Events Archives - Page 24 of 38

College Celebrates Honors Day

Posted on October 28, 2016March 23, 2022

Honors Day soloist Lauren Landman and President Jorge Gonzalez

Kalamazoo College Family Weekend served as backdrop for the College’s annual Honors Day convocation. More than 250 students were recognized for excellence in academics and leadership in six divisions: Fine Arts, Foreign Languages, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences and Physical Education. Recipients of prestigious scholarships were recognized as were members of national honor societies and students who received special Kalamazoo College recognition awards. In addition, student athletes and teams who have won Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association awards were feted. The students who received awards or recognition are listed below.

FINE ARTS DIVISION

THE BRIAN GOUGEON PRIZE IN ART, awarded to a sophomore student who, during his or her first year, exhibited outstanding achievement and potential in art.
Kaiya Herman-Hilker
Qynce Chumley

LILLIAN PRINGLE BALDAUF PRIZE IN MUSIC, awarded to an outstanding music student.
John Bowman
Christopher Coburn
Matthew Peters
Madeline Lauver

COOPER AWARD for a junior or senior showing excellence in a piece of creative work in a theatre arts class: film, acting, design, stagecraft, puppetry, speech.
Quincy Crosby

THEATRE ARTS FIRST-YEAR STUDENT AWARD, given to a sophomore for outstanding departmental efforts during the first year.
Kate Kreiss
Robert Davis
Maren Prophit
Louise Thomas

FOREIGN LANGUAGES DIVISION

LeGRAND COPLEY PRIZE IN FRENCH, awarded to a sophomore who, as a first-year student, demonstrated the greatest achievement in French.
Lauren Arquette
Danny Horwitz

HARDY FUCHS AWARD, given for excellence in first-year German.
Emma Eisenbeis

MARGO LIGHT AWARD, given for excellence in second- or third-year German.
Eric Thornburg

ROMANCE LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT PRIZE IN SPANISH, awarded for excellence in the first year in Spanish.
Kate Kreiss
Daniel Cho

CLARA H. BUCKLEY PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN LATIN, awarded to an outstanding student of the language of the ancient Romans.
Emma Peters

CLASSICS DEPARTMENT PRIZE IN GREEK, awarded to an outstanding student in the language of the ancient Greeks.
Brittany Jones

PROVOST’S PRIZE IN CLASSICS, awarded to that student who writes the best essay on a classical subject.
Danielle Gin

HUMANITIES DIVISION

O.M. ALLEN PRIZE IN ENGLISH, given for the best essay written by a member of the first-year class.
Kate Kreiss

JOHN B. WICKSTROM PRIZE IN HISTORY, awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in history.
Mackenzie Callahan

L.J. AND EVA (“GIBBIE”) HEMMES MEMORIAL PRIZE IN PHILOSOPHY, awarded to that sophomore who, in the first year, showed the greatest promise for continuing studies in philosophy.
Katherine Bennett
Garrett Sander

NATURAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS DIVISION

WINIFRED PEAKE JONES PRIZE IN BIOLOGY, awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in biology.
Min Soo Kim
Cydney Martell
Maggie Smith

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY PRIZE, awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in chemistry.
Meghan Horal

FIRST-YEAR CHEMISTRY AWARD, awarded to a sophomore student who, during the first year, demonstrated great achievement in chemistry.
Anthony Diep
Nicholas Ludka

LEMUEL F. SMITH AWARD, given to a student majoring in chemistry, pursuing the American Chemical Society approved curriculum, and having at the end of the junior year the highest average standing in courses taken in chemistry, physics and mathematics.
Collin Steen

COMPUTER SCIENCE PRIZE, awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in computer science.
Hans Wieland

FIRST-YEAR MATHEMATICS AWARD, given annually to the sophomore student who, during the first year, demonstrated the greatest achievement in mathematics.
Dahwi Kim
Allegra Allgeier

THOMAS O. WALTON PRIZE IN MATHEMATICS, awarded to a member of the junior class for excellence in the work of the first two years in mathematics.
Abhay Goel

