HOLY SHIfT IS OUT!

If you are on campus in the next week or two, pick one up as see what St. Mike's students care about!

Volume 1, Issue 3

May Day Occupy @ St. Mike's?

"The 99% Spring is Coming"

It would seem that some stray Occupiers have taken to the rooftops (literally), decorating the windows of Alliot's dining hall with pro-Occupy writings. Most of them focused around the coming MAY DAY, which, according to many Occupy media outlets and websites is the day when the 99% are meant to go on strike.

The idea is that the 1% cannot function as a dominant economic force without the rest of America, so Occupy has called for a "General Strike" on May 1st. "No School, No Work, No Banking, No Shopping," reads another window. If, the logic goes, most people refused to go to work and school and similarly boycotted shopping and banking, transactions would slow or stop. This is of course not meant to harm the economy, but to show that the massive majority of people being harmed by economic struggle have the massive majority of the power in the economy, they just have to realize it.

No obvious night prowler has emerged as having done the soft-core window painting (it is clearly not spray paint, for those who may be worried), but many students are interested in economic justice, equality, and government regulation. Groups such as Democracy Matters, SLAM, and Peace & Justice have shown interest in such issues, whether they support the May Day General Strike or not.

I cannot of course encourage anyone to participate in May Day activities via the blog, but if you are interested in exploring the message, find the link to the May Day page HERE

HOLY SHIfT Preview!

We've worked overtime to get the third issue of HOLY SHIfT out before finals, and it looks like after much struggle, we've done it. This morning I gave the files to the printer, and he says it is possible the issues will be in by the end of the week! If you're on campus visiting, be sure to check it out!

Now, this third issue is special because it has an exclusive story about the Saint Michael's staff and their efforts to unionize, written by our very own Student Labor Action Movement. I won't reveal much more, but know that this issue has been a long time in the making, and has a variety of issues and interests covered. Get pumped!

Big Names in Burlington

Tonight I had the pleasure of seeing Dan Savage talk about his It Get's Better Project at UVM. Normally I would be skeptical of him because despite being a prominent activist, he sometimes says things that I find to be inappropriate (as in bigoted, not just offensive). But, there I was, driving to UVM with four other members of Common Ground, not knowing what to expect.

And I could hardly have been happier. He was a spectacular speaker, and conveyed the most captivating mixture of humor, horror, and empathy. His honesty was sometimes shocking, and probably a testament to the fact that he makes his living as a men's sexual health columnist. He spoke about the creation of the project, the stories he had heard, the lives saved and lives lost, and his own history. He grew up in an ultra-catholic family and had his opinions on religion, Christianity, and those he calls fake Christians, such as the figure who runs the Family Research Council.

Savage in UVM's Chapel

Savage was the keynote speaker for UVM's LGBT month, which included several events to go along with Sexual Violence Awareness month. Other groups Savage encouraged listeners to support included The Trevor Project and GLESN.