Activism
January 29, 2014
Our Legacy: A Conversation on Race with Lee Roy Berry Jr.
I have heard Lee Roy Berry speak on justice and race before, so I am familiar with his deep voice, confident presence, and thoughtful words. I have heard his former political science students praise his teaching. I felt shivers anticipating my interview with him. But, I noticed that my nerves were twitching not just in respect, but also in fear of the “race issue.” I am passionate about anti-racism dialogue, but I’m afraid of my own privileged ignorance. I’m afraid to say something insensitive. Nevertheless, Martin Luther King Jr. Day rolled around and I attended a spoken word coffee house...
January 15, 2014
MLK Celebrated in Annual Study Day
In celebration of the famous civil rights activist, Goshen College will host its annual Martin Luther King Jr. all-school Study Day, emphasizing the principle's characterized by King's work on Monday. Prior to the Study Day events, the MLK celebration will begin at 7 p.m. Sunday, when Goshen College and Hesston College alumnus Anthony Brown performs, "I Go on Singing: Paul Robeson's Life in His Words & Songs." The 90-minute performance features the story of an American hero and champion for peace and justice during the 1940's. On Monday morning, a community breakfast will be served at College Mennonite Church Fellowship...
March 13, 2013
Peter Yarrow to speak on social justice in Palestine
On Friday, Peter Yarrow, who first gained international recognition in the 1960s as a member of the folk music group Peter, Paul, and Mary and now works in issues of social justice through his organization Operation Respect, will spend the day on campus, collaborating with the GC community in several different venues for a “day of peace.” The day begins in the College Church Chapel at 10 am where Yarrow and co-worker Mark Weiss will give basic context for their work and discuss the motivation they have found for continued activism. The goal of Operation Respect is to help schools...
November 29, 2012
40 students join hundreds in Georgia for SOA Watch protest
On the weekend of November 16, about 40 students from Goshen College attended a large gathering outside the gates of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). The event was organized by the group SOA Watch, who seeks to see the army school closed. SOA part stands for ‘School of the Americas,’ the name that the military base had when the group formed. The School of the Americas’ name was officially changed to WHINSEC in 2001. The SOA Watch group says that the annual gathering is “the largest annual anti-militarization gathering in North America.” The SOA Watch explains that...
November 1, 2012
Students travel to Big Apple for UN seminar
Every year, the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) office of The United Nations conducts a seminar for students from Christian colleges in the United States and Canada. The title of the seminar this year was “Where do we go from here: Internally Displaced Persons, Refugees and Migrants.” On Oct. 25-27, six Goshen College students travelled to New York for the seminar, including Mohammad Rasoulipour, art and Bible and religion double major; Thy Phan, business major; Matthew Amstutz, history and journalism double major; Laurel Woodward, art major; Samita Thapa, history major; and Elizabeth Steel, PJCS major. According to the participants, most of the...
October 11, 2012
Sexual Violence Awareness Week raises shirts and consciousness
This week, members of the Goshen College community have come together to participate in Sexual Violence Awareness Week. The week of reflection is meant to foster awareness and conversation on campus related to issues of sexual violence. Sexual Violence Awareness Week consists of many events coordinated by different groups on campus. The Clothesline Project—represented throughout the week by hanging shirts with words from those touched by sexual violence—is organized by students in the Social Work Action Association. A Monday morning convocation by Dr. April Lidinsky addressed how images and advertising can reflect cultural values that promote sexual violence. On Tuesday...
March 10, 2011
Students learn from women around the world in NYC
Forgoing the option of using this year’s spring break as a chance to seek warmer weather, Sarah Dieter, Sara Klassen, Becca Yoder and Beth Martin Birky instead traveled to New York City, seeking to learn how the United Nations is involved in women’s justice issues around the world. Dieter, a junior, Klassen, a freshman and Yoder, a sophomore, are all taking Global Women’s Movement, a women’s studies course taught by Martin Birky, professor of English. The course examines gender roles in different global contexts. “Part of the class focuses on women’s unique cultural experiences and activism around the world,” said...
