Coz McNooz Spring 2017

CozMcNooz !"#$%&"$ '($&() *") +$&(,)-&./( 0&12.(%

03).$, 4 5678

Dear Johnston Alumni, I write to you with great news this spring! For several years now, a committee has been working on a plan to renovate the Bekins Basement. Income from the alumni funded “Building the Johnston Community Endowment” and a $250,000 grant from the Ahmanson Foundation are finally going to make this project possible. We are looking forward to a space that will better support individual and collaborative projects as well as our living-learning community.

IN THIS ISSUE: **Liberated photography juournal Kathryn Green Lecture Series:

Max Chaney ‘07 The Tannenbaums ‘05

2nd Annual Race On Campus Recap A CHAMPIONSHIP WIN!

In other news this spring, Johnston hosted the 2nd annual Race on Campus Conference which brought 100 students from 11 different campuses across Southern California. Like the first conference, the program included topical panels on racialized campus spaces, education equity, perceptions of Middle Eastern students, leadership, Christian-Muslim relations, and immigrant student experiences. Similar to the first conference, there was a keynote panel, facilitated discussions, an open mic evening, and shared meals. We were also thrilled that graduate students from the School of Education created an Oral History Project on the conference, which can be found at www.raceoncampusoralhistory.weebly.com.

In this issue of the Coz, you'll find updates on Kathryn Green speakers, a write up on the Johnston event **Liberated, a celebration of Johnston Intramural Basketball, and a remembrance of Kota Inoue. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Vintage Johnston 2017, an Alumni Trip to Greece in summer 2018, and the Johnston 50th Renewal coming up in 2019.

All this and more in the pages that follow…

Have a great summer, Julie Townsend Director

T

2nd Annua

Race On Campus Conference

9-&.( :)";-$" <7=

he 2nd annual Race on Campus Conference took place on March 11th and 12th, hosted on the UoR campus by the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies. The organizing committee, made up of mostly women, students of color, and non-binary students, worked collaboratively as a class to create a space for students from multiple universities in the Southern California area to meet one another and build a network of support. We wanted to bring anti-racist student activists together to share stories, challenge ideas, and encourage further activism. In our planning, we strove to be as intentional and inclusive as possible. We discussed the importance of having a meditation space available for our attendees, providing housing for those who travelled, and making sure to offer a variety of options when it came to the food we served. Each member of the class contributed differently depending on their interests and skills.

The conferenceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overall theme was â&#x20AC;&#x153;Deconstructing Race, Reconstructing Space.â&#x20AC;? Students from Johnston, the U of R, and other campuses submitted panel and discussion proposals to the committee. Five major themes came to light: theorizing the role of race, race and education, spirituality and healing, contrasting whiteness, and empowering identity. In true Johnston style, conversations that began during a session bled into the next and then were carried out of the classroom and continued on the porch, in the Jimmy Room, and late into the night.

Throughout the conference, all of the organizers were actively engaged with the attendees and presenters, and there was something new for all of us to learn. One of our biggest goals as a class was to create a space for activists to grapple with the challenges of sustaining their work and give each other advice on how to continue their activism in the face of institutional blockades and emotional strain. Many of us walked away from the sessions struggling with big ideas; how could we fully understand them and implement them? Being undergraduate students isn’t always easy. A lot of times our lives are complicated and hard, so we develop the tendency to shy away from adversity and focus instead on just getting through the minimum requirements of each day. Being brave and engaging in difficult discourse seems too daunting. I think that in organizing Race on Campus we as a group were able to actively feel proud of our accomplishments—we weren’t just getting through those two days, we were running them.

N O C E AM C A

S PU

R

When the conference came to a close, organizers reflected on our experience and attempted to leave something behind to guide next year’s organizing class.

This conference could not have been possible without the support from our loving alumni. We hope to continue to be intentional and innovative in how we plan and execute the Race on Campus Conference for years to come.

**Liberat 1

When Grace Esterby heard that alt-right pu was scheduled to speak on campus she use Johnston seminar “The Club,” taught by pr Seiber, to create an alternative event called

3

2

alition, The Justice Co up of a collective gro dent progressive stu started the organizations, “t ch-in”: event with a seeantations a series of prepics on multiple tonder equality, including: ge rights, trans reproductive traditions, rights, Persian ntal justice. and environme

Students, faculty, staff, and administrators sat on Bekins lawn and listened to passionate students share information, vent frustrations, and tell stories. Across the quad, people were lining up in front of the chapel to hear Shapiro speak.

4

In between spe rs, students mingleakeate pizza, and adorned thed,ir fac with glitter in anticip es atio of a night of dan g. n A long sign hung frocin m the balcony of Bekins tha t quoted Emma Go an: “If I can’t dance, it’sldm not my revolution.”

ated

ublic figure Ben Shapiro ed the structure of the rofessor and alum Tim d **Liberated.

