College Town

ORLANDO SENTINEL, Nov. 22—Ave Maria University, the new Catholic college spearheaded by philanthropist Thomas Monaghan, is expected to spawn a town of its own that will rise along with the campus in what are now cane fields in southwest Florida, the newspaper reported.

The new university plans to start classes in a temporary location in Naples, Fla., next fall and then move within a few years to 750 acres near the Collier County hamlet of Immokalee, about 20 miles northeast of Naples.

The town is designed to enrich student life by having students and teachers live as close to campus as possible.

No Action AGAPE PRESS, Nov. 20—Cynthia Maughan, an Anglican graduate student, has sued the University of British Columbia, claiming she was accused of being a religious terrorist and mentally unstable for refusing to attend a required Sunday class, reported the Protestant news service.

The university took no punitive action against those who carried out the harassment, including a class member who circulated an e-mail that included comments such as, “I fondly remember a time when Christians were stoned.”

Brian Rushfeldt of the Canada Family Action Coalition said he was alarmed that the religious harassment, once made known to the university, generated no formal response.

Activist Faculty NEWSDAY, Nov. 19—The Long Island daily reported that students in the region are paying close attention to a possible war in Iraq, terrorism and events in the Middle East.

“Students are suddenly tremendously interested,” said Raymond Russo, who has been teaching a course on the Arab world for 17 years at St. Joseph's College in Patchogue, N.Y. “I have sisters and teachers asking, ‘Can I sit in on your class and listen to what's going on?’”

The newspaper also wondered if a peace movement is on the horizon. Russo said there has been an increase in campus activism, though he acknowledged, “it still has to be promoted and prompted by teachers.”

Bonzo Education

SAN MATEO COUNTY TIMES, Nov. 20—Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, Calif., has decided to offer an animal-related bachelor's degree.

Animals in Human Society will give students a chance to major in sociology with an emphasis on the frequent bond experienced by some human beings and animals.

With tongue in cheek, the newspaper goes on: “But Notre Dame's novel plan begs one key question: Who will lecture? Will it only be homo sapiens? Or will some of the members of the more articulate animal species get a chance to strut their stuff?”

Changing Culture

ST. BONAVENTURE UNIVERSITY, Nov. 20—The university announced that it has received a Lilly Endowment grant of nearly $2 million to support its Journey Project to help inspire students to pursue religious vocations.

One of the program's goals is “changing campus culture” to effect a “campus-wide culture shift toward a greater appreciation of the university's Franciscan values and how those values affect the lives of both individuals and institutions.”