University 2015 Commencement Weekend Events Set

The University’s 2014–15 academic year comes to a close May 8–10 with three ceremonies marking graduation weekend on the Mountain. Commencement and Baccalaureate ceremonies will be held for students from the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Letters and the School of Theology. Two honorary degrees will be presented during the School of Theology Commencement and four, during the Baccalaureate ceremony.

Honorary degrees will be presented to the Rt. Rev. Robert Skirving, bishop of the Diocese of East Carolina, and to the Most Rev. Thabo Cecil Makgoba, the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town, who will also preach during the May 8 School of Theology Commencement service.

Robert M. Gates, former secretary of defense and former president of Texas A&M University; Mary Moore Dwyer, president and CEO of IES Abroad (Institute for the International Education of Students); F. Robertson Hershey, headmaster of Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va.; and Jefferson Allen McMahan, C’76, White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford, will receive honorary degrees during the May 9 Baccalaureate ceremony. Gates will give the Baccalaureate address during the service.

On Sunday, May 10, a Convocation for Conferring of Degrees will be at 10 a.m. in All Saints’ Chapel (tickets required) for the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Letters. A luncheon honoring the Class of 2015 graduates will follow.

All three services will be streamed live on the university’s website for those unable to attend.

Mary M. Dwyer is president and CEO of IES Abroad, the Institute for the International Education of Students, one of the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit study abroad program providers, offering more than 125 programs around the world. She was the lead researcher on a 50-year longitudinal impact study to measure the effect of study abroad on student’s academic careers, personal growth, careers, and language and intercultural development. She is active in efforts to advance international education policy and practice and is a frequent speaker in the field, including topics such as study abroad trends, outcomes assessment and evaluation systems. Prior to joining IES, Dwyer was a faculty member in the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She holds a bachelor of arts from Mundelein College, a master’s degree in educational leadership and a doctorate in public policy analysis from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Robert M. Gates served as the U.S. secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. Before becoming secretary of defense, Gates was the president of Texas A&M University (2002–06). Gates spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional with the Central Intelligence Agency. He was deputy national security adviser for President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1991, and served as director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993. In 2011 President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. Gates received a bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary, a master’s degree from Indiana University, and a doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. He was installed as chancellor of the College of William & Mary in 2012.

F. Robertson “Rob” Hershey is the 11th headmaster of Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., serving in that role since 1998. Hershey began his independent school career at Woodberry Forest School, where he taught history and economics; he later served in many other roles, including assistant headmaster and associate headmaster. Hershey has led several campus renewal projects at Episcopal. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Williams College and a master’s of education from the University of Virginia.

Jefferson Allen McMahan, C’76, is White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford. McMahan has written and lectured extensively on the metaphysics of death and the ethics of killing. A significant portion of his work is dedicated to the re-examination and revision of traditional just war theory using contemporary ethical theory. McMahan earned a bachelor of arts in English at Sewanee and then did graduate work in philosophy at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar. He received a doctorate in 1986. He was previously on the faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Rutgers University. His publications include “The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life,” “Killing in War” and “The Morality of Nationalism” and “Ethics and Humanity.”

Council Wants to Hear from Community = Single-Stream Recycling a Goal of University

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the April 27 meeting of the Sewanee Community Council, Vice-Chancellor John McCardell thanked council representatives and community members for participating in the picnic and informal meeting with the University trustees on April 23. A discussion followed about how to improve the effectiveness of the council in giving voice to community concerns.

In the past, the community interaction with the University trustees occurred at a town meeting where the community heard reports from University entities such as the Lease Committee and then had an opportunity to raise questions.

A council meeting visitor commented that a single question often dominated the discussion. Council representatives voiced approval of having an opportunity to talk one-on-one with trustees. Representative David Coe said, “I was impressed with the interest the trustees showed in our small town issues.”

Responding to the complaint that some community members missed the town meeting format, council representative Barbara Schlicting said, “We could have updates here, and grievances should be brought here.” McCardell agreed. “This is the place where those things should be brought first,” he said. Council representative Phil White suggested prior to the next trustees’ visit in October, the council invite the community to air grievances and raise issues at a council meeting designated for that purpose.

