Kat Stutzman (left), with Hannah W. Miller at El Iguanario, an eco-tourism site and conservation biology project in the Dominican Republic. Hannah interned at El Iguanario this past summer. Photo contributed.

Raising rhinoceros iguanas for an eco-tourism organization isn’t the first thing that pops to mind upon hearing the word “internship,” but for Hannah W. Miller, a senior in Goshen College’s environmental science program, that’s just what it meant.

In the summer of 2009, Miller spent six weeks at El Iguanario, an organization in the Dominican Republic that raises Cyclura cornuta (rhinoceros iguanas) with the hopes of releasing them into the wild sometime in the future.

El Iguanario is operated out of a single small house in the village of Los Tocones, on the Samaná peninsula of Hispañola, the Caribbean island that is comprised of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  The iguanas are kept in pens in the back yard, where they eat, sleep, mate and lay eggs in the sandy soil. The first 12 iguanas at El Iguanario were acquired from the Santo Domingo zoo as adults, and they breed once per year, adding new iguanas to El Iguanario’s collection.

The organization was founded by a Peace Corps volunteer, but for the past two years the project has been led by Kat Stutzman, a GC alum.  Stutzman did the study portion of her Study-Service Term with El Iguanario, and after graduating from college, she received a Fulbright grant to return to the Dominican Republic and continue to work with the iguanas.

Miller’s connection to El Iguanario was formed as she was searching for an internship to fulfill a requirement for her environmental science major.  When nothing seemed to be working out, she sought council from Jodi Saylor, her academic adviser.  Saylor contacted Stutzman, and the internship came together.

“About a month later, Kat emailed me,” said Miller.  “[She] said, ‘I would love to have you, just come on down if you are interested,’ so we emailed and set it up.”

In addition to the conservation work she was doing with the iguanas, Miller said the living situation and community structure were a big part of her learning experience.

“It was so different from living in America,” she said. “It was out in the middle of the country and we collected our own rainwater that we used for showering and dishes and stuff.”  She continued:  “You’re just super aware of your resources.  It was a completely different culture.”

El Iguanario’s primary goal is to increase the numbers of rhino iguanas, which have been disappearing due to habitat destruction.  This mission is primarily funded by

Cyclura cornuta, or rhinoceros iguana, is an endemic species to the island of Hispañola, where Hannah W. Miller went to do her environmental science internship. Photo contributed.

eco-tourism.  People pay to see the iguanas and hear about their history, and that money goes back to feeding and raising the iguanas.  Since the species is endemic to Hispañola, meaning it only exists naturally on that island, interacting with rhino iguanas up close is a rare opportunity.  No iguanas from El Iguanario have been released into the wild, but that goal is still central to the organization’s mission.

Stutzman has now returned to the U.S., after handing her responsibilities at El Iguanario over to locals in Los Tocones.

Miller isn’t planning to go back to the DR anytime soon, but says that her work and lifestyle at El Iguanario has changed the way she views conservation biology.

“[I had] the realization that conservation is directly tied to the community around the species you’re trying to preserve,” Miller said. “People had different ideas about the way the Iguanario should be run or advertised…It’s just such a community effort.”

“It’s not just ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,’” Kauffman said.

“Another purpose for this program is that children, along with their parents, experience a college campus,” Wiebe said, “and get familiarized with the Music Center and students, as well.”

Their first goal will be to make this program accessible to everyone. Classes will be offered on campus but also at Chamberlain Elementary and Prairie View Elementary in Goshen, as well as at Elkhart Montessori and a head-start program at Roosevelt Center in Elkhart.
The second goal for this program is to strengthen family bonds. “Nowadays, families are too busy and this program will provide an opportunity for them to interact,” Kauffman explained.
Wiebe also emphasized the importance of college students helping with this new program. Students will become a certified teacher by taking a three-day training session in Columbus, Ohio. After the student’s certification, he or she will be able to teach one or two classes a week for a total of 10 weeks, depending on the student’s schedule. At the end of the 10 weeks, there will be a final concert with all of the children who were involved in the program.
Classes are 45 minutes long and meet once a week for 10 weeks. Tuition is $120 for a semester and includes a beautifully illustrated songbook and CD for each family. Scholarships are available.

More information is available at the Community School of the Arts at 535-7907

CAC members (front to back: John Tamrat, Leah Thill, Rachel Mast) worked hard to quickly and efficiently pass out tickets during last Thursday's Midweek Mayhem event. Photo by David Zwier.

It’s sometime around the age of thirteen that McDonald’s stops being everyone’s favorite fast food restaurant.  The fries taste the same and the hamburgers don’t change, but something does.  It always happens—soon after kids realize that they are too old to play in the ball pit and too big to climb through the tunnels.  A little piece of childhood gets put in a box, forgotten about, and never fully resurfaces.

Perhaps that is why students had so many complaints about Midweek Mayhem (also known as the ticket blitz) last Thursday evening where students were able to purchase tickets for three Hour Afters.

Despite the five inflated play areas from Jazzy Jumpers, students still had many complaints about the ticket-selling event.

