COZ MCNOOZ
ISSUE 15
COZ
MCNOOZ
COZ MCNOOZ
COZ MC NOOZ
ISSUE 15
HELLO JOHNSTON ALUMNI!
ISSUE 15 SPRING 2025
Gorgeous Alumni! Please enjoy the Spring 2025 issues of the Coz McNooz. No, that isn’t a typo. This really is the 2025 issue. Better late than never! Happy reading. We love you.
COZ MCNOOZ
ISSUE 15
COZ MCNOOZ
RECENT CLASSES JNST-000F: Un-Learning & Re-Learning Faculty: Julie Townsend Description: What do you want to un-learn? How have our ways of teaching and learning steered us away from who we are and who we want to become? Why do we – individually and institutionally – hang on to ways of learning that we know are counterproductive or even harmful? We’ve all had the experience of learning something the wrong way or the hard way. Sometimes it’s exhilarating to realize that we can unlearn some of the ideas of the past – and other times it’s a lot of work to un-learn the habits that keep us from being the best student, friend, partner or self that we want to be. We’ll explore some practices and theories of un-learning, classroom and life interventions, and we’ll reflect upon our experiences and learners, un-learners, and teachers. Students will be invited to explore areas of interest for research, exploration, and presentation. Multi-media approaches are also welcome – including social media, AI, video games, auditory learning, experiential learning, etc.
JNST-000J: Art, Place, and Expression Faculty: Danielle Wallis, Local Artist Description: Art has historically reflected our ever-changing relationship to the environment, from early landscape painting to the earthworks of the 60s and 70s, through contemporary eco-art. In this time of climate crisis, artists are increasingly taking an active role in exploring new ways of working that look to restore, respect, and preserve ecosystems. Through readings, slide lecture, field trips, research, and hands on projects students will explore our local ecology and their relationship to it, while investigating the intersections between art, science, and activism. They will develop their own aesthetic approach to artmaking using found and organic materials in an effort to engage audiences around environmental concerns. This is a 4 unit course; although we only meet once per week it is expected that you will complete assignments including reading, research and artwork outside of formal class time.
On Love, 3.0 Professor: Bill McDonald This course builds on a week-long Johnston Alumni seminar I co-led with Julie Townsend and Kelly Hankin this past June, and on an earlier college course back in the day. The subject: Love in all aspects of our lives. For “3.0” I want to try something new: a course on love built around short fiction, broadly defined: one-sentence tales, classic short stories paired with contemporary ones, a few poems, definitely some music, some accounts of love’s history (it definitely has a history!), a little philosophy and religion… I’m working up a plan for the first half/two-thirds of the course, and we’ll negotiate the remainder together. My mantra for every class I offer: I’m dedicated to multiplying your pleasures in reading, in reflection, in writing, and in exploring your experience with your classmates. One thing for sure: the course is very practical, every bit as much as those preparing you for your post-college life in the economy. After all, recounting and reflecting on what sort of lover, parent/child, reformer/activist, friend, sibling, objects, citizen, pet owner, believer you have been/are/will be affects every day of your life, and will continue to do so throughout your lifetime. Can’t be more practical than that!
JNST OOON-01 Chakras and Self Care Instructor: Joselyn Rivas, Johnston Registrar This seminar is designed to guide students in reconnecting with their highest self by exploring the chakra system, a holistic framework of the body's energy centers. Through an integrative approach, students will engage in wellness practices such as breathwork, meditation, journaling, and crystal healing. Each participant will gain a basic understanding of the seven major chakras and learn their unique functions and characteristics. As a collective, we will explore how these energy centers influence our emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being, and develop personalized self-care routines to support chakra alignment and balance. This seminar offers a transformative journey of self-discovery, fostering a connection to one’s inner wisdom and higher consciousness.
ISSUE 15
COZ MCNOOZ
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT Project Development provides a structured opportunity for students to pursue independent projects. Many of these projects allow students to learn outside of the classroom and take advantage of Johnston’s student project fund. Below, three students enrolled in the course this Spring describe the projects they’ve completed through Project Development.