Coe suggested the council again host a gathering where Council representatives meet with their constituent like the event held in March 2013.

To make council representation more democratic, a committee composed of Pam Byerly, John Flynn, Barbara Schlicting, Theresa Shackelford and John Swallow will address redrawing district boundaries to equalize population distribution, electing at-large representatives, and possibly reducing term lengths from four to two years.

The council approved meeting dates for 2015–16, scheduling regular meetings for Aug. 31, Oct. 16, Jan. 25, Mar. 28 and May 23. On non-meeting months, a day was reserved for a meeting if community issues dictated a need.

Community members recommended new signage at two locations, a blue “Hospital” sign at the entrance to Emerald Hodgson Hospital and a “Trucks Entering Highway” sign at the junction of Hwy. 41A and Finney Lane. Sewanee police chief Marie Eldridge will contact the Franklin County Highway Department about these requests.

Updating the council on recycling and trash collection concerns, Michael Gardner the University’s director of physical plant services, said the University’s goal is to adopt single-stream recycling, where the recycling items do not require sorting. In doing so, however, it may make it necessary to have separate vendors for residential and University trash collection.

Franklin County Solid Waste Management does not offer single-stream recycling, Gardner said, and there are no Franklin County vendors that offer the service. Gardner said discussion was underway with four vendors, including the current service provider, Joe B. Long. 

Gardner plans to have a contract proposal at the next council meeting scheduled for June 22.

Conversation Between Gates and Meacham

Former secretary of defense Robert Gates and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham will discuss “A World in Flux: American Power and Principle, Past, Present, and Future” at 3 p.m. Friday, May 8, in Guerry Auditorium.

A book signing with Robert Gates, from 4 to 4:30 p.m. in the Guerry Auditorium lobby, will follow the discussion.

Gates will be on the Sewanee campus as the university’s Baccalaureate speaker. 

Jon Meacham, a 1991 Sewanee graduate, received the Pulitzer Prize for “American Lion,” his 2008 biography of Andrew Jackson. His most recent book, the New York Times best seller “Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power,” celebrates Jefferson’s skills as a practical politician. He is also the author of “Franklin and Winston” and “American Gospel,” as well as an upcoming book about former President George Herbert Walker Bush. Executive editor and executive vice president of Random House, Meacham is a contributing editor to Time magazine, a former editor of Newsweek, and a regular contributor on “Meet the Press,” “Morning Joe” and “Charlie Rose.”

Herbarium Hike to Piney Point

The community of plants that grow on the sandstone outcrops along the trail to Piney Point, including the rare elf orpine, is a special one. Meet Sewanee Herbarium curator Yolande Gottfried at 1:30 p.m., Saturday, May 2, at the tennis courts at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School, beyond the football field, for this moderate one-to-two-hour walk. 

Wear appropriate shoes. Risks involved in hiking include physical exertion, rough terrain, forces of nature and other hazards not present in everyday life. Picking flowers and digging plants are prohibited in all of the natural areas where these walks take place. 

For more information call the Herbarium, 598-3346, or email <ygottfri@sewanee.edu>. 

Directions are available on the Herbarium website, <lal.sewanee.edu/herbarium/, under the calendar of events.

Fourth of July 2015 “Sewanee Purple Mountain Majesty”

It’s time to start thinking about Sewanee’s Fourth of July celebration. This year’s theme is “Sewanee Purple Mountain Majesty.” 

The planning committee is accepting nominations for grand marshal of the parade. The person nominated should exhibit community involvement and be someone who has made a significant contribution to our life together. Please send the name and a brief description of why you are nominating this person by June 1 to Jade Barry at <jademcbee@gmail.com>. 

It takes many volunteers to make Sewanee’s Fourth of July events happen. Help is needed with the parade, with organizing the events of the day and by serving on the planning committee. If you are interested in helping, contact Barry or attend the next committee meeting. The planning committee will be meeting from now until the big day. Meetings are at 5 p.m., Tuesdays, at the Sewanee Senior Center, on the following dates: May 12, May 26, June 2, June 9, June 16, June 23, June 30 and July 1.

