Maryland Leadership Conference

This weekend I had the amazing opportunity to go on the Maryland Leadership Conference.  It is put on by the Peer Leadership Council here at the University of Maryland.  It was an opportunity to meet other students on campus that are passionate and seeking to "leave their mark" on this campus during their time as college students. The focus of the retreat was the idea of leadership in relationship to the idea of social change.

It was exciting and encouraging to meet other students who want to adress serious issues facing our community today.  It's especially exciting to see freshmen who are eager to get involved and unafraid to ask questions.  As a senior I look back and wish that I could have realized all of the people working on campus that are here to help and to encourage us in finding and living out our passions. Often times these issues go ignored. How can we begin to try and address them without first acknowledging them and engaging in conversations with one another? While the trip was a short two days we got to know one another on a deep level and new friendships were formed.

The six social issues that we delved into were discrimination, poverty, environmental sustainability, mental health and wellness, education, and health care.  These are all issues that we, as college students, are affected by both directly and indirectly.  What is most exciting is that we were given the opportunity to work together and bring back everything we discussed to campus.  For example, the sustainability group is enthusiastic to start a campaign to make UMCP a plastic water bottle free campus.  The poverty group is starting a group Terps Against Poverty  (name is stilll in the creation stages) with exciting ideas about bringing students and the local communities together to raise awareness and create change on the issue of poverty. These are just two examples. 

As college students at a large university near the nation's capitol we have amazing opportunities waiting at our feet.  We need to reach out and grab them.  If you are interested in any of the issues discrimination, poverty, environmental sustainability, mental health and wellness, education, and health care and want to engage in the discussions surrounding them please feel free to contact me (sjovanne@umd.edu) and I will connect you to the right people. Even if you weren't on the retreat you can still join in and engage in these conversations and invitations to action. In the spring semester there will be another conference called MOSAIC on issues of diversity in relationship to leadership.  Even if it doesn't sound like "your thing" I have found that the places where I've grown the most are the places where I've pushed myself to go outside of my comfort zone. I would STRONGLY encourage students to go. I know I will be signing up!

Four years is a short time, but if we really put our minds to it and work together we can accomplish really great things!

Peace,
Sasha

Brown Bag Lunch Series

I thought that this was an interesting opportunity for students to get involved with.  MICA (Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy) is holding a "Cross Cultural Brown Bag Series" allowing all members of the campus community to come together and discuss important issues.

Through my internship in the Community Service-Learning office I've noticed that these conversations about "civic engagement" and social issues are common among the faculty of the university, but rarely engaged by the wider student body.  The university is a place of learning and, I believe, that it's important to have all ideas being put out on the table so that we can learn from one another's experiences.

It's exciting that there are more spaces are being given for students and faculty to listen to one another.

The next brown bag lunch will be held on Monday November 9th and the topic of discussion will be Latino/as in the military during WWII.  The brown bag lunches are held in the Stamp Student Union, Student Involvement Suite, Terrapin Rooms B & C, 12:00p-1:30p.

Until next time,

Sasha

To protest or not to protest?

(Gerald Martineau/the Washington Post) Yesterday students and staff met at Nyumburu Cultural Center to march down to the Administration building in protest of the cuts on the Office of Equity and Diversity.  The protest made it into the Washington Post as well as the Diamondback this morning.

Members of the UMD community were given the opportunity to write down their feelings and post them on the Administration building.  Students and faculty declared, "Without diversity, there can be no equality." Various students expressed that the UMD self proclaimed ideals of diversity was what brought them to the university.

I have heard critics ask, "What is the point of the protest?  What can students actually do?"  That attitudes assumes that we have no say in our experience as college students.  It implies that our time here is a serious of experiences and actions done to us, rather than us being a part of the decision making process. 

No one denies that the budget cuts are serious and that the whole university hasn't been impacted.  I feel that students are voicing concerns that we are being ignored in the decision making process.  The students and faculty are equally affected by the decisions of the administration.  Students are asking for transparency.  At the very least we are asking to be informed rather than just being told after the fact. By protesting students are saying enough. 

We have come a long way as far as diversity, but we still have a long way to go.  Issues of diversity are not solely for minority groups, but affect us all equally.  There is so much that we have yet to learn from each other.

On Tuesday Novemeber 10, 9p students and faculty will again meet to discuss next steps. 

Diversity?

I think most of us can remember the process  of applying to UMD.  I recall a strong emphsis on this idea of diveristy.  The university prides itself as being a diverse campus.  What does all of this talk of diversity mean?  Is diversity having a rainbow of skin colors on campus?  Is diversity bringing a group of people with wide ranging experiences and backgrounds?  Is diversity both of these things?

According to the, recently drafted,  Diversity Plan Draft diversity is "all the ways we differ as indiviuals. It includes visible differences such as age, gender, ethnicity, and physical appearance; as well as underlying differences such as thoughts styles, religion, nationality, socio-economic status, belief systems, sexual orientation and education. It means respecting, valuing and harnessing the richness of ideas, backgrounds and perspectives that are unique to each individual" (ASME).  In addition the University of Michigan points out that diversity "should be a source of mutual enrichment to all members of the university community."

So what does this all mean with the restructuring of the office of Equity and Diversity (which includes the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education, Nyumburu Cultural Center, and the office of LGBT Equity)? As Nehama mentioned Dr. Cordell Black, Assistant Provost of Equity and Diversity Cordell Black, has worked at the university for years fighting for marginalized groups on campus with the idea that diversity is essential to the "excellence and enrichment" of the the university.

Students are not taking the matter lightly.  Last night there was an emergency meeting to discuss the restructuring of the office of Equity and Diversity and Dr. Cordell Black.  This morning's Diamondback article is titled Students furious over diversity official's ousting.

In response to last night's meeting there will be a march on the administration building starting at 12p at the Nyumburu Cultural Center.  Let your voices be heard!

-Sasha

UJC General Assembly

Hey guys,

I've been given an incredible opportunity and I'm so excited about it that I thought I'd share it with you all early! I'm attending the General Assembly (GA) of United Jewish Communities next week and can't wait. The GA is a HUGE gathering of Jewish leadership from around the world that comes together on an annual basis to discuss Jewish leadership, current issues, and have plenaries, forums, and workshops for current and emerging leaders. It encompasses the political, business, and non-profit realms while bringing together leaders of diverse ages and backgrounds.

The GA is taking place in DC and I applied for a chance to go for free--and got it! There are lots of amazing speakers who will be there, and I will be sure to update you about everything next week. As of now, I know that President Barack Obama and Prime Minister of Israel Benyamin Netanyahu will be speaking there. I was also invited to a student event at the Israeli Embassy where Ambassador Michael Oren and past Deputy Prime Minister of Israel Natan Sharansky, among others, will be speaking. 

If you've ever met me, you know that I freak out when meeting important people, and get more a bit more excited than I should. I can't wait to share my experiences with you next week!

-Nehama