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Kalamazoo College Conference Gathers Experts on Immigrant and Undocumented Youth

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2014 logo for Without Borders ConferenceAmidst the controversy surrounding the nearly 60,000 undocumented and unaccompanied youth who have migrated to the United States in recent months, primarily from Central America, international experts on immigrant and undocumented youth will convene at Kalamazoo College. Their gathering is part of the With/Out – ¿Borders? conference hosted by the Kalamazoo College Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (September 25 through 28). Conference events related to this timely topic include:

* Roundtables exploring migration and identity on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border, as well as the nature and impact of relations at that border both locally and globally.

* A daylong Think Tank on networks and support for undocumented youth and those working with them, held in collaboration with Kalamazoo’s Hispanic American Council. And,

* A workshop and performance by acclaimed performance artist and MacArthur “Genius” Guillermo Gómez-Peña, whose eclectic “Chicano cyberpunk” pieces often focus on the intercultural experience of Mexicans in the US.

Participants also will include James Roberts (University of Maryland School of Social Work and Johns Hopkins), Rudy Lozano (Chicago immigrant rights activist), and Lulú Martínez (undocumented student at the University of Illinois at Chicago and one of the Dream Nine). Local participants include Lucy Guevara-Vélez of Western Michigan University, Jill Hermann-Wilmarth and Simona Moti of Kalamazoo College, and Lori Mercedes and Adam Poole of the Hispanic American Council.

All activists, artists, students, researchers, and others interested in immigration and social justice are invited to attend the With/Out – ¿Borders? conference. Registration is on a sliding scale from $35 – $125, and group rates are available. Space is limited, and interested persons are urged to register as soon as possible. The four-day conference features discussion, workshops, a film festival and performances on important hot-button issues, including immigration and migration, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, activism and art, and urban revolt and renewal.

The mission of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership is to support the pursuit of human rights and social justice by developing emerging leaders and sustaining existing leaders in the field of human rights and social justice, creating a pivotal role for liberal arts education in engendering a more just world.

Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu), founded in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1833, is a nationally recognized liberal arts and sciences college and the creator of the K-Plan that emphasizes rigorous scholarship, experiential learning, leadership development, and international and intercultural engagement. Kalamazoo College does more in four years so students can do more in a lifetime.

Hong Kong Professors Visit K for Civic Engagement

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A group of Lingnan University and Kalamazoo College representativesThough the two institutions are 8,000 miles apart, Hong Kong’s only liberal arts school, Lingnan University, might not be all that different from Kalamazoo College. President Leonard Cheng said Lingnan aims to create students who can tackle human issues from a global perspective and gain both a breadth and depth of vision.

On June 4, 17 Lingnan faculty members visited K to learn about liberal arts education in general, and civic engagement in particular. They spent a full day with small panels of K faculty and administrators, including Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Center for Civic Engagement Director Alison Geist and Provost Mickey McDonald.

All sessions revolved around civic engagement, peer-to-peer mentorship, and finding research opportunities for students.

McDonald said Lingnan University “is looking to make civic engagement more ubiquitous.” While these professors visited various schools in the Great Lakes College Association during their 11 days in the United States, both Michigan State University and K hold a more prominent history in civic engagement.

Geist emphasized that K focuses on social justice leadership rather than volunteer service. “The focus is on social change, not charity,” Geist said, noting that the College’s philosophy rests on “students as colleagues” and giving students leadership positions to tackle complex tasks.

Despite the distance, the goals of both K and Lingnan are not so different after all. Lingnan’s motto is “Education for Service,” and President Cheng said “an education promotes a capacity to build a better world by engaging with society and those in need.” After visiting K, Lingnan aims to better connect experience with education and leadership with civics. Article by Colin Smith ’15

Lamppost Dedication Honors Emily Stillman ’15

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Emily Stillman's K classmates and friends helped dedicate a lamppost on campus in her honor
Emily Stillman’s K classmates and friends helped dedicate a lamppost on campus in her honor on June 5.

On the afternoon of June 5, friends and family of Emily Stillman ’15 gathered to dedicate a lamppost on the K campus in remembrance of the Kalamazoo College sophomore whose life was claimed by bacterial meningitis in February 2014.

