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Kalamazoo College Announces Finalists for $25,000 Global Prize for Collaborative Social Justice Leadership

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Kalamazoo College is pleased to announce the finalists for its inaugural $25,000 Global Prize for Collaborative Social Justice Leadership.

Fifteen finalist projects are collaboratively led by scholars and activists from eight U.S. cities (Columbus, Ohio; Detroit; Los Angeles; New York; Oakland, Cal.; Olympia, Wash.; South Bend, Ind.; and Urbana, Ill.; and ten nations including Germany, Honduras, Hungary, India, Malawi, Palestine, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. One of these projects will earn the $25,000 Global Prize.

Three finalists—two from Kalamazoo and one from Marshall—are eligible for a $5,000 Regional Prize for a project that originates in Southwest Michigan.

All finalists will present their work May 9-11 in Dalton Theatre on the K campus to jurors and attendees who will discuss and deliberate over the course of a three-day “Prize Weekend.” Global and Regional Prize winners will be announced by Kalamazoo College President Eileen Wilson-Oyelaran, on Saturday, May 11 at 7:15 in Dalton.

“The Kalamazoo College Global Prize creates an opportunity for our students, faculty, and the local community to interact with scholars and activists who are at the leading edge of collaborative social justice leadership practices around the country and around the world,” Wilson-Oyelaran said.

“The Global Prize also matches up with K’s mission to prepare its graduates to better understand, live successfully within, and provide enlightened leadership to a richly diverse and increasingly complex world,” she said.

Visit https://reason.kzoo.edu/csjl/clprize/finalists  to see a brief description of each finalist and link to its video entry. Facebook users may also view each video and “Like” their favorites ).

Each Global Prize applicant submitted a video (8-10 minutes) describing a social justice project, its innovative approach, and its collaborative leadership structure. A total of 188 entries were received from 23 countries and 25 U.S. states (including 14 from Southwest Michigan) by the March 8 deadline.

“The Global Prize undertaking truly presents an excellent opportunity for K students and the entire community to see social justice theory in action and to reflect on what we see as promising practices in the pursuit of a more just world,” said Lisa Brock, academic director of Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, which is administering the Global Prize competition.

According to Brock, a wide variety of social justice issues are addressed among the finalists, including: education access and equity, environmental sustainability, food sovereignty, health inequities, human rights violations against prisoners and LGBTQI people, immigration, international development, racism, workers’ rights, and more.

“Several finalists involve projects and partners that cross state and international borders,” Brock said. “One project from India, for example, includes partners in Columbus, Ohio and South Bend, Indiana. And the project from South Africa includes collaborators in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.”

More than 50 people, including K students, faculty, and staff members, as well as social justice advocates in Kalamazoo and elsewhere, juried the semifinal round of the competition and selected the 18 finalists. Jurors included: author, political activist, and University of California-Santa Cruz scholar Angela Y. Davis; former Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission Cary Alan Johnson; and shea howell, Detroit-based author, educator, columnist, and board member of the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership.

The Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership was launched in 2009 with support from the Arcus Foundation (www.arcusfoundation.org), including a $23 million endowment grant in January 2012. Supporting Kalamazoo College’s mission to prepare its graduates to better understand, live successfully within, and provide enlightened leadership to a richly diverse and increasingly complex world, the ACSJL will develop new leaders and sustain existing leaders in the field of human rights and social justice.

Kalamazoo College (www.kzoo.edu), founded in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1833, is a nationally recognized liberal arts 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.

K Trustee Ronda Stryker Receives YWCA Lifetime Award

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Ronda Stryker
Ronda Stryker

Kalamazoo College Trustee and Kalamazoo-area philanthropist Ronda Stryker will receive the 2013 YWCA Lifetime Woman of Achievement Award at an award celebration May 21 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo.

The YWCA Award is given to an area person who has demonstrated a lifetime of outstanding contributions to the well-being of the community, state or nation, and has a record of accomplishment, leadership and positive role modeling as a volunteer and/or in a career.

Stryker has volunteered in various capacities with numerous organizations including Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Women’s Education Coalition Fund, Pathfinder International, Girl Scouts, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, United Way, Communities in Schools, Spelman College, University of Northern Colorado, Western Michigan University, Lakeside for Children, Kalamazoo County Juvenile Home Foundation, and YWCA of Kalamazoo.

