College chaplains minister via the web, too

When The Evangelist debuted its new site on the World Wide Web on July 18 (see page 2 for address), it joined several other organizations or offices affiliated with the Albany Diocese that already had web sites, including the chaplain's offices at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy as well as at Hartwick College and SUNY at Oneonta.

The RPI site, on the WWW for about six months, started with just a few pieces of information, but it has grown to include a photo of its location at RPI's Student Union building, a list of campus ministries, and even photos and brief biographies of the chaplains.

The resident population at RPI includes about 5,000 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students who can access the site to check on Mass times; read the bulletin from Christ Sun of Justice, the parish located on RPI's campus; or send messages to the chaplains. The site is also linked to other related sites, including RPI's Newman Fellowship, Campus Ministry and the Jewish Fellowship.

Technology school

Catholic chaplain Catherine Waibel, who serves at RPI along with Rev. Edward Kacerguis (also associate pastor of Christ Sun of Justice), called the web site a necessity, "especially when dealing with a school that ranks so high in technology.

"Increasingly, students looking at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will look at what our school offers compared to comparable schools," she told The Evangelist. Having the chaplain's office on the WWW makes prospective students feel more comfortable, she believes.

In fact, the web site came about through students' requests. Since all students at RPI have e-mail, they asked that the chaplains would, as well. "Our students work into the small hours," Ms. Waibel explained. "It's easier for them to e-mail us -- and easier for us to send them a message."

Expansion

The system worked so well that, with help from the students, the chaplains decided to expand onto the WWW. RPI senior Greg Vozzo was among those who developed the site, and several students still help to keep it up-to-date.

"We haven't had it on long enough to tell if there's a decrease in phone calls to the office about things like Mass times, but these are things that are available," said Ms. Waibel. "It gives the office staff time to do things that require a more personal touch."

(Recently, the Albany Diocese formed a task force to explore use of the Internet, and has asked parishes and organizations not to develop web sites until the task force has finished its work. For more information, contact Jay Feeney, chancellor for finance and administration, at 453-6612.)

Student effort

While there is no counter in place to check how often the chaplains' web site is accessed, RPI sophomore Susan Navarro, who spends about half an hour each week updating the parish bulletin on the net, noted that the students complain if she doesn't finish her work on time.

To Ms. Waibel, that in itself proves that students and alumni need access to the Church on the Internet.

"They can see this is a Church moving with the times," she said. "It is a hospitality issue. If this is how the students or our board members or our alums operate in their work, this makes us more available -- at a cheaper cost. It keeps them involved here. It builds a greater sense of community."

Faith link

Students who access the chaplains' web site are also more likely to use the Internet to find out more about their faith.

"They're able to take academic material and incorporate it into their lives, especially their prayer lives," Ms. Waibel said. "They always want information on John Henry Newman [an English cardinal who founded the Newman Fellowship], on prayer and other topics. They want to know more about their faith, and they can access Catholic resources over the web. It helps them become better people."

She pointed out that students may feel more comfortable approaching the chaplains through the anonymity of the WWW than in person. Sometimes, that leads to a face-to-face meeting. "I will talk with someone briefly to see if they need the professional counselors," she said. "I will not go into any extensive counseling."

New language

Since the web site has proven a success so far, Ms. Navarro joked that the students are "trying to teach" the chaplains more about its technology, so they can keep it up in the future.

"It's their language," Ms. Waibel said of the students, shrugging.

RPI recently began a new degree program in the creation, development and mechanics of the WWW. Although Ms. Waibel wondered whether "in ten years, all this technology will be outdated," she believes that the chaplains' use of the web is "the path of the immediate future."

If present or prospective students, alumni and others see the chaplains' web site, she explained, they will say, "'I can probably speak their language, and they can speak mine.' We're showing that this is a school committed to having the chaplains available to the students."

(The Internet address for RPI's chaplain's office is http://www.rpi.edu/dept/chaplains/public_html/. The Newman House serving both Hartwick College and SUNY at Oneonta has also developed a web site, at http://www.otsego.net/newman/)

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