Next year, 17 Oxbridge students will be studying at Oxford and one will be studying in Washington D.C. as part of The Fund for American Studies program. The University of Oxford is divided into 38 separate Colleges and six Permanent Private Halls spread throughout the city of Oxford. Students from Jewell will be spread among seven of these colleges including St. Catherine’s College, Hertford College, Lady Margaret Hall (LMH), Mansfield College, Regent’s Park College and St. Peter’s College, in addition to Keble College as a part of the Middlebury-CMRS Oxford Humanities Program. Students studying at Oxford will spend between from one to three terms there.

“I’m looking forward most to the experience of a different culture and meeting a bunch of new people. Also tutorials,” said Shaneann Fross, sophomore Oxbridge Molecular Biology and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry major who will be studying at St. Catherine’s College.

While there, students will take numerous tutorials. The Oxbridge Program at Jewell uses the tutorial system, so students are prepared for this heavy writing and one-on-one teaching style of education. Many students use this year abroad to study subjects not offered at Jewell.

“In terms of tutorials, I’m really excited to take certain things I can’t take here like Latin American history,” said Emily Hemphill, sophomore Oxbridge History major studying at LMH.

In addition to weekly tutorials, students get to attend lectures and utilize the numerous resources Oxford has to offer in their over 100 libraries and extensive online databases.

“The thing I’m looking forward to most about tutorials is the chance to really dig in deep into subjects that interest me and utilize some of the awesome resources in Oxford,” said Kaityln O’Neal, sophomore Oxbridge Literature and Theory major who will be participating in the Middlebury-CMRS program at Keble College.

While the tutorial aspect of the year abroad at Oxford can be exciting, there is more to studying abroad than just the school work. Many students will use the vacation period between terms to travel around Europe.

“The thing I’m looking forward to most about being there is the chance to travel around England and hopefully Europe and see a bunch of cool, cultural sites,” said O’Neal.

Some students already have their eyes set on places to visit during the break.

“I’m going to go with my family to Italy and France during the winter break and hopefully at some point I make it up to Norway, Sweden, Finland – that’s what I really want to see,” said Jeremy Hofman, sophomore Oxbridge Institutions and Policy major who will be studying at Mansfield College.

For some Oxbridge students, this opportunity will give them a chance to visit places they have learned about in their classes.

“I want see a lot of my favorite historical sites in England, Ireland [and] France,” said Hemphill.

She’s excited to see specific places like Hastings, Stonehenge, Bath and Hadrian’s Wall.

When asked about what he was looking forward to most, Hofman mentioned the unexpected. While a different experience for everyone, this year abroad is sure to be full of the unexpected as students move to a new country and submerge themselves in a different culture and learning environment. 

“My answer is things that I don’t expect. It’s hard to say what I’m looking forward to because I feel like those tend to be the coolest things, what you don’t expect,” said Hofman.

Photo courtesy of University of Oxford 

Every Friday this month, members from the two offices have hosted a table in the Yates-Gill Union during Jewell Time to provide information about SAAM, including how to help those who have been sexually assaulted and how to prevent sexual assault. In addition to handing out teal, teal being the official color for SAAM, ribbons to spread awareness on campus, they are providing information about upcoming events.

One of these events, held Monday, was an open dialogue with Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA). The conversation covered topics of sexual violence on college campuses, myths and facts about sexual violence and assault and how to intervene as a bystander.

The national theme for SAAM this year is “Embrace Your Voice.” Building on this, Jewell has adopted the theme of “Jewell Voices,” which can be seen on the banner in the Union surrounded by purple cards.

“We are asking students, as well as the Jewell Community, to voice their desire to stop sexual harassment, change rape culture and support victims on our campus,” said Missy Henry, co-deputy Title IX coordinator and compliance coordinator.

Comments on these cards range from a few words to short paragraphs. These include “listen to and support victims,” “alcohol is never a good excuse,” “no means no,” “I will speak up and call out sexual assault” and “be the person they can ‘go’ to.”

Missy Henry by Cassie Hayes.

The cards will be displayed for the entire month. Henry hopes that individuals will take time to read the words of their peers and take comfort in how they’re being supported on campus and what other students are going to do to help prevent sexual assault.