She has served as a Kalamazoo College trustee for more than 20 years. In 2001, she helped establish the College’s Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Institute for Service-Learning, named for her grandmother. Through the Institute, K students contribute more than 30,000 hours of community service-learning and civic engagement each year.

Read more about Ronda Stryker and the YWCA award in a recent Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive article.

La Fiesta Desi Soul 2013

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What better way to fend off winter blues than to celebrate the ethnic diversity of Kalamazoo College’s student body? In February a number of ethnic student organizations joined the Office of Student Involvement to host and organize  the 4th annual La Fiesta Desi Soul (LFDS) event. Student organizations–including the Black Student Organization (BSO), the Caribbean society, Kalama-Africa, K-Desi, the Asian Pacific Islander Student Association (APISA), the Latino Student Organization (LSO), and the Young Persian Society–have helped turn this into the biggest Zoo After Dark event.

The event’s origins trace back to Fall of 2008, according to the Assistant Director of Student Involvement Kate Elizabeth-Leishman Yancho. It was sponsored at that time by  BSO, LSO, and K-Desi. “Compared to the first time when the event took place in the Welles Dining Hall with a relatively smaller crowd, the event has become one of the most highly attended events on campus”, says Yancho. Furthermore, LFDS won the award for the 2011 Outstanding Campus Collaboration by the National Association of Campus Activities (NACA).

Participating student organizations put up visuals, serve different dishes (catered by Sodexo) and sponsor interactive games for everybody. Sashae Mitchell ‘14, the president of the Caribbean Society, said the purpose of this event is to “share aspects of the culture of the ethnic student groups through music, food, dance, and fun activities.”  Mitchell added that she would like to see “more students attend the event so that it outgrows Hicks!” When asked about the future goals for LFDS, Brittany King-Pleas ‘13, president of BSO, said she hopes  “the educational component continues to expand and the members of the committee work together to create a bit of cohesion amongst themselves.”

Girl Scout Leader Dawne Beougher Is One for the Books

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Cadette Troop 80683
Cadette Troop 80683 Members Do It by the Book

Girl Scout Cadette Troop 80683 led by Troop Leader Dawne Beougher, administrative assistant to the vice president of Advancement at Kalamazoo College collected more than 2,000 books for “Literacy Night” at Maple Street Magnet School in Kalamazoo.

Author will speak at K about journalism and fiction

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Author Amy Waldman
Amy Waldman, author of “The Submission.”

Author and former New York Times reporter Amy Waldman will visit Kalamazoo College on March 6 to discuss the balance between journalism and fiction writing.

Waldman is the author of “The Submission,” a fictional novel about controversy surrounding a 9/11 memorial in New York. After a jury panel selects a design from an anonymous architect, they learn he is a Muslim. The revelation triggers both fury and ambivalence in New York City and beyond.

“The Submission,” Waldman’s first published novel, is the 2013 Reading Together book for the city of Kalamazoo.

Waldman worked for the New York Times for eight years. She was also a national correspondent for The Atlantic. Her fiction has been published in The Atlantic, Boston Review and the Financial Times and was anthologized in “The Best American Non-required Reading 2010.”

Waldman will speak from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Connable Recital Hall, Light Fine Arts Building, on the K campus. The event is free and open to the public.

K Community Responds to Death of Sophomore Emily Stillman

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sophomore Emily StillmanThe Kalamazoo College community continues to grieve the death of sophomore Emily Stillman, who died Sunday, February 3 due to complications from bacterial meningitis. Emily, 19, was taken to Bronson Hospital in the early morning hours of February 1 from her residence hall. K administration and the Student Health Center learned the diagnosis later that morning and immediately began to work in close collaboration with the Kalamazoo County health department and Bronson’s epidemiology lab.

The health department provided two nurses to help K health professionals with education and prophylactic treatment of persons who had been in close contact (within three feet sometime during the previous seven days) with Emily. Those who may have had casual contact should not be affected. Through midday Tuesday Feb. 5, the health team provided prophylactic treatment to approximately 150 persons.

