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Update on the 2016’s class on 2/2

During this first class we set the agenda and expectations for the upcoming semester as well as integrated members of our class that were abroad by updating them on what we have been doing. First, we opened the class by having pizza and listening to some reminders from Dr. Arcaro. He informed us that the steering committee would be operating again and that we would need to elect two members of our class to be there. Christian and Erin Luther volunteered to attend the steering committee meetings. He said that this semester the steering committee will be different because it will have more specific goals, objectives and deliverables. Dr. Arcaro wants our class to assume the role of “seers” or mentors; essentially we will be giving more than we will be getting. Secondly, Dr. Arcaro said that he wants the Periclean program to transition towards a more transparent and collaborative mechanism for the distribution of funds. He wants to have an advisory committee that will be in charge of “asks” from each class and he wants the steering committee will work on developing this. There will be a veto power for the advisory committee, but the distribution of funds will essentially be more structured than it has been in the past.

 

After Dr. Arcaro’s talk we discussed changes to the syllabus for the spring semester. We explained that a new addition to this semester will be the creation of posters displaying our major work and research. This will serve as our “writing for a purpose” requirement and will be helpful for the younger classes. Secondly, we decided to only do a final written reflection and have the normal mid-term reflection be oral with our accountability partner. Lastly, we changed the structure of the KBG’s so that there is more sharing involved. Each group that attends an event will spend 5-10 minutes sharing what they learned in class. This way the KBG element of the class is more collaborative and we are able to benefit from other people’s learning.

 

Next, we had committee updates to update the people that were away last semester and over winter term. Each committee shared what they have done and what they hope to accomplish for this next semester. The People Planet Profit committee will be focusing on small logistics for the upcoming summit. Most of the larger issues have been handled. They want everyone to be sure they are available during the Summit as they will need all hands on deck. The LUPE committee wants to focus on the sustainability of their initiatives this semester. Specifically, they want to be sure there is a plan in place so that the ESL classes and curriculum they have created will last into the future. To do this, they are focusing on converting their curriculum to electronic form and contacting organizations on campus that may be willing to take it over. The book editing committee will be focusing on the final draft of the book, and everyone should plan to turn in the final draft of their chapter over the next few weeks. The fundraising committee will be focusing on Cookies-to-Go-Go during the Summit and outside of the Summit as well as any other fundraising ideas that come up. They want to encourage everyone to start brainstorming about this.

 

Finally, we gave announcements. There are several things that members of our class are working on that are very exciting and interesting. We got a $750 donation from the Office of Sustainability to go toward our Summit and they are considering having an eco-rep table at the conference. One problem we are having with the Summit is whether vendors are allowed to sell their products. Isabel has been following up with the woman in charge but is not having any luck. This is an ongoing initiative that we are working on because we think that this is an important part of the conference that we were looking forward to incorporating. Caroline is looking into the Two-dollar challenge, which is a challenge being sponsored by our key-note speaker, Sean Humphrey. She will create a survey so that we can gauge the class’ interest in participating. Morgan is also holding a photo exhibit contest with El Centro and is seeking help to plan this. Diana and Pablo from El Centro are helping with this.. The goal of this is to show another side of Honduras, rather than just the bad parts of the country that are typically displayed in the media.

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Class of 2016 Update for 9/29/15

Today we heard the results from the Hope for Honduran Children committee regarding the alumni giving commitment which would essentially commit us, as Pericleans, to donating $100 each per year after graduation. This money would go to helping support H4HC and would be tracked by Morgan Abate as the Periclean of the Year.  We surveyed the class so that each person could anonymously express their approval of this plan. 19 class members said yes to giving for 3 years, 17 said yes to giving for 5 years, and half said yes to giving for 10 years. The committee will decide where we should go from here.

Morgan Abate also gave a presentation today on her experience in Ecuador last semester with an organization called La Fundacion El Arenal. It is run by indigenous women from outside of the city and it hosts impoverished children from ages 5-15. The goals of the organization are to help the children with their homework while also creating a daily routine for the children which includes time for homework, recreation, snack and cleaning responsibilities. Many of these children come from a poor family life including physical, verbal and sexual abuse. Morgan also discussed some problems associated with short and long term volunteers that came to the foundation. Specifically, she talked about complications with volunteers from UNC Charlotte who were non-Spanish speakers, first year students, and only there for three days. She felt that their involvement may have been more destructive for the students than constructive. The foundation also required mandatory health and nutrition based workshops for the parents of these students.

We had many announcements today including an update on the Elevator speech, which Arianna and Caroline are working on. We were reminded to attend Celebrating Periclean, and the LUPE committee conveyed that they will be inviting those women to attend. We decided that next week’s class will be at Peacehaven, a farm that Christian is involved with. We also decided that, rather than having class on 10/20, all will be required to attend the deliberative discussion on immigration in McKinnon. April has RSVP’d to this event on behalf of our class. We also talked about the Faith ID program bill which, Morgan and Anna relayed, is likely to pass through Congress. This bill will block these ID’s from being valid. LUPE is having a rally to protest this bill and it would be nice to have our class attend to show our support and also to have some non-hispanic faces. Finally, those who are interested in going on the Honduras trip in January need to update April on their status in this decision process.