Hunger Walk to Support Morton Memorial & CAC on Saturday

All Events Still Planned, Rain or Shine

Monteagle Sewanee Rotary, in partnership with the Community Action Committee of Sewanee, Morton Memorial United Methodist Church of Monteagle and the Mountain Goat Trail, is sponsoring the first annual Hunger Walk. On Saturday, April 25, the walk will begin at the Sewanee Angel Park; registration is at 9 a.m., with the walk beginning at 10 a.m. 

Participants will walk to Pearls Café on the Mountain Goat Trail and return to Otey Parish, a total of five miles. The Hunger Walk will end at Claiborne Parish House, where a complimentary lunch will be served .

“Rotary wants to help raise awareness of poverty and hunger in our communities. That’s why we’re so excited about this event,” said John Goodson, president of Monteagle Sewanee Rotary. “We hope everyone will come out and join us.” 

Registration for the event is $10 per person. Register or find more information online at <www.thehungerwalk.com> or call (931) 968-1127.

One Family’s Experience of Food Insecurity

by Amanda Diamond, Special to the Messenger

This winter I noticed that one of our “Saturday Family” regulars was not present for the food day in December. I was still at the church after the distribution time when I was told there was someone who wanted to see me. 

I walked outside and saw the members from our “Saturday Family” waiting for me. I immediately told them that I had missed them and wondered if they were okay. 

The father interrupted me to say that they were fine, in fact, they were actually better than fine. They wanted to thank us for the ministry that we had provided to them and to others in the area. 

This family of five was comprised of a mom who worked in a salaried position in our community. Her husband was out of work because he had been hurt on the job. They were raising three children ranging in age from middle school to high school. The family had been navigating the father’s disability and workman’s compensation claims for many months, which is what brought them to our food program. 

On this day in December, the family returned to the Morton Food Ministry. They had come to thank the community for all that they had received, but also to give back. In a month when Christmas presents are being purchased and utility costs rise, this family handed me a check for a large sum of money. They said “This is to go for another family who is in need.” They hugged me and thanked me again for the ways the healthy, sustainable food made a difference for them in the months when they were insecure about where their meals would come from. 

Our “Saturday Families” aren’t just takers. They are givers: from the volunteer hours they offer in helping to unload and distribute the food, to the ways they serve on the Food Leadership Team, to donating funds to help cover the cost of purchasing freezers and shelving. 

The Food Ministry at Morton Memorial UMC is an extended family where persons are giving and receiving together.

The Rev. Amanda Diamond is the pastor at Morton Memorial United Methodist Church in Monteagle, which has a feeding program on the first Saturday of each month.

Community Yard Sales on Saturday

Sewanee’s annual community-wide yard sales will take place on Saturday, April 25. Sites will open at 8 a.m. There are 25 planned locations in town, including several booths at the Sewanee Community Center.

Maps to the other sites with sales will be available on the porch of the Community Center.

The event will take place rain or shine. The Sewanee Community Center is the sponsor of this event.

Senior Center News

The Sewanee Senior Center will be closed all week, from Monday, April 27 through Friday, May 1, for a complete remodeling of the kitchen. The center will reopen with a brand new kitchen at 8 a.m., Monday, May 4.

Sharber Proposes eReaders for 4th Graders

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the April 20 meeting of the Franklin County School Board, Director of Schools Rebecca Sharber asked the board to endorse purchasing Kindle Fire tablets for all rising fourth-grade students to foster summer reading.

On behalf of the school system, Sharber subscribed to a free summer program called My Own. “Students can read e-books throughout the summer at no cost,” Sharber said.

All Franklin County public school students will have access to the program. The program suggests a list of nonfiction and fiction books based on a student’s interests. The student then selects up to 20 books to download onto an e-book reading device such as a Kindle.

Parents of rising fourth-grade  students would need to “sign off” for their child to have a Kindle to use during the summer, Sharber said.

“Every candidate for the director of schools position talked about the need to bring up reading scores,” said board member Christine Hopkins.