November 3, 2010
Correction
In the Oct. 27 issue of The Record, it was stated in the article on Anton Flores' chapel address that "Flores' eyes were opened to the ethics of international adoption: stealing, buying and exploiting children." Flores' later clarified his views on the topic in chapel on Friday. The Record regrets the error. According to Flores, some activists oppose international adoptions because of the allegations. Other international adoption agencies have even closed their doors to adoptions for the same reasons. While Flores acknowledges the ethical dilemma of international adoption, he takes no side, but proposes an ethical third way. In his article "Just...
November 2, 2010
Wes Jackson to speak on agriculture measured by nature
Wes Jackson, an activist for sustainable agriculture and president of The Land Institute, will speak in Sauder Concert Hall November 9th at 7p.m. Recognized by Smithsonian as one of “35 that made a difference,” Jackson will lecture about "The Necessity and Possibility of an Agriculture Where Nature is the Measure." There is no cost to attend. Jackson seeks to address the future of agriculture by looking at the past. Years ago, a variety of plants and insects could be found in prairies. But now in fields across North America, farmers are growing only a single crop, a practice called...
October 14, 2010
Speaker, activist Anton Flores to speak at GC
Speaker, teacher and activist Anton Flores, “a prophetic voice of justice for immigrants,” will be on campus Oct. 27 - 29. Flores will present a special chapel at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 27 and again in chapel on Friday morning, Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. Both chapel events will take place in the Church-Chapel, and Flores will visit with other campus groups as well. Four years ago, Flores left the security of his job as professor at LaGrange College (Ga.), to live in solidarity with undocumented immigrants. In order to get to know the Hispanic community better, Flores opened...
September 24, 2010
T-shirt collection for clothesline project underway
Along with pumpkins and cider, October brings the clothesline project to campus. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the first week is recognized as Domestic and Sexual Violence Awareness week on campus. The Goshen College Social Work Action Association along with PAX club are planning a number of events to increase awareness of domestic violence and recognize those who have been affected by it. Students are already preparing for the clothesline project: a collection of t-shirts that give artistic representation to those who have personally encountered sexual or domestic abuse or know someone who has been affected. The t-shirts are...
March 18, 2010
Sevigny Strives for the Meaning of Beauty in “Ladies’ Bar”
On Tuesday, John Sevigny, a photojournalist and human rights activist presented his project called “Ladies’ Bar.” In the photos, Sevigny explored the meanings of the words “woman” and “beauty.” Sevigny spent 10 months bar-hopping in Guadalajara, Mexico. He wasn’t there for the tequila or the prostitutes. He was there to photograph the subculture of female prostitutes in Mexico as a “metaphor for women around the world.” Many times, the women Sevigny photographed were paid more to sell their bodies than they would make at the only other option- a factory job. Most of these women had been physically and sexually...
October 28, 2009
Inside the Beehive Design Collective
On Friday, four busy bees gathered in an Umble Center classroom to show off a year’s worth of hard work; but instead of honey, the fruit of their labors was a massive black and white poster, and instead of flowers, their intended audience was an eager crowd of Goshen students and faculty. These “bees” are members of The Beehive Design Collective, a 100% volunteer-driven, non-profit organization formed in 2000. The organization’s mission is to produce collaborative artwork that features images symbolic to current social and political issues. Since the artwork is non-copyrighted, it can be quickly distributed to schools and...
September 30, 2009
Celebrating differences: Zoughbi Zoughbi on the Israel/Palestine conflict
When Zoughbi Zoughbi, the founder of Wi’am Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center in Bethlehem, spoke as a guest of the PAX club on Sunday night, he started with a joke. “An Israeli and a Palestinian were riding on a plane together and the Palestinian got up to use the restroom,” Zoughbi said, already chuckling. “When the Palestinian got to the restroom, he noticed the door said ‘occupied’ and he said ‘Oh, there’s an Israeli in there.’” Starting a discussion of such a serious topic as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with an amusing anecdote about ‘occupation’ seemed to be the right choice, and...
April 1, 2009
30 Hour famine takes practice
Melissa MacGregor had skipped both breakfast and lunch. She was well on her way to fasting a complete 30 hours. Unfortunately, it was March 20, a full week before the 30 hour famine was scheduled to take place. MacGregor and Lydie Assefa, both seniors, were among 154 students who signed up to donate three meals at the dining hall over the weekend of March 27 to 28. Their sacrifice supported Seeds of Hope, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children infected with or orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Student participants were asked to either find pledges, donate their own money to Seeds...