Congratulations, Ashley (saffold) hines! - Multicultural Student Center

The Official Newsletter of the UW-Madison Multicultural Student Center October 2011
what’s inside?
MSC news bulletins...pg 2
Documentary film-making tips from
Parvez Sharma...pg 2
Submit a program or workshop for the
R 3 symposium...pg 2
Congratulations to Ashley (Saffold)
Hines on her recent wedding...pg 3
Get to know faculty member Karma
Chavez...pg 3
What do recruiters look for in
potential employees?...pg 5
Insights from a City Year alum...pg 5
Opportunities to get involved with
your community...pg 5
contact us:
716 Langdon St • 2nd Floor Red Gym
Madison WI 53706 • (608) 262-4503
http://msc.wisc.edu
Follow us on Twitter
@UWmulticultural
Like “UW-madison multicultural
student Center” on Facebook
upcoming
events:
fACILITATION 101
Oct. 20, 6-8pm, MSC Conference Room
Basic facilitation skills training with
application in social justice learning
contexts. Please RSVP to
clin@studentlife.wisc.edu.
PAssINg The mIC
Oct. 20-22
7th annual intergenerational spoken word
series. For a list of performers, times and
locations visit omai.wisc.edu.
RIChARD DAVIs
Oct. 24, 7pm, Red Gym
See performance by UW-Madison faculty
and jazz legend. Part of the stew & friends
public events series.
Tapestry
The Navajo people of the Southwestern region of the United States are well known for their
weaving traditions. Navajo textiles often have strong geometric patterns and originally
served utilitarian purposes. However, early colonization and trading turned weaving into a
commercial enterprise that has become one of the chief elements of Navajo economy today.
Learn more about the effects of colonization on Native Americans on pg. 6.
G.R.O.W. Class of 2011
(full story on pg. 4)
UNRAVeLINg The mODeL mINORITY
sTeReOTYPe
Oct. 26, 12pm. 159 Education Building
A conversation with Dr. Stacey Lee. Part of
A Common Read events.
LgbT CAmPUs CeNTeR gRAND
Re-OPeNINg CeLebRATION
Oct. 27, 4-6pm. 123 Red Gym
Welcome the LgbTCC to their new space
with food, fun and tours.
fILm sCReeNINg: The WAITRess
Oct. 25, 7pm, Memorial Union TITU
Part of PAVe’s and eVOC’s programming for
Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
NAChO AVeRAge WeDNesDAY
Oct. 26, 5-6:30pm, MSC Lounge
Come meet new and old friends! Bring
yourself and your appetite, and we provide
the nacho fixings.
Grassroots Organizing
Weekend (GROW!)
Top row (left to right): David Wright, Niko Magallon, Damon Terrell and Sawyer Denning.
Third row (left to right): Jamey Henning, Robert Figueroa, Raighne Mitchell-Luft, Danny
Meloy, Kara Bissen, Ryan Young, Lisa Diaz, Cecilia León, Rebecca Pons, Allie Gardner and
Jennifer Knox. Second row (left to right): Anjali Misra, Cristina Lor, Vania Guevara, Malú
Machuca Rose, and Misti Smith. Front row (left to right): Cynthia Lin, Ben Fox, Tia Nowack,
Isidora Finkelstein and Beth Huang.
kIDs NIghT OUT
Oct. 28 and Nov. 18, 6-9pm
Eagle Heights Community Center
Volunteer by playing games, making crafts
and watching movies with kids. Email
cwc.familyresource@gmail.com for details.
APIA U LeADeRshIP 101 TRAININg
Nov. 5, 8:30am-7pm, MSC Lounge
Free training by the Organization of
Chinese Americans (OCA) focusing on
Asian & Pacific Islander (APIA) students to
strengthen and develop identity and build
leadership skills. For more details visit the
curriculum website. Deadline to register is
Nov. 1. You can find the registration form
online.
VeRNON ReID
Nov. 7, 7pm, Mitchell Theater Vilas Hall
See performance by the guitarist, songwriter
and bandleader of Living Color. Part of the
stew & friends public events series.
1

The Official Newsletter of the UW-Madison Multicultural Student Center October 2011
*msc news bulletin
CONgRATULATIONs, AWARD ReCIPIeNTs!
