Hello Everyone,
I am guessing that many of you do not know me. My name is Sharlene Toney and I am the co-convener of the Teachable Moments Committee for the IU Commission on Multicultural Understanding. I am also an alum, staff member, and associate faculty member at IUB. I have been a supporter of the First Nations Education and Cultural Center since its opening. Becca and I have also worked together on various projects.
Needless to say, it has been incredibly upsetting to continually hear of the problems that have occurred and the ultimate lock out of the offices. I have been talking with Becca and thought that the Teachable Moments Committee might be able to work with all of you on a large scale program this fall that would bring attention to the struggles and need for a center. Becca asked that I post my idea to get feedback. So here goes....
Take a moment to view the YouTube video below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo
Now imagine if we could bring together 200-300 students, faculty, & staff who would commit to doing this at 2-3 specific times on one particular day, prompted by the bell tower on campus. We could create 3-4 different t-shirts in the colors from the center's logo and on the back of each have a different "fact" -- something that you feel would be important for others to know who may not be aware of what is happening or what the experience is like for a Native student coming to IUB. In addition, it could have day, time, location of a program that can be attended to learn more.
Clearly this type of program would take many volunteers, however, I truly believe that it would be possible and extremely powerful if done well. The Teachable Moments Committee has $2,000 a year allotted to programming, so we would surely, with the buy in of the other members of the committee, foot the cost of the t-shirts. If this is an idea that people like, Kathy Byers, Director of the Bachelor of Social Work program here has already offered access to students in Social Work classes to see if there are students interested in being involved. I also have many contacts in the theatre department and could solicit theatre students who may be interested in helping.
I would love to know what people think.
Best,
Sharlene
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4 comments:
Sharlene,
I think this is an exciting idea. That's VERY generous of Teachable Moments to possibly fund the t-shirts.
Given the timing, some people have told me that IU administrators may just wait for the controversy and community support to die down. I think this would be a fun way to draw attention without ending in a bunch of Native students going to jail.
What does everyone else think?
Becca
Just in putting feelers out to see what kind of other support might be out there -- Darrell Ann Stone in Student Activities has said that there are definitely people in her office that would help get other students involved.
In addition, I would guess that we could seek other financial support from the CuE Program. My guess is that this would be something they would be interested in being involved in.
Sharlene
How about...
1% of 1%
why?
Per stats that show one percent of college students are Native and of those Natives who attain college degrees only one percent get their PhD's.
Love the 1% of 1% idea!
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