Category Archives: Intentional Communities

As we watch unemployment numbers rise and markets flounder, it is painfully clear how pandemics not only impact individuals health and well-being, but also devastate the entire global economy. The scope and scale of COVID-19 and its related economic fallout stem in large part from the fact that the worlds social and financial systems with their interconnected businesses and supply chains have become so intertwined and interdependent that a disruption to one can ramify, rapidly wreaking havoc for all.

Yet, most investors continue to operate on the assumption that they somehow operate separately from these systems and that systemic risks are beyond their control. We believe theyre wrong. We think individual investors and the financial system at large can and should invest and lend in ways that intentionally enhance, and not destroy, these systems.

Although finance cannot prevent the threat of the next pandemic, intentional system-level decision-making by investors and lenders can help us prepare for it more effectively and mitigate its worst societal and economic impacts. We need better guardrails. By taking a few decisive steps, we can help put these in place.

Heres what we need to do.

Allocate assets to the sovereign debt and municipal bond markets. Only local and national governments have the authority to take the draconian steps necessary to slow or stop pandemics. Investors need to invest in governments strong enough and with deep enough pockets to build guardrails and kindle economic recoveries. In addition, through the municipal bond market investors can support those non-profit hospitals that make up the vast majority of our acute care healthcare system and disproportionately serve low-income communities.

Many institutional investors, in search of yield today, have drastically cut their allocations to fixed income, chasing short-term returns by shifting assets to alternatives such as private equity and hedge funds. This is a short-sighted decision.

Investors should also stop investing in companies that dont pay their fair share of taxes and in financial services firms that promote tax avoidance services. What they are doing may not be illegal, but they are starving government of one of its most basic sources of revenues.

Insist that companies understand their business models and prepare backstops for their meltdown. Todays airline industry may never recover. Why? Because it did not understand that it is in the business of bringing people together: uniting families, convening businesses, solidifying friendships. If it had, it would have invested in Zoom or established its own telecommuting subsidiaries. Flight delayed? Stay at home or stop by our lounge and use our remote conferencing platform.

Todays fossil fuel companies, with few exceptions, lack the imagination for anything more than running out the clock on their current business models in as orderly a manner as possible, although decades ago some among their leaders had active renewable energy portfolios that they since opted to sell. At least the automobile and electric utility industries have an inkling that they should adapt to a future of alternative fuels.

Be willing to invest in firms that invest in the health of systems and prepare for potential systemic breakdowns. Excess manufacturing capacity may not be the most profitable way to run a business, but efficiency is not about letting people die because no one planned for ramping up ventilator production. The pursuit of efficiency has to stop short of abandoning all protection against disaster. If a firm makes belts, investors should ask whether they have a suspender line in the wings. Suspenders may be redundant and inefficient but its best not to be caught with your pants down.

Pharmaceutical companies that emphasize vaccines, generally a less profitable line of business than patented prescription drugs, deserve credit for understanding that prevention, particularly of pandemics, is part of their industrys mandate. A drugstore chain can remake itself into a full-service preventative healthcare provider. Invest in the system today or pay the price tomorrow.

The financial community thrives on lending. Debt is the most efficient way to boost the consumer economy. It works its magic for corporations too. Except when it cannot be repaid. We lent profligately to the housing market in the lead up to the 2008 financial crisis. Corporations loaded up on debt in the days before COVID-19 hit. The bonds of debt are excruciating to unwind; it can feel like forever; it can turn worlds upside down. The economic, social, and human costs of doing so destabilize.

The equivalent of belts and suspenders for lenders is the willingness to forgo a loan that is in fact too risky and to forgive those that cannot be repaid through no fault of borrowers. That means tough love to strengthen borrowers and lenders both. That strength will be needed to get through the next systemic crisis, pandemic or otherwise.

Being prepared means anticipating the worst, building in circuit breakers and guardrails, assuring redundancy and resilience, even when the worst seems unimaginable. Being prepared means investing in the health of fundamental systems.

We may be lucky and dodge the worst-case scenarios of the current fast-moving pandemic and the slow-motion train wreck that global warming will bring, but the 21st century will see other such systemic disruptions and we had better be ready for them.

William Burckart and Steve Lydenberg are the authors of the forthcoming book 21st Century Investing: Redirecting Financial Strategies to Drive Systems Change (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2021).

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Five investment strategies to mitigate systemic risks before the next pandemic - ImpactAlpha

Wait, what? You read that headline correctly. Just daysafter The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, Ohioslargest newspaper, laid off 22 newsroom employees, the remaining 14 employeesreceived more bad news. They have been prohibited from reporting on Cleveland,Cuyahoga County and Summit County, as well as any statewide news, reportsCleveScene.com. Those regions will now be covered by sister publication,Cleveland.com, a non-union shop. If the remaining newsroom employees want tokeep their jobs, they will be restricted to covering Geauga, Lake, Lorain,Medina and Portage Counties, other counties in northeast Ohio, instead of beatstheyve covered for years.

The Plain Dealer Newspaper Guild, representing the union, spokeout on Facebook on April 7 about this latest blow to a once-respected mediaoutlet. The post received 634 reactions, 274 comments and 770 shares, as of 8:30p.m. Eastern yesterday. Here is an excerpt:

The Plain Dealer newsroom will no longer be coveringCleveland, Cuyahoga County or the state of Ohio.

Editor Tim Warsinskey announced Monday to the 14 remainingstaff members that the newsroom would, with a few exceptions, become a bureaucovering five outlying counties: Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina and Portage.

The move would bar most of the reporters from coveringstories in Cuyahoga and Summit counties, as well as statewide issues, wherethey have developed expertise and have institutional knowledge.

This latest announcement comes as the newsroom has workedceaselessly in covering this unprecedented pandemic, putting aside their ownpersonal family and financial situations to cover the news and tell the storiesof health care workers and the community

Warsinskey called the move a company-wide strategydecision. He did not say which company.

The Plain Dealer, which is owned by Advance Publications,consistently has maintained that The Plain Dealer and Advance Local, areseparate companies. Advance Local operates the nonunion Cleveland.com newsroom,which has not announced layoffs.

The two-newsroom operation was never going to becometenable or permanent, Warsinskey told staffers.

In effect, he is admitting that this decision is part of abroader move to eliminate The Plain Dealer and its staff altogether and not anattempt to provide meaningful coverage on areas the company has stoppedreporting on in any depth for years. The announcement comes three days afterThe Plain Dealer laid off 22 people in the newsroom, including 18Guild-represented journalists and four nonunion managers.

Its clear that the company doesnt value the expertise ofits veteran reporters and it doesnt think the community does either, said thepost. Readthe complete post on Facebook.

In another interesting move, last night, there were nostories on The Plain Dealers website. There were scrolling photos, but noarticles. A Google search directed us to Cleveland.com/plaindealer,but there was no link to that site from PlainDealer.com that we could find.

It is not clear if this move was intentional, or perhaps atechnical glitch. It seems to foreshadow what is coming. Cleveland.com willtake over news reporting for what used to be the biggest paper in the state.Meanwhile, Cleveland.com looked like this. It contained Cleveland-based storieswith bylines from Cleveland.com reporters.

The Plain Dealers editor TimWarsinskey shared The Plain Dealers position with News 5 Cleveland on thechanges:

There are two separate, but related, newsrooms inCleveland, and two outstanding news products The Plain Dealer andcleveland.com. Together, they serve the market well with The Plain Dealerstories appearing online at cleveland.com and cleveland.com stories appearingin print in The Plain Dealer, an approach that has been in place since separatenewsrooms were established in 2013.

By design, this approach helps provide thoughtful, impactfulcoverage in the most efficient way possible and ensures that Greater Clevelandhas more access to local journalism via digital platforms as demand for thoseplatforms continues to grow.

Today, there are 77 journalists and content creators inthese newsrooms covering Greater Cleveland, doing outstanding reporting,writing stories and creating content that our readers want and deserve. Thisnumber is comparable to the staffs in similarly-sized metro areas in Ohio andacross the country. But its not just about the numbers of journalists we haveon hand. Its how they are deployed to create a broad base of coverage for allof the communities we serve in Greater Cleveland.

On Monday, The Plain Dealer shared a new reporting focuswith the members of its newsroom, one that offers to bring high quality localjournalism to five counties in Greater Cleveland, and the nearly 1 millionpeople who live in them. Lake, Geauga, Portage, Medina and Lorain counties havebeen underserved by media in this market for years despite making up a largepercentage of The Plain Dealers subscription base.

The Plain Dealer, along with our sister companyCleveland.com, has an opportunity to change that with The Plain Dealers newfocus on these five nearby counties. This broadening of our coverage area isespecially important in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when all ofour readers, regardless of where they live, deserve to know how the virus isaffecting their local communities and how their local communities areresponding, Warsinskey said. Readthe full statement on News 5 Cleveland.