COOPER PRIZE IN PHYSICS, given for excellence in the first year’s work in physics.
Kayla Park
Ricardo DelOlmo-Parrado

SOCIAL SCIENCES DIVISION

DEPARTMENTAL PRIZE IN ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGY, awarded for excellence during the first and/or second year’s work.
Paige Tobin
Meghan Horal
Hannah Muscara
Adam Edery
Benjamin Smith

C. WALLACE LAWRENCE PRIZE IN ECONOMICS, awarded annually to a economics student who has done outstanding work in the Department of Economics and Business during the sophomore year.
Maria Franco
Hannah Kline
Logan Smith

C. WALLACE LAWRENCE PRIZE IN BUSINESS, awarded annually to a business student who has done outstanding work in the Department of Economics and Business during the sophomore year.
Cody Colvin
Jacob Wasko
Alex White

IRENE AND S. KYLE MORRIS PRIZE, awarded for excellence in the first year’s courses in the Department of Economics and Business.
Christopher Coburn
Rachel Frank
Evelyn Wagner

WILLIAM G. HOWARD MEMORIAL PRIZE, awarded for excellence in any year’s work in political science.
Lauren Arquette

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY FIRST-YEAR STUDENT PRIZE, awarded for excellence in the first year’s work in psychology.
Michelle Alba

MARSHALL HALLOCK BRENNER PRIZE, given by the family and friends in memory of Marshall Hallock Brenner, class of 1955, to be awarded to an outstanding junior for excellence in the study of psychology.
Kyle Hernandez

PHYSICAL EDUCATION DIVISION

DIVISION OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION PRIZE, awarded to those students who, as first-year students, best combined leadership and scholarship in promoting athletics, physical education and recreation.
Jordan Wiley
Amanda Moss
Cheyenne Allyn-White

MAGGIE WARDLE PRIZE, awarded to that sophomore woman whose activities at the College reflect the values that Maggie Wardle demonstrated in her own life. The recipient will show a breadth of involvement in the College through her commitment to athletics and to the social sciences and/or community service.
Malak Ghazal

COLLEGE AWARDS

GORDON BEAUMONT MEMORIAL AWARD, awarded to the student who displays qualities of selflessness, humanitarian concern and a willingness to help others, as exemplified in the life of Gordon Beaumont.
Sarah Bragg
Mireya Guzman-Ortiz

HENRY AND INEZ BROWN PRIZE, awarded in recognition of outstanding participation in the College community.
Sidney Wall

VIRGINIA HINKELMAN MEMORIAL AWARD, awarded to a student who displays a deep concern for the well-being of children, as demonstrated through career goals in the field of child welfare.
Moises Hernandez

HEYL SCHOLARS – CLASS OF 2020

Taylor Ashby
Kento Hirakawa
Matthew Krinock
Samuel Maddox
Shukrani Nsenga
Michael Orwin
Marjorie Wolfe
Julie Zabik

POSSE SCHOLARS – CLASS OF 2020

Iffat Chowdhury
Fabien Debies
Neelam Lal
Madisyn mahoney
Israel Mazas
Joseph Ney-Jun
Melissa Pasillas
Cesar Soria
Gabriel Ugarte
Raphaela Varella

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLAR – CLASS OF 2020

John Patton

ALPHA LAMBDA DELTA – CLASS OF 2019

Alpha Lambda Delta is a national honor society that recognizes excellence in academic achievement during the first college year. To be eligible for membership, students must earn a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 and be in the top 20 percent of their class during the first year.

