Restorative justice in higher education
Mar 24, 2010
from Brian G.'s entry on Restorative Theology:
This morning I have been involved at a technical-communications level for an event being held here on the campus of Eastern Mennonite University, the Symposium on Restorative Justice in Campus Conduct Administration. Held in the chapel at the seminary, I've been sitting behind the audio-visual equipment, flipping switches and turning dials to make sure presenters are heard, PowerPoint presentations are ready to go, and videotaping the various speakers.
I've also been tweeting for the event like crazy on my iPod. All of this falls under the rubric of Marketing and Communications for the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding/CJP, so best of all...I'm getting paid to do all this fun stuff and listen
to some excellent reflections on restorative justice in the arena of
higher education! The event is, as the name implies, focused on student
life/campus conduct issues in higher education, and has drawn four
great scholar-practitioners who are all passionate about restorative
justice.
So why blog about this event here? Well, the field of restorative
justice, and its "grandfather," Howard Zehr (heavily involved in this
event today, and the subsequent training), are a big part of why my
family ended up moving to Virginia from our happy life in Iowa. So in
the title of this blog, "Restorative Theology," there is a nod of
respect and honor aimed at the field, and Howard's continuing mentoring
influence on me, as I explore the intersections of theology and
peacebuilding (within which restorative justice is included here at the
CJP).
