A story that needs telling

It’s a heart-wrenching story. But it’s a story that must be told. It’s a story that puts a very human face on what is often discussed in impersonal terms: immigration, illegals, border, them, us, ours.

Enrique’s Journey is the story of a young Honduran boy who traveled to the U.S., mostly on top of trains, to find his mother who had migrated North to find work years before. This book was required reading for Bluffton first-year students and for seniors in the Capstone course.

Now alumni, parents and friends are invited to join with Bluffton students, faculty and staff for a discussion of Enrique’s Journey with author Sonia Nazario at 11 a.m. April 7.

Just having read the prologue, I am so intrigued. It’s going to be one of those books that I won’t be able to put down once started. It tells of the desperation mothers feel to justify leaving their children to find work in order to support their children and the abandonment children feel without their mother’s presence.

Lazario wrote in the prologue, “Latina migrants ultimately pay a steep price for coming to the United States. They lose their children’s love… People are losing what they value most.”

It would be a great story if it was fiction. The bond of a mother and son and the lengths they go to show that love, the intrigue and danger encountered on top the “Train of Death,” the kindness of strangers along the way.

Unfortunately it’s not fiction. It is all too real. And it is an important part of the “immigration issue” which should not be overlooked.

Join us for the book discussion on April 7, either in person or online.

Seven more Mondays!

Would you believe that Bluffton’s seniors only have seven more Mondays until graduation? (Eight weeks minus the Easter Monday break)

Depending on your viewpoint, that’s either cause for great celebration – or great anguish.

I posted on Facebook a few days ago about how the time between spring break and graduation becomes a mad sprint to the finish line. I’m sure we can all list projects which ‘must be done’ this spring. If we let it, those lists can become overwhelming. It can block our view of the emerging beauty around us.

Bluffton’s campus is gorgeous in all seasons, if we slow down enough to enjoy the view. Daffodils are starting to show signs of life in the flower beds across campus and I’d totally missed them until a colleague drew them to my attention.

Students will be back on campus Monday. I am so looking forward to the sounds of spring - the radio playing from the ball diamonds during pre-game, the distinctive thump of tennis ball golf - with any luck those sounds will pull me away from my lists and remind me to take time to “smell the roses.”

Here’s hoping that you do the same.

Thanking God for His Faithfulness

March 2.

For those affiliated with Bluffton University in 2007 – March 2 will never be just another day. I know when I turn the calendar to March 2, there’s heaviness in my heart even though I didn’t personally know anybody on the baseball bus when the accident happened. I still remember exactly what I was doing when hearing about the accident (cleaning the stove on a random vacation day taken to play “domestic goddess.”)

From the chatter on Facebook and Twitter this morning – many of you feel the same way. “03.02.07...never forgotten....” “Thinking about baseball players in busses today.” “Proud of all of the 2007 baseball men.. 3.2.07, never forgotten” and more.

It’s hard to believe, but the first-year students in 2007 are now seniors. Approximately ¾ of Bluffton’s current student body were not Bluffton students when the accident happened. They weren’t on campus to share in the grief, nor to experience the outpouring of support.

It was that outpouring of support that sustained the players and coaches on the 2007 team, the friends and family of Zachary Arend, David Betts, Scott Harmon, Cody Holp and Tyler Williams and the entire campus community through that spring and beyond.

Campus pastor Tig Intagliata led a litany based on the 23rd Psalm today at the Circle of Remembrance. Two stanzas in particular from the reading grabbed my attention:

I will fear no evil. For you are with me.
Even when we have not been able to feel your presence, you have been by our side holding on to us, carrying us through the deepest valleys of darkness.
We find courage in the midst of our fear because we know you are with us. We can face the future with hope, knowing that we do not have to face it alone.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
We thank you for our families, friends and strangers who have reached out to us and comforted us with your love and kindness.

Let us pray that in time March 2 will become a day, yes to acknowledge our loss and our experiences, but also a day to give thanks for God’s faithfulness and comfort.

Making time to relax & reconnect

So what is it that draws alumni back to campus – for Homecoming, May Day, Athletics Hall of Fame or team alumni games?

That’s an easy one – it’s the chance to visit with friends you haven’t seen for a while. The planned activities – the luncheons, picnics, banquets, exhibits and presentations – are just to make sure a critical mass of alumni gather at the same time and place to provide the opportunity to reconnect.

With this in mind, the Women’s Council has scheduled lots of free time in the inaugural R&R (Reconnecting & Reaching Out) alumnae event on March 6.

Women will gather in Ropp Hall to pick up a box lunch, meet up with friends and go wherever they’d like to eat, visit, laugh, reconnect, for the majority of the event. For those who want something “to do,” there will be campus tours, shopping in the Bookstore and a presentation on Bluffton’s Web site and social media.

This presentation is where I come in. Carrie (Holcomb '99) Phillips and I will be joining forces for this presentation. Have to admit that I’m struggling with the request to “show us how to use Bluffton’s Web site.” A good Web site should be intuitive. Something is wrong if one needs to be shown “how to use it.”

So, I’m planning to highlight features of interest to alumni, but then use this session as a type of focus group. What is it that this group is interested in, but cannot intuitively ‘find?’ I’m looking forward to hearing their ideas (and yours - comments are always welcome!) Carrie will address what social media is and how professional women can use it to their benefit.

