Hello again bobcat nation, the shortest month of the year is gone and we begin our headway for the beginning of Spring. A few things that we want you all to be aware of. Don’t forget that you fall back, and spring forward, daylight savings time was on March 8th and we’ll be changing our clocks an hour into the future! And St. Patrick’s Day is on March 17th! Remember that the Georgia voting primary is March 24th, you can find information on your city’s polling place at your local courthouse. Or go online to ga.gov for more. And on March 31st, the Diversity Peer Educators will be having an event at 6:00 in Donahoo Lounge. This event, championed by school faculty, will focus on free speech, Georgia College values, and technology. In this event we want to break the historical context and hurtful truth of things that we may or may not say, whether alone or in a group. We want to talk about what it means to be sensitive and understanding of how technology and what we say affects those around us. On the front campus today, there was an SGA event, coordinated with other individuals, where a gathering for encapsulating two different struggles. The first being the struggle for civil rights / increased diversity on campus and the other being International Women's Day and the things that women on GC campus face. This past Sunday was International Women's Day, and women around the world went on strike. You can find more on womensglobalstrike.com but the gist of it is, is that if women stop, the world stops. Women all over the world, from America, to Pakistan, to Argentina, and many more, all went on strike. The stopped or slowed working, causing a purposeful rift in the world. Some women left work altogether, other women refused to do their “domestic responsibilities”. Leari Jones, is a GC student and an out spoken activist, I talked with her after the rally and this is what she had to say: “International Women's Day is just a section of what women can do. Just a small section of what women can do for the world ... It makes me feel proud to be a woman, [we are] strong and able." I also caught up with Sachen Pillay, the president of YDSA (Young Democratic Socialists of America) who feels that the rally serves the purpose of addressing the sexist and racist issues that are a pandemic to this campus:
Sachen: Its a platform for victims and advocates give a pointed and needed remark to the GC administration to effectively address these issues of diversity and women's issues on campus after so many promises that have not been met. We as student leaders and activists are fed up in the conditions that we have to live and [attend] school in and we want to make a statement to spread that decision and that consciousness. Didi: You said something about the promises that we keep being made by the administration, in the context of GC what action do you want to see them take? Sachen: I would like to see them make substantial efforts to recruit out of the predominantly African-American population of MIlledgeville. And he has a point, as Georgia is a rapidly diversifying state, why can’t GC diversify as well? As DPE’s we play a role in starting the conversations that need to be had but also continuing the conversation. Our goal is to educate, advocate, and help our fellow bobcats in anyway that we can. The fight for greater diversity can’t stop with us and as Leery and Sachen have proven, it won’t stop. Join us again soon for the next blog post and have a wonderful Spring Break bobcats!
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Hello again all and Happy Black History month! Before we get into the history of this month, a few reminders! The next DPE event will be on February 18th, @ 5pm in Chappell Hall, room 113. The event, called “Don’t Block the Vote”, will cover topics such as who has access to voting, voter suppression, why it’s important to vote and more! Included in the event we'll share a link for voter registration which you can find here: https://registertovote.sos.ga.gov/GAOLVR/welcome.do#no-back-button We find this topic rather important because everyone should be aware and be registered, so we hope to see you there! Following that, the Georgia 2020 Primaries will be held on March 24, so be sure to save the date! Now onto the juicy bits! The first thing you should know is that Black History month didn’t begin until 1915, and it grew from the original “Negro Week”. Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard historian, and Jesse E. Morrland, a minister, founded the ASNLH which then became the ASALH, Association and Study of African American Life and History. This organization, in turn, founded “Negro Week” on the second week of February because it was closest to President Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’ birthdays. The celebration took wind across the country and the Civil Rights Movement, along with many college campuses, extended the week into a month; also changing the name to Black History in the late 1960’s. Black History Month was officially recognized by President Ford in 1976. Since then Black History has always been a time of not only recognizing the contribution that blacks make to American Culture, but also a celebration of who they are as a people. Here are some of the more classic names you might recognize:
And speaking of president’s we can’t talk about Black History Month without talking about the first American Black President, Barack Hussein Obama II (b.1961). Obama was the 44th president of the United States of America and served two consecutive terms. Obama held office from 2009 - 2017 and though many people disagree with how he ran office, there’s no denying that he made history.
It’s important to celebrate those of the past just as much as it is to celebrate those of today. Black History Month, is a month for everyone to acknowledge, recognize, and pay respect to the black individuals who moved us forward. It’s also about just being loved and accepted. Black History Month added more love to the African American community than many realize and it should be revered by everyone. That being said, we hope that you enjoy the month and maybe come to understand your friends of color on a deeper level. Thanks for stopping by and we’ll see you again soon! https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month Hello again bobcats and bobcat conspirators! A few things since our post last week. On the evening of January 28, a student from GCSU was hit by a vehicle on the crosswalk of Liberty and Montgomery St. After which she was rushed to the hospital, she suffered from a broken leg and clavicle but is expected to make a full recovery. Keep her in your thoughts and wish her all the best as she gets better and please be careful when crossing the road Last Wednesday night the DPE’s had our first event of the semester “From the Outside.” The event was focused on language and cultural assimilation and we thank everyone who came out and participated! We showed a TED talk by Shivansh Srivastava that you can watch again here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPfKlXRfJXI . After which we held a short discussion before moving into a few games. The rules of both games vary but the central theme is that some people know the secret of how the game is played and others are left out and left guessing. We used this game as a representation of how some immigrants, refugees, and asylees may feel coming to America and not understanding our language or our culture and are left to guess and figure it out as they go. We had so much fun playing and we’re glad that you all left with an experience, understanding, or information you might not have had before. And finally, on Saturday, January 25th, one of our own DPE’s, Oliver Carnazzo made their way to Athens for it’s annual Social Justice Symposium! The Symposium was held at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Athens and was an all day event of four different sessions. The four Oliver visited were as follows: Queer Ecojustice (a documentary project about resilience of queer and trans people in climate disasters), Georgia Options (a non-profit that serves people with disabilities), and The Cottage (a non-profit sexual assault and child advocacy center). The Symposium is open to the public with the only necessity being that you RSVP. The event is an annual affair and we applaud Oliver for making the time to go this year. Make sure you’re keeping up with not only the DPE blog but also our social media and the Office of Inclusive Excellence monthly newsletter! Our next event will be on Tuesday, February 18th, at 5:30 pm in Chappell Hall, room 113, where we will be discussing voter registration and learn just who can vote under our constitution. Have a wonderful weekend and we’ll see you all again soon!