Cutting staff at a time when local journalism is more importantthan ever seems ludicrous, even if financially necessary. This latest move, however,makes absolutely no sense. Why would a media organization take skilledreporters with well-honed beats and move them to a bureau-type operation thatno longer reports news from the newspapers largest coverage area? It is almostunfathomable. We understand the guilds frustration and can only imagine how newspapersubscribers feel. It seems like Warsinskey and Advance Publications are notgiving the full story here. From the outside, it looks like they are cutting unionstaff and hoping the remaining staff will hate their plight so much that theywill leave voluntarily without a buyout or a mass firing. That would free thecompany up to transition to a digital model with non-union staff.

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Remaining Staff at The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer Prohibited from Covering Cleveland - Subscription Insider

On February 15, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art opened An American Project, a retrospective, of the work of multi-award-winning photographer and teacher Dawoud Bey. The show was supposed to run through May 25, before traveling to other museums, including the co-organizer of the show, New Yorks Whitney Museum of American Art. But due to the COVID- 19 pandemic, the SFMOMA and other museums, closed temporarily in March. Recently the museum put up a short video of Bey talking about visualizing history, and he took over the museums Instagram account the week of March 30.

Bey came out to San Francisco for An American Project, and at a preview had a conversation with Corey Keller, (who curated the show along with the Whitneys Elisabeth Sherman), in which he talked about going to see protests of the widely criticized 1969 exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,Harlem on My Mind, which mostly excluded African American artists.There was no protest that day, and Bey ended up going into the show, which made him think seriously about being a photographer.

An American Project includes Beys first show, Harlem USA, along with The Birmingham Project, commemorating the 1963 dynamiting of the 16th Street Baptist Church in that city which killed four girls; Night Coming Tenderly, Blackabout the Underground Railroad; and Class Pictures, portraits of high school students accompanied by their words.

Bey sat down with 48 Hills and talked about changing from wanting his photos to show people in a positive light to just making honest photos; how for The Birmingham Project, photographing children the age of the ones who were killed makes history more specific; and the way the darkness and positioning of the photographs in Night Coming Tenderly, Blackpull viewers into the experience of being on the Underground Railroad and running for their lives.

48 HILLS Your godmother gave you a camera when you were 15. When did you start using it?

DAWOUD BEY When I got the camera, and it was a very basic Argus C3 Rangefinder camera, I had no idea how to use it. I was more fascinated by the camera itselfthe fact that the lens came off, and I began to figure out when you turn this dial the shutter would open slowly. I had no background in photography, and I didnt any think of it in terms of what would my subject matter be. So I just started walking around with this camera. I never made any memorable photos with that camera, but I did start to notice photography magazines like, Oh, theres actually magazines about this stuff. So it got me engaged with photography, and I started looking at photography books and magazines, and then the possibilities of what one might do with a camera opened up.

I guess the pivotal thing that happened was the following year when I was 16 and I went to see Harlem on my Mind at the Met. I actually took the camera with me, and I did take a picture of the banner in front of the Met.It was seeing that exhibition that began to expand for me considerably the notion of what the subject of photographs might be. Even though Harlem on My Mind was not an art exhibition, clearly the photographs were not that ones I saw in everyday newspapers and magazine, which up to that point was my only frame of reference for what photographs were.Seeing that exhibition and thinking about my familys history in Harlem, because my mother and father met in Harlem, and beginning to realize one has to have a kind of nominal subject around which to wrap their picture making, that allowed me to begin making photographs.

48H So that led to your first show, Harlem USA.

DB Yes. They were photographs of everyday people in Harlem in the public and semi public spaces of Harlem, largely in the streets, and a few in churches and in barber shops and greasy spoon luncheonette restaurants. Those were very much in the tradition of other pictures I had been looking ata lot from photographers of the WPA and Farm Security Administrator. Walker Evans became an early influence and Roy DeCarava.I started looking at the lot of photographs, trying to get a sense of how photos are made and what good photographs look like.

48H With that show, Harlem USA, what kind of photos did you want to make?

DB When I started out, I guess I wanted to make photographs that in some significant way contested the stereotypical notions of Black urban communities like Harlem, which are often described through a lens of some form of social pathology. So when I started out, I probably would have said I wanted to make photographs that represented the people of Harlem in a more positive light. But as I continued on, I couldnt quite figure out what a positive light looks like. This was merely people in the act of living their lives.

I eventually came to this notion of wanting to make an honest representation of everyday people in Harlem. It allowed me to let me let go of this binary notion of positive and negative, and just try and describe clearly the people in front of me without trying to put them in a box. Just allow them space to breathe, and I realized that was enough.

48H You have talked about showing your work in the communities where you took the photos and how the act of being seen is political.

DB I thought it was very important that the work I was making in that community be shown in that communitythat the people who were the subjects of the work would have access to the work. Certainly a number of these photographs are made in places very different from where theyre shown, but theyre first shown where they were made, from my first show at the Studio Museum in Harlem in 1979. It gave me a very clear and intentional way of thinking about the institution as a place of display. Not just the end point for the work, but to use the space of the museum to set up a series of particular relationships: between the museum and the community in which it sits, and trying to use the work in a way that a piece of community is in the work. It creates a different relationship between museum and the community, where they are aware theyre being exhibited in this space, which makes them more likely to want to have access to that space.

I think it changes the dynamics. Certainly at the Studio Museum in Harlem, its a very different set of circumstances because that place is set up in order to have a place for art objects within the African American community. I wanted my photographs in Harlem to extend that conversation. Usually the first showing of the work is in the place in which the work is made. The Birmingham Project was first shown in Birmingham because it has a very particular relationship with that history. The Class Pictures project was made in several different communities around the country, but each piece first shown in the city in which it was made.

48H Why did you decide to have the students you photographed in Class Pictures write something to go along with their portraits?

I thought it was necessary because I wanted a very dimensional representation of those young people. Im always acutely aware of the limitation of photographs because photographs dont do a lot more than they do. Theyre mute visual objects that present a particular piece of information. But all the information that lies out of the frame, which is a lot of information, tends not to be what the work is about.

In terms of making a contemporary portrait of young people in America, I thought it was important they not only be visualized in my photographs, but that they have a place of self representation and talk about their own lives in a way that the photograph is not capable of. That the two thingsmy portrait of them and the textcould add up to something more than either alone can represent. In that project I though it was really important to give them a literal voice in the construction of the image.

48H You talked about your work having a through line? What is it?

DB A sense of history and place. Theres always been a kind of close looking at a place. Photographs become history the moment that theyre made. They begin to recede into the past as soon as they are made. Its about bringing all of that into the conversation through my work. To have them become a part of the conversation from which theyve been largely excluded.

48H You said you went to Birmingham for years getting to know the city before deciding what you wanted to photograph to commemorate the bombing the 16th Street Baptist Church by white supremacists.How did you decide on young people the same age as the children who were killed in a diptych with someone who would have been their age if they lived?

DB I didnt want to just photograph young people in BirminghamI wanted them to be those specific ages. The girls were 11 and 14, and the two boys killed that afternoon were 13 and 16. I wanted them to be that age because for me, the work resonated more deeply in terms of what does an 11-year-old Black girl look like, because one of the girls who was killed in the dynamiting of the church was 11. Not just what does a young girl look like, but what does an 11-year-old African American girl look like.

Its a way of making that history less mythic and more specific.History as time passes tends to become very gauzy. The four little girls. It almost sounds like a girls singing group. Like what is that? I wanted to very specifically give you a sense of what a 14-year-old African American girl looks like, a 13-year-old African American boy. I want them to be that age as a way of invoking their presence in the work, not a presence, but their presence through those young people.And through the adults who were the same age they would have been if they had not been murdered.

48H The photos in your Underground Railroad series, Night Coming Tenderly, Black, are very dark. Why did you want them to look like that?

DB I wanted the viewer to think about moving through that landscape under cover of necessary darkness, as they moved, in that case, toward Lake Erie. I wanted to make photos that evoked that particular sensation. It kind of allowed the viewer to momentarily, through the photograph, inhabit that space under those circumstances, to imagine oneself moving though that terrain under threat of death.

The positionality of all of them is eye level and meant to be experienced as if one were the person moving through that landscape. I wanted it to be a heightened physical and psychological experience.

I had a very interesting experience at the Art Institute of Chicago when I showed them for the first time. I came into the gallery and two women had just finished looking at the work and they looked disoriented and they said to me, Youre the one who made these photographs, right? I said yes. But you made them now, right? Obviously you didnt go back, but why am I feeling Im someplace Im not? It kind of pulled them back. I really want the work to pull you into the experience, so its not just a space of the imagination, which it is, but that it resonates as experience.

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'Change the dynamics': Dawoud Bey on photography, place, and history - 48 Hills

In speeches, commentaries and conversations about the coronavirus pandemic, we keep hearing war-like metaphors being deployed. It happens explicitly (we are at war, blitz spirit, war cabinet) and implicitly (threat, invisible enemy, frontline, duty).

