The policy has to do with how people working with MCC talk about their host countries when they go overseas. They are to refrain from comments that would offend or jeopardize their local partners and hurt the dignity of the people. MCC also urges its workers to respect the local culture and to refuse to reinforce stereotypes.

“I agree with the intent of the policy,” said Stauffer, a major from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, “but sometimes I think MCC goes too far.”

For two months during the summer of 2013, Stauffer was an intern with MCC in Honduras, which has the highest murder rate in the world. The American media portrays it as a violent country of drug traffickers that sends its children fleeing to the United States.

In Honduras, Stauffer wrote in his blog about the different ways he had noticed violence in that country. He mentioned the dilapidated housing in Honduras, writing that “poverty like this is not unrelated to violent crime.” He also wrote about his direct experiences with violence in the country.

Before posting his blog, Stauffer had MCC staff in Honduras review it. They asked him to remove the references to the houses and the violence. “I understood about the housing because it violated dignity. But I didn’t like that they wanted to censor what I said about violence, because I was trying to relate my experiences with violence in order to break down the dominant narrative of violence,” he said.

A few months later, back on campus, Stauffer signed up for the annual C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest for students at Mennonite colleges in the United States and Canada. The student was to apply the Christian peace position to a contemporary concern in 1,500 words or less, speaking for 8-10 minutes.

Stauffer decided to write and speak about the dangers of avoiding difficult discussions about violence, inspired by his experience in Honduras. He also drew on a TED talk that has been reference frequently by MCC workers. It was by in which she decried the dominant cultural narratives.

In Honduras, MCC wanted to fight the dominant narrative that the country was a violent place. “But in this case, where I couldn’t even talk about violence, MCC had similarly adopted a single story to compensate against the dominant narrative,” Stauffer said.

Stauffer’s speech, titled “,” won first place at 91����Ƶ last March. He received $250. The two runners up for 91����Ƶ were senior major Chris Yoder and senior major Jordan Luther. The other contestants were first-year student Sara Caitlin Neubert and junior Chris Parks.

“I am grateful for students like Seth who not only are willing to serve with MCC but are also then able to begin to process that experience in an academic setting,” said , an 91����Ƶ professor who currently chairs the MCC U.S. board. She and her husband also served previously with MCC in Central America.

Stauffer’s winning speech at 91����Ƶ was videotaped and sent to three judges who work in peace and justice ministries at MCC U.S. and MCC Canada – Sue Eagle, Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz and Ewuare Osayande.

The winners were announced in late August. In addition to Stauffer in second place were Abby Deaton of Goshen College in first place and Mary Schrag of Bluffton University in third place. Stauffer received a $225 cash prize and a $200 scholarship to a peace conference or seminar.

Stauffer plans to graduate from 91����Ƶ in spring 2015. After a “gap year” of work and study in Harrisonburg, he hopes to enroll in law school.

Heishman, a junior majoring in at 91����Ƶ, was part of the of . She spent 11 weeks at in a stately old church shared by three congregations and numerous ministries. She got a taste of what it would be like to be a pastor by participating in the day-to-day activities of church ministry.

Was Heishman still intimidated by the end of the summer? “No,” she said, “I was pleasantly surprised by how well we all got along.”

“Hanna brought new energy to our church office,” said Pastor Lorie Hershey. “She values self-awareness, listening and learning, and brought that into her tasks and responsibilities, such as facilitating a weekly women’s group.” Hershey, who is a 2005 graduate of 91����Ƶ’s , said she enjoyed her many in-depth conversations with Heishman.

Three other 91����Ƶ students participated in the 2014 Ministry Inquiry Program:

Nathanael Ressler, a junior major from Mount Vernon, Illinois, was a pastoral intern at in Goshen, Indiana. “My father is a pastor, so I had some idea of what to expect,” he said. His duties included visitation, planning and leading worship, writing for the newsletter, attending meetings and even preaching. “But I found that the life of a pastor is filled with miscellaneous jobs as well,” said Ressler, a transfer student from two-year in Kansas.

Chris Parks, a senior major from Philadelphia, was a pastoral intern at in Maryland, just outside Washington D.C. He spent time with the youth in their various activities, led worship and singing, preached, worked at a soup kitchen and met individually with members. One day a week he volunteered at the . “I learned that in order to truly follow God, I need to serve on my knees, live in God’s abundant gifts and grace, and ‘waste’ my life for the Kingdom,” he said.

Evan Knappenberger, a senior major from Charlottesville, Virginia, had a different kind of experience. He interned with the peace education director of and the peace/justice coordinator of Mennonite Church USA. He helped build a “prayers for peace” resource, worked on a Sunday school curriculum, wrote web content, and interviewed military veterans who are members of Mennonite Church USA or involved in the .

“This summer project was interesting both from a veterans’ community point-of-view and from a Mennonite point-of-view,” said Knappenberger, an Iraq War veteran who is now a pacifist. “My long-term project is the founding of the field of veterans’ studies.”

The Ministry Inquiry Program is typically funded by Mennonite Church USA, the participating colleges, area conferences, the students’ home churches and the host congregations. Heishman, Ressler and Parks each received a $2,000 scholarship for application to their fall semester. Their host churches provided housing and a $500 allowance. Knappenberger’s internship was funded differently, through Mennonite Central Committee, the peace office of Mennonite Church USA, and 91����Ƶ.

“Through this program, students experience first hand what ministry is, and they test their gifts and sense of call,” said , the 91����Ƶ coordinator of the program and instructor in the .

