Jodel: A controversial app in decline
JACOB WATSON LIBERAL COLUMNIST Earlier this semester, a new app was introduced that has stirred up much controversy throughout the past few months on and off campus. Jodel is a social media app — like the now-shutdown app Yik Yak — where any person can share public posts anonymously within so many miles of his […]
New path opened for engineering majors
JACOB WATSON LIBERAL COLUMNIST Franciscan University’s engineering department isn’t the most widely discussed program on campus — yet there are changes in store that will give future Catholic engineers greater opportunities. A new associate’s degree is offering engineering students a more flexible course load to tuck under their belt when they graduate from Franciscan University. […]
Liberal Column: I’m not a socialist
JACOB WATSON LIBERAL COLUMNIST Often in America, the word “socialism” is used quite liberally. For example, if someone suggests a new government program to help some group, it often encounters the charge of socialism. Sadly, this misunderstanding not only falsely labels innocent and well-minded people as socialists but also undermines the Church’s teaching on the […]
Letter to the editor: Proper discernment makes or breaks household
JACOB WATSON In Rachel Miller’s recent article, she accurately identified and decried the problems in how households are run. In doing so, she demonstrated the success of the Rev. Michael Scanlan’s vision in how households function today. Scanlan saw that abuse of alcohol, drugs and sex was merely a symptom of loneliness on campus. Students […]
Journalist examines problems of contemporary Catholicism in America
JACOB WATSON LIBERAL COLUMNIST On Friday, April 12, students and faculty packed the Gentile Gallery to hear a New York Times columnist speak about the problems in contemporary American Catholicism as part of the academic lecture series. Ross Douthat recounted the scandals in American Catholicism today, the occasions that have confused many Catholics: the sex […]
Speaker shares testimony of fight against pornography, despite technical difficulties
JACOB WATSON LIBERAL COLUMNIST On Thursday, April 11, students came to the Gentile Gallery to learn about a new series on pornography but instead left inspired by a personal testimony of one man’s fight against porn. Bob Siemens started the event by introducing the main theme of the talk: “Brain, Heart, World.” This referred to […]
Student-run publications dig into truth, challenge norms
JACOB WATSON LIBERAL COLUMNIST Franciscan University is home to many publications that allow for freedom of speech and thought among the student body. Two of these, the Gadfly and the Gauntlet, often serve as conversation starters by spreading information, contributing ideas and sparking discussion. The Gadfly is one of the major campus publications. The goal […]
Speaker explains abortion’s effect on the African American community
JACOB WATSON LIBERAL COLUMNIST On Wednesday, April 3, at 7 p.m., a Pennsylvania political candidate spoke in the Gentile Gallery to students about abortion’s effect on the African American community. Kim Mack, a candidate for Pennsylvania’s 18th congressional district seat, explained the strategy of Planned Parenthood to target the African American community. She brought attention […]
Noche de Fiesta lights up J.C. with cultural excitement
JACOB WATSON LIBERAL COLUMNIST On Saturday, March 30, at 9 p.m., Latinos for Christ hosted “Noche de Fiesta” with food, music and dancing filling the atrium of the J.C. Williams Center. At the beginning of the night, the stage — or rather, the atrium — was alive with streamers strung over the dance floor, the […]
Catholic identity in university reinforced in academic lecture
JACOB WATSON LIBERAL COLUMNIST The founding coordinator of the Christianity and Culture Program spoke to a full and attentive Gentile Gallery on March 29 at 3 p.m. about the importance of building one’s own Christian identity during college years. Janine Langan — who holds an honorary doctorate of sacred letters and is professor emerita at […]