1985-09-19

              The Record

OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY September 19, 1985                   Volume 98

ton-profit organization U.S.  POSTAGE

PA ID

Permit No.!

Collegeville. Minn.

Collegeville, MN

Cable dishes installed

Pax Christi assembly to be held at SJU

Photo by Hak Kin Tsoi

Installation of the satellite dishes was completed in July of 1985.

By Tony Vigil

Two new satellite dishes were installed on top of the Science Center early in July, Each dish has the capacity to receive twenty different channels. At present, four new channels will be available on campus. These channels are: C-Span (13), ESPN (8), Discovery (10) and a French Canadian station (3), all of which are on twenty-four hours a day, with the exception of the Discovery channel which runs from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.

The two dishes were installed to maximize the viewing potential for the St. John's community. It was rumored that the dishes would receive HBO, Cinemax and several other pay-TV stations. According to Dan Sis of the Media Department, "There are currently no plans for this simply because of the financial burden. It would cost four dollars per 500 outlets, which is an outstanding price for the University to pay!' Sis stated that global events of special interest would possibly be televised.

JT classes for credit

By Joe Kalkman

Although experimental, and controversial, January Term 1986 will offer St. Benedict's students the opportunity to receive full-term academic credits for their one-month JT course.

The January Term Bulletin for 1986 announces a two-year experiment by CSB offering "some courses during JT for which semester credits and letter grades may be earned!' These courses are open to students from both campuses, but only CSB students will receive semester credits.

The courses will be open to both CSB and SJU students and will require the same work load of each. However, the SJU students will receive one JT credit, graded H/S/U, while the CSB students in the same class will receive two or four semester credits (depending on the course), graded A-F. The cost of both is the same.

The experiment is an attempt by CSB to "do something" about JT.

Robert Spaeth, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at SJU, and Director of JT, explained that JT was originally designed so

students could "get off the treadmill" and to provide a "different atmosphere for study!' However, he explained, times have changed and students seem to be losing interest. This experiment is a sort of a straw poll to see if students are more attracted to credited JT courses or not. "This will help us in designing future JT offerings," Spaeth said.

The split CSB/SJU policy is a result of last spring's faculty vote on JT. A joint faculty ' committee approved a bifurcated proposal that reduced the JT requirement for graduation from four to two and set up the JT-for-credit experiment. Each institution voted separately on the proposal.

CSB faculty split the proposal and agreed to implement the experiment. SJU faculty did not.

The CSB faculty then submitted courses to the CSB Educational Policy Committee. This committee determined the amount of semester credit each course should carry. (These courses are listed on page three on the JT Bulletin.)

If the semester-credit offerings prove popular, SJU may adopt a similar policy.

By Shawn Reilly

"Peace With Justice: Our Social Responsibility" is the theme of the-Minncsota Pax.Christi state assembly to be held at SJU Science Hall Auditorium, September 21.

The all-day event is being hosted by the SJU, CSB, and St. Cloud chapters of Pax Christi.

Pax Christi is an International Catholic Peace Movement with headquarters in Antwerp, Belgium. There are many chapters in Europe, Australia, and the United States. The organization was founded by Bishop Theas of France after WW II to ease the tension between the French and Germans.

Pax Christi's objectives are to "educate for peace, to seek a more just world-order, to formulate alternatives to violence in conflict resolution, to support disarmament, and to counsel Catholics in the formation of conscience with regard to peace issues!' Pacifism is not a requirement for members, but a high regard for nonviolence in the world is stressed.

The morning session of the assembly will be devoted to the topic of'"Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S. Economy!' The central speaker on this issue will be Amata Miller, IHM, whose presentation is entitled "The Pastoral, A Call to Transformation!' ¦

Miller is the Financial Vice President of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters of Detroit and Associate Professor of Economics at Marygrove College, also in Detroit. She is also President of the Board of Directors of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice lobby in Washington, D.C. She holds1 a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley and has conducted several workshops and lectures on such topics as "Economics for a Just Society;' "Military and Economics," and "U.S.-Latin American Economic Relationship: The Global Context!' Her writings include Making Social Analysis Useful (1983) and "The Economic Realities of

Universal Access to Health Care" in. Justice and Health (1985).

Following Miller's presentation, several panelists will have an opportunity to respond. One of the panelists will be Mary Jegen, SND, past National Director and International Vice President of Pax Christi. This year she will be a scholar in residence at St. John's Ecumenical Institute. Other panelists include Dan Finn, Associate Professor of Economics and Theology; Tom Holloran, President of Inter-Regional Financial Group of Minneapolis;-and Bishop George Speltz, one of the authors of the pastoral letter on economy.

In the afternoon, a variety of workshops will be held. Dan Finn will lead a workshop on "A Further Look at the Economics Pastoral"; Amata Miller will discuss "The Human Costs of the Afros Race"; Mary Schramm, author of "Things That Make For Peace;' will talk on "Sufficiency as Justice Life Style"; Char... Madigan, CSJ, is scheduled to speak "On Mary and Pornography: One View of the Power of Love and the Love of Power"; Mel Duncan, from the Minnesota Jobs with Peace . Campaign will discuss "Economic Conversion"; Patricia Fritz, OSF, President of the Sisters of St. Francis in Rochester, Minnesota, will speak on "Peacemaking: Rooted in the Gospel". Rick Vandendolder from the Nuevo lnstituto De Centroamerica and Mary Kosier, Minnesota Coordinator of Project Leon, will look at "A Nicaraguan Experience: Challenge to U.S. Christians."

The assembly will close with a Mass in the Abbey Church, Bishop Raymond A. Lucker of the Diocese of New Ulm presiding.

The Pax Christi organizations at SJU and CSB want to stress that the state assembly is open to all students and that one need not be a member of Pax Christi to attend.

Brochures and registration information for the state assembly can be found on the bulletin boards, in the Campus Ministry Offices.

Critical Thinking Chair named

Photo by Hak Kin Tsoi

Critical Thinking Chair Eugene Garver.

By Maya Mannat

There is a new face in the Philosophy Department at SJU. Amidst unpacked crates and boxes in Q362c sits Eugene Garver. Garver is not, however, a new recruit to the Philosophy Department. Instead, he is the newly appointed Chair of Critical Thinking. The Critical Thinking Chair came to be at SJU due to a donation. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Robert Spaeth and a donor concurred on the idea of creating a Critical Thinking Chair to

include some different principles in the curriculum.

Thus was born the position.

SJU defines critical thinking as "a better understanding of such skills as the ability to analyze, criticize and advocate ideas, to reason inductively and deductively and to reach fac- . tual or judgemental conclusions based on sound inferences drawn from clear statement of knowledge or belief." Garver put it more simply calling it a bunch of elementary skills such as being able to tell what the evidence is in any given argument, to determine the value of the evidence and to judge how to strengthen or attack a given argument or conclusion. He cautioned however that critical thinking skills would not necessarily render these processes easier, only better.

Garver's goals are to include these skills in the existingdrsciplines. He has already formulated a JT course and is currently working on several courses for spring semester.

Garver's interest in critical thinking was sparked by his interest in history. While examining

Garver continued on page 2