Download - Engage Furman Magazine
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Admissions Ambassadors (left to right)
Brenaí Bell ’10, Psychology, Atlanta, Georgia;
J.T. Wilde ’10, Communication Studies,
Ocean City, Maryland; Lydia Rowe ’10,
Spanish/Communication Studies, Marietta, South Carolina;
John Schmidt ’11, ICP (Individualized Curriculum Program)
in Business, Communication Studies and Art,
Marietta, Georgia
Have a burning question about Furman? Visit <www.engagefurman.
com> or write to
<q-and-a@engagefurman.
com>. One of our
ambassadors will send you
a personal response, and we
might print it in the next
issue of EngageFurman!
from the editor
This magazine probably arrived at your house along with brochures, letters and
viewbooks from colleges across the country.
Several years ago, we produced a yearly viewbook for prospective
students—a 36 to 48-page booklet with facts and figures and beautiful pictures
of students on our stunning campus. But in an attempt to give you a more
realistic view of life at Furman, we began publishing EngageFurman three times
a year. You’ll find in it some of the same information you get in those traditional
viewbooks—application deadlines, lists of majors, facts about Furman, and
answers to frequently asked questions.
But you’ll also find real stories about students, faculty and alumni—like the
one about how Charlie Nagle’s translation of the memoir of a Salvadoran
revolutionary is getting published by the University of Texas Press. And
you’ll learn what Furman students love about living in Greenville. And
how a philosophy class (that meets at 7:30 a.m. in a Japanese temple)
has helped students deal with stress and “mental clutter.” And you’ll
find out what engaged learning is really about in a story about
Furman Engaged!, an all-day celebration where students
presented, performed and demonstrated for the Furman
community.
Take some time to read through EngageFurman.
Almost every story has a link to more information on
the web.
As realistic as we try to be, nothing takes the
place of actually visiting campus. So schedule a visit
to Furman and to Greenville. We’d love to show
you around.
Brad Pochard
Director of Admission
ask the ambassador
Will I have time to get involved in other things besides studying?
Brenai Bell: I’ve found it very easy to get
involved, and Furman definitely has a huge
variety of activities to pursue. I would suggest
finding out what you’re really interested in,
and choosing one or two activities that you
can commit to, rather than joining several
activities that you may not have time for.
Lydia: Yes! It all comes down to time man-
agement. I’m a procrastinator, am involved
in several organizations, and still have time
to have fun on the weekends. If you’re not
typically a stressed out person, you won’t be
here either.
John: Time is relative. You have it if you
make it. Being active on campus is encour-
aged (and almost all students are), but not
necessary. It’s all about how you manage your
time.
How are roommates chosen?
Lydia: You can request to live with some-
one, but if not you fill out a several page
survey that includes everything from your
height to music preferences. Furman then
matches you with someone who they think is
compatible with you. It’s a great system that
avoids bad housing situations.
John: There is a long comprehensive room-
mate form that you fill out prior to your ar-
rival to help housing place you with a suitable
roommate. You also have a choice to request
to live with someone you know instead of
a random roommate, but what’s the fun in
that?
J.T.: Freshman and transfer students fill
out a questionnaire before they come onto
campus with questions that range from
“Do you wake up early?” to “Are you
over six feet tall?” With this wide range
of questions, usually roommate pairs are
matched up fairly well due to their similar
answers.
What if I don’t know what I want to major in? Brenai: At Furman, you typically don’t
have to declare a major until the end of your
sophomore year. Being undecided can actu-
ally be beneficial because you can fullfil your
core requirements through math, science,
history, social studies, English, fine arts and
more. This provides an opportunity to identify
your interests.
Lydia: I went through several majors in my
first two years, but that is what is so great
about the liberal arts program. You’re able
to take classes from all sorts of fields as core
requirements that help you decide exactly
what you like to do.
J.T.: When I came to Furman, I had no idea
what I wanted to major in. I had the
opportunity to take classes in all different
fields and really see what interested me and
what did not. That really helped me figure
out what path I wanted to pursue and what
major would work best.
visitcampusand
engage
Isn’t it time we metat my place?
You’re about to make a committment
which will effect your entire life—
a decision which should not be
based only on electronic or print
information. A university has to “feel”
right—something that virtual contact
cannot reveal. That’s why you need
to visit Furman and find out what
”engaged learning” is really about.
Let’s set a date.
To schedule a visit, go to
<www.engagefurman.com/Visit>
or call 864.294.2034.
Find out if Furman is
the right choice for you.
1
news and notes
Broken recordsWhether he was
running cross
country in the
fall, indoor track
in the winter or
outdoor track in
the spring, Patrick
Morgan proved to
be a man for all
seasons. During
his senior year at
Furman, the 2009
graduate broke
the university’s
31-year-old record
in the mile run with a time of 4:05.90
at the Kentucky Invitational. One month
later at a Notre Dame meet, he lowered
the record by another 1.5 seconds with a
time of 4:04.45. He also posted personal-
best times in the 800- and 3,000-meter
runs and was named Southern Conference
Athlete of the Week during each of the
cross country and track seasons. Morgan,
a native of Danville, Ky., graduated with a
B.S. degree in Health and Exercise Science.
This fall, he will attend graduate school at
Appalachian State University, where he’ll
pursue a master’s degree in exercise science
with a concentration in cardiac pulmonary
rehab.
Liberian President speaks on campusLiberian President
Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf, known as
Africa’s “Iron Lady,”
visited the campus
this spring, where
she received an
honorary degree
and participated in
a conversation with
Furman president
David Shi. Her visit
was sponsored by
Furman’s Riley Institute and Water of Life’s
Global Pebble Project.
Furman students win Truman, Goldwater ScholarshipsBen Able ’10 from Saluda, S.C., has been
named a 2009 Truman Scholar. Able is
one of 60 college students from across the
nation to receive the highly competitive
Truman Scholarship, given annually to
students who have excelled academically
and are committed to careers in public
service. The Truman award provides up to
$30,000 for graduate study.
Christopher Turlington ’10, a chem-
istry major from Mills River, N.C., has been
awarded a prestigious Goldwater Scholar-
ship. Turlington was one of 278 sopho-
mores and juniors from around the nation
selected. Named for five-term U.S. Sen.
Barry Goldwater, the scholarship program
was established by Congress in 1986 to
address the need for outstanding students
to pursue careers in mathematics, natural
sciences and engineering.
Grant to fund student research in chemistryFurman is one of nine schools in the nation
awarded a Beckman Scholars Program
Institutional Award, a highly competitive
grant supporting scientific research by
undergraduates. The $77,200 grant was
awarded to the Chemistry Department.
This is the twelfth year of the Beckman
program, and Furman is one of five
baccalaureate institutions to have received
at least four of the awards over
the history of the program.
Men’s, women’s golf teams capture the conferenceThe men’s and women’s golf
teams captured the SoCon
championship this spring. The
men won their second straight
championship, earning an
automatic bid to the NCAA
tournament; the women
captured their 13th SoCon
Championship and made their 17th
straight NCAA tournament appearance.
Furman’s Cycling Team wins Division II team time trial at national championships For the second consecutive year, the
Furman Cycling Team returned from the
USA Cycling Collegiate Road National
Championships with a national title. The
Furman squad—Chris Butler of Hilton Head
Island, Spencer Beamer of Knoxville, Tenn.,
Kit Hunter of Brentwood, Tenn., and Craig
McKinney of Rock Hill—won the Division
II team time trial in May with a time of
37:03:13.
