91短视频 announces a new partnership with the Peace Corps Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program. The program offers financial assistance and internships to Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) who intend to continue their dedication to community service while pursuing a master鈥檚 degree in conflict transformation or restorative justice at 贰惭鲍鈥檚 .

鈥淭he Coverdell Fellows Program and CJP were animated by similar commitments to service in the interests of building peace,鈥� said Jayne Docherty, CJP鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淭he Coverdell Program supports former Peace Corps Volunteers who want to continue lives of service. CJP was created by Mennonite Central Committee peace and justice leaders to support and educate others who wanted to dedicate their lives to promoting peace grounded in justice. We are delighted to welcome Coverdell Fellows into our global network of peacebuilders.鈥�

The partnership requires that Coverdell Fellows complete substantive internships related to their program of study in underserved communities in the United States. This application-based learning encourages them to bring home and expand upon the skills they learned as volunteers. 

Mentored internships are a unique feature of CJP鈥檚 practice-based curricula and placing RPCVs into the regional community in these settings brings a host of reciprocal benefits, said Amy Knorr, CJP鈥檚 peacebuilding practice director.

鈥淭his particular group of students will bring the skills and competencies gained during their Peace Corps experience to their work with local organizations,鈥� Knorr said. 鈥淭hese skills in adapting to new cultures, developing and managing projects, dealing with language barriers, and leveraging limited resources are very much needed in our own community. We are delighted to welcome these returned Volunteers as they will continue the legacy of CJP involvement and commitment to our local community.鈥�

 Fellows will work with organizations such as Our Community Place, Church World Service Refugee Resettlement, and others, Knorr said. 

Read more about CJP graduate students and their practica opportunities from 2018, 2019 and 2020.

The Peace Corps created the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program in 1985. The first Fellows program was at Teachers College, Columbia University and the Peace Corps now partners with more than 213 institutions of higher education across the country.

鈥淭hirty-five years and more than 5,000 participants later, Coverdell Fellows programs at schools across the United States continue to provide returned Volunteers affordable access to graduate education, while also creating amazing opportunities to apply the knowledge and skills they鈥檝e garnered during service toward improving local communities,鈥� said Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen. 鈥淭hese are incredibly meaningful avenues for returned Volunteers to continue serving in the spirit of the Peace Corps.鈥�

10/4/2021

Stan Maclin GC ’01 (ministry studies), the community organizer, pastor, educator, and tireless advocate for racial and social justice in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and beyond, died Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2021, at age 67.聽

Today [Sunday] and Monday, 91短视频 honors Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an that Maclin played an influential role in helping to create and sustain.

鈥淗e was one of the giants whose shoulders we stand upon in this struggle for Justice and Truth,鈥� said planning committee chair Celeste Thomas, director of multicultural student services and senior advisor to the president on diversity and inclusion, who worked with Maclin on several events over the years. 鈥�To loosely quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he was definitely 鈥榓 drum major for change.鈥� He will be sorely missed especially during this time of the year. He would be with us on Monday if he were still among us.鈥�

Maclin鈥檚 many achievements include , creating the People’s Equality Commission of the Shenandoah Valley, and leading the charge to . He was dedicated to preserving . This summer, he organized , and to facilitate dialogue between local residents and authorities in the criminal justice system. Just last month, he spoke of in Harrisonburg.

Maclin was a well-known and respected community leader: His passing has been covered in the and .

He was also a great friend to 91短视频. To local media, he mentioned moving to the area to attend the seminary. Professor Lonnie Yoder recalls that shortly after his arrival, Maclin requested a tour to help him get to know the community. The two men spent some hours driving around Harrisonburg, with Yoder 鈥渢elling stories, pointing out key institutions and landmarks, sharing my take on the historical, cultural, and religious dynamics of this community.鈥�

Yoder calls the experience a 鈥渉oly moment鈥� for him, and it鈥檚 a story that is particularly poignant because it captures a moment of deep witness of who Stan Maclin was, how he valued learning and knowing a community, seeing with clear eyes and an open heart, and moved toward change with a deep devotion to involving and sharing with others in that radical work.

In the years since, Maclin helped to provide the same experience to 91短视频 students. He helped to start the first Martin Luther King Day Celebration on campus in 2013, and continued to open the minds of students and other 91短视频 community members in attendance at  MLK Day talks and tours each year. 

In 2018 and 2019, Maclin worked with second-year graduate students at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding on their 鈥淐ommunity Grounding Day鈥� orientation for new students. He hosted a day-long tour that explored the social, historical, economic, cultural and environmental realities of the city from a social justice perspective, said Amy Knorr, practice director at CJP.

He invited many graduate students to connect to and join organizations, movements and gatherings for social justice. In his leadership positions with Faith in Action and Virginia Organizing, particularly, Knorr says Maclin encouraged and opened doors to CJP student engagement and collaboration.

“A hero for justice has fallen,” said Professor Carl Stauffer, who first met Maclin in 1991 when they pastored and worked together in Richmond. Stauffer later worked with Maclin in the Martin Luther King Jr. Way Coalition and spoke at a number of local peace rallies Maclin organized. 

