The Idealist - April

Juan Mosquera @JuanCityYear 17m

During a positive phone call home today, dad says: "I can't tell you how

happy I am you called..." #makebetterhappen

April 2013 | Vol. 2 Issue 5

UBUNTU

A P R I L

2 | cityyear.org | 2013 April

10 Whose Line is it

Anyway?

A literacy event at Weinland

Park Elementary School

12 March Mathness

Mifflin High School holds a

celebration of Math

14 School Zone

A current recap of each

school

16 Starfish Stories

Corps members from

different sites share their

Starfish story

20 Dear Idealist

You ask; the Idealist answers

18 Best Practices

Great ideas for the last couple

months for having a greater

impact on your students

11 PI Day

Linden-McKinley shares

their successful PI day

A P R I L

| cityyear.org | 3

27 The Idealists of Ubuntu

Edward Plumb, Beth

Roseman, and Juan

Mosquera explore the

reasons of why Ubuntu (my

humanity is tied to yours) is

important to our survival as

idealists

44 South High Harmony

Project

Corps Member Danielle

Moses shares the amazing

impact that the South

Harmony High Project has

had on South High School

46 Gender Equality

Mirria Martin goes deeper

into Gender Equality in

America 2013 April

23 Rod’s Ruminations

UBUNTU in the eyes of animals

24 CY Health Zone

Get yourself a workout buddy

25 Rachel Beebe

A woman who upholds the value

of Ubuntu, written by Kate

Sweeney

26 Brit’s Corner

Ubuntu with Family


Serves at Linden-McKinley STEM

Academy as the Team Leader. Exil

started the Idealist in 2011 in her

first year as a Corps Member.

Follow her on twitter

@SaraiE_CYCO

I serve as part of The Idealist committee

because I am proud of the impact we’re

making in the community. I serve

because I want to inspire others to

follow in our footsteps: not only future

Corps Members, but people everywhere,

to leave the world a little better than

when they found it.

A recent graduate of The Ohio

State University, Mirria serves at

Mifflin High School. She enjoys

reading, writing, and random

outbursts of the Macarena.

I’m a twenty-something on a

mission to make a difference in the

world. I also love coffee in the

mornings and ice cream in the

evenings.

Graduate of OSU, Tamar began her

journey with City Year in July 2012.She

also enjoys traveling, spending time

with her family, and cherishing her

relationship with the Lord.

I'm 22 years old a recent graduate of

Kent State University with a degree

in Mathematics. I serve with City

Year at South High and I look

forward to staying in Columbus to

serve youth next year.

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| cityyear.org | 5 2013 April

Photo Credits: Mark Schmitter (Cover Photo, pg 2 Edward and stock City

Year Photo, pg 3 Beth, pg 5 The Idealist Group Photo, pg 8 photo, pg 15

Remy with student, pg. 16 and 17 all, The Idealists of Ubuntu: pg. 27, 28,

30,31, 32, 33, 35, Back Cover Image); Brit Dziak (Juan, pg 38 and 40); Sarai

Exil (Title Page Student and Anna with student, pg 9 Innis Park Morning

Circle)

Guest Editors: Yan Zhang—The meaning of Ubuntu

Graphic Design: All manipulation of images done by Sarai Exil

Font Used: Garamond, Bebas Neue, GeoSansLight, and Walkway

Programs Used: Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Photoshop and InDesign

Thank you for all of your work in

capturing the service taking place in

Columbus via ‘The Idealist’.

SUPER inspirational and

informational…

Lauren Feaster

Training & Evaluation Manager

City Year Milwaukee

Hello everyone!

My name is Sarah Mitchell and I was

fortunate enough to get to read this

months issue of IDEALIST because I

serve on Dean's Council. I must say...

what a treat! I was reading this every

free second I got today and I am SO

impressed. This is such an amazing

publication, and I think everyone

involved should give themselves a huge

pat on the back! The time and

thoughtfulness that went into this is

awesome. I am inspired after reading

and can't wait to see more in the future.

This is a fantastic model of level 5

leadership, and I will be forwarding this

to our entire site.

THANK YOU for the service you do

every day, and for making my day!

Sarah Mitchell

Team Leader, King Academy

City Year San Antonio

Sarai and CY Columbus,

This is fantastic, poignant and really

well done! Thank you. Brilliant!

All my best,

Charlie Rose

Senior Vice President & Dean

City Year Inc.

The mission of THE

IDEALIST is to cultivate a

culture of inspiration by

showcasing the talents of our

Corps members and

highlighting our service and

impact within our community

and our schools.

City Year Columbus

The Idealist

88 East Broad St.

Columbus, OH 43215

[email protected]

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Lonesome Dove

An Ice

Machine

Throw the sun hat

outside and use the paper clip to attach a sign to it that says “free

sun hat.”

My favorite camera is the Canon 5D Mk.III,

because it does great in low-light, is full-frame, and makes me

look like I know what I’m doing.

Iron Man is my favorite super hero, because

come on, have you seen his garage and technology?

I would walk into Jeni’s Splendid Ice

Cream like a king and buy scoops on scoops on scoops of ice

cream.

Student Council , Key Club

International. Youth for Change (a homemade social activism

club my friends and I put together, discussing issues such as

HIV/AIDS, the genocide in Darfur, poverty in America, and

finding ways to spread awareness)

I went to France with my

French class my sophomore year of high school

I think I would buy a

little something special for everyone in my life who I care

about - something meaningful and unique to that person.

Wanna write for the Idealist? Are you

connected to our service through

sponsorship? Send your articles, ads,

and pictures to

[email protected]!


B eginning at an early age, I celebrated the idea

of a united humanity. When I was in the

first grade, I became the Aluminum Foil

Queen. Some of the first grade girls

collected the aluminum used to store hamburgers, pizza,

and chicken sandwiches. Right after they finished lunch,

they would gather around a large oak tree in the back of

the playground, and whoever had the most aluminum

would become Queen for the day. Unfortunately, I

brought a packed lunch every day. I yearned to be one

of the students who got to smother ketchup all over

their pizza, or eat those soggy, smiley-face potato fries,

but most importantly, I yearned to have that greasy

aluminum foil to earn the Queen’s crown.

One day, another girl handed me her rolled-up ball of

aluminum. The stale smell of hamburgers floated into

my nose as I asked her if this ball in my hand was extra

aluminum. She said, “No.” As a self-centered five-year

old, I ran over to the oak tree with my offering in hand

without stopping to say thank you. Funny enough, I had

the largest amount that day, and the girls had to crown

me Queen. In my 20 minute reign, I sang songs with my

people, led the way across Monkey Bar Road, and

deemed the Aluminum Foil Society open to all first

grade girls, even if they didn’t have any aluminum foil.

From that day on, my lack of aluminum foil never

deterred me from making friends. A simple act of

kindness allowed me to feel like a part of the first grade

community, and although it was for my own benefit, I

opened the doors for many like me, whose moms

poured love into brown paper bags each morning.

Besides our daily quarrels, we were a pretty tight group

of five and six-year olds that I missed when I moved

later that year.

For this issue of THE IDEALIST, we asked three

Corps Members to write a little bit about Ubuntu, a

principle that states that each member of humanity is

tied to one another. Edward Plumb goes into the history

of Ubuntu, Beth Roseman explains why it is relevant to

all of us, and Juan Mosquera shares why Ubuntu has

been an important value in his own life. Each brings

some inspiration to live each day as a positive

contributor to the world.

