This issue of The Crusader is one I meet with bittersweet welcome. Hereby deemed "The Father McFarland Issue," this week's paper is a respite from the not-always-interesting news that usually fills it by celebrating Father McFarland and marking the end of an era in Holy Cross' history in which he presided.
When I came to Holy Cross in the fall of 2007, I imagined the role of a college president to be one of prestige and great responsibility. The president of a college is tasked with overseeing a number of departments, reporting to the board, and general administration.
My favorite time of year has always been the days from Thanksgiving until December 25th – the Christmas season. It's a time filled with holiday cheer, good food, and Christmas music. It's the most hopeful time of the year, when little kids are giddy with excitement over Santa Claus and the anticipation of Christmas morning.
Henry Miller, an American novelist and playwright, once said, "One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of seeing things." Being only one short week away from reaching a destination of my own – that is, graduation – I can easily recognize that my way of seeing things has most assuredly been altered in the past four years I have spent at Holy Cross.
I would love to preface this piece by extending my sincerest thanks and appraisals to Father McFarland for his modest aura, his charisma, and ultimately for being an exemplary human being—embodying the values upon which we, the crusaders, take pride in.