We hope you've all had an amazing holiday season, filled with love and beautiful moments! As with every semester there are some changes that we feel you might want to know, a long with news of our first event of the semester.
The first thing we'd like to address is a change within the DPE blog and the Office of Inclusive Excellence. As of the beginning of this semester, Sydney has made the tough decision to step back from writing the blog in partnership with Diondra. Sydney has a great passion for what we publish here but as her senior year draws to a close, she is dedicating herself to finishing strong in her studies. Now she'll still be a very active participant in our events, so when you see her on campus, say a hello and wish her all the best. The DPE's will also be coming under new management as of January 22nd. Dr. Veronica Womack has been given the opportunity to take on a new position and be relocated to Miller Gym and we couldn't be more proud of her! Mrs. Kimberly Moore, her Executive Assistant will be moving to Miller Gym as well so please stop by and see these two wonderful women, you'll be glad you did. Taking over as Director of the OIE will be Dr. Carolyn Denard, who earned her PhD in American Studies at Emory University and we are more than excited to welcome her to the OIE family! Along with her comes Shea Council who will serve as Dr. Denard's Executive Assistant and both women will be coming over from the Center for Student Success. Though we're sad to see familiar faces go they're in no way gone and we support Dr. Womack and Mrs. Kimberly in their successes. So, be prepared for the new friendly faces within the OIE! In other news, our very first event of the semester! From the Outside will be an interactive discussion about language and culture identity and the lines where the two intersect. We will address concepts such as America's cultural "melting pot", assimilation and what it means, the common identity that comes with knowing a language, the alienation some may feel of not knowing a language, and so much more! We will also be playing a fun game or two to help demonstrate the power that knowing a language and being a part of a culture can be. From the Outside will take place Wednesday, January 29th at 5pm in the Depot, room 107. The DPE's ask that you study hard and enjoy your semester! We hope to see you all at our events this year and even if not, don't be scared to say hi to us in passing or otherwise, we're here for you! Let's have a great semester together! Trans Day of Remembrance is coming up soon on Wednesday, November 20th of this year. Each November 20th is set aside as a day to honor the lives of transgender people who have died in acts of violence. This day was started in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who lost her life the year before. The goal of this day is to highlight the discrimination and danger that still exists for transgender people all over the world and actively work to end this.
The GC Pride Alliance will be tabling on TDOR in order to show our support of trans people on campus and all over the world. Stop by and write a note of support to the transgender community and pick up a sticker that shows you are an ally to the trans community. While the visibility for trans people in America has increased in recent years, we still have a long way to go to achieve equality for transgender people. Currently, violence against transgender women of color is exceedingly high. The Human Rights Campaign cited that at least 26 transgender or gender nonconforming people were violently killed in 2018, and these were overwhelmingly Black trans women. Click here to view a full list of the 22 transgender people who have been killed so far in 2019. We want to recognize and memorialize them since mainstream media does not give them the attention they deserve. Transgender people are simply trying to live their most authentic lives, like any other human being, but discrimination, ignorance, and harassment leave them vulnerable to extreme hardships. Before we can fully support and advocate for transgender people, we must understand the hardships that they face. Below are some statistics about the transgender community in America. There are at least 700,000 transgender people in the United States, but this is likely a conservative number because of the limited studies on the subject. “Transgender people face a lack of legal protection. While the federal government's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Education have recently taken steps to include transgender people under existing non-discrimination protections, there is still no comprehensive non-discrimination law that includes gender identity.” “In too many cases, this lack of legal protection translates into unemployment for transgender people. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS) found that 15 percent of respondents were living in severe poverty (making less than $10,000/year). For transgender people of color, those rates were even higher, with 34 percent of Black and 28 percent of Latina/o respondents reporting a household income of less than $10,000 a year." (Courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign- Understanding the Transgender Community). Barriers to healthcare and identity documentation are also huge issues among the transgender community. Click here to learn more about all of the issues. It is so important that we advocate and support our transgender family because it can literally be a life or death issue. We must honor those who have lost their lives in the fight of equality and the fight to live authentically. We must ask what we can do to help. At GC, some steps you can take to be an ally to the transgender community are by getting Safe Space trained through the HUB, attending Pride meetings every Tuesday at 7 pm, and taking it upon yourself to make sure you are educated on these issues. |
Diondra FranklinThis DPE will be keeping it 100 every time she takes pen to page, or really fingers to keyboard. Be on the look out every other Saturday for the tea of the week! Archives
February 2020
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