Although, I forgot to say thank you once upon a time,

and many times after, to the person who believed in

Ubuntu, I will say thank you now to all those who have

made this issue a success. ■ Sarai Veronique Exil

The Aluminum Foil Queen

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IMPACT The purpose of our service is to help students get on track. There are days

when the difference we're making isn't easy for us to see. Students aren't

always appreciative of our presence, our passion that called us to a year of

service isn't always forefront in our minds, and sometimes the only thought in

our heads seems to be: "this is hard..." (PITW, anyone?). But, even if it's not

clear to us every day, we ARE making a difference in our schools, in our

communities, and in the lives of our students. The Impact section serves as a

reminder to us all that we are making a difference every day, and that

difference deserves to be recognized and celebrated.

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Whose Line is it Anyway? Weinland Park’s Literacy Competition

O ne of City Year’s goals is to help foster a culture of literacy in

our schools. This means that we seek to create an

environment in which students are reading various materials,

both for educational purposes as well as for personal

enjoyment. Further more, we want children to be able to discuss what they

read with their classmates, friends, and teachers so that they share their

interests and knowledge. While many students at Weinland Park have been

reading popular book series like The Diaries of a Wimpy Kid inside of the

classroom, we have been taking steps to further increase the desire to read

for fun outside of the classroom. In order to achieve our goals, the

Weinland Park City Year team has issued a challenge to students in grades K

-5: to read as many pages as they can in one month.

Here at Weinland Park, we are just completing our second week of the

All-Star Literacy Challenge. This Literacy Challenge has been encouraging

our students to read more and more outside of the classroom. We are also

empowering our students to hold themselves accountable for recording

their data independently. Students are meeting this challenge by using the

book logs that we’ve provided them. These book logs are meant to help us

track what our students are reading, as well as how much they are reading.

Grades 3-5 have also been asked to write a one-sentence summary about

what they’ve been reading for each entry to demonstrate comprehension of

the materials they’ve read. Students that read the most pages by the end of

the competition will be rewarded with prizes on an individual, classroom,

and school wide level. One of these prizes includes an exclusive Pizza

Party for Champions that will be provided by City Year and local

donators. The results thus far have been amazing, with many students

excitedly telling City Year Corps Members what they’ve been reading. As

the month progresses, we hope that this event will encourage more students

to read for fun in the future. ■ Derek Larenas, Corps Member

A Michael Jordan dunking cut-

out!

A student taking a picture with an

Aaron Craft, Ohio State guard, cut-out.

The face cut-out station! Everyone had an opportunity to

complete a bracket!

Students had to take a foul shot

following answering math questions.

Students were able to redeem their

Diplomas Now dollars for prizes.

March Mathness

...A math event hosted by the City Year Team at Mifflin High School


Our wonderful volunteers

from the Hilton.

Our magnificent prize station. Several

gift cards and random knick-knacks

were up for purchase.

The line for knockout was

extremely long the entire night!

Students had to figure out the various

combinations of scoring using 1-pts, 2

-pts, or 3-pts.

An overview of March Mathness.

March Mathness A spin off of March Madness, March Mathness was an event held by the Diplomas

Now Team at Mifflin High School on Tuesday, March 26th. An event incorporating basketball with math problems, the night featured 8 math stations one of which was a simple game of knockout where students had to correctly answer a math problem prior to taking a shot. The purpose of the event was to build and strengthen students’ math skills in a fun and engaging environment. Students received Diplomas Now money for every correct answer and were able to purchase their food along with several wonderful prizes. Raffles were held every 15 minutes and give-a-ways included an ipod shuffle, $50 gift cards to Hollister and Footlocker, 2 Blue Jackets tickets and much more. With over 100 people in attendance including parents, 3 math teachers and their families, students from Mifflin Middle, and our dedicated Hilton Volunteers, the night

was a huge victory. ■ Tamar Carr, Team Leader

...A math event hosted by the City Year Team at Mifflin High School


Math pong was a popular station.

Students had to answer a math

question and throw a ball into a cup.


Weinland Park

Elementary

S everal things we’ve done at South

throughout the year have promoted

a renewed sense of community within our

school. Hosting exciting events, bringing in

speakers from throughout the city, and simply

relating to our students on a very human level –

everything we’ve done has strengthened the

sense of community seen within South. The

alumni association is excited about what we’re

doing, and we’re hoping to collaborate with them more before the year is

out, showing our students the pride that used to be associated with attending

South High School and how we’re bringing it back. Our latest incentive, a

March Madness-like competition focusing on Attendance, Behavior, and

Course Performance, is furthering the sense of community within our ninth

grade cohorts. Each cohort – Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and

Echo – will be competing against each other and

moving through a bracket system. Our hopes are

that a little friendly competition will enhance

the bond within cohorts, so that our students

can see how much stronger they can be when

they’re all working together for a common

goal. ■ Jen Brown

South 7-12

Mifflin High School

Linden McKinley S.T.E.M. Academy

I n a school like Weinland Park

Elementary, where there are

countless moving parts of

resources that are partnered in the school, it

would be assumed that the sense of community

would be lost in the mix. Thankfully, that is not the

case. From the beginning, it was apparent that there was already a

close tie between the school and its families, with parents prevalent

throughout the building during the school day communicating with

teachers and students if necessary. Our City Year team has managed

to become a part of the tight bond at the school through building

strong relationships with our teachers, eating lunch with students,

providing breakfast support, providing

both whole-class support and

interventions, helping facilitate monthly

family nights as well as meet any

additional needs of staff. We have

become a very reliable and committed

asset to the school during our time of

service. ■ Jamie-Lee Morris

S ince our first event at Mifflin High School overall

attendance has risen significantly. These events

engage students, staff, teachers, and even parents. We do

our best to get the message out so that we can engage as

many people as possible, whether it is through the phone

dialer, flyers, communication in classrooms, and mailing

postcards home. To show their support, Math and

English teachers agreed to give extra credit to each student

who attends our events. Not only do these events help with

math and literacy skills but they also display Ubuntu or

community here at Mifflin High School. Before we began

doing these events, Mifflin had nothing fun and engaging to

look forward to. The spirit and pride in being a Puncher just

seemed to lack with most of our students and staff. Now

they look forward to our events and wonder what we will

have in store for them next. These events bring everyone at

Mifflin High School together outside of the classroom

through food, prizes, music, games, and just a good time

overall. Students, teachers, and administrators express their

appreciation for what we do through their continued

attendance and gratitude. Through our dedication and

collaboration we have successfully changed the climate at

Mifflin High School for the better. ■ Tuanya Henderson

A t LMSA, the concept of Ubuntu is critical as

we aim to foster a sense of community among

our students. One of the ways in which we've

harnessed this belief is through the creation of boys’

and girls’ groups for both the middle schoolers and

ninth graders. These groups, co-led by staff and

corps members, focus on a variety of issues our

students face, such as maintaining positive

relationships, anger management, and academic

success. Through the boys’ and girls’ groups, we are

able to bring together students who may not

normally interact, or even students who are

constantly in conflict, and have them talk out their

problems together in a safe, structured environment.

Through open, honest discussion,

students are able to bond with

their peers and come to realize how their

humanity may not be so different than

hat of their classmates’. ■ Anna Habib

INSPIRE Inspire: to provoke a particular feeling in someone; to

cause creative activity. The Idealist strives to inspire Corps

Members this month with various articles, including Starfish

Stories showcasing Corps Members' successes with

students; a section highlighting one Corps Member who

especially demonstrates and upholds one of City Year's ten

core values; Dear Idealist answers all questions from the

Corps; sharing the best practices in each area of our

service; and a Health Zone offering numerous tips on

staying healthy throughout our year of service.


