Life After Abbey

We’ve learned quite a bit about Belmont Abbey College this year. We’ve learned about kindness and determination as well as hope and the desire to learn. There’s a gold mine of things happening just off Exit 26 in Belmont and if you read between the Lifesitenews.com, New American and Cardinal Newman Society story links, you’re bound to find some great news. By the way, I’d rate this last year a 9 on the 10-point scale of year of newsworthy things.

10. 287 Abbey students graduate in May.

Every year this should be the top story and though it is a big story, it deserves to be a top 10 story in the college’s extraordinary year. With tuition costs going up nationally, an 8.6 percent unemployment rate (10 percent in North Carolina) awaiting graduates, and expanding student debt, getting a diploma is always a great accomplishment for any Abbey student. Whether you are going to grad school to incur more debt or pursue your dreams, I wish you the best of luck. You came from humble beginnings as a student and learned everything you could about the world and 100 Belmont-Mount Holly Road through Belmont Abbey College’s eyes. Keep plugging along. Another big note, there was reportedly 1,716 incoming freshman at the beginning of the academic year.

9. Alex Castellanos, Richard Barbee, Joe Campbell, Abbey sports hall of famers and the Abbey students that have took their athletic careers to the next level.

These former Abbey stars went pro and we hope to hear more from them. Castellanos, who was drafted in 2008 after a successful baseball career, was traded for former pro All-star Rafael Furcal and could be on his way to the majors at a fast rate with the L.A. Dodgers. Barbee (http://bit.ly/tnMLho) became the 33rd Abbey player to score 1,000 points during last season. Technically, he achieved the feat in 2010, but it was this year that he signed a pro contract to play with the Carolina Cougars in Greensboro. Joe Campbell took his golf game to reality television (http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/channel-60977-former-abbey.html) and had some fun while competing for tourney exemptions and $50,000. Campbell did his best as Abbey folks rooted for him but fell out of the competition. “There were so many cameras,” Campbell said. “It was emotional, exciting and nerve-wracking all at the same time. But I learned an awful lot.” Also, last but not least, the Belmont Abbey Sports Hall of Fame returned to the area landscape, inducing four strong student athletes (http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/abbey-61680-ceremony-cramerton.html). The choices were right on this year! But ultimately, best of luck to former and current Abbey athletes in the new year. There’s no telling where you’ll show up. And I’ll leave it at that.

8. Food sickness at the Abbey.

Yes, again this sickness came about in early December 2010, but the ball got rolling in 2011. Nearly 100 students were affected with 15 going to the emergency room and the Gaston County Health Department  got involved. The plastic utensils were reportedly rewashed, but the  school issued a letter to assuage the controversy. Later, the health department reported that it could not find a link to the illnesses. Maybe it was just a strong batch of flu that always seems to go around. (The Gazette, Jan. 21 and Jan. 27)

7. A new cafeteria on the way!

The signs have been erected near Abbot Walter Coggin Student Commons and reportedly students will be able to use the new building in the fall. Think of the options: 12,000 square feet of cafe, seating for 350 students, more food to dine with vegan and vegetarian options. Now, at last, the student commons can be a real student commons where student groups can be productive without the rich smell of food luring them into unproductivity. Maybe that 2000 Senior Class gift — a portrait of Abbot Walter (I don’t know if it’s been replaced since I saw it missing in September, I think) can be replaced. (Gazette, June 25, 2011)

6. More close encounters of the building kind.

Room at the Inn hopes to be established in June 2012 (http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/belmont-58498-college-based.html).  The organization helps unwed mothers attend college with the pursuit of a degree. According to a press release, the new facility will have two residential wings – one for maternity and one for after-care – that will be home to 15 mothers, 15 infants and eight toddlers for up to two years. Each mother will have a private bedroom and bathroom and share the kitchen, dining room and laundry room with other residents. Administrative and counseling offices and quarters for residential managers also will be on site. This should be an awesome reminder to the current students to keep sight of their college goals and think about future family planning in a Catholic setting. The house will be right in the back of campus between the cemetery and the Cuthbert Allen student apartments. Nearby, the county allowed an Abbey neighbor despite some school objections about noise and property devaluing? (http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/county-61141-change-kill.html) My thing is this: When Abbey students, who in the past, get done caring for their pets in their dorm rooms (happened quite a bit back in the 1990s) finish their semesters, they can take the pets to no-kill animal shelter.

