Admission
A Community of Cultures
Past Fall 2005 Events
SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR LECTURE
Casiano Hacker-Cordón '90, visiting assistant professor of political science, spoke on "Sandra Day O'Connor's Jurisprudence of Racial Inequality". Hacker-Cordón examined O'Connor's most influential decisions in the areas of affirmative action and race relations and comes to a very different conclusion. Through a reading of O'Connor's own decisive opinions on three crucial affirmative action cases, Hacker-Cordón revealed that the justice stood firmly in the conservative majority -indeed she personally constructed the language by which affirmative action has been virtually eliminated as a constitutionally viable policy option. He examined one apparent exception to O'Connor's conservative credentials: her formulation of a diversity rationale supporting the use of race as a factor in the University of Michigan Law School's admissions policy.
CRYSTAL CHEMRIS LECTURE
Crystal Chemris, visiting assistant professor in Spanish, presented a paper for the faculty roundtable entitled "The Góngora-Symbolist Parallel in the Poetry of César Vallejo."
Voz Workers Rights Project
Reed students taught ESL classes to day laborers while practicing their own Spanish and learning about labor issues.
Reed -Tubman Partnership
This well established partnership provided Tubman students with otherwise unavailable classroom assistance, after-school classes, and one-on-one mentor relationships while providing Reed students the chance to be involved with a more diverse community.
Hola! Hola! Spanish Language Program
Reedies will serve as teaching assistants at Grout Elementary School to help young kids learn Spanish.
Reed College Women's Committee Forum 2005 presents Satellite Sisters' "The Future Of Talk Radio: How Can Women Get A Word In Edgewise?"
Noni Benegas
Noni Benegas, an Argentine poet living in Spain and a distinguished member of the current contemporary poetry scene, read from selections of her poetry in Spanish.
Gray Fund presents Natya
Natya, a traditional Indian Dance troupe, featured six dancers performing a classical dance from South India in beautiful traditional costume.
"Attica: The 34th Anniversary of the Prison Insurrection."
Keynote speakers included renowned Native American activist "Splitting the Sky" and one of the original six Black Panthers-Elbert "Big Man" Howard. The speakers described the events that landed them at Attica Prison, how the insurrection began, how the event shocked the world, what eventually resulted from the riot, and how Attica pertains to present day. This portion of the event was the speakers' first-hand accounts of the event, as survivors of the riot. After the speakers have told their stories, there was a brief Q&A, then the 1971 Cinda Firestone film "ATTICA" will be shown.
William Arnett lecture
William Arnett, an acclaimed curator, author, and editor, lectured on "African American Vernacular Art: A Secret Language, A Hidden Tradition," exploring the often-overlooked aesthetic traditions of African American art in the American South.
Public Policy Lecture Series presents Noah Pickus
Pickus, associate director of the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, spoke on his new book, "True Faith and Allegiance: Immigration and American Civic Nationalism" (Princeton University Press).
"SI SE PUEDE" MURAL PROJECT
The Latino Student Union (LSU) launched the "Si Se Puede" mural project with an evening of art, food, music, and celebration on Friday, October 28, in the Student Union. "Si Se Puede" brought images of inter-American conflict and solidarity to the campus walls, building ties between Reed College, the Latino community in Portland, and social movements in Latin America.
Visiting from the 23rd of January (a sector of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas), muralist and community organizer Nelson Santana will present images of his work and speak about the role of public art in the Venezuelan social movement. Santana's artistic, political, and grassroots work spans a period of over two decades. His visit is an opportunity to learn first-hand about the political and cultural experience of Venezuela in a time of deep social and political transformations. Santana collaborated with Reed students to paint the "Si Se Puede" mural in the Lower Level of the Gray Campus Center.
Gray Fund presents: Harvest Ball
Portland's own Lions of Batucada rocked Kaul at Harvest Ball. The Lions of Batucada are a marching percussion ensemble play the syncopated, African-influenced dance music of Brazil.
ARTIST TALK: MONA HATOUM
Hatoum discussed her exhibition of video, photography, and mixed media sculpture on view at the Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery from November 1 through December 23, 2005. A Palestinian artist living and working in London, Hatoum's work has generated increasing excitement in the contemporary art world. Through her complex sculptural and multi-media work, she has consistently explored cultural dynamics of immigration, gender, and physical and psychological displacement, often using the personal space of the body and its products as a means for exploring broader cultural and political concerns. Over the past 20 years, Hatoum has created works as intimate in scale as an installation of tiny balls crafted from the artist's hair to enormous large-scale steel and marble sculptures based on common kitchen utensils.
RICHARD TWISS LECTURE
In his lecture, Richard Twiss, a Lakota Sioux, argues that the basics of Christianity were present in indigenous cultures prior to the coming of the Western missionaries, and that indigenous culture does not have to be given up to pursue "The Jesus Way." His unique perspective on religion, culture, and social justice challenge the mainstream ideas of Western Christianity.
LUIS WILFREDO BERRIOS LECTURE
A Salvadoran labor activist, Luis Wilfredo Berrios, spoke as part of a speaking tour organized through CISPES (Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador), PCASC (Portland Central American Solidarity Committee), and the Latino Student Union. Berríos addressed the current Salvadoran movement against the implementation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and plans to construct a U.S.-run police academy in El Salvador (the ILEA).
"CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT " EXHIBIT AND FUNDRAISER
Ethan Rafal and Mickey Murch hoted a fundraiser feast to close the exhibition "Children of the Night: Images from a Forgotten Genocide," which documented the war in northern Uganda, a 19-year conflict described by UN special advisor Jan Egeland as "the world's most neglected human rights crisis." Like the exhibition, the feast was a challenge to traditional constructions of global empathy, circumventing inefficient, bureaucratic NGO's, and bringing humanitarian action into our daily lives. All funds raised were used to build a treatment center for formerly abducted child soldiers in northern Uganda. Global empathy and drastic change is possible.
WILLIAM MENDOZA LECTURE
William Mendoza, a Colombian trade union leader, spoke as part of the national Victory Over Coke speaking tour. As vice-president of Sinaltrainal in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, William has survived several threats and attempts on his life and that of his family for giving voice to the violations of the Coca-Cola Company and fighting for labor and human rights. He visited the United States for the first time 2 years ago to launch the global campaign against Coca-Cola.
Since 1986 roughly 4,000 Colombian trade unionists have been murdered. The vast majority of these murders have been carried out by right-wing paramilitary groups out to destroy the labor movement in Colombia. In the case of Coca-Cola, according to numerous credible reports, the company and its business partners have turned a blind eye to, financially supported, and actively colluded with paramilitary groups in efforts to destroy workers' attempts to organize unions and bargain collectively.
2006 COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
Afghan-American author, editor, and lecturer Tamim Ansary '70 accepted President Diver's invitation on behalf of the senior class to be the 2006 Reed commencement speaker. He will be the 13th consecutive Reed alumnus or alumna so honored.
Mr. Ansary gained wide attention days after the 9/11/01 attacks when he e-mailed to a small circle of his friends a spontaneous, heartfelt (and somewhat prescient) plea denouncing Osama bin Laden and the Taliban regime, but also those Americans then urging the U. S. to retaliate by destroying his homeland, which he portrayed as Bin Laden's first and worst victim. The message struck a chord. It was passed on and on and on - and in a matter of days had been read on line by millions. A bi-cultural memoir, "West of Kabul, East of New York," followed and in the ensuing years Mr. Ansary has emerged as a major voice of and about Islam and the West. His most recent book, "The Story of My Life: An Afghan Girl on the Other Side of the Sky," was a collaboration with a courageous young emigre.
CHARLES SNYDER LECTURE
The Public Policy Lecture Series presented Charles Snyder, the U.S. Senior Representative on Sudan, who lectured on "The Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement: A Framework for Peace and Reconciliation for All Sudanese." Snyder discussed how Sudan and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Darfur remain one of the United States' most important foreign policy priorities. Previously, Snyder served as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (November 2003-June 2004). He has also served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs (2001-2003). He received a B. A. in Economics from Fordham University and an M.B.A. in International Finance from American University. He is a Fellow of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Societies, a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer of the Foreign Service Institute, and a life member of the African Studies Association.
STAVANS LECTURE
Ilan Stavans, Lewis-Sebring Professor of Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College, lectured on "Diversity and the American Jew: Beyond the 350th Anniversary".
Stavans earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1990, was project director for the Isaac Bashevis Singer Centennial in 2004, and is editor-in-chief of the literary journal, "Hopscotch: A Cultural Review." The lecture is co-sponsored by the Institute for Judaic Studies and the division of literature and languages.
VOX PANEL DISCUSSION
The Tri-College Forum (Reed Vox, Portland State University, and Lewis & Clark College) presented a panel discussion on "The Supreme Threat to the Supreme Court: Reproductive Rights Hanging in the Balance." A distinguished panel spoke on the recent and potential changes to the Supreme Court and the implications pertaining to reproductive healthcare policy. Also, the panel focused on the upcoming case, Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood.
CHINA DAY 2005
China Day is an interdisciplinary symposium hosted by the Reed College Chinese studies faculty and designed for high school students and teachers interested in China and related topics of contemporary significance. Last year's topic, "China Joins the Global Community," will be addressed by several workshops led by Reed faculty in the economics, history, political science, and religion departments.
ADOLPH REED LECTURE
The Public Policy Lecture series presented political scientist Adolph Reed, Jr., who discussed the "Challenges of Academic Diversity." A political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Reed is an expert in racial and economic inequality, American politics, and American political thought. His talk addressed the challenges of racial diversity at colleges and universities.
"WOMEN CONFRONTING GLOBALIZATION" LECTURE
Sponsored by the Mexico Solidarity Network, the "Women Confronting Globalization: Cultural Resistance, Fair Trade, and Human Rights Tour"
Latin American women affiliated with the Zapatista movement based in Chiapas, Mexico, spoke about the effects of globalization on women and indigenous peoples, as well as the leading role women are taking in the struggle towards dignity and justice in the global order. The speakers were Margarita Plaza Vargas and Christina Obregón.
Vargas, a Chilean journalist, is currently an advisor with the Community Human Rights Defenders Network in Chiapas, Mexico. Vargas has also worked on community radio in Chiapas indigenous communities and has worked extensively with the FZLN, the political wing of the Zapatista movement.
Obregón is a grassroots organizer at the Mexico Solidarity Network. She has worked in the struggle of undocumented workers, with mothers of victims of the femicides in Juarez and Chihuahua, and also coordinates the medical aid program for communities in Chiapas.