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Starting Algebra this semester was a big deal for many of our students—their first real high school math course. This course is the first time students venture out of the realm of concretion and into the beautiful world of mathematical abstraction. What is this 'x' we speak of? You want me to find his/her value? A lot of my students struggled when they were presented with two-step equations, so I developed a little thought exercise to help them rationalize the problems for themselves. Start with a simple question, “How do you put on your shoes in the morning?” They will answer, “First I put on my sock and then I put on my shoe.” Now ask, “How do you take it off?” Hopefully, they reply, “I take off my shoe and then my sock.” “Wow,” I say, “you have just solved a two step equation!” Then present them with an equation such as 2x+3=13. Ask them how we build this equation using order of operations, first we multiply x by 2 and then we add 3. Well that is the same as putting on our sock and then shoe. So to “undress” x we do the opposite steps in the opposite order, i.e. subtract 3 and divide by 2. This is analogous to taking off our shoe and then our sock.

■ Casey Dykes, Math Coordinator,

South High School


As an ELA coordinator at Weinland Park Elementary School, I am able to play a large role in teaching kids higher-level vocabulary. Recently, my students have been working on prefixes and suffixes, which can be quite difficult to master at a young age. To make the learning experience more fun, I ended up making a game out of it. To play, you only need a dry erase board and some markers. The game requires students to write three words using the prefixes and suffixes that they learned in class. Of the three words, only one word will be correct. Their goal is to try and trick their classmates into identifying the wrong word as correct. The actual goal of the game, however, is to test a student’s knowledge of prefix/suffix usage. The kids really enjoy the game because they have a chance to win points, which could eventually lead to lunch with their teacher. As the year progresses and we continue to expose our students to more prefixes and suffixes, I hope to continue to use this game to help students learn more vocabulary and strengthen their understanding of proper prefix/suffix usage.

■Derek Larenas, ELA/Literacy Coordinator, Weinland Park Elementary School

E A Corner

Sharing Practices

Ma h Corner

A little bit about working strategies in Columbus.

Resources

As the year comes to a close, it can be so easy to become more laidback in our

service. We’re losing our patience with students, our thoughts are moving onto

LACY plans, and we’re starting to feel burnt out. Finishing the year strong is

SO important though. Check out this resource, published by Diplomas Now,

on just how important it is to gather the motivation to finish strong, including

data on how significant the end of the year can be for a student’s success:

https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/programs/DiplomasNow/Implementation%

20Resources/Finishing%20Strong%20Guide%20and%20Timeline.pdf.

Check out this link for some creative ideas for ELA projects, hall decorations,

and activities to do with your students: https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/

programs/wswc/ela/ELA%20%20Literacy%20Photo%20Library/Forms/

AllItems.aspx

And be sure to check out pictures of all of the creative ideas for Math tutoring,

found here: https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/programs/wswc/Math/Math%

20Pictures/Forms/AllItems.aspx

■ Jen Brown, Corps Member, South High School

Math

We celebrated March 14th as Pi Day at South High School with a few different activities. Math teachers throughout the school collaborated to hang the first one thousand digits of pi throughout the cafeteria and hallway, using digits decorated by students. We also featured some Pi-kus in the ninth grade hallway, which were my take on mathematical haikus. Students wrote poems about their thoughts on pi – the first line with three syllables, the second line with only one, and the third with four syllables (3.14 – get it?!).

■Casey Dykes, Math Coordinator,

South High School


CYconnect

Check out this post in the Student Engagement

Blog about a recent Ubuntu-themed field trip

for students at the schools where CY Miami

teams serve: https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/

programs/wswc/SE/SEBlog/Lists/Posts/

Post.aspx?ID=15.

Behavior

After having a discussion with two girls on my focus list, we decided to start off with small incentives. First, being the Pepsi Challenge, costing a total of $1.25 per bottle. For each day, they would be rewarded a quarter in the bank based off of their behavior. They worked really hard because they knew at the end of the day it was all or nothing. This was a small behavior incentive, but by giving it an exciting name, we had fun with it!

■Fevean Keflom, Corps Member,

Linden-McKinley STEM Academy

ELA

Struggling to come up with a successful method of reading as a class, Corps Members serving in Mrs. McChesney’s English 9 class at South High School borrowed an idea from South’s other ELA teacher, Ms. B., and decided to split the class into groups. Looking at students’ Lexile scores, we split them up into three groups, with a mixture of reading ability present in each group. Each group will be accompanied by either their teacher or a Corps Member as facilitator, and the smaller reading groups will surely lead to a deeper understanding of the text.

■ Jen Brown, ELA/Literacy Coordinator,

South High School

Behavior is one of the most challenging issues we have to address with our students. I learned very early that building a solid relationship with students helps to improve their behavior. As the year progressed, my students began to respect me and are less likely to misbehave if I am around. For example, they may correct themselves or apologize for using foul language; this did not occur at the beginning of the year. I let them know my expectation and most of them do care whether or not they meet it. We also ran a behavior competition between all of the 9th grade cohorts. As a class, each cohort received a score out of 5 each day based on certain criteria such as: tardiness, attendance, disruptive behavior and profanity use. The scores per cohort were compiled daily and posted in the hallway for students to see. It actually worked to improve behavior and students even started to correct each other when they realized that this was a collective effort. The winning cohort received a pizza party and had the opportunity to go bowling during school. Recently, we have collaborated with administrators to have community service projects run by us, in place of the many suspensions. We are looking forward to launching this project as it will address attendance and behavior. There are also plenty of resources on CY connect to help track and address misbehaving students. ■ Tuanya Henderson, SEL/Behavior Coordinator, Mifflin High School

Behavi r Corner

https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/programs/DiplomasNow/Implementation%20Resources/Finishing%20Strong%20Guide%20and%20Timeline.pdf

https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/programs/DiplomasNow/Implementation%20Resources/Finishing%20Strong%20Guide%20and%20Timeline.pdf

https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/programs/wswc/ela/ELA%20%20Literacy%20Photo%20Library/Forms/AllItems.aspx



https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/programs/wswc/Math/Math%20Pictures/Forms/AllItems.aspx

https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/programs/wswc/Math/Math%20Pictures/Forms/AllItems.aspx

https://cyconnect.cityyear.org/programs/wswc/SE/SEBlog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=15



A


Dear Idealist... Providing advice on service, team

dynamics, and life after City Year.

Q S t r u g g l i n g S t a r f i s h It's March, and I feel like a failure. I know my students like and respect me, but that kind of stuff isn't reflected in their grades or assessments. I look for my daily starfish and have no desire to give up, but I worry sometimes, "Am I really making a difference?" Should I be concerned, or am I being too hard on myself?

D e a r S t r u g g l i n g S t a r f i s h , The short answer: You're being too hard on yourself. It's much easier said than done, but you have to remind yourself that you are making a difference in the lives of your students. Even though it may not feel like it all the time, and even if they're not getting all A's and B's on their report cards, your presence in the classroom makes a difference. The fact that you're there waiting for them each and every morning with a smile on your face makes more of a difference than probably any of us realize. Also, simply thinking about this and being involved in this level of self-reflection about your service shows that you are truly invested, and that in and of itself will make a difference to your students. Our main goal is to keep kids from dropping out of school, and the most obvious indicator of that is often grades, but even if not all of your students have brought their grades up by the end of this year, the difference you've made can be seen in other ways: a more positive attitude toward their education; their motivation now that someone actually believes in them; their thoughts about the future now that they see their options. All of these things that you’re encouraging every day help to not only prevent students from dropping out, but also to begin to change a culture of apathy, an underlying cause of the high dropout crisis. Our experienced staff has told us this many times, but it still takes reminding: sometimes we see the results of our service within our City Year; sometimes we won’t see it until years down the road, when we run into a student in downtown Columbus and they tell us how successful they've been since graduation; and sometimes we'll never really see it. But despite how visible your impact is, you can be sure that you are making a difference. You might not reach every student every day, but know that you're making an impact to someone every single day that you're in school.

