C.W. Post Catholic Student Group Marks 50th Anniversary

November 9, 2005 - The Newman Club, the Catholic student organization at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, will celebrate 50 years of spiritual fellowship and community service at a special Mass on Sunday, Nov. 13.

Father Ted Brown, Roman Catholic chaplain at C.W. Post, will celebrate the Mass at the Campus’ Interfaith Center at 11 a.m.

Founded in 1955, the same year the C.W. Post Campus was founded, the Newman Club conducts a variety of service and social activities. Each year, club members travel to Tijuana, Mexico to participate in the Builders of Hope Project where they build houses for the poor. Club members assist weekly at the St. Francis Xavier Welcome soup kitchen in lower Manhattan; distribute blankets, sandwiches and hot coffee to homeless people; and take teenage mothers out for an evening of bowling and a movie while other club members baby sit their children.

Newman Club members take trips to famous houses of worship in the metropolitan area and visit popular attractions such as Ellis Island and the Hayden Planetarium. The club also organizes activities such as retreats and ski trips. For 10 years, the Newman Club worked with Native American children at the Blessed Kateri Tekawitha Parish in San Diego Country, CA.

The club also sponsors a variety of lectures throughout the year. For example, Greg Kandra, a television journalist and winner of an Emmy Award for the documentary “9/11” with Robert DeNiro, addressed the club on Wednesday, Nov. 2. Filipino screenwriter and theologian Dr. Ton Sison gave a talk to members the following day on “The Spirituality of Film Making.”