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Highlights of The Month
The Mosa i c
Bone Marrow Registry Drive at Mac On February 21st and 22nd, Macalester hosted a bone marrow registry drive in association with Be The Match, the national bone marrow donor registry.
In total, 172 people joined the registry and 24 volunteers donated their time. At the drive, those who wished to register only had to fill out some forms and swab their cheeks a few times – 20 minutes from start to finish.
Such little time could potentially save a life. For those who have diseases that may only be treated with a bone marrow transplant, the transplant represents their only chance at life. Without a transplant, these people face grim chances of survival. Because of the variety of marrow type within a population, it is of extreme importance that as many people as possible join the registry so that everyone finds a match.
Find out how you can become involved by visiting: www.marrow.org.
Monthly Newsletter from the Department of Multicultural Life
Fresh Friday - “I’m Not Racist! I Have ____Friends!”
On February 24th, Cultural House Program Assistants Steven Sha '14 and Abaki Beck '15 hosted a Fresh Friday titled "I'm Not Racist! I Have ____ Friends!" The event was about how racism manifests itself on campus and focused on racial microaggressions. This subject was chosen because it is not one often discussed among the stu-dent body. Furthermore, microaggressions, which are subtle and unintentional racist remarks, are the most com-mon form of racism heard on campus. While microaggressions are often unintentional, they still have real im-pact and implications on how people of color are treated. The event was mostly discussion based, but also in-cluded a "racial privilege" checklist activity to get participants to think about their own positionality in relation to microaggressions, as well as a clip from a YouTube comedian about microaggressions. In addition, the atten-dants helped to create a visual piece to exemplify commonly heard microaggressions on campus. The comments written on the piece were from participants personal experiences. The visual piece will be on display in the Cul-tural House. This Fresh Friday was well attended and warmly received, and there are two more Fresh Fridays planned for the spring semester, one in March and one in April.
February 2013 Edition
By Daimon Hardy ‘13
By Abaki Beck ‘15 and Steven Sha ‘14 C-House Program Assistants
DML Corners!
THE CULTURAL HOUSE
By Anna Nassif ‘14, and Sharon Chen ’14
Sharon Chen ‘14 C-House Volunteer
Living in the C-House has been great so far. There’s a great community of people living here, and I’ve really enjoyed cooking, doing homework, and just hanging out and talking with them. As a newcomer this se-mester, I quickly felt welcomed as a part of the group. I knew some people from before we started living in the C-House, which was fun, but it’s also been great getting to know new people I might never have met. I’m enjoying volunteering as a part of the C-House staff. It’s cool to be a part of the planning that goes on behind the scenes of the events and get involved with the DML on a deeper level. I was excited to attend the first Fresh Friday event about racial micro-aggressions on February 22th.
Two New C-House Residents!
Anna Nassiff ‘14 C-House Program Assistant
The C-House is an amazing place to live! The other residents are friendly, smart, and a lot of fun. It makes staying up late to fin-ish a paper not so terrible. With all the programs in the house, I’ve gotten to meet so many new people. I feel very involved with the campus, and I’m excited about the upcoming programs the DML has in store this semester!
DML Corners!
Gender & Sexuality (By Isela Gomez ‘13 and Elisa Lee ‘15) The new Violence Against Women Act reauthoriza-tion bill passed the Senate by a vote of 78-to-22 on February 12, 2013, pressuring the GOP-dominated House for renewal. The measure has caused many disagreements, which would grant tribal courts au-thority to “prosecute the non-native abusers of Na-tive American women on Indian reservations.” Rates of domestic violence is very high on reserva-tions and these victims often are unable to take any legal action because the local courts have no au-thority over non-Native Americans perpretators. Republicans argue that subjecting non-Native American men to tribal courts would “strip them of Constitutional protections.” The American Civil Liberties Union published an infographic that illustrates the bans on insurance coverage of abortion in the United States. On January 20th, the Cedar Cultural Center hosted local musicians Maria Isa, Adriana Rimpel and others as part of the recently commissioned Latina Ritual Project. The project honors the mixed roots of the Latino culture through combina-tion of traditional music with hip-hop and R&B and empowers/highlights Latina women. Says Rim-pel, “as mestiza women, we have the opportunity to demonstrate to the public how Latinas can take a role of leadership through the arts.” Download the Latina Ritual Project show for free here!
