Work of art.

On Tuesday I was blessed enough to attend one of Ralph Moisa's workshops.
Maybe I’m just a sucker for these types of things… but I found myself so touched by the history and lives of Native Americans.

I was first moved when Ralph explained the symbols on the teepee—the colors especially. The teepee is outlined in circles created by the colors white, yellow, red, and black. Why? Because this is how the world describes themselves and others, by colors. I’m yellow, you’re black. I’m red, you’re white. Ralph enlightens us, “Yes, our identity is deeply rooted in these colors. We cannot have them prevent us from interacting with those who are different from us. The colors work together to form the circle. We must work together to form the world.”

That’s beautiful isn’t it? The world will be so much better if we work towards better it by breaking down walls and allowing ourselves to shine through others.

Another thing that I absolutely loved…

Every year, Ralph and his clan hold a huuuuge pow wow. They invite the public to participate with them. Not just that, but they invite people from many many cultures to join in and dance with them. This pow wow is a big celebration and an opportunity for Sudanese, Vietnamese, Irish, Thai, Cambodian, Indian, and etc. to dance together.

We are all different, that is what makes it beautiful.

We all work and play in harmony while embracing our similarities and differences, that is what makes a work of art.
Ralph briefly shared the heartbreaking history of Native Americans. He doesn’t dwell too much on it though. He acknowledges the horrible treatment that his people endured. Yet he tells us that we only need to know the history so that we can prevent it from repeating.
This is why he hosts the Pow Wow every year—so others can learn about his people’s past and work towards preventing anything like that from happening again.

How beautiful.

your's truly
Trinh

To learn more about Ralph Moisa and the White Eagle Pow-Wow please go to http://www.whiteeaglepow-wow.org/1.html.

Veterans Day

It's not surprising that Veterans Day hits close to home for most of us considering how many families have members who have served or are currently serving. When I think of past and current soldiers on this day, I always consider the amount of sacrifice that surrounds soldiers. There is the heartache of his/her parents, children, and spouse; the unimaginable physical and mental strain a soldier is under; and the emptiness of a country with all these young men and women abroad.

I think this Veterans Day in particular will be a politically charged one considering the war in Iraq hasn't been conclusive yet. However, I really hope that soldiers' names and contributions will not be quoted in vain or used in a political platform as has been done in the past. Even though I don't agree with war, that does not mean I look down upon soldiers. They are much braver than I and are very noble in their cause to defend people they know nothing about in order to maintain the security of the nation. Overall, I hope this Veterans Day serves its purpose, which in my opinion is for all citizens to show appreciation and empathy for all those that have served.

P.S. Intercultural Life will be selling patriotic silly bands for 50 cents each! You can choose from the Statue of Liberty, bald eagle, Liberty Bell, etc. in Maytag on Veterans Day (November 11) from 11-1 PM. All of the proceeds will go to a charity that sends care packages to soldiers serving abroad.

Felicia

Spirit Day: The Aftermath

In 2005 a school mate of mine wanted to start a Gay-Straight Alliance at our high school. Ours was the only school in the district that didn't have one and she decided that if even one person wanted such a club there must be others. Together we filled out all the paperwork, convinced our principal it was a good idea, and set to work making fliers and buying snacks.

Over the course of a year every poster we put up was ripped down. Twice, I caught upperclassmen scoffing at our work before tearing the posters from the walls. Only one poster survived because after being torn down once our sharp-eyed librarian made it her business to keep it on the wall and unharmed.

It didn't matter because word got out and people began showing up. We'd sit and talk about anything we wanted. We'd never had a club before and didn't know what to do, but we knew we could just talk. We came up with grand schemes.

"Let's buy out a movie theater and play RENT."

"What if we protest the football games for that time the quarterback called us fags?"

"No, we need to have a stand at the school fair where we give out resource materials and condoms."

"Our school doesn't have a school fair."

"Oh. Fine, we'll just hand out condoms. Take that school board."

None of these plans ever came to fruition but it didn't matter. We had somewhere to meet, somewhere to talk, and somewhere to be who we wanted to be without fear of being teased. I, having been too stubborn and the size of a high school student while in elementary school, had never felt the physical side of bullying. Instead I got to see the effects it had on those who either identified as LGBT or had been labeled that way by others. The pain each time someone talked about being called a cruel name, or being shoved in a locker was palpable.

Bullying is a serious issue in our society. Many times people will laugh it off saying, "Boys will be boys!" or "That's just the way teen girls act." But these bullies are leaving marks on the minds and sometimes bodies of children who will grow up to fear being themselves. Some don't even get to grow up.

Yesterday, to honor those who have committed suicide after being bullied for being LGBT, people across the nation wore purple. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) made the request that people wear purple and dubbed yesterday, October 20th, Spirit Day. On our campus many people took up the cause, which would explain all the purple you may have seen yesterday.

On behalf of Intercultural Life I would like to send out my thanks to those who participated and to those who didn't but still stood behind the efforts of GLAAD.

