to students of bishop o'dowd high school

Lisa is a good friend of mine, guys. I can vouch for her. This is a serious project she's doing and she's interested in your opinions (imagine!) I encourage you to take part, if you can. People want to know how you all feel about what happened, and this would be a positive way for you to express yourself.

An open letter to past or present students at Bishop O'Dowd Catholic High School, especially those who were students of Douglas Neff during the '03-'04 school year:

We, Shannon and Lisa, are masters students at the Graduate Theological Union, currently taking a class called "Framing Youth: Faith, Identity, and the Adolescent".  This class focuses on the spiritual lives and needs of teens, and how their faith and spirituality are affected by the cultural/social/political structures they live in.

As our research project for this class, we would like to hold a group discussion meeting to hear you talk about the events that led up to Mr. Neff being let go at the end of the '03-'04 school year.  This is not simply a discussion of whether you felt that what happened was right or wrong, but more about the unspoken messages or lessons you feel you have received—from the diocese, the school, teachers, parents, even the Catholic Church as a whole—around this issue, and how those messages have affected your beliefs, your faith, your identity, the way you think about the world.

We are concerned that decisions are being made out of fear, xenophobia or political expediency with little regard for how those decisions affect the minds, spirits and faith of the youth they are meant to serve. Decision-makers around the country and around the world are in the habit of ignoring the voices and needs of youth. We want to hear yours.

All responses will be kept strictly confidential, and names will be changed for privacy when we make our presentation and our reports.

We would like to hold this forum on Tuesday evening, November 9th. If you would like to come, or would like more information, please contact Shannon or Lisa at the email addresses/phone numbers listed below.

If you would like your voice to be heard, but will not be able to attend the meeting, please email us with your thoughts.

Shannon Vanderpol skv2001@hotmail.com or 510.367.7221
Lisa WilliamsCraig  lisa@williamscraig.com or 510.697.4585

Posted: Fri - October 22, 2004 at 10:20 PM

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to students of bishop o'dowd high school

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