The annual Cabrini Day will be held on Thursday, Nov. 6, in honor of Mother Cabrini and continuation of the tradition established by foundress Mother Ursula Infante.
The two questions that this year’s Cabrini Day forum will address are: What is the appropriate role of force in the resolution of international conflicts? What is the role of the military deterrent in keeping international peace?
David Chiles, coordinator of Service Learning Resources, said, “We are trying to present different viewpoints on the subject of global conflict resolution and disarmament.”
The two keynote speakers will be Lt. Col. Jeffrey H. Davis, graduate of West Point U.S. Military Academy and Baltazar Pinguel, graduate of the University of the Philippines.
Davis has won several military medals throughout his life, for service in Italy, Albuquerque, N.M., Bosnia-Herzegovina and Korea. He will speak of his role in the military and his thoughts on international resolution conflict. Pinguel was a political prisoner from 1980 until 1985 under the Marcos dictatorial regime. He is now working for the American Friends Service Committee, an organization that promotes peaceful alternatives to violence and understanding of the root causes of war among other things.
“I’m really excited about this year’s Cabrini Day because we’re making a concerted effort to present both sides of the issue,” Dr. Hal Halbert, assistant professor of English/communications, said. “On the one hand, Cabrini students are religious students but on the other hand, they are very patriotic students. Their values as Catholics are challenged to support the country that they love. We wanted to make sure that we weren’t preaching so much as inviting an honest, intellectual debate about moral and ethical considerations.”
A big portion of Catholicism is the concept of peace, hence the underlying Catholic theme for each passing Cabrini Day celebration.
The Cabrini Spirit and Mastronardi awards will also be presented during the assembly. Many more speakers will be speaking personally to students in breakout panels after the main assembly.
Posted to the web by Angelina Wagner
