The profile of Pat Conroy, S.J., M.Div. ’83, “The chaplain is in the House,” by Jeremy Herb ’08 in the Winter SCM, lit up the social media wires coast to coast with shares. Among the comments:
I’m proud of my brother Jesuit, Pat. He has always done what the Jesuits asked of him, and he succeeds at everything he does.
JAMES M. HAYES, S.J., STL ’87
Worcester, Mass.
That is the Fr. Pat Conroy that I know, love, and respect. I’m always impressed and proud of his work but never surprised. God bless you, Fr. Conroy. Thank you for all you do.
TIM MASSEY
Beaverton, Ore.
I remember Pat from wonderful days at Gonzaga University: the Creative Arts Forums, the beautiful fall and spring days, shared meals at various homes populated by Jesuit scholastics trying to out-cook the other Jesuit residences. Great food, great friendship, and true brotherhood. May God bless you always, Fr. Pat.
JOHN MURPHY
Highland, Calif.
Thanks for the info on Fr. Pat Conroy. Great! Please support the archdiocese for the military services, USA. The archdiocese gives urgently needed spiritual comfort to the military, their families, and veterans. Remember to pray for our deceased vets and the wounded military members returning from their service.
BILL MILLER ’60
Almira, Wash.
WHERE DO YOU PRAY?
At the end of Brian Doyle’s essay, “Rise up, my love,” in the Winter SCM, we asked readers: Where do you pray? A couple answers:
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| Brick and mortar: and a place some pause and pray—the Adobe Wall. Photo by Charles Barry |
One place on campus that always sparks a moment of prayer is by the Adobe Wall. Right after 9/11, I noticed one olive tree leaning onto the roof tiles and seemingly pulling its roots out of the ground. It reminded me of the fragile nature of our world. Shortly afterward, the tree was cut down. Over time, the bare trunk began to sprout sprigs and now it looks like a full-size bush! The sight of this bush draws me to pray for the areas of my life and our world that long for hope.
LULU SANTANA ’97
Associate director of Campus Ministry
In this frantic world, I pray a lot lately. I meditate in the morning, do a daily examen at night, and begin all of my classes with a few moments of centering meditation. Sometimes I pray for guidance, for greater peace and understanding, or pause for a moment of gratitude just looking at the sky.
DIANE DREHER
Professor of English
COWBOYS, CLERICS, AND COMMUNISTS
I read the essay based on Jane Curry’s speech [Afterwords, “What I’ve learned from cowboys, clerics, and communists,” Winter SCM], and it reminded me of some very fond memories listening to her speak in class. I went into the teaching profession because of amazing professors like her. I taught economics and world history for 10 years at San Jose High School and am now finishing up my master’s in educational administration at SCU.
ERIKA (THOMAS) MARCUCCILLO ’00, M.A. ’14
Campbell, Calif.
I enjoyed Jane Curry’s article and, among other things, it brought back memories of graduate school. I forwarded the article to Patrick Carey at Marquette, as he has just completed a biography of Avery Dulles. I was in the third class to accept women at SCU. Those were quite the days.
MARY MCBRIDE ’66
Arlington, Va.
FOR YOUR MENTAL IMPROVEMENT
In honor of the 100th volume of The Santa Clara Review (originally founded as The Owl), SCU’s student-run literary mag, the Winter SCM shared a glimpse of the storied publication’s history, prompting fond memories from a number of veterans of the journal.
I enjoyed the role of editor of The Owl during my years at Santa Clara. I remember devoting a special issue to the Jesuits and the fine arts as part of a personal campaign to get a theatre arts program on campus. The basic argument against such a thing being, “We will never have women here.”
I did some of my earlier writing in The Owl office in Nobili Hall. One of my short stories published in a national magazine brought a letter from Naomi Burton, Tom Merton’s agent, asking for a novel, so I used the office that summer to write The Ikon, which won the James D. Phelan Award in literature.
One of our contributors, and my selection for my successor as editor, was James Douglass ’60, whose antiwar activities and his partnering with Dorothy Day on a trip to Rome during Vatican II impacted the Church’s teachings on war and conscientious objection. His latest work makes the best case ever for why John Kennedy and his brother were slated for killing.
My own literary pursuits led to, among other items, my first nonfiction book on Christian fatherhood, now enjoying its 52nd year in print.