6

The teach-in ended with a brief history of club and house music: where it started and communities it served. This histothe ry gave context to why we were here now, in this space, speaking freely to one another about our ideas and listening to music that has been an audible haven for marginalized communities for a generation– to counter a University sanctioned event that was seen by many Johnston students as harmful to their very existence.

7 5 er from the wwidith Students si mixed d univer ty ud an ents Johnston stthe Redlands people fromunity. Everyone comm looking for a be ing seemed to bat the feel way to comiro brought with ap that Sh him to campus.

As the sun set, students in “The Club” DJ’ed sets that kept the rest of us on our feet. We danced as the people on the quad filed into the chapel, and as they listened to Shapiro poked fun at Easterby’s efforts. We were dancing, the music from our speakersstillblank the buildings across campus, as eting filed out and walked to their cars. they And Johnston will keep dancing and creating space and fighting injustice after Shapiro has faded into long obscurity.

Kathryn Green Lecture Series

Max Cheney Visits Johnston >"3( >"?&1@ <78

Max Cheney graduated from Johnston in 2007 and has been plotting his return ever since. Now, ten years later, Max calls himself a filmmaker and is giddy to share his first project with the community. Max made an appearance in the Holt Lobby to screen two of his documentaries: Dead Mall Walking and El Zócalo. He addressed a variety of questions from curious students and faculty alike who were eager to know more about his experience as a filmmaker, his editing process, and navigating copyright. Max, who relatively recently immersed himself in the world of filmmaking, answered the questions graciously and thoughtfully. Answering the questions posed by his audience gave Max the opportunity to further examine his own thoughts as he conveyed them to the community, and he navigated difficult and thought-provoking questions with an admirable, approachable honesty. His thoughtful answers enlightened his audience and the discussion served both parties well.

The following day, Max screened his films again and engaged in a rich discussion with the students in Kelly Hankin’s “Documentary Dilemmas and Controversies” course.

As his proud father watched from the back row, Max talked about his gravitation toward film and his budding passion for it. His enthusiasm for filmmaking was clearly contagious.

Max’s visit made an impression on several students; discussions about his films could be heard several days after his visit. He inspired new avenues of discussion regarding anything from stylistic choices to budget management. His journey beyond Johnston serves as a crucial reminder that one life can carry many pursuits and aspirations and remaining open to exploring this is key to a life filled with passion and wonder.

The Futuristic Tanenbaums >(2A B1 <7C

Josh and Karen Tanenbaum, clad in feminist attire, began their lecture by recounting their time at Johnston and describing its significance.

The dynamic, funny, and witty duo met in Johnston and were later joined in holy matrimony by Johnston’s own Bill McDonald. During their undergraduate years, Karen was interested in “how people came to think what they thought” and “why we do what we do,” which became an emphasis titled “Philosophy & Celtic Studies: Studies in Language and History.” Josh studied “stories that bind people together,” which led to an emphasis in “Mythology & Music.”

After Johnston, Josh happily bummed around doing odd but exciting jobs, ranging from sound engineering to cyber fashion show coordinating. Karen continued her studies and earned a masters in Linguistics at UCSD. Everything was well in the world and in their lives, but then everything changed… George W. Bush was re-elected.

Most people joke about moving out of the country after someone is inaugurated into office, but Karen and Josh actually kept their word. Both ended up studying in Canada; Karen earned her PhD and Josh earned his Masters and PhD at a university located inside of a shopping mall. Now the pair is back in California, working as professors at UCI and creators of the “Transformative Play Lab,” which has become the embodiment of the integration of their two interests. In this lab, they experiment with how games can be used to produce experiences and bring people together. Current projects include: attaching memory to objects, costumed play that experiments with identity, and non-linear narratives.

In Memory of Kota Inoue D-&& E)(($( <77

Kota Inoue, former Redlands professor and good friend of the Johnston community, was killed last December in a car accident.

A seemingly endless stream of Buffalo took his Japanese language and literature courses, and he was loved for his commitment to his students, his warmth and engagement, and the odd touches that accented his teaching. In the Modern Japanese Literature course I took with him, he brought a pointer stick with a tiny, translucent red hand at the end, and would use it to fwap the board for dramatic effect. He often mentioned his cat, Commie.

His published work explored the intersections of Japanese and American imperialism and capitalism, recently with a focus on ecological implications.

During my time at Redlands, Kota was fierce and outspoken in his criticism of the school administration. He won the Mortar Board Professor of the Year Award in 2011, a year in which he once, on the Administration building steps, encouraged us students to engage in more “civil disobedience.”

I am honored to have known him, to have called him a friend, and continue to look up to his example. I know there are many Buffalo who feel the same.

