By Nick Kurtz

ngkurtz@csbsju.edu

I still have my “I voted” sticker on. I woke up early to vote for my candidate at the end of an “epic campaign during one of the most tumultuous times in American history,” so says The New York Times. And while I realized just how historic this election was, a part of me felt relief that it was simply over. Or is it?

I have never been too interested in politics – mostly because this was the first election I could vote in, but the other reason was how negative, blaming and mean-spirited political commercials could be. Even if my candidate’s commercial is on TV, rather than strengthening my decision, these commercials make me inclined to vote for no one at all.

Whether Democrat or Republican, John McCain or Barack Obama, all candidates try to gain last-minute votes by ripping down their opponents and engaging in name calling previously confined to third-grade recess. Multi-million dollar commercials on national TV should not be reduced to messages that basically say, “Can you believe he did this?” or, in essence, “He smells funny.”

So when I dropped my ballot in the box this morning, I hoped all the squabbling would disappear. I was wrong.

I completely forgot about an even more bloodthirsty commercial battle that has no foreseeable end in sight – the Mac vs. PC war. Commercials like “Hi, I’m a Mac” or, “I’m a PC” have only escalated, and what began as a friendly competition has turned into the battle I thought ended on Nov. 4.

Just as you are either a supporter of John McCain or Barack Obama – sorry to Ralph Nader and Mickey Mouse – nearly all of us support Mac or PC – sorry to OSS.

Regardless of where you stand, do commercials that tell of dirty secrets and immoral voting or poor usability and system glitches really strengthen opinions? These commercials spend 100 percent of their time talking about what the other party or company does wrong. How are we to know what is right?

So this was the “epic campaign” the New Yorker prophesized. No matter where your beliefs lie along the political spectrum or whether you run Vista or OS X, we are living in defining times. Make sure that definition is defining you, not someone else.

This is the opinion of Nick Kurtz, an SJU sophomore.

By Kelsey Gustafson

I received an e-mail from Brian Cihacek last night in response to my previous post, “Cihacek’s ‘04 Senate Controversy.”  He sent me a brief statement commenting on the 2/24/05 Record article I posted a link to, and also told me about a letter to the editor written the following week. I’ll be posting both those here, and I encourage anyone who read the 2/24/05 article to read these as well.

Here is Cihacek’s statement:

The cult of the political pundit argues that the American population loses interest if answers are too long or too fraught with nuance or too intellectual. These pundits push for a ten word answer which is oversimplified to speak to the largest audience in order to influence the voter to their position. The unfortunate fact is the life and how we live can never be put into a ten word answer and trying to create a situation in ten words is both disrespectful and degrading. It is disrespectful because it assume that anything over ten words is far too much for the average person to understand, that somehow we are nation which has a limited capacity versus a nation which has unlimited potential and promise. The supposition of short attention spans, of limited intellectual understanding is degrading both the human person and to the values and goals of our collective, American identity. Complexity is never a vice. We must demand from our information sources the highest level of factual evidence and the highest level of objectivity.

The article concerning my impeachment from the Saint John’s Senate does represent either one of these goals. It is both vague in its wording and presents no evidence to clarify the charges outside of myself and other senators, it does not describe the methods of the Ethics Committee or how this process reflects the then environment of the Senate. This is not a mea culpa in which I will tell the real story; it would achieve little almost four years later when almost of the principal players have moved on and the charges never went beyond the Ethics Committee to either action by the university or action in a legal case. This short essay is to say evaluate news source carefully, examine multiple sources, and establish the context of the article. Question and consider the evidence, look to actions which precede and followed the event named in any article and then draw a conclusion. It is not agreeing with claims made by party or another but it is about being informed enough to make your own claims.

I am more than willing to discuss this event with anyone interested or who has questions, comments or concerns.
-Brian Cihacek

Here is the letter to the editor, which was published on 3/3/05. There is no online link, so I’ll be typing it out for you. The letter says:

Dear Editor,
Last week’s Record article, ‘SJS treasurer impeached,’ provided an unfair representation of the situation. 