“As I often say, it was Stan who raised me up in the ministry of the Church, and the work of racial justice, reconciliation, and community development,” Stauffer said. “He was a brother, mentor and friend. He will be sorely missed by so many people around the world, in the Church nationally, and right here in the City of Harrisonburg. Stan was always focused on the local — he was a man of action, committed to social justice and community organizing wherever he found himself. Stan was determined to work for, and live into a better world. He made Harrisonburg a better place. He has left us an important legacy of justice, reconciliation, and bridge-building across all divisions in our society. May we carry on his mantle with grace and integrity.”

Below, we’ve collected a few memories from other 91短视频 faculty and staff who worked with Maclin over the years. 

I first got to know Stan when he invited me to contribute to the advocacy for the street renaming effort and I served gladly under his leadership. He invited my contributions toward this effort out of his deep respect for what he experienced at 91短视频. I, in turn, invited his involvement with planning and facilitating MLK Day of Service and Learning at 91短视频. It was a good partnership for many years. 

鈥� Brian Martin Burkholder, campus pastor

Stan was not only a community activist but I would count him as a friend. He was a member of the MLK Jr. Committee and unselfishly gave of his time and talent to the students, myself and 91短视频. He conducted tours of the Harriet Tubman museum and co-lead the Barbershop Talks during the MLK Jr. Celebration. He was dedicated to and passionate about making sure that the next generation was aware of the activists from slavery through civil rights and present day that paved the way for us to have the liberties that we have in this country. He was one of the giants whose shoulders we stand upon in this struggle for Justice and Truth. To loosely quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “He was definitely a drum major for change.” He will be sorely missed especially during this time of the year. He would be with us on Monday if he were still among us.

鈥� Celeste Thomas, director of multicultural student services and senior adviser to the president for diversity and inclusion

When he moved to Harrisonburg many years ago, he expressed a need to be introduced to the Harrisonburg community. I remember taking an entire afternoon to literally drive Stan around the city of Harrisonburg telling stories, pointing out key institutions and landmarks, sharing my take on the historical, cultural, and religious dynamics of this community, etc. It was a holy moment for me and I hope it was as well for Stan.

鈥� Professor Lonnie Yoder, Eastern Mennonite Seminary

Stan was committed to and especially active in being a bridge builder between the so-called campus and community, more broadly. He not only engaged students, but has also invited faculty and staff in various community events and initiatives as well – including the King street renaming taskforce, annual celebrations of Dr. King, and other community events. I benefited from his outreach, hospitality and bridge building within six months of my move to Harrisonburg, and know that there are others of us for whom he served as a mentor in many respects, and who have connections that predate their time in/at Harrrisonburg, 91短视频 and CJP.

鈥� Professor Johonna Turner, co-director of the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice

More MLK Day media coverage

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This was neither the end of the semester we anticipated nor the graduation we expected, but it is the semester we have completed and the graduation we celebrate, said Dean David Brubaker this past weekend to a virtual celebration for graduates from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.

Those words encapsulate the whirlwind experience of the last nine weeks, as our semester was completely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This was not the semester we anticipated, but it was the semester we completed.

And what choice did we have but to persevere, adapt, be flexible and patient, flatten one curve as we were being slung faster on an accompanying learning curve of what exactly to do with ourselves, our bodies and minds in this strange new world.

The following collection of photos and text is a snapshot of the semester, collected in real time and revisited now, for those of you who are more peripheral to 91短视频. It might help to give a sense of how faculty, staff and students responded in and out of classroom — in true 91短视频 fashion, with resilience, empathy and commitment.

Here we go (online)!

Some of the first on campus to sense an impending switch were employees in Information Systems. They began thinking about remote learning during 91短视频’s spring break the first week in March, and in anticipation, beefed up their HelpZone articles on a variety of relevant topics.

By March 12, when 91短视频 announced a move to online learning, IS had reviewed and increased capacity of all systems and equipment (including webcams, laptops and Chromebooks) necessary for online teaching and campus operations. Needless to say, they were busy.

Two graphs from Jenni Piper, director of User Services, tell the story:

First Helpdesk Tickets. The green line shows last year’s demand and the blue line this year’s.

And second, the number of daily Zoom meetings hosted through the campus account, beginning in early March.

After hosting a training for faculty March 13 and the shift to online the classes the next week, IS handled 64 tickets on March 16, something of a watermark that shows when faculty and staff began to engage with the reality of a move to remote work.

Pedagogues thinking positively

91短视频 10 days into the online shift, I asked a few professors how things were going. Some of their answers are included below. I was particularly struck by the positive perspective of veteran educator Carolyn Stauffer, professor of applied social sciences:

In reality, what we鈥檙e experiencing now is the presence of hybrid education. We鈥檝e had the chance to meet in-person for the first part of the semester and now I get to know each participant’s online presence as well. It鈥檚 wonderful to be able to build on the assets of both sides of that equation!

Solo field trips

Professor Doug Graber Neufeld‘s “Natural History of the Shenandoah Valley” course syllabus was packed full of fantastic field trips to local natural wonders and lab experiences (like taxidermy practice below).

With his students scattered in mid-March, the field trips turned into independent explorations, such as Katelyn Dean‘s below. Here she holds morel mushrooms she and her dad found in the George Washington National Forest, just one find shared during class time.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the highlight of my day to hear students who daily recount the joy they find in now recognizing the animals, plants and rocks around them,” Neufeld said. “In such unusual times, experiencing the beauty and complexity of the natural world together has been a unique source of hope for us.鈥� Read more about this class.

