Favazza Promises Progress for Spring Semester; Changes Prompted by Students

In less than a week, the currently sleepy hilltop will be abustle with students, monks, faculty and administration alike, all striving toward the monolithic goal that lays ahead: finish the spring 2021 semester on time, and on campus.

What the Saint Anselm College community achieved last semester, through the dedication and hard work of many, was impressive. While many other schools and institutions (sorry, SNHU) closed for the semester, Saint Anselm College kept students on campus, and closed out the semester without needing a lockdown or any other drastic measures. The students of Saint Anselm, despite the fatigue, strain, and seemingly endless sources of stress, were happier and better off being on campus. This effort, it should be noted, was an imperfect and an incomplete one.

The Student Response Task Force, under the purview of the Student Government Association, compiled and presented to the administration and student body an in-depth look at the achievements and shortcomings of the school during the fall semester, aimed at the goal of improving the school’s response for the coming semester. In an interview with President Favazza in the week before the student body’s return to campus, Doctor Favazza shed some light on the changes the college is making for the spring.

The President of the College began with noting that he, and the other COVID preparation teams, listened to the student feedback. One of the major criticisms the student body levied at the admin was the lack of transparency in the process of loosening restrictions on campus and “opening up” more normal interactions. Despite weeks of “reviewing intervisitation”, these reviews never produced any change, nor inspired any optimism among students. To combat this, President Favazza described a “phase system” where the college would clearly move from different levels of openness and restrictions. Admitting that last year’s methodology of loosening and tightening restrictions was “pretty vague”, Favazza pledged improvement, saying “We are gonna be very clear about the different phases through the semester. We have identified five phases”.

The president stayed mum on what these particular phases would entail, but was willing to provide insight into potential resources that might be “opened up” in the looser phases. Favazza provided some hope when he detailed what might be some exciting developments for dining on campus: “When we get into moderate activity or lighter restrictions, we are looking to be able to open, at least one day a week, the pub, with limited restrictions…hopefully if it can work, open the grille”.

While he didn’t provide specifics, he also indicated that intervisitation would be revamped for the new semester: “We are looking to add ways where we can make the student experience richer…visitation, moving that to a broader visitation, with lighter restrictions”. While students have heard this before, and might be dubious about these claims, they might be heartened to know that a Student Government proposal to increase intervisitation within buildings was passed through the Student Senate and to the administration before the end of last semester.

Visitation and other social needs are closely tied to what should be remembered as the administration’s biggest struggle of the Fall 2020 semester: student mental health. The college should be commended for keeping the positivity rate low, and being ahead of the curve on rapid testing accessibility, but the scourge of college and COVID-related anxiety, stress, and depression was on full display at the end of the fall semester. In response to this, Favazza detailed some promising changes and programs meant to address this growing issue.

The Anselmian Anchors program, first mentioned in Favazza’s email last week, is a program where college staff and faculty will be assigned to students who test positive or are quarantined as a result of contact tracing: “This is coming out of a recommendation from students, one of the focuses of this is providing more care to those who test positive and to those who quarantine. ‘Case workers’ will be assigned students in quarantine, and will check in on them to see how they are doing. It’s a pretty isolating thing, [quarantine], and it gets to the issue of mental health.”

To further the college’s effort of improving communication with the student body, Favazza also revealed that there will be a COVID-19 resource page on Canvas. This page is to present resources for students who test positive or are in quarantine, make clear the college reopening phases, as well as the metrics they rely upon, and more mental health resources related to the virus.

During our discussion, President Favazza revealed that some (not all) professors indicated to him that they were rethinking the workload they were assigning students. “They, a few faculty have had conversations with me understanding that the workload, perhaps trying to recalibrate this, you have to remind yourself students are taking three or four [other classes]”. Many students throughout the fall semester lamented the apparent dearth of understanding that the administration and many professors had with regards to student mental health, workload, and the unique strain of online learning.

To make in-person learning more attainable, the college has made physical modifications to Poisson and the third floor of Alumni hall. Walls were removed over break to ensure that classes that would have otherwise been hybrid will have the capacity for all the students in the class, thus eliminating the need for synchronous zoom sessions.

If nothing else, students should be assured that the college did not rest on its fall accomplishments this semester. The college has made changes, and claims that many of these changes were made as a result of student advocacy, whether through the Student Task Force or Mental Health Committee, or elsewhere. President Favazza remarked that, unlike last semester where we expected the virulence of the pandemic to increase as time went on, this semester, we are going headfirst into the deep-end.

