Students, faculty and staff at Johnson State College celebrated the wide variety of education offered and achieved beyond the traditional classroom walls at the second Extended Classroom Experience Showcase on Thursday, April 17 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the SHAPE facility.

“It’s an event that brings together students, faculty, staff, community partners, friends of Johnson, the board of trustees, and potential founders,” said Ellen Hill, co-director of the Career Center.

Students had been asked to create visual displays highlighting educational experiences, projects and courses that have taken them sometimes thousands of miles from the classroom. The event provides a forum for students to share their learning experiences with peers, professors, and the rest of the JSC community.

On April 22 politicians, environmental activists, musicians, local residents, and world-famous puppeteers converged on the JSC campus to join students, faculty, staff and administration in an often moving celebration of Earth Day.

The event began with a masterful performance of Bread and Puppet Theater’s Hallelujah Chorus, comprised mostly of JSC student and faculty volunteers. The performance was aided by large, beautiful illustrations (Bread and Puppet style), Mother Earth, and an old man. The message, delivered in 12 different languages to show solidarity in diversity, was that if we take care of the world, it will grow and the children will eat, but if we set fire to it and destroy it, it will cry and the children will die. The chorus was well received by well over 100 people basking in the warm sun.

Following the performance was a spirited peace march around campus, complete with bells, whistles, and anti-war signs. Professor of Humanities Gerry Anderson gave the marchers and any by-standers a burst of inspiration with the chant, “Stop the greedy, feed the needy!”