The Idealist - April

April 2013 | Vol. 2 Issue 5

U T N U UB

Juan Mosquera @JuanCityYear

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During a positive phone call home today, dad says: "I can't tell you how happy I am you called..." #makebetterhappen

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Starfish Stories Corps members from different sites share their Starfish story

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Best Practices Great ideas for the last couple months for having a greater impact on your students

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Dear Idealist You ask; the Idealist answers

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Whose Line is it Anyway?

A literacy event at Weinland Park Elementary School

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PI Day Linden-McKinley shares their successful PI day

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March Mathness Mifflin High School holds a celebration of Math

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School Zone

A current recap of each school April 2 | cityyear.org | 2013

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Rod’s Ruminations UBUNTU in the eyes of animals

CY Health Zone

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Get yourself a workout buddy

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Rachel Beebe A woman who upholds the value of Ubuntu, written by Kate Sweeney

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Brit’s Corner Ubuntu with Family

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The Idealists of Ubuntu Edward Plumb, Beth Roseman, and Juan Mosquera explore the reasons of why Ubuntu (my humanity is tied to yours) is important to our survival as idealists

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South High Harmony Project Corps Member Danielle Moses shares the amazing impact that the South Harmony High Project has had on South High School

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Gender Equality Mirria Martin goes deeper into Gender Equality in America

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Serves at Linden-McKinley STEM Academy as the Team Leader. Exil started the Idealist in 2011 in her first year as a Corps Member.

Follow her on twitter @SaraiE_CYCO

A recent graduate of The Ohio State University, Mirria serves at Mifflin High School. She enjoys reading, writing, and random outbursts of the Macarena.

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I’m a twenty-something on a mission to make a difference in the world. I also love coffee in the mornings and ice cream in the evenings.

I serve as part of The Idealist committee because I am proud of the impact we’re making in the community. I serve because I want to inspire others to follow in our footsteps: not only future Corps Members, but people everywhere, to leave the world a little better than when they found it.

Graduate of OSU, Tamar began her journey with City Year in July 2012.She also enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, and cherishing her relationship with the Lord.

I'm 22 years old a recent graduate of Kent State University with a degree in Mathematics. I serve with City Year at South High and I look forward to staying in Columbus to serve youth next year.

Thank you for all of your work in capturing the service taking place in Columbus via ‘The Idealist’.

SUPER inspirational and informational…

Photo Credit: M.Schmitter

Lauren Feaster Training & Evaluation Manager City Year Milwaukee

Font Used: Garamond, Bebas Neue, GeoSansLight, and Walkway

Hello everyone!

My name is Sarah Mitchell and I was fortunate enough to get to read this months issue of IDEALIST because I serve on Dean's Council. I must say... what a treat! I was reading this every free second I got today and I am SO impressed. This is such an amazing publication, and I think everyone involved should give themselves a huge pat on the back! The time and thoughtfulness that went into this is awesome. I am inspired after reading and can't wait to see more in the future.

This is a fantastic model of level 5 leadership, and I will be forwarding this to our entire site.

THANK YOU for the service you do every day, and for making my day!

Programs Used: Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Photoshop and InDesign

Sarah Mitchell

Photo Credits: Mark Schmitter (Cover Photo, pg 2 Edward and stock City Year Photo, pg 3 Beth, pg 5 The Idealist Group Photo, pg 8 photo, pg 15 Remy with student, pg. 16 and 17 all, The Idealists of Ubuntu: pg. 27, 28, 30,31, 32, 33, 35, Back Cover Image); Brit Dziak (Juan, pg 38 and 40); Sarai Exil (Title Page Student and Anna with student, pg 9 Innis Park Morning Circle) Guest Editors: Yan Zhang—The meaning of Ubuntu Graphic Design: All manipulation of images done by Sarai Exil

Team Leader, King Academy City Year San Antonio

The mission of THE IDEALIST is to cultivate a culture of inspiration by showcasing the talents of our Corps members and highlighting our service and impact within our community and our schools.

City Year Columbus The Idealist 88 East Broad St. Columbus, OH 43215

Sarai and CY Columbus, This is fantastic, poignant and really well done! Thank you. Brilliant!

All my best,

theidealistcyco@gmail.com

Charlie Rose Senior Vice President & Dean City Year Inc. 2013 |

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Wanna write for the Idealist? Are you connected to our service through sponsorship? Send your articles, ads, and pictures to theidealistcyco@gmail.com!

Lonesome Dove An Ice Machine Throw the sun hat outside and use the paper clip to attach a sign to it that says “free sun hat.”

My favorite camera is the Canon 5D Mk.III, because it does great in low-light, is full-frame, and makes me look like I know what I’m doing.

Iron Man is my favorite super hero, because come on, have you seen his garage and technology?

I would walk into Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream like a king and buy scoops on scoops on scoops of ice cream.

Student Council , Key Club International. Youth for Change (a homemade social activism club my friends and I put together, discussing issues such as HIV/AIDS, the genocide in Darfur, poverty in America, and finding ways to spread awareness) I went to France with my French class my sophomore year of high school I think I would buy a little something special for everyone in my life who I care about - something meaningful and unique to that person.

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The Aluminum Foil Queen

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eginning at an early age, I celebrated the idea of a united humanity. When I was in the first grade, I became the Aluminum Foil Queen. Some of the first grade girls collected the aluminum used to store hamburgers, pizza, and chicken sandwiches. Right after they finished lunch, they would gather around a large oak tree in the back of the playground, and whoever had the most aluminum would become Queen for the day. Unfortunately, I brought a packed lunch every day. I yearned to be one of the students who got to smother ketchup all over their pizza, or eat those soggy, smiley-face potato fries, but most importantly, I yearned to have that greasy aluminum foil to earn the Queen’s crown.

grade girls, even if they didn’t have any aluminum foil.

From that day on, my lack of aluminum foil never deterred me from making friends. A simple act of kindness allowed me to feel like a part of the first grade community, and although it was for my own benefit, I opened the doors for many like me, whose moms poured love into brown paper bags each morning.

Besides our daily quarrels, we were a pretty tight group of five and six-year olds that I missed when I moved later that year.

For this issue of THE IDEALIST, we asked three Corps Members to write a little bit about Ubuntu, a principle that states that each member of humanity is tied to one another. Edward Plumb goes into the history One day, another girl handed me her rolled-up ball of of Ubuntu, Beth Roseman explains why it is relevant to aluminum. The stale smell of hamburgers floated into all of us, and Juan Mosquera shares why Ubuntu has my nose as I asked her if this ball in my hand was extra been an important value in his own life. Each brings aluminum. She said, “No.” As a self-centered five-year some inspiration to live each day as a positive old, I ran over to the oak tree with my offering in hand contributor to the world. without stopping to say thank you. Funny enough, I had Although, I forgot to say thank you once upon a time, the largest amount that day, and the girls had to crown and many times after, to the person who believed in me Queen. In my 20 minute reign, I sang songs with my Ubuntu, I will say thank you now to all those who have people, led the way across Monkey Bar Road, and made this issue a success. ■ Sarai Veronique Exil deemed the Aluminum Foil Society open to all first 8 | cityyear.org | April 2013

Photo Credit: M.Schmitter

IMPACT The purpose of our service is to help students get on track. There are days when the difference we're making isn't easy for us to see. Students aren't always appreciative of our presence, our passion that called us to a year of service isn't always forefront in our minds, and sometimes the only thought in our heads seems to be: "this is hard..." (PITW, anyone?). But, even if it's not clear to us every day, we ARE making a difference in our schools, in our communities, and in the lives of our students. The Impact section serves as a reminder to us all that we are making a difference every day, and that difference deserves to be recognized and celebrated.

