Monday, March 19, 1984AThe Battalion/Page 5
.
Campus minister’s work is hectic but fulfilling
I By CASEY RAMSEY
Reporter
' T\ I
Dehart J He’s short, balding, and looks
year]) a little like the monk in the
II hivet|| f Xerox commercial. He’s also a
in the sc priest, but he doesn’t do mira-
des. And his life is a far cr y from
ion offii Ithe solitude of the monestary.
) 15, DeS Father Leon Strieder, 34,
work on icampus minister at St. Mary’s
'ationwill |Cathoiic Church, is one of two
houses parish offices, serves as a
meeting room, familiy room,
»ier whej:
students! pn° st 6,000 Catholic students
‘tail store)
be coraple,
tout intern,
priests responsible for the
jtTexas A&M. With those num-
|rs, the notion of a simple,
quiet life goes right out the
:es sched'J window.
“That’s probably the worst
Bing about being a campus
minister,” Strieder said. “You
never have enough time to do
everything you wan to.”
[Strieder usually begins his
■y with morning prayer and
breakfast pnd by 9 a.m. he’s in
his office in the student center.
/The student center, which also
modeled, so Strieder is calling to
check on construction progress
and landscaping pains. By the
time he’s Finished, the mail has
arrived, full of letters to answer
and bills to pay. The work is slow
because every few minutes a stu
dent stops in to say hello or get a
quick hug on the way to class. In
the brief moments when the stu
dent center is quiet, Strieder
prepares notes for one of the
classes he teaches or outlines
Sunday’s sermon.
Strieder, born in Sealy, went
d.ing room and bedroom for ^college at the University of St.
Texas A&M CAtholic students. Thomas in Houston. From
It has a “lived in” look, full of there, he went to the seminary at
The work is slow be
cause every few mi
nutes a student stops
in to say hello or get a
quick hug on the way
to class.
librarv i
ils havei
d, similar
i few extral
asy to opt
ctions posit
and refen
ire avails
ih probity
dcally
lu dent nd
i cause tin
malfunci
system dot
microfilm
up use, ft
luaghing, crying and singing.
All of which helps contribute to
the family environment atmos
phere Strieder stresses.
Armed with a cup of coffee,
Strieder slips past tne students
into his ofFice to make some
phone calls. The student center
is in the Final stages of being re-
Gregorian University and re
ceived his master’s degree in
Liturgy from The Pontifical
Liturgical Institute, both in
Rome.
A student of language,
Strieder is fluent in Italian,
Spanish, Latin, German and En
glish. Strieder will often say a
few words in the native language
of his visitors.
“I always catch people by sur
prise, but it really make them
feel at home,” he said.
The “quiet” of the morning
usually ends around noon when
students gather in the student
center to watch soap operas and
visit as they eat lunch. There is a
friendly atmosphere and under
lying feeling of common reli
gious beliefs that make it easy to
feel at home. After lunch,
Strieder spends his afternoons
counseling students and taking
care of other work around the
church.
Most of Strieder’s counseling
with students is done in three
areas: student-parent struggles,
marriage and anxiety over
grades.
“Students are often caught in
a struggle to do what they want
to do and what their parents
want them to do.” Strieder said.
“Choosing a major is a good ex
ample.”
Strieder said he also sees
many students who feel the have
failed as a person because of
their inability to make good
grades.
. “It is important that the stu
dents believe in themselves,” he
said. “I try and point out their
ability to do anything.”
Ordained into the presthood _
in 1976, Strieder said he wanted
to be a priest since high school.
“Of all the vocations I couild
have chosen, the priesthood
gives me the mostjoy and fullFill-
ment,” he said. “It just make
sense in my mind.”
Strieder’s day Finally is over
and it ends as it began: quietly.
The students are home study
ing. Mass has been said. Needs,
he hopes, have been met.
“I get a great deal of satisfac
tion working with young people
and watching them grow in their
faith,” Strieder said.
Strieder has found his life’s
work and is content. Besides,
like the sign over his desk says,
“The retirement plan is out of
this world.”
Community outraged
Portuguese claim bias
in gang rape verdict
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Mrou & lembers of the Portuguese
Bmmunity, outraged by the
. Bnviction of two immigrants
aggravated rape, said Sun-
lUlvday the verdict showed Portu-
fiiese-Americans are regarded
“sub-citizens.”
With Daniel Silva, 27, and
Bseph Vieira, 28, held in the
jistol County House of Correc-
e needs olBm for raping a woman on a
s,”Pliilli| wvern’s pool table, residents
is colleagmjwi re afraid the men might
areas sinMend the rest of their lives in
.ntonio, ^prison or be sent back to Por-
1 the pu? iigal.
ty of thcfB Alda Melo, spokeswoman for
&M. Be Committee for Justice, the
ducationiBoupthat bailed out the defen-
f the unwnts, said, “The treatment of
s peoplf Portuguese immigrants is not
them in'(Biite equal to the rest of the
ty, Philli; •tommunity.”
■ They are treated like “sub-
akes priikBizens,” undeserving of equal
with the treatment under the law, she
•r Studeiffisaid.
/e attitutif* Silva of New Bedford and
itinuingedBeira of Ponifret, Conn., were
/ersity. convicted Saturday of aggra
vated rape of a 22-year-old
in expecut l 0 ther of two on a barroom
nt’s assoffl fo 0 | ta fo[ e i asl year. The woman
sily is “toil | so was 0 f Portuguese descent,
ducation* I The two face a possible max-
ir (formei [mum sentence of life imprison-
and theii lent and Superior Court Judge
ividuals, 1 filliam Young can order the
t"o deported after they serve
their sentences. Young sche-
/\ Friday for sentencing,
vl I lv Lawyers for both defendants
Vsaid they would appeal.
I A second jury resume hear-
Bg evidence against four other
|en charged with aggravated
bpe: John Cordiero, Victor
o all youi Pposo, Jose Medeiros and Vir-
he ages of IP 0 Medieros.
■ “I don’t feel there was evi-
u ize winK lence that supported those con-
le niagazii jctions,” Melo said. “We’re not
; a newel foingto take this any more.”
dfromeigl Emily Sedgwick, Spokes-
ts, eachi J°man for the Committee for
all-expens ustice, said the verdict was an
York in Mi outrage inspired by anti-
ihotograpi Portuguese bias,
and makeii “People were willing to be
er ts whos
> professioi
shion mai
lieve the woman’s testimony be
cause Silva is a Portuguese im
migrant,” she said. “What we
said all along, that the prejudice
among the jury was not adequ
ately inquired about, was borne
out.”
New Bedford, a Fishing com
munity of 100,000, is 60 percent
Portuguese.
The victim is of Portuguese
descent but the Committee for
Justice claims the verdict was
biased because Portuguese-
Americans are favored over
Portuguese immigrants. The
victim’s family has been here for
at least one generation and she
doesn’t speak Portuguese while
Silva and Vieira are immigrants
who had to have the couret pro
ceedings translated from En
glish.
The jury was all white but it
included a number of Portu-
guese-Americans. The Portu
guese groups would not put a
number on it, saying they could
tell just by surnames.
Bristol County District Attor
ney Ronald Pina dismissed sug
gestions the verdict was based on
Portuguese sentiments.
“I’m a Portuguese-American.
That has nothing to do with the
case at all,” he said.
The announcement of the
verdict in the neighboring
courthouse in Fall River sparked
violent outbursts with Vieira’s
brother, Louis, pounding his fist
against the railing until he was
carried kicking and screaming'
from the building.
At least two television camer
amen were punched as the dis
turbance spilled into the park
ing lot.
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