Conversations continue

In Professor Marti Eads’ class “Ways of War and Peace,” students met virtually with Reverend Masayuki Sawa, the pastor of a Reformed (Calvinist) congregation in Japan.聽He spoke of his perception of contemporary Japanese attitudes toward World War II and Japanese perceptions of the US and our own military actions, then and now, among other topics.

The class was slated to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. Instead, guest speaker Gillian Steinberg, an educator at the Salanter Akiba Riverdale Academy in the Bronx, and her students from the Modern Orthodox Jewish tradition met online with 91短视频 students.

This conversation and the de-brief afterwards held richness and nuance, Eads said, with several classmates opening up about their own religious experiences, choices and identities. Recognizing the common humanity, despite labels — “just the idea of all of us sitting together talking and all of us from different groups” was a moving experience, said one of her students. []

Creating community with virtual high fives

Engineering professor Esther Tian (pictured above at top right) continued teaching synchronous classes, preferring the structure and the presence of students. “It is also good for students to see each other and talk to each other before class as they would in a classroom.

We do high fives, thumb-ups (and downs) during class, we find out new features of Zoom and use them right away. It has been fun. I also found that one-on-one and small group Zoom sessions were working really well in answering students’ questions as well as advising..”

Senior Collin Longenecker, visible below Tian in the photo above and also at right, was an embedded tutor with a first-year engineering course. Though initially he wasn鈥檛 sure how Zoom sessions would work, he adapted well: 鈥淭he students pop in and out and they can share their screen with me. It is almost like I am in the engineering lab looking over their shoulder trying to help them troubleshoot the problem. I have been helping a few students that I had not helped before we went to online school which is cool.”

Read more about 91短视频 tutors at work during online classes.

The power of community to enhance learning was the top tip in a blog post titled ” by Dean (and chem prof) Tara Kishbaugh for fellow organic chemistry teachers using the same texbook. “Community Matters,” she began. Use the relationships that have already been built to help students continue asking questions and learning in small peer groups. And she reminded readers, you can still greet each student individually when they enter your Zoom classroom.

Tech fails/wins: ‘chipmunky’-ness and new relationships

Professor Mark Sawin teaches U.S. History 103, from World War I to the present, with a focus on “power and paradox.” Sawin tried to do a synchronous class on Zoom and “it rather hilariously and spectularly failed,” he reported.

“So, since then, I’ve been pre-recording all my lectures on Panopto so students can watch them asynchronously, and with that program, you can adjust my speed. At 1.5 speed, I start to get rather chipmunky… at .5 speed I sound like the television show ‘Drunk History.’ I’m not sure if that amuses students, but it certainly amuses me.”

With the lectures available at any time, he began using normal class time as an open forum where students could drop in and ask questions.

“I’ve had some wonderful 1-on-1 conversations with students that I would never have had in our normal class setting. In this sense, our ‘social distancing’ has actually provided some closeness that wasn’t there before, and for that I’m grateful,” Sawin said. “I’ve also been pleased and touched by the grace that students have extended to us as we struggle to move our classes online. And I believe we, too, are showing that grace, focusing on the learning objectives and the big important ideas, and allowing a lot of latitude when it comes to the many wifi issues, isolation stresses, and general quarantine chaos we’re all learning to live with.”

Grace and connection

That grace is something education professor Paul Yoder has also experienced. Students in his classes are pre-service teachers and as a pedagogical specialist himself, the shift to online classes provided ample room for discussions around topics related to the digital classroom.

He wrote: “The key word in my planning for weekly class sessions via Zoom has been connection. We have taken time for each of the 18 students to rate how they are doing on a scale of 1-10 and then share with the group. Last week I sent individual emails as a follow up to the few students who placed themselves on the low end of the scale. I have also been excited to hear from some of my advisees who have shared their affirmations of how professors are providing flexibility as needed.  Particularly as we recognize that not all of us have the same level of internet access, I know that living into an ethic of care is essential.”

Nancy Heisey, seminary dean, also used check-ins with her classes, which often included adult students who juggled many responsibiliities, including pastors working in ministry settings.

“We take time every period to share ‘how it鈥檚 going’ and encourage one another. Some students are struggling with a household where everyone is working on line in a crowded space鈥攕pouse tele-working, children trying to do homework, and seminary student worrying about class work and how to get a video service up for their congregation鈥檚 Sunday service.

“I鈥檝e been amazed, though, at the depth of engagement鈥攖his morning, my New Testament students each did a creative rendering of a parable of Jesus. They were funny, sobering, and encouraging!”

Hearing some of those needs led seminary professor Sarah Bixler to host an April 1 online gathering that drew 32 pastors, including 22 alumni, from four denominations and eight states. This has led to a free online series for pastors. Check it out here.

A wider global market for CJP

Innovation happened quickly during the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding鈥檚 facilitation class, co-taught by Professor Catherine Barnes and Amy Knorr. Students usually practice skills they鈥檝e learned in person by helping clients with a planned discussion, strategic visioning or group dialogue. With face-to-face options limited and practice still required, students moved online.

