Nov/Dec 2012 - Macalester College

T he Mosaic
Monthly Newsletter from the Department of Multicultural Life
Tapas Series: What Are You Consuming?
Highlights of The Month
This semester’s Tapas, a Lealtad-Suzuki Center sponsored signature program, took place on November 1st in the Cultural
House’s multipurpose room. It was called “What are You Consuming?” and it aimed to foster a dialogue about representations
of multiple identities in different music genres and ways to increase media literacy on the Macalester College campus.
A friendly, engaged group of students and faculty were able to join the facilitators Chloe Chon ‘13, Dadri-Anne Graham
‘13 , and Elisa Lee ‘15 for the event. The event started off with listening to, analyzing, and discussing the participants’ favorite
songs from Beyoncé’s “If I Were a Boy” to One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.” This was followed by listening
to snippets of various pre-selected songs like Toby Keith’s “A Little Too Late,” Coldplay’s “Princess of China,”
Three Loco’s “We Are Llamas,” India.Arie’s “I Am Not My Hair,” and Missy Elliott’s “One Minute Man.” As everyone
listened and/or watched the music and music videos, participants also ate a snack each time they saw and/or heard something
that made them feel uncomfortable, was problematic, or just outright offensive. This was a fun media literacy activity
found in Jennifer L. Pozner’s Reality Bites Back but was modified to be played consuming music and not reality television
shows. This Tapas event highlighted the importance of being critical of all sorts of media not just ones that we consume
visually but also auditorily , in addition to being critical of all genres of music.
C-House Poetry Slam—Fall 2012
November/December 2012 Edition
By Dadri-Anne Graham ‘13,
Choe Chon ‘13 and Elisa Lee ‘15
Lealtad-Suzuki Center’s Program Assistants
By Erica Lee ‘15
Cultural House Program Assistant
The Cultural House held its 18 th Annual C-House Poetry Slam on Friday, November 2 nd . The C-House staff worked hard
to create the perfect atmosphere for the slam. The participating poets shared poems that ranged from themes of gender
identity to issues of sexual harassment. It was a great night filled with inspiring words, many contemplative moments, as
well as periods of laughter.
The excited and engaged crowd of Macalester students and staff provided a supportive and affirming environment for
the poets to engage with the community and fully express themselves. This year’s poets included Hannah Rasmussen
'14, Anna Binkovitz '14, David Jacobson '13, Renee Schminkey '16, Niko Martell '13, and Sarah Horowitz '13. After the
audience voted for their top three, the three poets that moved to the second round were Anna Binkovitz, Renee
Schminkey, and Niko Martell. After a final vote by the audience, Anna Binkovitz won the honor of being named the C-
House Poetry Slam champ. Niko Martell came close as second while Renee Schminkey placed third.

DML Corners!
Fresh Fridays At The C-House
By Abaki Beck ‘15
Cultural House Volunteer
On November 9th, Fresh Fridays, a monthly event at the Cultural House, hosted an event to kick off Native American
Heritage Month. The event was titled “Misappropriation or Appreciation?” and focused on (mis)representations of
Native American culture in fashion and sports mascots. The event was co-sponsored by the student organization Proud
Indigenous People for Education (PIPE).
The co-facilitators of the event, Abaki Beck ‘15, and Lucy Andrews ‘14 chose this subject because it is relevant to current
events and because it is a subject that is of interest to the college-aged demographic. The event was inspired by a
recent lawsuit involving Urban Outfitters in which the clothing company was sued by the Navajo tribe for misusing
and misrepresenting the Navajo name - the clothing company had a line featuring such items as the “Navajo hipster
panty.”
The event was discussion based, and in addition to great conversation, there were pumpkin cookies and hot chocolate
(both foods native to the Americas!). This event was particularly important because in past years, very little has been
done on campus to recognize Native American Heritage Month. It was well attended and warmly received, and besides
spurring dialogue about a contemporary Native American issue often discussed in the media, it also got more students
involved with PIPE. In addition, the event received national recognition when co-facilitator Abaki Beck was interviewed
by the Associated Press about issues of Native American cultural misappropriation in a recent Victoria’s Secret
fashion show."
C-House Moments
C-House Poetry Slam—Fall 2012 C-House Poetry Slam—Fall 2012
C-House Fresh Friday
November 2012
2012 C-House Staff and Residents
C-House Fresh Friday
November 2012