5. iPads for Abbey students!!!

Ok, not for everyone. Just lowly incoming freshman. (http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/college-64039-abbey-technology.html) Think about it. With tuition money incoming students will pay, they’ll get money back in the form of an iPad 2. With that revelation, the Abbey Twittersphere, including Hitler (video now pulled, but link still exists http://www.youtube.com/watch?vezTtkbEAP4I), groaned mightily on this one (see below). But, as wild as it sounds, I think it is a great public relations thing. In order to keep up with this crazy changing world, students need technology. I now am dying to know what Abbey students will use iPads for in their studies.

4. Men’s volleyball is coming to the Abbey.

Check it out. http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/adds-64403-belmont-volleyball.html My next predicted sports to come to the Abbey are: 1) Women’s bowling. Textile Lanes would be a perfect home ‘court’ for the Abbey or 2) Men’s Rugby. Sports at the Abbey is a huge, HUGE part of college life now. In light of the Abbey outdoor wrestling matches in the last couple of years, I’d love to see official college volleyball games in the quad (http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/abbey-63191-belmont-wrestling.html). Just make sure you sift the cat remains out of the sandpits.

3. The passing of former Abbey president and teacher Robert A. Preston.

The quick diagnosis, announcement and death of one of the Abbey’s  greatest presidents (http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/college-60146-preston-abbey.html) was very sad and tragic. Dr. Preston was a great professor that  affected many from around the country and Abbot Placid expressed the love of the college with his words at the funeral. If you visit, please stop by his gravesite in the Abbey cemetery.

2. Abbey Health Care Madness.

In creepy overdubbed movie voice. “It was the lawsuit issue that wouldn’t die.” Without having to fill you in on everything SINCE 2007, the news broke on Nov. 10 of the school’s massive lawsuit and the throngs of media was assembled on Nov. 16 (with a gaggle of Abbey students) that it was Belmont Abbey College versus the world. Ahem, United States of America. (http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/lawsuit-63685-mcdonald-officials.html) What will become of the news? Will the courts throw out the lawsuit? Will this be a Supreme Court issue? Stay tuned. Will last week’s news of Colorado Christian University be enough to push the lawsuit over the top? Duh-duh-duh. Stay tuned.

1. Extreme Home Makeover Edition madness.

Boy, did this story ever have legs. From landing the show with the athletic department’s help (Nov. 17), to hosting the pep rally (Dec. 1), starting the work (Dec. 14) and then finishing (Dec. 17), it was a whirlwind of events. Add to the drama was the revelation that the show was being cancelled (http://www.gastongazette.com/articles/home-64890-extreme-one.html) on Dec. 15. And, as an added bonus, the college officials huddled up and offered scholarships to all of the children of the family. (www.gastongazette.com/articles/college-64884-family-tuition.html).

The important parts of this story are that a deserving Lincolnton family got a new home and the college publicity. Reportedly, when the show airs in 2012, nearly a billion viewers will watch the show.

Honorable Mention that should be in the list:

A former Abbey student protesting in Charlotte discrimination of illegal immigrants.

(https://mercysisters.wordpress.com/2011/09/27/when-the-dream-becomes-personal/). Angela Velazquillo (http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/09/07/2584903/immigrants-arrested-at-coming.html) was arrested in a protest of  discrimination against illegal immigration. Her story should hit home for Abbey students, but I have no idea if it registered in the community. Angela’s story came to life when her brother was pulled over for a minor traffic offense. After than, her life was turned upside down. Later, the DREAM Act, which would have allowed her to live in the country, failed to gain any steam in Congress after May.  I’m not sure what her status is now, but I failed. I wrote a blog entry around Homecoming this year asking the question if Velazquillo would have attended this year in light of everything, but I felt I couldn’t express myself properly. I consulted some friends, but ultimately, I failed to write something expressing my feelings on Velazquillo’s situation.

