Issue

Five

MCICA

in this issue >>>

Major Fall Events

Meet the Staff

Explore St. Louis

The MCISA Lounge

International Friendship Program

focus on

A semiannual insight into the Multicultural Center and International Student Affairs

Global Photo Contest Explore St. Louis: Fall Break >>>

2012-2013: The Rights of Indigenous

Peoples and Stateless Persons Sponsored by MCISA and Center for International Education

Join the MCISA and The Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies as we honor the Year of International Human Rights 2012-2013: The Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Stateless Persons. On Friday, October 19 our Explore St. Louis series will take us across the river to Cahokia Mounds, the preserved re-mains of the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico. We will also visit the Museum of Westward Expansion at the St. Louis Arch. This day long trip will include transportation, lunch, and all admission prices, for just $5 per current Webster student. Interested students should visit the MCISA House at 536 Garden Avenue to sign up.

Rules for Submission The Global Photo Contest is open to

current Webster University under-graduate and graduate students.

Photos can be taken abroad or domes-tically. Those taken in the United States should reflect a sense of cul-ture.

Photos should be high enough resolu-tion for printing. Only digital images will be accepted.

More than one photo may be submit-ted, but no more than five per partici-pant.

Judging will be done by members of the International Studies Committee and judged on artistic merit, as well as those that show strong global content.

Photos must be submitted electroni-cally to Christi Castonguay at ccastonguay77@webster.edu.

Participants must also submit a com-pleted entry form and Webster Uni-versity Photo Release form, which can be found at www.webster.edu/cie.

The deadline for photo submission will be Friday, September 28, 2012.

The MCISA and Center for International Education (CIE) are sponsoring a Global Photo Contest for current undergraduate and graduate Webster students. The winning photo will be displayed at the CIE offices in Loretto Hall, the MCISA student lounge, and will be fea-tured at the Small Wall Gallery exhibit this fall. Select photos will be featured in the CIE and MCISA newsletters, the CIE home-page, and the MCISA website. For fur-ther information, contact Christi Cas-tonguay at ccastonguay77@webster.edu. Last year’s first place winner:

Mongolian Baby

by Dohyun Lee

Location: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Mission International Friendship Program at Web-ster University fosters relationships across cultures, pairing international students with community members to experience life in the United States and advance awareness of global perspectives. Description Webster International Friendship provides an opportunity for international students to connect beyond the Webster University campus and helps them better understand our community. Participation gives both the students and community members an opportunity to learn about other cultures, have stimulating conversations, and make new friends. Through this informal program, interna-tional students will be matched with mem-

Get Connected >>>

International Friendship Program

For additional information or questions, please contact Bethany Keller, Interna-tional Student Affairs at Program at 246-7649 or bethanys@webster.edu.

To follow the International Friendship Pro-gram throughout the year, like us on Face-book at www.facebook.com/Websterinternationalfriendshipprogram

Explore St. Louis!

Meet the Staff >>>

MCISA Welcomes: Graduate Assistant Hassan Albahrani

Take advantage of the city you live in. Whether you are new to the area or a native of St. Louis, join the MCISA for a trip off campus. The MCISA hosts trips throughout the year to popular places in the St. Louis area. Transportation is always provided and the cost is always right for a college student budget. Explore St. Louis trips are taken monthly. To find out about our next trip, check the News and Events section of our website or stop by the office. Past trips have included: St. Louis Zoo, City Museum, The Fox Theatre, Meramec Cav-erns and Festival of Nations.

Hassan is from Alahsa, an oasis region in eastern Saudi Arabia. He moved to the United States in January of 2006 and received his Bachelors degree in Information System Management from Univer-sity of Akron in Akron, OH. He began his Webster career in October 2011, studying Information Technology Management in the Masters program. Hassan enjoys traveling, playing soccer, and watching movies. Hassan joined the MCISA in May 2012 in his first ever job. One of Hassan’s goals as a graduate as-sistant is to counsel and advise international and American minority students on a wide range of issues such as university policies and procedures; and academic advising. He also assists in coordinating cultural, recreational, educa-tional, and social programs for the general student populations. A major aspect of Hassan’s job is the planning and coordination of international student orientation for new international students. He provides a supportive welcome for all new international students, with services such as airport pick-up and trips to local re-sources, agencies, and cultural institutions. As an international student in the United States for almost six years, Hassan has the experience to provide advice to many situa-tions that international students might face. Come by to see him, he is friendly, welcom-ing, and always happy to help.

bers from the local community and enjoy interactions to promote the open exchange of cultural experiences, customs and ideas. Community members enjoy the satisfac-tion of making a significant contribution to the success of the international students’ time in the U.S. General Information The program is designed to foster new friendships that promote learning and ap-preciation for both community members and students. Webster International Friendship program may extend beyond sharing meals and could include invitations to international students to participate in family events, holidays, off campus events and excur-sions, exchanging phone calls and letters. Many people like to share meals, go on outings and celebrate holidays together.

MCISA Fall Events Join the MCISA for this monthly series that promotes, explores, and celebrates culture. Each month, MCISA offers cultural pro-grams that include discussion, live performances, workshops and presentations. Learn something new and meet some new friends. As always, your Cup of Culture will be served with refreshments. Join us this fall for…...

