During the past month, crosses and tombstones have been a part of the green space of the Quad. These crosses and tombstones are symbols that remind of us of realities that are often far removed from our mind, realities that we might choose to ignore. The crosses reminded us of the loss of life as a result of abortion. The tombstones were a stark reminder of the loss of life in the war in Iraq.

In speaking of the Jesuit educational commitment to the values of peace and justice, Peter Hans-Kolvenback, S.J., Father General of the Society of Jesus, notes that we “. must let the gritty reality of this world into our lives, so that we can learn to feel it, think about it critically, respond to its suffering and engage it constructively.” The crosses and tombstones are gone and the controversy surrounding them is a thing of the past. The task that remains is to embrace the “gritty reality” that these crosses and tombstones brought home to our campus, to think critically about these realities, and to decide how we individually and collectively might best respond.

I thank those students who brought these symbols to our campus as a way of calling us to peace and justice.

Jim Allen
School of Social Work, Faculty