Honorable mentions: Anthony Wyatt’s remake (Twitter.com/anthonygwyatt) of a Lady Gaga video “Just Chant” (http://www.envoymagazine.com/?p444) got some publicity. … November, the creation of the subversive Twitter accounts @BACFail and @OnlyAtTheAbbey. … Another successful Bill Hodge Memorial Run in March. … Another awesome Marine Mud Run Challenge in September. …More Agora coffeehouse successes (which I could’ve gone).

There you have it! I’m sure 2012 will be even more exciting. Best of luck to the administrators, professors and students of Belmont Abbey College. Let’s not forget we’ve got monks. Many prayers go out to them as well.

If I missed anything, let me know.

From the crowd that showed up on Friday, Belmont Abbey College’s fight against the government’s affordable health care plan seems like a lonely one.

I took in the media event on Friday at 2 p.m. in front of the mighty basilica and something just didn’t seem right. The sun was out and the weather was warm.

First, let’s look at the recent timeline on this issue. The Catholic News and Herald published an online version of the school’s decision to file a lawsuit against the government on Nov. 10. The Gaston Gazette followed up the next day with a story that was published online and in print just days later.

After that, FOUR days went by before the Charlotte media wrote about the Abbey’s lawsuit. Friday, the college set up a press conference, possibly rushed, to explain the lawsuit to the local media. Dr. Bill Thierfelder, Abbot Placid Solari and Becket Fund for Religious Liberty representative Emily Hardman spoke. Questions were asked and the trio answered them.

As I listened to news conference, I looked around. Maybe 100 students attended with supportive signs sprinkled in with a few professors, administrators and other employees. The school lists itself has having 1,700 students, but there seemed to be only a handful in attendance. Maybe there was a bunch of team practices going on that I didn’t know about.

I listened to the words of support that the school said it had from other religious organizations and colleges. However, I didn’t see those colleges or groups.

If the Diocese of Charlotte’s bishop, Most Rev. Peter Jugis, who had spoke of his support back in the Nov. 10 article, was at the press conference, I would have known it. How about somebody from the USCCB (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) or the CNS (Cardinal Newman Society)? No Patrick McHenry (an Abbey graduate, former classmate and current US congressman)? Even Catholic religious broadcaster EWTN was not present. Unless I’m wrong, the network, only seven hours away by car, didn’t have any cameras present.

I can’t understand the design of the press conference to tell you the truth. Maybe officials thought they had enough people, but I would think if you’re filing a first amendment lawsuit against the country you live in – you might want to have more physical support from Catholics everywhere. If there’s a national issue on tap, why not wait a little longer and assemble more folks? Maybe even have a huge press conference/rally? Maybe, the school could have everything in place for when the lawsuit is filed.

Birth control and abortion seems to be a contentious issue among American Catholics already. A main tenet of Catholicism is to abstain from contraceptives and birth control while abortion is not allowed. However, some Catholics differ on the issue. Catholics for Choice, a pro-choice group based out of Washington, D.C., has been outspoken about the issue as well. They state, in 2009, that when Catholic voters considered health care reform, more than 6 in 10 (63 percent) supported health care insurance coverage – whether it was private or government insurance – for contraception, such as birth control pills.

Back to the scene. The 45-minute press conference wrapped up. The local media went back to their busy days. A few stuck around to record B-roll tape and a few shots were taken of the students and their signs. Multiple handouts of the lawsuit were printed and distributed to students who could have just visited the Becket Fund’s website for the information. Maybe they were meant for a pack of media folks. But it all just seemed strange without the national media.

Maybe next time, the students crowded around the college officials with their signs. I don’t know.

Let’s hope the school’s Dec. 1 pep rally for Extreme Makeover folks gets a little more attention.

It was my Belmont Abbey teachable moment on Wednesday. It was my chance to say, ‘You went to the Abbey, huh?’ and see a current Abbey student’s eyes get wide.

It was almost that half-hearted teacher-becomes-the-student moment that had to happen. Especially you live in Belmont. Or the surrounding 100-mile whatever radius that a majority of Belmont Abbey alumni live in.