Six Furman teams recognized for academicsThe NCAA has
honored six Furman
athletic teams with
public recognition
awards for their
latest Academic
Progress Rate (APR)
scores. The Furman
teams cited are men’s
cross country, men’s golf, men’s outdoor
track & field, women’s basketball, women’s
indoor track & field, and women’s outdoor
track & field. These teams posted APR
scores in the top 10 percent of all squads
in their respective sports for the past four
years.
in this issue . . .
Furman by the NumbersWhy a Furman education is a wise investment.
Furman Engaged! The university’s campus-wide, day-long celebration of engaged learning takes the campus by storm.
Greenville: A Small City that Thinks Big What it’s like living in a ”microcity of the future.”
Realizing Body MindEnglish major Riley Kross takes us to a tranquil side of campus where students leave stress and shoes at the door.
Acts of ForgivenessA recent grad’s award-winning documentary of forgiving, rebuilding and triumph (reprinted from the Washington Post).
1 Green Furman + 1 Green Video = 5 Green Macs Five students team up on a film highlighting Furman’s environmental commitment.
Hot Shot Melissa Liebschwager stars in ESPN’s 21st Annual 3-Point Championship.
Interpreting the Voice of a RevolutionSpanish major Charlie Nagle’s language skills lead him to translating a Salvadoran revolutionary’s memoir.
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Cover Story
engage furmanVolume 5, Issue 2
Published by Furman University
to provide prospective students with
information about and insight into
the engaged learning experience.
Furman University President
David E. Shi
Vice President for Enrollment
Bill Berg
Director of Admission
Brad Pochard
Associate Directors of Admission
Jeny Bishop Kerscher
Frank McClary
Laura Simmons
Admission Counselors
Michael Dostie Andy Waters
Tia Sullivan Libby Weith
Lindsey Walker
Furman University Admission
3300 Poinsett Highway
Greenville, South Carolina 29613–5245
864.294.2034 Fax: 864.294.2018
Furman University is committed to
providing equal access to its educational
programs, activities, and facilities to all
otherwise qualified students without
discrimination on the basis of race,
national origin, color, creed, religion,
sex, age, disability, veteran status, sexual
orientation, gender identity, or any other
category protected by applicable state
or federal law. For information about
Furman’s compliance with Section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and
the Americans with Disabilities Act
Amendments Act, contact the Disability
Services Coordinator, 864.294.2320,
3300 Poinsett Hwy, Greenville,SC 29613.
Printed on recycled paper.
FIND OUT MORE about Furman at <www.engagefurman.com>
5
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Furman Engaged! A celebration of Engaged Learning“Engaged learning” has become a hot concept in
the world of higher education, but do you really
know what the term means? What exactly is the
“hands-on approach to learning” that colleges
are trying to sell you?
Just ask a Furman student. By conducting undergraduate
research, holding internships and participating in study away
programs, Furman students are putting the concept of engaged
learning into practice, and this past April, they got a unique
opportunity to showcase their discoveries.
Furman Engaged! sponsored by Furman Undergraduate
Research and Internships is the university’s first campus-wide
celebration of engaged learning. The event began on April 2 with a
keynote address, “Public Science Literacy in the 21st Century,” by
Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman. The following day,
classes were cancelled and beginning at 9 a.m., students from all
disciplines presented, presided and performed in venues across the
campus.
Divided into eight overlapping blocks of time, there were 48
sessions that included panels, demonstrations, performances and
around 200 oral presentations. Approximately
110 posters and exhibits involving the work of about 170 stu-
dents were set up in the Herman W. Lay Physical Activity Cen-
ter and in Kohrt Commons in the Townes Science Center, and
about a quarter of the students were present during each session to
explain their research. An International Food Festival, planetarium
shows and a Paladin Nites performance were also a part of the day’s
events.
Well attended by both the public and the university
community (students included!), Furman Engaged! gave students
the opportunity to present their work in an academic conference
setting—a privilege usually reserved for scholars at the graduate
level.
Marianne Pierce, whose office of Undergaduate Research
and Internships coordinated the activities, said that Furman
Engaged! was “a great opportunity for younger students to see
what possibilities are available to them. Students can develop an
appreciation for what students in other majors learn.”
Grayson Price ’12 shared his experience in his on-line journal.
We’ve included his recap here.
engaged classroomfurman facts
Furman by the numbersWhat the statistics mean to you . . .
The headline of a recent story in USA Today
read, “4-year colleges graduate 53 percent
of students in 6 years.”
The story, which featured a report by
the non-profit think tank American Enterprise
Institute (AEI), went on to say that nationally,
just 53 percent of students entering four-year
colleges graduated within six years. The story
was based on data reported to the Education
Department by nearly 1,400 schools about
full-time first-time students who entered in fall
2001.
Furman’s four-year graduation rate of 81
percent puts us at the top of public and private
institutions deemed highly competitive in the
South. Before picking a college, prospective
students and their parents should thoroughly
examine the school’s graduation rate, the AEI
advises.
We’d agree with that. Most of the college
rankings look at graduation rates to judge the
effectiveness of institutions. They also look at
the retention rate (how many students come
back after freshman year) and alumni involve-
ment to determine if students have a positive
experience.
At Furman, 92 percent of freshmen return
for their sophomore year (the national average
for private colleges is 75 percent). And more
than 45 percent of our alumni give back to
Furman every year (as opposed to a national
average of 28 percent).
So what does all that mean for you?
Since 81 percent of our students graduate in
four years, students (and their parents) don’t
end up paying for five or six years of tuition.
And it means that our students are having a
good experience here—evidenced by the fact
that they come back and they stay involved as
Furman alumni.
41% head directly to graduate school
Out of that group...
42% enter a graduate program related to their major
18% head to law school
12% go to medical or dental school
7% go into other health-related programs
55–57% hit the job market (aided by the experiences they’ve had at Furman— internships, study away, research with professors — as well as assistance from Career Services)
What Furman students do after graduating:
5 engage furman4
Literally the entire day was filled with
presentations and performances. Here are the
ones that I went to (and trust me, there were a LOT more):
9 a.m. Classics: Translating the Venetus AMy seminar professor, Dr. Blackwell, and his Greek
students are busily translating the commentary on the
Venetus A manuscript. In case you don’t know, the
Venetus A is the oldest existing copy of The Iliad, and the
commentary along its margins has never been translated.
Cool.
10:30 Modern Languages and Literatures: Theater and Poetry Live! Recitations in Modern Foreign Languages
The Spanish department presented several readings
of Spanish sonnets from the Medieval, Renaissance and
Baroque periods of Spanish literature. Next up,
the French department presented a dramatic reading
of scenes from La Cantatrice Chauve (The Bald Soprano),
a French absurdist comedy. ‘Twas hilarious.
Finally, the German Department presented Aschenputtel
(Cinderella). Except, this was the Grimm’s Fairy Tale
version, which is not quite the same as the Disney
version. (Read: more gore.) I’ve got to say: I like it better
this way.
Lunch Furman University International Students Association’s International Food Fest
Our international students prepared food from their
homes. I got a plate piled high with Indian, Ghanaian,
Caribbean, Italian and several others that I can’t
remember. Needless to say, it was delicious. And free.
