Guilford opens new academic year with Convocation and Passing of the Light Ceremony

On Wednesday, Aug. 22, student and faculty leaders formally welcomed Guilford’s new students into the college community with a convocation and a candlelight ceremony. The assembly and ceremony were held as a part of Guilford’s annual tradition to bring the new class of first-years together before the academic year officially started. The convocation was held from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Dana Auditorium, and the Passing of the Light ceremony was held later in the evening at 8:30 p.m. by the lake.

Ben Tumin talks refugee resettlement in “Monsters To Destroy”

Filmmaker and comedian Ben Tumin gave a humorous multimedia talk entitled, “Monsters to Destroy,” on Thursday, Aug. 23 in Dana Auditorium. It was his 15th stop on his nationwide tour. During the presentation, Tumin examined refugee resettlement in the U.S. using information about the Syrian refugee crisis, personal narratives, and pre-recorded interviews. He argued for expanded refugee resettlement on national security grounds, asserting that this was necessary because of national security. The event was part of the Shifting Worlds: Displacement and Forced Migration in Modern Times Institute, which was organized by the Center for New North Carolinians, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Every Campus A Refuge, The Center for Principled Problem Solving at Guilford College and Elon University.

EcoQuest Lunch & Learn presents study abroad opportunity in New Zealand

The Guilford College Study Abroad Office hosted a Lunch & Learn session with Ria Breejart, academic director of EcoQuest, on Wednesday, Aug. 29 in the Atrium Dining Room. The session provided students with information about EcoQuest, a rigorous, interdisciplinary study abroad experience located in New Zealand. The program focuses on environmental studies and ecology. EcoQuest is education and research based and strives to provide students with greater insight into how science, management, planning and policy come together and interact.

Intercultural Engagement Center Reception welcomes new members

The Intercultural Engagement Center, formerly the Multicultural Education Department, hosted a reception in King Hall 127 on Thursday, Aug. 30. The reception, which was co-sponsored by Hispanos Unidos de Guilford, provided Guilford students, staff and faculty members with the opportunity to meet the center’s newest staff members, which include Immigrant Student Coordinator Liz Torres Melendez, who serves students from immigrant and refugee families, and LGBTQIA Coordinator of the Bayard Rustin Center Meagan McNeely. Community members who attended were also able to pick up a copy of the list of IEC programs for the fall semester.

Guilford College PRIDE organizes movie night, showing “Love, Simon”

On Friday, Aug. 31, Guilford College PRIDE hosted a showing of the movie “Love, Simon” from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Guilford Green Foundation. The 2018 romantic comedy-drama tells the story of a 17-year-old Simon Spier, a closeted gay high school student who falls for a classmate he meets anonymously online. The coming-of-age story describes Simon’s journey through the ups and downs of finding himself and falling in love. The film was open to Guilford faculty, staff, students and community members.