This, after all, helps project an interpretation of the extraordinary reality facing us which is readily understandable. It helps convey a sense of exceptional mobilisation and offers to decision-makers an opportunity to rise up as heroic commanders.

It is also true that the language of biomedicine and epidemiology is already heavily militarised. We battle a virus, and our body has defence mechanisms against the pathogens that invade it.

But the coronavirus crisis is an international, pan-human challenge. It certainly requires exceptional collective mobilisation, but no real weapons, no intentional killing of fellow human beings, and no casting of people as dehumanised others. Militarised language is unnecessary.

Explaining and encouraging community resilience and togetherness in the face of adversity by evoking images of war conjures up distorted myths and narratives of heroic past national glory and military campaigns. This might function as a cognitive shortcut to evoke collective effort, but the narrow narratives it reproduces are open to exploitation by opportunistic politicians.

We could just as much favour analysis of the evolving situation in calmer scientific and medical terms. You dont need ideas about war to tell a story of the human race naturally coming together when faced by a common danger.

Indeed, one striking phenomenon has been the huge proliferation of organic networks of mutual aid. From street-level up, and often with the help of social media, a huge number of people have been organising solidarity networks to help each other and especially the most vulnerable.

People have come together and organised within neighbourhoods, cities and regions but also across nations to help each other without needing to call it a war or military duty. The language of mutual aid and solidarity works just as well.

Anyone interested in political theory and ideologies must be watching all this with some intellectual curiosity. Different perspectives come with different assumptions about human nature, the role of the state compared to other institutions, and so on.

War is the business of the state par excellence. Some argue it was war-making that actually made the modern state. Framing the response to COVID-19 in military language will reinforce such statist thinking and the statist project itself. It will reinforce the state and its power.

It is of course true that, given the political architecture in place as the crisis hit, states do hold much organisational capacity and power. They have a crucial role to play in tackling the current emergency. But other political entities matter too, from spontaneous bottom-up networks and municipalities to regional organisations and the World Health Organization. Military metaphors, however, either conceal their contributions or co-opt them by describing their efforts in military terms.

One could just as much pitch the crisis as being about medicine, health workers and human communities across the globe. One could analyse events around particular socio-economic classes, such as supermarket workers, delivery workers and essential equipment manufacturers, in every country affected by the virus. Looking at socio-economic classes across borders could also set up more searching discussions about homelessness, refugee camps, working conditions and universal healthcare.

An analysis based on class or social justice is just as appropriate as one revolving around military metaphors. But instead of reinforcing statist and military thinking, it would explain the crisis in anarchist, Marxist, feminist, or liberal internationalist terms, for example.

Language matters. It helps frame particular stories, interpretations and conversations while at the same time closing off alternative perspectives. It reinforces particular theories about how the world works, and sidelines others.

Framing political issues in the language of war both illustrates the prevalence of militarised thinking and further enables it. The more we use military language, the more we normalise the mobilisation of the military and the more we entrench military hierarchies. When the next international crisis arrives, rather than examining the deeper structural problems that caused them, we jump again to heroic narratives of national militarised mobilisation.

Who benefits from this? Politicians can project an image of decisive generals protecting their lot. Agents of state coercion can project themselves as dutiful and robust but popular administrators of the public will. They can then mobilise this (typically masculine) brand for their own political agenda later on. If you are Trump, perhaps you can even egg up some anti-Chinese patriotism.

Missed is the opportunity to develop a more nuanced understanding of human capabilities not restricted to national boundaries. Yet this international solidarity and these pan-human capabilities might be what we need to tackle other problems of international scale, such as the climate crisis.

When a crisis of global proportions gives rise to organic expressions of mutual aid, our imagination has grown so restricted that we find ourselves framing the challenge in statist and national terms. Instead of seeing the whole of humanity rising to the challenge together and observing the multi-layered outpouring of mutual aid, our imagination is restricted into encasing this in military language.

But that does not capture the full story. The human race will come out of COVID wiser if it does not frame its understanding of its response to it in narrow military language.

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Stop calling coronavirus pandemic a 'war' - The Conversation UK

April 7, 2020 | :

After varying amounts of struggle, universities across the country moved online for the spring semester in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But now the question is, whats next?

While some hope campuses will re-open come fall, no one knows for certain. In the meantime, university leaders are girding themselves for the possibility theyll have to offer another semester online and asking themselves how to best prepare for more long-term remote learning.

Many are thinking outside the box and outside the (virtual) classroom about what resources students will need if online classes continue next year.

Over spring break, most campuses didnt have the time to build the highest quality online programs as they scurried to open their virtual doors, but fall may hold new possibilities.

Clare McCann, deputy director for federal higher education policy at the think tank New America, stressed the importance of not only intentional instructional design but online student support now that schools have a small (albeit very small) extra amount of time to prepare, she wrote in an email.

Dr. Alison Davis-Blake, president of Bentley University, is working to create a true virtual campus, not just online courses, she said, to offer as much of the campus experience as possible online.

For example, the school held an online career fair and continues to offer remote career counseling. Groups of 40 students virtually meet with a student affairs representative for weekly check-ins and coaches continue to touch base with their athletes, even though they cant play. Student government is up and running, alongside fraternities, sororities and other student groups that continue to virtually meet.

The university plans to look at student and faculty surveys this summer to assess its online education this spring, and most importantly, what could be improved in the fall if remote classes continue. The hope is to offer more experiential learning opportunities and to make more on-campus services remotely available.

But as Davis-Blake pointed out, an online fall semester would pose a new challenge: on-boarding a first-year class amidst the pandemic.

University leaders are asking themselves, How do you orient students when youre not face to face? she said. What can you do over the summer to bring students in?

Shes thinking through a number of options virtual tours, group chats for new students, or even small regional group gatherings, if theyre safe when the semester starts.

Preparing for the possibility of a fall semester online, its almost as if youre building a university from the ground up, Davis-Blake said. For colleges, the key is thinking about what is an important part of your campus experience? And [then] trying to bring that forward.

Its a question Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick, president of Howard University, is contending with as well. The historically Black college (HBCU) is known for its family dynamic, he said, so hes considering what that means and what that looks like if students remain online in the fall.

The camaraderie students feel at an HBCU is difficult to create in a distance learning environment, he said. We do have to start thinking, What are our values, what are our traditions, and how do we uphold those in the middle of a crisis such as this?

For all universities, but particularly schools like Howard, which serve high percentages of low-income students, the possible continuation of online learning comes with another worry retention rates.

Frederick is concerned that students financially impacted by the coronavirus may not come back to campus next year, so continuing online options in the fall even if on-campus classes are safe might help students who need to work and might otherwise struggle to return, he said. In the meantime, part of the schools preparation for fall is carefully monitoring students and reaching out to those who may need help with their finances.

Frederick finds that the crisis, and the accompanying shift online, is impacting his students in diverse ways, with Black communities disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. Some need mentorship, others need devices to just to get online, and as a student survey found, many need quiet spaces to study at home.

So, as time goes on, he wants to continue tailoring services to their individual needs. For example, if places like libraries reopen before campuses next semester, Howard University might create a guide to finding safe, local study spots.

In preparing for the fall, we need to ask our students what they need rather than be proscriptive, he said.

Though everyone hopes for more normalcy in the next academic year, Davis-Blake thinks the process of making emergency plans for fall might actually help universities understand and address their students needs better. Campuses may find that some supports actually reach more students more effectively online, while others require an in-person touch.

I really believe this is a period not just to hunker down and say, Well, how do we get through? she said. This is a time for creativity. Even if we come back to campus and were all face to face, there are things were learning and will keep learning about how to deliver education even better through virtual and in-person activities. In every calamity, there is a possibility and an opportunity for innovation, for growth, for the human spirit to really rise.

Sara Weissman can be reached at sweissman@diverseeducation.com.

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Campuses Might Still Be Closed in the Fall. How Should... - Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Most kids in this country grew up in some sort of a neighborhood or even a cul de sac. Maybe you knew a few of your surrounding neighbors, or maybe not. Maybe Mom would wave at Jim across the street or sometimes chat with Karen on the curb/sidewalk/driveway/stairwell/apartment building hallway/what have you. Maybe your relationship with those who lived near you was friendly but never intimate or involved. Maybe you had one or two parents, or a big blended family, maybe one or more older siblings to teach you about life. Not me, though; I was raised by more than 15 adults.

It wasnt quite since birth, but since age three when my family moved to a commune called Tierra Nueva Cohousing on the central coast of California. This intentional of parents taught me everything.

Before I even learned how to share space with my younger sister, at the age of 3 I was already learning how to share almost everything with a community of over 20 families. Cohousing, which originated in Scandinavia, involves getting a like-minded group of people together and building a communal living arrangement. Typically, this means clustering houses so that cars are on the perimeter and open space is maximized. Though we lived in separate homes, we were all connected under a canopy of avocado trees through weaving terra cotta pathways.

