Immigration reform has long been a serious topic on peoples' minds. On April 10th, students and activist and reform groups around Walla Walla and the Whitman community decided to do something about it.
Chartered buses were hired and together, students united for change-- including our own Olivia Ware, Robert Crenshaw and Yonas Fikak-- traveled the four-and-a-half hour drive to Seattle.
Yonas is enthusiastic about the day ahead
large crowds rally for immigration reform in Seattle
Although it was a cold spring day, the weather did not affect the crowds or their passions, which remained as resilient as ever.
Among the many topics under siege, deportation, the stimulus bill, human rights, and healthcare made a heavy presence.
A "Radical Women" sign berating deportation is advertised
Yonas in the crowd
The day was not all struggles and debates, though. Olivia took some time to sight-see and window shop through Seattle with friends Brett Clark and Robert.
blown glass artwork at a boutique in Seattle
more amazing glass pieces!
And as we all at BSU know...where there is Olivia, there's friends and fun galore!
Olivia inspires smiles in Brett Clark and friend
And Robert, too!
Yayyyy, Olivia!
Cheers!
But back to the rally.
While it is nearly impossible to large group to reach a consensus, we hope this picture summed up the day's efforts and leaves an imprint in everyone's minds...
Whitman Events Board (WEB) has strive to be an active part on campus. One of their efforts included the first-ever Whitman Feud, inspired by the popular television show, Family Feud, hosted Sunday April 4th on campus.
BSU and three other groups formed teams to compete in this exciting new challenge, and Sarah, Nick, Laetitiah, and Olivia stepped up on this sunny Sunday afternoon to spread BSUs name. Sporting our new club shirts, we were surely the most smartly-dressed group represented.
Lookin' good!
The teams were pumped and ready to test their knowledge as the Feud was centered on questions around Whitman. Because it was new, no one knew what to expect and the surprise was all that more enjoyable. Questions posed included, Favorite Place to Play Hide-and-Seek, Favorite Study Location, Best Voted Place for a First Date, Favorite Dining Hall Meal, Top Reason for Visiting the Library, Easiest Major on Campus, Most Popular Professor, and other quirky and unconventional questions.
Ready and estastic!
All teams were thrown for a loop and much deliberation was needed!
Deep in thought...
But the answers were even more surprising than the questions! Favorite meal was Taco Tuesday, favorite date spot was the wheat fields and Best Hide-and-Seek spot was...the library! Unsurprisingly though, the top non-academic reason for going to the library was to socialize and the "easiest" major on campus was voted Sociology.
Laetitiah is surprised at the answers
The score was tied early in the game...
The competition gets intense!
...but not with us! Sadly, BSU did not win,,no cute trophy for us! No matter, we tried our hardest!
Awesome job guys! Your dedication is very much appreciated!
The Whitman Undergraduate Conference (WUC) celebrates students' academic excellence and creativity. Here is some background:
"The Whitman Undergraduate Conference celebrates the scholarship and creativity of the Whitman student body through a day devoted entirely to our students’ accomplishments.
The Twelfth Annual Whitman Undergraduate Conference brings together students from every academic area of Whitman College to share their research and creative projects with the campus community.
The conference is noteworthy for the variety of presentations, which take the form of talks, poster presentations, musical performances and artistic exhibitions.
The abstracts in this program attest to the original work students have produced in their courses, senior theses, summer internships and on study abroad."
--Whitman website
In keeping with tradition, all classes were closed for the WUC but the campus was by no means dead. Students woke up early to attend early sessions and hundreds of WUC booklets could be seen toted under arms as students hurried to sessions around campus.
BSUs own Sarah Deming and Robert Crenshaw both prepared presentations for the event. Unfortunately, their presentations were both during the same session, and as such, both at the same time--we couldn't be at the same place at once!
Laetitiah and I attended Robert's talk under the subtitle Identity and Self-Determination, entitled, "What's Good with Ebonics?": An exploration of Linguistic, Identity, Perceptions, and Controversy.
The room was packed as Robert's topic drew considerable interest among Whitman students and the community. Robert focused on the ignorance on the Black community, and the exploration of Ebonics as a language, and how to address the ignorance.
It was a talk to be applauded!
Great job, Robert!
Sarah prepared a no-doubt riveting exploration under Passage to Asia, titled, The Economic Importance of Indian Opium and Trade with China on Britain's Economy, 1843-1890. I'm confident that those who had the privelege of attending were entirely fascinated!
BSU was very proud to see our members taking charge academically. Great job, Robert and Sarah!
Sunday April 18th, BSU joined the Walla Walla community in giving back for the Second Annual Spring Service Day. It was a bright, sunny morning and spring was in the air. After meeting on the steps of Reid with other Whitman volunteers and donned in our new BSU shirts, we hitched rides and enjoyed the cool drive on the way to Walla Walla University at College Place.
Our awesome new shirts designed by Bao-Tram and Olivia!
All three colleges of Walla Walla--Whitman, Walla Walla University, and Walla Walla Community College--participated in this event, and the day was sponsored by many local businesses. After checking in on campus, we were each given a Spring Service Day t shirt to commemorate the event. We had spent the morning ride contemplating what the shirts would look like, and we were presently surprised: they were amazing!
We are pumped for a full day of service!
Each group was assigned to a different organization to spend the day with, and our group was paired with the Blue Mountain Humane Society, a local animal shelter, strongly in need of more volunteers.