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Whose Line is it Anyway?

Weinland Park’s Literacy Competition

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ne of City Year’s goals is to help foster a culture of literacy in our schools. This means that we seek to create an environment in which students are reading various materials, both for educational purposes as well as for personal enjoyment. Further more, we want children to be able to discuss what they read with their classmates, friends, and teachers so that they share their interests and knowledge. While many students at Weinland Park have been reading popular book series like The Diaries of a Wimpy Kid inside of the classroom, we have been taking steps to further increase the desire to read for fun outside of the classroom. In order to achieve our goals, the Weinland Park City Year team has issued a challenge to students in grades K -5: to read as many pages as they can in one month.

Here at Weinland Park, we are just completing our second week of the All-Star Literacy Challenge. This Literacy Challenge has been encouraging

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our students to read more and more outside of the classroom. We are also empowering our students to hold themselves accountable for recording their data independently. Students are meeting this challenge by using the book logs that we’ve provided them. These book logs are meant to help us track what our students are reading, as well as how much they are reading.

Grades 3-5 have also been asked to write a one-sentence summary about what they’ve been reading for each entry to demonstrate comprehension of the materials they’ve read. Students that read the most pages by the end of the competition will be rewarded with prizes on an individual, classroom, and school wide level. One of these prizes includes an exclusive Pizza Party for Champions that will be provided by City Year and local donators. The results thus far have been amazing, with many students excitedly telling City Year Corps Members what they’ve been reading. As the month progresses, we hope that this event will encourage more students to read for fun in the future. ■ Derek Larenas, Corps Member

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Everyone had an opportunity to complete a bracket!

The face cut-out station!

A Michael Jordan dunking cutout!

March Mathn

...A math event hosted by the City Year High School Students were able to redeem their Diplomas Now dollars for prizes.

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Students had to take a foul shot following answering math questions.

A student taking a picture with an Aaron Craft, Ohio State guard, cut-out.

Our wonderful volunteers from the Hilton.

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r Team at Mifflin

Our magnificent prize station. Several gift cards and random knick-knacks were up for purchase.

Math pong was a popular station.

Students had to answer a math question and throw a ball into a cup.

Students had to figure out the various combinations of scoring using 1-pts, 2 -pts, or 3-pts.

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spin off of March Madness, March Mathness was an event held by the Diplomas Now Team at Mifflin High School on Tuesday, March 26th. An event incorporating basketball with math problems, the night featured 8 math stations one of which was a simple game of knockout where students had to correctly answer a math problem prior to taking a shot. The purpose of the event was to build and strengthen students’ math skills in a fun and engaging environment.

Students received Diplomas Now money for every correct answer and were able to purchase their food along with several wonderful prizes. Raffles were held every 15 minutes and give-a-ways included an ipod shuffle, $50 gift cards to Hollister and Footlocker, 2 Blue Jackets tickets and much more.

With over 100 people in attendance including parents, 3 math teachers and their families, students from Mifflin Middle, and our dedicated Hilton Volunteers, the night was a huge victory. â– Tamar Carr, Team Leader

The line for knockout was extremely long the entire night!

An overview of March Mathness.

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South 7-12

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everal things we’ve done at South throughout the year have promoted a renewed sense of community within our school. Hosting exciting events, bringing in speakers from throughout the city, and simply relating to our students on a very human level – everything we’ve done has strengthened the sense of community seen within South. The alumni association is excited about what we’re doing, and we’re hoping to collaborate with them more before the year is out, showing our students the pride that used to be associated with attending South High School and how we’re bringing it back. Our latest incentive, a March Madness-like competition focusing on Attendance, Behavior, and Course Performance, is furthering the sense of community within our ninth grade cohorts. Each cohort – Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo – will be competing against each other and moving through a bracket system. Our hopes are that a little friendly competition will enhance the bond within cohorts, so that our students can see how much stronger they can be when they’re all working together for a common goal. ■ Jen Brown

Linden McKinley S.T.E.M. Academy

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t LMSA, the concept of Ubuntu is critical as we aim to foster a sense of community among our students. One of the ways in which we've harnessed this belief is through the creation of boys’ and girls’ groups for both the middle schoolers and ninth graders. These groups, co-led by staff and corps members, focus on a variety of issues our students face, such as maintaining positive relationships, anger management, and academic success. Through the boys’ and girls’ groups, we are able to bring together students who may not normally interact, or even students who are constantly in conflict, and have them talk out their problems together in a safe, structured environment.

Through open, honest discussion, students are able to bond with their peers and come to realize how their humanity may not be so different than hat of their classmates’. ■ Anna Habib

Mifflin High School

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ince our first event at Mifflin High School overall attendance has risen significantly. These events engage students, staff, teachers, and even parents. We do our best to get the message out so that we can engage as many people as possible, whether it is through the phone dialer, flyers, communication in classrooms, and mailing postcards home. To show their support, Math and English teachers agreed to give extra credit to each student who attends our events. Not only do these events help with math and literacy skills but they also display Ubuntu or community here at Mifflin High School. Before we began doing these events, Mifflin had nothing fun and engaging to look forward to. The spirit and pride in being a Puncher just seemed to lack with most of our students and staff. Now they look forward to our events and wonder what we will have in store for them next. These events bring everyone at Mifflin High School together outside of the classroom through food, prizes, music, games, and just a good time overall. Students, teachers, and administrators express their appreciation for what we do through their continued attendance and gratitude. Through our dedication and collaboration we have successfully changed the climate at Mifflin High School for the better. ■ Tuanya Henderson

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Weinland Park Elementary

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n a school like Weinland Park Elementary, where there are countless moving parts of resources that are partnered in the school, it would be assumed that the sense of community would be lost in the mix. Thankfully, that is not the case. From the beginning, it was apparent that there was already a close tie between the school and its families, with parents prevalent throughout the building during the school day communicating with teachers and students if necessary. Our City Year team has managed to become a part of the tight bond at the school through building strong relationships with our teachers, eating lunch with students, providing breakfast support, providing both whole-class support and interventions, helping facilitate monthly family nights as well as meet any additional needs of staff. We have become a very reliable and committed asset to the school during our time of service. ■ Jamie-Lee Morris

Photo Credit: M.Schmitter

INSPIRE

Inspire: to provoke a particular feeling in someone; to cause creative activity. The Idealist strives to inspire Corps Members this month with various articles, including Starfish Stories showcasing Corps Members' successes with students; a section highlighting one Corps Member who especially demonstrates and upholds one of City Year's ten core values; Dear Idealist answers all questions from the Corps; sharing the best practices in each area of our service; and a Health Zone offering numerous tips on staying healthy throughout our year of service.

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Sharing E

A Corner

As an ELA coordinator at Weinland Park Elementary School, I am able to play a large role in teaching kids higher-level vocabulary. Recently, my students have been working on prefixes and suffixes, which can be quite difficult to master at a young age. To make the learning experience more fun, I ended up making a game out of it.