In cohousing, sharing resources is key, and for this reason these communities have shared laundry facilities, workshops, game rooms, etc. We shared cars, cats, a garden, (free!) child care, a chicken coop, and a yoga studio. We also shared the common house, our general gathering place for shared meals, meetings, parties, and guest housing. (The common house was also where my friends and I would play dress-up, start a fire in the library unsupervised, sneak-watch inappropriate TV, and have our first spin-the-bottle experience.)

Tierra Nueva proper was established in 1997 after its founders Frank and Steph Recceri had already held years of meetings, retreats, and community-building activities in preparation. Cohousing is all about nonviolent communication, consensus-based decision making, and generally pitching in so the Recceris cultivated a community where families were happy to collaborate, share, and grow together. As kids, we always felt safe as well as encouraged to explore and figure things out on our own. I know it sounds like the wholesome beginning of the Rajneesh movement but dont worry: The Tierra Nueva community is to this day still thriving upon the same ideals it was built on over 20 years ago.

Growing up in this little community had its pros and cons. Living closely with people from all different backgrounds can be just as wonderful as it is challenging. I was not only raised by many adults; I was also raised and taught by my peers. But growing up on a commune was, for me, the best possible parenting I could have had. Heres what it taught me.

This became clearer to me when I was a teenager. Because we share almost everything in cohousing, there can be quite a lack of privacy. These adults watch you grow up, and then once youre a teenager you are under a microscope. They question your decisions and know all too much about that boy youre dating at school or that blowout fight you got in with your best friend. Sometimes its great; you feel loved and seen. Other times, it can be a drag, especially in that weird teen stage of life.

When my cohousing sisters and I hit around 15, we began to experiment with marijuana and alcohol. Unlike a normal household, where you usually keep this stuff from your parents, try it at a friends house or behind the school, we were trying it in cohousing. When one of my close friends started smoking weed out her window every night, the next-door neighbor threw a huge fit, called the cops, and threatened to send her to juvie. And this didnt happen only once: This happened nearly any time any of us would try to smoke inside, outside, on the roof, in the woods, you name it. Of course, we also tried to use the common house to throw a rager. And as any parent knows, teens can be careless, they dont necessarily clean up, they can be very loud, and they dont often give a rats ass about where they are partying as long as it isnt their place. Needless to say, the rager attempt did not go well for us.

The girls and I also used to brag about where we lived. We were the cool, easygoing hippies who always had a good unsupervised place to throw a party. But because we were using communal space, we were actually under a surprising amount of scrutiny. We would usually get a scathing email to the whole community the next day or a neighbor would just plain crash our party, frowning and muttering about the noise. But hey, sometimes we would actually get an elderly neighbor party crasher who just wanted to join in on the fun!

In cohousing, there was always something to explore, and we kids were lucky enough to do a lot of that exploration on our own. The entire community was a safe space in which we could play, grow, and use our imaginations. Every morning, I would wake up, run over to my best friends house, decide what game we were going to play that day, dress up, and hit the sidewalk. Our mothers wouldnt see us home until dinner.

We would spend all day playing out our elaborate imaginary games: Wed be orphans running away from the orphanage, wed set up camp and start some mud soup for dinner. If the boys ever found their way into our game, they would have to be the bad guys; we would run from them, through the common house, down the green road to the garden and onto the trampoline. Through unsupervised play, we gained independence, creativity, as well as rooted communication skills.

If conflict arose between us kids, we were taught the importance of nonviolent communication. For example, my best boy friend and I loved to fight with swords; we were usually Zoro and Elena or Lancelot and Guinevere. When it came time to pick out our clothes and character for the day, the adults around ensured that Riley and I used our words to get what we wanted instead of hitting each other immediately, which of course was what we wanted to do.

This simple reliance on verbal communication from such a young age proved to be more valuable than I could have imagined, and it would even set me up for success when I went off to college. There, I was sharing ideas and space all over again except this time, I got to show students from all different backgrounds the value of what was instilled in me so young. Throughout my life, this positive communication has improved my work, relationships, and creative endeavors.

If given the opportunity, would I raise my future children in cohousing? Absolutely. In the end, the pros outweigh the cons. I feel incredibly grateful that I experienced the childhood I did; being raised by a literal village provided me with a great sense of love, shelter, and what we all seek: community and connection. I learned how to empathize and walk in someone elses shoes.

There is wonderful value in humans working together to create something so special and sacred together, and each one of those 15+ adults as well as the kids in Tierra Nueva taught me and supported me in ways I will never forget.

Here are the best green gifts for your own little flower child.

The rest is here:

I Was Parented by 15 Adults on a Commune & This is What It Taught Me - SheKnows

My inbox is flooded with news about the coronavirus outbreak. Every hour, Im hearing about how many people are infected and dying, how woefully unprepared we are for this pandemic, and how the economy is tanking. Its enough to make my head explode with panic and dread.

Of course, I want to stay informed, and its important to know what I can do to help prevent the spread of the infection. How can I do that without feeling overwhelmed? Is there a better way to consume the news?

It turns out that there is, according to media experts and researchers. Taking in a constant stream of alarming news increases your stress and anxietyand has long-term consequences for your physical health, too. The key is to balance your media diet with news stories that are more inspiring or offer solutions, and then share them with friends and family. Taking those steps will help instill a sense of hope and personal agency, in yourself and others.

Of course, we need to know whats going on with the coronavirus pandemic in order to make good decisions, like washing our hands regularly and social distancing. Those actions help us fight the spread of the disease. But, as a new paper published in Health Psychology suggests, constantly reading negative, sensationalist news stories can have long-term consequences for our well-being.

Alison Holman and her colleagues at UC Irvine have studied past epidemics and disasters to see how news reporting affects people. They found that those who read or saw more sensationalist, repetitive news stories experienced acute stress and other symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress disorder, with poorer health up to three years later.

These effects can be even harsher for people in communities that have already suffered disaster. In one study, Holman and her colleagues found that New Yorkers (who lived through 9/11) following sensationalist news stories about the Boston Marathon bombings had as much stress as people who actually lived in Boston where the bombings took place.

Media coverage tends toward sensationalism, showing repeated images designed to grab your attention, and repeated exposure to that is not good for our mental health, says Holman. This can become a distress cycle, where people have a lot of fears about what the future looks like, and it just gets worse and worse as people continue to pay too much attention to the media.

Holman also points out how a diet of bad news hurts our ability to make good decisionsespecially under circumstances where the future seems uncertain or ambiguous. In the current epidemic, she sees this playing out by people hoarding products like toilet paper or, more seriously, protective masks needed by health care workers. Overblown fears lead people to run to the doctor when they have even mild symptoms of infection, thereby clogging up health care facilities needed for more serious cases.

Luckily, there are ways to get factual information without gorging ourselves on negative news. Holman recommends going to The Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization websites for information about the virus that is less alarmist and also non-partisan. Reading the facts about the disease and what we can do to prevent its spreadmaybe once a day, suggests Holmanis infinitely better for us than scrolling through our newsfeeds on social media every hour.

Dont let yourself sit there in front of your computer and constantly look up and refresh your screen to see whats going on, says Holman. Things are changing fast, but we already know what we need to do.

Still, its hard to pull our attention away from fear-inducing news; our minds fight us. As John Tierney, coauthor of The Power of Bad, explains, our brains have a negativity bias thats designed to root out danger so that we can stay safe. We cant help but be hijacked by bad news stories, and news sources want to capitalize on that by publishing the most sensational stories designed to invoke fear.

As an example, he points to the many articles and websites monitoring death rates from COVID-19 and speculating on how bad it could get without having all of the factslike how many real cases there are in a community, including people exposed to the virus without showing symptoms. Following this barrage of misinformation might incite fear rather than rational responses to the pandemic, Tierney says.

Media researcher Karen McIntyre of Virginia Commonwealth University also warns us that negative news can lead us to be less kind and helpful toward others, right at the time we need to come together the most. While research suggests that experiencing positive emotions can make us better friends and neighbors, consuming a lot of negative news leads people to be less tolerant of others, engage in more antisocial behavior, trust people less, and criticize the media more, she says. All of these general, negative effects of negative news are just exacerbated during a time like this, when were seeing even more negative news.

Sensationalist news is pretty hard to avoid, thoughespecially if you are tuned into social media. Social media has its upsides, of course, allowing us to check in with people we cant see in person due to social isolation. But it can also be a firehose of bad news, where stories about the pandemicwhether accurate or notare shared over and over again, perpetuating fear, anger, and hopelessness.

As media expert Jeff Hancock of Stanford University warns, Getting your news from news outlets in social media is problematic, because were still having a hard time distinguishing between reputable sources online and non-reputable ones.

To avoid being taken for an emotional ride by these highly emotional, clickbait, misinformation-type stories, he suggests avoiding them altogether and reading only news stories written by reputable journalists or looking to science experts to provide accurate information about the pandemiclike this site from John Hopkins University.

