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| Boniuk Center for Religious Tolerance Newsletter |
January 2009
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Greetings!
We hope the New Year is off to a good start for all of you. We are back at work after the campus Winter Recess, and are busy planning a full slate of activities and events for the spring.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you who made donations to the Center within the last few months in response to our annual general funding request. So many people are struggling and are having to adjust to stark new financial realities in their lives and businesses. We weren't sure how many people would be willing or even able to give. Many of you, however, made your contributions anyway despite the difficult economic circumstances.
Thank you so much for your generosity. We are so grateful to you, and will give our best to honor your trust in us to fulfill the mission of peaceful coexistence for Houston and beyond.
Please read below for the upcoming events of the next few weeks and months. I want to draw special attention to an event coming up this week - Thursday evening at 7pm - on the Rice campus regarding the current conflict in Gaza. Students from three different organizations at Rice representing a broad range of views have come together to create a panel discussion presenting divergent perspectives on this difficult issue. You can find more details below.
As always, thank you for your interest in and support of the Boniuk Center, and for making a personal commitment to the practice of tolerance, respect and compassion in your daily life.
Best Regards,
Dr. Jill Carroll
Executive Director
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Crisis in Gaza
Thursday, January 15, 7pm
Herring Hall 100, Rice Campus
Three student organizations at Rice - the Muslim Student Association, Houston Hillel, and The Rice Student Forum on Israeli-Arab affairs - have come together to present an important panel discussion on the unfolding events in Gaza. The event will include panel presentations by four Rice scholars as well as questions and answers from the general audience. Panelists include: Dr. Ussama Makdisi, Prof. of History Dr.. Ranan Kuperman, Visiting Prof. in Political Science Dr. Timothy J. Fitzgerald, Prof. of History Dr. Daniel Cohen, Prof. of History The event will be moderated by Dr. Jill Carroll from the Boniuk Center and the Department of Religious Studies. This event is free and open to the public. Seating is available on a first come, first served basis. Click here for the Rice campus map to find Herring Hall and parking information.
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The Gold: A New Musical
The Story of a man in search of the gold
The Boniuk Center is proud to partner with Arts with an Impact, a non-profit organization dedicated
to empowering generations through the arts, and Miller Outdoor Theater to bring the production of a new musical, The Gold, to the public as the Center's annual Holocaust Remembrance activity for 2009. This free, family friendly event will be held on Friday and Saturday May 1st and 2nd and spreads the universal message of compassion, courage, perseverance and tolerance. While the event is free, tickets are required for covered seating. To learn more about this event, please visit: The Gold. The Center has committed a substantial amount from its general operating budget to the production of this free public show. We are currently seeking underwriters and individual donors to help support us in presenting this important event to the Houston public. For information on the different giving levels and
their benefits please see our Giving Levels. If you are interested in sponsoring or underwriting the event, please contact our office at 713-348-4536 .
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Free Speech, Hate Speech
Series to Begin in February
 We are kicking off the New Year with our Bridge Builder Series starting in February. Our guest speaker Prof. Robert O'Neil will be presenting "Speech in the University: Both Freer and Less free than Elsewhere".
The lecture will be held on Rice Campus in Herring Hall 100 at 7:30pm. Click herefor the campus map and parking information.
Prof. O'Neil is the founding director of The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression and former president of the University of Virginia. He served until June, 2007, as a member of the University's law faculty, teaching courses in constitutional law of free speech and church and state, first amendment and the arts, and a new course entitled "Free Speech in Cyberspace." In the spring of 2009, he is a visiting professor at the University of Texas Law School in Austin. He has written several books, including The Rights of Public Employees (second edition, 1993), Classrooms in the Crossfire (1981), Free Speech in the College Community (1997), The First Amendment and Civil Liability (2001), and Academic Freedom in the Wired World (2008) as well as many articles in law reviews and other journals.
Prof. O'Neil's lecture will be the first half of a two part lecture series dealing with "Hate Speech in the University". Our second speaker, Prof. Alexis Tsesis, will present in March, and to conclude the series we will have a small, structured round table discussion in April for 25 participants who attended both presentations in their entirety. More information on how to sign up for the round table will be available at the lectures.
Our intention in this new, added format for our Bridge Builders Series is to bring people together from different perspectives for meaningful discussion and engagement.
Please join us for this event! It is free and open to the public.
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The Golden Rule
A Discussion of its Universality
The Center's Executive Director, Dr. Jill Carroll, will moderate a panel discussion sponsored by the Institute for Spirituality and Health (ISH) at the Texas Medical Center on the theme of "The Universality of the Golden Rule." The discussion will take place on Thursday, January 28 from 3-5pm.
Dr. Richard Materson, CEO and President of the ISH will provide an introduction. Additional panelists are: Rabbi Emeritus Samuel Karff, Rev. Dr. John Graham, and Deacon Dr. Robert Hesse.
The event will take place at the Institute for Spirituality and Health (ISH) located at
8100 Greenbriar, Suite 220. Parking is free.
The registration fee for this event is $25.00 Clergy and bona fide students may attend for free. Please RSVP to Jerri Doctor @ 713-797-0600 or jdoctor@instituterh.org
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Public Lectures on Islam
Boniuk Center Scholar Heba Khan
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Tolerance Lapel Pins
 Hundreds of these stylish pins go out every month from the Center's offices to people all over the world. They are a free and easy way to keep the goals of tolerance, respect and compassion front and center in daily life.
The tolerance lapel
pins are a great gift to share with friends or family members and are
still absolutely free. Send in your request for one today!
To get your free lapel pin, simply contact us with your full name and postal mail address. Email us here with your request.
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"Peaceful Coexistence" Radio
Join Dr. Jill Carroll, Kym King and Calvin Preece every other Friday from 10-11am for the Center's radio show "Peaceful Coexistence" on Houston's Pacifica station KPFT 90.1FM. We interview interesting guests, discuss religion in the news, provide information about different religious communities, and promote tolerance and understanding among people of different faiths. If you miss us "live" you can listen to all our past shows on your computer via podcast. It's simple! Click here to go to the Center's podcast archive. |
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