Economic Justice (By Katie Hinkfuss ‘13 and Yuris Martinez ‘13) Two-thirds of people who earned bachelor’s degrees in 2011 had loans, and these numbers are only ris-ing. This is a $900 billion market in which pros-pects don’t look bright; college education prices are inflating, and lending standards are not well-defined or regulated. However, a blow-up in the student loan market would have few immediate consequences because 88% of the loans are backed by the U.S. government. Risky lending practices are common because this supports the budget. How-ever the future isn’t completely bleak. The positive thing is that we can vote people into office who fa-vor loan practice reform. Some things are already starting to change. Effective December 21, 2012, the Obama admini-stration created Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan for federal student loans. It will allow recent student borrowers to make more affordable payments and qualify for loan forgiveness. This is particularly rele-vant for college graduates who began their careers during the recession and who faced long-term eco-nomic obstacles making it harder for them to pay off student loans. If your federal student loan debt is higher relative to your income you may qualify for this repayment plan. Click here to estimate whether you or someone you know would likely qualify.
LSC Issue Areas
By the Lealtad-Suzuki Center’s Program Assistants
The Lealtad-Suzuki Center’s Team
LSC Issue Areas research current events and policies locally, nationally and internationally.
DML Corners!
Religion & Spirituality (By Daimon Hardy ‘13 and Jessica Munoz ‘14)
In light of the Pope’s decision to resign, many be-lieve that Pope Benedict XVI may be looking to change the official timeline for selecting a succes-sor. As of now, cardinals have up to 15 days once the Pope has stepped down to gather in Vatican City to begin the process of selecting a new Pope. Following this timeline could result in there being no Pope during the Catholic Church’s most sacred day, Easter. The Minnesota chapter of the Council on Ameri-can-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) is seeking to have the attorney general investigate two FBI agents after the agents allegedly inappropriately approached CAIR-MN’s director at her Blaine home. The or-ganization believes that the visit was part of a re-taliation attempt after CAIR-MN told the media about the FBI alleged intimidation of a Minneapo-lis Somali man. The Edinburgh International Middle Eastern Spiri-tuality and Peace Festival will conduct a series of events and workshops focusing on secular, artistic, cultural, spiritual and educational approaches to peace and reconciliation. The festival’s main goal is to bring people of various spiritual backgrounds together to work toward breaking down religious and spiritual intolerance. San Jose State University’s Campus Climate Com-mittee sponsored a seminar titled “Spiritual Dia-logues” where students and faculty were given the opportunity to share their religious and spiritual beliefs and experiences. The purpose of the semi-nar was to provide a safe space to promote dialogue about religious and spiritual diversity and learn from others.
Racial/Ethnic/National Identities (By Chloe Chon ‘13 and Isabel M Ruelas ‘15) Wang Ping sues Macalester College claiming that she was unlawfully discriminated against on the basis of gender, race, and national origin. She was promoted to Associate Professor with full tenure in 2005, and when she later applied for full professorship in 2009, she was originally denied. She was granted full profes-sorship two years after her application for promotion was denied. Tech millionaire Jason Calacanis claims that “there isn't a race wall in tech” in response to an essay by Jamelle Bouie who explored why the tech industry is so white and male. Bouie’s conclusion that “implicit networks” operated nearly invisibly and thus kept tech homogenous was addressed by Calacanis. He replied in a blog post. Sports Illustrated’s most recent Swimsuit Edition showcases models posing in locales all over the world. A number of them portray the models in locations that appear to be stereotypes of each location, a move that can be considered reductive. The Volkswagen's "Get Happy" Super Bowl ad is criti-cized for showing an owner of a 2013 Volkswagen Beetle with a Jamaican accent despite being from Min-nesota. Duke’s Kappa Sigma party ignites backlash from the Asian community as its fraternity members hosted an Asian-themed party. Responses from fellow students included posting up protest fliers that included emails containing racially insensitive language sent out to party invitees. With Pope Benedict XVI announcing his resignation, a great deal of speculation has gone into whether we’ll have a Pope from non-white parts of the world: Latin America, Africa, or Asia.
