Blog Archive » 2006 » October

Today, NASA announced that it will continue to maintain the Hubble Telescope, a remarkable window on far outer space that was only recently relegated to the "endangered species" list of visionary projects abandoned in the post-9/11 world of more immediate governmental priorities.

Call me a hopeless romantic for "The Right Stuff" days, a "space junkie" who once fantasized about learning to fly and becoming an astronaut. Ok, so I was dreaming of all that in the third grade in 1962 when John Glenn went into orbit in a Mercury space capsule, and girls weren't suppposed to have dreams like that — Sally Ride was also still in grade school, but she acted on her dreams of space flight, ultimately becoming the first woman in orbit 20 years after John Glenn's famous ride.

Over the years, America's space exploration program had triumphs and tragedies, and a full measure of controversy over its utility and effectiveness. But the space program also reaped tremendous advances for modern life — and not just Tang! From teflon to advanced medical imaging devices and cordless power tools and new materials for fighting fires or skiing down mountains — and Dish TV, anyone? — the inventions first used in space exploration have become part of our contemporary world.But even more than such tangible benefits, images from the space program made us all explorers, intrepid adventurers beyond the visible sky toward distant stars and galaxies. For the last 16 years, the Hubble Telescope has provided an even more remarkable vision of worlds once beyond our wildest imagination. With its powerful lenses, Hubble has shared photographs of distant galaxies (available to download on the NASA website) with the inhabitants of Planet Earth, opening new perspectives on our place in this great universe. So, when the possibility arose a few years ago that the Hubble program would end due to budget constraints, astronomers were not the only ones alarmed by the prospect of ending this extraordinary window into outer space. Teachers, philosophers, spiritual leaders and ordinary citizens all need Hubble's eye on the universe streaming a profoundly moving visual meditation on our small place in God's vast creation.

So, I'm glad and grateful that the leadership at NASA found a way to keep Hubble going — for the scientists who can learn so much more from the data it returns to NASA, and for all the third grade girls out there who will look at Hubble's pictures of nebulae and distant planets and imagine their own future expeditions beyond the stars they know today.

See Hubble, NASA,

Seeing a Trinity Woman on TV is great. Seeing two Trinity Women on the "Today" show is heaven — especially when their opposing points of view illustrate the considerable intellectual and political range among Trinity graduates. So I was in heaven this morning when Kellyanne Conway '89 appeared on a segment of "Today" along with Celinda Lake, her co-author on the recently-released What Women Really Want. Today Host Lester Holt asked Kellyanne (a well known Republican commentator) about the upcoming election, and specifically about Democratic House Leader (and Trinity Alumna) Nancy Pelosi '62, who might become Speaker of the House if the Democrats win a majority of member of the House of Representatives. As Kellyanne replied with her customary incisive opinions on the Democrats, NBC showed clips of Nancy Pelosi in various settings, and then cut back to Kellyanne — the very sight of these two Trinity alumnae actively engaged in critical national affairs made me so proud!

Since I posted this blog earlier today, I also discovered another Trinity alumna who feels the same way I do. I'm not sure who she is, but read Ardara75's comments on how energized she was by seeing Nancy and Kellyanne this morning.

Kellyanne Conway disagrees vigorously with most of the positions that Democratic Leader Pelosi espouses, and the sharp distinction between them is a good example of the range of opinions and public causes that motivate Trinity alumnae. A Phi Beta Kappa Political Science major (magna cum laude!) at Trinity, Kellyanne's considerable talent led her to found thepollingcompany in 1995. She conducts a wide variety of research for political candidates (most often Republicans), various corporations, and more recently, on women's issues. Kellyanne is also a lawyer admitted to practice in four states after earning her J.D. with honors at George Washington University Law School. You can also read blog commentary by Kellyanne and her husband George on the National Review website.

Kellyanne is often at her best when engaging opposing points of view; I first met her when we were on opposing sides of a debate on affirmative action and women. We had a great time exchanging views. Her co-author Celinda Lake is a highly regarded Democratic strategist, and the two of them have written a powerful work on the current status of women and politics. As of this writing, the NBC clip of this morning's interview was not yet posted, but Kellyanne and Celinda also appeared on "Today" earlier this month to discuss their book. (Click on the link to see the excerpt.)

