Welcome! Below is a list of the planned activities sponsored by the Multicultural Center for April 2012. We hope that you'll participate in as many as you can. Also, below is a list of the the cultural holidays and celebrations for this month. Enjoy!
Clubs and Group Meetings
Spanish Language Conversation Group, Mondays, noon - 1 pm, 116 Campus Center
First Nations Student Union, TBD, Multicultural Center
Latino Club, Wednesdays at noon - 1 pm, Multicultural Center
Cascades Women's Collective, Monday, April 9 at 3 - 4 pm, Multicultural Center AND
Thursday, April 12 at 2 - 3 pm, Multicultural Center
Programs and Events
Native American Film Series: Pow Wow Highway
Thursday, April 12, 5 - 7 pm, Madras Campus Community Room,
The spare American desert becomes the site of an unforgettable story for two very different men on one incredible journey. This critically-acclaimed independent hit portrays modern Native Americans with basic human differences and common threads working to build a future together in the heart of a country filled with surprises.
Rated R, Free, Popcorn and Soda provided by ASCOCC, Sponsored by COCC’s Native American Program
Asian Pacific Cultural Festival
Saturday, April 14, 1 – 4 pm, Campus Center Building
Musical performances by Bill Keale and Redmond’s Hula Halau Dancers. Come enjoy food, entertainment, crafts, and fun! Free!
Spanish Language Film: Sighs from the Heart
Tuesday, April 24, 5:45 pm, Boyle 155
Fernando Valbuena de Montijos, a young Spanish businessman living Buenos Aries, reads his horoscope in an old fashioned photo novel magazine called Sighs from the Heart. Surprisingly, all the predictions come true. As he is about to take a very important business decision, he needs to find the magazine’s next issue. Sighs from the Heart is a romantic/absurd comedy about Utopia, astral predictions, money and love. Free!
Co-sponsored by COCC’s Latino Program and Spanish Program, and Bend’s Latino Community Association
Conversation on Books and Cultures: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Book discussion: Thursday, April 26 at noon – 1 pm, Multicultural Center
Film showing and discussion: Thursday, April 26 at 4 – 6 pm, Multicultural Center
Wise, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking, The Complete Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black and white comic strip images, Satrapi paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Discussions facilitated by Professor Chris Rubio
Campus Conversations: Can we talk about race..... and other differences?
Come join the dialogues on these important educational issues. All COCC/OSU-Cascades students, staff, and faculty are invited! Cookies will be provided.
The Native American Experience in Higher Education.
Tuesday, April 24, Noon – 1 pm, Multicultural Center
Recent studies have been engaged in addressing the topic of Native Americans in higher education, particularly the barriers Indian people face, but few concrete solutions have actually been put into place. Moreover, in an era of increased economic stress and polarized politics, challenging questions arise as to the entire ideology behind the efforts being made. Among the questions, we hear, “Why do Indians need special treatment in colleges and universities? They should be made to sink or swim just like the rest of us.” Participants in this discussion will explore the barriers to Native American education and examine some possible answers to the challenging questions. Conversation facilitated by Victor Singingeagle, Humanities
The Biological Basis of Race: What the Genes Say
Tuesday, May 1, noon – 1 pm, Multicultural Center
Join us for an exploration of our perceptions of our differences. We’ll describe the physical characteristics that we use to define groups by race and ethnicity, and will investigate what knowledge of human genomes can say to challenge assumptions about our similarities and differences. Conversation facilitated by Emma Chaput, Biology
Women Defining “Freedom”: From Afghanistan to Our Own Backyard
Thursday, May 3, noon – 1 pm, Multicultural Center
Following Dr. Sima Samar’s talk on “The Question of Afghanistan,” this conversation will foster an exploration of some of the important topics she covered relating to women, their rights, freedoms, and opportunities. From what we hear about the experiences of women in Afghanistan, what are the realities as compared to the stereotypes? How do their definitions of freedom and equality compare with our own notions of these ideals? Whether you were able to attend Dr. Samar’s talk or not, you’ll be sure to be enlightened by the dialogue. Conversation facilitated by Karen Aylward, Nancy R. Chandler Visiting Scholar Program.
Students who are interested in attending this conversation can receive a free ticket to attend Dr. Samar’s talk at the Tower Theater on Thursday, April 26. Contact Karen Roth in Multicultural Activities, 216 Campus Center, kroth1@cocc.edu for more information.
