Browse Exhibits (4 total)
A Peek Into the College of Arts & Sciences Through the Years
“Medicine, law, business engineering: these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love… these are what we stay alive for.” Dead Poets Society
Anthony Hoyt and Cindy Stella are juniors at Santa Clara University and they are enrolled in Professor Amy Lueck’s English 103 class. As English and history majors, Anthony and Cindy had a proclivity to pick a research topic which covered both of their fields of interest. After weeks of deliberation, they decided to center their research around the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, and particularly that at their college, Santa Clara University. Seeing as Santa Clara University is centrally located in Silicon Valley, the booming technology capital of the United States and the world, Anthony and Cindy took an approach highlighting the College of Arts and Sciences progress in the last forty years.
Within the last forty years, Anthony and Cindy focused directly on two school years in particular, 1973-1974 and 2015-2016. These two time periods were strategically selected in order to represent two decades in which the arts, otherwise known as humanities, were at highs and lows. The artifacts that were chosen for this exhibit were not forced to only be from the two years listed above. Instead, Anthony and Cindy wanted to tell as full of a story about the College of Arts and Sciences as possible given their restraints, including, but not limited to, resources, time, and opportunity. So, in other words there are multiple artifacts in this online exhibit, and the physical one showcased on November 29, 2016 not from the specific years of 1973-1974 and 2015-2016 so that the best and most full story of the College of Arts and Sciences could be told. Artifacts were chosen to exemplify the academic sampling, organization, and the enhancement of the College of Arts and Sciences, as well as help narrate the larger story of the progression of the humanities over time. However, no researcher can tell the story of the humanities without discussing the fluctuations within the field itself. Some of the selected artifacts, or lack thereof, demonstrate the discrepancies and ways in which the College of Arts and Sciences may not have been as prominent or strong of a force on campus as it had the potential to be. All in all, this exhibit focuses on all aspects of the College of Arts and Sciences throughout the last forty plus years.
Diversity at Santa Clara University
“Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need for one another.” - Archbishop Desmond Tutu
When Santa Clara University was established in 1851 it filled the void of higher education that existed in the western United States. The founders of the university understood the need for this level of education in the then one year old state of California, that the pursuit of knowledge is an important part of forming a functioning society. Although, as was the status quo then and for many years after, the school largely served to further the academic pursuits of white men. But if one was to walk around Santa Clara’s campus today, they would see that that is no longer the case, as the campus and student body reflect the climate of inclusivity and diversity championed by the school.
Santa Clara University students Jack Moore, an English major, and Sai Panneerselvam, a Computer Science and Mathematics major, were intrigued by the disparity between the Santa Clara of the past and the Santa Clara of present, and chose to devote their investigations to discovering how that transition happened. Through their exhibit “Diversity at Santa Clara University” they wanted to explore the progress of the diversification of the student body over the years.
The exhibit was developed over the course of ten weeks in the fall of 2016 by curating a wide variety of photos and documents from Santa Clara University’s Archives and Special Collections. Half of the exhibit includes documents and letters regarding the outreach that Santa Clara University did to minorities via financial aid and scholarships. The other half uses photos and yearbooks to illustrate the changing social climate on campus through the depiction of clubs, athletics, and student life in general.
What “Diversity at Santa Clara University” hopes to illustrate is how the administration at Santa Clara was galvanized by the void left by students of color at their university, and how the diversification of students would lead to the more successful creation of women and men for others.
Santa Clara Greek Life: An Answer
This exhibit was created over a ten week period, specifically during the 2016 fall quarter by Andrea Modugno. The researcher and curator of the exhibit, Andrea, is currently a senior political science and English Major at Santa Clara University.
The primary intent of Andrea’s exhibit was to find accurate, unfiltered answers about Santa Clara University’s disaffiliation with Greek life. Greek life and its relationship with Santa Clara University has traditionally been a taboo subject. No one, especially those involved in the Greek system, understand why Fraternities and Sororities are not affiliated with the University. Andrea recognized many students have attempted to answer the question themselves by manufacturing outrageous rumors. With six Fraternities and five Sororities, more than twenty-five percent of Santa Clara students are involved in Greek life. It is important to find answers to questions such as why is Santa Clara Greek life disaffiliated from the University so students may better understand the history of organizations they currently belong to and the legacy they have left behind.
Over the course of ten weeks, Andrea has collected information from the Santa Clara Archives, San Jose State Archives, and conducted personal interviews. She found that analyzing old “The Santa Clara” newspaper articles gave tremendous insight into the student perspective and response. Contrastingly, administration documents and emails allowed Andrea to understand the University's position and reaction better. Over the course of research, the scope of her findings grew to include the history of Fraternities and Sororities obtaining charters, minute details of its philanthropic and academic accomplishments, day-to-day correspondence with the University, and finally, the reasons why the administration chose to end its relationship with Santa Clara Greek life. Though important to point out Andrea found positive information about Greek life, she opted to keep the scope of her research specific in answering her initial question: why is Santa Clara Greek life disaffiliated from the University?
SCU Football, A School Divided.
This exhibit was established by two students in the winter quarter of their sophomore year. The two creaters of this group, Hasan Meshack and Andrew Hernandez, decided to do their archival research on the Santa Clara Football team because they both felt college football is an important part of a college campus and wanted to know why the SCU football team was discontinued. They both wish the university still had the once great team, as it would play a large role on campus life, impacting not only students, but also faculty and fans.
The goal of the archive is to showcase the impact the discontinuation of the football team had on Santa Clara University. This archive showcases the history of the team, ranging from the programs apex to its final season and reactions from the fans, students, and players. The team was ended two times previously to the 1993 year, but due to financial reasons, the final nail was put in the coffin in this year. The team was discontinued because the school did not have the financial resources to move the team to Division 1, so Santa Clara decided to end it and put the money into other athletics and school properties.
Despite the fact the football team will never return, it will live on through the hearts of the fans and students forever.