Story by Alyssa Noch, Reporter
Photo Courtesy of Valentina Garcia

The long awaited St.Thomas Aquinas Week is here! It’s filled with lots of on campus and off campus activities for students and staff to get involved in. To start off the week, the History Club put on a Monty Python movie: “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” where students had the chance to win prizes and act out their favorite scenes from the movie on Jan. 21. Being a big event for the History Club, it’s no wonder that James Swanton, a first-year student and member of the club, was the most excited for this event of the week. AQ Idol, though, came as a close second for him.

On Monday, Jan. 23, St.Thomas Aquinas Birthday Cake was had! Sponsored by many a department on campus, students enjoyed partaking in the delicious delights offered to them. Also included on this day, the start of the Open Chartres Labyrinth Walk happened, going from January 23 to 25. It allowed for people to take a meditative walk to become closer to God through prayer from 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. A prayerful start to the week.

On Tuesday, from 12:10 p.m. to 12:20 p.m. the annual Aquinas Family Photo was taken on the steps of the Academic Building. Following shortly after this picturesque moment, Jane Hibbard Idema held a Women’s Studies Lecture at Wege Center called “Is there a Glass Ceiling in Heaven? Female Saints and Feminine Sanctity in Western Christendom.” The speaker was Dr. Melissa Coll-Smith, speaking on the changing views and ways female saints were shown through the ages. We thank her for coming to share her knowledge with us, especially on the behalf of the Women’s Studies department that were especially excited to have her. Speaking of women, the annual Sister Ties event was also that day, later in the evening. This is an event many look forward to, as it allows students to engage with the Sisters at Marywood.

Then, on Wednesday, be on the lookout for faculty to be dressed in academic garb. Faculty, staff, and students are all invited to the St. Thomas Aquinas Patronal Mass from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the St. Thomas Apostle Church. This is to celebrate the school’s Patron Saint. At the mass, the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids will be recognized. Those who will also be recognized are Dale Haisma, David Milarch, and Francine Paolini for their 25 years of serving at Aquinas College.

Next up, on the 26, folks need to brush up on their trivia because Tommy Trivia is coming to Wege during lunch. Students will be able to win prizes while eating and trying their best to answer questions regarding our Patronal Saint. Good luck to all participants!

The next event of the day, the St. Thomas Aquinas Birthday Dinner with Dominican Sisters, will be held at Wege on the same day. Everyone is welcome to come. The Center of Diversity and Inclusion only asks that registration be completed in advance and those with meal plans to please consider donating swipes if able to. The Dominican Sisters will be our special guests for the evening. They deserve a warm welcome, which Aquinas will have no trouble giving.

AQ Idol is coming back, and the first round of it is on Friday, Jan. 27th at Kretschmer Recital Hall from 8:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. So, don’t miss it for those wanting to watch and cheer on those who applied, and those who applied to sing — don’t miss it!

The only other competition happening on campus during this special week is the Spectrum Scholarship for incoming freshmen, on Jan. 28, which is also St. Thomas Aquinas’ feast day.