The Coz McNooz
Fall
2018
Letter From The Director
Kathryn Green Lectures Ángel García by Livvy Fore
Dear Alums, We couldn’t be any more excited to welcome you back to Johnston in February. This issue of the Coz has some info on the 50th Renewal as well as all the usual fun stories about what’s been happening in Johnston this fall. If you haven’t registered for the 50th, consider this an electronic “tag, you’re it!” Let us know which events you plan to attend so that we can make this a great Renewal. If you can’t make it to Renewal, we will miss you - and, we would be remiss not to remind you that you can support current and future Johnston endeavors by making a gift to one of our Johnston funds, joining the new Johnston Alumni Network, or helping us identify the next generation of Johnston students. We wish you a wonderful holiday season and look forward to seeing you in the new year.
Cheers, Julie Registration for Renewal is open! Go to www.redlands.edu/johnstonat50 to register and find all the information you need about the 50th.
On a cool Tuesday evening in late October (the 23rd, to be exact), a smattering of Johnston students shuffled into Holt Lobby to listen to alum, poet and community organizer, Ángel García (class of ‘04, Emphasis: Color of American Poetics and Prose) give a Kathryn Green lecture. Garcia read from his first published book of poetry, Teeth Never Sleep–newly released and already the winner of the distinguished CantoMundo Poetry Prize.Garcías lecture managed to generate enough enthusiasm amongst students to fill the lobby, despite it having been a mere hour after a long and arduous community meeting––a true testament to García’s sway. In between readings of his poems like “Lobe” and the title poem “Teeth Never Sleep,” García shared personal anecdotes about his concerns regarding the current state of the university’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion, as he recollected how powerful that space had been for him as a young student of color on campus. He encouraged students to organize, stating that he believes there is power in numbers and that students multiply their power when they organize together. García’s poems were merciless recollections of his own toxic masculinity. García spoke of his journey to confront the damage he had done to the women in his life through his poetry. He also shared his experiences organizing communities in Los Angeles after graduating. It was in LA that he found another post-Johnston community that granted him the strength to painstakingly address his position as a man, while also seeking to empower himself and other marginalized peoples.
Ángel García’s casual eloquence was a moving example of redemption and empowerment.
Letter From The Director
Kathryn Green Lectures Ángel García by Livvy Fore
Dear Alums, We couldn’t be any more excited to welcome you back to Johnston in February. This issue of the Coz has some info on the 50th Renewal as well as all the usual fun stories about what’s been happening in Johnston this fall. If you haven’t registered for the 50th, consider this an electronic “tag, you’re it!” Let us know which events you plan to attend so that we can make this a great Renewal. If you can’t make it to Renewal, we will miss you - and, we would be remiss not to remind you that you can support current and future Johnston endeavors by making a gift to one of our Johnston funds, joining the new Johnston Alumni Network, or helping us identify the next generation of Johnston students. We wish you a wonderful holiday season and look forward to seeing you in the new year.
Cheers, Julie Registration for Renewal is open! Go to www.redlands.edu/johnstonat50 to register and find all the information you need about the 50th.
On a cool Tuesday evening in late October (the 23rd, to be exact), a smattering of Johnston students shuffled into Holt Lobby to listen to alum, poet and community organizer, Ángel García (class of ‘04, Emphasis: Color of American Poetics and Prose) give a Kathryn Green lecture. Garcia read from his first published book of poetry, Teeth Never Sleep–newly released and already the winner of the distinguished CantoMundo Poetry Prize.Garcías lecture managed to generate enough enthusiasm amongst students to fill the lobby, despite it having been a mere hour after a long and arduous community meeting––a true testament to García’s sway. In between readings of his poems like “Lobe” and the title poem “Teeth Never Sleep,” García shared personal anecdotes about his concerns regarding the current state of the university’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion, as he recollected how powerful that space had been for him as a young student of color on campus. He encouraged students to organize, stating that he believes there is power in numbers and that students multiply their power when they organize together. García’s poems were merciless recollections of his own toxic masculinity. García spoke of his journey to confront the damage he had done to the women in his life through his poetry. He also shared his experiences organizing communities in Los Angeles after graduating. It was in LA that he found another post-Johnston community that granted him the strength to painstakingly address his position as a man, while also seeking to empower himself and other marginalized peoples.
Ángel García’s casual eloquence was a moving example of redemption and empowerment.
Cody Unser By Julio Rocha
At the birth of her career, the legendary American writer, Joan Didion declared in a short essay for Vogue: “to give us back to ourselves––there lies the great, the singular power of self-respect.” Self-respect was undoubtedly a characteristic embodied by Cody Unser, who graduated from Johnston in 2009 and went on to study at the Milken Institute of Public Health at George Washington University. Thursday, October 25th had rolled around, the day of Cody Unser’s Kathryn Green Lecture, and I was set on meeting her. Throughout the weekend, as I strolled through the halls of Bekins, buzz had been going on about Unser and her work. James Kruger, a philosophy professor teaching my Bioethics course, spoke enthusiastically about the extensive work Unser had performed and recounted the moments he shared with her as her professor years ago. “You’ll love her,” he told me. Many Johnston students attended Cody’s talk, but it still felt intimate. Cody Unser sat before a group of students, faculty, and professors. The first thing she uttered was a giggle at her slightly awkward initial introduction. The crowd exchanged smiles, which led to more giggles, which led to Unser detailing her own silly adventures on Johnston Complex.
