Annual Theme “Changing Climates” Ends With Grand Finale of Events
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. --- As the end of the school year approaches, Illinois Wesleyan’s annual theme of Changing Climates will also come to a close. To celebrate this year’s theme, the campus will host a “grand finale” series of events to help the campus community reflect on the theme.
The events kick off with a film screening of Rene Scheltema’s award-winning documentary Normal is Over. In addition to being a film producer, Scheltema is an investigative journalist. Following the screening will be a Q&A with Scheltema. The film itself is a challenging and hopeful look into humanity’s response to climate change and the way our economic and financial systems link issues together. There will be two screenings of the documentary, the first on Thursday, April 11 at 7 p.m. at the Normal Theater. The second screening will take place Friday, April 12 at 7 p.m. in the Hansen Student Center. This event is co-sponsored by the IWU Environmental Studies Program and the John Wesley Powell Audubon Society.
On Saturday, April 13, the campus will host the John Wesley Powell Research Conference. This conference will include events that are campuswide, with the primary centers for activity being the Center for Natural Science, State Farm Hall, Memorial Center, and the Ames School of Art and Design. The day will include a keynote speech by documentarian Scheltema. See a full schedule of events.
On Monday, April 15, Vandana Shiva, an environmental activist and food sovereignty advocate, will speak as part of the Adlai E. Stevenson Memorial Lecture Series. Her speech, titled “The Future of Food,” will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Hansen Student Center.
The Adlai E. Stevenson Memorial Lecture Series was established by a group of local civic leaders to honor the legacy of Bloomington native Adlai E. Stevenson II, former Illinois Governor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, after his passing in 1965. The events are co-hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University.
The series of events will conclude on Wednesday, April 17 with the Course Cluster open house, the culmination of the theme Changing Climates. This event will take place in the Ames Library from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The theme Changing Climates asked the University to investigate the changing climates and engage in the active project of changing climates.
The Changing Climates website stated: “We have the opportunity to utilize the knowledge we gain through our education at IWU to change a variety of climates in a positive way—as we try to implement our university’s mission of “commit[ment] to diversity, social justice, and environmental sustainability” in order to produce students dedicated to “democratic citizenship and life in a global society.”
By Megan Baker ’21