At the board’s request, Sharber will poll parents to gauge the likely participation level. She estimated that purchasing e-readers for use by rising fourth-grade students would cost $50,000. Sharber said funds left in the 2014–15 budget would cover the cost. If unused, the money will go into the fund balance.

In discussing the draft of the 2015–16 budget, board chair Kevin Caroland expressed concern that expenses exceeded revenue by $1.6 million and would require “dipping into” the fund balance, which is estimated to be $5.84 million at the end of the 2014–15 school year. In 2014–15, the school system withdrew $500,000 from the fund balance. The projected shortfall was $1.8 million, but expenses were less than expected.

Caroland said the revenue-expense shortfall for 2015–16 will likely be even greater when as-yet-undetermined numbers were plugged into the budget. Undetermined expenses include a supplement for coaches and a raise for certified employees matching the percentage of the state supported raise for teachers, estimated at 2 percent.

Sharber said factors costing more in 2015–16 included Internet connection, upgrading Internet servers, technology support materials and supplies, and an increase in the number of dual-enrollment students in mental health facilities.

Assistant Superintendent Linda Foster said the school system will receive about $550,000 from the state, earmarked for teacher salary increases.

“There’s no rhyme or reason to our salary schedule” Foster said. Foster is drafting a revised salary scale with a recommended starting salary for each level (bachelor’s, master’s, and Ed.D.), a standard salary increase each year, and a salary increase for additional training.

Foster will send a draft of the revised schedule to the board for review.

The board voted to approve, with minor revisions, the same school board policies pertaining to students for the 2015–16 school year, with the exception of the policy on corporal punishment which the board will address at the May 4 working session.

The board approved a four-year contract with Amie Lonas who will serve as Director of Schools beginning July 1. The contract set Lonas’ annual salary at $110,000.

“She’s excited and ready to get started,” Caroland said. Lonas will be present at the board’s May 4 working session.

The board also voted to offer Oak Grove School for sale again. Bids are due by May 14.

In a discussion about demolition of the old Franklin County High School field house, board member Hopkins said the field house was “built with donations,” and community members were “sentimental” about the building.

The board will continue the field house discussion at the May 4 working session when maintenance supervisor Bobby Campbell is present to answer questions.

Starr Named Head of EHH in Sewanee

Candie Starr has been named the chief operating officer and ethics and compliance officer at Southern Tennessee Regional Health System in Winchester and Sewanee. She joined Southern Tennessee in September 2014. Starr has responsibilities for all ancillary and support departments at the Winchester campus, and is the administrator at the Sewanee campus. 

Prior to joining Southern Tennessee, she served as the chief operating officer and ethics and compliance officer for Methodist Stone Oak Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. She has also served as a Lifepoint Hospital corporate director, with responsibilities in several areas, and has held hospital management roles in areas including laboratory, pharmacy, plant operations, food service, respiratory therapy, occupational health and corporate health/wellness. 

Starr’s qualifications also extend into other parts in the healthcare and community arena. In addition to serving on various clinical boards for Healthtrust Purchasing Group and Lifepoint Hospital committees, she was previously appointed to the Joint Commission for the Laboratory and Pathology Advisory Board. In the community, she has served as chairperson for the Gulf Coast Community Blood Bank, chairperson for the United Way, a member of the Life South Community Blood Center Advisory Board, and board member of the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.

TVA Cancels Outage Planned for Sherwood

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has canceled the power outage scheduled for Saturday, April 25, for Duck River Electric Membership Corporation members living in the communities of Sherwood and Anderson of Franklin County.

The outage is now scheduled for 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., Saturday, May 9. 

This outage is necessary for TVA to replace several bad poles. It will affect all consumers in the Sherwood and Anderson area, but will not affect consumers in Sewanee, Cowan and Sinking Cove. In the event of inclement weather, the outage will be rescheduled for May 30. 

Duck River Electric appreciates the cooperation and understanding of its members during this planned outage, as it strives to improve the reliability of the electric system. 

Dozier Honored for Community Service, Association Approves Elliott Park Plans

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the April 15 dinner meeting, the Sewanee Civic Association honored Pixie Dozier with the Community Service Award for her selfless and compassionate work on behalf of others, particularly her volunteer work with the Community Action Committee and other Sewanee organizations.