Once the chuckling had settled, she began describing her lowest moments as a young woman with transverse myelitis, a specific form of paralysis. The hatred that she had once felt against the world and herself was profound. Nonetheless, she persevered and at age 13 she founded the Cody Unser First Step Foundation. She went into great detail about her scuba adventures beside other young people with paralysis, members of a community she so extensively advocated for. The upset about her condition ran deep, but but I saw that the self-respect she possessed was a key factor in her willpower. Just as Didion had described, Cody Unser had given herself the power she deserved. Cody Unser’s enthusiasm to speak up and out for herself and her community was empowering.
Genevieve Pearthree By Maggie Ruopp Johnston alum Genevieve Pearthree, who graduated in 2008 with an emphasis in Environmental Justice and Environmental Science and went on to receive two master’s degrees, one in Urban and Environmental Planning and another in Sustainability, came to back home to the Johnston Center in early November to give a Kathryn Green Lecture titled “City Planning in the 21st Century: Facing Our Most Pressing Social and Environmental Challenges.” Genevieve was introduced by her advisor, Economics professor Lorenzo Garbo. She spoke to current Johnston students, faculty, and staff about the intricacies of city planning: how local, state, and federal laws interact in ways that are both helpful and hindering, the ins and outs of zoning, the strengths and limits of citizen power, the structural systems that city planners have to work within, and how sustainability can become an active part of the conversation. She showed the rapt audience examples of work she’s been doing as a city planner in Flagstaff, AZ, and patiently answered questions from her engaged audience. I had the pleasure of going out to dinner with Genevieve after her presentation. We talked about her time in Johnston and the ways in which the community (and the buildings) have and haven’t changed. I also got some hot tips on how to survive graduate school, should I ever choose to attend. For current Johnston students facing a future where the reality of climate change is evermore present while its solution seems further and further away, Genevieve’s talk gave voice to the ways in which our vocations can make an impact.
Cody Unser By Julio Rocha
At the birth of her career, the legendary American writer, Joan Didion declared in a short essay for Vogue: “to give us back to ourselves––there lies the great, the singular power of self-respect.” Self-respect was undoubtedly a characteristic embodied by Cody Unser, who graduated from Johnston in 2009 and went on to study at the Milken Institute of Public Health at George Washington University. Thursday, October 25th had rolled around, the day of Cody Unser’s Kathryn Green Lecture, and I was set on meeting her. Throughout the weekend, as I strolled through the halls of Bekins, buzz had been going on about Unser and her work. James Kruger, a philosophy professor teaching my Bioethics course, spoke enthusiastically about the extensive work Unser had performed and recounted the moments he shared with her as her professor years ago. “You’ll love her,” he told me. Many Johnston students attended Cody’s talk, but it still felt intimate. Cody Unser sat before a group of students, faculty, and professors. The first thing she uttered was a giggle at her slightly awkward initial introduction. The crowd exchanged smiles, which led to more giggles, which led to Unser detailing her own silly adventures on Johnston Complex.
Once the chuckling had settled, she began describing her lowest moments as a young woman with transverse myelitis, a specific form of paralysis. The hatred that she had once felt against the world and herself was profound. Nonetheless, she persevered and at age 13 she founded the Cody Unser First Step Foundation. She went into great detail about her scuba adventures beside other young people with paralysis, members of a community she so extensively advocated for. The upset about her condition ran deep, but but I saw that the self-respect she possessed was a key factor in her willpower. Just as Didion had described, Cody Unser had given herself the power she deserved. Cody Unser’s enthusiasm to speak up and out for herself and her community was empowering.
Genevieve Pearthree By Maggie Ruopp Johnston alum Genevieve Pearthree, who graduated in 2008 with an emphasis in Environmental Justice and Environmental Science and went on to receive two master’s degrees, one in Urban and Environmental Planning and another in Sustainability, came to back home to the Johnston Center in early November to give a Kathryn Green Lecture titled “City Planning in the 21st Century: Facing Our Most Pressing Social and Environmental Challenges.” Genevieve was introduced by her advisor, Economics professor Lorenzo Garbo. She spoke to current Johnston students, faculty, and staff about the intricacies of city planning: how local, state, and federal laws interact in ways that are both helpful and hindering, the ins and outs of zoning, the strengths and limits of citizen power, the structural systems that city planners have to work within, and how sustainability can become an active part of the conversation. She showed the rapt audience examples of work she’s been doing as a city planner in Flagstaff, AZ, and patiently answered questions from her engaged audience. I had the pleasure of going out to dinner with Genevieve after her presentation. We talked about her time in Johnston and the ways in which the community (and the buildings) have and haven’t changed. I also got some hot tips on how to survive graduate school, should I ever choose to attend. For current Johnston students facing a future where the reality of climate change is evermore present while its solution seems further and further away, Genevieve’s talk gave voice to the ways in which our vocations can make an impact.
