Moderator Elisha Chi (left), Autumn Coard (center) and Meg Martin (right).

On Feb. 21, 2024, Falvey Library hosted two events promoting a dialogue about indigenous representation on campus and in the classroom. The first event, Panel on Land Acknowledgements, was a student-led conversation about the formation of NISA, Native Indigenous Students Association, and the student experience on campus. The discussion was around NISA’s efforts for sustainability, community, and representation by creating a safe, welcoming space for all indigenous students. Madonna Kongal discussed how Villanova University needs to take responsibility and educate students about the Lenni-Lenape people and the indigenous experience. Meg Martin spoke on Land Acknowledgement as a tool to set the tone and act as a marker of accountability for the University. DePaul recommended Villanova University create more opportunities to invite Indigenous speakers and broaden historical intersectionality in teaching. Villanova must take an active role in outreach, recruitment, and development of strong relationships with the Lenni-Lenape people.

Autumn Coard and Meg Martin of NISA chat with attendees after the event.

Moderator & Panelists:

Meg Martin (panelist) is a junior communication major with a media production specialization. She is bear clan from the Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation in upstate New York , Southern Ontario, and Quebec.  

Modonna Kongal (panelist) is a sophomore political science major, with a minor in communications. She is from the Arawak Tribe of Linden, Guyana. 

Autumn Coard (panelist) is a sophomore communications major, with a peace and justice minor. She is from the Shinnecock Indian Nation on the Eastern end of Long Island. 

Adam DePaul (panelist) is the Chief of Education and Tribal Storykeeper of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. Additionally, he is a PhD candidate and instructor at Temple and Aracadia University with a primary research area in Cultural and Mythological Studies, and the co-founder and president of NAISAT (Native American and Indigenous Studies at Temple).

Elisha Chi (moderator) is a registered descendant of the Inupiaq of the Bering Straits region and Irish/British Catholics, raised on Duwamish lands in the anti-feminist radical traditionalist Catholic community of Seattle. Currently a PhD candidate working here in the Lenapehoking at the intersection of theology/religious studies, ethics, and Indigenous studies, a Forum for Theological Education Dissertation Fellow, and a University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellow for 2024/2025, her current project is titled “Stories and Silence: Issues and Methods Supporting the Decolonization of the Catholic Church.” Her work articulates anti-colonial academic methods and pedagogical practices that pursue institutional decolonization and Indigenous land return. 

Modonna Kongol of NISA and Adam DePaul answer questions from the audience.

The panel discussion was co-sponsored by Falvey Library, Falvey‘s DEI Committee, the Center for Peace and Justice Education, the Albert Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest, and NISA, the Native Indigenous Students Association.

In the afternoon, Adam DePaul and Dr. Kimberly Takahata, Assistant Professor in the English Department, provided an informal discussion around opportunities to integrate Native American material into many different disciplines. Attendees discussed with DePaul ways to provide greater access to materials, language to use in assisting with research, and allowing space for students to engage with their own experience to build connections of shared experience in different communities.

Interested in Learning More?

Check out these library resources on Indigenous histories and cultures:

WHY INDIGENOUS LITERATURES MATTER – KIMBERLY TAKAHATA

Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America (Adam Matthew Digital)

Beaudry Allen is a Preservation & Digital Archivist, Distinctive Collections & Digital Engagement Department, Falvey Library.

Thank you to all the students and staff that attended DCDE’s annual Halloween event on Tuesday! Each year DCDE opens our deepest darkest vault to unveil our spookiest material as well as bring some levity to your day’s studies in Falvey.

Many treats, from candy to pizza, were available to Halloween revelers to enjoy. In addition, DCDE had wooden block prints created by our DCDE coordinator, Mike Sgier, available for people to take home.

A print demonstration was done at the event and intended to highlight the type of printing done for some of the bibles on display in the our new exhibit, Divine Inspiration: Revealing the Sacred in Biblical Texts and Imagery.

This year was a return of our Haunted Villanova Map with attendees placing stickers on places at Villanova they think are eerie or know of a good ghost story. Alumni Hall, Tolentine Hall, Middleton Hall, and Falvey Library seemed to be the spookiest places on campus lately.

And as we do every year we had on display some of DCDE collections’ spookiest and fantastical items. These items illustrate the discourse around the unexplained in the past or what was considered popular stories of ghosts, monsters, etc.

Always a fan favorite is  hand drawn jack-o-lanterns of Halloween letter from 1925, which demonstrates how Halloween was celebrated in the past.

