Paul La Camera '64 lauds time at HC

By: Lauren Olney

Posted: 11/7/08

"Holy Cross is where I got my soul" explained Paul La Camera, Class of 1964. La Camera was invited back to the halls of Holy Cross to deliver the Thomas More lecture last Tuesday, as he spoke about both his private and public life, and about his time spent at Holy Cross.

According to the Holy Cross website, the purpose of the Thomas More lecture is to honor a graduate who exemplifies the college's dedication to the integration of faith and learning. The alumnus or alumna is invited to speak about his or her own profession, vocation, and the ethical opportunities and challenges faced there.

La Camera described himself as a "life-long Bostonian… all things Kennedy," and a self proclaimed cranky person of his generation. He is also a father of three boys, all HC grads as well. But above all, he described how his life was forever changed because of Holy Cross and everything that it has taught him. He explained how he did not regard himself as a great student; rather he found himself to be more immature and resistant throughout his college years. Encouragingly, he also stated that Holy Cross taught him that "there is always a place for a C+ student to contribute."

Two events stood out in La Camera's mind when reflecting on his four years on the hill. The first was when he was a member who planned the graduation activities for his class, and he attempted to nominate Michael Harrington for an honorary degree that year. The college was quick to reject the idea after Harrington, an avid socialist, turned towards atheism during his early life. La Camera questioned how such an influential man could be turned away because of religious faltering at an early age.

The second event was when President Johnson accepted an honorary degree at La Camera's commencement on June 10th, 1964. That was also the same day that Senate passed the Civil Rights Act, and President Johnson first learned of it on the campus of Holy Cross. Paul La Camera remarked how fascinating it was to see politics and religion play such a strong, vital, and connected role in his time at college.

Coming out of HC, Paul La Camera went on to work in the media business. First starting at smaller media outlets and then continually moving up through the ranks at others. For the majority of his career, La Camera worked at WCVB-TV, Boston's ABC affiliate; his career there lasted for 33 years. For nearly half of those years, he worked as the president and general manager.

After WCVB-TV, Paul announced his retirement. Thinking his working days were over, the announcement brought in several job offers from various promising companies. Not willing to give up a great opportunity, La Camera accepted a role as general manager of The WBUR group, Boston's National Public Radio news station.

La Camera had many favorable words for the media. He stated that he transitioned with the media into the digital age; a period that has come on strong over the last fifty years. With many newspapers and magazines going completely online, the industry is rolling with a lot of changes. Therefore, he is thankful that the radio is prevailing and still doing well despite all of the problems our country is facing today.

Much like his time at Holy Cross, Paul La Camera saw politics, religion, and other aspects play a role in his career in media. Now is obviously an important time for politics, and it would be wrong for the media not to focus on that. From La Camera's perspective, the role of media in politics is to test the presence of the candidates and to see if they would be able to handle assuming the presidency. In his eyes, the media is doing a good job at bringing out the various strengths and flaws of the candidates despite many of the "despicable distortions" some have created.

Paul La Camera also found himself at a political and religious cross road, as the church began speaking out against candidates and the policies they believe in. La Camera believes that it is "the responsibilities of disciples versus the responsibilities of citizens." There is a distinction between being a good citizen and being a good disciple.

Near the end of the lecture, La Camera's thoughts rang clear throughout the Rehm Library. "We need to view candidates by judging them on a whole spectrum," and not just by certain policies or beliefs. While the media spends time picking apart the candidates, and shedding light on certain topics and not others, it is the whole picture that matters. "I don't want to disqualify any one's life agenda," stated Paul. He made it clear, although politics play an important role, as well as religion, media, and personal beliefs, what matters most is to get the whole picture, and judge for yourself without letting anyone else reject your ideas.

Paul La Camera entered the doors of Holy Cross a very different man than he was when he left. Truly taking the mission statement to heart, he became a man for others. By working his way up in the media business, he made it his goal to inform people about what really was going on in the world. He has faced many ethical opportunities and challenges, and has taken them on head on. Perhaps what Paul La Camera has really given us is advice on how to have a positive and individual perspective in life when faced with difficult issues.