DML Corners!
Gender & Sexuality
(By Isela Gomez ‘13 and Elisa Lee ‘15)
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) supports
the FDA’s recommendation to provide
emergency contraception to women of any age.
The AAP recommends that pediatricians should
make emergency contraception more accessible to
teens by prescribing it in advance. Current federal
laws require women under 17 to have a prescription
for it.
Kellan Baker of Open Society Foundations reflects
on the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance,
on November 20, 2012. It is a day to remember
the names of transgender people who
were murdered as a result of transphobia, fear,
and hate. Many killed were poor transgender
women of color. Transgender people, face systematic
and institutionalized discrimination and brutality
in areas such as “health care, housing, employment,
education, and legal recognition”.
Rape and Sexual Assault in the U.S. Military are
receiving growing, yet not enough, national attention.
Last month, the Airforce instituted a
“wingman policy” at a Texas base, requiring all
trainees to always be with at least one classmate.
Officials created the policy after 23 instructors
received allegations of rape, sexual harassment,
and “unprofessional relationships.” This year’s
documentary “The Invisible War” features interviews
with military personnel, advocates, and survivor
veterans of sexual assault and provides
history of this long-occurring issue
against women in the military.
LSC Issue Areas
LSC Issue Areas research current events and policies, locally, nationally and internationally.
By the Lealtad-Suzuki
Center’s Program Assistants
Economic Justice
(By Katie Hinkfuss ‘13 and Yuris Martinez ‘13)
Alabama and South Carolina are the only states
where HIV positive inmates are isolated from other
prisoners. The goal of this policy is to stop the spread
of HIV and to reduce medical costs. In South Carolina
HIV positive inmates wear white plastic armbands
identifying them as HIV positive and are
housed in one maximum security prison. They are
banned from eating in the cafeteria and working
around food. The ACLU sued the Alabama Department
of Corrections for discrimination against inmates
living with HIV, the policy is currently under
review. Get more information here .
The situation in Portuguese prisons has gotten increasingly
worse due to the economic crisis in
Europe. Budget cuts have made the prisons both
overcrowded and added more pressure to the guards,
which some link to recent spikes in abuse. Despite
this, many prisoners would prefer to stay in prison
because as opposed to outside, they will receive a free
meal. This further reflects the desperate situation of
Portugal due to the financial crisis. Get more information
here.
The annual holiday concert took place on December
8 th at the Highland Mountain Correctional Center in
Eagle River, Alaska. The organization Arts on the
Edge formed the Women’s Orchestra in 2003.
The DML Family

DML Corners!
Religion & Spirituality
(By Daimon Hardy ‘13 and Dadri-Anne Graham ‘13)
A newly found church that serves the communities
of Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center has taken
on the prevalent but pervasive issue of teen hunger
in the two towns. The United Methodist Church
partnered with other community organizations to
establish a food shelf that has since become part of
a larger program, Community Emergency Assistance
Program (CEAP).
A Barnesville priest denied a local teen confirmation
for posting a picture on Facebook that suggested
the teen did not support the Minnesota
marriage amendment. Additionally, the church
associated with the priest, Assumption Church,
denied the teen’s family communion.
Multiple religious leaders came together to bring
awareness to hunger by participating in the food
stamp challenge. Participants live on a food budget
of $31.50 for a week, which is the average amount
food stamp recipients allocated per person.
Nativity Story performed Dec. 8th at Basilica of St.
Mary in Minneapolis.
LSC Issue Areas
LSC Issue Areas research current events and policies, locally, nationally and internationally.
The Lealtad-Suzuki
Center’s Team
Racial/Ethnic/National Identities
(By Chloe Chon ‘13 and Isabel M Ruelas ‘15)
By the Lealtad-Suzuki
Center’s Program Assistants
Schools to Prison Pipeline: A Mississippi school is
violating its students due process rights by sending
students on probation directly to the local juvenile
detention center for any school infraction including
violations of the dress code and tardiness.
Puerto Rican Statehood: On Election Day, the majority
of Puerto Ricans voted for statehood in a nonbinding
referendum due to the economic aid that
changing from a territory (colony) to a state would
provide.
The film “Red Dawn”, a remake of the 1982 original,
swaps the initial Soviet threat with an invasion by
North Koreans and incites a flurry of racist tweets.
The movie’s Asian enemy was changed from Chinese
to North Korean in postproduction. Tweets read
from “Red dawn has taught me not to trust a Korean
ever.” to “I hate all Chinese, Japanese, Asian, Korean
people.” (typo part of tweet)
Admission policies of colleges are getting reexamined
as diversity in higher education come under inspection.
Some contend that class-based admissions is a
win-win alternative to race-based admissions, a more
progressive solution. Others say that class-based and
race-blind admissions would still cause problems.
While there may be higher percentages of people of
color among low-income Americans, they remain
minorities in the whole population. White people
still make up the majority, and purely class-based admissions
would reflect that.
Race-based affirmative action gets more complicated
when Asian-American students are discussed. While
some populations of Asian-Americans, including students
from India, China, and South Korea, see themselves
as victims of race-conscious admissions, others
continue to benefit from it.

