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Volume 2, Issue 5
Multicultural Affairs
Washburn University Morgan Hall, 110 1700 SW College Topeka, KS 66621
Email: [email protected] www.washburn.edu/mao
Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm
(After 5pm by Appointment)
Dona K. Walker, Director Rachel Williams-Glenn,
Office Assistant
Student Organizations 2
Calendar of Events 3
Happy Holidays 4
Multicultural Affairs In Action 5
Campus Activities 6
Scholarships & Internships 7-9
Awareness Month Corner 10
Special Events Around Topeka 11-12
Inside this issue:
Multicu ltural Affairs
Newsletter
December 2012
MMISSIONISSION
Multicultural Affairs promotes awareness of cultural diversity and multicultural issues. The office serves as a resource and referral center for faculty, staff, students, and local
communities. In addition, the office enhances educational development about diversity and
multicultural issues and advocates for stu-dents’ needs on campus.
Check us out on Facebook!
washburn.edu/diversity
facebook.com/wudiversity
Page 2 Multicultural Affairs Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5
Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO) Contact: [email protected]
Meets Wednesdays at 5pm in the Cottonwood Room, Memorial Union
Indigenous Nations Student Association (INSA) Contact: [email protected]
Asian American Association (AAA) Leadership needed
Washburn Black Student Union (WBSU) Contact: [email protected]
Meets Mondays at 7pm in the Blair Room, LLC
Washburn NAACP College Branch (NAACP) Leadership needed
Multicultural Student Group Contact: [email protected] if interested
Questions? Contact Multicultural Affairs at [email protected]
Multicultural Affairs Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5 Page 3
December
ON CAMPUS 1st — World Aids Day; See page 10 for more information
4th — CAB presents Cram Jam from 7-8 pm in Lower Level, Memori-al Union.
4th-7th — Student Success Week
7th — Last Day of Classes
10th-14th — Finals
14th — Residence Halls close at 6pm
14th — Fall Commencement from 6:30-8:30pm in Lee Arena, Petro Allied Health Center
8th-16th — Hanukkah
25th — Christmas
26th-January 1st — Kwanzaa
IN THE COMMUNITY Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site is hosting Denis Defibaugh’s Dia de los Muertos photographic exhibit from 9am-5pm until December 9th.
Page 4 Multicultural Affairs Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5
Hanukkah
Christmas
Kwanzaa
Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days and nights. The holiday either starts in late November or December. In Hebrew, the word "hanukkah" means “dedication.” According to Jewish law, Hanukkah is one of the less important Jewish holi-days. However, Hanukkah has become much more popular in
modern practice because of its proximity to Christmas. Common traditions in-clude lighting a Hanukkiyah (8-candle candelabrum), spinning the dreidel (4-side spinning top with Jewish letters on each side) and eating fried food.
Christmas is both a sacred religious holiday for Christians and a world-wide cultural and commercial phenomenon for non-Christians. The holiday takes place on December 25th. For two millennia, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature. Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a
spiritual leader whose teachings form the basis of their religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive.
Kwanzaa is a 7-day secular festival that aims to strengthen African cultural identity and community values while providing a spiritu-al alternative to the commercialism of Christmas. The festival runs from December 26th through January 1st. Common tradi-tions include having a child light the nightly Kinara candle, dis-
cussing one of the seven principles and sharing elements of African/African American culture. The black candle is lit, placed in the center on the Kinara and the principle of unity is discussed on the first night. An African feast called the Karamu is celebrated on December 31st.
Page 5 Multicultural Affairs Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5
December Holidays Crossword Puzzle
Please submit answers to Rachel in the Multicultural Affairs Office to receive a prize.
Across 1. Plant hung during the Christmas season and used as an excuse to king someone
2. The name of the candleholder used during Kwanzaa
4. The December holiday in which red, green & black candles are used
6. Four-sided spinning top used to play a Children’s game during Hanukkah
7. The number of candles used in the Kwanzaa candleholder
8. The number of candles used in the Hanukkah candleholder
Down 1. The name of the candleholder used during Hanukkah
3. What was used to decorate Christmas trees before electric lights were invented?
5. The Christmas celebration in which blue or purple candles are used
Page 6 Multicultural Affairs Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5
Stories of Diversity: A Call for Your Story
W ashburn University Diversity Initiative (WUDI) would
like to introduce ourselves and our diverse background
to first-year students by featuring stories from the Washburn com-
munity within the First Year Experience Textbook.
Here’s how you can help:
Share your story!