No additional cases of bacterial meningitis have been reported. According to the health department, the likelihood of additional cases of meningitis at Kalamazoo College is very low.

The Student Health Center continues to reach out to students to provide prophylactic antibiotic treatment, discuss symptoms of the illness, and discuss vaccination recommendations. (More information on bacterial meningitis is available from the Kalamazoo County epidemiology on-call line: 269–207–5783.) K Counseling Center staff members have also been available to students.

Emily’s funeral was held this morning at the Dorfman Chapel in Farmington Hills, Mich. Kalamazoo College provided bus transport for about 40 students, faculty, and staff. A special fund is being arranged in Emily’s memory to aid in the research and treatment of bacterial meningitis. Send donations to Temple Shir Shalom, 3999 Walnut Lake Rd., West Bloomfield, MI 48323. Phone: (248) 737-8700.

The Temple will hold donations until the fund is established.

Declaration of Major Day for K sophomores, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed until next Tuesday Feb 12, 11:30 in the Light Fine Arts Building lobby.

Community Responds to Meningitis Case

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Kalamazoo College sophomore Emily Stillman, 19, died this morning (Sunday, February 3) due to complications from bacterial meningitis. Emily was taken to Bronson Hospital around 2 AM Friday morning, February 1. K administration and the Student Health Center learned the diagnosis later that morning and immediately began to work in close collaboration with the Kalamazoo County health department and Bronson’s epidemiology lab.

The health department provided two nurses to help K health professionals with education and prophylactic treatment of persons who had been in close contact (within three feet sometime during the previous seven days) with the student. Those who may have had casual contact should not be affected. The health team provided prophylactic treatment to approximately 120 persons through the weekend.

No additional cases of bacterial meningitis have been reported. According to the health department, the likelihood of additional cases of meningitis at Kalamazoo College is very low.

The Student Health Center has extended its hours to reach out to students to provide prophylactic antibiotic treatment, discuss symptoms of the illness, and discuss vaccination recommendations. (More information on bacterial meningitis is available from the Kalamazoo County epidemiology on-call line: 269–207–5783.) Counseling Center staff members have also been available to students.

This afternoon (February 3) approximately 350 K students, faculty, and staff gathered in Stetson Chapel to remember Emily and to support one another. Emily’s funeral is scheduled for 10 AM Tuesday morning, February 5, at the Dorfman Chapel in Farmington Hills.

Cultivating Community

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Shoshana Schultz holds the calendar for "A Year of Food in Kalamazoo"
K Senior Shoshana Schultz hold “A Year of Food in Kalamazoo,” a calendar created by her and other K students.

Cultivating Community is a first-year seminar taught by Associate Professor of English Amelia Katanski ’92. It’s a service-learning course that combines academic inquiry with a project rooted in a local issue or organization.

This fall, Cultivating Community students broke into groups to interview and photograph people active in the area food community for the purpose of creating a 2013 calendar titled “A Year of Food in Kalamazoo.”

Subjects ranged from farmers and farm worker advocates, to organic food vendors such as Bridgett Blough ’08, who operates her own food truck business called The Organic Gypsy.

Teacher’s Assistant Shoshana Schultz ’13 worked as a go-between for the students, Katanski, and the People’s Food Co-Op, the class’s community partner.

“The seminar engages students in a critical examination of national food justice issues and introduces them to local food vendors who face these issues daily,” said Schultz. “The calendar is a meaningful and active way to address food justice and for others in the Kalamazoo community to be part of the discussion.

Now a senior, Schultz took Cultivating Community her first year at K. “My first year completely framed the way that I got to know the Kalamazoo community,” she said. “I’m proud of the work the students did this year.”

The calendars are on sale now at the People’s Food Co-Op in Kalamazoo for $15.

Second Lady Jill Biden Makes Surprise Visit to K

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Jill Biden speaking at Kalamazoo College
Dr. Jill Biden addresses students during a Kalamazoo College campaign visit

Sophomore Alex Werder received a call from an unrecognized number. The caller simply identified himself as James and asked Werder if he was the person responsible for setting up events on campus. The mystery caller asked to meet the President of the Kalamazoo College Democrats in 15 minutes for a look around K. Werder asked for some credentials before offering the stranger a tour of campus.