“I don’t think anyone has any illusions over the first few weeks of the semester, it’s gonna get tough…but it will get better, we will have more options”. Favazza expressed hope for the college as the semester continued, noting that nursing students and eligible faculty would have higher access to the vaccine as time goes on, given current New Hampshire state guidelines. However, the college will be at an advantage this semester when it comes to detecting the virus on campus. The college has tripled its testing capacity, now with three rapid testing machines instead of just one.

The administration has promised, above all else, improvements in communication and transparency for the spring semester. Many of these improvements have come about thanks to the hard work and organization of students, and will be implemented by receptive administrators. If these things don’t end up coming to light, it would not have been for a lack of student advocacy.

The Hilltop beckons us all back to her rolling emerald hillocks and towering umber masonry. We must answer its call and return to our home away from homes, unified in our gratitude for the achievements of last semester, as well as our determination to do better this time. All of us- students, admin, faculty and the monastic community- have a duty to these ends.

The GOP Now Bears a Heavy Burden. They Can’t Afford to Shirk Their Debt.

Wednesday, January 6, 2021, will be remembered as a sad shameful day in the history of the United States. The appalling, manic, and deeply un-American acts of terrorism committed around and within the Capitol building should, I certainly hope, represent rock-bottom for the Trump Era; an era already rife with moral lows. Perhaps what will remain the saddest legacy of the Trump Administration will be the denial and delusion that will linger after he leaves office.

To be clear: calling what happened Wednesday an act of domestic terrorism should not be a bombastic statement. In the halls of Congress, while the elected representatives of the nation are carrying out the will of the people, a mob that pledged allegiance to one man obstructed and delayed Congress’ carrying out the law. This was nothing close to a protest; this was an attempted coup. These insurrectionist made sure that there would be no peaceful transfer of power; anyone who believes otherwise, we must admit, is part of the problem.

There is no similarity between the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests of the summer, and the terrorism of Wednesday. Derek Chauvin actually knelt on the neck of George Floyd for 8 minutes and 47 seconds while he begged for air until he died. Breonna Taylor was actually shot five times in her sleep by law-enforcement. The election was not stolen from Donald Trump. Donald Trump is not secretly fighting an underworld cabal of Satanists and pedophiles, as has been suggested by conspiracy theorist groups such as QAnon. The BLM protesters demonstrated because they have legitimate claims and are fighting a righteous cause. Wednesday’s terrorists stormed the Capitol because they believe anything that comes from the mouth of Donald Trump and his MAGA cult of personality.

Wednesday’s terrorism was an example of mass delusion. The thousands of rioters delayed the peaceful transfer of power to President-Elect Joe Biden because they have been convinced without evidence that there was mass fraud and corruption in our election. One man bears responsibility for causing this mass delusion and invigorating these thugs by spewing baseless lies and conspiracy theories from the highest pulpit in the land: President Donald Trump. Trump, in his inability to accept his election loss, incited his supporters to disrupt the sacred process by which his power is transferred to his successor. Trump’s MAGA world is endemic in our society; his fervent supporters can be found in every state and county in the country. Yesterday was evidence that those who continue to support him and his conspiracy theories rest on a dangerous fringe of American politics.

I don’t begrudge those who voted for Donald Trump in 2016. Had I been of age, I might have voted for him too in my ignorance. I might be able to reconcile my frustration with those who voted for him in 2020, and then abandon ship when Trump began to shatter the walls of our beautiful democracy. I cannot, nor can the institutions of our nation tolerate and incorporate these fringe, dangerous, and undemocratic thoughts into civic life. Nor can we tolerate those who espouse them.

Where do we go from here? How do we move on from this terror and shameful chaos? The responsibility lies with those who supported the President through the past four years and somehow didn’t expect this. The GOP we knew before Trump is dead, and whatever rises out of Wednesday’s misery will and must come from those Republicans who can admit: this was a mistake, enough is enough. The GOP will bear the burden of the last four years, and the biggest burden will be the shame of January 6, 2021.

History will remember what we thought and did yesterday, and we cannot waste any more time pretending as though both sides have merit. The remnants of the Republican Party, most specifically the youngest members of the party, must be called upon to redeem their lost decency, to wipe away the tolerance of Trumpist authoritarianism, and to rebuild a spirit of love for our country, not for one man. These are the burdens the GOP bears and must come to terms with as we rebuild our democracy. There is a price to be paid for supporting a President who encourages acts of terror on our democracy, and I call on the Saint Anselm College Republicans, and all members of the GOP to start to pay that debt by condemning yesterday’s acts, and President Donald J. Trump.

