Eastern Mennonite University Conflict-Free Resolution

Eastern Mennonite University Conflict-Free Resolution

Date: March 13, 2013

Sponsored by: Mennonite Central Committee D.C. Office, Student Government Association, Information Services, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Bible and Religion Department, Campus Ministries, Judy Mullet, Barrett Hart

Authored by: Peace Fellowship

Passed by: Eastern Mennonite University President’s Cabinet

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Whereas, Eastern Mennonite University has declared its commitment to human rights and social justice in its governance documents and policies, including stated core values such as faith and fellowship, service to others, sustainability, global community, and peacebuilding; EMU recognizes that “We live in an increasingly connected world.  Here we ask ourselves how our choices affect others across the globe;” and

Whereas, Eastern Mennonite University has taken affirmative steps throughout its history to promote these values by organizing peace vigils, offering counseling and mediation, helping to organize Walk for Hope, supporting the Dream Act, requiring cross-culturals, promoting interfaith dialogue including joining the community’s stand in support of a local mosque after it was defaced, educating students about social justice issues, and influencing graduates who work in social justice and peacebuilding all over the world; and

Whereas, the United States Senate and the House of Representatives have found that armed groups bear responsibility for massive atrocities in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo; and

Whereas, legislation signed into law (Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010) requires that companies submit an annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing whether their products contain gold, tin, tantalum, or tungsten from the Congo or nearby areas; and

Whereas, the International Rescue Committee has found more than 5.4 million civilians have been killed between 1998 and 2007 and countless more remain at risk as a consequence of attacks conducted by armed groups in eastern Congo; and

Whereas, the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo released a final report on December 12, 2008 which found that armed groups in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to fight over, illegally plunder, and profit greatly from the trade of coltan (tantulum), cassiterite (tin), wolframite, (tungsten) and gold in the eastern Congo (“Conflict Minerals”), some or all of which are used in such electronics equipment as computers, mobile phones, digital cameras, and camcorders, game consoles and other items; and

Whereas, the U.N. has urged the international community to work with the U.N. peacekeeping force currently on the ground, and other stakeholders to resolve the conflict in eastern Congo; and

Whereas, the armed groups generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year by trading in conflict minerals; and

Whereas, purchasing of these minerals from legitimate sources in Congo strengthens the country’s minerals trade and the legitimacy of minerals used in consumer products; and

Whereas, Eastern Mennonite University spends $200,000-400,000 per year on electronic products including companies which use conflict minerals from Democratic Republic of Congo in their supply chains;

Therefore Be It Resolved that Eastern Mennonite University will consider whether electronic products contain conflict minerals from eastern Congo in future purchasing decisions and, when available, will favor verifiably conflict-free products.

Be It Further Resolved that the President’s Cabinet of Eastern Mennonite University calls on electronic companies and other industries to take the necessary steps to remove conflict minerals from their supply chain.

Be it Further Resolved that Eastern Mennonite University will convey to its constituency networks and wider community of its actions with respect to purchasing from companies which use conflict-free minerals and urge them to do the same.

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Ruth and Krissy

          Things are settling down a bit as I buckle down on work for the last five weeks of my undergraduate career. Five weeks! I truly cannot believe that I am almost done and this crazy adventure called college will be over. It has been almost two weeks ago since Istanbul, but feels like a lifetime. As great as it was, time moves on and so must I. If anyone is interested in reading a bit more and seeing some great pictures, please visit my roommate's wonderful blog, Ruth For A Reason. Speaking of roommates, I wanted to devote this blog entry to two amazing people in my life, both of which have been great roommates and become two of my best friends.
          The first one is Ruth. Ruth and I became friends early on our first year of college, but then drifted apart. We reconnected last Spring and decided to room together as we both did not have housing plans for Senior year. Even though we did not know each other well before living together, it has been the best living situation I could ever imagine! We really work together perfectly and I believe this year has been my favorite year of college largely because of living with Ruth. We have a two-bedroom apartment on campus in the basement of Parkwoods. We worked hard to decorate the apartment with a lot of artwork (mostly our own) and create a place that is welcoming, inviting, but most of all home. But it is really Ruth that makes the apartment feel so much like home.
         Ruth is really chill to live with, which is good considering my messiness and sometimes breakdowns. She is always there for me when I need to talk and will hold me when I need to cry. She is the perfect one for me to talk to after any sort of significant or insignificant event in my life. One of my favorite times of the day is the two of us reaccounting our different adventures and encounters to each other. With her I feel completely safe and am able to process all that happens throughout the course of the day and feel loved and supported. We laugh together, dance together, and go on crazy adventures together. She not only accepts my weirdness, but embraces it! I love her so much and really hate the fact that I will not be living with her next year.

