By Paula Day

Catholics at Georgia State University are the focus of this second in a series of articles personalizing the kinds of programs aided by the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal. The Appeal will be held Sunday, March 11.

College students today are interested in commitment. They live with the fear of AIDS and it has changed their choices. They exhibit a new kind of self-discipline in the way they use their time, in their diet and in exercise regimens.

Making these observations, Catholic campus minister David Dye says he is impressed overall with the seriousness of the students he has met at Georgia State University. He adds, “There is an appalling amount of misinformation about Catholic teaching.”

In July, 1989, Dye became full-time campus minister at the non-residential university in downtown Atlanta. Since then he has been involved in identifying Catholic students and working to bring them together as a “university parish.” He also has found himself speaking out about Catholic concerns and bringing to university dialogue another perspective on issues such as abortion.

In early October Dye confronted the university’s Spotlight Speakers committee on its decision to invite Roe vs. Wade defense attorney, Sara Weddington, to speak on campus.

“The decision to invite someone so controversial is an insult to the Catholic Church and other Christian groups,” Dye said at the time. He objected not only because student activity fees were used to pay the pro-abortion speaker, but because no opportunity was given for rebuttal.

This public encounter was a catalyst for the formation of pro-life committee on campus, now an officially recognized group that meets weekly. The committee has persuaded the speakers’ group to invite a representative of Georgia Nurses for Life to speak on campus. This organization of nurses and other medical personnel is dedicated to educating the public concerning life-centered issues. The university pro-life committee also sponsors an ongoing drive for infant clothing for nearby Grady Hospital’s indigent patients. Members, who include students, faculty and staff, took part in the Jan. 22 pro-life Mass celebrated by Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ, at the Shrine of Immaculate Conception and the rally afterward at the state Capitol where the archbishop spoke.

“The archbishop’s speech was a big shot in the arm for us,” Dye said. “At the march he spoke so clearly, so simply, so directly, so forcefully and with such authority. Many people on campus heard. The university is so close; many from it were there. The speech was a great encouragement.”

As a non-residential campus, Georgia State presents a unique challenge to anyone trying to create a university parish community. Of its 23,500 students and 1,500 faculty and staff, an estimated 20 percent, or 5,000 are Catholic. John Palms, appointed the university’s president by the state Board of Regents in 1989, is a Catholic. All commute from different locales and parishes. For this reason energy and creative effort must go into identifying Catholics and bringing them together.

The Catholic Student Organization meets each Monday at 10 a.m. for support and planning. Officially approved by the university, it promotes and sponsors social gatherings, service projects and Catholic concerns. It publishes a monthly newsletter with a mailing list of over 800. CSO members have attended Sunday evening Masses in several parishes where they introduce themselves and invite Georgia State students from the parish to join them after Mass for a get-acquainted session.

CSO social activities have included a Christmas party and caroling, bowling and skating. The group is planning a university wide Mardi Gras, CSO members will pass out buttons reminding everyone that the next day is Ash Wednesday.

Dye hopes to begin classes on Catholic teaching about marriage with all its ramifications for young people today. Sexuality issues are very important to this age group, he pointed out. “This place is rife with questions about sex. ‘What is family? What is marriage? Is marriage a dead institution?’”

“These students are realistically facing the AIDS crisis. Indiscriminate sexual relations are not an alternative for them. They are being very cautious. Abstinence is a viable choice, one they seriously consider.”

Underscoring this concern about sexual issues, Dye produced the most recent issue of the campus newspaper, The Signal. A front page notice warned: “Attention: condom enclosed.” The paper’s editorial explained the intention was “to provide awareness…provoke thought.” It urged the university to make condoms available in its health clinic, an option opposed by the university president.

Later Dye met with the paper’s student editor, a Catholic whom he believes displayed “a certain amount of courage” to raise the issue of the seriousness of the AIDS crisis.

“He took my concerns seriously, listened carefully. I reminded him of the Catholic position and of his obligation to listen to the teachings of the Church. He responded that he has to be editor of the whole newspaper.”

“I was there to remind him what he was advocating was not the full teaching of the Church,” Dye said.

This was not Dye’s first confrontation with students on controversial issues. While he was distributing pro-life information before Sara Weddington’s talk, two pro-choice activists accosted him. A transcript of their abusive confrontation which Dye recorded was published in The Signal.

Dye believes the Catholic ministry on campus can eventually become self-sufficient. In the seven months he has been there he has received over $13,000 in donations. He says the ministry is an investment in the future and he points to a nucleus of 12 to 15 students “every one of whom will be a lay leader or clergy someday.”

“They’re committed,” he says. “You can’t shake these kids’ faith. They’re unbelievable, an inspiration.”

According to Dye, Georgia State attracts serious students; it is not a “party school.” Because it is a commuter campus and easily accessible by rapid transit, many are single-parent women, blacks and Hispanics. Their presence offers another challenge to the ministry because each comes with a distinct set of needs. Dye says the women are frequently struggling to earn a living, update their skills in college and raise children. He notes efforts by some denominations to woo Hispanics from their traditional Catholic orientation. Black students wrestle with what it means to be black and Catholic. Some Catholic students end up participating in activities provided by the large Baptist student center on campus.

“There’s a chance we may lose some,” he says. “Some are strong; some are weak. Some want to debate. They bait me, egg me on. Some are church mice and need a broader challenge. Others need to know what the Church is saying and why.”

Dye is a native Georgian who grew up as a Baptist, was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1971 and served as assistant rector at St. Martin-in-the Fields Episcopal Church in Atlanta for 10 years. He entered the Catholic Church in December 1988 along with his wife, Chantal, their teenage daughters, Leslie Marie and Gabrielle, and son, David, nine, the Dyes are members of Our Lady of the Assumption parish in Atlanta.

Under a 1980 Vatican “pastoral provision” for Anglican clergymen, Dye is seeking to become a Roman Catholic priest for the archdiocese of Atlanta.

Currently a priest from the nearby Shrine of the Immaculate Conception celebrates Mass each Thursday and on holydays. Dye says this most important act of worship in the world needs to be “celebrated on campus for ourselves and for the university.”

Georgia State is now one of five centers of higher education in the archdiocese having full-time campus ministers. Continuity of this ministry on this campus is vital, according to Dye.

“All the ingredients are here for a very viable, active and meaningful university Catholic community. We live the Christian life here. The campus is our workplace and I take seriously the injunction to bring our faith into the marketplace.

“One reason campus ministry is so important to me is that it was important when I was a student. I wonder if I’d be a priest, or a minister, or even a member of the Church if someone hadn’t shown me an alternative way at that time in my life.”