12:45 Chemistry: Student Research PresentationsBeing the science nerd that I am, I found the
presentations of student research really interesting. If
you don’t know, Furman has one of the best chemistry
departments in the nation, and the research that these
students are doing is on par with research that is done by
graduate students at other universities.
2:10 Music and Physics—Song to the MoonWith the renovation of the science complex, Furman now
has its own planetarium. So the Percussion Ensemble
teamed up with the Physics Department to present
Dvorak’s “Song to the Moon (Mesicku na nebi
hiubokem)” underneath the moon. This place is so cool.
As I said, this list doesn’t even come close to enumerating all of
the things that were going on. Turns out “engaged learning” isn’t
just rhetoric, it’s reality.
The Plant BanquetCan man live without meat? Yes, and quite
deliciously, I might add.
Professor Laura Thompson’s Biology 401
Applied Plant Science students demonstrated how at the
Plant Banquet which featured vegetarian dishes originating
from three of the cradles of agriculture: the Near East, the
Far East and North/South America. From ancient to modern
times, different cultures of the world have combined a grain
with a legume to create a complete amino acid set, aka, a
source of protein, from indigenous staples such as corn and
beans or tofu and rice.
As part of the their final exam, the
students were to required to host The
Plant Banquet, which involved planning
the menus, purchasing and preparing the
foods, creating the table decorations and
greeting guests.
The day’s fare consisted of healthy and tasty
dishes like falafel, edamame, vegetable stir-fry,
star fruit tart, tofu and rice, peanut brittle, black-
eyed pea cakes, fried okra, squash casserole and
sweet potato casserole.
And believe it or not, the food ran out
before the event was scheduled to conclude!
Study Away: A Global PerspectivePerhaps your college dreams include studying abroad and
learning about different cultures firsthand. You would
have enjoyed the Turkey Video Conference in Furman Hall.
Nineteen students, still in the middle of a nine-week trip
into the heart of the Mediterranean, shared their findings on
“Important Religious Sites in Turkey.”
Students from Religion and Communication Studies
travelled to Italy, Turkey and Greece to explore the
connection between ancient and contemporary religion
through archaeological research. Via satellite, the students
described their encounter with Istanbul’s magnificent
mosques—the Hagia Sophia and The Blue Mosque—which
directly face each other and compete for architectural
dominance, and they discussed the irony of Cappadocia
and the Gerome Valley’s underground churches hidden for
defense purposes yet still ornamented with columns and
pillars.
As the students provided personal anecdotes and
comments about the trip, it became apparent that they were
learning more than architectural facts. With each day spent
on study away, these students became more attuned to the
effects of globalization on societies other than their own.
More engaging events:
engaged classroom
“I’ve learned more about the foods we all eat and have a greater appreciation for the cultures that cultivated them into common foods in the global food economy.”
—Jason Williams’09, Biology 401 student
Grayson’s
Recap:
Furman Engaged!
“Here we were, witnessing globalization firsthand...two Americans in a Turkish taxi in Asia listening to the Call to Prayer through the window and ’Hotel California’ playing on the radio.”
—Leslie Follman ’10, Turkey Video Conference
76 engage furman
See the whole day’s schedule at <www.furman.edu/engaged/furmanengaged09.htm>
Here’s what others say about Greenville:In his new book, The 100 Best Art Towns in America: A Guide to Galleries,
Museums, Festivals, Lodging and Dining (2005/2009), John Villani singled
Greenville out as a hot spot for art, food and culture.
America’s Promise Alliance named Greenville one of the 100 Best
Communities for Young People (2007)
Forbes Magazine ranked Greenville as the second best small city in the
United States for business and careers.
The Miami Herald described Greenville as “an eclectic mix of today and yester-
day,” and a city whose “people are friendly and genuinely happy to have out-
of-town visitors. They smile as you pass them on the sidewalk and will eagerly
engage you in conversation if you have a question.” (2009) Greenvillians love a party, and outdoors provides the
perfect venue for events like Downtown Alive!, Artisphere, Taste of Greenville,
Studio Tours, Thursday-night Jazz, Concerts by the River and others.
greenville life
Greenville: a small city that thinks big
When you are choosing a college, location
matters. If you are looking for the energy
of a big city or for the ease of a small town,
Greenville, South Carolina provides the best of both worlds.
With a population of 440,000, the city sits at the foot
of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is about one hundred miles
from both Charlotte and Atlanta. Greenville’s lush cityscape
is embellished by forests, lakes and parks, and the downtown
area, product of a twenty-year rejuvenation program, is
a pedestrian paradise peppered with unique boutiques,
restaurants with world-renowned chefs and numerous
galleries and exhibits by local artists.
Sights and shows in a lively downtownIn Greenville you will find the best in entertainment,
shopping, dining, art, and of course—Southern hospitality.
From the panoramic view of the 355-foot suspension bridge
that overlooks the Reedy River Falls to the Peace Center for
Performing Arts that attracts Broadway performances like
Wicked, South Pacific and Chicago, people are constantly
about, enjoying all that this city has to offer.
Outdoor adventures all year roundGreenville’s climate is fantastic. Sure, it gets pretty hot in the
summer (note: not “dry heat”), but we do enjoy four distinct
seasons that make it possible to ski Cataloochee in the winter
and wakeboard Lake Keowee in the summer. You can also
take advantage of numerous outdoor events. Greenville
native and celebrity chef Tyler Florence hosts Euphoria, an
annual culinary extravaganza that will give you a taste of the
South, and more than twenty outdoor festivals and events
will be held downtown this year including Artisphere, the
Upstate Shakespeare Festival, Main Street Jazz and the USPRO
Cycling Championship. Thursdays March through September,
Downtown Alive! lures the town to Main Street for live
music. Travel a little further down Main, and you can catch a
Greenville Drive baseball game at Fluor Field. No matter what
blend of entertainment you crave, Greenville has something
to suit your palate.
An economy that’s on the upswing—in the midst of a global downturnBut there’s more to this town than good times and nice
weather. Greenville’s economy exploded with the textile
boom in 1920s, an industry that fueled the city’s growth
for nearly seven decades. Companies like Michelin, Hitachi,
Bowater and BMW were attracted to the area and have set
up sizeable operations in the Upcountry. With this foreign
investment and more than 200 internationally owned
companies, Greenville has a cultural and economic climate
that welcomes diversity and craves progress.
It’s a great place to live and work. The cost of living
is low and the quality of life is high. Greenville was named
Microcity of the Future by Regions Magazine, a designation
that is based on a city’s economic potential, human resources,
cost-effectiveness, quality of life, infrastructure, business
friendliness and promotion strategy. Regions described
Greenville as having “…the top economic potential of any
North American city of its size…” In fact, many Furman
students forge paths toward great careers through internships
with Greenville businesses or by making connections with
Greenville’s business leaders through professional associations
or community events.
All can enjoy strolling
across Liberty Bridge,
which spans the Reedy
River, connecting two
sides of Falls Park. The
park hosts Shakespeare
in the Park, concerts,
dining on the riverbank
and seasonal events.