LSC Issue Areas
By the Lealtad-Suzuki Center’s Program Assistants LSC Issue Areas research current events and policies locally, nationally and internationally.
DML Corners!
ESP Reflections As we enter the fourth week of this semester, everything is starting to pick up speed. The five weeks of J-term are but a distant memory as exams and projects begin to fill our time. Outside of class, I find myself pouring time into editing my resume and cover letters for what seems like the hundredth time in hopes of finding a summer opportunity. There is no doubt that this spring semester will pass us before we know it, so it has been really im-portant for me to not only prepare for the summer but also my last year of college. Looking back on my freshman and sophomore years, I remember hearing about events as well as programs that I wanted to be a part of, but usually after they had happened. When I would hear about the amazing summer in-ternships people around me had, I would wonder how I could do the same. So this year, I have really made an effort to be aware and educated on the opportunities around me. Even though I might not go to the study abroad meeting or the leadership conference, at least I knew about them, and could spread the word. I call my friend Jill my personal news feed. Jill knows everything about everything on campus. From the summer research opportunities abroad and guest lecturers in Humanities, to the free pizza in the IGC and karaoke at the Japan House, Jill has always been well informed and she never misses out on an opportunity she was interested in. I remember asking her how she was always so up to date with everything on and off of campus, and she laughed telling me that I just had to look. Everything was there, I just need to seek it out; I just needed to be cu-rious. Jill is abroad this semester and I have begun to learn how to become my own news feed. I have started reading the Daily Piper everyday and reading all the flyers that I used to walk past in the halls. I have begun to open my eyes and look for anything and everything that sparks my interest. I think everyone could learn a little from Jill and as an ESP mentor, I hope that I can also act as a news feed for my mentees until they can be their own.
By Carina Z Lei ‘14 ESP Mentor
Snapshot from February’s Fresh Friday’s activity
What to Look For...
Tuesdays @ 6:00pm: “In the Kitchen With…”
(C-House, 37 Mac St.)
Saturday, March 2 @ 2:30pm: Women of Color
Collective, movie screening and discussion: NO!
The Rape Documentary.
(C-House, 37 Mac St.)
Tuesday, March 5 @ 7:00pm: Xpressions! Dis-
cussing Identity and Power through the Body:
A Movement Workshop
(Hall of Fame, Leonard Center)
Thursday, March 7 @ 7:00pm: SPEAK! Series:
“Filmmaking & Social Justice” featuring Film-
maker Eren McGinnis.
(JBD Lecture Hall, Campus Center)
Thursday, March 14 @ 7:00pm: Tapas Series.
(C-House, 37 Mac St.)
Monday, March 25 @ 3:00pm: The Allies Pro-
ject training workshop for new allies.
(Campus Center 214)
Friday, March 29 @ 6:00pm: Fresh Friday.
(C-House, 37 Mac St.)
Christopher MacDonald-Dennis
Dean
Multicultural Life
Karla Benson Rutten
Director
Lealtad-Suzuki Center
Afifa Benwahoud
Department Coordinator
Multicultural Life
Demetrius Colvin
Assistant Director
Lealtad-Suzuki Center
Sedric McClure
Multicultural Counselor
Macalester Academic Excellence Center
DML Contact Information
For questions and suggestions, please contact us at x6243, Monday through Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
or email Afifa Benwahoud at [email protected].
Web: macalester.edu/multiculturallife
