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Show NEWS Social justice at Snowbird A7 Campus and community coming together for good cause Recognition for 34 years of service By Gladis Higginbotham Asst. News Editor Five students and Alexis Palmer, director of the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center, packed up their belongings and headed out to a social justice retreat at the Snowbird Lodge and Resort during fall break. Universities from all over the state who are members of the Utah Campus Compact met for this retreat. Utah Campus Compact is a nonprofit organization that helps train students twice a year on different issues concerning service; however, this year the theme was social justice. J. 1 fir 1 ft- r £ i * It was an excellent opportunity for students to really examine social justice." By Danni Freeman News Writer Utah Valley Technical College, Utah Valley Community College, Utah Valley State College and Utah Valley University. Professor Elaine Englehardt has been here through them all. Englehardt was recognized for her 34 years of service to this school on Oct. 19 when she received the 2010 Distinguished Faculty Award. The award was presented to Englehardt after she was invited to give a lecture entitled "Ethical Complexities of the 2008 Financial Crisis." This award marks the fifth annual recognition given out by UVU Foundation. ANOTHER HABITAT HOME Spon»nfid B> Gilbert Cl$nero$/UVU Review Alexis Palmer Bob Dunn, DeWayne Erdmann, Michelle Mariscal and children, Sadie and Fred Brewer, and UVU Vice President and Habitat board member Vale Hale break ground for the Mariscal family's home in Springville. -Alexis Palmer The Building Construction department and the Volunteer & Service-Learning Center have teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to build a home for a family in need. The facilitators for this retreat were Tracy Healy, who is the program coordinator for Utah Campus Compact; George Emilio Sanchez, a performance artist, facilitator and professor at the College of Staten Island in New York; By Tom Larsen "Maybe someone wants to spon- for students in the Building Conand Ben Nowell, a very successful sor a little girl's bedroom," Palmer struction department to develop real News Writer Utah native, now based in New said. "Then they'll go in and paint life skills. York, who graduated from Gonza"This is a vehicle for students to The new home being built for the bedroom and get a few things ga University and has been in the work on," said DeWayne Erdmann, the Mariscal family will be the third for the room and decorate it." business of facilitating trainings The partnership between UVU Associate Professor of the Buildhouse that UVU and Habitat for Huall over the country for the last 14 and Habitat for Humanity started ing Construction department. "They manity have worked on together. years. The Mariscal family includes with the help of President Seder- can see first hand how things are "It was an excellent opportua single mother, Michelle, and her burg and Palmer in 2007. Sederburg done." nity for students to really examine , There will be between 12 to 18 two children. The groundbreaking heard about a school that had done it social justice from their perspecfor their home was Wednesday, Oct. back east and wanted UVU to have students working on the house for tive and to see what they can do at 20, in Springville. It was attended some sort of community involve- two semesters. They will work on UVU. It was really one of-the-best ment. the house 18 hours a week. They by more than 25 people. conferences I've been to," said will do everything from concrete to _ . _ . "It's a campus and community t< Palmer^'-1 ' ~"^" J ^ C r ^ T * " ^ 1 ^ * coming together to do the home," drywall; they will not, however, be -• Social justicfe means different doing the plumbing and electrical said Alexis Palmer, the director for fi fit's a campus things for different people, accordwork. the Volunteer and Service-Learning and community ing to Service Council member Habitat for Humanity will proCenter. Aryel Gladden. vide the majority of the money for coming together The first home built through "I think definitely with service the project; however, the school the combined efforts of UVU and to [build a] it is more than just charity. It is helps with some of the funding Habitat for Humanity was built more like lending out your hand, through room sponsoring and the home.* J in Orem during 2007-08 and the I mean, really doing it," she said. work that the Building Construction second was built in Provo during -Alexis Palmer "It is a step above that, hitting the students do. the 2009-10 academic year. issue at the core and improving it, If interested in sponsoring a Building Construction students will bettering it, instead of just helping room, contact Alexis Palmer at the do the majority of the building on "He approached me and it took Volunteer and Service-Learning the house') Then campus clubs, stu, .'