The Peace Center
brings Broadway shows,
world-renowned dance
troupes, musical artists
and other wonderful
performances to town.“Outside of Europe, I’ve never seen such
a cosmopolitan small city. It’s a gem.” —Competitive Cyclist (2009)
When you visit Furman, be sure to explore Greenville—the small city with the big personality. 98 engage furman
Explore more of Greenville at <www.greenvillecvb.com>
Your professor rings a small gong. Class has begun and still no
words are said. For the next 50 minutes it is fourteen degrees
outside, but you have been taught to not feel the cold. You don’t
talk; you breathe deeply and deliberately. You clear your mind. You
meditate.
Through the class period, you feel the sun rise and hear the
day awaken. A distant waterfall echoes through the silence, and
birds chirp outside the temple window. Over the course of the
semester, you meet the changing of the seasons. The snow melts,
spring brings warmer mornings, and the whole time you are there,
just breathing.
What may sound like an other-world experience or a scene
out of a kung-fu movie has become a recent reality for Furman
students. Few college courses require the purchase of a plain
white martial arts dogi as a class uniform. Even fewer classes
spend one-fourth of their class time in complete silence.
However, few college courses are like Furman’s new
Philosophy course “Realizing Bodymind: Development of
Whole Persons.”
The word Bodymind is a literal translation of the
Japanese word Shinshin, which represents a concept
we do not have in English. Shinshin, or Bodymind, is
the unification of mental and physical experience into a
singular philosophy. By uniting the physical and mental
aspects of a health and exercise science class with the study
of a philosophy class, Furman is opening new doors for
students’ self discovery and understanding.
This newly offered philosophy class is
teaching Furman students to unify mental
and physical experiences through the
study of Asian philosophies, Ki-Aikido and meditation. Through
the class the students will gain a more holistic view of fitness and
overall wellness that includes the mental, physical, social and
spiritual. Attempting to engage and go beyond the demands of
academic study, “Realizing Bodymind” requires not only an atypical
classroom, but professors who are accomplished in some unique
fields and students who are ready to experience what they can’t be
taught.
The Furman professor behind “Realizing Bodymind” is
Professor David Shaner, whose
reputation around campus whispers
what many may consider mere stories
and myths. Tales of Olympic ski
teams, training security professionals
in Las Vegas, serving as a deputy
sheriff in Aspen, and sharing the
art of Ki-Aikido with a Japanese
emperor do not seem realistic. And
yet, Shaner, the 7th degree blackbelt,
author, professor of 27 years, head
of Furman’s philosophy department,
senior member of Furman’s Asian
studies department, chief instructor
of the Eastern Ki Federation, and
principal of a corporate consulting
organization is very much real,
walking around campus in his dogi
and flip-flops.
In combination with Shaner’s expertise in Asian philosophy
and martial arts is Professor Mark Stone, a 5th degree blackbelt who
Realizing Bodymind by Riley R. Kross ’10
Professor Shaner’s class meets in an authentic Japanese temple reconstructed on campus.
5th degree blackbelt Professor Stone and
Aikido master Shaner teach marshal arts.
Imagine waking up before sunrise, walking
past piles of snow, watching your breath
rise before your wind-reddened face. Upon
arriving to class, you bow to your professor,
enter an unheated Japanese temple, and
silently take your place on the floor next to
your fellow classmates. The smell of incense
fills the wooden room. No words are spoken.
engaged classrooms
(continued on next page)
10 11 engage furman
Aikido is not used as a form of
combat. Instead, the art form is a pure
study in self-defense that uses one’s energy
to positively influence another person.
In “Realizing Bodymind,” this discipline
is part of a larger goal of unifying the
students. “Realizing Bodymind’s” class
experience enables the students to not just
intellectually interact but also physically
interact through Aikido. “In class the
students require each other,” says Shaner.
And according to senior psychology and
Spanish double major, Lily House, Aikido
allows you to “realize your connection, not
your separation, to others.”
While the students are being
empowered through “Realizing
Bodymind,” Shaner is “having a ball
teaching the class” and “hopes that
many people who would like this kind
of experience will fully embrace it
because the class can be a life-changing
experience.” As a whole, Furman’s new
philosophy class is pretty different in many
ways. It is not every day that you get to
learn Shinshin in a Japanese temple from
a world renowned Ki instructor, but that’s
just “Realizing Bodymind.”
One of the classrooms for “Realizing Bodymind: Development of Whole Persons” is the Japanese temple that has been
recently added to Furman’s campus. The former Buddhist temple and Asia Garden that sits adjacent to it are known as The Place of Peace. Furman was given this rare and special gift by the Tsuzuki family of Nagoya, Japan through the Tsuzuki’s connection to Furman professor David Shaner, who taught Aikido to a family member many years ago.
Transporting the temple from Japan was no easy process. Brought over in more than 2,400 pieces, special wood-braced containers were created to keep the original temple pieces safe during the voyage. Arriving in Greenville after a trip through the Panama Canal and an entry into the Port of Charleston, the temple was reconstructed by 13 specialized artisans from Japan.
The precision and skill by which the temple was carefully transported and reconstructed emphasizes the sacredness of such a building, a sacredness and uniqueness that marks this temple as the only structure of its kind in the United States.
After the dedication ceremony on September 5, 2008, The Place of Peace now serves as a symbol of Furman’s commitment to its quickly growing Asian Studies Program and to environmental sustainability.
The temple uses no electricity or heating and is made of incred-ibly hard, durable and long-lasting Keyaki wood. Also, the temple is built in such a way that it can be taken apart and reconstructed without having to throw away a single part.
Along with its sustainability, The Place of Peace is in harmony with its Furman environment. The entrance to the temple is in line with the waterfall of Furman’s Asia Garden, which is back-dropped by the rising and rolling Blue Ridge Mountains. On Furman’s campus, the temple is literally a beautiful piece of Japan transported right into the foothills of South Carolina.
engaged classrooms
assists Shaner and has practiced Shinshin Toitsu Aikido for over
18 years. However, much of what is to be learned by the students
in “Realizing Bodymind” can not be read or spoken; it has to be
understood. As said by Shaner, he and Stone can only “give the
students the tools that will lead them to being the best that they
can be, operating with their full Bodymind potential.”
This full Bodymind potential is an example of Furman’s liberal
arts education and a blending of academic dis-
ciplines. Many tools of the class include a variety of
philosophical and religious texts like Hinduism’s The
Bhagavad-Gita, the Chinese classic DaoDeJing, and
Buddhism’s Shobogenzo, which are studied in junc-
tion with Furman’s standard Health and Exercise Sci-
ence text Fit & Well. Each of the texts is approached
with a rigorous academic agenda. However, the
academic material, which explores Asian philosophi-
cal traditions where health, wellness and personal
development begin with the mind, is married to the highly experi-
ential emphasis of the class. “Mindfulness Meditation” is thus not
only the object of academic study, it is also “the seed for a new
way of organizing one’s life and experience,” says Shaner.
For Asian studies major Philip Martin ’09, “It’s hard not
to experience what you are studying” when three out of four
class days each week are spent either mediating or practicing
Aikido. Many of the students in “Realizing Bodymind” are finding
the experiential aspects of the class to be empowering and life
changing. According to Martin, “you realize how busy your mind is
when you are quiet in a room where nothing is going on.”
Clearing your mind to meditate can be a more difficult
process than expected. In our culture, life is busy and there is
always something going on or something to think about. Shaner
tells his students that “we are used to washing our body, but
we forget to wash our mind.” Learning to meditate in class has
become a means by which the students deal with stress and the
mental clutter life can bring. Many, having realized the practice’s
positive effects in their life, are choosing to meditate outside of the
required class time.