Two MSC staff members, Donte Hilliard, Director,
and Cynthia Lin, Social Justice Educator, received
Academic Staff Awards from the Madison
Academic Staff Association in celebration of their
accomplishments in the 2010-11 academic year.
Cynthia also received the Grassroots Leadership
College Bread and Roses Award, an honor to those
who secure the basics in life for community members
and seek beauty and strength in empowering people
to organize.
Danez Smith, our 2011 Multicultural Orientation and
Reception feature performer, recently placed 6th
overall at this year’s Individual World Poetry Slam,
which took place in Cleveland, Ohio. Check out
danezsmith.com to find a list of future performances
by one of the best (slam) poets in the world!
LIke Us ON fACebOOk.
The MSC has moved to a Facebook page,
“UW-madison multicultural student Center.” Like
us to stay up to date on events, job opportunities and
campus and community news postings. You can also
view photos and videos from our events and share
your opinions with us through interactive questions!
geT INVOLVeD WITh TAPesTRY.
Do you know an outstanding alum, student, faculty
member or organization? Do you have a cool event
coming up? Have you or your organization been
involved in something phenomenal? We invite you to
contribute to our newsletter, Tapestry, by submitting
event information, announcements, news or feature
articles, and/or photos! Please email Rachel Kuo
(rkuo@studentlife.wisc.edu) to send materials.
story submission deadlines are:
November: 11/7 Winter: 12/12
February: 2/13 March: 3/12
Graduation: 4/17 Summer: 7/19
event submission deadlines are:
November: 11/11 Winter: 1/14
February: 2/17 March: 3/16
Graduation: 4/20 Summer: 7/14
3
Madison, WI March 15-16, 2012
Parvez
sharma’s
tips on
documentary
film-making
Students and community members came to hear Parvez Sharma,
an internationally acclaimed documentary film-maker, kick off the
Institute of Justice Education and Transformation (IJET)’s speakers
series at his talk on A Jihad for Love, the first documentary film
about queerness and Islam. A few lucky students also attended a
documentary film-making workshop.
Looking to make a documentary yourself? here are three of
sharma’s tips on getting started:
1
registration & submissions
As a capstone to our year-long focus on Faith or Justice?: Ironies, Inequalities
and Ideologies, the Multicultural Student Center and Institute for Justice
Education and Transformation (IJET) will be sponsoring a symposium on Race,
Religion and Representation on March 15 and 16, 2012. We invite you to get
involved and submit a proposal for a performance, presentation or workshop
or register to attend.
sUbmIssION INfORmATION:
Deadline for submissions is Tuesday,
November 15, 2011. See form for
additional details.
DOWNLOAD sUbmIssION fORm:
http://msc.wisc. edu/socialjustice/
R3submissionform.pdf
You don’t need fancy equipment. iPhones and most handheld
Flip cameras all have HD-quality video technology so you can
record, edit and upload in record time.
TOPICs Of INTeResT mAY INCLUDe:
Intersections of race and ritual violence;
intersections of religion, social justice and
the media; tensions within and between
faith and justice movements; humanist,
agnostic, polytheistic and atheist
approaches by people of color to religion
and/or justice; race religion and the body
We live in a digital democracy where
everything lives on the internet, so
share your work on social media sites
like YouTube.
Don’t be afraid to shamelessly selfpromote
your hard work.
sports update:
This October, UW-Madison celebrated our 100th
Homecoming. Aside from welcoming back alumni
and celebrating a decisive 59-7 victory over the
Indiana Hoosiers, we want to congratulate Montee
Ball, Wisconsin football junior running back. ball
was named the big Ten Conference’s Offensive
Player of the Week after the October 15 game.
2
3
(i.e. sexuality, gender, ability); and the role
of secular and religious sacred texts and
other symbols.
RegIsTRATION INfORmATION:
Registration for the symposium is free.
If you need to reserve lodging, please
contact the Lowell Center with the code
R3 or book it online. Deadline for preregistration
is March 2, 2012, but reserve
lodging as soon as possible to guarantee
space. On-site registration will be
available, but conference materials will be
given on a first-come first-serve basis.
