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La Unida Reports from National Conference

Every year the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) hosts a national conference in Chicago to offer incentive and motivation to Hispanic and Latinx youth. This conference has become the premier Hispanic leadership conference of the nation providing opportunities in networking between other young leaders and pre-professionals as well as meet recruiters, national policy-makers, and future employers. The La Unida executive board and one dedicated member got the opportunity to attend this year’s 36th annual conference this past February. Below you will read their reflection on the experience.

(Daisy Aguilera, Secretary) Unsure of what to expect, the USHLI 2018 conference proved to be motivational, inspirational, and moving to bring more programs to La Unida’s program list. Being surrounded by a very strong sense of Hispanic pride made me feel the refreshing feeling of motivation very much needed. La Unida’s executive group was given a very large range of panels and workshops which addressed issues such as: Being a First-Generation Student and Surviving Upper-Level Education, Financial Aid workshops, Latinas for Social Justice, Writing Workshops alongside other motivational workshops. Social Justice and activist speakers such as Dolores Huerta, City Clerk of Chicago Anna Valencia, and the Hispanic Hero Award winner and Civil Rights Activist, Sylvia Mendez gave such emotional and heavy encouragement to the younger generation students all around the nation. There was a range of great ideas provided and La Unida hopes to implement these into our upcoming events

(Jairo Javier, President) I have gotten the benefit of attending the USHLI conference for my third consecutive year and it always lives up to the excitement of my expectations. This year’s theme was titled “Generations of Courage, Preserve & Progress”. The conference brings many students from forty states and of various backgrounds, genders, sexualities, and educational backgrounds. The purpose of the conference is to develop and strengthen leadership skills and gain valuable insight on effective social justice programming. I enjoy attending the individual workshops as they focus on separate interests that are current to our time and economic environment. For example, two of the breakout sessions I attended were on the importance on personal branding for future professional success, and how we are culturally grounded for leadership. These forums and workshops not only direct us on how to improve our individual groups, but also how to create more cohesive coalitions and work on personal growth. Some of the discussion and team building techniques I learned will be used for our upcoming programs for the Coalition Firepit Confessional and the Cesar Chavez Day of Reflection. Additionally, one of the most inspirational sections of the entire conference is being able to listen to current leaders in the fields of technology, art, politics, social welfare, economics, and public relations.

(Jessica Reyes, Vice-President) Being a part of La Unida is amazing but having the opportunity to go to USHLI was more than I ever thought I would be able to do. USHLI not only inspired me to do greater things within Ripon, but taught me that we have a voice and we should stand up for what we believe in, spread awareness of La Unida, and not be afraid to show who we are. The conference influence me to do more and be more for my Latino/Latina culture. It empowered me every step along the way that our culture is amazing and we have to create a support system to support one another. Speakers like Cindy Nava, Denice Frohman, Dolores Huerta, Hon. Antonia Novello, Hon. Jesus G. Garcia, Sylvia Mendez and many more taught me more about how to care and love my culture better than anyone ever had. USHLI was a very encouraging and impactful conference that I hope more students will continue to go to.

(Oscar Arzate, member) I had a great experience at USHLI. I found it very inspirational seeing a diverse set of leaders who came and motivated us to continue to succeed. I was able to meet and connect with a lot of people there, with fun and unique stories. There were a lot of speeches that promoted civic dialogue and many workshops that helped those improve a variety of different skills. It also showed the importance of diversity and made me want to be more engaged with diversity clubs in Ripon. Overall it was a well informed and a great conference to attend.

(Alisha Harvat, Community Service Chair) Two nights in the Sheraton in Chicago sounds like a dream for some people; touring the city, making memories, and maybe even meeting new people. La Unida’s stay in Chicago, however, was so much more valuable than simply a fun weekend. We were instead there to celebrate and reflect on Hispanic culture. When we arrived on Friday morning, I could immediately see that it was going to be an experience unlike anything in my past. There were so many inspiring speakers, including Sylvia Mendez, Hon. Antonia C. Novello, and Dolores Huerta. These speakers and many others worked to successfully unite hundreds of individuals from many different walks of life into one entity, ready to fight for equality in the workplace, in education, and in their everyday walks of life. As we drove away from the city with new knowledge and enforced beliefs, all I could think was that I was already looking forward to next year’s conference.