A senior math major and cross country runner,
Joseph Tenini has started using the meditative
breathing techniques he learned in “Realizing
Bodymind” to prepare himself for races. Tenini
says that the meditation places him “in a right
and positive state of mind,” one in which he
understands “not in terms of conflict, but in terms
of opportunity.”
In addition, the meditative practices have
also taught the students to not feel cold. Two
weeks into the semester, students in “Realizing Bodymind” were
meditating in their thin white dogis in fourteen degrees Fahrenheit.
After that experience, according to Shaner, the students have
learned “to embrace their connection to the environment in such
a way that their bodies need never feel cold for the rest of their
lives.”
The Aikido portion of “Realizing Bodymind” furthers the unity
between physical actions and mental conditions. After practic-
ing Aikido for 18 years, Stone claims the art has created a level of
calmness in his life by enabling him to realize “a presence in things
as they are.”
“Aikido allows you to realize your
connection—not your separation
—to others.”
Learn more about the Place of Peaceat <www.furman.edu/placeofpeace>
(continued from previous page)
12 13
“Reconciliation,” she adds, her wide green eyes
peering across the hall as she curls a finger into her
drooping gold flip-flop, picking at the hard skin of her heel.
“I think it’s one of the most challenging subjects anyone
can face. You choose to give up your right to hold that
against him.”
Him? You wonder to whom it refers. But then it
reminds you: She might not have tackled reconciliation
without the rings. She might not have made the film
without the breakup.
In 2001, she graduated from Furman University, where
she double-majored in political science and communication
studies. She then moved to Winston-Salem, N.C., for her
boyfriend, a psychological counselor at the time. She took a
lousy marketing job for a hospital corporation. He gave her
the ring. Then he dumped her.
Hinson was devastated and embarrassed. She had to
reimburse her bridesmaids and sell her gown on eBay. She
lost a ton of money and gave the ring back. And then she
decided to follow the “creative impulse running through my
veins” and come to Washington for film school, in 2003.
She’s at Silverdocs, talking to PBS execs, trying to get
her film seen. It wasn’t screened at the festival, but she’s
attending the conferences, with 650 other aspirants in
the documentary biz. The rings glint. She bounces in her
seat like the glowing child of serendipity, all tanned and
blondified in a white, military-style linen tunic and black
shorts. Her hair is short, her sleeves are rolled. Her lips pink,
her earrings purplish. She still seems like a little girl eager to
sit at the adult table.
“She wanted to do things we thought she wasn’t old
enough for,” her mom, Nina Waters, recalls by phone from
Destin, Fla. “She was interested in everything.” Growing up
in the Panhandle, Hinson pranced around filming tableaux
with her friend Ashley. They had one campy horror scene
featuring a body falling from a window and a shot of the
lifeless corpse on the ground.
Hinson also had the director’s impulse for
choreographing others. She collected costumes from thrift
shops and played little old men herself; one Halloween
she dressed football players in gowns. She hosted dinner
parties, requesting that invitees don formalwear.
“We were the cooks,” her mother recalls. “We’d wait
on them—they’d be smoking their fake cigarettes.” Hinson
was elected president of Fort Walton Beach High School for
three years.
Acts of Reconciliation
alumni
This article first appeared
in the Washington Post on
July 5, 2008 and is reprinted
here with permission.
A student filmmaker turns her lens on Rwanda and finds a personal truth reflected back at her
by Washington Post staff writer Gabe Oppenheim
In a way, it’s a story of those two diamond engagement rings.
Laura Waters Hinson ’01 sits cross-legged on a plush beige sofa
in the Discovery Channel building at the Silverdocs film festival,
flashing a brilliant stone on each hand, explaining how she got
here.
The 29-year-old won the top documentary prize at the
Student Academy Awards in Los Angeles for As We Forgive, her
film about reconciliation in Rwanda between survivors of the 1994
genocide and its perpetrators. Previous Student Oscar winners
include Trey Parker, Bob Saget and Spike Lee.
Hinson’s film, begun as an MFA thesis at American University,
captures victims’ meetings with their freed attackers. A decade
after the extermination of one in eight Rwandans, after the Hutus
turned on the Tutsis and even some of their own, the two tribes
had to learn to live together. (The government has released more
than 60,000 convicts connected to the genocide to ease prison
overcrowding, according to the BBC.)
In the film we meet Rosaria,
who pulls up the hem of her
dress to reveal mounds of raised
scar tissue running down her
legs. Hacked and beaten during
the genocide, she now lives in a
house built for her by Saveri, the
man who killed her sister. Another
survivor, Chantale, who lost 30
family members, meets John, the
stooped gangly man who killed
her father. He can’t face her; her
eyes are embers. “Remember all your old neighbors,” she says. Yet
the next day, Chantale begins working to build a house for another
ex-con who confessed his crimes. For Hinson, it was proof that the
“transcendent filters through every aspect of life” and also that
the world is really messed up.
14 15 engage furman
The story ultimately appealed to Hinson for its reversal
of the genre’s cliches. Instead of being a tale of African
ruin and our reluctance to help, it was a “tremendously
hopeful” picture of people learning to forgive in circumstanc-
es, she says, in which we never could. Hinson liked to believe
she herself had learned something.
Two weeks after leaving Rwanda, in August 2006, the
belief was tested. Her ex-fiance called, 4 1/2 years after their
breakup. “I feel kinda crazy,” she recalls him saying. “And I
still love you.”
Tom is the guy’s name. Today he says of the breakup:
“I was just terrified of that level of commitment. I had come
from a family that had kind of a bad marriage.”
He reconsiders.
“Ninety percent of it was me just being a very lame guy.
A child in a man’s body. Just a guy with a lot to learn.”
He visited her a month later. He had gone to a
nondenominational seminary in those silent intervening years,
studied to become a priest and all the while “worked with
a lot of trauma victims, a lot of people who were recovering
from some pretty hard stuff, rape victims.”
“I dealt a lot in the language of forgiveness,” he adds.
Tom had kept the first ring all that time. “I couldn’t get
rid of it. It was that weird kind of remote possibility sense
that maybe if I ever get my act together . . . .”
He gave it to her, and a second one. He bent down on
one knee in the old-fashioned way and asked the question. Not of nuptials, not at
first. There was a more pressing matter.
“I said, ‘Laura, do you forgive me?’ And she said, ‘Yes.’ And getting married was
almost the denouement, the anticlimax.”
Today Tom Hinson and Laura Waters Hinson live in the District, where several
documentary companies are based and where he pastors at two Anglican churches.
Laura graduated from American last year, and the Student Oscar got her thinking
about moving to Los Angeles. “It depends on what Laura wants to do in her career,”
says the man who gave and took away and gave again.
“Our marriage,” she says, “is built on forgiveness.”
Chantale, who lost 30 members of her family to the violence now helps build a house
for John—the person who killed her father.
Instead of being a tale of African ruin and our reluctance to help, it was a tremendously hopeful picture of people learning to forgive in circumstances in which we never could.
alumni
She’s religious now but wasn’t always. Raised Episcopalian,
Hinson says she didn’t get “serious” about it until after Furman,
when she joined the Anglican Mission in the Americas. That
group broke away from the Episcopal Church—rejecting its liberal
reforms—under the auspices of Rwanda’s church.