“The line was simply ridiculous,” commented Zach Clouse.

Tickets were sold from 9:45 till 12:15 on the evening of Nov. 5. During that time, there was a constant tide of students waiting for tickets to the Hour Afters.  The line formed before tickets even went on sale and stretched across almost the entire Union Hallway and out the north doors.

Right next door, in the Union Gym, were the bulk of the bounce-houses.  There was a crazy castle, a twister board, sumo wrestling and Q-Tip jousting.  All of these, however, were in the shadow of The Adrenaline Rush.  This gargantuan inflated slide and obstacle course was nearly as wide as the gym and over 20 feet tall.  However, it failed to satisfy some students, including Isaac Yoder-Shrock.

“The bounce houses helped, but just weren’t quite relaxing enough after all the stress of waiting in line to get tickets,” said Yoder-Schrock.

However, the Campus Activities Council (CAC), which planned the sale, maintains that the night was a success.

“We felt like it went well.  There’s always some anxiety, but there wasn’t anything to do to make the line go faster,” said Tim Blaum.  He pointed out that last year the connector hallways were regularly clogged with people waiting for long periods of time just to get tickets to student performances.

Selling all the tickets on one night means that people will probably spend less total time waiting than last year, when tickets for each event were sold separately.  It also made the process more efficient.  In just the two and a half hours of selling, over 350 transactions occurred.

While the specifics may change slightly, the CAC reports that they will most likely have more ticket blitz’s in the future.

Goshen Portaits is a Pinchpenny Press book of profile essays released ever few years, featuring individuals that live and work in Goshen. Photo by Tim Blaum.

The following is an excerpt from “A Violin Professor Going on 17,” a profile of Solomia Soroka written by Alysha Landis.

Solomia Soroka, an assistant professor of music at Goshen College, knew her career path when she was only 6 years old.  Despite her childhood dream to become a biologist, her mother enrolled her in music school.  Ever since then, it has always been about music – and the violin – for Soroka.

For a child growing up in L’viv, a large city in western Ukraine, learning an instrument at age 6 was considered a late start.  Soroka studied the piano first.  When she went to take the entrance exam to get into Krushelnytska Music School, she was told that she had a good ear for pitch and should begin learning the violin right away.

Initially, Soroka’s father wasn’t fond of the idea of her becoming a musician, although he was always supportive of his daughter.  “He was an artist, so he knew the type of difficult lifestyle that I would have,” Soroka said.  “He would ask me things like ‘Why can’t you just stay at home and practice instead of going to that school?’”

Once Soroka had enrolled in music school, though, her father accepted the fact that she was going to be a violinist; he began to have ambitious hopes for her.  Although Soroka’s mother was not a musician herself, she did appreciate music and wanted her daughter to learn something that would stay with her for the rest of her life.

The school was only a short walking distance from her house, but that didn’t stop Soroka from being tardy.  “I would always sleep until the last minute,” said Soroka, “and when I’d arrive late, I would blame it on the public transportation, even though I didn’t even use it.”

Once she arrived at school, however, she was all business.  Soroka spent four to six hours every day practicing her violin.  At first, her parents forced her to practice.  Eventually, as she noticed the progress of her peers, her competitive nature drove her to practice even more.  She became particularly competitive with a close friend who was an avid player.  “He started playing violin when he was three and was considered a type of child prodigy,” she said.  “The more he succeeded, the more it made me want to practice harder and be better than he was.”

But as Soroka continued to mature as a musician, her motives stemmed from a deeper place than just competition.  When she was in fourth grade, her teacher introduced her to the Mendelssohn “Violin Concerto.”  It was one of the first pieces of music  that she felt moved by.  Recognizing this beauty marked a significant turning point in her musical maturity level.  That year, when she was only 10 years old, Soroka gave her solo debut with the L’viv Philharmonic.  She performed Mendelssohn’s concerto.

Soroka’s most memorable teacher used some unique teaching methods, Soroka remembered.  This teacher had a strong personality and put a lot of effort and soul into teaching Soroka.  “He was very strict and would often scream at me,” Soroka recalled.  “One time he threw me out of the lesson for not practicing.  Another time he threw a chair because he was so angry.”  Time has softened her view of the teacher, however. “I was really afraid of him, and maybe even hated him at times,” said Soroka.  “Now I look back and can appreciate what he did for me.  He pushed me to reach my greatest potential.”

After graduation, Soroka traveled with a private teacher to study with her in the former Belorussia for two years.  When her teacher moved to Finland, she decided to enroll in the Kiev Conservatory (also known as the Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music).  The conservatory was highly competitive.  “Entering the school was one difficulty, but there was also pressure to win competitions, and just in general to be a star was always a goal,” said Soroka.  “But I enjoyed the competition.”

Look for the rest of Saroka’s story in the upcoming book from Pinchpenny Press, “Goshen Portraits.” The book, which includes photos, features 13 pieces profiling figures who live and/or work in the Goshen community. All profiles were written by students in Duane Stoltzfus’ Writing for Media and Features Writing classes last year. “Goshen Portraits” will make it’s debut in the beginning of December. A release party will be held on Tuesday, December 1 at 7 p.m., where some of the authors and profile subjects will speak. Books will also be for sale. Further details will be available as the publication date approaches.

