Boiler OUT Times

FEBRUARY 2018

Oldies but Goodies

Boiler OUT Times, Volume 2 Issue 1, 02/28/2018 Edited by Ayo Adetunji aadetunj@purdue.edu and Yichen Fan fan151@purdue.edu Published by Boiler OUT Volunteer Program boilerout@purdue.edu Center for Intercultural Learning ● Mentorship ● Assessment ● Research (CILMAR) Purdue University Young Hall, Room 120 155 South Grant Street West Lafayette, IN 47907-2114 Phone: 765-496-2306 | Fax: 765-496-1989

Hello fellow cohorts and organizations, Welcome to the February newsletter, and first of the semester!! We’d like to take this moment to wel-come the newly accepted cohorts; welcome to your new family., your exclusive insight to the Lafayette community, and the wonderful organizations that call it home. To the returning cohorts, thank you for your avid interest in what Boiler OUT believes in. Due appreciation to all our partner organization who make huge impacts to our small and vibrant town, and shaped us for the better. We are proud to announce that Boiler OUT now has a partner student alumni organization run by our very own leaders, Claire Jackson (President) and Young-Hwan Sung (Treasurer). Its goal is to assist for-mer, and current, Boiler OUT members in a transition from volunteer to active citizen by allowing mem-bers to address a specific social issue of interest. For more information about it, contact the organization by email at boutalum@purdue.edu We tackled some blistering events in February: the International Family Art Night at Cumberland Ele-mentary, Hanna Center Ivory/Ebony Ball, Food finders, the Lollipop concert at the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra (LSO), MHA Valentines day event, and let’s not forget the CCHS Multicultural Festival! Each event was a class on its own, and showed that college students could still have fun and dedicated while keeping a GPA up. Because Boiler OUT is such a multiculturally diverse organization, we have decided to include with our newsletters, current events from each month pertaining to the way we view different cultures, and to challenge our perceived biases. We hope you’d attack the issues both morally and empathetically. Continuing our tradition, the monthly newsletter will feature volunteers and community organizations. We would like to invite you to introduce yourself to fellow volunteers and community partners, tell your stories and get your pretty face (or company’s face) paraded in the newsletter! If this sounds interesting to you, please contact us, the editors, or talk to your event leader. If you have any suggestions or con-cerns about the newsletter, feel free to let us know. As per last semester, the “Spotlight of the Week” competition is still in full swing. We encourage volun-teers (sorry, organizations) to take pictures during events, and can be posted on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram with #BoilerOutMarch18. The winning photos will be posted on our Facebook page (@PurdueBoilerOUT). To add a little incentive, a small prize is awarded to every photo taker which, if you ask us, is a great bargain. Thanks for lighting up the love month...onward to the next and remember, cool runnings. Your Editors, Ayo Adetunji Yichen Fan aadetunj@purdue.edu fan151@purdue.edu

Making Valentines 02/04/2018

Cool Runnings

Photo Highlights

Parent’s Night Off At Central Presbyterian Church

Lollipop Concert with Lafayette Symphony Orchestra MHA Valentines day

International Art Immersion Night Making Valentines

Hanna Center Ivory/Ebony Ball Polar Bear Plunge 2018

Staying Culturally Woke

Are you a good judge of multicultural competency? Let’s put that brain of yours to the test.

The “my turban looks better than yours” theory

Gucci got lots of stick during the Milan Fashion Week

Show last week. Apparently, the fashion titan sent models

onto the runway wearing pieces that looked like the turbans

(also known as Dastaar) worn by Sikh men and women. For

clarification, the Dastaar is an article of faith that represents

honor, self-respect, courage, spirituality, and piety. It co-

vers the knot of hair which followers of Sikhism allow to grow naturally out of respect for God’s crea-

tion.

First, the turban was just a single color, electric indigo, I think. Second, they were worn by white mod-

els; yes, no Sikh model was hired to showcase the piece. Actor and activist, Avan Jogia sparked wide

debate on Twitter after he tweeted the photo of the white model. On Friday, the New-York-based Sikh

Coalition civil rights group tweeted: “The Sikh turban is a sacred article of faith, @gucci, not a mere

fashion accessory. #appropriation. We are available for further education and consultation if you are

looking for observant Sikh models."

The rage also stems from the fact that Sikhs in other parts of the world were targeted after 9/11, when

followers were often mistaken for Muslims, and attacked. If this becomes a trend, Gucci is stripping the

significance of the turban. @gurpycolors tweeted: "Appropriation! Sikh men are profiled and discrimi-

nated against every day for wearing a turban, yet when you put in on a white person, it's suddenly fash-

ionable and cool?!?!"

It is assumed that the brand had used the Sikh religious symbol for profit. Gucci, however, has not (to

the best of our knowledge) released a formal statement or apology regarding this issue. It’s also hard to

say if Gucci was using it to end a message; from the model wearing the San Francisco hoodie, it could

signify that the Sanctuary state is welcoming of the Sikh religion.

The main thing to consider here is that no matter what, Gucci will still get sales, be it from good press or

bad. Am I saying that Gucci did this to promote its sales? No. We can’t be sure, at least until they release

a statement. But until they do, we are mere speculators.

Questions

1. Do you think Gucci had the right to strut the turban in the manner that they did? Why or why not?

2. With the multiple choices and designs Gucci has of every accessory and clothing, isn’t it a bit

sketchy the turban was in one color?

3. Could the models have understood the importance of the Dastaar, or did they not care to under-

stand its meaning? Were they forced to wear them?

4. Even if Gucci hired Sikh men to model, would people know they are Sikh, or would they think the

turban is still part of the outfit?

We know this is a touchy subject but it’s one that needs to be addressed. If you have any answers to any of the questions, feel free to contact either one of us. We’d love to hear what you guys think about the controversy.