The link led her local congregation to plan a trip to Rwanda
in 2005. She didn’t sign up to go. She was frenzied, searching
for a suitable thesis topic. But one congregant dropped out and
a pastor urged Hinson to take the spot. When she got there,
she knew she had found her film. She came back and started
researching, planning to shoot in the summer of 2006.
She was so interested in the topic that she hosted a dinner
at Armand’s Pizza on Capitol Hill for a Rwandan bishop who
was working to facilitate reconciliation. There she met a fellow
American University student who was also planning on filming in
Rwanda in June. He and his friend agreed to shoot her movie, if
she’d provide room and board.
They also brought a Canon camera to add to the Panasonic
MiniDV the university had lent her. She found the translator,
Emmanuel Kwizera, through the Internet mailing list of a
Ugandan missionary who had just visited Rwanda. Kwizera
proved crucial to earning the trust of victims and killers, especially
since he was a survivor himself who knew four languages. “He
would go in first,” Hinson says, “elicit stories and then ask
whether they’d be involved.”
In 30 days, without permits, which Rwanda may or may
not require—“it’s not clear”— Hinson filmed 55 hours of
footage. She cut it down to 53 minutes on her Mac. Her Emmy-
winning composers charged her $8,000 for a score that would
usually cost twice as much. Two families from her church gave
her $18,000. Mia Farrow lent her voice to the narration, after
Hinson was introduced to her through the staff of a Virginia
congressman. The Rwandan president agreed to an interview on
the last day of shooting. Her total cost came to $25,000.
“This film typically would’ve cost at least a couple hundred
thousand dollars to make,” Hinson says. “It’ll never be like this
ever again. I know that, but people want to help when you’re a
student.”
Laura interviews
the president of
Rwanda for her
video.
16 17 engage furman
Learn more about Laura and her film at <www.asweforgivemovie.com>
What’s that? This spring, students noticed something rather
strange floating on the tranquil waters of
Furman lake.From a distance it resembled an ice
sculpture, but for the record, it’s a swan made of plastic water bottles. About 20 members of the Environmental Action Group (EAG) worked together to construct the replica to boost awareness about the environmental impact of bottled water.
“We want to show people that drinking bottled water is unnecessary,” said EAG co-president Andrea Triplitt. “Drinking tap water is a viable option. It’s not necessary to buy bottled water.”
As part of this awareness program, the EAG and the Cicero Society co-sponsored the viewing of the film, “FLOW: The Bottled Water Controversy.” Brendan O’Rourke, a representative
from Nestle Water Company, presented the other side of the issue in a talk after the film.
Triplitt said the plastic swan was
about twelve feet tall, eight feet
wide and made up of more than
2,000 water bottles.
sustainabiity
Putting together a movie is kind of a big deal—especially when
the movie you are putting together is for Apple and a national
organization promoting the American College & University
Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUCCP).
That’s what five Furman students were challenged with this
spring. In the midst of classes, studying and all the other things
we’re involved in, we had four weeks to create a short movie
illustrating why Furman signed the Presidents Climate Commitment.
The Presidents Climate CommitmentThe Presidents Climate Commitment is a document signed by
colleges and universities around the globe who pledge to eliminate
their campuses’ greenhouse gas emissions over time. This is not
a simple thing. It involves completing an emissions inventory,
setting a target date, choosing interim milestones for becoming
climate neutral, and taking immediate steps to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions. It also involves making sustainability a part of the
educational experience.
Furman President David Shi was one of the first signatories of
the commitment. At Furman, sustainability is a part of the strategic
plan; what that means to students is that through courses, speakers,
events, and even simple things like the presence of recycling
containers, we’re encouraged to think about what it means to live
sustainably.
Our missionThe ACUPCC Steering Committee, in collaboration with Apple,
asked for student teams from only four schools in the country to
interview their college’s or university’s president and create a video
explaining why that president signed the PCC. The video would then
be posted on the Chronicle of Higher Education’s website and on
iTunes for the world to see. The goal was to inspire other institutions
to become involved with the PCC.
Associate Professor Angela Halfacre, director of Furman’s
Center for Sustainability, approached the five of us: Jenni Asman ’11
(Mauldin, S.C.—neuroscience major), David Bruggink ’09 (Ozark,
Ala.—communication studies major), Lauren Farrar ’09 (Atlanta,
Ga.—communication studies major), Andrea Triplitt ’11 (Greenville,
S.C.—earth and environmental science major), and me (Grant Allard
’12, Maryville, Tenn.—individualized curriculum—sustainability) For
working on this production, Apple gave us new MacBook Pros and
Final Cut Pro editing software.
The processWe began our project with the due date looming only a few weeks
away, but nonetheless we all felt confident that we could do it. On
the first weekend in a late-night meeting we laid out a strategic plan
for the project and hammered out a production schedule. Everyone
gave something to the plan—David and Lauren helped those of
us less technically knowledgeable to understand what needed to
happen for video production, and Andrea, Jenni and I brainstormed
concepts that we thought should be included. Together we hatched
a plan.
We started our production the day after our planning meeting
by filming the Environmental Action Group’s launching of the water-
bottle swan onto Furman Lake, an activity celebrating World Water
Awareness Week. After this, Jenni began organizing interviews while
Andrea and I helped form interview questions.
When we were done with filming most of our footage and
interviews, we transcribed the interviews and began to construct
a script. We took shifts of watching video and writing down rough
transcripts of what was said. From those transcripts, we put together
a script to emphasize where Furman had come from, what the state of
sustainability is in the present, and where sustainability will lead Furman in
the future. David and Lauren then spent an overwhelming amount of time
making our rough visions come to fruition in order to produce a “rough”
version to show Apple and our own Sustainability Planning Council, the
university body that is responsible with planning for sustainability, in order
to get advice and comments.
David and Lauren had done a great job of producing the rough
version in a couple of days, but still we had work to do, including
filming more background footage and finalizing a soundtrack, as well as
doing some additional planning about points that we felt needed to be
expanded.
After these final interviews, David and Lauren crafted a final version
of the video and we turned it in. We all received personal emails from
President Shi and felt a great sense of achievement at what we had done.
We had spent four weeks working on little else but this video—a month
of our lives staying up late and getting up early to meet, share, discuss,
edit and film, and now we were done. We felt almost a sense of jubilation
come over us: our hard work and determination had paid off.
And now?Our team of students is excited to have our story out on iTunes. But
making this movie affected each of us in different ways. We met people
all over campus and learned a tremendous amount about sustainability
and the Presidents Climate Commitment. Lauren’s video experience led
her to a job with the university’s Marketing & Public Relations office
doing videography. Andrea, Jenni and I are now working with the Center
for Sustainability on campus as Mellon Sustainability Fellows (a funded
program for students involved with sustainability efforts on campus).
And despite all the late nights, the frantic emails and struggles to
keep all the balls in the air, we’ve all gotten more
interested in sustainability and are finding ways to apply
what we are learning at home, at school
and in our community. And isn’t
that really what education
is all about?
Left to right: Lauren Farrar, David Bruggink,
Jenni Asman, Grant Allard and (on floor)
Andrea Triplitt are all pretty excited about the
video and their new MacBook Pros.
1 Green Furman + 1 Green Video
To view our finished product, go to<www.engagefurman.com/PCC>.
18 19
= 5 Green Macs
“I was attracted to Furman because they
played Division I basketball, and I knew I’d get to
play against some pretty good teams,” she said.