DOWNLOAD RegIsTRATION fORm:
http://msc.wisc. edu/socialjustice/
R3registration.pdf
2

The Official Newsletter of the UW-Madison Multicultural Student Center October 2011
Karma R. Chavez is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric in the
Department of Communication Arts and an affiliate faculty member
of Chican@ and Latin@ studies. Also the co-founder of the Queer
Migration Research Network, Chavez has explored the politics and
practices of queer theory, feminism and critical race perspectives. Her
research has focused on the relationship between two of society’s most controversial
subjects—immigration and sexual orientation. Her main interest lies in the social
movements of these marginalized groups and their intersections. She says LGBTQ issues
also contribute to the current prejudices and discriminations against immigrants.
“People of color are already more likely to be profiled by law enforcement. We also know
that gender non-conforming people are more likely to be harassed or stopped unfairly.
So if you’re a trans person of color, who is an undocumented immigrant, you are at an
increased risk for being profiled.”
Chavez believes integrating queer and feminist analysis into immigrant rights will create
many possibilities for alliances with other groups. She is currently working on a book
called Queer/Migration Politics, and she hopes that her future work will continue to
spread awareness and bridge the gap between immigrants and the LGBTQ population.
-Shelby Lewis, Student Life Intern
karma Chavez intersects
queer and migration politics
A conversation with
gene Luen Yang,
author of American
Born Chinese
Gene Luen Yang is a graphic artist, author
and advocate for comics in education.
His graphic novel, American Born
Chinese, winner of the American Library
Association’s Printz Award, is featured as
part of this year’s school of education
Common Read theme: “Perceptions,
Assimilation and Identity.” His novel
focuses on how three different characters
try to fit in while struggling against
cultural and personal identities.
Recently, Yang gave a public talk at UW-
Madison on how comics can be a medium
for harmony, cultural convergence and
education. For Yang, comics have helped
him bridge the divided worlds between
writing versus drawing, between east
and west and between cartooning and
teaching. The balance has allowed Gene
to be able to proudly say, “I am an Asian
American cartoonist and teacher that
writes and draws.”
In a conversation with Tapestry, Yang
discusses his own interpretations of
growing up as an Asian American and
American Born Chinese (ABC) and what he
hopes for the future.
“We are in the midst of defining a culture
for ourselves that draws from both
mainstream American culture and the
roots we got from our parents,” he said.
“It will take a lot of creativity and a lot of
ingenuity to do that in all fields.”
Yang is also interested in exploring the
complex nature of parental relationships.
He published Level Up earlier this year, a
graphic novel about an Asian American
video game fanatic who is forced to go to
medical school. Yang expressed his own
struggle in blending the wisdom of his
parents advice with his own desires in
order to find fulfillment as an individual.
Looking into the future, Yang is very
excited about where the new generation
is headed ten years from now. He explains
how he believes minorities will and can do
in media and pop culture.
“Doing our own thing, whether it’s
business or the arts, is historically part
of how we’ve established ourselves.
Circumventing the hierarchy that already
exists is a great thing for us. For example,
if you look at all the big Asian stars in
American cinema, all the people that
everybody knows like Jet Li, Jackie Chan
and Bruce Lee, all of them had to establish
a career outside of the existing American
hierarchy.”
He added, “The way that technology
is going, the Asian Americans that are
coming of age now are going to be able
to do that without actually having to go to
Asia, because the internet is a subculture.
They’ll be able to establish themselves in
this subcultures and translate their success
in subculture to wider American culture.”
For more events and information about
a Common Read, please visit http://
commonread.education.wisc.edu.
We would like to
acknowledge the many gifts
of time and talent offered
by you, our stakeholders,
and we would like to extend the
invitation to further participate in
supporting our mission by clicking our
“Give Now” button.
*alumna update
Congratulations,
Ashley (saffold) hines!
Ashley Hines (right) and
Brandon Hines (left) outside
the iconic Red Gym doors.
Ashley Saffold married Brandon Hines on
September 10, 2011, exactly six years after
they began dating, at the Christian Faith
Fellowship Church, where they first met.
We could not be happier to congratulate
Ashley on her beautiful wedding and wish
her the best future possible.