We ended with committee updates. The P3 committee is still working on getting speakers and are in contact with a number of businesses. Anna and Caroline found a keynote speaker who they think would be perfect, Sean Humphrey, so they want the classes approval to continue communication with him. We would likely also offer him some money to come and speak. Other things for the P3 committee to be working on include: solidifying the lunch options at the summit, deciding if vendors will be able to sell goods at the summit, establishing when people will be able to begin registering for the summit. It seems that the main challenge they face right now is getting businesses to come and speak.

The fundraising committee made $535 last week in Cookies-to-Go-Go. They sold 700 cookies to 140 people, which is more than double what they did last year. In their committee meeting, they talked about setting the date for the next Cookies-to-Go-Go which will likely be November 11th. They also talked about ways to improve and make this better.

The LUPE committee was very busy this week. They met with Blanca Sunday night to talk about a grant, they also did tutoring this past week and went to two LUPE board members houses. Anna and Abby are meeting with Suyapa and Miriam to discuss another tutoring program; however, Anna and Abby will have to relay that we currently do not have the capacity to support another program. They are going to suggest some other organizations that may be able to help them such as EV.

H4HC will ahve the conversation this week about the proposal for the post-graduation funding initiative and come back to the class with what they have decided.

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Class of 2016 April 7th class notes

First, we spent about 10-15 minutes in small group discussion about the homework for today, which was to watch an 18 minute documentary along with an accompanying article about the dangers that journalists are facing in Honduras. We then reconvened to discuss our thoughts. We talked about the large role that the government is playing in the violence in Honduras, in addition to the influence that transnational organizations are having on conflicts. Furthermore, we discussed the phrase, “Latin America as America’s backyard” and how that might relate to aid and service work. More specifically, the language and rhetoric that is used to reference aid is usually paternalistic or assertive in nature.

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We were also able to have a quick Skype conversation with Erin Luther, one of our class members who is currently abroad in Spain. She relayed some of her experiences there such as playing soccer with locals and information about her classes. She also discussed the differences between learning Spanish there and in Argentina. She found that she was more accustomed to Spanish in Argentina because she took a language class that informed her of common phrases and customs in the language.

After our Skype with Erin, we had committee updates and I think the class is pleased with the progress we are making. The LUPE committee has decided to help LUPE become a 501C rather than applying for grants. They are also planning to attend the next LUPE board meeting, trying to schedule a dinner with Blanca, and are looking into opening the El Centro fitness classes to LUPE.

The Elon Summit committee is also making a lot of progress. Aidan is in contact with the Moseley Center, and has reserved several locations. There has also been a date set for the Summit: February 20, 2016! The Summit is titled, “People, Planet, Profit,” the general programming is complete, the email is ready to be sent to potential organizations, and the budget is finalized. Additionally, Savannah submitted a Fund for Excellence grant to help fund the Summit.

We are also looking forward to Cookies-to-go-go this week, our largest fundraising event. Lexi reported that we have over $100 in orders currently, and Isabel is handling the advertising and social media. We discussed logistics for the fundraiser such as kitchen locations, cooking supplies, and the need for a social media blast.

cookies

We reserved announcements for the end of class, where we discussed the Induction ceremony next Thursday and the need for each member of our class to be present. We also voted on a t-shirt design. Finally, we split up into committees to catch up and finalize any plans for the upcoming week. Summit in Honduras committee is planning to talk with Maggie soon, as she recently responded to our emails. Dr. Arcaro stopped by the class to remind us of the induction and inform us of the speaker, Kevin, who has been with Periclean since 2007 and knows the program very well. We are looking forward to the induction and Kevin’s speech. Dr. Arcaro also relayed that the newest class has 33 very promising and enthusiastic students being inducted. We are excited to welcome them!

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Class of 2016 Profit Share

On Saturday, May 17th from 11 a.m.- 10 p.m. our class hosted a profit share at West End Terrace. For each person who came in for the profit share, 15% of their bill was donated to our class project in Honduras. Since I work at West End, I was able to easily set up and advertise for the profit share. We put a chalk board outside on the side walk which said “Periclean profit share: tell your server Periclean to donate 15% of your bill.” Isabel and I also created a Facebook event and our class invited over 1,000 students. April also helped out in inviting her friends and attending the profit share with her husband. Since I was working that day, I was able to explain to many people what Periclean is and, more specifically, what our project in Honduras entails. I was glad to have the opportunity to explain exactly what people were donating to and to also advertise our class and our focus. We made $240 from the profit share which was very successful and I think, ultimately, advertised us a lot. My boss was also very pleased with the turnout and I am sure there is the possibility of conducting another profit share with him in the future. Ultimately, I think it was good to collaborate with a local business owner and get the word out about Periclean and our project. It was also a good end to our semester as a class and for the fundraising committee.

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