Keep in mind that Washburn broadly defines diversity to include gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation and identity, disability, age, religion
and national origin.
Please email your story as a non-attachment text to WUDI Com-
mittee Member Dennis Etzel Jr. at [email protected] by
December 7, 2012.
This event is open to faculty, staff and students.
Page 7 Multicultural Affairs Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5
The deadline for the Living The Dream, Inc. Art, Essay and Po-etry competitions is December 10th. Please see
www.ltdtopeka.com/forms.html for the application (s), eligibility requirements. (You will need to scroll down on the webpage bar
to access the application form (s) as they are the third, fourth and fifth forms on the page).
High School Student Opportunities
Page 8 Multicultural Affairs Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5
The AAUW is offering fellowships and grants to U.S. and International Women Scholars in a variety of areas for 2013-2014. Deadlines for the vari-ous awards range from November 15, 2012 to January 15, 2012. Please see http://www.aauw.org/learn/fellows_directory/index.cfm for more infor-
mation.
The UNCF/MERCK Science Initiative is offering science scholarships, in-ternships and fellowships. Applications must be submitted by December
3, 2012. Please apply online at umsi.uncf.org.
Families USA is accepting applications for The Villers Fellowship for Health Care Justice. This is a 12-month paid fellowship that takes place in
Washington, D.C. from August 2013-July 2014. The deadline for The Vil-lers Fellowship is January 23, 2013. Please see http://www.familiesusa.org/fellowships/ for more details including the application.
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund is offering the General College Scholarship to people of Hispanic heritage. This scholarship is available for undergraduate or graduate students. The applica-
tion deadline is December 15, 2012. Please see http://www.hsf.net/innercontent.aspx?id=460
for more information.
Page 9 Multicultural Affairs Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5
The Udall Foundation is accepting applications for the 2013 Native Ameri-can Congressional Internship and the Udall Scholarship. The Internship
Deadline is January 31, 2013 and the Scholarship deadline is March 1, 2013. If you are of Native American or Alaskan Native descent, please see http://
www.udall.gov/OurPrograms/OurPrograms.aspx for more information.
K-State is accepting applications for their 2013 Summer Under-graduate Research Opportunity Program until February 15, 2013.
Please see www.k-state.edu/grad/surop/surop.html for more de-tails including the application and a current list of eligible subject matter.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) is accepting applications for the 2013 Summer and Fall Congressional Intern-ship Programs. The deadlines are January 25, 2013 and April 26,
2013. If you are of Hispanic descent, please see http:www.chci.org/internships/aspx for more details including
the applications.
Page 10 Multicultural Affairs Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5
World AIDS Day World AIDS Day is held on December 1st each year and
is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight
against HIV, show their support for people living with
HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World
AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the
first one was held in 1988.
Quick Facts:
HIV is a virus that weakens the human immune system by de-
stroying important cells that fight off infection
Overtime, HIV can destroy so many cells that AIDS develops
AIDS is a syndrome (collection of symptoms and signs) that’s
acquired
People are diagnosed with AIDS if they have one or more spe-
cific opportunistic infections, certain cancers or a very low
number of CD4 cells.
HIV transmission can occur when body fluids (e.g. blood, se-
men, pre-seminal fluid, vaginal fluid, breast milk) containing
HIV from an infected person enter the body of an uninfected
person
HIV CANNOT enter the body through unbroken skin
Early detection is vital to maintain a healthy
lifestyle if diagnosed with HIV
Positive Connections offers free rapid HIV testing Monday – Friday from
9am-Noon & 1-4pm at 1001 SW Garfield Ave, Ste 4. Please call 785-232-
3100 for an appointment.
They also offer a monthly HIV Positive Support group; please call 785-232-
3100 for more information.
Page 11 Multicultural Affairs Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5
Page 12 Multicultural Affairs Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5
African American Writers Book Discussion Group
Please join Vince Omni as he facilitates lively discussions
about books written by African Americans. Check out or
purchase your own copies of the books to read for discussion.
When: Every 3rd Thursday at 7:00pm
Who: Adults 18+
Where: Topeka & Shawnee County Public
Library
January 17, 2013
On Black Sisters Street
by Chika Unigwe
February 21, 2013
Revolutionary Suicide
by Huey P. Newton
March 21, 2013
The Blacker the Berry
by Wallace Thurman
April 18, 2013
The Warmth of Other Suns
by Isabel Wilkerson
May 16, 2013
Half-Blood Blues
by Esi Edugyan
