Nothing is more practical than

finding God, than

falling in Love

in a quite absolute, final way.

What you are in love with,

what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.

It will decide

what will get you out of bed in the morning,

what you do with your evenings,

how you spend your weekends,

what you read, whom you know,

what breaks your heart,

and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.

Fall in Love, stay in love,

and it will decide everything.

 

What does it mean to be loving?  This question has baffled philosophers and theologians, has been the topic of plays and musicals, and has been the inspiration for this simple prayer accredited to Superior General Pedro Arrupe S.J. It is a simple question but becomes a lot more complicated when looking at how a spirit of love can cause immense joy, crippling sorrow, and sometimes, even a deep sense of kinship.

When asking the St. Louis U. High community what it meant to be loving, the answers varied. Some said that it meant putting others over oneself. Others said that to be loving meant coming in each day with a spirit of good-will and kindness, and still others saw loving as being compassionate and empathetic. Yet, all believed that they saw this year as being a year shaped by a spirit of love expressed by the students, faculty, and administration.

As the seniors end their last school week at SLUH and this wild year full of change and pivots comes to a close, the Prep News has decided to look back at the 2020-21 school year—formally themed on the grad at grad principle of loving, in hopes to celebrate that spirit of love that so marks the halls of SLUH.

 

A love that seizes the Imagination

 

“Believe it, become it.”  “Make SLUH you.”  These admission slogans are said a lot to prospective and incoming students, and yet behind these admission mottos is an invitation to live out one’s imagination or vision for what the SLUH experience can be. The call to be imaginative and creative stems far beyond these admission slogans, though. It can be seen in the many clubs that SLUH offers that have continued to meet during a pandemic. It can be seen in the student-planned events that have been particularly difficult to prepare this year, and it can be seen when a student goes into the Innovation Lab and creates something that he has never built before.

In the prayer, Arrupe says that love is what seizes one’s imagination. Throughout the interviews, all have commemorated the great imagination and devotion that SLUH students have had this school year despite being in the midst of a pandemic.

For math teachers Frank Corley and Tom Flanagan, this aspect of love can best be seen in their classrooms—in their students’ ability to feel comfortable and see the classroom as a place to grow and take risks.

“A loving environment is a safe environment and a safe environment is one where a student feels comfortable taking an intellectual risk and that means using your imagination,” said Corley.

“If love doesn't exist in the classroom, kids are going to be afraid to take chances, they're going to be very unwilling to stick their neck out,” said Flanagan. “If you can create an atmosphere that is safe and loving and supportive, then you are going to see students be imaginative and excited to take risks and learn.”

Mohr agreed with this observation but also described how the way that students act lovingly to each other also pushes students to live out their imaginations and succeed in the classroom.

While seizing the imagination can be seen in the classroom, seizing one’s imagination has also been seen this year in the planning of events, such as retreats, assemblies, and fun gatherings. For many of these events, they required re-imagination and love.

“Thanks to the leadership of Campus Minister Fr. Hill and Campus Ministry, we were able to offer modified retreat programming that got just about everyone on a retreat (who) needed to go,” said Mohr. “And that required a lot of imagination. It was really impressive to me to see my colleagues so filled with love to put on events like these that are not easy to put on during this year.”

For Campus Minister Stephen Deves, it was the junior class who used their love of each other and a desire to form a community to drive their imagination, planning fun evening gatherings.

“I think as a school you've seen us experiment and practice with new things to break out of old norms, partially because we've been forced to and we have to, but I think that also you see creativity unlike ever before,” said Deves. “When given the opportunity, there are a lot of brilliant creative people at the school who are going to use that and shine.”

 

A love that does Justice

 

Justice has always been rooted in the foundation of this Jesuit institution, whose mission statement is to develop teen boys to be ‘men for others.’  Commitment to justice is another principle of the grad at grad—where the school chose this year's theme of loving from—and it was last year's all-school theme.

Although Arrupe’s prayer does not directly speak about a love that can be seen in the service and advocacy of others, his prayer is often referenced in the context of social justice as a way of inspiring bold action. In this pandemic year that has been plagued by racial turmoil in addition to soaring unemployment rates and environmental rhetoric, there has surely been bold action among the students and faculty responding in the name of love for a marginalized community.

“We spent a lot of time working on projects that would help us be more committed to doing justice,” said Gibbons. “To continue in that process, we chose loving as our theme for twofold reasons: one that it's such an important virtue to build within ourselves but also the act of loving is an act of justice and the inability to be loving can be one of the roots of injustice.”

