Students learn about the Franciscan values outside of the classroom

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. (April 27) – Someone takes a few extra seconds to hold open the door for you. Drop a notebook? Before you can pick it up, someone has already done it for you. You’re walking to class and someone smiles at you. Some call these actions selfless acts of kindness. St. Bonaventure University students call them Franciscan values.

     “These values are innate in us,” said Alex Henry. “We don’t even realize we’re using them in everyday life.” 

     Henry, a sophomore gerontology major, defined Franciscan values as subconscious acts of kindness.

     Other students defined Franciscan values as encompassing four factors – generosity, kindness, humility and service.

     Bonaventure’s definition of Franciscan values compared similarly to the students’ definitions, as does its mission statement:

     “St. Bonaventure University is a Catholic university dedicated to educational excellence in the Franciscan tradition.”

     University undergraduate catalogs stress the values of service through humility and individual worth through reflection and wisdom.

     Students said these values taught in the classroom need to be actively used through community service and volunteering if their professors expect students to remember the Franciscan values.

     “Catholic and Franciscan Heritage taught the values a little bit, but they were just something to memorize and regurgitate,” said Chelsea DiCicco, a sophomore psychology major. She described the core curriculum course, The Catholic-Franciscan Heritage.

     Students and faculty on campus said they find it easier to apply the Franciscan values than to learn about them.

     “They’re caught, not taught,” said Kevin Kriso, a Franciscan brother. “For 150 years, this university has passed these values down to the students. Classes might help put words to the values, but it won’t teach students how to use them.”

     Greg Faughnan agreed.

     “It’s hard to force these values upon us,” said Faughnan. “There are a lot of great organizations on campus that allow you to actively use the values.”

     Faughnan, a freshman chemistry major, said as chief of the Medical Emergencies Response Team, known as MERT, he uses the Franciscan values of service and kindness. MERT, a volunteer group, works with Health Services, responding to on-campus medical emergencies.

     “It’s totally volunteer and all our time is spent helping people who are hurt,” said Faughnan.

     Students agreed many on-campus groups exude the Franciscan values.

     Cydney Kramer, president of Embrace it Africa, said the group spreads the Franciscan values internationally.

     “We work very close with an orphanage and micro-loan agency in Bethlehem, Uganda,” said Kramer, a junior international studies major. “By raising money to help them grow as a community through building schools and planting farms, we are helping pass on the Franciscan values.”

     Recently, Embrace it Africa raised over $8,000 at their 2011 Buffalo Fundraiser, said Kramer.

     Rob Ryer, president of BonaResponds, said the group passes the Franciscan values on at a local level. The group did have national origin, though, as it helped out during Hurricane Katrina.

 Bona Responds works in disaster areas in the local towns, helping with anything from rebuilding classrooms to building trails, said Ryer.

     “We try to do things Francis did,” said Ryer, a senior physical education major. “You can’t fully understand the Franciscan values until you go out and use them.”

     Jean-François Godet-Calogeras, a professor of Franciscan studies, said students working to create a fraternitas, a small community, on campus promote the Franciscan values. However, he prefers to think of the values as virtues which help build an on-campus community.

     “Values have reward, virtues have power,” said Godet-Calogeras. “By getting involved and not being individualistic, the students are using those virtues to create a fraternitas, a small community, within St. Bonaventure built upon the Franciscan virtues.”

     Godet-Calogeras said the university’s emphasis on raising money for the school prevents the fraternitas from growing.

     “The Franciscan virtues have no value at all when they stop at the door,” said Godet-Calogeras. “We can say we follow them as much as we want, but if we don’t change our perspective and see how we can help, we can’t do a good job of using those virtues.”

     Students said community service hours should be mandatory to get students to participate in the Franciscan tradition.

     “We had a service project during Welcome Days this past summer and it was great,” said Faughnan. “We went to a nature preserve and took down a broken shed so the park could maintain some kind of state accreditation. Doing something like that isn’t too time consuming and really teaches the values through active involvement.”

     Kaleigh Drew agreed. She said if the university really wants students to learn and keep using the Franciscan values it needs to make community service a necessity.

     “It’s hard to teach about how to apply the Franciscan values without literally applying them,” said Drew, a sophomore elementary and special education major. “By volunteering and helping others, you’re growing as a person and you get the chance to learn about others who are outside of the ‘Bona bubble.’ It’s a humbling experience.”

JMC 202 Story