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Class explores democracy, alternative teaching methods
The class will bring in students frnin several
different local colleges to focus
on specific communitj problems and
ic
By Eric Ginsburg
Staff Writer
My friends often comment that I take
classes they haven't heard of and request
that I tell them all the "cool classes" I've
foimd before they sign up. This time. I'll let
everyone in on the surprise.
Next semester, Guilford's justice and pol
icy studies (JPS) department will be offering
an innovative new course titled "Reclaiming
Democracy: Dialogue, Decision-Making,
and Community Action" (JPS 350). After
meeting on Monday nights from 6-9 p.m.
for approximately a month, the class will
be held at the Elon University School of
Law located in downtown Greensboro.
The four-credit course will be taught by
professor Sherry Giles, a new JPS teacher,
along with six other teachers from five local
colleges. The class will bring in a maximum
of 25 students from Bennett College, Elon
University, Guilford, Greensboro College,
UNC-Greensboro (UNC-G), NC A&T, and
the broader community. Students and
teachers will create a group definition of
democracy and will collaborate to shape
course material.
"We're trying to model democracy as
well as thinking about it, so students will
be shaping the issues," Giles said.
Students will spend the first part of
each class together listening to panels and
interactive lectures but most of the course
will be spent in small groups of .approxi
mately ten to twelve students. Each group,
facilitated by a professor, will pick an issue
to focus on for the course. Students will
II
have input about which group they
participate in but professors will make
the final decision in order to mix up
students from different institutions. At
the end of the course, each group will
present their research to the class and
larger community.
"It sounds like a great networking
and community-building experience,"
junior John Douglas said.
Issues will include topics such as
desegregation, terrorism, community
organizing, the economics of racism,
and truth and reconciliation. While
topics will incorporate a global and
national context, "all of the issues will
be grounded in Guilford County," Giles
said. Most readings will be primary
documents or articles, and likely only
one assigned text.
The course, which is modeled after
a class by Tim Tyson in Durham, is the
brainchild of Giles and Spoma Jovanovic,
professor of communications at UNC-G.
Together, Jovanovic and Giles will teach
the course along with Elon professor of
philosophy Stephen Schulman, Bennett
professor of political science Gwen
Bookman, longtime community activ
ist and organizer Ed Whitfield, A&T
economics professor Larry Morse, and
Greensboro College religious studies
professor Dan Malotky.
Course material will be split into
three parts: where we are, how we got
here, and where do we want to be and
how do we get there.
"We want to find a way that commu
nities can do things for themselves, and
have things done for the community as
opposed to being done to it," Whitfield
said.
"Reclaiming Democracy" is an upper
level JPS elective aimed at juniors and
seniors but interested sophomores
should contact Giles. Financial aid will
be available to those who need it.
We want to find a way that communities can do things
for themselves, and have things done for the community
as opposed to being done to it."
Ed Whitfield, Reclaiming Democracy teacher
ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Continued from page I
important because by doing that com
panies will be cutting down less trees
so there won't be as much deforestation,
which requires more energy," Deutsch
said. "Using environmentally sustainable
products usually doesn't require as much
chemicals to make, and it doesn't harm
the environment. These products also bio
degrade, so you don't have to manage or
treat hazardous chemical waste."
The paper industry governs the ESC to
ensure that every step taken in the pro
duction of paper is eco-friendly.
"The ESC ensures a chain of custody
of the paper which starts from the forest,
to the pulp manufacturer, to the paper
manufacturer to the paper merchants
and then to the printer," said Michael
Crouch, associate director of communi
cations and marketing. "So picking ESC
approved paper is safe because we know
they are using fair labor practices from
the very beginning, starting with the lum
ber industry."
FSC's holistic approach particularly
impresses Yarbray.
"The ESC considers things like indig
enous peoples rights in forestry manage
ment, the whole community surround
ing the environment, workers rights, and
at the whole ecosystem of the forest,"
Yarbray said.
Since the ESC considers where the wood
fibers come from, it is able to consider the
environmental impact on the community
that surrounds the environment.
"They take into consideration how each
step will affect the animals that depend
on the trees for survival," Yarbray said.
Crouch added that working with FSC-
approved paper is valuable because many
of companies buy paper from other coun
tries like China or countries in South
America that clear-cut rainforests.
"The Chinese government subsidizes
the paper industry in China and as a
result they flood our market with cheaper
paper, which strains the ecosystems, takes
resources away from native people and
the animals that live there," Crouch said.
Ledbetter said that individual involve
ment will lead these corporations to be
more responsive and take the environ
ment into account, regardless of economic
issues.
"It's up to us to make companies know
that we care," Ledbetter said. "We have to
be responsible (and) smart and we have
to be environmentally friendly. It's an
accountability and responsibility issue."
Guilford has already taken active
steps to becoming more environmentally
responsible.
President Kent Chabotar signed the
Climate Commitment, which according
to Guilford's Web site, "aligns Guilford
with more than 250 institutions of higher
education across the country who have
pledged to address global warming by
neutralizing their greenhouse gas emis
sions and accelerating research and edu
cational efforts to equip society to re-sta-
bilize the earth's climate."
"Switching to ESC paper is a perfect
way we can start to implement the Climate
Commitment," Crouch said. "The paper
that the campus stationary paper will be
ESC approved by the end of this year and
it is my hope that we will pick that up and
move forward."
Ledbetter has worked with schools like
Elon University, UNC-Greensboro, and
Winston Salem State to help them select
environmentally friendly paper suppliers
and hopes to work with Guilford in the
near future.
Many environmentally-friendly prod
ucts are more expensive, which is a major
handicap that Guilford faces when trying
to adopt more eco-friendly practices.
Yarbray hopes that Guilford will con
tinue to use more environmentally sus
tainable products, but "we have to make
the right choices because if the cost is
double, it might not necessarily be the
most sustainable thing for our school. You
have to balance and make the improve
ments you can."
Deutsch said that "being environmen
tally conscious and responsible isn't only
about buying environmentally friendly
products and recycling but also doing
things like picking up the trash," which
are things that students can contribute
for free.
"Guilford should encourage students to
take care of the environment in the ways
they live," Deutsch said. "To make an
impact you have to take an extra step, and
you can't expect it to be easy."
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