True Diversity

THE NEW YORK POST, Nov. 23 — The American Psychological Association has abandoned its proposal to strip religious colleges and universities of their accreditation to grant degrees in psychology unless they agree to hire professors and admit students of all faiths and without regard for sexual orientation, according to a column by Maggie Gallagher.

Faced with a legal challenge from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and pressure from the U.S. Department of Education, the association's accrediting committee announced in November that it would abandon the proposal in light of “recent Supreme Court decisions that show an increased deference to First Amendment interests over anti-discrimination statutes and the committee's role as an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.”

McGuire's Court

MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY

— The Jesuit university's men's basketball team is playing its home games on the new Al McGuire court at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee this season. McGuire, a legendary Marquette basketball coach in the 1960s and ‘70s and a long-time NBC broadcaster, died of acute leukemia in Milwaukee last January. An inspirational speaker, McGuire frequently drew on his experiences of the Catholic faith.

Opus Dei College

NEW CATHOLIC WORLD, Nov. 12 — The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago reported on the expansion plans of Lexington College, a culinary institute founded by female members of Opus Dei in 1977 to help Catholics give witness to Christ in their working lives. Accredited in 1992, Lexington offers an associate of applied science in hospitality management that equips students to work in restaurants, hotels, conference centers or places that specialize in tourism. In the future, it will offer a bachelor's degree in the field as well as an associate's degree in the culinary arts. “A campus chapel will [also soon] be available,” reports the newspaper.

Philly Status Quo?

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, Nov. 21 — Pennsylvania Gov. Mark Schweiker has backed off his proposal to take over the failing public schools of Philadelphia and place the entire system under the direction of Edison Schools Inc., a private management company. However, under a revised agreement still being worked out between the city and state, Edison would serve as a consultant, a provider of services, and a recruiter of new managers for the district. The company may also be called upon to operate some 60 low-performing schools in partnership with community groups.

Flag Wavers

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, Nov. 20 — The children at St. Philip School in Crafton, Pa., have created a giant flag from four queen-sized bed sheets, using their painted hands to create the stars and stripes — one child, one hand.

From a distance of 40 yards, the flag looks conventional. But when you walk up to it, you say, “Wow, this thing is made out of hands,” said Gary Klimek, a parent of two pupils at St. Philip, located within the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

The flag was made as a gift to comfort the Catholic school children of New York following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack and is currently making the rounds of parochial schools near Ground Zero, the former site of the World Trade Center in Manhattan. Klimek came up with the idea four days after the attack, while talking with other parents. “We said, ‘You know, we need to do something as a group. The kids feel like they need to do something.’ “