Surprised and pleased by the honor, Dozier said, “The CAC has been my main project for 35 years. We couldn’t do what we do without the support of the whole community.”

Dozier served as the board chair of the CAC for more than a decade, seeing the CAC through difficult times. She staffed the office, delivered food, visited CAC clients, organized volunteers and did whatever was needed to make sure that people in need were cared for in a loving and respectful way.

Dozier has also played a vital role in the Sewanee Woman’s Club, the Sewanee Garden Club, the Emerald-Hodgson Hospital Auxiliary, and was recently elected to serve a three-year term on the Sewanee Community Council.

During the business portion of the meeting, Civic Association President Kiki Beavers thanked Community Chest fund drive chairs Marilyn and Tom Phelps. The fund drive surpassed the $106,000 goal, raising a total of $106,352.

The Civic Association elected the following officers for the 2015–16 academic year: Kiki Beavers, president; Lynn Stubblefield, vice-president; Lisa Rung, treasurer; Cameron Swallow, secretary; Aaron Welch, member at large; Elizabeth Clark Duncan, director of Classifieds; and Stephen Burnett, Parks Committee chair.

A project of the Parks Committee for more than two years, the Elliott Park restoration reached a milestone with the members of the Civic Association approving a design with an estimated cost of $65,000.

The Parks Committee presented three designs for consideration. The recommended design approved by the organization includes swing sets, a balance beam, bridge, climbing structures (a mushroom and monkey bars), spinning elements and a musical component.

Other criteria met by the approved design include use of natural and local materials. The retaining wall will use Sewanee stone.

The less costly design option, $50,000, used substantially more plastic and metal in play elements. The more costly option, $76,000, included more play elements.

The park will be ADA compliant and accessible, with access ramps at the adjoining sidewalk and parking lot.

Plans call for a community build in September with the designer, GameTime, overseeing the work.

University Physical Plant Services (PPS) has verbally agreed to “light maintenance” once the park is completed, Burnett said. The Parks Committee plans to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the University to define ownership and maintenance responsibilities. Once drawn up, the MOU will be presented to the Civic Association membership for review.

Burnett thanked PPS for their ongoing help with site preparation and design considerations. He also thanked the Sewanee Community Council, which recently awarded the project $5,000 for playground equipment.

With a design approved, fund-raising will begin. Burnett estimated the final cost at $70,000, naming several unbudgeted expenses: base material, retaining walls, drainage and ADA access ramping.

Corker to Students: “We Want a Stable World”

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

A stable world translates into “good paying jobs in Tennessee,” Senator Bob Corker said, addressing the community on April 9 in a lecture sponsored by the Babson Center for Global Commerce. Corker spoke to a full house, with Gailor Auditorium packed to capacity and others viewing his talk via closed circuit TV.

“Terrorism pales in comparison to other international issues our nation is dealing with,” Corker said.

Corker was recently elected chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He talked briefly about Russia’s efforts to suppress the westernization of the Ukraine, China’s strategy for expanding its territorial waters, and human trafficking, but he devoted his remarks primarily to deterring Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Opinions differed widely about the April 2 “verbal political agreement with Iran,” Corker said. Iran expects the economic sanctions imposed to pressure them into compliance to be lifted, but the details of the agreement have yet to be laid out. Iran has three nuclear facilities, two capable of producing weapons grade nuclear material. 

“We don’t know,” what’s going on at these facilities, Corker said, and “We don’t know if Iran is trustworthy.”

Corker will advance bipartisan legislation requiring the final agreement be made public; giving Congress authority to approve the agreement, with sanctions remaining in place if approval is denied; and requiring the president to certify Iran is in compliance every 90 days.

The goal of the agreement , he said, was to increase the “breakout time,” the time it will take Iran to develop nuclear weapons, from three months, where it stands now, to a year, in the hope that over the ten-year span of the agreement, the political climate improves.

“We’re the richest nation in the world,” Corker said, “with only 4.5 percent of the world’s population, but with 22 percent of its GDP.” “We want a stable world,” he said, in order to maintain that economic advantage.

