Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

I Hope, Mai Trinh

SURGE

As I have gotten older, I have learned that no matter how hard I try, I am never going to be able to repay my mother for everything that she did for me. The blood, sweat, and tears she put into nurturing the sick and troublesome, five-year-old me, the rebellious and lazy fifteen-year-old me, and the clumsy, and sometimes lost me now, are insurmountable. I know she had more trouble raising me than she was supposed to. I know her first five years of being a mother did not include taking me to the park, sitting down on a park …

A Note From A Naive, Soft-Hearted Liberal, Katia Rubinstein

SURGE

“I’m voting for Trump,” my step-dad announced this summer. Through and through he is Republican, but his backing of Trump still shocked me.

When I asked him why, he said that he thought Trump could bring change while Clinton would only bring the status quo. He wanted, in fewer words, to “Make America Great Again.”

When I provided him with Hitler’s speeches and Goebbels’s propaganda, comparing the threats made to the Jews with those made to undocumented immigrants today, he brushed it off. “It’ll never happen,” he said with a shrug. When I replied with the sentiment of concern, explaining …

Fearless Friday: Yasmine Perry, Yasmine Perry

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This Friday, we are celebrating the work of Yasmine Perry ’17. Yasmine, who is originally from Orange, New Jersey, is a senior at Gettysburg College and is majoring in English and minoring in Math. Currently, she is involved with the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative (SEI), which is a year-long program at Gettysburg College that aims to enable students to impact positive change in their communities, countries, and around the world through social entrepreneurship. Yasmine is also a program coordinator with the Center for Public Service (CPS), working specifically with the LIU Migrant Education program. This …

I Was Assaulted, Anonymous

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TRIGGER WARNING: Contains content about sexual assault

My first assault happened when I was 18. It was the summer after high school and I was at my boyfriend’s graduation party. None of us had much experience drinking and that night my boyfriend, at the time, drank more than he should have. We hadn’t been dating very long; we were still getting to know each other. When the party started to die down we decided to sneak into the basement for some alone time. At first I was unsure what to make of that night. Even though it hurt and I …

I'M In Pain, But You Can't See It, Anonymous

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Two weeks after I returned home from my freshman year at Gettysburg, I suffered a nervous breakdown. I couldn’t get out of bed even though I was unable to sleep. I had no appetite and it felt like pins and needles were constantly poking at my hands and feet. I spent hours wishing for sleep so that I could get some relief, yet I felt so terrified of the possibility that dreams would follow unconsciousness that I turned lights on, played loud music, and sat at my desk in an attempt to do anything that would prevent me from falling …

Fearless Friday: Taylor Bury, Taylor B. Bury

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This week, SURGE is pleased to feature Taylor Bury ’16 as Gettysburg’s Fearless Leader!

Taylor is a senior at Gettysburg College. She is a Biology Major from York, Pennsylvania. She has been involved with Student Senate since her first year on campus, rising through the ranks to serve as its President. [excerpt]

Fearless: Raksmeymony Yin, Raksmeymony Yin

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This summer, Raksmeymony Yin ’14, otherwise known as Rex, fearlessly taught from his own lesson plans, graded students’ papers, and organized brand new curriculums as one of twelve interns at the Breakthrough Collaborative in Philadelphia. During the nine-week program, Rex worked long hours in and outside of the classroom, effecting change by investing in the education of dozens of middle school students.

Fearless: Nadejiah Towns, Nadejiah Z. Towns

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This week we would like to recognize Nadejiah Towns ’15 as a fearless fighter against poverty. This summer she has served as a Heston intern for the South Central Community Action Program (SCCAP) and has spent the majority of her time with the Work Ready program, a “welfare to work” organization that helps low-income community members gain the skills needed to by obtaining a reliable, professional job and become self-sufficient.

Brown Eyes, Brown Mind: What We Learn From What We See, Mauricio E. Novoa

SURGE

My summer days aren’t spent in a house on the beach or travelling to different states or countries with my family or friends, forgetting about the worries of the rest of the year and wondering what could be better than life under the sun. They are spent in a school building, the first place my younger self would have been eager to escape during off time. This is the second summer I am working at the LIU Migrant Education Summer School of Excellence. Unlike normal summer school, which usually consists of remedial classes for students who can’t seem to …

Fearless: The Class Of 2013, Center For Public Service

SURGE

This week Surge wants to recognize all of the Gettysburg College graduates who will use what they learned and experienced over the past four years to fearlessly promote change, seek justice, and challenge inequality after leaving Gettysburg College. The following list contains the names of all of the members of the class of 2013 who have been recognized by other members of the campus community as leaders of change, and we are proud to claim these fearless and inspirational students as our own. [excerpt]