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Volume CXVIII, No. 1
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Thursday, January 28, 2016
Thursday, January 28, 2016
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Project Gettysburg Leon Auction raises $42,000
National On Jan. 27, an outspoken protestor in Harney County, Oregon was killed during a traffic stop related to a wildlife refuge ordeal. The demonstrators have insisted that despite the death, they will continue their armed occupation of the wildlife refuge. The police and FBI have intervened, with the FBI setting up checkpoints on roads heading to and from Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Protestors believe that the government has overextended its rights regarding federal land. The governor of oregon, Kate Brown, has said that the situation is in progress and asked for patience as officials “continue pursuit of a swift and peaceful resolution.”
International An American nanny who died in Vienna could have potentially suffered a homicide. After her employers asserted that she had not showed up for work, firefighters checked her apartment and found her body face down on a mattress. The victim has been identified as Lauren Mann who had been working for three years. A toxicology report and autopsy report have both been ordered to determine whether or not Mann was poisoned. Although there appeared to be no external injuries, traces of blood found near her head indicate an internal injury. Mann had graduated from the University of Colorado-Boulder with a degree of music in 2012. In days prior, another American woman was also murdered on a beach in Grenada, and several weeks ago an American artist was found dead in Italy.
This week’s “Top Stories” were compiled by Kayla Britt with information from CNN (www.cnn.com) and Project Syndicate (www. project-syndicate.org)
The project sponsors cultural exchange and sustainable development in Leon B y K ayla B ritt N ews E ditor
ed one water well and one and see how Project Gettysp l a y g r o u n d , s p o n s o r e d 6 5 burg Leon is implemented in delegates who visited Ni- the Gettysburg community. On Saturday, Jan. 16, caragua and participated in The attendance at the Project Gettysburg Leon cross-cultural and technical auction was exceptionally hosted the annual Nicaragua skills sharing, sponsored 352 high, with a total of over Night Auction. counseling sessions at the 5 0 0 p e o p l e i n a t t e n d a n c e The auction is the bigLas Tias Youth Center, and and a total of $42,000 raised. gest event that PGL sponmuch more. Among the attendees were sors, followed by Salsa on Elizabeth Belair, a se- t h e a u c t i o n d o n o r s ; m o s t the Square in the fall, and n i o r a t G e t t y s b u r g , i s t h e PGL members also donate to draws a huge crowd of peoP r o g r a m C o o r d i n a t o r f o r the auction. ple both from the College Project Gettysburg Leon Community members through the Center for Public and Gettysburg students also Service. She also served as donate as well. Alpha Delta the PGL Program Coordina- Pi sorority donated service t o r d u r i n g h e r s o p h o m o r e hours to the auction, which y e a r b e f o r e g o i n g a b r o a d fosters relationships between during her junior year. Gettysburg College students She, along with many and members of the wider other people, was instrumen- Gettysburg community. tal in making the auction a Student volunteers success. helped out with selling tickOne of the key changes e t s , t h e l i v e a u c t i o n , t h e that has furthered the devel- s i l e n t a u c t i o n , t h e m o n e y opment of PGL was the ad- table, child care, dinner and dition of Yessica and Carlos more. PGL members, student as in-country coordinators in volunteers and donors were April 2015. all key in running the event. Since they first became “What I love most involved, their passion and a b o u t t h e a u c t i o n i s t h e energy has made a differ- amount of fun people have ence in the implementation at this event. It is truly a of PGL in Nicaragua. Both c o m m u n i t y e v e n t . P e o p l e Yessica and Carlos also come not only to support bring to the table extensive PGL but also come to spend experience with non-profit time with their family and organizations. friends. Many people who I The coordinators in Ni- spoke with said that the auccaragua, Yessica and Carlos, tion is one of their favorite were able to visit Gettys- social events of the year,” burg, speak at the auction said senior Elizabeth Belair. Photo Credit: Elizabeth Belair Project Gettysburg Leon is an organization which fosters a positive relationship between the sister cities of Gettysburg, PA and Leon, Nicaragua. The event was well-attended, by over 50,000 people, and raised a total of $42,000 to fund programs for the year 2016.
and the town. The event both spreads awareness for Project Gettysburg Leon and raises money to support Gettysburg’s partnership with Nicaragua, as Gettysburg and Leon are sister cities. Project Gettysburg Leon emphasizes cultural exchange and fosters sustainable development projects near the city of Leon,
Nicaragua. One example is the Agricultural Extensionist program in Talolinga, an arts education program at Taller Artistico Xuchialt. Over the past year, Project Gettysburg Leon has given thirteen arts scholarships, facilitated 384 hours of English classes by PGL Summer Fellows, construct-
Town hall meeting fosters dialogue around race The student-sponsored meeting was attended by over 1600 Gettysburgians B y K ayla B ritt N ews E ditor A town hall meeting was held on Thursday, Jan. 21 to discuss race and racism in the context of Gettysburg’s campus. The event was the culmination of hours of planning on the behalf of students and campus officials. President Janet Morgan Riggs introduced the meeting, stating that the event was planned by students. She emphasized respect and forgiveness as well as open dialogue, and described individual unconscious bias, which is built into institutional biases and culture, as being the most difficult to overcome. She also proposed the question of what we need to do in order to provide an atmosphere for students of color to feel at home on our campus. The final goal she proposed was for everyone to leave the town hall meeting both troubled and inspired to commit to making a positive change. Current policies and actions being taken to remedy the campus climate include the diversity and inclusion action program, the Board
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of Trustees sub-committee, improvement of the Intercultural Resource Center, New Member Education training for students in Greek organizations, programming designed to bring different types of students together, a new space for the Diaspora House, and more. The Provost then spoke on his intent to attract more diverse teacher/scholars and to address issues in timely and meaningful ways. He also strongly encourages faculty and colleagues to complete the IDI as part of a department wide inclusion action program. Senior Ashley Fernandez then introduced herself and the purpose of the meeting. She used the phrase “We are Gettysburg Too” to highlight the fact that students who do not resemble the majority are still part of the community. At Gettysburg there are 2,632 full-time students, of whom around 2,060 are white, and 560 are non-white. A video was then played, which showed students of color discussing their experiences at Gettysburg and their frustrations with the way they are seen
First-years Weird News, complete pg. 2 Twilight Walk, pg. 2
and treated in and out of the classroom. Senior Jasmine Matos spoke that “her accent does not have anything to do with her educational abilities,” as she has felt that others on campus call her academic credentials into question because of her accent. There was also clarification about what the meeting and the overall movement across the nation is not about- “coddling” students, “being politically correct,” or “having a pity party.” Ja’Nai Harris, a senior and the president of the Black Student Union and a Diversity Peer Educator, then spoke about how she thinks and reflects upon her race in the context of her every day experiences. “Gettysburg wasn’t made for us …but that doesn’t mean it can’t be,” she said. Panelists then joined the stage, and students asked a variety of questions touching on topics of how to be a good ally, how to better encourage inclusion and what actions can be taken next. Several students also had opinions on their experiences with race and diversity at Gettysburg.
Potential “Ninth Planet” spotted, pg. 4
Photo Courtesy of GCC&M
Shown are Gettysburg students that worked together with campus officials to prepare for the.Town Hall Meeting, which
Opinion: “Fear Dieting in Wrestling Mongering College: a how-to team hits the Makes America guide, mats Great,” pg. 5 pg. 8 pg. 7