December 2014
Issue: 11
EXPRESSIONS
Cultural Conversations Series: "Rape Culture on Campuses"
Professor Judy Kutulas
 
The November Cultural Conversation, "Rape Culture on College Campuses," was facilitated by History Professor, Judy Kutulas and was also the first collaboration of the Multicultural Affairs Office (MCA) and the Wellness Center. Professor Kutulas presented some thought provoking information and her use of historical particulars generated interesting questions and comments from the participants. She emphasized that St. Olaf College, and colleges in general, need to work toward actively changing the culture surrounding rape. History, as highlighted in her PowerPoint, has led to rape victims being afraid to report what has happened to them because of the lack of support from the community. Professor Kutulas also hinted at the paradoxical relationship rape culture has with our societal perception of women, where women were "responsible for maintaining purity in relationships" and that led to the idea that rape victims brought on the rape. For example, in the past women were responsible for maintaining the lustful minds of men, and not behaving in any way that would attract the wrong type of men because men were known to take women by force.

Professor Kutulas also introduced rape as a "crime of power" which has made the fear of rape prevalent in the lives of many women. Professor Kutulas ended her presentation sighting a number of legal acts, including the Jeanne Clery Act (1990) that called for the reexamination of college policies across the nation. She also emphasized that "legislation and rules don't solve the problems," and reminded everyone of the It's On Us campaign in the hope of instilling in us that, as students, we are responsible for one another. This month's Cultural Conversation reminded the audience that it's up to the students, faculty, and staff to change the culture of the college and make it a safer environment overall while also being a more welcoming community for rape victims.
 

-Deme Brown '18

Faculty Lecture and Workshop: "Integrating Diversity Conversations into First-Year Courses" 
 
Dr. Amanda Taylor

On November 6, 2014, a group of faculty and staff gathered for a lecture and workshop titled "Integrating Diversity Conversations into First-Year Courses." Critical race theorist Dr. Amanda Taylor, American University led the lecture, which addressed how an educator can create the conditions for crucial course conversations. The lecture first defined terms, explored why not speaking speaks loudly, and introduced the importance of the two Cs: "capital C" and "small c."  "Capital C [is about the] course-level texts, themes, concepts, ideas, narratives, discourse in which you put the students in conversation through the curriculum;" On the other hand "small c [focuses on] classroom-level, everyday interactions (both verbal and non-verbal) between teachers and students, between students and students."  Dr. Taylor stressed the importance of the two Cs coupled with having crucial classroom conversations (CCC) and setting the conditions for the CCC.  

 

Immediately following the lecture was a hands-on workshop for faculty to explore their spring 2015 course ideas, course designs, or syllabi to identify diversity rich content and to develop strategies for facilitating productive class discussion with diverse groups.  A faculty learning community will take place during the spring semester, during which participants will design specific strategies for fostering conversations about diversity and to follow-up on implementation of these strategies in courses in progress. 

 

The lecture and workshop were organized by Diane LeBlanc, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Kristina Medina-Vilari�o, Assistant Professor of Spanish, and Sindy Fleming, Director of Multicultural Affairs, with the support of The Academic Innovation Fund.
Random Coffee Hour Hosted by the MCA Program Assistants

  

Sindy Fleming and the MCA Program Assistants
On Saturday, November 22nd, the MCA Program Assistants organized a Random Coffee Hour at the Larson Blue Lounge with the idea of randomly pairing up Oles for conversation and offering snacks, hot beverages such as Turkish coffee, regular coffee, and tea. The PAs goal for the event was that student participants would break the ice and engage in conversations of often controversial nature while exchanging personal perspectives and bonding with a peer through sharing experiences. They did this by surprising the participants with prompts on their snack plates; mainly questions that touched upon social issues such as race, privilege, religion, ethnicity and culture, sexual identity, mental health, both global and specific to the St. Olaf campus.

The event seemed to smoothly transition from a "get-to-know a stranger," event to an atmosphere of more meaningful conversations. The setting played a huge role in providing the right atmosphere: the lounge was arranged to look like a real coffee-shop, the PAs and their advisor, Sindy Fleming were assigned waiter roles, and live background music was provided by The FEDS, a new international student band. Although not all the 50 people who had initially signed up were able to attend, the event made for a successful one as there were other students who showed up and covered the empty spots. 

-Dorontin� Berishaj '15

Dinner and Discussion:  Integration of Diversity in the St. Olaf Curriculum 
Professor Kristina Medina-Vilari�o engaging in conversation with students

 

On October 30th the Diversity Awareness House hosted its first Dinner and Discussion. The conversation was led by Professor Kristina Medina-Vilari�o from the Spanish Department, who proposed the topic of discussion: "Integration of Diversity in the St. Olaf Curriculum."

Guests gathered in our cozy living room to share some of their personal experiences with diversity at St. Olaf, as well as to reflect on the actions we can pursue to provide a better understanding of diversity at our college. We emphasized the importance of defining diversity; not as something strictly delineated by race or skin color, but rather as a paradigm that is expressed and lived through the different manifestations of human life. Embracing the beauty of those differences is what can make us grow and be better people.

The Diversity Awareness House will be hosting dinner discussions throughout the year.

-Chandreyi Guharay '16

In This Issue
November Cultural Conversations Series
Faculty Lecture and Workshop: "Integrating Diversity Conversations into First-Year Courses"
Random Coffee Hour - Program Assistant Event
Diversity Awareness House Dinner and Discussion
International Awareness Week
Native American Heritage Celebration
Hmong New Year
Africa Week
Student Organization Advisor Lunch
Overcoming Racism Conference 2014
Diversity Awareness House Holiday Party
 
Awarded Scholarships

Ronald E. Hunter Endowed Scholarship

Martin Luther King Scholarship

Class of 1987 Scholarship

Class of 1990 Scholarship

Hartwig Scholarship

Hoeft Scholarship

Class of 1960 Scholarship

Patten Endowed Scholarship

Katherine Olson Schol

If you would like to contribute to the Fund please "click" the button above.




Upcoming Events
  • Trivia Night - Sponsored by the MCA Program Assistants - January 17, 2015
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - January 19, 2015
    • Reception and Keynote Speaker, Rev. Dr. David Forbes, Sr.
  • Cultural Conversations Series for students with Professor Anant Rambachan - January 15, 2015
  • Black History Month - February 2015
  • "Defamation" A Black History Month Interactive Play - February 11, 2015
  • Penumbra Theater Trip - "By the Way, Meet Vera Stark" - February 13, 2015
  • Cultural Conversations Series for students with Professor Corliss Swain - February 18, 2015
  • "Dear White People" A Black History Month Film and Discussion - February 20-21, 2015
  • Lunar New Year - February 21, 2015
  • Chai-Town Performance - February 27, 2015
  • Cultural Conversations Series for students with Professor Eric Fure-Slocum - March 18, 2015
  • Building Connections Alumni Dinner - March 20, 2015
Please visit our Events Web Page for more information.

St. Olaf College
Multicultural Affairs~Visit our website!
 St. Olaf College, 1520 St. Olaf Avenue, Northfield, Minnesota 55057
Contact us at [email protected] or 507-786-3060