Londen Wheeler Archives - �� News

‘The last will be the first’: social psychologist Christena Cleveland shares a new paradigm of privilege at faculty/staff conference

Lauren Jefferson — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 15:28:16 +0000

“The last will be first and the first will be the last: This is what equality looks like, this is what justice is about.” Dr. , a social psychologist and theologian, invited �� faculty and staff into a new paradigm for welcoming and understanding diversity.

Cleveland, the keynote speaker at ��’s annual faculty/staff conference, is associate professor of the practice of reconciliation at the Duke University Divinity School and author of (InterVarsity Press, 2013).

A sought-after speaker who was named one of “Five online shepherds to follow” by JET magazine, Cleveland remarked that the opportunity to speak at �� was irresistible.

“As a reconciliation scholar and practitioner, how could I say no to ��?” she said.

Inclusion, equity can be strengthened

The annual faculty/staff conference brings together approximately 350 members of the campus community at the start of the academic year for fellowship, worship and professional development. The theme of the Aug. 17-18 conference was “Embracing Diversity,” with diversity being defined in its various dimensions as race, faith, socio-economic background, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, physical abilities and other identities.

The topic was also informed by goals within the “to recruit, develop, and retain diverse, effective faculty and staff.”

Dr. David Ford, psychology professor at James Madison University, talks about difference and civility.

“This goal goes to heart of our mission and values as a university,” said Provost , who chaired the planning committee. “Development of culturally competent educators and members of the campus community goes hand-in-hand with our mission of educating students to serve and lead in a global context. The conference helped us to continue discussion and assessment utilizing both our own significant resources and those provided by outside experts.”

In 2015, ��’s traditional undergraduate population included a record-high 37 percent of students who are ethnic minorities or come from other countries. That number is up from 36 percent in 2014 and 29 percent in 2013.

“We have many strengths in this area,” Kniss said, noting the institution’s history of inclusion of African Americans, the required undergraduate cross-cultural experience, and a high percentage of faculty and staff who have lived and worked in other countries. “Our work in global peacebuilding and in restorative justice are a strong foundation to build upon, but we must be proactive in confronting and addressing questions of inequality and equity that challenge us as a community.”

Afternoon sessions included

Cleveland on “Power and Place: Why Some Students Thrive and Others Don’t on Christian College Campuses”;
chairs , director of multicultural and international student services, and , ombudsperson, about focus group research conducted in spring 2016;
Professors and , admissions counselor and graduate student Julian Turner, on “Black Lives Matter and White Fragility”;
Professors and on teaching and advising diverse students with mental health challenges:
Professors and on building inclusive organizational cultures;
Jane Ellen Reid, university omsbudswoman and co-chair of the Diversity Task Force.
�� Lancaster Provost , on Milton Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity;
Professor , of James Madison University, on “Difference and Civility: Building Resilient Responses to Intolerance.”

‘Do the work. Leave your turf. Listen.’

Cleveland began her address as a social psychologist, outlining why humans living in a pluralistic and complex world define themselves so fiercely within a group identity, and then moved into the theological realm. She asked how the privileged and the powerful can step away from that hierarchical space.

Cleveland, the daughter of church planters from California, pointed out that only 11 percent of Americans are raised by two college-educated parents. Acknowledging her own privilege — raised in a home committed to higher education and daily enrichment and educational experiences, she attended an elite East Coast boarding school and Dartmouth College. This upbringing led her to examine closely Jesus’s relationship to the oppressed and marginalized in a world that was “rife with inequality.”

She asked: “What would it look for me to empty myself of my power and my privilege in a way that Jesus did?”

Using two parables, she pointed out that Jesus did hard and radical work: he shifted attention, changed narratives and transposed power positions so that marginalized peoples moved into positions of power.

“Jesus didn’t say, ‘Figure it out. Jump up to the Trinity,’” she said, evoking laughter from the audience. “Do the work. Be last. Leave your turf. That will look different for every person. How do you leave your turf at ��? How will you, the privileged, move from first to last? … So many of us have never been last so we don’t know what that looks like.”

Photography class photos helped efforts to block Atlantic Coast Pipeline on sensitive sections of national forestland

Bonnie Price Lofton — Fri, 05 Feb 2016 14:19:33 +0000

Striking photos taken by an �� professor and his students of a rarely seen, endangered salamander supported citizen lobbying that may have influenced a U.S. Forest Service decision to reject a proposed gas pipeline across the salamanders’ fragile, limited habitat.

“My students and I were very involved in the public awareness campaign about the Cow Knob Salamander,” said photography professor , who chairs the Department of Visual and Communication Arts at ��. “This campaign was spearheaded by a constellation of dedicated conservation nonprofits and advocacy groups in the region.”

Salamanders photographed by student Jonathan Bush.

Partners who worked most closely with Johnson’s classes included , , and the .

The salamander photos emerged from a class in conservation photography launched by Johnson several years ago. He sought to encourage students to “think about broader ecosystems, the environment, human culture and how they relate to the natural world, as well as about helping to protect nature.”

Johnson’s own has also received attention. [To see more photos and learn more about Johnson, visit his .]

Proposed pipeline to cross wild regions

In the fall of 2014 and 2015, Johnson’s class took photos of the George Washington National Forest and nearby areas. The images were utilized to support a half-dozen citizens’ groups opposed to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a proposal backed by four large utility companies. In a new pipeline more than 500 miles long, the natural gas would traverse the George Washington National Forest and Monongahela National Forest, in addition to other public and private properties in mostly rural areas of Virginia and West Virginia.

Students document wildlife that will be affected by the proposed pipeline during a 2014 class. (Photo by Steven David Johnson)

“The proposed pipeline will cross the central Allegheny Highlands, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the adjacent valleys. It will cut through 30 miles of national forest and cross numerous rivers, streams, and wetlands,” says the of Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition, for which senior Jonathan Bush did aerial photographic surveying. “This area represents the heart of the remaining wild landscape in the eastern United States, and it is a major biodiversity refugium that can only increase in rarity and importance.”

By the coalition’s description, “the proposed pipeline will be 42 inches in diameter, requiring excavation of an 8- to 12-foot-deep trench and the bulldozing of a 125-foot-wide construction corridor straight up and down multiple steep-sided forested mountains.

“It will require construction of heavy-duty transport roads and staging areas for large earth-moving equipment and pipeline assembly. It will require blasting through bedrock, and excavation through streams and wetlands. It will require construction across unstable and hydrologically sensitive karst terrain.

“Pipeline construction on this scale, across this type of steep, well-watered, forested mountain landscape, is unprecedented,” concludes the coalition on its website.

Photographing wildlife and landscapes

Johnson and his students did not limit themselves to documenting the rare Cow Knob Salamanders, which live in the path of the proposed pipeline on and near Shenandoah Mountain. They also photographed pristine streams, verdant farmland, and breathtaking views that would be lost with pipeline construction and maintenance.

Their salamander photos, however, were the ones that seemed to have the most impact, given that they were published widely by the news media and on civic action websites across Virginia. The potential negative impact on these salamanders and the Cheat Mountain Salamanders, plus on West Virginia northern flying squirrels and ecosystem restoration areas, was cited in the Jan. 19 letter from U.S. Forest Service administrators to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC.

