Campus briefs
Souled out?
The era of political dominance by the religious right is over. The Republican primary for the 2008 elections have demonstrated this fact.
Or at least that's the stance that E.J. Dionne Jr., the next scheduled speaker for the Presidential Speaker Series, takes.
Dionne, who is Catholic and a columnist for the Washington Post, will speak about the change in religious voters from conservatism to a more progressive view of politics.
"It is a great sellout of religion to insist that it has much to teach us about abortion or gay marriage, but little useful to say about social justice, war and peace, the organization of our work lives or our approach to providing for the old, the sick and the desperate," he writes in his book, "Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics After the Religious Right."
His other books include "Why Americans Hate Politics," "They Only Look Dead: Why Progressives Will Dominate the Next Political Era" and "Stand Up, Fight Back: Republican Toughs, Democratic Wimps and the Politics of Revenge."
Before working for the Washington Post, Dionne spent 14 years at The New York Times, working as a political reporter and a foreign correspondent in Paris, Rome and Beirut.
He has degrees from Harvard University and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes scholar.
His talk will take place March 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Mayer Theatre. Student tickets cost $5.
University of Texas professor to speak about conflicting religious experiences
Sean Theriault is gay and Catholic. He is also a scholar and professor, with several published works.
When he visits Santa Clara today, he will share his experiences with all of these parts of his identity.
Theriault, a professor in the government department at University of Texas, Austin, will discuss his experiences leading a group of students in Rome at a luncheon with study abroad students. In Rome, he taught a course called the politics of the Catholic church. This lunch is by invitation only.
From there, he will move to the arts and sciences building for a talk on the role of minority groups in the 2008 elections. Starting at 2 p.m., Theriault will evaluate the voting habits of minorities in the election and their speculated political role in the Obama administration.
He'll end his day with a talk in Kennedy Commons titled "Growing Up Gay in the Catholic Church." This discussion will center on his personal journey to accept homosexuality and Catholicism as a part of his identity while accepting that these facets will sometimes conflict with each other. The talk will begin at 4 p.m.
Bronco week continues
Without a Santa Clara football team, homecoming week is a difficult event to plan. In an attempt to raise Bronco spirit, Associated Students and other organizations have joined forces to put on various events this week.
"Since we don't have a typical homecoming week surrounding football, we decided to have a spirit week surrounding many of the biggest games of the year," said AS Vice President Umang Desai in an e-mail to the student body.
For Bronco Week information, check out Desai's "What's going on this week" e-mail.
From staff reports. E-mail news@thesantaclara.com.