James said he was with the Obama Campaign looking for a venue where Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, could speak in Kalamazoo.

Biden wanted to come to Kalamazoo to address some college students between her other campaign stops in Grand Rapids and Battle Creek. An education advocate, she is the only second lady who has continued to work a full time job out of the White House while her husband serves in office. She currently teaches at Northern Virginia Community College.

“My internal reaction was, ‘Holy crap; this is pretty cool,’” said Werder. The aspiring political science major showed James and two other Obama staffers some possible venues on campus.

Three days later, after a frenzied preparation that included two secret service security sweeps of Hicks with bomb-sniffing dogs, negotiations over the number of allowed guests, furniture arrangement, and last minute invitations, the Stone Room was packed to capacity, mostly with students from K and Western Michigan University, awaiting a speech by the second lady.

Craig Isser ’13 sat among the crowd of about 130 in the sunlit room. Isser had done some research on Biden beforehand, and said he was excited to see a influential person interested in education come to the college.

“She is someone who really is a voice for the students who, and not just a voice,” he said, “She also has power.”

Next to Isser sat Jung Eun Pyeon ’16. She arrived on campus just weeks ago from California’s San Fernando Valley for her first year in college. She said she was still adjusting to campus life when she heard about the event. She plans on studying economics and business, and she is also interested in politics and wants the opportunity to learn more.

“What better chance than to listen to someone of Jill Biden’s stature?” she asked.

Attendees also included three sophomores who live in the Women’s Voice House, a Living Learning Cooperative with a mission of promoting feminist ideas on campus. Katherine Stevenson ’15, Samantha Foran ’15, and Abigail Keizer ’15 said they jumped at the occasion to see a woman in power speak.

“She’s a woman who is very high up, so we’re all excited to see what she has to say,” said Foran.

“She’s still teaching even though her husband is the Vice President,” said Stevenson of the second lady. “That’s really cool to see.”

According to Ms. Biden’s Press secretary, the second lady was grading her students’ papers on the way to the event.

The housemates said they plan on including the content of the second lady’s speech in their weekly dinner discussions.

Besides the K and WMU students, other attendees included Kalamazoo dignitaries and area politicians. Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell said Ms. Biden’s visit—her first campaign speech on a college campus—highlights the power and educational focus of the city.

In his introductory remarks, Werder noted that this upcoming election would be the first in which he could eligibly vote, and it would be one he remembers for the rest of his life. “This event combines two of my greatest loves,” he said, “Democratic politics and K.”

Biden recalled her voting for the first time while in college, and said that she voted for her husband, though she didn’t know him at the time.

She gave a student-focused speech, telling the audience the Obama administration will “have your back” if reelected.

“This feels right at home,” she said of campus, “and young people like you inspire me every single day. I often say that my kids are my heroes. And I want you to know that every single day, this administration is really fighting for all of you.”

She closed with a story about a community college student named Angie Flores, who introduced Ms. Biden at the Democratic National Convention.

“In this election,” she said, “we’ve got a choice whether we’re going to tell students like Angie, students like many of you, that ’you’re on your own,’ or whether we’re going to say, ’we’re all in this together, and everyone deserves a fair shot.’”

Biden stayed for a few minutes to shake students’ hands and pose for pictures before rushing off to Battle Creek.

After the crowds cleared and flurry subsided, Werder was smiling.

“It’s all been thrown together in the last 72 hours,” he said, “so it’s been a whirlwind, but we’re all really excited that she took the time and came out to see us.”

Story by Elaine Ezekiel ’13; Photo by Erik Holladay

One if by land, 70 if by LandSea

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Sarah Werner and her family from Clinton TownshipAbout 70 first-year students—including Sarah Werner and her family from Clinton Township, Mich., photographed here—arrived August 16 to begin their Kalamazoo College journey via LandSea, an optional 18-day wilderness backpacking, climbing, canoeing, glad-I-brought-my-bug spray experience in Adirondack State Park, a six-million-acre tract in northern New York. After checking out their gear, the campus, and each other, participants pile onto a bus and head east at 7PM for a nine-hour overnight trek. A team of student and staff leaders awaits their arrival in New York. Welcome, bon voyage, and good luck LandSea 2012 participants. We’ll see you back here on Sept. 3!