We will continue to update this page with any changes to our Messina events calendar.
Messina co-sponsored theme-wide and supported events are open to all Loyola community members and the surrounding Baltimore community unless otherwise noted.
September Theme-Wide Events
October Theme-Wide Events
November Theme-Wide Events
December Theme-Wide Events
Messina Supported Events
Monday, September 20
Messina presents Loyola at The Senator Theatre
Just Mercy
A powerful and thought-provoking true story, “Just Mercy” follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan might have had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds and the system stacked against them.
Messina is sponsoring a shuttle from the Loyola Notre Dame Library to the Senator Theatre. The shuttle will run continuous loops from 5pm-7pm to drop off at the Senator Theatre. The bus will return after the film, running loops from 9pm-10:30pm to shuttle folks back to campus.
Tickets are free - reserve your ticket on The Bridge!
Sponsored by Messina
A Common Text and theme-wide event
7 p.m., The Senator Theatre
Thursday, September 23
Interdisciplinarity: Ecology and Psychology in Nature Conservation
Our two speakers Dhananjaya Katju, PhD, and Devi Bhuyan, PsyD come to the table to talk with each other and the audience about how solutions to major environmental conservation problems (such as how to sustainably manage the remaining populations of endangered Asian Elephants) rely on understanding human motivations and needs. This unusual pairing is truly at the cutting edge of conservation and ecology, where we have come to realize that solutions to environmental problems must integrate expertise on both human behavior and ecology. The format of the event will be part lecture, part panel discussion, where Dr. Katju and Dr. Bhuyan share some of their career and life journeys, and how their varied experiences have shaped their multidisciplinary approaches to understanding the relationship between human beings and their environment.
Dr. Katju has a PhD in Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences from the NSF-funded Applied Biodiversity Program at Texas A & M University where he studied the political ecology of environmental non-compliance in the Manas Tiger and Biosphere Reserve in northestern India and its outcomes for local bird species. His work views the mediation of ‘encroachment’ as a highly contested process, through the lens of socio-economic, political, and environmental agendas, and with the potential for unexpected ecological consequences. To address this uncertainty, his project explored connections between socio-political organization, land use practices, encroachment, and avian conservation. His work has contributed to the increasing recognition of tropical protected areas as dynamic social-ecological systems.
Dr. Bhuyan, the Director of Clinical Psychology at Sheppard Pratt Hospital, explores what motivates people to behave as they do, but it is only recently that her field of study has been utilized to help address conservation issues. What has brought Dr. Katju and Dr. Bhuyan together for this talk is that they converse a great deal about the synergies between conservation and psychology, over the breakfast, lunch, and dinner table, as they are a married couple!
Sponsored by Environmental Studies, the Biology Department, and Messina
A theme-wide event
7 p.m., 4th Floor Program Room
View a Recording of the Event Here
Saturday, September 25
Family Weekend: Messina Family Teach-In
Messina would like to offer parents and families a chance to experience what it is like to participate in a Messina seminar as well as a Messina sponsored program. Messina will be hosting a Family Weekend Teach-In including sessions that demonstrate how Loyola connects learning in and out of the classroom.
10:00 a.m. - Baltimore 101 – Discovering Baltimore’s Diverse Neighborhoods
Presented by Michael Puma, co-director of Messina
Learn how Messina helps to introduce students to Baltimore – including its history, our neighbors and over 260 diverse neighborhoods.
Michael Puma serves as the director of Messina. While at Loyola, Mike has taken part in several retreats and immersion trips including Road Trip, first year and senior retreat, UNITE, Spring Break Outreach and Encuentra El Salvador. He also served as president of Loyola's Phi Beta Kappa chapter and is a member of OUT Loyola - Loyola's LGBTQ group for faculty, staff and administrators. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Higher Education Administration at the University of Maryland, College Park.
11:00 a.m. - How to Retire a Millionaire, and Other Financial Life Lessons
Presented by JP Krahel, associate professor of Accounting
Experience what it is like to participate in a Messina sponsored program. Learn how taxes work, how to make debt less painful, and why now is the best time to start planning for retirement.
JP Krahel is an associate professor of accounting at Loyola. During his nine years here, he has earned his CPA license, paid off over $125,000 in student loan debt, bought a home, and adopted the handsomest cat in the universe. He has run clinics to help college students, high school students, and adults become more financially literate. He's also helped start Loyola's VITA program, a volunteer-based clinic where community members can get their taxes prepared by IRS-certified Loyola students.
A Messina event
10 a.m. - 12 p.m., Knott Hall B03
Monday, October 4
Commitment to Justice Panel 2021: Mass Incarceration Justice
The U.S. leads the world in total number of incarcerated people. In 2020, almost 2.3 million adults and juveniles were imprisoned. Over the past forty years, incarceration rates in the U.S. have increased 500%, and Black, Indigenous, and people of color suffer disproportionately from racist structures perpetuating this trend. Biased judicial systems and economic structures that commodify Black and brown bodies through prison labor contribute to this injustice. Baltimore is no exception to this inequity. The city has an incarceration rate that is three times higher than the rest of Maryland. And high recidivism contributes to Baltimore’s cycle of poverty.
In response to prison injustice, Pope Francis stated, “It is easier and more comfortable to suppress than to educate, to deny the injustice present in society and to create these spaces for shutting off transgressors into oblivion than to offer equal opportunities for development to all citizens.” How can Loyola address unjust mass incarceration policies? And how can we as a Jesuit, Catholic university anchored in Baltimore, support community partners who are committed to this work? Come hear from people who have experienced prison injustice and discuss how we may contribute to positive change in Baltimore.
