People and their lives should become the focus of the ongoing debate about immigration, Bluffton University's 2009-10 Civic Engagement Scholar argued in a March 16 presentation to a campus audience.
Dr. Paul Neufeld Weaver, assistant professor of education, cited the case of Ad'an, a friend who applied for political asylum in the United States after fleeing Guatemala in 1985.
Twenty-five years later, the case is still unresolved, Weaver said, noting the need to find a compromise to fix "a system that's completely broken" and get people like Ad'an out of limbo.
Bluffton music ministry comes 'Shining Through' on spring-break tour
The 20 Bluffton University undergraduates who comprise Shining Through, a music ministry team, contributed to the Haiti earthquake relief effort during their spring break.
Among the stops on the team's 10-day tour through North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania was the Mennonite Central Committee Material Resource Center, an Akron, Pa., site where items are collected to send to people in need overseas.
Sheri Hostetler, pastor of First Mennonite Church in San Francisco, Calif., and a Bluffton University graduate, will discuss "Sexual Ethics Beyond the Rules" at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 30, in Bluffton's Founders Hall. The Women's Studies Forum is free and open to the public.
Hostetler will explore a sexual ethic that goes beyond dos and don'ts, addressing such questions as values and principles that should guide sexual relating and how individuals can become more faithful and discerning moral agents when it comes to sexual expression.
A new competition will highlight the annual Bach Festival at Bluffton University.
The university's music department will host Bach Festival 2010 on Friday and Sunday, March 26 and 28. The weekend includes the traditional Bach's Lunch on Friday and Sunday's Bach Festival Concert, which will open at 2:30 p.m. in Yoder Recital Hall with the Mosiman Young Artist Competition. The events are free and open to the public.
Bluffton University will host the Golden Dragon Acrobats at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 18, in Founders Hall.
The performance is part of the 2009-10 Bluffton University Artist Series. Bluffton will offer a Family Fun Pack of tickets priced at $75 for two adults and up to three children ages 6-18. Children under the age of 5 are free. Single adult general admission tickets are $24 and $18 for seniors.
Contact the box office at [email protected] or 419-358-3239 for further ticket information.
Dr. Christina Gringeri, associate professor of social work at the University of Utah, will present "Social Work in the Twenty-First Century: Riding the Waves of Immigration, or Missing the Boat?" at 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 23, in Bluffton University's Founders Hall. Free and open to the public, the forum is part of the Smucker Lecture Series.
Gringeri's address will explore the profession of social work and where it fits in the immigration debate in the United States. She will also speak at an afternoon workshop focusing on health care reform in the U.S.