The day will conclude with a benefit concert by pianist Dr. Lucia Unrau, professor of music and music department chairperson. Women’s Council is providing Professional Enrichment Grants to support female Bluffton students attending professional conferences. A free-will offering will be accepted at the concert to support these grants.

No matter the amount of preparation that goes these presentations, I realize that the highlight of the day will be visiting with friends. And I’m totally OK with that.

So make a few phone calls, encourage your friends to gather for a day of relaxation on Bluffton’s campus. Can there be a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon?

The places we learn

By now you should have received the winter 2010 issue of the Bluffton magazine. According to research, there’s a pretty good chance that you glanced at the feature stories, flipped to the back to read alumnotes from your era, possibly skimmed the alumni features, then set it aside with good intentions of reading it closer at a later date.

If you haven’t yet got back to it, I encourage you to pull it out to read the features (or read them online here.)

With the theme “The places we learn,” it is appropriate that this magazine became a learning experience for one of our students. Evan Miller, a senior English major from Wooster, Ohio, and student writer in the PR office, wrote the features stories for this issue. What an amazing experience, not to mention a fabulous piece for his portfolio.

In thinking back to my time as a student writer for what was then the Bluffton communications office, I learned so much through that experience. I appreciated the classes I had with Wesley Richard, Gene Caskey and Dale Dickey. They pushed me into unfamiliar territories, taught me to learn, to ask questions, to be curious.

But it was in my Learn & Earn position supervised by Ron Geiser that prepared me for a career in communications. He taught me to compose at the typewriter rather than writing stories out longhand then typing. (Yes, I really am that old.) From him I learned editing symbols, beat reporting… In a word, the experience was priceless.

Lessons were also taught through The Witmarsum. As co-editor and later editor, we were given the freedom to fill the newspaper each week however we saw fit. But each week the editors met with a board of faculty and staff to respond to questions and concerns about the content. While extremely stressful, that too was a good experience.

It is truly a strength of Bluffton University, that whether through the Learn & Earn program, extracurricular activities or internships, students continue to be given the opportunity to expand the places they learn beyond the classroom.

Each one help one, part I

There is an awesome painting hung in an alcove in Marbeck. It is easily my favorite painting on this entire campus. A simple work, it shows just two arms, one reaching down over a ledge toward another arm. It shows such grace, strength, pride. Other than the fact that one arm is reaching down and the other is reaching up, the arms are identical – both well-formed, both capable.

To me it represents the responsibility of those who have “made it” to offer support to others. It also represents the responsibility of those working to achieve to be strong, to be ready to take advantage of opportunities when presented. Like the Habitat for Humanity slogan – the arm reaching up represents those looking for a hand up not a hand out.

Dr. Crystal Sellers joined the Bluffton music department this fall, coming from The Ohio State University where she worked as a graduate assistant in the office of minority affairs as a retention counselor for students of color. For many years OSU has had a program pairing first-year and sophomore students of color with juniors and seniors in mentoring relationships. A similar program had been considered at Bluffton to increase retention. With Crystal’s experience, she became the spark to make it happen.

Bluffton’s version of this mentoring program for students of color was introduced in early February. Current students will soon be able to apply to be a mentor or mentee.

The goal is to help the underclassmen with their transition to college, to answer questions such as “where do I get my hair cut or purchase black hair care products” and “help me find a church.” According to Crystal and Theresa Henry, director of multicultural affairs, oftentimes students of color feel “like an island” when they arrive on campus. The juniors and seniors have been there, have worked through these issues and have knowledge to share.

In addition to providing support and accountability for the underclassmen, the mentors will be part of the Leadership Development Program, the student life division led program developed to provide leadership training for residence life student staff and other campus leaders.

While voluntary this spring, next year’s first-year students of color will be required to participate in this program.

What a great concept. First-year students will have another person they can turn to with questions and have someone watching out for them who can relate to being in the minority, and upperclassmen gain experience as a leader, with the responsibility to guide another to success.

That’s what I call offering a helpful hand up.

Perspective

I had to smile at the following post on Facebook (shared with Tim’s permission)

Tim Pannabecker knows it's all a matter of perspective. Each morning I prod Seth along so we can get out the door on time. This morning we had this exchange: Me: Seth, stop messing around and get ready. Seth: I'm not messing around. I'm watching the garbage truck.

Don’t you just love kids?

But don’t we often do the same thing as adults? What seems so obvious to me, you might see in a totally different way. Oftentimes both of us are convinced that we are right – meaning that the other must be completely wrong.

Could it be that there is some truth in both viewpoints? Like my hubby is known to say, there are always three sides to every situation – your side, my side and the truth.

It takes honest communication with open hearts and open minds to discern the truth. That’s where it gets hard. And sometimes the best we can do is to agree to disagree.

On March 19-21, Bluffton will bring together scholars, church leaders and immigrants for a conference on immigration to facilitate some of this hard but necessary discussion. There are so many facets to this issue. What is right? What is ethical? How can we be faithful to Jesus' call to "Welcome the stranger"?

More than 25 workshops will be offered along with keynote addresses by M. Daniel Carroll Rodas and Baldemar Valesquez. More information and a registration form are available on the Bluffton Web site.

This conference is being offered as part of the university’s 2009-10 Civic Engagement Theme “Beyond Borders: The Role of Immigration in a Global Community.”

It never hurts to step back and view an issue from another’s perspective. You still might not agree in the end – but at least you’ll both have a new understanding.

And as we all know “The Truth Makes Free.”