Stauffer, a second-year major from Lebanon, Pa., delved into the dangers of avoiding difficult discussions about violence in some areas where works. “I think it is important for MCC to consider what ability they have to be subversive to violence by communicating about it in a more helpful way,” said Stauffer.

The annual C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest brings together students from Mennonite and Brethren in Christ colleges and universities in the United States and Canada to speak on contemporary issues from a Christian perspective. Winners at each school move on the intercollegiate portion of the contest for cash awards and conference scholarships.

Stauffer’s speech drew inspiration from ideas put forth in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED talk, “.” In that talk, Adichie speaks of painful experiences she has had coming to terms with others’ perceptions of her, and her perceptions of them based on the dominant cultural narrative. To her, these single stories were fraught with inaccuracy and unhelpful stereotypes; getting beyond them allowed her to more fully experience the world.

Stauffer summarized Adichie’s point by noting that one story is never enough. But ignoring one particular story among many also has its pitfalls. As an example, he cited MCC censorship of a blog post he wrote about violence he witnessed last summer, while volunteering for the organization in Honduras. MCC, he said, didn’t want to reinforce the perception of Honduras as a violent place. “In some ways, just talking about violence will reinforce popular assumptions,” Stauffer said. “But in this case, MCC had similarly adopted a single story to compensate against the dominant narrative.”

After a lengthy discussion, a three-judge panel, including 91����Ƶ professors and , and Jennifer Davis Sensenig, a local Mennonite pastor, deemed Stauffer’s speech the best of the five entered in the contest.

The judges evaluated each speaker on topic, content, conclusion, delivery, introduction and originality. After the speeches, , organizer and emcee of the event, thanked all the student participants for their courage and their insight, and expressed her relief at not having to judge such an outstanding group.

The judges awarded Stauffer the first spot and also recognized two runners up, Chris Yoder, a senior major, and Jordan Luther, a senior majoring in . Yoder spoke about cultural adaptability in the context of cross-cultural experiences, while Luther gave a speech about the challenges and social stigmas associated with accent.

Rounding out the five speakers was first-year Sara Caitlin Neubert, who investigated issues of body image and the role of the church in promoting positive self-image. Chris Parks, a junior, drew the first speaking position of the evening and made an appeal for acceptance and equality titled “Dreaming a New America.”

Stauffer will receive $250 and entry to the intercollegiate portion of the contest.

Last year’s winner of the C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest at 91����Ƶ was Emily Harnish. She placed third at the binational contest with her speech, “Lessons from the Hymnal in an Election Season.”

Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Marguiles, Time Stands Still will be staged in the Lee E. Eshleman Studio Theater at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 14-15, and 21-22.

The play follows its main character, Sarah Goodwin, as she returns to Brooklyn, New York, after being badly injured by a roadside bomb. The drama explores the relationship between Sarah and her boyfriend James Dodd – also a journalist – and the moral ambiguity of earning one’s living from documenting the suffering of others.

“The war and the politics informs their situation, as it does for our post-9/11 society, but the heart of the story lies in how they learn to cope together and how they relate to each other,” says Chandler.

In the New York Times on Aug. 23, 2013, theater critic Sylviane Gold gave an outstanding review to a Hartford, Ct., production of this play, calling it Marguiles’ “finest work to date.”

“Like [his] earlier plays, it asks us to ponder the intricacies of love and friendship and the emotional perils of professional success…. ” wrote Gold. “[It] goes beyond the personal to explore the moral ambiguities of journalism, a subject that both producers and consumers of the news media tend to avoid.”

Performances run approximately two hours with an intermission.

General admission tickets are $5, or $2 for 91����Ƶ Students, and are available through the 91����Ƶ theater department. For more information and answers about age appropriateness, contact the theater department at 540-432-4674; theater@emu.edu.

Cast:

Nicolas Custalow, a senior from Charlottesville, Va.

Chris Parks, a junior from Philadelphia, Pa.

Lauren Wengerd, a senior from Dundee, Ohio

Rebekah York, a sophomore from Bucharest, Romania

are 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12, and Saturday, Oct. 13, and 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 14. In addition, the performance will run at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 25, Friday, Oct. 26, and Saturday, Oct. 27.

The play follows the four women as they push the limits of their physical and emotional endurance and establish profound yet fragile connections with each other through the magical storytelling of the youngest of them, an indigenous woman from Chiapas.

“This play is about the people behind the headlines and statistics,” said , chair of , who is the director.

Written by Kara Hartzler, a 1994 91����Ƶ alumnus, “No Roosters in the Desert” is based on actual interviews by Anna Ochoa O’Leary, assistant professor of practice in Mexican-American studies at the University of Arizona.

Hartzler describes her work as ” …trying to portray them [the play’s characters] as multi-faceted human beings who find themselves in a critical situation and respond by being courageous, flawed, noble, selfish, endearing, and maddening—as emotionally rich as any Shakespearean character.”

Reserved tickets are $10 for adults ($12 at the door), and $8 for seniors & non-91����Ƶ students ($10 at the door). Tickets are available through the at 540-432-4582 or emu.edu/boxoffice. Group rates are available.

Cast:

Makayla Baker, a first-year student from Augusta, WVa.

Amanda Chandler, a junior from Harrisonburg, Va.

Meggan E. Garcia Sheridan, a first-year student from Wheaton, Ill.

Rose Jantzi, a junior from Harrisonburg, Va.

Joo-Ah Lee, a sophomore from Fairfax, Va.

Chris Parks, a first-year student from Philadelphia, Pa.

Morgan E. Porter, a senior from Richmond, Va.