Above, one group produced an online strategic planning for Shenandoah Green, a local environmental group, including a circle process, a historical reflection using a digital timeline that folks could fill in, and a card sort, a way of getting ideas out into the open and then grouping them together. “Board members at Shenandoah Green were delighted,” said Knorr, who helps coordinate practice settings for CJP students.

In the midst of the pandemic, CJP also hosted several online gatherings for alumni to connect and share resources.

And significantly, center staff moved quickly to adapt the Summer Peacebuilding Institute to online classes, expedite a new hybrid graduate degree program in transformational leadership, and prepare upcoming semester classes for online delivery.

The massive disruption and accompanying move towards online learning and programs have created new opportunities, said Executive Director Jayne Docherty, especially in a previously untapped market of prospective participants who could not have afforded to travel or would not have been issued a visa in the current environment.

鈥淚n the face of the pandemic, many people are waking up to the fact that our societies have become more unequal and unjust and that we are teetering on the edge of violent confrontations between social subgroups. Some of those people are saying, 鈥楾his can鈥檛 continue. This is just wrong. What can I do? I want to be part of the solution.鈥� By moving our programs online quickly, we have helped channel their energy and impulse to help others in ways that prevent violence and address injustices.”

’12 hours ahead of our students’

As daily reports arrived into faculty in-boxes about the closure of practicum and internship placements to students, the nursing department focused on making sure their seniors could graduate on time and join the fight against covid-19.

For one cohort, that meant three 12-hour shifts at a local hospital. For others, they logged clinical hours (and their supervising professor also took calls) at a special covid-19 public health hotline.

“The faculty were meeting hour to hour, staying 12 hours ahead of the students as we were making decisions,” said Professor Melody Cash.

Eventually, a waiver allowed faculty to substitute simulation hours for live clinicals and all 16 seniors finished out the semester in good standing, ready to join the workforce.

It’s the small things…

Marci Frederick (above), director of Sadie Hartzler Library, and Professor Kevin Seidel dressed in academic regalia in honor of their senior seminar students for their last Zoom class meeting.

Congratulations, 91短视频 family, on the end of the semester we did not anticipate.

We celebrate.

She will receive a cash prize and entry in the bi-national competition with winners from other Mennonite-related colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

The annual contest, established in 1974 by the directors of the C. Henry Smith Trust, offers students an opportunity to discuss the application of the Christian peace position to contemporary concerns in an 8-10-minute speech.

Judges awarded a tie for second place to Cassidy Bontrager, a senior congregational and youth ministry major with minors in gender studies and peacebuilding from Wellman, Iowa, with 鈥� What are you bringing to the table?鈥� and聽Lydia Haggard, a junior Biblical studies major from Norristown, Pennsylvania,with 鈥淕et creative with creation care!鈥�

Two other students also competed:

• DeVante Dews, a senior liberal arts major from Lynchburg,Virginia, presented 鈥淔rom Victimhood to Empowerment.鈥�
• Jacob Myers, a first-year environmental sustainability and bible major from Archbold, Ohio, presented 鈥淧eace between Us: Shalom and Conversation in the Ohio Mennonite Conference.鈥�

Judges of the contest were Phil Kniss, senior pastor of Park View Mennonite Church;聽Ervin Stutzman, former executive director of Mennonite Church USA and former dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary; and Amy Knorr, peacebuilding practice director at 91短视频’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.

The intercollegiate competition is administered by the Peace and Justice Ministries of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). C. Henry Smith was an American Mennonite historian and professor at Mennonite colleges and the University of Chicago. He taught history for nearly 50 years at the collegiate level, and was well-known for his numerous books on Mennonite history and his particular attention to the peace commitments of the Mennonite tradition.

91短视频 has participated in the event since 2003, with the exception of 2015. 91短视频 students have won the grand prize at the bi-national level in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011.

Caleb Schrock-Hurst, 贰惭鲍鈥檚 2018 contest winner, placed second in the bi-national C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest with his speech titled 鈥溾�業s This a Bonhoeffer Moment?鈥�

The contest is sponsored by 91短视频 Bible and religion, language and literature, and peacebuilding and development programs.

During a visit to campus earlier this month, the 2013 graduate of 91短视频鈥檚 Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) 鈥� and former senior legislative associate at Mennonite Central Committee鈥檚 Washington office for nearly seven years 鈥� described a national outlook that is disheartening, to say the least:

Politicians, and the broader population, are becoming increasingly divided on issues; military spending has increased but diplomatic agencies have been left with unfilled staff positions; and the world is experiencing 鈥渁 massive 鈥� ballooning of humanitarian crises,鈥� he said.

And yet in July, legislation that FCNL helped to draft 鈥� the 鈥� passed the House 406-5 and moved to the Senate, where Sitther hopes it will be passed before the end of the year.

鈥淓ngaging with policymakers is absolutely vital to building a more peaceful, more just society, particularly in this moment in Washington,鈥� Sitther told CJP students, faculty and staff earlier this month.

He returned to CJP to speak about his current work and describe with FCNL, the largest pro-peace lobbying group in Washington D.C. Those opportunities include its Advocacy Corps, Young Fellows Program and internships, as well as its annual Spring Lobby Weekend, which more than 50 CJP students have attended.