To play, you only need a dry erase board and some markers. The game requires students to write three words using the prefixes and suffixes that they learned in class. Of the three words, only one word will be correct. Their goal is to try and trick their classmates into identifying the wrong word as correct. The actual goal of the game, however, is to test a student’s knowledge of prefix/suffix usage. The kids really enjoy the game because they have a chance to win points, which could eventually lead to lunch with their teacher. As the year progresses and we continue to expose our students to more prefixes and suffixes, I hope to continue to use this game to help students learn more vocabulary and strengthen their understanding of proper prefix/ suffix usage.

■Derek Larenas, ELA/Literacy Coordinator, Weinland Park Elementary School 18 | cityyear.org | April 2013

Practices

A little bit about working strategies in Columbus.

Ma

h Corner

Starting Algebra this semester was a big deal for many of our students—their first real high school math course. This course is the first time students venture out of the realm of concretion and into the beautiful world of mathematical abstraction. What is this 'x' we speak of? You want me to find his/her value?

A lot of my students struggled when they were presented with two-step equations, so I developed a little thought exercise to help them rationalize the problems for themselves. Start with a simple question, “How do you put on your shoes in the morning?”

They will answer, “First I put on my sock and then I put on my shoe.” Now ask, “How do you take it off?”

Hopefully, they reply, “I take off my shoe and then my sock.” “Wow,” I say, “you have just solved a two step equation!” Then present them with an equation such as 2x+3=13. Ask them how we build this equation using order of operations, first we multiply x by 2 and then we add 3. Well that is the same as putting on our sock and then shoe. So to “undress” x we do the opposite steps in the opposite order, i.e. subtract 3 and divide by 2. This is analogous to taking off our shoe and then our sock.

■ Casey Dykes, Math Coordinator, South High School

Behavi r Corner ELA

Behavior is one of the most challenging issues we have to address with our students. I learned very early that building a solid relationship with students helps to improve their behavior. As the year progressed, my students began to respect me and are less likely to misbehave if I am around. For example, they may correct themselves or apologize for using foul language; this did not occur at the beginning of the year. I let them know my expectation and most of them do care whether or not they meet it. We also ran a behavior competition between all of the 9th grade cohorts. As a class, each cohort received a score out of 5 each day based on certain criteria such as: tardiness, attendance, disruptive behavior and profanity use. The scores per cohort were compiled daily and posted in the hallway for students to see. It actually worked to improve behavior and students even started to correct each other when they realized that this was a collective effort. The winning cohort received a pizza party and had the opportunity to go bowling during school. Recently, we have collaborated with administrators to have community service projects run by us, in place of the many suspensions. We are looking forward to launching this project as it will address attendance and behavior. There are also plenty of resources on CY connect to help track and address misbehaving students. ■ Tuanya Henderson, SEL/Behavior Coordinator, Mifflin High School

Resources As the year comes to a close, it can be so easy to become more laidback in our service. We’re losing our patience with students, our thoughts are moving onto LACY plans, and we’re starting to feel burnt out. Finishing the year strong is SO important though. Check out this resource, published by Diplomas Now, on just how important it is to gather the motivation to finish strong, including data on how significant the end of the year can be for a student’s success: https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/programs/DiplomasNow/Implementation% 20Resources/Finishing%20Strong%20Guide%20and%20Timeline.pdf.

Check out this link for some creative ideas for ELA projects, hall decorations, and activities to do with your students: https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/ programs/wswc/ela/ELA%20%20Literacy%20Photo%20Library/Forms/ AllItems.aspx And be sure to check out pictures of all of the creative ideas for Math tutoring, found here: https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/programs/wswc/Math/Math% 20Pictures/Forms/AllItems.aspx

■ Jen Brown, Corps Member, South High School

Struggling to come up with a successful method of reading as a class, Corps Members serving in Mrs. McChesney’s English 9 class at South High School borrowed an idea from South’s other ELA teacher, Ms. B., and decided to split the class into groups. Looking at students’ Lexile scores, we split them up into three groups, with a mixture of reading ability present in each group. Each group will be accompanied by either their teacher or a Corps Member as facilitator, and the smaller reading groups will surely lead to a deeper understanding of the text.

■ Jen Brown, ELA/Literacy Coordinator, South High School Math We celebrated March 14th as Pi Day at South High School with a few different activities.

Math teachers throughout the school collaborated to hang the first one thousand digits of pi throughout the cafeteria and hallway, using digits decorated by students.

We also featured some Pi-kus in the ninth grade hallway, which were my take on mathematical haikus. Students wrote poems about their thoughts on pi – the first line with three syllables, the second line with only one, and the third with four syllables (3.14 – get it?!).

■Casey Dykes, Math Coordinator, South High School Behavior After having a discussion with two girls on my focus list, we decided to start off with small incentives. First, being the Pepsi Challenge, costing a total of $1.25 per bottle.

For each day, they would be rewarded a quarter in the bank based off of their behavior. They worked really hard because they knew at the end of the day it was all or nothing. This was a small behavior incentive, but by giving it an exciting name, we had fun with it!

■Fevean Keflom, Corps Member, Linden-McKinley STEM Academy

CYconnect Check out this post in the Student Engagement Blog about a recent Ubuntu-themed field trip for students at the schools where CY Miami teams serve: https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/ programs/wswc/SE/SEBlog/Lists/Posts/ Post.aspx?ID=15.

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Dear Idealist...

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Providing advice on service, team dynamics, and life after City Year.

Photo Credit: M.Schmitter

Str ug gling

Starfish

It's March, and I feel like a failure. I know my students like and respect me, but that kind of stuff isn't reflected in their grades or assessments. I look for my daily starfish and have no desire to give up, but I worry sometimes, "Am I really making a difference?" Should I be concerned, or am I being too hard on myself?

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Dear Struggling Starfish,

The short answer: You're being too hard on yourself. It's much easier said than done, but you have to remind yourself that you are making a difference in the lives of your students. Even though it may not feel like it all the time, and even if they're not getting all A's and B's on their report cards, your presence in the classroom makes a difference. The fact that you're there waiting for them each and every morning with a smile on your face makes more of a difference than probably any of us realize.

Also, simply thinking about this and being involved in this level of self-reflection about your service shows that you are truly invested, and that in and of itself will make a difference to your students. Our main goal is to keep kids from dropping out of school, and the most obvious indicator of that is often grades, but even if not all of your students have brought their grades up by the end of this year, the difference you've made can be seen in other ways: a more positive attitude toward their education; their motivation now that someone actually believes in them; their thoughts about the future now that they see their options. All of these things that you’re encouraging every day help to not only prevent students from dropping out, but also to begin to change a culture of apathy, an underlying cause of the high dropout crisis.

Our experienced staff has told us this many times, but it still takes reminding: sometimes we see the results of our service within our City Year; sometimes we won’t see it until years down the road, when we run into a student in downtown Columbus and they tell us how successful they've been since graduation; and sometimes we'll never really see it. But despite how visible your impact is, you can be sure that you are making a difference.

You might not reach every student every day, but know that you're making an impact to someone every single day that you're in school.

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Q Q A A

• Dear Idealist • Dear Idealist • Dear Idealist •

Guilty Conscience L A C Y L o n g i n g

How do you deal with a situation when your supervisor finds you doing something you're not supposed to do and you feel too embarrassed to take responsibility?