The commission is deliberating whether to approve proposals to construct several pipelines for moving Marcellus shale gas from western West Virginia to Virginia and the southeast. These pipelines would be the largest ever built in this region, and all routes proposed thus far would impinge on national forest land.

Londen Wheeler uses an underwater camera in Johnson’s conservation photography class, which often takes field trips into the nearby George Washington National Forest. (Photo by Steven David Johnson)

The Forest Service letter referred to natural resources of “irreplaceable character” on Shenandoah Mountain, Cheat Mountain and Back Allegheny Mountain that would need to be circumvented by any pipelines.

Students contributed to publicity efforts

“I’m very proud of the student involvement in this work – surveying, hiking, mapmaking, land and aerial photographing, and writing,” said Johnson. “It’s impossible to know exactly how much the public campaign played in the final Forest Service decision, but I have to believe the amount of publicity surrounding this little amphibian helped provide political support for this move.”

Lynn Cameron, vice president of the Virginia Wilderness Committee and past president of the Virginia Wilderness Committee, has been with the latter group since it began 10 years ago. Cameron calls the partnership between her group and Johnson’s class “mutually beneficial.” Johnson serves with Cameron on the board of the Virginia Wilderness Committee.

“Being able to show the beauty and biodiversity of the area, along with its water and recreational resources, through the images provided by ��’s students really helps our efforts,” she says.

Students hike into the forest. (Photo by Steven David Johnson)

The George Washington-Jefferson National Forest receives more than 2 million visits annually, most often for hiking, fishing and picnicking, by Forest Service estimates. Access to this forest is as close as 10 miles (20 minutes by car) west of ��’s campus.

All nine students in the fall 2014 Conservation Photography took class field trips that involved photographing landscapes and biodiversity along the proposed pipeline route: Jonathan Bush, Malika Davis, Londen Wheeler, Emma King, Ryan Keiner, Chris Lehman, Meghan Good, Amber Davis and Jonathan Drescher-Lehman. These students also divided into three small groups, two of which worked specifically on the pipeline (their images can be seen here: ).

Cameron recalls that Wheeler was the first to see and photograph the Cow Knob Salamander. Then Bush, Davis and King returned to the area and found some of these salamanders on their own. “I was with them and remember being amazed that they could actually find rare salamanders on a field trip in mid-October, which is at the end of their active season,” said Cameron. “Normally, these salamanders can be found on warm, damp nights. The students found them at mid-day during a dry spell. It was just unbelievable.”

Collectively, the students emerged with some remarkable images which have been used in by and the , among others.

In the fall 2015 Conservation Photo class, four students focused on the pipeline project, but their photos centered on farmland and private property: Curtis Handy, Rachel Schrock, Azariah Cox, and Macson McGuigan. McGuigan also worked on a with his GIS class to make maps related to threatened species in the pipeline route area.

Black Student Union fundraiser game pits the (victorious) Streetball Kingz against the hometown Wreckin’ Royals

Alicia Ygarza — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 14:18:33 +0000

The Wreckin’ Royals were expected to lose, and lose big they did, during an Oct. 30 fundraising basketball game against the Richmond-based Streetball Kingz at ��’s Yoder Arena. The final score was 109-78.

A crowd of about 200 enjoyed the game, cheering on both the Kingz and their opponents, a team made up of faculty, staff, alumni and students.

The event was billed as the �� Charity Classic by the (BSU), which hosted the game and an after-party later that night. More than 150 tickets were sold, with the funds going towards an alternative spring break trip planned jointly by BSU, the �� Gospel Choir, and .

“I really love how the game brought a lot of energy to ��,” said sophomore Anna Messer. “It was a great time for students to get together with professors and with each other. It was a good community event for people to just let loose and have fun.”

Crowd-pleasing hoops

The Streetball Kingz is a group managed by Dewey Jackson, based in Delaware. The team plays across the U.S. for community and nonprofit events. Their flashy style of play incorporates crowd-pleasing dunks, top-notch ball handling, and supreme shooting.

The fundraiser was quickly put together and gained momentum after the Streetball Kingz, just weeks before, contacted , director of , about coming to �� since they had already played at James Madison University and Bridgewater College. Lepley passed along the idea to BSU student advisor .

“We wanted to do something that would be fun and late night so that students would have an option of doing something that’s substance free,” said Thomas. “We thought it would bring a lot of energy to the campus and it was something new. I think we did well taking a risk and trying something different.”

“It always feels good to see hard work pay off,” said BSU event coordinator Richard Robinson, “especially for an event like this that has never happened on ��’s campus.”

The fundraiser will help defray costs of an alternative spring break civil rights experiential learning trip to Alabama and Georgia.

“Instead of going to the beach, we’ll be going to Selma, Tuskegee and Atlanta doing a civil rights tour,” said Thomas. “It’s the 51st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, so we’ll walk across the Pettus Bridge, stop by national civil rights museums along the way, and go to some of the churches that they marched from. We’ll visit Martin Luther King Jr. father’s church, go to MLK’s church in Montgomery, and also where Rosa Parks got on the bus from her job and decided not to sit in the back of the bus.”

Team brings families and communities together

Streetball Kingz player Randy Gill, aka White Chocolate, splashed three three-pointers within the first five minutes of the game and they did not stop coming. A crowd pleaser, Gill interacted with the fans the entire time.

Following a collegiate career at Bowie State University, Gill started playing streetball and minor league basketball. He was eventually asked to play overseas, and since his return, has been playing for the Streetball Kingz.

Gill explained that the mission of his team is to support youth, and to bring families and communities together.

“It doesn’t matter if there are 20,000 people or even 100 people. We’re here to spread the love, bring the community together, and have a good time,” he said. “Whenever there’s a cause or a mission and we can help bring the people together that’s what it’s all about. We want young people to believe in themselves and let them know that they can do anything they want to if they practice their craft, whatever it may be. My mission is believe to achieve.”

More BSU events

This month, BSU will be hosting a Nov. 18 chapel with the theme of #BlackLivesMatter. On Dec. 11, BSU will be joining the Campus Activities Council to host the .

“We’re expecting about 150 people for the ball,” said Thomas. “We’ve contacted a band called Ebony Blue, and that will be another large event before we leave for winter break. When we come back we’ll have a week-long celebration for MLK in January, then in February we’ll have Kwanzaa for Black History Month, and finally the trip will be in March. We’re trying to expose the campus to different things. ”

A version of this article was first printed in Nov. 5, 2015, issue of The Weather Vane.

Royals distance runners set ODAC indoor track records

James De Boer — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 21:09:13 +0000

There are certainly times when getting caught up in the wrong crowd is a bad thing.�� But for two �� track and field women, getting caught up in a crowd of D-I runners produced amazing results, as both junior��(Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) and freshman��(Dover, Ohio/Dover) rode the pace of top-flight women at Saturday’s UCS Invitational and broke ODAC records.

In the mile, Chappell-Dick broke the five-minute barrier for the first time and did so quite handily.�� She charted a time of 4:56.37, shattering her own school record of 5:05.65, and breaking the ODAC record of 4:58.17 set by Roanoke All-American Carmen Graves in 2013.�� The junior also sits at No. 4 in the nation this year with the time.�� She placed sixth at the meet, behind runners from Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

��ٱ��(St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden) ran the mile for the first time this year and jumped to No. 7 in the ODAC this season at 5:27.27.

