The Bona Venture

November 2, 2018 Since 1926 thebvnewspaper.com

Best study spots Club Feature: Orion Jalen Poyser

Library? La Verna? What’s the best This week, the BV looks into the life of UNLV transfer looking to make a
place to do homework on campus? the Bonaventure astronomy club. difference in his first Bonnies season.

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Bona’s pays tribute to Pittsburgh victims

Students gathered around the peace pole in solidarity
B y J effrey U veino pathy,” DePerro said in an interview Tuesday.
S taff Writer “This activity that is clearly a form of religious
discrimination that is totally unacceptable any-
M embers of the St. Bonaventure community
gathered around the McGinley-Carney Cen-
ter for Franciscan Ministry peace pole Tuesday morn-
where.”
DePerro said the university community
should look to the teachings of Franciscans
ing to remember the victims of the Oct. 27 Pittsburgh
when responding to an event like this.
synagogue shooting.
“We need to respect everyone, and that is
On the morning of Oct. 27, a man went into the
central to our Franciscan beliefs of having a
Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
love for all of our brothers and sisters,” DePerro
and began firing an assault rifle. He killed 11 people
said. “I think it sends a message to all of us that
and injured six others. The gunman was specifically
the world needs to change.”
targeting Jews.
Fr. Michael Calabria, O.F.M., Ph.D, also
At the ceremony, SBU students held Star of Da-
talked about learning from Franciscan prin-
vid-shaped signs with the name of a victim on each.
ciples and called the university community to
The students then read a tribute passage aloud for
become educated about the issue.
each victim.
“We have to learn from the teachings of
Fr. Francis DiSpigno, O.F.M., and the executive
Franciscans that everything God creates re-
director of University Ministries, addressed SBU stu-
flects the divine in some way,” Calabria said.
dents, faculty and staff in a moment of prayer.
“If someone is created by God, they bear God’s
“Members of our family were massacred while
presence.”
they were praying,” DiSpigno said. “So, we join our
Awareness about this type of tragedy, Cal-
prayer with that community and with our world in the
abria said, is important no matter who you are.
hope that this will never happen again. We stand here
“This is such a serious issue,” Calabria said.
as witnesses of peace.”
“It affects all of us when anyone is targeted in
At the end of the tribute, those gathered joined
this country on the basis of their culture, ethnic-
Parker Suddeth, director of St. Bonaventure’s Dami-
ity or religion. Whatever reason for the hate, we
etta Center for Multicultural Student Affairs, in an a
must all stand in solidarity against it.”
cappella rendition of Bill Withers’ hit song, “Lean on
DePerro said he will be sending a letter of
Me.”
condolence to the Tree of Life synagogue and
On Monday afternoon, St. Bonaventure President
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers. Members of the St. Bo-
Dennis DePerro issued a message to the university as
naventure community can write a brief note at
a response to the event. Brendan O’Leary / The Bona Venture
stations around campus if they would like to
In his message, DePerro referred to the shooting BONA’S HOLDS TRIBUTE - Students and faculty
show their support. The notes will accompany
as a “tragedy,” and described some of the university’s
DePerro’s letter to Rabbi Myers. at St. Bonaventure University paid tribute to the
ties to Pittsburgh.
“It is important for us as a university to recog-
victims of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting that
The notes and letter will be collected Nov. 2.
nize this horrible tragedy and be clear about our sym- uveinojj17@bonaventure.edu happened in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27.

Check Your Blind Spots mobile tour comes to Bona’s

B y M eghan Hall inclusion can be found. Before exiting
S taff Writer the trailer, participants faced a wall that
read, “Take Act!on,” and offered ways in

