Wes Moore will speak on this upcoming Cabrini day

By Eleni Antipas
November 3, 2010

The highlight of this year’s Cabrini Spirit Week will be a presentation by New York Times Best-Selling author Wes Moore on Tuesday, Nov. 9.Moore, author of “The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates,” will be discussing his book and his message, which was required summer reading for the entire freshmen class, at 7 p.m. in Grace Hall.

Each of the freshmen wrote an essay on the book as part of the summer reading essay contest. On Cabrini Day one student will be announced as the winner of the contest.

“The criteria for selecting a winner was not merely intelligent and effective writing, but a keen sense of the nuances of the book and the social justice issues it raises,” Dr. Paul Wright, assistant professor of English, said.

Moore’s book explores the reasons why his life and that of another man’s life, also named Wes Moore, began similarly and became distinctly unique. Both men were born in the inner cities of Maryland,  raised solely by their mothers and had run-ins with the law by the age of 11 years old.

“How do people go in such different directions?” Moore said.

Today, both men are in their early 30s. Wes Moore, the author, graduated as a commissioned officer from Valley Forge Military College in 1998,  earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University in 2001 and a master’s degree in international relations from Oxford University in 2004. Moore is a Rhodes Scholar, has served  in Afghanistan as a captain in the United States Army and was a White House Fellow from 2006 to 2007 under Condoleezza Rice.

The other Wes Moore is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in the Jessup Correctional Institute’s maximum-security unit.

“The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates” is intended to inspire people to create positive changes in their communities. In a recent speech by Moore, at the University of St. Francis, he explained that he is dedicated to improving the lives of children by promoting adequate support services.

Moore’s efforts include City Year, which encourages college students to complete a year of service in impoverished neighborhoods, and U.S. Dream Academy, which offers counseling and sponsorship for children whose parents are incarcerated. Moore is also giving a portion of his book’s  proceeds to support programs that aid troubled youth.

Moore’s passion for enriching the lives of children mirrors Cabrini College’s commitment to social justice. His book was selected as a summer reading assignment because the story is a reminder of the value of all life and the dignity of every person. The essay encouraged students to look beyond the plot of the story and to explore Moore’s implied message of service.

“The strongest papers were those that were grounded in close reading of the text, but that also built on the text to talk about larger social justice themes and issues,” Wright said.

“This story is about all of us, the societies we live in and the societies we create. The world bears witness to our attention to society or our apathy toward society. Public service doesn’t have to be an occupation, but it should be a way of life,” Moore said.

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Eleni Antipas

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