Lehman’s mark also came in her only event of the day, the 3000m, where she crossed in 9:55.49, whacking more than 27 seconds of her PR and school record of 10:22.72.�� She shattered the Old Dominion Athletic Conference record with the time, as the old mark was 10:10.61, set by Roanoke’s Casey Smith in 2001.�� Nationally, Lehman leaps to No. 9 as she looks to join Chappell-Dick with a trip to the NCAA National Championships.�� She took fourth in the race, coming in behind two women from Wake Forest and one from Virginia Tech.

Eastern Mennonite sent only a handful of athletes to the meet in Winston-Salem, N.C.�� Elsewhere,��(King George, Va./King George) earned the No. 5 time in �� history with a time of 1:02.52.

In the long jump,��(Bedford, Va./Liberty) came close to her PR with a best leap of 4.96m (16-3.25ft).�� The freshman’s best effort this year is 5.05m.

The duo of��(Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) and��(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) continued to shine in the men’s 800m.�� Thibodeaux just beat his teammate, taking eighth overall with a time of 1:57.18.�� It was his PR, which is No. 4 in the ODAC and improves him to No. 4 in �� history.�� Although Thibodeaux sits one spot behind Denlinger in program history, Denlinger came in just behind him in Saturday’s race, crossing in 1:57.22.

��(Winchester, Va./Millbrook) set a new PR in the triple jump, charting the No. 9 distance in the �� books at 12.47m (40-11.00ft).

�� had four men running in the 200m.��(Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass) led the way with a time of 23.77, just missing his PR by .01.��(Ashburn, Va./Briarwood) tied his PR by finishing in 23.86.��(Nelson, Va./Nelson County) crossed in 24.38 while��(Appomattox, Va./Appomattox) timed at 25.12.

Wheeler also clocked at 54.09 in the 400m.

The Eastern Mennonite track teams wrap up the indoor season next week at the ODAC Indoor Championships in Landover, Md.

Royals rise to the occasion at Hilton Garden Invitational

James De Boer — Mon, 02 Feb 2015 15:21:21 +0000

Even without sending their full teams to the Hilton Garden Invitational in Winston-Salem, N.C., over the weekend, ��’s indoor track and field teams defended their regional status. Both the men and the women were ranked at No. 7 in the D-III South/Southeast Region in the season’s first listings earlier this week.

Freshman distance runner��(Dover, Ohio/Dover) cemented her status as an elite athlete, breaking ��’s record in the 5000m and taking second place overall at the mostly D-I meet. Lehman roasted the track to a finish of 17:43.77, finishing in between a pair of runners from the University of North Carolina. She destroyed her own �� record of 18:10.40, set in December.

��ٱ��(Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) broke her personal record in the event, crossing in 20:15.98 to also grab the No. 8 spot in ��’s history books.

In the 4x400m relay, the women’s foursome of��(King George, Va./King George),��(Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood),��(Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) and��(Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) timed the No. 3 effort in program history at 4:20.40.

Chappell-Dick was the top D-III finisher in the mile run, taking a time of 5:16.47.��(Goshen, Ind./Goshen) clocked a season best in the 800m at 2:36.34, narrowly missing the ODAC qualifying time by 0.05 seconds. And Williams broke her PR in the 400m, timing at 1:04.62.

��(Bedford, Va./Liberty) landed a nice effort in the triple jump, measuring at 10.44m (34-3.00ft).�� Also in the field,��(Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) had a best toss of 13.02m (42-8.75ft) in the weight throw.

For the Eastern Mennonite men,��(Staunton, Va./Riverheads) had a monster toss in the shot put.�� His best heave of 14.00m (45-11.25ft) was not only the top D-III distance at the meet, but also put him third in �� history and with the second-best throw in the ODAC this season.�� He was also solid in the weight throw, landing at 11.93m (39-1.75ft)

��(Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) punched an ODAC ticket in the 5000m, but more importantly earned the No. 2 time in the �� record books.�� His time of 15:49.48 was only behind cross country teammate��Jacob Landis‘ 15:41.94, a record set last year.

In the 800m run, sophomore��(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) earned the third-best finish in �� history with a time of 1:57.01.��(Staunton, Va./Fore Defiance) wasn’t far behind as he landed at No. 4 in the �� books at 1:57.77.

The duo also ran in the mile.�� Denlinger again crossed first in 4:31.19 to take seventh in program history, while Thibodeaux had his season best run at 4:35.20.

��(Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) earned a trip to the ODAC Championships in the 200m, timing at 23.90.�� In the 400m, �� had two men qualify for ODACs, highlighted by��(Winchester, Va./Millbrook) PRing in 52.07.��(Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) had a finish of 53.11.

��(Broadway, Va./Broadway) continued his road back in the 60m hurdles with a season best time of 8.79.

Then in the 4x400m relay, the Royals had a foursome cross in 3:30.16, which was just a tenth of a second behind a team from ODAC rival Washington and Lee.��(Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass), Bush, Denlinger and Faint combined for the No. 7 time in �� history.

And a foursome also landed in No. 7 in the distance medley relay, as��(Churchville, Va./Fort Defiance),��(Nelson, Va./Nelson County),��(Richmond, Va./Huguenot) and��(Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) clocked at 11:08.35.

��(Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) kept in his ODAC-leading shape by clearing 1.92m (6-3.5ft) in the high jump.

Eastern Mennonite’s teams are back in action next weekend, participating at the DuCharme Invitational in Carlisle, Pa., on Saturday.

Vigil held to protest killing of a black person every 28 hours in America, ‘whether innocent or guilty’

Randi B. Hagi — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 15:02:51 +0000

�� 60 people held a vigil in the heart of ��’s campus in early December for black people killed by police in America. Participants attracted by the Black Student Union’s “#StandForFerguson” appeal gathered quietly in the gray mist at Thomas Plaza as club advisor Celeste Thomas invited them to “speak in silence,” showing their solidarity with presence.

The vigil’s name refers to the death of Michael Brown, who was killed in August in Ferguson, Mo. His death and resulting protests in Missouri spurred the BSU to organize a demonstration in solidarity.

A broadcasted gospel song contained these words, “There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain.” Five students stood in front of the circle, their mouths covered by duct tape, a chain at their feet. In their hands were white balloons, each bearing a name written in black marker.

Kaltuma Hassan and Philip Watson read out names of black victims of police brutality.

Undergraduates Kaltuma Hassan and Philip Watson read short eulogies for each person’s name written on the balloons at the Dec. 2 vigil. “One black person is killed every 28 hours in America, whether innocent or guilty,” stated Hassan. “Trayvon Martin, killed February 26, 2012. Seventeen years old, shot in Sanford, Fla., allegedly shot in self defense by George Zimmerman.” As they read through 18 names, Thomas went down the line of balloons, popping each as its name was read. “Dante Parker, killed August 12, 2014. Thirty-six years old. Tased to death. Killed by San Bernadino police department.”

“Being a black, 20-year-old male, I couldn’t help but think that every name that was read aloud could have been me,” said BSU President Londen Wheeler, who was one of those holding balloons. “I hope that the attendees were able to feel the discomfort and the disbelief. I also hope that this was an opportunity for the attendees to see that their voice – although this was a silent protest – against racist police brutality can help make a difference in the nation.”

