The phrase is included in the first line of Rockhurst’s mission statement, and students are told it more times than they can count. But what does it look like for graduates to truly be “men for others”? The school attempted to add some clarity to that by holding the first ever Men for Others Day on Sept. 9. But not everyone who was there walked away with a clearer understanding, and some even left frustrated with what they heard.
The day consisted of a combination of talks from Danielle Brown from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in the performance gym and workshops in classrooms. The day was broken up into three parts centered around the principles of dignity, justice and belonging.
Assistant Dean of Students Billy Linscott coordinated the day. In the lead-up to it, he sent an email to the student body laying out the overriding question the day sought to answer: “What would it look like for Rockhurst High School to grow as a community of ‘men for others’ defined by dignity, justice, and belonging?”
He reiterated that question when the whole student body gathered in the performance gym for the first talk from Brown.
“Our first annual ‘Men For Others Day’ aimed to anchor our understanding of what it means for our school to grow as a community of men for others,” Linscott told Prep News. “Ms. Danielle Brown gave us a lot of things to think about and build upon, and I’m grateful for her efforts.”
Brown is a former attorney and magistrate. She currently works with the USCCB as the assistant director of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism. She gave three talks over the course of the day, each one centered on how the principles of dignity, justice, and belonging are visible within the Catholic faith.
Some students involved in the organization of the day questioned if her approach was the best way to reach everyone.
“I think that when a lot of the things said are rooted in faith and Catholicism, it’s hard for some people to relate or build upon those practices,” senior Knox Nail said.
Some of the discussion topics raised by Brown weren’t just difficult for some students to see the application, they were upsetting. The most controversial topic that was discussed, and argued upon after the event, was a discussion on the strengths of men and women. Brown said men are stronger than women, and that men have certain jobs that women can’t do as effectively, and vice versa. This and other points Brown made about male influence in an adolescent’s life caused confused and angry backlash from many members of the Rockhurst community–both students and staff alike. But others saw it differently.
“What I, as a faithful Catholic, heard…What I heard was a fellow faithful Catholic articulating to a group of young men that they have an innate worth as men,” Rockhurst pastoral director Matt Nickson said.
The message wasn’t clear to all members of the Rockhurst community that day or as the week went on. The gap in the way the message was received was still significant enough that Principal Father Vincent Giacabazi felt compelled to make an all-school announcement about it two days later. In that announcement, Father Giacabazi reiterated that Rockhurst strives to be a place where every person–man or woman–is valued, because we are all created in the image and likeness of God.
Some say the dissonance in how the message was received and how it affected the intended impact of the day falls just as much on members of the school as it does the content.
“I think we could have done a better job as a community throughout the day of just trying to give our attention, trying to to manage through it,” assistant pastoral director, scripture teacher and cross country coach Ryan McAnany said. “It’s hard when the adults, I think, were also clearly visibly checked out. So we can do a better job of modeling that for you guys.”
A question asked by many in the community in the wake of the event is “Where does it go from here?” With what some considered a controversial start, should Men for Others Day become an annual event at Rockhurst?
“I think it’s very clear to me that we have some work to do in terms of defining for them, extolling for them, what a virtuous Christian man is and does in our world today, and like what that looks like,” Nickson said.
Even with the controversy and misconstrued messages, the first Men For Others Day will not be the last.
“We aspire to be a community defined by dignity, justice, and belonging, and we need ‘sapientia in Christo’ [wisdom in Christ, Rockhurst’s motto] in order to see those values truly take root. And we need to know Christ in order to be wise in Christ,” Linscott said. “That, I believe, was at the core of her message. And I hope and pray that of all the things that were talked about on Men for Others Day, even the comments that were made that weren’t in-line with our own community’s values and were publicly addressed by Father Giacabazi, that the central message concerning our ultimate need for Jesus doesn’t get lost.”
