Over the past 20 years, the cultural, demographic and religious identity of Goshen College has substantially shifted. The history of the college’s identity regarding inclusion of LGBTQ+ students and employees as well as integration of BIPOC individuals is captured in a new book from John Roth, professor emeritus of history “A Mennonite College for Everyone(?): Goshen College and the Quest for Identity and Inclusion, 1960-2020.” Lawrence Giden, specialized community engagement coordinator of the center for community engagement and former adviser for the Black Student Union, was particularly drawn to Roth’s chapter regarding Mennonites and race relations.  Giden noted that in...

By Ana Yoder • October 5, 2023 • News

Marshall King, a journalist and adjunct professor at Goshen College, shared about his recently published book, “Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael ‘MJ’ Sharp,” in Umble Center on Tuesday evening.   In the book, King tells the life story of Sharp, a Mennonite peacemaker for the U.N. who was kidnapped and killed in the Congo in 2017.    Sharp, whose death touched many in Mennonite circles and beyond, grew up in Goshen and attended Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA. He later started his work in peacemaking in Germany.  Sharp worked with soldiers who wanted to be conscientious objectors, and...

By Gabriella Klopfenstein • January 28, 2022 • News

“What does inclusion look like?” This is just one of the questions that John Roth, professor of history, is seeking to answer through his ongoing research for a book about the history of Goshen College. The book, which is expected to be completed a year from now, will serve as a study of the college through the lens of “diversity, equity and inclusion.” “The story is really about this growing pluralism that, on the one hand, the college is openly affirming,” Roth said. “And at the same time, the college is having a great deal of difficulty truly embracing this....

By Augusta Nafziger • December 2, 2021 • Features

Regina Shands Stoltzfus hasn’t opened her new book yet. She’s eagerly waiting on her co-author and longtime friend, Tobin Miller Shearer, to receive his box of copies. “Then we’re gonna get on Zoom and we’re gonna to open them together, like the nerds we are,” she said. The new book, “Been in the Struggle: Pursuing an Antiracist Spirituality,” is co-authored by Shands Stoltzfus, professor of peace, justice and conflict studies, and Miller Shearer, professor of history and African American studies at the University of Montana.  “Been in the Struggle” seeks to promote the idea that “there can be a spiritual...

By Augusta Nafziger • November 11, 2021 • Features

Four Goshen College seniors are now published authors following the release of their Pinchpenny Press books this past week. Pinchpenny Press is an on-campus publishing opportunity headed by an editorial committee of Goshen College students and faculty. Laura Miller, a writing and Spanish major, has been involved with Pinchpenny Press since her junior year, when she took on the student leadership position of Horswell Fellow. “The Horswell Fellow does organization and leadership on both Pinchpenny and Broadside [Publishing],” she said. “So my first exposure to Pinchpenny was leading the board last year.” Now, Laura Miller has released her first book...

By Augusta Nafziger • April 15, 2021 • Arts

Most people celebrate their birthdays with presents and cake. This year, Kathryn Aschliman chose something a little different. In honor of her 90th birthday, she wrote a book.  “I see this as a gift of 90 years,” she said. “It’s not a money-making venture or anything like that; it’s trying to be thankful for the good life that I’ve had.” The “good life” that Aschliman describes is one that has been intertwined with the Goshen College community since 1962, when she began her 34-year-long career as director and teacher of the Goshen College Kindergarten Laboratory.  “Do you know that I...

By Augusta Nafziger • January 21, 2021 • Arts

During the uncertain time of quarantine, Marshall King was sure of one thing: he was hungry. In fact, King was hungry enough to put together a cookbook in a span of a few months. I’m Hungry, Let’s Eat, the digital cookbook, went on sale Aug. 17. Alongside several friends, King gathered recipes highlighting dishes from restaurants around Goshen. Proceeds from the book are going back to Elkhart County restaurants. King, adjunct professor of communications at Goshen College, and director of communications and marketing for the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, is a lifelong food lover who felt a need to...