鈥淭heo鈥檚 and FCNL鈥檚 work has deeply engaged our students in a critical aspect of peacebuilding work 鈥� advocacy and lobbying,鈥� said Amy Knorr, CJP practice director. 鈥淐JP is grateful for this partnership, and we celebrate our shared values.

Quakers were historically involved in the abolishment of slavery, and founded FCNL 75 years ago to lobby Congress for a more peaceful and just society, said Sitther, which included advocating for civil rights and other causes. Its work on conflict prevention began after Congress authorized the president to invade Iraq 15 years ago.

Back then in Washington, 鈥�preventing violent conflict was a foreign concept,鈥� he said, and so FCNL made it the focus of its lobbying efforts. 鈥淧eople didn鈥檛 realize that our State Department and USAID could design programs that would actually help work with communities to help prevent violence.鈥�

As a student at CJP, Sitther said, he learned that conflict 鈥� in particular, violent conflict 鈥� is rooted in complexity, with no simple fixes. Instead, resolving conflicts requires 鈥渂uilding mutually transformative relationships,鈥� institutions equipped with training and funding and, perhaps above all, long-term commitment 鈥� which often gets lost in short-term election cycles.

But peacebuilding 鈥渢akes time,鈥� he said 鈥� and consensus, which is how FCNL governs itself. It鈥檚 a sometimes-messy process, but it serves as a hopeful model for Sitther鈥檚 work on Capitol Hill where, he said, dialogue and conversations with people with whom he expects to disagree often exposes agreement.

鈥淓ven in the most divisive relationships that you can find, you鈥檙e going to find some common ground,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ne of our strategies has been, even where we can find just that ounce of agreement, we stake it out and make sure that we try to grow that common ground.鈥�

The passage of the Elie Wiesel Act, he said, shows the potential for progress, he said 鈥� 鈥渆ven in this most difficult political context.鈥�

Four lectures remain in the series, which will take place during each of the five sessions of the , an annual program of the (CJP).

FCNL鈥檚 Annual Spring Lobby Weekend, a four-day conference with training, networking, policy briefings, community and advocacy, is regularly attended in the and programs.

鈥淲e’re fortunate to hear from Diane about her experiences and expertise today,鈥� said CJP Practice Director , who introduced Randall and has attended several lobby weekends with students. 鈥淚 especially appreciate her deep lifelong commitment to building a more just and peaceful world and the passion she brings to this work.”

Randall is joined in her Washington D.C. office by several staff, including Theo Sitther MA 鈥�13, who directs the peacebuilding program.

鈥淭he essential work FCNL does is to lobby Congress,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are not a think tank though we try to be thoughtful. We are not a research center, though we take other research and use it to lobby. We stay focused on what we do well and partner with others to be most effective.鈥�

FCNL surveys more than 700 Friends Meetings every two years to determine priorities, such as health care, climate change, peacebuilding policy, and mass incarceration, as well as core peace and justice issues.

鈥淭he ability to work with others in coalition is essential,鈥� she said, adding that Quakers have a reputation for 鈥渉olding neutral space.鈥�

鈥淎t our best,” Randall says, “we stay open to how God is moving and how the spirit is moving among us and that means we don鈥檛 close off people who may not share different beliefs from us.鈥�

FCNL also trains people to advocate through grass-roots networks. 鈥淚n some cases, constituents can have a remarkable impact and even change their vote, but it doesn鈥檛 happen in one visit. You have to go again and again and bring new allies each time.鈥�

Randall was raised Lutheran but joined the Friends in her thirties, drawn to the core value of non-violence. She began working with FCNL in 2011, initially wrestling with the confluence of the spiritual with the political.

FCNL helps to elevate and amplify 鈥渢he voices of people who feel called to work with elected officials with clarity and commitment both for what they鈥檙e advocating for and for the long term,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here is a moral hunger鈥� people around the world are longing for a sense of justice. That can mean different things to different people, but we should be having that debate about what that means, instead of about personalities.鈥�

Upcoming Horizons of Change events

May 24 (lunch, 12:30-2:30 p.m.): Jean Claude Nkundwa MA 鈥�14 will be presented with the . Nkundwa is executive secretary of Burundi Citizen Synergy, an organization he helped to found to create joint advocacy and communication strategies in Burundi.

May 29 (dinner, 5:30-7:30 p.m.): Benjamin Douglas and Jonathan Kuttab, a leading human rights attorney and peace activist, bring diverse perspectives on Israel-Palestine.

June 7 (dinner, 5:30-7:30 p.m.): Dr. , assistant professor of restorative Jjustice and Peacebuilding at 91短视频, speaks on 鈥淟eading From Within鈥� when organizing against oppression, repression and violence. How we might draw on our faith journeys and spiritual practices in order to be formed into the leaders we long for?

June 14 (dinner, 5:30-7:30 p.m.): Kai Degner, former Harrisonburg major, speaks about his new project, 鈥淭he Listening Corps,鈥� in a lecture titled 鈥淟istening for Change: Exploring the overemphasis of talking in dialogue programs.鈥�

Tickets are $18 per person. To purchase and reserve your spot, e-mail alison.dsilva@emu.edu or call 540-432-4295 at least 4 days in advance of each meal.

The small-group skits were focused on inviting students to learn how their actions might be a result of an emotional response: how, for example, teasing Pakistani refugee Hayat Zahra, 16, about her hijab might be a result of their own discomfort in a new American culture.