We also need to be careful about how a constant diet of negative news might affect our rational response to the pandemic. Cognitive biases impact how we process news, too, according to McIntyre. For example, our brains confirmation bias drives us to seek out only information thats aligned with what we already believe and to discredit the rest; the anchoring bias means we rely heavily on the first piece of information we hear and ignore what comes after. Biases like these can prevent us from learning from the ever-changing news around the pandemic, hurting our chances to fight it effectively.

The optimism biasthinking bad things are less likely to happen to us than to other peopleis a problem, too, says McIntyre. If you think youre unlikely to get COVID-19, you may be less inclined to take the necessary precautions to prevent it from spreading. So, we need to be careful about how these biases make us pay attention to certain types of news and ignore others.

Being aware of these biases can help you prevent yourself from falling prey to them, she says.

What can we do instead? We can be more selective about our media consumption and use it to promote more kindness, connection, and inspiration.

If you are going to use social media, Hancock suggests using it to see how the people you care about are doing, how you can keep calm, or how to help others in needespecially your nearby neighbors and communities.

Media can show us what people are doing so that we might feel like its not just usnot just mestuck at home, he says. If I can see what other people are doing, it can make us feel like were all in the same boat, and I think that can be really powerful.

While fear leaves people feeling helpless and exhausted, seeing that were in it together helps ease the emotional burden we feel and encourages more agencythe sense that we can do something constructive to fight the pandemic. You can encourage more coming together, McIntyre suggests, by reading whats called solutions-based journalismstories that go into depth around a problem, but also let you know whats being done to solve the problem effectively.

When you see whats workingthat the news isnt all bad, and there are a lot of things that the world is doing well right nowthat helps ease the helplessness and hopelessness you may be feeling, she says. And it can lead to more altruism, too, because reading a news story about how somebody is doing something to help inspires you to want to do something to help, too.

Where can people go to get this kind of news? McIntyre suggests the Solutions Journalism Network, where you can find a large database of solution-focused news storiesincluding stories related to the virus. She also mentions that several newspapers, including the New York Times and the Guardian, have sections that focus on uplifting news stories, which can help us break up our diet of bad news.

Though most newspapers operate on the assumption that if it bleeds, it leads, it may surprise you to know that positive, in-depth reporting engages readers more than sensationalist stories, says McIntyre. Research shows that people share uplifting stories more, and they keep their eyes on the page longer when they read solution-based storiesall the more reason for news outlets to provide more positive and in-depth coverage and for all of us to share it.

Its important that we do try to read the news thoroughly and listen to all the facts, says McIntyre. Making sure that youre checking your sources, that youre going to reliable sources to get information, and that you get a mix of sources, incorporating some constructive news into your mixall of these things help.

Staying informed without alarming yourself is not just important for you, but for everyone. If we can all do our part to put ourselves on what Tierney calls a low bad news diet, no doubt we will get through this pandemic together better and help preserve our own mental health in the process.

Link:

How to Be Intentional About Consuming Coronavirus News - Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley

The fourth annual Wayne State UniversitySpiritofCommunityAwardshonormembers of the university for their community engagement efforts.

The awards is sponsored by theDivision of Government and Community Affairs (DGCA)in partnership with theOfficeofthe President,theOfficeofthe Provost, theAlumni Association, theOfficeofDiversity and Inclusionand theDeanofStudentsOffice.

DGCA will present Spirit of Community Awards to individual staff and faculty members and will also recognize one community service project. Other awards include the SpiritofCommunityStudent Awards, presented by the Dean of Students Office; the ChampionsofDiversity and Inclusion Award, given out by theOfficeofDiversity and Inclusion; and the Inspire from Within Awards, presented by the Alumni Association.

Although the ceremony scheduled for April 2 has been canceled at this time, the contributing offices are proud to honor the deserving individuals receiving Spirit of Community awards this year.

In the last of the 2020 Spirit of Community award announcements, the Champions of Diversity and Inclusion Awards recognize faculty, staff and students with an established and successful record in creating and sustaining a diverse, inclusive and welcoming campus. The goal of recognizing these leaders is to increase understandingandappreciation ofdiversityand inclusionefforts throughout the WSU community.

Faculty award recipient: Jennell White, Ph.D.,Assistant Pharmacology Professor (Research),Wayne State University School of Medicine,Departments ofPharmacology/Pediatrics

Jennell White is being recognized for her leadership and tireless efforts in addressing the underrepresentation of minorities in research and for her work in reducing health care disparities.In an effort to support and encourage minorities in STEM careers, White developed the Biomedical Career Advancement Program (BCAP) in 2014, in partnership with Wayne State University School of Medicine, the Southeast Regional Center Area Health Education Center, Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority and Detroit Public Schools (DPS).BCAP offers inner-city youth summer employment and an educational opportunity devoted exclusively to biomedical research, mentoring and training. The program is based on Whites understanding that an effective resolution to diversify individuals in STEM careers was to increase opportunities and improve science education early and ignite a passion for science.Since 2014, she has mentored more than 200 DPS high school students and established strong partnerships to continue her efforts.

Staff award recipient: Harmanpreet Singh,Academic Advisor,Department of Psychology

Harman Singh is an academic advisor with the Department of Psychology at Wayne State University. Singh is being recognized for going above and beyond in his outreach to and opportunities provided for students on campus, particularly those in underrepresented groups. His advising philosophy is to empower students to make informed decisions about their academic and professional goals, and challenge students to take a proactive approach in their education. As a proud alumnus of Wayne State University, Singh firmly believes in the university's mission and seeks to address issues of equity and inclusion through his work. Outside of his role as an academic advisor, Harman is the co-founder of Seva4Everybody, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the metro Detroit community.

Student award recipient: Laial Beidoun,B.A. in Political Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences,Class of 2019

Laial Beidoun is recent graduate of Wayne State University andis being recognized for advocating for peace, charity, and inclusion on Wayne States campus and throughout metro Detroit area.She grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, a metro Detroit suburb that is home to the largest Middle Eastern population in the United States. Giving back to her local community was a cultural and religious obligation, and in 2017 she decided to expand those efforts onto campus by founding local nonprofit organization, Mission: Possible (MPO). Initially a student organization, MPO has been extended onto five other university campuses and has reached State 501(c)3 status. MPOs mission concentrates on promoting harmony, equality and diversity within their team and the communities they serve, supporting unity among all races and ethnicities.

In her time at Wayne State, Beidoun pursued a bachelors in political science and participated in the departmental honors program. In addition to MPO, she has also founded the campus organization Together We Rise, which focuses on networking opportunities for female students and young professionals with campus and community events. As a continuation of her academic career, Beidoun will be pursuing her J.D. in fall 2020.

Team award recipient: Internationals@WayneThe student organization Internationals@Wayne is a platform for students who want to create lasting friendships with people from different cultures and backgrounds, build a global community, and explore the great city of Detroit together. Internationals@Wayne is being recognized for its work in supporting and enhancing an inclusive global campus environment for domestic and international students. Diversity and inclusion are the core values of the group, and its members work hard to promote these ideals through their functions, with the overall mission of working to increase cultural awareness on campus.

The organization was founded by German exchange students Constanze Febee Sabathil and Andreas Krug in 2016 with the guidance of Yuliya Harris, a former events and program coordinator for the Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS). Sabathil and Krug noticed that many international students only came together once a week for the OISS Coffee Hour. While they loved the weekly gathering, they thought they could enhance their experience in the United States by spending more time together, exploring more of Detroits beautiful spots and history, and learning more about one anothers cultures and traditions. Their initiative was supported by Harris and the OISS, who assisted in giving the students a greater ability to connect and form an international family on campus.

The Dean of Students Office honors three students who havedemonstrated exceptional commitment to service and community engagement at Wayne State University and in the Detroit community.The awards have been broken into categories, including theWarrior Spirit and PrideAward, theCampus Engagement and Community InvolvementAward, and the Student Wellness and Well-BeingAward.

The Warrior Spirit and Pride Awardrecognizes a student who demonstrates the honest meaning of being a Warrior through extra- and co-curricular engagement experiences.

Award recipient:Bailee Soper

Bailee Soper is a senior who will graduate with a bachelors in psychology this April. During her time at Wayne State, she has been involved with multiple different on-campus organizations. For the past year, she has served as the president ofWAYN Radio, the universitys student-run radio station, and during the last two summers, Soper worked as an orientation leader, where she focused her time on building lasting relationships with new students visiting campus for the first time. In this role, Soper also communicated to incoming and current Wayne State students all that the university has done for her personally throughout her undergraduate experience.

Soper takes immense pride in her commitment to Wayne State. Having been a member of the 2019 homecoming court, she is passionate about representing the university and is dedicated to being a Warrior for life. Soper will begin her Master of Social Work at Wayne State in the upcoming fall semester, and she is determined to stay involved through alumni relations and other campus-related roles.