Photo Credit: M.Schmitter

A A

Dear Guilty Conscience, This is a tough one. Obviously every situation depends on its context, but some of the best advice I can give (no matter the circumstances), is that honesty is the best policy. If you know you were in the wrong, it’s best to take ownership of your actions and approach your supervisor to discuss the situation. Taking the initiative to address what happened with them is definitely better than the alternative. If they caught you in the act and you wait around, hoping they’ll forget it ever happened so that they have to come to you first, it probably won’t help you in the long run. If you take the more mature route, however, and take responsibility for your actions, it will show your growth. Taking ownership of something that was wrong can be difficult, but it will show your supervisor that you can deal with conflict in a mature way and that you’re able to admit your mistakes. Again, the best you can ever do (and the only thing) is to just be honest. It’s much better to admit to your supervisor that you’re embarrassed about the situation than to avoid discussing it at all. If whatever happened was an issue of professionalism in terms of your service, it will certainly do you good to take responsibility for your actions, and if it’s something more personal, acknowledging the situation usually alleviates the tension that can come up when people leave an issue to be the

elephant in the room. Good luck.

Q


Ask fellow Idealist Jen anything about

your service year or life as an Americorps

member. Email questions anonymously

anytime to [email protected].

Dear Idealist...

Q Providing advice on service, team

dynamics, and life after City Year.

• Dear Idea l i s t • Dear Idea l i s t • Dear Idea l i s t •

Gui l t y Consc i ence

How do you deal with a situation when your supervisor finds you doing something you're not supposed to do and you feel too embarrassed to take responsibility?

L A C Y L o n g i n g

I've started to do job interviews for my LACY stuff, and I'm noticing a trend. Whenever I have an opportunity to talk about my service, I can't seem to stop. One potential employer asked me jokingly if I really wanted to work for them or keep doing what I’m doing now. I know that another year of service is not in my immediate future, but I really like the work we do. How can I stay involved without rocking the red jacket anymore?

L AC Y L o n g i n g (con’t.)

And don’t forget that we’re Americorps members, too! Remembering this part of your service identity provides so many more opportunities to stay involved after graduation. There is also a website for Americorps Alums (http://www.americorpsalums.org/), so be sure to register and stay active for more chances to stay connected. And with over 50 chapters just for Americorps alumni, you’ll be able to find one that’s convenient for you. Another way to keep working toward the cause following an inspiring term with City Year is to pursue a job in another non-profit environment. Whether it’s focused on education, child advocacy, or some other cause you’re passionate about, continuing your commitment to service in the non-profit world is a great way to connect your LACY plans to your service year. Even if you don’t end up with an organization focused on education, our service with City Year has helped prepare us for selfless work fighting issues of social justice, not only the dropout crisis. Finally, don’t forget that even if you end up working in a completely unrelated field next year, that doesn’t mean you can’t build connections between that job and what we’re doing now. The skills and values we've learned over these ten months are transferable to anything that comes your way, and if you're passionate about your service and your time spent with City Year, you can ensure that CY’s values and mission are carried on with you wherever you end up next.

Dear LACY Longing,

Don’t worry! There are plenty of ways

to stay involved with our mission and

our City Year community without

actually being a Corps Member or on

staff. One great way to do this is to

become an active member of the City

Year alumni community. The CY

alumni website is one easy way to

acknowledge your place as an alumni in

City Year’s community (http://

alumni.cityyear.org/), but there are

other things you can do, too. Each of

our school teams has been fortunate

enough to be matched up with some

“Alumni Buddies”, and this is a great

way for former CMs to stay in the loop

with their service alma mater. As we all

know, we’re often looking for

volunteers for school events, mock

interview days, and other CY projects,

so giving some of your time to a CY

site is a great way to stay connected.

Regardless of where your LACY plans

take you, with dozens of sites across

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Dear%20Idealist%20Question

http://www.americorpsalums.org/

http://www.americorpsalums.org/

http://alumni.cityyear.org/

http://alumni.cityyear.org/


T his issue of “The Idealist” is all about Ubuntu, a Zulu proverb that champions the notion that we are all people

through other people. However, have you ever thought about animals? Is my humanity somehow tied to them? Of course, the answer to this is yes, but not in some of the ways you might think. For example, on most days I act like a grown human man. I try to behave with dignity, poise, and a happy outlook on life. But if a certain day brings me into contact with any kind of bat, all of that goes out the window. I turn into a sort of mix between a tiny child and a raving lunatic. There could be tears, diving to the floor, screaming, and jumping out of windows all within mere seconds. Seriously, there is never a

tennis racquet around when you really need one. I think we all know deep down that bats are really just out to bite us and suck our blood. I know some of you will say that only very specific species of bats actually suck blood and it’s only from other animals, not humans. Yeah, keep on dreaming. I’m sure all of these bats are thinking about it, and even if they aren’t yet, all it would take is for a few of those vampire bats to get loose and talk to the other native bats and then the cat (or bat) is out of the bag. Once the native bats get a taste of that sweet, sweet human blood, all bets are off and we’re in for trouble people. Speaking of vampires, that reminds me of something else. In my opinion, the walrus is one huge animal with one huge identity crisis. First of all, they are trying really hard to be the vampires of the sea, but their fangs are just too darn big and attract too much attention! Let’s say they try to sneak up on a marlin or something to bite its neck. That marlin is going to see them coming a mile away with those big teeth sticking out and he is just going to be like, “Come on, man. Really?” Also, the walrus has a rather impressive moustache, which tells me that they

want to be like us humans. So what’s it going to be walrus? Human or vampire? You cannot be both. The idea of a vampire walking around with a ‘stache is just ridiculous. Excuse me, I got a little off topic there. Anyway, I think that animals could really be rolled into the whole idea of Ubuntu if we gave them more ways to express their humanity. For instance, I keep pitching the idea of walkie talkies for dogs to all sorts of companies, but they just won’t listen. In my opinion, the Ostrich is probably the most human animal out there. Exhibit A: they walk on two legs. Exhibit B: they are active during the day and sleep at night. Exhibit C: male ostriches dance in order to attract the affection of female ostriches! I mean if these birds lost the feathers and gizzard, I would be proud to invite them into my home and offer them all of the seeds, shrubs, and fruits that they so enjoy! I guess what I’m saying here is that Ubuntu works with animals as long as they are true to themselves. So welcome to the fold of humanity, animals. Except you bats…no.

■ Rod Swain

Rod’s Ruminations


I magine this: City Year is hosting a three-legged race.

Only instead of for a few minutes, the legs will be tied

the entire year (if our game of Assassin can last this

long, I don't doubt a three-legged race also could). So

think about it- who would you want to be tied to?

My initial thought was that I'd want to be tied to Ashley,

being that she is athletic and would inspire me to keep going

with some Wayne Gretzky quotes or whatever athletes do.

But then there was Anna, who could probably make it a point

to only speak in puns for ten months just to make me laugh.

Or perhaps Hope, because things would never get boring.

With Bobby, I'd probably never run out of conversation. And

being tied to Juan would probably be the only thing that

keeps him from floating away into the clouds.

Yan would start a joke when we were first being tied that

wouldn't end until we were untied. Bob would drag me to

improv shows which would jumpstart my comedy career, plus

I'd probably learn a lot of Greek (resume booster!). Amy

would always be there with a chick flick and ice cream if I

ever got sad about being physically tied to someone for ten

months. Aside from her hair probably always being in my

face, Fevean would cook me some awesome Eritrean food

everyday. Sarai would shower me with compliments about my

hair or my doodles (neither of which warrant anything other

than blank stares), and Monika would give me G&A for every

step I took without wiping out on my face, plus she'd always

share pictures of her cats.

But here's the thing: figuratively (not literally, luckily for you) we already ARE tied to each other, and have been since

we first met in July. We serve together everyday side-by-side,

more closely than we'll probably ever work with anyone

again. We had no choice in who boarded this ship, meaning

that all twelve of us could have been anyone, with any

personality type or work ethic. Yet we sustain and enjoy

(almost) every moment. We build up each other’s weaknesses

and mimic each other's strengths. If we can do this every day

with a group of twelve, can we not do this with every other

person we come across?