It was a comfortable and intimate setting. After seeing how much manual work needing to be done, and the little resources that were available, BSU was touched and even more eager to help out. We helped in a variety of duties: weeding the plants that irritated the dogs' skin and surpressing other weeds in a more gentle approach--in lieu of pesticides--to slow down their growing by laying concrete blocks on top.
With the harmful plants weeded, Robert, Laetitiah and I gathered them into the compost pile and helped clip them into making recycled soil. It was hard work!
Discussing the day's approach: all hands on deck!
Meanwhile, the rest of the crew worked on constructing a wall to surround the property. It was a great team effort!
Olivia, Nick, and Yonas talk through a plan
After a long morning, we enjoyed a short, animated break under the shade of a tree and a tour of the society. The dogs for soo cute!
Nick keeps hydrated
Tumi and I pose for a picture
Then it was back to work!
How's the wall coming guys?
Sarah works her legs, digging
All too soon, though, it was time for us to leave. After saying goodbye to our new furry friends, we grouped up in Sarah's truck, thumped some music, and cruised to the taco truck for some delicious Mexican food. We drove back to the Whitman campus and enjoyed the food and each other's company--what a great way to spend the day!
We'll definitely be looking forward to this next year!
BSU pulled out all the stops in advertising for this event. Nick, Lucia, and Tish sidewalk-chalked at popular locations around campus, colorful and festive posters were made, facebook invites sent out, and the ever-popular word-of-mouth spread. We even competed in the Window Decorating Contest at the Reid Campus Center to get the word out about this.
Nick, me, and Tish listen to Caribbean music as we decorate the window for Zumba
The finished product:
Our competition!:
Amazing work by Nahali and Andrew!
We even enlisted the services of well-known Zumba instructor, Elena Enriquez from the YMCA to lead the class for the ever-growing numbers.
Elena, center, and her assitants lead Zumba
So when Monday rolled around--or stepped around, we expected quite a crowd and were not disappointed. BSU members and students from the Step Aerobics class on campus alike both showed up for the event.
President Tumi works out to some music
We swung our hips and worked out to Shakira, Lady Gaga and many other catchy mixes!
Tish rocks out to the music
Guys were not afraid to get into the groove, too.
Way to go, WhitMen!
All in all it was a great workout and everyone in attendance had nothing but good things to say.
Swing those hips!
Tish and I, center
Thanks for coming out everyone!
Throwing our hands in the air
And a special thanks to Elena. We can't wait to do this again next semester!
Are you looking for a fun and exciting way to get a complete cardio workout?
Is your daily workout routine repetitive and brain-numbing?
Well *drum roll*...
Club Latino and the Black Student Union are collaboratively hosting a
ZumbaFitnessWorkshop,
which is a dance inspired fitness workout, that uses the dynamic mixture of Latin and International music to give participants a complete and entertaining dance workout. If you are still unclear about this concept, click here for a more fleshed-out explanation. Here is the information as it stands:
Zumba Fitness Workshopinstructed by Elena Enriquez (YMCA)
The Zumba class is a once-off endeavor so take advantage of the opportunity! Please note that this event is open to all students including any faculty who are interested, so drag your friends and professors from Baker Ferguson or class and encourage them to enjoy an hour of fun exercise!! One more thing to remember, BYOwB
------------------------BRING YOUR OWN WATER BOTTLE------------------------
Wednesday March 3rd was a big day for Whitman and BSU!
Thanks to the Intercultural Center, the Office of the President, and ASWC and WEB Events, Whitman was able to host Emmy award winning director Paul Saltzman and screen his latest documentary, Prom Night in Mississippi.
And BSU got in on all the fun! Five of our members and our advisor got the opportunity to have dinner with Paul before the film was presented, an offer we accepted graciously.
Us with Paul Saltzman, second from right, after dinner
We feasted on cranberries, salad, stuffed chicken, goat cheese, yummy pound cake and more in the new Glover-Alston Center, the delicious food provided by Bon Appetit.
It was a wonderful experience getting to know Paul personally, and his inspiration for this moving film. Tumi had a lot of questions!
Over dinner, Paul shared with us a bit of his story and history and how by chance, this film chose him. He then enlisted the help of Morgan Freeman, and told us with three cameramen, how he managed to capture this changing of history in Charleston, Mississippi.
Afterwards it was off to Kimball Theater where the film was screened. Community members, faculty, and students alike all gathered for this memorable film. Seating was packed, leaving some eager audience members to stand against the wall or migrate up to the balcony seating.
And after a few opening words from the man himself, all were all ears as the film started. Here's a few words and background information on the film:
In 1997, Academy Award–winning actor Morgan Freeman offered to pay for the senior prom at Charleston High School in Mississippi under one condition: the prom had to be racially integrated. His offer was ignored.
In 2008, Freeman offered again. This time the school board accepted, and history was made. Charleston High School had its first-ever integrated prom. Until then, blacks and whites had had separate proms even though their classrooms have been integrated for decades.
Prom Night in Mississippi is a critically-acclaimed documentary about a small town and the struggles the students face to put on the high school's first-ever integrated prom. Read more at the official website promnightinmississippi.com
Here's a trailer!
The film was very inspirational and many felt connected with the film through the students of Charleston. Underneath all the racism they've faced, they're just normal teens trying (and succeeding) to change their world.
Undoubtedly, their first integrated prom night was not one they'd soon forget and neither will we!
Here are some stills from the film, courtesy of promnightinmississippi.com. All photos are by Catherine Farquharson:
Thank you Paul Saltzman! Charleston won't forget you and neither will we.
.jpg)
Posts
