Father Jonathan DeFelice, O.S.B., opened the 2007-2008 academic year with words of encouragement, an emphasis on the Benedictine tradition and warnings about Facebook and other social networking sites.
“You have chosen to come to a college that believes in high standards – for ourselves and for you,” Father Jonathan said in his welcome to new students and their families. “You have chosen a college that believes that God is present and active in our human history and in your lives. You have chosen a college that believes deeply in the dignity of every human person, and in their ability to build a better world.
“We believe in you and in what you are capable of accomplishing, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. We also believe that we have an outstanding program of liberal arts education that will help you to become truly well-educated men and women, citizens of our democracy who are engaged in your communities, leaders in our free society who will know right from wrong and will have the courage and the will to build a civilization of love. We believe that we offer you an education that will help you be in awe and wonder of the world around you for the rest of your lives.”
Father Jonathan also used the Masses, dinners and other gatherings that mark the start of a new academic year as an opportunity to highlight the Benedictine values that guide the college.
“As faculty look at the specific discipline they teach, as students wonder if they have made the right choice about a major or a course, as administrators and staff prepare again for the annual round of duties, I think it is good to step back and look at least one of the things that provides the inspiration for everything we do,” Father Jonathan said in his homily at the opening Mass.
“What I am speaking of is the reality that through the person of Jesus all human reality changed, touched by the fact of his presence among us. He taught us in a new and unrepeatable way that God was not distant, but near; that human life, human learning, human activity was now touched by the fact of the incarnation and raised to a new level.”
During the Orientation Dinner for new students, Father Jonathan described his journey into the “land of Facebook,” where “I saw some of you for the first time; I read about how wonderfully unique each one of you is, about your youthful enthusiasm, hopes for the future, and I delighted in your good humor. That part of the trip was refreshing and energizing as I thought of all the great things you could accomplish as you begin this next phase of your life.
“But there were things I saw and read that were, frankly, a bit discouraging. Tales – in text or photos – of what you were going to make of this college experience; tales, that if true, will not only put you at risk to fail, but will turn you into something that is far less than you are by your God-given dignity and the opportunity you have here.”
He warned of the consequences these entries could have on students’ futures and urged them to clean up their cyberspace images, if necessary, and become respectful participants in the real community on campus.
Reminding them of the Mass in the Abbey Church that seeks God’s blessing on the new academic year, he said, “I’ll see you on Facebook and I’ll see you in Church!”