鈥淭hat was hard,鈥� Zahra said later. Though the situation was only acting, her emotional response was visible to those around her. The students, refugees from Africa and the Middle East who are members of a leadership training program, were then able to talk about how words can hurt and how such hurt might cause other negative behaviors.

Harrisonburg High鈥檚 Peer Leaders program is a grant-funded project led by James Madison University鈥檚 (CISR), and involving partners Church World Service (CWS), 91短视频 and Harrisonburg High School. Funds for the 2016-17 academic year were provided from JMU’s Faculty Senate Vision Mini-Grant program.

The program began in spring 2015 with initial funding from CWS and the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

Teens are valued leaders

Though they may not have mastered English and may not realize their own influence, high school-age refugees are vital contributors and leaders within the high school community, said Rebecca Sprague, of CWS. 鈥淏uilding their knowledge about the school and community helps them be a resource to new refugees and their family members, as well as to our community. There are all different ways to be a leader, including helping to decide what kind of welcoming community the high school will be.鈥�

Self-advocacy is another goal, said Laura Feichtinger-McGrath, ESL coordinator at the high school, 鈥渂oth for themselves and their peers 鈥� recognizing they can鈥檛 change the traumas of their past, and they all have traumas, but also not allowing their past experiences to cripple them or close doors to opportunities.鈥�

Approximately 40 students participate in the program, all of whom have come to the Unites States to escape war, persecution or other dangers. Not every student comes to every weekly meeting, or every enrichment opportunity, Feichtinger-McGrath said.

Swahili speaker Kajungu Mturi, a graduate student at 贰惭鲍鈥檚 from Tanzania, and Felix Kioko, a Kenyan earning a second degree at 91短视频, facilitate the group. Rabab Hassan, an Arabic-speaking teacher鈥檚 assistant from Iraq, and Valentina Sokolyuk, home-school liaison, lends her language skills. Paige Ober, CISR鈥檚 representative, attends each meeting and planning session.

鈥淲e want to develop a rooted sense that they are a part of the community here,鈥� Feichtinger-McGrath said. 鈥淭hey have around them lots of adults with different perspectives and backgrounds that have their best interests at heart.鈥�

Learning about themselves and moving between cultures

Monthly sessions alternate between providing information about community and school opportunities and group activities off-campus.

91短视频 resources were also tapped during a fall conflict and communication training with a CJP team that included Professor , Practice Director , Mturi and fellow graduate students Diana Tovar and Jalal Maqableh, and alumnus . In a day soon after the elections, when many questions had begun to surface, the group from CJP facilitated learning about 鈥渁cting in, acting out, and acting with鈥� to help students explore their questions and strategies for engagement.

The February workshop was focused on learning how the body responds to stress and how those responses can lead to unhelpful behaviors. Gloria Bafunye, a ninth-grader from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, explained it as the difference 鈥渂etween head and heart, how sometimes you think something and your body is because of that.鈥�

, director of the (STAR) program, facilitated the learning experience. She said she was inspired by the students鈥� sensitivity, insights and questions.

Mansfield typically works with adults. For this day with 30 high-schoolers, she drew upon her first experiences in peace education with an organization called Peace Games, which involved playing games and asking questions to invite young people to learn from their own embodied experience. Mansfield offered arts-based activities, small-group sharing and team-building experiences, and joined in when a student started an impromptu dance session during the lunch break.

Both Bafunye and Zahra mentioned the lunch-time dancing as a highlight, one occasion when even the newest student, who had only been at the high school for three days and spoke almost no English, enjoyed himself.

Campus Ministries

Undergraduate campus minister began with a recognition of , including Nathanael Ressler and Rebekah York, who are both concluding their service.

Theater

Professor introduced three student-actors have been invited, based on their performances in “Frog and Toad,” to compete for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship at the Region II Jan. 12-16, 2016 at West Chester University: Christian Parks and Myriam Aziz, with Ezrionna Prioleau as an alternate. Additionally, Caitlin Randazzo will compete in stage management and Derrick Turner in dramaturgy. Vogel directed the production, which ended performances Dec. 5.

Student Programs

Joel Castanon, products and marketing manager at the campus coffeehouse, , was recognized for his leadership and values by , director of student programs. After working as a barista for a semester, Castanon moved into management at Common Grounds, where he expanded the number of products available and marketing efforts associated with the new products. He also sought out local food sources, including Mount Crawford Creamery and Smiley’s Ice Cream. Sawatsky noted that Castanon promised at the beginning of the semester to “live in Common Grounds,” and he’s lived up to that promise.

Wael Gamtessa joined 1.5 years ago and has been vice president for the past semester. Sawatsky called Gamtessa “one of those rare people who possesses both intellectual capability as well as emotional sensitivity, which makes him able to handle extensive technical aspects of an event but also to work in the role of DJ, sensing the mood of the room and responding as needed.”

University Accord

Twenty-nine students earned Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD)聽 certificates, recognizing their voluntary participation in a series of workshops on healthy conflict resolution and communication. Recognition was offered by , director of , and , assistant director.