Dear Guilty Conscience,

This is a tough one. Obviously every situation depends on its context, but some of the best advice I can give (no matter the circumstances), is that honesty is the best policy. If you know you were in the wrong, it’s best to take ownership of your actions and approach your supervisor to discuss the situation. Taking the initiative to address what happened with them is definitely better than the alternative. If they caught you in the act and you wait around, hoping they’ll forget it ever happened so that they have to come to you first, it probably won’t help you in the long run. If you take the more mature route, however, and take responsibility for your actions, it will show your growth. Taking ownership of something that was wrong can be difficult, but it will show your supervisor that you can deal with conflict in a mature way and that you’re able to admit your mistakes.

Again, the best you can ever do (and the only thing) is to just be honest. It’s much better to admit to your supervisor that you’re embarrassed about the situation than to avoid discussing it at all. If whatever happened was an issue of professionalism in terms of your service, it will certainly do you good to take responsibility for your actions, and if it’s something more personal, acknowledging the situation usually alleviates the tension that can come up when people leave an issue to be the elephant in the room. Good luck.

I've started to do job interviews for my LACY stuff, and I'm noticing a trend.

Whenever I have an opportunity to talk about my service, I can't seem to stop.

One potential employer asked me jokingly if I really wanted to work for them or keep doing what I’m doing now. I know that another year of service is not in my immediate future, but I really like the work we do. How can I stay involved without rocking the red jacket anymore?

Dear LACY Longing, Don’t worry! There are plenty of ways to stay involved with our mission and our City Year community without actually being a Corps Member or on staff. One great way to do this is to become an active member of the City Year alumni community. The CY alumni website is one easy way to acknowledge your place as an alumni in City Year’s community (http:// alumni.cityyear.org/), but there are other things you can do, too. Each of our school teams has been fortunate enough to be matched up with some “Alumni Buddies”, and this is a great way for former CMs to stay in the loop with their service alma mater. As we all know, we’re often looking for volunteers for school events, mock interview days, and other CY projects, so giving some of your time to a CY site is a great way to stay connected.

Regardless of where your LACY plans take you, with dozens of sites across

L AC Y L o n g i n g

(con’t.)

And don’t forget that we’re Americorps members, too!

Remembering this part of your service identity provides so many more opportunities to stay involved after graduation. There is also a website for Americorps Alums (http:// www.americorpsalums.org/), so be sure to register and stay active for more chances to stay connected. And with over 50 chapters just for Americorps alumni, you’ll be able to find one that’s convenient for you.

Another way to keep working toward the cause following an inspiring term with City Year is to pursue a job in another non-profit environment.

Whether it’s focused on education, child advocacy, or some other cause you’re passionate about, continuing your commitment to service in the non -profit world is a great way to connect your LACY plans to your service year.

Even if you don’t end up with an organization focused on education, our service with City Year has helped prepare us for selfless work fighting issues of social justice, not only the dropout crisis.

Finally, don’t forget that even if you end up working in a completely unrelated field next year, that doesn’t mean you can’t build connections between that job and what we’re doing now. The skills and values we've learned over these ten months are transferable to anything that comes your way, and if you're passionate about your service and your time spent with City Year, you can ensure that CY’s values and mission are carried on with you wherever you end up next.

Ask fellow Idealist Jen anything about your service year or life as an Americorps member. Email questions anonymously anytime to theidealistcyco@gmail.com.

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Rod’s Ruminations

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his issue of “The Idealist” is all about Ubuntu, a Zulu proverb that champions the notion that we are all people through other people. However, have you ever thought about animals? Is my humanity somehow tied to them? Of course, the answer to this is yes, but not in some of the ways you might think.

For example, on most days I act like a grown human man. I try to behave with dignity, poise, and a happy outlook on life. But if a certain day brings me into contact with any kind of bat, all of that goes out the window. I turn into a sort of mix between a tiny child and a raving lunatic. There could be tears, diving to the floor, screaming, and jumping out of windows all within mere seconds. Seriously, there is never a

tennis racquet around when you really need one. I think we all know deep down that bats are really just out to bite us and suck our blood. I know some of you will say that only very specific species of bats actually suck blood and it’s only from other animals, not humans. Yeah, keep on dreaming. I’m sure all of these bats are thinking about it, and even if they aren’t yet, all it would take is for a few of those vampire bats to get loose and talk to the other native bats and then the cat (or bat) is out of the bag. Once the native bats get a taste of that sweet, sweet human blood, all bets are off and we’re in for trouble people.

Speaking of vampires, that reminds me of something else. In my opinion, the walrus is one huge animal with one huge identity crisis. First of all, they are trying really hard to be the vampires of the sea, but their fangs are just too darn big and attract too much attention!

Let’s say they try to sneak up on a marlin or something to bite its neck.

That marlin is going to see them coming a mile away with those big teeth sticking out and he is just going to be like, “Come on, man. Really?” Also, the walrus has a rather impressive moustache, which tells me that they

want to be like us humans. So what’s it going to be walrus? Human or vampire?

You cannot be both. The idea of a vampire walking around with a ‘stache is just ridiculous.

Excuse me, I got a little off topic there. Anyway, I think that animals could really be rolled into the whole idea of Ubuntu if we gave them more ways to express their humanity. For instance, I keep pitching the idea of walkie talkies for dogs to all sorts of companies, but they just won’t listen. In my opinion, the Ostrich is probably the most human animal out there. Exhibit A: they walk on two legs. Exhibit B: they are active during the day and sleep at night. Exhibit C: male ostriches dance in order to attract the affection of female ostriches! I mean if these birds lost the feathers and gizzard, I would be proud to invite them into my home and offer them all of the seeds, shrubs, and fruits that they so enjoy!

I guess what I’m saying here is that Ubuntu works with animals as long as they are true to themselves. So welcome to the fold of humanity, animals.

Except you bats…no.

■ Rod Swain

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magine this: City Year is hosting a three-legged race.

Only instead of for a few minutes, the legs will be tied the entire year (if our game of Assassin can last this long, I don't doubt a three-legged race also could). So think about it- who would you want to be tied to?

Yan would start a joke when we were first being tied that wouldn't end until we were untied. Bob would drag me to improv shows which would jumpstart my comedy career, plus I'd probably learn a lot of Greek (resume booster!). Amy would always be there with a chick flick and ice cream if I ever got sad about being physically tied to someone for ten My initial thought was that I'd want to be tied to Ashley, months. Aside from her hair probably always being in my being that she is athletic and would inspire me to keep going face, Fevean would cook me some awesome Eritrean food with some Wayne Gretzky quotes or whatever athletes do. everyday. Sarai would shower me with compliments about my But then there was Anna, who could probably make it a point hair or my doodles (neither of which warrant anything other to only speak in puns for ten months just to make me laugh. than blank stares), and Monika would give me G&A for every Or perhaps Hope, because things would never get boring. step I took without wiping out on my face, plus she'd always With Bobby, I'd probably never run out of conversation. And share pictures of her cats. being tied to Juan would probably be the only thing that keeps him from floating away into the clouds.

But here's the thing: figuratively (not literally, luckily for you) we already ARE tied to each other, and have been since we first met in July. We serve together everyday side-by-side, more closely than we'll probably ever work with anyone again. We had no choice in who boarded this ship, meaning that all twelve of us could have been anyone, with any personality type or work ethic. Yet we sustain and enjoy (almost) every moment. We build up each other’s weaknesses and mimic each other's strengths. If we can do this every day with a group of twelve, can we not do this with every other person we come across?

