Remembering Romero

"Peace is not the product of terror or fear. Peace is not the silence of cemeteries. Peace is not the silent result of violent repression. Peace is the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all. Peace is dynamism. Peace is generosity. It is right and it is duty."

Oscar Romero (d. March 24, 1980). Presente. 

in praise of pinterest

A lot of my posts lately haven't really been about my JVC experience...but in this case, sorry I'm not sorry, because I need to profess my love for pinterest. It's a social networking site (I've been using it since November or so) where you "pin" websites, photos, recipes, etc. to your public bulletin boards. Anyone can browse, re-pin, like and comment. It's quite fun. It has been criticized for appealing primarily to midwestern and southern housewives, so I'm not sure where that puts me. But at any rate, it's my new Sunday morning ritual to sit in bed for a good 30 minutes pinning new recipes to try and checking out the latest fashion trends. Pinterest is also where I found inspiration for all of my homemade Christmas gifts:

I decorated coasters for Mom and Liz, made a t-shirt pillow for Dan, and decoupaged a frame for Dad.

My favorite part is definitely finding creative recipes. (The ratio of my food-related pins to not-food-related pins is something like 5:1.) I think this is partially because I am somewhat culinary-deficient and need pictures in order to pick out recipes...and pinterest provides. The following pinterest finds that I've made have been popular in CMC. They are by no means works of culinary art, but they are fun and delicious!

There is cookie dough inside of this cupcake. Need I say more? 

I will: The frosting also tastes like a cookie.

Tasted just like a Krispy Kreme, but had the texture of a cupcake.

Eggs on a nest of hash browns (bake the potatoes first with some oil, garlic, salt, pepper, crushed red peppers and, of course, cheese; then bake with an egg; then a little more cheese).

No te salves

A poem my casamate Maria shared with all the Southwest JVs at our Re-Orientation as a call to action in working for social justice.


No te salves / Don’t Save Yourself Mario Benedetti

Don’t remain immobile
At the edge of the road
Don’t freeze the joy
Don’t love with reluctance
Don’t save yourself now
or ever
Don’t save yourself
Don’t fill with calm
Don’t reserve in the world
Only a secure place
Don’t let your eyelids fall
Heavily as judgments
Don’t speak without lips
Don’t sleep without sleepiness
Don’t imagine yourself without blood
Don’t judge yourself without time.
But if
in spite of everything
You can’t help it,
And you freeze the joy,
And you love with reluctance,
And you save yourself now,
And you fill with calm
And you reserve in the world
Only a calm place,
And you let fall your eyelids
Heavily as judgments,
And you speak without lips,
And you sleep without sleepiness,
And you imagine yourself without blood,
And you judge yourself without time,
And you remain immobile
At the edge of the road,
And you save yourself,
Then…
Don’t stay with me.

the best!

Cooper was the best. Or at least, I thought so. There were plenty of times I was the only one who liked him. Anytime he did something good, he was the family dog; but anytime he did something bad, he quickly became "Carolyn's dog." I frequently claimed him as my own (even though I did little more to care for him than for any of the other dogs), just because he was some sort of get-well-slash-welcome-home-from-the-hospital gift in eighth grade. I spent a fair amount of time in the hospital picking out a name for this new dog and settled on "Bella," only to find out that there weren't any female dogs available. So the last of the litter was this chubby stick-of-butter-and-block-of-cheese-stealing fluff ball who never lost his puppy fur.

I don't mean to be dramatic (am I eulogizing a dog?), but Coop was special to me. This summer when I was studying for the MCAT, he came downstairs to the basement every day to visit me. He'd bring his huge stuffed dog and throw it around, then lay down for a bit next to me until he got bored. He kept going downstairs every day even after I took the MCAT, and he was pretty confused as to where I was and why I wasn't sitting in the same desk. He was silly and smelly, and you could rarely convince him to do anything he didn't want to do (I don't think he fetched a ball once in his life), but he was loyal and soft and cute!