(Pictured: La Unida posing with 2011 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, Sylvia Mendez)

We encourage everyone to take a look at our Facebook page, Ripon College La Unida, to see more details on our experience. Further questions and/or comments can be directed to any of the members of the Executive Board or brought up during our bi-weekly meetings. We can also provide further information on the many names mentioned above.

#La Unida #Hispanic Pride #Programming #Sylvia Mendez #SomosUSHLI

The Ripon College Feminists Club have been off to a great start this semester!

We started the semester with a fun event “My Dog is a Feminist” where we hung out by the fire pit, ate puppy chow, and pet all the cute dogs of campus. We talked about Feminism and how cute the dogs were. It was a GREAT turnout and we cannot wait to have more events soon!

Speaking of more events soon! One Big Sexy Blowout is in the process of being planned for this semester! One Big Sexy Blowout is our event that we have been putting on for the past two years in which the club creates the sexual education class that you should have had in high school. We bring in outside guests such as Pure Romance, Planned Parenthood, and other groups from campus. Our members set up booth-like tables in Heritage room in the commons and create a faire like experience for students to journey around and learn more about sexual education, self love, feminism, and health. We are already lining up all the guests and booths that we will have for your viewing pleasure!

We would love to have your opinion, ideas, and discussion at our meetings! We meet every Thursday at 5:20 in B12

#Ripon College Feminists #feminism #submission

LGBTQ History Month

LGBTQ History Month is upon us!

This month, the Ripon College Q.S.A. is focusing on “Marginalization in the Queer Community”. Our events are centered around different aspects of identity -- gender identities, racial identities, and others -- which are excluded or erased from the dominant narrative of queer progress.

Our first event was the on Tuesday, October 3rd: the Cissexism and Transphobia Panel. A panel of students spoke on their own experiences with being trans and nonbinary on campus, and discussed ways that others can work to create a more trans-friendly community.

Our next event is on Saturday, October 7th at 8 PM in West 2. We’ll be doing our annual screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show! Come on down and do the time warp with us!

After that, we have events coming up on October 10th, 24th, and 31st. See the poster below for the full event listings!

As always, the QSA meets on Tuesdays at 5 PM in B12. Feel free to bring your dinner and a friend! We’d love to see you there.

#QSA #LGBT history month #LGBTQ #marginalization #cissexism #transphobia #rocky horror picture show

Recharged BSU

The Black Student Union (BSU) is excelling and paving the way so far this fall semester. A new executive board was elected and events including movies, the annual Soul Food dinner, the semesterly Straight Talk, National Black Student Union conference, Six Flags trip, tshirts to promote the org, and monthly birthday celebrations are all planned! A common misconception among the diversity groups, especially BSU, is that you have to be African American to be a part of the group or come to events. That is totally not the case. All are welcome and encouraged to attend, allies are needed and we have a purpose to educate our culture. The group meets every Tuesday 11-12pm in room B18 of the commons.

The next event for BSU is the Six Flags Great America trip. All Ripon College students are invited to join BSU for fright fest and a day of fun! Currently there are 15 spots left for the trip and only a $5 deposit is required. Sign up at the Student Activities front desk before all spots are filled!!

2017-2018 Executive Board President - Markea Norris '20 Vice President - Jorge Zamora '18 Secretary - Kate Bernardin '21 Treasurer - Nhi Le '21 Diplomat - Jacob Pledel '21 Public Relations - Selena Luna '21

#BSU #Black Student Union #diversity #workshop #trip #Six Flags

2017 Mexican Festival Fun with La Unida

After the festival we headed to Taqueria Guadalajara to eat traditional Mexican food. Everything was delicious as we showed the students traditional Mexican dishes like mole, flautas, tortas, and more!

“Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.” - Cesar Chavez

Hispanic Heritage month is celebrated in the United States between September 15 to October 15. As Cesar Chavez describes, a celebration is in order! There are a lot of events going on around the world, as well as here at Ripon College. This month, La Unida is bringing events to Ripon students to understand and dive a little deeper into Hispanic culture.

For example, this past weekend, a group of students went to the Mexican Festival in Madison, Wisconsin. We’d like thank all those students who attended the event! We ate from the local food trucks, which had a variety of food from tacos to elotes, and participated in other activities. There were different booths selling a variety of cultural ornaments and dress such as clothing, bajas, traditional Mexican hoodies, jewelry, and toys. Take a look at all our beautiful and happy faces!

La Unida is still celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month around campus, check out our flyer of events. Come and join the events, have some fun and learn something new. You do not have to have of Hispanic heritage to join, just demonstrate interest.

#La Unida #Hispanic Heritage Month #Cesar Chavez #Food #Events

Thank you for a wonderful second year!

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion is closing out its second year at Ripon, with many wonderful memories to show for it. Beyond being a safe space for students to gather, socialize, and study, the CDI has been involved in a number of events this semester, such as:

The Housing, Education, and Employment Segregation Symposium for MLK Day 2017, which led the Ripon community in a discussion on the persisting effects of segregation across multiple life and economic areas

The Women in Numbers Keynote, in which Erin Gloria Ryan talked about her experiences as senior editor at the Daily Beast and host of "Girl Friday Cast"

The Racial Literacy Workshop, which gave students the tools to begin understanding and addressing race and disparity in America

International Dinner at Romelia’s, which brought the Ripon community together in celebration of cultures and their cuisine across the world

Students worked both with and beyond the CDI to host a variety of events on their own as well. We would like to take the time to highlight and appreciate the hard work and initiative Diversity Coalition groups have shown throughout the year by remembering some of the wonderful events students have hosted, including:

L'Alliance Francophone's Culture Week event French Pick-up Lines, which taught students about expressions of love in the French language

The Ripon College Feminists's Vagina Monologues at the newly opened Bovay's, a performance intended to highlight issues of sexism and body image

La Unida’s Mock Quinceanera, which gave students the opportunity to experience a traditional Hispanic quinceanera

The Black Student Union's showing of Birth of a Nation, a 2016 American period drama film based on the story of Nat Turner

The Queer-Straight Alliance’s Sex Week 2017: The Bang Heard ‘Round the World, which highlighted safe sex and different approaches to sex and sexuality across cultures

The Disability Rights, Education, and Activism Movement’s Autism Acceptance Month tabling, which encouraged students to celebrate neurodiversity and end stigma

Thank you all for a fantastic semester, and we can’t wait to see what the next one brings!

#Center for Diversity and Inclusion

#La Unida

Thank you all for joining the QSA in Sex Week 2017: The Bang Heard ‘Round the World! Our theme this year was culture and how issues relating to sex have developed around the world.

We kicked off the week with Sex Around the World. In collaboration with the Cultural Diversity Club, we hosted a discussion about sex practices and attitudes towards sex across cultures. Then, in F!@#ing Communicate, we discussed how to appropriately communicate with your partner. Issues such as kinks and STD status came up, as did boundaries and how to communicate them effectively. We finished out our educational events with The Long and Hard History of Sex Toys, which gave an overview of how sex toys have developed over the centuries.

Our final event was the Sex Week Raffle! Four sex toys and two intimate bundles were raffled off to anyone who attended a Sex Week event. If you won a prize, congratulations! If not, come back and try again next year! Thank you for your participation and your willingness to both learn and share your experiences.

#QSA

Here are ten things to know about the new African American Smithsonian! Consider visiting if you’re ever in the area.

#BSU

Do passengers care more about queues or privacy?

