By Shelbi Mulcahy
Dr. Hutchins, who currently teaches ANTH 241, ANTH 215, and ANTH 310 at Bellarmine, wanted to offer a virtual experiential component to his classes by taking his students to the Arizona/Mexico border. Since students are not able to travel at this time, Dr. Hutchins went and took footage as well as blogged his trip for his students to view on Microsoft Teams. Hutchins trip lasted from March 6-12 And the areas he visited were located in Tucson, Arizona, and both Nogales Mexico, and Arizona. Some of the places Dr. Hutchins stopped on his trip were Oak Flat in the Tonto National Forest, Alvaro Enciso’s studio, and the Office of the Pima County Medical Examiner.
Alvaro Enciso has dedicated the past six years to planting crosses at locations in the Sonoran Desert where immigrants have died. He gifted a cross to display at Bellarmine for students to see as they learn about his mission. The medical examiner’s office holds bodies of immigrants who have yet to be identified. On this trip, students were able to virtually tour the office as well as learn how forensic anthropologists determine the cause and time of death of these unidentified bodies.