“I think the Jewell Voices campaign has been received with a really positive response. We’ve had people very willing and excited to put that out,” said Dr. Tricia Hager, director of Counseling Services. “For us, it’s taking that forward and trying to keep that visibility for next year.”

The last event of the month is Denim Day. Students are encouraged to wear denim April 25 and be in a picture after chapel on the Quad at 10:45 a.m. Denim Day started in Italy in 1999 after the Italian Supreme Court ruled that “because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex.” This became known as the “jeans alibi” and sparked a protest by women in the Italian Parliament, who wore jeans to work. Patti Occhiuzzo Giggans, Executive Director of Peace Over Violence, helped bring this idea to the U.S. The first Denim Day was in April of 1999 in Los Angeles and has been held nationwide every year since.  

Hager and Henry both emphasized that they want more visual awareness with events like the ribbon campaign, Jewell Voices and Denim Day.

Dr. Tricia Hager by Cassie Hayes.

To do this, they have planned or are in the planning stages of multiple events for next year. One of these will be a screening of the documentary “The Hunting Ground.”  

“It is [about] stories of survivors of sexual assault and how they’ve become advocates and they work through different college campuses throughout the nation,” said Henry. “They tell their story from when it happened, what their experience was with Title IX on their campus, what happened as a result of that. I had the opportunity to watch it a couple of months ago and I think that’s going to be very powerful for students to see.”

Hager spoke about the potential to bring either the Clothesline project or the “What were you wearing?” exhibit to campus.

“Both of those projects, really the focus is to reduce victim blaming and the stigma around sexual violence and to show that what you were wearing has nothing to do with the fact you were assaulted,” said Hager. “I had the privilege of being able to actually see the ‘What were you wearing?’ exhibit a couple of weeks ago. It’s very powerful [to] see the images and the clothing of what these individuals were wearing, both men and women of all ages, when they were assaulted.”

Moving forward, the two hope to have some type of monthly programming. Assisted by programming from a student committee.

“Since we’ve been at the table during Jewell Time, we have had students approach, who are either already MOCSA volunteers or they’re just interested in this, so we are going to try to form a committee of interested students who want to bring things to campus or who have ideas to get their input and approach it from a student and staff perspective…that’s part of the purple card initiative, we really want to know what the students are thinking, how do they feel, what are their ideas and then work with them to create programming,” said Henry.

Hager hopes the committee can assist with programming beyond sexual assault awareness.

“My goal would be that we would expand the committee out to any awareness and mental health programming,” she said. “That would be a way we could get some student feedback on what are the things that students want us to put programs on for…whether that be a tabling event, putting some information out there, bringing in a speaker…I think this might fill part of the piece that we are missing in getting that student input.”

Cover photo courtesy of National Sexual Violence Research Center. 

Jeri Mickle, ballroom instructor and owner of One Step At A Time, said the event will feature performances from the WJC ballroom dance team, members of One Step At A Time studio and the William Jewell Jazz Band.

Shaneann Fross, sophomore Oxbridge Molecular Biology and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry (ACT-In) major, spoke about why she is excited for Spring Fling, where the team will be performing a triple-time swing routine.

“I’m looking forward to the routine. We’ve been working on the routine for quite awhile, since the beginning of the semester, and it’s finally looking not bad,” said Fross.

Fross has been involved in either the class or team since her freshman year when she signed up for the team because she’s always wanted to learn to ballroom dance.

“This year in particular, I’m finally getting to the point where I know how to dance to almost every single style, so I’ll be able to lead or follow someone in every single song,” said Fross.  

Ballroom dance is a long-standing tradition at Jewell. Dr. Will Adams founded the program at Jewell and formed an official team in the fall of 2014. Adams invited all students who had participated in a ballroom class to join the team at that time. This included Leilani Seaborn, Jewell alumna and current ballroom instructor at Jewell. This was just the start of Seaborn’s involvement with the program.

“There were very few of us who were interested, but me and one other male started dancing together a lot. We loved it [and] did very well. When I graduated, I lived three blocks away, worked a full-time job during the day and at night came here and I danced…I never left,” said Seaborn.

