Pub Night Kicks Off the New Semester
Last Tuesday, after a busy first day of classes, the students of Christendom got together in St. Kilian's Cafe to hang out, relax, and enjoy each other's company. Drinks and snacks were served as students chatted, listened to music, and played games. Students were especially excited to attend the event, as most of them were re-uniting for the first time since the end of the fall semester, and excitedly greeted one another.

"It's really nice to see everyone again," said Sophomore Olivia Aveni. "It's nice to just hang out and enjoy each other's company before the craziness of the year really gets going."

Student Activities Council (SAC) members hosted the event. While chatting with other students, they served "Dominion" Root Beer, "Shirley Temples," and various snacks. The students enjoyed the relaxed evening, as many stayed till curfew, chatting with classmates and playing games. The event was a great way to kick off a new semester in a fun welcoming way.


Sophomores Eric Maschue and Alicia Stanton enjoy a game of Mad Gab.


Junior Adele Smith and Sophomores Colleen Harrington and Olivia Aveni enjoyed the Dominion Root Beer.


Sophomores Chris Roberts and Peter Hill get serious over a game of poker.



Friday Night Fun
To ensure that the first week back at school ended on a good note, a Student Social was held in the gym on Friday night, January 21. There were consistently several games of volleyball going on the whole night, and Student Activities Council members made the games more exciting by serving as DJs and playing music.

Upstairs, one group of students gathered to watch basketball games, while other groups played board and card games. Many yummy snacks were served as well.

“Everybody had a great time unwinding for the weekend,” said Senior Katie Cruser, one of the SAC members who organized the event. “The volleyball especially seemed to be a huge hit!”


Guys share a laugh over a game of Apples to Apples.


Sophomore Nick Blank sends the ball over the head of Sophomore Dan Mitchell.


SAC DJs kept the excitement alive with some fun tunes.



Dancing in Black and White
On Saturday night Christendom students arrived at the St. Lawrence Commons to celebrate the beginning of a new semester with the Oreo Dance. Dressed in black and white, everyone snacked on appropriately themed refreshments and danced all night.

“The Oreo Dance is always a fun dance because it’s the first dance of second semester,” Sophomore Rachel Milani said. “It sets the tone for the rest of the year and gets everyone in a good mood—it's the best way to start off a new semester.”


Students had fun playing with the black and white theme — from casual to formal and sometimes a combination of the two.


Sophomore Anastacio Hinojosa swings with Freshman Alee Crafton.


Philosophy Professor Dr. Doug Flippen showed up and danced a few numbers with his wife, Maureen.


Freshman Neil Baldwin and Jennifer Nussio enjoy a dance.



On Friendship

On Sunday night, Literature Professor Sharon Hickson, the ever-popular faculty speaker, gave an enriching talk on “Friendship” in the Chapel Crypt to dozens of eager students. Mrs. Hickson proposed that true friendship encourages action, and she gave many insightful ideas on how to both challenge and support one’s group of friends in order to bring them up and make them more solidly founded on a strong spiritual structure.

“Mrs. Hickson presented some very interesting points,” Freshman Lauren Enk said. “She offered us concrete advice in answer to definite problems with friendships in the modern world. She certainly challenged us and gave us a lot to contemplate.”

Hickson encouraged everyone to discover the unique spiritual character of their group of friends, and to ultimately live their faith with zeal and joy.


Throughout the year, Prof. Hickson offers a number of formative talks, which always draw a large crowd.



March for Life 2011

On Monday, the College cancelled classes and provided transportation for its entire student body to attend the 38th Annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. Students began the day with Mass and prayed the four different mysteries of the rosary en route to and during the March—making the event a time for both political and spiritual action.

“One thing that struck me was the difference between the pro-abortion protesters chanting 'keep abortion legal' in front of the Supreme Court and the pro-lifers praying the rosary across the street—you could really feel the power of prayer battling against the devil,” Junior Andie Smith said.

The college’s Student Activities Council charted eight busses to bring over 400 people to the March this year.

“I love the fact that all of Christendom goes to the March,” Junior Christine Nussio said. “Bringing the culture of life back to our society is part of the college's mission and what we are all trying to do in restoring all things in Christ.”

Christendom College students are active in pro-life efforts throughout the year as well, most notably each Saturday morning when many of them travel to Washington, D.C., to protest outside a Planned Parenthood clinic. Other students take part in pro-life activism through the Students for Life groups, while others help out with the College’s outreach program and work with the local crisis pregnancy center.

Read more here.


Since its founding in 1977, Christendom College’s administration has encouraged its students, faculty, and staff to attend the annual pro-life event in the Nation’s Capital. Above students stand in front of the Supreme Court building.


Former U.S. Senator and member of Christendom's Advisory Board, Rick Santorum, with Christendom's banner.


EWTN provided full coverage of the event and interviewed a couple of our students.


Banners displaying BreatheCatholic.com could be seen during the March.


Christendom College leading the March for Life in 1984.


Leading the March for Life in 1998.


Leading the March for Life in 2009.

Transferring Into Christendom

Starting a new school is never easy, and transferring into a college mid-year is a difficult thing to do. The staff and students at Christendom College try to make this transition easier. Spring semester transfer student Ben Scrivener discusses what it’s really like to experience transferring to Christendom.