And as for the club started back in my high school? It fell apart not long after its president graduated, but that didn't stop one freshman from stepping forward and letting me know that the club had been something amazing. He told me that in that brief time he got to see that people could accept him for who he is and who he wanted to be. It encouraged him, and all of us, to stand up to anyone using "gay" as an insult.

Perhaps you, dear reader, don’t support LGBT issues. Perhaps it doesn’t mix well with your upbringing or religion or whatever. But surely that doesn’t mean you can’t support the idea of being true to who you want to be. I have met many people in my life and the ones who feel they can be open and honest about who they are linger longest in my memory. And I hope that because I do not fear being who I want to be, I will linger in their memory as well.

Consider as you go forward today, or tomorrow, or any day in the future: "Am I allowing those around me to live their lives how they want?" If the answer is yes, then thank you.

Have a wonderful day,

Izzy

Body Image

When we hear body image, we almost immediately think about women.  How women are treated because of their bodies and the negative views of the media.  But what about men?  Don't men have bodies too?

This year Love Your Body Day will be held on Oct. 19th. While love yourbody.nowfoundation.org is a great resource, and worth looking into, this educator has a problem with their sole focus on women.  An article titled, "Masculine gender roles and differentiation: Predictors of body image and self-objectification in men" talks about how media and other factors influence men, just as they influence women.  While both sexes feel pressure, they feel it in different ways.  Men often feel pressure to be muscular and strong whereas woman feel the need to be thin (Schwartz,Grammas, Sutherland, Sifferet,Bush-King, 2010).

Unfortunately, these concepts have some truth.  As an athlete I understand the desire to be thin, muscular and strong.  However, there is a fine line between being healthy and being self-destructive. The problem with this is, who's the judge? Who sets this standard, this unreachable goal? We often blame the media. It's the media's fault that they portray such skinny girls and bulky boys as ideal.  But it's not truly the media's fault, I feel its more of a cycle.  We criticize celebrities for having the "ideal" bodies, and complain how ridiculous it is to look like them, but when the public sees a normal body shape, they criticize that too.  

While there is no true solution to the problem (at least not a quick fix) of these "ideal" images floating around, we can change what we're going to do about it.  We can change our own view of body image and how we see ourselves.

Intercultural Life will be doing an event in honor of Love Your Body Day (tentatively) Tuesday, October 19th in Maytag from 11-1:00.  We will have a table set up where you can make your own button to show how you are changing your perspective about body image.  If we create a positive image of ourselves, we can hopefully creative a positive image for everyone. 

We hope to see you there.

Your Intercultural Educator,

Shannan O.

Teja Arboleda: Crossing the Line a Complete Success!

'Ello internet loves. This is Izzy taking over the blog to give the post show run down! Prepare for some awesome.

Tuesday night, despite pouring rain a sizeable crowd filed into the theater in Maytag and prepared themselves for a show about crossing the metaphorical line between funny and downright offensive. Speaker Teja Arboleda began his presentation and instantly earned points by asking for something most college students secretly long for. Involvement.

That's right, it was a show of shouting out answers and ideas while being delighted and horrified by the words that have escaped the lips of famous politicians, comedians and shock jocks.

(What's up with the term "shock jock" anyway? Just curious.)

Students were shown clips of outrageous comments and insults while being asked to think critically about why the people running for public office would say such things. The question was also raised to think on what we say. Why can some people throw around terms like the n-word or b-word and get pay raises while others can't? Can taking back a word from those who would use it against you really negate its harmful meaning? What role does intent play in the words we use? These were just some of the questions students were asked to ponder.

After the show there was delicious apple cake and conversation as Teja and the students talked about race, religion, sexual orientation and why any of it matters in the long run. Many students said afterwards it was great to not only listen to a speaker but share their opinion afterwards. And the cake didn't hurt either.

And now, as I put off my post-show evaluation, I see positive and stunning reviews for our show!

"It was great!" Said one anonymous student.

"This should have been required!" Said another.

Oh yeah, it was a good show.

So, a million and one thanks to the wonderful students and teachers and everyone else who attended our show. We here at the Intercultural Life Office would like to remind you that every time you attend one of our events an angel gets their wings. Or we smile a lot because great events make all our hard work worth it.

We'd also like to give a huge thanks to Linda Laine of the Communications department for inviting us into her class and encouraging students to attend. And thank you catering for the beyond delicious meal you prepared for us and our guest.

Until we meet again,
Izzy

Welcome to Intercultural Life

Welcome to our very first blog!  Our goal for this blog is inform students and the surrounding community about our events as well as to have discussions about various issues we find important.

 This office is made of 5 student employees, known as the Intercultural Educators (Shannan, Izzy, Trinh, Jessie, and Felicia).  There is also Sarah who is the assistant to the director, she keeps this office running.  And we have Brandyn, the director of Intercultural Life, who is smart and interesting to say the least.

We do have an event happening TONIGHT!  We are proud to present Teja Arboleda in Crossing the Line.  Teja will talk about why some people can say a word or phrase that others cannot.  It should be a very interesting show and we hope to see you there!  7:00 pm in van Emmerik, upstairs Maytag.


Your Intercultural Educator,

Shannan