SCCC Better Together- Nov. 2012

A LSO INS IDE : MEET THE 2012– 2013 VISTA S | FULLY ENGAGED | IN THEIR OWN WORDS

SOUTH CAROLINA CAMPUS COMPACT MEMBER INSTITUTIONS SERVE AND REMEMBER

Better Together Designer, Editor: Elizabeth Crumley

[email protected]

Winthrop University

Dr. Anthony DiGiorgio, Chairman

Benedict College

Dr. David Holmes Swinton

Charleston Southern University

Dr. Jairy C. Hunter Jr.

Claflin University

Dr. Henry N. Tisdale

Clemson University

James F. Barker

Coastal Carolina University

Dr. David A. DeCenzo

College of Charleston

Dr. P. George Benson

Columbia College

Elizabeth A. Dinndorf

Converse College

Dr. Elizabeth A. Flemming

Greenville Technical College

Dr. Keith Miller

Midlands Technical College

Dr. Marshall White, Jr.

Newberry College

Dr. Maurice William Sherrens

The Citadel

Lt Gen John W. Rosa

The University of South Carolina

Dr. Harris Pastides

The University of South Carolina–

Beaufort

Dr. Jane T. Upshaw


Upstate

Dr. Thomas F. Moore

Wofford College

Dr. Benjamin Bernard Dunlap

I N THIS I SSUE

Letter from the Executive Director

Meet the 2012-2013 AmeriCorps VISTAs

9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance

Fully Engaged

In Their Own Words

Meet South Carolina Campus Compact’s new

Executive Director and learn why promoting civic

engagement in institutions of higher learning is

becoming more important than it has been before.

SCCC is pleased to introduce our twenty-four 2012-

2013 AmeriCorps VISTAs tasked with the goal of

impacting poverty in South Carolina.

Originally launched in 2002, this effort first estab-

lished the tradition of engaging in charitable ser-

vice to the 9/11 victims, survivors, and those who

rose up in service in response to the attacks. In this

issue we highlight our member institution’s service.

Catch up with the many diverse service events

from South Carolina Campus Compact’s 17 mem-

ber institutions.

Newberry College VISTA Amanda McSwine reflects

on the System Justification Theory. Wofford College

VISTA Sarah Hager shows how impactful sustainabil-

ity can be. Clemson University VISTA Emily Nuss

shows Clemson students the true nature of poverty.

USC VISTA Beth Brink speaks about the importance

of reflection when serving.

South Carolina Campus Compact (SCCC), formed in May of

2008, is a coalition of 17 South Carolina colleges and universi-

ties working to promote and develop the civic purposes of

higher education. Through this work, the SCCC improves the

ability of higher education institutions to partner with their

communities to collectively impact community needs and

provide real world learning for college students. Members of

SCCC collaborate to share and seek resources and best

practices, mobilizing students, faculty, and staff toward this

end.

SOUTH CAROLINA CAMPUS COMPACT

PRESIDENTS’ COUNCIL

2 BETTER TOGETHER|SOUTH CAROLINA CAMPUS COMPACT|FALL 2012

Benedict College

Ms. Tondeleya Jackson


Dr. Rick Brewer

Dr. Hester Young

Claflin University

Ms. Carolyn Snell

Ms. Jennifer Holliday

Clemson University

Ms. Jennifer Shurley

Ms. Jennifer Goree

Coastal Carolina University

Ms. Whitney Comer


Ms. Stephanie Visser

Columbia College

Ms. Mary Carlisle

Dr. Ned Laff

Converse College

Rev. Jason Loscuito


Ms. Susan Gasque

Ms. Sandra Hartsell

Midlands Technical College

Ms. Mary Rawls

Dr. Diane Carr

Newberry College

Dr. Joseph McDonald

The Citadel

Dr. Conway Saylor

The University of South Carolina

Dr. Jimmie Gahagan

Dr. Susan Alexander

Dr. Dottie Weigel

Ms. Theresa Harrison


Beaufort

Dr. James Glasson

Ms. Kate Torborg Vermilyea

The University of South Carolina-

Upstate

Ms. Kara Ferguson

Winthrop University

Ms. Ellin McDonough

Ms. Laura Foster

Wofford College

Ms. Jessalyn Story

CAMPUS COORDINATORS AND

VISTA SUPERVISORS

Cover Photo Courtesy of University of South Carolina— Upstate from September 2012

