Creating community

Guest post by Robin Bowlus
director of public relations

I have heard our campus student life professionals talk about creating "community" for many years. On the surface it seems pretty simple and it makes sense. Students who live, learn and work together are more successful in college and in life. The reality is that creating community is not done by a single person or a committee.

During the summer I enjoyed reading Gerald’s book on going to church. It made a real impact on my family’s perception of “church”. The book also reminded me that the key to going to church, means we had to “go” to church. And not just on Sunday. Going and being part of congregation life is what makes church fulfilling.

Going. Doing. Being part of something that is for you and about more than you. That is how you create community. That is how you will feel fulfilled. But each of us needs to make the effort to show up.

Last week was the dia-BEAT-this Walk-A-Thon for diabetes awareness in the Sommer Center. The idea came from my student worker, Jena Diller, a junior marketing major who has done a lot of work with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Jena’s family is affected by the disease. 

Jena Diller, working in the PR office

We were not sure what the turn-out would be for Bluffton’s walk. Jena’s goal was to have 250 people participate and walk at least 100 miles. She has other groups across the country walking during November for National Diabetes Awareness month. Jena’s ultimate goal is to accumulate 1,000 miles in 14 days.  

From 6 a.m. – 3 p.m. and then again from 7 – 10 p.m. on Nov. 7, more than 363 students, faculty and staff walked 7,164 laps or almost 600 miles. The baseball team came as a group and walked 942 laps. Their catcher, Tim Webb, didn’t stop. For the day he walked 120 laps and 75 of those were consecutively. But the winner for the day was Perry Andre, a student from Wauseon who walked 166 laps; approximately 15 miles.

But beyond the laps and miles, Jena and I got to watch community happen on our campus. Students showed up to walk during the day and then came back to walk more at night. Faculty brought their classes to walk. Coaches brought teams. Faculty and staff offices walked. Faculty and staff spouses walked. The dietetics interns walked. Residence halls walked. Students walked in small groups while studying for a test. 

And everyone talked, socialized, skipped, ran, and some event took a break and shot some hoops. We learned how people who have diabetes themselves or have someone in their family with diabetes live with the realities of monitoring their blood sugar and insulin.

In the end, people showed up. And that is what made community happen. 

Note: As the 2011-12 National American Miss Teen, Jena has chosen juvenile diabetes awareness as her platform. Visit Team JDRF for more information, or to support the Jena’s personal campaign.

Creative juices and the uphill battle

“The Arts at Bluffton” was featured at Forum this week. Bluffton professors created and shared visual art, music, theatre and the written word to a standing-room-only crowd in Yoder Recital Hall.

Visual artists Gregg Luginbuhl, Phil Sugden and Andi Baumgartner created pottery, drawings and a poster while musicians Lucia Unrau and Crystal Sellers Battle performed, authors Jeff Gundy and Susan Carpenter gave readings and the student cast from “The Real Inspector Hound” performed a scene from this weekend’s performance.

While all was well done and the shared creative talents impressive; two in particular grabbed my interest. Personally, I could watch Gregg Luginbuhl throw pots for hours. It’s mesmerizing to watch someone take a hunk of ‘mud’ and within just a few minutes – in the right hands – it’s a bowl, a vase…

Susan’s reading was based on the story of the Greek god Sisyphus who was sentenced to forever push a boulder up a mountain just to have it roll back to the bottom, requiring that he start the process all over. (Sound familiar? Can you say laundry, landscaping, homework, fill-in-the-blank with any annoying, repetitive, boring task.)

Her thesis was that as Sisyphus made his way back to the bottom of the mountain, he was free of his labor. Free to enjoy the beauty around him, if only for a while.

I’m looking forward to getting a copy of this essay in order to read it slowly, reflectively. What I took from her reading is that every day, every moment, we are either going up or down the mountain. Curling up with a cup of tea – down the mountain; the screech for MOM from the next room – up the mountain.

Learning to throw pots; music lessons as a young child – up the mountain. The first piece of pottery that actually looks like a vase; flawlessly performing a difficult piece – down the mountain.

One cannot truly enjoy the trip down the mountain, unless you have struggled up the mountain.

What’s new on campus?

Well, for one, the new Sommer Center for Health and Fitness Education is expected to open soon.

But did you know that the Extending Our Reach comprehensive campaign, which reached its successful conclusion last summer, raised funds for so much more than just a building? It’s so easy to get caught up in the visual, the obvious, the “big” project, and forget about all the other things. Call me guilty as charged.

It wasn't until we brainstormed for a campaign thank you video that I grasped the full breadth of this campaign. While you enjoy this video created by PR student assistant Joe Grant, realize that there could have been many more thank yous provided by many more persons for many more new opportunities provided by the campaign.

From all of us at Bluffton University, we sincerely say – thank you!

Be connected

Nothing like a little Internet outage to refocus one’s energies.

It never fails to amaze me how quickly we can revert from the relatively-laid-back summer mode to a full-out crazy, stress-filled, gotta-get-it-done-yesterday attitude.