Let’s break it down to the conversation at hand. Regular bar trivia night on my off-night among friends. After a night of kicking butt in trivia up until the final jeopardy-style question, our team lost. Far from bitter was I and somewhat affected by the libations of the night, I was indifferent because I’d been in that situation many times before. A few others from our group were not pleased with the runner-up ending.

A few of our folks teased and comically heckled the group that won — A group packed with Abbey students. One of the students fought back while the others had that meh-look. I’m sure they really didn’t care to get into it with a group of ‘old folks.’ He proceeded to stick up for his group, claiming his knew that Santo Domingo was the European capital founded in the West Indies by Christopher Columbus’ brother, Bartholemew or Cletus or Pious or whoever. To let you in on the rules, trivia players can’t use their smartphones to look up answers, so basically you have to know your stuff throughout the night.

For some reason, I quickly tossed a one-liner out at him. ‘You’re from the Abbey, huh?’ He blanched. I followed with, ‘I went to the Abbey.’ He quickly responded, ‘Well, you’re 50.’ I laughed inside and responded, ‘Yeah, we’ll you’ll be 50 in a couple of years.’

He whined a little more to his group before they toasted their win to Google, but the experience left me with a few thoughts. I really didn’t care about the lack of disrespect. Not in a bar full of drinkers and idiots. But I wondered about the experience. In a way, it’s true. You’ll always have your memories, but you’re growing older. That’s fine, but I think what hit me more was I finally was on the other side of the equation.

There were always moments from 1996 to 2000 where I’d meet someone in Belmont or Gaston County who’d pull that ‘You’re from Belmont Abbey’ bit. I got it a couple of times. I remember pleading with a local merchant, ‘Nooo. I’m from North Carolina. I’m not from New York or Florida or wherever you think I’m from.’

My freshman year was big for the on-campus ‘riot’ that was at our campus. I think we made the news for students coming onto campus and starting a fight. That might have been the same year our ‘fraternity Chi Ro house’ sustained damage from fire and water. I think it was closed for a year afterward. I think after awhile it took sometime for the community to stop wondering what was going on over at the campus.

I remember another instance where I was getting a service from a Belmont merchant and he said,” You’re from the Abbey, right?” I think for the next five minutes we talked about my accent. He couldn’t nail it down and eventually chalked it up to being from the ‘Metropolitan South.’ I think after that conversation I tried to go out of my way to downplay my Abbey student label and/or tried to play it off but I eventually gave up. Later I learned he went to the Abbey, too. I learned you really couldn’t escape it. I was part of this ‘College’ student label and at the same time, part of a small group of students — athletes, do-gooders, slobs, studious folks, Catholics, non-Catholics, Northerners, Southerners, poor kids, rich kids — that wanted to learn or get the college experience or get a diploma.

Perception, right? It’s all about how you carry yourself and how you act around your community. Whether your a student, teacher, administrator, etc., right?

I could really care less about losing a silly bar trivia game, but the exchange afterward put it all into perspective pretty well. Time flies when you’re having fun and times are a-changin. Right, Bob Dylan?

Dr. Robert Preston probably doesn’t need a building on Belmont Abbey College’s campus named after him, but he’s likely to get one anyway one day.

He should.

Dr. Preston died on Saturday after learning of his pancreatic cancer. It comes as a shock because he was recently teaching and working as director of the Bradley Center at Belmont Abbey College while living in a retirement community in High Point.

I’ll always believe that he was responsible for the survival of the college when I came there in 1996. Shoot, his presidency may have been a reason why I didn’t transfer after a year or two.

Before I stepped foot on campus, the admissions office sent students a promotional flyer with Preston’s face on it, proclaiming him to be the Lucky 13th president. (Where I can determine whether this is true or not, I’m not sure.) I thought it was a joke at first, but in many ways, the flyer was true to form. The college was fortunate to have ‘wrestled’ away its president and a former student away from Illinois Benedictine College in Lisle, Ill.