The lamppost is situated on the main walkway near Olds-Upton Hall facing the steps leading to Mandelle Hall. A plaque with Emily’s name has been affixed to the post so students and other members of the campus community can easily see it as they pass by.

“As I hurry off to class or rush to meet others, I’ll be reminded,” said Bryan Olert ’15, a friend of Emily, during a dedication ceremony organized by K Chaplain Liz Candido ’00 and Vice President for Student Development and Dean of Students Sarah Westfall.

A lamp is perceived as a perfect embodiment of the bright, jovial, and vibrant character of Emily Stillman whose presence was hard to miss, according to some of her friends.

“You just feel her when she walks into a room,” said Nicole Caddow ’15. “You just know Emily Stillman is there.”

During the dedication ceremony, Olert and others took turns reciting pieces depicting the significance of the lamppost and how it conveys the memories they shared with their dear friend.

Plaque on the lamppost dedicated to Emily Stillman“When I see the lamppost, I will remember how Emily’s life illuminated those around her,” read Skylar Young ’15, a close friend of Emily.

Jared Grimer ’15 added, “The lamppost is a perfect representation of Emily’s radiant personality. She brought light and warmth into a world that can at times be dark and cold.”

Emily’s parents, Alicia and Michael Stillman, were at the ceremony with her two siblings Zachery and Karly Stillman. Since Emily’s death, the Stillmans have embarked on an awareness campaign by providing information on bacterial meningitis here in the United States and Canada. They founded the Emily Stillman Foundation to encourage parents to get their children vaccinated against meningitis and also inform people about the signs and symptoms of the disease.

“We are working to raise awareness of meningococcal disease and organ donation while keeping Emily’s legacy alive. We advocate meningococcal vaccinations,” reads the description on the Foundation’s Facebook page.

After her death, Emily’s parents also donated her organs through the Michigan Gift of Life Center, eventually helping to save at least five lives.

Story by Olivia Nalugya ’16

 

Kalamazoo College to Become Promise Eligible

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Janice Brown of Kalamazoo Promise smiles at K President Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran
Janice Brown (left), Kalamazoo Promise, and Eileen B. Wilson-Oyelaran, Kalamazoo College

Beginning in the fall of 2015 Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) students may use the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship to attend Kalamazoo College as well as 14 other private colleges that are members of the Michigan Colleges Alliance (MCA). The news was announced on Tuesday at a press conference sponsored by the Kalamazoo Promise and the MCA.

The Promise was launched in 2005 and provides a four-year scholarship to KPS graduates who reside in the district and attend KPS through high school. The addition of the 15 MCA member institutions to the 43 Michigan public colleges and universities increases the number of Promise eligible schools to 58 throughout the state. In addition to K, MCA members include Adrian College, Albion College, Alma College, Andrews University, Aquinas College, Calvin College, Hillsdale College, University of Detroit Mercy, Hope College, Madonna University, Marygrove College, Olivet College, Siena Heights University, and Spring Arbor University.

For KPS students who enroll at MCA schools the tuition and fees will be fully and jointly funded by the Kalamazoo Promise and the MCA member institution. The Kalamazoo Promise will fund at the level of the undergraduate average tuition and fees for the College of Literature, Science and Arts at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). The MCA member institution will cover any difference between that amount and the amount of its yearly tuition and fees.

Kalamazoo College Senior Performances Feature MISS LONG BEACH and THE CHAIRS

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Members of the cast of "How Miss Long Beach Became Miss long Beach"
Members of the cast of HOW MISS LONG BEACH BECAME MISS LONG BEACH include (at left) Natalie Vazquez ’17 (seated) and Belinda McCauley ’16, and, at right (l-r): Wendy Rubio ’16, Mireya Guzman-Ortiz ’17, and Marta Gonzalez Infante ’17.

The Senior Performance Series of Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College presents two one-act plays: the world premiere of How Miss Long Beach Became Miss Long Beach, (written by Alejandra Castillo ’15 and directed by Amy Jimenez ’14) and a new staging of The Chairs (written by Eugene Ionesco and directed by Grace Gilmore ’15).

Performances occur Thursday, May 1, through Sunday, May 4, in the Light Fine Arts Building’s Dungeon Theatre.

Playwright Alejandra Castillo says her play poses important questions: What does it mean to be a girl? What does it mean to be a woman? What does it mean to be a Latina?

