Here’s a column to rebut anyone who thinks Misericordia has no claim to fame.

A lot of famous people have visited our beloved campus. Perhaps surprisingly enough, several Pulitzer Prize winners have walked the grounds, which seems crazy for our small school.

Top shelf visitors include William Everson and William Wilbur. The poets that were popular in 1970 and 1971, the years they visited. One of the most well-known and famous poets who ever-stepped foot on  campus was Maya Angelou. Yes, the famous Maya Angelou, author if “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.”

Maya Angelou was well-known for her poetry, novels and civil rights activism. Angelou came to Misericordia in the beginning of her career on Feb. 9, 1972. The event was presented by the Cultural Events. Angelou returned in 2007, before her death in 2014. On her second visit, Angelou spoke in the Anderson Center, and she provided interviews with student journalists from The Highlander.

The university still has a signed copy of her first book of poems, “Just Give Me A Cool Drink Of Water ‘fore I Diiie,” which Angelou signed during her first event. There is a very funny and interesting story behind this book. Organizers were not able to afford an extra copy of her book, so they pulled the book that they had in the library circulation. So, if you ever get the chance to look at the signed copy, you will see that it was actually in the library circulation for a while. It still has all of the signed-out dates and the stamp that says it is property of College Misericordia.

Here’s acclaim for university’s academics: Misericordia bested Harvard. In February 1935, the College Misericordia debate team beat the famous Harvard University in a debate. The question for debate was whether the nation should prevent the international shipment of arms. It’s amazing to think that our small school beat one of the most well-known Ivy League schools in the country.

The art gallery has many claims to fame. Picasso, anyone? Now located in Insalaco, the art gallery got its start on Feb. 1978 on the fourth floor of the Administrating Building. The gallery was funded by donors.

The now defunct Snow Ball was also well known, at least in the region. The Snow Ball began in 1980, and ended in 2017. Originally, the ball capped a week-long series of events. This tradition was well loved but ended due to a lack of interest.

Misericordia may be a small school in the middle of NEPA, but it has earned much prestige.