Warrior Spirit and Pride Award Honorable Mentions:

TheCampus Engagement and Community Involvement Awardrecognizes a student who demonstrates initiative and shows a commitment to service at Wayne State and within the greater Detroit community.

Award recipient: Shanmin Sultana

Shanmin Sultana is a sophomore majoring in sociology with a double minor in public health and Spanish. Sultana works as a student assistant for the WSU Public Health Department and as a mediator for Science Gallery Detroit, an interdisciplinary exhibition where she facilitates STEAM conversations with visitors and Detroit youth. She also serves on the organizations Youth Advisory Board.

From 2018 to 2019, Sultana served as director of internal affairs for "Paani," a nonprofit fueled by student volunteers creating sustainable solutions to supply clean water and improve health disparities.Sultana helped secure funds for 20 water wells built in rural villages of southern Pakistan, as well as $2,000 worth of hygiene products for a female vocational school in Karachi. On campus, she co-founded "Replenish Detroit,"a student organization with over 100 WSU students, focused on bringing awareness to the Detroit Water Shut Offs through relief projects.

Sultana also co-founded a new student organization called Pauseitivity. Upon hearing news about two Michigan students who took their lives within one week this year, Sultanas goal was to improve the mental and emotional health of her fellow students. She works with volunteers to pause for a minute and share small acts of kindness while encouraging others to pass it along, too. She hopes to spread a positive atmosphere on campus, especially when academic stress can be overwhelming. In her free time, Sultana enjoys creating art, writing poetry and exploring the hidden gems of the city.

Campus Engagement and Community Involvement AwardHonorable Mentions

TheStudent Wellness and Well-Being Awardrecognizes a student who supports wellness and well-being opportunities for fellow Warriors through leadership and participation.

Award recipient: Nadir Fouani

Nadir Fouani is a senior who will graduate in April with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and a double minor in sociology and public health. Fouani is actively involved with the campus community and has held many leadership roles during his time at Wayne State. Fouani has an extensive background in mentoring other students, working with diverse groups and fostering community engagement. He works hard to serve those in need and seeks to make a strong impact at Wayne State University through his efforts toward improving the overall student experience. His background includes working as a resident advisor, serving as a campus ambassador for international students, assisting incoming students with their transition to college as an orientation leader, and being president of Warrior Suicide Prevention.

In the past, Fouani has led a building-wide food and toiletry drive for the W Food Pantry, collecting over 400 donations. Fouani has won RA of the Year, the Be There award at the Student Center and was awarded a State of Michigan Tribute for his mental health advocacy on House Bill #4325.

These experiences helped Fouani decide to pursue a future in student affairs. He will begin his Master of Arts in student affairs administration at Michigan State University this fall. His ultimate goal is to work with underprivileged and disadvantaged students, particularly those who suffer from behavioral health issues and are in need of academic, personal, emotional and financial support.

Student Wellness and Well-Being Award Honorable Mentions

The Inspire from Within Philanthropy Award recognizes WSU faculty and staff whose philanthropic investments help strengthen the Wayne Statecommunity. Through significant and intentional annual giving, WSU faculty and staff have the opportunity to serve the university, illustrate the powerofgenerosity and inspire others to give in similar ways.

The 2020 honor goes to Professor Deb Habel, who is a member of the Mike Ilitch School of Business faculty. She has taught accounting information systems and principles of managerial accounting since 2014. Whether its her time volunteering as a healthy test subject in multiple medical studies, contributing to the efforts of a number of university and school committees, serving as faculty advisor to student organizations and Accenture-DTE intern cohorts, or soliciting the WSU community to participate in Heart Walk and Race for the Cure, her priority is student success, inside and outside Wayne State University.

Among her many accomplishments, Habel was appointed by the American Institute of CPAs to serve as an academic champion for future CPA and CITP exam candidates last year. In this role, she has formalized one-on-one mentoring with students pursuing accounting and technology consulting professions. Furthermore, the Excel proficiency crash-courses Habel initiated for students have evolved into a comprehensive required course for all incoming Ilitch School undergraduates.

As a member of the Learning Management System selection committee and a Canvas Warrior, Habel supplies support to her faculty colleagues through the migration of learning management systems, aiding in the shift from Blackboard to Canvas. Her advocacy for the Accounting Aid Society offers WSU students service-learning opportunities with their volunteer income tax assistance and financial literacy programs.

Habel has given more than just her time and expertise to Wayne State, though. She has also gone above and beyond to support her love for the university through philanthropic efforts. Her familys monetary contributions to the university allow students to reduce their dependency on student loans and part-time employment, enabling them to receive secure financial footing.

Celebrating Warriors engagement in the community, the first round of announcements for winners of the 2020 Spirit of Community Awards honor a Wayne State University staff member, faculty member and project. Presented by the Division of Government and Community Affairs, the Spirit of Community awards recognize members of the university who best demonstrate a commitment to service and community engagement. Nominations for this years awards were accepted last fall and were each judged by a unique panelcomposedof one student, staff member, faculty member, alumni and community leader.

Staff Winner:

Associate Vice President of Enrollment ManagementDawn Medleyspends much of her time leadingeffortsto help students at Wayne State Universityand the surrounding community further their education by targeting the re-engagement of adult students and debt forgiveness.

As the creator of the Warrior Way Back program the nations first student-debt-forgiveness program Medleyoften collaborates with other academic institutions to help supportreturning students. Leading a social justice model to prevent barriers that block students from educational access,Medleyhelped create the Wayne Access tuition pledge, which provides free tuition toWSUsneediest students. She is also the visionary behindthe Heart of Detroit tuition pledge, which provides the option of subsidized tuition for Wayne State-bound students who live in Detroit or graduate from a Detroit high school.

Throughout her professionallife, Medley has supported women andunderrepresented students, and promoted access to higher education. In addition, she actively participates in theW Food Pantry, Warrior Wardrobe, and serves as a mentor. She is a member of the Detroit College Access Network (DCAN) and Michigan College Access Network (MCAN)leadership boards,volunteered for the Human Rights Campaign, andmade over 20,000 phone callsduring the 2018 elections.

Medley provides pro-bono college advising and sponsors scholarships in her hometown. She is one of 69 members of the Leadership Detroit Class XLI, which challengesemerging and existing community leaders to bring about positive change in the community through informed leadership.

The Honorable Mentions for the staff award are:

Faculty Winner:

DianeCress became heavily involved in community engagement when sheestablished the firstservice-learningrequirement in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science (NFS) by requiringstudentsin her course,NFS 6850: Controversial Issues in Nutrition, to complete a community volunteer experience. Cresshas developedcommunity partnerships across Detroit with such organizations as Gleaners Food Bank, Forgotten Harvest, Earthworks, Detroit Food Policy Council, Eastern Market, Make Food Not Wasteand The W Food Pantry. Through the service-learning requirement, herstudents have contributed over 600 hours of service to the Detroit community over the past three years.

Cresstookher work further andbuilt internship programsto create ongoing community experiences for exceptionally motivated students.Two of themost successful internships she developed arewith theW Pantry and the Fueling Station. In the pantry, two interns work with the staff each semester to create menus and nutrition education for students utilizing those resources. At theFueling Station,studentscollaboratewith the WSU athletics departmenttoprepare and distribute food and provide general nutrition information to NCAA collegiate student-athletes.

Cress work has helped students learnhow food systems contribute to health; specifically, to the health of the Detroit community.She has increasedstudent participationand activismin the communityand provided studentsan opportunity to observe the work the people of Detroit are doing to advocate for policies that foster access to healthfulfood and healthy living.Shehas securedfour extramurally funded grants, which have solidified a Wayne State Universitynutritionalresearch presence in the community, creating awareness for health disparities throughout Detroit.

The Honorable Mentions for the faculty award are:

Project Winner:

Established eight years ago, S.A.V.E.T.H.E.Ms"Stomping Out"projectis an annual High School health fair and step show competition that engages metro Detroit high school students.Organized by Wayne States College of Nursingfaculty, staff and students, this annual event gathers thecommunitytosupport students as they artistically express themselves, while educating their peers about health issues specific to their age group.

Using an evidence-based approach to health education, Stomping Out puts a new spin on traditional health education by creating a fun and engaging activity that brings over 40 vendors and health organizations together annually. This event reaches over 300 individualseach year and providesinformation, resources and health screenings to the attendees. Stomping Out targets the adolescent population, which reaches their families and community, providing a safe and non-threatening environment to learn and ask questions.

TheCollege of Nursingand the programs more than 40 community partnershave the shared goal of educatingand empoweringlocal youth. In2016,theCollege of Nursing partnered with theCollege of Education to conduct a needs assessment for the event and published an evidence-based article describing the positive impact that Stomping Out has had on the community.This projecthas also provided an annual practicum placement for undergraduate students in Wayne States public health programs, providing a truly interdisciplinary, hands-on learning experience for WSU students.

Honorable Mentions:

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2020 Spirit of Community Award winners announced - The South End

Artist and curator Amy Jorgensen (courtesy Amy Jorgensen)

This is the latest installment of the interview seriesMeet the Art Community of the US Southwest. Check out our past interviewshere.