Besides faulty fact-checking and misleading statements, the article failed to acknowledge the positive impact Brian Cihacek had on clubs and the CSB/SJU communities during his unfortunately short term. 

The club leaders represented below would like to take this opportunity to thank Brian Cihacek for his dedication and genuine desire to improve both of our communities. 

Cihacek was one of the few senators who directly reached out to clubs and could be relied upon to get things done.  When other senators responded with apathy, Cihacek was willing to listen to clubs and take action, even if that meant stepping outside his ‘jurisdiction’ at times.

The trial and subsequent impeachment of Cihacek was a great disappointment and a slap in the face to the effort he put into his position.

The St. John’s Senate has lost a good man and his absence will be felt by many in the CSB/SJU community. Cihacek was a senator who made it possible to give credence to the SJU motto. Whether others follow his example remains to be seen.

Signed John Van Rooy, Maytsua Thao, John Nelson, Carl Johnson and Greg Ruhland.

By Kelsey Gustafson

I received an e-mail recently from a student who read my article about Brian Cihacek’s mayoral campaign. It looks like Cihacek came under a bit of controversy while on the St. John’s Senate. I in no way mean to persuade anyone’s vote one way or the other (and in fact was very impressed with Cihacek when I interviewed him). I just thought it fair to pass this along.
 

The Record: SJS Treasurer Impeached

Have a good week, everyone!

By Greg Cooke

Recent events have really caused me to stop and consider what it means to be a Johnnie. First of those, strangely enough, is my status as a senior. That I am leaving here makes me really think about this place, what it means and what it means to be a member of the student body.

Abbie Dunham

This dairy-lover’s memento was once on display at the Minnesota State Fair where Jill, CSB junior, received second place in the Princess Kay of the Milky Way pageant in 2007.

The wakeup call is 5 a.m. on weekends for the Warren household in Litchfield, Minn. Jill would help milk 140 cows in 2.5 hours, twice a day and after school during the week. Jill’s mother, Carol Warren, said that her daughter had a variety of chores being the eldest of three children on the farm.

From picking rocks out of the crop fields, bailing hay and straw and bottle-feeding the newborn calves, she had a hectic schedule.

“Jill is a very hard worker,” Carol said. “She knows what needs to be done and just does it.”

Jill’s father, John Warren, took over the family farm with his brother about four years ago.

“I appreciate what the farm gave me,” Jill said. “It helped me build character.”

Aside from the daily chores, Jill’s favorite part about living on a farm is the numerous county, state and national competitions they “show” their cows in. “Lauren” is her favorite black and white companion.

With her hard working life-style, Jill decided to run for Princess Kay of the Milky Way last summer.

First, women need to run for a county dairy princess within the county where their family owns or operates a dairy farm. After making it past that round, Jill ran against 85 other women from Minnesota in the state competition. From there, the top 12 were chosen.

Jill was one of them.

Contestants went through interviews and gave speeches about their knowledge in the dairy industry.

“When Jill was selected as one of the 12 finalists, we were so excited,” Carol said.

On the eve of the State Fair’s opening day, a crown was placed on top of Jill’s head as a second place winner.

“It was really exciting to be chosen as second,” Warren said. “It was a huge honor to even be considered.”

Even though she was not the “Dairy Queen,” her family was very enthusiastic about her placing and is proud of her accomplishments.

personality got her to this point,” Carol said. “She always gave 110 percent in everything she did.”

The finalists attended agricultural seminars, made school visits and spoke at various banquets throughout their year-long duty.

The wakeup call is 5 a.m. on weekends for the Warren household in Litchfield, Minn. Jill would help milk 140 cows in 2.5 hours, twice a day and after school during the week. Jill’s mother, Carol Warren, said that her daughter had a variety of chores being the eldest of three children on the farm.

From picking rocks out of the crop fields, bailing hay and straw and bottle-feeding the newborn calves, she had a hectic schedule.

