Campus briefs
Lisa Cahill to speak in second installment of Presidential Speaker Series
Topics dealing with feminism in the Catholic Church as well as the Church's ability to thrive when met with the challenges of the 21st century are some of the topics Lisa Cahill will address tonight.
A Boston College professor and advisor to President-elect Barack Obama's campaign, Cahill has written about peacemaking in the 21st Century, stem cells and homosexuality, among other controversial topics.
In an October 2008 editorial in the National Catholic Reporter, an independent Catholic newspaper, Cahill condemned bishops in the United States for openly endorsing political parties.
"People of faith should never be asked to check their religious beliefs at the voting booth," she wrote. "But when clergy mistake their role as pastors and spiritual teachers by making tacit endorsements, a tenuous line has been crossed."
In an article in Santa Clara Magazine, Cahill wrote about feminism and Catholicism.
She has written several books, including "Theological Bioethics: Participation, Justice and Change," "Family: A Christian Social Perspective" and "Sex, Gender and Christian Ethics."
The program will be in Mayer Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
High-speed rail coming to San Jose
The State of California is reported to have to start issuing IOUs instead of paychecks starting Feb.1, but plans for the high-speed rail are continuing, thanks to the passage of Proposition 1A in November.
Proposition 1A allowed for $9.95 billion in bonds to be issued to raise money for the rail, which would travel between Sacramento and San Diego, with stops along the way.
"Representatives of the High-Speed Rail Authority and their design team announced they are proceeding with design of phase I," Joe Sugg, assistant vice president for university operations, wrote in an e-mail to the undergraduate community.
There will be a public meeting for the environmental review process for the line between San Francisco and San Jose. The meeting is from 3 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 29 at the Santa Clara County Convention Center. Sugg will attend the meeting as a university representative, he wrote.
The San Francisco to San Jose portion of the line will run along the Caltrain rails.
The high-speed rail Web site boasts that construction could begin as soon as 2011.
A trip from San Jose to Los Angeles would take two hours and nine minutes; from San Jose to San Francisco would take 30 minutes. The trip from San Jose to Los Angeles would cost about $51, compared to an estimated $97 for flying and $77 driving, according to the high-speed rail Web site.
School warns off-campus students about suspicious person
Campus Safety Director Charlie Arolla sent out a campus-wide e-mail on Wednesday informing students of an incident on Park Avenue on Tuesday.
The scare involved a graduate student who was approached by an individual who attempted to talk to her and grabbed her arm.
This was not the student's first encounter with the suspect, who tried to accost her three days earlier.
The student called the San Jose Police Department, who scoured the area with no results.
Police officers described the suspect as a black male, about twenty-five years old, six feet tall, wearing dark clothing and having acne.
SJPD had no further information.
From staff reports. E-mail news@thesantaclara.com.