S t. Bonaventure University
teamed up with CEO Act!on for
Diversity and Inclusion to bring the
Check Your Blind Spots Mobile Tour to
campus on Tuesday, Oct. 30.
The event focused on allowing
members of the university to become
aware of their “blind spots,” which are
unconscious biases held by members
of society. The program occurred in-
side a large trailer and was guided by
employees, who walked members of
the university community through the
meanings of each station.
The program, which started its
tour in the United States last year, seeks
to educate people in the workplace and
on college campuses about the impor-
tance of diversity and recognizing bias.
“We should be proactive in not only
acknowledging our biases, but also in
exploring what those biases say about
us as people individually,” Parker Sud-
deth, the Damietta Center for Multicul-
tural Student Affairs’ director, said.
The program included several sta-
tions, the first of which showed partici-
pants a video about the ways in which
bias can impact their lives without them
even realizing it.
Next, participants took a quiz that
showed how much bias influences our
society. The quiz asked about statistics
pertaining to gender biases, racial bi-
ases and more. Then, participants were
given a virtual tour of CEO Act!on’s
website, where resources on bias and
which participants can face their biases.
Some of the advice included, “Don’t
make assumptions based solely on fit,”
“Open the door to your inner circle” and
“Be open.”
Once participants exited the trailer,
they were asked to write down an action
they would take in their own life to com-
bat bias and exclusion in our society.
“I wrote ‘Think before you act,’ be-
cause I feel like people are so fast to
judge others,” said freshman Victoria
Vega.
Fr. Ross Chamberland, O.F.M., as-
sistant vice president for Student En-
gagement, wrote, “Take time to think
and to love.”
The messages on the board gave
meaningful tidbits of advice to help the
university community be cognizant of
their actions and words.
The university community
seemed to find the program helpful Meghan Hall / The Bona Venture
and interesting. CHECK YOUR BLIND SPOTS - Program seeks to educate students
“[The program] gives tactical ac- about the importance of diversity and recognizing bias.
tion steps in regards to the takeaway of
‘What can I do individually to work on The trailer travels around the con- Tuesday’s program was “a step in the
myself?’” said Suddeth. tinental United States with goals that right direction.”
“I thought it was an excellent op- align well with the experiences Cham- CEO Act!on’s Tuesday event
portunity… to raise this to a level of con- berland, Suddeth and Vega shared. showed university community members
versation with the community that was Suddeth said he hopes the uni- how important it is to be conscious of
doing this together,” said Chamberland. versity community will take this expe- the biases that impact them. Students,
Vega agreed that the exercise was rience and use it as a learning oppor- faculty, staff and other members of the
one worth her while and said some of tunity and a way to start conversation Bonaventure community found the ex-
the statistics revealed throughout the about the complex cultural issues that perience enriching and educational.
experience were shocking to hear. we face as a society. He said he believes
hallml18@bonaventure.edu

#GivingTuesdayAtBonas to support service programs

B y E mily Knitter “When you give to #GivingTues-
Public Relations S pecialist dayatBonas, you are investing in the
growth of service and social justice

S t. Bonaventure University’s Franciscan Center

for Social Concern is hosting a one-day fundrais-
ing event on Nov. 27, a day known as #GivingTuesday-
atBonas.
The “Giving Tuesday” movement, established in
response to the consumerism found post-Thanks-
giving in days such as Black Friday and Cyber Mon-
day, is intended to be a way to encourage people to
support their favorite non-profit causes as part of
their holiday giving.
Five longstanding and beloved FCSC programs
will be the focus of this year’s event: Bona Buddies, a
youth mentoring program; Silver Wolves, connecting
students with elderly residents at a local assisted liv-
ing home; BREAK the Bubble, organizing service trips
during the fall and spring breaks; Warming House, the
nation’s oldest student-run soup kitchen; and Farm to
Table, a summer program providing students hands-on
experience with sustainable agriculture and service.
FCSC Director Alice Miller Nation explains that
the center provides experiences working with the
poor and marginalized of society, along with academ-
ically credited opportunities to study both causes and
solutions to social problems.
programming on campus, as well
as the leadership development that
makes these programs possible,”
said Miller Nation. “We strive to
form students who will leave the
Bonaventure experience confident-
ly, offering hope and goodness to
the world through their work and
leisure.”
The community is invited to
visit www.sbu.edu/GivingTuesday-
atBonas now through Nov. 27 to
donate and use #GivingTuesdayat-
Bonas on all social media channels
to help spread the word. For more
information or to make a gift by
phone, please contact Advancement
Services at (716) 375-2330.
M.K. Killen / The Bona Venture
#GIVINGTUESDAYATBONAS - The Franciscan Center for Social
Concern asks the St. Bonaventure University Community for sup-
port on Nov. 27 to continue missions like The Warming House,
Silver Wolves, Bona Buddies, BREAKtheBubble and many more. knittee17@bonaventure.edu