Women's Lives/Women's Challenges, 2012: The Everyday Politics of Gender
Tuesday, May 8, noon-1:00pm, Multicultural Center
Join in this conversation about the satisfactions and the challenges of being a student, parent, partner, worker--of being women in 2012. What are your daily pleasures and your daily exasperations? What circumstances facilitate--and limit--your life choices and your life chances? How do you sort out your life these days? Conversation facilitated by Jim Foster, Julie Craig, Kate Roth, and Suzie Gumm, OSU Cascades
“If These Halls Could Talk”…….Film and Discussion
Wednesday, May 16, 4 – 6 pm, 116 Campus Center
This new film explores the questions, “If our halls could talk, what would students of color say it is like for them at a predominantly White campus? Are faculty and staff prepared to teach students from different backgrounds? When cultural conflicts arise, what is the best approach to respond to them?” In the summers of 2010 and 2011, Director, Lee Mun Wah brought together eleven college students from around the country to explore some of these questions. By sharing their stories with us, we have the opportunity to discuss what we perceive to be the struggles and opportunities for students of color on our campus. Conversation facilitated by Karen Roth, Multicultural Activities
Reflections on the Page: Young Children See Themselves in Children’s Literature
Monday, May 21, 1 – 2 pm, Multicultural Center
Sharing stories with young children offers a powerful means for sharing perspectives and cultural beliefs with them, and it is in this sense we must take great care when selecting our stories. Children's books offer potent venues for young children to experience biases and perceptions. Often in the company of those whom children feel strong emotional connections, sharing books offers a time to experience cultural messages about gender. In this discussion, we will explore portrayals of gender on the page, and the attributes most commonly portrayed in boys and girls, men and women, and how we share, often unknowingly, perceptions about gender. Conversation facilitated by Amy Howell and Andrea Morgan, Early Childhood Education
April Cultural Holidays and Observances
April is National Multicultural Communications Month! Commit to learning more about a different culture this month.
April 1: April Fool’s Day
April 1: U. S. passes Civil Rights Bill that gave equal rights to all persons except Indians, 1866.
April 1: Farvardin, the 13th day after Nowruz or New Year. The number 13 is considered an unlucky number for the Persians so everyone leaves home for the day to go on outings.
April 1: Palm Sunday. Christians commemorate when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and was cheered by crowds who placed palm branches in his path.
April 1: Ram Navami. Hindus celebrate the birthday of Rama, the seventh incarnation of God Vishnu, by reading the Ramayan, a Hindu epic which tells the story of Rama.
April 4: Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968.
April 4: Ugadi. This day marks the beginning of the new Hindu lunar calendar celebrated in the southern states of India.
April 4: Ch’in Ming Festival. a national holiday in China and Taiwan when family graves are visited to ask for the blessing of the departed spirits.
April 5: Birth of Booker T. Washington, educator and founder of Tuskeegee Institute, 1856.
April 5: Maundy Thursday, a Christian holy day commemorating the night that Jesus ate the Last Supper prior to his crucifixion.
April 5: Mahavira Jayanti celebrates the birthday of Lord Mahavira who was the 24th leader of the Jain religion and born around 599 BCE.
April 6: Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus for Christians.
April 6: Matthew Henson arrived with Commander Perry at the North Pole, 1909.
April 6: Organization of the Church honors when the Church for Latter-day Saints was founded in 1830 in Fayette, New York.
April 7 – 14: Pesach/Passover. This 8-day Jewish observance commemorates the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. It begins with a ritual meal “Seder’ when no leavened bread is consumed.
April 8: Buddha’s birthday celebrated in Japan.
April 8: Easter. Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from his grave.
April 10: Birth of Delores Huerta, co-founder of the Farm Workers’ Association, 1930.
April 11: American Indian Civil Rights Act passed, 1968.
April 13: Songkran Days – Thai New Year. During this three-day religious festival, homes are cleaned and water is sprinkled on monks and the statues of Buddha.
April 13: Baisakhi. This first day of the solar year, Sikhs and Hindus celebrate the harvest in northern India.
April 20: Day of Silence/Night of Noise, a day of solidarity with LGBT Youth. This day brings attention to the anti-LGBT bullying, name-calling, and harassment in schools. www.dayofsilence.org
April 21: Ridvan - From April 21 to May 2, Baha'is observe this holy festival to commemorate the anniversary of Baha'u'llah's declaration in 1863 that He was the Promised One of all earlier religions.
April 21: Kartini Day. This day commemorates Indonesia’s first women’s emancipationist. There are parades, lectures, and social activities attended by women, and mothers aren’t allowed to work as the family does the house chores.
April 22: Earth Day. Lands west of the Mississippi, where many Indians had moved and were guaranteed land, were opened to settlement by White settlers, 1889.
April 24: Akshaya Tritya. This Jain holiday celebrates the day when Lord Rishabha broke his first year-long fast by drinking sugar cane juice. To begin anything new is considered very auspicious on this day.
April 27: Arbor Day. Communities across the United States plant trees in an ongoing effort to conserve American forests.
April 27-28: Gathering of Nations Pow Wow in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
April 28: Buddha’s Birthday. Buddhism was founded in Northern India by the first known Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama in 535 when he attained enlightenment.
April 30: The Chinese in Hawaii were excluded from U. S. citizenship which was conferred on all other Hawaiian citizens in 1900.
April 30 – May 4: Gahambar Maidyozarem is a Zoroastrian festival. Gahambars are festivals celebrated by the Parsi community marked in honor of Sky, Waters, Earth, Plants, Cattle and Man which are responsible for the creation of the whole world. The celebrations of Gahambars festivals are marked by common feastings, paying tribute to creator of the world, remembering ancestors and general get togethers to spread the message of peace and harmony among all human beings.
April 30: Walpurgis Night, Sweden’s annual feast of the witches. Young and old come together to celebrate around a communal bonfire with fireworks, singing and dancing into the early hours of the morning.
Some holiday information comes from the calendar available at: The Multicultural Calendar 2012.