Facebook usage on campus, via portable devices or home computers, is almost a way of life. Photo by Tim Blaum.

Since Mark Zuckerburg and three friends began the thefacebook.com for Harvard University Feb. 1, 2004, this social networking site has grown into an international sensation.

Not even 6 six years old, Facebook has grown from an informational host to an eruption of games, contacts, quizzes, groups and more. With over 300 million users, Facebook is no longer just a hub for social college students. Facebook’s popularity, along with both some skeptical users and non-users, give the Web site a complex place in today’s world, even here at Goshen College.

Like much of the U.S., Goshen College is also wrapped up in Facebook. Students had been using the Web site since early on, but Goshen College itself began using the site after realizing its popularity.

As of last Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, 1,634 people were members of the Goshen College network, while Goshen College’s fan page lists 1,758 fans. The admissions office began hosting groups catered to incoming classes and those considering attending Goshen about two years ago. The public relations office manages the Goshen College fan page and sends out event invitations for performances, campus open houses and even convocations and worship services.

Fun with Facebook: A two-way street

But before the college ever began using the Web site, students were posting photos, updating statuses and writing on walls.

According to an independent survey with voluntary responses, most of the Goshen College community on Facebook activated their accounts during high school or early in their college careers. Most people joined Facebook because they were curious, wanted to stay connected to family and friends, to network, or a combination of those reasons.

Interestingly enough, not everyone agrees with the idea of Facebook as a social networking site.

In an article by John Cassidy in the May 15, 2006 issue of “The New Yorker,” Columbia University Sociologist, Duncan Watts tells Cassidy that Facebook isn’t popular because of it’s networking possibilities at all.

“If I had to guess why sites like Facebook are so popular,” he told Cassidy, “I would say it doesn’t have anything to do with networking at all. It’s voyeurism and exhibitionism. People like to express themselves, and they are curious about other people.”

“You’re with your friends, but you’re also creating the possibility that you’ll bump into someone else, in which case you might meet them, or at least be noticed by them. So it’s not about networking (which is more instrumental), or even about dating (which is far more specific), so much as it is about mingling.”

This “mingling” is evident in some of communication that goes on. Facebook status updates are limited to 420 characters. Unlike sites like MySpace, Xanga or Wordpress, there is no way to publish a journal or blog front and center on your page, only a status, and the first few lines of what others have written on your wall.

On the other hand, Facebook has moved in the direction of greater communication. It now utilizes a chat feature, an e-mail-like system and is accessed by over 65 million people

A Goshen College poll showed that many GC students spend substantial time on Facebook each day.

on their mobile devices.

Julie Reese, professor of psychology, agrees with the idea that, while Facebook can be a useful social tool, it can often be voyeuristic.

“For people, students, who use it to stay connected, it’s a good thing,” she said. But in other cases, it can be less about staying up to date and more about “gaining satisfaction in other people’s grievances.”

“While people may enjoy looking at pages of people who they’re not deeply connected with,” she said, “most pages people look up are close friends.”

Reese explained that seeing the often “mundane details” of a person’s day, through their status updates, for example, seems to create a “cyber sense of physical closeness.”

“Seeing what people are doing on a daily basis, from the mundane to the exciting, makes it feel more like you’ve been with that person.”

But that easy access to ever-changing information can impact people’s time and non-cyber relationships.

Many GC students admit to checking Facebook multiple times every day.

“Being able to get information so quickly,” she said, “whether about people or things, with just the click of a finger, distorts our concept of time, for one thing.”

Not only that, but Facebook enables our fast-paced society, so that “we don’t need to slow down, but just create new means to allow us to continue,” possibly at the consequence of relationships off the computer.

Reese said research has not yet shown what the consequences of this are, whether they might include “the breakdown of what it means to have private and public lives, etiquette of relating to people of a different status [or] realizing that relationships do take time.”

“You can’t just chat with your child [online] and only see them [in the physical world], but feel comforted because you are spending time… [Facebook] cannot replace some things, but it gives the illusion that it does.”

One respondent to the independent survey wrote that she had felt frustration from Facebook, similar to what Reese described.

“ I knew it made me less happy,” the person wrote, “but held onto it for a long time. I don’t need one more thing to check, i.e. phone messages, e-mails, mailbox, Moodle, etc. Also, I recognized that Facebook is a powerful force that dictates how many people spend many hours of their lives without giving joy. It also gives a false sense of connectedness… It eliminates the need to get together with friends and show them pictures face-to-face and tell stories and spend time together. It allows people to construct an image of who they want to be rather than who they are.”

A friend is a friend is a faculty problem
Many students, faculty and others in the Goshen College community, though, seem to be able to maintain a healthy amount of Facebook use in their lives, whether that means not getting an account or whatever the user decides.

Being in a smaller, often more trusting environment, though, brings its own problems, larger, more formal colleges may not encounter.

