Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Fearless: Yaou Liu, Yaou Liu

SURGE

Humbly and passionately serving the campus community as a true “servant leader” for the past three-and-a-half years, actively engaging in dialogues and initiatives to promote awareness about social injustices, and constantly striving to learn more, act more, and teach more, Yaou Liu ’14, is a fearless role model for the campus community, showing in everything she does a restless passion to see the injustices in the world righted, awareness increased, and the future changed for the better. She is an inspiring, courageous student who has enriched the lives of many both on campus and in the greater Gettysburg community, using …

Challenging Homelessness, Elizabeth D. Marshall

SURGE

I had been homeless for about 28 hours. I sat on a sidewalk in Georgetown with a friend holding a cardboard sign that read, “Put a Smile on Our Faces” with a Dunkin Donuts cup at our feet. In the two and a half hours we sat there, hundreds of people passed, hundreds of people avoided eye contact, hundreds of people detoured around the lamppost on the street side of the sidewalk. A few people glanced at our sign. [excerpt]

Red Drops For A Rainbow, Zakiya A. Brown

SURGE

Splashes of pool water licked my ankles, scenting my coffee-colored toes with chlorine. Bareback guardians, robed in red, hovered high as flocks of fleshy tangible innocence skipped jubilantly across the pool deck and disappeared into a wet square pocket of sapphire. [excerpt of poem]

Fearless (Saturday): Michael Hannum, Michael W. Hannum

SURGE

In celebration of Alumni Homecoming Weekend and Hispanic Heritage Week, we proudly feature Michael Hannum, member of the Class of 2011, for his fearless commitment to fighting for social justice issues and his continued involvement in serving the Adams County community. Currently working with the Lincoln Intermediate Unit’s Migrant Education Program as a Recruitment Coordinator, Michael began finding his passion for helping identify families in the migrant community who need extra educational support when he was a first-year student just looking for something to do. [excerpt]

Fearless: Nadejiah Towns, Nadejiah Z. Towns

SURGE

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.

The Forgotten "-Ism", Eric P. Harris

SURGE

“I’d rather not. I don’t like to talk to old people. They make me uncomfortable. They kind of smell weird and make me think about death. Some of them are even racist, so I’d just rather not.”

As part of my internship this summer, in which I helped to coordinate the Friday evening dinners at the Gettysburg Senior Center, putting out advertisements to “hang out with old people” wasn’t exactly an easy task. [excerpt]

Fearless: Diversity Peer Educators, Center For Public Service

SURGE

The Diversity Peer Educators was started in the Fall of 2012 with the vision of starting conversations about and advocating for diversity issues and inclusion on this campus. Right off the bat, twelve students (of all different class years) were trained in how to facilitate those conversations and lead activities that make those conversations a little easier. Now, there are seventeen DPEs fearlessly making change at Gettysburg College. [excerpt]

Fearless: Cassi Franz, Cassi L. Franz

SURGE

Cassi Franz ’13 has been fearlessly leading this year’s Day of Service. The Day of Service occurs annually and honors Emily Silverstein, a student who passed away in 2009. Emily contributed to Gettysburg’s campus community and beyond through her compassion as well as her passion for social justice. Noor Oweis ’11 started the day of service in 2010 to honor her friend, and now Cassi carries on that tradition. [excerpt]

Fearless: Immersion Projects, Center For Public Service

SURGE

Students on an Immersion Project in New Orleans are definitely doing some great work this week! The students spent part of the week working with Grow Dat Youth Farm in New Orleans City Park, an organization that hires youth from the city to work at the farm. They sell 60% of their organically grown food at whole food markets and restaurants and they donate the rest to their student workers. The organization strives to teach their volunteers responsibility, team work and commitment. [excerpt]