After the reading, the gospel song was played again, and the five demonstrators picked up the chain at their feet and threw it over the rim of the plaza.

History professor Mark Sawin attended to listen to the BSU and “support them and all my black students and colleagues who are finding ways to speak out.” Acknowledging the privilege that being a straight white male affords him in society, he says “we need to tease apart and closely examine the privilege that allows incidents like this [the shooting of Michael Brown] to happen. There is deep fear in doing this.”

Students faculty, and staff begin to congregate for the #StandForFerguson vigil on December 2.

That fear, Sawin explained, is a product of advantaged people who do not recognize their privilege and become defensive in conversations about racial violence. He desires to “create a society where we all work and benefit and live together. I’m horrified by the violence and the fear that permeates our society, so it’s time I start looking at the privilege that creates it.”

Watson, a board member and treasurer of the BSU, said, “I just hope that the vigil opened up a lot of peoples’ eyes and made them aware of what is occurring right in their backyards. The message was clear that this injustice cannot keep continuing.”

Wheeler hopes that the �� community will start talking about this issue openly; the BSU is working on more educational events about being black in America. “This is something that we can’t keep sugarcoating,” said Wheeler. “Let’s start a conversation.”

Seminary faculty member David Evans said, “Many leaders around the United States have called for a national conversation to deepen our understanding of race and our national history and why conflicts such as these should not surprise us.”

Evans is teaching a class titled “Race and Religion in America.” Held Jan. 4 to March 14, this online, two-credit course is aimed at deepening our understanding of our racial, religious and national identities. Registration is occurring now.

“We will be working to understand how race functions in different periods of time and in relationship to religion and nationalism. Race, religion and nationalism cannot be properly understood without each other. So we will discuss Native American religion, White religion, Mexican Catholicism, Black religion and Jewishness, amongst other identity categories.”

Black students and faculty produce, tweet, #DontShoot photo in solidarity with national protests

Kara Lofton — Fri, 26 Sep 2014 18:57:53 +0000

“Unarmed Black Man Shot Dead by Police”

The black-man-killed headline (above) could appear in any newspaper, in any city in the United States, where “land of the free” appears to not extend to an African American male’s freedom to keep his life.

Motivated by this realization, 27 faculty, staff and students of �� gathered on the steps of Northlawn early in the fall semester to raise their hands in solidarity with , where 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a white police officer on Aug. 9, 2014.

“We were trying to demonstrate visually the continued need to be valued in society,” said , vice president of enrollment.

[Editor: As �� prepared to post this story on 09/26/14, a of a white police officer shooting an unarmed black man��– this one captured on video in South Carolina on Sept. 4 – swept around the world. The victim, 35-year-old Levar Jones, was approached by the police officer for allegedly not wearing a seatbelt in his vehicle. When, as requested, Jones moved to show the officer his driver’s license, he was shot at repeatedly and wounded in the hip.]

Black Student Union steps up

The gathering was Hartman’s idea, but junior Londen Wheeler (co-president of the Black Student Union) rallied students to show up. Hartman applauded bringing “��’s exceptional group of new and returning students of color together in order to meet one another.”

“I went to spread awareness about what happened,” said freshman Bruce Cypress, one of the students in the �� #DontShoot photo. Cypress and sophomore Jay Bradley, also in the photo, said they didn’t understand the reason behind the shooting because police have other tools at their disposal that don’t result in civilian death.

A Google search of “unarmed black man shot by police” yields over half a million hits. This shooting of Michael Brown, however, seemed to be a kind of breaking point that released pent-up anger, grief and frustration nationwide about what is happening to America’s young, black males.

“It seems as though there is a segment of white society that sees black bodies as something to be feared or dangerous, and as something to remove from society,” said �� professor .

Whites’ fear leads to blacks’ death

Evans has two sons and worries about their safety in a white-dominated society. Will they be shot for wearing a hoodie around someone who finds their presence fear-inducing?

“To put it quite simply,” he said, “I want to make the statement that black lives matter, that we’re human beings, that we have emotions, that we have families, and we are not a threat simply because we exist.”

For Evans, the #DontShoot movement has the simultaneous purpose of lowering anxiety while also speaking out against the use of African American people as targets.

Black and white Americans are not listening to one another’s narratives, he said. Without dialogue and recognition that each person has a story, a background, and is part of an enduring paradigm of racial tension, change will not be possible.

Fellowship, interaction needed

“Hatred thrives where there is contact without fellowship,” Evans said, quoting theologian Howard Thurman. “I think that is what we live in today. This is the state of our society. People of different racial and ethnic groups live in the same society, they work in the same buildings, they go to the same schools…but they don’t know each other intimately.”

For whites, “The Talk,” is usually about sex. But for at least some of those in the �� #DontShoot photo, “The Talk” refers to how black parents teach their children to carefully act when encountering a police officer. For a population that is witnessing repeated violence against their young people, this is potentially life-sustaining information.

With their #DontShoot photo – tweeted on Sept. 5 – ��’s black community members are joining others across the nation in protesting whites’ violence inflicted on African Americans, particularly males. These photos have now been shared extensively on social media sites and have garnered considerable traffic and discussion.

�� breaks record for all-academic honorees

James De Boer — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 19:57:18 +0000

�� once again set a new high for student-athletes named to the annual Old Dominion Athletic Conference All-Academic Team, as 96 Royals were honored.�� Last year a total of 80 Royals were named to the list, which had also been a high over the previous year’s total of 61.

All of ��’s ODAC-sponsored sports were represented on the All-Academic Team.�� Men’s volleyball competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference and is not eligible for the ODAC team.

The ODAC All-Academic Team eclipsed 1,000 student-athletes for the eighth consecutive year and set a new high-water mark for conference honorees for the fifth year in a row.�� With representatives from each of the 17 ODAC institutions (including Catholic University for football only and Greensboro College and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming only), 1,558 student-athletes earned recognition on the 2013-14 ODAC All-Academic Team.

Eligibility for the ODAC All-Academic Team is open to any student-athlete that competes in a conference-sponsored sport, regardless of academic class.�� He or she must achieve at least a 3.25 grade point average for the year to be considered for an ODAC All-Academic Award.

For more information, visit the ODAC’s home on the Internet at��. ��Don’t forget to become a fan of the ODAC on��and follow��on Twitter.