EVERY person is tied to another. We see it more in our

daily schedules because it's more concentrated. So rather than

choose to be tied to one single person, tie yourself to

everyone, because you never know who will support you,

who you will learn from, and what each of us can give with

what we've gathered. Some of us need that third leg!

■ Brit Dziak

Corps Member on the CSX Team

at Linden-McKinley STEM Academy

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SP0TLIGHT

Here at The Idealist, we use our Spotlight section to showcase

our unique and individual personalities. Yes, we are here for

service, and we serve everyday to fight the dropout crisis - but

each of us has our own unique story: where we come from, why

we serve, what issues we're passionate about. We're all

different, and we all bring something different to the table. So in

this section, expect to see a little bit about who we are, not just

as Corps Members, but as individuals, and hopefully you'll begin

to understand, as we do, just how impressive our Corps really is.

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The

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of UBUNTU

Photo Credit: M. Schmitter

Edward Plumb Corps Member

Chase Team @ WP


Edward Plumb Corps Member

Chase Team @ WP

T he founding stories of the Idealist’s Handbook resemble the

devoted craft of a mythopoeic magpie building a nest for the

future’s idealist. Stories are drawn from sources ranging from

the Talmud to the Tao Te Ching to American politicians and

social justice figures. However, despite the Idealist Handbook’s attempts

to balance the representation of diverse sources, the Handbook retains an

unspoken but understandable preference for Afrocentrism. Two historical

themes pervade City Year culture; the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King

(and consequently the Civil Right movement), and the re-imagining of

post-apartheid South Africa. Both these threads are united by the 22nd

founding story, “Ubuntu”. The Idealist’s Handbook presents "Ubuntu" as

a shortening of the Zulu "Umuntu ngumuntu ngamantu", or "I am a

person through other people. My humanity is tied to yours". In order to

come to a broader understanding of Ubuntu as an idealist’s ethic, we will

examine its context as a shortening of a Bantu proverb, move on to

examining how corps members understand and apply the term day to day,

and finally make connections to Dr. Martin Luther King and Desmond

Tutu.

Only recently has Ubuntu encompassed an ethic, worldview, or

philosophy. Before the 1950s, Ubuntu was simply a word to describe a

human trait, like “manhood”, “generosity”, or “human nature” in general.

However, during the 1980s in Zimbabwe, Ubuntu evolved into a political

philosophy to guide the state in its transition from white minority rule to

black majority rule. By the time Zimbabwe’s racially divided state was

undone, the groundwork for Ubuntu’s wider conceptual development and

politicization had been laid.

When City Year co-founder Alan Khazei visited Johannesburg in 1996,

he was inspired by South Africa’s ratification of their post-apartheid


constitution. His impression was that South

Africans were not only trying to “overcome

the legacy of apartheid” but create “a model

for the whole world”. The term Ubuntu,

then, was perfect for representing an

organization that would be inspired by and

aspired to a similar world model. Thus,

Ubuntu was spliced into the DNA of City

Year circa 1995 as a tool for initiation into

(and action within) City Year culture.

K hazei has not been the only

person to use Ubuntu as

shorthand to represent what

is considered the heart of an

organization. Mark Shuttleworth, a South-

African who grew up in the Oranje Free

State, chose “Ubuntu” as the name of his

$10 million dollar open-source version of

the Linux operating system. In his words,

“as a platform based on free software, the

Ubuntu operating system brings the spirit of

Ubuntu to the software world.” For Mark,

Ubuntu fit his vision for the growing open-

source model and demonstrated his belief in

free intellectual property.

As demonstrated by these two uses of

the word, Ubuntu’s exact meaning is hard to

pin down, but its uses are flexible. To this

day, the concept of Ubuntu remains difficult

to generalize for South Africans of African

descent. However, two main camps exist;

some people consider Ubuntu to be a

characteristic of specific people and actions,

others interpret it as an ethical outlook or a

foundation of South-African statehood. This

micro versus macro understanding of

Ubuntu seemed to be mirrored in definitions

of the term by corps members at my own

school when answering the question “what

does Ubuntu mean to you?”:

“Including everybody, extending the invite”

–Diana

“Inclusivity”—Zandra

“I am my brother's keeper” –Jamie-Lee

“When I hear Ubuntu I think about having

my teammate's back at the best and the

worst of times. You're there with a smile, a

pat on the back, or a joke—whatever it

takes.” –Derek

Jamie-Lee provides the clearest statement

of an ethical philosophy, while Derek

focuses on the interpersonal in the day to

day support and care of fellow corps

members. It is hard now to ask myself how I

would have answered this question before

the act of writing complicated my

understanding; I think with something like

“shared humanity” or “interconnectedness”.

I probably would have framed my

consideration in the aims and actions of the

Ubuntu committee at our site, whose goal

seems to be improving interpersonal

relations within the corps by providing a

non-service environment in which to learn

about each other and enjoy each other’s’

company. Arguably, the Ubuntu committee’s

goal is to make people feel “included”, to

feel, as Diana puts it, that the invite has been

extended.

However, I would define this aspect of

Ubuntu at our site as an outlet for self-

indulgent and perhaps necessary escape;

while we are self-defined service warriors

who express their humanity in their work,

there are moments when I feel frustrated,

trapped, perhaps minimized by the uniform,

by the pressure to be an “idealist” and to live

up to standards that in no way shape or

form did I invent (even if I generally think

those standards are admirable). Ubuntu, in

this understanding, becomes an assertion of

one's own humanity as it relates to the

protection and nurturing of our own

individual identities. It is about occasionally

letting work just be work and remembering

we are regular people too.

Am I the only person that feels that way

about the Ubuntu committee? Is this

experience of the Ubuntu committee's work

in line with the vision Khazei had in mind?

Which version of Ubuntu did he have in

mind, when the South-Africans provided us

the concept but don't agree on its meaning

themselves?

Two related take-aways present

themselves. First, there is a sense of the

inadequacy of language and the imperfection

of its translation. Second, the reality is that,

regardless of these inadequacies, people get

on anyways. They make do, improvise,

create meaning in order to function and

survive. Whether we understand exactly

what Ubuntu means, or meant, isn’t the

point. The point is that it means something;

we share a collective sense of what we want

it to mean. Seen this way, the Idealist’s

Handbook become a toolkit whose diversity

of sources is not a calculated statement

about the cultural tolerance of the

organization, but a flexible set of concepts.

To build an understanding of Ubuntu which

captures its historical nuance and turn it into

a philosophical outlook is difficult. I offer

two quotes:

"A person with Ubuntu is open and

available to others, affirming of others, does

not feel threatened that others are able and

good, for he or she has a proper self-

assurance that comes from knowing that he

or she belongs in a greater whole and is

diminished when others are humiliated or

diminished, when others are tortured or

oppressed."

--Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“All I'm saying is simply this: that all

mankind is tied together; all life is

interrelated, and we are all caught in an

inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a

single garment of destiny. Whatever affects

one directly, affects all indirectly. For some

strange reason I can never be what I ought

to be until you are what you ought to be.

And you can never be what you ought to be

until I am what I ought to be -- this is the

interrelated structure of reality.”

--Dr. Martin Luther King

This idea is present in both statements:

the existence of suffering in one person is

reciprocated by a feeling of incompleteness

in those who do not suffer. King suggests

that none of us can be who we “ought to

be” because we can’t truly experience

“humanness” while others are oppressed.

King is not talking specifically about

Ubuntu, but the parallels are remarkable.

This is similar to the Hegelian Master-Slave

dialectic, which imagines self-consciousness,

or full human development, as a social

phenomenon. That is, an individual cannot

achieve his or her full human potential

independent of other people. Ubuntu

becomes less attainable, more radical, but


Are you enjoying the

exploration of Ubuntu?