Lauren Arquette
Meredith Ashton
Max Aulbach
Katherine Bennett
Kevin Bhimani
Emily Boyle
Moly Brueger
Mackenzie Callahan
Tapiwa Chikungwa
Heeseong Cho
Jennifer Cho
Christopher Coburn
Ricardo DelOlmo-Parrado
Anthony Diep
Emma Eisenbeis
McKinzie Ervin
Alex Fairhall
Rachel Frank
Ian Freshwater
Sarah George
Natalie Gratsch
Claire Greening
Meghan Horal
Sadie Jackson
Min Soo Kim
Mackenzie Landman
Madeline Lauver
Hyunyn Lim
Sara Lonsberry
Nicholas Ludka
Cydney Martell
Abigail McDonough
Jacob Mooradian
Emma Mullenax
Kayla Park
Andrew Parsons
Cecilia Ringo
Skylar Rizzolo
Scott Roberts
Timothy Rutledge
Austin Smith
Benjamin Smith
Margaret Smith
Natalie Thompson
Evenly Wagner
Ailih Weeldreyer

ENLIGHTENED LEADERSHIP AWARDS

ARCUS CENTER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE LEADERSHIP
Donovan Williams

CREATIVE EXPRESSION IN JOURNALISM
Emiliana Renuart
Maia Taylor

CREATIVE EXPRESSION IN MUSIC
Anna Christinidis
Liam Fries
Joshua Gibson
Kathryn Martin
Boemin Park
Orly Rubinfeld

CREATIVE EXPRESSION IN VISUAL ARTS
Georgie Andrews
Brianna Burnell
Lizi Chinchilakashvili
Nutsa Chinchilakashvili

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Lakshya Choudhary
Shiva Sah

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM AND SUSTAINABILITY
Aiden Voss
Madeline Ward

MICHIGAN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (MIAA) AWARDS

The following Hornet teams earned the 2015-2016 MIAA Team GPA Award. Team members achieved a 3.3 or better grade point average for the entire academic year.

Men’s Golf
Men’s Soccer
Men’s Tennis
Women’s Basketball
Women’s Golf
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Volleyball

MIAA ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL

The MIAA each year honors students at member colleges who achieve distinction on the classroom and in athletic competition. Students need to be a letter winner in a varsity sport and maintain at minimum 3.5 grade point average for the entire school year.

Michael Allen
Kelsey Adamski
Ryan Andrusz
Elizabeth Arellano
Lauren Arquette
Alberto Ayala
Sonal Bahl
Victoria Beehler
Kennedy Boulton
Riley Boyd
Allie Brodsky
Molly Brueger
Thomas Bryant
Hayley Buckhout
Matthew Burczyk
Janice Burnett
Alex Cadigan
Kathryn Callaghan
Olivia Cares
Charlie Carson
Katherine Cebelak
Madeleine Chilcote
Cody Colvin
Anthony Convertino
Anna Dairaghi
Christina Dandar
Elan Dantus
Sabrina Dass
Eric De Witt
Ricardo DelOlmo-Parrado
Dana DeVito
Cecilia DiFranco
Mikayla Doepker
Guillermo Dominguez Garcia
Alivia DuQuet
Erin DuRoss
John Dynes
Charles Edick
Emma Eisenbeis
Rachel Epstein
Angelia Evangelista
Kevin Ewing
Andrew Feeley
George Fishback
Matthew Fitz
Chris Francis
Maria Franco
Ian Freshwater
Brett Garwood
Sarah George
Camille Giacobone
Emily Good
Evan Gorgas
Monica Gorgas
Kyle Hahn
Griffin Hamel
Jordan Henning
Kaiya Herman-Hilker
Kyle Hernandez
Samantha Hicks
Megan Hoinville
Shelby Hopper
Allia Howard
Robert Hudson
Nicole Huff
Julia Hulbert
Jordan Jabara
Clare Jensen
Claire Kalina
Spencer Kennedy
Kelsey Kerbawy
Benjamin Kileen
Dahwi Kim
William Kirchen
Hannah Kline
Emily Kozal
Stefan Leclerc
Da Bin Lee
Jacob Lindquist
Jordan Loredo
Nick Ludka
Megan Malish
Sarah Manski
Nicholas Marsh
Cydney Martell
Mallory McClure
Alexander McDonnell
Thomas McLravy
Madison Moote
Christopher Muir
Victoria Najacht
Jonathan Nord
Skyler Norgaard
Mackenzie Norman
Andrew Novetsky
Michael Oravetz
Alexandria Oswalt
Dylan Padget
Dana Page
James Paprocki
Bradley Popiel
Nicole Prentice
Megan Riley
Phillip Ritchie
Scott Roberts
Sophie Roberts
William Roberts
Rebecca Rogers
Anna Roodbergen
Keigan Ryckman
Matthew Ryder
Mason Sarosi
Ashley Schiffer
Grady Schneider
Eleanor Schodowski
Aaron Schwark
Cameron Schwartz
Jacob Scott
Lauren Seroka
Sharif Shaker
Claire Slaughter
Grace Smith
Kathleen Sorenson
Sophia Spencer
Vethania Stavropoulos
Mira Swearer
Lily Talmers
Alexander Townsend
Lydia Turke
Elizabeth Tyburski
Kaela Van Til
David Vanderkloot
Jacob Waier
Kyra Walenga
Jacob Wasko
John Wehr
Alex White
Joshua Whitney
Hans Wieland
Jordan Wiley
Madeline Woods
Sarah Woods
Brent Yelton
Matthew Zhiss

