On the third floor of Alumni Hall lies a room filled with the aroma of peach tea, neatly stacked prayer cards, and peace and justice tapestries. This is junior Maggie Rowland's room. For Rowlands, peace and justice is more than a passion; it’s a vocation. On Jan. 28, this calling inspired her to submit a petition for the creation of a peace and justice major.
Something more
Rowlands entered St. Michael’s not knowing much about the school. Once on campus, however, she realized this was the place for her. After taking several political science courses and then switching her major to English, Rowlands still felt was something missing.
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Maggie Rowlands sits at her desk covered with prayer cards.
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“English and political science were great, but for me it is about the spontaneity of lending a hand to someone who needs it at that time,” Rowlands says.
Reading about social justice wasn’t enough, she says. She wanted to find a way to incorporate her passion for peace and justice issues into her major. However, St. Michael’s only offers a peace and justice minor, leaving Rowlands with a challenge.
The journey begins
After a meeting with professor Laurie Gagne, director of the Peace and Justice Center on campus, Rowlands fully realized the complexity of this challenge. She decided that if St. Michael’s did not offer the program she wanted, she would have to leave the school. Luckily, there was another option. Gagne suggested to Rowlands the idea of specially designing a curriculum, turning peace and justice into her own personal major.
“It seemed like it was the right step for me to support Maggie,” Gagne says. “My academic credentials seemed well-suited to help her design her own program.”
Gagne has a doctorate in theology from the University of Notre Dame, specializing in Catholic Social Teaching.
Even with the help of Gagne, Rowlands soon realized that designing a special-case major was no easy task, she says. The process was long and included a formal application.
"I was a lost soul, at an institution where I still felt comfortable." -Maggie Rowlands, advocating for a peace and justice major. |
For the proposal, Rowlands had to explain why the majors offered at St. Michael’s didn’t fit with the concentration she wished to pursue, she says.
“When you are going through the process, it is nerve-racking,” she says.
Despite the nerves, the process allowed her to develop some tips for other students, Rowlands says.
“You have to sound confident and articulate,” she says. “I also expressed the real obstacle for me to the proposal was that I was going to leave St. Mike’s if I didn’t have a major. I was a lost soul, at an institution where I still felt comfortable."
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Laurie Gagne, coordinator of the Peace and Justice Center on campus. |
A peace and justice major would complement many of her extracurricular programs such as Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts (M.O.V.E.) and the peace and justice club, Rowlands says.
“It is one thing to have that direct action with M.O.V.E, but why not read, learn and internalize how you can learn how to put everything together,” Rowlands says.
Although this is a specially designed major and still pending approval, with enough interest, it may turn into a major, becoming the 34th major offered at St. Michael’s College, says professor Mahmoud Arani, coordinator of the peace and justice minor.
“We are hoping in the future we will have a peace and justice major,” Arani says. “It won’t cost the school anything since we already have the courses in place to do this.”
“Maggie is the first student to come forward and as a community we want to support her in all that we can,” Arani says. “I have submitted her request to the Educational Policy Committee, for review and we are eagerly awaiting a response.”
Maggie says she expects to hear the results this Friday.
The gift of giving
Arani and Gagne have provided Rowlands with a wealth of support, along with Moise St. Louis, Fr. Mike Cronogue, Toni Messuri and Kim Swartz, director of the Women’s Center, Rowlands says.
“All of these people who gave so much. For someone to have that much trust in me, it’s a blessing,” Rowlands says.“When you give and receive like that, it’s the best thing in the whole world.”
Acts of giving have inspired Rowland to do more.
“People are comfortable with things that they understand, but what about creating things which are impossible, and doing it from the core of your heart,” Rowlands says. “Listening to your intuition is important. If I just left, then I would not have done anything."