The purpose of the Emerging Minds Project (EMP) is to create an intellectually open and dynamic environment for students to learn about and discuss social justice issues of today. Each month, a group of students come together at 5710 to dialogue with an experienced facilitator who works in the field.
This blog is an outlet for each of our members' voices. While this is a collection of their personal thoughts, we hope to display a glimpse of the multifaceted ways that each topic impacts the individual members of the EMP cohort.
*The views and opinions expressed in these blog entries are that of each individual author and do not necessarily reflect a collective opinion of the EMP cohort or that of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
Reflection from the Racial Health Disparities in Chicago: What Can Be Done? panel by Karim Pirani. For a quick summary of the event, please visit the Chicago Maroon article.
On Monday February 20th, OMSA held an event entitled, Racial Health Disparities in Chicago: What Can Be Done?, which was co-sponsored by many different RSOs on campus. The event hosted a variety of panelists who offered their unique perspectives as to the problems plaguing the current health care system and the racial discrepancies that are all too prevalent within it. These panelists included two doctors, a nurse, a chief medical officer of a hospital, and a community activist. The overall purpose of the discussion was three-fold: to figure where exactly the disparities are to be found, to investigate what is causing them, and then finding appropriate solutions to remedy the situation.
Of the various panelists, some were concerned primarily with the inadequacies of the current health care system, especially in terms of access and opportunity. Perhaps the most obvious area of need was touched on by the community activist, whose group FLY has been fighting for a trauma center on the south side of Chicago for multiple years now. The activist, Veronica, also mentioned the group’s continued efforts to try and eliminate juvenile detention facilities in favor of rehabilitation centers. Though she did not elaborate on her plan, the idea that alternative forms of discipline and reform be implemented seemed very appealing to me. Though I am wary of eliminating juvenile detention centers altogether (especially for great offences like murder), I do think that the idea of ulterior means of development merits some attention.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Reflection on Health Disparties by Jessica Adepoju
The purpose of the Emerging Minds Project (EMP) is to create an intellectually open and dynamic environment for students to learn about and discuss social justice issues of today. Each month, a group of students come together at 5710 to dialogue with an experienced facilitator who works in the field.
This blog is an outlet for each of our members' voices. While this is a collection of their personal thoughts, we hope to display a glimpse of the multifaceted ways that each topic impacts the individual members of the EMP cohort.
*The views and opinions expressed in these blog entries are that of each individual author and do not necessarily reflect a collective opinion of the EMP cohort or that of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
Reflection from the Racial Health Disparities in Chicago: What Can Be Done? panel by Jessica Adepoju. For a quick summary of the event, please visit the Chicago Maroon article.
I must admit that I went into this recent panel discussion—Racial Health Disparities in Chicago— having a very tenuous grasp on the woes and worries of healthcare. Of course, I’ve heard terms like “single-payer” and “Obamacare” (such a nifty word!) tossed around in political debates before. I also occasionally see State Farm health insurance commercials on TV. But that pretty much accounts for my knowledge on the subject. After listening to the panel, however, the subtleties of the healthcare system have become a little clearer to me. The issue of healthcare is a complex one, involving various social, economic, and institutional factors. Most interesting of all was the speakers’ repeated juxtaposition of healthcare as a right and healthcare as a business. All the speakers gave strong case arguments for healthcare as a universal right, and condemned the discriminatory and profit—rather than health—driven behaviors that manifest themselves within the business of healthcare. While I agree that our healthcare system needs definite reforms, I also felt certain reservations about the panel’s comments on profit-focused healthcare enterprises. In our effort to promote equality and compassion in the health system, we need to be cautious of demonizing the very lifeblood of innovation: namely, cold hard cash.
This blog is an outlet for each of our members' voices. While this is a collection of their personal thoughts, we hope to display a glimpse of the multifaceted ways that each topic impacts the individual members of the EMP cohort.
*The views and opinions expressed in these blog entries are that of each individual author and do not necessarily reflect a collective opinion of the EMP cohort or that of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
Reflection from the Racial Health Disparities in Chicago: What Can Be Done? panel by Jessica Adepoju. For a quick summary of the event, please visit the Chicago Maroon article.