My favorite thing about Johnston is how much it can change without losing its essence. I know this is true because I spent sixteen days with Johnstonians (and those they love) who spanned the generations, from people who were there at Pilgrim Pines to those who graduated only a year or two before I did. And I fell in love with all of them. And we all fell in love (for the first time or once again) with Greece.
Johnston Goes Greek By Maggie Ruopp This past summer, I had to the pleasure of traveling with 36 Johnston alums and faculty and their spouses, siblings, children, and friends to Greece for a two-week, full-country tour and seminar. I know there were 36 of them because every time we got on the bus, I counted heads to make sure we hadn’t left anyone behind. And who can blame those of us who became lost in the ruins of Olympia, or wandered away from the group to find gelato and stick our feet in the ocean, or lost track of time finding hidden tunnels in an old Venetian castle? Every moment was designed to be slipped into and submerge in. Traveling while Johnston means more than tourist consumerism (though there was plenty of that––olive oil for everybody!) and magnificent scenery. There were mini-lectures on grief through the lens of Greek philosophy, the state of the Greek economy, art history, and more. Bill McDonald recounted all of his favorite myths about different Greek gods and goddesses, fascinating lectures that I almost always stayed awake for (those bus seats are just so comfortable). Group discussions on Medea, Iphigenia, and Plato’s Symposium. We held a miniature open mic night. We danced.
Captions for next page: 1). Birthday girl Judy Bowman and emeritus faculty member John Brownfield––always a delight. 2). Vintage newcomers, Kelly Dries and Amy Wilms, take a break from ramping up silent auction item prices to smile for the camera. 3). Johnston seniors Theo Whitcomb, Connor Tibbetts, Charlotte Minor, and Sean Dunnington work up the courage to mingle and sell raffle tickets. 4). Long-time Johnston spouse Jack Kramer and Johnston parent Michelle Rogers share a laugh. 5). Honorary Johnstonian, John Slater, gets an emphasis title from Director Julie Townsend. 6). Johnston alum and Board of Trustees member, David Danielson, enjoying the wine, raffle prizes, and good company. 7). Professor of Mathematics and father of a current Johnston student, Steve Morics, talks millinery to senior Donovan Smith. 8). Title IX Deputy Coordinator Erica Moorer and Johnston Director Julie Townsend cozy up to Johnston alum and Board of Trustees member Debbie Heap to see if she’ll share her raffle tickets. 9). Staunch Johnston supporter and CAS Dean Kendrick Brown, practical and glowing after his raffle win.
My favorite thing about Johnston is how much it can change without losing its essence. I know this is true because I spent sixteen days with Johnstonians (and those they love) who spanned the generations, from people who were there at Pilgrim Pines to those who graduated only a year or two before I did. And I fell in love with all of them. And we all fell in love (for the first time or once again) with Greece.
Johnston Goes Greek By Maggie Ruopp This past summer, I had to the pleasure of traveling with 36 Johnston alums and faculty and their spouses, siblings, children, and friends to Greece for a two-week, full-country tour and seminar. I know there were 36 of them because every time we got on the bus, I counted heads to make sure we hadn’t left anyone behind. And who can blame those of us who became lost in the ruins of Olympia, or wandered away from the group to find gelato and stick our feet in the ocean, or lost track of time finding hidden tunnels in an old Venetian castle? Every moment was designed to be slipped into and submerge in. Traveling while Johnston means more than tourist consumerism (though there was plenty of that––olive oil for everybody!) and magnificent scenery. There were mini-lectures on grief through the lens of Greek philosophy, the state of the Greek economy, art history, and more. Bill McDonald recounted all of his favorite myths about different Greek gods and goddesses, fascinating lectures that I almost always stayed awake for (those bus seats are just so comfortable). Group discussions on Medea, Iphigenia, and Plato’s Symposium. We held a miniature open mic night. We danced.
Captions for next page: 1). Birthday girl Judy Bowman and emeritus faculty member John Brownfield––always a delight. 2). Vintage newcomers, Kelly Dries and Amy Wilms, take a break from ramping up silent auction item prices to smile for the camera. 3). Johnston seniors Theo Whitcomb, Connor Tibbetts, Charlotte Minor, and Sean Dunnington work up the courage to mingle and sell raffle tickets. 4). Long-time Johnston spouse Jack Kramer and Johnston parent Michelle Rogers share a laugh. 5). Honorary Johnstonian, John Slater, gets an emphasis title from Director Julie Townsend. 6). Johnston alum and Board of Trustees member, David Danielson, enjoying the wine, raffle prizes, and good company. 7). Professor of Mathematics and father of a current Johnston student, Steve Morics, talks millinery to senior Donovan Smith. 8). Title IX Deputy Coordinator Erica Moorer and Johnston Director Julie Townsend cozy up to Johnston alum and Board of Trustees member Debbie Heap to see if she’ll share her raffle tickets. 9). Staunch Johnston supporter and CAS Dean Kendrick Brown, practical and glowing after his raffle win.
