Issue 15

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FEATURES 24-Hour Play Festival | PAGE 5 CAMPUS LIFE Weekly Chirp | PAGE 9

The Etownian

www.etownian.com

Vol. 116. Issue 15

Thursday, February 27, 2020

"Teachers of West Africa" speak on education and giving back by Jamie Verrekia Staff Writer newseditor@etown.edu

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lizabethtown College held a lecture about the Teachers for West Africa program Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7p.m. in the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies' Bucher Meetinghouse. The two speakers were retired English literature teacher and pedagogy professor Quimby Mamula and her husband, retired physics professor and college administrator Milosh Mamula. According to Director of the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking (CGUP) and professor of history Dr. David Kenley, both were former teachers of the “Teachers for West Africa Program” (TWAP) in Lagos, Nigeria from 1965-1967. “TWAP was created by Elizabethtown College and funded by the Hershey Company,” Kenley said. Prior Etown President A. C. Baugher (1893-1962) created the program for the College. Since the program began, Etown and the Hershey Company have sent more than 250 teachers to West Africa to teach a variety of subjects, such as English, French, math and science, in secondary schools. The program lasted from 1962-1972, and not only provided education to students but was also a way for the Etown community to give back. The teachers were sent to communities from which the Hershey Company often receives its supply of cocoa beans.

During the presentation, Q. Mamula and M. Mamula discussed their experiences of both teaching and living in Africa. “They spoke a lot about their love for their students and Nigerian colleagues," Kenley said. "They also shared some of the struggles of the political chaos during their tenure.” One of the political tensions that occurred during their time there was the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) which forced them to return home. According to Kenley, throughout the presentation “they shared photos, cultural artifacts and personal stories.” Q. Mamula and M. Mamula were married before going to Africa and their daughter was born there. The lecture was free and open to the public. Prior to the lecture, there was a banquet in Q. Mamula and M. Mamula's honor with President Cecilia McCormick in attendance. Accompanying the lecture, the High Library featured an exhibit located in the Innovation Design Expression Art (IDEA) Lab. The exhibit lasted through the month of February and expanded on the information presented in the lecture, including podcasts and digital archives created by Etown students to help preserve past decades as we are now moving into a more advanced technological world. The exhibit ended Friday, Feb. 21. These podcasts and archives were created by students enrolled in the Mellon Grant funded course Archival Resources and Digital Humanities. The course was cotaught by Etown archivist Rachel Grove-Rohrbaugh and Kenley in the fall semester. In this course, students

researched archives from the TWAP and interviewed teachers from the program to get material for their podcasts. The event was sponsored by multiple campus organizations including the CGUP, the High Library, Alumni Affairs and the Honors Program.

Photo courtesy of Kay Wolf

Quimby and Milosh Mamula were part of the Teachers of West Africa program from 1965-1967.

Royer offline for 2020-2021 year Transparency at Etown College Student concerns, administration responses This article is part of a two-part series on transparency at Elizabethtown College. The first article focuses on stu d ent v i e ws and administr ative perspectives on transparency. The second article in the forthcoming Issue 16 will focus on transparency in funding and academics. If there are any questions or concerns about the series, please email editor@ etown.edu.

Photo: Paula Groff | Staff Photographer

Royer Residence Hall has been a home to many Etown students throughout the nearly sixty years since its construction, but it will be taken offline in 2020-2021. “My experience in Royer has been a positive one. Though many people think Royer is awful, by Carly Miller I actually enjoy it! I like to think that living in Assistant News Editor Royer at least for one year is a ‘right of passage’ newseditor@etown.edu for living in Etown,” said sophomore Resident Assistant (RA) and Mr. Royer 2020 Sam Niles oyer Residence Hall will be moving said. offline for the 2020-2021 academic year Niles reflected on getting to live in Royer for evaluation and focus on other residential as an RA, discussing his favorite memories of areas. The residence hall, built in 1962 and seeing the new first-years move in and getting named after local alumni and activist B. Mary to meet and connect with them. Royer, has long housed Elizabethtown College “But if it is to be offline in the future, it will students. However, as of next year, this will no be a beneficial decision. If it needs the repairs, it longer be the case. has to be done when the building is offline, that’s For the rising school year, Royer will be just how it has to be,” Niles said. closed and unavailable as a housing option. While the decision may surprise some In the time the hall is closed, the Office of members of the college community, others are Community Living will be evaluating the not so shocked. building. “I think it’s a good idea for Etown to close “We wanted to give the building a break Royer next year. I think there needs to be as Royer has been a great home for students some updates for the building to meet college for many, many years, and taking it offline students’ needs,” first-year Royer resident Chloe allows for our Facilities [Management] team to Smith stated. focus on our other residences for the coming academic year,” Director of Community Living SEE ROYER PAGE 3 Jennifer Crowder stated.

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by Grace Gibson Managing Editor newseditor@etown.edu

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ransparency has become something of a buzzword on college campuses. Among the Elizabethtown College student population, many students interviewed hold strong opinions on what transparency is and how it should be carried out. “Transparency between the College and the students means that the College is ... being clear about what’s going on, and when some change or something happens, especially if it’s a major change, that students are informed in some way ... so that everyone knows what’s going on,” junior Jonathan Freaney said. With a great deal of change happening in the past year, from the inauguration of a new president to changes to department structuring, transparency has reached utmost importance. In times of significant changes, an open communication is vital to keeping all members of the campus community accurately informed about their place of work and study. However, while President Cecilia McCormick and other members of administration are taking steps to promote transparency, many students feel that the College and its administration have not

been as transparent as they would like. Still, students understand that members of administration are taking strides to encourage transparency. Graduate student Amanda Hafler emphasized that the change in administration presents a challenge in maintaining transparency as both the students and staff members acclimate to a new situation. “I think [transparency is] a work in progress with any changing administration,” Hafler said. Senior Paige Oustrich is more critical of the College’s record on transparency, though she said she does not see the change in administration as the origin of this issue. “I think that our current administration is not transparent, and it hasn’t been since I came here at Etown. I think they’re making some improvements, but it’s not enough of what the student body wants,” Oustrich said. Students particularly cite the department changes that occurred last June as an event that shook their confidence in the College’s transparency. “In the case … [of] our theatre department losing staff ... that happened ... in a way where no one was informed, it seems like, as far as I know, even faculty,” Freaney said. Junior Michael Derr-Haverlach shared SEE TRANSPARENCY PAGE 3


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