Faculty, staff and fellow students nominated the recipients, who were cited for their “significant and verifiable impact” on the university and on student life; for their contributions to developing the institution’s positive image; for substantial contributions to the Harrisonburg/Rockingham County area and beyond; for their high academic and social standing; and their embodiment of 91����Ƶ’s shared values of Christian discipleship, community, service and .

They wore gold and blue cords as they graduated on Sunday, April 28.

Blue represents strength of conviction that one person can help to create a better institution or community. Gold represents the love of spirit and yearning toward creating a better university environment or community.

2013 recipients

• Nels Akerson, a biology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Michael Allen, a liberal arts degree recipient from Fork Union, Va.
• Jossimar Diaz-Castro, a philosophy and theology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Ryan Eshleman, a philosophy and theoogy and biology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Darian Harnish, an accounting degree recipient from Manheim, Pa.
• Josh Kanagy, a psychology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Julia Schmidt, a history degree recipient from Pandora, Ohio.
• Hannah Schrock, a biology degree recipient from Kalona, Ia.
• Kelley Schroder, a music degree recipient from Leesburg, Va.
• James Souder, an environmental sustainability degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.

On March 13, 2013, the 91����Ƶ president’s cabinet approved the conflict-free resolution presented by Eastern Mennonite’s Conflict-Free Campus Initiative. The resolution states that the university “will support companies that use conflict-free minerals, specifically in the area of hardware-technology purchasing and consumption.”

Conflict minerals include: gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum. These minerals come from areas of violence and conflict, specifically the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These minerals are used in cell phones and laptop computers and can finance multiple armed groups, many of whom use violent and inhumane methods to capture areas rich in minerals, possibly facilitating more conflict.

91����Ƶ is the first Mennonite higher-education institution to sign the initiative. Other participating schools include Stanford, Duke, Emory and the University of Pennsylvania.

The Conflict-Free Campus Initiative on campus was founded by Josh Kanagy, a senior psychology major from Timberville, Va., and Julia Schmidt, a senior history major from Pandora, Ohio, in the spring of 2012.

“I would love to see this movement continue to spread and ultimately see an end to the war in the Congo,” said Schmidt in an interview with The Weathervane, 91����Ƶ’s student-run newspaper.

Original story courtesy Chris Yoder, staff writer for The Weathervane.

Rose Byler, a senior major from Goshen, Ind., won first place with her speech, “Living into the Tension: Social Services and Systemic Change.” Byler discussed how her profession can both empower individuals and tackle systemic issues.

“I challenge us to use our gifts to empower individuals, communities and policy making bodies in ways that confront systemic injustice and shift toward sustainable change. We must not forget the end goal,” Byler said.

As first-place winner, Byler receives a cash prize and entry in the bi-national competition with winners from other Mennonite-rooted colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The bi-national winner will be announced in the fall.

Julia Schmidt, a junior from Pandora, Ohio, who is majoring in in addition to , was first runner-up with her speech, “Holding Dignity in the Community of Faith.” Her speech focused on responses to difference and conflict in the church, articulating “how the concept of dignity can transform the way we live in relationship as a community of faith.”

“Looking back on my two experiences [in Ohio and Texas], I believe that dignity was the difference,” said Schmidt. “Now, I don’t think people in (my first church example) were bad people, or they meant to harm each other in the way they did. However, the church did not understand dignity, and how dignity is essential to all humans, and especially when attempting to be a community of Christ.”

Taylor Weidman, a junior from Chambersburg, Pa., who is triple-majoring in , and , was second runner-up with his speech, “Dissimilarity is Hope.” Weidman spoke about his story of dyslexia and the recognition of dissimilarities in the world.

“As a community dedicated to peace, we must not use or internalize the methods of measurement or conformity,” Weidman said. “As a community of learners and teachers, we cannot let ourselves become reduced to merely cogs in a system of compulsion…”

The annual oratorical event, open to students in Mennonite and Brethren in Christ universities and colleges in Canada and the United States, is administered by Peace and Justice Ministries of U.S.

Each speaker applied the Christian peace position to a contemporary concern in an 8-10 minute address.

The contest was established in 1974 in honor of the late C. Henry Smith, a Mennonite historian and professor at Goshen College and Bluffton University.

Other 2012 contestants

• Thomas Millary, “A Pluralistic Realm: Towards a Theology of Peace”
• Joel Nofziger, “Confession as a Restorative Practice in the Church”
• Sarah Schoenhals, “Justice from Generation to Generation”
• Jamila Witmer, “His Dream is our Command: Breaking Stereotypes through Integration”