“I don’t really think you can be prepared for the
experience of playing on the college Division I level,
especially at a school with tough academics like
Furman, but it was a great experience and I’d do it
over again the same if I had the choice.”
For Melissa, the ESPN competition proved the
perfect culmination to her basketball career.
“I’m pretty much done with basketball now,
and this is a great way to go out,” she said.
One of the advantages of coming to Furman,
says Melissa, is that basketball was only one part of
her college experience. She managed to graduate
with a 3.40 GPA and a double major in Biology and
Health and Exercise Science. She also pursued her
interest in the health field, interning last summer
with a free health clinic in Greenville. This experience
led her to apply to pharmacy school, which she will
pursue next year at the University of Tennessee.
She also has some wedding planning to do, as
she was recently engaged to fellow Furman athlete
Elliot Pascal ’08.
“This year has been my busiest yet, which
is why I was surprised when I won the shooting
competition,” said Melissa, “It’s funny how my most
hectic time was also my most successful.”
—Josie Sawyer ’08
I’ve practiced my 3-point shot a billion times. It’s just all about repetition and muscle memory.“
”
Melissa Liebschwager ’09 is used to
hearing the swish of the net when she
arches the ball from behind the three-
point line. Hitting 47 percent of her 3-point shots
this year, she was ranked number one for her shot
among Division I athletes.
Despite her stellar stats, Melissa never
expected the call she received this spring inviting
her to ESPN’s 21st Annual College Slam Dunk and
3-Point Championship.
“I had no idea that was a possibility,”
she said. “I got the call one week before the
competition, and then I was on a plane to
Detroit.”
The competition took place at the Palace at
Auburn Hills in Detroit, Michigan, where Melissa
competed against seven other top-ranked college
athletes from around the nation.
“There were some big-time players there,”
she said. “I was a little nervous at first, but when
I got to the gym and started shooting around, the
nerves went away.”
The rules seemed simple: The timer is set for
one minute. There are five marked spots on the
three-point line, and you get five shots at each
spot. The first four shots count one-point, and
the fifth shot, called the “money-ball,” counts
double. Add the pressure of live TV, an ESPN
announcer, and a roaring stadium, and you have
yourself a competition.
“That was the most people I’ve ever
performed in front of,” Melissa said. “I just had to
stay focused.”
Despite the distractions, Melissa sailed
through the first two rounds, knocking her
competitors out one by one. She sealed her
victory in the final round when she went head-to-
head with an athlete from Arizona State.
Though Melissa seems to have the magic
touch from behind the 3-point line, she says her
success results from a lot of hard work.
“I’ve practiced my 3-point shot a billion
times. It’s just all about repetition and muscle
memory,” said Melissa.
Melissa started perfecting her shot as a
child, when she and her dad would spend hours
at the gym shooting around.
“My dad taught me how to shoot,” she
said. “He would always rebound for me while I
practiced my shot.”
With her dad’s encouragement, Melissa
worked hard for the chance to play college
basketball and says Furman proved the perfect
place for her to continue her basketball career.
I don’t really think you can be prepared for the experience of playing on the college Division I level, especially at a school with tough academics like Furman, but it was a great exper-ience and I’d do it over again the same if I had the choice.
“”
athletics
20 21 engage furman
Watch the ESPN shoot out at <www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q705iw2z5dg>.
Recently, however, he used his language skills for another
purpose. He has given readers the opportunity to journey
into the heart of a revolution, an inside look at the struggle
to overthrow a military dictatorship in El Salvador.
His English translation of the memoir of Salvadoran war hero
Carlos Henriquez Consalvi soon will be published by the University
of Texas Press.
Professors who’ve worked with the Furman senior say it’s
rare for an undergraduate to have the patience and knowledge to
translate a book of such importance, let
alone have it accepted for publication by a
major university press.
Consalvi has quite a story to tell, one
that would make a blockbuster movie.
It would feature rebels hiding in the
hills of El Salvador, dodging bullets and
bombardments as they try to keep a radio
station up and running.
Known throughout El Salvador as Comandante Santiago,
Consalvi used words as a weapon during the 1981–92 civil war.
The Venezuela-born journalist was drawn to insurgencies in Central
America and became the voice of the revolution in El Salvador,
broadcasting from Radio Venceremos, the clandestine radio station
operated by the guerillas. The rebels used an old transmitter,
vintage World War II equipment. The equipment was always
breaking down, and they scrambled to find parts.“They would
broadcast twice a day at set times,’’ Charlie says. ``It was important
for them to broadcast at those times to inspire the people and to
let the government, as well as the people, know that they were
alive and well and hadn’t been defeated.”
Charlie, who comes from a small town north of Atlanta,
uses words to paint a picture of the guerillas carrying the radio
station’s equipment on their backs under enemy fire as they moved
to safer locations. They could broadcast to the entire country and
throughout Central America, and the station became not just an
alternative source of information but a symbol of
their struggle.``The people rallied behind this one
symbol and knew that if the symbol still stood, the
people behind it still stood,’’ Charlie says.
The Furman student says the book has
``a little bit of romance mixed in with the war.’’
There’s also an intricate plot to assassinate the
man responsible for an infamous massacre
reported by the radio station.
Today Santiago operates a museum in San Salvador, the
capital of El Salvador. He uses the Museum of Word and Image
to preserve the history of the revolution and other aspects of his
adopted country’s culture and history. Visitors can see a replica of
the radio station in one exhibit in the museum.
Through Furman professor Erik Ching, students at Furman
have gotten to work with Santiago. ``I came to know Santiago some
six or so years ago as part of my ongoing research on El Salvador,’’
Ching says. ``When I saw the work he was doing with his museum,
I realized it had the potential to be a win-win situation. He would
get input and help from our students, and they in turn would have
the opportunity to learn an enormous amount about the history
and politics of El Salvador.’’
Charlie, who has participated in foreign study programs in
Spain and Chile during his time at Furman, wanted to be an intern
at the museum. But he says the position went to Derek Gleason,
who graduated from Furman in 2007 and just completed his work
on a master’s degree in Latin American studies at Indiana University.
Nagle let his Furman professors know that he’d be interested
in future opportunities in El Salvador. So when Santiago wanted
someone to translate his book, Ching recommended that Nagle
spend the summer doing it.
Furman professor Bill Prince was Nagle’s adviser on the
project, and Nagle and Santiago communicated by email
throughout the translation process.
``Charlie accepted the challenge, and I agreed to oversee his
efforts,’’ Prince says. ``Although I made corrections and offered
some suggestions, he did most of the work.’’
Charlie knew the importance of the project and seized the
opportunity. ``There were outside accounts of what was going on
during the war, but no direct accounts,’’ he says.
Not surprisingly, to see his project about to be published
fills Charlie with immense pride. ``It’s exciting. It has been a long
process. The translation took a relatively short amount of time,
a few months. Then Bill Prince and I spent months and months
editing and looking it over,’’ he says.
``Dr. Ching sent the manuscript to different places. So it has
been a two-year period at this point. Having not been involved in
any publication process before, I didn’t know exactly how long it
would take. I guess I was starting to lose hope that it would be
accepted or published at all or even while I was at Furman,’’ Charlie
adds. He describes translation as mentally exhausting work.