Sponsored by CCSJ, Campus Ministry, Disability Support Services, and Messina
A Common Text and theme-wide event
7 p.m., McGuire Hall
View Recording Here
Tuesday, October 5
Claiming Identity as an Act of Resilience
Kali Fajardo-Anstine is a National Book Award Finalist for her debut story collection, Sabrina & Corina. Drawing from her Southern Colorado heritage and life experiences living across the American West, Fajardo-Anstine’s writing and lectures reflect her own heritage as a Colorado Chicana with roots in Indigenous, Latina, and Filipino cultures. In her talk, Fajardo-Anstine will discuss the nature of claiming one’s identity, whether that be racial, familial, economic, or social. She shows audiences the power of resiliency in understanding where you come from, and draws on her experience as a mixed race woman from a working class background to underscore identity as a tool of empowerment.
Sponsored by Writers at Work, Center for the Humanities, Education for Life, and Messina
A theme-wide event
6 p.m., Virtual Event
View a Recording of the Event Here (only available until October 19, 2021)
Monday, October 11
Messina presents Loyola at The Senator Theatre
Charm City -- Fighting Against Violence in Baltimore (2018)
A candid portrait of citizens, police, community advocates, and government officials on the frontlines during three years of unparalleled, escalating violence in Baltimore. The film highlights the positive actions undertaken by groups and individuals, who come together to rebuild, heal, and forge a better way forward. Official Selection at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Messina is sponsoring a shuttle from the Loyola Notre Dame Library to the Senator Theatre. The shuttle will run continuous loops from 5pm-7pm to drop off at the Senator Theatre. The bus will return after the film, running loops from 8:45pm-10pm to shuttle folks back to campus.
Tickets are free - reserve your ticket on The Bridge!
Sponsored by Messina
A Common Text and theme-wide event
7 p.m., The Senator Theatre
Thursday, October 28
Voice of Witness: An Evening with Carolyn Forché
Renowned as a “poet of witness,” Carolyn Forché is the author of five books of poetry, including Gathering The Tribes (Yale University Press, 1976), The Country Between Us (Harper and Row, 1982), The Angel of History (HarperCollins, 1994), Blue Hour (HarperCollins, 2003), and In the Lateness of the World (Penguin Press, 2020), which was a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in poetry. She is also the author of the 2019 memoir What You Have Heard Is True (Penguin Random House), a devastating, lyrical, and visionary book about a young woman’s brave choice to engage with horror in order to help others (2019 National Book Award finalist). Forché is Lannan Visiting Professor of Poetry and Professor of English at Georgetown University. She will read selections from her poetry and memoir.
Sponsored by the Office of Peace and Justice and Messina
A theme-wide event
7 p.m., 4th Floor Program Room
Monday, November 1
Becoming Bulletproof
Join us for a movie night! Complete with popcorn, candy, and an opportunity. Becoming Bulletproof is a film about individuals with disabilities and able-bodied individuals who work together to make a movie. A film that will introduce you to a pretty amazing cast of individuals. A.J., the main character (who has cerebral palsy), clearly expresses what life is like with a disability—mainly through the lens of ability—and what he wishes to do with his life. His dreams mirror the dreams of people you know. The movie helps to create connections with people with disabilities as people with abilities, hopes, and aspirations "just like everybody else" (Tara Lilly, One Question panel). This movie focuses on dignity and inclusion. Its message can apply to all human beings. We’ll have a question and answer opportunity as the movie ends. You don’t want to miss this.
Sponsored by the Writing Department and Messina
A theme-wide event
7 p.m., McGuire Hall East
Wednesday, September 15
Modern Languages & Literatures Ice Cream Social
Taking a language course? Interested in traveling or working abroad? Be sure to pass by the Quad, September 15th 3-5pm, for a free ice cream!
A Messina supported event
3 p.m. - 5 p.m., The Quad
Thursday, September 30 - Sunday, October 3
Immersion Weekend in Montreal
The French section of Modern Languages and Literatures hosts a long weekend excursion to Montreal to give students the opportunity for an immersion experience in French. Weekend of French Immersion in Montreal, September 30-October 3, 2021.
A Messina supported event
Sunday, November 7 - Sunday, November 14
French Week
To celebrate National French Week 2021, the French Section of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures is hosting a week of cultural events entitled, “Activism(e),” to be held at Loyola from November 7-14. From engagement in the 2020 elections, to Black Lives Matter, to protecting the earth that they inherit, this generation of Loyola students is living up to Jesuit values as agents of social change. Our aim for French Week 2021 is to introduce students to some of the issues embraced by contemporary young activists in France and the Francophone world. These events are intended to offer students concrete ways to combine their pursuit for justice with their love for French.
French Week 2021: Activism(e) Events
Sunday, November 7, 2:30-5:00pm, LNDL: Screening of the 2015 documentary film Demain (Tomorrow)
Tuesday, November 9, at 4pm: Roundtable discussion with three student activists from the University of Bordeaux.
Wednesday, November 10, all day: Day of French Immersion. Activities in French throughout the day.
Sunday, November 7, 3:00pm: Bilingual Mass in French and English, conducted by Rev. John Conley, S.J. in the Alumni Memorial Chapel.
Saturday, December 4, 10am-5pm: Excursion to Washington, DC to see “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience” (Van Gogh DC).
There will be an exhibit of media, books and memoirs about French and Francophone activists and activism, at the LNDL library during French Week.
Asynchronous Event - Available Anytime
Film Streaming: Just Mercy
A powerful and thought-provoking true story, “Just Mercy” follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan might have had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds and the system stacked against them.
To access the free film, please use the following link and your Loyola login information.
Access Just Mercy here!
Sponsored by Messina
A theme-wide event
Asynchronous Streaming