A reading of Wetback by Elaine Romero will be presented in the Withycombe Lab Theatre at 7:30 on Tuesday, Jan. 26. There will be a talk back after the performance and Ms. Romero will be present. This production is presented through a grant of the Memorial Union Pepsi Fund. The reading is free and open to the public. Due to the architecture of the Lab Theatre, latecomers cannot be seated. For more information contact Prof. Charlotte Headrick at 541 737-2853 or at cheadrick@oregonstate.edu.
In a January 14, 2016 post on the Black Girl Dangerous site, Chanelle Adams writes Why Calls for ‘Diversity’ On Campus Arent’t Enough. This post takes on the danger of campus diversity plans that focus on recruitment. My favorite quote is as follows:
This ‘just add and stir’ model for instant-diversity is flawed. It expects that once you add people of color, their flavor will dissolve into the bland white soup. But diversity does not work by some divine property of osmosis. And it certainly does not work when the effort comes from only one direction.
Adams focuses on retention and how people of color are positioned once they are on campus. It’s implied, but I think it’s worth bringing out that being a person of color doesn’t automatically mean that you are prepared for and/or interested in being a champion for diversity; there’s a basic fairness issue with assuming people of color not only want to be the cover photo for diversity but will automatically take leadership in addressing racial injustice.
Harold Levy, executive director of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and former chancellor of the New York City Schools, was interviewed on the Takeaway today. He says that the selective schools may have good intentions, but their admissions systems are heavily skewed. Listen to hear some specific examples. The interivew is online as A Roadblock for High-achieving Low-income Students. It’s part of the Takeaway’s Community College Challenge series.
SCHOOLS – the first and ultimate hope for integration – are generally ill-equipped to serve immigrant teenagers. The traditional paradigm relegates them to the sidelines. Yet, it is in school that the children of immigration determine where they belong in the reality and imagination of their new culture. I Learn America is a documentary that follows five students as they broach the issues of mastering English, family dynamics, gender identity, adapting to life in the United States, and more.
We will be showing this film on the Corvallis campus as part of OSU’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration 2016:
I Learn America
Wednesday, January 20, 6 PM
ILLC 155
Our co-sponsors are the College Assistance Migrant Program and INTO OSU. There will be a discussion after the film.
See our promotional flyer here.
Paul and Lara Messersmith-Glavin, from the Institute for Anarchist Studies, will present Organizing Against Climate Catastrophe.
Lara and Paul Messersmith-Glavin will discuss the lessons from a recent grassroots organizing effort in North Portland that canvased a neighborhood to determine people’s understanding of their own power to do something about climate change. In discussing and thinking together, residents began to realize that the climate change crisis offers the opportunity to build
a different kind of society.
Lara and Paul are board members of the Institute for Anarchist Studies, editors of the journal Perspectives on Anarchist Theory, and community organizers in Portland, Oregon.
Co-sponsored by the Anarres Project for Alternative Futures, Corvallis 350.org, Center for Civic Engagement, and Student Sustainability Initiative.