DML Corners!
My Experience as a Mentor!
My experience as an Emerging Scholars Program mentor, this year, has definitely been
enlightening.
When I started the semester I had the mindset that I was supposed to be involved with everything
that my mentees were doing. As the semester went on, I realized that as a mentor I
am supposed to reach out to my mentees and be casual.
I have grown as a person because with my mentees it isn’t so much that I am an authoritative figure. This is something that
I do not want to be. I am seen as a friend who they can just talk to about various aspects of life. Our conversations have
ranged from where good barbershops are in the area to going back home for break and what that means for them.
It has been a fun semester getting to know my mentees. Some of my mentees are on a sports team so it’s good to see them
interacting with other members of the team and hear that they are transitioning into life at Mac easily because that is the
primary goal of being an ESP mentor. That being said, I did not have the opportunity to spend much time with a few of
mentees, but for the ones that I did have a chance to spend time with, I can definitely see why they are at Mac. I am definitely
lucky to have the group of mentees that I do. They will all make good leaders some day!
SPEAK! You Play (Ball) Like a Girl
On November 13, three inspiring and incredible athletes joined us for a panel discussion on
the life and role of women athletes in their sport, the spotlight, and the community. The
SPEAK! Series was honored to host Lisa Bauch, the owner of the only female-operated boxing
gym in the U.S., Nicole Baier, a Division I soccer player from the University of Minnesota,
and Susannah Scanlan, a 2012 London Olympic Bronze medalist in fencing. Our very own
Lucy Andrews ’14, varsity athlete, and Sarah Graves ‘04, Mac women’s volleyball coach, facilitated
the evening’s panel in JBD hall.
By Cyrus Hair ‘15
ESP Mentor
By Isela Gomez ‘13 and
Katie Hinkfuss ‘13
Lealtad-Suzuki Center Program Assistants
November 2012 SPEAK! Series
Co-facilitators and Speakers
The athletes shared about their experiences as females in a male-dominated industry, mainstream perceptions of women
athletes, their lives as students, and intersections with other identities.
Over fifty people attended the event and participated in the lively talkback. Following the panel, the guests of honor and
the attendees engaged in intimate, fun chats over appetizers. Some lucky guests had the opportunity to take pictures with
the athletes and with the Bronze Medal! We were excited to work closely with Macalester’s athletic department, bridging
conversations across campus!

December 2012
Soup & Substance Panelists
DML Snapshots
Fall 2012
November 2012
Tapas Series participants
November 2012
Soup & Substance Panelists
Fall 2012 Kente Summit at Macalester
DML Contact
Information
Christopher MacDonald-Dennis
Dean
Multicultural Life
cmacdona@macalester.edu
Karla Benson Rutten
Director
Lealtad-Suzuki Center
benson@macalester.edu
Demetrius Colvin
Assistant Director
Lealtad-Suzuki Center
dcolvin@macalester.edu
Afifa Benwahoud
Department Coordinator
Multicultural Life
benwahoud@macalester.edu
Sedric McClure
Multicultural Counselor
Macalester Academic Excellence Center
mcclure@macalester.edu
For questions and suggestions, please contact us at x6243, Monday through Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm
or email Afifa Benwahoud at benwahoud@macalester.edu.
Web: www.macalester.edu/multiculturalism