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hospitals, served as “big sisters’ and tutors for
adolescents in the community, and prepared food for the
needy and in area nursing homes.
Social Action Committee (SAC)
The Social Action Committee is also part of Campus
Ministry at Aquinas and its purpose is to increase the
awareness of the Aquinas Community of the Christian
response to issues of social concern on a local, national,
and global level. SAC is staffed by a student volunteer
and coordinated by Sr. Nancy Ann Flumerfelt. The
following outlines just some of the issues and activities
student volunteers addressed during the last year:
— Hunger Awareness: Students held eight alternative
dinners on campus with the proceeds going to Project
Plant Hope; SAC sponsored a “faculty chase” with pro-
ceeds again going to Project Plant Hope; local con-
gressman Paul Henry held a public discussion on
Ethiopia.
— Central America: Volunteers organized a week-
long emphasis on Central America with speakers in 20
classes and five vigils on campus that highlighted recent
developments in Central America and the role of the
United States in that area.
— Peace Ribbon: Twenty links were returned by
members of the Aquinas community and were later joined
with the Grand Rapids Area ribbon. Representatives
from Aquinas attended the ceremony in Washington,
D.C. on August 4, 1985.
— Jail Ministry: Students went each week to be with
youth from the local Juvenile Home.
Perhaps the SAC event held last spring that most cap-
tured the imagination and the support of the Aquinas
Community was “Project Show.” Students from ten area
colleges, including Aquinas College, asked sponsors to
“pay” them to work for three hours on a Saturday morn-
ing out in the community. Neighborhood associations
and other groups applied to have designated work proj-
ects completed by the students. As a result, students
worked at 25 sites throughout the city and cleaned up
parks, alleys, and other areas and fixed up buildings.
They raised almost $10,000 which they donated to Proj-
ect Plant Hope. This year the local committee is hoping
to make Project Show a national event and is working on
getting information out to colleges across the country in
order to organize such a project. The concept has been
endorsed by former President Gerald Ford and the Asso-
ciation of Catholic Colleges and Universities, among
others, and students are currently working on gaining
more nation-wide support.
Emeritus Center
Emeritus Center is both a place and a lifelong educa-
tion program for older persons. The Center offers non-
credit, college-level courses that meet either on campus or
at the nearby Emeritus Center. However, during the
months of January and February when the weather is bad
and the driving is treacherous, Emeritus brings its courses
to its students—classes meet at retirement homes, in
apartment complexes, human service agencies, the
veterans’ facility, and shopping centers. Directors at the
various sites specify the subject matter of the seminars or
classes they would like to see brought to their locations;
Emeritus Center provides the faculty and/or group lead-
ers. This special outreach is funded by the Isabella
Foundation.
Aquinas College Campus
The campus itself reaches out to its community
because it is a magnificent nature study area where all
residents are invited. The campus is located on a beauti-
ful tract of land in the heart of the city and once was an
estate with extensively developed grounds. Every tree
and shrub indigenous to Michigan, as well as many
foreign to the area, were planted on the estate. In the
autumn, the woods are full of young students searching
for leaves for their grade school collections. Last year all
of the kindergartners in the city school system toured the
campus and studied its flora and fauna. The College has
identified and marked the various trees and shrubs and
provides an identification guide and campus map to all of
its guests.
The preceeding examples are a few of the ways
Aquinas College is in and of its community. There is a
social consciousness among the faculty, administration,
staff and students of the College that motivates them,
both individually and as a group, to be aware, commit-
ted, and involved.