The entire list of Royals named to the ODAC All-Academic Team is listed below.��

��’s ODAC All-Academic Team
Elizabeth Alderfer – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Kayley Argenbright – Women’s Volleyball
Jordan Aylor – Softball
Becky Barrett – Women’s Basketball
Trey Barrett – Men’s Basketball
Tyler Brenneman – Men’s Soccer
Carol Brinkley – Field Hockey
Jonathan Bush – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Lauren Campbell – Softball
McKenna Carter – Women’s Volleyball
Hannah Chappell-Dick – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Robert Cook – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Melissa Cox – Field Hockey
Nicolette Cuevas – Softball
Hannah Daley – Field Hockey
Mary Beth Danaher – Field Hockey
Patty Danaher – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Paige DeBell – Field Hockey
Tyler Denlinger – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Jenessa Derstine – Field Hockey
Erica Detweiler – Women’s Soccer
Katie Eckman – Women’s Cross Country
Mariah Foltz – Softball
Daniel Friesen – Men’s Soccer
Erica Garber – Women’s Track & Field
Carlos Garcia – Men’s Track & Field
Abi Gardner – Field Hockey
Jessica Goertzen – Women’s Volleyball
Naomi Good – Women’s Soccer
Joe Hall – Baseball
Rebecca Hardy – Women’s Volleyball
Derek Harnish – Men’s Soccer
Bethany Hench – Field Hockey
Ryan Henschel – Baseball
Brooke Hensley – Softball
Morgan Hill – Women’s Soccer
Jordan Hollinger – Men’s Soccer
David Hooley – Men’s Soccer
Brendan Jeschke – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Viktor Kaltenstein – Men’s Soccer
Brianna Kauffman – Field Hockey
Rachel Kennel – Women’s Volleyball
Louise Krall – Field Hockey
Lanae Kreider – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Jacob Landis – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Jordan Leaman – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Parker Leap – Men’s Soccer
Mollie Lehman – Field Hockey
Jake Lind – Men’s Soccer
Lexi Link – Women’s Volleyball
Mariah Martin – Field Hockey
Tim Martin – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Dilmer Martinez – Men’s Soccer
Mark Mast – Men’s Soccer
Saralyn Mast – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Brad Matthias – Baseball
Brittany McDonaldson – Women’s Golf
Macson McGuigan – Men’s Soccer
Chris Miller – Men’s Track & Field
Katie Miller – Women’s Volleyball
Austin Mumaw – Men’s Soccer
Jonathan Nisly – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Ian Norris – Baseball
Nora Osei – Women’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball
Jolee Paden – Women’s Cross Country
Jesse Parker – Men’s Cross Country
Hannah Patterson – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Dylan Polley – Men’s Soccer
Alicia Poplett – Women’s Soccer
D Probst – Women’s Volleyball
Casey Racer – Softball
Jess Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Steph Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Krista Rittenhouse – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Kyle Salladay – Baseball
Juni Schirch – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Caleb Schlabach – Men’s Golf
Chanel Shands – Women’s Basketball
Jacob Shank – Men’s Soccer
Kayla Smeltzer – Women’s Volleyball
Molly Smith – Softball
Nicole Smith – Softball
Ashten Spencer – Women’s Soccer
Mandy Stowers – Field Hockey
Ryan Thomas – Men’s Soccer
Shannan Thompson – Women’s Basketball
John Toney – Men’s Golf
Londen Wheeler – Men’s Track & Field
Camille Williams – Field Hockey
Alex Wynn – Men’s Track & Field
Bianca Ygarza – Women’s Basketball
Alena Yoder – Women’s Volleyball
Andrew Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Chris Yoder – Men’s Basketball
Michelle Zook – Field Hockey
Marla zumFelde – Women’s Basketball

Personal records drop like flies at Liberty Twilight

James De Boer — Fri, 02 May 2014 19:40:42 +0000

Although the full body of athletes has gone home for the year, the Eastern Mennonite track & field teams still sent a number of men and women to Thursday’s Liberty Twilight Qualifier in Lynchburg, Va. The meet was loaded with elite talent, including Olympic medalists and top-5 world leading performers, which helped the Royals set a number of personal records.

The men had the biggest contingent participating, and the runners made a habit out of clocking their career best times.

��(Nelson, Va./Nelson County) had a great day as he set personal bests in both the 200m (23.09) and 400m (52.87). ��(Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) also scored a PR in the 200m at 23.17, while��(Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) finished with a time of 22.71. Winters also led the trio in the 400m with a time of 50.38.

��(Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) had a breakthrough performance in the 800m as the freshman took sixth overall with a huge PR time of 1:54.58. The time puts him No. 3 on the all-time �� list and just 0.06 seconds from Marcel Long at No. 2.

��(Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) shaved six seconds off of his personal best time in the 3000m steeplechase, finishing fifth at the meet in 10:13.06. He improves his No. 5 time in the �� record books.

In the high jump,��(Dalton, Oh./Central Christian) took fifth with a best height of 1.99m. After clearing 1.99m, King passed on the next height (2.04m), which was a mark he had already attained this year, and went for 2.09m (6-10.25ft). His third attempt was his best, but he just grazed the bar with his heel and did not clear the height.��(Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) had an earlier than expected exit from the competition, but still grabbed a top-10 finish with a mark of 1.89m (6-2.25ft).

In the throws,��(Staunton, Va./Riverheads) had a huge day, taking home two personal best marks. In the shot put, he placed fifth overall with a best toss of 13.02m (42-8.75ft), good for No. 8 on the �� list. In the discus, his best toss of 34.90m (114-6ft) was good for ninth place overall.

��(Bluffton Oh./Bluffton) was the lone female participant for ��, but she made her presence felt in her one race. The sophomore dropped down to run the 400m and sped to the No. 2 time in �� history at 59.08. Chappell-Dick’s time was more than a second faster than her previous best. Lorenda Abbott set the �� record at 58.08 in 1999.

Coach Jason Lewkowicz said he was very pleased with the efforts the meet.

“We had personal best marks all over the place and some folks were able to end their season on high note,” Lewkowicz explained. “Jeremy Heizer had a great day in the throws and it’s hard to believe that he’s only been throwing for a few months. His improvement has been very impressive. Alec Thibodeaux got put in a great heat of 800m runners and cut over two seconds off of his lifetime best in the event. Finally, I was really proud of how Londen Wheeler competed, taking home two huge PRs in the 200m and 400m.”

The focus continues for a handful of �� athletes to prepare for trips to the national meet later in May. Despite not running in the event at Liberty, Chappell-Dick is No. 4 in the nation in the 800m at 2:11.89, and seems a lock to qualify for nationals. King is currently No. 19 with his height of 2.04m (6-8.25ft) from the ODAC Championships and seems likely to earn a spot in the field of 22 participants. Vrolijk is tied at No. 28 at 2.00m (6-6.75ft).

Lewkowicz sees King hitting his stride and hopes his senior can go out on a high note.

“Jordan King was able to take jumps at over 6-10,” he said, “and although he was unable to improve his season best mark, he came really close and goes into next week with confidence to get those few extra centimeters he needs to cement a place at the NCAA championships.”

Eastern Mennonite’s tracksters are at back-to-back meets next week, with many of the Royals participating in Thursday’s Roanoke Twilight Invitational.�� Just a handful will turn around the next day for the high-level Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville.

Women set two records at meet hosted by D-I Liberty

James De Boer — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 20:10:30 +0000

��’s track & field women broke two more school records this weekend at the Liberty Collegiate Invitational in Lynchburg.�� Junior��(Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) and sophomore��(Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton) each broke one of their own marks at the large meet full of D-I, D-II and D-III athletes.

Chappell-Dick�� took second place in the 800m, and was easily the top D-III finisher, as she broke her own school record with a time of 2:12.95.�� Her record from last spring was 2:13.19.�� The next D-III runner was more than seven seconds behind Chappell-Dick.��(Goshen, Ind./Goshen) also had a solid finish in the event, crossing 13th in 2:26.95.�� She was third among runners from ��’s level.

Bane also broke her own school mark in the hammer throw, landing at 39.28m (128-10ft).�� Her previous best was 38.43m (126-1ft), also set in 2013.

��(Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area) moved into ��’s top 10 in the 5000m, setting her PR at 19:37.29.

