The Chamberlain Interfaith Fellowship (CIF) is rooted in a story of lifelong friendship between two young boys living in Newton, Mass. David Feldman and Dr. Ted J. Chamberlain were raised four houses away from each other and spent thousands of hours together in childhood. “Our friendship continued throughout adulthood; our wives are friendly, our children are friendly, their spouses are friendly, our grandchildren are friendly,” Feldman said. 

Their friendship stretched beyond time as well as religious differences, for both Feldman and Chamberlain maintained differing faith backgrounds throughout their friendship. Feldman was raised in a Reformed Jewish tradition; meanwhile, Chamberlain was raised in the Baptist sect of Protestantism. 

Despite these differences, both men maintained a wide worldview and held a deep respect for other religious traditions in the midst of adhering to their own. In addition to this, Chamberlain served 28 years as Eastern University’s Dean of Students and Vice President of Student Development. During this time at Eastern, Chamberlain was well-known for his deep faith and how he used his faith to forge meaningful relationships with people from all walks of life. After Chamberlain’s untimely passing in 2010, many of the people who knew Chamberlain commemorated the legacy he left behind. 

In 2014, as a result of the wisdom of David and Sydney Feldman, faith and academic leaders from Eastern University and Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, Mass. were brought together to contemplate the prospect of establishing a fellowship inspired by Chamberlain’s legacy. Thus, this eventually resulted in the formal establishment of the Chamberlain Interfaith Fellowship.

Annually, four Eastern students and four students from Temple Beth Shalom formulate a cohort that receives the opportunity to “learn about each other’s faith tradition; reflect upon commonalities and differences in the spirit of emerging friendship; grow spiritually, emotionally and intellectually; and engage in a social justice project for the common good of society and the world,” Chamberlain Award & Interfaith Fellowship says. 

On April 8, the CIF reception transpired in Eastern’s Baird Library. Members of Eastern University and members of Temple Beth Shalom gathered together as a unified community. Dr. Modica opened the reception with opening remarks and warm welcomes to all. President Ron Matthews provided a thoughtful reflection that correlated the importance of interfaith dialogue, relating this to current events across the globe. Before attendees received their Sodexo-catered meal, Rachel Happel, Temple Beth Shalom’s Senior Director of Learning and Engagement, and Jaclyn Favaroso, CIF Alumni Association member, provided both a Jewish and Christian prayer. 

Unbeknownst to many attendees, David Feldman would be receiving an award upon being named a Northwestern Mutual Insurance Community Service Award recipient. The provider of this award, Northwestern Mutual, is a financial service company that awards $310,000 in grants to nonprofits nationally through its Community Service Awards. As the visionary of CIF, Feldman’s commitment to “loving thy neighbor” has garnered well-deserved appreciation. Luisa Wilsman, Vice President of Advancement, and Eastern University President Ron Matthews presented Feldman with a $15,000 grant which will help fund the continuation and progression of CIF. 

Feldman accepted this award with gracious words of commemoration towards his friendship with Dr. Chamberlain and celebration towards the future dialogues and relationships that will be established thanks to CIF. 

In addition to this award, the reception held a special presentation in order to celebrate the seventh year of CIF. A miniature version of Timothy Schmaltz’s “Christ Washing Peter’s Feet” sculpture was presented to Liria Chamberlain, Dr. Ted Chamberlain’s wife. Dr. Bettie Ann Brigham, friend and colleague of the Chamberlain family, and Dr. Modica presented Liria Chamberlain with a miniature sculpture with a plaque that stated: “Deep Friendships, Shared Learning, ‘Holy Envy.’” 

As the CIF reception came to a close, new CIF cohort members meshed with former cohort members. The Chamberlain Interfaith Fellowship’s origins are centered on the lifelong friendship between two people, and this friendship will continue onwards through the lives of current and future CIF cohorts.

If you’ve ever attended a bingo night, coffeehouse, festival or any weekend event on campus, you’ve very likely been exposed to the workings of the Student Activities Board. Commonly known as SAB (pronounced S-A-B, not sab), this club is actually a staff and student-led organization that plans weekly events for the student body at Eastern.

  As you can imagine, lots of work goes into being an SAB member, but the team dynamics and small benefits of joining are well worth the time and effort put into being a member of the team. A typical week for an SAB member includes balancing three major commitments: attending a weekly board meeting with the staff advisor and lead chair, a committee meeting and the weekly event. 

The most straightforward of these commitments to anyone outside of SAB is the weekly event. What you might see is the set-up and tear-down of each event (not to mention the event itself), but what you don’t see are the inner-workings of the board. These are the moments where we create what you see around campus every weekend.