Ruth and I in Istanbul

          The second person is Krissy. Avid readers will reaccount many of the adventures that Krissy and I had while in Belgium in the fall of 2011. We were roommates there, but became best friends. Since that time, I have visited Krissy twice in New York and we have spent countless hours talking on skype. This past week, though, I was so excited to have Krissy come to Virginia to spend her Spring Break with me! We had the best time reconnecting and spending quality time together as I showed her around campus and the Shenandoah Valley, as well as introduce her to Mennonite life. Although she only stayed a short time, we made a lot of new memories and had some really good conversations.
           Krissy is smart, beautiful, and so full of life! She makes me so happy as someone who has seen me at my worst, and still loves and accepts me. Time together is always filled with stories and smiles as we can talk about any subject, even ones we disagree on, and come out of the conversation with new ideas and perspectives. I love her openness and willingness to learn, and also her deep passion for people and Jesus. She is one of the most authentic people I know and am so grateful to be able to call her a close friend. Our friendship is going to be one the continues our entire lifetimes.

Krissy and I at Shenandoah National Park

           Two wonderful people who have impacted and enhanced my life greatly! 

Interactions with Istanbulites

          Well I am pretty much over my jetlag and finally have been able to get some work done when I am not hanging out with friends and reaccounting adventures. I understand that I am in school to study and should be working hard to end my senior year well, but honestly, at this point I just want to hang out with people as much as possible because I only have six weeks left to do so! And the papers will somehow be written and I will still probably get a good grade, despite the last minute work. Professors will understand, right?
           Anyways, I wanted to spend a little time sharing about some of the interactions and conversations I had with Istanbulites. The following is part of my journal entry from Thursday:

          "So today was a really good day here in Istanbul. This morning I stayed in bed until I actually wanted to get up, which was around nine. After breakfast I headed out by myself to sketch the Hagia Sophia. So I really have never sketched before, but somehow I knew I would be able to draw mosques without ever having lesssons. Tuesday when I was sketching, several people came up to me. One Turkish couple watch with their son for a while and told me it was very good. I replied 'grazie,' which is very odd since I definately do not speak Italian. A couple of teenage girls then came up to interview me for a school project. They were really cute and fun to talk to. Finally, two people came up (only the girl spoke any English) and it turns out that the guy (a Kurd) was in fine arts school in Istanbul. He showed  me some of his sketches, then his paintings via pictures on his camera. He then sketched me and gave it to me! The girl and I chatted for a bit while he sketched. It was interesting because she introduced herself as a Turk and the guy as a Kurd, but at the end of the conversation she revealed to me that she was actually a gypsy!
          Well, back to taody. Today while I was sketching, I first had "Antonio" come clean my shoes (that in reality really needed it). He was super cheesy calling me beautiful, but I tried to learn more of his story. I learned that he shined shoes to help pay for University where he was studying mathematics. He said he wanted to take me out for coffee later, but you know I am not really into cheesy Turkish shoe shiners :) The next people to come up to me were tourists wanting their picture taken. After that, a Turkish sketch artist (doing sketches for tourists) approached me. He seemed impressed and gave me a little advice. The other people to come around were a bunch of Turkish school girls. They were so cute and loved watching me draw. They figured out how to ask my name and then told me all of theirs. They then all said 'bye-bye' as they walked away with their class.
          When I walked back to the hostel, I found Ruth sitting outside. I sat down with her and one of the workers of the restaurant connected to our hostel came over and talked a bit. I have to say that I have been trying to get to know people while here and have been wanting to know people's stories- how they got to Istanbul and what life is like for them. This guy (Enes, who actually would become a friend and someone I hope to stay in touch with) is actually from Kurdistan and lived in Diyarbikir! We had a good conversation and I learned some about his life. 
          Then, Ruth and I went to lunch. On the way we were stopped by a guy selling Bosphorus Cruises. Only, he did not want to sell us anything, but had seen me sketching earlier and wanted me to sketch him! I told him that I wasn't very good and had never sketched people before, but he wanted it done anyway. I told him I would be back after lunch. Ruth and I then ate in a little cafe then bought some earrings. As Ruth was making decisions, I had a little chat with the store owner. Even though he spoke very little English, I learned he had owned the shop for over 30 years! He also wanted to know if my mom was rich.... I told him she wasn't. 
          We then headed back over to the guy. He was really surprised we had come back, but was happy to see us. We went to a little park across the street where we sat down on the grass. It was really fun. I have drawn anyone before and he had never been drawn. Which meant that we ended up laughing and it took a little while to be serious. He told us a bit about his job and life in Istanbul. One part of the conversation I really like was when he said he knew we were smart because we sere traveling. So many people never lear their little parts of the world and thus don not truly experience all of life. I fully agreed (as would EMU). The sketch was not great (I made him appear fairly old and kind of like Antonio Banderas) but we laughed about it and he seemed happy. 

