Athina Mendoza, Political Science/Spanish major and a senior recently had the opportunity to be of service in the Community Restorative Board in Berrien County.  Restorative Justice boards, composed of trained volunteers, meet with juvenile offenders, their parents and possibly the victim to develop a plan for restitution by the offender to the victim.  If the contract is fulfilled, the offender will not have a court record.

The Winter 2010 Newsletter for the Community Restorative Board of the Berrien County Trial Court reported the following:
      "A CRB panel was held for a young woman whose parents spoke only Spanish.  These parents did have a limited understanding of English.  There was a concern that they would not be able to fully comprehend the complexities of the Community Restorative Board procedure.  Luckily, we have as one of our volunteers, Athina Mendoza . . . Athina agreed to interpret for our family. 
      “The mother of the young woman was so pleased to have someone interpret everything to her so she could clearly understand.  She was, however, more pleased to be able to express herself.  She told us of the sadness that her daughter's conduct brought on their family. . . . She also strongly expressed her belief that her daughter had learned a severe lesson. Our everlasting thanks to Athina Mendoza for allowing the panel to understand the gentle spirit and quiet fire of this mother's heart." 

      And thank you from the department, Athina, for illustrating the kind of community service which makes a difference.

Jason Miller,  a junior and double major in Psychology and Political Science, won the Best Paper from a Four-year College/University award at the Michigan Conference of Political Scientists.  His paper was titled: “The Relationship between Conservative Christian Attitudes on Women’s Ordination and Female Political Candidates.”  The paper was written for his research methods class.  

He presented his research at the conference on October 15, 2009 in Bay City, Michigan.  Marcella Myers, professor of Political Science, nominated his paper for the award.   "We are very pleased with this award," she commented.  "Jason was well organized, and did excellent work."  Dr. John Clark, from Western Michigan University and the Academy Chairperson for the conference, judged the nominated papers for the award.

"I'm thankful that Andrews gave me the chance to do this level of research," Jason said.  "I appreciated all the help I received from my professors, friends and advisors, and to God for a mind that can learn!"

Dr. Gary Land, chairman of the Department of History and Political Science added, "We are very proud of Jason’s accomplishment in winning this award.  We hope that his success will inspire other students to pursue their research projects with high goals."