Asked what the federal government was doing to strengthen the economic stability of rural communities by supporting the growth of small businesses, Corker said there were “too many regulatory burdens on small businesses,” and he wanted to see that change. “The pendulum needs to swing more back toward the center.”

Responding to concerns about human trafficking in Tennessee, particularly prostitution, Corker said a bill sponsored by U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) will “tweak existing laws” to enable the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to utilize surveillance to address the problem. Men and women are advertised for sale on the internet, Corker said, but existing laws hamper the TBI’s ability to deal with the issue. 

Corker’s “End Modern Slavery Initiative” focuses on slavery and human trafficking outside U.S. borders. Corker became passionate about ending slavery and human trafficking after talking with 20 young women from the Philippines who had been forced into sexual servitude.

School Board Selects New Director of Schools

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer 

The Franklin County School Board will offer the director of schools position to Amie Lonas, dean of academics and acting vice president for academic affairs at Joint Special Operations University at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Fla.

At a special called meeting on April 13, the board voted five to three, selecting Lonas over Stanley Bean, principal at North Middle School in Winchester, and Michael Murphy, superintendant at St. Clair R-XIII School District in St. Clair, Mo.

Raised in Dayton, Tenn., Lonas earned a bachelor’s degree from University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, a master’s degree from University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and worked in the Maryville and Jefferson City public schools. During her time as a principal in Jefferson City, she earned an Ed.D. in educational leadership from Vanderbilt University.

After serving an eight-month tour in Iraq as an Air Force Reserve officer, she assumed her present position in adult education at MacDill Air Force Base.

Lonas said in her application for the director position, “I have missed the rewards of working at the secondary level and in my home state of Tennessee.”

Adam Tucker, Sewanee’s school board representative, said this about Lonas: “She’s very bright. She combines a good mind with compassionate empathy and an appropriate level of firmness and the ability to make hard decisions.”

Board chairman Kevin Caroland said his goal was to have a signed contract by the next board meeting on Monday, April 20. Caroland asked the board to “give me latitude to negotiate on the salary.”

Advertised salary range for the position was $95,000–$115,000. The board set a salary upper limit of $110,000 and a $6,000 maximum for relocation expenses.

The director’s annual salary is set for the four-year contract term. The director’s salary only increases when the state mandates a percentage across-the-board increase for certified school employees. Director of Schools Rebecca Sharber received a 1.5 percent raise during her seven years of service. Sharber’s contract ends on June 30.

At the next board meeting, the board will address collecting student cell phones during TCAP testing to prevent disruption; demolition of the old Franklin County High School field house; selling the Oak Grove School; and approval of the 2015–16 school board budget.

Sewanee Marks 25 Years of Work in Jamaica

In January of this year, 16 Sewanee college students and six staff members traveled to Jamaica on an outreach trip, marking the 25th year of Sewanee’s involvement in service work in Kingston. This year’s trip focused on two organizations: the Alpha Boys’ School and the Trench Town Culture Yard, each with different historical connections to Sewanee’s program. 

“Alpha is a school where we worked in 1990 and have not had the opportunity to return,” said Sewanee outreach coordinator Dixon Myers. “Through a conversation with the administration at the school, we were able to offer our skills in videography, and we are now editing a series of short promotional films for this distinguished institution, and the Culture Yard is a living museum where we have had an ongoing relationship since 1998.” 

Both of these organizations have had a significant influence in the development of Jamaican music. Alpha Boys’ School, established in 1880 by the Catholic Church, was founded as a “school for wayward boys” and became known for its disciplined music program, graduating renowned performers who contributed to the sound of Ska, Bluebeat and Reggae genres. The Trench Town Culture Yard is the home of Reggae legend Bob Marley. This site, part of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust, is one section of a housing scheme built in the 1940s to meet the demand of rural Jamaicans moving to the city. The city architect’s concept of creating an urban public housing space, while being mindful of replicating the close relationships of a rural community, has often led to the statement, “Bob Marley did not make Trench Town; Trench Town made Bob Marley.”

