August 14, 2012
A Message about the De Colores program from the Director of Campus Ministry
To the LMU community:
As you know, last spring President Burcham instructed Campus Ministry to suspend travel to Mexico. This decision was made on the advice of our risk management office and the university counsel in response to the heightened level of warning about travel to Mexico given by the US State Department. The President's decision resulted in the suspension of our De Colores program. We were invited at that time to revisit this decision in six months.
Recently and regretfully Marty Roers our campus minister in charge of the De Colores program left LMU to return to his home in Minnesota to take care of some pressing family issues. We will miss Marty’s passionate presence and his dedication to De Colores.
As we move ahead, in preparation for our conversation with the President and other offices of the University, I have instructed the associate director of Campus Ministry, Lindy Wynne, to gather a committee of campus ministers, other university staff and students to review the De Colores program giving special attention to our safety precautions.
De Colores has a long and rich tradition here at LMU. I was a young campus minister in the mid-1980s when Fernando Moreno, then Director of Campus Ministry, together with several students began the program. It has grown and changed many times over the years. This suspension is an opportunity for us to step back and take a good look at the program to see how it can be updated and improved. It is also obviously important to double check all of our safety precautions.
Once this committee has completed its work and put together a comprehensive description and proposal for the program, Campus Ministry will approach the appropriate university officials to continue the conversation. It is my hope that with proper assurances and adjustments, De Colores can begin again during this semester. The decision, however, is ultimately up to higher levels of the university administration.
Sincerely,
Rev. James D Erps, S.J.
Director of Campus Ministry