From what I remember, Dr. Preston had a history with newspapers. He told me once that he thought about working in the newspaper world once, but when he realized that there wasn’t any money in it, he figured he better find another job. I don’t know if that was his subtle hint not to get involved with the newspaper industry, but after 11 years, I’m still at The Gazette. I met my beautiful wife there, so I owe it quite a bit.

Dr. Preston, known far and wide for his devotion to Weaverism (if you don’t know what that is, email me),  knew the value of the press. He couldn’t quite get newspaper writing out of his blood. He often wrote columns that I think both the Observer and the Gazette published. He handed me a column once that he had published in The Gazette even before I even worked at the paper. I even saw him teach a class with photocopied issues of his Gazette column once. This might be his final Gazette column.

I remember being a little bit of a thorn in his side on a few occasions.

In 1998, when Preston when to a school-sponsored event and saw no students there, it bothered him. As other schools were doing at the time, he imposed a Culture Aid Requirement, mandating students to attend two events during the semester. Preston was bothered by the fact that the school was paying money for these things without any student attending. Students had to have some proof that they attended something, whether it was on campus or not.

I remember writing a story in the school newspaper at the time, saying that students were sneaking off to the Financial Aid office and telling the office staff that they went somewhere ‘artsy’ to fulfill the credit. I was miffed that they didn’t have to provide any proof and they got that credit with no questions asked.

I’m sure after seeing the article, he required students to bring their tickets to get their credit. Yeah, I could’ve told him face-to-face, but I think he appreciated the fact that some students liked what he was doing and cared enough to want to improve campus life.

On another occasion, two of the three old wooden stop signs at the main intersection of campus in front of the basilica were yanked one day. The signs were not like the official red ones. Nobody told anybody. One day they were there and another gone. This was back before there was crosswalk markings and digital signs on campus. I watched a few times as cars zoomed through the intersection while other cars stopped, remembering that there used to be signs there. At the same time, a statue of Mary appeared in front of the Student Commons building without warning. I wanted some explanation or some story behind it. Maybe, I was bothered by the lack of communication between the administration and the students.

So, I directed a newspaper staff worker to do an editorial cartoon, showing a stop sign and the Mary statue as ‘new’ signs to appear on campus. I’d like to think that he got a chuckle out of that cartoon. I think we spent some time talking about those signs.

I’ll never forget the movie, American Beauty, because of a conversation in class. That year, the Kevin Spacey flick garnered eight Academy Award nominations among other high praises. But it also dealt with strong themes like homosexuality, incest and the decline of marriage.

I’ll never forget being in his philosophy class one day when someone brought up the movie and wanted him to condemn it.

While many students were disgusted by the movie, he hadn’t seen it. He wasn’t willing to pass judgment on it, saying that because it got so many award nominations, how could the well-informed critics be wrong? While these students were shocked and would tried to argue with him, he’d just brush off their attempts to say he wouldn’t judge the movie’s flaws based on what others told him. I think I bit a hole through my tongue, trying not to laugh at those wild exchanges. Whether he did it to mess with his students or not, it was fun to see sometimes.

If you wanted to schedule an appointment, you could always get that Dr. Preston meeting. But there were so many times we would talk outside his office. He was genuine and always wanted to stay active in campus life. I can’t tell you how many school activities and lectures I went to where he was there with Mrs. Preston.

A former co-worker, when I told him of Preston’s passing, told me that “They don’t make them like Dr. Preston anymore.” So true it is. He will definitely be missed.

Feburary 18, 2001 seemed like it was going to be a regular workday. In those days, working on a six-page Gazette sports section was a two-man job. I think we had three others on the copy desk and a reporter to complete our newsroom skeleton crew.

Fellow sports/news copy editor Matt Goad and I were over at the old building on the corner of Cox Road and Franklin Boulevard. Our copy desk area was probably now parking for Gastonia’s lone Quiznos. It was my first Daytona 500 while working full-time. Since then, working that night, the 2000 presidential election and the late singer Aaliyah’s death in 2001 have been some of the most exciting, deadline-testing nights I’ve seen at The Gazette.