Generally, Goshen College faculty and students are more comfortable with one another. Students call professors by their first names. Some students, and even professors, go to class in bare feet. Now, with the advent of Facebook, many students and faculty members are cyber friends as well.

According to Tom Myers, discussion arose at a teaching-faculty meeting a few weeks ago about faculty-student relations in Facebook and on-line in general, after a student wrote profanity on a faculty members Facebook wall.

Myers said that there is currently no protocol for student-faculty online relationships, but that after more conversations there likely will be some guidelines. Several faculty members have personal principles for “friending”  students online. Myers, for example, only befriends students after they have graduated. Some faculty members limit their friendships on Facebook like Myers, while others have several student friends.

Facebook will likely pose ethical and personal issues for many people, but despite it’s controversy, people continue to applaud the cornucopia of social and informational outlets that make Facebook.

Anna Pasquarello isn't the only student feeling an excess amount of stress around midterm. Especially at high stress times of year, it is important to manage time, control stress and take advantage of the school's counseling services if needed. Photo by Tim Blaum.

Anna Pasquarello had hoped to go home for midterm break, relax and let her mind rest a little, but that’s not what happened.

Pasquarello spent her break on campus, trying to work at her on-campus job as much as possible to fix her car, finish up her book to be published by Pinchpenny Press and do all the other homework due after the three-day break.

By the time classes were in session again, Pasquarello hadn’t been able to complete most of the items on her to-do list. It wasn’t that she hadn’t tried, but that stress had prevented her from focusing or finishing much at all to the point that she now says she’s not even sure what she did do over the break.

Pasquarello said that it seems like she’s most stressed this year, her senior year, than she has been in the past. She gets anxious about the future, whether it be next week or next year, and she said she really only wants to focus on things that relate to that more distant future and not the busyness of many of her classes.

“Is comparing the doctrine of affections and the Pythagorean philosophies really going to make me a better sound technician?” she asked.

Pasquarello is one of many students who spent a majority of their midterm break working on projects, papers and studying for tests, and who are still stressed after the five-day weekend.

Campus Counselor Char Hochstetler said that she has seen more students than usual dealing with stress this semester, but much of that might be because of such a large incoming class.

“The stress is very real,” she said. “This is a stressful environment.”

Hochstetler said that this does seem to be a more stressful time of life; even more stressful than post-graduation. Unlike many people who are able to go to work and then come home, leaving their work at the workplace, students often never know for sure if they have studied enough. Then, there are the stresses of a new environment for first-years at Goshen College; living in close quarters with others, and all of the internal growth and learning that comes with growing older.

“We always have to manage [stress],” she said, “but sometimes we have to manage more than other times.”

Like many other students, Pasquarello said she can tell she is dealing with an unhealthy amount of stress “when [she] can’t sleep at night and even Tylenol P.M. doesn’t knock [her] out.”

Hochstetler said that most people know what they need to do to be able to handle lots of stress, like get enough sleep.

“But it’s very hard to keep things in perspective,” she said, “and the mind just goes [wild],” which makes sleep, concentrating and working difficult.

Hochstetler also said doing something physical and active, like jogging, playing racquetball or another sport, is a great way to deal with stress. She suggests 30 minutes of physical activity three times a week. In general, Hochstetler said that students should try to do at least one thing per day that is a “want to,” and not a “have to”—something he/she wants to do that isn’t a requirement for a class or something else.

If a student doesn’t have the time for that, learning a focusing, centering breathing exercise can help. Try counting to five while breathing in, then again when breathing out. Or, take slow, full breaths in, but when breathing out, visualize your body loosening and relaxing. The counseling services on-campus also offers a booklet with more detailed breathing exercises and other internal practices to fend off unhealthy stress.

Hochstetler said trying to take one day at a time, so a person isn’t overwhelmed with the big picture, and talking through situations with other friends can help a person simplify his/her perspective.

Hochstetler is available to talk through stress and the resulting issues at the Health and Wellness Center. Schedule an appointment by contacting 535-7474.

Daniel Butler, GC's 24 year old basketball recruit, is expected to be an asset to the team this year. He was offered a full ride to play for GC. Photo by Tim Blaum.

When six-foot six-inch basketball player Daniel Butler graduated from Milwaukee Tech Community College in 2006, he never expected to play basketball as part of a team again. As it turns out, Butler’s career on the court did not end there.

Though he was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Butler was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and he calls it home. When he was little, his dad taught him to play basketball, but it was nothing more than a backyard hobby until Butler joined his first team as a sophomore at Milwaukee Custer High School. He finished out with a very successful high school basketball career, averaging 18 points a game during his senior season and being selected Honorable Mention All-State.

Post-graduation, Butler went to Milwaukee Tech Community College, where he took general education classes and captained the basketball team. During his final season, he was team MVP, all-conference and All-State Region 4.

“Some people wanted to outshine others, but overall we had decent chemistry,” Butler said of his Milwaukee Tech team. “We were a lot of fun to watch; students liked to come out to games.”

Following graduation from the two-year college, Butler spent some time working as a banquet cook at a hotel and as a lifeguard. Eventually, after three years of working to support himself, Butler began to consider going back to school.

