Dec. 10, 2014
The Crosier , a student-run journal of pro-life academic articles, was named "Best Journal of Letters" by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and associated Collegiate Network at their annual Editors Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, in November. "This is a prestigious award for our school," said junior Liam McDonough, editor of The Crosier . "Among those journals contending for the award were Harvard's Salient , Yale's Light and Truth , and Columbia's Crown and Cross , with a long list of other notable institutions. The Crosier staff is honored by this achievement, and feels it speaks volumes about the quality student and professorial contributions to the publication, as well as the intellectual depth of the CUA community at large." The Intercollegiate Studies Institute is a nonprofit organization that offers financial sponsorship for conservatively minded journals across the country.McDonough, a junior biochemistry major from Helotes, Texas, helped found The Crosier in 2013 as the successor of a different pro-life publication, The Choice , founded by 2013 graduate Alexa Donscez. The Crosier is published semiannually, with an issue released at the end of the fall and spring semesters. Containing articles written by CUA students, faculty, and alumni, the journal's mission is "to seek and simplify the subtleties of the life issue, confronting the societal complexities of our time with the timeless solutions of the Church and her philosophy."
"I think that there's a need and there's an interest in a really thorough exploration of the life issues among the youth," McDonough said. "Sexuality and life issues are so profoundly moving to the human person that there's naturally already an interest in that sort of thing. When you have a rich intellectual tradition such as the Catholic tradition at CUA explain that through the voices of our professors and other masters of those topics, you can really benefit from that outlet." McDonough said The Crosier , now in its third issue, has received a very positive reaction on campus. In the future, he said the journal staff would like to host events in collaboration with Students for Life, including concerts, guest presentations, and coffeehouse discussions. McDonough's favorite part of editing the journal has been reading the submissions each semester. "I enjoy just reading articles as they come in," he said. "We put together a coherent set of themes for each issue and come up with ideas for what contributors should write about, but once we get that actual article back, it can be as much a learning experience for us as for the readers of The Crosier."