollars or a sandwich, but many times we just drive right past them barely giving their life circumstances a second thought. The weekend of February 5th and 6th, a group of Assumption students did think about and discuss these kinds of social issues when they traveled to Oakhurst Retreat Center in Whitinsville for the Spare Change retreat.
Students Advocating Change (SAC) and Campus Ministry joined together to design this first time retreat dedicated to helping educate Assumption students on Catholic social teaching and the justice issues affecting the campus, the United States, and the world. The keynote speaker at the retreat, Sociology Professor Steven Farough, describes working for social justice as "a marathon, not a sprint," and it is certainly a path worth running for the long haul.
As Professor Farough has been advocating for social change for years, campus minister Stephanie McCaffrey also feels passionately about social justice.
"I've wanted to get some social justice program off the ground, and when SAC was organized last year, I was excited that there was a student-organized group that I could collaborate with on a social justice retreat," she said.
Since October, McCaffrey, along with Seniors Delfina Gallifoco and Kristen Lamoureux and Juniors Crissy Delaney, Kim Maleno, and Beth Sheehan, had been planning for the Spare Change retreat.
"In planning this retreat, we didn't want it to be just depressing statistics; not just knowledge but empowerment," said Sheehan. "Stephanie did a good job with picking out the food that we would eat as examples of how even the littlest choices like what brand of coffee you buy can make a real difference."
The retreat included a variety of eye-opening activities, talks on people's personal experiences working for social justice, group discussions and brainstorming sessions, and reflection time. Among those who shared their personal experiences were Farough and Theology Professor Kathleen Fisher.
Students Advocating Change (SAC) and Campus Ministry joined together to design this first time retreat dedicated to helping educate Assumption students on Catholic social teaching and the justice issues affecting the campus, the United States, and the world. The keynote speaker at the retreat, Sociology Professor Steven Farough, describes working for social justice as "a marathon, not a sprint," and it is certainly a path worth running for the long haul.
As Professor Farough has been advocating for social change for years, campus minister Stephanie McCaffrey also feels passionately about social justice.
"I've wanted to get some social justice program off the ground, and when SAC was organized last year, I was excited that there was a student-organized group that I could collaborate with on a social justice retreat," she said.
Since October, McCaffrey, along with Seniors Delfina Gallifoco and Kristen Lamoureux and Juniors Crissy Delaney, Kim Maleno, and Beth Sheehan, had been planning for the Spare Change retreat.
"In planning this retreat, we didn't want it to be just depressing statistics; not just knowledge but empowerment," said Sheehan. "Stephanie did a good job with picking out the food that we would eat as examples of how even the littlest choices like what brand of coffee you buy can make a real difference."
The retreat included a variety of eye-opening activities, talks on people's personal experiences working for social justice, group discussions and brainstorming sessions, and reflection time. Among those who shared their personal experiences were Farough and Theology Professor Kathleen Fisher.