NVC Faculty and Staff Development on Restorative Justice and Conflict Management Skills, Nov. 2
NVC hosted Greg Meyer and Chirs Ehrhard from La Fayette College and James Madison University respectively as they facilitated the Conflict Management Training: Methodologies and Practical Applications where they introduced a restorative justice approach to dealing with conflicts. Through restorative justice the aim is to restore relationships that have been damaged as a result of conflict; whether the conflict was a simple misunderstanding or a clear violation of another person’s trust, respect or rules of behavior (such as a law, a student code of conduct or an employee/employer code of conduct). Once such relationships have been “mended,” as best as possible, it allows restoring a more peaceful environment in which to live, work and learn. Therefore, making a more conducive environment for “working together”and avoiding or reducing future conflicts.
This conflict management training workshop also aimed at developing a solid foundation in which to build a culture of non-violence in our NVC community that will help us reduce conflict and as well as allowing us to better serve our students. This workshop provided basic skills in developing our capacity to see beyond the “wrongdoing” or “act/behavior” that is causing or has caused a particular conflict. By listening to all the parties involved and learning and understanding what their “needs” are for solving the conflict, we can begin to “discover” what our “obligations” may be in order to meet those“needs” in particular the needs of our students whether it is in the classroom or assisting them during the registration and adivising process.
This training workshop was divided into two sessions; a general 4-hour morning session with the basic concepts of restorative justice and role playing where 100 people participated. The second session in the afternoon allowed participants to brainstorm and apply some of those concepts from the earlier session into specific environments at NVC; from classroom settings to student advising. There were 33 participants in the afternoon focus session making the overal training workshop a succcess! This training workshop was put together in collaboration between the Peace and Conflict Studies Program, Faculty/Staff Development and Student Success.
This conflict management training workshop also aimed at developing a solid foundation in which to build a culture of non-violence in our NVC community that will help us reduce conflict and as well as allowing us to better serve our students. This workshop provided basic skills in developing our capacity to see beyond the “wrongdoing” or “act/behavior” that is causing or has caused a particular conflict. By listening to all the parties involved and learning and understanding what their “needs” are for solving the conflict, we can begin to “discover” what our “obligations” may be in order to meet those“needs” in particular the needs of our students whether it is in the classroom or assisting them during the registration and adivising process.
This training workshop was divided into two sessions; a general 4-hour morning session with the basic concepts of restorative justice and role playing where 100 people participated. The second session in the afternoon allowed participants to brainstorm and apply some of those concepts from the earlier session into specific environments at NVC; from classroom settings to student advising. There were 33 participants in the afternoon focus session making the overal training workshop a succcess! This training workshop was put together in collaboration between the Peace and Conflict Studies Program, Faculty/Staff Development and Student Success.
NVC Presidential Debate Watches and Registering Students and Employees to Vote!More than 400 NVC students gathered to watch the two presidential debates between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney in the month of October. Students were also able to meet some of their local political candidates and elected officials including U.S. Rrepresentative Joaquin Castro.
The debate watches were part of NVC's efforts to raise awareness about civic engagement among our student population and registering people to vote. Several NVC faculty and staff became deputized to register people to vote and NVC was able to register over 700 students and employees during our "Getting-Out-the-Vote" drive! Our civic engagement campaign was a great success and we look forward to continue raising awareness on good citizenship and getting people involved in the community. This event was sponsored by the Democracy Commitment, Project Dem, the Office of Student Life, the Peace & Conflict Studies Program, SA Votes and Rock the Vote. |
"The Last Survivor" Screening and Workshop on Genocide, June 22, 2012.
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Cecil Hynds-Riddle from the Brady Center: Gun Violence and Gun Control in America, April 24
Speaking to a room full of sutdents and faculty, Ms. Hynds-Riddle focused on raising awareness about gun violence in American and gun laws in Texas in particular. She shared with the audience valuable statistical information to encourage further dialogue on gun violence and gun control laws including video testimonies of victims of gun violence and their families. After her presentation, the floor was opened for questions bringing about a very lively exchange from those in favor and against stricter gun control laws. Almost 200 people participated in this event and several instructors took advantage of this presentation to develop class assignments related to their own disciplines.
Speaking Presentations by Juan Roberto Melendez Colon:
The Death Penalty in America, April 12
Mr. Melendez’ story about his experiences on death row after being wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit are testament to the legal, moral and ethical complexities that surround the death penalty and underscore the flaws in our legal and prison systems whose focus is mainly “retributive” and “punitive” rather than “redemptive” and “justice-seeking” and where emotions are often exploited for political expediency and the life of a human being oftentimes becomes a simple notch in the “scorecard of death” in our system’s attempts to justify our delusional or surreal notions of “justice.” Upon his release from prison on January 3, 2002, Mr. Melendez became the 99th death row prisoner to be released since 1973 after he was found innocent of the charges. To date, the number of death row inmates released after their convictions were overturned stands at 138. This large number of death row prisoners being released after new evidence exonarated them gives pause to further examine the issue of the death penalty. There were over 200 participants combined from the afternoon and evening sessions.
Faculty and Staff Development ---- Visit to San Antonio Holocaust Memorial Museum, March 9
As part of our educarion series on genocide we organized a field trip for NVC faculty and staff to the San Antonio Holocaust Memorial Museum with more than 30 participants. During our visit, we toured the museum exhibit and learned about the origins and history of the Holocaust with a presentation by a museum docent. The highlight of our visit was a speaking presentation from Holocaust survivor, George Fodor, who survived the concentration camps after being rounded up with his family in his native Hungary and finally liberated by the US army from Theresienstadt (Terezin) in Czechoslovakia on May 9, 1945. When asked what one lesson he would want young people to get from the Holocaust he said we should focus on the “preservation of life and community”—in essence to look after one another. This field trip was multipurpose: to further educate faculty and staff on the Holocaust and about the consequences of prejudice, discrimination, stereotypes and racism; to promote our Peace and Conflict Studies program and recruit faculty across disciplines to incorporate a conflict resolution emphasis into their disciplines and classrooms; and to develop a relationship with the Holocaust Museum as part of our reaching out to and working with our community. In addition, I will be working with the Holocaust Museum to develop workshops and professional trainings for faculty/staff as well as students. We plan to schedule future museum field trips to include students as we also incorporate the lessons from the Holocaust into our curricula. This event was a great learning experience and at by the end of our visit two other field trips, this time for students, had been organized and two additional faculty members committed themselves to join our NVC Peace and Conflict Studies program!