CLAYTON BARBEAU ’59
San Jose
I think it best not to get too attached to things like names. I submitted photography to both The Owland The Santa Clara Review—the name changed while I bivouacked at SCU—on and off between 1984 and 1990. The University also changed names from USC to SCU during that time.
In the early days of my photo career, I was proud to show that work in my portfolio. I processed film and printed in the science darkroom below Daly Science Center, working around Fr. Carl Hayn and Dr. Lawrence Nathan, who both developed X-rays there.
The Owl was a bespoke and analog publication. I recall working with Mark Clevenger ’86, Joe Alvarnas ’85, and Guy Zaninovich ’87 who had ink and wax under their nails from pasting the thing together on art boards. I have equal admiration for Alec Molloy ’13 who as a senior taught himself to use Digital Publishing Suite and made The Santa Clara Review iPad app, which is understated yet clever and interactive. Same determination, different tools. As ever, for the purpose of our mental improvement.
DAN MCSWEENEY ’90
San Jose
I ran into a fellow Owl contributor at a Burning Man Decomp party a couple of years ago. Years move on, but people never change … I was editor for one year and it was a great experience: totally grassroots, totally raw, totally hands-on.
GUY ZANINOVICH ’87
Ann Arbor, Mich.
[Some Owl history that bears correction where last name and class year are concerned: “An Experiment in Adjustment” in the October 1940 edition was penned by Guido Marengo ’41. —Ed.]
CITIZEN NEWSOM
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| Illustration by Daniel Hertzberg |
Most-read stories in the Winter SCM digital edition: Jim Cottrill’s essay “Welcome to Citizenville” and the interview with California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom ’89, “Citizen Newsom.” Along with lots of tweets ’n’shares, the pieces brought in comments, including a couple critical of Newsom like this one:
The Jesuits must be thrilled that Newsom credits them (blames them?) for developing his ideals of “inclusion” that somehow translate into support of gay “marriage.”
EDWARD F. CLARK III ’88
Milton, Mass.
LIFE AND TIMES OF JESUS
The Winter SCM featured a conversation among religious scholars Paul Crowley, S.J., Catherine Murphy ’83, M.A. ’87, David Pinault, and Reza Aslan ’95, about Aslan’s book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth.
I have read Reza Aslan’s book twice. A very courageous, provocative, and absolutely fantastic scholarly piece of work. As an old alum of SCU, I appreciate the interview and read it through the magazine sent to our home.
KASHY MALEK M.S. ’86
Castro Valley, Calif.
CIVIL DISCOURSE
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| Howard Anawalt. Photo by Charles Barry |
In reading the Winter issue, I noted the passing of Howard Anawalt[In Memoriam], who had been my constitutional law professor. Professor Anawalt was a liberal—maybe ultraliberal. At the same time, he was obviously extremely bright, and his joy of teaching was reflected in his personality. I was a little older than the usual law student, having spent two years in business and another two years as an infantry officer. Professor Anawalt’s views and mine were about as totally opposite as could be.
Near the end of the semester, the Cambodian march was taking place in Washington, D.C., and Professor Anawalt took off to Washington for 10 to 14 days. I was paying for my law school education with GI Bill benefits, and my focus was on learning as much as I possibly could. I felt that if the professor wanted to march he could do so, but I was unhappy with the fact that he had missed multiple classes, and it was with my tuition dollars that I felt were being wasted. Upon Professor Anawalt’s return he and I had a colloquy in open class. After our short but spirited discussion, Professor Anawalt turned several shades of red and finally said that the same thoughts had gone through his head. He said he had taken us as far along in constitutional law as he could and didn’t feel that he had shortchanged us by taking time off. I said that had I known that, there would have been no criticism, and I sat down.
About 10 years later, I was walking across campus with my wife when I saw Professor Anawalt coming toward me. Before I could extend my hand and tell him who I was, he greeted me with, “Mr. Sprigman, it is nice to see you again.” Professor Anawalt had a positive effect on me, and since I think about him more often than any other professor I had at Santa Clara, it is obvious that the intellectual differences that occurred between us were carried out in a civil manner. He had a definite, positive impact on at least one other human being, which may be one of the ultimate compliments that can be given for a person’s life.
CHARLES J. SPRIGMAN JR., J.D. ’71
Wenonah, N.J.
CORRECTIONS BOX
You just don’t know: In “Goooaal!” [Winter SCM] about women’s soccer winning the West Coast Conference championship, player Julie Johnston’s quote should have read: “It’s the cruel thing about this game, you just don’t know which way it’s going to go.” —Ed.