“I think I grew up a little bit somewhere in there,” said Butler. “I didn’t want to be the one who waited too long to go back to school.”

Butler had never even heard of Goshen College until his cousin Kyle Davis, a first-year, was recruited to play basketball. “Kyle and another friend used to invite me to come along to open gyms at GC,” said Butler. “One morning they were like, ‘Hey, want to come to Indiana real quick?’ They needed some more guys to play.”

Men’s Basketball Coach Gary Chupp was impressed by Butler’s performance on the court, and he added him to his recruiting list just days before classes began for the fall semester.

And that’s how it came to be that Butler, at age 24, found himself registering for classes at Goshen College.

“I was offered a full ride to play basketball with a great group of guys,” he said. “It was a blessing. I was looking to get back into school, but I didn’t think I’d get to play basketball again.”

It’s taking some time for Butler to adjust to school again. Living off campus at the home of Kelli King, Coordinator of Alumni, Church, and Parent Relations for the college, allows Butler a relaxing and private retreat from the busyness of college life.

A desire to help people has led Butler to pursue a degree in Social Work. “My experiences in life have made me want to help and support kids,” Butler said of the motivation that fuels his career plans.

As for basketball, Butler is excited about the team. “It’s a really down-to-earth, humble group of guys,” he said. “And we have a good coach. Chupp knows what he’s talking about and works hard. I think we’re going to have a successful season as a team.”

For Butler, it’s just good to be back.

Adriel Santiago and Rachel Mast played with Lavender Jazz at Sing and Swing, which is usually considered an Hour After, though this year it was incorporated into October's First Friday events. Photo by David Zwier.

Every year the Campus Activities Council (CAC) hosts several events that highlight student talent and help students bond campus-wide, but this fall, many students have been discussing how there have been fewer of  their favorite events, Hour Afters. Some students even have concerns that with a lack of these particular campus activities, students might be more likely to participate in weekend drinking.

The funny thing is, there have been the same amount of CAC events thus far this year as there have been during the past several fall semesters: the Sing and Swing and Kick-off and an extra party after Monday Night Live.

Director of Student Activities Michele Fanfair-Steury said there hasn’t been an Hour After during September for at least the last three years, but that there are already plenty planned for the rest of the year.

Students should celebrate; many say they’ve been waiting. Several students refer to Hour Afters as fairly integral to their adjustment to the Goshen College community.

Julia Baker, a junior, said that as a first year, she never felt like she was able to spend time with juniors and seniors outside the classroom except for at Hour Afters.

“And Goshen is so talented!” she added.

Thomas Leischner agreed.

“There’s just a camaraderie thing [at Hour Afters],” Leischner said, “I guess sort of like a soccer game, except that instead of yelling, people dance.”

Many first year students even come to Goshen with an idea of how fun Hour Afters can be.

Peter Garry, a junior transfer from Hesston College, said he heard about Hour Afters from a close friend, Mark Histand, and has been pretty excited about going to one.

He won’t have to wait much longer.

The CAC plans Hour Afters, which are typically two-night, two-hour-long programs showcasing a student or group of students’ talents who receive $200 in exchange. The CAC also plans coffeehouses, shows that are similar in fashion but are only one performance, paying $100 to the performers.

Both Hour Afters and coffeehouses are planned far ahead of time. Fanfair-Steury said that to have an Hour After or coffeehouse in September, the performers would need to contact her by May term the school year before.

In only a few weeks CAC will host the first coffeehouse of the year, a Poetry Slam Coffeehouse on Friday, October 30. Patrick Ressler is organizing a Pop Choir Coffeehouse for Friday, November 13. The first student-led Hour After of the year will be Friday, November 20 in the Union Gym when Alana Kanagy presents a night of theater and dance. Although it is an Hour After, that performance will only be held one night, but it will be in the Union gym and seat up to 300 people. Then Mark Hershberger and his roommates will hold another Hour After December 4 and 5.

To plan or talk about having your own coffeehouse or Hour After, e-mail Michele Fanfair-Steury at michelefs@goshen.edu.

Photo by Emily Miller.

Coffee or tea with your Bible study?  Or how about a cushion to sit on?

Coffee, meditation, and singing are but a few of the many diverse focal points of groups that reflect an increasing spirituality at Goshen College.

Arienne Johnson, who has a double major in History and Bible, religion and philosophy, co-hosts an informal prayer and reflection time at Aurora House with Andrea Kraybill, a senior Art major. The atmosphere is informal and friendly, and the focus is on prayer, collectively experiencing God, and the inherent communal draw of tea and coffee.

The approach now is “organically balancing Scripture, time for silence, [and] communal prayer,” said Kraybill, with the purpose of creating space for intentional faith practice.

Both Kraybill and Johnson also spent the majority of their time last summer interning at a church of their choice through the Ministry Inquiry Program, one of three types of Campus Ministries’ internships: camping, service, and ministry. As with students on SST, they were assigned host families from the church and spent most of their time in related service activities.