Photos by Nicholas Sousa
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Photos by Nicholas Sousa
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From Julie Townsend: For the 50th Renewal we hope you’ll join us for our first Community Meeting, the topic of which will be: Accessibility and Inclusion
As many of you know, Johnston has been working on making our educational model accessible to students who might not have historically considered a Johnston education. And, the Johnston community, faculty, and administration are all engaged in examining our practices to be more inclusive of students who want to participate but feel that aspects of Johnston and the University of Redlands were not really intended for them. “Accessibility and Inclusion” topics are far-ranging: they include the recruitment of first generation and other underrepresented college students, administrative flexibility to address name and pronoun changes for transgender and non-binary students, a community that fully embraces the diverse economic, racial, ethnic, and cultural contexts of all our members, the ability to accommodate community members with mobility limitations, etc. It’s not enough to make Johnston accessible to all, we must also continue to address the support systems that make a successful college experience possible. For many, this means access to mental health services, academic support, accessible facilities, and financial resources.
Johnston’s educational model enables a lot of flexibility and asks students to continuously re-define our curriculum, pedagogy, and community! This should be a great support for dynamic institutional change. But, we face obstacles as well. Our beloved facilities are outdated, inaccessible, and, frankly, unsafe. Our community changes quickly, making community discussion and our internal history difficult to maintain and transmit. In recent years, we have taken steps in the right direction: -The Race On Campus Conference, run by the Race on Campus Collective, is robust in its 4th year. -Our Admissions Coordinator, Maggie Ruopp, is successfully reaching out to public schools with aspects of alternative education, especially in areas with lots of students who will be the first in their family to go to college. -The University offers a strong financial aid package to students who qualify for CalGrant. -The Race Based ally-ship group has a strong presence in community and is advocating for Johnston to make a commitment to striving towards becoming an Anti-Racist community. -We are including preferred names and pronouns in our contract templates and re-enforcing the importance of making preferred names and pronouns in all official documents. -Community members are facilitating conversations about consent, difficult topics, calling peers “in” instead of calling them “out”, etc. -We are working with the Counseling Center and in community to make multiple levels of mental health and well-being support accessible in the face of weeks-long waitlists for appointments at the college Counseling Center. -We are using our small adjunct budget to support inclusive pedagogy and diverse curricular offerings. -We continue to negotiate with students to ensure that our classroom communities are inclusive at the level of syllabus, discussion, assignments, projects, etc. -Students are regularly engaged in activism in Johnston, on the larger campus, and beyond. -We continue to raise funds to support student projects and cross-cultural experiences to make those opportunities available to all students. -When we are able to do small construction projects, we make community spaces, the support of diverse student activities, and ADA compliance priorities. These steps in the right direction are necessarily limited by all the obstacles that make progress difficult: tight budgets, limited human resources, and the increasingly regulated environment in academia, which often pushes us away from these pressing issues in order to comply with other priorities.
From Julie Townsend: For the 50th Renewal we hope you’ll join us for our first Community Meeting, the topic of which will be: Accessibility and Inclusion
As many of you know, Johnston has been working on making our educational model accessible to students who might not have historically considered a Johnston education. And, the Johnston community, faculty, and administration are all engaged in examining our practices to be more inclusive of students who want to participate but feel that aspects of Johnston and the University of Redlands were not really intended for them. “Accessibility and Inclusion” topics are far-ranging: they include the recruitment of first generation and other underrepresented college students, administrative flexibility to address name and pronoun changes for transgender and non-binary students, a community that fully embraces the diverse economic, racial, ethnic, and cultural contexts of all our members, the ability to accommodate community members with mobility limitations, etc. It’s not enough to make Johnston accessible to all, we must also continue to address the support systems that make a successful college experience possible. For many, this means access to mental health services, academic support, accessible facilities, and financial resources.
