The Basic Training of an Atlas
On first entering St Aloysius’ College, during Induction Week, two mentalities are handed out to each student like a pair of dog-tags to a private. The first is an overwhelming pressure to be the best in whatever you do; the College is indeed a pit of mastiff brains; and the second, is a jelly-like order of charity crystallised in the Social Responsibility Project. I say jelly-like as the order is both hard yet soft. During the informative meeting dedicated to the Project, First Years are sweetly told the generic benefits of doing charitable voluntary before suddenly being overwhelmed with the sharpness of the fact that it is school policy for students to carry out 55 hours of charitable work, proven by signatures and photos, and described in a reflective essay, lest they wish to be expelled. One needs to keep in mind that most of the new students are completely unaware of the policy and are still basking in the freedom discovered during the post-O level summer. Naturally enough, it is a massive shock and initially detested by the masses.
It was this contempt that incited me to look for answers regarding the necessity and alleged benefit of such a barbaric-sounding policy.
Now is the best time to mention that the metaphorical dog-tags crown big heads. This is not a condemnation. It is a symptom of the pride that all new Aloysians feel on being accepted into one of the most prestigious Sixth Forms on the island. Everyone thinks, “I made it. By the sweat of my brow I have been accepted. My bread is buttered. With the knowledge I will gain here, the world is my oyster.” It is this selfish yet natural mentality, arguably a product of our society, that Fr Joseph Cassar, the new Chaplain whom I interviewed, wishes to eradicate through the Social Responsibility Project. This superiority complex is completely at odds with the worldwide Jesuit Ethos of selflessness in the name of justice and aid to those in need, summarised nicely by the former General Superior of the Society of Jesus and Nobel Prize winner for medicine, Pedro Arrupe who preached that we must be, “Men and women for others.”
Another chief aim of the Project is to introduce students to unusual and not necessarily pleasant circumstances, with the scope of opening their mind to some of the suffering of the world and, more importantly, instil them with the incentive to make a change in the bad circumstance. It is through such projects that Jesuit Colleges around the world, not only in St Aloysius’ College Malta despite popular belief, produce students with the ability to change the world and raise it on their shoulders. An example of such an ex-student who did so was the late James Foley, a journalist whose alma mater was the Jesuit-run Marquette College. He was killed in the act of being a man for others by exposing the truths of a war no one wished to risk their life reporting. It is safe to say that he is now a hero in the world of journalism.
Fr Joe then proceeded to debunk certain rumours regarding the Project. The “involuntary voluntary work”, as it is commonly known as, is no paradox at all. It is voluntary in the way that there is no payment involved and is mandatory by College policy. Such mandatory policies of charity aren’t limited to Jesuit Colleges. In fact, most companies adopt philanthropic Corporate Social Responsibility policies through which they give something back to the community. The Project musn’t also be seen as a hanging guillotine over the heads of the students, waiting to expel them. Rather, like an exam with which one may graduate into the Second year. The purpose of exams isn’t to fail students but to test them, so, the Project gives students that push to open their minds.
It must also be said that the dreaded 55 hours were decided by the calculation of each student doing approximately 2 hours of charitable work per week during the 22 weeks that make up a school year (excluding exam weeks). This is designed to enable effective juggling of weekly routines to allow time for the Project.
I must say that on learning the reasoning behind the Project my view on the matter changed. This was also compounded by separate interviews with two Second Years after my meeting with the Chaplain. I saw that the Project was actually working. Both gained immensely from their experience and said it changed their life to a certain degree, despite their initial belief that it was a burden and a waste of time.
One thing I noticed, however, is that there seems to be a rift between the original idea of eye-opening, selfless experiences and the way the policy is carried out. Whilst signatures are an understandable evil as proof of student work; the photos, essay and assessment sheets give the whole Project a character of weights and measures comparable to the ghastly SOK project, which is sheer slander of a noble idea. The photographic proof verges on the obscene as images of unpleasant circumstances are recorded for no apparent use to the student or administration. Moments of true personal importance and revelation are forever seen in the mind as they are burnt into it without the need of photos. The essay designed to make one reflect on their experiences is equally futile, as an interviewed student put it, “If the experience is deep enough, reflection will follow on, its own by nature.” It must also be known that eye-opening experiences have a certain intimacy to them making it very unpleasant to lay them out on paper for other people to see. The assessment sheet, in its own part, gives the impression of observation and criticism to a journey where both are out of place. It also makes the student question “For whom am I really doing this?”.
The Social Responsibilty Project is actually an excellent force for good in our ages of freedom and existential question marks. It is that push that helps us find meaning in life; the Jesuits are really onto something here. It is a pity that I hadn’t realised its good intentions sooner.
The dog-tags we are handed on our first day are constant reminders of the many falls from grace we can have at St Aloysius. It is their back-breaking weight however that shapes us into intelligent people of great personal strength. Their results are true. Though their chains chafe our necks, with steaming sweat aggravating the cuts, they will make commanders of us all someday. For that, we wear them with pride.
Andrea Caruana
