FEBRUARY 02, 2009

IN THIS ISSUE

1. Mission Week keynote address will be simulcast

Tickets for Dr. Shirin Ebadi's Mission Week keynote address, "Human Rights and the Consequences of Faith," Thursday, Feb. 5, at 4 p.m. are no longer available. Individuals interested in tickets can put their name on a waiting list in Brooks Lounge, AMU. Ebadi's speech will be simulcast in AMU. No tickets are necessary to attend the simulcast.

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2. Mission Week book discussion and movie scheduled

Dr. Krista Ratcliffe, professor and chair of English, will lead a Mission Week student book discussion on the best-selling graphic novel Persepolis I at 9 p.m. today, Feb. 2, in AMU 163. According to Time magazine, "Persepolis is the story of an unforgettable childhood and coming of age in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution."

The Department of Theology will host a Mission Week showing of The Color of Paradise at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 3, in Cudahy 001. The story is about Mohammad, an 8-year-old blind boy who is a live-in student at a school for the blind in Tehran, contrasting Mohammad’s ability to observe the world around him with his inability to see.

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3. One-minute video examines impact of Jesuit education

What’s the importance of a Jesuit education in today’s world?

Check out Jesuit 2.0 — and then share a story about how Jesuit education has impacted your life.

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4. Ordinance requires sick leave accrual, reporting of leave for student employees

Milwaukee voters approved a referendum on Nov. 4, 2008, requiring the city to enact a sick leave ordinance. The ordinance, which is scheduled to take effect Feb. 10, 2009, requires employers in the City of Milwaukee to provide a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked — up to a maximum of 72 hours of sick leave in a calendar year.

While Milwaukee businesses are challenging the ordinance, the implementation date for the ordinance is fast-approaching. As one of Milwaukee’s largest private employers, Marquette University is subject to the ordinance and various offices within the university are preparing for the record-keeping changes that are required, including the accrual and recording of sick leave for student employees.

In accordance with the ordinance, student employees will accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, beginning Feb. 10. Thus, beginning on that date, student employees should notify their supervisor of any absence that can be considered sick leave under the ordinance. There is a 90-day wait period before new employees can use accrued sick leave.

The ordinance will be the subject of an “On the Issues With Mike Gousha” event Tuesday, Feb. 10, from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m., in Sensenbrenner 325. Amy Stear, Wisconsin director of 9to5 National Association of Working Women, and Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, will discuss pros and cons of the new law. Register online.

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5. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra performing on campus

The Diederich College of Communication, the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences and Gesu Church will present a free concert by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Lucas Richman on Tuesday, Feb. 10, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Gesu Church. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. The Marquette University Chorus will perform around 7 p.m.

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6. Dave Matthews Band saxophonist to perform with Jazz Ensemble

Jeff Coffin, saxophonist with the Dave Matthews Band, will perform with the Marquette Jazz Ensemble on Friday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. in the Varsity Theatre. Coffin has also performed with musician Béla Fleck. Coffin’s appearance is partially sponsored by the Yamaha Corporation and Cascio Interstate Music.

The Marquette Orchestra will also hold a concert, Sunday, Feb. 15, at 2 p.m., in the Varsity Theatre. The “Be My Valentine” theme will be carried out with My Funny Valentine, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony-Finale and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

The Marquette Symphonic Band will perform Sunday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m. in the Varsity Theatre. The concert, “Lord of the Rings,” will include music by Johan de Meij, Dmitri Shostakovich, Peter Mennin and Roger Nixon.

The performances are free and open to the public.

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7. Libraries launching Carl Van Vechten collection

Raynor Library’s Special Collection and Archives will launch "Carl Van Vechten’s African American Photographs and the Karl Priebe Legacy," Feb. 9, a new digital collection featuring more than 700 portraits made by author, critic and amateur photographer Carl Van Vechten. The Feb. 9 launch coincides with the 100th anniversary of the NAACP. Bruce Kellner, a Van Vechten scholar and author of his biography, will provide remarks at 7 p.m. in Raynor Library. The event is co-sponsored by the departments of English and history.

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8. Video artist Janet Biggs to give gallery talk at Haggerty Museum

Video artist Janet Biggs will present a gallery talk Thursday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. in connection with stop.look.listen: an exhibition of video works at the Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Museum of Art. The exhibition features two prevalent expressions in video, “feedback” and “immersion,” from 14 international artists through Feb. 22.

The museum is also hosting an exhibition of prints, Whatever is There is a Truth: Robert Rauschenberg’s Prints, by postwar American artist Robert Rauschenberg from Friday, Dec. 12, through Oct. 4, 2009. Rauschenberg was widely regarded as a principal bridge between Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s and pop art in the 1960s, working in a variety of disciplines and mediums including printmaking, painting, sculpture, photography, dance, technology and performance art.

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9. “Voices of Marquette” and resource guide provided for Mission Week

Marquette community members can enjoy the "Voices of Marquette" podcasts throughout Mission Week. This series of audio podcast interviews will be released daily during Mission Week, highlighting the lives, work and commitments of members of the Marquette community, including Janine Geske, distinguished professor of law; Dr. John Pauly, provost; Rev. Bryan Massingale, associate professor of theology; Dr. Irfan Omar, assistant professor of theology; and Terri Mitchell, women’s basketball coach.

Raynor Memorial Libraries are also offering an online resource guide to support reading and discussion of Mission Week topics — Dr. Shirin Ebadi, the human rights of women and children, Islamic and Iranian history, and acting on one's faith. The resource guide includes books, articles, DVDs, videos and Web sites.