The weekly meeting typically occurs on Monday nights at 10:00 PM for one hour to accommodate everyone’s other commitments and class or work schedules. In the meetings, the most recent event is discussed and critiqued in consideration of hosting it in future semesters. Subsequently, future events are discussed to notify all members of the event’s vision, plan, set-up and tear-down procedures. 

Committee meetings typically vary in length and frequency. In these meetings, specific events are fleshed out in greater detail among a group of 2–3 students. For example, our Dances & Entertainment committee met on a weekly basis to discuss the intricate details of the Spring Banquet such as what hors d’oeuvres would be served, what caricature artists to hire and other small details. The committee members are responsible for contacting third-party vendors or obtaining the necessary supplies for each event. The plans for their specific events are then presented at the weekly board meeting to the rest of the staff. 

As a student who has been on SAB for just under four years, I can certainly tell you that being a member is tiring and, at times, frustrating. However, being on SAB has allowed me to develop stronger leadership, time-management and planning skills all while serving the student body and fostering a stronger sense of community on campus. 

If you feel called to serve your community by planning and hosting weekly events on campus, I strongly encourage you to apply for SAB. Many of us on SAB are graduating or are unable to remain on the team next year, leaving a number of positions unfilled. While being a member gives you the chance to develop amazing skills to prepare you for the workforce, it also comes with great perks, such as free event admittance, a small scholarship and others. If you are interested in applying, please contact Sabrina Severe at stugage@eastern.edu. S-A-B on three!

Since 2011, April is annually recognized as Autism Acceptance Month (previously Autism Awareness Month). According to the 2021 10th anniversary Autistic Self-Advocacy Network’s statement, “Autism Acceptance Month was created by and for the autistic community to change the conversation around autism, shifting it away from stigmatizing ‘autism awareness’ language that presents autism as a threat to be countered with vigilance.” Autism acceptance is about equitable belonging, not apathetic tolerance or self-righteous saviorism.

What is autism? It’s a developmental disability (known in the DSM as Autism Spectrum Disorder – ASD) that some people are born with and live with for their whole lives. It’s heritable, not caused by vaccines (a popular misconception in some circles); it can’t be cured, reversed, or fixed (what Applied Behavioral Analysis—ABA—attempts to do), and while it can be masked to varying degrees, it is a permanent neurotype that affects everything about a person, from the senses to social interactions to emotions. The World Health Organization said in March 2022 that “about 1 in 100 children has autism” but that while “characteristics may be detected in early childhood, … autism is often not diagnosed until much later.” 

Autism is relatively common, and it’s very likely you have known many autistic people, diagnosed or not, over the course of your life; as such, it’s very important to understand this disability. Julianne Anemone, an autistic student here at Eastern, said that while mental health awareness for more common things like anxiety and depression is improving, “with autism [there’s a] spectrum of symptoms … it’s complicated[;…] no two [autistic] people are going to be similar.” Dr.  Thompson, the director of the College Success Program here at Eastern that exists to assist autistic students, said “because autism affects many aspects of how a person interacts with the world, it looks very different from one person to another.” Justin Rittwage, another autistic student at Eastern, said that the most important thing non-autistic people need to know is that “[autistic people] think differently and that’s not a bad thing.” Dr. Thompson also noted that it’s further important to know that the commoly-used “high-functioning [and] low-functioning [spectrum] is a simplistic and inaccurate way of looking at [autism]…some people are able to adapt well to their environment, but other people don’t see the effort that goes into that;” i.e. there’s huge amounts of effort to live and function to any degree for all autistic people.

There are also many misconceptions about autism. Dr. Thompson said that some of those misconceptions are that “autism looks a certain way, or that once you know one [autistic] person’s strengths and weaknesses [you can] apply [that] to others… One that bothers me the most is that autistic people aren’t capable of empathy…[there’s a] range of levels of empathy within the autistic community just as there is a range of empathy among allistics.” Rittwage recounted that “the biggest misconception is that we’re not intelligent. That’s how I felt my guidance counselors treated me in high school, and I wasn’t able to excel or reach my full potential until college… I didn’t think I was going to be able to perform as well as I did and I’m blown away by that.” Anemone said that “when most people think about autism they think about …[dramatized]examples like Shaun from The Good Doctor, [and] they think [other autistic people] aren’t really capable of doing much, but that is only really [the case] for the severe[ly disabled].”