“Miss Long Beach is a play that explores femininity and womanhood in Latino culture,” she adds. “Sixteen-year-old Angie must decide whether to compete in a beauty pageant to please her glamorous mother or continue with her tomboy ways. The play touches upon issues of gender, sexuality and cultural assimilation, and the importance of mother-daughter relationships.” Director Amy Jimenez says, “Although this play speaks to the Latina experience to some extent, it is definitely relevant to all female experiences because it deals with issues of identity, sexuality, family, and the ideology of beauty.”

In Eugene Ionesco’s landmark Absurdist play, The Chairs, the Old Man and the Old Woman prepare their guests for the arrival of the mysterious Orator, whose speech will not only be the couple’s farewell to life, but also will contain a great message for humanity. The Chairs is a comedy of language,” director Grace Gilmore explains, “that forces us to imagine a world where the meaning of life is undefinable, where loneliness is in the eye of the beholder, and where what we say is not always what we mean. When we look closer we realize this world is not so different from our own.”

Katie Anderson ’15 designed the sets for the two performances, and Michael Wecht ’14 serves as the lighting engineer.

The Senior Performance Series showcases the best and brightest of Kalamazoo College students creating their own theatre. Show times for the two plays are Thursday, May 1, at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3, at 8pm, and Sunday, May 4, at 2pm.. After Thursday’s performance the audience is invited to converse with the director and actors for The Chairs, and, after Friday’s performance, with the cast, director, and playwright of Miss Long Beach. All tickets at the door are $5, with the exception of Thursday’s performance, which is pay what you can.

A Strong Sustainability Finish

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Logo for 2014 Recycle Mania tournamentThe Recyclemania 2014 tournament is “in the books;” and Kalamazoo College finished first in two categories–the Per Capita Classic, and Bottles and Cans. Recyclemania is the annual friendly competition among 461 universities and colleges in the U.S. and Canada dedicated to promoting waste reduction and recycling on campus.

Colleges and universities competing in the eight-week competition are ranked according to how much recycling, trash, and food waste they collect. Between the early-February kickoff and the tournament’s final day on March 29, participating schools collectively recycled or composted 89.1 million pounds of recyclables and organic materials, preventing the release of 126,597 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere, which is the same as preventing annual emissions from 24,823 cars. K’s share of that success in greenhouse gas reduction is 139 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, which converts to 27 cars off the road or the energy consumption of 12 households.

Rob Townsend, facilities management, and the coordinator of K’s Recyclemania tournament presence, administered K’s participation this year a little differently than in previous years: “No advertising, promotion, or public relations of any sort,” he said. “I was curious to see how well the College would do in the tournament just going about its daily business.” In other words, to what degree is recycling and waste minimization in our DNA, so to speak. Despite the strong finish, K won’t rest on its laurels. “We have some weaknesses,” says Townsend. “I would love to see us improve our waste minimization struggle,” the number of pounds of waste generated per person. Winner in that category was Valencia Community College (Kissimmee, Fla.), generating a meager 2.87 pounds of waste per person. K finished 134th at 81.8 pounds per person.

At least we are recycling much of that waste. At 48.62 pounds, K took first in the total pounds of recyclables per person (a.k.a. the “Per Capita Classic”). In the bottles and cans category, K led the way with nearly 15 pounds of recycled materials per person.

K did well in other tournament categories. In addition to its first place finishes, it placed in the top 20 in the Grand Champion category, the Paper category, and the Corrugated Cardboard category.

Thanksgiving in April

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Logo for Tuition Freedom DayOn Wednesday, April 9, Kalamazoo College is putting the K in thanKs!

“Because tuition covers about two-thirds of what it costs to educate a K student, we celebrate Tuition Freedom Day to mark the point in the school year when tuition stops covering a student’s education and charitable contributions take over,” said Matthew Claus, assistant director of the Kalamazoo College Fund. “From this day forward, generous donors make a K education possible.”

Students will be gathering in the Hicks Student Center to write hundreds of thank-you notes to alumni, parents, and friends who gave through the Kalamazoo College Fund.

Donors are also invited to get involved in Tuition Freedom Day by submitting a Why I Give quote.

On behalf of the entire K community, thank you!

