From Volleyball to Kierkegaard — and Everything in Between

As promised, here is the report from Wednesday’s volleyball tournament:

There were 12 teams of eight members, each captained by two prefects or, in one case, the Summer Program’s two chaplains, Fr. Sebastian and Fr. Paul. The tournament, played on the campus athletic fields, was double-elimination. A few teams flamed out early, while others battled throughout the afternoon, with the squad captained by John Jost and Micaela McCall eking out a close win over Andrew Rossi and Meg Downes’ team.

The prize for their hard-fought victory, however, was a match against the well-rested tutors — a daunting prospect. Yet Team Jost-McCall did not seem worse for the wear, and handily bested the tutors in two straight matches!

Afterward students, prefects, tutors, and the tutors’ families alike gathered for a pork-tenderloin-and-chicken barbeque on the library lawn. Then came study hall, where students prepared for Thursday’s readings from Genesis (Chapters 10-25) paired with the Eulogy on Abraham from Søren Kierkegaard’s Fear and Trembling.

The highlight of the evening, however, came in the following “Holy Half Hour” — 30 minutes of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, accompanied by the recitation of the Rosary. The chaplains made themselves available for confession, and many students availed themselves of the Sacrament!

Finally there was the first of this year’s dance lessons, in preparation for next week’s last-night dance. Prefect Dan Selmeczy taught the basics of swing, and “The students loved it,” according to one prefect. Dan — who has been teaching dance on the Summer Program for more than a decade — reportedly called this class one of the best he has ever taught.

Back in the residence halls after curfew there were pretzels, cheese, and many an impromptu musical performance!