What it Means to Be Lasallian

What it Means to be Lasallian

You'll hear the word Lasallian a lot on our campus. Being Lasallian is at the core of who we are and drives everything we do here both in and out of the classroom. But what does this really mean?

How It Started

Our Lasallian heritage is derived from a Catholic teaching order established by Saint John Baptist de La Salle to provide education to impoverished children in 17th century France. De La Salle, the patron saint of teachers, established the core Lasallian principles as:

  • Concern for the poor and social justice
  • Respect for all people
  • An inclusive community
  • Quality education
  • Faith in the presence of God

What It Means Today On Campus

How does this translate to our modern-day campus? We're an inclusive community, so while we are a Catholic college, we welcome a diversity of faiths and cultures. We have a daily communion service and weekly mass, but we also have Jummah prayer and Shabbat services, as well as campus observances for Ramadan and Passover.  

All of our students are encouraged to take part in service work and volunteer projects to help others. Opportunities range from traveling to third-world countries for volunteer work with the L.O.V.E. program (Lasallian Outreach Volunteer Experience) to serving meals for the homeless in a local Bronx shelter to donating blood in one of the campus blood drives. 

We have numerous support services to help students successfully make the academic and social transition to college, particularly for our many first generation students who are the first in their family to attend college. Ours is a tight-knit community where faculty know each of their students' names and no one "slips through the cracks." 

As Lasallians, our ultimate goal is to educate hearts and minds so that our students can live up to their full potential to become successful, ethical adults who will make the world a better place for all of us.

Opportunities

Here are just a few of the programs that provide opportunities for our students to live the core Lasallian principles: