Latest news with #WheatonCollege
Daily Mail
08-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Transgender bus driver threw herself in front of train after being called 'sir' by passengers
A transgender bus driver took her own life by jumping in front of a train after colleagues kept referring to her as male. Ava Michal Hudson, 27, died on August 7 last year on her way to work at the Chicago Transit Authority, while in her uniform. She didn't leave a note and gave no indication she was suicidal before suddenly leaping to her death, just four days after attending her brother's wedding. 'Sadly, we'll never fully know the reason for her death, but the pain left behind after her sudden departure has been acute,' her family wrote in her obituary. 'She has already been mourned by many, many friends and relatives across the globe. She will be very much missed and never forgotten.' Hudson got her bus license just seven months earlier, last January, and passed probation weeks before her death, proudly announcing it in her final Facebook post. The new job was a turning point for Hudson after several years of struggling with her gender and unemployment after graduating from Wheaton College in 2020. Transition costs were expensive, running to $875 a month according to a 2022 court petition to legally change her name, plus more for counseling. Her $61,000 bus driver salary finally allowed for expensive procedures and gave her financial independence for the first time. 'The day she got her CDL driver's permit in November 2023 was one of the happiest days of her later life and things finally started to take a turn for the better,' her obituary read. 'She often called or texted photos to her family during breaks on her bus routes.' But the job never quite fit - both literally, with a boxy uniform that led to passengers innocently calling her 'sir', and her isolation in the role. Several times, first in March 2024, she was reprimanded for failing to adhere to strict sick day policies - and in both reports supervisors referred to her as a man. Another report on non-paying customers on her route used 'he' and 'him' pronouns to refer to Hudson. Hudson appeared to face the various infractions alone, with no record of a union representative on the paperwork, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. She never once made a written complaint, unlike at least two other transgender CTA employees. A bus driver sued in 2022 claiming he was wrongfully terminated after asking to undergo gender-affirming care on CTA health insurance. He lost the case but is appealing. Then an apprentice filed an internal complaint in 2023 after she was told to stop using the women's bathroom. Though these cases exist and CTA has gender identity in its anti-discrimination policy, Hudson's family and friends said she didn't know any other transgender workers at the company, which she found isolating. Her family point to a traumatic brain injury cause by a fall during gymnastics in her sophomore year of high school as the start of her struggles. David, as she was known before her transition, appeared to bounce back but 'his cognitive abilities would later become compromised as he got older'. She excelled in her last year of high school, finishing in the top five per cent, but began to struggle at Wheaton College. 'During his time there, symptoms from his brain injury increasingly affected his mental abilities, leading to difficulty in his studies and bouts of depression and anxiety,' the obituary explained. Hudson moved to Chicago in 2021, then enduring 'many difficult years and lots of questioning who he/she was and would become'. 'Life was never easy and she was often searching for her identity and who she wanted to become,' the obituary read. 'She was able to make some special friends though who supported her and provided a peaceful home for her to live in when she needed it most, something her parents are eternally grateful for.' But Hudson seemed to be in a good place when she came back to Wheaton for her brother Tim's wedding, and family told her how proud they were that she had gotten her life together. She stayed a few days then left early on the morning of August 7, worried about being late to work. They never saw her alive again.
CBS News
25-07-2025
- CBS News
A rare corpse flower is about to bloom in Massachusetts. How you can see and smell it.
