Welcome! Below is a list of the planned activities sponsored by the Multicultural Activities Office for May 2012 – we hope that you’ll participate in as many as you can. Also, below is a list of 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, Wednesdays, 3 - 4 pm, Multicultural Center
Latino Club, Wednesdays, noon - 1 pm, Multicultural Center
Cascades Women's Collective, Thursdays, noon - 1 pm, Rm 306 Redmond Campus
Gay Straight Alliance, Beginning Thursday, May 10th, noon - 1 pm, ASCOCC office in Campus Center
Programs and Events
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 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.
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
Is It a Boy Or a Girl? - Film and Discussion
Friday, May 11, 9:00 am - 11:00 am, 305 Building 3, Redmond Campus
Come watch this film and participate in a discussion about the process of gender development. Facilitated by Rebecca Walker Sands
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
Stereotypes, Prejudice and Discrimination: Mechanisms That Lead To Intolerance
Friday, May 25, 11:00 am – Noon, 305 Building 3, Redmond Campus
This presentation examines the mechanisms that can lead to intolerance and hatred of others. Join in this discussion of how typical human judgments can lead to assumptions and negative behavior toward those who are different and explore methods to reduce these tendencies to promote tolerance. Facilitated by Andria Woodell, Psychology
Latino Program Events
Cinco de Mayo Celebration
Friday, May 4 from 6 – 11:30 pm in the COCC Campus Center
Enjoy traditional Mexican food, folklore dancing, music, games, crafts, and more!. The celebration is for everyone, so bring your family and friends. Suggested donation: $5 (Proceeds go to the Latino Club scholarship fund.). Info: 541-318-3726 or email. esandoval@cocc.edu.
Spanish Film Night: The Two Escobars
Wednesday, May 23, 6 pm, 155 Boyle
Pablo Escobar was the richest, most powerful drug kingpin in the world. Andres Escobar was the biggest soccer star in Colombia. The two were not related, but their fates were inextricably - and fatally - intertwined. The Two Escobars is a riveting examination of the intersection of sports, crime, and politics.
Shifting the Discourse: Immigrant Rights as Human Rights
Thursday, May 31 at 3 pm in Wille Hall
In this presentation, Tanya Golash-Boza will explore why immigrants are dehumanized and explain how US immigration policies violate immigrants’ human rights. She argues that immigrant rights are human rights, and that the United States is responsible for the realization of migrants’ human rights in large part because US foreign and domestic policies have created international migration flows. In this presentation, she will address these and other questions: Where do most immigrants to the United States come from and why? Why are some immigrants undocumented? What are immigration raids and how do they affect migrants’ human rights? Who gets detained and deported and why? What is the solution to the immigration crisis? Tanya Golash-Boza is an Associate Professor of Sociology and American Studies at the University of Kansas.
Native American Program Events
Lillian Pitt, Pacific Northwest Artist
Wednesday, May 2
4:30 pm for COCC students, Wille Hall, Campus Center
7:30 pm for General Public, Wille Hall, Campus Center
Lillian Pitt is a Native American artist from the Big River (Columbia River) region of the Pacific Northwest. Born on the Warm Springs Reservation in Oregon, she is a descendent of Wasco, Yakima, and Warm Springs people. A graduate of COCC, several of her art pieces adorn our campus.
Native American Salmon Bake
Saturday, May 12, 11 am – 4 pm, COCC Campus Center
Enjoy baked salmon, salad, beans and traditional fry bread along with Native American dance performances, music and crafts vendors. The event is free; the public is welcome. Info: 541-318-3782.
More information for both events either rricketts@cocc.edu, 541-318-3782 or www.nativeamerican.cocc.edu
Conversations on Books and Culture
Typical American by Gish Jen
Thursday, May 31, noon – 1 pm, Multicultural Center, 117 Campus Center
Typical American (by Gish Jen) is the story of a Chinese immigrant, Ralph Chang, who begins his life in the United States as a graduate student. For a time, Ralph becomes an illegal immigrant when he lets his visa status lapse, but he then is restored to good standing, finishes his degree, and becomes a business man enamored with getting rich. He meets a man named Grover Ding who is wealthy, handsome, charming, but corrupt and who brings Ralph's life to ruins. Things look up for Ralph and his family by the end of the novel, but in a very different way than they would have predicted. It is a story about the immigrant experience, pursuit of the American Dream, capitalistic values, and personal happiness. Discussion facilitated by Annemarie Hamlin, Humanities
May Cultural Holidays and Observances
May 1 – May Day, a traditional day of flower festivals in Europe, more recently celebrated as Worker’s Day.
May 1 – Beltane, a mid-summer fertility festival in the Celtic pagan tradition. Maypole dances and bon fires celebrate the Earth Goddess on this day.
May 5 – Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican American celebration that commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. It is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state of Puebla, with limited recognition in the rest of Mexico. U.S. cities with significant Mexican populations celebrate this day with fiestas, dancing, and food.
May 6 – Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 suspending Chinese laborer immigration for ten years.
May 6 – Wesak, the most important Buddhist festival, celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha.
May 6 – Matsu Festival in China and Taiwan. Matsu saved her brother from drowning and, at the age of 28, ascended into heaven. She earned the title of Goddess of the Sea and is the patron of fishermen. There are rites and processions at Matsu temples.
May 8 – Birth of Miguel Hildalgo in 1753, known as the father of Mexican Independence.
May 13 – Mothers’ Day was officially declared by President Wilson in 1914. Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia first suggested a day to honor mothers and motherhood.
May 10 – The Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869. None of the 10,000 Chinese immigrants who helped build it were at the celebration ceremony in Promontory, Utah.
May 17 – Supreme Court decision against school segregation, Brown v. Board of Education, was passed in 1954.
May 17 – Ascension Day, the Christian commemoration of the ascension of Jesus into heaven.
May 19 – Birthday of Malcolm X in 1925. Born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska, he considered "Little" a slave name and chose the "X" to signify his lost tribal name. An African American leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam, he articulated concepts of racial pride and Black nationalism in the early 1960s.
May 20 – Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly the Atlantic solo.
May 22 – Harvey Milk, a gay rights leader, was born in 1930. He was slain by a colleague of his while serving on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1978.
May 23 – The entire Cherokee Nation had to vacate or be forcibly removed from their land, beginning the Trail of Tears, in 1838.
May 23 – Declaration of Bab celebrates the prophet Bab who announced his mission as founder of the Baha’i faith in Persia (now Iran) in 1844.
May 24 – Aboriginal Awareness Week. First introduced in 1992 in Canada, this week was designed to increase awareness of Aboriginal peoples among federal public service employees.
May 27 – Shavuot, Jewish Feast of Weeks, is celebrated on the 50th day following the end of Passover. Shavuot celebrates the time when the Ten Commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai.
May 28 – Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service.
May 28 – Jim Thorpe won the pentathlon and decathlon in the 1912 Olympics.
May 29 – Ascension of Baha’u’llah, prophet and founder of the Baha’i faith, passed away near Haifa, Israel.
May 30 – The first NAACP conference in 1909.
Some holiday information comes from the calendar available at: The Multicultural Calendar 2012.