Sundays are usually casual days at work except for NASCAR and we worked while the television blared in the background with the race.  We listened to the last few laps, thinking about two things: 1) How great it was that the race was going to be over and Gazette motorsports writer Monte Dutton would be sending us copy to read soon. 2) How great was it that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was racing with his dad and Michael Waltrip on the final laps of the race.

Then, the final lap happened with Earnhardt’s crash. Matt and I didn’t think much of it like many TV viewers and folks in the newsroom. But soon, Associated Press wire reports came out along with TV coverage that the Intimidator was dead. I think we called sports editor Derick Moss on his offday about what happened. His shocking reaction followed by the words, “I’m coming in.” Soon, assistant sports editor Brit Fryer, who’s first job for The Gazette was covering the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s foot-bridge collapse on May 20, 2000, came in. Even before then, Gazette photographer John Clark was at the track, scrambling to get an assortment of reaction photos.

With Moss, Matt and I reorganized our sports section. The Earnhardt story was going out front and also on our sports front. The rest of the sports world really didn’t matter that day. Moss, Fryer and Dutton pounded away at the keyboard keys that day while, at times, the only talk in the newsroom came from the televisions. I was only working on the agate page and another page, but I remember thinking, “I better not screw up on this day.”

It was one of those days that I think everyone was at their best on a dark day. It was one of those days that we could be proud of. I think I still have my copy of that paper somewhere at home.

I also remember of what followed for months. Lawsuits over autopsy photos. Death threats to Sterling Marlin. Criticism of Simpson Racing belts. The pressure Kevin Harvick got from taking over as the Goodwrench-sponsored car. Teresa vs. Junior. Fans trekking to Mooresville to see the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. shop. Fans wearing shirts and holding up three fingers. But ten years later, NASCAR’s come a long way. When I think of what I like about NASCAR, I think about the intense following Earnhardt has to this day.

The Democratic National Convention is coming to Charlotte in 2012 and I was looking for the outrage. On the Canadian-based LifeSiteNews.com website, there were two advertisements for two colleges (thanks to the local ad placement): one was for Belmont Abbey College and the other, Christendom College in Virginia. It looked like the BAC ad was bigger than the other colleges, so it won, I guess. Do Canadians care about the DNC in Charlotte?

But where was the calls of support to the North Carolina college of help? Where were the busloads and carloads of students and adults that were coming to the Charlotte to protest?  I did see the Fr. Euteneuer statements, but other than that….

What’s going to happen? Is it too early to tell? Will I get e-mails telling me of the protests or will they ask me to contribute? I can’t wait.

Johnnie Lowry was a Belmont success story. I’ll always drive down Central Avenue and see her former house years after I first was welcomed into it in the late 1990s.

A college friend of mine, Dawidi Baker, invited me to come to her house for a talk on finance and I reluctantly accepted. I wasn’t a business person, but after a couple of times, it was great just to be able to go and be a part of the great conversations.

A few years earlier, I attended a special ceremony off Lincoln Street for what I think was a memorial for the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A dilapidated building across from Loves Chapel Presbyterian Church was reportedly being used for drugs and local leaders got together to knock it down.  I think I was one of maybe two Abbey students that were curious to attend the demolition that day. I got to meet Lowry and Dr. Richard Boyce (prior to his election)  for the first time. I also met Fr. Peter Jugis, who would later go on to become the bishop of the Charlotte diocese. Though I can’t remember if this was true or not, but I thought Lowry was behind the property’s purchase and donation as well as  the building’s demolition.

This past Sunday, Lowry passed away and I needed to take a moment to say I’m glad I got to know her. She’s been on the Abbey Wall of Fame for some time and a campus building has been named after her. Her career in the banking industry made her was a pioneer for women, but she was more than that. Belmont owes a good deal to her for its success.

You can read more about Lowery here.

Abbey-Queens basketball games used to be huge. I went to my first one in some time last Thursday and I spent my time wondering what happened. Yeah it snowed last Sunday, but were was the intensity.  The games were quality. The girls pulled out an overtime time while the guys got beat by an impressive Royals team. It was still a fast-paced game. But the night just seemed flat from what things were like 10 years ago.