On the men’s side, the Royals had eight top-10 finishes and three new ODAC qualifiers.

The highest finish went to��(Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), who ran the 3000m steeplechase and took fourth with a final time of 10:21.78.�� The finish pits him fifth in �� history.

Meanwhile the 4x100m relay team crossed in fifth with a time of 43.69.��(Freeman, S.D./Freeman Academy),��(Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside),��(Nelson, Va./Nelson County) and��(Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) combined for the No. 5 time in the program’s books.

��(Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) and��(Sterling, Ill./Sterling) looked good in the 5000m, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.�� Gehman was the top D-III finisher in 15:45.92, while Landis was right behind in 15:48.88.��(Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) tallied 13th and was the fourth D-III runner with a time of 16:28.89.

In the 400m, Winters was seventh and the top D-III male with his time of 50.41.�� He earns a trip to the ODAC Championships with his finish and is sixth in program history.��(Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) was three spots behind Winters in tenth with a time of 51.74.

��(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) had an eighth-place finish in the 800m, timing at 1:57.54.��(Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) was just outside of the top 10 in 11th, with his finish of 1:59.31.�� He was also 11th in the 1500m in 4:07.30, qualifying for ODACs in the process.

��(Richmond, Va./Highland Springs), who joined the team with the recent completion of the men’s volleyball season, finished tenth with his first efforts in the long jump.�� He also earned a trip to the ODAC meet with a landing at 6.37m (20-10.75ft).�� Moore was also the top D-III finisher.

The Eastern Mennonite track teams are back in action next Saturday at the Mason Spring Invitational, hosted by D-I George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Chappell-Dick takes gold to open outdoor season

James De Boer — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 15:38:32 +0000

The �� track and field teams had a very successful start to the outdoor season and landed 28 ODAC qualifiers over two different meets over the weekend.�� The majority of the Royals were in Lexington, Va., for the W&L Carnival, and a trio of throwers went to Salem, Va., for the Roanoke College Invitational.

Sophomore��(Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton) had the only gold for the weekend, winning the 800m in 2:17.21.�� She was nearly two seconds ahead of her nearest competitor in a large field of 41 women.�� Chappell-Dick also finished fifth in the 400m, clocking at 1:00.72.�� That race had a tight finish, as she was within a quarter of a second of third place.

Elsewhere for the women in Lexington,��(Goshen, Ind./Goshen) and��(Puyallup, Wash./Mountainview International) qualified for ODAC in the 400m, crossing in 1:04.99 and 1:07.12, respectively.�� Schirch also earned a ticket in the 800m with a time of 2:27.70.

The Royals qualified three runners in the 5000m, led by��(Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) in 11th place with a time of 19:32.58.��(Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area)crossed in 19:52.71 and��(Matoaca, Va./Matoaca) clocked at 20:33.23, easily breaking the 21-minute barrier for the first time in her career.

��(Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) and��(Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) participated in the Roanoke meet, and both had runner-up finishes there.�� Bane took second in the discus with a PR throw of 33.20m (108-11ft).�� She just missed third in the hammer throw, settling for fourth at 34.95m (114-8ft).�� Borg PRed in the javelin, taking silver with a distance of 30.78m (101-0ft).

The men had the second- and third-place finishers in the high jump at the W&L Carnival.�� Sophomore��(Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) took silver with the No. 5 jump in �� history, clearing 1.97m (6-5.5ft).��(Dalton, Oh./Central Christian) earned the bronze, having a best height of 1.92m (6-3.5ft).

��(Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) took a conservative approach to his first 3,000m steeplechase experience but still came through with an ODAC qualifying time of 10:45.01 which places him seventh on the �� top-10 list.

��(Sterling, Ill./Sterling) made his outdoor 5,000m debut a solid one as the junior came through with a time of 15:25.08 which was good for seventh place. The time also places him No. 2 on the �� top-10 list. ��(Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) now sits at No. 5 on the �� list with his time of 15:33.46. ��(Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton) also had a solid showing in his outdoor 5000m debut running a personal best time of 16:16.43.

��(Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) finished third in the 800m, clocking at 1:57.06.�� He was just over one second out of first place.��(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) crossed seventh in 1:58.62.�� Both men also qualified for ODACs in the 400m, with Thibodeaux registering a time of :52.30 and Denlinger coming in at :52.79.

Sophomore��(Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) led a large �� contingent in the event, taking tenth in :51.65.��(Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) wasn’t far behind in :52.03, while��(Nelson, Va./Nelson County) was the last of the five Royals in :53.46.

Sprinter��(Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) was sixth in the 200m, timing at :22.62, and was tenth in the 100m in :11.31.��(Appomattox, Va./Appomattox) also qualified for ODACs in the 200m, coming in at :23.16.

��(Staunton Va./Riverheads) highlighted his day by taking third in the shot put in Roanoke, landing at 11.96m (39-3ft).

Coach Jason Lewkowicz said he was very pleased with the start to the outdoor season.

“We had a hard week of training across the board and to see the team perform this well on tired legs is a great sign,” he explained. ��“We were blessed with great weather and great competitive atmospheres.�� With such a young team, it is important that we take each opportunity to go out, compete, and show consistent improvement. ��This weekend was a great step in the right direction.�� We look forward to having a lot of fans come out to support us next Saturday at Bridgewater!”

The Eastern Mennonite track teams give their fans the best chance of the year to see them participate next Saturday, when they compete at the Dr. Harry GM Jopson Invitational hosted by Bridgewater College.

Track teams poised to break more records

James De Boer — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 18:52:21 +0000

How do you improve upon a season in which the team broke 12 different program records?�� If you are �� track & field Coach Jason Lewkowicz, you bring back most of your key performers and throw in another round of skilled recruits for a promising third year of rebuilding the Royals track program.

“I’m really excited to see growth in our track & field program this year,” Lewkowicz said.�� “We have a lot of talented newcomers on the men’s side and a number of All-ODAC performers returning for the women. ��Expectations are high and we are excited about that.”

(Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton) is back for her sophomore season after breaking five Eastern Mennonite middle distance records in her first year.�� For the men, (Dalton, Oh./Central Christian) will look to improve on his incredible growth from last year.�� As a junior transfer, King was talked into trying the high jump by Lewkowicz.�� In his first-ever campaign in the event, King won both the indoor and outdoor ODAC titles, and also broke the �� outdoor record.�� Not bad.

Lewkowicz said that with a balance of faith, team camaraderie and talent, he senses his men and women are poised to reach new heights in 2014.

“We are looking to continue to build off of that success from last year and part of that is the expectation that school records will continue to be broken,” he explained.�� “This adds to the level of excitement on the team because setting records is an indication of performing at a level that will help us as a team at the ODAC level.�� At the end of the day, the goal is to get better each time out and let the accolades come as they will.”

Also back for the men is sophomore (Broadway, Va./Broadway), who took the silver in the 60m hurdles at the ODAC indoor meet and bronze in the 100m hurdles at the outdoor meet.�� For the women, sophomore (Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) was third in 800m outdoor race, finishing just behind Chappell-Dick.�� The women had a distance medley relay team take third at the indoor meet in 2013, and Brumfield, (Gap, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), and (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) all return from that foursome.�� Another sophomore, (Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula), was third in the javelin last spring to round out ��’s athletes who earned an All-ODAC honor last year.

