Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Latina/o Heritage Month: Las Caras de America


Latina/o or Hispanic Heritage Month is nationally celebrated in the United States from September 15-October 15th. In September 1968, Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim National Hispanic Heritage Week. The celebration was extended to a month in 1988.

Many people wonder why the celebration crosses the middle of September to the middle of October. This was done in honor of the anniversary of the independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence on September 16th and September 18th, respectively. Click here to learn more about the history of this month.

The University of Chicago will be celebrating Latina/o Heritage events in the month of October. Las Caras de America program is an annual event that provides students with the opportunity to learn more about the Latina/o culture. With film screenings, workshops, presentations, games, and dancing, there is something for everyone. Click here for more information on campus celebrations.

Chicago is a great city for every celebration, so Latina/o Heritage Month is no exception! Events can be found here for the Luna Negra Theater Group, a local Chicago theater group. There are also events at many of the local colleges and universities. The University of Illinois has some great events coming up; please visit their website for more information.

OMSA Welcome Back and the Dedication of the Timuel D. Black Edible Arts Garden


Click to Enlarge

2010 Diversity Leadership Awards

The Diversity Leadership Awards seek to recognize University staff members who display leadership in fostering diversity both on campus and within the surrounding community and to highlight, in concert with the University of Chicago Board of Governors, the contributions of alumni who advance the cause of justice and equality in our community and society. Please nominate a staff member or alumna/us. The deadline is October 16. For more information, please visit the website.

Monday, September 28, 2009

September 30th Deadline: 5710 GMAT Course

Deadline Approaching!! Midnight, Wednesday September 30th!
Taking the GMAT? Free Test-Prep Course Available at 5710!

OMSA and Princeton Review are teaming up to offer a limited number of full and partial scholarships for a GMAT prep course being held on the University of Chicago campus this autumn quarter. Students must be either an advanced undergraduate student or a graduate student, be in good academic standing and demonstrate financial need and a strong desire to pursue graduate education. This course will run for 7 consecutive Mondays, from October 5th through November 16th from 5:30-9:30pm. For more information or an application, please contact Robin Graham at rgraham1@uchicago.edu or for an application.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Campus Events: September 28 - October 2

Monday, September 28
Engage Chicago Through Service
Time: 11am - 4pm
Location: Multiple Locations

Tuesday, September 29
Students Organizing United with Labor (SOUL) and Coalition for Healthcare Access Responsibility and Transparency (CHART) Health Care Teach-In
Time: 5:30pm to 7:30pm
Location: 5710 S. Woodlawn

Wednesday, September 30
CAPS Super Walk-ins
Time: 9am - 4pm
Location: Ida Noyes, 1212 E. 59th Street

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. All Greek Informational
Time: 6pm - 7pm
Location: 5710 S. Woodlawn

M.E.Ch.A. Weekly Meeting
Time: 7pm - 8pm
Location: 5710 S. Woodlawn

Thursday, October 1
Hyde Park Farmers' Market
Time: 7am - 2pm
Location: Harper Court, 52nd Pl. & Harper

LGBTQ Programming Office Welcome Back Reception
Time: 3pm - 8pm
Location: 5710 S. Woodlawn

Friday, October 2
Fall Career Fair
Time: 12pm - 4pm
Location: Ida Noyes, 1212 E. 59th Street

Let's Talk
Time: 1pm - 3pm
Location: 5710 S. Woodlawn

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

OMSA Graduate & Professional Student Resources

OMSA is continuing to develop and enhance our resources that cater to the needs and interests of graduate and professional students. One improvement we have made this year is to alternate the time of our programs during the day time and evening hours to allow for students with varied schedules to attend programs of interest. We would love to hear from you with ideas and suggestions! We hope you will join us at:

Quarterly Social October 28, 12:30pm
Quarterly Mixer October 28, 6:30pm
Faculty of Color Panel November 9, 6:00pm
Diversity in the Workplace November 5, 5:00pm at the Quadrangle Club
Diversity in Academe Coming up in Spring Quarter

More socials, mixers, and events are coming up in Winter and Spring Quarter. Please check our events page often.

OMSA 2009-2010 Departmental Goals

OMSA was worked diligently throughout the summer to develop our goals that will guide us for the 2009-2010 Academic Year. We are excited to share that OMSA will focus on the following goals.

