Hello y'all!
Something that has recently come to my attention from a meeting one of my Professors had gone too was over the issue of our school's history. Most of the students on our campus do not really understand the significance of our heritage and this is something I would like to fix. There are so many resources on our campus on our history, which is full or rich content that all of our students should be aware of. What struck me the worst, was that during tour guide interviews we would ask the question about our history and most students knew we were founded by the Society of Saint Edmund, but most did not know that we were founded in 1904 and they knew nothing else about our history. Let me then dedicate this blog to telling about the history and significance of our school.
For one, we are the only Edmundite College in the entire world. Although the Edmundite sect of Catholicism is small indeed, being there are less than 50 Edmundite priests in the world, that makes us extremely special. I am sure that we are one of the only colleges that can say we are the only type of college that exists in the entire world! Well, at least for me that is pretty dang cool! Secondly, people do not realize that our heritage is extremely important because we are almost directly related to the Civil Rights Movement!
Basically, there were priests that wanted to start a school in Vermont that was based on their own ideals in a abbot in Canada. They actually had the name Saint Michael's because that was the name of the abbot there. So they bought a piece of land in Colchester, VT and created our wonderful little school. The gave us similar ideas of pacifism, acceptance, and tolerance for all people. The Edmundites were also known for reaching out to the poor and oppressed and helping them to survive. This was where the work of our priests reached out to Selma, Alabama. The priests had a parish there and saw the injustice that was happening to the black community. Thus, many priests backed their bags and traveled to Alabama to help the black community gain a voice in the Civil Rights Movement.
There was actually a Edmundite Priest, Ziter, who created the Don Bosco Boys club, which gave the black youth of Selma, Alabama a place to get off the streets, a place to make social friendships, a place for education, and a place for spirituality. Even once priest during the movement, Maurice Ouellet helped to take care of Civil Rights Activists during many different movements. Although the study of white clergy in the Civil Rights Movement is just getting off the ground it is quite evident that many white clergy put their voices out there and risked their parishes for the movement. They did not only risk their parish for the movement but their lives as well. It is believed that without their help and leadership the movement may not have been so successful, but of course, more research needs to be conducted to prove that fact.
Regardless, white clergy who were Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish helped in the Civil Rights Movement. And being that many Edmundite priests, coming directly from SMC, helped during the movement. It is just so incredible to me that I have learned all of this new information about our school. We just have such a rich and cultural history that is cannot be ignored and should be known by all people. This should especially be known by all of our students on campus and I plan on making it a point to teach our new and old tour guides about our history. This is just so important and really makes our school unique and at the same time incredible. We come from a long line of helping those in need and I know that tradition will continues for more years to come.
Much respect,
Yeshua
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