“Jill is a very hard worker,” Carol said. “She knows what needs to be done and just does it.”

Jill’s father, John Warren, took over the family farm with his brother about four years ago.

“I appreciate what the farm gave me,” Jill said. “It helped me build character.”

Aside from the daily chores, Jill’s favorite part about living on a farm is the numerous county, state and national competitions they “show” their cows in. “Lauren” is her favorite black and white companion.

With her hard working life-style, Jill decided to run for Princess Kay of the Milky Way last summer.

First, women need to run for a county dairy princess within the county where their family owns or operates a dairy farm. After making it past that round, Jill ran against 85 other women from Minnesota in the state competition. From there, the top 12 were chosen.

Jill was one of them.

Contestants went through interviews and gave speeches about their knowledge in the dairy industry.

“When Jill was selected as one of the 12 finalists, we were so excited,” Carol said.

On the eve of the State Fair’s opening day, a crown was placed on top of Jill’s head as a second place winner.

“It was really exciting to be chosen as second,” Warren said. “It was a huge honor to even be considered.”

Even though she was not the “Dairy Queen,” her family was very enthusiastic about her placing and is proud of her accomplishments.

personality got her to this point,” Carol said. “She always gave 110 percent in everything she did.”

The finalists attended agricultural seminars, made school visits and spoke at various banquets throughout their year-long duty.

The wakeup call is 5 a.m. on weekends for the Warren household in Litchfield, Minn. Jill would help milk 140 cows in 2.5 hours, twice a day and after school during the week. Jill’s mother, Carol Warren, said that her daughter had a variety of chores being the eldest of three children on the farm.

From picking rocks out of the crop fields, bailing hay and straw and bottle-feeding the newborn calves, she had a hectic schedule.

“Jill is a very hard worker,” Carol said. “She knows what needs to be done and just does it.”

Jill’s father, John Warren, took over the family farm with his brother about four years ago.

“I appreciate what the farm gave me,” Jill said. “It helped me build character.”

Aside from the daily chores, Jill’s favorite part about living on a farm is the numerous county, state and national competitions they “show” their cows in. “Lauren” is her favorite black and white companion.

With her hard working life-style, Jill decided to run for Princess Kay of the Milky Way last summer.

First, women need to run for a county dairy princess within the county where their family owns or operates a dairy farm. After making it past that round, Jill ran against 85 other women from Minnesota in the state competition. From there, the top 12 were chosen.

Jill was one of them.

Contestants went through interviews and gave speeches about their knowledge in the dairy industry.

“When Jill was selected as one of the 12 finalists, we were so excited,” Carol said.

On the eve of the State Fair’s opening day, a crown was placed on top of Jill’s head as a second place winner.

“It was really exciting to be chosen as second,” Warren said. “It was a huge honor to even be considered.”

Even though she was not the “Dairy Queen,” her family was very enthusiastic about her placing and is proud of her accomplishments.

personality got her to this point,” Carol said. “She always gave 110 percent in everything she did.”

The finalists attended agricultural seminars, made school visits and spoke at various banquets throughout their year-long duty.

By Molly McCue 

When Silu Ma, an international student from China, first came to Minnesota, he didn’t know how to ask where the ketchup or napkins were because there were no words for those things in Chinese. Ma is now a senior and has gotten used to being a college student in America. The students who started this semester, however, are still adapting.First-years Xin Piao and Clement Dai agree that being an international student in America is challenging and demanding, but also very rewarding. Although it is not easy for these three students to be so far from their families, they say it is ultimately worth it.

The current first-year class has 33
international students from China, the largest number in CSB/SJU’s history.
Because there are 53 total current students from China, the class of 2012 has a particularly significant presence at CSB/SJU. The students are among the 127 international students from all countries represented this year.

Piao and Dai both commented on the profound differences between the
education systems of the United States and China.

“In China we didn’t have the freedom to choose what to learn. Learning wasn’t
‘interest-oriented,’” Ma said.

