09Mar

The Diversifieds A publication of the EDRC at Grays Harbor College

Volume 1, Issue 4

March 2009

National Women’s History Month

By Beth Lavallee

For many years women were not thought of as equals; in many aspects this has changed. Women can vote, women can own businesses and property, and women’s achievements are now being acknowledged.

Women’s history started being recognized in Sonoma County, California in 1978 as Women’s History Week. In 1987 congress expanded the celebration to a full month.

The purpose of Women’s History Month is to remember the women who have enriched our lives through their determination, intelligence, and dreams.

One of the biggest organizations concerning women’s history is The National Women’s History Project (NWHP). The NWHP is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1980. The mission of the NWHP is to recognize and celebrate the diverse and historic accomplishments of women. They provide information, educational materials, and programs to the community. This year’s theme for Women’s History Month is “Women Taking the Lead to Save the Planet.” The NWHP will be recognizing Rachel Carson for her work battling the chemical industry to ban the use of the toxic chemical dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). DDT is a pesticide once widely used to control insects in agriculture and insects that carry diseases such as malaria. For more information on the NWHP visit www.NWHP.org Women’s firsts:

• 1650 Anne Bradstreet- first published American woman writer.

• 1795 Anne Parrish establishes, in Philadelphia, the House of Industry, the first charitable organization for women in America.

• 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell receives her M.D. degree from the Medical Institution

of Geneva, N.Y., becoming the first woman in the U.S. with a medical degree.

• 1872 Victoria Claflin Woodhull becomes the first woman presidential candidate in the United States when she is nominated by the National Radical Reformers.

• 1901 On October 24, 1901, Annie Edson Taylor, a schoolteacher from Michigan, becomes the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

• 1916 Jeannette Rankin, of Montana, is the first woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

• 1970 Diane Crump becomes the first female jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby.

• 2000 Hillary Clinton is elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first First Lady ever elected to national office.

March is...

• Irish American Heritage Month • National Women’s History Month

Awareness Dates: Independence Movement Day

1

Granting of Citizenship (US)

2

Beginning of Great Lent Doll Festival (Japan)

2 3

Maulid an‐Nabi (Islamic)

8‐9

International Women’s Day Purim (Jewish) Hola Muhalla (Sikh) Holi (Hindu) Sun Yat‐sen’s Death (China) New Year (Sikh)

8 9‐10 11 11‐12 12 14

National Day (Hungary)

15

St. Patricks Day (Ireland)

17

Feast of St. Joseph (R. Cath.)

19

Ostara (Pagan & Wiccan)

19‐20

Chichen Itza Festival (Mexico)

20

Now Rouz (Afganistan & Iran)

20

Naw Ruz (Baha’I & Zoroastrian) 21 Elimination of Racial Discrim.

No written law has ever been more binding than unwritten custom supported by popular opinion. ~ Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) Speech at the Senate hearing on women's suffrage, February 13, 1900

21

Youth Day (Tunisia)

21

Mothering Sunday (UK) The Annunciation (Christian)

22 25

Bikarami Samvat (Hindu)

27

Chetra Navratras (Hindu)

27

Ugadi (Hindu) Respect for Ancestors Day

27 31

The Diversifieds are a publication of the EDRC of Grays Harbor College. The mission of the EDRC is to promote awareness, respect, & equitable treatment of the diverse individuals and groups that exist within our campus and surrounding communities. The EDRC is open to all! Please come visit us in the 200 building.

The Diversifieds

Independence Day in Greece

by Luana Ray

You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." . . . You must do the thing you think you cannot do. ‐ Eleanor Roosevelt (1884‐1962) You Learn by Living (1960)

The problem that has no name - which is simply the fact that American women are kept from growing to their full human capacities - is taking a far greater toll on the physical and mental health of our country than any known disease. ‐ Betty Friedan (1921‐2006) The Feminine Mystique (1963)

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If you’re planning to visit Greece on March 25th, expect the streets to be filled with parades and celebrations, both secular and sacred. In 1821, the Greeks vigorously rose up against the oppressive Ottoman Empire, who had occupied Greece for nearly four hundred years. Embarking on the ultimately successful war of independence, Bishop Germanos of Patras boldly raised the Greek flag at the monastery of Agia Lavras, inciting the Peloponnese to rise against the oppressors.

The people of Greece shouted "Freedom or Death" and fought the War of Independence for nine years.

Finally, a small part of modern Greece was liberated and declared an independent nation. The struggle for the liberation continued. In 1864, the Ionian Islands were added to Greece; in 1881 parts of Epirus and Thessaly. Crete, the islands

of the Eastern Aegean and Macedonia, were added in 1913 and Western Thrace in 1919. After World War II the Dodecanese islands were also returned to Greece.