These students include Diego Barahona, Heyrin Cha, Ana Cruz, Tae Dews, Wael Gamtessa, Rediet Germa, Teresa Garcia Bautista, Winifred Gray-Johnson, Jonae Guest, Victoria Gunawan, Hanna Heishman, Mario Hernandez, Fernanda Hernandez, Rachel Holderman, Sarah Jennings, Oksana Kittrell, Kat Lehman, Carissa Luginbill, Anna Messer, Valerie Meza-Cooper, Alyssa Moyer, Makora Nyagwegwe, Christian Parks, Louisa Quaynor, Richard Robinson, Alejandra Tejada, Delight Tigoe, Philip Watson and Brittany Williams.

Nursing

department chair Melody Cash recognized three students as exemplars of nursing students. Michael Sumner has lived out the “” of nursing, supporting and encouraging patients and peers at 91短视频. Raquel Enriquez embodies “servant leadership,” seeing possibilities and potential where others see barriers, Cash said, while showing an inspirational ability to successfully and smoothly handle responsibilities of schoolwork, her family and extended family. Olivia Mast, recognized for academic excellence, “shares her knowledge as a tutor and facilitates the learning and success of others.”

聽Center for Justice and Peacebuilding

, practice coordinator at the , recognized five students for their voluntary work in furthering peacebuilding knowledge in the local community. Graduate students Ahmed Tarik, Myriam Aziz and Jordan Detwiler-Michelson joined together to share their experiences about Syria in local churches.

Additionally, graduate student Mikhala Lantz-Simmons and Mohammad Rasoulipur, who holds a graduate certificate and is interning with the , were recognized for their CJP grant-funded project, 鈥淪tories of War,” a video compilation of 18 members of the local community talking about their experiences with and reflections about war. [News articles on both of these projects are forthcoming.]

Music

major Sarah Sutter, was introduced by , music department chair. Griffing called Sutter “an exquisite musician … an expressive, concise, and sensitive singer who understands the demands and subtleties of great music and performs with insight and maturity.” Sutter聽 tutors music theory students, ushers for concerts on and off campus, and has led the organization of the for The Boys and Girls Club of Harrisonburg. [This event is at Common Grounds from 4:30-6:30 p.m., with performances by students of a variety of music, from Christmas carols, to bluegrass to classical].

Athletics

The following were recognized for their accomplishments during the fall and winter sports season by director of athletes . “They have been given God-given talent and ability, they understand how much work it is to hone those skills, and they recognize the value of their teammates in helping them achieve what they have.”

Cross country: and ;
Field hockey: ;
Men’s soccer: , and ;
Women’s soccer: and ;
Women’s volleyball: and ;
Men’s basketball: and ;
Women’s basketball: .

Academic Success Center

, director of the , recognized outgoing tutors Olivia Mast, Rebecca Powell and Ryan Swartzentruber for their “dependable, valuable and humble support.”

Student Government Association

Outgoing senators Robert Cook, Kate Weaver, Karina Guzman, Allan Oloo, Sara Shenk Moreno and Sarah Longenecker were recognized for their service in the Student Government Association聽 by Vice President of Student Life .

The conference is hosted by the (PJSA), dedicated to bringing together academics, K-12 teachers, and grassroots activists to explore alternatives to violence and share visions and strategies for peacebuilding, social justice and social聽change.

“PJSA is an important bi-national alliance for peacebuilding research, scholarship, training and activism,鈥� says , executive director of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 . 鈥淚t is a great honor that so many CJP and 91短视频 faculty, staff and graduates will be featured in prominent conference roles this year, and allows a rare opportunity to highlight our distinctive contributions to the peacebuilding field.”

Those 鈥渄istinctive contributions鈥� include both conceptual and practical dimensions to the fields of , , , peace and justice studies pedagogy and the pedagogy of practice within the field, experiential education, reflective pedagogy and the arts and peacebuilding.

Catherine Barnes offers keynote address

Dr. Catherine Barnes, affiliate professor at CJP, will share from more than 30 years of experience working with deliberative dialogue processes in places as varied as the UN General Assembly Hall to village gathering places. Her address is titled 鈥淓ngaging together: exploring deliberative dialogue as a path towards systemic transformation.鈥�

鈥淒eliberative dialogue鈥� is a process that can empower participants to foster collaborative relationships and perceive the underlying mental models that maintain the status quo with the goal of fostering new approaches to complex challenges.

For the past seven years, Barnes has been working in support of transitional processes in Burma/Myanmar. She has worked and lived in more than 30 countries as a teacher, trainer, researcher, policy advocate and consultant with the focus of helping civil society activists, diplomats and politicians, and armed groups to build their capacities for preventing violence and using conflict as an opportunity for addressing the underlying causes giving rise to grievance. Barnes has worked with numerous peacebuilding and human rights organizations, including Conciliation Resources and Minority Rights Group International.

Focusing on education

贰惭鲍鈥檚 on peace and justice guides its educators, many of whom are sharing their pedagogical practices and discussing ways to educate future peacebuilders in the 鈥渆ducator鈥檚 strand,鈥� designed for personal and professional development of K-12 teachers, undergraduate and community educators. Themes include pedagogy, curriculum development, building a culture of peace in your classroom or school, alternative education programs, and restorative聽practices.

On the undergraduate level, professor , who leads the in the department of applied social sciences, leads a roundtable discussion for faculty and administrators of peace and justice studies programs.