Dai agreed.

“Here you have control of everything for yourself,” Dai said.

The students were pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of CSB/SJU students, professors and other members of the
community.

“People are so nice to me; I just can’t say enough,” Piao said.

Aside from the different foods and the fact that they do not see old friends from high school or their towns back home, the hardest part of being an international
student, the students said, is breaking through the language barrier.

“It can be really difficult to understand the English language when my friends and other students mumble softly or use slang terms,” Piao said.

Ma said it takes him much longer to read books and write papers than American
students. Dai has encountered his own set of language issues.

“I had a problem the other day because my father, who only speaks Chinese, called the phone in my dorm room and I wasn’t there. My roommate had to take the call, and neither person on the phone knew the other language!” Dai said.

Dai, Ma, and Piao revealed the reasons they love these colleges, and the reasons they are here as international students.

“I love that it is a Catholic school, and the way men and women are commingled. You can feel proud to be [either male or female], but also interact with the opposite sex,” Piao said.

“Here, at St. Ben’s and St. John’s, I am really enjoying my life. I feel I have achieved something,” Ma said. When Dai’s mother begged him to return home from America by Christmas, he gave her a clear, determined, “NO!”

The current first-year class has 33
international students from China, the largest number in CSB/SJU’s history.
Because there are 53 total current students from China, the class of 2012 has a particularly significant presence at CSB/SJU. The students are among the 127 international students from all countries represented this year.

Piao and Dai both commented on the profound differences between the
education systems of the United States and China.

“In China we didn’t have the freedom to choose what to learn. Learning wasn’t
‘interest-oriented,’” Ma said.

Dai agreed.

“Here you have control of everything for yourself,” Dai said.

The students were pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of CSB/SJU students, professors and other members of the
community.

“People are so nice to me; I just can’t say enough,” Piao said.

Aside from the different foods and the fact that they do not see old friends from high school or their towns back home, the hardest part of being an international
student, the students said, is breaking through the language barrier.

“It can be really difficult to understand the English language when my friends and other students mumble softly or use slang terms,” Piao said.

Ma said it takes him much longer to read books and write papers than American
students. Dai has encountered his own set of language issues.

“I had a problem the other day because my father, who only speaks Chinese, called the phone in my dorm room and I wasn’t there. My roommate had to take the call, and neither person on the phone knew the other language!” Dai said.

Dai, Ma, and Piao revealed the reasons they love these colleges, and the reasons they are here as international students.

“I love that it is a Catholic school, and the way men and women are commingled. You can feel proud to be [either male or female], but also interact with the opposite sex,” Piao said.

“Here, at St. Ben’s and St. John’s, I am really enjoying my life. I feel I have achieved something,” Ma said. When Dai’s mother begged him to return home from America by Christmas, he gave her a clear, determined, “NO!”

The current first-year class has 33
international students from China, the largest number in CSB/SJU’s history.
Because there are 53 total current students from China, the class of 2012 has a particularly significant presence at CSB/SJU. The students are among the 127 international students from all countries represented this year.

Piao and Dai both commented on the profound differences between the
education systems of the United States and China.

“In China we didn’t have the freedom to choose what to learn. Learning wasn’t
‘interest-oriented,’” Ma said.

Dai agreed.

“Here you have control of everything for yourself,” Dai said.

The students were pleasantly surprised by the friendliness of CSB/SJU students, professors and other members of the
community.

“People are so nice to me; I just can’t say enough,” Piao said.

Aside from the different foods and the fact that they do not see old friends from high school or their towns back home, the hardest part of being an international
student, the students said, is breaking through the language barrier.

“It can be really difficult to understand the English language when my friends and other students mumble softly or use slang terms,” Piao said.

Ma said it takes him much longer to read books and write papers than American
students. Dai has encountered his own set of language issues.

“I had a problem the other day because my father, who only speaks Chinese, called the phone in my dorm room and I wasn’t there. My roommate had to take the call, and neither person on the phone knew the other language!” Dai said.