Then comes a cut fiber optic cable. Suddenly it’s like we’re back in the dark ages. What, no emails from off campus? But we have ongoing projects, on deadline, with companies on both the east and west coasts!

So here we sit in Common Grounds, wireless laptops and smart phones in hand, but still feeling somewhat – OK very much – unconnected.

It’s ironic to me to hear all the angst about teens and their need to be connected. A new Ohio law makes it a first-degree moving violation if you’re a teen and on your phone while driving a car, but a secondary offense if you’re an ‘adult’ and on the phone, while driving a car. Like distracted driving is any less dangerous if you are older. Like older adults are any less guilty of wanting to instantaneously keep in touch with friends and family, of reaching for the phone when bored.

Tuesday’s Forum was a panel discussion about how to be a good audience in a technical world. It led to interesting conversation over lunch – how do we make priorities with our time and attention with so many potential technical interruptions? Is there such a thing as technological etiquette?

Is it rude for Robin and I to be sitting four feet apart, both with our noses alternating between laptops and cell phones, occasionally commenting on each other’s university Facebook and Twitter postings? It may be weird, but not rude. After all, this is a work day and we’re both trying to get something accomplished.

Now if this was a Friday evening at the same place, same table, that would be a different story.

A study was mentioned Tuesday that technology is making us lonelier. I’ll buy that. BC (before cell phones) if one was standing in a line, or waiting with a crowd of people, it would not be unusual for people to strike up a conversation. "Where you from?" "Have you seen this band  before?" Now that just seems weird and maybe a little creepy. As we wait, we reach out to others through our phones, oblivious to all the potential connections around us.

I think J. Denny Beaver has the right idea. In his Facebook post he suggested

“Make it a great day to get to know your neighbor! Make a new friend in person, then you can be friends on Facebook tomorrow (hopefully).

Do. Work. Do Good Work. That's what Beavers do!"

Making beds

It must be a mom thing.

I have this vivid memory of NEEDING to make my son’s bed as we moved him into his first college dorm room. It was more than just making sure he had sheets to sleep on and a warm blanket to keep him warm. It was a nurturing thing, like if I tucked the sheets in tight enough he would continue to feel my love long after we’ve left campus.

So last Friday I’m wondering across campus trying to capture the emotions of move-in day. And what do I find, but mothers, all across campus, making their son’s and daughter’s beds. And fathers, all across campus, constructing things, lofts and shelving units.

Mothers making beds does not make for very good video, especially when the bed is against the wall. There is no heart-felt eye-lock with this child who – wasn’t it just last week went off to kindergarten?

By the time the bed is made, the loft is built, clothes are in the closet, the fridge is stocked, posters hung, roommates have met. It’s nearly the last thing done before, well, before it’s time to leave. Students are anxious to have freedom to get to know these people who will become life-long friends. And parents, well, we’re hoping to hang on just one more minute.

And so we make the bed. And we tuck it tight.

Busy Little Beavers

There has been only five posts to the university blog since May Day, and one was a guest post. I’ve been such a slacker this summer. And here we are just four weeks away from new students moving on campus.

Not like there hasn’t been anything else going on.

Two weeks ago, which would have been one year since the groundbreaking for what is now known as the Sommer Center, I had planned to write a post celebrating the progress made in just one short year. Didn’t happen. Obviously.

But mark your calendar for Oct. 13 for a dedication ceremony during Homecoming. While the new health and fitness education center will probably not be open to the public by then, it is currently on pace to be open for the 2012-13 basketball season.

The Extending Our Reach capital campaign came to a successful conclusion on June 30. Plans are being made to properly celebrate during the President’s Society dinner on Oct. 13.

By early August, the new admissions “interactive viewbook” will be online, and the supporting, coordinated print pieces delivered by late August. This has been an intense collaboration with PR, admissions and Creosote Affects, an East Coast higher education marketing firm. Be watching for your opportunity to check it out.

By early fall, the admissions web ‘zone’ will have a new look, feel and be MOBILE FRIENDLY! Eventually all bluffton.edu pages will be built with responsive design, meaning regardless of what device you view our web site on, it will adjust its width and design for your viewing pleasure. We’re doing this in phases. Admissions first. The general web second. Sports third. Stay tuned!

As if that weren’t enough, there are five new academic programs being introduced this fall - graphic design major (building on the existing graphic design minor); public relations major (building on the current PR concentration); strength & conditioning and sport & recreation leadership in the health, fitness and sport science department; and lastly, a health care management degree completion program set to begin in January 2013.

RAs and fall athletes will be back on campus within three weeks. Think things will slow down once the students return?

May there be peace within

Not sure where this prayer came from, but it’s been taped to the base of my computer monitor for quite a while.

Some days it’s just there, part of the background like the sounds coming from down the hall or out of my speakers. Other days it catches my eye, almost forcing me to read it. Slowly. Carefully. Deliberately.

St. Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

Amen. And Amen