Awesome Awardee: W. Va. Student Who Stood Up For Separation Wins Prestigious Scholarship
Rob Boston printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Mon Apr 25, 2016 at 10:45:24 AM EST

Blogs like this are often the bearer of bad news - we may report about a public school district trying to teach creationism, an attack on LGBT rights by a Religious Right group, an effort by a large and powerful church to secure tax funding for its private school system, etc.

But today's story is good news. It may, in fact, even warm your heart a little.

Let's set the stage a bit: In April of 2013, a senior at George Washington High School in Charleston, W.Va., was dismayed after school officials invited a speaker to come in and talk about "God's plan for sexual purity."

The student, Katelyn Campbell, knew this wasn't right. And indeed, speaker Pam Stenzel offered a mishmash of right-wing theology, bad science and shaming tactics in her lecture. At one point she reportedly told the girls present, "I could look at any one of you in the eyes right now and tell if you're going to be promiscuous."

It later came to light that Stenzel, a graduate of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University and an anti-abortion activist with no special training in human sexuality, had been brought to the school at the urging of an outfit called Believe in West Virginia. This group describes itself as "a Christ-centered catalyst helping transform the economic, political, social and spiritual environment of West Virginia, there­by communicating hope and a bright­er future for all."

Many students were understandably upset by Stenzel's remarks. A lot of them probably sent some angry tweets or posted to Facebook about the event. Campbell decided to do more. She called a press conference and challenged Principal George Aulenbacher to explain why this overtly religious speaker with bad information was invited to the school. She also took the issue to the school board.

The incident made national headlines, and Campbell was featured on the cover of Church & State in June of 2013. At the time, she had already gained admission to Wellesley College in Massachusetts. Aulenbacher was so angry at her that he threated to call the school and urge officials there to revoke Campbell's admission.

Aulenbacher later said he didn't mean it, and of course it was an empty threat anyway. Officials at Wellesley were quick to express their support for Campbell and issued a text saying they looked forward to having her on campus.

It looks like Wellesley's decision to welcome Campbell has paid off. Campbell has just been awarded a Truman Scholarship, one of the nation's most prestigious academic honors. (A hat tip to the Friendly Atheist blog for first reporting this story.)

Truman Scholarships are awarded annually to college juniors nationwide. Awardees must first be nominated by their colleges. Academic achievement is taken into account as are factors such as leadership and community service. The $30,000 scholarships are put toward graduate education.

These scholarships are highly competitive. This year, 775 students from 305 colleges and universities applied. Fifty-four students, representing 47 institutions, were awarded scholarships.

The website of the Truman Scholarship says its awardees are "change agents" and goes on to describe them like this: "They have the passion, intellect, and leadership potential that in time should enable them to improve the ways that public entities - be they government agencies, nonprofit organizations, public and private educational institutions, or advocacy organizations - serve the public good."

Campbell is majoring in American Studies with a concentration in history at Wellesley. According to the Truman Scholarship Foundation's website, after graduation she "plans to return to West Virginia to work in community development and reproductive health advocacy."

That state will benefit much if she follows through with that plan. Keep your eye on this young woman. I suspect we'll be hearing more from her in the future.

 




Display:
One must applaud for the efforts of Campbell. She with his glorious speech has taught a great lesson to us all. Her change making speech is appreciated by the papers in buy dissertation also. It is such vigor that today's your requires and hopefully this generation learns a thing or two from her.

by DonaldWhisenant on Wed May 18, 2016 at 07:51:48 AM EST

I really appreciate Campbell for raising her voice against the bad topic in the schools. Due to this coursework writing help, W.Va had talking nonsense in the school. The school should be take care of the children for not only the education but also telling the good things and good manners. The Campbell really done a good job and she really deserved for the scholarship.

by DonaldWhisenant on Tue May 24, 2016 at 06:39:44 AM EST

Clash royale is available for iphones, iPads, android mobile phones and tablets. A minimum requirement for playing clash royale is having a 512 MB of ram in you android device. The game and hack works smooth if you have a high end device with clash royale cheats installed.

by jenny234 on Thu Jun 02, 2016 at 03:43:29 PM EST

Thank you for sharing the great post! I learned many things instagram online

by tadobre on Mon Mar 12, 2018 at 06:18:44 AM EST

This is but one instance of cases of college wrongdoing that were given swept under the rug by using universities. In sometimes, accusations are by no means nicely explored. Repair your eyeglasses at framesavers fairview heights illinois

by Glasses frame repair on Mon Jan 07, 2019 at 01:48:58 AM EST

For college kids, writing may additionally appear to be a tedious task, but there are numerous blessings that the exercise of writing (irrespective of the form) can bestow upon an individual. In truth, coursework writing services you broaden several mental talents that may help you be a better performer, whether you are a college student or a professional.