President Hosts Town Hall, Urges Community To Stay Calm

President Favazza held a virtual town hall over Zoom this Wednesday night in the wake of a small COVID-19 outbreak on campus. Although not all the questions answered directly related to the outbreak, Favazza did use the forum as an opportunity to continue to project what he has attempted to do since the middle of last March: stay ready, stay calm.

He began the evening’s forum by giving the facts about the outbreak: 8 new positive tests, 4 positives on Tuesday, 4 on Wednesday. All of the cases are among student-athletes, though he was unable to give more information on the cases for purposes of privacy. It is widely believed on campus that the virus made its way onto campus through Dominic Hall and its residents. State health officials and contact tracers are working on site tracing and containing the outbreak. President Favazza made it clear that there is no one “tipping point” the college would have to reach to send students home but also reminded us that some of these factors include the number of positive cases on campus, the density of cases in the Greater Manchester area, and the college’s capacity to test and contain the virus on campus.

President Favazza assured the viewers on Zoom that not only is the campus ready for this troubling event, but that they expected it and saw it as an inevitability. The President claimed that there could be “increased cleaning” as well as changes to the Spagnuolo Gym reservation system. Moreover, he noted that some athletic team meetings and conditioning sessions had been suspended. Beyond that, however, he continued to reinforce that Saint Anselm College would continue to stay the course, and no other major changes will take place, yet.

Some students pushed on this during the question-and-answer part of the evening. Some asked if the possibility of quarantining or testing all of Dominic Hall was in the cards. Favazza did note that there would be increased testing in Dominic, and as far as quarantining the building and whether or not it was a possibility, he said “Certainly. We are not there yet”. 

Throughout the evening, President Favazza answered questions from students who sounded concerned, frightened even, about their health and safety on campus. Favazza continued to tell these students if they aren’t normally contacted for random testing or by contact tracers, then they are at liberty to go to health services and request a test. However, President Favazza cited the college’s testing capacity as one measure of success, and there are concerns that increased student requests for testing would quickly stress that capacity. 

Continued partying and unsafe social practices were also frequent topics of discussion during the 60-minute forum. Students expressed concerns about crowds on the quads and in courtyards. To this, Favazza repeated the phrases, “We can’t be everywhere at once”, and “I would encourage them not to do that” more than once. There won’t be increased observation of student social behavior on campus; such a role is reserved to the student body and Residence Life staff. 

On the topic of RA’s and Residence Life, Favazza recognized the difficulties they have faced this semester with their increased risk and responsibilities. “I know they’re in a tougher role…Try to make it a little bit easier for them” he appealed to the student body. He also noted that if any RA, in the course of doing their job, feels as though they were at risk, they can request a test. There was no further mention of increased PPE supplies or assistance to student Residence Life employees (student employees were given face shields after increased complaints some time ago). 

Continuing on the path and staying the course was the theme of the night, with Favazza trying to project calm preparedness in his remarks. When asked about potential changes the college could make, he accepted some as possibilities, including adding Ben-and-Jerry’s ice cream to Davison Hall but balked at others, including Grill reservations, relaxing intervisitation, and a concrete plan to get student representation on the Board of Trustees. The Board is losing several senior members this year, including the Chair and Vice-Chair, and the administration has stated they want to wait until the legal dispute ends until they begin to add students on the BOT. Not only could this take months or years, but would likely be past the end of the pandemic and this inflection point is where student input is so sorely lacking.

During his remarks, President Favazza took time away from the outbreak on campus and directed his attention toward racial justice. He took his stance on the issue, which was nuanced but well measured. He affirmed unequivocally that “Black Lives Matter”, and called on the student body to recognize that in the history of our nation and society, Black Americans have faced myriad prejudices and disadvantages impeding them on the path to full citizenship. He remarked on his past growing up in Memphis TN, where most of the people he was around were black, and despite being from the same place, he recognized that his experience was different, because of the color of his skin. He called on the school’s duty to face racism “with courage”, but also to avoid depicting law enforcement with “broad and negative strokes”. He asked for “open minds and hearts”, and affirmed his belief that standing with and saying “Black Lives Matter” does not put one against law enforcement. 

The class of 2020 was not to be forgotten this evening, as the President discussed the ongoing dialogue between 2020 graduates and the school to host their commencement in a way where all graduates can celebrate. These talks are still in progress, but Favazza noted the 2020 banner in Davison Hall represented the unfinished business and commitment the school has to the class of 2020.

There were several positive notes on the night: CAB, Health Services Director Maura Marshall, Dining Hall staff, Residence Life staff, custodial staff, and many more were thanked and applauded for their efforts by Favazza. It is paramount that the Saint Anselm College community thank the selfless services of all those trying to make campus safe, and do all that they can to emulate the caring, community-oriented actions of those individuals and groups.