This holiday is also celebrated as The Feast of the Annunciation. On this day, in the Orthodox calendar, the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced the news: she was pregnant with the Divine Child. The Bishop chose this day to deliver a different, but not unrelated message: a new spirit was about to be born in Greece.

Churches celebrate with magnificence, ceremony, and elation. It is especially vivid on the islands of Tinos and Idra (Hydra). Hydra, a maritime merchant power with a swift, well-maintained fleet, was a determined and effective supporter of the War for Independence, doubling the celebration there. You can also expect colorful religious ceremonies wherever the local

monastery or church is named "Evangelisimos" or "Evangelistria", such as Panagia Evangelistria on Tinos.

Greek Independence Day is also more common in the United States in cities where Greeks have made their homes, including Boston and New York City.

Each year, the U.S. President marks the occasion with a proclamation reminding citizens of the contributions of Greece to democracy, and of the ongoing contributions of expatriate Greeks in their new communities throughout the world.

Travelers who don't throw themselves into the spirit of the day may be frustrated with delays, unexpected closures, and a general lack of attentiveness by the Greeks, who are busy with the dual holiday.

The Summit of Women’s Success

by F.E. Marshall At a time when Title IX paves the way for successful women across the US and female athletes such as Serena Williams, Candace Parker and Danica Patrick are household names, it is no surprise that women are beginning to hold their own against men in the world of sports.

Tennessee’s Lady Vols, making her the first coach- male or female- in NCAA history to do so. In thirty-five years of coaching, she has lost only 187 games, made twentyseven consecutive appearances in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, and has put eight national championships under her belt. She has produced twelve Olympians, 43 profesPat Summitt is no excepsional players and 71 All-SEC tion. On February 5th, 2009, players. Perhaps what is most she earned her 1,000th impressive about Summitt is career win as the basketthat in her tenure as head ball coach of University of

coach for the Lady Vols, she has had a graduation rate of 100% in her athletes who choose to complete their eligibility (four seasons) at Tennessee .

As we observe Women’s History Month, remember that the successes of women are not limited to the past, for the leaders who succeed today are the role models for the future the role models of those who will continue to fight for gender equality.

Volume 1, Issue 4

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

by Beth Lavallee Not so long ago South African people of color or mixed racial descent were controlled by apartheid pass laws. These laws prohibited most social contact between races, authorized segregated public facilities, and denied any representation of nonwhites in the national government. Every native African male over the age of 16 had to carry a pass, day and night, to be shown “on demand” to the police.

Failure to show the pass,

forgetting the pass at home, or not having the right stamp, would result in arbitrary arrest and jail. Between 1952 and 1986, millions of blacks were punished by the courts for failing to carry their passes.

On March 21, 1960, at a peaceful demonstration against the apartheid pass laws in Sharpeville, South Africa police opened fire and killed 69 people. Following this tragic event The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Dis-

crimination was first established in 1966. The pass laws were finally abolished in 1986 when the process of dismantling the apartheid system began. Today, the UN celebrates March 21 as The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and Human Rights Day, to remind the international community of the dire consequences of racism, and to remember our obligation and determination to fight racial discrimination.

Irish Immigrants

by Jen Anderson Like many ethnic groups trying to escape religious and financial oppression in their native countries the Irish started to immigrate to America. Between 1820 and 1860, the Irish were never less than a third of all immigrants. By 1840, the Irish constituted nearly half of all entering immigrants, and New England found itself heavily foreign born. By 1950, the Irish consisted of one fifth of all foreign born in the originally homogenous region. (http://library.thinkquest.org/20619/Irish.htm) Between 1815 and 1920, five and a half million Irish emigrated to America. (Takaki, R., A Different Mirror. 1993) There was a potato rot that occurred in Ireland, more known as the Great Famine, that drove many families into financial ruin. By 1855, some one million people had died from hunger and sickness. Many fled to America where the streets were supposedly lined with gold. Many of the immigrants arrived with little or no resources and found that what they had left in Ireland they soon found in America.

“Victims of English prejudice and repression in Ireland, the Irish in America often redirected their rage in pecking order” (Takaki). The Irish found that they were being discriminated as a lesser race by many Euro-Americans, so they turned their hatred onto the laborers that worked alongside them in their trades. Many Irish worked and labored with the Africans, but since the mind frame was that the African race was lower than whites the Irish took advantage of this. Irish were easily assimilated to America, as their skin was white, but an African American could not assimilate because of the color of his skin.

Both groups were highly discriminated against for the sole reason that many lived in poverty and middle class whites would have nothing to do with either race.

