An Interdisciplinary Commitment to Justice

Saint Martin’s commitment to justice and our school’s commitment to interdisciplinary teaching were on full display last Wednesday. Also on display was our interest in partnering with people and organizations who share our passion.

Our Ash Wednesday prayer service featured a guest speaker, Tom Gill, who also visited the freshmen Social Studies classes to delve more deeply into the complex topic of immigration. Since his service immersion trip to Ecuador as a Saint Ignatius High School student, Tom has been a passionate advocate for a more just immigration policy. His commitment strengthened as a St. Louis University student and as a graduate student at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

While at Saint Martin Wednesday, Mr. Gill shared stories of the horrific plight of immigrant children seeking entry into the United States from Central America and Mexico. His reflections supplemented the exploration of the immigrant experience that our students undertake as part of the freshmen curriculum. Students read Enrique’s Journey to inform their examination of the topic. Enrique’s Journey tells the story of many Central American and Mexican children who leave their homes in a desperate search for their mothers in the United States. These young people ride freight trains, illegally and dangerously, that take them north through Mexico to the border.

Campus Minister Virginia Malloy, who was instrumental in welcoming Tom Gill to Saint Martin, and other members of the faculty and staff, will continue to seek opportunities to personalize and humanize the topic of immigration so that Saint Martin students are able to apply the values of Saint Martin – work, study, serve, lead, pray – to this contentious issue. The freshmen students will be engaging in a Service Learning project that will bring their conversations and learning to a real-world conclusion of compassionate and loving action through donations of household items to Migration and Refugee Services.