Passion & Civility Debate Tournament, 6p.m., Mabee Ballroom A&B, Robert and Pearle Ragsdale Center

The Center for Ethics and Leadership along with the Office of Campus Ministry will sponsor a single-elimination student debate tournament beginning Jan. 22, 2008, and ending with the finals on Feb. 15. Judges will take a tabula rasa approach, judging on the quality of the student's arguments and refutation of their opponent's arguments. The final debate will be held in Mabee Ballrooms A&B at 6 p.m. and will be free and open to the public.

Focus the Nation Climate Change Conference, 9:30 a.m - 5:00 p.m., Mabee Ballroom A, Robert & Pearle Ragsdale Center

St. Edward’s will join hundreds of other schools around the nation in hosting “Focus the Nation,” a day-long event discussing global climate change. Event is free and open to the public. See a schedule(pdf) of events and speakers.

For more information, visit www.focusthenation.org.

Joe Bageant to Speak on Class in America, 7 p.m., Jones Auditorium, Robert & Pearle Ragsdale Center

Joe Bageant, author of Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War (Crown 2007), will talk about class in America. In his book he recounts his return to Winchester, Virginia, to listen to his friends and family talk about their working-class lives in 2007. Author Howard Zinn commented that Bageant “evokes working-class America like no one else. The account of his revisit to his Virginia roots is sobering, poignant, and instructive.” For more information on Bageant or his book, access his blog at www.joebageant.com.

Before and After Schiavo: A Lecture by Carmela Epright, 5 p.m., Fleck Hall 305

In this presentation Dr. Epright, B.A. St. Edward’s University ‘90, will discuss some of the watershed cases in bioethics that preceded the case of Terri Schiavo and demonstrate the ways in which these cases led to the decisions made in the Schiavo case. She will then discuss some of the ways in which the Schiavo case has and will impact bioethics and public policy. Co-sponsored by the New College Philosophy Program.

The Most Reverend Bishop John McCarthy Lecture Series on the Catholic Church in the 21st Century featuring Richard Gaillardetz, Ph.D., 5 p.m., Jones Auditorium, Robert & Pearle Ragsdale Center

Richard R. Gaillardetz, Ph.D., Margaret and Thomas Murray and James J. Bacik Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Toledo, will present "A New Council? Reflections on the Future of the Church."

In this lecture, Gaillardetz discusses how the church has implemented Vatican II and considers what direction further church renewal might take. Is it time to consider Vatican III?

This event is free and open to the public.