I miss the heated rivalry, the fans going nuts. In the Wheeler Center, I remember students divided by a cheezy chain-link rope in the late 90s. I remember watching Metress coach while Brookman, Fath, Arnold, Crawford, all those guys played their hearts out. Fans reacted, chanted, jeered…all that stuff.

Yeah, I know. There’s X-Box, movies, Playstation, Theater and so on. But this is a rivalry game. It’s a reason to get pumped up, paint your face and come up with some chants. I didn’t go to Duke, but look at what those folks do.

Now what do you have? A league statement on fans and players being respectful toward everyone. Geez. I miss the anarchy. Tossing plastic balls to the students ain’t gonna cut it. Having a mascot is nice, but what else?

* Almost broke my neck walking up to the Wheeler Center on Thursday. Ice coated one of the paths to the fan entrance. What happened? Who could the athletic department get to clean off the sidewalk? Maintenance? What do the greeks do anymore? Somebody needed to do something.

* Starbucks. The Abbey has it and others in Gaston County want it. Is it just me or has the thrill worn off? Didn’t McDonalds beat Starbucks in some taste test a few years ago? Does Starbucks mean having culture in Gaston County? What’s happened to our society.

My secret Santa gifts this year included a few Belmont Abbey College ‘Got Monks’ items this year and a few folks had a good chuckle at my expense. Followed were a few smiles and a “Didn’t you know, Matt HATES the Abbey” remark.

I don’t think hate still sums up my total feelings about this year. Optimism, disgust, sadness, happiness, baffled, astonishment, lucky and so on. Hate is just a small fraction of many feelings. I’m not going to do an alphabet chart of feelings, but I’ve got some things I’ve got to mention (ramble out) to close out the year.

*First Things Magazine came along and tossed a few accolades the Abbey’s way. WE WON! We’re a school on the rise, Check. A Catholicly Catholic College with Catholicious Catholicism, Check Check.

I remember when this first came out on Nov. 8. I read it and re-read it. I was so curious about how they got the survey criteria. I called the magazine, which never got back to me so I assumed it was just an answering machine set up in a hollowed-out office in a rundown building in New York City. I called Wake Forest University public relations to let them know about their acclaim (they were second behind the Abbey on being a school ‘on the rise’). They said they’d get back to me after finding the magazine since they never heard of it. I think I tried called Wake a few times after, but I didn’t have any luck getting any comment.

Another thing. I came across a physical copy weeks after the announcement and one thing stood out. The entire back cover of the magazine’s first-ever survey of the nation’s colleges and universities was ….. an Abbey advertisement. The entire back page. Not just as a journalist, but as a human being I have to wonder how much of the magazine is funded, scratch that, supported by Catholic Colleges. By the way, one list the magazine had said that Duke is the most nonreligious school in the bunch. Don’t tell the Newman folks there that or the large Catholic population that goes to student mass there that.

But the general feeling I found was this: Folks are really proud of the accolades. The survey came from, as far as I can tell, a random sampling of Abbey students. To me that would mean, greeks, athletes, bookish types, theatre folks, ADPers, etc., have great things to say about the school, professors, etc. And for those results, I kind of sat on this for a couple of months, not knowing how to respond or put my feelings into words for you to read.

I guess that’s what’s important in this vicious learning cycle. Students want to learn, get their degrees and get to work. You can’t fault them for it, but I do have one reservation. Who ever wrote the darn thing seemed to be a sour note with me to end on a be taking another shot at the faculty. I’ll paraphrase: If the students don’t like what the faculty has to say about things like Catholicism, then the professors will lose respect (and or get marginalized) by their students. WHAT IS THE POINT OF COLLEGE THEN? Learn diverse points of view and share them. If you don’t agree, don’t your britches in a bunch. Don’t get all caught up on what’s said by professors or administrators. If you’ve got sand in your pants,shake them, move along and get your degree. Geez.

*Speaking of students, some subversive things/elements will always remain the same at the Abbey. You can’t keep folks from not talking. I must warn you if you shrink in the sight of obscene words. I give major props to the person or persons who did this. I don’t applaud the way it depicts girls or employees on campus, but I must say I chuckled.