          I loved how sketching brought about unique interactions and allowed me to be seen not as a tourist, but as an artist, which was really cool. Although not all interactions in Istanbul were as pleasant as the ones I wrote about above, it felt really good to try to get past being a tourist and learn something about how life is in the city.  

Istanbul (a brief overview)

         It might only be 7:30pm, but due to much travel the last couple of days and jet lag it feels much later. Which means that I have lost my motivation to write the papers and do homework. Oh well, maybe tomorrow I will be more awake and motivated to do work. But for now I really wanted to be able to write a little about my adventures of the past week in Turkey. I went with my roommate Ruth, and three guy friends who I did not know very well before the trip, but were really great to hang out with for the week. So much happened and I am still processing the trip, but the following is an outline of what we did. In the days to come, I hope to post some of the more specific stories and thoughts that I had while on the trip.

Sunday, March 3: We flew from Dulles (Washington D.C.) in the afternoon.

Monday, March 4: We had a layover in Frankfurt, Germany before arriving in Istanbul around 1pm. After getting to our hostel, we spent the rest of the day walking around trying to get oriented to the city.

Tuesday, March 5: We decided this day would be "Mosque and Market" day. We went into the famous Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Market, and hung out around another big mosque.

Wednesday, March 6: We took a ferry to one of the Prince Islands to spend the day there before coming back to mainland Istanbul and walking through Taksim Square.

Thursday, March 7: I spent the morning sketching the Hagia Sophia before going the Modern Art Museum and back to Taksim Square.

Friday, March 8: We went to the Cistern, Hagia Sophia, back to the Grand Bazaar, and hung out in the restaurant connected to the hostel.

Saturday, March 9: I went with one of the guys and two American girls we met at the hostel on a boat tour of the Bosphoros Straight.

Sunday, March 10: I spent the day with Ruth and the two American girls visiting the famous Chora Church, city walls, and surrounding neighborhood before last visits to shops and sites near our hostel and then heading the aiport where we slept for a few hours before flying back to Frankfurt.

Monday, March 11: Our flight from Istanbul to Frankfurt was at 5am. We then spent over four hours in the Frankfurt aiport before the eight hour flight back to Dulles. We arrived back to the apartment a little before 8pm.

The week was really full with millions of small interactions and mini adventures. Even after a week, I feel like I only saw and experienced a small portion of this amazing city. It was truly a great time and I cannot imagine a better way to spend my last Spring Break. 