Despite the sometimes cheery mood (glad to know Pres. Favazza is a Patriots fan), the night was dominated by a sense of anxiety. President Favazza did his best to assuage the worst of these fears, but the campus is still tense. Even though Favazza was sure to say that no finger-pointing or blaming should take place, and he is right to do so, it is impossible to deny that students might be walking a bit faster past Dominic Hall this week.

*Since this article was written, 2 more cases of COVID-19 have been reported; 1 on 9/17 and 1 on 9/18. This brings the total number of positive cases on campus in the past week to 10.

What’s The Deal With “Pass/Fail”?

Welcome to the new “normal”, Saint Anselm College. There isn’t one among us that hasn’t been seriously affected by this crisis, and the unifying adaptation we have all had to make is fundamentally changing the way we learn and move closer to our degrees. Online learning isn’t ideal, and rolling out of bed at 11:27 to Zoom into your 11:30 isn’t how philosophy is meant to be learned. However, the Saint Anselm College administration has made many moves to ensure that we will in fact advance in our degree pursuit. 

As you have been contacted about, or have seen on Instagram, students will have a pass/fail option for their grades this semester. Students will have an opportunity to see their letter grade before they decide to opt in to a pass grade. The threshold to receive a “pass” is a D, or a C/C- for nursing students (contingent upon their YOG). This means that the default will be the letter grade. Students will know about their final grades by May 10^th, and they have until May 12^th to request pass/fail. 

The decision to implement these rules was voted upon by the curriculum committee on April 1st, before moving on for approval by the Board of Trustees. Most of the deans were on board, with just a couple abstaining or voting nay. The main concerns expressed in the committee were coming from professors who felt that a “D” was too low of a passing grade. Other schools in Saint Anselm’s field have similar scores. Loyola Maryland, a small, Jesuit liberal-arts school in Baltimore is using a “C-”, and Providence College is taking all passing grades (D- and up) as “passes”.  

Another wing of deans and faculty felt that, given the unsettling and confusing circumstances we find ourselves in, students should be given a wide breadth of opportunities to succeed. Online learning is not the best way to learn nor the best way to teach, and these committee members ultimately agreed that when in doubt, let the students pass. 

Students are further removed from their college than ever before. For many of us, our whole lives feel uprooted, and academics often feel like a second concern (or third, or fourth…). Rest assured, the school seems to have students at the forefront of their decision making considerations. 

Will Saint A’s Look To Tighten Its Belt In The Coming Months?

Liberal arts colleges have been on the defense for years now, with some closing up shop such as Mount Ida college in 2018, as well as Green Mountain College and Southern Vermont College in 2019. The coronavirus crisis has removed students from their dorms and homes, workers from their place of business, and these fragile higher education institutions from the money they desperately need to survive this culling. Saint Anselm College is no different.

Before any further digression, an important note should be made: Saint Anselm College will survive the COVID-19 crisis. A robust history and administration can and will shepherd us through these difficult times, but questions have arose as to whether or not the college will emerge unscathed. Families out of work are having to tighten their belts across the country; it is not absurd to wonder whether an institution dependent on our tuition dollars will have to tighten its belt as well.

For now, the college has expressly stated that the college has no furloughs or layoffs planned, and will be paying all employees as expected through to June 30th. In a letter sent to the Saint Anselm Community, President Favazza detailed some of the impact of the virus that has already befallen the college.

$3.7 million will be returned to students to compensate for remaining room and board costs as well as costs for meal plans. Nearly four million dollars is not a small sum of money to Saint Anselm College (we could have built another Welcome Center with that money, for example). The College’s annual endowment is estimated to be down by 15% this year, and summer programs have been put on hold, with most expecting to be canceled. These programs, combined with various events throughout the year that bring in over $500,000 to the college, have been canceled, meaning that windfall of cash will not reach the college.

Most concerningly, the topic we still have the least amount of information on, along with every other higher education institution in the country, is how will this affect the enrollment of the Class of 2024? As of now, the college actually has higher enrollment than it did this time two years ago, before the record-breaking Class of 2022. The long-lasting residual effects on college enrollment remain yet to be seen.

It is not unlikely that the flow of new enrollments into the college will have an effect on layoffs and furloughs when July arrives. While it is the College’s stated mission to ride out the storm, President Favazza personally commented to the Hilltopper that, “Given all the issues we are facing at this moment, we will have some big financial challenges for next year”.

