Saint Mary's Magazine Winter 2003 - Saint Mary's University of ...

Campus LETTERS Notes
Last year’s events
are ‘wake-up call’
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Like most Americans, this past year
has been a difficult one for me. The
events of 9-11 forced me to take a
closer look at my life goals and the
progress I was making toward
achieving them. The sudden death
of my husband, Stephen Scheid ’76,
in April of 2001 was a brutal
reminder that no one is guaranteed
a certain amount of time on earth
and we need to make every day
count.
A “wake-up call” is something
that we all seem to get … yet we
handle it in different ways. Some of
us act immediately; others press the
“snooze button,” promising to get to
the important matter later; others
totally ignore the warning. I have
decided to answer the call and on
August 28, my 11-year-old son and
I will be leaving for a year to do a
medical mission in Guatemala.
After the one-year anniversary
of 9-11, many Americans are still
searching for ways to make a
difference. The organization that I
am involved with is Common Hope,
based in St. Paul. Common Hope
helps Guatemalan families rise out
of poverty by providing education,
health care, housing, vocational
training, and family outreach
services.
— Mary Lou (Black ’76) Scheid
Sometimes it’s
right to fight
In response to the letter from
Brother Richard Roller ’57
published in Saint Mary’s Magazine,
summer 2002, I too look forward
to our alumni’s public expression of
opinion on the events of 9-11.
His dismay is that there was no
pacifist stance voiced in the
publication. My dismay is that there
was no expression of support
regarding the actions our country
has taken to rid the world of those
who would create such disasters as
9-11.
While I share his hope that we
all pursue peace and “seek the
sisterhood and brotherhood of us
all,” I recall what I was once told by
a Christian Brother educator at
DeLaSalle High School in Chicago:
“Sometimes you have to fight for
what is right.”
Accepting the facts presented
by their own words and deeds, the
extreme factions of the Islamic
fundamentalists intend on creating
war and terror in order to kill all
Christians, Jews and Americans.
Assuming that the majority of Saint
Mary’s students and alumni are
either Christians, Americans or
both, I respond that this IS one of
those times when we acknowledge
“that it is right to fight.”
If there were a way to
negotiate instead of fight, I would
fully support that process. But with
whom do we negotiate? Where do
we negotiate? There are leaders of
this terrorist movement spread
throughout the world, and there is
no individual or single group with
whom we could conclude a
successful negotiation for peace.
While we should all pray for
peace and for the safety of all
peoples, let us not let our guard
down and allow or tolerate another
9-11 to occur.
— Tony Lisauskas ’62
WWI military training
begins on campus (1918)
4
Very Reverend William E. Griffin serves
as SMC’s first president (1912-1918)
3
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