The Beatitudes Society | Strengthening the progressive Christian network for justice, compassion, & peace

Zeitgeist 23.0: School's Out (for some)

Submitted by Alex Carpenter on May 4, 2007 - 9:05pm.

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(World)

I found this video of Iraqi graduate students strangely compelling. First, the usual mix of quotidian stuff flashes by-- exams, summer plans, travel, work, the FUTURE. It seems familiar to anyone around school this time of year, but then one realizes, oh yeah, they all want to get the hell out of their own country.

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(America)

From the Associated Press:
KENT, Ohio — Campus tragedies separated by more than a generation linked Kent State and Virginia Tech universities on Friday, as students on the Ohio campus marked the shooting deaths 37 years apart.

A bell on the campus of Kent State — rung each year to mark the Ohio National Guard shooting deaths of four students during anti-war protests on May 4, 1970 — first rang out 32 times to honor victims slain April 16 at Virginia Tech by a rampaging gunman.

"I choked up. It's an emotional thing," said senior Sarah Lund-Goldstein, who is part of the campus group that organized the commemoration. "We feel it's very important to understand that a grieving campus is not just one from 37 years ago."

At the midday ceremony, a crowd of 200 to 300 sat on a sun-drenched, grassy hillside and heard speakers memorialize the Kent State students.

Mary Ann Vecchio, 51, of Miami, the subject of a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo showing her with arms outstretched over the body of shooting victim Jeffrey Miller, told the gathering her experience that day will always be with her.

"Time has passed. Time goes on. We miss you here today," she said, invoking Miller's memory. "I'll always be here at Kent for you."

Other speakers sought to connect the protests of the Vietnam War then with opposition to the war in Iraq now.

Kent State student John Behnken, 21, expressed concern for soldiers in Iraq.

"We're sending them there, and when they come back we're not taking care of them," he said. "It's kind of like Vietnam all over again."

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(Community)

Here are The Beatitudes Society interns this summer. Congratulations!

United Religions Initiative: Ashley Wright (Iliff School of Theology)

The Regeneration Project: Audrey deCoursey (Pacific School of Religion/GTU)

The Regeneration Project: Jeff Gottlieb (Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley/GTU)

United Religions Initiative: Justin R. Cannon (Church Divinity School of the Pacific/GTU)

PICO/Oakland Community Organizations: Ryan Sommers Baum (Pacific School of Religion/GTU)

African American Ministers Council: Kini Spady (Howard University School of Divinity)

Episcopal Public Policy Network: John Harkins (Vanderbilt Divinity School)

Catholic Alliance for the Common Good: Krista Stevens (Weston Jesuit School of Theology)

Sojourners: Leigh Rogers (Union Theological Seminary)

Children's Defense Fund: Barbara Calvin (The Divinity School at Wake Forest)

Faith in Public Life: Matthew Sudnik (Harvard Divinity School)

Bread for the World: Emily Kuhn (Yale Divinity School)
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(Scripture)

I AM--spoken word by Eric Mata.

"I Am" refers to the leaders of today who recognize the struggles of past leaders and victims whose shoulders we stand on. The muffled voices in the front portion are a metaphor to the oppressed voices of the past and present. This video was played at the American Multicultural Student Leadership Conference at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to set the tone for the event.