Ashley graduated from UW- Madison
in 2010 with a degree in Human
Development and Family Studies-Child
Development. During her tenure as an
undergraduate student, Ashley, a McNair
Scholar, contributed to four professional
research studies, investigated health
and nutrition in Uganda, Africa via
study abroad, was heavily involved as a
MSC student leader through AFRICAN,
HISPANIC, ASIAN AND NATIvE AMERICAN
(AHANA) PRE-HEAlTH SOCIETY and the
Wisconsin Black Student Union (WBSU)
and was named the 2010 MSC Meyerhoff
Awardee. Ashley embodies what it means
to live the WISCONSIN IDEA through
leadership and service.
Now, living in Milwaukee, Ashley continues
to give back to the community by working
at the Medical College of Wisconsin as
a Global Health Program Assistant. She
also volunteers as the Program Director
of the CovenantGirl mentoring program
at Destiny Youth Ministry. Her future
plan is to become a pediatrician so
she can continue clinical communitybased
research in underserved and
underrepresented populations.
On her honeymoon, she kept up her
adventurous spirit
by snorkeling and
jet-skiing for the first
time in the Mexican
Caribbean. She hopes
to continue travelling
the world to learn more
about other cultures
while also serving those
in need.
-Martin Chiu, Associate
Student Life Intern
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The Official Newsletter of the UW-Madison Multicultural Student Center October 2011
Meet your trainers from US
Students Association, Jennifer
Knox and Vania Guevara!
Grassroots Organizing
Weekend (G.R.O.W.)
Lisa Diaz and Tia Nowack engage in a
role-playing activity to practice skills they
acquired over the weekend.
how did you g.R.O.W. as an organizer?
“I can apply these newly
learned skills to the
Student Labor Action
Coalition (SLAC) and also
towards my interactions
with other people. We had
relational meetings and
I found how important it
is to learn how to talk to
people. We learned how
to become better listeners
and how to share.”
- ROBERT FIGUEROA,
JUNIOR
“I had gotten my feet wet
[in organizing], but never
actually had the right
terminology down. It’s
not just semantics…it’s
important for people to
speak with the same words
to communicate the right
meanings. I also need to
get better at one-on-one
meetings and also need to
start doing more of them. “
- BETH HUANG,
JUNIOR
In small break-out sessions, students
brainstorm campaign strategies.
“I want to bring the
information from the
weekend to Wunk
Sheek meetings and
help people become
more organized in the
social justice field. It
was powerful to learn
everyone’s different
stories and hearing their
‘moment’ of wanting to
inspire change.”
-RYAN YOUNG,
JUNIOR
G.R.O.W. is a weekend-long community
organizing training by the Us students
Association (UssA), the country’s oldest,
largest and most inclusive national student-led
organization, which had its Constituational
Convention here at UW-Madison in 1946.
Over forty students, representing a variety
of student organizations from UW-Madison
and other system campuses (including:
UW-Stevens Point, UW-Parkside, UW-
Milkwaukee and UW- Fond du Lac), attended
the interactive, hands-on training to learn
basic theories and practices of community
organizing.
The two trainers, Jennifer Knox, a UW-
Madison and USSA alum, and Vania Guevara,
an Arizona State University graduate student,
trained students to: increase their power
on campus and in the community; develop
effective campaign strategies; overcome lack
of campus participation; increase organization
membership; build more effective coalitions;
and win concrete victories.
Jennifer
Knox, a
UW-Madison
alum, is now
a professional
organizer
running
community
campaigns in
Virginia.
Knox, a 2007 MSC Meyerhoff Award winner
grew up in Madison. Jennifer now works
with Virginians Organized for Interfaith
Community Engagement (VOICE), an affiliate
of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) as a
professional organizer. While she graduated
with a degree in Business Information Systems,
she discovered her passion for organizing
during her time as an undergraduate, when
she transitioned from her working class
neighborhood to live on the UW-Madison
campus. She compared the move as very
similar to studying abroad.
“Most of my friends at home didn’t go
to college, so I was always hunting for
community. I was the only black person and
only woman in my business tech program,
and it was a very politicizing moment to be so
separated.” she said.
Torn between being a student versus being
a local, Knox described the experience of
straddling two communities very polarizing
and frustrating.
“You need a little bit of heat and anger as
an organizer, and I harnessed that into a
new energy. By the end of freshman year, I
motivated and organized a number of seats
in the student government to belong to more
diverse body of students. We were fighting for
recruitment and retention.”