My Project Development contract this semester focuses on fleshing out a comic book concept about a superhero based in my hometown of San Bernardino, California. This short issue-backup follows our hero Calvin Conozoa, aka “Kinetik,” as he battles the villainous Alchemist, a corrupt socialite who fashions himself after a conquistador. My work this semester builds on a previous comics project I pursued through Project Development. Fortunately, the Johnston Project Fund has helped with purchasing art equipment to fulfill a more involved project. Using a film camera purchased with the fund, I have photographed various scenes that compel me across the Inland Empire to serve as reference material for my artwork or as integrated artwork itself. This process paired with traditional means of producing comic art—Bristol paper, drafting pencils, an Ames lettering guide—converts a passive hobby into a more professional pursuit. BRANDON ARANGO-ALMAREZ ‘27
ISSUE 15
This semester in Project Development, I’m assistant directing a production of The Outsiders at Redlands High School. As a sophomore with an emphasis in “Pedagogical and Interpersonal Exploration Through Theatre,” I investigate how the skills developed and knowledge gained from experiencing theatre strengthens connection with others. In addition to preparation and examination outside rehearsal, I’ve dug into the tactics utilized in theatre and experimented with ways to increase the students’ comfort with taking initiative and expressing their thoughts. This might look like a dialogue about their choices and what drives the characters to act a certain way. It may be open conversations about their comfortability with touch, so their counterparts know how to navigate the authenticity of the relationships. Overall, I’ve worked to set an example of organised, collaborative, and mindful leadership so they learn that every theatre environment should feel safe. LARA BADEN, JC ‘27
COZ MCNOOZ
My project is to design and create a class. Within Project Development I aimed to create a syllabus, lesson plans, assignments, and do research. Starting with the title “Asexuality, Aromanticism, and Ways of Life,” I have watched my work blossom into a curriculum I will actually be able to teach. I took advantage of the Student Project Fund to buy six books to assist with my research for the course. It is not easy to find books on the subject for free or in most physical stores, so the project fund helped support researchers and writers that do not have the same audience as other books. This class is the start to what I hope to be my life’s work, and words are not enough for me to express my gratitude to the Johnston program and faculty for their support and work. MARI FOLINO , JC ‘26
ISSUE 15
COZ MCNOOZ
POST-INTERNET In May 2024, the Center made use of Kathryn Green funds to bring back Mike (Slime) Donatuti ‘16 to teach a class called Post-Internet Art.
ART
IZZY JONES, JC '25 Many of us who registered for Post-Internet Art can attest that we had genuinely no idea what those three words meant when used together, or what the class was going to be about. But somehow, we all ended up in that classroom together, and what a truly incredible experience it was to share. We are all so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from Slime. He made the class both approachable and dynamic. Everyone participated in discussion consistently and brought much to contemplate from the reading and viewing materials. Post-Internet Art gave us a new understanding of and appreciation for millennials, their relationship to the internet, and the art that came of it. There was no requirement to create a final project for the course but as the term went on and we were exposed to more and more material, it became evident that there were many students who had the desire to experiment with creating post-internet art. In the end, we had enough material to plan a showcase for the projects. Some highlights were Jack Wells’ original song, Mollie Kuffner’s MySpace Intros, Bailee’s collage, Rhys Curtis’ film I’m Supposed to Get a Job Now? I created a music video project dedicated to past, present, and future generations of Johnston called As Long As You’re Havin’ A Good Time. Gathering on one of our last nights on campus and sharing our art with everyone who witnessed its creation was really special. It stands out as one of the most special nights of my Johnston career.
ISSUE 15
Tim gives me a hard time because I refer to this as being the greatest class I have ever taken, but it truly does hold a special place in my heart. I found myself enrolled in Post-Internet Art after a semester of intense burnout and disinterest, and it put me right back on track. I was sad for the course to be over by the final days of May, but I was also excited to return for my final two semesters of college. There are a lot of concepts I have taken with me from the course, but one which I have taken to heart, and skewed to fit my percpetion of life, is sub-amateurism. I wrote in my senior narrative, “It was introduced to me originally in the context of post-WWII photographers who used cheap, accessible equipment and took advantage of defaults. Sub-amateurs see things as they are and celebrate them. I am proud to admit that I self-identify as a sub-amateur. I am curious about the world, eager to try everything, not striving to be the very best at anything. Through this I have given myself back the autonomy to try everything and not expect anything from the results. I am a sub-amateur human. I see things as they are and celebrate them. I will continue to approach the world with curiosity, humility, and reverence, in everything I do. Every time I think I know, I end up knowing less than before.”
Michael (Slime) has been devoted to democratic education ever since he received his BA from the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies in 2016. He has been in Chicago since then, where he received his MA from the School of the Art Institute in 2018. He has worked in a number of schools, always seeking out environments that maximize student autonomy. During the summers he drives a rickshaw in the Loop.