A rare corpse flower is about to bloom in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Dover is delighted to host the rare amorphophallus titanum for its long, long-awaited bloom. Pollinating insects aren't the only things buzzing in the Garden at Elm Bank. "There's all sorts of exciting things like that in the plant world and this is one of them," said James Hearsum. It grows from a seed for about a decade before its literal moment in the sun: 24 hours in bloom. Affectionately named Eliza, it was grown in a research greenhouse at Wheaton College, which generously shared the plant so that more people could see it. "It's like any natural thing in the world that's unique or outside your experience. It gives you that experience of awe. It's phenomenal, it's amazing. For many people seeing one of these might be a once or twice in a lifetime kind of thing," said Hearsum, who is president and executive director of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. And there's a reason it's known as the corpse flower. You'll smell it before you see it. "It's going to smell like dead bodies. Like really old rotten dead flesh. It makes you physically gag. It is cool, people will come in and see it for the experience, but they'll probably keep moving because it's going to be kind of unpleasant smelling in here," he explained. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which has about 3,500 members, hopes new visitors will come for the corpse flower, and stay for their stunning property - which offers sunflower and tulip festivals, art classes, and workshops for adults and children that run all year long. "If you ever need an escape and you can't get away, you come to Elm Bank. It really is like a hidden jewel. You can come any season, they have concerts, it's just a very peaceful, tranquil place hidden away right here. It's amazing that we have this. It's almost like as if you took a museum and it's your outdoor museum of nature and art," said volunteer Lisa Heyison. Back on bloom watch, clues like the ruffled leaves and rising temperature suggest the big show between Thursday night and Sunday. When that happens, they'll sell timed tickets online, potentially late into the night to accommodate interest. "As long as people want to see it, then we'll stay open and we'll have people see it but you've got to be quick. It's 24-36 hours and it's done," said Hearsum.
09-07-2025
- General
Faith-based camps like those hit by Texas floods are rite of passage for many. They're now grieving
Texas' catastrophic flooding hit faith-based summer camps especially hard, and the heartbreak is sweeping across the country where similar camps mark a rite of passage and a crucial faith experience for millions of children and teens. 'Camp is such a unique experience that you just instantly empathize,' said Rachael Botting of the tragedy that struck Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 people were killed. A search was underway for more than 160 missing people in the area filled with youth camps as the overall death toll passed 100 on Tuesday. Botting, a former Christian camp counselor, is a Wheaton College expert on the role camp plays in young people's faith formation. 'I do plan to send my boys to Christian summer camps. It is a nonnegotiable for us,' added the mother of three children under 4. Generations of parents and children have felt the same about the approximately 3,000 faith-based summer camps across the country. That is because for many campers, and young camp counselors, they are crucial independence milestones — the first time away from family or with a job away from home, said Robert Lubeznik-Warner, a University of Utah youth development researcher. Experts say camps offer the opportunity to try skills and social situations for the first time while developing a stronger sense of self — and to do so in the safety of communities sharing the same values. After the floodwaters rampaged through Camp Mystic, authorities and families have been combing through the wreckage strewed between the cabins and the riverbank. On Sunday, a man there carried a wood sign similar to those seen hanging outside the door of several buildings. It read: 'Do Good. Do No Harm. Keep Falling In Love With Jesus." For generations, these Texas campers have been challenged to master quintessential summer activities from crafts to swimming while also growing in spiritual practices. Campers and counselors shared devotionals after breakfast, before bed and on Sunday mornings along the banks of the Guadalupe River, according to Camp Mystic's brochure and website. They sang songs, listened to Scripture and attended Bible studies, too. How big of a role faith has in the camp experience varies, Botting said. There are Christian camps where even canoeing outings are discussed as metaphors for spiritual journeys, others that aim to insert more religious activities like reading the Bible into children's routines, and some that simply seek to give people a chance to encounter Jesus. The religious emphasis also varies at Jewish camps, which span traditions from Orthodox to Reform. Activities range from daily Torah readings to yoga, said Jamie Simon, who leads the Foundation for Jewish Camp. The group supports 300 camps across North America, with about 200,000 young people involved this summer alone. What they all have in common is a focus on building self-esteem as well as positive Jewish communities and identities — all particularly important as many struggle with antisemitism as well as the loneliness and mental health barriers common across all youth, Simon said. At Seneca Hills Bible Camp and Retreat Center in Pennsylvania, there is archery, basketball and volleyball for summer campers, but also daily chapel, listening to missionaries and taking part in Bible study or hearing a Bible story depending on their age, which ranges from 5 to 18-year-olds. 