Johnston’s educational model enables a lot of flexibility and asks students to continuously re-define our curriculum, pedagogy, and community! This should be a great support for dynamic institutional change. But, we face obstacles as well. Our beloved facilities are outdated, inaccessible, and, frankly, unsafe. Our community changes quickly, making community discussion and our internal history difficult to maintain and transmit. In recent years, we have taken steps in the right direction: -The Race On Campus Conference, run by the Race on Campus Collective, is robust in its 4th year. -Our Admissions Coordinator, Maggie Ruopp, is successfully reaching out to public schools with aspects of alternative education, especially in areas with lots of students who will be the first in their family to go to college. -The University offers a strong financial aid package to students who qualify for CalGrant. -The Race Based ally-ship group has a strong presence in community and is advocating for Johnston to make a commitment to striving towards becoming an Anti-Racist community. -We are including preferred names and pronouns in our contract templates and re-enforcing the importance of making preferred names and pronouns in all official documents. -Community members are facilitating conversations about consent, difficult topics, calling peers “in” instead of calling them “out”, etc. -We are working with the Counseling Center and in community to make multiple levels of mental health and well-being support accessible in the face of weeks-long waitlists for appointments at the college Counseling Center. -We are using our small adjunct budget to support inclusive pedagogy and diverse curricular offerings. -We continue to negotiate with students to ensure that our classroom communities are inclusive at the level of syllabus, discussion, assignments, projects, etc. -Students are regularly engaged in activism in Johnston, on the larger campus, and beyond. -We continue to raise funds to support student projects and cross-cultural experiences to make those opportunities available to all students. -When we are able to do small construction projects, we make community spaces, the support of diverse student activities, and ADA compliance priorities. These steps in the right direction are necessarily limited by all the obstacles that make progress difficult: tight budgets, limited human resources, and the increasingly regulated environment in academia, which often pushes us away from these pressing issues in order to comply with other priorities.
50th Renewel Schedule Friday, February 15 Check-in 2:00-6:00 PM in Holt Lobby Faculty Office Hours 3:00-4:00 PM in various offices in Bekins and Holt
Jam Out on the Porch 11:30-1:00 AM at Bekins Saturday, February 16 Registration Open 8:00 AM- 2:00 PM in Holt Lobby
Community Meeting Wait, I Lived Here? / Wait, You Lived 10:00 AM- 11:30 AM in Orton Here? 3:00-5:00 PM beginning in front of Bekins Group Photo in Front of Bekins 11:45 AM- 12:00 PM on Bekins Lawn JC Sober Community Meet-Up 4:00-5:00 PM in Nighttime Java (Holt Picnic Lunch Basement) 12:00 PM- 1:00 PM on Bekins Lawn Opening Ceremony 5:00 PM on Bekins Lawn
Cosmic Zinefest: Independent Arts, Publishing, and Music Festival 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM in University Hall
Snapshot/50 Live! 5:30-7:20 PM at Ann Pepper’s Gallery and Mini-Couse Session 1 Lawn 1:00 PM- 2:00 PM in various classCelebrating the Founder’s rooms Dinner 7:30-9:00 PM location TBD Mini-Course Session 2 OR 2:15-3:15 PM in various classrooms Food Truck Picnic 7:30-9:00 PM on Bekins Lawn Mini-Course Session 3 Stories Around the Fire 9:15-10:15 PM at the Fire Pit Show Us Your Talent 10:30-11:30 PM on Bekins Lawn
3:30-4:30 PM in various classrooms
Panels on Practice: Johnstonians in Final Community Meeting and Closing Ceremony Education, Activism on Campus and 12:30 PM- 2:00 PM at the Fire Pit Beyond, and Creative Arts 4:45 PM- 6:00 PM in Hall of Letters 100, University Hall, and Casa Loma From Surviving to Thriving: Johnston at 50 Keynote Panel 6:15 PM- 7:30 PM in the Chapel Celebrating 50: A Big Community Dinner 7:45 PM - 9:30 PM on the Quad Johnston Bandstand: Live Music and Dancing 9:30 PM - 1:00 AM in University Hall All In: Poker Games led by Fred Rabinowitz 9:00 PM - till your chips are gone in Casa Loma Low-Key Chill Time 9:00 PM - 1:00 AM in Bekins Living Room (the Jimmy Room) Sunday, February 17 Johnston Remembrances 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM location TBD Women of Johnston Brunch 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM in Orton
Don’t be late!