Johnson served at Washington Community Fellowship in Washington, D.C., where she preached twice and contributed her time to various aspects of worship. This was her first inquiry program experience. Kraybill served in Hackney, London, at the Clapton Park United Reform Church and was more involved with social services such as food distribution and childcare, and this is her third inquiry program experience. Both had excellent experiences.

“This summer just might be the best one of my life,” Johnson said.

Both recommend the inquiry program experience to others wishing to push the boundaries of their spirituality, and hope others take advantage of the unique, formative opportunities that await spiritual sojourners.

A small group with a similar focus, albeit seasoned with an Eastern flavor, is the Sitting Club, recently founded by Ross Weaver. Meeting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in the Spirituality room in the basement of Coffman, members of this group grab a cushion, take a seat, and…sit.

For up to twenty minutes at a time (there are no minimum or maximum time constraints), anyone who feels so inclined can relax with fellow seekers. And the group isn’t just for those with meditation experience, either. Weaver explained that the purpose of the group is specific to each individual, and “some people come to relax, while others come to quiet the mind, to look deeper into themselves.”

Weaver started the group to ensure his own regular sitting practice, and hopes others will similarly benefit from the mutual accountability and opportunity for growth offered by such a gathering.

Some students are meeting for the traditional Bible study. David Shenk, a fifth-year Spanish major, recently committed himself to a small group that meets every Friday night in the senior apartments. “I want to explore questions of spirituality in the company of others who want to do the same,” said Shenk. “It’s a time for thoughts to be voiced and heard without interruption or fear of judgment.”

The goal of the group is simple yet ambitious: Christian discipleship.

For some, food may be the lure.

Rachel Gerber, the resident director of the senior apartments, is actively encouraging student community through floor potlucks. She plans for students to move their dining furniture into the hallway where they will share a meal composed solely of food that students furnish.

While the purpose of the potluck is primarily communal, Gerber said, she “believe[s] that something happens when we ‘break bread’ with one another.” She continued, “I believe the Spirit of Christ is always present and whatever we do to facilitate deepening relationships with one another, Christ is there, and experienced.”

Some cows hang out in a stall at World Dairy Expo. 2009 in Madison Wis. Photo by Marlys Weaver.

Most students at Goshen College have some hobby or interest that very few others know much about. For several past and present students, including myself, that interest is for an animal: the dairy cow. Maybe surprising for some, it’s also a reason to take off some days of classes.

Last week was World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., the largest annual dairy event in the world. Every year, over 10,000 people from over 80 countries come to World Dairy Expo to show their cows in intense competitions, talk to hundreds of dairy and agriculture-related companies, and visit with friends and acquaintances from around the world.

World Dairy Expo is sort of like a combination of a county fair and National Mennonite Youth Convention: lots of cows and lots of energy, but a whole different mindset.

Though I was the only Goshen College representative this year, a few other recent and current students have attended, including Deanna Kronk.

Kronk, an ‘08 graduate and continuing aide to the track and field team, visited World Dairy Expo in 2004, but also took off from her GC classes in 2008 to exhibit three heifers in the National Guernsey Show at the Expo.

“I enjoyed it,” she said, “minus the driving around for two hours looking for the hotel.”

The week of show, hotels are booked out all around Madison, so many people have to drive outside city limits for a room. If you’re not from the area, that can lead to driving adventures (or headaches, depending on your view).

Kronk said she enjoys Expo because of her love of showing and because she is able to re-connect and meet with other dairy people who she only sees at the “big shows.”

Among the hundreds of companies and organizations advertising and teaching visitors, hundreds of exhibitors, like Kronk and myself, bring their prized cattle to compete on the “colored shavings,” woodchips dyed a particular color to coincide with the Expo’s theme for the week. Past themes have included “Building Bridges, Making Connections” in 2008 and “The Art of Dairy” in 2005. Show ring decorations, cattle awards, and publicity materials all relate to the theme.

Owners typically sleep in the barns with their animals and wake up around 4 or 5 a.m. to wash their cows and heifers in the cold and often snowy Wisconsin weather.  They then stay by them all day to make sure they stay clean.

Different breeds of cattle show throughout the week according to age, with as many as 50 cows competing against each other. An official judge, often with an assistant, looks over each one, then places them in order from first to last place, the number of which depends on how many cows are in a class. By the end of the week, a Grand Champion cow is chosen from every breed and one goes on to be named Supreme Champion.

Cows are evaluated by physical traits that all add up to higher milk production, which is what makes the money for a dairy farmer. For example, judges look for a deeper chest, which gives a cow’s heart and lungs more space to grow, healthy feet and legs, because if a cow can’t walk, she won’t be able to walk to food or water, and an udder with a higher, wider rear udder attachment, which gives the udder more volume to hold milk.

Competitions are also held at World Dairy Expo for youth and college students in how to judge dairy cattle.

Junior Julia Stoltzfus hasn’t been to the Expo, but she wants to go. She has, however, attended one of the three other dairy shows in the U.S.: the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kent.

Stoltfzus competed in the national dairy judging competition there in 2005 with her high school’s team. They looked at 10 classes of cows and five of heifers, giving five sets of “reasons.” In a judging competition, contestants place classes of 4 cows in the order they believe they should be placed. Contestants give vocal “reasons” to defend their placings.