In all the interviews, people said that the number one act of love seen at this school was when students wore their masks. This just act, as explained by librarian Lynne Casey, might seem small but speaks volumes of a concern for each other and the faculty and staff of the school community.

“The kids follow the rules, and I think that's showing love,” said Casey. “Recognizing that this isn't what I want to do but understanding that this is what we're dealing with right now demonstrates a level of empathy and compassion. There are people in this school who are at risk or have parents who are at risk. To recognize that and comply with the health rules is an act of justice.”

Surely, the school’s more conservative response to the pandemic than other schools has also been an act of love and justice. Offering virtual options, even though it was difficult, and recognizing the diversity of needs in the school body during the pandemic is an act of justice and love that should not be forgotten when looking back on this year.

“I think that recognizing that we have a diverse student body here and the effort by the administration to accommodate them shows a commitment to justice,” said Casey. “We've been more careful with our higher risk students than maybe other schools who have opened up everyone every day. I think that it demonstrates that we took a more cautious approach recognizing that we have to come from populations that have been enormously struck by this pandemic.”

Yet, a sense of just love can also be seen, in a more traditional sense, in the advocacy and service work that the school has been doing this past school year from raising the school’s awareness on the issues affecting people of color and the LGBTQ+ population to fundraising money for the homeless and the educationally insecure.

To kick off the year in the summer, the Voices of SLUH series picked back up after the aftermath of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the series was highlighted in this year’s Black History Month celebration. In January, seniors finished their Grande Projects. Named after the Jesuit martyr Rutilio Grande S.J., these projects focused on one marginalized group, such as migrants, the environment, and the imprisoned. In the month of April, the school held its first LGBTQ+ awareness week, with morning prayers and a student panel. The school also saw the conclusion of the Ongoing Conversations Series, which was featured in the Prep News and focused on LGBTQ+ issues in the school.

“At SLUH there are a lot of teachers that have created safe places in this school for people of color and other minorities,” said Ocean Okohson-Reb. “It takes not only a want for justice, but also a love for the students and the people affected by this issue to make these events and space special and powerful. This is how love and justice are interconnected.”

 

A love that has grows among a class

 

Perhaps the most foundational aspect of love is the community it builds. Arrupe says that love can decide “how you spend your weekends, what you read, (and) whom you know.” Here at SLUH, much of the community is built through co-curricular activities, whether it be sports, clubs, or even the student newspaper. 

“We were rocking and rolling last year, and then the pandemic hit and we were just kind of forced to stop,” said StuCo President-elect A.J. Thompson (jr.). “So really, all interaction between the school stopped. I mean, Zoom is obviously no fun, but there wasn't even Zoom. There was no teacher-student interaction. And it was just miserable.”

Theatre, Mock Trial, and ACES are all examples of clubs that found ways to prevail and to keep building their community. 

“Well, some (clubs) got completely blindsided while some were able to adapt, and it has nothing to do with the people who lead them,” said sophomore Christopher St. John. “For things like theater, I was part of the SLUH Crew. We only put on one production this year, which wasn't the real thing. Then with Mock Trial we were able to do almost everything—I would say more—than we did in previous years because it was easier for us to scrimmage with other schools on Zoom. We didn't have to reserve actual locations, and it was easier for us to meet in the virtual world, even though it's not the same as in person.” 

“I think people have really been desperate for any sense of community, or gathering or interaction that they've been able to get this year,” said StuCo Vice President-elect Ismael Karim. “And I think affinity groups have been a great way to bring people together. But I would say, even though we had a good deal with affinity groups, ACES has, I think, been stronger too. The community ACES has provided is awesome.” 

StuCo did its best to pivot when necessary and to keep the SLUH spirit alive. 

“We still managed to pull off some successful tailgates, and the StuCo-Prep News basketball game was big. We were able to plan those events to get a lot of people together, which I think was really important this year, and StuCo itself was able to get together and plan those things,” said Thompson. 

And on a micro level, students have found ways to keep a brotherhood alive even when they had to be separated. 

“We found new ways to get together. I've probably played more Call of Duty: Warzone in the past six months than I have the past two years,” said St. John as he referred to a way he and his friends have been able to keep in touch through quarantine. 

They also found themselves more grateful than ever when they finally were able to see each other. 

