First Tuesday Forum Recap
10/17/2025
STudent Shares about Persistence
The “First Tuesday in the Library” Forum series continued Oct. 7 with Ellie Shemenski ‘27, a social work major from Orrville, Ohio.
Shemenski, a third generation Bluffton University student and president of the Peace Club, used this Forum to spread awareness about the continued conflict in Israel-Palestine She called her audience to action, providing ways that her listeners can get involved.
Shemenski shared that “Two years ago today, Hamas, a terrorist group that has been in control of Gaza since 2007, launched an attack on Israel with nearly 5,000 rockets in total,” she said. “In return, Israel initiated a mission to annihilate Hamas for good.”
Shemenski did not shy away from describing the horrors faced during this clash. “Through every single conflict, innocent civilians are the ones who suffer the effects,” she said. “People have been turned to objects and humanity has turned to dust.
She noted how censorship in the media could cause misunderstandings of the conflict and its greater effects. She hoped that through her bringing awareness to the devastation, that the listeners would embrace their discomfit with the topic, stating, “I hope you're uncomfortable because anything else is a sign of desensitization.”
Shemenski then shifted to a call to action, challenging the audience “to speak out
about the atrocities” and bring about change.
She called for peaceful community organizing, noting the ripple effect change can
have.
“There's a misconception that violent community organizing is what brings true change compared to peaceful community organizing,” said Shemenski. “But this is false. Peaceful community organizing creates waves of welcomed change that are much more positively received across the board.”
Shemenski believes that the most important quality of any activist is persistence.
“Showing up for one protest is not the hard part of community organizing, but showing
up for your 20th protest on the same issue two years after consistently working towards
something and seeing little to no progress is,” she said.
Shemenski noted how difficult the initial start of community organizing is. “Doing anything for the first time is scary, and I'd be lying if I said that most of the stuff I’ve done didn’t scare me. The point is, do it and do it even when you're afraid.”
Shemenski wrapped up by sharing some words of encouragement with the audience. “Whether it's one million people or one person, there’s a voice to be heard. And you have a voice. You have the power to create change. Take hold of that power and be the change.”
-Coen North '26