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guests, their visit was of special importance to me as I prepare to leave for Kigali, Rwanda, in January. Members of iDebate Rwanda meet students in PLU’s Diversity Center.. (Photo: John Froschauer/PLU) As a student of History and Holocaust and Genocide Studies, I have long been fascinated by Rwanda’s past and culture, so the opportunity to hear firsthand the stories of Rwandans was one that I did not take lightly. After a rigorous application process, these four students won a competition through an

explore “Women and the Holocaust” Oct. 17-19 at PLU.“We’re going to specifically focus on how women’s experiences, because of their gender, were different from that of men,” said conference organizer and PLU history professor Beth Griech-Polelle. “If we really want to capture the historical moment and time of the holocaust, it’s not enough to leave women out of the story.” Griech-Polelle, who serves as the Kurt Mayer chair in Holocaust studies at PLU, says that only recently did the field of Holocaust

require a video assignment at the start of his religion course at Pacific Lutheran University. The creative ambition of a group of students in 2008 planted the seed for what’s become a university tradition — PLU Hebrew Idol.The competition features short films written, filmed and edited by students in Finitsis’ course titled “Religion and Literature of the Hebrew Bible.” Each year, online voting by students determines the top three movies, which go on to face evaluation by a panel of judges. This year

Rwandan genocide. “This fall, with the support of the Kurt Mayer Endowment for Holocaust Studies, we focus on the efforts of young Rwandans to practice the art of argument in a society still struggling to make dissent normal, safe and nonviolent,” said PLU History Professor Beth Kraig, director of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies minor. “Silence often follows genocides and civil wars, as people live in fear and lack trust in others. The iDebate Rwanda program provides opportunities for breaking that

audiences. Weiss and Benioff offered a series which, much like The Wire, was trying to tell a sociological story instead of a psychological one. Rather than being concerned solely with individual characters and their struggles in a small environment, Game of Thrones would tell the story of several characters spread out across different continents, exploring the facets of the society that shaped them. Game of Thrones was the right show in a wrong time; a decade where politics became increasingly

a career in singing or opera? “Life isn’t a dress rehearsal,” she said. “Do your best work every time. Be accountable. Be flexible. Be able, ready and fierce with your art.” Like Van Mechelen, McIntyre arrived at PLU as a transfer student. She graduated with an English literature major, and a vocal and religion minor. McIntyre’s mother, Nancy McIntyre ’74, also graduated with a degree in education from PLU. After teaching in various places around the country, McIntyre now teaches theater arts in

, and will be entering PLU as first-year students. “This scholarship helps with two very important things,” said Matt Burns, a counselor at Tacoma’s Wilson High School. “It can be the scholarship some kids need to get to college, and as a counselor I can use it to encourage and motivate students who are on the fence between being pretty good students and working as hard as they can to be really strong students.” PLU has a long history of awarding full tuition scholarships to local students and

photo from senior Kelly Hall's youth Tribal Canoe Journey (courtesy of Hall). “I was lucky there was a group already making this major,” Hall said. “I get to kind of be the guinea pig.” So, an independently designed major was created and approved. Focusing on the four disciplines of religion, anthropology, history and language, Hall and Crawford-O’Brien came up with a list of classes for Hall to choose from. Now a senior, the only thing between Hall and graduation is her capstone. Her project

Christianity. The panel will include students from different Christian backgrounds, as well as one or two students with Jewish backgrounds, who will discuss their history and practices. The final event takes place in Xavier 201 at 7 p.m. One lecture in the religious diversity series included the event “Getting to Know Your Jewish Neighbor” (below).“I think it’s great that we have opportunities to discuss what makes our student body diverse,” said first-year Paris Franklin, one of the students speaking in

opening reception on Sept. 26) It’s a huge opportunity—literally—to showcase PLU: The exhibition is anchored by five 5-by-8-foot canvas tapestries displaying photos from eras of PLU’s history. Each banner is accompanied by a plaque with information about each era, and separate panels chronicle the evolution of Lutheran education in the Pacific Northwest and at PLU specifically. The exhibition also includes maps, interactive media and selected historic items from PLU’s Archives. SCC Director Elisabeth