Lewkowicz expects those athletes to be the core of his squads this year, along with (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) in the distance runs, (Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) in the throws and jumper (Canby, Ore./Western Mennonite).�� Garber earned the No. 3 spot in the �� record books in both the indoor and outdoor triple jump as a freshman in 2011, but took the last two years off.�� For men, (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) will help push King in the high jump.�� Last year as a freshman, he broke the school’s indoor high jump record before King took it over.�� Cross country standouts (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) and (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) will lead the distance group.

��’s coach pointed out that the men’s talent level is getting much deeper this year.

“In the hurdles, All-ODAC performer Richard Robinson is joined by talented freshman (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage),” explained Lewkowicz.�� “ (Mechanicsville, Pa./Atlee) and (Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside) highlight a talented group of freshmen sprinters, with (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) and (Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) coming into a middle distance group that could score a lot of points at the ODAC meets.�� Returners (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) and (Nelson, Va./Nelson Country) give us a level of depth that we have not had in years.”

Along with the freshmen men that Lewkowicz pointed out, he noted a handful of returners who might turn heads with the improvements they have made.

“I think Erica Garber will make steady progress as the season goes on,” he said.�� “Juni Schirch and (Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area) missed most of last year due to sickness and injury and I expect them both to do well.�� On the men’s side, Philip Watson and Jonathan Bush are poised to breakout this season.

With a number of Royals runners either competing or training with the cross country team this fall, Lewkowicz explains the transition of the group into the track season.

“Moving out of a successful cross country season, the focus turned to bringing the entire track team together as a unit,” he said.�� “We have a lot of newcomers, some folks returning from/leaving for cross culturals, and some returning from injuries.�� Getting everyone on the same page and focused on the same goals is always a priority.�� We are also putting a lot of emphasis on doing the little things well to help keep us healthy in body, mind and spirit.

After years of running their championship meets with an “open” format, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference has added qualifying standards this year.�� Although the Eastern Mennonite teams continue to grow in number (25 men and 14 women), the benchmarks are more likely to provide nice targets for ��’s athletes rather than limit how many Royals participate.

“At this point, the standards should not have too much of an effect on our team,” said Lewkowicz, “since each school is guaranteed three spots in each event, regardless of time/mark attained, in addition to four ‘wild card’ placements at the ODAC meet.�� While we do have depth in several areas that could leave some folks out, I believe most of our athletes will be able to hit the qualifying mark for their respective event(s).”

The 2013 track season nearly became synonymous breaking records, and the Royals hope to do the same thing in 2014.�� They also want to rise out of the middle of the pack at the ODAC meet.

“We want both teams to improve their finish at the ODAC meet, both for the indoor and outdoor season,” Lewkowicz said.�� “We already saw a school record broken at the December meet and we anticipate a lot more of that taking place over the course of the season.�� It is also my hope that we use our platform as a collegiate team to represent our university well and to glorify Christ through our attitude, effort, humility and sportsmanship.�� He is the giver of all good gifts and we want to honor Him in all that we do.”

The �� teams are in action this weekend at the Liberty Open in Lynchburg.�� The ODAC Indoor Championships are March 2 in Hampton, Va., with nationals two weeks later in Lincoln, Neb.�� The outdoor season then starts on March 22, with the ODAC Outdoor Championships on April 18 and 19.�� After a handful of “last chance” meets, the national outdoor meet is May 22-24 in Delaware, Ohio.

Student photographer captures Obama family handing out Thanksgiving packages at food bank

Paul Souder — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 13:10:41 +0000

When �� sophomore Londen Wheeler learned President Obama would drop by his workplace for a thank-you visit, he knew Nov. 27 would not be a typical day at the office.

Then again, Wheeler was not enrolled in a typical college semester. He was under , a domestic learning experience that includes internships in D.C. Majoring in digital media, Wheeler got to be a communications intern at the .

After 12 short weeks on the job covering events such as the and conducting photojournalism interviews with families who experience hunger, Wheeler’s creative work and dependability had earned the respect of his supervisor. When it was time to tap an “official photographer” to take the prized group photo of food bank staff workers with our nation’s president, Wheeler’s boss entrusted the 19-year-old with the assignment.

Londen Wheeler with his trusty Canon camera. (Photo by Taylor Harrison)

Late afternoon on Thanksgiving eve, with flashing lights along a secure corridor, the presidential motorcade made the 10-minute journey from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to the Food Bank’s cavernous distribution center in the northeast section of the city. Obama and his wife Michelle greeted the assembled food bank workers, thanking them for their efforts to alleviate hunger in the nation’s capital.

That’s when Wheeler’s big moment arrived. All eyes turned to the stepladder where he was perched. “Everybody say ‘food bank’ on three,” he directed the group. With his camera set on burst mode, he captured a cluster of images and checked them in his viewfinder. Obama quizzed the youthful photographer, “Did you get it? Is it good?”

“Yes, sir, I got it,” Wheeler replied. Later he admitted, “I was in awe just being in the same room exchanging small talk with the president of the United States.”

Wheeler was soon ushered into another room to join the official press pool. The first family entered, complete with daughters Sasha and Malia, and took their positions behind a long table laden with food. “I was shooting over the shoulder of , and jostling for position with photographers,” Wheeler said. “We were all trying to grab expressive photos of the first family. They were relaxed, smiling and chatting with the line of children and elderly folks as they handed out Thanksgiving food packages.”

After 10 minutes and more than 200 clicks of his shutter, Wheeler’s dream assignment ended. He had passed the test. “I would have loved having more time to talk with the other photographers in the press pool, to learn how they got into this line of work, to ask them for some career advice.”

Opening doors and expanding horizons are the goals of WCSC, the only program of its kind among Anabaptist universities in the United States. This fall, 10 students from �� and four from were paired with an organization as interns in a career field of their choice. WCSC students also complete undergraduate coursework while living in a home owned by ��, the Nelson Good House (named for WCSC’s founder).

Each Tuesday evening WCSC students take a class entitled “Servant Leadership in an Urban Setting,” led by associate director . Through journal assignments and group discussions, they wrestle with questions of vocational calling. In courses oriented toward social issues, WCSC director , PhD, introduces students to the city’s diverse neighborhoods and encourages them to experience the energy, sights, flavors and sounds of urban life first-hand.

“At the neighborhood level, D.C. is still a friendly southern city,” commented Good. “Neighbors gather on front porches on warm evenings. It’s easy to strike up conversations.” For most students, the WCSC semester is their first exposure to urban living, and many are surprised how much they enjoy the city.

As an African-American student from a rural community on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Wheeler noted it felt exhilarating to get “in touch with the rich diversity of my black heritage, just to live in a neighborhood where I am one of the majority rather than in the minority.”

Next semester when he returns to �� after his Washington sojourn, Wheeler plans to be more involved in the and participate in the Gospel Choir, plus compete on the as a sprinter and middle distance runner. Last summer he was a freelance photographer for the weekly newspaper serving his hometown of Faber, the . He plans to add photography to his major track of study, with the goal of someday working for a large newspaper.

On Thanksgiving Day, after his big day photographing the president, Wheeler loaded his car for the three-hour drive to his home, 25 miles southwest of Charlottesville, Va. His trusty Canon camera held the 200 freshly captured presidential images of his astonishing photo shoot. He had quite a story to share with his family gathered around the Thanksgiving table.