I must admit that I went into this recent panel discussion—Racial Health Disparities in Chicago— having a very tenuous grasp on the woes and worries of healthcare. Of course, I’ve heard terms like “single-payer” and “Obamacare” (such a nifty word!) tossed around in political debates before. I also occasionally see State Farm health insurance commercials on TV. But that pretty much accounts for my knowledge on the subject. After listening to the panel, however, the subtleties of the healthcare system have become a little clearer to me. The issue of healthcare is a complex one, involving various social, economic, and institutional factors. Most interesting of all was the speakers’ repeated juxtaposition of healthcare as a right and healthcare as a business. All the speakers gave strong case arguments for healthcare as a universal right, and condemned the discriminatory and profit—rather than health—driven behaviors that manifest themselves within the business of healthcare. While I agree that our healthcare system needs definite reforms, I also felt certain reservations about the panel’s comments on profit-focused healthcare enterprises. In our effort to promote equality and compassion in the health system, we need to be cautious of demonizing the very lifeblood of innovation: namely, cold hard cash.
Reflection on Health Disparities by Wujun Ke
The purpose of the Emerging Minds Project (EMP) is to create an intellectually open and dynamic environment for students to learn about and discuss social justice issues of today. Each month, a group of students come together at 5710 to dialogue with an experienced facilitator who works in the field.
This blog is an outlet for each of our members' voices. While this is a collection of their personal thoughts, we hope to display a glimpse of the multifaceted ways that each topic impacts the individual members of the EMP cohort.
*The views and opinions expressed in these blog entries are that of each individual author and do not necessarily reflect a collective opinion of the EMP cohort or that of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
Reflection from the Racial Health Disparities in Chicago: What Can Be Done? by Wujun Ke
For a quick summary of the event, please visit the Chicago Maroon article.
Last Monday’s Racial Health Disparities panel made me more aware of social justice problems afflicting the health care system in America as well as the steps we must take to guarantee universal access to health. The panel seemed to agree that the biggest problem in regard to the health care system is structural - that the poor are more predisposed to illness and less able to afford care, whereas the rich are less likely to become ill and more able to afford quality care. If economic status is so closely tied to the quality and accessibility of health care, then I wonder if the term “health care” should be more broadly defined than just by treatment of biological or bodily abnormalities.
This blog is an outlet for each of our members' voices. While this is a collection of their personal thoughts, we hope to display a glimpse of the multifaceted ways that each topic impacts the individual members of the EMP cohort.
*The views and opinions expressed in these blog entries are that of each individual author and do not necessarily reflect a collective opinion of the EMP cohort or that of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
Reflection from the Racial Health Disparities in Chicago: What Can Be Done? by Wujun Ke
For a quick summary of the event, please visit the Chicago Maroon article.
Last Monday’s Racial Health Disparities panel made me more aware of social justice problems afflicting the health care system in America as well as the steps we must take to guarantee universal access to health. The panel seemed to agree that the biggest problem in regard to the health care system is structural - that the poor are more predisposed to illness and less able to afford care, whereas the rich are less likely to become ill and more able to afford quality care. If economic status is so closely tied to the quality and accessibility of health care, then I wonder if the term “health care” should be more broadly defined than just by treatment of biological or bodily abnormalities.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Weekly Schedule - February 6 - 9
Monday, February 6
Hot Cocoa and Cookies with ORCSA
Presented by: ORCSA
12:00 PM-1:00 PM
Marketplace, Reynolds Club, 5706 South University Avenue
Presented by: ORCSA
12:00 PM-1:00 PM
Marketplace, Reynolds Club, 5706 South University Avenue
Tuesday, February 7
SHINE National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
4:30 PM-9:30 PM
Room W-IA, School of Social Service Administration, 969 East 60th Street
4:30 PM-9:30 PM
Room W-IA, School of Social Service Administration, 969 East 60th Street
General Assembly
Presented by: Organization of Black Students
8:00 PM
5710 South Woodlawn Avenue
Presented by: Organization of Black Students
8:00 PM
5710 South Woodlawn Avenue
Wednesday, February 8
"Latino Catholicism: Transformation in America's Largest Church"
Presented by: The Lumen Christi Institute, The American Religious History Workshop, and The Center for Latin American Studies
4:00 PM-6:00 PM
Room 122, Social Science Research, 1126 East 59th Street
Presented by: The Lumen Christi Institute, The American Religious History Workshop, and The Center for Latin American Studies
4:00 PM-6:00 PM
Room 122, Social Science Research, 1126 East 59th Street
Chelsey Kivland - Caribbean Studies Workshop
Presented by: Caribbean Studies Workshop
4:30 PM-6:00 PM
Room 114, Kelly Hall, 5848 South University Avenue
Presented by: Caribbean Studies Workshop
4:30 PM-6:00 PM
Room 114, Kelly Hall, 5848 South University Avenue
Finding Good Mentors: Exploring Careers in Politics with Will Burns (AB’ 95, AM ’98)
Presented by: Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, Chicago Careers in Public & Social Service, Chicago Multicultural Connection (CMC)
5:30 PM
5710 South Woodlawn Avenue
Presented by: Office of Multicultural Student Affairs, Chicago Careers in Public & Social Service, Chicago Multicultural Connection (CMC)
5:30 PM
5710 South Woodlawn Avenue
Reflection on Interfaith by Catherine Castro
The purpose of the Emerging Minds Project (EMP) is to create an intellectually open and dynamic environment for students to learn about and discuss social justice issues of today. Each month, a group of students come together at 5710 to dialogue with an experienced facilitator who works in the field.