Although students have had a small say in the academic direction of the college during this time (one vote on a 30+ member committee), the future of the college rests in the hands of the President, the Monastic Community, and the Board of Trustees. Not to say that these institutions don’t have the interests of students in mind, that is their expressed occupation. It is to say, however, that often students know what is best for themselves, and should represent themselves at the highest levels of their decision making. Saint Anselm College doesn’t have this, and the need is more pressing than ever.

College President and Abbot Discuss Tensions

Near the end of last year, Abbot Mark Cooper, Chancellor of Saint Anselm College filed a declaratory judgement suit against the Saint Anselm College Board of Trustees. What this suit meant, what its consequences were, and what started the dispute in the first place, were all questions that were left largely unanswered to the student body. The news threw the whole of campus into confusion just before their month-long winter break, without an opportunity to respond, react, or inquire upon this news. Students resorted to discussing the bombshell over break through instagram, where one particular meme page had the students going “nutty”. 

Despite this entertaining vector of communication, the student body remained in the dark on the topic. Statements released from President Favazza and the Board of Trustees, and Abbot Mark Cooper have provided some clarification, but much was left to be learned. How did we get here? Why did Abbot Mark do this now? What caused the suit? Down what path does this lead us, the Saint Anselm College community? We had the opportunity to answer these questions by sitting down with representatives from both camps: Abbot Cooper and President Favazza.

Earlier in 2019, according to Abbot Mark, the Board of Trustees and the Members (the monks in solemn vows, seven of whom are also voting members on the Board) began the discussion of “sufficient independence” with regard to amending power for the bylaws of the college. Sufficient independence is one thing the school’s accreditation process relies upon, and the BOT believes that they do not have sufficient independence, thereby endangering the College’s accreditation. This discussion was a continuation of the 2009 accreditation process that officially separated the monastery from the college, creating two separate entities. During this process, the New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE) accredited the school, but said that more work was left to be done in the future with regards to this benchmark of “sufficient independence”. President Favazza, however, did say definitively that “The college will be accredited”, as well as that “sufficient independence is not total independence” from the Members.

Abbot Cooper anticipated a potential difference of opinion between the jurisdiction of the BOT and the Members, and proposed earlier in 2019 that the Board and the Members create a “file” where all issues of jurisdiction and amending power be filed. At the end of eighteen months, Cooper suggested, the file would be reopened and depending on the amount of issues inside of it, the issue could be revisited or not. Such a proposal was rejected at that time by Board leadership.

From the summer of  2019, to the BOT meeting in October of 2019, the two parties had two different understandings of how amendments should be made in the Saint Anselm College bylaws. At the October 2019 meeting of the Board of Trustees, “They (the board) brought a lawyer to the meeting, who said ‘here’s the way we read Law 292:6’ in New Hampshire Law, we have the power to amend, and by the way, here’s some amendments” according to Abbot Cooper. He continued, “One of their amendments was to extend their own terms. Some of the people who are most interested in this are those who are rolling off (meeting the end of their term) on June 30th, so they said we will extend our terms up to another few years”

New Hampshire Law 292:6 is focused on the governance of voluntary member non-profit institutions and specifically on which body has the authority to amend the bylaws of such institutions, according to the office of President Favazza in his letter to alumni in response to the petition for declaratory judgement.

In order to veto the amendments at this October meeting of the Board of Trustees, according to the Board’s interpretation of 292:6, the Members had to amass a ⅔ vote to veto the amendments. There was a lack of clarity as to how the ⅔ of the Members would be counted as well. There are twenty-three Members, however, only 18 can make meetings. Three Members are in our California monastery, one is in a nursing home and cannot make it to meetings, and one is in Boston doing work for the Archdiocese. The veto passed 17-1, passing any threshold the board could have.

When asked, Abbot Cooper indicated that this interaction with the BOT was the flashpoint for his much-criticized decision to file his petition for declaratory judgement, and go public with the dispute.

That brings us to November 27th, when Abbot Cooper filed his Petition for Declaratory Judgement to the Hillsborough-Northern District court, asking the presiding judge to make a judgement on the interpretation of NH 292:6: the lawsuit in question. That’s the backstory: what does this mean for the college now?

Both Abbot Cooper and President Favazza were optimistic in the belief that this court battle would not in any way affect life for students on the hilltop. Favazza’s statement to alumni, released shortly after Abbot Cooper filed the lawsuit on November 27, emphasized this point: “What does this mean for students? I want to be clear: it continues to be business as usual here on campus. Students continue to learn, faculty to teach and research, and staff to continue with their roles of coaching, mentoring, and supporting the mission of the College. We continue to do all the things that make Saint Anselm College strong, vibrant, and transformative.”