Collaboration
In an effort to build a stronger community and an environment of cross-collaboration among all student communities of color, each of OMSA’s programs will be done in conjunction with another academic department, cultural student organization or other university department

Increased Cultural RSO Support
OMSA aims to strengthen our partnerships with other relevant units such as ORCSA, area Deans of Students , academic departments, and Division of Campus & Student Life departments to better understand the concerns and needs of cultural student organizations and work to address them.

Knowledge/Awareness of OMSA’s Impact
OMSA will work to increase awareness and knowledge of its extensive impact on the university community.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Campus Events – September 18 through September 25

Monday, Sept 21

Family Resource Fair

9:00am – 1:00pm

Bartlett Quad




OMSA Welcome for 1st Year Students of Color and their Families

12:00pm – 1:30pm



Tuesday, Sept 22

Graduate Student Orientation, Office of Graduate Affairs

12:00pm – 5:30pm



Thursday, Sept 24

Hyde Park Farmers’ Market

7:00pm – 2:00pm




Center for Latin American Studies Fall Reception

4:00pm – 5:00pm



Friday, Sept 25

First Year Students of Color Workshop and Breakfast Reception, Office of Multicultural Student Affairs

9:30am – 11:30pm




Queer 101, LGBTQ Programming Office

1:00pm – 3:00pm

Friday, September 18, 2009

OMSA O-Week Events for Incoming Undegraduate Students of Color

Check out these two amazing events for incoming students of color!

Monday, September 21
NOON – 1:30 PM
OMSA WELCOME FOR 1ST YEAR STUDENTS OF COLOR AND THEIR FAMILIES
5710 South Woodlawn Avenue

New students and their families are invited to join the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) and members of the African American, Asian American, Latino and Native American communities for a welcome reception. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about OMSA’s resources and various forms of campus support for students of color. This reception will include two sessions that are catered to address the specific need of students and their families.

Friday, September 25
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM
FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS 0F COLOR W0RKSH0P AND BREAKFAST RECEPTION
5710 South Woodlawn Avenue

This workshop sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) is designed to help students prepare for life beyond O-Week. Returning students of color will discuss the resources they used to successfully navigate the University, share their personal experiences and help new students in finding their way over the next four years. Immediately following the workshop, OMSA will host a breakfast reception with returning students and staff for those who participate


If you want to participate, please contact me at ryo@uchicago.edu
rosa

Monday, September 14, 2009

Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies Courses 2009-2010

Fall 2009

CRPC/CRES 20207. Race, Ethnicity and Human Development. 21st century practices of relevance to education, social services, health care and public policy deserve buttressing by cultural and context linked perspectives about human development as experienced by diverse groups. Although generally unacknowledged as such post-Brown v. 1954, the conditions purported to support human development for diverse citizens remain problematic. The consequent interpretational shortcomings serve to increase human vulnerability. Specifically, given the problem of evident unacknowledged privilege for some as well as the insufficient access to resources experienced by others, the dilemma skews our interpretation of behavior, design of research, choice of theory, and determination of policy and practice. The course is based upon the premise that the study of human development is enhanced by examining the experiences of diverse groups, without one group standing as the "standard" against which others are compared and evaluated. Accordingly, the course provides an encompassing theoretical framework for examining the processes of human development for diverse humans while also highlighting the critical role of context and culture. M. Spencer

CRPC/CRES 24001. Colonizations I. (=ANTH 18301, HIST 18301, SOSC 24001) Must be taken in sequence. This sequence meets the general education requirement in civilization studies. This three-quarter sequence approaches the concept of civilization from an emphasis on cross-cultural/societal connection and exchange. We explore the dynamics of conquest, slavery, colonialism, and their reciprocal relationships with concepts such as resistance, freedom, and independence, with an eye toward understanding their interlocking role in the making of the modern world. Themes of slavery, colonization, and the making of the Atlantic world are covered in the first quarter. Modern European and Japanese colonialism in Asia and the Pacific is the theme of the second quarter. The third quarter considers the processes and consequences of decolonization both in the newly independent nations and the former colonial powers. S. Palmie, staff.

CRPC/CRES 27200/37200. African-American History to 1877. (=HIST 27200/37200, LLSO 26901) This lecture course examines selected topics in the African-American experience, from the slave trade to slavery emancipation. Each lecture focuses on a specific problem of interpretation in African-American history. All lectures are framed by an overall theme: the 'making' of an African-American people out of diverse ethnic groups brought together under conditions of extreme oppression; and its corollary, the structural constraints and openings for resistance to that oppression. Readings emphasize primary sources (e.g., autobiographical materials), which are supplemented by readings in important secondary sources. T. Holt.