On display and available to see by appointment in Special Collections:

Irish Witchcraft and Demonology from the McGarrity Collection

Letter, To: “Dear Papa” From: Catherine Meave McGarrity, October 22, 1925 from the McGarrity Collection

Issues from Weird Tales from our Dime Novel Collection

The Amateur’s Guide to Magic and Mystery and the Black Art: Fully Exposed

Episode two: “Hard Times at the Huskin’ Bee,” Cartoon Network, original air date November 3, 2014.

Fall, with all its gloomy skies yet cozy days, is known as time for a rewatch for fans of the cartoon, Over the Garden Wall. Since 2014 and with each passing year the cartoon has garnered new fans of all ages. The richness in storytelling interweaving childhood hurt, fear, insecurity, and sense of adventure against the backdrop of the unknown. The story draws on folk and fairy tale conventions and forms a story where the tone seems familiar yet unrecognizable at the same time that seems to keep audiences captivated. Adventure Time storyboard artist, Patrick McHale, created the ten-part Cartoon Network miniseries which draws inspiration from Dante’s Inferno, nineteenth to early-twentieth century Halloween cards, lithography, 1930s animation linework, the illustrations of John Tenniel, a 1890 board game called Game of Frog Pond, folk art, early twentieth century American music, and, for those in the know, McLoughlin Brothers children’s books.

The Three Bears. New York: McLoughlin Brothers, 1888.

Distinctive Collections has a small collection of McLoughlin Brothers Inc. children’s books in our Dime Novel and Popular Literature collections. McLoughlin Brothers Inc. produced children books, board games, puzzles, and paper toys between 1858 and 1920. The artwork was considered vibrant for the time as the company pioneered color printing technologies for children’s books with chromolithographs and photo engravings. The company specialized in retelling of classic stories for children. Their success and influence went hand in hand with the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries growth of children’s literature, also known as the Golden Age of Children’s Literature. Even many of the earliest board games in America were produced by McLoughlin Brothers, though, in 1920, the company’s board games were sold to Milton Bradley & Company. Today, the American Antiquarian Society holds one of the largest collections of McLoughlin Brothers archives including over 1,700 toy books, games, paper toys, publishers’ catalogs, and original art work. But you can view Distinctive Collections’ small collection in the Digital Library and/or in person in our reading room.

The cartoon pays homage to the McLoughlin Brothers in subtle ways as many believe in the opening credits the two boys playing with the steamboat in the creek to be the McLoughlin brothers. In the episode, “Lullaby in Frogland,” the steamboat Wirt, Greg, and Beatrice sneak on board is called the “McLoughlin Bros” steamboat. Throughout the episodes it’s easy to see the influence from color palette and style to characters.

Episode six: “Lullaby in Frogland,” Cartoon Network, original air date November 6, 2014

…Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children…

“I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr., August 28th, 1963

Center for Peace and Justice

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Falvey Library and Center for Peace and Justice Education have come together to present an area to reflect and celebrate the historic day. By the Center for Peace and Justice Education today, there will be images from Villanova University’s Distinctive Collections of Martin Luther King Jr from the 1960s. Of particular note, there is a pennant passed out during the March on Washington day that is currently housed at in Distinctive Collections at Falvey Library. On display are other images of King at other protests and his visit to Villanova in 1965.

We Shall Overcome. I Marched for Equality in the Freedom Parade. Pennant distributed to attendees on August 28th, 1963. Distinctive Collections, Falvey Library.

The March on Washington, also known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, was a massive protest march on August 28th, 1963, when over 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.  The event aimed to draw attention to continuing challenges and inequalities faced by African Americans. Other speakers included A. Phillip Randolph, the march director and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; Roy Wilkins, the NAACP’s executive secretary; Walter Reuther, president of the United Auto Workers; and John Lewis, led the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Even sixty years later the march and MLK’s words still resonate today just as injustice and white supremacy evolves over time and the fight for equality continues for social justice, voting rights, education, and criminal reform.

–Villanova’s Connection to the “I Have a Dream” Speech–

King’s physical speech was originally in possession of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame player and coach George Raveling, who came in receipt of the artifact while volunteering at the 1963 March on Washington. Villanova University became the speech’s steward and has entered into a long-term loan agreement with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to display it.

Congratulations to the Class of 2023. In honor of this weekend’s commencement is a #TBT of commencement ceremonies of years past.

Commencement ceremony outside, 1927

Commencement Audience, 1927

And did you know former U.S. President Grover Cleveland received an honorary degree at Villanova?

Former U.S. President Grover Cleveland with Archbishop Patrick John Ryan of Philadelphia after receiving an honorary degree at commencement in 1902

More commencement and student life photographs can be in found in the Distinctive Collections Digital Library.

