College says sposorship "doesn't fit" Catholic identity
SARAH NESTOR
SaintMary's Editor
The recent decision by Saint Mary's Center for Women's Intercultural Leadership (CWIL) to sponsor four students to attend a pro-choice conference has left many on the Saint Mary's campus confused, although Saint Mary's does not stand behind the decision, said Melanie Engler, a spokeswoman for the College.
While CWIL is a separate department within the College, it must still respect the Catholic tradition of the College, said Engler.
Sponsoring the trip to the conference "doesn't fit into the Catholic identity of the College," she said. "Any event that the Center for Women's Intercultural Leadership sponsors should fit into the Catholic identity of Saint Mary's. I don't think the intention of the Center for Women's Intercultural Leadership was negative [and] I'm sure the intention was to expose students to Washington D.C.; it was just the wrong conference to choose."
Meredith Sarkees, director of CWIL, did not return Observer phone calls seeking comment.
"The program itself was student leadership. The purpose was to show students how to become involved in lobbying and leadership," Sarkees told the Observer last week.
" The College's position is that this was a regrettable decision to fund support for this workshop," said Pat White, vice president and dean of faulty for the College.
White also added that the College and the CWIL would continue to review the Center's grant approval procedures in the coming weeks.
CWIL provided funds to four students, Heather Engstrom, Mary Watrobka, Emily Welsh and a fourth student, who applied for a grant to attend the "Never Go Back" student leadership conference, which focuses on advancing pro-choice causes. Engstrom refused comment, and Watrobka and Welsh did not return Observer phone calls seeking comment.
The Feminist Majority Foundation organized the conference, which was held in Washington on Jan. 22-23, one day after the 30th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion on demand.
The Feminist Majority Foundation description of the event states, "If we do not act now, women's most fundamental right — the right to control their bodies — could be obliterated. Join pro-choice, feminist students from across the country in demanding the perservation of abortion rights at our Never Go Back Student Leadership Conference: Mobilizing Youth to Save Abortion Rights in Washington, D.C."
CWIL's decision to sponsor the four women attending the conference came as a surprise to many on the Saint Mary's campus.
"Knowledge of this trip was not widespread," College spokeswoman Engler said. "Many, if not most, did not know about it until they read about it in The Observer."
Bishop John D'Arcy, bishop of the Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese, which includes Saint Mary's, further added, "I think that at any institution of higher learning the issues of the day should be discussed but one expects [at Saint Mary's] that the Catholic position should be presented. Based on the information I have received [from The Observer], it is disturbing and in opposition [to] the Catholic Church and the truths it teaches," D'Arcy said.
The bishop also questioned the explanation that attendance at the conference could be justified on the grounds of developing leadership skills.
"They're learning leadership for what? To become leaders that support pro-choice causes?," said D'Arcy.
Saint Mary's received a $12 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., in November 2000 to open the Center. CWIL officially opened in September 2001. The executive summary submitted by the College to Lilly states, "In establishing the Center for Women's Intercultural Leadership, Saint Mary's will build on its position as the nation's premier Catholic women's college and its tradition of pioneering change in women's education to create a new and unique locus for innovative thinking, reflection and action."
During the summer of 2002, the College hired Sarkees as the new director for the center. As the first permanent director of CWIL, Sarkees' task is to implement the procedure by which students and faculty can receive study and travel grants.
Any student, or group of students, has the chance to apply for a grant. Once the grant proposal has been turned into the center, it is then reviewed by CWIL's Grant Committee to evaluate the proposal's "potential for positive impact on the individuals invovled, the Center for Women's Intercultural Leadership, and the College as a whole." The committee then decides whether to provide funding for the proposal.
All News Stories for Monday, February 3, 2003
