A message from Tim Cecere, St. Francis College's interim president

Charter Schools were introduced as a way to improve the public school system through innovation and competition, but in New York, those Charters have had the unintended consequence of reducing enrollment at Parochial Schools across the state, says Abraham Lackman of the Albany Law School's Government Law Center at the panel discussion The Tension Between Catholic Schools & Charter Schools held at St. Francis College February 13.

The New York State budget is passed but the debate over what's in the budget and how it will affect people across the state and the future economy remains a pressing issue. A lively discussion on those positions took place March 29 at St. Francis College between E.J. McMahon of the Manhattan Institute's Empire Center and former Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky. Fred Siegel, visiting professor at St. Francis moderated the panel.

Old and young music fans gathered in St. Francis College's Founders Hall on Wednesday, March 2 to watch Billy Joel's documentary, "The Last Play at Shea." Following the documentary, the audience was treated to a discussion with musician David Rosenthal, who toured with Joel for 15 years, the Executive Producer of the film Todd Kamelhar and Joel's archivist Jeff Schock.

In an annual tradition at St. Francis College honoring the Franciscan ideal of giving back, more than 150 people, including scholarship recipients and the people who funded their awards, came together for a special reception on December 6.

When NY1 Anchor and Reporter Cheryl Wills stumbled upon the name Sandy Wills during a lazy Internet search, she discovered that her great-great-great-grandfather was a runaway slave who fought for the North in the Civil War and her reporter's instincts immediately kicked in. Less than a year later, Wills has written and published Die Free: A Heroic Family History which she presented through words, music and pictures to a rapt audience on Tuesday, November 9 at St. Francis College.

St. Francis College, founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, is located in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y. Since its founding, the College has pursued its Franciscan mission to provide an affordable, high-quality education to students from New York City’s five boroughs and beyond. ### St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY 11201 www.sfc.edu

Islamic taboos, the struggle for control of Islam and a hard look and modern Islamic thinkers were just some of the topics covered in the panel discussion, Independent Voices of the Middle East, co-hosted by St. Francis College and the Manhattan Institute on Thursday, April 15 in St. Francis' Founders Hall.

St. Francis College proudly held its 13th annual Community Day to celebrate the many cultures and ethnicities that make up the College on Sunday, April 18. Students, faculty, staff and administrators came together for a three part event that begins with an all-inclusive, spiritual mass. The day continues with dancing, singing and spoken word performances that reflect the diversity of backgrounds of the population. Last is a multicultural buffet with a variety of homemade dishes from around the world.

In 1989, Charles Taylor began a campaign of terror and brutality that began a cycle of revenge and violence that ravaged the country of Liberia for almost 15 years. In 2003, something happened to finally help bring the civil war to an end. A group of civilian women banded together, across religious and economic lines, and began protesting for peace. Their efforts culminated at peace talks in neighboring Ghana, where the women blockaded the opposing sides inside the talks and successfully demanded a quick resolution. Two years later, the movement continued its fight and spearheaded the election of the first woman President on the entire African continent.