umec february 2014 newsletter

UNITY

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

5 Crafting Unity: Connie Soto Murphy Art Exhibit27 Diversity Monologues

4 Cultural Awareness Night: Vincent Who?25 Stand Against Racism

5 UMEC Study Break

Upcoming Events

the

inside this issue...Ally ConnectionCrafting UnityGU Iron Chef

January in JusticeUnpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Where Are They Now?BRIDGE CORE Announcement

March/April UMEC Events

March

MULTICULTURALEDUCATIONCENTERVolume 4, Issue 3 February 27 2014newsletter

april

Ally Connection

May

My name is Judi Biggs Garbuio and I feel truly blessed to serve as the Vice President for Student Development. All of my educational background revolves around education: elementary/special education (bachelors); higher education administration (masters); and international/intercultural (Ph.D.). I am excited to finally have an opportunity to integrate my passion for working with students and over thirty years of student affairs experience at a variety of institutional

types and locations into a dynamic Catholic, Jesuit learning environment.

Through the years I have seized various opportunities to delve into diversity issues on both a personal and organizational level. A watershed experience for me was creating a diversity education program that centered on four broad themes: Start With Yourself; All Oppression Hurts; Hear it, See it, Feel it, Change it; and Remember… You are a Work in Progress.

These themes continue to guide my work, whether it is when I collaborate with colleagues to create new initiatives such as The Zag Student Learning and Living Task Force or in re-engineering the Division of Student Development to focus on three areas: Student Engagement, Well-being and Healthy Living, and External Relations and Assessment. Diversity work never ends, but, it begins with providing a safe learning and living environment for self-exploration and interaction with “others” who bring their lived experience, as well as a different perspective, personality, and background to the table.

These interactions can be formal in a classroom or program or informal such as while students are working on a service project; running a student organization; living together as roommates; planning a program; or just hanging out in Crosby and the soon to be opened University Center. Hopefully through these interactions the students feel comfortable asking questions of each other and learning more about each individual’s personal story. The intent from these four years of ZAG interactions will be for the individual to reflect on each experience while clarifying their own values and passion so they can then ultimately go forth and be people for and with others and set the world on fire.

Gonzaga university unity multicultural education center

The recent Crafting Unity Series event on January 22, focused on bringing Gonzaga community together for peace

and justice through creating their own t-shirt.

Unity T-Shirt Making Crafting Unity


Annual GU Iron Chef

“I loved the GU Iron chef experience. The atmosphere of being with so many good cooks all working in a way against each other, but at the same time being willing to help each other with whatever each other needed was amazing. I also have never been so proud as I was when winning an award of a recipe that my dad created”.

Kenji Linane-Booey, GU Freshmen and People’s Choice Winner

“We signed up for GU Iron Chef with the hope to showcase the cuisine aspect of Vietnamese culture to GU community. Pho is one of the dishes which Vietnamese people are most proud of. And through GU Iron Chef, Pho has made its name known to more people across cultures”.

Chau Nguyen, GU International Student and Judges’ Choice Winner

Cultural Cooking CompetitionOn January 26, 243 Gonzaga students, faculty, and community members attended the 5th Annual GU Iron Chef which featured 12 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 Saudi Arabia, the United States, France, Germany and Vietnam. This was a collaboration between the Unity Multicultural Education Center and Zag Dining by Sodexo. The winning dishes (Chili and Pho) were recreated in the BARC Marketplace on February 9th.

Though many Gonzaga students are familiar with the Mission Possible programs organized through CCASL, a relatively small number are aware of the Center’s other immersion program, Justice in January. In the fall of my senior year I was looking for challenging experiences at Gonzaga. I wanted to leave the campus knowing that I had genuinely explored every aspect of Student Life. As I learned more about Justice in January, it became clear that it was the perfect program for me; a trip built around education and activism for immigration reform. Our excited but nervous group of 12 finally arrived in San Diego, and instantly we dove into the issue, however it was not just immigration that impacted our stay. During our trip we were confronted with the

Service Spotlight

BY DEONNA SMITH, GU SENIOR AND ACT SIX SCHOLAR

Justice in January Student Reflection

harsh inequalities of the world, touring a multi-million dollar beach front and homes in Tijuana with tires for foundation. Racial tensions were palpable and ran high. San Diego was a beautiful city, however the complex socio-economic, racial, ethnic, and religious undertones of prejudice were everywhere. I went on the trip hoping to understand more about our broken immigration system and as expected I left with more questions than answers. What I do know however, is San Diego gave me an entirely new look on profound inequality, but also, as the week went on and we met so may like-minded and dedicated people, I could not help but to be incredibly hopeful for the future.