“It's just been great to be back with everyone. Obviously the masks are no fun and the plastic dividers not ideal, but just to be back in the building with most of the guys (is great),” said Thompson. “It's crazy to think about how we took in-person classes for granted. And I think something that important, if we're taking that for granted, we're taking a lot more for granted—even the little small things, like seeing a teacher in the hallway and saying ‘hi.’” 

St. John and Senior Class President and Ed Hawk Award winner Grant Sussman have taken lessons from the difficulty but feels he came out stronger for it. 

“Stay close to other people, because you really only grow if you're with other people. You'll see how you interact and you see how people react to you; if we stay disconnected, then we're not growing,” said St. John. “Stay connected, don't let people drift away. Because we're all in some ways still adapting.” 

“I think that definitely the pandemic spurred imagination,” said Susman. “Because we simply had to do what we had to do whether it was Student Council or Prep News or name any club or even just how the teachers taught their classes.” 

 

A love that pushes you forward

 

“Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”  These are the words that end Arrupe’s prayer. When looking back at this year, a spirit of love really has driven the actions of the student body, the faculty and staff, and the administration. It has made the school seize its imagination, pursue things that it has not done before and encouraged students to take risks in the classroom. It has inspired students and faculty to act with justice and mercy, to serve people on the margins and to make people around them more aware of the issues plaguing the world. It has created a tight kinship among each student—no longer just SLUH students but brothers, a family. But, most importantly, love is what grounds people. It is what spurs them forward. It is what opens opportunities and allows people to look to the future.

“The first thing that comes to my mind is in regards to the seniors moving off,” said Flanagan. “If you're not moving forward with the spirit of love, then you're not open to what's ahead and so the opportunity for growth is minimal at best. It's going to take somebody else to come and shower you with love to open the gate. We all have fears about moving forward and what's going to happen in the future.”

For Corley, love is the most important thing given to a student at SLUH, and especially because of this year when people have been more isolated because of quarantines and social distancing, it centers people and  allows them to go off into the future with a strong foundation of knowing that they are loved.

“Most important thing we do for our children and for our students is make them feel loved. We want the home you're orbiting around as some sort of a gravitational center for you,” said Corley. “If that's not a  source of love for you, then all the math, all the science, all the A's you've gotten aren't going to mean anything because you're not going to be happy and ultimately, you're probably not going to be successful.”

With the possibility of next school year’s zeitgeist no longer being defined by the pandemic, Deves hopes that when the school begins looking towards the future that it will be done in a spirit of love that focuses on the individual.

“We don't move forward in a positive way without love. And I think that's an easy statement and also a very challenging statement,” said Deves. “How do we move forward as we emerge from the pandemic? We don't do it without focusing on our community without focusing on our people. And when you want to think about what love means I think it starts with people. It's not about the programs, or the classes that we teach, or the initiatives we take on. None of that means anything if not for the individual.”

 “I sure hope that it has renewed the sense of gratitude within the school,” said Thompson. “I think school spirit was typically at a low, there were some high points, but I think next year is going to be a big year for spirit.” 

Sussman, while he won’t be around next year, advised the underclassmen to stay positive. 

“I guess just say to the lower three classes that however much longer this pandemic continues—whether we're completely back to normal by next school year—it takes years to get back. Just don't lose whatever positive attitude you might have,” said Sussman. “I know that, like I said, it's been really tough even for me to be positive, this year, and I'm sure it's been tough for everybody else. But positivity, trying to cheer people up, give them a smile in whatever way you can, it truly makes a huge difference in their day I know because I've experienced that many times in my life. “ 

While love is an important feature of this year, the SLUH community has also bolstered the two other theological virtues—hope that things will get better and a faith in each other and God. As the SLUH community looks back on how this year has been defined by love, it also looks forward to a new time outside of the pandemic, where hopefully the community will continue to embrace these virtues.

“Just how love is the highest theological virtue, it's important to remember that it is related to the other theological virtues: faith and hope,” said Mohr. “When we love, we all need to be living out of faith and hope—in this case, that we know this is not the end of the story. The pages are turning; the world will not be stifled. It's still unclear in a lot of ways what it all means without Covid, and there are some parts of the world that are still suffering in terrible circumstances. But when I look at our local community, I see a real page is turning, and I hope that that activates us to commit to one another in a very serious way and to continue to keep in mind how we can develop to devote ourselves to the common good. I think because we've lived in love and because we have hope that that allows us to live more joyfully next year with each other.”