Abbot Cooper was similarly positive on how this would affect students, saying, “I certainly think the school is strong enough to handle this, I don’t think it’s that serious or even that exciting a lawsuit/petition”. He later continued, “It doesn’t affect our curriculum, it doesn’t affect the student experience, the college will go on”.

The petition that was filed, often called a lawsuit (which is technically correct), is a petition for declaratory judgement, which asks the court of New Hampshire to make a ruling on 292:6, and affirm the interpretations of that law by either the Members (the Monks in solemn vows), or the Board of Trustees. This need was emphasized by Abbot Cooper: “We can’t have two sets of bylaws, we can’t have two groups thinking they have the ultimate power to amend”.

Both President Favazza and Abbot Cooper were careful to characterize the decision to file the petition as one that was forward-looking. “Why I am interested in this is not for today, but for the future…I trust the trustees we have right now with our catholic identity…I am interested in the amending power for the monks, not for today, but for some day in the future where they need it”, explained Abbot Cooper.

One of the biggest unanswered questions that remains is: What happens when all of this is done? Because the suit will leave a definite “winner” and “loser”, what are the worries that there will be a period of bad relations between the BOT and the Monastery?

Both Abbot Cooper and President Favazza expressed optimism with regards to these worries. President Favazza characterized the conflict as a “family squabble”, indicating that the two sides have very different interpretations of NH 292:6, but they share the common goals for the college and their mutual love for the college would prevail in mending any bad feelings between the two parties. Favazza shared his unique position, being a new President to the college: “I’m new, right, been here six months…but I have gone to board meetings, and I have witnessed that discussions are very…direct, but at the end of meetings, even after very direct conversations about this…92% of the board are alums, they love this place, they love the monks, and so even after a hard conversation, you see people hugging, saying ‘see you, Father’…There’s this really close commitment to the place that will prevail in the end”

Abbot Cooper also believes that the issue has been rife with myth and misunderstanding, saying “this isn’t a simple issue, it cannot be solved nor outlined easily with one sentence. It isn’t a Catholic issue, these are Members of the college working on behalf of the college, not on behalf of the monastery”.

Abbot Cooper’s disagreement with the Board over the interpretation of this one New Hampshire law has shined a not-so-flattering light on the college, especially considering the media coverage of the issue in the weeks following the suit. However, it is clear that this issue is, to quote both sides, “Not life-threatening (to the college)”. 

Saint Anselm can and will continue to be a beacon for fraternity, public service, and intrinsic altruism that makes this campus so special. A disagreement between two sides of the ivory tower cannot bring that down. The students, the lifeblood of Saint Anselm College, have and will continue to demonstrate exemplary academic ability, selfless community dedication, and an Anselmian love of neighbor that has persisted since 1889, and will persist for years to come. Perhaps, after these events, it is time the college injected some of that lifeblood into the Board of Trustees, and represent the student body that makes this college so special. Perhaps then the college could avoid another internal fiasco like the one in which we currently find ourselves.

Change Is Ahead: Favazza Takes Office

It isn’t often that a student body takes a sincerely invested interest in the formation of their school’s administration. Students largely concern themselves with their day-to-day lives: their classes, their social experiences, paying for tuition, et cetera. This isn’t to say that the average student is wholly apathetic towards their school admin, which would be untrue. If you are preoccupied with daily tasks, why concern yourself with someone you rarely see?

As I have been consistently reminded of, Saint Anselm College is not an average college, and does not produce average citizens. Its students are acutely and equally aware of what happens around the world as they are in their own backyard. And, as far as many Saint Anselm students were concerned, their backyard had seen better days.

Mass layoffs. Inadequate housing . Rising costs. Where was the administration last year when we raised our concerns? We still don’t know-the word on the tongues of Saint Anselm students with reference to the previous administration was invisible. Inaccessible. Untransparent. Frustrating. This bevy of words and more were used by students to express a simple reality: President Stephen DiSalvo wasn’t there for us when we needed him. 

This is not an article about the previous administration, but rather, the new one. It’s only fair to know, first, what is new about the new administration. If a lack of transparency and accessibility concerned you last year, as it did this author, have faith in this: change is ahead.

When I reached out to President Favazza to schedule an interview, I expected to wait a few days for a response. Understandably so-the beginning of the year is easily the busiest time of year, especially for a brand new executive. I received my response within 24 hours. This was my first indication that change was on the horizon. 

President Favazza has never been the president of a higher learning institution, but this does not mean he is without administrative experience. He was previously the Provost as well as the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Stonehill College. It was during his oversight that Stonehill undertook the official division of its academic programming into two schools, the May School of Arts and Sciences, and the Meehan School of Business. Before his duties as Provost and VP of Academic Affairs, President Favazza served as Dean of General Education and Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs.

