Issue link: http://tcnj.uberflip.com/i/1039487
e College of New Jersey ANNUAL REPORT 2017–2018 SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES VOICES CARRY Twelve students conducted in-depth interviews with residents at the Rescue Mission of Trenton for a pilot class on homelessness taught by Associate Professor of Anthropology Rachel Adler. "Homelessness is a national epidemic, but it has unique local manifestations," she said. "Trenton can teach us a great deal about patterns of urbanization in other U.S. cities." There were 52 interviews during the fall semester — each lasting up to an hour. In teams of two, students asked four open-ended questions and found common themes in many answers, such as histories of incarceration and health issues. "It was incredibly eye opening," said Brynn Holbrook '18. It was the second research class Maxine Lopez '19 took with Adler. "I wouldn't have been able to get this experience at a larger school." Aimee Maier, team care coordinator at the Mission, said residents also appreciated the exercise. "It can be a traumatic experience to come into a shelter. It's really therapeutic for individuals to feel that they are heard," said Maier. The TCNJ group made presentations at an April meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in Philadelphia. STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT Four international studies majors spent time overseas with support from two competitive scholarship programs sponsored by the federal government. Rafiatu Nawuridam '19 received a Boren Scholarship to support her studies of Arabic in Amman, Jordan. Scott Borton '20 spent the academic year at Kansai Gaidai University in Hirakata City, Japan, thanks to a Gilman Scholarship. Boyana Georgieva '18 also received a Gilman Scholarship to aid her studies of Arabic at Sofia University in Bulgaria during the spring semester, and Julie Scesney '18 enhanced her Spanish-speaking skills studying Latin American poetry in Viña del Mar, Chile, at the Universidad Adolfo Ibañéz on a Gilman Scholarship. WE ARE WHAT WE EAT Internationally renowned environmentalist and feminist Vandana Shiva offered her perspective on the college's 2017–18 intellectual theme, "Who We Are," during the 2018 Dawley Memorial Lecture, sponsored by the Alan Dawley Center for the Study of Social Justice in April. Shiva gave advice on creating a daily routine that is respectful of the earth and encouraging listeners to think about where their food comes from. "There is no separation between the health of the planet and our health," she said.