Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / April 3, 2015, edition 1 / Page 6
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6 I April 3, 2015 The Guilfordian ■pEATURES Jr WWW.GUILFORDIAN.COM/FEATURES Students use spring break to volunteer, learn about race issues Some students spent their spring break volunteering in Herthord, North Carolina, bulding houses on a trip led by Frank Massey. BY AUBREY KING Staff Writer There is no happiness hke spring break. A week of no classes and homework comes as a reUef to almost anyone. Spring break is an opportunity to have fun, but at Guilford College it is also a chance to learn and explore. Over this year’s spring break, Guilford students pursued a variety of opportunities. From building houses to conferences on peace and privilege, students found no shortage of wholesome ways to spend a week off. One of the trips,, a work trip to Hertford, North Carolina, taught Guilford students practice skills and life lessons by putting them to work building houses with other volunteers. “I thought it was really unique that most volunteers at the Friends Disaster Service were older men ranging in age from about 50 to the oldest being 86 years old,” said junior Ben Randazzo in an email interview. "I think the most meaningful thing that I learned from the volunteers was that age is just a number and that anyone can be involved in bettering the lives of others, no matter what their experience is or what their physical abilities seem to be.” The lessons did not end there. When two groups come together, an opportunity presents itself to develop sl^s of cooperation. “(Cooperation) is certainly a part of it,” said the trip’s leader IFF Gifts Discernment Coordinator Frank Massey. “There’s a learning language that can communicate across class lines, racial lines, economic lines and theological lines.” Guilford students also broke barriers in conference rooms just as well as construction sites. Students participated in the 2015 Jewish Voice for Peace National Membership Meeting. The conference saw hundreds of leaders from all sorts of organizations coming together in Baltimore, Maryland, to discuss the Jewish conscience, community and a peaceftil resolution to CAROLYN the conflict in Palestine. With such a social justice focus, it seems only natural that Guilford students attended and learned from leaders and students from all over the country. “Jewish Voices for Peace gives me an active, critically thinking and passionate Jewish community that I can be fully present and engaged in,” said Mia Warshofsky, attendee and vice president for Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Central Florida on her Facebook page. Also pursuing social justice, yet another group of Guilford students attended a conference on racial inequahty in he White Privilege Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. “WPG is; a conference that examines challenging concepts of privilege and oppression and offers solutions and team building strategies to work toward a more equitable world,” reads the conference’s Web page. With attendees from all over the world and a strong social media presence, WPG created a space where Guilford students could learn and develop new ideas to bring home. “I would absolutely go on this trip again,” said Guilford senior Khadija Carr in an email interview. “I am so grateful that Community Senate, the multicultural department and other donors had the funds to help us attend the conference and enhance the campus climate at Guilford.” No matter which event any particular student attended, all learned something and almost all wanted to go back for more. “I would most definitely go on the trip again,” said Randazzo. “I was able to learn, and I was able to build relationships with people inside the Guilford community as well as outside the community.” Within one week, Guilford students helped rebuild lives, promote peace and challenge harmful social norms. The final minutes of that last Friday class may mean no conventional learning for a while, but it can also mean a week of experiencing the world in a different and beneficial way. Whitlow recognized for teaching, art Continued from Page 1 members of the community, such as the first black tenured professors at Guilford and the first Latino and immigrant Student Senate president. This year, former Guilford College English professor Carolyn Beard Whitlow was honored for her excellence during her time at Guilford as well as for her creative work. “We salute one of our finest, Carolyn Beard Whitlow, who retired last year after 21 years of educating and nurturing students,” said Fernandes at the Banquet. Whitlow is a much-published poet who has received numerous accolades for her writing as well as her fabric art. Her quilts have been displayed in Washington, D.C., New York City, Boston, Seattle, Princeton, Winston- Salem, Guilford College and more. “Her poetry’s been groundbreaking,” said Whitlow’s friend and former colleague Adrienne Israel, vice president for academic affairs and academic dean. “There’s a music and a rhythm in her poetry that is unique. She also does a lot of research on her topics in order tell the story of African-Americans