#Francophone Alliance

French Human Rights League says protest, a month after officer charged with rape, is to express anger over police violence

#Francophone Alliance

The leader of Paris’s bid for the 2024 Olympics has promised he can ‘100% guarantee’ none of his team will accept or offer bribes for votes in September’s election

#Francophone Alliance

The Students for Social Justice, along with their faculty advisor (Marc Eaton) and the Director of Multicultural Affairs (Kyonna Henry), are hosting a racial justice workshop to be held in the Heritage Room on Saturday, March 4, 2017. Sign up here for the Racial Justice workshop! https://goo.gl/forms/ycrCKHBt911SwIcJ3

This workshop would involve a half-day training (from 10:00am to 2:00pm) on racial literacy facilitated by Fit Oshkosh, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since July 2014, Fit Oshkosh has run dozens of racial literacy trainings and other community events in Winnebago County and the surrounding area. Tracey Robertson, the organization’s founder, describes racial literacy as “a person’s or organization’s capacity to appreciate and understand the history of race and where it is today, and to have the capacity to make changes and eliminate those disparities. It’s about working together across race to address the challenges of the 21st century”.

Students, staff, and faculty of Ripon College are invited to attend free of charge, including lunch, and engage with the following topics:

● Understanding varying definitions of race and how these are used in society;

● Understanding how one’s life conditions are affected by race;

● Identifying examples of how race, ethnicity, culture, gender, class, nationality, language, education, and other factors intersect with systems of oppression;

● Exploring one’s implicit racial biases;

● Practicing how to discuss racial topics in respectful ways;

● Participating in real-life scenarios designed to increase understanding of the difference between intent and impact of actions and statement in multi-cultural interactions;

● Learning how to analyze the impacts of organizational practices on specific racial groups; and

● Learning how to perform an organization-specific racial literacy assessment that includes action steps to address any problem areas identified.

United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) 35th Annual National Conference

(Jairo) Every year the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) hosts a conference for a variety of people under different themes, the majority of the attendees being students in order to encourage and motivate them for greater success. This being the thirty-fifth conference, the theme was “¡La Lucha Sigue! Core Values Never Lose”. Throughout the three days La Unida participated in this conference we learned that now more than ever our generation must act up on leadership and take role in reshaping the country. We were reminded of the struggle our predecessors went through in order to get to where we are now. In a single act through hatred, all that we have achieved could be demolished. This is why the ever influential Dolores Fuentes reminded us of the core values we must retain in order to strive on and never give up. Just as she, Cesar Chavez, and many others have done, we must continue to cultivate our education to brew leadership and influence others. As the Chief Education Officer Mateo R. Magdaleno said, some may see us a small useless pieces of trash and throw hate, bigotry and dirt on us to bury us, but little do they know that we are but seeds and what they were throwing was but fertilizer. We will grow and become unmovable organism of passion.

(Carmen) At this conference, we gained information about current events which directly affect the Hispanic community. One of these things was the information about what people can do “Build Bridges.” The five key things to do are to 1) know thyself, 2) understand the problem that you are fighting for, 3) take the long view, 4) prayer and reflection, and 5) don’t be afraid to take action.

At this great conference, we also had the opportunity to listen to and meet the loving and unstoppable leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, in the image to the right. Among all the great inspirational remarks she provided, she also spoke about how to organize. Huerta informed us that you do not need a lot of people. As a coalition of multicultural groups at Ripon College, we have in many instances discussed the problem of not having more allies joining us in the activism we work on. However, we have also talked about how we should “never thought that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” (Margaret Mead). In the same way, Dolores Huerta explains that change only takes time, but that “it only takes the militant few” to make that change (Dolores Huerta, 2017). Dolores Huerta then continued to excite the crowd when she explained that our generation missed the civil rights movement which she was part of, but reassuring us that the civil rights movement is now back and we must act. Concluding her address, Huerta asked the crowd to proclaim “(Huerta) Who's got the power? (Crowd) We’ve got the power! (Huerta) What type of power? (Crowd) People power! (Huerta) Who’s got the power? (Crowd) We’ve got the power! (Huerta) What type of power? (Crowd) Latino Power!"