Kalamazoo College to Present ‘Rocky Horror Show’

Posted on October 27, 2016March 23, 2022

Nearly 100 Kalamazoo College students, participating as cast members and crew, will present “The Rocky Horror Show” Nov. 3-6 at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St., in Kalamazoo.

Rocky Horror Show Poster — Kalamazoo College will present “The Rocky Horror Show” Nov. 3-6 at the Nelda K. Balch Festival Playhouse.

The stage production of this cult classic, directed by visiting instructor Jon Reeves, tells a story about Brad and Janet, a newly engaged couple, who get stuck with a flat tire during a storm and discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank N. Furter, a transvestite alien scientist.

Brad and Janet meet many characters through dances and rock songs as Frank N. Furter unveils his latest creation, a muscular man named Rocky. The production is a satirical tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies from the 1930s through the early 1970s. Please note there is mature subject matter and language.

The shows start at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 3-5 and 2 p.m. Nov. 6. There’s also a midnight showing planned for Nov. 4.

Kalamazoo College students, faculty and staff are admitted free with their school ID. The general public may call the playhouse box office at 269-337-7333 for tickets. Reservations are encouraged.

For more information, visit the Festival Playhouse website at kzoo.edu/festivalplayhouse.

“Without Borders” Conference Imagines World Where All Life May Thrive

Posted on October 27, 2016March 23, 2022

The tension between what is politically possible under the world’s current political and economic systems and what is ecologically necessary exposes an urgent need for change, said journalist and activist Naomi Klein, keynote speaker for the conference, “Without Borders, Post-Oppression Imaginaries and Decolonized Futures.” The conference was sponsored by the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College and attracted several hundred activists and social justice experts from across the country.

According to Klein, even though the recent Paris climate change agreement looked like the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era, the treaty is neither legally binding nor sufficient in its goals to avert ecological disaster.

“Fossil fuel frontiers have to be closed if we have any hope of a future,” said Klein. “Politicians have absolutely no plan to do this.”

Adequately addressing climate change has failed since the late 1980s, emasculated by a neoliberalist interpretation of capitalism that promotes privatization, fiscal austerity, deregulation, free trade and reductions in government spending to enhance the public sector. Such policies have created in people a profound sense of hopelessness about climate change, said Klein.

“We are told that selfishness and short-sightedness is part of human nature, which prevents us acting,” said Klein. “This is not true and it steers us away from an analysis of our system. In fact, the fight for survival is human nature.”

Many local, grassroots groups are advocating steps to address climate change because they see the issue’s connection to an unjust economic system that is failing for a vast majority of people all over the planet, she added.

Klein challenged the audience to work for “climate justice” by reversing the “extractivist” point of view of the Earth and promoting the “caretaking” of one another, an ethos that indigenous people advocate.

“It’s not just ‘energy democracy’ but ‘energy justice’ that we need,” said Klein. “This leads to clean energy projects and jobs.”

