Life in a Catholic College

Loras College is a four-year, Catholic Liberal Arts College. With a Catholic designation, many of the courses and activities are geared towards the Catholic faith and affect what students will take away from their four years. As a graduating senior in May of 2009, how I will act and think has been influenced by the Catholic faith on campus. The Catholic religion promotes a sense of community and reverence which many students will also take with them as they leave.

As a Catholic institution, there are many different courses that are offered about religion and ethics. A course on Catholicism is required in either their first or second year which offers a comparison between the Catholic religion and others. This course gives new students a perspective on what the college stands for and a chance to reflect on how they can be successful at a Catholic college. There is also an option to take a required ethics course with a focus on Catholic teachings. In addition to these required courses that are offered, there are also Masses in the chapel on campus and a campus ministry that students can participate in if they choose to do so. All of these options on campus allow for students to embrace the Catholic ideas on how people should live their lives. Students can learn that to live a Catholic life, they must take an active part in society and treat others as they wish to be treated. A college campus that does not offer courses in Catholicism or Catholic activities would not develop students that are taught to try and be active in their communities to the extent that Loras does. Catholic dogma stresses the importance of living and praying in a community and the environment of Loras College allows these significant aspects to be spread on to many students and lead to an overall betterment of society.

The strong Catholic influence that can be felt on campus also has a tendency to inhibit students in some areas that affect how they are prepared to live in society after graduation. As a private institution, the college can choose to invite speakers that wish to or limit the exposure of certain ideas to the students. Many of the speakers that are brought to campus do not talk about controversial issues within the Catholic Church. During my four years of attending Loras, I do not recall a person coming and talking about the pro-sides of abortion or contraception. There is very little mentioned on these issues outside of the classroom setting so students don’t become as educated on these controversial issues as they might in a public school environment. Some campus groups are also denied funding from Catholic groups due to what they work for or believe in. Even if the group works for something that is good for people and society, but some of the money may go to an area that is against Catholic teaching; funding is denied. I believe that the positives should be weighed against the negatives instead of a decision based solely on one small aspect.

At first thought, I did not see much influence of the Catholic environment on the science department where I take the majority of classes. However; after talking to a classmate on the issue, I have realized that the department is greatly affected by existing in a Catholic environment. In the chemistry department, students must complete a thesis project before graduation. However, a panel consisting of Catholic members of the college must approve any research before it can be performed. Topics such as evolution and birth control also must be taught carefully by professors. I think the main reason why I did not see these things right away is because I have only attended Catholic schools and I have not been exposed to a school that teaches solely about science. I have always personally compared Loras to ultra-conservative schools which has blocked my realization about the impact of Catholicism on the teaching of science. The fact that Loras is a Catholic college both helps and inhibits students after they leave and enter the real world. Overall, I would say that the positives and negatives cancel each other out and make Loras similar to a public school.

I will be performing the majority of my service at Saint Patrick's Catholic Church. Saint Patrick's organizes a weekly meal for the congregation every Wednesday and I will be helping to set-up, serve, and clean up for the meal. One of my main goals for this service project will be to interact with the people that I am working with as well as the people that attend the meal. In addition to working at Saint Patrick's every Wednesday, I will also be spending consecutive Saturdays in October helping clean up the Washington Neighborhood as well as helping to winterize homes. These two areas of service contrast each other well as I will be in a closed environment for one and out in the neighborhood for the other. I am looking forward to starting service in the coming week and continue it throughout the rest of the semester.