While considering sites for the group, Myers and Sewanee art professor Greg Pond recruited and organized a group of talented student videographers from Pond’s film studies classes. Natalie Baxter, C’07, a film producer for CBS in New York and a former student of Pond’s, joined the group as primary video instructor, interviewing a cast of Alpha personalities ranging from former teachers to present-day students. Rose Cochran, C’17, enthusiastically voiced, “It was amazing to get this kind of hands-on experience in a foreign country, to meet such amazing people and to have someone like Natalie, who works in the business, to teach us the ropes.” 

Another portion of the group worked through a long list of building projects in the Culture Yard, by repairing 35 of the original windows, building three dining tables and two sets of chairs and constructing two concrete wheelchair ramps. The tabletops were intricately set with mosaic tiles depicting contemporary community members of Trench Town. The students were taught these skills by Sewanee craftsman Bill Mauzy, aided by several talented Jamaicans.

Sewanee students and staff have been working on the Culture Yard project since its original renovation as a tourist site in 1998. 

“This strikes at the heart of development work. What happens at the Culture Yard and its ability to draw tourists effects the food stand on the corner, the craft producers in the neighborhood, the tour guide industry and on and on” said Myers. 

“Our ability to contribute over the long term has had lasting, visible results. Right now, several positive indicators exist in this neighborhood, one that has seen a lot of ups and downs. The tourists coming through are from Japan, Belgium, Germany, Brazil and Pennsylvania. It is amazing the influence Reggae has had worldwide, and its roots are right here.” 

Sewanee history professor Matthew Mitchell joined the group for four days. Following the work assignments, students stepped 450 years back in time and visited Port Royal, located at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, a place that was once the shipping and privateering capital of the Caribbean. This provided a golden opportunity for Mitchell, whose expertise is in British and Irish history 1500–1850, to teach from the location. History major Janie Hannon, C’15, whose concentration has been on the civil rights movement in the American South, said that after being in Kingston, she understands much better how the Caribbean and the slave trade in this region influenced the South. His lecture at Port Royal was filmed and will eventually be part of a series. 

“I know this was a positive experience for the students and staff and every trip reminds me of how important it is to have a long-term relationship with the people at these sites and keep returning year after year,” Myers said.

Breaking the Silence Week at University

Breaking the Silence Week at the University of the South:

Private Struggle & Private Justice for LGBTQ+ people

Breaking the Silence Week for LGTBTQ+ and Allies on the University of the South campus is a collaborative planning effort of students from the Gender and Sexual Diversity House, the Diversity and Reconciliation Committee of The School of Theology, Spectrum, the Bairnwick Women’s Center, and Sewanee Interfaith. 

Other sponsors include: the Women and Gender Studies Program, and the Cinema Guild

“Breaking the Silence Week”  was inaugurated in 2014 by students from Spectrum, the Gender and Sexual Diversity House, and the School of Theology.  Our goal was to expand upon the National Day of Silence which is the largest single student-led action in the country that tries to create safer schools for all, particularly those who identify as Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, Bisexual, Queer or other gender identity or expressions

We want to empower the students and faculty at the University of the South with a series of informative events that will help everyone to value and treat each other with respect, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

For more information go to <http://www.dayofsilence.org>.

• Tuesday, April 14th,

• 5:00 pm, Location:  EQB Building: "Queer Greek Life"  Queer students share about experiences with greek organizations.

•  6-6:30 pm, Location:  EQB Building: Reception with refreshments and light catering, open to all.

•  6:30 pm, Location:  EQB Building: Marriage Equality Way Down Dixie, documentary showing of “Mississippi Love Story” and Q & A with producer.

• Wednesday, April 15th

• 5:00 pm, Location: Spencer Quad:  Healing Service for Healing the Effects of Homophobia.

• 7:30 pm, Location: SUT:  Movie - “Pride”

• Thursday, April 16th

• 5:00 pm, Location: Mary Sue Cushman Room - Bairnwick Center: "Paths to Equality: Activism in our Time," speakers from Chattanooga Cares and Tennessee Equality Project with discussion.

• Friday, April 17th

• National Day of Silence: students, faculty and staff can take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools.  More information: http://www.dayofsilence.org