EVERY person is tied to another. We see it more in our daily schedules because it's more concentrated. So rather than choose to be tied to one single person, tie yourself to everyone, because you never know who will support you, who you will learn from, and what each of us can give with what we've gathered. Some of us need that third leg! â– Brit Dziak Corps Member on the CSX Team at Linden-McKinley STEM Academy

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Photo Credit: M.Schmitter

SP0TLIGHT Here at The Idealist, we use our Spotlight section to showcase our unique and individual personalities. Yes, we are here for service, and we serve everyday to fight the dropout crisis - but each of us has our own unique story: where we come from, why we serve, what issues we're passionate about. We're all different, and we all bring something different to the table. So in this section, expect to see a little bit about who we are, not just as Corps Members, but as individuals, and hopefully you'll begin to understand, as we do, just how impressive our Corps really is.

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The Meaning of UBUNTU 28 | cityyear.org |

Edward Plumb Corps Member Chase Team @ WP

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Photo Credit: M. Schmitter

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he founding stories of the Idealist’s Handbook resemble the devoted craft of a mythopoeic magpie building a nest for the future’s idealist. Stories are drawn from sources ranging from the Talmud to the Tao Te Ching to American politicians and social justice figures. However, despite the Idealist Handbook’s attempts to balance the representation of diverse sources, the Handbook retains an unspoken but understandable preference for Afrocentrism. Two historical themes pervade City Year culture; the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King (and consequently the Civil Right movement), and the re-imagining of post-apartheid South Africa. Both these threads are united by the 22nd founding story, “Ubuntu”. The Idealist’s Handbook presents "Ubuntu" as a shortening of the Zulu "Umuntu ngumuntu ngamantu", or "I am a person through other people. My humanity is tied to yours". In order to come to a broader understanding of Ubuntu as an idealist’s ethic, we will examine its context as a shortening of a Bantu proverb, move on to examining how corps members understand and apply the term day to day, and finally make connections to Dr. Martin Luther King and Desmond Tutu.

Only recently has Ubuntu encompassed an ethic, worldview, or philosophy. Before the 1950s, Ubuntu was simply a word to describe a human trait, like “manhood”, “generosity”, or “human nature” in general.

However, during the 1980s in Zimbabwe, Ubuntu evolved into a political philosophy to guide the state in its transition from white minority rule to black majority rule. By the time Zimbabwe’s racially divided state was undone, the groundwork for Ubuntu’s wider conceptual development and politicization had been laid.

When City Year co-founder Alan Khazei visited Johannesburg in 1996, April 2013 | cityyear.org | 3 he was inspired by South Africa’s ratification of their post-apartheid

constitution. His impression was that South Africans were not only trying to “overcome the legacy of apartheid” but create “a model for the whole world”. The term Ubuntu, then, was perfect for representing an organization that would be inspired by and aspired to a similar world model. Thus, Ubuntu was spliced into the DNA of City Year circa 1995 as a tool for initiation into (and action within) City Year culture. hazei has not been the only person to use Ubuntu as shorthand to represent what is considered the heart of an organization. Mark Shuttleworth, a SouthAfrican who grew up in the Oranje Free State, chose “Ubuntu” as the name of his $10 million dollar open-source version of the Linux operating system. In his words, “as a platform based on free software, the Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of Ubuntu to the software world.” For Mark, Ubuntu fit his vision for the growing opensource model and demonstrated his belief in free intellectual property.

As demonstrated by these two uses of the word, Ubuntu’s exact meaning is hard to pin down, but its uses are flexible. To this day, the concept of Ubuntu remains difficult to generalize for South Africans of African descent. However, two main camps exist; some people consider Ubuntu to be a characteristic of specific people and actions, others interpret it as an ethical outlook or a foundation of South-African statehood. This micro versus macro understanding of Ubuntu seemed to be mirrored in definitions of the term by corps members at my own school when answering the question “what does Ubuntu mean to you?”: “Including everybody, extending the invite” –Diana “Inclusivity”—Zandra “I am my brother's keeper” –Jamie-Lee “When I hear Ubuntu I think about having my teammate's back at the best and the worst of times. You're there with a smile, a pat on the back, or a joke—whatever it takes.” –Derek

of an ethical philosophy, while Derek focuses on the interpersonal in the day to day support and care of fellow corps members. It is hard now to ask myself how I would have answered this question before the act of writing complicated my understanding; I think with something like “shared humanity” or “interconnectedness”.

I probably would have framed my consideration in the aims and actions of the Ubuntu committee at our site, whose goal seems to be improving interpersonal relations within the corps by providing a non-service environment in which to learn about each other and enjoy each other’s’ company. Arguably, the Ubuntu committee’s goal is to make people feel “included”, to feel, as Diana puts it, that the invite has been extended.

However, I would define this aspect of Ubuntu at our site as an outlet for selfindulgent and perhaps necessary escape; while we are self-defined service warriors who express their humanity in their work, there are moments when I feel frustrated, trapped, perhaps minimized by the uniform, by the pressure to be an “idealist” and to live up to standards that in no way shape or form did I invent (even if I generally think those standards are admirable). Ubuntu, in this understanding, becomes an assertion of one's own humanity as it relates to the protection and nurturing of our own individual identities. It is about occasionally letting work just be work and remembering we are regular people too.

Am I the only person that feels that way about the Ubuntu committee? Is this experience of the Ubuntu committee's work in line with the vision Khazei had in mind?

Which version of Ubuntu did he have in mind, when the South-Africans provided us the concept but don't agree on its meaning themselves?

Two related take-aways present themselves. First, there is a sense of the inadequacy of language and the imperfection of its translation. Second, the reality is that, regardless of these inadequacies, people get on anyways. They make do, improvise, Jamie-Lee provides the clearest statement create meaning in order to function and

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survive. Whether we understand exactly what Ubuntu means, or meant, isn’t the point. The point is that it means something; we share a collective sense of what we want it to mean. Seen this way, the Idealist’s Handbook become a toolkit whose diversity of sources is not a calculated statement about the cultural tolerance of the organization, but a flexible set of concepts.

To build an understanding of Ubuntu which captures its historical nuance and turn it into a philosophical outlook is difficult. I offer two quotes: "A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper selfassurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed."

--Archbishop Desmond Tutu “All I'm saying is simply this: that all mankind is tied together; all life is interrelated, and we are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. For some strange reason I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be.

And you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be -- this is the interrelated structure of reality.”

--Dr. Martin Luther King This idea is present in both statements: the existence of suffering in one person is reciprocated by a feeling of incompleteness in those who do not suffer. King suggests that none of us can be who we “ought to be” because we can’t truly experience “humanness” while others are oppressed.

King is not talking specifically about Ubuntu, but the parallels are remarkable.

This is similar to the Hegelian Master-Slave dialectic, which imagines self-consciousness, or full human development, as a social phenomenon. That is, an individual cannot achieve his or her full human potential independent of other people. Ubuntu becomes less attainable, more radical, but

perhaps more inspiring in this understanding. o I feel as if my humanity is undermined by the existence of oppression of others? Definitely. Yet in an age where we grow up desensitized to the ugliness of modern life by its constant presence in media, how affected am I by uncountable civil wars in third-world countries of which I don’t know the names? How motivated am I to fully examine the environmental and human impact of my consumer decisions? The sense of injustice in the world hovers vaguely, like a dull pain that remains unnamable, disconnected, undergoing attenuation, fearing signal death. In response we attempt to recreate and reexperience the emotions of Ubuntu, but it remains elusive.