Marquette's own Midnight Run meal program and the Center for Peacemaking can benefit from the Mission Week effort of individuals to sign up for GoodSearch, a search engine that donates 50 percent of its revenue to the charities and schools of the user's choice. When individuals sign up for GoodSearch, each Internet search will earn a small amount of money for their chosen cause. The money GoodSearch donates comes from its advertisers, so it costs users nothing to participate.

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10. Free dinner with Pan African Heritage celebration

The MUSG Diversity Commission will host the Pan African Heritage Celebration Opening Ceremony today, Feb. 2, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in AMU Ballrooms C and D. The free event will feature dinner and a performance by the Ko-Thi Dance Company.

Students planning to eat dinner should arrive at 6:30 p.m. The meal will be served on a first-come, first-served basis.

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11. Psychology, biology and chemistry departments holding colloquiums

The Department of Psychology will hold a colloquium Thursday, Feb. 5, at 3:30 p.m. in Cramer 104J. Dr. Doug Woods, associate professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will present "From Bench to Bedside: Behavior Therapy for Tic Disorders in Children."

Dr. Carol Williams, associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, will present a colloquium for the Department of Biological Sciences on Friday, Feb. 6, at 3:15 p.m. in Wehr Life Sciences 111. The title of her presentation is "Regulation of Members of the Ras and Rho Families of Small GTPases by SmgGds in Lung Cancer and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells."

A colloquium by the Department of Chemistry will be held Friday, Feb. 6, at 4:15 p.m. in Todd Wehr Chemistry 121. Dr. Jonathon Sessler, professor of chemistry at the University of Texas at Austin, will present "Pyrrole-Based Receptors for Potentially Hazardous Materials."

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12. MUSG to host election information sessions

MUSG will hold election informational meetings Wednesday, Feb. 4, and Thursday, Feb. 5, at 6 p.m. in AMU 133. Students will hear from current MUSG members and learn more about the leadership roles within the Marquette community.

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13. Study abroad information sessions scheduled

The Office of International Education and the College of Business Administration are holding program-specific information sessions for Marquette’s study abroad options Thursday, Feb. 5. A full schedule is available on the OIE Study Abroad Web site.

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14. Webinar to cover Abe Lincoln’s career and vision

The Law School will participate in a Webinar broadcast of Abraham Lincoln — “His Legal Career and His Vision for America,” from the Preston Bradley Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago. Students can attend for free and come and go throughout the day in Sensenbrenner 319, Friday, Feb. 6, from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. The complete schedule of talks is available online.

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15. Dueling pianists featured at Late Night Marquette

The Office of Student Development will host dueling pianists for Late Night Marquette from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday, Feb. 6. Other activities for the night will include Rockband on Wii.

For more information contact the Office of Student Development at 8-7205; join the Late Night Facebook group; join the e-list server by texting LN MU to 39649; or e-mail Jen Reid, student affairs communication director.

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16. Gesu Parish organizing young adult group

Gesu Parish will host a listening session at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3, for individuals 22 to 35 years old interested in forming a young adult group. The meeting will take place in the Ignatius Room of Gesu Parish Center, behind the church. Contact Mike Heimbach at 8-7101 for more information.

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17. A Mission Week daily reflection — Rev. Thomas Hughson, S.J.

Growing up Catholic, I absorbed a view of how faith has consequences. Faith, a gift, received God’s revelation centered in Christ that the Church taught a set of beliefs summed up in the Creed. These beliefs entail general ethical norms such as the Ten Commandments and particular value-judgments that invite or demand decisions. Decisions produce good actions such as observing the Third Commandment on keeping the Sabbath by going to church on Sunday. Faith leads to practice. Practice involves worship of God.

Years, life as a Jesuit, travel, knowing people of many backgrounds, languages and cultures, along with prayer and theological inquiry have led to development in that view. A primordial faith is a universal dimension of the human condition insofar as God loves what has been brought forth as creation, a love that extends to humanity as fallen. Somehow the never-distant Creator affects all people in a manner able to be experienced as simply awareness of our finitude (time, multiplicity, temptation) and as a depth in our humanity ever open to the absolute in light of which we perceive the finite and relative and out of which love arises.

The world’s religions, and local religions too, each draw upon and give concrete expression to this primordial faith in beliefs, practices and value-judgments of the most various sorts. A decisive point is what God is like, because that is the norm for all else. Christianity believes in Christ as the definitive, God-given manifestation of what God is like and as the one whose message is salvation. Heeding the Third Commandment to keep holy the Sabbath remains in force as a mandate to worship God through the Eucharist. I believe so I act in the mode of worship. Liturgy is among the most immediate consequences of Catholic belief. A second decisive point in any religion is what humanity is like, and how we are to treat one another, and on this Christianity has a mandate from Jesus to imitate divine, universal love. Many have come to see that this involves social justice.

A parallel consequence of believing in Christ and his message occurs in the form of attention to what the world’s religions have in common on how to treat human beings. For Christians, Matthew’s Gospel chapter 25 pictures Jesus laying down our connection with suffering humanity as the measure of the authenticity of our belief in him.

In all, I act in consequence of my belief by awakening to the universal, primordial faith somehow active in all religions and doubtless in those active for social justice apart from religion too. Christian belief leads to openness to the hand of God in other religions. I act by learning, seeking, seeing, forming relationships, choosing social justice and human rights.

~ Rev. Thomas Hughson, S.J.
associate professor of theology

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