Six times in the 20th century, starting with Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, Americans debated legislation that would enact some form of national health insurance. Under presidents ranging from Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, the nation considered the issue and failed to act.

Yes, she stood out. The uniform dress code in college normally consists of blue jeans, sneakers that on a good day actually match and the last clean T-shirt pulled from among the towels, wrinkled, in the dryer.

The women wear blue jeans, walking shoes and nondescript sweaters, and even without Mardi Gras beads around their necks they easily blend in among their fellow Bourbon Street tourists. Overhead are century-old, wrought-iron balconies juxtaposed with 21st-century neon signs marketing strip clubs.

One of the pastoral priorities of the U.S. bishops is to strengthen families and enrich marriages. Can you talk about National Marriage Week, which is coming up Feb. 7-14, and World Marriage Day, which will be celebrated Feb. 12?

The blessing of St. Joseph Abbey’s renovated chicken coop by Benedictine Abbot Justin Brown Oct. 18, 2016, ushered in a new era for Abbey Art Works. The repurposed chicken coop now serves as the home for the art studio, which has offered art classes to students, ages 18 and older, since 2008.

Most people vividly remember the “ice bucket challenge” that raised more than $115 million for the fight against A.L.S. The new internet phenomenon is the Mannequin Challenge, where people stand still in a pose while being videotaped.

St. Mary’s Dominican High School announced Lou Reilly award winners for fall sports. The award is presented to the athlete “who continually tries to improve her skills and who has listened to her coaches and teammates; an athlete who encourages those playing while she is not in the game, and, while playing herself, gives her full effort at each moment.”  The student athletes have a nominating vote in the selection of the award, while the final decisions are left to the coaches’ discretion.

St. Paul’s senior and Paper Wolf Editor-in-Chief, Nick Ashton, was awarded a four-year Manship Scholarship from the Louisiana State University Manship School of Mass Communications, beginning in the fall of 2017.

Members of Academy of Our Lady’s Law Studies class observed Tulane University Law School’s Trial Advocacy class during their moot court Nov. 14. Essentially, trial advocacy in law school teaches students to prepare and present a case at trial.

Photo from Barberito Photographer Members of the Neat-N-Sweet Court for St. Mary’s Dominican High School were presented at the school’s annual dance for sophomores, juniors and seniors, held at the Lakefront Airport Terminal Building.

Academy of Our Lady Key Club was recognized Nov. 17 at the Kiwanis Club of Algiers Service Leadership meeting for placing first in a charity fundraising competition. The competition, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Algiers, raised money for each club’s respective signature charity by selling and connecting individual paper strips to make a spirit chain.

Brian Heiden, class of 1970, poses with his son, Shawn (’98), and Father Molinelli after receiving the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the Archbishop Shaw Alumnus of the Year banquet Aug. 5 on the school’s Marrero campus.

The Shaw Forever Alumni Association hosted its annual Alumnus of the Year Banquet Aug. 5 on its Marrero campus. Several individuals and alumni were recognized for their contributions to the school, the Shaw Forever Alumni Association and the West Bank Community.

Ursuline Academy Uptown inducted 47 high school students into four nationally-recognized honor societies on Oct. 27: Mu Alpha Theta, the National Art Honor Society, the National Honor Society, and the Tri-M Music Honor Society.

St. Mary’s Dominican High School senior Emily Doyle of New Orleans has been named to the 2016 Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) All Academic 4.0 Scholar Cross Country Team. To be selected to the Academic All-State team, the student athlete must be a senior, have played the sport for two years and achieved a six-semester cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 or better based on a 4.0 scale.

Cabrini High senior Lauren Klemm and freshman Sydnie Newton, both of Jefferson Parish, competed in the Southern Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) District Cross Country Meet in November and qualified for the Louisiana team competing Dec. 3 at the AAU Cross Country National Championships in Tallahassee, Florida.

Archbishop Chapelle High School senior Kate Lorio has been named the 2016 winner of the $2,000 Gregory Brunet Memorial Scholarship from the Daughters of Isabella. The Daughters of Isabella are proponents of furthering the Catholic education of young women.

Several St. Mary’s Dominican High School students were recently inducted into the National Honor Society. Front row, kneeling, from left: Emma Steeg, Victoria Gillam, Monet Brignac, Rebecca Koenig, Caroline Troendle, Joan Gosciniak, Julia Bogart, Alexandra Gutierrez and Caroline Hensley.

On Nov. 3, members of the Academy of Our Lady volleyball team and cheerleading squad along with athletic director Scott Walker presented Ochsner representatives – supervisor of Breast Radiology Deanna Nettles and Breast Radiologist Dr. Dana Smetherman – with a check totaling $4,847 for breast cancer research.

Academy of Our Lady senior Madison Wilson of Marrero was honored by Wendy’s High School Heisman program which recognizes students who lead by example in the classroom, on the field and within the community.