50th Renewel Schedule Friday, February 15 Check-in 2:00-6:00 PM in Holt Lobby Faculty Office Hours 3:00-4:00 PM in various offices in Bekins and Holt
Jam Out on the Porch 11:30-1:00 AM at Bekins Saturday, February 16 Registration Open 8:00 AM- 2:00 PM in Holt Lobby
Community Meeting Wait, I Lived Here? / Wait, You Lived 10:00 AM- 11:30 AM in Orton Here? 3:00-5:00 PM beginning in front of Bekins Group Photo in Front of Bekins 11:45 AM- 12:00 PM on Bekins Lawn JC Sober Community Meet-Up 4:00-5:00 PM in Nighttime Java (Holt Picnic Lunch Basement) 12:00 PM- 1:00 PM on Bekins Lawn Opening Ceremony 5:00 PM on Bekins Lawn
Cosmic Zinefest: Independent Arts, Publishing, and Music Festival 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM in University Hall
Snapshot/50 Live! 5:30-7:20 PM at Ann Pepper’s Gallery and Mini-Couse Session 1 Lawn 1:00 PM- 2:00 PM in various classCelebrating the Founder’s rooms Dinner 7:30-9:00 PM location TBD Mini-Course Session 2 OR 2:15-3:15 PM in various classrooms Food Truck Picnic 7:30-9:00 PM on Bekins Lawn Mini-Course Session 3 Stories Around the Fire 9:15-10:15 PM at the Fire Pit Show Us Your Talent 10:30-11:30 PM on Bekins Lawn
3:30-4:30 PM in various classrooms
Panels on Practice: Johnstonians in Final Community Meeting and Closing Ceremony Education, Activism on Campus and 12:30 PM- 2:00 PM at the Fire Pit Beyond, and Creative Arts 4:45 PM- 6:00 PM in Hall of Letters 100, University Hall, and Casa Loma From Surviving to Thriving: Johnston at 50 Keynote Panel 6:15 PM- 7:30 PM in the Chapel Celebrating 50: A Big Community Dinner 7:45 PM - 9:30 PM on the Quad Johnston Bandstand: Live Music and Dancing 9:30 PM - 1:00 AM in University Hall All In: Poker Games led by Fred Rabinowitz 9:00 PM - till your chips are gone in Casa Loma Low-Key Chill Time 9:00 PM - 1:00 AM in Bekins Living Room (the Jimmy Room) Sunday, February 17 Johnston Remembrances 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM location TBD Women of Johnston Brunch 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM in Orton
Don’t be late!
The Johnston Alumni Network Join us in establishing the Johnston Alumni Network! Like you, our students are creative, innovative, and dedicated. At this Renewal, we’re gathering information from alumni who are excited to connect with current students and recent alumni. Would you be willing to…
Snapshot/50: The Johnston Community 1969– 2019 (EBHON Press, 2019) is a coffee table book fea-
Renewal Book Events:
turing a collection of stories and photos from the ar-
University of Redlands Art Gallery
Book Party & Reading
chives documenting Johnston College and Center by
Friday February 15, 5:30PM
some of the writers, artists, musicians, teachers, and
Readings by a writer from every decade of Johnston: Mark Carlson, Hannah Schell, Michael Peñafiel, Peter Ryan, and Becca Schuh
scholars who spent time there. This book offers a vivid glimpse into the enormous scope of 50 years in experimental higher education, with more than 70 essays and over 800 images. A collective exploration into John-
Cosmic Zinefest
ston’s physical and psychic space, this timely publi-
University Hall Saturday February 16, 1:00–4:30PM
cation will spark college memories and inspiration for
ALL AGES!
anyone interested in radical pedagogy, subversive art,
Current students and alumni sharing their indie publications and artwork. Musical performances by alumni Ben Wyeth (formerly of HOCKEY the band), Chelsea Uniqorn, and current student, Babyg1rl. Bonus: Alumni panel on independent publishing and arts curated by Alisa Slaughter.
and intergenerational storytelling. Snapshot/50 was edited by Creative Writing Faculty Leslie Brody and Alisa Slaughter along with alumni Maureen Forys ’93 and M. G. Maloney ’03. It will be available for purchase at the 50th Renewal for $20 for the paperback and $40 for the deluxe, limited edition casebound edition.
Mentor a recent alum? Talk to a current student about your graduate program? Offer an internship or volunteer opportunity? Consult on a research or activist project?Introduce a recent alum to community opportunities in your area? If so, please fill in the Johnston Alumni Network form, which you can either fill out while you are registering for the 50th Renewal or by clicking here. Current faculty will work with students and recent alums to put them in contact with you.
Registration for Renewal is open! Go to www.redlands.edu/johnstonat50 to register and find all the information you need about the 50th.
The Johnston Alumni Network Join us in establishing the Johnston Alumni Network! Like you, our students are creative, innovative, and dedicated. At this Renewal, we’re gathering information from alumni who are excited to connect with current students and recent alumni. Would you be willing to…
Snapshot/50: The Johnston Community 1969– 2019 (EBHON Press, 2019) is a coffee table book fea-
Renewal Book Events:
turing a collection of stories and photos from the ar-
University of Redlands Art Gallery
Book Party & Reading
chives documenting Johnston College and Center by
Friday February 15, 5:30PM
some of the writers, artists, musicians, teachers, and
Readings by a writer from every decade of Johnston: Mark Carlson, Hannah Schell, Michael Peñafiel, Peter Ryan, and Becca Schuh
scholars who spent time there. This book offers a vivid glimpse into the enormous scope of 50 years in experimental higher education, with more than 70 essays and over 800 images. A collective exploration into John-
Cosmic Zinefest
ston’s physical and psychic space, this timely publi-
University Hall Saturday February 16, 1:00–4:30PM
cation will spark college memories and inspiration for
ALL AGES!
anyone interested in radical pedagogy, subversive art,
Current students and alumni sharing their indie publications and artwork. Musical performances by alumni Ben Wyeth (formerly of HOCKEY the band), Chelsea Uniqorn, and current student, Babyg1rl. Bonus: Alumni panel on independent publishing and arts curated by Alisa Slaughter.
and intergenerational storytelling. Snapshot/50 was edited by Creative Writing Faculty Leslie Brody and Alisa Slaughter along with alumni Maureen Forys ’93 and M. G. Maloney ’03. It will be available for purchase at the 50th Renewal for $20 for the paperback and $40 for the deluxe, limited edition casebound edition.
