What We Have Done
2014
2013
2012
- Dr. Meghan Clark talk on Pope Francis and Solidarity was given on November 8, 2014.
- Immaculée Ilibagiza's talk “Forgiveness: A Lenten Message" was given in front of 1,200 attendees in the Finnegan Fieldhouse and was co-sponsored by Students for a Fair Society (March 2014).
- adjunct professor Rebecca Bratten-Weiss.
- SFS starts online petition calling on the University to rescind Michael Hayden's honorary degree (Dec. 2014)
- Current and all previous presidents of SFS issue joint statement denouncing torture and again questioning University's decision to bestow an honorary doctorate on Ex-DCIA Michael Hayden (Dec. 2014).
- See our Current Projects page or Event Calendar page to stay up-to-date with Students for a Fair Society.
2013
- SFS sponsors a prayer and fast for Syria, in union with Pope Francis, on campus. The Troubadour covered the gathering on the vigil of the Feast of the Nativity of Mary (Sep. 7, 2013).
- SFS leads with blogger, Marc Barnes, in establishing The Harmonium Project to the benefit of Steubenville residents. The Troubadour covered the opening event here (Sep. 29, 2013)
- Samuel D. Rocha delivered “Abortion without Politics” stressing the importance of dialogue in the abortion controversy. See the Troubadour coverage of this Students for a Fair Society presentation (Oct. 2, 2013).
2012
- Observed No Bullying or Name Calling Week and distributed flyers to raise awareness on the topic. Click here to download a copy of the flyer (Jan. 23 - 27, 2012).
- Sought to distribute informative flyers on the industrial sized perils of pornography, its effect on both sexes, and potential remedies for addictions. Click here to download a copy of the flyer (Permission to distribute the flyers on campus was denied by the University's administration).
- Conducted the Lee West Family Funeral and Rebuilding Fundraiser. When the Steubenville family lost their home to a fire and realized that within the fire was 15 year old Lee West, Students for a Fair Society sought to acquire prayers and monetary donations from Franciscan University students, faculty, and staff in order to assist the family. Lee, who had fallen asleep before the fire started, probably lost his life due to smoke inhalation. Click here to be re-directed to the Franciscan Troubadour's article on the fundraiser (Feb. 13 - 17, 2012).
- Hosted Mohammed A. Bamyeh, Ph.D., on "Faith and Politics: Islam and Christianity," in order to uphold the Church's desire to foster inter-faith dialogue and solidarity (Feb. 28, 2012).
- Held a demonstration outside of ex-Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum's Super-Tuesday event in Steubenville. Brought attention to Mr. Santorum's position's that contradict what would appropriately classify him as the "Catholic vote," including, but not limited to, his stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict, Just War, renewable and sustainable energy, and capital punishment. Click here to be re-directed to an image of the demonstrators from the Herald Star's twitpic site (Mar. 6, 2012).
- Sponsored and organized Franciscan University's involvement in the Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rally in Pittsburgh, PA. Click here to be re-directed to the Franciscan Troubadour's article on the event (Mar. 23, 2012).
- Hosted Samuel D. Rocha, Ph.D., on "Life, Death, and the Catholic Imagination," a talk centered on the sufficiency of being Catholic, especially when it comes to secular politics. Click here to be re-directed to the Franciscan Troubadour's article on the talk (Mar. 26, 2012).
- Began affiliating with and participating in Steubenville's March for Peace and Love, hosted by numerous local pastors and community organizers. While the city of Steubenville continues to be plagued by violence, community members have decided to start their own grassroots movement to give the area a positive identity, working together, in solidarity, in order to spread peace and love, prevent reckless and unjustifiable violence, and bring our community back to the serene state it once had and has always deserved.
- Hosted Keith Michael Estrada on "The Catholic Church on Migration, Today, and in History," a presentation focusing on the Church's position on migration, globally, and her stance towards current movements for immigration reform. Click here to download an outline of his presentation (Apr. 17, 2012).
- Held a prayer vigil for Mark Wiles and for the abolition of the death penalty. Mark Wiles was executed by the state of Ohio on the 18th of April, 2012 (Apr. 17, 2012).
- SFS issues a statement on Franciscan University's decision to drop student healthcare coverage. Click here to download the statement (May 17, 2012).
- Unbound: A SFS Sexual Justice Campaign started by observing a Sexual Assault Awareness day (Sept. 14, 2012).
- GEM: Guidance, Education, and Mentoring, an SFS initiative, started as a four day a week outreach at the Tower of Power Church in Steubenville. At this time, all the children together spend up to 72 hours a week with GEM Volunteers (Sept. 17, 2012).
- Students for a Fair Society started volunteering at "Mama Nita's Coffee House," an ecumenical inner-city outreach in Steubenville (Sept. 29, 2012).
- The Hydraulic Fracturing Information Panel was hosted on Franciscan University's campus. Guests included Fr. Neil Pezzulo and Dr. Yuri Gorby. See WTRF's note on the event or listen to the audio on youtube. A special emphasis was given on the impact on the poor and vulnerable(Oct. 1, 2012).
- SFS hosted a screening of "Sun Come Up," a documentary on the reality of climate change, and the rising sea levels ill effects on the needy (Oct. 4, 2012).
- Students for a Fair Society appeared in Life Matters Journal, a magazine educating on and advocating for the Consistent Life-ethic (Oct. 12, 2012).
- A screening of Nefarious: Merchant of Souls was hosted by Unbound: A SFS Sexual Justice Campaign. Several dozen students were made aware of human trafficking and how prevalent it is both overseas and domestically (Oct. 18, 2012).
- John C. Médaille, Editor-in-Chief of the Distributist Review spoke to a crowd of ninety-one persons on Distributism, sponsored by SFS - click here to be redirected to the event page for the audio (Oct. 19, 2012).
- We raised $164.53 in donations for Hurricane Sandy victims and collected 100+ student signatures petitioning student government to match or exceed our donation. We successfully lobbied Franciscan University Student Government in order to secure an additional $1,335.47 for a total of $1,500 to be sent on behalf of the student body to New Jersey's Catholic Charities Sandy Relief Fund (Nov. 14, 2012 - the feast of Saint John Eudes).
- SFS co-sponsored a panel on homelessness in conjunction with national hunger and homelessness awareness week (Nov. 14, 2012).
- SFS Unbound sponsored a Prayer for Deliverance. Students gathered together and called out to God in praise and worship, Scripture, and prayer for deliverance of all trapped in sexual violence and sex slavery (Nov. 15, 2012)