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BETTER TOGETHER|SOUTH CAROLINA CAMPUS COMPACT|FALL 2012 3

LETTER FROM THE

EXECUTIVE D IRECTOR Dear Members and Supporters,

Now in the midst of its fifth year, at 17 members strong,

South Carolina Campus Compact has made great

strides in building a strong organization dedicated to

supporting the civic engagement and service-learning

initiatives on our members’ campuses. During my first

three months here at SCCC, I have

been inspired by the efforts on

each of these campuses to devel-

op well-rounded, socially con-

scious students, leading them to

make measurable and sustainable

impact in our communities. Just in

this past year alone, we have rec-

orded over 18,000 volunteers who

have committed themselves to

almost 250,000 hours of service in

their communities. These numbers

have increased each year, but

more importantly the scope and

depth of the service opportunities being offered has

been broadened allowing for a heightened awareness

of and a definitive impact on community challenges.

Our AmeriCorps VISTA program has been an integral

component in the development and sustainability of

many of the service opportunities on our members’

campuses. We would like to welcome our exceptional

group of AmeriCorps VISTAs for the 2012-2013 year,

who have already been hard at work coordinating

civic engagement and service-learning opportunities

on our member campuses. On the 9/11 Day of Service

and Remembrance, facilitated by our VISTAs, nine of

our member campuses offered service opportunities

on their campuses and in their communities such as

writing letters to service men and women, working in

community gardens, and providing meals to the

homeless. They have also already assisted in the imple-

mentation of a variety of other service events through

service-learning initiatives, Living and Learning Commu-

nities, and student organizations. This cohort is truly en-

thusiastic and motivated in their mission to lead stu-

dents toward service in a meaningful and lasting way.

Such is the goal of SCCC and we look forward to an-

other year of continuing to enhance the benefits of

membership and support and to build our network of

colleges and universities dedicated to creating positive

change in our communities through a united front.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,

Jessica K. Lynn

Executive Director

South Carolina Campus Compact


MEET THE VISTAS

MANDY KINZEY

SCCC AMERICORPS

VISTA LEADER

ELIZABETH CRUMLEY

SCCC VISTA

LAUREN SPINELLA

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

VISTA

FELISHA CLARK

COASTAL CAROLINA

UNIVERSITY VISTA

EMILY NUSS

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

VISTA

KATE CUMMINGS

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

VISTA

BRITTANY PACK

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN

UNIVERSITY VISTA

NICOLE COZZI

COASTAL CAROLINA

UNIVERSITY VISTA

SARAH GAY

COLUMBIA COLLEGE

VISTA

MARTHA SCOTT

JOHNSON

CONVERSE COLLEGE

VISTA

MICHELLE BIRON

GREENVILLE TECHNICAL

COLLEGE

VISTA

ALLY FORSHAY

MIDLANDS TECHNICAL

COLLEGE

VISTA

KENDRA SMITH

BENEDICT COLLEGE

VISTA


AMANDA MCSWINE

NEWBERRY COLLEGE

VISTA

UMEKO FAVOR

CITADEL VISTA

SETH MADISON

CITADEL VISTA

BETH BRINK

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH

CAROLINA VISTA

SANDY GREENE

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH

CAROLINA VISTA

EMILY HERRMANN

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH

CAROLINA — BEAUFORT

VISTA

DAPHNIE GLENN

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH

CAROLINA —UPSTATE

VISTA

JOHN “JP” PETERS

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH

CAROLINA —UPSTATE

VISTA

JUSTINE KNUDSON

WINTHROP UNIVERSITY

VISTA

JILL WAHLBRINK

WINTHROP UNIVERSITY

VISTA

SARAH HAGER

WOFFORD COLLEGE

VISTA

2012– 2013

STATE TRAINING

AT

THE C ITADEL

Kicking off a new academic year, South Carolina Campus Compact

welcomed 22 new AmeriCorps VISTAs, in addition to veteran

VISTAs Kendra Smith of Benedict College and Sarah Hager of

Wofford College. Held at the Citadel and Citadel Beach House, locat-

ed in Isle of Palms, South Carolina, VISTAs participated in various

leadership development sessions led by SCCC Executive Director Jes-

sica Lynn, former SCCC Executive Director Kim Keel and Campus

Coordinators Dr. Conway Saylor of the Citadel and Ellin McDonough

of Winthrop University. State training culminated with the VISTAs

starting their year off with a service opportunity at the Low Country

Food Bank in North Charleston.


