Spring Break
Students volunteer time to rebuild homes during break
Joe Wojtysiak / Staff Reporter
Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: News
Students with the Newman Catholic Center were riled during Thanksgiving break.
The people of the Catholic center, along with members of the School of Americas Watch, protested the U.S. Army School of Americas at Fort Benning in Georgia.
The military program specializes in training and educating Latin Americans about military and warfare. The program is intended to foster relations between the United States and Latin American countries, and prepare young Latin Americans for military leadership.
Doris Nording, student volunteer coordinator at the Newman Catholic Center, attended the protest with two other Eastern students.
"We are standing up for non-violent solutions," Nording said.
Critics of the program said the students are trained in torture techniques that are then used in villages and towns within Latin America, leaving families and citizens unsafe.
The School of Americas Watch, an advocacy group, participates in rallies and protests alongside many other schools and religious organizations.
Steven Joebgen, a sophomore marketing major, was one of the students who accompanied Nording on the trip.
"This was the first year I went," Joebgen said. "There was an estimated 20,000 people this year, which they said was pretty standard."
The Eastern students participated with different faith communities, such as Sisters of Mercy, with college groups like Loyola University Chicago and many others.
"We work with Café Campesino, selling fair trade coffee at the event, with all proceeds going to SOA Watch," Joebgen said.
Fair trade products give farmers proper wages for their products, instead of undercharging them.
"Being there you are part of this movement of peace, it's not just rallies or protests, it is an entire peace movement," Nording said.
The event also allowed war veterans and Christian peacemakers to give public speeches.
A memorial service for those who have been killed by those trained in the program was also held at the protest. The crowd chanted and sang the names of each life taken from eight-month-old children to mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, Nording said.
Students also participated in the Christian Appalachian Project over Thanksgiving break as well.
The Newman Catholic Center and EIU's Habitat for Humanity organized the project, which took a group of volunteers to the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky and worked with poverty stricken families to rebuild their homes.
Matthew Schumake, a senior English major and Habitat for Humanity member, went on the trip.
"We worked with CAP on two homes while we were there, rebuilding roofs, installing windows, other repairs to prepare for winter," Schumake said.
He said the experience was amazing and would recommend it to any student.
"It's just as good for the people who volunteer as it is for the people you are doing it for," Schumake said.
Joe Wojtysiak can be reached at 581-7942 or at jdwojtysiak@eiu.edu.
The people of the Catholic center, along with members of the School of Americas Watch, protested the U.S. Army School of Americas at Fort Benning in Georgia.
The military program specializes in training and educating Latin Americans about military and warfare. The program is intended to foster relations between the United States and Latin American countries, and prepare young Latin Americans for military leadership.
Doris Nording, student volunteer coordinator at the Newman Catholic Center, attended the protest with two other Eastern students.
"We are standing up for non-violent solutions," Nording said.
Critics of the program said the students are trained in torture techniques that are then used in villages and towns within Latin America, leaving families and citizens unsafe.
The School of Americas Watch, an advocacy group, participates in rallies and protests alongside many other schools and religious organizations.
Steven Joebgen, a sophomore marketing major, was one of the students who accompanied Nording on the trip.
"This was the first year I went," Joebgen said. "There was an estimated 20,000 people this year, which they said was pretty standard."
The Eastern students participated with different faith communities, such as Sisters of Mercy, with college groups like Loyola University Chicago and many others.
"We work with Café Campesino, selling fair trade coffee at the event, with all proceeds going to SOA Watch," Joebgen said.
Fair trade products give farmers proper wages for their products, instead of undercharging them.
"Being there you are part of this movement of peace, it's not just rallies or protests, it is an entire peace movement," Nording said.
The event also allowed war veterans and Christian peacemakers to give public speeches.
A memorial service for those who have been killed by those trained in the program was also held at the protest. The crowd chanted and sang the names of each life taken from eight-month-old children to mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, Nording said.
Students also participated in the Christian Appalachian Project over Thanksgiving break as well.
The Newman Catholic Center and EIU's Habitat for Humanity organized the project, which took a group of volunteers to the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky and worked with poverty stricken families to rebuild their homes.
Matthew Schumake, a senior English major and Habitat for Humanity member, went on the trip.
"We worked with CAP on two homes while we were there, rebuilding roofs, installing windows, other repairs to prepare for winter," Schumake said.
He said the experience was amazing and would recommend it to any student.
"It's just as good for the people who volunteer as it is for the people you are doing it for," Schumake said.
Joe Wojtysiak can be reached at 581-7942 or at jdwojtysiak@eiu.edu.
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