COZ MCNOOZ
SALON! This year we revived the Salon! class from the pre-Covid days. In this class, students put on events that blend intellectual and creative interests with the community. Of course, I was thrilled when they decided to dedicate one of the salon events to the Johnston Archives, which were lovingly maintained by MG Maloney in her tenure as Johnston Assistant Director. As we explored the Coyotess Den and selected archives for display, one student noted how strange it was to explore materials, knowing that after his graduation, he would become a member of this archive. But our event also included “living” archives. Local Johnston alums and professors participated in storytelling and shared their own artifacts from Johnston years past. Storyteller and community icon Carlos Arboleda drove in from Arizona to join us – and through his story about social justice fraternity Rangi Ya Giza (RYG) he connected to a current RYG leader. It was a wonderful evening of community, stories, and intergenerational exchange – Johnston at its best! JULIE TOWNSEND
ISSUE 15
The archive salon was a collective moment of past, present, and future Johnston coming together all at once. We shared stories and memories of moments throughout our times in these walls. No matter who we are and what we believe, we are all connected by one common identity: we are lifetime Johnston students. ELLA BUDINGTON, JC ‘25
As someone who is not in the Johnston community, this event was a beautiful door to see the love, support, and strength of this family. Being in this class has taught me a lot, but putting on the “Archives Salon” made me feel really connected to a whole new group of inspiring individuals. I think I got everything I needed to know solely from “The Johnston Song!” AVERY HEIDEBRECHT, ‘26
COZ MCNOOZ
I’ve struggled with imposter syndrome in the community this year, worrying that I’m not “Johnston” enough. This event solidified my connection with Johnston. “The Johnston: Past, Present, Future Salon” was just for us -- it was heartfelt, intimate, and meaningful to all Johnstonians, past and present. KATE WOODHALL, JC ‘28
ISSUE 15
LIFE ON
We pulled tons of memories and pieces of history out of the Archives and showcased them on the walls and tables. On top of that, we played the Johnston Song and shared stories from the past. In my opinion, our salon gave us something to aspire towards - true community. KEEGAN SHERRY, JC ‘26
COMPLEX
COZ MCNOOZ
ISSUE 15
COZ MCNOOZ
ISSUE 15
COZ MCNOOZ
ISSUE 15
ACCESS ON COMPLEX ELLA BUDINGTON, JC'25 Hello! My name is Ella, I am a senior Johnston student with an emphasis in “Media Studies and Communications.” Last year, I was one of the students in the class “Johnston: The One Wild & Precious Life,” taught by Kathy Ogren. During Renewal, our class hosted the Kathryn Green Plenary where we recapped many of the conversations we had in class, one of which was about the physical spaces of Johnston and the community fostered in those spaces; specifically, Bekins porch. In the discussion of this topic at Renewal, I shared my experience of often struggling to feel equal and included in a community that preached inclusivity. I talked about how many of the physical spaces that Johnston alumni hold so close to their hearts – Bekins Porch, Jimmy Room, Day and Night Java–did not hold the same meaning to me because those spaces were not built to welcome someone who uses a wheelchair like me. If Johnston wanted to uphold its value of welcoming all, then we needed to begin doing so.
Throughout my Redlands experience, I’ve often been the student tasked with educating the faculty and staff on the barriers inaccessibility creates in my life. Being disabled for almost half of my life, I understood the commonplace ignorance many people had. They did not look at the relationship between accessibility and inclusion in the same way I did. I had to educate many employees of the University on access and inclusion. A few days before Renewal, Tim Seiber came to me and told me of his plans to begin the process of renovating the first floor of Holt to make it ADA compliant. I was speechless, and proud of myself. It finally felt like the exhausting hours of advocating for more had paid off. Coming into Renewal, I felt prepared to continue teaching people how to consciously think about truly living up to the Johnston value of inclusion. What I was not prepared for was the outcome of the Kathryn Green Plenary. Many alumni commended me for speaking up, shared their own experiences of inaccessibility within Johnston, and talked about our shared desire to do more. Once Tim’s plan was made public, the alumni began to collectively figure out a way to finance an undertaking of this degree. In June 2024, the jackhammering and drilling of various bathrooms and offices began and continued into August. This process led to the newly renovated, ADA-compliant Holt Hall. The new project includes two new bathrooms, first-floor laundry, an accessible kitchen, and a dorm room. To the alumni that helped make this project possible, thank you taking the time to listen to me and my story. Your generosity and desire to make change helped make my dream of living on Johnston complex a reality. To Tim, Kelly, Julie, Jeanette and Anthony, your fight to advocate on my behalf because of a collective belief in inclusion means more to me than you could ever know. To this crazy community: thank you for welcoming me onto complex with open arms and for being a part of my one wild and precious life.