CRPC/CRES 27301. Introduction to Black Chicago, 1895-2005. (=HIST 27301) This course surveys the history of African Americans in Chicago, from before the 20th century to the present. Referencing episodes from that history, we will treat a variety of themes, including: migration and its impact, origins and effects of class stratification; relation of culture and cultural endeavor to collective consciousness, rise of the institutionalized religions, facts and fictions of political empowerment, and the correspondence of Black lives and living to indices of city wellness (services, schools, safety, general civic feeling, etc). Of necessity, this will be a history class that acknowledges its place within a robust interdisciplinary conversation. Students can expect to read works of autobiography and poetry, sociology, documentary photography, political science, and criminology, as well as more straightforward historical analysis. By the end of the class, students should have grounding in the history of Black Chicago, as well as an appreciation of how this history outlines and anticipates a broader account of Black life and racial politics in the modern United States. A. Green.

CRPC/CRES 29700. Reading and Research: Comparative Race Studies. PQ: Consent of instructor and Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students are required to submit the College Reading and Research Course Form. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

* NEW COURSE!* CRPC/CRES 29800. Comparative Race Studies in Context: Service Learning/Internship Credit. PQ: Consent of Director of Undergraduate Studies required. Open to all students accepted into an internship program or placement at a non-profit organization, government agency, or other community-based context. Students must make arrangements with the undergraduate program chair before beginning the internship and submit a College Reading and Research Course Form. For summer internships, students must submit this paperwork by the end of Spring Quarter and register for the course the following fall quarter. For internships during the academic year, students should meet with the undergraduate program chair as soon as possible before the beginning of the internship and before the beginning of the quarter when credit is to be earned. The aim of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to reflect on their experiences working within a community context. Students will be required to write a 15-20 page paper about their experience, especially as it relates to structures of racial inequality in American society or in a broader global context. Autumn, Winter, Spring.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

The OMSA Research Initiatives Grant [formerly Race Studies Grant] is accepting applications for 2009-2010.

The OMSA Research Initiatives Grant [formerly Race Studies Grant] is accepting applications for 2009-2010.

This Grant is intended to assist undergraduate, graduate, and professional students of color by providing financial support for scholarly projects exploring the multifaceted nature of race, race relations, ethnicity, and/or culture within the University of Chicago, the larger City of Chicago community, and/or Higher Education. If you have considered conducting original research, need helping with preparing for your BA thesis, want support to finish that parts of your dissertation chapter-the Research Initiative Grant is for you!

Grant proposals are be due Friday, October 16, 2009.

For more information, please contact Rosa Yadira Ortiz at ryo@uchicao.edu.

Graduate and Professional Student of Color Orientation

Greetings to all incoming graduate and professional students of color! We are very excited to welcome you to the University and to help introduce you to the OMSA community and family.

This Friday, OMSA will host three events for our Graduate and Professional Student of Color Orientation: an open house and information session, a student panel, and a reception and social. We hope that graduate and professional students of color new to the University will learn about OMSA and 5710, gain connections and insights from our student panelists, and network and socialize with each other.

All OMSA staff will be present. We are eager to meet you so please come by. Each of us serves and interacts with graduate and professional students in a different way. But all of us are happy to hear your questions or concerns at any time.

You may have received information about our Orientation by e-mail. The Orientation schedule is as follows:

OMSA Graduate and Professional Student Orientation

Friday September 18, 2009 at 5710 South Woodlawn

Open House and Information Session
11:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.

This session will introduce the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs. Light refreshments will be served. A previous announcement provided an incorrect start time for this event. This event begins at 11:30 a.m.

Panel
4:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M.

This student panel will consist of returning graduate and professional students of color and will discuss the student experience at the University.

Reception and Social
5:30 P.M. to 7:00 P.M.

Come relax and mingle with graduate and professional students of color from all departments! Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served. Please bring the appropriate form of identification.

If you require accommodation to participate in this event, please call us at 834-4672.

Our graduate student panelists will be:

Brooke Sylvester
Biological Sciences Division
Mentor, Chicago Multicultural Connection
OMSA Advisory Board Member

Darryl Heller
Social Sciences Division
Past Mentor, Chicago Multicultural Connection

Genny Castillo
School of Social Services Administration
Student Worker, 5710 South Woodlawn

Jaira Harrington
Social Sciences Division

Klint Jaramillo
School of Social Services Administration
Intern, LGBTQ Programming Office

Mary Adekoya
Humanities Division
Student Worker, 5710 South Woodlawn

Oni Mapp
Biological Sciences Division

See you there!