In addition to his experience at Stonehill, Favazza was a Professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College in Memphis. He also oversaw the “Search For Values” program, which was the core curriculum at Rhodes. 

When I entered the president’s office, he and his executive assistant Janet (who was instrumental in expediting the interview-many thanks to her) were warm and welcoming. Upon entering a closed room, I remember President Favazza’s expression- one of anticipation. This anticipatory gaze wasn’t out of fear, but later manifested itself as eagerness. 

President Favazza is aware of the difficult spot he has filled. I opened by asking him: what do you want to say to the Saint Anselm College community? In giving him the opportunity to take the lead, I saw that President Favazza is not a man on an island. He extolled the virtues of the staff, the administration, and the professors without whom, he said, success would be impossible. 

It is not difficult to seem sageworthy and wise when speaking about those around you, however. I asked what he would do, specifically, to further engage the student body and to do what his predecessor failed to do: be seen by students. He opened with classic examples: attending student sporting events, class events, et cetera, et cetera. One thing he did mention, was a “breakfast with the president” where he would be at Davison Hall once or twice a month and students would be free to sit and chat with him.

That was all good-of course, but Saint Anselm students will not be assuaged by promises and oaths. They demand accountability and action. It is because of this, that I was so pleased to see President Favazza hold a meet and greet in the Intercultural Center this past week. Kudos to you, President Favazza, for holding your word, and holding to it early. 

Our conversation ebbed and flowed, but he was never evasive. He did his best to answer questions squarely, no matter the difficulty of their subject matter. He referenced the perceived antiquity of the monastic community, that some students believe holds back the potential of the school. He retorted with a reminder that Saint Anselm is a bastion of tradition: a tradition that upholds virtues of compassion, service, and sacrifice.

The students of 2019 face unique challenges to those of college students from previous generations. It is not an uncommon feeling amongst this generation that older generations are unsympathetic towards the extra anxiety and stresses we feel as college students in this day and age. I asked President Favazza what he found to be the most difficult challenges facing Saint Anselm College. As opposed to naming a college-specific issue, Favazza was keen to this anxiety, proclaiming the added cost of college to be his first challenge facing Saint Anselm. 

This sensitivity may result from a unique perspective: President Favazza was a first generation college student. When I asked him about how this influenced his approach as president, he responded with a reminder to be compassionate. Not having the same support system as students with parents who went to college was a challenge he experienced. As a result of this, he spoke to the importance of having a strong college advisory infrastructure to assist students who needed it. Such a sympathetic approach might prove to be constructive in this current era of college finance anxiety.

On a personal note, his experience as a first-gen college student gave him what he called a “personal resiliency” that “tried to take advantage of disadvantage”. Such an attitude would be surely welcomed at Saint Anselm. Anselmians don’t get going when the going gets tough. 

It would not have been a fruitful conversation had we not discussed housing. Everyone on this campus knows someone in a forced triple. That should be considered a categorical failure to accommodate for growing class sizes. Thankfully, despite being fresh on the job, the moment I mentioned the word “housing”, President Favazza responded with a nod of understanding. “It’s not ideal to have so many forced triples” was his immediate response. While he was noncommittal to saying that the college would build a new dorm, President Favazza did clearly state that he wanted to look into the potential of building one, as well as wanting to improve on our already existing dorms (as I write this, Saint Mary’s Hall flooded and was without running water for at least one day due to a burst pipe-a repeat of an issue from last winter that displaced three students). 

In conjunction with the discussion surrounding housing, many students have decried the construction of the new welcome center for the department of admissions as misguided, as they feel that the most pressing infrastructure need for the student body is a new residence hall. I asked him about the multi-million dollar project, and received a similar response. While, again, the current housing situation wasn’t “ideal”, the new welcome center was not without merit. “The school needs new students to live on,” he said, further noting that many other schools that Saint Anselm competes with for admissions have their own welcome centers. It will now be a question as to whether or not the new students pulled in by the welcome center will have a place to live on campus. However, once again Favazza couldn’t commit to any upcoming dormitory building projects.

This response didn’t surprise me-most major infrastructure projects undertaken by the college need to get through the Board of Trustees first. The Trustees themselves are a sensitive subject; they operate outside the jurisdiction of the school, and are not held accountable by the student body. They also aren’t held accountable by the professors or deanships. 