by Glasses frame repair on Fri Jan 25, 2019 at 02:49:14 AM EST


WWW Talk To Action


Cognitive Dissonance & Dominionism Denial
There is new research on why people are averse to hearing or learning about the views of ideological opponents. Based on evaluation of five......
By Frederick Clarkson (374 comments)
Will the Air Force Do Anything To Rein In Its Dynamic Duo of Gay-Bashing, Misogynistic Bloggers?
"I always get nervous when I see female pastors/chaplains. Here is why everyone should as well: "First, women are not called to be pastors,......
By Chris Rodda (195 comments)
The Legacy of Big Oil
The media is ablaze with the upcoming publication of David Grann's book, Killers of the Flower Moon. The shocking non fiction account of the......
By wilkyjr (110 comments)
Gimme That Old Time Dominionism Denial
Over the years, I have written a great deal here and in other venues about the explicitly theocratic movement called dominionism -- which has......
By Frederick Clarkson (101 comments)
History Advisor to Members of Congress Completely Twists Jefferson's Words to Support Muslim Ban
Pseudo-historian David Barton, best known for his misquoting of our country's founders to promote the notion that America was founded as a Christian nation,......
By Chris Rodda (113 comments)
"Christian Fighter Pilot" Calls First Lesbian Air Force Academy Commandant a Liar
In a new post on his "Christian Fighter Pilot" blog titled "BGen Kristin Goodwin and the USAFA Honor Code," Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan......
By Chris Rodda (144 comments)
Catholic Right Leader Unapologetic about Call for 'Death to Liberal Professors' -- UPDATED
Today, Donald Trump appointed C-FAM Executive Vice President Lisa Correnti to the US Delegation To UN Commission On Status Of Women. (C-FAM is a......
By Frederick Clarkson (126 comments)
Controlling Information
     Yesterday I listened to Russ Limbaugh.  Rush advised listeners it would be best that they not listen to CNN,MSNBC, ABC, CBS and......
By wilkyjr (118 comments)
Is Bannon Fifth-Columning the Pope?
In December 2016 I wrote about how White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who likes to flash his Catholic credentials when it comes to......
By Frank Cocozzelli (250 comments)
Ross Douthat's Hackery on the Seemingly Incongruous Alliance of Bannon & Burke
Conservative Catholic writer Ross Douthat has dissembled again. This time, in a February 15, 2017 New York Times op-ed titled The Trump Era's Catholic......
By Frank Cocozzelli (64 comments)
`So-Called Patriots' Attack The Rule Of Law
Every so often, right-wing commentator Pat Buchanan lurches out of the far-right fever swamp where he has resided for the past 50 years to......
By Rob Boston (161 comments)
Bad Faith from Focus on the Family
Here is one from the archives, Feb 12, 2011, that serves as a reminder of how deeply disingenuous people can be. Appeals to seek......
By Frederick Clarkson (176 comments)
The Legacy of George Wallace
"One need not accept any of those views to agree that they had appealed to real concerns of real people, not to mindless, unreasoning......
By wilkyjr (70 comments)
Betsy DeVos's Mudsill View of Public Education
My Talk to Action colleague Rachel Tabachnick has been doing yeoman's work in explaining Betsy DeVos's long-term strategy for decimating universal public education. If......
By Frank Cocozzelli (80 comments)
Prince and DeVos Families at Intersection of Radical Free Market Privatizers and Religious Right
This post from 2011 surfaces important information about President-Elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. -- FC Erik Prince, Brother of Betsy......
By Rachel Tabachnick (218 comments)

Respect for Others? or Political Correctness?
The term "political correctness" as used by Conservatives and Republicans has often puzzled me: what exactly do they mean by it? After reading Chip Berlin's piece here-- http://www.talk2action.org/story/2016/7/21/04356/9417 I thought about what he explained......
MTOLincoln (253 comments)
Fear
What I'm feeling now is fear.  I swear that it seems my nightmares are coming true with this new "president".  I'm also frustrated because so many people are not connecting all the dots! I've......
ArchaeoBob (107 comments)
"America - love it or LEAVE!"
I've been hearing that and similar sentiments fairly frequently in the last few days - far FAR more often than ever before.  Hearing about "consequences for burning the flag (actions) from Trump is chilling!......
ArchaeoBob (211 comments)
"Faked!" Meme
Keep your eyes and ears open for a possible move to try to discredit the people openly opposing Trump and the bigots, especially people who have experienced terrorism from the "Right"  (Christian Terrorism is......
ArchaeoBob (165 comments)
More aggressive proselytizing
My wife told me today of an experience she had this last week, where she was proselytized by a McDonald's employee while in the store. ......
ArchaeoBob (163 comments)
See if you recognize names on this list
This comes from the local newspaper, which was conservative before and took a hard right turn after it was sold. Hint: Sarah Palin's name is on it!  (It's also connected to Trump.) ......
ArchaeoBob (169 comments)
Unions: A Labor Day Discussion
This is a revision of an article which I posted on my personal board and also on Dailykos. I had an interesting discussion on a discussion board concerning Unions. I tried to piece it......
Xulon (156 comments)
Extremely obnoxious protesters at WitchsFest NYC: connected to NAR?
In July of this year, some extremely loud, obnoxious Christian-identified protesters showed up at WitchsFest, an annual Pagan street fair here in NYC.  Here's an account of the protest by Pagan writer Heather Greene......
Diane Vera (130 comments)
Capitalism and the Attack on the Imago Dei
I joined this site today, having been linked here by Crooksandliars' Blog Roundup. I thought I'd put up something I put up previously on my Wordpress blog and also at the DailyKos. As will......
Xulon (329 comments)
History of attitudes towards poverty and the churches.
Jesus is said to have stated that "The Poor will always be with you" and some Christians have used that to refuse to try to help the poor, because "they will always be with......
ArchaeoBob (148 comments)
Alternate economy medical treatment
Dogemperor wrote several times about the alternate economy structure that dominionists have built.  Well, it's actually made the news.  Pretty good article, although it doesn't get into how bad people could be (have been)......
ArchaeoBob (90 comments)
Evidence violence is more common than believed
Think I've been making things up about experiencing Christian Terrorism or exaggerating, or that it was an isolated incident?  I suggest you read this article (linked below in body), which is about our great......
ArchaeoBob (214 comments)

More Diaries...




All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Comments, posts, stories, and all other content are owned by the authors. Everything else © 2005 Talk to Action, LLC.