La Salle University - Explorer Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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Brothers we asked! Ranging from 18 to 80, from undergraduate to full profes- sor, from mere instructor to college president, there was agreement. Yes, there has been change, plenty of it, more than any visionary of 1680 could have conceived. Yet this change, the Brothers thought, has been — well, let ' s say relative. In a back to basics age, some basics don ' t have to be gone back to, because they were always there. Brother Patrick Ellis, President of La Salle College, thinks that we are, in the main, bringing St. La Salle ' s visi into our century and our cultur seeing to the real needs of persons who otherwise wouldn ' t be served fully, if at all. To paraphrase him, Si La Salle said that parents and studeni shouldn ' t have to trade off any educa- tional quality in order to have a reli- gious atmosphere. The place with his name on it must be first-rate in all ways. As to academic change, about which we also asked. Brother Patrick would like to see a more effective thrust for intellectual formation: cohe- rence in the structure of all majors, cumulative impact in areas like phi- losophy and theology along with the existing brilliance of the separate courses, much more study of long- range subjects like history and foreign languages. Brother Patrick thinks all of this is coming, but slowly. Brother Gregory Paul Sprissler came to La Salle in 1933 and has been something of everything: faculty mem- ber, dean of the college, president of the college, and dean of the evening division. The trend today, Brother Gregory Paul notes, is toward fewer and fewer Christian Brothers. During the 30 ' s and early 40 ' s, the faculty, though small, was composed mostly of Brothers. Every student in each of his years at the College came into in- timate contact with the Brothers. It follows that the traditions of St. La Salle were maximized. Today it is possible for a student to spend four years here without coming under the influence of a Brother in the class- room. Yet, of course, we are here, which very fact is a striking if indirect tribute to the traditions of the Broth- ers. Brother William Quinn, who has also served La Salle College and the Christian Brothers with panache, dis- tinction, and longevity, also feels that the college today is still in step with the founder ' s ideals. Who am I to speak for St. John Baptist de la Salle? 21

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Christian Brothers hke what they see Social scientists have made us aware of cultural relativism. The forms and institutions of one time or place often seem immutable, eternal, part of the very nature of things to those near them, while they appear arbitrary, pointless, droll and quaint to outside observers. Yesterday ' s pas- sions are today ' s nostalgia. And the more clearly we perceive relativism, the more of it there is; all dogmas, axioms, truths, laws come under reva- luation, scrutiny, question. But how relative is relative? Is Rheims, France too far away to mean anything for Philadelphians? Is 1680 too long ago to help shape 1980? Is John Baptist de la Salle, a priest, an aristocrat, a humanist intellectual, too remote to cross our paths at all? What does liberal arts education mean today? Why religious community? Why Catholic schools? We asked several of the Christian Brothers to comment about the way in which the La Salle College of 1980 is still fulfilling the historic mission of St. La Salle — and what a variety of 20

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La Salle heading into the ' 80 ' s V, riiisuuiiiuMninsinn ii:crt:ilKHmNIHnBIIIIH uiliiHtlllUIUHIIWIHIIII itimiini; l y -i - — All the same, my guess is that if he were to return to visit the College bearing his name he would be pleased, and proud, of what the Col- lege is, in Anno Domini 1980. What makes Brother Quinn feel that way? The blend of idealism enunciated in the philosophy and goals of the Col- lege with the realism of day-to-day living at 20th and Olney has created something unique, something as dis- tinctive as any family is distinctive. La Salle is a good place to live, and work, and reflect and dream. The mood is friendly, the climate is free, and joy in living has not passed us by, thank God. I have yet to hear of any- one on campus hindered in making his or her unique contribution to the commonweal. And yet, in spite of this spirit of live and let live, it is rare that anyone abuses the good nature of oth- ers. Newer and younger Christian Broth- ers agree with their older confreres, stressing the main mission laid down by St. La Salle. Brother Richard Her- lihy, a senior sociology major (and the first Christian Brother, as far as we know, to take his lumps on an in- tramural football team), places the mission of the Brothers in context: The Council of American Bishops ex- horts our clerical and religious educa- tors to ' teach as Jesus taught. ' The Christian Brothers seem to me to ex- emplify such teaching, which involves adapting Jesus ' s way of reaching out Jl 22 to people — going out into the commu- nity and proclaiming the Good News, teaching his people, touching them in words and deeds. Likewise, the Chris- tian Brothers are among the commu- nity — in the classroom, working with a social action agency, moderating or participating in neighborhood activi- ties, and many other apostolates. The Brothers are prayerful men of faith who, through their words and deeds, reach out and touch God ' s people also. Another newer Brother, Brian Henderson, made his first profession in September of last year. His words show that he had pondered deeply just what he was professing by be- coming a Christian Brother. Through his writings, St. La Salle insists that the Christian Brothers provide quality education as being more than text- books and exams; forming well- rounded contributors to society was a major objective for him, too. The Col- lege continues to change physically, academically, and philosophically in order to address the needs of present and future students. It is because of — not in spite of — these changes that La Salle College strives to fulfill the Founder ' s vision. You might have your misgivings when the next tuition bill comes in, but Brother Claude Demitras, Dean of the Evening Division, reminds us that St. La Salle directed the Brothers to educate the poor . . . which concept may be extended to include those in our society who have not had the chance to take advantage of the edu- cational opportunities available due to