She also emphasized that service work like nursing, child care, public interest media should be redefined as climate work that sets out to create a “caring and repairing economy.”

“We need to embed justice in every aspect of our lives,” said Klein. “The people are hungry for transformational change, and we have to go for it on all fronts.”

The conference focused on four related themes: Afrofuturism, Decolonized Knowledge, Sustainable Futures, and Next Systems.

Text by Olga Bonfiglio; conference photo by Susan Andress

K to Dedicate Batts Pavilion at Anderson Arboretum

Posted on October 20, 2016March 23, 2022

A new multi-purpose structure for people who use Kalamazoo College’s 140-acre Lillian Anderson Arboretum will be dedicated at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the arboretum.

Oxen haul logs for Batts Pavilion — In fall 2015, oxen hauled 30 logs of red pine harvested from the Lillian Anderson Arboretum to be used in constructing the new Batts Pavilion, which will be dedicated Tuesday, Oct. 25.

The Dr. H. Lewis Batts, Jr. and Jean M. Batts Pavilion is named for two Kalamazoo College alumni who had a significant impact on natural education in Kalamazoo and beyond.

A generous grant from the Irving S. Gilmore Foundation enabled the construction of the off-grid Batts Pavilion and other infrastructure improvements including an accessible trail and an improved driveway and parking lot.

Kalamazoo College Biology Professor Binney Girdler serves as the arboretum’s faculty director and was active in its design. Girdler said she expects this to be a transitional year where she and others explore uses of the Batts Pavilion to enhance users’ experience of the arboretum.

“A main goal is to enhance our ability to fulfill the mission of the arboretum: to provide access to nature for members of the college community as well as the larger community,” Girdler said. “Part of the pavilion is open air so it will always be available to visitors. The other part is enclosed with one room being large enough for a class and two rooms for storage.”

The Batts Pavilion is due south of the Anderson Arboretum parking lot, far enough from M-43 that road noise is minimal. It is also situated where a clearing had been so few trees had to be cut down. The structure’s main support beams are made of red pine, which were harvested from the arboretum and moved to the pavilion’s construction site by oxen so heavy machinery would not be needed.

“The pavilion provides a tiny bit of civilization in the middle of the woods, and it’s a space to gather in inclement weather,” Girdler said. “We envision use by biology and chemistry field labs, as well as humanities and arts classes. Through these courses and in their extracurricular activities, our students can build partnerships with community groups to help connect more people to nature; the new parking area will allow a K-12 school bus to drop off kids for an exploration of the woods or wetlands.”

Roads Back Home

Posted on September 16, 2016March 23, 2022

Alumni home for Homecoming 2015 reconnect with Professor Emeritus of Mathematics Jeff Smith.

May the wind be at your back during your journey “home” to Homecoming 2016–October 14-16. Registration is open (with the schedule posted), and more than 300 persons plan to attend as of this writing (September 16). And why not! The autumn weekend is packed with events for all (and all ages).

Among the highlights:

Story Zoo at the Cavern Fire Circle (next to Stetson Chapel). Everyone has a favorite K story, or a S.O.B. in the closet. All alumni, students, faculty and staff are invited to stop by, enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and record your favorite K memory. All recorded stories will be sent to the College Archives as well as being available for future K publications. Individual or group stories are welcome!

The Alumni Association Awards Ceremony and Dessert Reception in Dalton Theatre. The event includes honors for distinguished achievement and distinguished service as well as new inductees into the athletics Hall of Fame. Of special note: Professor Emeritus of Biology Paul Sotherland will receive the Weimer K. Hicks Award.

And speaking of opportunities to reconnect with faculty, make sure Saturday’s departmental receptions make your calendar (see photo). It’s your chance to catch up with current and emeriti faculty in the Hicks Center.

It’s likely you know your alma mater has a new president (the institution’s 18th): Jorge Gonzalez. You can meet him and his wife (K alumnae Suzie (Martin) Gonzalez ’83) at an open house in the Kalamazoo College Field House Hornet Suite.