'There's a whole host of activities, but really the focus for camp is building relationships with one another and encouraging the kids' relationships with God,' said camp executive director Lindon Fowler. For many, participating in the same summer camp is also a generational tradition. Children are sent to the same place as their parents and grandparents to be around people who share the same value system in ways they can't often experience in their local communities. Because of their emphasis on independence and spending time away from family, summer camps in general have been especially popular in North America, Lubeznik-Warner said. In the United States, faith-based summer camps date back to two parallel movements in the 19th century — the revivalist religious gatherings in tents and the 'fresh-air movement' after the industrial revolution — and boomed after World War II, Botting said. Particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, as questions about children's dependence on technology have surged, interest has grown in summer camps as 'places where kids can really unplug, where kids can be kids,' Botting said. Many parents like that camp can disconnect their children from their devices. 'We're interested in campers hearing similar messages that they're going to get at home or in their church or their faith communities,' Fowler said. He added: 'I think they can hear … the meaning of things more clearly while they're at camp" and away from distractions. For Rob Ribbe, who teaches outdoors leadership at Wheaton College's divinity school, all the elements of camp have biblical resonance. 'God uses times away, in community, often in creation … as a way to shape and form us, and help us to know him,' Ribbe said. There are faith-related challenges, too. As children explore their identities and establish bonds outside their families, many programs have been wrestling with how to strike a balance between holding on to their denominations' teachings while remaining welcoming, especially on issues of gender and sexuality, Botting said. Rising costs are also a pressing issue. Historically, camps have been particularly popular among middle to upper-income families who can afford fees in the thousands of dollars for residential camps. And then there is safety — whether in terms of potential abuse, with many church denominations marred by recent scandals, or the inherent risks of the outdoors. In Texas' case, controversy is mounting over preparedness and official alerts for the natural disaster. Every summer, hundreds of thousands of parents trust Brad Barnett and his team to keep their children safe — physically and spiritually — at the dozens of summer camps run by Lifeway Christian Resources. Barnett, director of camp ministry, said already his staff has shared personal connections to Camp Mystic: One staff member's daughter was an alum; another's went to the same day camp with a girl who died in the flood; and a former staff member taught at the high school of a counselor who died. But the tragedy is also informing their work as they provide yet another week of Christian summer camp experiences for children across the country. 'That's the punch in the gut for us,' he said. 'We know that there's an implicit promise that we're going to keep your kid safe, and so to not be able to deliver on that and the loss of life, it's just so tragic and felt by so many.' Experts say camp staff are likely to double down on best practices to respond to emergencies and keep their campers safe in the aftermath of the Texas floods. 'It's, truly, truly heartbreaking for the whole community of Christian camping,' said Gregg Hunter, president of Christian Camp and Conference Association, which serves about 850 member camps catering to about 7 million campers a year. But the positive and often lifelong impacts on children's confidence and faith identity are so powerful that many leaders expressed hope the tragedy wouldn't discourage children from trying it. 'It's where my life took a dramatic turn from being a young, obnoxious, rebellious teenager,' Hunter said. 'My camp experience introduced me to so many things, including to my faith, an opportunity, an option to enter into a relationship with God.' Simon, a former camper and camp leader, said she is happy her son is currently at camp — even though there is a river by it. 'I wouldn't want him to be anywhere else,' she said. ___
Hamilton Spectator
08-07-2025
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Faith-based camps like those hit by Texas floods are rite of passage for many. They're now grieving