I think Ubuntu, as understood through King’s vision, functions as a radical unveiling. Like a gadfly’s bite, it is an attempt to remind us that our muted emotion, our unfeeling, our disconnect— these safeties and insulations from oppression—are our greatest problems and are impairments to our understanding and action. Ultimately, the search for the meaning of Ubuntu is left to those who use and share it. As for me, living in the spirit of Ubuntu demands the interior removal of barriers to true perception (the radical unveiling of ourselves), and critically, engagement with the environment that we actually live in, not the one we imagine. City Year has provided me with an experience which has nurtured, sometimes painfully, both parts of that directive. I will never be the same and could not be more thankful.

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■ Edward Plumb

Are you enjoying the exploration of Ubuntu?

Send us an email at theidealistcyco@gmail.com 2013 | April

Photo Credits: M. Schmitter

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ithin the first five minutes of meeting someone, it’s more than likely that I’ll ask where he or she is from. I’ll then proceed to list

off the names of the people who I know from that city in hopes of finding a mutual friend. In the Jewish world, this little game is known as Jewish geography and almost always organically happens when two Jews meet each other for the first time. Jews make up less than 1% of the population worldwide though, while 40% of those Jews are concentrated in Israel. Yet, a majority of the time, a common friend is found.

To the other 99% of the world, Jewish Geography may be seen as a kin to the six degrees of separation.

Six degrees of separation is the theory, first postulated

by Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy, that everyone in the world is only separated by five links.

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Photo Credit: M. Schmitter

Photo Credit: M. Schmitter

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o think that we are connected to everyone on planet earth through only six people is a deeply profound and almost claustrophobic notion. To think we are only five links away from the girl who was born homeless and knew only poverty her entire childhood. To think that we are only five links away from the tourist who was stoned while driving through the West Bank. To think; how often do we think about our personal connectedness to the world?

I know that “how many links away am I?” from the guy who just cut me off in rush hour traffic is not the first thing that crossed my mind. But, at least that person crossed my mind. How many strangers a day do we walk by and not even notice or consider for even a

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second? If we cannot account for the feelings and situations of those who’re only one link away from us, then it is doubtful that we are able to empathize with those who are three and four links away. Hillel a famous Jewish scholar once said, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when?" We are constantly struggling to find a balance between self-interest and service to others. Take our year at City Year for example. We work 40-50 hours a week in order to serve the needs of our community.

We put the interests of our students and our team first, that is our commitment and our mission, “to build democracy through citizen service.” City Year also strongly values self-care. PITW #174, “Seek Balance in Life.” We cannot be the most effective if we are not

http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/abouthds/cost-consequences.html | http://everythreeseconds.net/about-the-issue/fast-facts |

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feeling at maximum capacity in mind, body, or spirit. buntu is a southern African ethic or humanist philosophy that depicts the essence of being human as an individual’s relationship with another. Desmond Tutu explains that Ubuntu means “a person is a person through other persons… I am because other people are.” Our bond with other humans is the soul principal that defines our humanity. It’s more than the golden rule, because it does not just account for what we do or do not do towards another, since regardless of (how we act/positive or negative actions), we are all bound together. The Zulu proverb states, “My humanity is tied to yours.” It’s a principal of compassion, human dignity,

empathy, and respect. It’s our right and our responsibility to promote the well-being of individuals and society. It’s the synthesis of self-interest and service to others, because being truly interested in the self means to be truly interested in others.

In the roughly 2 minutes and 30 seconds that it’s taken to read this far, 4 people in the U.S. have died of a heart attack, 5 African children have died from malaria, 2 women have died from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes, and 38 people worldwide have died in car accidents. U.S. Census Bureau’s statistics on the number of deaths per second worldwide would bring us to a rough total estimate of 277 people who have died since beginning to read this article. As if these facts are not

http://www.womensfundingnetwork.org/sites/wfnet.org/files/StatusofWorldsWomen_WFN.pdf | http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/06/car-accidents-claim-a-life-every-15-seconds-and-other-soberin/

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“...I believe that every individual is entitled to a set of universal human rights.”

Photo Credit: M. Schmitter

sobering enough, we also live in a world that produces “more than three times the food it would take to feed every man, woman, and child on the planet, yet more than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day, 300 million are children” and “almost 100 billion pounds of food is wasted in America each year,” as stated in the documentary film Every Three Seconds. Also, according to the United Nations, “women do 2/3 of the world's work yet earn only 5% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's real property.” As I type 36 | cityyear.org |

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this, my blood is boiling. These statistics DISGUST me and all too often they live in my subconscious. Recalling them to memory is all I need to fuel my passion.

I believe that one person's ideas and actions can change the world. I aim to inspire, empower, and uplift individuals while breaking barriers and cycles of oppression, because I believe that every individual is entitled to a set of universal human rights.

■ Beth Roseman

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/06/car-accidents-claim-a-life-every-15-seconds-and-other-soberin/

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Juan Mosquera Corps Member CSX Team @ LMSA April 4 | cityyear.org |2013

Photo Credit: B. Dziak

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UBUNTU EVOLUTION

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ooking back on my childhood, the principle of UBUNTU was very prevalent in the early years of my life. I was born here in Columbus, Ohio to an American

mother and an Afro-Colombian father, and grew up with my older brother Don Antonio and younger sister Aisha. When I was two years old, however, my family moved back to my dad’s home country of Colombia. There I experienced a diverse and uninhibited childhood. I danced, played, rode bikes with neighborhood kids, and went to the candy store and bakery often.

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We grew up speaking both English and Spanish and many times even

combined them together. Without much effort, I instinctively knew when to use each language during conversation with others. It was just all one language to me. In those four years we lived in Colombia, I never once noticed the difference in skin color between my mom and dad, or the skin color of anyone else around me.

Through the innocent eyes of my childhood, the unspoken assumption was that equality and connectedness governed the world.

As I began to grow up, however, things started to change. During our last year in Colombia, I witnessed my brother go through different struggles. DonAntonio would come home crying, because kids at school were bullying him. I felt sorry for my brother, and his struggles made me more sensitive to others. That same year, I witnessed a new chubby boy go

through similar taunts on the playground, and I made sure that he knew he could find a friend in me by sitting with him at lunch. It was these early experiences of intolerance that set me on the path to treat each person in a compassionate and understanding way.

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hen I left Colombia, however, my childhood innocence was severely shaken. I was seven years old when we moved back to the U.S., and we were living in Mt. Vernon, Ohio at my grandma’s house. My grandma didn’t like my siblings and I speaking in Spanish and protested harshly. Her negative reaction to Spanish planted a potent seed that a part of myself was not good. Experiences at school further reinforced this idea. One day after school, we came home and my brother DonAntonio asked, “Mom, what’s a Nigger?” She quickly called back: “Who taught you that?”. He responded that a girl at school had

called him that name and he didn’t know what it meant. At first it seemed silly and random, but similar events occurred later, and the idea that “I am different and not as good” began sinking even deeper. As a result of these events, I began to reject my already formed concept of who I was, and began a long journey of discovering who I “should” be according to society’s standards.