All over the country, Trinity Women are actively engaged in political efforts to improve the conditions of life for their children and families, communities and the nation. They are Democrats and Republicans and Independents, and I'm sure some Green Party and other parties along the way. They range from very liberal to very conservative, with most I've known eschewing easy labels in favor of commitment to those causes that will make our society more just, more equitable, safer and maybe even saner. Regardless of their political persuasion, however, Trinity Women share this in common with Kellyanne Conway: they are unafraid to speak out, activists in pursuit of their vision for a better society, and eager to engage in the kind of debate that will help all of us achieve a clearer understanding of the political choices we must make in the days ahead.

We must make those choices. The only action that is unacceptable is doing nothing.

Make time to vote on November 7!

See "Nancy Pelosi", Elections

Some of my feminist friends are going to argue with me vehemently about this. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings just released some new rules for Title IX that permit public schools to offer some single-sex educational opportunities for boys and girls. I applaud this ruling, even as the National Organization for Women (NOW), the American Association of University Women (AAUW), the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) and others decry what they believe is an attempt to weaken Title IX.

Title IX is one of the most important laws ever conceived to protect women's rights. Title IX mandated equal opportunities in schools at all levels for boys and girls, men and women. Title IX's most visible impact was on women's sports — without Title IX, the world would never have heard of Mia Hamm or Julie Foudy, the Washington Mystics or the NCAA Champion Lady Terps. The success of women in sports, as a result of Title IX, clearly helped to change the public perception about women's abilities in many other fields.

Because of its great importance, any effort to adapt or change Title IX must be met with skepticism and great care. NOW, AAUW, NWLC and others are right to be passionate about not tampering with this great source of equal opportunity for women.

But I think they're just wrong about opposing single-sex educational opportunties in K-12 schools. In fact, I think their opposition to this highly successful form of pedagogy works against the very girls and women who are the beneficiaries of their advocacy.

Most studies of single-gender schools for girls and colleges for women demonstrate that this form of education is extremely effective and powerful. Some of the nation's most powerful women — Trinity Alumna Nancy Pelosi, Wellesley Alumna Hillary Clinton — and hundreds of thousands of their friends and classmates are the exemplars of women's education. At the elementary and secondary school levels, many studies demonstrate the girls reap even greater benefits when allowed to grow and develop in environments that foster their success, free of sexual stereotypes and harassment.

Similar studies do not exist to support the benefits of single-gender education for boys, but surely they, too, reap benefits from the kind of close personal attention, good role models and emphasis on personal success that are the hallmarks of single-gender education for girls and women.

Will some people use this new ruling as a wedge to undermine Title IX, to return to the days of the men-only eating clubs and the old boys' network, driving the women's basketball teams back to the quonset huts on the edges of the campuses? Some might try, but they won't get far. But that's also why it's so important for NOW, AAUW and NWLC to stay vigilant.

My concern is more immediate and urgent, however. Just last week, in simultaneous releases of studies in Washington, New York, Philadelphia, California and elsewhere, politicians and educators once more mounted the ramparts to decry the failures of public education in this nation. Hundreds of thousands of children, girls and boys, are dropping out before completing high school, or if they get into college they fail to complete their degrees.

If educators have a tool at hand that is proven to improve these outcomes, shouldn't they be allowed to use it? Why would anyone deny a child an opportunity to learn in a setting that has been proven to be effective through generations? Opponents say that this is a distraction, that public education should focus on fixing its problems and addressing the critical gender equity (racial equity, ethnic equity, economic equity, etc.) problems that plague our school systems. I completely agree with the larger issues, but disagree that providing single-gender educational opportunities is a distraction or sinister.

Let the children learn in the best possible environments for their growth and success. Protect Title IX, yes, but don't smother educational opportunity in the process.

See title IX, single-sex, single-gender.

Earlier this week, an unexpected message in my emailbox:

"Dear President McGuire, I am an alum from Class of 1983 - and am writing you on the occasion of my 25th anniversary. I met my life partner while attending Trinity… and she is also an alum from the Class of 1983. We returned to Washington this past weekend to celebrate the place where we met and fell in love, and would have liked to visit Trinity, since it is the place where came to know each other."

Lisa M. Polyak went on to say that she and Gita Deane now live in Baltimore and have two young daughters, "the joy of our lives." She wrote about feelings of sadness with the conflicts she has experienced with the Catholic Church; Lisa and Gita are the lead plaintiffs in the Maryland same-sex marriage litigation.