By Gabriella Klopfenstein • September 3, 2020 • Features

For CC Lilford, storytelling thrives in a multitude of mediums. The film production and creative writing double major also has a minor in theater, which recently received its capstone in the form of a staged reading of Lilford’s latest one-act play, “Ray Gun Blues.” Lilford will also be a part of the upcoming senior film showcase in December. However, one of their greatest labors of love will soon be delivered in the form of a book from Goshen College’s Pinch Penny Press, entitled “Temple to the Alien Gods.” Read on to hear more about what makes science fiction writing so...

By Olivia Smucker • November 29, 2019 • Arts

At a release party Friday, Feb. 15, two Goshen College students– Elsa Lantz and Christi Sessa — will release their Pinchpenny Press books. Pinchpenny Press is a publishing opportunity on campus that publishes chapbooks written by GC students, faculty and staff. For both students, the chapbook serves as their senior writing practicum. Elsa Lantz, a senior double major in writing and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), has collected short stories and prose poetry that she has written while at Goshen College. This book has two sections: Fragments of Reality and Figments of the Imagination. “I really like...

By Emily Cummings • February 16, 2019 • Arts

Shannan Martin pulled her door open quickly, revealing a sunny living room and the kitchen that was featured in Midwest Living. She stood tall and lanky in jeans and a cardigan- the beautiful but well lived in vibe of her house reflected in her outfit. She gestured to the coat rack and says, “You don’t need to worry about taking off your shoes. We don’t worry about that here.” With her children–Calvin, Ruby, Silas–fresh out of the house for the day, Martin offered a glass of water and took a seat on the couch. She mentioned the walk to Chamberlain...

By Katie Hurst • October 5, 2017 • Features

Jessica Baldanzi, associate professor of English, has a unique passion: comic books and graphic novels. Her affection for this form of creativity started in her childhood with works like Betty and Veronica and Richie Rich. However, she became seriously invested in comics and graphic novels during graduate school at Indiana University Bloomington. “I was a student assistant for Susan Gubar, a feminist scholar, and part of her syllabus was Art Spiegelman’s Maus,” Baldanzi said. “That was the first time I was like, ‘Wow, this is doing something really powerful that books don’t.’ Once you get into it, there’s really no...

By Marris Opsahl • February 9, 2017 • Features

While this might sound like just another variation of the age-old phrase, it is actually the title of a new book, recently published by Goshen alum, Phil Gerigscott. The book is a short autobiography about his journey with Lyme disease and covers the ins and outs of his treatment with humor, optimism and word play. Gerigscott graduated from Goshen in 2014, but his journey with Lyme disease began two years prior. Gerigscott unknowingly contracted Lyme disease through a tick bite during the summer of 2012 and spent the next two years dealing with symptoms and looking for a diagnosis. Originally...

By Lydia Good • December 3, 2015 • Features

In April, Campus Pastor Bob Yoder published the book “Helping Youth Grieve: The Good News of Biblical Lament.” This past week during Goshen’s First Friday, he held a book signing at Better World Books. The following interview explores his book, inspiration and process. Q: How was the book signing last Friday? A: It was good! It was fun to be able to see people, talk to people, make people aware. Q: How long did it take you to write the book? A: A long time. There’s phases. This is like 8 years. However, the bulk of the book is the...

By Christi Sessa • September 10, 2015 • Features

This Tuesday, March 31, three more Pinchpenny Press chapbooks were released to the public. One of these was the award-winning Red Cents, the college’s literary arts magazine comprised of short stories, poems, and art, edited by seniors Kate Yoder and Hayley Brooks. The other two were works from Kolton Nay, senior English writing major and TESOL minor; and Hayley Brooks, senior English writing major. Tuesday’s release party was a chance for more student work to be recognized. This is Red Cents’ tenth volume, comprised of selections by students from all disciplines across campus. Students were encouraged to submit works throughout...

By Armarlie Grier • April 2, 2015 • Arts

On Tuesday, Goshen College’s Pinchpenny Press released three student chapbooks at a party held in the Koinonia Room of the Church-Chapel. To a full room, six students read excerpts from the books, and then sold and signed copies for the public. Pinchpenny Press publishes chapbooks for students, faculty and friends of Goshen College. The program began in 1969 and has since produced 188 books. Dominique Chew, a senior English major, wrote a book entitled “The Meaning of Grace,” which features poetry and prose centering around themes of race and her experiences on Study-Service Term in Senegal this past summer. “I...

By Drea Mast • March 19, 2015 • Arts