Ah, summer

There is quite the misconception regarding college campuses during the summer. “It must be nice to have your summers off.” Um, yea, about that…

Granted it is more low-key, a bit quieter, parking spots are easier to come by – especially on Fridays - but there is a lot of behind-the-scenes work accomplished during the summer.

This weekend is a prime example for the admissions staff. They are welcoming members of the class of 2014 with a summer orientation on Friday, then turn around and host an Open House Discovery Day on Saturday for the class of 2015 and those still deciding for this fall. Crazy!

Student life is busy matching roommates, assigning rooms, making plans for 2010-11. One exciting change for the fall is the contract signed with the Bluffton Hospital providing 24/7 health care for Bluffton students.

Heavy cleaning, painting, mowing, landscaping… the Buildings and Grounds staff and their expanded student staff have their hands full this summer as they do every summer.

The IT folks will be replacing old computers and monitors, upgrading software while dealing with the normal helpdesk-type emergencies and IT requests.

In PR, we’re updating materials for admissions, creating new television commercials, preparing for a couple new initiatives to be unveiled in the fall. I think our project list is longer now than it was back in January.

And this probably incomplete list is just to ready the campus for students in the fall. In addition there is the Marbeck and Conference crew who hosts guests on campus throughout the summer, such as family reunions, youth groups, summer sports camps and the ever-popular band camps.

There is a definite cycle to the academic year, beginning with the excitement of students returning in the fall, to the comfortable vibe of Homecoming, cabin-fever/rising stress level of February, to the rush to the end from spring break to graduation.

Summer is the time to make all things shiny new for the cycle to begin anew - in 71 days.

Making steps toward a just world for all

We’ve come a long way.

The Bluffton magazine mailed last week takes a look at the Shriver Report through a Bluffton lens, telling the stories of Bluffton alumnae from various eras.

It’s odd to think that it wasn’t that long ago that women were encouraged to receive training to work outside the home – but only if they wanted to be a teacher or nurse. That notion is so foreign to our current reality that it seems like it should be studied in history books, not heard in stories told by our mothers and grandmothers.

Among the goals listed for the Bluffton women’s study minor is “to work toward the goal of a just and equitable world.” While women have come a long way, sometimes it feels like we have a long way to go.

I remember talking with Dad after learning that women were often paid less than men even when doing the exact same job. I was in junior high and this concept was totally unbelievable to me, “That’s so not fair.” To which Dad replied, “Why sure it is. Men work to support their families. Women work for extra spending money.” I remember thinking then, as now, that is so wrong.

But then this is the same man who instilled the belief in me that I can do anything I put my mind to. Like the time I found a leak in the waterline to the livestock. When I reported the problem to him, his response? “So fix it.” He told me what to do. I did it. And, to my knowledge, he didn’t go check my work. What an amazing life lesson.

That was in the era when women worked outside the home, but still felt solely responsible for all homemaking chores. Super Moms they were called.

Luckily we, men and women, have continued to change. I look at my son’s generation and am amazed. The guys cook, clean, are involved with child-raising (or in my son’s case - dog-raising.)

So, yes, we’ve come a long way, women. There are so many opportunities now open to us. We owe a debt of gratitude to the women who paved the way for us to enter what was previously considered “male” professions – medicine, politics, business…

But, we’ve also come a long way as a society. Let us continue to treat each other with respect, with kindness, with fairness and work together toward “a just and equitable world” for all.

New understandings

Guest blog by Cody Litwiller, PR summer intern

Every May term, Bluffton University students engage in a three-week-long cross-cultural program. I was one of those students this May, and had the opportunity to experience Israel/Palestine along with 29 other students, led by Randy Keeler and Stephen “Tig” Intagliata.

To many, Israel/Palestine is considered the center of the world, so being able to experience this land and its people is an experience which has put my worldview on a new axis.

In preparation for the experience, our cross-cultural class read books from a range of authors on the religious and political conflicts in the land. We visited a mosque in Perrysburg, Ohio and attended a service at a synagogue in Lima, Ohio. A local Palestinian woman also prepared a meal for our group, and we heard presentations from members of Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT).

While in Israel/Palestine our group made an effort to see a variety of sites and listen to presenters representing a selection of political and religious positions. We visited significant biblical sites and read accompanying scripture at those sites. Our group sang hymns in the old domed churches and had chances to meditate by ourselves at a few biblical sites.

During the 16 days of our travels, we stayed in hotels, kibbutzim and Palestinian homes. The Palestinian home stays allowed each member of our group to become immersed in the culture in a way most do not get a chance to experience. These personal interactions with the people of Palestine gave each person a unique story to share and provided a new angle to view the current conflict.

The Palestinian family I lived with for two nights were an older couple who lived in Old Bethlehem. They are one of the few remaining Christian families in Palestine. Their home is a large old house, which used to serve as bedrooms for their eight kids. Now, all their kids have moved out of the house and with the exception of two kids, out of Palestine. These empty rooms are now used to host guests and their grandkids. My Palestinian hosts enjoy this opportunity to host guests, and use the opportunity to share their story.