All around, World Dairy Expo, along with the other national dairy shows, is a cornucopia of dairy-related things: exhibits on quality cheese, milk, yogurt and ice cream, a dairy cattle competition, dairy judging competitions, and agricultural companies and associations galore.

Kronk recommends World Dairy Expo for Goshen students–even those not at all related to dairying.

“It’s not like you need to be a dairy farmer to go there,” she said, calling it a cross-cultural experience.

Along with learning about all aspects of the dairy industry, World Dairy Expo gives visitors a chance to talk with people from Brazil, Germany, Greece or New Zealand.

Interested in learning more? Dates for next year’s World Dairy Expo are set for Sept. 28 to Oct. 2. To learn more, visit www.worlddairyexpo.com.

The Global Anabaptist Wiki profiles Anabaptist and Mennonite communities in 75 countries around the world. Image provided by John Roth.

This article was reported by Andrew Shenk

Goshen College’s Mennonite Historical Library has developed what it hopes will be an authoritative, expansive, and constantly evolving source for information about international Anabaptist-Mennonite groups.

The library’s “Global Anabaptist Wiki” project, which went live at anabaptistwiki.org in the spring of 2009, uses the same software and approach to editorial control as the phenomenally popular online encyclopedia “Wikipedia.” It allows users worldwide to create and edit pages about their own communities and related historical issues by adding personal stories and reflections.

The collaborative aspect also allows a more varied range of viewpoints, according to professor of history and Mennonite Historical Library director, John D. Roth. “[It’s] a window for every group to see every other group. It’s not just about telling my story.”

Last spring, when as a part of his Anabaptist/Mennonite History class students chose different international church groups to profile, research, and collect information on the stories of Anabaptist churches around the world, Roth realized that their significant historical legwork didn’t have an outlet outside of the class.

A more formal Internet resource on Anabaptist-Mennonite groups already exists in the “Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online,” a project begun by the Mennonite Historical Society of Canada in 1996. However, this site serves mostly as an online home for the articles that appear in the print Mennonite Encyclopedia and other reference texts, as well as more carefully edited articles that have been added to the database over the years.

So, the Global Anabaptist Wiki was conceived as a repository for stories and detailed information about the Anabaptist-Mennonite communities that can be found in 75 different countries, as well as a “little less formal” place for churches to “tell their own stories,” Roth said.

Annali Smucker, a fourth year who participated in the research portion of the class, explained that the larger goal for the project is to “get some of the diversity of the Mennonite church accessible to anyone.” Since the church is seeing the most growth outside of the United States and Europe, she sees the Wiki as a chance to remind Mennonites of “the richness of tradition, newness, and diversity we have among our sisters and brothers around the world.”

Smucker emphasized the importance of this kind of global conversation to the church’s future: “If we want to continue as a denomination, we need to be in dialogue and learning with the areas where our denomination is growing.”

Roth and others led a workshop at the Mennonite World Conference last July in Asuncion, Paraguay to gauge the viability of and interest in such a project. “People were very enthused,” Roth said of the meeting, and since the current online framework was set up in May, 124 content pages have been created.

Many of these pages focus on nations with Anabaptist populations and the churches that have been established there. Communities like Jesus Village Church, South Korea and Phnom Penh Mennonite Church, located in the capital of Cambodia, have pages with detailed origin stories and sections for descriptions of key individuals from the churches’ histories.

Another example is a collection of “Why I Am Mennonite” essays, written by Goshen College students enrolled in April 1999, a representation of the kinds of stories and gathering of information Roth wishes to make the site a home for.

According to Roth, however, the freedom of this form of information gathering is not without its drawbacks. Before being able to rely on a consistent flow of new content, the site needs to reach a critical mass of basic articles to draw in readers and make them feel comfortable contributing.

The lack of a significant promotional budget also worries Roth, as without a global awareness campaign, a logistically complicated matter considering language and cultural barriers, the site will have a hard time reaching many of the users it will rely on for content.

Another complication comes from the project’s international and multi-language goals, as at this point even the site’s basic informational pages have not been fully translated into common languages like Spanish, German and French. The Mennonite Historical Library is focusing on having instructional pages translated for now, but it hopes to eventually implement a mechanism for contributions to be interpreted as they are submitted.

The project is an attempt by Roth to “tell the Anabaptist story differently” by keeping the global church in mind. By setting goals of worldwide collaboration and contribution instead of attempting to chronicle the church as a single body, there might be a place for an entirely new kind of story in this “Global Anabaptist Wiki.”

Seniors Angelique and Simon Birky-Hartmann patiently wait for the Interurban Trolley to arrive and carry them home. Photo by Angelica Lehman.

Goshen College students have a reputation of being avid bikers. But what happens when biking isn’t possible? What if it’s raining, or you need to transport bags of groceries? What do you do if you don’t have a car?
The Elkhart-Goshen Interurban Trolley is one solution, and can now take you even further than Goshen or Elkhart.

