Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Cheating The Textbook System, Hana Huskic

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The price of my German textbook is equal to three months of rent with utilities back home. My books for Introduction to Cultural Anthropology equal the cost of feeding my family for a whole month. But these aren’t news. American Enterprise Institute reports that the college textbook prices “are 812 percent higher than they were a little more than three decades ago.”

Some students came to Gettysburg aware of costs, so they moved into first year dorms armed with Amazon Prime memberships and accounts on sites for renting textbooks. Some looked for classes that offer cheaper (or no) textbooks in …

Distancing Strategies, Exclusive Clusters And Other Ironies Of My American Peers, Mai Trinh

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Being able to study abroad is a huge privilege. I am very lucky to have been given that privilege twice. I was accepted to Gettysburg College two and a half years ago, and studied abroad in the United States. Now, I am studying abroad again in Copenhagen, Denmark with a program that connects many colleges and universities in the US. It has been a month now and I am having a good time.

But my first few weeks in Copenhagen were not the same as my first few weeks in Gettysburg. Strangely enough, it was much more uncomfortable and harder …

Speaking Out, Mariam J. Martinez

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Why can we not take action now? I asked myself this question when, as a program coordinator for the Women’s Center I decided to take part in the Vagina Monologues because I wanted to change them- monologues that are centered on the experiences of white, upper-class cis-gender women. [excerpt]

On White Guilt., Emma R. Okell

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I didn’t always realize what white guilt was, only that it existed. It’s not as cut-and-dry as it seems. It actually took me years to understand it, which is why I was not surprised when at the Town Hall Meeting back in January, one person asked a question about how to be an ally. Specifically, I found myself reflecting on her concerns regarding “white guilt” (44:01 – 45:25). I wanted to respond, but from the audience it felt out of place, and as it is, my response took two months of putting my thoughts together. [excerpt]

Whose Story? His-Story., Meghan E. O'Donnell

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The essay instructions finally landed in front of me. I passed the extra sheets on and quickly glanced over the page, hoping that the prompt would be inspiring. There were two open-ended options from which to choose: military and social/political aspects of the war. My eyes first fell upon the social option and I pondered using this opportunity to shed light on the experiences of women during the war. I’d done this before – used assignments to explore history’s untold stories – and found it interesting. Then, in a fit of frustration that erupted out of nowhere, I thought to …

Q&A: Privilege And Allyship, Anonymous

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Question: I’ve always wondered about this: as a white, heterosexual male person who cares about the way minorities and marginalized populations are treated, what gives me the right to feel offended or call someone out on something they say that’s a definite gray area when I don’t belong to that group? I believe that as a privileged individual it is my responsibility to advocate as an ally but it would conversely be an exercise of my privilege if I were to be the one to decide what is and isn’t offensive to a whole group of people I don’t belong …