Activism
April 16, 2015
GC women share stories
This past Tuesday, April 14, Goshen Monologues held its second performance. 65 women performed stories about bodies, relationships, sexual assault, womanhood and sexuality. The stories were collected from anonymous submissions from Goshen College women and then turned into a script for the performance. The pieces, though performed by actors, focused on the stories that were being told. Performers wore black and grey clothing and did not bow after the performance. In an interview with Ariel Ropp, communication specialist for Goshen College, Anna Van der Zwaag, a senior molecular biology/biochemistry major from Worthington, Ohio and a member of the Goshen Monologues...
April 16, 2015
Police and students discuss Ferguson protest
Goshen College students and faculty took a step towards more open conversation on Wednesday, April 1 when the Goshen Police Chief Wade Branson and Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman met with Gilberto Perez, Regina Shands Stoltzfus and six Goshen College students in the Center For Intercultural and International Education at GC. The meeting was called to begin discussion about the Ferguson Solidarity Protest that occurred in downtown Goshen last fall. “Tonight we are here to discuss what our experience was and what that means for us as people who need to coexist,” said Shands Stoltzfus, who opened the meeting with the...
April 16, 2015
Mock wall divides campus
As if to mark the beginning of the Easter holidays, Goshen College campus was fenced off, with the mysterious words “Coming Soon on Monday” painted on a small cardboard poster. The fences were strategically placed across two sidewalks, between the Science and the Administration buildings as well as the Kauffman and the Science buildings. Gates wide open, the fence held no significance as people biked, walked and jogged through to the other side. Finally, the long awaited Monday arrived. On the evening of April 6, 2015, the fence gates were closed off with two students patrolling either side. Large posters...
March 26, 2015
Disabilities Awareness Month
March is Disabilities Awareness Month. Sarah Poisson Osiro, a leader of the Disability Student Union and third-year student here at Goshen, said that this month is important to her “because it is a month [when] people with different learning styles can teach others that there are different ways to learn.” Osiro finds that working in groups helps her a lot. While she finds memorization and reading difficult, group discussion comes naturally to her. She said, “if I work with others, the sky is the limit for me.” Many are quick to group all people with learning disabilities together. For the...
March 5, 2015
GC students rally for change
“The voice to change the hiring policy is far older than GC Open Letter’s three years on campus. It’s a voice spoken by many. It’s a voice that was once silenced, which grew into a whisper, which has turned into a call,” said Stefan Baumgartner, senior and Open Letter co-leader. “It’s a voice that has spoken of love and of pain. It’s a voice that has cheered and has wept. It’s a voice that is strong. It is a voice that is hopeful. It is a voice that is brave. It is a voice we represent today.” On February 20at...
November 19, 2014
Altar And Convocation Honor Missing Students
On Monday, Nov. 4 a “Dia de los Muertos ofrenda,” or a Day of the Dead altar, was constructed in the Center for Intercultural and International Education (CIIE) office to commemorate all students who have died in aspects of activism throughout the world. Although traditionally in Mexican culture, “ofrendas” are made to represent a specific person, this “ofrenda” not only represents the many students who have died in activism, but also the 43 students who disappeared from a teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Mexico on Sept. 26. Beginning as a “News Flash” assignment for the History of Mexico class, Marcia Good,...
November 19, 2014
Conference Informs About Human Trafficking
This year, the Rotary International’s annual World Affairs Conference focused on human trafficking and its presence in Indiana. Students, totaling 240, from six local high schools attended this conference, which was entitled “Child Slavery: I Can Help Slay the Monster,” focusing on human trafficking, or modern slavery—something that can be broken down into two categories: labor and sex. Essentially, the conference addressed the issue of human trafficking, then provided various solutions in hope for improvement. The solutions include things such as strengthening vulnerable people, switching to fair trade items and simply learning more about the subject. One of the main...