Dai, Ma, and Piao revealed the reasons they love these colleges, and the reasons they are here as international students.

“I love that it is a Catholic school, and the way men and women are commingled. You can feel proud to be [either male or female], but also interact with the opposite sex,” Piao said.

“Here, at St. Ben’s and St. John’s, I am really enjoying my life. I feel I have achieved something,” Ma said. When Dai’s mother begged him to return home from America by Christmas, he gave her a clear, determined, “NO!”

By Kelsey Gustafson

I was recently made aware of a public hearing that will be held during this week’s St. Joseph City Council meeting to discuss the possibility of a 2:00 a.m. bar closing time.  The hearing will be held Thursday, Oct. 16 at 7:00 p.m.  The purpose of the hearing will be “to accept input from not only (alcohol) license holders but residents and interested persons as well.” Although statements will be heard, a decision will not necessarily be made at this week’s meeting.

It is my understanding that representatives from both student senates will be attending the forum. Because this seems to be a topic that college students would be interested in, I thought I’d pass the information along.

Exact details can be found on p. 73 of the St. Joseph City Council meeting agenda for Oct. 16.  For more, see: St. Joseph, Minnesota — Welcome to the City Website for St. Joseph!

By Doug Trumm

The shed that houses Johanna Kiln, the largest wood-fired kiln on the continent, does not look very
impressive from the outside. It’s nestled in a grove of trees between the SJU Power Plant and Lake Watab, and many who pass it don’t even realize it’s there.

The shed’s plain exterior hides its dazzling interior. An 87-foot-long brick kiln dominates the space like a giant slug. Around the shed’s
perimeter, thousands of pieces of neatly cut wood are piled to the ceiling.

Johanna Kiln was bustling with activity Wednesday as artist-in-
residence Richard Bresnahan and his apprentices prepared to fire the kiln for the first time in two years.

Lead apprentice Matt Bukrey and second apprentice Matt Van Dusen stacked bricks to seal a side door in the kiln. Junior Giao Hoang, an
intern for Bresnahan, rolled high-alumina clay into strips and set them on a lunch tray. Studio manager Anne Meyer placed the strips between each pot and its lid so they don’t fuse together and set them on shelves in the kiln.

Bresnahan and his staff have been loading the kiln since Sept. 1, packing pieces all the way to the ceiling like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle. Working their way from the back of the kiln to the door, the potters estimate they have
stacked 12,000 pieces. Only a few dozen pieces remained to be loaded on the final stack Wednesday.

At 6 tonight, Bresnahan will hold a light ceremony to mark the
beginning of the 10th firing of
Johanna Kiln. S. Johanna Becker will have the honor of lighting the kiln.

S. Becker taught Bresnahan art history when he attended CSB/SJU. After he graduated, she helped him secure an apprenticeship in Japan so he could further study
pottery. To pay respect to S. Becker’s mentorship, Bresnahan named his kiln after her when he completed it in 1994.

Bresnahan expects 150 people to attend the ceremony. He said Br. Dietrich Reinhart, president of St. John’s, plans on making the trip from Mayo Clinic, where he is being treated for lung cancer.

While some at the ceremony will be spectators, many will stick around to help operate the kiln.

“It takes roughly 10 days to wood-fire,” Hoang said. “It can fluctuate because of the weather.”

A wood-fired kiln needs cooks to stoke the fire 24 hours a day, so Bresnahan needed to enlist help to make the firing possible. Not only
locals but also potters from around the world are answering the call.

The cooks must stoke the fire
carefully to maintain a precise
temperature so the pieces don’t get too hot or too cold.

“If the pieces get too hot, they can crack or turn an ugly burnt brown color,” Meyer said. “If they don’t get hot enough, we have to re-fire them.”

The cooks attempt to raise the temperature gradually over the
firing, reaching a peak of 2,700
degrees Fahrenheit by the 10th day. These high temperatures allow flashing to occur. Flashing is when the heat darkens the outside of the pieces, bringing out interesting colors in the clay. Flashing provides much of a piece’s beauty.