Dear Johnston Alumni, We are writing to invite you to contribute to a book of short nonfiction essays about Johnston history, to be launched at our 50th reunion in 2019.

We plan to publish in hardcover, paperback, and to have an associated website. Many of the images we plan to publish will come from Johnston’s Archive and the book will be designed by Maureen Forys ’93.

You might consider writing about an enlightening moment as a student in class, a profound or comic adventure abroad, Johnston’s physical or psychic space, or any stories about those Johnston-y moments you’ve experienced as an alum.

We'd welcome your histories, fables, anecdotes, and philosophies. We're looking for well-composed, sophisticated, lively, true writing. Funny is always good.

Our deadline is August 1, 2017. Word count between 300 and 900 words. Nonfiction only please.

You can email submissions at johnstonbuffalo@gmail. com Please include your year of graduation.

Hope to see you at the renewal!

Yours,

Leslie Brody, Alisa Slaughter, M.G. Maloney ‘03

JOHNSTON BASKETBALL WINS A CHAMPIONSHIP D-,,.( F1"33 <7G

home

away

51 36

After years of hustle, sweat, and tears Johnston’s intramural basketball team, Midnight Buffalo, won the championship game–51 to 36. The football team was fierce competition and the community paced back and forth on the sidelines during the game: holding our breath for every free throw, alternatively screaming in triumph or in agony, and speaking excitedly to one another as the clock ran down and Johnston’s lead continued to widen. The final buzzer rang out and we stormed the court to congratulate the team– there really is nothing that Johnston can’t do.

CONGRATS TIM! Join us in congratulating Associate Professor Tim Seiber on his promotion this year! Tim earned his PhD in Visual Studies from UC Irvine in 2010 after graduating from the Johnston Center in 2004 with an emphasis in “Reading the Social.” Tim returned to Johnston as a visiting professor in 2010 and began in his current tenure track role in the fall of 2015.

Tim’s teaching is a marvel to witness – his dynamic presentation and facilitation styles both put student experiences at the center and introduce members of his seminars to wide-ranging and unexpected materials. Students often point to Tim’s classes as among the most important intellectual experiences of their college careers! Mentee Michael Donatuti wrote of Tim, “he has been the most influential educator in my two decades of schooling… the co-teaching experience I shared with Tim inspired me to teach, and I hope to someday do so with the kind of dedication, intensity, and affection that would do justice to the kind of education I received.” It’s no surprise that Tim was the 2017 recipient of the University of Redlands Innovative Teaching Award. Tim’s research areas span such diverse topics as medical imaging, internet celebrity, molecular aesthetics, and – most recently – club culture. Congratulations Tim!

SAVE THE DATE

The 11th Annual Vinta and Dinner. Sip on win Group expert John Sl Bill McDonald, while ce All proceeds suppor Project Fund.

Summer 20 50!

50! 50!

The 50th! Preparati largest, most spectac will be held on cam February 15-17, 201 a planning committe and asked our new Coordinator, Maggie efforts. At this early st to hear from any and what worked best for and (2) name one or to see/do at the 50th Maggie at margaret_r

E

ES:

November 11, 2017

age Johnston Wine Tasting nes provided by Hery Wine later and Johnston legend elebrating and giving back. rt the Johnston Student

018

ions are already underway for this cular event in Johnston’s history. It mpus during Presidents’ Weekend, 19. Julie Townsend has assembled ee of alums across the decades, Alumni and Community Outreach Ruopp (JC 2016), to coordinate its tage we’re brainstorming, and eager all alums on two specific topics: (1) r you at Renewals you’ve attended, two things you would especially like h. Please send your suggestions to ruopp@redlands.edu.

To launch our year-long celebration of the 50th Renewal, Johnston’s delighted to announce our third alumni trip to Greece, set for the summer of 2018. Specifics are not fully in place —hotel negotiations that far out are tricky—but it will be 1516 days beginning on June 14 or 15 and include both “must-see” sites for first time travelers to the country, and plenty of new experiences for veterans of earlier trips (e.g., Thessaloniki, Pylos, the Mani, Naxos). Archeologist and honorary Johnstonian Maria Synodinou is once again our trip designer and leader, and it will be Bill McDonald’s finale as an international tour guide. We hope by this coming June to have the itinerary completed and a site with all the information open on the University’s web page. Look for an email blast announcing the opening of registration.

February 2019

Help us find the next generations of johnston students . . .

Who better to identify potential Johnston students than alums? If you know of high school students who might be interested in a Johnston-style education, please encourage them to visit Johnston.

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

Interested Interested in in donating? donating?

1. go to:

www.redlands/edu/johnston

2. click:

“For Alumni”

3. click:

“Give To Johnston” (on the right)

SEARCH: JOHNSTON CENTER