Volume Sixteen 2016
Editor's Introduction
Your Juniata Balance Sheet
Kathy Baughman
Opening Convocation, 27 August 2015
Kathy Baughman, Swigart Associates Assistant Professor of Business & Economics at Juniata College, reminds the incoming Class of 2019 to see their Juniata “balance sheets”—which include coursework, study abroad, and the Juniata community—both as assets and as debts.
The New Coyote and Deer Predation
David Samuel
17 September 2015
David Samuel, Class of 1962, explains why coyotes in the eastern United States, which have hybridized with wolves, are such effective predators of deer. The coyotes are bigger, more aggressive, and in particular, have an impressive mobility that dooms any predator management program that relies on trapping. When a resident coyote is trapped and removed, a transient simply replaces it.
Stories That No One Has Asked For
Jay Hosler
Bookend Seminar, 23 September 2015
Jay Hosler, Professor of Biology at Juniata College, is the author of Last of the Sandwalkers, a graphic novel telling the adventures of five beetles. It is a story that no one asked for, so why tell it? Hosler explains his motivations as he walks through the process of creating the book, from the initial sketch to the promotional tour.
Two Poems
Julia Spicher Kasdorf
7 October 2015
Julia Spicher Kasdorf is a Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Pennsylvania State University. She offers two poems from her book Poetry in America: “Elegy Against –, Ten Years Later” and “Poetry in America.”
Financial Inclusion and Socio-Economic Transformation in Post-Apartheid South Africa
Elizabeth Nanziri
12 October 2015
Elizabeth Nanziri, a Doctoral graduate in Economics from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, provides a brief overview of apartheid in South Africa, an evaluation of South Africa’s financial and social institutions since apartheid’s end, and a comparison to the United States.
Works and Daze: The Antiquarian Meets the Agrarian
Steve Rutledge
27 October 2015
Steve Rutledge, a former professor of the classics, describes the relationship between the classics and his current life as an organic farmer. He shows how we can still learn lessons from ancient Greece and Rome, and perhaps better understand the world by farming our own.
Hacking the Tech in Little Brother
Gerald Kruse
Bookend Seminar, 28 October 2015
Gerald Kruse is the John ’54 and Irene ’58 Dale Professorship in Mathematics at Juniata College. Cory Doctorow’s novel Little Brother, Juniata’s 2015 summer reading, is set in a near-future surveillance state. Kruse compares the technology featured in the book to the technology present in our lives today.
How They Got Over: A Brief Overview of Black Gospel Quartet Music
Jerry Zolten
29 October 2015
Jerry Zolten, Associate Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences, American Studies, and Integrative Arts at Penn State University-Altoona, surveys the origins and development of the black gospel quartet. He supplies many examples of recordings and performances that illustrate the elements of the form and how they have changed.
This Ain’t Your Parents’ Civil Rights Movement
Cori Bush, Christine Hendricks, Calvin Kennedy, Jihad Khayyam, and Ebony Williams,
4 November 2015
The presenters are all members of Ferguson Frontline, an organization that arose after the shooting death of Michael Brown on 9 August 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. They spoke about why they became active in the protests that followed the shooting, their experiences with police violence, and how their actions differ from those of a previous generation of civil rights activists.
Highlights from a Sabbatical in Nutritional Medicine
Deb Kirchoff-Glazier
Bookend Seminar, 20 January 2016
Deb Kirchoff-Glazier, Professor of Biology at Juniata College, teaches nutrition from a food-as-medicine perspective. After a sabbatical spent taking classes in the whole-foods-based Master of Science in Nutrition program at the National College of Natural Medicine, Kirchoff-Glazier offers insights on how new findings on nutrition can lead to better personal health.
Peace Studies and Justice: A State of the Field Address
Matt Meyer
18 February 2016
Matt Meyer, Founding Chair of the Peace and Justice Studies Association, discusses the history and development of several organizations dedicated to peace and justice. Explaining the need to build effective twenty-first century movements, he sets out the challenges and opportunities for these organizations as they grow and respond to this current period of crisis.
Oneida Indian Nation: A Personal History
Kandice Watson
25 February 2016
Kandice Watson, Director of Education and Cultural Outreach for the Oneida Indian Nation, tells the story of the Oneida from the period of the American Revolution (and their decision to side with the patriots) to the twenty-first century, including her own experiences on the reservation.
Faith Without Works’: Speech as Action for Justice
Julia McMurry
Bailey Oratorical Contest, 1 March 2016
Julia McMurry, Class of 2018, discusses the importance of creating dialogues and being willing to listen. Focusing on free speech and inclusivity, McMurry touches on issues such as the partisanship of regional and national politics, campus discourse, sexism, civil rights, and racism. This speech won first place in the 2015 Bailey Oratorical Contest.
The Politics of Compassion in a World of Ruthless Power
Kevin Clements
14 March 2016
Kevin Clements is the Foundation Chair of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otato, Dunedin, New Zealand. He examines our modern political world—one dominated by fear, inequality, greed, and war—and offers instead the politics of compassion as a way to secure the welfare of our communities.
Dr. Strange-Olive, or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Live with Invasive Species
Norris Muth
Bookend Seminar, 16 March 2016
Norris Muth, Associate Professor of Biology at Juniata College, discusses the nature of invasive species and the impact these “nonnative” species have on the environment. He shows that not all green is good for the environment.
Just Policing: Constitutional Policing and Nonviolence in a Context of Structural Racism
Chet Epperson and Samuel Sarpiya
21 March 2016
In Rockford, Illinois, Epperson (a retired police chief) and Sarpiya (a pastor) have worked together since 2014 to promote community collaboration, violence prevention, and the education of police officers in the principles of constitutional, nonviolent policing. They describe the methods used, and progress made, towards the goal of having the police and community work together in partnership.
Who Were the Women Buried in Early Anglo-Saxon Cemeteries?
Robin Fleming
22 March 2016
Robin Fleming, Professor of History at Boston College, challenges the conventional understanding of Anglo-Saxon life by using newer techniques to analyze archaeological remains and grave goods. She highlights the role women played, and suggests a far more multicultural England in the era after Roman rule.
Women and Effective Leadership
Jo Young Switzer
5 April 2016
Jo Young Switzer, President Emerita of Manchester University, shares five lessons on leadership. Drawing on her experiences as a university president and from interviews she conducted with women in leadership, Switzer discusses the value of persistence, patience, boldness, listening, and a thick skin, as well as the costs and sacrifices of leadership.
They Can Live in the Desert But Nowhere Else: Explaining the Armenian Genocide One Hundred Years Later
Ronald Suny
Genocide Awareness and Action Week
11 April 2016
Ronald G. Suny, the William H. Sewell, Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan, discusses why, when, and how the Armenian genocide occurred during a time of national and cultural transformation in the Ottoman Empire.
Spending Time with Family and Friends in the Juniata Valley
Benjamin Sunderland
Spring Awards Convocation, 3 May 2016
Benjamin Sunderland, Jr., Professor of Mathematics at Juniata College, is a devoted genealogist. He reflects on stories of family and friends and encourages students to take the spirit of Juniata with them when they graduate.
Juniata: You and Me
Betty Ann Cherry
138th Juniata College Commencement, 14 May 2016
Betty Ann Cherry, Professor Emerita of History at Juniata College, tells graduates in the Class of 2016 the importance of initiating and maintaining relationships, as they are essential to the human condition. In order to be fully human, we must value and nurture our relationships throughout our lives.