According to the Interurban Trolley website, “The Trolley provides easy, affordable public transit along the corridors connecting Elkhart and Goshen and major points in between these two cities.”

The trolley stops right by campus on College Ave. in between 8th and 9th streets, and travels on U.S. 33, stopping along the way at Meijer, Walmart, Concord Mall and more. No matter where you get on or off, a ride on the trolley only costs $1.

The trolley used to ends it’s route at the Elkhart Civic Plaza. This week, however, the trolley began stopping at Martin’s Supermarket on Bittersweet Road, west of Osceola, where riders can get onto a “Transpo” bus that can take them to South Bend, including stops at the University Park Mall  and the South Bend Regional Airport.

Angelique and Simon Birky-Hartmann live in downtown Goshen and ride the Interurban Trolley to and from the college every school day, but they often use it even more.

“I really have no complaints about it,” Simon said. “It’s sad that Goshen College isn’t [encouraging] students to use the trolley.”

“They don’t attract as many people as they should,” he said. He thinks a lot of it has to do with a lack of advertising, so not many people know how it works. He also said that if it stopped every five minutes at each stop, more people might be likely to use it. A trolley stops at any given stop every 30 minutes.

Simon and Angelique have no problems with the trolley itself, though.
“It’s really clean,” Angelique said. “They even have a trash bag behind the driver’s seat so [passengers] don’t use the rest of the trolley for trash.”
She also added that the drivers are always very friendly and that she feels safe on the Interurban Trolley.

The trolley doesn’t run on Sundays or major holidays, and it operates between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays and 5:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays.

For more details on exactly when and where the trolley stops, visit http://www.interurbantrolley.com.

Kristi Glick is the latest faculty member in the Art department. Photo provided by Public Relations.

Joining the Goshen College community for the 2009 fall semester are twenty-one new faculty, accounting for eleven departments with new staff. Every school year brings changes in faculty, but this year the Art and Communications Departments have had significant turnover.

The leaving of Ron Johnson brings new Assistant Professor of  Communication, Seth Conley. Professor Conley comes from Rossville, Indiana, a small town just outside of Lafayette. He moved to Goshen with his wife, Rachel, and two young children, Kiersten and Ethan. A graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University, Conley joins the GC faculty after most recently working as a morning news anchor and reporter at WLFI News Channel 18 out of Lafayette. He will be teaching mostly video production classes, as well as courses on reporting, directing, and producing.

“[Conley] brings rare versatility to the classroom in that he is comfortable both with a camera and with an audience,” said Duane Stoltzfus, the chair of the Communications department.  “He’s brought some terrific ideas for developing the television and film program, including reaching out to the Goshen community.”

Conley is thrilled to be at GC. “I really feel it is an honor to have the chance to work with those who will shape the media in the years to come,” he said. “I truly believe it is crucial to continue to train Christians for the many media fields that are out there.”

The GC Visual Arts building is home to three new professors: Randy Horst, Anne Berry, and Kristi Glick join the Art Department this semester. However, none of these faces are entirely new to campus, as all have been employed by GC in the past.

Horst hails from Dillon, Montana, where he and his family have lived for the past 15 years. During that time he was teaching art at the University of Montana Western, located in Dillon. In addition, Horst taught at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and was a part-time professor at GC from 1988-1992. He has returned this semester as Associate Professor of Art to teach drawing, digital design, aesthetics, and fine arts for children, as well as supervise several student teachers in the Goshen Public Schools.

“It’s a pleasure to be working with committed and caring people,” says Horst, “Faculty, administration, staff, and students.” That includes, of course, his two student children on campus, Lisa, a sophomore, and Russell, a senior.

Assistant Professor of Art Anne Berry has returned to her alma mater for the second time, having worked for GC Public Relations several years ago. She is originally from Goshen, but moved to Denver after finishing her undergraduate studies. Berry spent three and a half years in Colorado before moving to Kent, Ohio, to complete her graduate work at Kent State University/School of Visual Communication Design, where her work focused on Environmental Graphic Design.

“I’m currently teaching Graphic Design II and Design for the Theater,” said Berry. “I’m also one of the directors of the Hershberger Art Gallery.”

Glick, joining GC as Assistant Professor of Art, echoed Horst and Berry in saying “it’s too late for first impressions.”

Glick did her undergraduate work at GC, and also worked at the college for two years as a resident director. Glick is originally from Ohio, although she grew up in Indiana, Honduras, Spain, and Bolivia. “My parents led SST for GC and worked for MCC,” says Glick, “which accounts for the moving around.”

Prior to coming to GC this semester, Professor Glick lived in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she worked as a studio artist. “ I taught during graduate school at East Carolina University and also taught private lessons out of my studio in Charlottesville,” she says. Glick is currently teaching Jewelry I and Design I.

Chair of the Art Department, Merrill Krabill, is excited to have Anne, Kristi, and Randy join the GC faculty. “They will bring new ideas from the schools where they have been,” says Krabill. “Already their varied experiences have contributed to our thinking, and their energy is wonderful.”

The GC community warmly welcomes these and the additional new faculty to campus.