After the election

With the latest post-election madness that is going around on campus, JMC faculty has been doing a great job on trying to explain to how the outcome came to be. The 201 Freshmen lecture, which was held after the election, was used as a roundtable in which many JMC professors participated and was basically a debriefing on the events that happened the previous nights. They all did a great job of keeping the conversation non-partisan. They also had their office hours open to talking to us students about what we were feeling. 

There were many groups around campus that were also offering a safe place to students who has mixed feelings about the election outcomes. Such places included Black Student Alliance (BSA), Cultura de Las Razas Unidas (CRU), North American Indigenous Student Organization (NAISO), Asian Pacific American Student Organization (APASO). Other groups aside from the cultural ones also offered a safe place to express their thoughts such as LBGTQ+ Resource Center and many different religious groups. 

On November 10th, many of these of groups got together to form a rally at the famous Rock on campus to show that hate will not be tolerated on this campus. They had many student leadersspeak and remind any students that there were many, many safe places on campus to talk about how you are feeling. After this rally, the groups proceeded to lead the massive amounts of students on a march that went along Farm Lane to Grand River and continued on Beal Street until the students reached the Administration Building. Throughout the entire march, the students tried to keep the message clear that this was an anti-hate rally. It was kept peaceful while the entire event lasted from 5:30 to roughly 8pm. 

Overall this campus has been doing a great job of combating hate within the student body and promoting love instead. There have been many resources made available to the students here. Thankfully in the months to come these resources will continue to be there for students to express their feelings without feeling judged no matter their political affiliations.

Chantal 

Freshman 

IR 

Braving the Cold: An Out-of-State Perspective

I am cold…at all times. It is unusual for me to have a day where I don't walk into the dining hall of Case sit down at a table full of my friends and declare “I am utterly frozen”. There responses have drifted from laughter to distress at my lack of a coat and finally to relief as I walked into the dining hall yesterday wearing a full length black puffy jacket. 

Needless to say I was completely unprepared for the weather. Coming from Southern Missouri where it is warm all the time, I wasn't ready to freeze or see my breathe as I exhale on the daily basis.

But as cold as I am there is nothing like riding through campus on my bike when everyone is asleep or in class and just feeling the cold air rush past. I fell in love with Michigan, Michigan State and James Madison in the short time I have been here. Madison is both the metaphorical and the literal warmth in my life…we have a community of people and of professors who are endlessly supportive in every instance. 

College is hard, you will be cold, you will miss your mom, and ultimately you will in some way be unprepared.  Madison gives you a place where that is okay, because you can grow and build up from there. As corny as it is I am always cold but then I step into Case Hall and as the warmth returns to my extremities I am reminded that Case Hall and James Madison are a family that supports each other and warms one another through thick and through thin.

Sydney

Freshman

Field Experience--A Learning Experience

Internships are a huge part of the learning experience at James Madison College. My field experience working on a U.S. House of Representatives race has been an amazing extracurricular opportunity for me. There are multiple Madison students whom I work with everyday outside the classroom and the learning experience is like nothing else. 

The ability to apply the skills I’ve gained during my time at the college hasallowed me to expand my horizons while learning how to operate on a daily basis in a professional environment. The field experience office- especially Max Olivero, the field experience director- have made the opportunity as smooth and optimal as possible. 

In conjunction with my faculty advisor for my MC401 research I have been able to garner new skills and knowledge in both the professional field and through writing and reading for my research. The faculty advisors I have had made my dual role as a student and intern an exciting one and a formative one. 

The ability for me to choose a field of research I am very interested in has sparked my passion to write the thesis and the internship is in a field that has inspired me to expand my reach. I now have a fairly solid idea of what I would like to do after graduation and my field experience has helped shape and form this idea. It is a unique facet of my James Madison education, and one I will cherish long after it is finished.

Jeremy

Senior

PTCD