Campus Notebook: Boston College addresses racism; Notre Dame launches new digital platform

A student at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana prays at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes on campus in this 2010 file photo. (CNS/Sam Lucero, Compass)

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Boston College will address recent complaints about racism on campus, according to a Nov. 22 report by The Heights, the university's student newspaper.

The university says that it will continue to strengthen programs designed to enhance diversity and inclusivity, add a new education module on diversity and inclusion for incoming undergraduate students, and develop a survey to evaluate the experience of Boston College students.

The announcements come after a racist social media post and the defacement of Black Lives Matter signs prompted a student protest in October.


SOUTH BEND — The University of Notre Dame has announced the launch of a new digital media platform for young Catholic adults called Grotto Network.

 "For 175 years, the University has sought to educate the minds and inspire the hearts of young people," Notre Dame President John Jenkins said in a Nov. 26 press release. Jenkins says that the site was created with the partnership of many Catholic communities.

According to the press release, the site will encourage young adults to make an impact and grow spiritually by engaging in their local parishes, "through video storytelling, authentic online conversations, social campaigns and practical tools for navigating career, finance, personal wellness and relationships."


MOBILE, Ala. — Spring Hill College has announced that Dominican Sr. Barbara Reid, theologian, author and general editor of a new 58-volume feminist commentary on the Bible, will deliver the 2018 Suarez Lecture in a Nov. 28 press release. The Suarez Lectures are named in honor of Spanish Jesuit Fr. Francisco Suárez, a scholastic known for his contributions to philosophy and theology.

Reid's lecture is entitled "Reading the Scriptures with the Mind, Eyes, and Heart of a Woman," and will focus on feminist biblical scholarship, its history, meaning, and application.

The Jan. 29, 2018, lecture will be free and open to the public.


ST. LOUIS — Fontbonne University has purchased recently closed Kennedy High School in Manchester, Missouri, and will be renovating it to meet some of the university's pressing needs, St. Louis Pubic Radio reported Nov. 20.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis closed the high school as enrollment had declined significantly in recent years.

Fontbonne, whose campus does not have space for athletic facilities, has been forced to rent space for its athletes to practice and play home games. The university will install artificial turf at its new property for its sports teams. The academic buildings will be used for adult education and continuing education courses, and possibly academic services for athletes.

[James Dearie is an NCR Bertelsen intern. Contact him at jdearie@ncronline.org.]

This story appears in the Campus Notebook feature series. View the full series.

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