The Obama administration emphasized charter schools as a reform strategy; early indications from the Trump administration signal a wholesale drive toward expanded “choice” options. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is now the highest-profile advocate for school choice, arguing alongside other proponents for liberalized regulation and financing for the expansion of charter schools. In their estimation, … Continue reading Speculative Charter School Growth in the Case of UNO Charter School Network in Chicago by Ryan Good & Benjamin Teresa
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Take Back The Night Through The Eyes of a Peacebuilder by Ben Rush
The first full week of November EMU held their annual Take Back The Night week. This event’s purpose is to prevent sexual violence by educating, creating spaces to address the issue, and having conversations. This year, I had the opportunity to be involved in some of the planning. I ended up helping to plan an … Continue reading Take Back The Night Through The Eyes of a Peacebuilder by Ben Rush
After “Unite the Right”: a Nonviolent Direct Action Training at EMU by Anna Messer
Nation-wide fear, hostility, and anger peaked on August 11th and 12th 2017, when activists, including white supremacists and counter-protestors, violently clashed at the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In part, the white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups came out to protest and rally against the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue, one of … Continue reading After “Unite the Right”: a Nonviolent Direct Action Training at EMU by Anna Messer
A Reflection on the 2017 MCC UN Conference by Harrison Horst
Members of Peace Fellowship, EMU’s Peacebuilding & Development student organization, recently attended the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) United Nations annual student seminar on “Migration, Faith, and Action” in New York City. This week we feature three reflections from that trip on the PXD Blog (read the first and second posts). This final post is by … Continue reading A Reflection on the 2017 MCC UN Conference by Harrison Horst
A Reflection on the 2017 MCC UN Conference by Winifred Gray-Johnson & Noah Haglund
Members of Peace Fellowship, EMU’s Peacebuilding & Development student organization, recently attended the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) United Nations annual student seminar on “Migration, Faith, and Action” in New York City. This week we feature three reflections from that trip on the PXD Blog (read the first and third posts). The second is a collaborative … Continue reading A Reflection on the 2017 MCC UN Conference by Winifred Gray-Johnson & Noah Haglund
A Reflection on the 2017 MCC UN Conference by Elizabeth Witmer
Members of Peace Fellowship, EMU’s Peacebuilding & Development student organization, recently attended the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) United Nations annual student seminar on “Migration, Faith, and Action” in New York City. This week we feature three reflections from that trip on the PXD Blog (read the second and third posts). The first is a post … Continue reading A Reflection on the 2017 MCC UN Conference by Elizabeth Witmer
Grad School Q & A: Jessica Sarriot ’11, pursuing a master’s in public affairs at Princeton
Jessica Sarriot is a 2011 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), where she majored in peacebuilding and development with minors in pre-law and political studies. Since earning her bachelor’s degree, she has worked for Mennonite Central Committee in Colombia and the Industrial Areas Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. She also traveled to five countries to work on independent research about civil … Continue reading Grad School Q & A: Jessica Sarriot ’11, pursuing a master’s in public affairs at Princeton
Life Goes On: The Importance of Peacebuilding During Conflict by Kaitlin Heatwole
When I accepted a three-year contract as Mennonite Central Committee’s program coordinator for Iraq in fall 2013, I did not expect to be thrown into a conflict setting. At that time Iraq was relatively stable, with US troops withdrawn, sectarian violence in decline, and nothing big on the news. I envisioned applying my PXD degree … Continue reading Life Goes On: The Importance of Peacebuilding During Conflict by Kaitlin Heatwole
The Face of Systematic Racism (Part 2) by Katrina Poplett
This post is the continuation of a reflection I wrote in the midst of my Peacebuilding & Development summer practicum doing restorative justice work in Minneapolis, MN with the organization Restorative Justice Community Action. My reflection centers on my interactions with a woman who had been abused by the U.S. judicial system. To read the … Continue reading The Face of Systematic Racism (Part 2) by Katrina Poplett
The Face of Systematic Racism (Part 1) by Katrina Poplett
Tensions in Minneapolis, Minnesota were elevated this summer, by the trial and acquittal of a police officer who shot Phillando Castille, an innocent black man, and other incidents of police violence. I call Minneapolis my home, and it was challenging to know how to become involved in dismantling a system of discrimination. To fulfill my Peacebuilding … Continue reading The Face of Systematic Racism (Part 1) by Katrina Poplett