What’s funny is the evolution of my answer to this question “Who am I?” seemed to be defined mostly by the incessant questions of my schoolmates. These questions of“ What are you?” Or “Where are you from?” Or “What ethnicity are you?” followed me throughout my school career. From 2nd grade through senior year in high school, I must have gone through every stage of identifying with each race that composes my identity. Surrounded by mostly white classmates, in early elementary I began to strictly conform to the action and speech of those

Below Left: Juan with his brother, sister and Father in Columbia. Below Right Top: Juan at school in Columbia. Below Right: Juan and his brother at Disney World. Next: Juan, his brother, and his sister in their home in Columbia.

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around me. I would say to myself, “I just want to be normal, it’d be so much easier to just be White.”

Somewhere inside I felt different, and I wanted to feel that I belonged somewhere. Then, in 3rd grade I read a book on Martin Luther King Jr. that impacted me deeply. I vividly remember his story about how one day he went up and knocked on his neighbors’ door to play with his White friend and the boy’s mother, with tears in her eyes, told him that they couldn’t play anymore. I felt moved by his story and identified with his struggle.

When I was in 4th grade, my mom and dad divorced. My mom, my siblings and myself moved into a new house, and embarrassing as it may sound, I used to collect JET Magazines and wallpaper my wall with them. At this point, I had learned that my father was Black and because he wasn’t living with us anymore, I guess doing this gave me the feeling that I was connected somehow. Being one of the only colored kids around, for many years after I simply thought felt I was Black. Simple. The evolution of my race identity continued, but what lacked was a feeling that I belonged somewhere to somebody. I went on looking for it in girls, friends and shallow identities and felt trapped.

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t wasn’t until the summer after my freshman year of college when I returned to Colombia for the first time in 12 years, that I truly felt free. The trip was profound and beautiful, and I again reconnected with the freeness and innocence I once was in tune with as a child. Hearing the soulful music, tasting the delicious food, and seeing the breathtaking sites brought me a feeling of home deep inside. I started to feel at peace with who I was there with my April

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family. After going through so many iterations and confusion about my identity, I finally felt free from these concepts. I thought, “It doesn’t matter. Why should I limit myself to these narrow identifications? Above everything, I am a human being.”

Ubuntu for me has been a deeply rooted journey and is something that has continued to evolve. A few weeks ago when our team viewed the movie “Crash”, I came to a profound realization. Before, I’d found the movie intense with violence and confusion, but this time the multiple storylines effortlessly linked together before my eyes. I found myself finding deep meaning in the story line and felt a true sense of compassion for each connected character. Seeing this movie again served as a fresh reminder and helped me “get to the balcony” and realize that no matter the situation we find ourselves in, it’s possible April 42 | cityyear.org | 2013

that those around us are experiencing some struggle equal to or more burdensome then the one we’re in.

diverse in many ways, we all share the same struggles with our families, friends, romantic pursuits, and career ambitions.

Even in one of my least favorite scenes when the cruel police officer violated the man’s wife, I could see the transfer of hurt from suffering at the expense of his poor father’s medical condition. Each dramatic plot turn pulled at my heart in a grand realization that each action and reaction we make matters and in turn is experienced in the larger system. This may sound like the often clichéd phenomenon known as Karma, but I believe that it is not to be overlooked. Each one of us is intimately connected, just as fish are connected through the water in which they swim. Just as a single movement in water ripples outwards infinitely, each of our manifested thoughts and actions in turn affects the system at large. Although we are

To me, Ubuntu is finding compassion in our everyday interactions, and acting with a peaceful inner intention to view the humanity in each person’s eyes we encounter. We all make mistakes and are faced with situations that are far from ideal, but ultimately it’s up to us how we respond. In the end, our minds are simply conditioned by the outside world to see the relative differences of the people who surround us. However, by working to accept others and see all around you as your very own can change this mindset and bring tranquility to life.

Adopting this attitude improves not only your own peace of mind and quality of life, but also that of everyone else you encounter.

■ Juan Mosquera

these sponsors for supporting The South High Harmony Project students in their travels to Washington, D.C. Donald Company Realtors The Jeffry Company Fifth Third Bank Gold Tech and David White To learn more about the South Harmony High Project turn to page 44.

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South High Harmony Project

Building Communities and Character Through Music

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y fondest memories in high school came from extracurricular activities. Being aggressively non-competitive, I sought artistic opportunities over sports, so choir and theater became big parts of my school life. I also sought expression in student-led community service groups based upon issues of social justice, such as Student Council and Key Club International. I believe that I was able to find more joy in my school experience through these activities, and as a result I put more effort into the schoolwork itself, even if at times it felt tedious and unimportant.

When I first entered South High to start my year of service, I was surprised that the school had no student council, no community service organization and no choir. As I got to know my students, and began to really care for them, I became increasingly troubled about the lack of meaningful after-school programming. Without programs to enrich and enhance their school experience, it is no wonder so many students felt school to be so one-

Far Left: South High Harmony Project’s first onstage rehearsal

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dimensional and difficult to engage in.

Enter David Brown.

In the fall, I reached out to David Brown, artistic director of the Columbus Harmony Project, an arts and service organization through which broadly diverse community members have joyfully sang and served the community together over the past few years. I envisioned David, the talented, charismatic leader that he is, bringing something important to our students at South that many have not experienced before: artistic expression, school pride and the spirit of service. Thankfully, David was quite drawn to the idea of bringing “Harmony” to South High. To my astonishment and delight, within ten minutes of our initial conversation, he replied, “I’m in!” South High and the Columbus community has not been the same since David and the Harmony Project became part of our lives.

In October, David joined with Executive Director of City Year Columbus, Todd Tuney, to discuss bringing together the two non-profit organizations for the benefit of our students. As corps members, we really saw a need for the creation of a meaningful after-school experience and we helped merge the two groups together to bring the choir

Right: David Brown and SHHP practice afterschool

and service experience to South’s students.

The South High Harmony Project has been rehearsing with David and has performed at the Southern Theater in front of thousands of audience members. Additionally, members received a special request to sing at Mayor Coleman’s State of the City address. The project has gained recognition nationally for bringing something so important to our 7-12th graders.

Instead of singing classical choir music, the choir learns songs a bit more current and relevant to their lives. Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” was the initial “hit” – performed at the Southern Theater with a few changed words “South High Pride All Up in this Place!” They then learned “Hall of Fame” by The Script and “Will I Am” – a special request from Mayor Michael Coleman. Many SHHP students have dreams of being successful in music as well as in other arenas – and the messages of these songs have been nothing short of inspiring to the members of the choir. The choir is currently working on a rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” with an original rap inserted in the middle by one of our students about social justice, change, and personal transformation.

Being in a choir can be a metaphor for community – different people take different

Far Right: SHHP perform for the Mayor’s annual State of the City address

South High Harmony Project rocks the stage.

parts and are bonded together. The songs are how the community communicates, within itself and out to others. Being part of something bigger than you and taking on the responsibility of rehearsals and commitments that come with group involvement, all help students socialize themselves into a larger role and find their place in this world. outh High Harmony Project is currently at approximately 50 members and is growing as new students continue to join each week.