Her message then challenged me:

"As I read Trinity newsletters, and alumnae publications, I wonder if there will ever be any room in Trinity's history to acknowledge the lesbians who have served (and continue to serve) in the faculty, staff and student populations. Women who have served with conscience and competence, but mostly in silence…."

I knew I could not simply file this message away and move on to other topics. I know too many alumnae who might pose the same question; too many women of Trinity who think that they might not be welcome at their own alma mater.

My message back to Lisa was plain: thanks for writing, please come to visit Trinity when you are in town, you are welcome here, we'd love to see you and share the good news about what's happening at Trinity today.

Lisa replied,

Thank you for the quick and welcoming response. You cannot begin to know the trepidation with which I wrote that email. If I had known that such a response was possible, I wouldn't have waited 25 years to write you !

There was quite a bit more than pleasantries in our exchange, of course. But at the most fundamental, most human level, the idea that any alumna would feel unwelcome here for so long struck me as utterly incompatible with our mission, our values, our faith.

Faith, of course, is the paradox and painful subtext in this story. As I wrote further in my message to Lisa, in fidelity to our essential Catholic identity at Trinity, we cannot endorse or advocate for any issue that is in conflict with the teachings of our Church, and this includes the issues surrounding sexual orientation and same-sex marriage. But we certainly can be pastoral and respectful in extending our welcome to our alumnae sisters. Even as I thought about this, I learned that the U.S. Catholic Bishops are planning to issue another policy statement on this at their November meeting, continuing to attempt to strike a balance between pastoral care of individuals and clarity about the Church's moral teachings.

Upholding the Church's moral teachings does not mean that alma mater must shun her own daughters. All alumnae are welcome at Trinity, always.

Lisa replied with understanding and a reflection on why she and Gita became plaintiffs in this complicated case: "The politics not withstanding — the reason that we were finally able to be out to our families, friends, employers and communities, and the ultimately reason for our participation in the Maryland marriage litigation, is our obligation as parents to make a safe and healthy life for our children. What we could not do for ourselves (be out, ask for recognition) we feel compelled to do for our children. We knew that we could not expect our children to carry the burden of shame or dissemble about their parents'identity, and so we began the process of coming out (after 15 years together !). After the children arrived, we were constantly taken aback at the protections we could not provide for our children because we are legal strangers to them in many ways - and so we agreed to be plaintiffs in the litigation."

Of course, there's a lot more to Lisa and Gita's story, and a lot more to discuss about these difficult issues that challenge so many families and people of faith. How might these discussions occur at Trinity? What wisdom can help us to illuminate the right responses? I'd like to hear from you. Please click on the envelope below, or send me an email at president@trinitydc.edu Please indicate if I can quote from your comments in my blog. Thanks.

Tonight in Notre Dame Chapel, the new first year students, the Green Class, recited Trinity's historic Honor Pledge and inscribed their names in Trinity's great Book of Honor. They received their Trinity Medals as symbols of their commitment to Trinity's values of honor and justice, faith and service to the world.

A bit of history occurred when students from our first class at THE ARC stepped forward to sign the Honor Book and receive their Trinity Medals. These women (see the photo) are as proud as any Trinity students have ever been to be a part of the Trinity family. Congratulations to them and to all members of the Green Class!

Judicial Association President Eileen Denny charged the new students with the great responsibility to uphold the principle of Honor in all aspects of their lives. Brandy Boulette, president of the Class of 2010, accepted the charge on behalf of her classmates.

I found myself thinking that in today's world of instant messaging and too much bling, the tradition of Honor, the ceremony of the Trinity Medal, might seem quaint, hopelessly old-fashioned. I suspect that few college students around the country have deeply meaningful opportunities like this to express their sense of belonging to a community of tradition, of deep faith and strong bonds of commitment. But Trinity's first year students turned out in force, and parents and grandparents and siblings and children joined them to witness this longstanding Trinity ritual. In these days with so many public examples of deception and dissembling, the ideal of Honor strikes a chord of hope among students who are striving to find the way through to a better world. In a world where commitment often seems like a hollow passing fancy, the symbol of the Trinity Medal is eagerly embraced by students longing for the permanence of the values that are integral to Trinity's mission.