as a people.” Other former colleagues of Whitlow held her creativity in high esteem as well. “Her work outside of Guilford had two forms, the books that she published but also her work as an expert art quilter,” said a former co-worker of Whitlow’s Jim Hood, a professor of English. “It was fascinating to hear about her process, which was slightly different than her poetry writing, which was often very planned out. “She worked in very strict forms, but her quilting was very minutely detailed stitching, and she never really had a plan about where it would go. “The form emerged in the process of her stitching.” Whitlow was deeply touched by her honoring. During her acceptance speech, she said she was proud that her commitment truly did make a difference at Guilford College. “She has made a statement about what is possible, that a faculty member can be a great teacher, an active member of community,” said Israel. “She’s published, and she’s a very respected advisor. She’s a testament to the rest of us of what we can do.” Celebrating National Farmworker Awareness BYLESLYVASaUEZ Staff Writer March 24 to 31 was National Farmworker Awareness Week, where we bring attention towards those out in the fields bringing food to our tables. Hispanics United at Guilford honored those who are working in the fields this week. The events consisted of petition signings, a vigil. Salsa by the Rocks and a Cesar Chavez banquet. “We talked about (celebrating) the week ... because it was something that we felt was very important (and) that we needed to make students aware of the (situations) that are going on today with migrant farmworkers,” said Co-Vice President of HUG and first-year Gerardo Marcos-Ocampo. Two petitions circulated on March 24 and 25 in Founders Hall. One was to help Pesticide Action Network send a message to the Environmental Protection Agency to stop farm owners from spraying the farmworkers with pesticide while they are working. The other was to help The Walk Free Team create a larger voice to tell Wendy’s, the last remaining U.S. fast-food restaurant that has not joined the Fair Food Agreement, to sign the agreement and help workers. The petitions will be up for review on Aug. 8. On March 26, HUG held a vigil in the Hut and read several stories about former migrant farmworkers. The vigil began with a short game of Jeopardy, each question asked dealing with NFAW. One of the first questions was, “How many women get harassed in the fields?” One of the groups said 60 percent when in reality, it is 80 percent. “Eighty percent is a lot of women,” said first-year Jessica Canar. “It shouldn’t-even be-happening.” Eventually, the group realized Jwpardy was used because farmworkers’ lives and he^th are in constant jeopardy. After the game, HUG presented the group with two videos. One of them was about farmworkers’ perspectives towards pesticides and how it affects their skin and sleep deprivation. The other was about children who drop out of school to work on the farm to help their families live a better life. “It doesn’t take periods to adjust (to something like that),” said senior Noelle Lane. “You never really adjust.” HUG presented stories about the former migrant workers and one story about the son of a farmworker. It made many realize how privileged they are to be at Guilford College. Those who attended stayed silent after Irving Zavaleta Jimenez, Multicultural Education and Latino Community Coordinator, shared a heartfelt story. “I actually did an internship with a boy named Edson,” said Zavaleta. “He was 15, (with) no mother, no father and no one because of his family working in the fields. “It made me feel privileged because even though my family worked in the fields, I still had them.” After a short moment of silence, attendees expressed appreciation toward HUG for what they were doing. “What you’re doing here, teaching Latinos about something so (delicate) like this, is amazing,” said attendee Margo McBane, history professor at San Jose University. “This history goes way back, all the way to California, Cesar Chavez and Dolores Fluerta. “It’s important for Chicanos and Mexican-Americans to know their ancestors.” The vigil ended with the lighting of candles honoring those who died working in the fields to keep their own food on the table. On March 27, HUG invited everyone for a little bit of happiness. The group did Salsa by the Rock where anyone could come by and donate clothes to the local farmworkers. It was also a great way to get to know everyone and even shake off a little of the sadness from the day before. “The goal for NFAW was a success because its goal was to inform the GuUford commimity about what the undocumented farmworkers experience,” said President of HUG and sophomore Danewrys Tejeda. “Seeing the amount of people that attended the events, I have faith saying that people took away valuable information that hopefully left an impression on their daily Uves.” On Tuesday, March 31, a banquet was held in honor of Cesar Chavez at 5 p.m. in the Gilmer Room.
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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April 3, 2015, edition 1
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