Peace Fellowship

          One of the best parts of this year has been my strong involvment in Peace Fellowship, EMU's peace club on campus. As Co-President, I have had the opportunity to plan, organize, and attend some really awesome activities, events, and conferences. Last semester this included events about Congo, gun control, and traveling to Georgia for the annual SOA Protest. This semester we have have had a large event with Jean Robert Cadet, a former Haitian slave come share, smaller meetings with my friend Jean Claude Nkundwa, a student at the Center of Justice and Peacebuilding from Burundi, who has an amazing story, and another student Evan Knappenberger who served with the US military in Iraq, but is now actively involved with the peace movement in Virginia. All have been extremely informational and inspiring to hear work of peace happening around the world!
          I have also been gone the past three weekends attending peace events. Two and half weeks ago was the annual Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship Conference held at Bluffton University. Nine students from EMU went to Ohio for the weekend to attend the conference with the theme of Spirituality and Shalom. It was a great conference with some of my favorite people from EMU! One highlight was presenting a workshop on the movement my friend Josh and I begun to make EMU "conflict-free." I presented with my friends Rachel and Seth and afterward three colleges expressed strong interest in starting campaigns on their own campuses. I also enjoyed being home for a little bit (since I do live only 10 minutes from Bluffton) and spending time with my Co-President (the beautiful and talented Krista Nyce) outside of planning for Peace Fellowship events.
          On Sunday February 17, my roommate Ruth and I, along with 50 other EMU students traveled to Washington D.C. for the Rally on Climate Change. Over 35,000 people showed up for the rally to send a message to President Obama that the Keystone Pipeline should not be built. This turned out to be the largest climate rally ever! Although it was freezing cold, we had a great time listening to speakers, then marching around the White House.
          Finally, this last weekend I drove up to Philadelphia with five other EMU students and one alumni to attend The Justice Conference. We attended five pre-conference break-out workshops and nine main conference sessions, all in two days! It was fairly intensive and our group had mixed feelings about the conference itself, but overall I had a really great time with really fantastic people. I really appreciated having the opportunity to think more deeply about my own faith and committment to justice issues. The conference was really evangelical, which honestly turned me off at first. However, as the conference went on, I found myself appreciating the people there who were using their evangelical faith to fight for justice in the world. I might not agree with all of their theology, but it was nice to know that God can use the church to still work for change in the world today. As I have been feeling somewhat agnostic lately, it was ood to hear of a working God and the validity that religion can play in one's life.
          As you can probably tell, I could write a whole lot more on all of these events I attended. I do have notes and wrote about the conference in Bluffton and in Philly in the school newspaper if anyone is interested to hear more. But for now, I just want to say how thankful that I have had the opportunity to not just be inspired to be a peace and justice maker in today's world, but also to have the chance to build deep relationships with other members of Peace Fellowship. If any of you read this, know that I love you so much and really hate that I am leaving in just a couple of months! Peace Fellowship has meant so much to me, especially this last year, and it is going to be really hard to graduate and move on.

Thoughts and Feelings

          A lot of thoughts run through my head in the course of a day... from classwork to Peace Fellowship to friends, I feel there is always something to be pondering about. A lot of these times these thoughts give me energy. Especially times such as yesterday when I had the privilege to hear two different speakers on peace and finding meaning in peacemaking. The thoughts from the speakers intrigued me and I became wrapped up in the hope of my future in peacemaking. Then, there are days like today, when I get caught up in my own feelings of self-doubt and loneliness. These thoughts seems to consume me for no reason (especially since I am daily surrounded by people who love me) and I lose focus in classes and meetings.

          How do I keep focus and interest on these days? Sometimes I can justify my lack of focus, but days like today, there is really no good reason for it. And then I get even more upset with myself, putting myself in a even worse mood. Is it possible for me to talk myself out of a bad mood? Or do I just get lost in meaningness of life for the day and hope that a miraculous change will occur or at least tomorrow will be better. Many times I try to talk myself out of it; I try to reason with myself and convince myself that I have no reason to be upset. This rarely works for me. Often, I end up getting more unfocused and frustrated. Giving up hope and just waiting for change sometimes helps. I often run into a friend or have an energizing conversation, or at least a good night's sleep, that makes me feel better and get excited once more about life. However, the time waiting for this to happen is lonely and seems like a waste of time and energy.