November 6, 2014
Goshen Students Attend Diversity Conference
Goshen College students had a chance to explore issues of diversity and oppression at the sixth annual North Park University Diversity Conference. This year, the theme for the conference was “Building an Appetite for Diversity.” It aimed to allow students to explore and converse about issues such as race, ethnicity and gender. Attendees were offered a variety of workshops and seminars on these topics and there were artistic displays of music, poetry and theater. Students were also given the opportunity to network throughout the day. Marco Fraticelli, a first-year who attended the event, said, “The first workshop I went to...
October 30, 2014
Students Carrying Mattresses For Solidarity
Over 130 students with 19 mattresses stood in Schrock Plaza on Wednesday afternoon to stand in solidarity with the Carry That Weight movement’s National Day of Action. The National Day of Action began in response to Emma Sulkowicz, a senior at Colombia University, who began carrying her mattress all over campus after she filed a report against her alleged rapist. Her plan is to continue carrying the mattress until her alleged rapist is expelled. The National Day of Action is based on Sulkowicz’s thesis and is meant to be a form of solidarity. Claire Frederick, a sophomore, brought the event...
October 8, 2014
Students Called To Be Witnesses For Peace
Goshen College students were invited to take part in a weekly witness for peace as part of an ongoing community demonstration. Last week, Gwen Gustafson-Zook, minister of worship at Goshen College, posted an eye-catching announcement in the Communicator. In summary, it was an invitation for Goshen College students to head downtown on Wednesday to witness against the ongoing war in Iraq. Every Wednesday afternoon, community members gather to pray and support those who suffer in Iraq and war inflicted areas. The majority of the members who participate in this protest are from a group called Seniors for Peace. The members...
September 24, 2014
Goshen Students Join National Climate March
Goshen College students joined the People’s Climate March to advocate for climate action on Sunday. Students and Goshen community members, 23 in all, departed from campus on Friday at 12:30 p.m. and returned Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. During their time in New York, students joined the marchers for climate action, who passed through Goshen on Sept. 15, in participating in the People’s Climate March on Sunday and the Flood Wall Street movement Monday. Isaiah Friesen, a sophomore, found comfort standing with the many that were making their voices heard. He felt reassured by those “who recognize that there's no such...
September 17, 2014
College Welcomes Climate Action Marchers
It’s been 200 days since the members of One Earth Village set out on their 3,000-mile journey across the country to advocate and educate about climate change. On Sept. 15, over 40 members of the mobile community arrived at the Goshen College campus for the night. Beginning in Los Angeles on March 1, 2014, members of the One Earth Village community have been marching an average of 15-20 miles a day. On Nov. 1 of this year, they will reach their final destination—Washington D.C. The march was founded by the current program director, Ed Fallon, an Iowa native formerly involved in the state’s House of...
April 10, 2014
The Stories are ‘All True’
"I am an empowered woman, empowering women." These were the last words of Goshen Monologues, spoken by 35 women in a room filled to capacity Tuesday evening. The Monologues, a series of personal stories written and performed by Goshen College students, faculty and staff women, premiered in a two-hour show in Umble Center. The audience of 446 in Umble and an overflow of 19 in the Yost room, who watched a live stream, ended on their feet. Stories were told as individual, partner or group monologues, and divided into five sections, including imparity, body, assault, relationship and identity. Each dealt...
April 2, 2014
Goshen Monologues to Share Stories of Women
Every woman has a story. On Tuesday, Goshen Monologues will seek to share those stories, written by women, told by them, and for them. Goshen Monologues, a script of stories submitted and performed by Goshen College faculty, staff and student women, will make its debut at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Umble Center. Whether by group performance or a monologue, the project seeks to address the stages of womanhood, such as the experiences of gender awakening or confusion, as well as physical and mental abuse. The Monologues not only address the darker realities that society imposes upon the female gender, but...
March 5, 2014
Stories to share women’s experiences
Last year while Lauren Treiber, a senior, was in Cambodia for a Study-Service Term, she became very, very irate. Her anger began, said Treiber, when she and other female friends in her group began to experience forms of sexual harassment while in the country. “It was really hard to deal with,” she said. “I slowly started to realize that I cannot be angry about this happening in Cambodia because it happens at home and I’ve never ever said anything. It never crossed my mind for some reason that the same structures are here.” When she returned to Goshen in May...