umec march 2015 newsletter

UNITY

502 e boone ave msc#2466, spokane, wa 99258 (509) 313-5836 [email protected]

26 Annual Diversity Monologues

23 Real Talk: If These Halls Could Talk

1 Mocktail Movie Night: Linsanity

Upcoming Events

the

March

inside this issue...Lessons from the Color of Fear

GU Iron Chef: Cultural Cooking CompetitionWhere Are They Now?

Cultural Awareness Night: Slavery by Another NameService SpotlightAlly Connection

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MULTICULTURALEDUCATIONCENTERVolume 5, Issue 3 March 24, 2015newsletter

May

Brazilian Mask Making Members of the GU community coming together in the Crosby Student Center to learn and create their very own Brazilian Carnival Mask on Wednesday, February 11.

Crafting Unity

On February 24, 2015, Victor Lewis and Hugh Vasquez visited Gonzaga University. They visited a classroom full of students, engaged staff/faculty in a workshop on building an inclusive environment, had dinner with student leaders and ended the evening with a forward-moving discussion on the state of race relations over the past twenty years to the present. The discussion was open to the Spokane community, as well. Vasquez and Lewis are two of the principal cast members of The Color of Fear, a breakthrough film about race relations during the last two decades in the United States. During the visit, Lewis and Vasquez drew upon decades of experience as educators and activists in multicultural work to offer strategies for individuals, the University, and the community in working towards being proactive in combating racism.

The lecture was co-sponsored by the following Gonzaga entities: Chief Diversity Officer, IMPACT, Center for Global Engagement, Black Student Union, Gonzaga Student Body Association, Housing and Residence Life, Division of Student Development, and Human Resources.

The Color of FearLessons from

BY DAVID H. GARCIA, UMEC ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Pictured above: Hugh Vasquez and Victor Lewis

Gonzaga university unity multicultural education center

Annual GU Iron Chef

“GU Iron Chef was an awesome experience that allowed us to not only showcase culinary skills, but also sample and appreciate cuisine from a variety of cultures”.

Connor Stoeser , GU Senior and People’s Choice Winner

Cultural Cooking CompetitionOn January 25th, 247 Gonzaga students, faculty, and community members attended the 6th Annual GU Iron Chef which featured 10 contestants in the Globe Room, Cataldo Hall. GU Iron Chef is a cultural cooking competition where members of the GU community present awareness about their respective cultures through the sharing of cultural dishes; to build a more inclusive GU community by allowing all members of the community to meet, interact, and experience the culinary aspect of various cultures. The GU community was invited to taste samples and cast a vote for their personal favorite. Attendees voted for the People’s Choice while professional culinary connoisseurs voted for the Judges’ Choice. The origins of the various dishes represented countries including Puerto Rico, the United States, South Korea Ethiopia, Mexico, and Italy. This was a collaboration between the Unity Multicultural Education Center, Center for Global Engagement, and Zag Dining by Sodexo. The winning dishes (Bulgogi and Julie’s Chicken Cassarole) were recreated in the BARC Marketplace.

“Before I came to Gonzaga University, I traveled about 40 different countries on 6 continents and I found out that people everywhere love sharing their food with others, and that it builds and enriches relationships. It gave me the idea that I would like to combine counseling with cooking as a therapy approach. I also found personally that cooking releases me from the intensity of counseling or any other stressful work. So these two reasons attracted me to apply for the Iron Chef cooking competition. In the past, there were people who loved the Korean dishes that I made, and one dish they especially loved was bulgogi, so that was the reason I chose it for this contest. Bulgogi (“fire meat”) was originally a favorite dish in the royal cuisine of King Joseon in Korea, but now it is popular with everyone in Korea. It was fascinating to see the diversity of foods and different cooking styles coming out of rich culture and history in the Iron Chef competition. I really think that it was not bad to start my year with a winning of Iron Chef cooking competition! I was so happy to win not only because of the honor, but because bulgogi will be presented in the dining room on campus. It is such a joy to share my culture and food with the Gonzaga family. “ ----Judges’ Choice Winner KiEun Jeon.

Pictured above: GU Graduate International Student and Judges’ Choice Winner KiEun Jeon.


Catching up withGonzaga Alums Name: Oscar Marmolejo

Year Graduated: 2013

Majors: Engineering Management

From: California/Spokane, Wa

Activities while at GU: La Raza Latina, GU Ski Club, GU Hockey, Act Six Scholar, Logistics Coordinator and Counselor for BRIDGE.

What are you currently doing since graduating? Entrepreneur: Owner and founder of Central Holdings, LLC. A real estate investing company.

What do you miss most about Gonzaga? The networking and community.

What was your favorite moment at Gonzaga? The relationships built and kept during and long after leaving.