Stoking the kiln can be a quiet job.

“When the kiln reaches 2700 degrees Fahrenheit, the wood doesn’t even make a sound of hitting the ground,” Bresnahan said. “It’s all coals by the times it drops that far.”

Bresnahan breaks the cooking responsibility into four six-hour shifts. He leads one shift himself and Bukrey, Meyer and his friend Mitsuo Kakutani lead the others.

Kakutani, a retired art professor from Earlham College, flew in from Japan to be a part of firing. Bresnahan met Kakutani in Japan during the 70s when he was studying pottery and they have been friends ever since.

Potter Keisuke Hatanaka also made the trip from Japan to participate in the firing. Hatanaka is representing celebrated Japanese potter Koie Ryoji, who was a visiting artist at SJU last September. During that time Ryoji made about 300 pieces which are loaded to be fired.

About forty different potters helped out, including potters from nine different colleges. Bresnahan said potters form a strong community.

“The Japanese apprentices that come here and our apprentices that go there are treated like family,” he said.

Bresnahan wants the whole community to be a part of the experience. Meyer welcomed those interested to stop by the kiln over the next ten days to check it out.

At 6 tonight, Bresnahan will hold a light ceremony to mark the
beginning of the 10th firing of
Johanna Kiln. S. Johanna Becker will have the honor of lighting the kiln.

S. Becker taught Bresnahan art history when he attended CSB/SJU. After he graduated, she helped him secure an apprenticeship in Japan so he could further study
pottery. To pay respect to S. Becker’s mentorship, Bresnahan named his kiln after her when he completed it in 1994.

Bresnahan expects 150 people to attend the ceremony. He said Br. Dietrich Reinhart, president of St. John’s, plans on making the trip from Mayo Clinic, where he is being treated for lung cancer.

While some at the ceremony will be spectators, many will stick around to help operate the kiln.

“It takes roughly 10 days to wood-fire,” Hoang said. “It can fluctuate because of the weather.”

A wood-fired kiln needs cooks to stoke the fire 24 hours a day, so Bresnahan needed to enlist help to make the firing possible. Not only
locals but also potters from around the world are answering the call.

The cooks must stoke the fire
carefully to maintain a precise
temperature so the pieces don’t get too hot or too cold.

“If the pieces get too hot, they can crack or turn an ugly burnt brown color,” Meyer said. “If they don’t get hot enough, we have to re-fire them.”

The cooks attempt to raise the temperature gradually over the
firing, reaching a peak of 2,700
degrees Fahrenheit by the 10th day. These high temperatures allow flashing to occur. Flashing is when the heat darkens the outside of the pieces, bringing out interesting colors in the clay. Flashing provides much of a piece’s beauty.

Stoking the kiln can be a quiet job.

“When the kiln reaches 2700 degrees Fahrenheit, the wood doesn’t even make a sound of hitting the ground,” Bresnahan said. “It’s all coals by the times it drops that far.”

Bresnahan breaks the cooking responsibility into four six-hour shifts. He leads one shift himself and Bukrey, Meyer and his friend Mitsuo Kakutani lead the others.

Kakutani, a retired art professor from Earlham College, flew in from Japan to be a part of firing. Bresnahan met Kakutani in Japan during the 70s when he was studying pottery and they have been friends ever since.

Potter Keisuke Hatanaka also made the trip from Japan to participate in the firing. Hatanaka is representing celebrated Japanese potter Koie Ryoji, who was a visiting artist at SJU last September. During that time Ryoji made about 300 pieces which are loaded to be fired.

About forty different potters helped out, including potters from nine different colleges. Bresnahan said potters form a strong community.

“The Japanese apprentices that come here and our apprentices that go there are treated like family,” he said.

Bresnahan wants the whole community to be a part of the experience. Meyer welcomed those interested to stop by the kiln over the next ten days to check it out.