COZ MCNOOZ
ISSUE 15
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT:
THE JOHNSTON NATIONAL CONVENTION ANDRIES CASTELLANO, JC '26 Howdy! My name is Andries Castellano and I am a junior in Johnston with an emphasis in “Psychology of Masculinities and Access to Mental Health Care.” During the Fall semester of 2024, I took a class with our lovely Tim Seiber titled Digital Media: Politics and Communication. Tim teaches this seminar-style class every four years during the fall leading up to presidential elections. Aside from the immediate election, we discussed topics and did readings about internet forums, private and public spheres, divisive political narratives, AI, and memes (lots of memes). In the spirit of political engagement, our class also organized Johnston watch parties for the presidential and vice-presidential debates. These watch parties were a lovely space to apply the ideas we were discussing in class and use them to engage with the community. As a part of the class, Tim tasked us with hosting another election-oriented event or activity that engaged the University of Redlands community. We floated ideas such as organizing rides to the voting polls, hosting a day-of election watch party, and organizing a protest on campus. Ultimately, we settled on a civic engagement event named the Johnston National Convention (JNC) by Johnston senior Lily Tran. The main goals of this event were to educate voters on local and statewide propositions, register in-state and out-of-state voters, and create a space that promoted and rewarded civic engagement. In class, we split into groups to organize JNC: event planning, proposition education, and voter registration. Johnston upperclassmen, such as Sadie Forkner, Izzy Jones, and Arden Dvorchak contributed to multiple groups as a way to spread their community organizing expertise. The event planning group was able to recruit the Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA) club on campus, worked on decorations, reserved space, coordinated a collaboration with Day Java (the Johnston cafe), and made sure the day ran smoothly.
The proposition table worked on printing educational resources and made a proposition wheel game to engage visitors. Finally, the voter registration group helped students register to vote or request absentee ballots throughout the event. Tim was assigned to get the food for JNC, so he bought an unbelievable amount of bean and cheese burritos from Cuca’s. On Friday, October 11th, the day of JNC, the beautiful mid-October Redlands weather was on our side as we set up the booths outside Bekins. On the lawn between Bekins and Holt were about six booths to engage with the students soon to visit. We had also created bingo cards for the visitors to get stamped at each booth. Once a stamp card was full each visitor got a free home-baked good from Day Java and entered a raffle to win a gift card to Harkins Movie Theatre. Throughout the day, we had a steady stream of visitors as they spun the proposition wheel to learn more about statewide propositions, registered if they hadn’t already, learned about contraceptive resources on campus, and got some yummy Cuca’s burritos. We ended the day with PhDJ (Tim) performing a DJ set while some Johnston students set up a game of volleyball on the other side of Bekins lawn. This event was put together by the efforts of many passionate community-loving Johnston students who wanted to make some type of impact on the daunting 2024 election. The way the event flowed, the work we put in, and the community we created are all representative of Johnston’s values. We even registered 34 students to vote who previously had not been registered (big thanks to Ella Budington for holding down the registration booth pretty much the whole day)! Although the UoR never released the number of voters who registered at other campus events, the JNC was one of the most successful lively civic engagement events on campus all fall, and represented Johnston’s commitment to civic participation.
COZ MCNOOZ
SAVE THE DATE RENEWAL 60: February 16-18, 2029
Thank you for your continued donations to the Johnston Center. Whether 10 dollars or 1,000 dollars; whether gifts for now, or gifts for later, your donations make a huge difference to students and the Center. If you can, please continue to donate! Shortened URL to Johnston’s Donation Website: https://tinyurl.com/3xrcf4sm
ISSUE 15
WE WANT YOU
FOR JNST
Who better to identify potential Johnston students than alumni? 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 any high school students who might be interested in a Johnston-style education, please encourage them to visit Johnston, or contact Director Kelly Hankin at kelly_hankin@redlands.edu
COZ MCNOOZ
ISSUE 15
COZ
McKNOWLEDGEMENTS Publisher: Tim Seiber & Kelly Hankin Editor & Designer: Sadie Forkner & Everette Davidove
Technical Guidance & Moral Support: Tim Seiber, Julie Townsend, Kelly Hankin, Ella Budington The Spring 2025 issue of the Coz McNooz was completed through Johnston’s Project Development course, which was facilitated by Julie Townsend and funded through the Johnston Student Project fund.
NSTON H O J F O F L A H E
ON
Photo Wizardry: Raine O’Hollaren, Arden Dvorchak, Sadie Forkner, Kim Sunio, Angela Bozman, & Everette Davidove
B
Contributors: Tim Seiber, Marianna Folino, Brandon ArangoAlmarez, izzy Jones, Ella Budington, Andries Castellano, Julie Townsend, Sadie Forkner, Kate Woodhall, Keegan Sherry, Avery Heidebrecht
,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!