*Congrats to my former classmate, Patrick McHenry, and his appointment as the chairman to the oversight committee on bailouts and financial services. Not thrilled at all with his no vote on the Dream Act so far, but there’s still time. I’m hoping that he makes it to votes on time and not five minutes later like he did in our 8 a.m. History of China class. What he’s doing in Louisiana, I don’t know. Just kidding.

*Win some, lose some. I’m happy for the friends I’ve found on places like Facebook and I’m ‘sad’ for the ones that I’ve lost. I think that can be said for everyone over time. Ooh, maybe I should get six more friends so I can have 300 before 2011 hits. (Sarcasm.)

My goal should be writing more, Abbey and non-related Abbey posts. We’ll see.

Belmont Abbey students, faculty, employees, monks and visitors need a new entrance/exit to Belmont-Mount Holly Road.  Not a gate or checkpoint with armed campus guards to keep folks out, but something that enables cars to get on and off campus without long backups and hassles. There, I said it without taking any jabs.

I don’t know how the monastery, city of Belmont and state transportation officials are going to do it.

Yeah, a trolley or trainline from Belmont Abbey College to its Sacred Heart campus for ADP students and downtown Belmont bars would be nice, but I think it would cause backups on U.S. 29-74 near Bojangles and BiLo. Unless you had a tunnel. If they hadn’t filled in the tunnel between BAC and Sacred Heart College when they put in I-85 way back when, who knows what could’ve happened. I say that jokingly, of course.

Look, record numbers of students mean more cars on campus. Students living off campus (Cloisters), etc. means more cars. The backups are a pain. I always witnessed it as a student and now you can see it from I-85 when driving.

The two entrances/exits off campus are dangerously flawed and/or out of date. Take the first one without the stoplight. The fact that it’s on a rounded curve is hyper dangerous. Cars and trucks congest off Wimmer Circle daily and they back up as far as the Haid/Stowe Hall parking lots. I consider that terminus just for show. You drive up it, get your awe quotient from seeing the basilica and then you find a parking space.

The second entrance, which might be even more dangerous, is technically a six-way stop. Comically, my freshman year I remember riding my bike in the middle of the night in that part of the road. I remember thinking how could I do this in a big town like Durham. Anyone who has come through that intersection knows its problem. Turn left coming from the Haid and you’ve got to hope that you can sneak over to the light. Yeah, you’ve got to wait for the light to change, but cars coming north on Belmont-Mount Holly Road can speedily merge onto campus. There’s the potential of danger there and you can easily enter a pedestrian into that situation as they are seen daily.

What am I saying? The monastery, with the college, needs to look into some options.

One could be putting in a light across from the Circle K with a road extending to Wimmer Circle that way. No, it doesn’t have to connect with Drexel Court or Lane, but it could be an option. Doing this would take out valuable cemetery land, but translations (the process for moving cemetary coffins and plots) happened with the Hampton Inn was installed. Likely, this option won’t happen.

Another option would be to put some sort of entrance/exit point in behind the apartments connecting N.C. 273 or Beatty Road for the locals to Wimmer Circle. Maybe they can connect it to spot on N.C. 273 that also serves as an entrance to the Belmont Central YMCA. Now this could be a good option if the school wants to put in more parking and have night sporting events. I say that realistically. Part of the allure of the Abbey’s quiet, secluded campus is that lots of traffic does not flow near student housing. Crime, if any, mostly only happens on-campus. Check out the campus saftey (sic) blog here and tell me what you think..

A third option could be making a four-way stop off of I-85. At that point, cars would enter campus next to the picturesque Belmont Abbey College sign. But two things mess up that plan. The exit ramp off of I-85 South would have to be extended (i.e. I-85 South clustermess exit onto U.S. 321 just miles down the road in Gastonia near Sims Legion Park). Who knows if state DOT officials would love that idea? And, you’d have to deal with the railroad tracks in front of campus.

Yeah, these are all interesting options with lots of money involved, but if the college is going to grow, traffic is going to grow with it whether a small college’s roads can handle it or not.