Our host, Tony, has a rooftop garden which he uses to grow a staggering variety of vegetables, fruits and spices for his family. The roof also serves as the location for his New Zealand rabbits, which they eat, and his large water tanks. The Israelis have siphoned off a large portion of the Palestinian water supply, so families are forced to either store water in tanks on their roof from the rainy season and a bi-weekly water service, or pay extra to use the same water the Israelis use.

Not having easy access to water is something that is hard to imagine in Illinois, where I’m from, but the Palestinians live with that reality. Being mindful of my water usage while I was there was a constant reminder of the lifestyle the Palestinians lead and how resourceful they need to be on a daily basis. This Palestinian home stay, coupled with our kibbutzim and hotel stays, gave us a full spectrum of living conditions in Israel/Palestine.

Our itinerary included the Sea of Galilee, Masada, the Dead Sea, Caesarea Maritima, the Western Wall, Nazareth Village, the Dome of the Rock, the Israel Holocaust Museum - Yad Veshem and many other churches and archeological sites. With the aid of our guide, each of the members of our group came to a new understanding of these historical and biblical sites.

The other major focus of the trip was the current conflict over land. We listened to presenters from the Bethlehem Bible College, Mar Elias School, Aida refugee camp, the US consulate, Operation Dove workers at the At-Tuwani village near Hebron, and heard many other Palestinian and Israeli voices throughout our experience.

This cross-cultural experience has created a new global awareness in my thought process and forced me to positively reevaluate my identity as an American.

Going Green-Staying Green

Going green is big business.

Wind turbines are sprouting up all around. I’ve heard that farmers are being approached to lease corners of their land for a wind farm near Arcadia, and last weekend I noticed that a solar field is being installed near Upper Sandusky.

Going green is very visual – or is it?

Bluffton is going green, but you’ll not see wind turbines out by the Emery Sears Athletic Complex, nor will you see solar panels attached to Neufeld Residence Hall. We’re changing light bulbs. Seriously.

Mustaq Ahmed ‘77, director of buildings and grounds, wrote in a note to all faculty/staff, “This project is part of our ongoing effort to be environmentally responsible at Bluffton University. We have taken a slightly different approach to joining the going green movement. We are slowly and methodically moving forward with our established objective of making simple, inexpensive adjustments that have big payoffs in the long run.”

A total of 83 fixtures and 166 lamps in Musselman Library have been replaced to provide more efficient and brighter lighting. It is estimated that this change alone will reduce energy consumption for lighting at the library by 40 percent, for an estimated annual savings of $3,200 a year.

Now that is impressive.

Then there is the ever-popular “Trayless Tuesdays” where there are no trays in Marbeck Center. This saves both on water and soap to wash used trays, and reduces food waste as people only take what they can carry. I’ve eaten in Marbeck on Trayless Tuesday. While it is a challenge to balance a plate, salad bowl, beverage and utensils, the concept is a good one. There are some universities who have removed trays completely.

And that isn’t all, B&G has, or is planning to, install

• Low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators
• Motion-sensor light switches
• Thermostatic radiator valves, which keep rooms from overheating by regulating the heat coming out of radiators
• Energy efficient windows
• Small high efficiency boilers for heating
• Insulation on exposed pipes
• Using carpeting and flooring material with high recycled content

Bluffton has gone green. For in Mustaq’s words, “At B&G we believe the greenest energy is one that is not produced.”

Finding solutions

Guest blog by Rory Stauber

I serve as the community liaison for Bluffton’s community mediation program. A few years ago, Bluffton began offering 20-hour mediation training to interested individuals. We now provide mediation services to community organizations, juvenile courts and on-campus and have seen some dramatic results.

I recall a truancy mediation in which a middle-school boy had missed virtually the entire semester. The parents were not much help. The authorities were ready to send him to juvenile lock up.

During mediation with family members and his teacher, we traced the problem to a broken bicycle preventing him from making the distant bus stop on time. One family member volunteered to buy a replacement part; another said he could install the part; an aunt agreed to donate a lock for the bike; the teacher offered incentives for the student to attend class. The boy did not miss another day the rest of the semester. Hey, Mediation Works!

In fact, Mediation Works! is the name we have given to the public education component of our program. If you are the parents of more than one child, or you grew up with one or more siblings, you have already participated in mediation. What parent hasn’t mediated a dispute between siblings that begins with something like, “It isn’t fair that Sally gets to…..”?

We practice a type of mediation called “restorative” which is concerned with the needs and responsibilities of both victims and offenders, seeks to put right wrongs, and as much as is possible, to restore relationships.

Juvenile courts in Putnam and Allen counties are referring cases to our community mediation program, and we conduct mediations on campus and in the community including church and neighborhood disputes.

The community mediation program has conducted workshops and training for organizations including Lima Memorial Hospital, Lima Metropolitan Housing Agency and the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Bluffton University. If you are part of an organization that may be interested in a workshop in conflict and communication skills, let me know!

