-
91
Fidelity & Excellence91 Aquinas College is unique among American colleges and universities, offering a faithfully Catholic education comprised entirely of the Great Books and classroom discussions.
-
A Liberating Education
Truth MattersTruth, and nothing less, sets men free; and because truth is both natural and supernatural, the Colleges curriculum aims at both natural and divine wisdom.
-
A Catholic Life
Under the Light of FaithThe intellectual tradition and moral teachings of the Catholic Church infuse the whole life of 91 Aquinas College, illuminating the curriculum and the community alike.
-
Admission & Aid
Is TAC Right for You?Do you enjoy grappling with complex questions? Are you willing to engage in discussions about difficult concepts, with the truth as your ultimate goal?
-
Students & Parents
Mind, Body & SpiritThere is always something to do at TAC something worthwhile, something fulfilling, and something geared toward ever-greater spiritual and intellectual growth.
-
Alumni & Careers
What Can You Do with a Liberal Education?Nothing speaks more to the versatility of the Colleges academic program than the good that our alumni are doing throughout the Church and the world.
Alumnus Cartoonist Combines Love of Art & Country
This blog recently featured an illustrated tribute to martyred French priest Rev. Jacques Hamel, penned by alumnus cartoonist Patrick Cross (14). The work is one of several cartoons that Mr. Cross who is, by day, a counselor in the Colleges Admissions office has drawn in recent months as he launches a career in editorial cartooning. Already, his efforts have borne some success: Mr. Cross produces cartoons weekly for CatholicVote.org, as well as occasionally for GlennBeck.com.
Ive always been interested in politics, and Ive always been interested in art, Mr. Cross reflects. But it was my parents who first suggested that I combine the two loves together in editorial cartooning.
The idea began to take root during his Senior Year, when College Governor Berni Neal spoke at an on-campus career panel. Upon learning about Mr. Cross professional interests, Mrs. Neal revealed that she was friends with Michael Ramirez the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, formerly of the Los Angeles Times and offered to arrange a meeting. Ramirez was my favorite cartoonist growing up, recalls Mr. Cross. I went down to see him at the end of my Senior Year. We talked for about an hour and a half. That really put a fire in my belly.
Mr. Cross began publishing his cartoons on his and a in January, and soon his work began generating attention. His goal, he says, is to produce cartoons that succeed on a variety of levels. There are many layers, he says. You can have something that is funny in a slapstick sort of way. But some readers are looking for more. Here, he adds, one sees the value and versatility of a classical education. If you have an education that shows you how to identify principles, causes, effects, and prior causes, then you can do much better work.
Patriotism infuses Mr. Cross art a patriotism, he says, that has been with him all his life, but which deepened during his time at the College. Ive always loved the American founding. Ive always believed in the principles of the country. But what my education at TAC really did, especially Junior Year, is show me why I believed in those things. In reading the Federalist Papers, the founders, and Abraham Lincoln all in the context Aristotles Ethics and Politics, which we were studying in philosophy I was able to locate the American experiment, or the American founding, in the context of the Western tradition. I came to a better understanding of why self-governance is good, why a government that promotes political prudence is such a gift, and also how we must not take any of it for granted.