What was one challenge you faced while at Gonzaga? Trying to keep up with everything I was involved with or what I wanted to be involved with at Gonzaga.

Were you able to overcome them? How so? Yes with having focus, desire, and dedication.

What was your biggest takeaway from your Gonzaga experience that is most applicable to you after graduating?The support from the community helping me to get ready for the real world and becoming a support system to other students as a mentor.

What advice do you have for current Gonzaga students? Network as much as you can and use as many resources as you can while you have them. There is so much potential do great things, and Gonzaga has many resources to unlock that potential.

What’s next for you? Growing my business, starting more, and giving back by teaching like-minded people.

Where Are They Now?


Student Reflection

There’s this part of history that no one ever got to learn about in classrooms. Years after slavery was abolished, there was a legal form of slavery that was going on. Through different laws that were passed, people were able to rent out prisoners and have them work for them while they were locked up in prison. Since this law was created, the incarceration rates of black community members went up significantly, having laws that were created in order to increase the incarceration rate of black people. This law changed the perspective on how people treated their workers because they didn’t actually own them anymore. This led to more abuse and a higher fatality rates among slaves, because if a slave got hurt, the land owners would just go and rent more slaves, ultimately not losing any profits. Since I grew up in California, I had this assumption that I learned about the most progressive and controversial time periods in American history. However, once I walked out from the screening and discussion, I quickly realized how the American school system filters most things that show the United States under a positive light. After walking out disappointed in our national school system, I saw how it’s up to us, as the future leaders of America to gain knowledge about these different events and educate everyone else about them. Through a ripple effect, we will be taking initiative in slowly ending the cycle of ignorance that has been in control of our generations.

BY AMAYRANI CHAVEZ, GU FIRST-YEAR STUDENT

Something that I deeply appreciate about Gonzaga is that there are so many different opportunities for students to learn about different social justice issues. This winter break, I was given the opportunity to travel to Tucson, Arizona with 12 other individuals through CCASL (Center for Community Action and Service Learning) to learn about immigration reform. To be frank, I had never thought of immigration as a social justice issue and as a first generation American myself, I wanted to immerse myself in a trip that could allow for me to explore this issue to form an opinion for myself.

A little backstory on me. I was born in Saigon, Vietnam and I immigrated to the states when I was only 1 year old. My father was a prisoner of war and was granted the opportunity to come to the states, which he took with no hesitation. As many have put it, we came here the “legal” way, and that was how I viewed immigration ever since I was little. Questions such as, “Why don’t they go through the process like other people”, or “Why come to the States for a better life” popped into my head, which makes me ashamed of my own privileges.

Service Spotlight

BY FRANCIS CHAU, GU SENIOR AND ACT SIX SCHOLAR

Justice in January Student Reflection

During this trip, I walked through the desert where I saw many backpacks and torn clothes discarded on the pathway. I learned about how women crossing with coyotes (people that assisted immigrants over the US border) had to take extra precautions such as birth control when traveling just in case something were to happen. I heard many stories of persecutions and people dying all because they wanted a better life. The question now is, “What now”. What am I going to do now that I have this information? At this moment, I plan to do more research and to continue to talk to people to learn about their stories. The power lies behind the story.


My name is Chris Purviance and I’m the Equal Opportunity – Affirmative Action Officer here at Gonzaga, serving students, staff and faculty. My career in Human Resources has focused on recruiting, conducting investigations into employee relations and harassment/discrimination issues, and creating training and awareness programs.

Upon arriving on campus in July 2013, I felt immediately at home. Many factors influenced the welcome I received including the people here and the alignment between my new position and Gonzaga’s mission. With the title of Equal Opportunity-Affirmative Action Officer, my job centers on helping to ensure welcoming, inclusive environments for all community members. But that work doesn’t happen in a bubble or in just one position. Creating partnerships around campus has been central to my goals throughout my time here, and will continue to be critical in creating inclusive, safe spaces for all individuals of diverse backgrounds.

I’m probably most well-known as the person who conducts investigations into concerns around campus. And that is certainly a critical piece in changing behaviors and creating the culture we want. However, I most enjoy the prevention and awareness work which includes collaborating with students, staff and faculty around campus. Some of this work involves collaborating on events and trainings with departments like UMEC. Other times, I work in the background, taking calls for advice from community members to help them manage situations directly. The more I and my colleagues can be a resource at these levels, the less likely situations are to rise to formal complaints. I’m always available to meet with groups around campus, set up a coffee meeting, or chat by phone! I can be reached at extension 5858, or at [email protected].

Ally

Chris Purviance, Equal Opportunity/

Affirmative Action Officer, Human Resources

Connection


umec march 2015 newsletter

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