We lead low- and no-cost workshops for all kinds of groups, businesses and agencies considering the possibility of mediation. We also offer 20-hour mediation training for students, staff and community members.

For more information on trainings and workshops visit www.bluffton.edu/mediationworks or contact me at stauber@bluffton.edu.

Seeing the world in a whole new way

So the flurry of activity that surrounds graduation has come and gone. And as with most highly-anticipated events, it’s over in a blink of an eye then summer officially begins. Students move off campus, e-mail and phones become much quieter (leading to some withdrawal symptoms – “Hello, tap, tap, tap… it this thing working.”)

While offices may be quiet, May can be a very exciting time of self-discovery for Bluffton students. Three-week-long cross-cultural experiences are typically scheduled during May Term.

Way early this morning my husband and I took the group traveling to Guatemala to the airport. The first two weeks in Guatemala they will take Spanish language classes in the mornings and tour culturally-significant locations in the afternoons. The final week of their time there will be spent in home-stays.

It was fun listening to the group in my van chatter about their upcoming adventures, practicing their Spanish, some even trying to sing in Spanish. According to Twitter post by a student’s fiancé, they safely arrived in Guatemala City Wednesday morning.

The group traveling to Israel/Palestine didn’t have as a smooth a ride. We learned via Facebook posts that the group had a longer than expected layover in New York and Madrid thanks to volcanic ash, but they did eventually make it to their destination.

Other groups are scattering to New York City, England/Wales, Chicago, Columbia and Arizona for their cross-cultural experiences. Other short-term experiences in previous years have included New Orleans, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Appalachian Kentucky, Trinidad, Botswana, China and others.

What an amazing opportunity – to be "strongly encouraged" to leave your comfort zone, to see and acknowledge others’ situations and viewpoints. Many students come back with a renewed appreciation for home and a new lens with which to view the world.

Back in the ‘80s Dale Dickey took a group for a quarter touring “Shakespeare’s England,” visiting the Globe Theatre, etc., but I chose not to participate. In my opinion, a cross-cultural requirement which can be fulfilled by either a cross-cultural experience or by taking foreign language classes is a good thing. It removes the decision, should I leave my friends on campus for three weeks or take this journey of a lifetime?

So let me live vicariously through those of you who have taken a cross-cultural experience: what do you remember most? How did it change your view of the world?

Leaving Bluffton a better place

I remember meeting Jim Satterwhite, professor of history, for the first time. I was a reporter for the Courier at the time, sent to interview him for a story. His office had books piled floor to ceiling, making it seem more like a book-lined corridor with a paper-covered desk at one end, than an office.

I don’t recall as vividly meeting Willis Sommer, vice president for fiscal affairs, for the first time. I’m sure it was in class, as he taught accounting at the time and I started out as a business major.

Both Jim and Willis are officially retiring this year.

Jim was granted emeritus status at the 2010 Academic Awards Forum. He had taught at Bluffton from 1984 until health issues led him out of the classroom a few years back. His strength of putting his words into actions, such as spending his summers serving as a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams in Hebron, Poland and other locations, endeared him to many.

The first annual Jim Satterwhite Award in Peace Scholarship and Activism was presented in 2009 by the Peace and Conflict Studies program to a graduating senior with a demonstrated commitment to peace scholarship and peace activism. (Kristen Shelly is the 2010 recipient.)

Willis joined the faculty in 1979. It’s been interesting getting to know Willis outside of the classroom - the “woohoo” when he announces a positive year-end balance; the random all-campus email drawing our attention to a beautiful tree in full bloom or an update to a construction or renovation project; the care and deliberateness he puts into financial decisions which he knows will effect fellow faculty and staff across campus.

In recent years, Willis has overseen many construction and renovation projects. In a piece written for the internal Community Connection newsletter, he reflected on the various projects:

“When I am involved in new construction projects, I often personally rank them in relation to past projects. Since the three planned projects will be my last I offer the following list as project highlights during my tenure.

Most campus changing project-Centennial Hall: I still remember the excitement of moving faculty into their offices in July 2000. Can anyone now imagine our academic program without this building?

Most useful short-term project-North Complex: For four years, 1996-2000, this modular building provided four large classrooms and offices for EBA faculty and BCOMP staff.

Better than anticipated project-2003 Marbeck Addition and renovation of the former Barn area: I generally can visualize the final result when the first sketch is made, but not with the addition. The result was far nicer than I imagined.

Most meaningful project-Baseball memorial and field enhancements: I found it very meaningful to be part of the planning process for the memorial and to draw the first sketch for the baseball field improvements.

Most beneficial renovation-College Hall disability access addition: Besides providing accessibility, the addition will make College Hall more inviting and aesthetically pleasing.”

Willis will be recognized during a "Celebration of Service" banquet on May Day.

Willis and Jim, we are grateful for your steady and calm demeanors, for your laughter and for your undeniable positive influence on Bluffton University.