October 11, 2002
New Jesuit Center director offers special Loyola Week
by Jessica Davis, Intern in the Offices of Public Affairs and Publications
This
year's Loyola Day celebration will be a first for the Rev. Simon "Si"
Hendry, S.J., who is the new Jesuit Center director. When Hendry began
his new job, he did not know that he would be in charge of planning an
entire week devoted to the Jesuit identity. "I got the job, and then
they told me that I would need to plan Loyola Week," he recalls.
"I'd never been to one, so I didn't have any pre-existing ideas of
what should happen. I put the events of Loyola week together after meeting
with students, faculty, and Jesuits."
This year Hendry has planned a variety of ways for the entire community to celebrate its Jesuit ideals. Loyola Day is scheduled for October 14 and events are scheduled through Friday, October 18. On Tuesday, October 15, during the window, a panel discussion on the Jesuit characteristics of Loyola University takes place. Tuesday night there will be an outdoor Mass in the residential quad at 9 p.m. On Wednesday, Loyola will hold Women and Men Take Back the Night. Although sponsored by the Career and Counseling Center, Hendry says, "We want to lend our support to it." During the window on Thursday, there will be a pizza party in the Peace Quad and a few fun events. At this time, last year's class gift to the school will be unveiled--marble blocks inscribed with the Ignatian ideals that will line the pathway from the library to the St. Ignatius statue--as well as the current SGA and the Jesuit Center gift of banners bearing the Ignatian ideals that will hang in the Danna Center. Hendry says he believes these gestures provides students with an opportunity to remind the community of its Jesuit ideals. On Friday, the Jesuit Center will support a jazz workshop. He hopes that the variety of events will provide something for everyone.
Hendry says he believes the ability to adapt to the needs of the Loyola community is an important aspect of his new job. He wants each year's event to be a response to the community's needs at that time. "I feel like I'm inventing a job, and I like that," he says. "I prefer the ability to design a position that suits the community rather than stepping into a job that is already strictly outlined out."
One staple of past celebrations that he would like to continue is an open house at Thomas Hall. "Everyone who I've talked to always remembers that part of past Loyola Weeks. I would also like to be able to provide ways for the students to get to know the Jesuits better. I want lots of the Jesuits to attend the events of that week so that the students will see them and perhaps feel more comfortable in approaching them. The Jesuits also want to be better known by the students."
For Hendry, "Loyola week is a way to kick off conversations, a way to get people thinking and talking about what it means to be a Jesuit school. In the past, a Jesuit school was one where most of the teachers were Jesuits. Now, that is obviously no longer the case. We have many different types of people working in Jesuit institutions today, but it is still important that everyone who works in these schools carries out the Jesuit ideals."
Hendry says he believes that the week's events provide an excellent way for him to start off his first year as the director of the Jesuit Center. For the remainder of the year, he says, "I would like to keep the conversations going. Right now, I am working on getting a group of people together who want to integrate Jesuit spirituality into their everyday lives. I am working with Loyola strengths. There are many people who are doing great things that not everyone knows about. So far, I've really been impressed with the faculty, staff, and students."
He continues, "There is a tradition in the Jesuit education of finding God in all things. That means respecting different forms of education and caring for the individual student. All schools want to develop the talents that a student already has, but a Jesuit university wants to help students direct those talents to God. Also, there is a sense of developing faith and justice within the community. It is essentially a holistic education that not only educates the whole person, but also the whole person in relation to society."