Newman priest talks about plans for student housing project
The Rev. Matt Lowry is head of the Holy Trinity Catholic Newman Center here in Flagstaff, and he spoke to The Lumberjack about the center’s activities.
The Lumberjack: How do you define faith-based housing?
Matt Lowry: Some people choose to go to private schools because they like the ethos of a school, so to speak, whether it’s an Ivy League school or a Christian school or a Catholic school. There’s kind of an attitude — a subculture, if you will — where certain values are promoted. Here, you have Mountain View, for example, which has its subculture of Greek Life and the events that go around that, and the service that happens, and the socials and things. A model that’s happened at the University of Illinois: The Catholic Center has its own dormitory, and you know it is run by the Catholics, but in the end, it operates like any other dorm. There are house rules and a curfew and that kind of stuff, just like any dormitory. You obviously don’t force faith on anybody — you can’t force anyone to go to church, and that’s not necessarily the idea. What you do is create a place where positive values and virtues are promoted.
LJ: What values do you see being promoted in the proposed residence hall?
ML: We actually sat down and tried to think of what guidelines there should be in a dormitory, and it’s so funny, because it was similar to guidelines for any dormitory. You know, no drugs and no alcohol for minors; we would probably just be a dry dorm. No co-ed dorms, and there would probably be quiet hours. The values would probably be to recognize it is a Catholic dorm, and so the people who would want to live here that would be attracted to it would be trying to live a Catholic lifestyle — or in keeping with that. It would also be someone who would recognize that Catholic values would be promoted here. I believe Catholic values are treating every person with dignity, respect, reconciliation, charity, integrity, truthfulness — things and values that I think we all find worthwhile and admirable. We would obviously try to promote a culture where people are striving to become better, more virtuous people.
LJ: What prompted the Newman Center to push for this new residence hall?
FL: There have been conversations in this regard happening for about three or four years now. The center was here before I got here, and a developer approached us with the idea that this worked back East, and [he] wondered what we would think about doing faith-based housing. I entered the conversation about a year and a half ago when I got here; the wheels were already in motion.
LJ: How will the hall be different from others on campus in how it is set up, other than having separate buildings for men and women and a chapel?
FL: My hope is that it would have a gymnasium, a place where people could get together for sports, and a place where people could get together for dinners and social activities. But I think you would also have to have a good-sized gathering space because the Newman Center is home to a lot of people who don’t live here now. It’s home to anybody, Catholics and non-Catholics, and so you’d need a lot of social space, whereas I can’t walk into McConnell or Cowden. But we would have a way so that people who want to come to the Newman Center could hang out, so we’d probably have an excess of social gathering spaces. We’d also have other things — computer labs, laundry facilities, and things and amenities that people enjoy.
LJ: What prompted the Newman Center to push for this new residence hall?
FL: There have been conversations in this regard happening for about three or four years now. The center was here before I got here, and a developer approached us with the idea that this worked back East, and [he] wondered what we would think about doing faith-based housing. I entered the conversation about a year and a half ago when I got here; the wheels were already in motion.
LJ: The Newman Center has been pushing several things recently: the proposed residence hall, FOCUS [Fellowship of Catholic University Students] missionaries on campus and, most recently, the Campus Sobriety meetings. What is your overall goal with all of these activities?
FL: I think the role of people in the world is to sanctify the world, to help students here become more virtuous, to help them to seek the truth. And I, as a Catholic Christian, would say that the truth is a not a thing or a “what,” but a person: Jesus. All of these things kind of add to that, the Campus Sobriety thing came to us — we were told a partner was needed in the community to help make this happen. I’m very happy to help the Counseling Center and to partner with other people to create a positive environment and positive values here at the Newman Center.
LJ: Do you see a difference between the phrase in the survey that says, “The proposed residential facility would be open to all students, regardless of their faith, who would be willing to live in accordance with the values promoted by the Newman Center,” and faith-based housing?
FL: A person doesn’t need to be Catholic to live here, but hopefully they’re not weirded out by running into a Catholic priest who says hello to them in the morning. I don’t see anything happening differently from other dorms. If someone were causing say, scandal, that was affecting other people negatively, then I would sit down with them and tell them it’s affecting other people … It’s an environment where faith is openly talked about. Anybody can come, but you should know what you are getting into. You’re not forced to go to service, but just know you will be surrounded by people who think in a certain way.
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