“My parents have a different perspective on this opportunity,” Wheeler said. “They remind me to never settle, to prepare myself for the next step, to make something like this happen every day.”

New Marks Set in �� All-Time Record Book at Commonwealth Duals

James De Boer — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:32:54 +0000

While the �� track and field teams didn’t send full squads to the Commonwealth Duals Saturday in Lynchburg, the Royals did get some nice finishes.�� The men saw a high jumper clear the second-best height in program history, while the women also had a handful of program top ten finishes.

(Dalton, OH/Central Christian) won the high jump by two heights, clearing 1.99m (6-6.25ft).�� His measurement also put him at the No. 2 spot on the �� all-time list, behind only Phil Landes, who cleared 2.03m (6-8ft) in 1987.

(Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) had a good day in the sprints.�� He charted the No. 7 time in �� history in the 200m dash, crossing in 22.73 seconds.�� In the 100m dash, McBride took the No. 8 spot with a time of 11.22.

Distance runner (Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) finished less than a quarter of a second behind Bridgewater’s Luke Sohl in the 800m run.�� The senior’s time of 1:58.47 gave him sixth place at the duals, and the No. 8 spot in the �� books.

(Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) continued to impress in the 400m hurdles, as he set a new personal record at 58.15.�� He was also part of a 4x100m relay team which took the seventh-best time in �� history.�� The team of (Fork Union, VA/Louisa County), McBride, Bush and (Nelson, VA/Nelson County) clocked at 44.00, also taking third at the event.

(Philadelphia, PA/La Salle) was the top �� finisher in the 400m with a time of 52.14.

Allen’s best leap in the long jump landed at 6.46m (21-2.5ft), but he fouled on all three attempts in the triple jump.

(Ooltewah, TN/McCallie School) and (Salina, KS) both competed in the throws.�� Sloan was the top Royal in the shot put at 11.36m (37-3.25ft), while Walker was ahead in the hammer throw at 21.97m (72-1ft). ��Sloan also landed at 44.82m (147-0ft) in the javelin, for fourth at the meet.

The women’s team had fewer athletes participating, but freshman (Bluffton, OH/Bluffton) flashed some top ten times in two events.�� She tried her hand at the shorter distances Saturday and won the 400m dash with the fifth-best time in �� history.�� Chappell-Dick also ran the 200m dash, and finished with the No. 8 time in ��’s books at 27.64 seconds.

(Harrisonburg, VA/Broadway) timed at 5:19.44 in the 1500m run, followed by teammate (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) at 5:26.96.

In the throws, (Strasburg, VA/Strasburg) set a new PR in the hammer throw, with her first heave landing at 34.43m (112-11ft).�� She also had a distance of 27.17m (89-2ft) in the discus.

(Gig Harbor, WA/Peninsula) landed at 24.52m (80-5ft) in the discus and 26.80m (87-11ft) in the javelin.�� ‘s (Archbold, OH/Archbold) best throw in the javelin measured at 19.90m (65-3ft).

Eastern Mennonite’s track teams return to Lynchburg next Saturday for the Liberty Invitational.�� It will be their final tune-up for the ODAC Championships on April 19 & 20.

Royals Open Season Strong At Roanoke Invitational

James De Boer — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:03:33 +0000

The �� track teams made a nice soft entry into the spring outdoor season on Saturday at the Roanoke College Invitational.�� The men took a number of individual first places and won the meet, while the women finished a comfortable third out of the five teams.

(Broadway, VA/Broadway) took second in the 100m hurdles while also charting the No. 5 run in �� history.�� His time of 15.82 in the finals got him a silver behind the winning time of 15.53 from Ben Martindell of Bridgewater.

(Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) won the 400m hurdles in his first try at the event.�� He crossed the finish in 58.34, ahead of Martindell at 59.02.

In the 100m dash, (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) showed the biggest improvement between his preliminary and his finals time, taking second at 11.47.�� He just missed the gold to RC’s Trevor Hunt at 11.43.�� He also won the 200m dash, ahead of teammate (Fork Union, VA/Louisa County).�� McBride broke the tape in 23.28, followed by Allen at 23.56.

(Philadelphia, PA/La Salle) won the 400m by nearly a half second, clocking in at 51.47.

(Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) took the gold in the 1500m run, finishing six seconds ahead of teammate (Wichita, KS/Wichita East).�� Nafziger’s winning time was 4:17.04, while Parker came in at 4:23.00.�� (Mount Joy, PA/Donegal) took sixth place in 4:35.61.

Nafziger and Parker also highlight the 800m.�� Nafziger took fourth with a time of 2:04.70 while Parker also pointed, getting sixth in 2:10.98.

In the relays, the �� team in the 4x100m took second and charted the No. 7 time in �� history.�� The squad of Robinson, Allen, Watson and McBride crossed in 44.04, just behind Bridgewater’s foursome in 43.73.

The 4x400m team didn’t set an �� time, but did manage to win the event at the meet.�� Bush, Robinson, (Nelson, VA/Nelson County) and Watson combined for a time of 3:31.92, winning by more than three seconds.

In the field events, (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) and (Dalton, OH/Central Christian) were in a group of four men who each had a best jump of 1.82m.�� Vrolijk ended up second based on jumps, while King settled for fourth.

Allen won the long jump and took second in the triple jump.�� In the long jump, the senior landed at 6.63m, while in the triple he measured at 12.22m.

(Ooltewah, TN/McCallie School) led the way in the throws.�� He won the javelin with a fling of 47.40m, the No. 7 distance in the �� record books.�� Sloan took third in the hammer throw with the No. 6 measurement in �� history at 32.15m.�� Then in the shot put he just missed gold, getting second in 11.29m, behind the winning throw of 11.54m.

The Royals grabbed 152 points for the team win, ahead of host Roanoke at 142.

On the women’s side, Chafin Brumfield (Harrisonburg, VA/Spotswood) and Jolee Paden (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Odgen) had big days in the middle distances.�� Brumfield won the 800m run in 2:30.35, with Paden taken second in 2:32.77.�� Hannah Patterson (Puyallup, WA/Mountainview International) was fourth in 2:44.27 while Saralyn Mast (Gap, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) took sixth in 2:48.99.

Paden then won the 1500m by 4.51 seconds.�� Her time of 5:05.15 earned the gold and the No. 8 spot in the program records.�� Brumfield also grabbed a No. 8 all-time spot in the 400m.�� She finished third at the meet in 1:03.19.

Becca Borg (Gig Harbor, WA/Peninsula) approached the �� record in the javelin, taking third place at the Roanoke meet in the process.�� Borg speared at 30.18m, which was second in �� history only to Connie Steiner’s throw of 33.08m in 2004.

Alyssa Bane (Strasburg, VA/Strasburg) also earned points in the throws.�� She just missed her PR in the hammer throw, taking fifth at 31.18m.�� In the discus, the sophomore landed at 28.14m, good for sixth place.

The Lady Royals finished with 48 points, taking third place at the meet, ahead of Hood College with 38.�� Host Roanoke easily won with 243 points.

The Eastern Mennonite track teams are busy next weekend, participating in two meets.�� A group of athletes will go to Lexington on Friday and Saturday for the VMI-W&L Carnival.�� Another group will also participate in the Jopson Invitational in nearby Bridgewater.

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