SEPTEMBER 11 TH

n September 11th,

2001 a bright autumn

morning was dark-

ened by the worst

attack on Americans

in our nation’s history. Thousands of

innocent men, women, and children

were lost following attacks on the

World Trade Center in the heart of

New York City, the Pentagon in

Washington, DC and diverted attack

in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In

honor of the family, friends, service

members and first responders Public

Law 111-13 was approved by Con-

gress as the observance of Septem-

ber 11th on April 21, 2009. While

initially introduced as Patriot Day in

December 2001, September 11th is

now annually recognized as a

"National Day of Service and Re-

membrance." Over a decade later,

September 11th Day of Service and

Remembrance serves as a reminder

of the generosity and unity the na-

tion experienced by the nation fol-

lowing that autumn morning.

In September 2012, nine

South Carolina Campus Compact

member institutions participated in

service or remembrance in their

communities. Like Midlands Tech-

nical College who volunteered with

faith-based organization, to the cam-

pus memorial services at USC Up-

state, to USC students distributing

food for those in need, to kind

words and encouragement to our

men and women in uniform from

Newberry College and Coastal Caro-

lina University, our member institu-

tions displayed how simple it really is

to incorporate reflection and service

into our everyday lives.

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4

DAY OF SERVICE AND REMEMBRANCE


5 6 7

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9

DAY OF SERVICE AND REMEMBRANCE

1. Overnight, an anonymous group of Winthrop students created a

mural dedicated to those lost on September 11th and those lost in

Iraq and Afghanistan.

2. Midlands Technical College students helped Lexington Interfaith

Community Services (LICS) by sorting through clothing dona-

tions.

3. USC Upstate students attended and spoke at a campus memorial,

featuring words from Chancellor Dr. Thomas Moore.

4. Not afraid of getting a little dirty, Clemson students helped re-

store a local community garden.

5. Coastal Carolina University Volunteer Services encouraged stu-

dents to write words of encouragement and support to service

members deployed overseas.

6. The ladies of Columbia College went green by clearing up the

community garden at St. John Baptist Church.

7. Newberry College learned more about what it takes to be a New-

berry fire fighter.

8. USC Beaufort students displayed Random Acts of Kindness,

ranging from high-fives to giving out patriotic balloons.

9. USC helped stock and organize the Transitions Homeless Shelter

food pantry.


FULLY

ENGAGED



The Citadel

This September College of Charleston’s Volunteer

Corps teamed up with the Charleston Miracle

League, an organization that hosts baseball games

for children and adults with special needs. Mem-

bers of the Volunteer Corps are advised by College

of Charleston VISTA, Lauren Spinella, and meet

multiple times each month to discuss social issues

as well as perform two service projects each

month.

Cadets began the semester with introductory service

projects with Habitat for Humanity and Johns Is-

land Rural Mission. Cadets were first trained as a

group to encourage teamwork and enthusiasm to-

wards Johns Island Rural Mission’s goal of rehabili-

tating approximately two dozen Charleston area

homes, as well as smaller emergency repairs at an

additional 100 houses.

Continuing an ongoing partnership, Charleston

Southern University Service Learning and Habitat

for Humanity collaborate each Thursday and Satur-

day in constructing homes in the Charleston area.

Continuing with the university’s mission, CSU Ser-

vice Learning provides the opportunity to integrate

their faith in leading, learning and serving.


Claflin University

One in eight South Carolinians have Chronic

Kidney Disease and seventy-five percent of

South Carolina kidney patients are African-

American. The statistics are worse in certain

South Carolina counties, with one in three suf-

fering from the disease in Bamberg County and

one in four in Orangeburg County.

Over 100 students from Claflin University par-

ticipated in the fight to help South Carolina

citizens undergoing this health issue at the Or-

angeburg Kidney Walk on October 18, 2012.

The purpose of the event is to raise awareness

about the prevention of kidney disease and the

need for organ donors. Numerous student or-

ganizations and student-leaders sold over $900

worth of wristbands and donated an additional

$250 towards the University’s contribution to

the National Kidney Foundation.

Every fall semester, during the Student Re-

search and Service Day at Benedict College, the

Service-Learning & Leadership Development

Program sponsors a Day of Service where stu-

dents can utilize the day out of the classroom

to serve those in the community. On Friday,

September 28th, students and staff went out

into the community for the 2012 Fall Day of

Service. A total of 40 Benedict College students

served Healthy Columbia, C.M. Tucker Nurs-

ing Care Center, and Hannah House.