This academic quarter, in addition to learning new music and performing in front of large crowds, SHHP students will be cleaning up the surrounding neighborhood, helping to beautify parts of the city that have previously been neglected, and creating photography and film presentations about their school, their community and themselves.

Part of the beauty of the program is that students, even the ones who may have significant academic challenges or who are not particularly well-behaved, are able to find a niche wherein they can still feel proud and confident. We have already seen that many of these students are improving their academics and their attitudes as a result of the boost of the project. It is important to David that all kids are welcome – it is intrinsic to the program’s purpose. Some of these kids need a

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reason to be excited about coming to school, and Harmony Project fits that bill – so it is also a hope of David and City Year that we use the experience as an incentive for being well-behaved and attending school regularly.

Therefore, there are certain performances and activities that kids who “mess up” in school are not able to partake in; and since they have bought in to David and the Project, they don’t want to miss these opportunities. he biggest activity of all that is on the horizon is a trip to Washington D.C. Senior Vice President and Dean of City Year at large, Charlie Rose, has invited the South High Harmony Project to perform at the City Year National Summit in May. In order to attend the overnight trip, students are held to high standards – they must participate in the majority of rehearsals, must do two big community service projects, and must have acceptable conduct in the classroom and in rehearsals. Additionally, any suspensions after April 18 automatically disqualify a student from traveling with the choir. City Year and David Brown are reinforcing that it is a privilege and an experience they will never forget – that will lead the way for future out of state trips and experiences with this choir.

This push to do well is already paying off. We have seen an increase in attendance to school

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and a decrease in suspensions in many of our students who wish to remain eligible – and I like to think they are also changing more broadly as a result of participating in a program that is so much about building character and taking responsibility – socially and for your own actions.

For many of our students, visiting Washington will be their first school trip, the first time leaving the state of Ohio, and for some, even the first time away from the Southside of Columbus.

Music is so powerful in building community. When students feel they have a collective voice, that people care about their voice, and that they have the power to help and serve their community, they have respect and purpose. Music lifts us to new ideas and feelings, and music done collectively shows us that when we work “in harmony” with others we can accomplish great things. The power of the South High Harmony Project is that it is not music alone, and not service alone, but the combination of the two that can lift an underachieving school toward greater selfrespect, greater confidence, and a new place within each student and in the larger community.

■ Danielle Moses, First Year Corps Member

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The Ceiling Higher, but Not Gone Yet The Ongoing Struggle for Gender Equality in the United States

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ith International Women’s Day a few weeks behind us, and Equal Pay Day quickly approaching, it seems like a perfect time to talk about feminism.

Of course, I would argue that it’s always a perfect time to talk about feminism. And although the continued struggle for gender equality persists across the globe, for the sake of brevity we will examine only the need for feminism in the United States.

Feminism tends to be seen as a dirty word, the taboo “f” word of social issues. Those of us who would call ourselves Feminists are

often given the labels of “man-hater,” “lesbian,” or “feminazi.” As if the search and desire for still-lagging equality could be so casually compared to one of the greatest atrocities of history!

positions of power. Equal Pay Day, which falls on April 9th this year, symbolically represents the day in which the average woman will have finally earned the same wage as a man did the year before.1 This pay disparity is particularly prominent in women of Some of the antagonism for the word comes from a firm belief that it is color. Although the passing of payequity laws have helped to bridge this unnecessary. We have women in the gap from the dismal 59 cents to a man’s workforce, maternity leave, and two dollar, the 2010-2012 data from the popular female candidates who gained National Women’s Law Center still is national attention leading up to the not promising. In Ohio, women 2008 presidential election. We don’t working full time average 77 cents to need feminism, the argument goes. the dollar for equivalent jobs. This is a Women are equal. We have laws in place. Gender inequality, at least where gap that persists across all levels of education. Pay, however, is not the only the United States is concerned, has issue affecting women in the workplace. ended. Success. High fives all around.

Women who are mothers are less likely Except… Not. to be hired than both men (regardless of parental status) and their childless No one individual will admit to and on average make being sexist, yet we as a country still pay counterparts, 2 The United States is also one even less. women less than men, restrict access to basic healthcare rights, and have a huge of only four nations across the world that does not require some form of paid underrepresentation of women in leave for new mothers.3 On average, one in four women will face domestic violence in her lifetime.4 This number, like so many statistics, increases dramatically in women of color and situations of poverty. There is also a tendency for assaults, physical and sexual, to go unreported, and many victims report that they felt like they would not be believed if they came forward.5 Compare these chilling statistics to the constant claim of false reporting (there are entire websites, such as falserape.net, that chronicle the “abundance” of these cases as evidence), and it becomes very difficult to claim that women are truly equal.

Rosie the Riveter, a popular symbol of female empowerment.

Image by Westinghouse Company

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M

y identity as a woman is the first thing people read about me.

Judgments and assumptions are immediately made because of this one chromosomal fact.

Our society does not have much use for an identity outside of the gender dichotomy, and resists crossing over between the two. When women defy their femininity, whether by fulfilling a “man’s” role or not wanting children or even something as trivial as wearing their hair short, they do so with the risk of facing anger, condescension, and even violence. Transwomen are more likely to be homeless or face violence in their lifetime, a result of ingrained disgust at a “man” who “pretends” to be a woman. Many aspects of our society reject the crossing of gender roles , and seek to keep one gender firmly above the other. Again, this is not something anyone wants to admit to. Every day we see it, hear it, and yet we don’t even notice it. It’s in the jobs we overwhelmingly assign to specific gender, the way we interact with newborns, the comedy movies we watch, the way we criticize politicians differently. This subtle sexism has leaked into literally every level of our infrastructure, and that leads to a desperate need for feminism.

So often I am told to just accept these things. We’ve come a long way, you know, so that’s good enough.

Can’t I just accept that it’s a movie, and move on? How do you know you’re being paid less than a guy?

Maybe he’s more qualified. Maybe he has more experience. Not everything is what you think it is. Not everything happens that way. If you don’t want to face discrimination, don’t do this.

Don’t act that way. Stay in line. Don’t be one of those women.

But I will NOT just go with things the way they are. I will not accept a world that values one gender over another. I will not accept a criminal justice

Early feminist movements often focused on women’s suffrage.

system that questions the actions of a female victim before punishing the criminal. I will not accept that I must choose between being a “doormat” or a “witch,” for there is no inbetween when it comes to voicing my opinions. This kind of thinking hurts everyone. Not even the men are safe in a world without feminism. As long as we place one gender above the other, then men must fear being seen as feminine, and thus become trapped themselves. This kind of world is what makes it difficult for men to report being victims of domestic violence. It is this fear of being seen as feminine that makes men less likely to be diagnosed with or receive treatment for eating disorders and breast cancer, both seen as women’s diseases. It is this hatred that punishes “girly” hobbies like the arts. It is what encourages men to separate from their emotions, labeling those who don’t as crybabies, wusses, and weaklings. “Be a real man,” we tell the men who fall out of line. This is not so very different from the standards we push on women. To those who would prefer to identify with neither gender, our society pushes back, unsure of how to treat them without our very set standards. Everyone would benefit from a society that truly held the genders as equal. And because our humanities are tied to one another, none of us should be content until we can make that society a reality.

■ Mirria Martin, First Year Corps Member

Corps Members and students were asked the words they thought of when they heard the word Feminist.

Larger words were repeated more often.

Image created by Wordle.com

April

2013

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Columbus