It is easy to get caught up in wearing green and eating corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, but it is important to look at the rich heritage and struggles that brought Irish immigrants to America and why they are proud of whom they are. I encourage people to look further into why St. Patrick’s Day is truly celebrated and not what commercialism has brought to the day.

March’s Trivia 1. What did Hyman Lipman do in 1858 that made life easier for students?

2. In what state can you find the towns of Romance, Sweet Home and Success?

3. Which two states have neighboring towns named for explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark?

4. What problem did Leonardo da Vinci, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison and General George Patton have in common?

5. What physical handicap afflicted Juliette Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of America?

Stop by the EDRC to see if you have the correct answers to this month’s trivia and your name will be put in the EDRC’s monthly drawing.

"Racist practices hurt their victims, but they also limit the promise of entire societies where they are toler‐ ated. They prevent in‐ dividuals from realiz‐ ing their potential and stop them from con‐ tributing fully to na‐ tional progress"

‐ Ban Ki‐moon United Nations Secretary General

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The Doll Festival

by Echo Hahn Japan’s Doll Festival, or Hina Matsuri, is always held on the third of March, and is cele‐ brated mostly by women, thus also being called Girl’s Day. Platforms with a red cover‐ ing are used to display a set of ornamental dolls representing the Emperor, Empress, attendants, and musicians in traditional court dress of the Heian period.

Traditionally, dolls possess the power to contain evil spirits, and were sent down river in little straw boats in ancient times, supposedly taking troubles with them. The festi‐ val is no longer celebrated in that way because fisherman would always catch the dolls in their nets and presumably weren’t very happy about it. Since then, the festival has evolved into a period where families with daughters wish them a prosperous, happy life. Houses are decorated with dolls and peach blossoms, and the celebrating families drink sweet sake and eat chirashi sushi as they wish joy on the daughters of the house.

Soda Bread This bread is popular throughout Ireland. Because it is easily and quickly made it is often baked fresh for tea or even breakfast. At home we used to call the loaf made with white flour soda bread, while that made with wholemeal was wheaten bread. In other parts of the country wheaten bread is referred to as brown soda or, confusingly, soda bread!

4 cups plain flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp sugar (optional) 2 cups buttermilk or sour milk Sieve the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Scoop up handfuls and allow to drop back into the bowl to aerate the mixture. Add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough.

Now work quickly as the buttermilk and soda are already reacting. Knead the dough lightly ‐ too much handling will toughen it, while too little means it won't rise prop‐ erly.

Form a round loaf about as thick as your fist. Place it on a lightly‐floured baking sheet and cut a cross in the top with a floured knife. Put at once to bake near the top of a pre‐heated oven, , 450°F, for 30‐45 minutes. When baked, the loaf will sound hollow when rapped on the bottom with your knuckles. Wrap immediately in a clean tea‐ towel to stop the crust hardening too much.

Other Awareness Dates: 6 - Independence Day (Ghana) 11 - Restoration of Statehood Day (Lithuania) 20 - Independence Day (Tunisia) 20 - Vernal Equinox Day (Japan) 22 - Arab League Day (Lebanon) 22 - Emancipation Day (Puerto Rico) 23 - Republic Day (Pakistan) 26 - Birthday of Prophet Zarathushtra (Zoroastrian) 26 - National Day (Bangladesh)

Campus Happenings

Thoroughly Modern Millie ‐GHC Theater Department Production ‐Bishop Center for Performing Arts ‐March 6, 7, 13, 14: 7:30 pm ‐March 8, 15: 2:00 pm ‐$16 Adults, $13 Srs, $10 Students, $8 12 & Under

NASA Meeting (Native American Student Assoc.) ‐Monday, March 2, 3:00‐4:00PM

ASGHC Bowl‐a‐thon ‐Saturday, March 7, 1:00‐4:00PM ‐contact Gail Morehouse, NASA Sec.

GHC Music Dept. Concert ‐Thursday, March 19, 7:00‐9:00PM ‐Bishop Center for Performing Arts ‐$4 General Admission

Calling All Writers!

The Diversifieds are an extension of the GHC campus and our surrounding community. We would like to welcome and encourage students and staff to submit articles for publication in The Diversifieds. This is a monthly publication.

Please contact Erin Frasier at efrasier@ghc.edu for next month’s topics and to submit articles, poems or artwork.

DIVERSITY COMMITTEE

Equity & Diversity Resource Center 360-538-4247 Room 219

Committee Chair: Brian Shook The Diversifieds Staff: Beth Lavallee Echo Hahn Erin Frasier

1620 Edward P. Smith Drive Aberdeen, WA 98520 edrc@ghc.edu http://www.ghc.edu/edrc/brochure.pdf