Benedict College

Converse College

In early October, 17 students, faculty and staff

members teamed up to give back to the Green-

ville community. Homes of Hope was created to

provide safe, affordable housing for homeless

and low-income families and individuals, while

also providing job training and mentoring for

men overcoming drug and alcohol additions.

Now in its fourteenth year of operation, Homes

for Hope has housed over 350 families and

helped 275 men lead restored lives.

Kicking off the academic year, Converse College

held their campus volunteer fair. The volunteer

fair hosted 18 non-profit organizations and pro-

vided an enjoyable and accessible environment

for the community to connect with local non-

profit organizations and charities, as well as

campus student organizations whose focus is

service and philanthropy. Students were encour-

aged to attend the fair to develop connections to

the campus and Spartanburg community.



WRITTEN BY: SARAH HAGER, WOFFORD COLLEGE VISTA

SUSTAINABILITY IN ACTION: WOFFORD COLLEGE

“Life felt impossible.” “I can’t believe that people experience this.” “It was a HUGE reality check.” “I have an entirely new perspective and understanding on what it is like to live in poverty!” “I feel inspired to make a difference in my commu-nity.”

The above remarks are from first year students at Clemson University, when they were asked to comment on their expe-rience with a Poverty Simulation and what they learned. In the simulation, created by the Missouri Community Action Agency, participants experience what it is like to live at or below the poverty line for a month in the United States of America. Throughout their four - fifteen minute ‘weeks’, partici-pants engage in daily activities such as pay-ing mortgage/utilities, visiting Social Ser-vices, purchasing groceries, problem solv-

ing any emergencies that come up, caring for their family members, and going to work. Through this experience, participants are forced to make decisions and prioritize their duties, as well as make sacrifices in order to sustain themselves and their fami-ly.

This simulation gives students a tangible memory and experience of how others live on a daily basis. It has been proven that in order for people to truly understand others and where they come from, they need to live like them and expe-rience what they experience. Even though the Poverty Simulation only lasts an hour, it gives participants a glimpse into the lives of those in poverty and it inspires them to take action in their community and strive for a better world. From a recent poll of

Clemson Students who participated in the simulation, 96% of students said that their experience had a positive impact on their life and how they view others. These same students also mentioned that the simula-tion inspired them to make a difference.

The Poverty Simulation is a per-fect example of service learning, because it engages students through a tangible experi-ence and then gives them potential outlets and venues for service. Even though the phrase, “In order to understand someone and what they are going through, you need to walk a mile in their shoes”, is trite and sometimes overused, it is definitely true. Volunteers are able to better serve their community if they understand how those they are serving, live and experience life. This understanding creates growth and development among those volunteers and in turn changes the world.

Written By: Emily Nuss, Clemson University VISTA

While planning for our MLK Day of Service in 2012, the Director of Multicultural Affairs and myself thought it would be a great idea to have a large chalkboard constructed that could be used on campus for student and community ex-pression, a project that would later be called “I Have a Dream”. The idea derived from an art project that began in New Orleans called “Before I Die.” We wanted to know what “dreams” our students and participating community members had for their life and the lives of others. So after generous funding from Wofford Student Affairs and Multicultural Af-fairs and the donation of time from our Facilities Department, our dream became a reality. We had an enormous, 4x8 tri-sided chalkboard that could be folded and moved from loca-tion to location. After its successful use at our MLK Day of Service, it went on to be used for several on-campus service events. The most recent use of the chalkboard was for an art project hosted by HUB-BUB, an arts non-profit in Spartan-burg, SC. Similar to the project for which it was constructed, this project was entitled “Before I Grow Up”—a project to know what our community wanted to accomplish in their life-time both for themselves and the community of Spartanburg.

It was a great success, traveling to an array of locations across Spartanburg. We had enormous participation at each site and received a lot of positive feedback. It was wonderful to see such a sustainable collaboration between Wofford, a local non-profit, and the Spartanburg community. Not only that, the chalkboard was able to reach an assortment of community members. It traveled from Wofford College to the Soup Kitch-en where it was able to reach a large homeless population, giv-

ing them the opportunity to have their voices heard. After that, it traveled to several other colleges and a local coffee shop. It eventually found its way to the Upstate Pride SC March and Festival where the LGBT community and allies were able to express their dreams.

The chalkboard has been a positive asset to not only my campus, but the Spartanburg community as well.

Walking a Mile in Someone Else’s Shoes


Reflecting on Reflection Written By: Beth Brink, USC VISTA

Serve. Lead. Inspire.

These are a simplified version of the goals of Commu-

nity Service Programs at the University of South Carolina. Be-

fore beginning my year of service here, I was unclear on one of

these goals.