Regarding support, Dr. Thompson noted carefully that “lots of neurotypical people are trying to do good and doing it from their own perspective rather than from the perspective of autistic individuals.” And it’s important to remember that many autistic people, especially those assigned female at birth and people of color, are un- or late-diagnosed—“signifiers of autism aren’t nearly as clear” due to different socializations than the DSM accounts for, which is “geared towards” white autistics assigned male at birth, Dr. Thompson continued. Anemone agreed, saying that “it’s important for autistic women to speak out about their symptoms, because autism is diagnosed a lot more in men compared to women.” And being undiagnosed “is problematic because it affects self-understanding and how [many] support systems and accommodations [you have access to],” said Dr Thompson. Anemone said “[it’s] important that people with … autistic symptoms … get help early enough they could also potentially have success in life.” Both Anemone and Rittwage said that CSP and other accommodation services at Eastern was the reason they chose this university. “Eastern has a pretty good autism program and that’s why I chose [it]…When I was choosing colleges I was only looking at autism programs…I also know that CCAS is a really good resource as well…[it’s a] robust system and it definitely has helped me out a lot, both academically and socially,” remembered Anemone; Rittwage agreed and said “[the] CSP program is there, that’s why I came here and transferred in; I needed a little bit more support…at my other college, they didn’t have that.” 

Autism is an enormous spectrum of different symptoms, comorbidities, disabling factors and experiences; no two autistic people are the same. It’s deeply personal, and while there is an autistic community—since the world is set up around neurotypicals, you can find the people whose brains work similarly—it can be hugely important to an autistic person’s sense of self. Anemone remembered, “when I was younger I was more severely autistic, [and] luckily because my mom noticed…I was able to get the services I needed to be able to get to where I am now. I want to be an inspiration for other people…I hope to be an advocate, and say that autistic people can do anything that other people can do.” And Rittwage said, “I’ve heard people say that they want to cure autism, and I would not want to give it away in a million years, never. You have struggles and hurdles, but it’s a specific life experience. If I was neurotypical, I wouldn’t have to jump as many hurdles and I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

If you’ve been strolling around Eastern’s campus lately, you might have noticed that trees have been cut down in several places on campus, most notably in front of Sparrowk residence hall. You may also have noticed that the sign declaring Eastern a nature preserve next to the Sparrowk bridge is missing. Many people have expressed frustration and confusion at this development. Eastern is often lauded for its beautiful campus, but is that changing?

Grounds Manager Marcus Von Hertsenberg met with me in an interview to discuss the changes happening around campus. “Rest assured, all the changes that are happening are all positive,” he said, prefacing our interview as he handed me a labeled manilla envelope full of detailed print-outs to supplement the information provided below.

Bradford pears were recently added to the noxious invasive plant list; while they are a colorful flowering species that looks appealing, they’re often deeply damaging to native species and environments. On Feb. 9, 2022, the ban on sale and cultivation took effect. According to Von Hertsenberg, Eastern is “phasing in process with other native plants” and replanting with native species, all “going in line with regulation and code.”

When asked about the replanting process, Von Hertsenberg said, “As of this year already, we have four trees that have already been put in.” One was a donation provided by Susan Weber, an alumna from the class of 1968, which was planted by the water wheel. There have also been two sycamores and a cypress planted. The Grounds Department has also received approval for funding devoted to the replanting efforts; the tree company that the university works with, Shreiner Tree Care, has also donated redbuds, which are a native species. The replanting will take place throughout the spring, now that the cold has broken.

Regarding Eastern’s status as a nature preserve, Von Hertsenberg stated that “We’re still very much a nature preserve.” Unfortunately, the signs were vandalized and stolen, but that hasn’t stopped the conservation efforts that the Grounds Department has been working on. In 2002, the Growing Greener Grant was established and backed by John Monroe to confront the issues on campus related to ponds and invasive species. However, the preserve area was treated as a boundary line, and from 2002 to 2018, “weeds and invasives took over and led to extreme deforestation,” Von Hertsenberg said. Since October 2021, his department has been working on water control on the paths as well as dealing with watershed issues. 

“There’s been a lot of extreme efforts from my staff and my department in, as we call it, reopening Eastern and a lot of good has come from that,” Von Hertsenberg said. They’ve been focusing on sustainable conservation efforts. “Every single thing has been safety-minded and these naturalization efforts have been outstanding. Everything that has gone into the ground in the last two years has been native-based.” For example, many of the wood chips around campus, such as the chips by the painted rock, are recycled from storm damage.

Von Hertsenberg also highlighted an exciting project that the Grounds Department is tossing around: Operation Walton Restoration. The Grounds Department wants to bring the area around Walton pond to its original aesthetic appeal before invasives took over. His team, which includes Peter Bogdon, Tim Vorwald and Sara Petrondi as well as support from Plant Ops members Jeff Gromis and Tony Patricco, have been working tirelessly to make our campus not only beautiful but also sustainable and ethical. Next time you stop and notice how lovely the place we live and learn is, consider sending a thank you note to the Grounds Department for their deep-rooted attention to both beauty and environmental justice.