Campus Notes

St. Thomas Aquinas Joins Catholic Climate Covenant

Through the leadership of its National Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility, St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill will join the Catholic Climate Covenant and take the St. Francis Pledge with a daylong study and action day on Thursday, Oct. 3, a day before the feast of St. Francis.

“The college will offer forums for educating students, employees and the greater community about the causes and moral dimensions of climate change; assess how we contribute to climate change; and will act to change individual and institutional choices and behaviors to reduce the ways we contribute to climate change,” said Sister Margaret Fitzpatrick, S.C., president of the college.

The St. Francis Pledge to Care for Creation and the Poor and the Catholic Climate Covenant are two initiatives that will be incorporated into the operations and academic life of the college.

Expert on Ethics of Hacking Speaks at Manhattan College

Gabriella Coleman, an expert on hackers and digital activism, will discuss “The Ethics of Hacking” at the inaugural event of the Center for Ethics at Manhattan College in the Bronx.

Her talk, which is open to the public, will take place Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m., in Smith Auditorium.

“Gabriella Coleman’s visit to campus will serve to highlight and clarify current debates on the ethics of hacking and free and open source software,” said Mitchell Aboulafia, co-director of the college’s Center for Ethics and chairman of the philosophy department.

Ms. Coleman is the Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy in the Department of Art History and Communication Studies at McGill University in Montreal. She is the author of “Coding Freedom: The Aesthetics and Ethics of Hacking.”

Information: (718) 862-7124 or centerforethics@manhattan.edu.

Bedford Teacher to Study Digital Learning at Notre Dame

MaryAllison Makarczuk, a sixth-grade teacher at St. Patrick’s School in Bedford, has been awarded a scholarship to attend the 2013 Excellence in Teaching Conference at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.

The Oct. 25-27 conference, “Building Student Achievement in the Digital Age,” is sponsored by the Notre Dame Alumni Association. The purpose is to help teachers combine traditional teaching strategies with new technologies.

“We look forward to hearing what she learned and putting the strategies into practice,” said Jennifer Ciavirella, principal of St. Patrick’s School.