(Stephanie) This year's’ conference was very interesting. The themes really hit home because last year it was in preparation for the elections, but after the outcome, this year's theme helped restore faith in the future. I really liked the forum where two former surgeons came in to talk to us. This was very inspirational because these national surgeons aren’t only in the top 20, but they are minority Latina and African American. To see them talk with so much assertiveness got to me after conducting research over the summer with Lanitnas and assertiveness.

Dr. Antonia Novello, Former U.S. Surgeon General, left, and Dr. Minnie Joycelyn Elders, right, February 2017

(Jessica) USHLI was full of inspirational attendees and interestingly relevant forums. Debunking Misconceptions of Latinx in Higher Education by Dr. Elena Foulis stood out to me the most. Dr. Foulis pointed out that the Latino community has a wide range of socioeconomic status. As little kids we always pick up on our friends being richer than us if they have more toys or cooler clothes than us. Yet we still fall victim to the stereotype that all Latinos are poor. Dr. Foulis used a graph to demonstrate the large range in socioeconomic status amongst different Hispanic origin groups.This is an important realization as it can help explain why different Latino groups hold different views on immigration. Given today's tumultuous political climate, some Latino families may experience some tension as some might agree with Trump’s administration while others disagree. It is important to understand that Latinos of lower socioeconomic status have a different view of Trumps administration when compared to Latinos of higher socioeconomic status especially if someone is residing in the US illegally.

(Natsumi) During the USHLI conference, I learned more of how to become a leader as a young Hispanic that was given an opportunity to continue my education. I went to workshops to help me understand what I can do to improve my interaction skills. There were also many speeches given during our breaks and they were very inspiring for me to continue to give our college the diversity it deserves.

(Jose) This conference worked as a great way to know, as a Latino, how I can better help my community and also myself. There were two work shop that actually helped me in this notion of improvement. The first one was a community improvement planning. We choose one topic that affects our community and tried to figure out the problems that are caused by the roots of the situation and we looked at how it affects the community. This helps us understand the situation and take the right course of action with the resources available. The second workshop is focused on self-improvement. It helped us understand what is acceptable in a professional setting and things we can fix that can affect our professional image. In all, this conference was a great learning experience.

(Dihana) One of my favorite workshops was The Essentials of Personal Branding. It explored the importance of first impressions and how you should look in order to “sell yourself” to a potential employer or company. The speaker explained how important first impressions are and how they may lead us to make unconscious decisions based on how the person dresses or speaks. He also advised us on what to do in order to improve oral communication skills, and recommended us about the kind of pictures we can and cannot upload on any social media webpage. It really encouraged the audience to think about what we want to offer to future employers and how we can improve it.

USHLI was a great opportunity for Latino students to meet and discuss about ideas, share experiences, and learn one from each other. All of us really benefited from being there and learned more about this community.

#La Unida

Two Tennessee lawmakers were run out of their own news conference in less than five minutes Wednesday by about 60 protesters who shouted and demanded answers from the Republicans about why they were pushing controversial legislation on bathrooms and marriage.

The fight isn’t over on LGBT protections. With the success of Obergefell v. Hodges and the Obama administration's directive that permitted transgender students to use the bathroom of their choosing, it seemed that we were finally making progress in protecting our LGBT citizens. Unfortunately, under the changing political landscape, many of those protections are coming under threat.

Two Tennessee lawmakers, Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) and Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) have proposed legislation that would prevent transgender students from using the bathroom they feel safest in, as well as legislation that would define marriage as strictly between one man and one woman.

Protesters have already begun combating this legislation, and a group of 300 companies have formed a coalition called Tennessee Thrives to stand in opposition to LGBT exclusion and discrimination. These are just a few examples of citizens standing up against anti-LGBT legislation in our country. One other way we can combat bathroom bills is through the use of gender neutral bathrooms—which Ripon College has implemented in many of its buildings. We can take this advocacy further by committing to protecting our transgender community members in spaces that do not accommodate their needs, and preparing to stand up against such legislation should it find its way to Wisconsin.

#QSA

France spends €100 million tackling ‘unbearable’ racism

The Paris jihadist attacks have prompted the French government to launch a campaign to manage racism and prejudice in the western European nation. The program increases penalties for crimes allegedly fuelled by racism and anti-Semitism and comes at a time when acts of racism against Muslims and Jews have surged in France.