Texas' catastrophic flooding hit faith-based summer camps especially hard, and the heartbreak is sweeping across the country where similar camps mark a rite of passage and a crucial faith experience for millions of children and teens. 'Camp is such a unique experience that you just instantly empathize,' said Rachael Botting of the tragedy that struck Camp Mystic , the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 people were killed. A search was underway for more than 160 missing people in the area filled with youth camps as the overall death toll passed 100 on Tuesday. Botting, a former Christian camp counselor, is a Wheaton College expert on the role camp plays in young people's faith formation. 'I do plan to send my boys to Christian summer camps. It is a nonnegotiable for us,' added the mother of three children under 4. Generations of parents and children have felt the same about the approximately 3,000 faith-based summer camps across the country. That is because for many campers, and young camp counselors, they are crucial independence milestones — the first time away from family or with a job away from home, said Robert Lubeznik-Warner, a University of Utah youth development researcher. Experts say camps offer the opportunity to try skills and social situations for the first time while developing a stronger sense of self — and to do so in the safety of communities sharing the same values. Camp rules: Do good and keep the faith After the floodwaters rampaged through Camp Mystic, authorities and families have been combing through the wreckage strewed between the cabins and the riverbank. On Sunday, a man there carried a wood sign similar to those seen hanging outside the door of several buildings. It read: 'Do Good. Do No Harm. Keep Falling In Love With Jesus.' For generations, these Texas campers have been challenged to master quintessential summer activities from crafts to swimming while also growing in spiritual practices. Campers and counselors shared devotionals after breakfast, before bed and on Sunday mornings along the banks of the Guadalupe River, according to Camp Mystic's brochure and website. They sang songs, listened to Scripture and attended Bible studies, too. How big of a role faith has in the camp experience varies, Botting said. There are Christian camps where even canoeing outings are discussed as metaphors for spiritual journeys, others that aim to insert more religious activities like reading the Bible into children's routines, and some that simply seek to give people a chance to encounter Jesus. The religious emphasis also varies at Jewish camps, which span traditions from Orthodox to Reform. Activities range from daily Torah readings to yoga, said Jamie Simon, who leads the Foundation for Jewish Camp. The group supports 300 camps across North America, with about 200,000 young people involved this summer alone. What they all have in common is a focus on building self-esteem as well as positive Jewish communities and identities — all particularly important as many struggle with antisemitism as well as the loneliness and mental health barriers common across all youth, Simon said. At Seneca Hills Bible Camp and Retreat Center in Pennsylvania, there is archery, basketball and volleyball for summer campers, but also daily chapel, listening to missionaries and taking part in Bible study or hearing a Bible story depending on their age, which ranges from 5 to 18-year-olds. 'There's a whole host of activities, but really the focus for camp is building relationships with one another and encouraging the kids' relationships with God,' said camp executive director Lindon Fowler. For many, participating in the same summer camp is also a generational tradition. Children are sent to the same place as their parents and grandparents to be around people who share the same value system in ways they can't often experience in their local communities. A taste of faith, wilderness and independence for more than two centuries Because of their emphasis on independence and spending time away from family, summer camps in general have been especially popular in North America, Lubeznik-Warner said. In the United States, faith-based summer camps date back to two parallel movements in the 19th century — the revivalist religious gatherings in tents and the 'fresh-air movement' after the industrial revolution — and boomed after World War II, Botting said. Particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, as questions about children's dependence on technology have surged, interest has grown in summer camps as 'places where kids can really unplug, where kids can be kids,' Botting said. Many parents like that camp can disconnect their children from their devices. 'We're interested in campers hearing similar messages that they're going to get at home or in their church or their faith communities,' Fowler said. He added: 'I think they can hear … the meaning of things more clearly while they're at camp' and away from distractions. For Rob Ribbe, who teaches outdoors leadership at Wheaton College's divinity school, all the elements of camp have biblical resonance. 