For both instructors, ballroom dance has had an impact on their life.

“I’ve personally been teaching ballroom dance for over 30 years. It’s a great partnership, it’s great for couples, it’s a great social event. The benefits are just amazing. Healthwise, it’s good for you. It’s a good way for kids to interact with one another with no pressure,” said Mickle.

Like Fross, Seaborn was involved with the team for the majority of her time at Jewell.

“I learned I was a natural, I was good at it, and it made me feel good about myself. I went from the shy little nobody to a teacher and a fairly confident person, lost a bunch of weight thanks to it. It just changed my life,” said Seaborn.

 During Seaborn’s time at Jewell, the team had two members. It has since grown to around ten members, creating a tight-knit group.

“I enjoy the people I meet, too, because some of them I would never have met otherwise because we are all in such different spheres,” said Fross.

Seaborn also commented on the importance of the dance community. She even mentioned that they call her “Mom.”

“The dance community is very small, it’s very tight-knit and very very welcoming to anybody, whether you’re here for a day or for the rest of your life, it’s the most welcoming place to be,” said Seaborn.

To see the team in action, head down to the Mabee Center April 18. The team will be performing around 9:20 p.m. The event is free to all Jewell students, $5 for community members and no dance experience is required.

Photos credits to Christina Kirk.

Williams traveled to Berlin and Munich, spending four and half days in each city.

“My grandma is from Berlin and so her sister and also her brother’s son, my second cousin, live in Berlin,” said Williams.

While staying with family in Berlin, Williams got to explore some of the governmental buildings.

“Berlin was really cool because I got a private tour of the Chancellor’s office because my cousin is an advisor to the Chancellor. He works on her European policy team…He gave me a tour and told me about his job and how he’s helped in some of her speeches,” said Williams.  

While in Munich, Williams visited Dachau Concentration Camp and Neuschwanstein Castle, both short train rides from the city. Williams commented on the beauty of Neuschwanstein, which is located in the Bavarian Alps and is the castle on which Disney’s is based.

Having studied genocide in many of his political science classes, Williams was particularly impacted by his visit to Dachau.  

“I’m doing a presentation for Colloquium Day over genocide and ethnic cleansing, so to go and be there…it has an impact on you that you can’t really explain,” said Williams.

Lott traveled to Japan with a friend, visiting three cities: Tokyo, Nara and Kyoto, over the break.

One of Lott’s favorite days in Japan was when they visited Tōdai-ji temple and Kasuga-taisha shrine in Nara and ended the day at Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto.

“I really enjoyed my day at Nara because during the day we went through the deer park and through a shrine and a temple, and then we went to Kyoto after that and we went to another temple that we thought was closed initially. It just kind of worked out perfectly,” said Lott.

They were able to explore the inside Tōdai-ji and the grounds of Kasuga-taisha. They hiked uphill two and half miles to view Kiyomizu-dera, which Lott notes was worth the climb because of the view of Kyoto from the temple.

An owl cafe in Tokyo was also among the top places he visited. Lott said that there are a lot of cafes in Tokyo, but they are a bit different from cafes in the U.S. They have many animal cafes, like cats, hedgehogs and owls where you pay a fee to get in, get a free drink or unlimited free drinks for a period of time and then can interact with the animals.

“At cat cafes you can try to pet that cats, but I hear they’re super jaded and hate everyone, so that didn’t sound fun [and] I’ve already held a hedgehog…so I was like ‘well I guess I’ll go to the owl cafe’ because owls are cool and why not…They had a lot of different types of owls, some you could pet. Everywhere you looked around there were just owls perched in every direction. One did fly next to my head and hit me with his wing,” said Lott.

Among the various activities, Lott’s absolute favorite was eating at Hashimoto, an unagi, or freshwater eel, restaurant. Opened in 1835, this restaurant has a sixth generation chef and is Michelin star rated.

“I had had unagi in the U.S., but it wasn’t anywhere as near as good as that. It was actually pretty cheap because we went for lunch…The tradition in Japan when you get a good meal is that you have to eat every grain of rice, so I did and it was really good,” said Lott.

Cover photo courtesy of The Most Perfect View.