The former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls decried the current status in the country, telling reporters that “racism, anti-Semitism, hatred of Muslims, of foreigners, homophobia are increasing in an unbearable manner.”

Reports from other organizations support these claims. On Thursday the country’s Islamophobia watchdog noted that anti-Muslim acts had jumped six-fold in the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2014. This rise was further exacerbated by the January 7-9 attacks when Islamic radicals went on a killing spree that left 17 dead.

The Jewish community is also increasingly worried, with anti-Semitic acts doubling compared with 2013, prompting a rising number of Jews to immigrate to Israel.

According to Valls, French Jews and Muslims should be able to freely practice their religions without fear of resentment or vengeful acts.He also added that the new program would include new legal measures as well as a clamp down on cyber racism. Currently, racist and anti-semitic acts and comments are dealt with under France’s media laws. These amendments will henceforth be “written into the penal code” and treated as criminal offences.

Hopefully the program will engender a more compassionate, unified France.

#submission

Welcome Back!

As we kick off another semester, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion is excited to see what diversity issues Ripon students bring to the table. Already, students and faculty are working on educational events such as Women’s History Month, culture Week, and Sex Week. There’s much more to come, so look out!

Diversify Ripon! is maintained by a variety of Ripon’s campus groups, all of which are dedicated to advocacy and education on the Ripon campus. Here’s a bit more about each of them:

Cultural Diversity Club CDC is an international student organization that celebrates and raises awareness about the diverse cultural backgrounds at Ripon College. They work to promote acceptance and bring the campus’s diverse population together. Some of their programs include the International Fashion Show, Native American History Month, and the International Fair. Meets Thursdays 5:15pm, Pickard Commons Dining Room. Black Student Union The purpose of the Black Student Union is to decrease racial ignorance and to create cultural awareness on campus. BSU is an established and motivated group. This group has been recognized on campus and at national conferences for our hard work and dedication to multiculturalism and diversity programming. Some signature programs from BSU are Soul Food, Straight Talk, Soap Box, and Black History Month. Meets Wednesdays 5:15pm in Pickard Commons Dining Room.

Queer Straight Alliance Q.S.A. is a gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and ally support and social change organization for Ripon College students, faculty, and staff. The organization seeks to educate students and the college community and provide support for anyone facing issues of sexuality. Membership is open to all members of the campus, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Some of the programs they have put on include LGBT History Month, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Sex Week. Meets Tuesdays 5:15pm in Pickard Commons B12.

La Unida La Unida is the only Hispanic serving student organization on campus. They discuss the Hispanic population on campus and plan educational and engaging activities to promote awareness and respect. Some of their programs include Las Posadas, Hispanic Heritage Month, and the Cinco De Mayo celebration. Meets Tuesdays 6:00pm in Pickard Commons Dining Room. Ripon College Feminists The Ripon College Feminists aim to promote intersectional feminism, women’s rights, and the equality of all genders. They host workshops, plan campus events, and raise awareness about feminist issues. Their programs include Theory Thursdays, One Big Sexy Blowout, and Women’s History Month. Meets Tuesdays 11:15am in Pickard Commons Heritage Room.

Francophone Alliance The Francophone Alliance encourages francophone students at Ripon College to practice their French communication skills and get involved with the Francophone community outside Ripon College. They work to raise awareness and appreciation for francophone culture, and have hosted programs such as Fête au Pub, La Fête De Noel, and the Candlelight Vigil. Meets Thursdays 6pm in Pickard Commons B18.

DREAM (Disability Rights, Education, and Activism Movement) DREAM is an advocacy and support group that focuses on disability issues on and off the Ripon campus. They seek to educate the campus about disabilities both physical and mental, visible and invisible, and are open to anyone regardless of disability status. Some of their programming includes Disability 101 and the Accessibility Scavenger Hunt. Meets Wednesdays at 6pm in Google Hangouts

#CDI

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