The first edition of Global Voices, a multilingual affiliate of The Weather Vane newspaper, is hot off the presses and ready to pick up at campus newsstands.
The publication launched on April 18 and features the contributions of 28 students in EMU’s Intensive English Program (IEP) written in their own native languages. Articles in the 12-page issue are written in Belarusian, Dari, Farsi, French, Kurdish, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian. They feature stories by students from Afghanistan, Belarus, Brazil, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Iraqi Kurdistan, Kazakhstan, Puerto Rico, Russia, Ukraine and Venezuela. Near the back of the issue, a series of summaries written in English translates their journeys to the U.S. and their experiences learning English.
Two IEP students and three IEP teachers provided edits for the paper, while six Weather Vane staffers designed the pages for publication. A thousand copies of the paper were printed and distributed.
Senior Hannah Landis and junior Zack Furr, co-founders of Global Voices and co-editors-in-chief of The Weather Vane during the fall 2023 semester, tossed around the idea last summer for translated versions of the student newspaper. They realized they didn’t have the resources for that idea, but discovered a different invaluable resource: the students enrolled in IEP.
“We wanted to recognize them as students at EMU,” Landis said. “We feel like they’re not necessarily the first people you think of when you think of the average EMU student, but they’re just as much a part of our community.”
Furr agreed.
“The primary goal of this is giving a voice to those whose voices have been underrepresented in the 100-plus years that EMU has existed,” he said.
The student writers and editors were compensated for their work — an Inclusive Excellence Grant from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion funded their paychecks as well as all printing costs.
“We couldn’t have done this without the IEP,” Landis said. “Having them here on campus and getting to work with them was such a privilege.”
“They did a ton of the heavy lifting,” Furr added.
Landis will be graduating at Commencement this weekend with degrees in Spanish language & Hispanic studies and writing studies. Furr, whose majors are in digital media and communications and photography, said he plans to take on the task next spring with a second edition.
“We hope to keep it going and get people passionate about it to continue working on it even after we’re gone,” he said.
Global Voices was funded by the Inclusive Excellence Grants, Office of DEI, EMU. Thanks to the Office of DEI, Melissa May and the IEP faculty and staff, Jerry Holsopple, Adam Hoover, Thomas Erickson, Kirsten Beachy, The Weather Vane, and all the writers and editors from IEP. The Global Voices production staff included Doran Kennedy, Caleb Stoltzfus, Will Blosser and Erika Lopez.
Thanks for sharing your stories!!
Wonderful creation!! Thanks for providing space for students from around the world to sharing their stories in their native languages. Truly embodies the spirit of EMU!