How do we humbly accept recognition and compliments? Just as I was getting pretty good at accepting insults and finding out “what is wrong with Bob” I got hit today with a string of positive recognitions. It started right after midnight this morning when a graduate student send me the multi-media production he did about me called: “Keeping the Faith: Bob Graf”. The web based production consists of video productions, slide show and audio tape connecting my life from the days of the Milwaukee 14 action in 1968 to our recent efforts to close military training at Marquette. Using words, video, pictures and music it gets at the heart of what I try to be: a person of conscience who acts. I was afraid the graduate student at Marquette might get downgraded due to subject matter, me, but that was not true. He received a well deserved A for this project. The media project is on his private Marquette home page but soon he hopes to put it on public web page.

This morning newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, contained a letter to the editor I wrote in response to an ‘opinion page’ in the sports page of the paper called Departure of AD Larry Williams might be best for Marquette. My response to this opinion letter which outraged me, was in a posting I wrote last week called Law and Morality or Basketball. The letter that appeared in the sports page today was more aptly titled by the editor: “Marquette’s Priorities Seem to be Slipping.” I was pleasantly surprised it was printed but had to tell some of my friends who do not normally read the sports page that it was there and to look for it.”

Marquette administrators and some alumni are extremely sensitive when it comes to Marquette being criticized for taking money in return for loosening morality. But if read the opinion piece in the newspaper it was the sports writer, not me, that said it might have been good for the ‘big bucks’ persons and basketball coach and program that the Athletic Director and President that brought him in, both in two years.

The third recognition of the day came in the form of a letter. A prominent citizen wrote to Catholic Church officials with the idea of a local clergy person to use a small bit of money from the closing and sale of our former Church in North Central Milwaukee to help pay for vouchers the three St.Vincent de Paul conferences give to people in need in the area. He sent me a copy of the letter to forward in a few days to other concerned about poor and segregated in North Central Milwaukee. I am proud since I served as the in-between persons between the clergy person and this prominent Catholic who wrote the letter. Money from the sale of this Church for the works of mercy in North Central Milwaukee is something I have been working on for over two years. The author of the letter said he hopes it has results. I said that I hoped so too but all we can do, is do our best and follow our conscience.

Following conscience seems to be the one thread all three of these positive recognitions have in common.

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