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry finalist Diane Seuss ’78 will read from her most recent collection of poems, Four-Legged Girl (Graywolf Press, 2015). Di is a longtime professor of English at K and her readings are unforgettable. And you’ll be able to purchase a copy of Four-Legged Girl at the Kalamazoo College Bookstore.

Professor of Chemistry Regina Stevens-Truss will discuss the ongoing Science and Social Justice project, work that has engaged some of the best minds in the country since 2011. Project collaborators include the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, Harvard Medical School, the SENCER group and Massachusetts General Hospital. What social justice questions should be explicit in all scientific research and STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)? Help us come up with ideas.

On Sunday join Binney Girdler, associate professor of biology and director of the Lillian Anderson Arboretum, for a tour of “the Arb,” 140 acres of marsh, meadow, pine plantation and second-growth deciduous forest in Oshtemo Township. Not only is it a site for active research and ecological monitoring, it’s a grand place for a Sunday stroll. And it features the College’s brand new off-the-grid education pavilion named after Dr. H. Lewis Batts, Jr. ’43 and Jean M. Batts ’43. You gotta see it!

And these events are just a few of the highlights. Register now, and come home for Homecoming.

Convocation 2016

Posted on August 26, 2016March 23, 2022

Kalamazoo College kicks off the 2016-17 academic year on Wednesday September 7 at 3 p.m. with its annual opening convocation ceremony for new students ready to begin their liberal arts adventure.

The ceremony will take place on the campus Quad and be available via live streaming. In case of rain, the ceremony will move into Stetson Chapel.

President Jorge Gonzalez, Provost Michael McDonald, Dean of Students Sarah Westfall, Chaplain Elizabeth Candido ’00, faculty, staff, and student leaders will welcome new students and their families. Jeffrey D. Hsi ’83, Ph.D., J.D., will deliver the keynote address. Jeff is a shareholder at the intellectual property law firm of Wolf Greenfield, and his career both at the bench and at the bar testifies to the power and versatility of the K-Plan.

K will welcome 354 first-year students (including 27 matriculating international students), 11 transfer students, and 24 visiting international students. New students come from 24 states within the U.S., including Alaska, Maine, Florida and California, and from 22 countries including, Japan, Ecuador, Greece, Vietnam, Nepal and Senegal. Students of color from the U.S. make up more than 30 percent of the incoming class. Fifteen percent of the incoming class will be the first in their families to attend college.

The class of 2020 is outstanding in many ways. About 11 percent achieved state honors in academics, athletics or both. Forty-two percent participated in one or more sports in high school, and 28 percent of those served as team captains. Fifteen percent of the class served in student government, and 10 students were their class presidents. Thirty-two percent participated in music (seven of them garnering state honors). Ninety-one percent took college course work during high school, and 84 percent of the class did volunteer work in civic organizations and social justice causes. Welcome, Kalamazoo College class of 2020!

2016 With/Out ¿Borders? conference at Kalamazoo College continues registration, and announces participants, performances and community partners

Posted on July 7, 2016April 10, 2023

Kalamazoo College officials announced today applications remain open to attend the 2016 With/Out ¿Borders? Conference hosted by the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) on the K campus in Kalamazoo, Mich., Oct. 20-23.

With/Out ¿Borders? features a panel of distinguished participants, including actor and writer Daniel Beaty, American studies scholar and social movements historian Christina Heatherton, journalist and author Naomi Klein, and New Orleans poet and singer Sunni Patterson.

Naomi Klein [photo credit Kourosh Keshiri]

“This conference brings together people whose work envisions an imaginative, robust and just future,” said ACSJL Academic Director Lisa Brock. “We invite conversations across disciplines from American and international academics, writers, artists and activists on the front lines of climate change, peace, food justice, human rights and more.”

According to Brock, Naomi Klein will deliver a conference keynote presentation and participate in panel discussions. Klein is an award-winning journalist, syndicated columnist and author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Published worldwide in 2007, Shock has more than a million copies in print in 30 languages. Her critically acclaimed new book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, was a 2014 instant bestseller now being translated into more than 20 languages. A documentary film based on the book will be shown during the conference.