Amy Jorgensen is cofounder of Granary Arts and is currently their Executive Director and Chief Curator. With the vision of supporting long-term engagement between artists and communities, she has curated over 50 exhibitions of artists working in contemporary art and produced companion exhibition catalogues. In addition to developing a spectrum of cultural and educational programming, she launched the Granary Arts Fellows program, Film Feast, and the initiative Critical Ground which explores the impact of art criticism hierarchies and the democratization of art critique. Dedicated to the arts as a maker, facilitator, and educator, Jorgensen was recently honored as one of Utahs Most Influential Artists. In 2019 she spearheaded the publishing of the portfolio and exhibition of DE|MARCATION, the first comprehensive look at the state of contemporary photography in Utah.

Jorgensen is also an interdisciplinary artist whose diverse practice involves creating conceptual, immersive works that blend photography, performance, and video. In the realization of her work, she mines historical and contemporary perspectives to explore alternate and intersecting narratives of the body, desire, violence, and power.She is an Associate Professor of Visual Art at Snow College where she is head of Photography and Media, a member of the Board of Directors for the Utah Arts Council, and a member of the Acquisition Committee for the State of Utah Allice Merrill Horne Art Collection.

Born in Milan, Italy, she received a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Tufts University, and an MFA from the University of California San Diego. Jorgensen lives and works remotely in the high plains desert of Utah, and wholeheartedly embraces the practice of building the community you want to be a part of.

***

How long have you been in Ephraim/Utah?

I moved to Ephraim, Utah 15 years ago after an equal amount of time living in major metropolitan areas. It was an intentional move designed to cultivate a life with greater access to the wide open spaces of the West, and be in closer proximity to family. I finished high school in Utah, and placed some deep roots on this turf, the landscape holds formidable ground in my imagination.

What is the first strong memory you have of art?

My parents home was filled with art every wall, table, surface, and stairwell covered. They had a deep appreciation for the relationships and attachments they made with artists and places, in many ways they were collectors of both memory and objects. My childhood friends jokingly referred to my house as the museum. So, I suppose Ive been living and working in museums and galleries for a lifetime. They had a large-scale painting that hung over the dining table, my recollection is that it came from Germany or Poland. It was a heavy and dark scene of a nighttime forest in the depths of winter, and deeply marked with visible brush strokes, more like peaks and troughs. In the midst of this low-key sea of murkiness, there was one blob of creamy white paint. It was my favorite part of the painting, a kind of visual lifeboat in this emotionally hopeless image. This one, creamy, solitary mark on the surface of that canvas is my earliest and strongest memory of art. In retrospect, its such a powerful and visceral indicator of the connections we build to art, and the experiences of the artists who create it.

What are you questioning through your practice right now?

At the time of this interview, the world has been utterly upended by the coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19, and most of the country is under some form of isolation or lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus. Its difficult to think of anything else; this is a defining moment. I am questioning how this will change us. What are the long-term impacts going to be for artists and creative communities? And how will the arts speak to this moment from the perspective of the future?

As Granary Arts transitions from a physical to a virtual space as part of this global response, we are collaborating with the PARC Collective as our next Granary Arts Fellow. They will be exploring the impact of incubation in communities through online content sharing.

What challenges do you face as an artist in Ephraim/Utah?

Ill respond from two perspectives, first, as a curator. In the state of Utah, there are only a handful of museum-based curators dedicated to contemporary art, and they are all located in urban areas. Im the curator at a non-profit contemporary art space located in rural central Utah in a county with a population of roughly 30,000. There are many challenges embedded in the above statistics isolation, politics, resources, networks, poverty all of which are amplified tenfold as a rurally-based curator. Yet, Granary Arts and our mission of supporting contemporary practice is thriving. Built into heart of our structure is the interchange between local and global what has meaning and value to one is also relevant to the other.

Responding as an artist, isolation is the most significant hurdle. In a rural area, there is no immediate access to the vast cultural network and resources found in urban centers, so you have to work much harder to build those systems yourself. I recall when I first moved to Ephraim, the people taking my ticket at the local movie theatre were also the police chief and a city council member. It was fantastic, yet it was the moment I realized everyone in small towns wears multiple hats. The vision for cofounding Granary Arts with fellow artist and long-time friend Kelly Brooks emerged from a similar realization. We recognized that we wanted to live in a place with access to great contemporary art, and that meant engaging in the community, and making it happen.

What is the most impactful or memorable art experience youve had in the last year?

A project many years in the works, I was able to see the completion of DE|MARCATION: A Survey of Contemporary Photography In Utah, a limited edition portfolio co-curated by myself and Edward Bateman, and published by Red Butte Press. Originally inspired by a visit to the archives of the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, I began to think about how the portfolio format, popular in the 1970s, could be used in contemporary practice. There were multiple goals: build the photographic community, provide a platform for Utah voices, support the working careers of artists, and place the work of Utah photographers, as a group, on the national radar. The project took three years, dozens of collaborators, and thousands of hours to create.

The collection surveys the contemporary photographic landscape of creative practice by artists in the state of Utah as they navigate new territory in the global dialogue of imagemaking. The works delineate new boundaries and challenge the photographic traditions of the West as a hallowed land the landscape as a rugged vista to be conquered and tamed under the banner of Manifest Destiny and the settling of Zion. Intended to serve as a record of a historical moment, the collection reflects the dynamics of shifting cultural narratives and our relationship to place in a richly interconnected world.

When you are working a project do you have a specific audience in mind?

In curating programming at Granary Arts, I map out an 18-24 month trajectory. Within that timeframe I create a narrative arc for exploring a cross-section of ideas, voices, and perspectives that will resonate with our audience. Its a wholistic approach recognizing the spectrum of the art ecosystem, and the interesting challenge of building real connections with those who may have limited experience with contemporary art.

What questions do you feel arent being asked of or by creative people in your community?

How do we communicate the value of creative labor to audiences, and ultimately increase monetary compensation for creative work? Artists, writers, curators, and other creative collaborators contribute significant time and energy to cultural programming. Yet, most art labor is unrecognized, undervalued, and underpaid. As a small non-profit we feel this burden and would like to contribute to a change in the system. Weve been collecting data to quantify the amount of work involved in our programming for many years, and recently have launched an internal initiative to map how we can share this data most effectively with the public, and then share the template with other arts organizations. Stay tuned

How do you engage with and consume culture?

My remote location certainly dictates much of this. I stay engaged via the more traditional forms of publications, journals, and conferences. However, online formats are critical at this juncture, particularly as we are all now working from home, and in the era of coronavirus. Online content is my initial means of accessing exhibitions, artists, critical content, etc. I really love being able to follow artists work in progress on Instagram and Facebook. And of course, doing studio visits, visiting museums, galleries the best part of my job is supporting and connecting creatives. There are so many ways in which we can engage with one another, and I approach it as participating in culture rather than consuming active rather than passive. Its a larger question of how do we support our community, and keep this art ecosystem alive, fed, and thriving.

What are you currently working on?

We recently launched Critical Ground, an initiative exploring how the dialogue of art critique might shift towards communities and artists working outside the frameworks of NYC and LA. It explores the impact of art criticism and the democratization of art critique through the sharing of ideas and experiences with the intention of mapping an alternate way forward that is more inclusive of the spectrum of work created across the country. In practice, its a series of conversations and brainstorms between visiting critics and artists, curators, writers, and other stakeholders from the region. The conversations are roving: they are studio visits, site visits, and formal and informal discussions. It is a space where strategic thinking meets creative action with the intention to shift the current framework of art critique hierarchy to highlight work outside metro-centered locales. An experimental venture, the intention is to create a platform and space for this conversation in Utah, and to serve as a model for other places in the country with like-minded vision.

Who in your community of artists, curators, archivists, organizers, directors, etc. is inspiring you right now?

Im a huge fan of the ACME initiative at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City. Its a hybrid working model using Art, Community, Museum, and Education to explore themes and issues under the umbrella of activism and engagement.

Where are the centers for creative community in your region?

I live in a region called Sanpete Valley, defined by classic basin and range geography. Artists have been moving to this area for decades, as its a haven and home to several artist-run collectives and nonprofits. Casino Star Foundation, Spring City Arts, Hub City Gallery, Summer Snow, and The Fairview Museum all host exhibitions, open studios, festivals, workshops, lectures, and performances.

Read the rest here:

Meet the Art Community of the US Southwest: Amy Jorgensen Wants to Democratize Art Criticism - Hyperallergic

Jack Palen and Elsie Mares

Kennedi Hewitt (K.H.): What made you decide to run for ASLMU?

Jack Palen (J.P.): I had, especially in my time with the InterFraternity Council, really just fallen in love with working with my peers around me and working to empower everyone around me. I had an interest in running. Elsie and I had known each other since freshman year because we were sort of in the same major track and fell into the same learning community and had a bunch of classes together. So when I was thinking about running, she was one of the first people I thought of. I reached out to her and we made it happen.

