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Next Safe Zone Training will be Thursday, January 26
9:30 am - noon. Please RSVP to [email protected]. If you missed this great episode of 60 Minutes, the Office of Diversity and Equity recommends watching at least this portion online. It features Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, President of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and a veteran of the Children's March of the Civil Rights Era (he'll tell the story of his meeting with Bull Connor as a twelve-year old, his five days in jail, and the impact of that experience on his life).
But the focus of the 60 Minutes story is about how he took his college to a place that become reknowned for graduating math and science majors--many of them students of color. Watch his inspiring story, and let us know what you think! The DEC Team has taken an active approach to dealing with the hate/bias incidents that took place on campus a few weeks ago.
If you are not aware of what happened: A student became agitated over some of the course content during an afternoon class period, and was vocally abusive, disrespectful and intolerant to the instructor. Several discriminatory statements about the instructor's perceived religious beliefs were made. The student then targeted another student in the class and engaged in racially hostile verbal abuse directed at that student. The conflict took place in front of a large number of witnesses, including college staff who called security. The conflict ended when the student who had initiated the conflict pushed the other student; the other student hit him back. All witnesses agreed that the second student acted in self-defense. The aggressor has been dealt with by campus administration. Additionally in the last 2 weeks, it has been reported that students have been disrespectful of a person with a disability on campus, and also we have found a DEC flyer defaced with homophobic and racist slurs. If you or your students would like a way to take some positive action in the aftermath of these events, one thing you might do is sign our "Not On Our Campus" pledge. We have collected over 100 pledge cards at this time; the DEC Team is continuing to make "Not On Our Campus" buttons as well. Stop by if you'd like either of these, or print a pledge card to put on your office door or in your classrooms. It would be very effective to have these pledges all around campus, so please feel free to distribute them and post where appropriate!
M. Guadalupe Espinoza gave a wonderful talk yesterday on the story of the Repatriation of Mexican Americans during the 1930's through the lens of her own family history. The "What's Your Cuento?" discussion that followed was equally fascinating--family stories shared in the context of social and political history make history so much more immediate and relevant!
Another insight that came out of our discussion is this: Why is it so few Americans know about this event, which was an obvious violation of the constitutional rights of so many US Citizens? The question of what we are taught and not taught is as interesting and complicated as history itself. If you missed the event, Ms. Espinoza was kind enough to share the following resources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Repatriation http://webs.rps205.com/curriculum/ssandvoc/MexicanDeportation.html On this website, you can see a short video Ms. Espinoza shared with us yesterday. It gives a great overview of the issue of Mexican repatriation: http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/fbalder/video2.html http://www.amazon.com/Decade-Betrayal-Mexican-Repatriation-1930s/dp/0826339735 SPSCC works with the Hispanic Roundtable of Thurston County, the Evergreen State College, Centralia College and St. Martins University, plus numerous local organizations and high schools to put on the Latino Youth Summit every fall. This amazing event draws over 500 local high schoolers of Latino descent to a college campus to experience the different types of programs and opportunities that are available to them with a college education.
This year's summit is hosted by Centralia College. We need about 60-75 volunteers to make the summit happen! Types of jobs available are staffing the registration table, serving lunch, showing students where to go, handing out t-shirts, and introducing workshop presenters. We also need people who speak Spanish and who can translate for students. For more information see: http://www.hispanicroundtable.org/ To volunteer, contact Eileen Yoshina at [email protected]. Gracias! Latino Heritage Month is celebrated September 15-October 15. We're commemorating the contributions of our Latino Community members on October 4 with the following events:
Oct. 4, 12-1 pm SUB 119 Dr. M. Guadalupe Espinoza “M. Felicitas Castro: The Case Study of a Life and the Mexican Repatriation Program of the Great Depression” M. Guadalupe Espinoza is a native Californian who taught English in Mexico for 22 years. She is the third child of Arturo and Ramona Espinoza and was raised in the Coachella Valley. Her interest in the fact that both of her parents were unconstitutionally deported during the 1930’s has led her to conduct an extensive family history which includes birth, death and immigration records. She has taught in adult education and public school programs as well as at the community college and university level in both California and Mexico. She currently teaches English online, at the North Orange County Community College District and at the California State University in Fullerton. Ms. Espinoza's talk will be followed by: “What’s Your Cuento?” a community discussion about being Latino at SPSCC! Come ready to SHARE, HEAR, LEARN with SPSCC students and community members! We hope to use this blog to notify you about upcoming events, share new resources as we find them, and invite conversations or questions on any topic dealing with diversity and student success. Please don't worry about being "PC" or making a mistake; we're all in this together and we're all learning together. We may not have all the answers, but if we don't we'll try to find resources for you or to invite conversations that help us develop strategies together. Please contact us if you'd like to collaborate on events; if there are student, instructor or staff needs that need to be addressed, or if you need support or resources. Also, we know there is a wealth of expertise on our campus: please use this space to share resources you have found to be helpful in your work.
Thanks for all you do! E Komo Mai is a Hawaiian phrase that means "Welcome!" The Office of Diversity and Equity extends a warm welcome to you.
This is one of my favorite poems about education: it reminds us that the real results of the work we do are not always immediate, but in the long term, contribute in a meaningful way to a better world. It also reminds us to take care of ourselves and each other along the way. From The Seven of Pentacles ...Connections are made slowly, sometimes they grow underground. You cannot tell always by looking what is happening. More than half the tree is spread out in the soil under your feet. Penetrate quietly as the earthworm that blows no trumpet. Fight persistently as the creeper that brings down the tree. Spread like the squash plant that overruns the garden. Gnaw in the dark and use the sun to make sugar. Weave real connections, create real nodes, build real houses. Live a life you can endure: Make love that is loving. Keep tangling and interweaving and taking more in, a thicket and bramble wilderness to the outside but to us interconnected with rabbit runs and burrows and lairs. Live as if you liked yourself, and it may happen: reach out, keep reaching out, keep bringing in. This is how we are going to live for a long time: not always, for every gardener knows that after the digging, after the planting, after the long season of tending and growth, the harvest comes. ~ Marge Piercy ~ Aloha! Eileen Yoshina, Director of Diversity and Equity |
Office of Diversity and EquityWe are here to serve the diverse community of South Puget Sound Community College, and to help make SPSCC a place that supports the success of all learners. Archives
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