``You can agonize over a sentence, a word, for an hour or
complete 10 pages in an hour. It just depends on the context
``It’s hard to capture not just the words
but the sense of the words, the flow
of the book and the emotion behind
everything especially if it’s a memoir.’’
Charlie working with Professor Bill Prince on Santiago’s memiors.
research and internships
Comandante Santiago with his wife
and son (hiding under sweater).
Rebels broadcast from World War II equipment
Interpretingthe voice of a revolution
At first-glance, Charlie Nagle doesn’t fit the description of a revolutionary. The Spanish major
at Furman is clean cut and polite. Soft-spoken Charlie chooses his words carefully whether
he’s talking or writing. During his four years at Furman, he’s been a volunteer translator at a
local free medical clinic and taught immigrants in an English as a Second Language program.
(continued on the next page)
22 23 engage furman
of what you’re translating,’’ he says. ``It’s hard to capture not
just the words but the sense of the words, the flow of the
book and the emotion behind everything, especially if it’s
a memoir.’’
Prince is proud of Charlie’s achievement.``The number
of undergraduate students in the entire country who could
do what Charlie did is extremely small,’’ he says. ``Charlie
is a remarkably talented language student who, lucky for
us, wants to teach here someday.’’ Charlie says he was paid
$3,000 for his work, but the experience was priceless.
And he’s come a long way since he first sat in
a high school Spanish class eight years ago.
``I was frustrated with it. Then I fell in love with Spanish
and decided it was the only thing I could do in life, my
one true passion,’’ he says. ``I really enjoy foreign language
and foreign culture, communicating with other people and
finding out their perspectives and how they live,’’ he says.
Adds Charlie, ``As a Spanish major or any language
major, you spend years and years honing your skills, and you
may or may not use them. For me, it’s definitely all about the
practicality of it, using it and learning more. Then anyway
I can interact to help people is always a plus.’’
Charlie has applied for a Fulbright teaching fellowship
to return to Spain. He hopes eventually to earn his doctorate
in applied Spanish linguistics, then teach at the college level.
He has a message for anyone who has ever lost out
on something in life, as he did on that museum internship
in El Salvador several years ago: Be persistent.
``For students looking for opportunities at Furman,
there are these things out there. You have to be willing to
ask and show that you merit the opportunity. You have
to do the leg work,’’ he says.
Background—A private liberal
arts university founded in 1826
and nationally acclaimed for its
academic excellence, Engaged
Learning program, Division I
athletics and campus beauty
Location—Greenville, South
Carolina (metropolitan popula-
tion 400,000), five miles north
of downtown
Students—2,600 under-
graduates from 47 states
and 47 countries
Faculty—230, 96 percent with
the highest degree in their field
Student-to-Faculty Ratio —11:1
Average Class Size—18
Campus—750-acre campus
with lake; 36 major buildings
including 490,000-plus volume
library; newly renovated science
complex with more than $6
million of scientific equipment;
2,000-seat auditorium; music
complex with recital halls and
technology lab; physical activities
center with workout facilities;
chapel; 16,000-seat football
stadium; tennis center; soccer
stadium; and 18-hole golf course
Sports—One of the smallest
NCAA Division I schools in the
nation, Furman fields 17 men’s
and women’s teams, as well as
16 club sports and a host of
intramural teams.
Honor Societies—Phi Beta
Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa,
Phi Eta Sigma, and numerous
departmental honoraries
In 2008, the Office of Admis-
sions received 4,600 applications
for a freshman class of just over
700. Admitted students typically
displayed an academic record
that included advanced courses
with strong grades and test
scores that fell within the
mid-50 percent range of
1200–1380 on the SAT and
26–31 on the ACT. Furman uses
the Common Application
exclusively.
Majors and ConcentrationsAccounting
Art
Asian Studies
Biology
Black Cultures in the Americas*
Business Administration
Chemistry
Classical Studies*
Communication Studies
Computer Science
Computer Science–Mathematics
Earth and Environmental Sciences
Economics
Education
Early Childhood Education
Elementary Education
Secondary Education
Special Education
Engineering (dual degree)
English
English for Speakers
of other Languages*
Environmental Studies*
French
German
Greek
Health and Exercise Science
History
Individualized
Curriculum
Program
Information
Technology
Latin
Latin American Studies*
Mathematics
Mathematics–Economics
Music
Church Music
Music Education
Performance
Music Theory
Neuroscience
Philosophy
Physics
Political Science
Poverty Studies*
Prelaw Studies
Premedical Studies
Psychology
Religion
ROTC
Sociology
Spanish
Theatre Arts
Urban Studies
Women’s Studies*
*concentration
Visit engagefurman.com It’s designed for prospective students like you. Take our virtual tour.
Find your counselor. Schedule your visit. Ask a question. Even apply online!
Plan Your Visit!You can visit Furman almost
any time. To schedule
a visit, go to <www.
engagefurman.com/visit> or
call 864.294.2034.
Apply Online<www.engagefurman.com/
apply>.
Early Decision Application DatesIf Furman is your first
choice, apply for
Early Decision. If admitted,
you can relax while
your friends are filling
out application after
application.
November 15—Your
application is due
December 15—Decision
letters are mailed out
January 15—You decide
whether or not to commit
to Furman (binding letter of
intent/ deposit due)
Regular Decision Application DatesIf you want to keep your
options open and won’t be
able to decide until May 1,
apply Regular Decision.
January 15—Your
application is due
March 13—Decision letters
are mailed out
May 1—Your deadline
to decide if you’ll attend
Furman (deposit due)
(continued from previous page)
24
Furman facts
Did you know?Furman University was a pioneer
in engaged learning as a practice
and a concept. Today many colleges
and universities use the term
“engaged learning” to promote
their programs. Furman is flattered—
after all, imitation is the highest
form of praise.
For more information about internships at Furman, go to <www.engagefurman.com/intern>.
engageFurman University Admission
3300 Poinsett Highway
Greenville, South Carolina 29613-5245
A rare skeletal display was installed this spring near the
Korht Commons of Plyler Hall. It’s easy to be startled
by the scene: a cougar attacks a desert bighorn sheep
in an act of consummate predation. The display was brought
to Furman by biology professor Travis Perry after almost two
years of collection, permits, cleaning and assembling.
These specimens are extraordinary as they represent
the interaction of two existing populations in South-Central
New Mexico, where the cougars’ predation of the small
resident population of desert bighorns has been an issue for
conservation.
Perry, who devoted a sabbatical working as a field
biologist studying the desert bighorn sheep population,
collected the specimens under a scientific research permit. It
was hot work, as he and Thomas Newman ’08 had to pack out
the bones in 110 degree heat.
Perry also had to navigate through a lot of bureaucratic
red tape when he shipped the specimens. It was necessary not
only to wade through the paperwork for the proper permits,
but to use a tracking “pit tag,” should the specimen be stolen.
It may seem like overkill, but there is a high demand in
the black market for bighorn sheep. Not only that, but the
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish auctions a single
permit for the opportunity to hunt one ram. This permit, only
valid for two or three days, recently sold for $220,000, and the
proceeds go to support restoration of the population.
Local natural history artist Brian Johnson spent more
than 18 months cleaning, constructing and carefully arranging
the skeletons into an authentic and aesthetically pleasing pose.
The hope is that the skeletons will be used as an educational
resource to reveal the complexities of conservation to students
and the public. —Will Goldsmith ’10
Nightmare in Townes Science Center?