January and early February, Benedictine College president Stephen D. Minnis visited the United States capital on three separate occasions.
During that time, the Kansas Legislature honored the college at the State Capitol in Topeka.
Several BC alums have gone on to hold public office on both the state and national levels.
This begs the question: How do members of a small, Catholic community in the Midwest with a narrowly defined values system branch out into the polarized, cutthroat environment of American politics?
“In going to a conservative school like BC, it is easy to believe what the majority of everyone else believes, but if you’re not careful, you won’t know why you believe what you believe,” said political science major and SGA vice president Joe Humphrey.
However, Humphrey says Benedictine distinguishes itself from other small colleges by offering well-rounded resources.
“The political science department here is excellent. Few schools, especially small schools, provide political science departments where the students are guaranteed to get both points of view.”
Humphrey said he hopes to one day join the handful of BC alums applying that kind of knowledge in the political world.
Shelly Pritchard worked years as the librarian for the U.S. Supreme Court. Fellow alumnus Bob Custra, now the president of Boise State University (Idaho), served two terms as the lieutenant governor of Illinois and spent ten years in that state’s legislature.
Kansas representatives Jerry Henry and Pat George and state senator Pete Brungardt all graduated from Benedictine and helped pass a resolution honoring the college for its 150 years of existence. The college was formally recognized at a state legislative hearing Jan. 26.
1969 BC graduate Terry Gainer is the current United States Sergeant at Arms, and it was he who invited Minnis to witness President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address the evening after the State of Kansas honored Benedictine.
That was the second of Minnis’ three trips to Washington. He participated in the Jan. 22 March for Life and introduced Senator Sam Brownback at a National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities prayer breakfast earlier this month.
As the figurehead of Benedictine College, Minnis’ recent involvement in the political sphere, particularly his introduction to Obama, offers examples of the honors and challenges that come with stepping into the government realm.
“You have 30 seconds, right. I just didn’t feel like it was an appropriate time or place to have a debate on him,” Minnis said when asked about his emotions when meeting the U.S. commander-in-chief.
“The major disagreement I have with him is on the life issue. He and I just do not see eye-to-eye on that. …What I didn’t want to do was embarrass Terry Gainer, the person who was introducing me, and I didn’t want to embarrass the college by being too aggressive.”
The abortion issue is just one of many faced by students at a conservative, Catholic college. That’s why an open mind and commitment to values is so important, according to Humphrey.
“You have to ask yourself why you believe what you believe because after you graduate not everyone around you will agree with you,” he said. “If you don’t have someone that will challenge your beliefs, then you must challenge yourself.”
One individual hoping to bring that challenge to students is Gainer’s college roommate. BC political science chairman Dr. John Settich insists that instilling Benedictine values in students doesn’t cripple their ability to succeed but rather prepares them to uphold those principles in whatever occupation they fulfill.
“I think the important part of it is that we get a good foundation in values that serve us well in service or in private enterprise,” Settich said of the political science department. “I want our nation to be represented by people with good values and a strong foundation.”
Minnis hopes that an ethical basis will be present in the development of all BC students, not just those going specifically into politics.
“It’s important to have values and it’s important to live those values, and you should be looking to support candidates that share those values because those are things that are important to you," Minnis said.
Said Humphrey, whose postgraduate plans include higher education and campaigns for public office: “If people here took the effort to be informed and learn what is going on outside their personal lives, it would make a big difference.”
