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Marathana Prothro, assistant professor of communication at Bluffton University, will present Bluffton’s annual Civic Engagement Day Forum titled, “Echo Chambers and Fun-House Mirrors: Navigating an Age of Alternate Facts, Distorted Reality and Fractured Relationships.” The presentation will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 28, in Yoder Recital Hall.

As the Civic Engagement lecturer, Prothro draws from communication and media scholarship to sketch our media ecosystem and to suggest practices of engagement that foster connection rather than amplify polarization.

Prothro received her bachelor’s degree from Southwestern College in 2003 and her master’s from Wichita State University in 2010. Along with being an assistant professor, she is the divisional council member of communication and fine arts at Bluffton.

Civic Engagement Day is the culmination of a year-long exploration of the civic engagement theme “Please Don’t ‘Ghost’ Me!: Creating Space for Authentic Conversations.”

Forum is free and open to the public.

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Bluffton University will host an Alumni and Friends tour of Scotland and Ireland, May 9-22, 2024. Join President Jane M. Wood and fellow travelers as they visit Scottish and Irish landscapes and cities that inspired the literary minds of Arthur Conan Doyle, C.S. Lewis, James Joyce, Walter Scott, William Shakespeare, Ali Smith, Robert Louis Stevenson and W.B. Yeats.

STORIES IN THE WOODS
On Sunday, March 19 at 1:30 p.m., the Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District will offer Stories in the Woods at McLean Teddy Bear Park-Wheeler Shelter, 2004 N. Dixie Hwy. Lima.

CORRECTION: Organizers are planning for 275 riders with cinch sacks available for that number of registered riders.

The ninth Annual Ride to Remember, a Bluffton Lions fundraising event for cyclists of all ages and abilities, is now taking registrations for the Saturday, July 15 event. When you ride, you help Bluffton build more bike and pedestrian pathways. (Register HERE.)

The in-person ride will take cyclists through the Village of Bluffton, Ohio and the surrounding countryside. Routes include four marked loops. Distances range from 11-124 miles.

The first 275 registered riders to check in will receive a cinch sack filled with items from local businesses and a lunch coupon. In 2022, the cinch sack value was close to $200. A commemorative T-shirt will be offered for purchase during registration.

Kathy (Gaines) Carr, a 1978 Bluffton graduate, long-time educator and community advocate, will address Bluffton University’s 2023 graduating class during the May 6 Commencement ceremony in Sommer Center.

Carr began her career with Fort Wayne Community Schools as a special education teacher in 1978, teaching severe and profoundly mentally handicapped students, moderately mentally handicapped students and students with learning disabilities.  During her 42 years with the district, she continuously took on advanced responsibilities and served as a resource teacher, dean of students, principal, manager of recruitment and hiring, and director of human resources. She earned both a Master of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Science in Elementary School Administration from Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne.

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) will be celebrated April 23-29, 2023. This annual week of recognition serves to promote victims' rights and to honor crime  victims and those who advocate on their behalf. The theme this year is “Survivor  Voices: Elevate. Engage. Effect Change.”  

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