Mentor a recent alum? Talk to a current student about your graduate program? Offer an internship or volunteer opportunity? Consult on a research or activist project?Introduce a recent alum to community opportunities in your area? If so, please fill in the Johnston Alumni Network form, which you can either fill out while you are registering for the 50th Renewal or by clicking here. Current faculty will work with students and recent alums to put them in contact with you.
Registration for Renewal is open! Go to www.redlands.edu/johnstonat50 to register and find all the information you need about the 50th.
The 50th Renewal will provide a great space for current students to connect with you. Join us in February and stay connected not just to the Johnston you knew, but also to the Johnston that’s happening right now, and the Johnston we’re building for the future.
There are so many ways to give back as a Johnston alum. Giving money is just one of them. Here are some examples of how you can support Johnston after we release you into the real world:
Contribute to Race on Campus Both Larry Singer and Jon Garcia have made significant contributions to Johnston’s Race on Campus conference, an event that was created and continues to be run by students. Having the support of alumni as they try to make their voices heard and impact the community and college campuses around them means so much to students who are gaining the skills to make a difference. Contribute to Vintage Johnston Wine and philanthropy make a great pairing. Supporting Vintage Johnston means supporting the work of a number of Johnston students who are attempting to create meaningful projects that they do not have the freedom to do elsewhere. Connect Students to Activist Opportunities Off-Campus Local alums Tabetha Wittenmeyer, Gianni Arrington, and Denise Davis love to help students get involved in the Redlands Community. But Johnston students don’t live in Redlands all year round! If you’re involved in activist work you’re passionate about, let us know. Be a Board of Trustees Member Debbie Heap and David Danielson have one hell of a time serving on the University’s Board of Trustees. And they make sure that no one in the room ever forgets how important Johnston is and the positive impact it’s had on the whole institution. Share Internship Opportunities Nate Mason never misses a chance to send current Johnston Director Julie Townsend information on internship opportunities in Washington, D.C. where he works. Our current fleet of politically active students are always grateful.
The 50th Renewal will provide a great space for current students to connect with you. Join us in February and stay connected not just to the Johnston you knew, but also to the Johnston that’s happening right now, and the Johnston we’re building for the future.
There are so many ways to give back as a Johnston alum. Giving money is just one of them. Here are some examples of how you can support Johnston after we release you into the real world:
Contribute to Race on Campus Both Larry Singer and Jon Garcia have made significant contributions to Johnston’s Race on Campus conference, an event that was created and continues to be run by students. Having the support of alumni as they try to make their voices heard and impact the community and college campuses around them means so much to students who are gaining the skills to make a difference. Contribute to Vintage Johnston Wine and philanthropy make a great pairing. Supporting Vintage Johnston means supporting the work of a number of Johnston students who are attempting to create meaningful projects that they do not have the freedom to do elsewhere. Connect Students to Activist Opportunities Off-Campus Local alums Tabetha Wittenmeyer, Gianni Arrington, and Denise Davis love to help students get involved in the Redlands Community. But Johnston students don’t live in Redlands all year round! If you’re involved in activist work you’re passionate about, let us know. Be a Board of Trustees Member Debbie Heap and David Danielson have one hell of a time serving on the University’s Board of Trustees. And they make sure that no one in the room ever forgets how important Johnston is and the positive impact it’s had on the whole institution. Share Internship Opportunities Nate Mason never misses a chance to send current Johnston Director Julie Townsend information on internship opportunities in Washington, D.C. where he works. Our current fleet of politically active students are always grateful.
A Heavily Edited Version of Karen Derris and Alisa Slaughter's 2018 Johnston Graduation Speech My sophomore plan was to help you sort out competing imperatives and resolve mixed feelings, to reassure you that this lovely diploma is worth every sacrifice, that your hard work, the dedication of your professors, sacrifices of your family, add up to a logical and coherent good outcome. Just so, life is not only a path, or a journey, or even a construct. To affirm any of these is to present a weak cliched, metaphor common to graduation speeches. It is far from worthy of you, brilliant, reflecting, dear ones. But back to our central shtick: The journey through Johnston has not been entirely of your own design: it has had its own border crossings with their controls and required documentations There is much about your education here that has encouraged you to think of each of these checkposts as a further step towards educational autonomy, and there is truth there: you have crafted your own education and it is uniquely yours. We have pushed you to be mature thinkers and maturing adults. To think for oneself, to question for oneself is the beginnings of a mature, enlightened person. By the way, Buddha actually means The One Who is Awakened. The Buddha was WOKE. And now the addendum: you have been able to craft your education because of the connections and even dependence upon (as much as some of you may hold disdain for that idea or ideal) many things outside of your plans, aspirations or certainties. But, I don’t think you are finishing your individual education. In a Buddhist frame you are completing this important phase of the process of becoming an interdependent individual. We are still in a time when the loftiest peak of the agency hierarchy is defined as the autonomous individual. I say it’s time for that patriarchal binary frame of me/you, us/them to be pushed off that cliff.