Also during the Conference, Sunni Patterson will perform a spoken word/poetry piece, Christina Heatherton will discuss and sign copies of her new book, Policing the Planet, and Daniel Beaty will stage his play Emergency. In the play, Beaty performs 40 different characters who respond to the unexpected phenomenon of a slave ship emerging in front of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Through characters’ individual responses to the ship and their varied testimonies on identity and personal freedom, Emergency weaves a stirring commentary on what it is to be human and the longing to be free.

Community partners for the With/Out ¿Borders? Conference include Alamo Drafthouse Cinema; Case Western Reserve University Social Justice Institute; Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at University of Chicago; ERAACE; Hispanic American Council of Kalamazoo; Kalamazoo Public Library; People’s Food Co-op of Kalamazoo; University of Illinois-Chicago Social Justice Initiative; and YWCA of Kalamazoo.

According to Brock, other confirmed With/Out ¿Borders? Conference participants thus far include:

• Simon Akindess – UNESCO Coordinator of Pan-African Schools
• Jaafar Aksikas – President of the Cultural Studies Association
• Blair Anderson – Detroit-based activist and former Black Panther
• Peter Bratsis – Scholar of EU polices, Greece and Brexit
• Adrienne Brown – Detroit-based science fiction writer, social justice activist and performer
• Prudence Browne – Scholar of charter schools as colonial education
• Dara Cooper – Black farmers and food justice advocate
• Sean Estelle – National divestment campaigner for Energy Action Coalition
• Nicholas Estes – Scholar of indigenous intellectual history in the U.S.
• Bill Fletcher, Jr. – Author and racial justice and labor activist
• Shreena Gandhi – MSU scholar of religion in the Americas
• Lewis Gordon – Philosopher and expert on Frantz Fanon
• Alex Lubin – Scholar of African-American/Arab solidarities
• Shaya Plaut – Human rights journalist and educator
• Erin Polley – Peacebuilding program coordinator at American Friends Service Committee
• Shante Paradigm Smalls – Hip Hop scholar, artist and writer
• Valerie Thomas – Scholar of Afro-Futurisms
• Cynthia Young – Scholar of third-world solidarities
• Alice Kim – Coordinator of the Chicago Torture Survivors justice movement

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (www.kzoo.edu/arcuscenter) is an initiative of Kalamazoo College. Its mission is to develop and sustain leaders in human rights and social justice through education and capacity-building. The ACSJL envisions a campus and world where every person’s life is equally valued, the inherent dignity of all people is recognized, the opportunity to develop one’s full potential is available to every person, and systematic discrimination and structural inequities have been eradicated.

Kalamazoo College, 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.

Kalamazoo College Commencement is June 12 at 1 p.m.

Posted on May 9, 2016March 23, 2022

Kalamazoo College’s 2016 Commencement takes place Sunday June 12 at 1:00 p.m. on the campus Quad. Speakers include international human rights lawyer, activist and scholar Gay McDougall, Award-winning author Bonnie Jo Campbell, and graduating K senior Mindze Mbala-Nkanga.

Approximately 300 members of the K class of 2016 will receive Bachelor of Arts degrees.

K President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran will welcome the graduates – along with approximately 2,500 family members and friends, K faculty, staff, trustees, alumni and community members – in what will be her final commencement as K president. She retires from her post on June 30 after 11 years.

Gay McDougall will be the 2016 commencement keynote speaker. She is Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence, Leitner Center for International Law and Justice at Fordham Law School, Fordham University, New York City. Her long and noteworthy career has been dedicated to fighting racial oppression both in the United States and abroad. She is former United Nations Independent Expert on Minority Issues, former Executive Director of Global Rights at Partners for Justice, and former Director of the Southern Africa Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

In 1999, McDougall was a recipient of the coveted MacArthur “Genius” Award. She has also received the Butcher Medal of the American Society of International Law for outstanding contributions to human rights law and the Thurgood Marshall Award of the District of Columbia Bar Association among numerous other national and international awards.