Knox was excited to return to Madison. To
her, being a community organizer is both a
vocation and life-calling. “I see a lot of talent in
the room,” she said of the current students. “It’s
seeing the possibility of some young people
finding that calling in organizing that I find
really exciting. It’s life-giving to work every
day with people in community, and its people
working together that can win. I love sharing
that experience.”
This event was co-sponsored by the the
MSC Institute for Justice education and
Transformation (IJeT) and The United
Council of UW students.
4

The Official Newsletter of the UW-Madison Multicultural Student Center October 2011
badger Perspectives:
Alimatu sirleaf, City Year
milwaukee Volunteer
Alimatu Sirleaf (center) with fellow City
Year Milwaukee Corps Members on the
day of Corps Graduation, including UW-
Madison alumna, Sasha Moore (far left).
“Own your experience.” Those
were the words of wisdom
passed down to me by a City
Year alumnus during my first
few weeks of training. I wasn’t quite sure
what that meant, but I felt compelled
to do just that. So, I embraced the
“squishy” moments, took on the
leadership opportunities, jumped into
the culture and, perhaps the most
important, devoted myself to my
students.
Those ten months flew by with great
speed. So much happened within that
time span that has helped to shape
my character. As a corps member, I
wore many hats with my service to
my students. I was a teacher, a tutor, a
mentor, an older sister, a counselor, an
event planner and so much more.
I thought that I was a patient person
before I came to City Year, but my
students taught me a whole new
meaning to patient. Tutoring sessions
could change into conflict mediation at
the drop of a hat. However, I learned
how to adapt to the ever-changing
situations of the day. The skills that
I developed during my service year
continue to help me today.
While serving as a corps member, I
realized that service is something that
I want to be apart of for the rest of
my life. That is why I am thrilled to be
working as a Children’s Associate for the
Sojourner Family Peace Center. I am
able to combine my love for education
and social service with this position.
I am very grateful for my time with City
Year Milwaukee. This was a life changing
experience that has helped to shape
me into the leader that I am today and
continue to strive to be for tomorrow.
- By Alimatu Sirleaf
Please visit CityYear.org for more
information on how to become a
volunteer.
volunteer corner:
On- and off-campus opportunities to get involved in service
CENTRO HISPANO is looking for
volunteer tutors who speak Spanish to
work one-on-one with middle or high
school students in assisting with school
work and participate in educational and
cultural workshops. If you are interested
in gaining experience in a Madisonarea
school, contact Tony villegas at
juventudcherokee@micentro.org.
THE RED CABOOSE AFTER-
SCHOOl PROGRAM at lapham
Elementary on East Dayton St. is looking
for after-school volunteers. Please
contact Brian Squire at b_squire@yahoo.
com for more information on getting
involved.
Like many other students, Monique Bryson, President of
Wisconsin Black Student Union (WBSU), took advantage
of the opportunity to connect with recruiters from over 30
companies and organizations at the Multicultural Career
and Internship Fair. The fair was sponsored by the College
of Letters and Science Career Services office.
kNOW hOW TO COmmUNICATe YOUR
sTReNgThs AND exPeRIeNCe.
“Make a strong first impression and
communicate your values by explaining
your choices and processes. It’s impressive
when you can walk people through your
decisions.” - Paul Taylor, Cooper Bussman
“We look for energy, leadership, outgoing
personalities, communication skills and
adaptability in potential employees. Don’t
be afraid to show yourself off in an interview
by telling us your stories of success.” -Kathy
Backstrom, Target
geT INVOLVeD As mUCh As POssIbLe.
“Volunteer and service experiences provide
graduates with transferrable skill sets in
time management, team leadership, data
collection, communications and critical
thinking.” - Kobena Marcus Collins, City Year
THE HUMANITY IN ACTION
FEllOWSHIP provides an opportunity
to go abroad in Summer 2012 to
Amsterdam, Berlin, Copenhagen,
lyon or Warsaw and work with other
college students and recent graduates
from around the world to explore
national histories of discrimination
and resistance. For more information,
visit humanityinaction.org online or
the Morgridge Center to find out about
more public service opportunities.
Check out @UWMulticultural on Twitter
for updates on more ways to get
involved. Email rkuo@studentlife.wisc.
edu to submit a volunteer opportunity.
employers give some tips on how to
stand out as a potential candidate:
“You can make yourself more competitive for
internships by taking on leadership roles in
classroom projects or student organizations.”
