![]() It was settled in the 1950s by people wanting work in the manufacturing industry, but today, the jobs are gone while the people have stayed.īefore the tour, Lewis students said they were unaware that this community existed, even though it is only about four miles from campus. It is a predominantly low-income, unincorporated area of about 880 homes between Lockport and Joliet, lacking sidewalks, street lights and a large tax base, according to a history of Fairmont by the Will County Land Use Department. We are looking for ways to support Fairmont, and get other Lewis students involved,” Billups said. “Peace studies is about being part of the solution. “Fairmont is the poster child of communities that have been neglected and marginalized because of who lives there,” she said. They saw junkyards, abandoned homes, vacant lots, closed businesses, and trash. They first toured Fairmont with DeLinda Herod, president of the Fairmont Community Partnership, and were “really touched by the challenges they face,” Billups said. The class is a program in the university’s Office of Community Engaged Learning, in which students are actively connected with residents, under the guidance of Christie Billups, assistant professor of theology. Since January, students in Lewis’ peace studies class made a commitment to spend at least 45 hours in this unincorporated Lockport Township community that was previously invisible to them. ![]() After spending this past semester working with Fairmont residents, seven Lewis University students learned that small actions can leave a significant impact. ![]()
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