At 6 tonight, Bresnahan will hold a light ceremony to mark the
beginning of the 10th firing of
Johanna Kiln. S. Johanna Becker will have the honor of lighting the kiln.

S. Becker taught Bresnahan art history when he attended CSB/SJU. After he graduated, she helped him secure an apprenticeship in Japan so he could further study
pottery. To pay respect to S. Becker’s mentorship, Bresnahan named his kiln after her when he completed it in 1994.

Bresnahan expects 150 people to attend the ceremony. He said Br. Dietrich Reinhart, president of St. John’s, plans on making the trip from Mayo Clinic, where he is being treated for lung cancer.

While some at the ceremony will be spectators, many will stick around to help operate the kiln.

“It takes roughly 10 days to wood-fire,” Hoang said. “It can fluctuate because of the weather.”

A wood-fired kiln needs cooks to stoke the fire 24 hours a day, so Bresnahan needed to enlist help to make the firing possible. Not only
locals but also potters from around the world are answering the call.

The cooks must stoke the fire
carefully to maintain a precise
temperature so the pieces don’t get too hot or too cold.

“If the pieces get too hot, they can crack or turn an ugly burnt brown color,” Meyer said. “If they don’t get hot enough, we have to re-fire them.”

The cooks attempt to raise the temperature gradually over the
firing, reaching a peak of 2,700
degrees Fahrenheit by the 10th day. These high temperatures allow flashing to occur. Flashing is when the heat darkens the outside of the pieces, bringing out interesting colors in the clay. Flashing provides much of a piece’s beauty.

Stoking the kiln can be a quiet job.

“When the kiln reaches 2700 degrees Fahrenheit, the wood doesn’t even make a sound of hitting the ground,” Bresnahan said. “It’s all coals by the times it drops that far.”

Bresnahan breaks the cooking responsibility into four six-hour shifts. He leads one shift himself and Bukrey, Meyer and his friend Mitsuo Kakutani lead the others.

Kakutani, a retired art professor from Earlham College, flew in from Japan to be a part of firing. Bresnahan met Kakutani in Japan during the 70s when he was studying pottery and they have been friends ever since.

Potter Keisuke Hatanaka also made the trip from Japan to participate in the firing. Hatanaka is representing celebrated Japanese potter Koie Ryoji, who was a visiting artist at SJU last September. During that time Ryoji made about 300 pieces which are loaded to be fired.

About forty different potters helped out, including potters from nine different colleges. Bresnahan said potters form a strong community.

“The Japanese apprentices that come here and our apprentices that go there are treated like family,” he said.

Bresnahan wants the whole community to be a part of the experience. Meyer welcomed those interested to stop by the kiln over the next ten days to check it out.

By Doug Trumm

On Sept. 30, St. John’s School of Theology’s presented its Dignitas Humana Award to Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai.  Maathai gave a lecture titled “Environment, Democracy and Peace: A Critical Link” after receiving the award.

The event filled Humphrey Theater to capacity, forcing many people to watch the ceremony on simulcast at Pellegrene Auditorium because of the shortage of seats.

Each year, the Dignitas Humana Award recognizes individuals who do extraordinary work on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised. Maathai was selected for her work to help Kenyan farmers by planting trees in deforested areas, ravaged by erosion and in risk of desertification.

Born in Kenya, Maathai studied biology in the United States. After returning to Kenya, Maathai started the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots environmental organization that has planted over 30 million trees in Kenya to prevent soil erosion.

In addition to her environmental efforts, Maathai has been a staunch defender of democratic rights and women’s rights and an outspoken opponent of oppressive regimes.

By John Buethe

Upon reviewing the stats for this site this evening, Oct. 12, I see there have been over 300 visits to the blog in the last couple hours.  Thank you for taking the bait and clicking on the “More…” button.  We plan on sending more of those “Major headline” emails to cover community news that happens after Friday publication.

Please continue to visit this site.  Post your comments, tell us how great we are or rip us a new one.  I don’t care.  Just help make this site as interactive as we envision it.