          Is there be an alternative? Is there a way to live a meaningful life all the time and get rid of these blah days when you are unfocused and discouraged for no reason? It might not be possible all of the time, but I like to believe there are alternatives if you are willing to do them. For me, it is to actively seek out activities that give me joy. If conversations give me energy, I need to get over my own loneliness and find someone to talk to about something that gives me joy. Other times, I need to be by myself and live into my feelings in a productive way. As discussed in previous posts, I do this through creative expression, such as painting. Today, I am doing this by writing. By using my creative side, I am able to see a different reality of the day and myself. 

          Taking the time and energy to change my mood is not always easy. I often find myself just wallowing and watching tv instead. However, today I am not willing to let myself do that. I have so much in life to be excited for and too little time left in college to be wasting it feeling bad about myself. Today, I am choosing to share with the world one of my weaknesses and then moving on. By recognizing my own feelings and flaws, I can live more deeply into myself and begin to focus on what truly matters. 

The Call of Adventure

          This semester I have been spending a lot of time thinking about adventure... past adventures I have experienced while at EMU, and the future adventure I am about to embark on after graduation in April. First, I should explain that I love adventure... I love the thrill of exploring new places and making memories. I love the rush of anticipation and the feelings of success and self-satisfaction after it is over. Most of all I love the relationships that are built because of the shared experience of adventure.
          Not all the adventures I go on have been epic. Often my roommate and I will be bored and will go on an "adventure" as a study-break. This usually ends up being a walk around campus, but as we head out we do not know where we are going or who we will meet along the way. These small adventures give us the opportunity to see the campus in new ways, searching out the uncommon and being able to see things we take for granted in our everyday busyness.
         Other adventures have been extremely epic: purposefully getting lost in the streets of Paris, joining thousands of others in protest of the School of the Americas, learning about peace at the United Nations, meeting with Islamic leaders in Northern Iraq, and many more.  I have had some pretty amazing experiences in the last four years and all of these times have formed me into who I have become.
          What exactly is adventure? Two definitions I have found to be helpful are "1) An exciting or unusual experience", and "2) A bold, usually risky undertaking with an uncertain outcome." The first can help describe how we can make any experience an adventure. Even the mundane can seem exciting if we are looking for the unusual and trying to find ways to make life a little more exciting. The second definition shows how to have an adventure, we need to be willing to take risks. Although some adventures are planned, others occur simply because you are willing to venture into the unknown.
          As I look back on my four years at EMU, it has been the adventures that stand out. A lot of my relationships have been built on shared adventures and my main memories are the times I have taken risks and tried new things. In my most stressful times, an adventure would always make things better, even if it was just a half hour break in the library looking for interesting books or getting lost painting a far-off pace. If there is any advice I would leave to underclassmen it would be take the time to have adventures. Take risks and take the time to search out the uncommon. Adventures in my opinion are what help make life worth living.
          I relate well to the following quote by Mae Chevrette, "It is in all of us to defy expectations, to go into this world and to be brave, to need, to want, to hunger for ADVENTURE, to embrace change, chance and risk, so that we may breathe and know what it is to be free." I feel most free when I am on an adventure because I am able to look deep inside myself and be who I want to be. Adventures allow me the opportunity to be braver than what I think I am and to take chances. At the end I have a greater knowledge of who I am and who I want to be in the world. And this makes any adventure worth while.
          So some of you might be wondering what my next adventure is. No, I do not yet know what is happening after graduation, but I have made Spring Break plans. I am really excited to say I am headed back to Istanbul for the week with four friends! This adventure is really not planned at all yet, but in a little over two weeks we will be headed over seas to see what we can find in Turkey. The trip is just for fun mainly because we found really cheap plane tickets. Hopefully I can find time to write at least one more time before the trip, but be looking forward to hearing all sorts of new adventures from that trip. I am sure there will be a lot of great stories to share!