Elsie Mares (E.M.): For me, I was honestly a little bit hesitant about running I really love to do behind the scenes work like policy, event planning, things like that. So, once I talked to some past vice presidents, they reassured me that that is really more so what the goal of vice president is That made me really excited because I feel like its the best of both worlds and you get to really introduce policies and initiatives that impact the communities I care about and have been working with during my three years at LMU, while not having to necessarily be the face of ASLMU.

K.H.: Why do you think ASLMU is important on campus?

J.P.: I think ASLMU is important because with student government, you have the opportunity to institutionalize support Everything weve done outside ASLMU is very important, but when it comes to the conversation of what student government can look like at its best when you bring that support to the highest levels in involvement, thats when you can really take it to the next level and turn it up a notch whether that's in terms of funding, visibility or sharing that funding and visibility with the groups prior to ASLMU that Elsie and I have been working with and supporting.

E.M.: I think that this years administration was a really good example of the power that ASLMU can have for really important issues that affect a lot of the student body. Next year were getting housing that doesnt have transphobic rules, at least a section of housing and hopefully that extends to all of on-campus housing. I dont think that would have been possible without advocacy on behalf of the people who have been in positions of leadership. Which is really unfortunate because there had been people doing that work way prior to that and advocating for that way prior to that, but it really does sometimes take people within positions of leadership to take that fight to another level and use their access to administration to advocate for things of that nature.

K.H.: How will you bring about change in this role?

J.P.: One of the main goals that Elsie and I have is the ability to bring agency to a lot of student organizations on campus. Its not like I plan on stepping into the role of ASLMU president if we happen to win the election and just write in policy that I deem to be important to students who live very different lives and have completely different identities than I do. Its more my goal to get into that position and empower them as much as I can and give them the agency to write and take action that reflects what the organization needs and what the organization is interested in.

E.M.: We want to bring change in that ASLMU is used more as a tool for advocacy and improving the lives of students on the margins and basically improving the lives of students in general. So anyone who is in an RSO, we want them to know that ASLMU is there to support them. Anyone who is trying to find their place on campus, we want them to know that ASLMU is there as a resource. Anyone who is facing structural challenges that the institution is causing, ASLMU is your advocate.

K.H.: What do you think qualifies you to be President and Vice President?

J.P.: I think Elsie and I have such a large network that if we do have a goal were able to sort of bring everyone into the fold using that network. I also think Elsie and I have so much experience already working with students in the capacity of different leadership roles that were able to bring to ASLMU the same energy we've been bringing over the past three years. Just again circling back to the different level of abilities that come with student government and were able to take it that much further. Elsie and I won't be doing much differently, we will just be doing it with a student government and therefore doing it to a greater extent.

E.M.: I think what should motivate people to run is the general interest and impacting certain communities and certain areas. I think Jack and I both have a genuine passion for the people around us and the quality of life that students at LMU have and are experiencing. So I don't think that's necessarily a qualifier but I think that's the motivation. And I think when that motivation is really pure and there, that's what leads to really authentic leadership and a leadership that doesn't burn out when it gets difficult.

Alex Smith and Elsa Wilson

K.H.: What made you decide to run for ASLMU?

Alex Smith (A.S.): Being involved in ASLMU really contributed to this decision. I remember in the fall how I just started working with Ken and Emily and how excited I was for that position. I thought, I have an extra year left and I think itll be really cool if I did this with someone else like Ken and Emily did. So I thought of Elsa. Elsa and I had a very memorable conversation at the Lair over some chicken tenders one day and it kind of started from there and weve been planning since the fall.

Elsa Wilson (E.W.): As two out-of-state students, we were both pretty nervous to make that jump. LMU has really become a home for both of us so to be able to have the opportunity to do everything we can to make it that much better for incoming Lions and those with a few years left, we were just so excited about that opportunity. And to do it with one of my best friends makes it that much better.

K.H.: Why do you think ASLMU is important on campus?

A.S.: I'd say ASLMU is all about promoting the student experience. I think right now that's exactly what we need for when we get back to campus in the fall after all of this craziness is over. I think ASLMU and their decisions and programs such as Fallapalooza and After Sunset get the students involved and are very popular and fun. ASLMU is also responsible for initiatives like the menstrual hygiene initiative and Divest LMU and everything else weve been working on this past year.

E.W.: ASLMU is the direct way for students to talk to the administration and higher ups who are in control of decisions happening to the University. So if students have a personal problem, it's the ASLMUs president's job to bring that to the University president and the board of trustees.

K.H.: How will you bring about change in this role?

A.S.: Definitely through our initiatives and platforms, I think we have some really good ideas for that. One of the bigger ways in how we're going to bring about change is Elsa and I both have experience in ASLMU and we both understand how it works and how to talk to the LMU administration and make sure these ideas get by. I think our Lyft initiative will definitely help in regards to transportation and making our campus safe. I think we have a good idea with the pop-up thrift shop Everything we have is tangible and definitely doable and well thought out and I think that is the best way to get stuff done.

E.W.: The big thing that were stressing is that we want students to directly feel the effects of student government whether that be through the involvement fund where ASLMU will pay a portion of the dues for students to join an RSO, or the Lyft initiative that Alex was talking about to provide a cheaper resource for students to get around our little corner of L.A. So were really stressing equity. We both know how this works so everything that we're presenting is very feasible and likely to get done if were elected.

K.H.: What do you think qualifies you to be President and Vice President?

A.S.: First and foremost I like to say that everyone running against us is very qualified and we have a lot of leaders on campus who are qualified for the role of President as well. However, I think what sets us apart is our relationship with each other and we have a lot of good ideas and a lot of plans on how to incorporate leadership into that role. Half of the role is working on our initiatives and the other half is how to be a leader, how to treat others with respect and how to listen.

E.W.: It wasn't a strategic choice to run together, it's that we work really well together and we have a lot of similar ideas. We act in a lot of the same ways and one thing that we both stress is being intentional with everything we do. So we're not running just to say our senior year of college we were in charge of the student body, were intentional in everything we do and we're doing this because we really care about LMU.

Anya Montgomery and Taylor Pajunen

K.H.: What made you decide to run for ASLMU?

Anya Montgomery (A.M.): We are currently both on ASLMU and have, for the full year, been working up to this point together. We've been really engaged with the initiatives of this current administration. I love the work that they're doing and have been concerned about those values being upheld in the future. For me personally, I recognize the really big importance in having people of color and queer people representation in high leadership roles, like I'm non-binary, my pronouns are they/them. It's really important for the maintenance of health and safety and wellness and empowerment of our students.

Taylor Pajunen (T.P.): I joined ASLMU towards the end of my freshman year so it's kind of been my home and I've seen how student government can be a positive and a very negative thing I don't think that we should be the ones taking and doing, I think we should be the ones uplifting and supporting other groups that are already doing that work.

K.H.: Why do you think ASLMU is important on campus?

A.M.: ASLMU is the biggest and the most impactful bridge between the student body and administrative bodies. There's a lot going on at LMU. LMU is a business as well as an institution of learning so there needs to be some sort of liaison creating that transparency between students and administrators.

T.P.: A lot of initiatives that student organizations have started have been amazing but due to people graduating or movements dying off, ASLMU, due to how grounded it is in the University, is able to continue these movements.

K.H.: How will you bring about change in this role?

A.M.: Our platform is largely based on uplifting and empowering voices and creating and maintaining community. We want to be as open as possible and have our doors open to student perspectives and hear about their experiences. We do not have every experience in the world and therefore cannot speak to it and we do not want to speak to it over someone who can tell their own story.

T.P.: Weve also been thinking a lot about what the word inclusive means. I feel like this is a pretty big buzzword. Yes, our goal is to have a very welcoming LMU community, but we must recognize that we should not be making people conform to what LMUs standards are. We should be transforming and making ourselves more accessible to people.

K.H.: What do you think qualifies you to be President and Vice President?

A.M.: We are doing the work. I think in doing this campaign we've learned so much about ourselves as leaders and how much we care. We are in community. These things we are fighting for are things that we have recognized as needs for ourselves during our time at LMU. We are thinking critically about our own experiences and are engaging in conversations to expand our knowledge of student needs. And we have ASLMU experiences such as ASLMU secretary and the athletics senator.

T.P.: During my time in ASLMU, Ive seen how ASLMU works, but also how a broader student government works. A lot of action does not happen in student governments across the country due to the short time that we have. It takes a long time to get comfortable and to actually be productive in a position within student government I started my freshman year and I didn't feel fully into it until the middle of my sophomore year. But here I am now, my junior year, and I feel like I made these connections and I made relationships and I know how to write legislation. I recognize that doesn't make me holier than thou or better than, but it makes me someone who's done the prep work and is ready to continue this work.

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ASLMU candidates speak on their platforms | News - Los Angeles Loyolan