Back to my first draft, my metaphorical sophomore contract, where I went on and on about institutions: the institution is the answer, the institution is corrupt, the institution needs to be confronted. Addendum: there are plans, there will be plans, we must think about the future, it makes the present possible. But resist this binary script, as you make and follow through with your plans; make space for spontaneity and instinct to reposition you in small or large ways. Living relationships is the not-path path. Embrace the relationships you seek out and those that find you, not for instrumental reasons, but rather because you see and feel the conditions of empowerment, kindness and generosity. I’ve started referring to this as knowingly not knowing. I recommend it to you as a way of living that lives not solely in the grip of the binary of logic vs. passion. Between logic and passion is stillness, imagination, spaciousness, radical democracy, prophetic fightback in a world full of chaos, harm and suffering. Keep moving forward, in location, in dreams, experiences. Johnston will always be a home to return to, but don’t stay too long, remember someone else is moving in and they will live in this space the way they figure out in their moments. You wouldn’t want it any other way.
A Heavily Edited Version of Karen Derris and Alisa Slaughter's 2018 Johnston Graduation Speech My sophomore plan was to help you sort out competing imperatives and resolve mixed feelings, to reassure you that this lovely diploma is worth every sacrifice, that your hard work, the dedication of your professors, sacrifices of your family, add up to a logical and coherent good outcome. Just so, life is not only a path, or a journey, or even a construct. To affirm any of these is to present a weak cliched, metaphor common to graduation speeches. It is far from worthy of you, brilliant, reflecting, dear ones. But back to our central shtick: The journey through Johnston has not been entirely of your own design: it has had its own border crossings with their controls and required documentations There is much about your education here that has encouraged you to think of each of these checkposts as a further step towards educational autonomy, and there is truth there: you have crafted your own education and it is uniquely yours. We have pushed you to be mature thinkers and maturing adults. To think for oneself, to question for oneself is the beginnings of a mature, enlightened person. By the way, Buddha actually means The One Who is Awakened. The Buddha was WOKE. And now the addendum: you have been able to craft your education because of the connections and even dependence upon (as much as some of you may hold disdain for that idea or ideal) many things outside of your plans, aspirations or certainties. But, I don’t think you are finishing your individual education. In a Buddhist frame you are completing this important phase of the process of becoming an interdependent individual. We are still in a time when the loftiest peak of the agency hierarchy is defined as the autonomous individual. I say it’s time for that patriarchal binary frame of me/you, us/them to be pushed off that cliff.
Back to my first draft, my metaphorical sophomore contract, where I went on and on about institutions: the institution is the answer, the institution is corrupt, the institution needs to be confronted. Addendum: there are plans, there will be plans, we must think about the future, it makes the present possible. But resist this binary script, as you make and follow through with your plans; make space for spontaneity and instinct to reposition you in small or large ways. Living relationships is the not-path path. Embrace the relationships you seek out and those that find you, not for instrumental reasons, but rather because you see and feel the conditions of empowerment, kindness and generosity. I’ve started referring to this as knowingly not knowing. I recommend it to you as a way of living that lives not solely in the grip of the binary of logic vs. passion. Between logic and passion is stillness, imagination, spaciousness, radical democracy, prophetic fightback in a world full of chaos, harm and suffering. Keep moving forward, in location, in dreams, experiences. Johnston will always be a home to return to, but don’t stay too long, remember someone else is moving in and they will live in this space the way they figure out in their moments. You wouldn’t want it any other way.
Who Better To Identify Potential Johnston Students Than Alums? We want to find more students who seek an
individualized and integrated college experience, who value community and collaboration as well
as academics, and who are passionate about their interests‌
in short, people like YOU. If you know of high
school students who might be interested in a
Johnston-style education, please encourage them to visit Johnston.
And, if you know of a high school whose
pedagogical model seems similar to Johnston’s, please let our admissions coordinator, Maggie Ruopp (margaret_ruopp@redlands.edu) know about it!
Who Better To Identify Potential Johnston Students Than Alums? We want to find more students who seek an
individualized and integrated college experience, who value community and collaboration as well
as academics, and who are passionate about their interests‌
in short, people like YOU. If you know of high
school students who might be interested in a
Johnston-style education, please encourage them to visit Johnston.
And, if you know of a high school whose
pedagogical model seems similar to Johnston’s, please let our admissions coordinator, Maggie Ruopp (margaret_ruopp@redlands.edu) know about it!
Interested in supporting Johnston? To read all about the different funds you can donate to, click here. To get right to donating, go to: www.redlands.edu/supportjohnston