R.I.P. Cooper

Hoya Saxa

Our basketball team may struggle from time to time, but this letter sent to the Georgetown community by our president, John DeGioia, makes me proud to be a Hoya. It doesn't matter whether you agree with this Georgetown Law student's position on birth control. What matters is that Rush Limbaugh's personal attacks on those with whom he disagrees are becoming the standard in political discourse in America, and it is not an environment conducive to progress. I'm not sure civil discourse was ever really the norm in my lifetime, but I'm proud of DeGioia standing up for this student's freedom of expression in an eloquent letter.

(Maureen Dowd also wrote about the exchange in her NY Times column this weekend.)

MARCH 2, 2012

Dear Members of the Georgetown Community:

There is a legitimate question of public policy before our nation today.  In the effort to address the problem of the nearly fifty million Americans who lack health insurance, our lawmakers enacted legislation that seeks to increase access to health care. In recent weeks, a question regarding the breadth of services that will be covered has focused significant public attention on the issue of contraceptive coverage.  Many, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, have offered important perspectives on this issue.

In recent days, a law student of Georgetown, Sandra Fluke, offered her testimony regarding the proposed regulations by the Department of Health and Human Services before a group of members of Congress.  She was respectful, sincere, and spoke with conviction.  She provided a model of civil discourse.  This expression of conscience was in the tradition of the deepest values we share as a people. One need not agree with her substantive position to support her right to respectful free expression.  And yet, some of those who disagreed with her position – including Rush Limbaugh and commentators throughout the blogosphere and in various other media channels – responded with behavior that can only be described as misogynistic, vitriolic, and a misrepresentation of the position of our student. 

In our vibrant and diverse society, there always are important differences that need to be debated, with strong and legitimate beliefs held on all sides of challenging issues. The greatest contribution of the American project is the recognition that together, we can rely on civil discourse to engage the tensions that characterize these difficult issues, and work towards resolutions that balance deeply held and different perspectives.  We have learned through painful experience that we must respect one another and we acknowledge that the best way to confront our differences is through constructive public debate.  At times, the exercise of one person’s freedom may conflict with another’s.  As Americans, we accept that the only answer to our differences is further engagement. 

In an earlier time, St. Augustine captured the sense of what is required in civil discourse: "Let us, on both sides, lay aside all arrogance.  Let us not, on either side, claim that we have already discovered the truth.  Let us seek it together as something which is known to neither of us.  For then only may we seek it, lovingly and tranquilly, if there be no bold presumption that it is already discovered and possessed."

If we, instead, allow coarseness, anger – even hatred – to stand for civil discourse in America, we violate the sacred trust that has been handed down through the generations beginning with our Founders.  The values that hold us together as a people require nothing less than eternal vigilance.  This is our moment to stand for the values of civility in our engagement with one another.

Sincerely,

John J. DeGioia
President
Georgetown University

Originally posted at http://www.georgetown.edu/message-civility-public-discourse.html

"Shame on Ceasar! ... Seniors! ... Cedars! I meant Cedars!"

A couple weeks ago for one of our community nights we attended a candlelit vigil/protest of the closing of the psych ward at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in L.A. This is the latest in a trend of psychiatric services being cut across the state, including MediCal cutting much of its coverage for psych services. Most of us work with persons with mental illness in some capacity or another, so we see daily how essential these outpatient and inpatient services are. I'm happy that one of the speakers at the vigil made the point of saying that without psychiatric care, many people would end up in prison or on the streets. Unfortunately, the decision has already been made, and plans are already being carried out to close the 60-bed psych ward at Cedars, but we attended the vigil to help make the point that mental health is just as important as any other piece of healthcare. As a psychology major, it's natural for me to consider mental illness as a part of overall health, but there is certainly still a stigma attached to disorders of the brain.

After the vigil, we walked around the massive block of buildings that makes up Cedars Sinai, chanting "Cedars must reconsider!" and "Shame on Cedars!" Try repeating that for about 20 minutes at a high volume. I kept saying things like "Shame on Ceasar!' and "Shame on seniors!" And my voice was pretty hoarse at work the  next day...