What if this were different? What if the most powerful body in the college had a student representative? This idea has been tossed around the Student Government Association for some time now- to no avail (clearly). President Favazza had an interesting take on this situation: at the institutions he previously worked at there was not a permanent student seat on the board of trustees, but there was a temporary seat for a student representative for special meetings and retreats of the board. He expressed an interest in the potential to implement a similar system at Saint Anselm.

President Favazza expressed interest in many things that sounded fantastic. Other than what has already been mentioned, he discussed adding new undergraduate programs, increasing study abroad opportunities, as well as the potentiality of a “J-Term”, a shortened academic term in January that’d give students an opportunity to study a class or two outside of their major requirements. Middlebury College in Vermont employs their J-Term with great success. 

All of that sounds good in theory, but where President Favazza needs to separate himself from his predecessor, is by fulfilling promises, listening to students, and being there for us.

I was incredibly grateful for the opportunity to listen to President Favazza. I sincerely hope it won’t be the last time the two of us sit together. I also sincerely hope that now that I’ve taken the time to listen to him, he will take the time to listen to us.

Boris Johnson elected UK Prime Minister

Boris Johnson was announced to become the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom yesterday. The former Foreign Secretary and Mayor of London was voted on by 66% of the small electorate that attended the Conservative Party Leadership ballot.

Johnson takes office following former Prime Minister Theresa May’s resignation after her failure to secure a Brexit deal. Her resignation announcement didn’t trigger a nation-wide vote, but rather a vote amongst party members to pick their new leader- who would then become the de-facto Prime Minister. Theresa May, despite displaying impressive stamina in the face of insurmountable political challenge, announced her impending retirement May 24th

The vote was carried out by only attending members of the Conservative Party, meaning that this vote amongst just under 160,000 people will have ramifications for the island nation of 66 million. Johnson edged out current Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt 92,153 votes to 46,656.

The vote has been received by many as a rebuke of the tempered, emotionless approach former PM May took towards the Brexit negotiations. Boris Johnson is famously bombastic, articulate, and at times, bellicose. It is because of this that the bleach-blonde haired future MP has drawn many comparisons to US President Donald Trump. Following Johnson’s victory on Tuesday, Trump posted a congratulatory tweet, saying Johnson would “do great.”

Boris Johnson will take over the office facing immediate scrutiny, both over his lack of a public mandate, as well as his at times abrasive behavior. It is hoped that his firebrand ways will push a Brexit deal forward, however, he has stated that by October 31st, the UK will leave the European Union with or without a deal. 

Questions remain about whether or not the new Prime Minister will have much of a government to work with: several Conservative MP’s have declared that they will resign when Johnson takes power, including Foreign Office Minister Alan Duncan, the UK Skills and Work minister, the Secretary of State for Internal Development, the Justice Chancellor, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, a position usually seen as being in the direct line for the Premiership.

Johnson’s leadership opens up one possibility these MP’s are seeking to avoid: a No-Deal Brexit. MP’s and other government officials warn that the UK could be headed for economic and diplomatic chaos should the United Kingdom leave with no deal.

The UK’s membership in the European Union intertwined a myriad of the UK’s government with the EU, making disentanglement difficult. This is because many fundamental aspects of the UK government, trade, taxes, regulations, and immigration policies, have become deeply enmeshed with the European Union. To this point, the UK’s biggest struggle is negotiating out a new trade deal with the EU. Boris Johnson’s premiership also opens up the option for his foreign trade policy to be in line with that of President Trump – a consistent supporter of selective, at times predatory trade policies.

More concerningly is the transition of power in a time where the United Kingdom and Iran are embattled over an Iranian seizure of a British Oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz last week. Iran has reached out to Johnson, saying they don’t want confrontation, but they will protect their borders, including their territory out at sea. Critics have been troubled by the potentiality of Johnson’s rise, saying his record on international relations has been weak and limited. Historically, Johnson has been a leader on the homefront; time will tell if he is well equipped enough to tackle these foreign diplomacy challenges.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters and detractors alike in front of 10 Downing Street for the first time as Prime Minister, Johnson claimed that he would create for the United Kingdom, “A new deal, a better deal” in relation to the European Union. Alongside remarks regarding Brexit, he promised increased funding for the British National Health Service, building plans for twenty new hospitals, as well as subsidies for the British agricultural sector, amongst a series of other domestic policies.

Facing both the Iranian crisis as well as Brexit – it’s quite possible to say that Boris Johnson faces the most immediate and pressing challenges by any Prime Minister since Winston Churchill. Time will tell if the future Prime Minister’s firebrand attitude and abrasive oratory will come to the benefit of the British people, or if it will bring them into the new decade an international pariah, as new leaders can so often do to once bright nations.