Send us an email at

[email protected]

Photo Credits: M. Schmitter

perhaps more inspiring in this

understanding.

D o I feel as if my humanity

is undermined by the

existence of oppression of

others? Definitely. Yet in

an age where we grow up desensitized to

the ugliness of modern life by its constant

presence in media, how affected am I by

uncountable civil wars in third-world

countries of which I don’t know the

names? How motivated am I to fully

examine the environmental and human

impact of my consumer decisions? The

sense of injustice in the world hovers

vaguely, like a dull pain that remains

unnamable, disconnected, undergoing

attenuation, fearing signal death. In

response we attempt to recreate and re-

experience the emotions of Ubuntu, but it

remains elusive.

I think Ubuntu, as understood

through King’s vision, functions as a

radical unveiling. Like a gadfly’s bite, it is

an attempt to remind us that our muted

emotion, our unfeeling, our disconnect—

these safeties and insulations from

oppression—are our greatest problems

and are impairments to our understanding

and action. Ultimately, the search for the

meaning of Ubuntu is left to those who

use and share it. As for me, living in the

spirit of Ubuntu demands the interior

removal of barriers to true perception

(the radical unveiling of ourselves), and

critically, engagement with the

environment that we actually live in, not

the one we imagine. City Year has

provided me with an experience which

has nurtured, sometimes painfully, both

parts of that directive. I will never be the

same and could not be more thankful.

■ Edward Plumb


W ithin the first five minutes of

meeting someone, it’s more than

likely that I’ll ask where he or she

is from. I’ll then proceed to list

off the names of the people who I know from that city

in hopes of finding a mutual friend. In the Jewish

world, this little game is known as Jewish geography

and almost always organically happens when two Jews

meet each other for the first time. Jews make up less

than 1% of the population worldwide though, while

40% of those Jews are concentrated in Israel. Yet, a

majority of the time, a common friend is found.

To the other 99% of the world, Jewish Geography

may be seen as a kin to the six degrees of separation.

Six degrees of separation is the theory, first postulated

by Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy, that everyone in

the world is only separated by five links.



T o think that we are connected to everyone

on planet earth through only six people is a

deeply profound and almost claustrophobic

notion. To think we are only five links away

from the girl who was born homeless and knew only

poverty her entire childhood. To think that we are only

five links away from the tourist who was stoned while

driving through the West Bank. To think; how often do

we think about our personal connectedness to the

world?

I know that “how many links away am I?” from

the guy who just cut me off in rush hour traffic is not

the first thing that crossed my mind. But, at least that

person crossed my mind. How many strangers a day do

we walk by and not even notice or consider for even a

second? If we cannot account for the feelings and

situations of those who’re only one link away from us,

then it is doubtful that we are able to empathize with

those who are three and four links away. Hillel a famous

Jewish scholar once said, "If I am not for myself, who

will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I? If

not now, when?" We are constantly struggling to find a

balance between self-interest and service to others. Take

our year at City Year for example. We work 40-50 hours

a week in order to serve the needs of our community.

We put the interests of our students and our team first,

that is our commitment and our mission, “to build

democracy through citizen service.” City Year also

strongly values self-care. PITW #174, “Seek Balance in

Life.” We cannot be the most effective if we are not

http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/abouthds/cost-consequences.html | http://everythreeseconds.net/about-the-issue/fast-facts | http://www.womensfundingnetwork.org/sites/wfnet.org/files/StatusofWorldsWomen_WFN.pdf | http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/06/car-accidents-claim-a-life-every-15-seconds-and-other-soberin/



feeling at maximum capacity in mind, body, or spirit.

U buntu is a southern African ethic or

humanist philosophy that depicts the

essence of being human as an individual’s

relationship with another. Desmond

Tutu explains that Ubuntu means “a person is a person

through other persons… I am because other people

are.” Our bond with other humans is the soul principal

that defines our humanity. It’s more than the golden

rule, because it does not just account for what we do or

do not do towards another, since regardless of (how we

act/positive or negative actions), we are all bound

together. The Zulu proverb states, “My humanity is tied

to yours.” It’s a principal of compassion, human dignity,

empathy, and respect. It’s our right and our

responsibility to promote the well-being of individuals

and society. It’s the synthesis of self-interest and service

to others, because being truly interested in the self

means to be truly interested in others.

In the roughly 2 minutes and 30 seconds that it’s taken

to read this far, 4 people in the U.S. have died of a heart

attack, 5 African children have died from malaria, 2

women have died from pregnancy or childbirth-related

causes, and 38 people worldwide have died in car

accidents. U.S. Census Bureau’s statistics on the number

of deaths per second worldwide would bring us to a

rough total estimate of 277 people who have died since

beginning to read this article. As if these facts are not

http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/abouthds/cost-consequences.html | http://everythreeseconds.net/about-the-issue/fast-facts | http://www.womensfundingnetwork.org/sites/wfnet.org/files/StatusofWorldsWomen_WFN.pdf | http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/06/car-accidents-claim-a-life-every-15-seconds-and-other-soberin/


sobering enough, we also live in a world that produces

“more than three times the food it would take to feed

every man, woman, and child on the planet, yet more

than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day, 300

million are children” and “almost 100 billion pounds of

food is wasted in America each year,” as stated in the

documentary film Every Three Seconds. Also, according

to the United Nations, “women do 2/3 of the world's

work yet earn only 5% of the world's income and own

less than 1% of the world's real property.” As I type

this, my blood is boiling. These statistics DISGUST me

and all too often they live in my subconscious. Recalling

them to memory is all I need to fuel my passion.

I believe that one person's ideas and actions can

change the world. I aim to inspire, empower, and uplift

individuals while breaking barriers and cycles of

oppression, because I believe that every individual is

entitled to a set of universal human rights.

■ Beth Roseman

“...I believe that every individual is entitled to a set of universal human rights.”

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/06/car-accidents-claim-a-life-every-15-seconds-and-other-soberin/



Juan Mosquera Corps Member

CSX Team @ LMSA


UBUNTU EVOLUTION

L ooking back on my childhood, the

principle of UBUNTU was very prevalent in

the early years of my life. I was born here

in Columbus, Ohio to an American

mother and an Afro-Colombian father, and grew

up with my older brother Don Antonio and

younger sister Aisha. When I was two years old,

however, my family moved back to my dad’s

home country of Colombia. There I experienced a

diverse and uninhibited childhood. I danced,

played, rode bikes with neighborhood kids, and

went to the candy store and bakery often.

Juan Mosquera Corps Member

CSX Team @ LMSA

Juan’s

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We grew up speaking both English

and Spanish and many times even combined them together. Without much effort, I instinctively knew when to use each language during conversation with others. It was just all one language to me. In those four years we lived in Colombia, I never once noticed the difference in skin color between my mom and dad, or the skin color of anyone else around me. Through the innocent eyes of my childhood, the unspoken assumption was that equality and connectedness governed the world. As I began to grow up, however, things started to change. During our last year in Colombia, I witnessed my brother go through different struggles. DonAntonio would come home crying, because kids at school were bullying him. I felt sorry for my brother, and his struggles made me more sensitive to others. That same year, I witnessed a new chubby boy go

through similar taunts on the playground, and I made sure that he knew he could find a friend in me by sitting with him at lunch. It was these early experiences of intolerance that set me on the path to treat each person in a compassionate and understanding way.