The Chronicler: How is Christendom different from your previous college?
Ben: My previous college was not driven by its students, and was not focused on the truth. Christendom is unique in the way that everyone is open about his or her faith, and it is what drives this school, which is one of the reasons I wanted to come here.

C: Was it difficult to adjust to life at Christendom?
Ben: At first I was nervous about coming, but my four older brothers came here before me, so between visiting and having them give me advice, I was able to make the transition fairly easily.

C: How have you found the classes to be so far?
Ben: Classes have been going really well. I have been having more fun in the actual classroom than I ever thought I would. Classes are engaging and you can tell the teachers really love what they do.

C: Has Christendom done anything to make the transition smoother?
Ben: Having Dr. Keats help me register for classes was a huge relief; he and Walter made the registration process painless.

C: Any other comments relating to the adjustments to Christendom?
Ben: The Student Life staff has been very helpful in answering questions and helping me get settled in here at Christendom.

Spring Semester Looks to Pick Up Where the Fall Left Off

Students are back on campus and the sports teams are back in the swing of things. The Spring sports teams are beginning pre-season workouts while the basketball teams are trying to get back into form as quick as possible before the first game of the new semester. Christendom offers baseball and rugby in the spring as well as a host of intramural sports which garnish support from the entire student body.

The basketball teams get back into action on January 28 when the men and women host Davis College from Binghamton, NY. The games prove to be very competitive this season. The women lost in their season opener at Davis early in November and the men have split with Davis so far. The men’s team welcomes back Anastacio Hinojosa who returns after a semester off and will say goodbye to Brian Fox and Dominic O’Donnell as they leave for their semester in Rome this spring. The men’s team will play 9 games this semester before hosting the Shenandoah Chesapeake Conference Tournament in late February. The Lady Crusaders say goodbye to Emily Baldwin and Mary Hill for the semester but look to continue their winning season in the next few weeks.

Rugby is well underway despite the snow to embark on another winning season. Pre-season workouts in the snow have the guys already getting in shape. The team which has boasted the highest participation of any intercollegiate sport in terms of pure numbers recording 20+ participants for the last 4 years will look to make up for the void left by seniors Zach Miller and David Long. The Athletic Department welcomes new head coach Don Briggs who has been around Rugby his whole life, recently having coached the Mt. St. Mary’s rugby team. Coach Briggs brings a wealth of knowledge in Rugby and is very excited to be a part of the Christendom College community. He and his wife live in Emmitsburg, MD. The team returns many key starters from last year including fly-half Joe Long, Patrick Norton, and seniors Jack Donahue and Ben Ranieri.

The Crusader baseball team which made great strides last year looks to continue the positive trend this spring when they step on the diamond. Third year coach John Mercandetti and the team lost 2 important starters in center-fielder Ryan Doughty and 3rd baseman and pitcher TJ Nacey who graduated last year. Despite the loss of these 2 important players, the team has renewed energy and enthusiasm with the development of last year’s young talent including shortstop phenomenon Dan Mitchell and junior catcher Pat Stein. The team has added some new freshman to the team and can’t wait to get outside once the weather warms up to prepare to hit the field in March when they have their season opener.

With a great fall season, which included all 3 teams having a .500 winning percentage or higher, this semester looks to be another positive step for the Crusader Athletic Department. We look forward to seeing many students and fans at the games.

Go Crusaders!

Q: Is it too early to register for Christendom’s Summer Programs? Also, I come from a large family and would need to receive some sort of scholarship or financial assistance to attend. Is this possible?

A: We have already been receiving registrations for our summer programs, in fact, a whole lot more than we did this time last year. I guess people are worried that we will fill up quickly so they are registering just as soon as they are able. Last year, we did fill up, but it wasn’t until much later on in the Spring.

We will have four one-week Experience Christendom Summer Programs and one one-week Latin Immersion Program this summer. All five of these programs are sure to be wonderful experiences for the attendees and I encourage you to learn more about them by going HERE. Students who are currently in their junior year of high school are invited to register for the Experience Christendom Summer Program (ECSP) and students in their sophomore or junior year of high school can come to the Latin Immersion Program.

Philosophy Professor Mark Wunsch poses with campers for a group photo before setting off for a hike on the beautiful Skyline Drive.

Some high school students, I have been told, think that attending our summer programs may be boring or that they will not fit in or that the whole thing is just like some sort of “Catholic” camp. But let me assure you, once here, you will leave with a new-found appreciation for Christendom, for the liberal arts, for our incredible faculty, for our beautiful rural campus, for the Catholic faith, and for your new lifelong friends. Check out the videos and pictures from last year’s programs HERE.

If, when registering, you request financial assistance, we will be able to offer you a pretty good discount. All you have to do is ask – big family or not. We are limited in the funds that we can provide so they will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis to those who request them.

I hope to see you this summer!

Director of Admissions
tmcfadden@christendom.edu
800.877.5456 ext. 1290

If anyone has questions about applying, visiting, scholarships, financial aid, campus life, rules and regulations, majors, core curriculum, transfer credits, or even about the food here at Christendom, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.