'God uses times away, in community, often in creation … as a way to shape and form us, and help us to know him,' Ribbe said. Summer camp challenges: Safety protocols and determination There are faith-related challenges, too. As children explore their identities and establish bonds outside their families, many programs have been wrestling with how to strike a balance between holding on to their denominations' teachings while remaining welcoming, especially on issues of gender and sexuality, Botting said. Rising costs are also a pressing issue. Historically, camps have been particularly popular among middle to upper-income families who can afford fees in the thousands of dollars for residential camps. And then there is safety — whether in terms of potential abuse, with many church denominations marred by recent scandals, or the inherent risks of the outdoors. In Texas' case, controversy is mounting over preparedness and official alerts for the natural disaster. Every summer, hundreds of thousands of parents trust Brad Barnett and his team to keep their children safe — physically and spiritually — at the dozens of summer camps run by Lifeway Christian Resources. Barnett, director of camp ministry, said already his staff has shared personal connections to Camp Mystic: One staff member's daughter was an alum; another's went to the same day camp with a girl who died in the flood; and a former staff member taught at the high school of a counselor who died. But the tragedy is also informing their work as they provide yet another week of Christian summer camp experiences for children across the country. 'That's the punch in the gut for us,' he said. 'We know that there's an implicit promise that we're going to keep your kid safe, and so to not be able to deliver on that and the loss of life, it's just so tragic and felt by so many.' Experts say camp staff are likely to double down on best practices to respond to emergencies and keep their campers safe in the aftermath of the Texas floods. 'It's, truly, truly heartbreaking for the whole community of Christian camping,' said Gregg Hunter, president of Christian Camp and Conference Association, which serves about 850 member camps catering to about 7 million campers a year. But the positive and often lifelong impacts on children's confidence and faith identity are so powerful that many leaders expressed hope the tragedy wouldn't discourage children from trying it. 'It's where my life took a dramatic turn from being a young, obnoxious, rebellious teenager,' Hunter said. 'My camp experience introduced me to so many things, including to my faith, an opportunity, an option to enter into a relationship with God.' Simon, a former camper and camp leader, said she is happy her son is currently at camp — even though there is a river by it. 'I wouldn't want him to be anywhere else,' she said. ___ Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno and Holly Meyer contributed. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
San Francisco Chronicle
08-07-2025
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
Faith-based camps like those hit by Texas floods are rite of passage for many. They're now grieving
Texas' catastrophic flooding hit faith-based summer camps especially hard, and the heartbreak is sweeping across the country where similar camps mark a rite of passage and a crucial faith experience for millions of children and teens. 'Camp is such a unique experience that you just instantly empathize,' said Rachael Botting of the tragedy that struck Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 people were killed. A search was underway for more than 160 missing people in the area filled with youth camps as the overall death toll passed 100 on Tuesday. Botting, a former Christian camp counselor, is a Wheaton College expert on the role camp plays in young people's faith formation. 'I do plan to send my boys to Christian summer camps. It is a nonnegotiable for us,' added the mother of three children under 4. Generations of parents and children have felt the same about the approximately 3,000 faith-based summer camps across the country. That is because for many campers, and young camp counselors, they are crucial independence milestones — the first time away from family or with a job away from home, said Robert Lubeznik-Warner, a University of Utah youth development researcher. Experts say camps offer the opportunity to try skills and social situations for the first time while developing a stronger sense of self — and to do so in the safety of communities sharing the same values. After the floodwaters rampaged through Camp Mystic, authorities and families have been combing through the wreckage strewed between the cabins and the riverbank. On Sunday, a man there carried a wood sign similar to those seen hanging outside the door of several buildings. It read: 'Do Good. Do No Harm. Keep Falling In Love With Jesus." For generations, these Texas campers have been challenged to master quintessential summer activities from crafts to swimming while also growing in spiritual practices. Campers and counselors shared devotionals after breakfast, before bed and on Sunday mornings along the banks of the Guadalupe River, according to Camp Mystic's brochure and website. They sang songs, listened to Scripture and attended Bible studies, too. How big of a role faith has in the camp experience varies, Botting said. There are Christian camps where even canoeing outings are discussed as metaphors for spiritual journeys, others that aim to insert more religious activities like reading the Bible into children's routines, and some that simply seek to give people a chance to encounter Jesus. The religious emphasis also varies at Jewish camps, which span traditions from Orthodox to Reform. Activities range from daily Torah readings to yoga, said Jamie Simon, who leads the Foundation for Jewish Camp. The group supports 300 camps across North America, with about 200,000 young people involved this summer alone. What they all have in common is a focus on building self-esteem as well as positive Jewish communities and identities — all particularly important as many struggle with antisemitism as well as the loneliness and mental health barriers common across all youth, Simon said. At Seneca Hills Bible Camp and Retreat Center in Pennsylvania, there is archery, basketball and volleyball for summer campers, but also daily chapel, listening to missionaries and taking part in Bible study or hearing a Bible story depending on their age, which ranges from 5 to 18-year-olds. 