Monday Study Abroad Pecha Kucha 11am Sunnen Lounge Study abroad alumni and visiting students from our international cam-puses will captivate you with the rapid pace of a visual arts presenta-tion on their experiences overseas. Enjoy images of student travels and hear from students about their experiences studying abroad, whether abroad means Europe, Mexico, Asia or here in St. Louis. Monday International Education Expo 1pm UC Commons Explore international education opportunities available to you at Web-ster University. The Commons will feature booths highlighting each of our international campuses, study opportunities for international languages and cultures, international business internships, and much more! Stop by for information, to share stories, and ask questions about how you could internationalize your Webster experience! Thursday Cup of Culture - Amanda Koster "Imagine What you Can Do" 5:30pm Sunnen Lounge

Amanda Koster is an interna-tionally acclaimed photographer with a passion for finding and sharing stories of real people, human rights, cultural diversity and global equality. She asks you to ‘Imagine What You Can Do’ with the tools at your dis-posal to make a difference in peoples’ lives. Amanda shares examples of amazing projects she discovered in developing countries and the essays, videos, photog-raphy, and fund-raising that she helps facilitate. She will challenge you to create your own projects and get out there using social media and other resources at your disposal. Friday International Drum Festival 7pm Sunnen Lounge Enjoy drum and dance performances from around the world as the MCISA welcomes guest artists from diverse traditions to celebrate world music. We encourage you to learn new drum and dance tech-niques and join our celebration to close I-Week!

International Education Week November 5-9

Cup of Culture: Kye Allums Tuesday, October 9 12pm, Sunnen Lounge

While attending George Washington University, Kye Allums made history by coming out as the first transgender basketball

player to play openly on a Division 1 women's basketball team. Since then he has been devoted to making a dif-ference in the world by fighting igno-rance with education. The MCISA welcomes Kye Allums to Webster University, as he shares his coming out journey in honor of National Coming Out Day.

Cup of Culture: Andrew Jolivette Thursday, November 29 7pm, Sunnen Lounge

The MCISA welcomes Andrew Jolivette in honor of Aids Aware-ness Week and the Year of International Human Rights (YIHR). Professor Jolivette serves as the tribal historian for the Atakapa-Ishak Nation (located between southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas) and is an expert on mixed race identity, LGBTQ commu-nities, and HIV/AIDs awareness. His talk, "Indian Blood: Mixed Race Identity, Indigenous People, and HIV/AIDS" explores issues of inter-generational trauma, Native American cultural resilience, stress coping mechanisms, and identity poli-tics within the context of public health dis-parities---ranging from mental health in urban environments to political activism, and the sacred role of two-spirit, same-gender loving indigenous populations throughout the United States. 

Looking for more events by the MCISA?

Check our Facebook, our website, stop by the office

or check Involved@Webster!

It is the start of a new year and the Multi-cultural Center and International Student Affairs is happy to have students back on campus. For many of you this is your first time in college and for others, you are con-tinuing your studies. I too am a new stu-dent this year. I have just begun classes toward my doctorate in higher education. Once I was accepted into program I re-ceived a welcome letter. The letter stated that I would be graduating in May of 2015. Stating my graduation date is something that noted leadership author Stephen Covey writes about in his book 7 Habits of

Highly Effective People. The program wants my classmates and I to see the end of the process and firmly know what we working towards over the next few years. I want to toss this question out to all of you. When graduation time comes around for each of you, what do you want others to remember about your time at Webster? Do you want them to say that you avoided trying new things or meeting new people? Each of us has a choice of who we will be at the end of our studies. I hope you choose to explore different facets of your person-alities. I hope you meet people who will

challenge your thoughts and beliefs not in an attempt to change them but to show that you were open minded and in your studies and experiences and helped you shape your beliefs and positions on different subjects. The MCISA is a place where things can happen for you. Our programs and services will challenge you to think about things in a new way. The office will afford you countless opportunities to explore and to learn about yourself and others. I hope you become a person with a global world view when you graduate.

Multicultural Center and International Student Affairs

536 Garden Avenue St. Louis, MO 63119

314-246-7658

http://blogs.webster.edu/mcisa/ www.facebook.com/webstermcisa

multi@webster.edu

Colette Cummings, Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Multicultural Center

and International Student Affairs, offers some advice for the fall semester of 2012.

thoughts... final

Where is the MCISA Lounge

and what is ‘The Gathering’?

The MCISA Lounge is a space for all students to relax, watch tv, study, lis-ten to music, or just hang out. With comfortable beanbag chairs, a couch, flat screen tv, cable, and internet, it’s a great place to spend time between classes. The student lounge is open during regular business hours, Monday through Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm. The Gathering is a weekly event in the MCISA Lounge, every Friday from 3pm-5pm. Each week we’ll have snacks and host a different activity from Karaoke to board games. Students are encouraged to stop by the house to kickoff the weekend, meet friends, make plans, or just hang out. Check out the MCISA Facebook page for the most up-to-date Gathering activities!

ask the experts >>>

Easy Ways to Contact the MCISA

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