Pictured above: The recent UMEC Dr. Peggy McIntosh event on February 4, focused on

unpacking privilege. Members of the audience were able to share their own experiences with the topic.

BY ASHLEY CARANDANG,

GU FRESHMAN

Un

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k Dr. Peggy McIntosh Event Reflection

On February 4th, 2014, nearly 270 Gonzaga students, staff, and community members attended the White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack event in the Jepson Wolff Auditorium. The norm has typically been that people of color express feelings of how whites have significant unearned privileges in comparison to their own lives, however, Dr. Peggy McIntosh, associate director of the Wellesley College Center for Research for Women, is one of the first to write about this topic coming from a Caucasian perspective. Dr. McIntosh also discussed the oppression women have with the presence of male privilege.

I enjoyed the way Dr. McIntosh got the audience to participate and interact with this topic by allowing people to partner up to discuss a moment they were oppressed, what factors make it hard for them to share their oppressions, and in what ways they have been privileged. From this exercise, I noticed how easily it is to focus on what brings us down in life but often times overlook the ways we are fortunate.

What I hope our campus can take away from Dr. McIntosh’s lecture is the ability to break out of our comfort zones to start conversations about the challenging subject of unearned privilege to ultimately promote more social justice and awareness.



Where Are They Now?Catching-up withGonzaga Alums

Name: Andrew Maldonado

Year Graduated: 2013

Major: Psychology with a minor in Business

From: East Menlo Park, California

Activities while at GU: Mens Club Volleyball, La Raza, Black Student Union, LEADS Mentor, BRIDGE Counselor, and Intramurals.

What are you currently doing since graduating? I am in graduate school for Clinical Psychology.

What do you miss most about Gonzaga? I would say that I miss the community at Gonzaga. Walking around that campus you feel like you are apart of a family.

What was your favorite moment at Gonzaga? Looking back at my experience at Gonzaga its hard to pin point one favorite moment because I feel like their were many. I would have to say serpentine was one, going to nationals in Texas with the Men’s club Volleyball team, every game in the kennel. Also my sophomore year when we had a snow day. It was my first time ever having a snow day and going sledding next to the lake.

What was one challenge you faced while at Gonzaga? One of the challenges that I faced while at Gonzaga is being able to manage my time. With having so much free time, I struggled with balancing my social life and my academics.

Were you able to overcome them? How so? After struggling with this a lot my freshman year, I quickly learned how to stay on top of my work so that I could use the rest of my time for my social life. I learned from my experiences and with some help from friends and supporting faculty.

What was your biggest takeaway from your Gonzaga experience that is most applicable to you after graduating?Pursue something that you are passionate about, and do not stop until you reach that goal.

What advice do you have for current Gonzaga students? Take advantage of every opportunity Gonzaga offers. And enjoy every second at Gonzaga. There is no other place like it.

What’s next for you? After finishing graduate school I hope to get my license in Marriage and Family Therapy (LMFT) and then get my doctorate.


Monologues by:

For more info contact: [email protected] (509) 313-5836

Jepson Wolff AuditoriumThursday, March 27 @ 7pmCome celebrate the POWER OF VOICE!

Unity Multicultural Education Center Presents

DIVERSITYMONOLOGUES

The 4th Annual

MEET THE 2014 SUMMER BRIDGE TEAM!

Chare’ GilliamProgram Coordinator

Ryan SongcuanLogistics Coordinator

Emmanuel”Manny” LopezPublic Relations Coordinator

B R IDGE

core

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