-Kathy Backstrom, Target
ReseARCh The COmPANY.
“Tailor your resume for the specific job
you’re applying for and be prepared for
questions that aren’t just technical-based.”
-Joel Harmon, Cargill
ACADemICs ARe JUsT As ImPORTANT
As WORk exPeRIeNCe.
“The key pieces to success are to keep your
grades up while also gaining working and
leadership experience.” - Ya Yang, General
Mills
“Internships are a great way to stand out
in the job market, and they provide a real
opportunity to combine course work with
real job applications.” - Eileen Williamson,
Inroads 5

The Official Newsletter of the UW-Madison Multicultural Student Center October 2011
Looking
forward
with
Winona
Laduke
As part of Institute for Justice Education
and Transformation (IJET)’s programming
theme of “Faith or Justice?: Ironies,
Inequalities and Ideologies,” Winona
LaDuke gave a public talk at the UW-
Madison campus on “Religion, Faith and
Land from a Native Perspective.” LaDuke
is an internationally recognized Native
American environmental activist working
on issues of sustainable development,
renewable energy and food systems.
Describing herself as a “peddler of
consciousness,” she spoke on how
both environmental sustainability and
awareness of indigenous faith can benefit
the future of American society.
Using the teachings of her native
Anishinabek people, she applied solutions
to issues of resource sustainability,
particularly in the areas of food, land and
energy. Her people, who believe that land
is sacred, emphasize a cyclical view of the
world that focuses on renewal and longterm
environmental conservation to build
an economy that is based on working
with land instead of owning, transforming
or changing it. She described how her
connection to her culture was also a
connection to the earth.
Certain foods, such as wild rice, are
sacred to the Anishinabek, and the act of
harvesting or “ricing” is both a spiritual
and sustainable action. In indigenous
culture, food, like land, has stories and
histories of its own.
“We need to liberate ourselves from the
paradigm,” she said as she discussed the
irony of how being too busy from work
has deconstructed society and created a
future where people do not know how to
cook foods properly.
“We have botched some things up,
because that’s what humans do. The
question is if you have the humility and
commitment to fix it,” she said. “We’ve got
a good land, and it’s worth fighting for.”
The Tapestry Editorial Staff is led by Rachel Kuo (Editorin-Chief)
and also consists of a team of editors and
writers: Benjamin Chang, Diana Macias, Kaoly Vue,
Lianne Estrella and Shelby Lewis (Student Life Interns);
and Martin Chiu (Associate Student Life Intern)
snapshots:
On October 10, Wunk sheek, a oncampus
Native American student
organization, promoted native
traditions and culture in honor of
Indigenous People’s Day, a countercelebration
to Columbus Day. The
day is recognized with the intention
of conveying a counter-narrative to
historical constructions of European
colonization. At the top of Bascom
Hill, a campus landmark for politicized
movements, students invited others
to answer questions about ways
that education has eliminated facts
about Native American history.
They juxtaposed information about
Abraham Lincoln, who is well-known
for legally abolishing slavery in the
North, but also partook in the largest
mass hanging of Native Americans in
the United States during the Dakota
War of 1862. Posters and artwork
shed light on modern issues of how
current fashion trends have diluted
native traditions. Through music, talks
and informational literature about
the effects of colonization on Native
Americans, students strived to generate
cultural awareness and start productive
dialogues.
AsIAN AmeRICAN sTUDeNT
UNION (AAsU) hosted a
speed-networking event as a
creative and fun way to meet
fellow students.
We are excited to announce a new addition to our
community! Bekah Blocker, a UW-Madison senior
pursuing a major in Communication Arts and a
certificate in Chican@ Latin@ studies, recently gave
birth on September 16 to daughter Selah Elizabeth
Blocker (pictured below) in Hazel Crest, IL. Bekah is
a former MSC Student Staffer, a first Wave hip hop
Theater ensemble scholar (2nd cohort) and a member
of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
(Right) For National Coming Out Day on October
11, Gabe Javier, Director of the LgbT Campus
Center; Donte Hilliard, Director of the MSC; and
Gethsemane Herron-Coward, a MSC Student Life
Intern, participated in a discussion panel about Danez
Smith’s one- man performance, “For Those Who Pray in
Closets.”
6