SLEEPWALKERS Author to Lecture at Kalamazoo College

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Book cover for "The Sleepwalkers"Kalamazoo College’s 2014 Edward Moritz Lecture in in History features one of the world’s most distinguished historians, Professor Christopher Clark, Cambridge University, United Kingdom. The title of his talk, “The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914,” is the same as his recent book, an authoritative chronicle that draws on new research and traces the paths to World War I in a minute-by-minute narrative of events. 2014 is the centenary of what David Barclay describes as “the primal catastrophe of modern history from which subsequent, even greater catastrophes emerged.” He also notes that Clark’s book has been widely hailed as the most important publication on World War I in many years. “The German edition has been on the top of that country’s non-fiction bestseller list for many weeks,” says Barclay,the Margaret and Roger Scholten Professor of International Studies at Kalamazoo College as well as the executive director of the German Studies Association.

New York Times book reviewer Harold Evans called Clark’s book a masterpiece. In his review (“On the Brink,” May 5, 2013) Evans wrote: “The brilliance of Clark’s far-reaching history is that we are able to discern how the past was genuinely prologue. The participants were conditioned to keep walking along a precipitous escarpment, sure of their own moral compass, but unknowingly impelled by a complex interaction of deep-rooted cultures, patriotism and paranoia, sediments of history and folk memory, ambition and intrigue. They were, in Clark’s term, ’sleepwalkers, watchful but unseeing, haunted by dreams, yet blind to the reality of the horror they were about to bring into the world.’ In conception, steely scholarship and piercing insights, his book is a masterpiece.”

Clark’s lecture occurs Wednesday, April 9, at 7 PM in the Mandelle Hall Olmsted Room. It is free and open to the public. The Moritz Lecture is made possible by a generous donation from a local family. It honors the legacy of the late Professor Edward Moritz, who taught history at Kalamazoo College from 1955 to 1988 and served as department chair for many years.

Piano Concert

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Cedarville University Professor John Mortensen at a piano
John Mortensen

John Mortensen, pianist and professor of music at Cedarville University, will present a concert at Kalamazoo College on Thursday, January 30. The event is free and open to the public.

The concert will feature Mortensen’s original improvisations of works by Domenico Scarlatti (Sonatas), Robert Schumann (selections from Davidsbündlertänze), Sergei Rachmaninoff (Selected Preludes), and Astor Piazzolla (Tangos). The concert begins at 7:30 P.M. in Dalton Theatre in K’s Light Fine Arts Building.

In addition to the concert, Mortensen will teach a master class culminating in performances by K students. Those performances will occur at 4 PM on January 30 in Dalton Theatre.

In addition to his work as a concert pianist, composer, and teacher, Mortensen performs and teaches Irish and American roots music, playing mandolin, octave mandolin, Irish flute, Irish button accordion, five-string banjo, Uilleann pipes, and Irish whistle. He leads The Demerits, Cedarville University’s premier roots ensemble, and he created America’s only college-level traditional Irish music session class.

Social Justice Artist

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Iris Dawn Parker
Iris Dawn Parker

Documentary photographer and teacher Iris Dawn Parker will serve as the winter term, 2014, Visiting Fellow at the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. Her art work and teaching focus on culture, identity formation, gender, and community.

During her fellowship Parker will present two exhibitions: “Mouride Muslims” (Wednesday, January 22, 4:30 PM, Hicks Center Student Development Gallery) and “Zulu Marriage Rituals” (Friday, February 7, 4 P.M., Epic Center on the Kalamazoo mall). The latter event will be presented in collaboration with the Black Arts and Cultural Center as part of the Kalamazoo Arts Council’s Art Hop. Parker also will participate in a Leadership Dinner and discussion linking her experiences as an artist to African identity, photography, and voice. That event, titled “We Wish to Tell Our Own Stories NOW,” will take place on January 29, at 6 PM in the Hicks Banquet Room.

Parker taught at the world renowned Market Theater Foundation and held artist residencies at the University of Witwatersrand, University of Cape Town, and Rhodes University. She is currently based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her work has been exhibited at the Museum of Africa, and she has created exhibitions in South Africa and the U.S. Among the latter was a Chicago exhibition titled “Mandela: Man of the People” that featured the photographs of Peter Magubane. Parker is currently at work on an endeavor titled Apartheid Book Project.