The Narthex

I recently penned an essay on the threats imperiling the existence of Catholic colleges. I identified four: demographics, costs, people’s perceptions of the need for college degrees, and AI. Not all of them carry the same weight. For example, how AI may affect college graduates (especially in terms of entry-level…

Lots of people bemoan the demise of civics. They argue that recovering civics might be a first step in recovering civility, a friendlier if not shared political discourse versus our contemporary polarization. There have even been government efforts -- state and federal -- to introduce mandatory civics education. Some critics…

It’s the beginning of September, which means schools have either already started or will soon start new academic years. Most colleges and universities are back in session. So, like most Labor Day weekends with absolutely no immediately biting crises on the news cycle, editors filled space with “school stories.” The…

The Psalmist sings of praise and wisdom from an unexpected source: “out of the mouth of children and of babes” (8:2). Occasionally one can find another source: in advertisements. An ad seen this morning in the Washington Metro was headlined “Childhood Passes Faster Than a Weekend.” Don’t it? Perhaps I’m…

My eldest son, John Zygmunt, graduated college last month with a double major. I’m proud of him and happily joined his commencement exercises at George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, Virginia. GMU, one of the largest public universities in the Commonwealth, proudly boasted that this year’s 11,000 undergrad and grad…