•: JMiriam Abraham, another dent organizations and departments about a year of partnership develop- Center in LC 210. member of the service council across campus will have the oppor- ment. We got every thing figured agrees with Gladden. tunity to sponsor a specific room in out and started it," Palmer said. "Coming to this conference has This is also a great opportunity the home. made me realize that there's more to it, there's deeper things to it, she said. "There's respect for human rights, which includes respect for people who don't believe the same things you believe, keeping a certain balance with that." The retreat was limited to five students per campus this year, but Healy said that opening it up to maybe 10-15 people will be a possibility next year. She was pleased with the results and all the projects the students came up with during the retreat. "I said the results were great. I think we'll always keep the social justice element in the background, but we may focus more on a theme and take it from different angles," said Nowell. Courtesy of stockxehange The Freedom Writer's Foundation president, Erin Gruwell will speak on Oct. 26. Nowell was very satisfied with the results as well. He mentioned that a lot of good things are already happening with service in Utah, so he mostly focused on life and to consider their futures. with actress Hilary Swank playing bringing more of the awareness By Jason Nowa News Writer Gruwell created an eventual posi- Gruwell. of social justice issues, more of tive change in the students and they Gruwell travels nationwide the inequalities that people are exwrote about their story in The Freespeaking at different conferences On Tuesday, Oct. 26, the Freeperiencing in the community and dom Writers Diary: How a Teacher about diversity and uniting differmake that part of what students dom Writer's Foundation president, were thinking as they were plan- Erin Gruwell, will be speaking in the and 150 Teens Used Writing to ent cultural backgrounds and races Change Themselves and the World together. Her biggest accomplishning and implementing the service Grande Ballroom from 12-1 p.m. Around Thdfh, Freedom Writers. ments were done in the juvenile halls Gruwell became a high school projects. or inner city schools she speaks at. Gruwell and her students have teacher at Woodrow Wilson High "The results of the retreat exnow raised hope across the nation Gruwell will be speaking for apin Long Beach, California in 1994 ceeded my expectations and I about accepting all races and backproximately 45 minutes, allowing think that they met all the objec- while attending college. She was tives that I hoped would come introduced to many of the students grounds. They together have ap- the last 15 minutes for a book signfrom something like this," Palmer tr^at were involved in gang vio- peared on television shows such as ing opportunity. Gruwell will also be holding a said. "I was really impressed; I've lence Juvenile detention centers and Oprah and Good Morning America. Their story has been printed in question and answer session before drugs. Many administrators had been involved in conferences for newspapers and in People magaher noon presentation. This will be written off these students as future students like these in terms of zine. Paramount Pictures released a held at SC 206 at 11 a.m. on the service, volunteerism, specific dropouts, but Gruwell gave them a movife entitled FREEDOM WRITsame day. • engagements and social justice second chance. ERS in January 2007 about GruShe inspired many of them to for over ten years now and this is change the way they thought about well's experience with the students, probably the best one I've seen." Freedom Writers' Erin Gruwell to speak i «* I loved teaching from the moment I entered the classroom, and I still love it today. 5 5 -Elaine Englehardt "It's a recognition award for distinguished service to Utah Valley University," said David Yells, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, who nominated Englehardt for this award. Every year each dean nominates one individual they feet has really done a lot to improve this school. These nominations are then sent to the foundation and they announce a winner. "I've been here 10 years now, and the whole time I've been here Elaine has always been someone who seems to have the best interest of Utah Valley University and" bur students at heart," Yells said. "She contributes in an unimaginable variety of ways." Englehardt began working for the school in 1976 as an instructor for the journalism classes and an advisor for the student newspaper. Since then, it is hard to keep track of everything she has done. The list goes on and on, and it's rare to find a student who has not benefited from her work in one way or another. She had a big role in the development of the Center for the Study of Ethics, which has been nationally recognized for its efforts in the field of ethics. She publishes scholarly work regularly and has written five books. *? Englehardt is invited to give lectures around the country, which helps bring recognition to tfie school. She has developed many TV courses for Ethics and Values, which are broadcast across the state. Additionally, she supervised the Woodbury Art Gallery, spent lp years helping develop the Capital Reef Field Station and more recently has been the school's congressional liaison, helping secure funding for a variety of initiatives acroSs campus. <; "And she teaches and is a great teacher," Yells said. ? When presented with the awarij, Englehardt commented that sfte never thought that she would fe honored as a recipient of this awarp. "I am truly humbled," she tcO^d those in attendance as she accepted a check to help continue her work and research. J! "She is an amazing woman, iyi— side and outside of the classroom!/' said Caitlin Anderson, a philosopBy major who is currently working as*ia teacher's aid for an Ethics and Values course Englehardt is teachujk through distance education. "Stoe deserved this award." Jfr When it comes down to it, IMJglehardt has done all of these thinjjs because of her love of the schoM and the students. a "I loved teaching from the moment -^entered the classroom," Englehardt said, "and I still love it today." * |