, the with CJP鈥檚 , joins professor and graduate students in a session on mentoring student peacebuilders and the importance of those mentors being experienced practitioners themselves.

Restorative practices are highlighted by professors and in a 鈥渞elational justice鈥� workshop on how mindful teachers can prepare and prime 鈥渢heir best selves鈥� in preparation for inviting students into models of restorative justice. Mullet also joins , professor of education at Bridgewater College, for a workshop on relational literacy in multicultural K-12 classrooms.

Cheree Hammond, professor of counseling, leads educators in a workshop on contemplative pedagogies and the cultivation of a just and peaceful self.

Restorative justice, trauma healing, playback theater featured

The conference offers an opportunity to highlight 贰惭鲍鈥檚 unique peacebuilding initiatives. The brings together practitioners from 91短视频 and JMU, as well as local law enforcement. Collaborators in the initiative will speak: , co-director of the; education professor ; Harrisonburg Police Department lieutenant Kurt Boshart; , restorative justice coordinator at the ; and , director of JMU鈥檚 Office of Student Accountability and Restorative Practices.

Another definitive CJP program, (Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience), will be introduced in a workshop by professor and program director .

troupe co-founders and lead a workshop on playback theater as qualitative research. Vogel is a professor of theater; Foster instructs in the applied social sciences department and with CJP. The applied theater method invites dialogue and healing through community-building, as audience members share stories and watch as they are 鈥減layed back鈥� on the stage. Among other settings, Inside Out has performed on campus with college students returning from cross-culturals, among international peacebuilders and in workshops for and research about trauma and sexual abuse survivors.

, professor of applied social sciences, speaks about social capital networks as forms of resistance among battered undocumented Latinas, sharing just one strand of a .

, assistant professor of restorative justice and peacebuilding, leads a discussion on the film 鈥淰ision is Our Power,鈥� a film about black youth ending violence in all its forms. The documentary was created by four young filmmakers participating in a multi-year arts and leadership Vision to Peace Project led by Turner; the film debuted in 2008 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

And more鈥�

, professor of English, presents on life narratives and identity issues in the Balkans with his wife Daria, a CJP graduate who teaches in the counseling department at JMU. The two lived and taught in the Balkans.

, professor of philosophy and theology, explores the recent work in philosophy and science on theory of emotion.

, a new faculty member coming to 91短视频 next semester after concluding his PhD research at American University, participates several panels, with a diversity of topics including transnational solidarity and police brutality and racism in the contested areas of Palestine and Ferguson, Missouri. Seidel is a board member of PJSA.

Among the alumni presenting: Vesna Hart, Sue Praill and Tom Brenneman join a panel discussion on justice and the nature of human nature. Ted Swartz presents the satire with Tim Ruebke and JMU professor of theater Ingrid DeSanctis.

View the . Registration聽fees will be covered for attendees聽from the Shenandoah Valley who are affiliated with or sponsored by Bridgewater College, James Madison University, 91短视频, or Mary Baldwin College. For more information, click .

鈥淭he annual spring lobby weekend engages young people in issues around peace,鈥� says CJP practicum coordinator Amy Knorr. This year鈥檚 conference was divided into three sessions: faith-based activism, the issue of climate change, and techniques for effective lobbying.

All graduate students in the conflict transformation program were invited to attend and 17 made the trip, joining nearly 300 other participants from around the country.

鈥淚 was primarily interested in going because of the lobbying focus,鈥� said Dina Rubey. 鈥淚 wanted to gain some practical lobbying skills and experience.鈥�

One tip that the group learned in addressing the issue of climate change was to change the language.

鈥淭alking about climate change is a no-no because half of Congress reels back from those words. So we learned to talk about 鈥榗limate disruption鈥� instead,鈥� says Knorr.

FCNL organizers teaching lobbying skills suggested focusing instead on climate change as an issue with policy implications: what has been done in Congress and what has not been done and 鈥済etting Congress to agree that there are extreme weather patterns across the world,鈥� Knorr says.

Rubey says she also learned that effective lobbying needs to be direct and clear. 鈥淐aring about an issue is not the same as having something very specific you want your representative to do,鈥� she says. 鈥淎dvocating for the issue alone may not get the change to occur. You need to pick a very specific action you鈥檇 like your representative to take and tell them what that action is. Lobbyists are in long-term relationships with representatives.鈥� Rubey emphasized that lobbying is not a one-time strategy.

In the afternoon of the third day, the students met with the senior chief legislative officer for Congressman Bob Goodlatte, a Republican whose district covers much of the Shenandoah Valley.

That was the most meaningful part of the weekend for Mikhala Lantz-Simmons. This past fall, she worked on a semester-long conflict analysis project about hydraulic fracturing in Bergton, Virginia. Goodlatte, who supports hydraulic fracturing, is a stakeholder in the issue and she says it was interesting to hear some clarification from his office about his stance.

The students also met with a representative of Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat respresenting Virginia. Knorr says this was an entirely different experience because unlike Goodlatte, Warner is supportive of legislation that calls for bipartisan congressional action to acknowledge the science and reality of climate change.

In the end, 鈥渨e really want to see how our students can engage on a local level,鈥� says Knorr. 鈥淎 lot of our students are interested in global peacebuilding, but this is a really good way for us to engage locally and nationally as well.鈥