This blog is an outlet for each of our members' voices. While this is a collection of their personal thoughts, we hope to display a glimpse of the multifaceted ways that each topic impacts the individual members of the EMP cohort.
*The views and opinions expressed in these blog entries are that of each individual author and do not necessarily reflect a collective opinion of the EMP cohort or that of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
Reflection on Interfaith by Catherine Castro
Religion can be such a strong and unifying force. It has the power to bring people from different cultures under one faith and create a community of loyal and devoted followers. While religions tend to be accepting of people of different backgrounds, categorizing individuals under a certain religion, by nature, can be a process of exclusion. By labeling ourselves as Christian, Muslim, Hindi, Jewish Buddhist etc. an automatic divide is naturally built that separates non-believers from believers. I cannot say for sure that people do this consciously or unconsciously but in either case, this divide and categorization in our minds is inevitable. How then, do we break these natural barriers? How do we stay strong in our personal faiths without ostracizing our fellow religious and non-religious brothers and sisters? Three weeks ago, Mr. Hakan Berberoglu, the president of the Niagara spoke to EMP and proposed an interesting solution- interfaith dialogue. Communication is one of the key things to any successful relationship and therefore, I believe Hakan’s proposition definitely has merit to it. However, can this solution be considered realistic? Is it a realistic approach to try and get people of different faiths with opposing views and at times strained pasts to come peacefully together with the some similar goal in mind? If the foundation of a person’s faith is that their belief that their sole religion is the one and only path to their conception of “salvation” and “heaven”, then it seems to me counterproductive to try to foster acceptance amongst these religions through the medium of interfaith dialogue.
This blog is an outlet for each of our members' voices. While this is a collection of their personal thoughts, we hope to display a glimpse of the multifaceted ways that each topic impacts the individual members of the EMP cohort.
*The views and opinions expressed in these blog entries are that of each individual author and do not necessarily reflect a collective opinion of the EMP cohort or that of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.
Reflection on Interfaith by Catherine Castro
Religion can be such a strong and unifying force. It has the power to bring people from different cultures under one faith and create a community of loyal and devoted followers. While religions tend to be accepting of people of different backgrounds, categorizing individuals under a certain religion, by nature, can be a process of exclusion. By labeling ourselves as Christian, Muslim, Hindi, Jewish Buddhist etc. an automatic divide is naturally built that separates non-believers from believers. I cannot say for sure that people do this consciously or unconsciously but in either case, this divide and categorization in our minds is inevitable. How then, do we break these natural barriers? How do we stay strong in our personal faiths without ostracizing our fellow religious and non-religious brothers and sisters? Three weeks ago, Mr. Hakan Berberoglu, the president of the Niagara spoke to EMP and proposed an interesting solution- interfaith dialogue. Communication is one of the key things to any successful relationship and therefore, I believe Hakan’s proposition definitely has merit to it. However, can this solution be considered realistic? Is it a realistic approach to try and get people of different faiths with opposing views and at times strained pasts to come peacefully together with the some similar goal in mind? If the foundation of a person’s faith is that their belief that their sole religion is the one and only path to their conception of “salvation” and “heaven”, then it seems to me counterproductive to try to foster acceptance amongst these religions through the medium of interfaith dialogue.
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