"The Marriage Debate: What It's About, How It's Evolved, and Who Will Win."

Spring 2004 Vannicelli Lecture By Matthew Reynolds '05

Holy Cross junior Matthew Reynolds has been selected by the College's Center for Interdisciplinary and Special Studies as the 2004 spring semester's Maurizio Vannicelli Washington Semester Away program award winner. He will present his thesis, "The Marriage Debate: What It's About, How It's Evolved, and Who Will Win" on Wednesday, March 31 at 4:00 p.m. in the Rehm Library.

Reynolds' talk will provide an overview of the same-sex marriage debate and an analysis of the debate's implications for the society at large.

While in Washington, D.C., Reynolds worked for the Christian Coalition of America, where he helped lobby members of the House of Representatives to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment and the Houses of Worship Freedom of Speech Restoration Act.

Reynolds is a political science major from Charlton, Mass. At Holy Cross he is a member of the College Republicans and the Campus Christian Fellowship. Also involved with Students for Life, he participated in the March for Life in Washington, D.C. for the past three years.

An avid writer, Reynolds contributes to both the Fenwick Review and the Crusader, where he formerly served as editor of the opinion section. He has plans to be a journalist after graduation.

The Vannicelli Prize is awarded each semester in honor of the late Holy Cross political science professor and Washington Program director, Maurizio Vannicelli, for the best research paper produced in the Washington Semester Away program. The recipient of the prize is accorded the opportunity to give a public lecture at the College on his or her thesis. In addition, the winner receives a bound copy of the thesis and is presented with a book award during Commencement exercises.