W hen I left Colombia, however, my childhood innocence was severely shaken. I

was seven years old when we moved back to the U.S., and we were living in Mt. Vernon, Ohio at my grandma’s house. My grandma didn’t like my siblings and I speaking in Spanish and protested harshly. Her negative reaction to Spanish planted a potent seed that a part of myself was not good. Experiences at school further reinforced this idea. One day after school, we came home and my brother DonAntonio asked, “Mom, what’s a Nigger?” She quickly called back: “Who taught you that?”. He responded that a girl at school had

called him that name and he didn’t know what it meant. At first it seemed silly and random, but similar events occurred later, and the idea that “I am different and not as good” began sinking even deeper. As a result of these events, I began to reject my already formed concept of who I was, and began a long journey of discovering who I “should” be according to society’s standards.

What’s funny is the evolution of my answer to this question “Who am I?” seemed to be defined mostly by the incessant questions of my schoolmates. These questions of“ What are you?” Or “Where are you from?” Or “What ethnicity are you?” followed me throughout my school career. From 2nd grade through senior year in high school, I must have gone through every stage of identifying with each race that composes my identity. Surrounded by mostly white classmates, in early elementary I began to strictly conform to the action and speech of those

Below Left: Juan with his brother, sister and Father in Columbia. Below Right Top: Juan at school in Columbia. Below Right: Juan and

his brother at Disney World. Next: Juan, his brother, and his sister in their home in Columbia.


around me. I would say to myself, “I just want to be normal, it’d be so much easier to just be White.” Somewhere inside I felt different, and I wanted to feel that I belonged somewhere. Then, in 3rd grade I read a book on Martin Luther King Jr. that impacted me deeply. I vividly remember his story about how one day he went up and knocked on his neighbors’ door to play with his White friend and the boy’s mother, with tears in her eyes, told him that they couldn’t play anymore. I felt moved by his story and identified with his struggle. When I was in 4th grade, my mom and dad divorced. My mom, my siblings and myself moved into a new house, and embarrassing as it may sound, I used to collect JET Magazines and wallpaper my wall with them. At this point, I had learned that my father was Black and because he wasn’t living with us anymore, I guess doing this gave me the feeling that I was connected somehow. Being one of the only colored kids around, for many years after I simply thought felt I was Black. Simple. The evolution of my race identity continued, but what lacked was a feeling that I belonged somewhere to somebody. I went on looking for it in girls, friends and shallow identities and felt trapped.

I t wasn’t until the summer after my freshman year of college when I returned to Colombia for the first time in

12 years, that I truly felt free. The trip was profound and beautiful, and I again reconnected with the freeness and innocence I once was in tune with as a child. Hearing the soulful music, tasting the delicious food, and seeing the breathtaking sites brought me a feeling of home deep inside. I started to feel at peace with who I was there with my


family. After going through so many iterations and confusion about my identity, I finally felt free from these concepts. I thought, “It doesn’t matter. Why should I limit myself to these narrow identifications? Above everything, I am a human being.”

Ubuntu for me has been a deeply rooted journey and is something that has continued to evolve. A few weeks ago when our team viewed the movie “Crash”, I came to a profound realization. Before, I’d found the movie intense with violence and confusion, but this time the multiple storylines effortlessly linked together before my eyes. I found myself finding deep meaning in the story line and felt a true sense of compassion for each connected character. Seeing this movie again served as a fresh reminder and helped me “get to the balcony” and realize that no matter the situation we find ourselves in, it’s possible

that those around us are experiencing some struggle equal to or more burdensome then the one we’re in.

Even in one of my least favorite scenes when the cruel police officer violated the man’s wife, I could see the transfer of hurt from suffering at the expense of his poor father’s medical condition. Each dramatic plot turn pulled at my heart in a grand realization that each action and reaction we make matters and in turn is experienced in the larger system. This may sound like the often clichéd phenomenon known as Karma, but I believe that it is not to be overlooked. Each one of us is intimately connected, just as fish are connected through the water in which they swim. Just as a single movement in water ripples outwards infinitely, each of our manifested thoughts and actions in turn affects the system at large. Although we are

diverse in many ways, we all share the same struggles with our families, friends, romantic pursuits, and career ambitions.

To me, Ubuntu is finding compassion in our everyday interactions, and acting with a peaceful inner intention to view the humanity in each person’s eyes we encounter. We all make mistakes and are faced with situations that are far from ideal, but ultimately it’s up to us how we respond. In the end, our minds are simply conditioned by the outside world to see the relative differences of the people who surround us. However, by working to accept others and see all around you as your very own can change this mindset and bring tranquility to life. Adopting this attitude improves not only your own peace of mind and quality of life, but also that of everyone else you encounter.

■ Juan Mosquera


these sponsors for supporting

The South High Harmony Project

students in their travels to Washington, D.C.

Donald Company Realtors

The Jeffry Company

Fifth Third Bank

Gold Tech

and

David White

To learn more about the South Harmony High Project turn to page 44.


M y fondest memories in

high school came from

extracurricular

activities. Being

aggressively non-competitive, I sought

artistic opportunities over sports, so

choir and theater became big parts of

my school life. I also sought expression

in student-led community service

groups based upon issues of social

justice, such as Student Council and

Key Club International. I believe that I

was able to find more joy in my school

experience through these activities, and

as a result I put more effort into the

schoolwork itself, even if at times it felt

tedious and unimportant.

When I first entered South High to

start my year of service, I was surprised

that the school had no student council,

no community service organization and

no choir. As I got to know my students,

and began to really care for them, I

became increasingly troubled about the

lack of meaningful after-school

programming. Without programs to

enrich and enhance their school

experience, it is no wonder so many

students felt school to be so one-

and service experience to South’s students.

The South High Harmony Project has been

rehearsing with David and has performed at

the Southern Theater in front of thousands of

audience members. Additionally, members

received a special request to sing at Mayor

Coleman’s State of the City address. The

project has gained recognition nationally for

bringing something so important to our 7-12th

graders.

Instead of singing classical choir music,

the choir learns songs a bit more current and

relevant to their lives. Queen’s “We Will Rock

You,” was the initial “hit” – performed at the

Southern Theater with a few changed words -

“South High Pride All Up in this Place!” They

then learned “Hall of Fame” by The Script

and “Will I Am” – a special request from

Mayor Michael Coleman. Many SHHP

students have dreams of being successful in

music as well as in other arenas – and the

messages of these songs have been nothing

short of inspiring to the members of the

choir. The choir is currently working on a

rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the

Mirror” with an original rap inserted in the

middle by one of our students about social

justice, change, and personal transformation.

Being in a choir can be a metaphor for

community – different people take different

South High Harmony Project

dimensional and difficult to engage in.

Enter David Brown.

In the fall, I reached out to David Brown,

artistic director of the Columbus Harmony

Project, an arts and service organization

through which broadly diverse community

members have joyfully sang and served the

community together over the past few years. I

envisioned David, the talented, charismatic

leader that he is, bringing something

important to our students at South that many

have not experienced before: artistic

expression, school pride and the spirit of

service. Thankfully, David was quite drawn to

the idea of bringing “Harmony” to South

High. To my astonishment and delight, within

ten minutes of our initial conversation, he

replied, “I’m in!” South High and the

Columbus community has not been the same

since David and the Harmony Project became

part of our lives.

In October, David joined with Executive

Director of City Year Columbus, Todd

Tuney, to discuss bringing together the two

non-profit organizations for the benefit of

our students. As corps members, we really

saw a need for the creation of a meaningful

after-school experience and we helped merge

the two groups together to bring the choir

Building Communities and Character Through Music

Far Left: South High Harmony Project’s

first onstage rehearsal

Right: David Brown and SHHP

practice afterschool

Far Right: SHHP perform for the Mayor’s

annual State of the City address


parts and are bonded together. The songs are

how the community communicates, within

itself and out to others. Being part of

something bigger than you and taking on the

responsibility of rehearsals and commitments

that come with group involvement, all help

students socialize themselves into a larger role

and find their place in this world.