For all the mothers and the mothers-at-heart, thank you for your care and kindness. Happy Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Day Luncheon, 1947

Mother’s Day Program, 1952

Mother’s Day is an unlikely popular tradition of Villanova history. From the early 1900s, Mothers were invited on campus to celebrate Mother’s Day with their child. The day’s events would include tree-planting ceremony, corsage giving, mass, luncheon, games, and entertainment. Mother’s Day activities were incorporated into Junior Week festivities which began in 1935. By the 1950s, more than 400 Mothers and Grandmothers would visit marking it as one of the largest events each year. Parents Weekend overtime replaced Mother’s Day traditions. Though having Mothers partake in Junior celebrations bolstered the idea of Villanova’s community representing families of students too.

Tree Planting, 1949

An especially long-standing tradition, that started long before it was incorporated with Mother’s Day activities, was the Junior tree-planting ceremony. The tree-planting ceremony was considered the class tree, a precursor to more elaborate class gifts. Typically, the event was held after Mass and students would walk in a parade to plant the tree. With time, the tradition evolved to include Mothers participating in the planting ceremony.

More about Mother’s Day and Junior Week can be found in Blazers and Class Rings digital exhibit and Digital Library.

In honor of Women’s Basketball earning #4 Seed in NCAA Championship, hosting first and second round games at Finneran Pavilion starting tomorrow, AND being a big favorite, here is a look back Women’s Basketball throughout the years.

50 years ago…

                                               Women’s Basketball, Belle Air 1973

1983 & 1993…

Women’s Basketball, Belle Air 1983

Women’s Basketball, Belle Air 1993

And this year with such momentum with the team and Maddy Siegrist, senior guard, who is broke the Big East and Villanova single-game scoring records and became the Big East’s all-time leading scorer, is reminiscent of the 1980s Women’s Basketball team. In fact, Siegrist on January 20, 2023, surpassed Shelly Pennefather, 1983–1987 forward, for Villanova’s career scoring record while scoring 23 points in a 73–57 win over Creighton.

Women’s Basketball, Belle Air 1987

More images of Villanova Basketball throughout the years can be found in the University Archives and Digital Library.

The section of the spring exhibit, “Poetic License: Seven Curators’ Poetry Selections from Distinctive Collections” titled “Building a Voice at Villanova and the Power of Poetry,” was initially influenced by Rita Dove’s quote, “poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful” and pondering how to exemplify that through the poems of our community. From the earliest curriculum at Villanova, poetry has been a mainstay in many courses of study. In the classroom, the study of the art and structure of a verse can expand one’s own voice to express identity and experience; strength and vulnerability; and bring a community together or provide a lens to a community experience. It is with those tools of expression the poems chosen for the exhibit are a reflection of the different ways poetry has been expressed on campus and insight to the many different incarnations of poetry societies, student publications, and poetry groups of Villanova. The poems traverse between personal reflections, politics, and religion. Ultimately, to showcase the power of the voices of our community through poetry.

The display was curated by Beaudry Allen, Digital and Preservation Archivist, and material found in the Villanova University Archives.

Cover of Lynx publication, 1970

You can read more poetry by students in our digitized collection of Lynx, student run biannual literary publication.

A big thank you to all those who stopped by Distinctive Collection’s Halloween Haunts event yesterday. Our ghoulish games, snacks, and witch’s brew were a hit with those consumed with a thirst for regular-sized candy!

Treats Table

Our spookiest items on display can also be viewed in our Rare Book Room:

Display of items from Special Collections

The Amateur’s Guide to Magic and Mystery and the Black Art Fully Exposed

The Dance of Death

Los Vampiros del Aire

Exorcism Manual

The Game of Saturn: Decoding the Sola-Busca Tartocchi

Phadon: oder, Uber die Unsterblichkeit der Seele, in Drey Gesprachen 

In conjugation, with  WXVU 89.1 The Roar’s  big announcement of full ownership of the WXVU call letters, Distinctive Collections is excited to announce our latest digital exhibit, The New Collegiate Sound.

The New Collegiate Sound as a title came from a phrase from the 1964 Belle Air used to describe Villanova radio’s latest reinvention and is emblematic how each generation of Villanovans create a new radio sound representative of them and the times. Thus the exhibit invites you to explore the history of radio on campus from the early days as a radio club in the 1920s to today as FCC-licensed campus radio station.

The exhibit includes great photographs, newspaper clippings, programs, yearbooks, 3D model by Erica Hayes, Digital Scholarship Librarian, and scrapbooks from WXVU radio station.

The exhibit’s 3D image of the radio can be explored with VR in the CAVE. Contact Andrew Grace, andrew.grace@villanova.edu to schedule a demo.

And of course, if you haven’t already, check out WXVU 89.1 FM The Roar on your radio or stream it here: https://wxvu.org.