'There's a whole host of activities, but really the focus for camp is building relationships with one another and encouraging the kids' relationships with God,' said camp executive director Lindon Fowler. For many, participating in the same summer camp is also a generational tradition. Children are sent to the same place as their parents and grandparents to be around people who share the same value system in ways they can't often experience in their local communities. A taste of faith, wilderness and independence for more than two centuries Because of their emphasis on independence and spending time away from family, summer camps in general have been especially popular in North America, Lubeznik-Warner said. In the United States, faith-based summer camps date back to two parallel movements in the 19th century — the revivalist religious gatherings in tents and the 'fresh-air movement' after the industrial revolution — and boomed after World War II, Botting said. Particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, as questions about children's dependence on technology have surged, interest has grown in summer camps as 'places where kids can really unplug, where kids can be kids,' Botting said. Many parents like that camp can disconnect their children from their devices. 'We're interested in campers hearing similar messages that they're going to get at home or in their church or their faith communities,' Fowler said. He added: 'I think they can hear … the meaning of things more clearly while they're at camp" and away from distractions. For Rob Ribbe, who teaches outdoors leadership at Wheaton College's divinity school, all the elements of camp have biblical resonance. 'God uses times away, in community, often in creation … as a way to shape and form us, and help us to know him,' Ribbe said. Summer camp challenges: Safety protocols and determination There are faith-related challenges, too. As children explore their identities and establish bonds outside their families, many programs have been wrestling with how to strike a balance between holding on to their denominations' teachings while remaining welcoming, especially on issues of gender and sexuality, Botting said. Rising costs are also a pressing issue. Historically, camps have been particularly popular among middle to upper-income families who can afford fees in the thousands of dollars for residential camps. And then there is safety — whether in terms of potential abuse, with many church denominations marred by recent scandals, or the inherent risks of the outdoors. In Texas' case, controversy is mounting over preparedness and official alerts for the natural disaster. Every summer, hundreds of thousands of parents trust Brad Barnett and his team to keep their children safe — physically and spiritually — at the dozens of summer camps run by Lifeway Christian Resources. Barnett, director of camp ministry, said already his staff has shared personal connections to Camp Mystic: One staff member's daughter was an alum; another's went to the same day camp with a girl who died in the flood; and a former staff member taught at the high school of a counselor who died. But the tragedy is also informing their work as they provide yet another week of Christian summer camp experiences for children across the country. 'That's the punch in the gut for us,' he said. 'We know that there's an implicit promise that we're going to keep your kid safe, and so to not be able to deliver on that and the loss of life, it's just so tragic and felt by so many.' Experts say camp staff are likely to double down on best practices to respond to emergencies and keep their campers safe in the aftermath of the Texas floods. 'It's, truly, truly heartbreaking for the whole community of Christian camping,' said Gregg Hunter, president of Christian Camp and Conference Association, which serves about 850 member camps catering to about 7 million campers a year. But the positive and often lifelong impacts on children's confidence and faith identity are so powerful that many leaders expressed hope the tragedy wouldn't discourage children from trying it. 'It's where my life took a dramatic turn from being a young, obnoxious, rebellious teenager,' Hunter said. 'My camp experience introduced me to so many things, including to my faith, an opportunity, an option to enter into a relationship with God.' Simon, a former camper and camp leader, said she is happy her son is currently at camp — even though there is a river by it. 'I wouldn't want him to be anywhere else,' she said. ___