McDougall received a J.D. degree from Yale Law School and an LL.M. degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has Honorary Doctors of Law degrees from Georgetown University Law Center, the School of Law of the City University of New York, and Agnes Scott College.

McDougall will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from K during commencement.

Bonnie Jo Campbell will also speak at commencement. Campbell is the author of Once Upon a River, Women and Other Animals, Q Road, the just-released Mothers, Tell Your Daughters, and the National Book Award nominated American Salvage. In 2012, Once Upon a River was the Summer Common Reading book for the incoming class of 2016. Campbell spent two days on campus meeting with class members as part of their new student orientation program. Per K tradition, she returns to address this same class of students at their commencement.

Campbell is a Michigan native and resident of Kalamazoo who has served as a visiting professor of English at K. She received her B.A. degree from University of Chicago and both a M.A. degree in mathematics and M.F.A. degree in writing from Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo.

During Commencement, Bonnie Jo Campbell will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from K.

2015-2016 President’’s Student Ambassadors, Kalamazoo College, Erin Butler ’18; Francisco “Franky” Cabrera ’16; Bianca Delgado ’17; Alexis Fiebernitz ’16; George Fishback ’17; Immanuel “Manny” Greene ’16; Madeline “Maddie” Hume ’16; Elyse Kaplan ’18; Mindze Mbala-Nkanga ’16; Nirmita “Mira” Palakodaty ’18; Brian Raetz ’16 — Mindze Mbala-Nkanga ’16

Graduating K senior Mindze Mbala-Nkanga will be this year’s student graduation day speaker. Mbala-Nkanga is from Ypsilanti, Mich., and will receive a B.A. degree in biology. Her Senior Independent Project (a K graduation requirement) was “Mother Anopheles: Of Malaria and Other Infections,” a play in two acts, for which she received honors. During her four years at K she completed an internship at Monroe Carell Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University and second at a hospital in Libreville, Gabon. She also served as president of the student organization Kalama-Africa, member of the Student of Color Coalition, and President’s Student Ambassador.

Graduating K seniors Sarah Wallace, Dylan Polcyn and Kaeli Peach will speak at Baccalaureate on Saturday June 11, at 8:00 p.m., in Stetson Chapel. K Baccalaureate is a nondenominational service with student and faculty speakers and musical performances.

17th Century Reality TV

Posted on May 5, 2016March 23, 2022

The cast of the Festival Playhouse production of Molière’s LEARNED LADIES includes Belinda McCauley ’16 (Bélise), Kellie Dugan ’17 (Armande), Madison Donoho ’17 (Philaminte), and Kate Kreiss ’19 (Henriette). Photo by Emily Salswedel ’16

Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College wraps up its 52nd season with Molière’s comedy, The Learned Ladies, in the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, Thursday through Sunday, May 12-15.

The play, first produced in 1672, has been perceived as Moliere’s criticism of educated women. However, Director Marissa Harrington believes “his mockery [targets] the excess in which the women of this play indulge. We must always seek balance.”

“Though the play encourages female empowerment,” explains Dramaturg Lauren Landman ’18, “it also emphasizes the chaos that occurs when indulgence becomes immodesty–not unlike popular television shows such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

“To illustrate this parallel, Festival Playhouse’s production will transform audience members into avid fans of reality television, offering a behind-the-lens perspective that will question what exactly it means to be ‘learned’.”

With today’s reality television shows becoming increasingly popular, Harrington poses a question to the audience: “Do we demand enough truth from ourselves and each other?”

The play opens Thursday, May 12, at 7:30pm. Additional evening performances occur Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14, at 8p.m., and a matinee concludes the run on Sunday, May 15, at 2pm. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for seniors citizens, and $15 for other adults. For reservations call 269.337.7333 or visit the FP website.

The performance features Elaine Kauffman, costume designer; Lanford J. Potts, scenic and lighting designer; and Val Frank ’17, sound designer. This production of The Learned Ladies has been translated into English verse by Richard Wilbur.

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