Serve: The Office of Community Service provides service pro-

grams for students to become actively engaged in the Columbia

area to address community needs.

Lead: Community Service Programs provide many leadership

opportunities, including internships, Service Saturday site leader

opportunities, and the Service Leadership Institute.

But inspire? Inspire students to serve for a lifetime?

How can I do this through service programming? This goal is

much harder for a programming office to achieve than an office

whose function is service learning. One program might be the

only interaction I get to have with a student. How can one pro-

gram inspire students to serve again, to serve for a lifetime?

I’ve often heard the term reflection tossed around, but

never realized the importance of it until beginning my year of

service. My first experience with it in this position was leading

the reflection for my site group at the end of our time on Service

Saturday. I was nervous; I’ve never really led a reflection that I

felt was effective. I asked my students to form a fist and put it in

the middle of the circle. “On three, give me a thumbs up, a

thumb in the middle, or a thumbs down as to how you felt about

what we did today.”

Out of a group of seven, four thumbs up, two thumbs

in the middle, one down. I had one person in each group share

why. “Everyone was so grateful”, “we helped them do SO much

work!”, “not my thing, but I was glad to help”, “I felt I wasn’t

making an impact”. This is it—here was my opportunity! How

does what we did today help the faculty? How does this help

them help the students? Why is it important?

Through more experience in leading reflections and

discussions with staff here at USC, I’ve learned much more

about reflection. It seems that we often do things without stop-

ping to think about what we’re doing or why we’re doing it. Re-

flection is simply taking the time to ask what was done, why it

was important and what to do now. The Experiential Learning

Cycle sums this up nicely, asking three questions: What? So

what? Now what? A reflection can be used to answer all three of

these questions, but I’ve found that it is easier for students to

answer them when information prefaces the service experience.

Here at USC, we ask the agencies where our students are volun-

teering to give them a bit of information about the site, what the

agency does, what the students will be doing, and why the work

is important. When students go into the service experience with

this information, they are given a context in which to place their

experience, making reflection much easier and more beneficial.

WORDS

Kid Cudi, has a song that says, “I’m on the pursuit of happiness, and I know, everything that shines ain’t always going to be gold. I’ll be fine once I get it, I’ll be good.” The song is a tribute to the constant struggle we all experience to be happy. We are all searching for happiness, and we all go about our search in different ways. However it’s rare that anyone stops to think about the cost of being happy. What are we sacrificing to achieve happi-ness? Is it possible that in order to stay “happy” we ignore the glaring issues of society that make us too uncomfortable to talk about, and thus to fix? This is the premise of system jus-tification theory. System justification theo-ry states that people will “find ways of tol-erating and even justifying social and eco-nomic disparities as fair, legitimate, neces-

sary, and inevitable,” in order to alleviate feelings of, “anxiety, guilt…discomfort, and uncertainty” (Jost & Hunyady, 2002). System justification theory can affect any-one, and you may be a participant of it, without even realizing it. When you see a person asking for money on the street, what is your first reac-tion? Usually words like bum, con artist, and lazy come to mind. We stereotype without even knowing their story. This is a part of system justification theory. In the same article, Jost and Hunyady (2002) state that stereotyping disadvantaged groups, “as lazy, irresponsible, and unintelligent allow people to blame these groups for their own poverty and to deflect blame from the sys-tem.” Instead of thinking about how they got to be in this situation, we attribute their suffering or misfortune to some fault of

their own. By taking the blame off of the system, we do not feel obligated to modify it, which only ensures that the cycle contin-ues. If we allow ourselves to fall victim to system justification, we will never be able to fix the flaws in our world. We will only continue to make excuses for them. Yes, we all want a perfect system that al-lows for equal opportunity and prosperity for all people, but we cannot let the vision cloud reality. It is essential that we not make excuses for a flawed system, but see those flaws for what they are, and do something to change them.

The Pursuit of Happiness Written By: Amanda McSwine, Newberry College VISTA

IN THE IR OWN

SAVE THE DATE— UPCOMING CONFERENCE OPPORTUNITIES

February 2, 2013 from 9:30am – 4:30pm

Registration Available at: www.sa.sc.edu/sldc

————

Educational Session Submissions Accepted Until

November 26, 2012 at: www.sa.sc.edu/sldc

6th Annual

Principled Leadership Symposium

March 7-8, 2013

————

For More Information: http://

www.citadel.edu/root/symposium

SCCC Better Together- Nov. 2012

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