S outh High Harmony Project is

currently at approximately 50

members and is growing as new

students continue to join each week.

This academic quarter, in addition to learning

new music and performing in front of large

crowds, SHHP students will be cleaning up

the surrounding neighborhood, helping to

beautify parts of the city that have previously

been neglected, and creating photography and

film presentations about their school, their

community and themselves.

Part of the beauty of the program is that

students, even the ones who may have

significant academic challenges or who are

not particularly well-behaved, are able to find

a niche wherein they can still feel proud and

confident. We have already seen that many of

these students are improving their academics

and their attitudes as a result of the boost of

the project. It is important to David that all

kids are welcome – it is intrinsic to the

program’s purpose. Some of these kids need a

reason to be excited about coming to school,

and Harmony Project fits that bill – so it is

also a hope of David and City Year that we

use the experience as an incentive for being

well-behaved and attending school regularly.

Therefore, there are certain performances and

activities that kids who “mess up” in school

are not able to partake in; and since they have

bought in to David and the Project, they

don’t want to miss these opportunities.

T he biggest activity of all that is on

the horizon is a trip to

Washington D.C. Senior Vice

President and Dean of City Year

at large, Charlie Rose, has invited the South

High Harmony Project to perform at the City

Year National Summit in May. In order to

attend the overnight trip, students are held to

high standards – they must participate in the

majority of rehearsals, must do two big

community service projects, and must have

acceptable conduct in the classroom and in

rehearsals. Additionally, any suspensions after

April 18 automatically disqualify a student

from traveling with the choir. City Year and

David Brown are reinforcing that it is a

privilege and an experience they will never

forget – that will lead the way for future out

of state trips and experiences with this choir.

This push to do well is already paying off. We

have seen an increase in attendance to school

and a decrease in suspensions in many of

our students who wish to remain eligible –

and I like to think they are also changing

more broadly as a result of participating in a

program that is so much about building

character and taking responsibility – socially

and for your own actions.

For many of our students, visiting

Washington will be their first school trip, the

first time leaving the state of Ohio, and for

some, even the first time away from the

Southside of Columbus.

Music is so powerful in building

community. When students feel they have a

collective voice, that people care about their

voice, and that they have the power to help

and serve their community, they have

respect and purpose. Music lifts us to new

ideas and feelings, and music done

collectively shows us that when we work “in

harmony” with others we can accomplish

great things. The power of the South High

Harmony Project is that it is not music

alone, and not service alone, but the

combination of the two that can lift an

underachieving school toward greater self-

respect, greater confidence, and a new place

within each student and in the larger

community.

■ Danielle Moses, First Year Corps Member

South High Harmony

Project rocks the stage.

46| cityyear.org | 2013 April

W ith International Women’s Day a few weeks behind us, and Equal Pay

Day quickly approaching, it seems like a perfect time to talk about feminism.

Of course, I would argue that it’s always a perfect time to talk about feminism. And although the continued struggle for gender equality persists across the globe, for the sake of brevity we will examine only the need for feminism in the United States.

Feminism tends to be seen as a dirty word, the taboo “f” word of social issues. Those of us who would call ourselves Feminists are

often given the labels of “man-hater,” “lesbian,” or “feminazi.” As if the search and desire for still-lagging equality could be so casually compared to one of the greatest atrocities of history!

Some of the antagonism for the word comes from a firm belief that it is unnecessary. We have women in the workforce, maternity leave, and two popular female candidates who gained national attention leading up to the 2008 presidential election. We don’t need feminism, the argument goes. Women are equal. We have laws in place. Gender inequality, at least where the United States is concerned, has ended. Success. High fives all around.

Except… Not.

No one individual will admit to being sexist, yet we as a country still pay women less than men, restrict access to basic healthcare rights, and have a huge underrepresentation of women in

positions of power. Equal Pay Day, which falls on April 9th this year, symbolically represents the day in which the average woman will have finally earned the same wage as a man did the year before.1 This pay disparity is particularly prominent in women of color. Although the passing of pay-equity laws have helped to bridge this gap from the dismal 59 cents to a man’s dollar, the 2010-2012 data from the National Women’s Law Center still is not promising. In Ohio, women working full time average 77 cents to the dollar for equivalent jobs. This is a gap that persists across all levels of education. Pay, however, is not the only issue affecting women in the workplace. Women who are mothers are less likely to be hired than both men (regardless of parental status) and their childless counterparts, and on average make even less.2 The United States is also one of only four nations across the world that does not require some form of paid leave for new mothers.3 On average, one in four women will face domestic violence in her lifetime.4 This number, like so many statistics, increases dramatically in women of color and situations of poverty. There is also a tendency for assaults, physical and sexual, to go unreported, and many victims report that they felt like they would not be believed if they came forward.5 Compare these chilling statistics to the constant claim of false reporting (there are entire websites, such as falserape.net, that chronicle the “abundance” of these cases as evidence), and it becomes very difficult to claim that women are truly equal.

The Ongoing Struggle

for Gender Equality in

the United States

Rosie the Riveter, a popular symbol of female empowerment. Image by Westinghouse Company

The Ceiling Higher, but Not Gone Yet

| cityyear.org |47 2013 April

M y identity as a woman is the first thing people read about me. Judgments and

assumptions are immediately made because of this one chromosomal fact. Our society does not have much use for an identity outside of the gender dichotomy, and resists crossing over between the two. When women defy their femininity, whether by fulfilling a “man’s” role or not wanting children or even something as trivial as wearing their hair short, they do so with the risk of facing anger, condescension, and even violence. Transwomen are more likely to be homeless or face violence in their lifetime, a result of ingrained disgust at a “man” who “pretends” to be a woman. Many aspects of our society reject the crossing of gender roles , and seek to keep one gender firmly above the other. Again, this is not something anyone wants to admit to. Every day we see it, hear it, and yet we don’t even notice it. It’s in the jobs we overwhelmingly assign to specific gender, the way we interact with newborns, the comedy movies we watch, the way we criticize politicians differently. This subtle sexism has leaked into literally every level of our infrastructure, and that leads to a desperate need for feminism. So often I am told to just accept these things. We’ve come a long way, you know, so that’s good enough. Can’t I just accept that it’s a movie, and move on? How do you know you’re being paid less than a guy? Maybe he’s more qualified. Maybe he has more experience. Not everything is what you think it is. Not everything happens that way. If you don’t want to face discrimination, don’t do this. Don’t act that way. Stay in line. Don’t be one of those women.

But I will NOT just go with things the way they are. I will not accept a world that values one gender over another. I will not accept a criminal justice

system that questions the actions of a female victim before punishing the criminal. I will not accept that I must choose between being a “doormat” or a “witch,” for there is no in-between when it comes to voicing my opinions. This kind of thinking hurts everyone. Not even the men are safe in a world without feminism. As long as we place one gender above the other, then men must fear being seen as feminine, and thus become trapped themselves. This kind of world is what makes it difficult for men to report being victims of domestic violence. It is this fear of being seen as feminine that makes men less likely to be diagnosed with or receive treatment for eating disorders and breast cancer, both seen as women’s diseases. It is this hatred that punishes “girly” hobbies like the arts. It is what encourages men to separate from their emotions, labeling those who don’t as crybabies, wusses, and weaklings. “Be a real man,” we tell the men who fall out of line. This is not so very different from the standards we push on women. To those who would prefer to identify with neither gender, our society pushes back, unsure of how to treat them without our very set standards. Everyone would benefit from a society that truly held the genders as equal. And because our humanities are tied to one another, none of us should be content until we can make that society a reality. ■ Mirria Martin, First Year Corps Member

Corps Members and students were asked the words they thought of when they heard the word Feminist. Larger words were repeated more often. Image created by Wordle.com

Early feminist movements often

focused on women’s suffrage.

Colum

bus

The Idealist - April

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