Volume 86
T hu r s day , F e b rua ry 8, 2018
Issue 2
“Black In Time” Week with MERC
BY MAYA MCFADDEN STAFF WRITER
‘Black in Time’ week begins the Multicultural Education Resource Center’s (MERC) long agenda of on and off campus events to celebrate Black History Month. An interactive exhibit simulation of the Montgomery bus boycott was displayed in the Bowman lobby gallery space last Monday. Mikaela Serrano-Moore, an intern for MERC, began brainstorming for the ‘Black in Time’ event last September. Serrano-Moore then received help from Michael Obasohan, assistant director of diversity programs, with planning the event. “The civil rights movement was an essential part to Black History Month. There was a lot of sacrifice and courage made by those who came before us that allowed for me and people like me to live as freely as we do,” said Serrano-Moore. ‘Black in Time’ week is a five-day interactive event that places exhibit simulations in various locations on campus for students to learn about key events that helped to shape the civil rights movement. “A struggle I had was figuring out what would be eyecatching. It’s hard to catch the eyes of college students let alone keep their attention,” said Serrano-Moore. The ability to experience and interact was necessary in Serrano-Moore’s arranging of the event. The moments included in the week-long event are the Montgomery bus boycott, student diner
Photo by Maya McFadden
An artistic display shown in Bowman Hall that was made to inform those who walked by of the importance of the day. sit-ins, the Freedom Riders from Birmingham Jail.” and remain on display for At the end of the week, all the month. bus bombing, the Birmingham bombing, and Martin of the exhibit simulations Obasohan said that MERC Luther King Jr.’s “Letter will be moved to Bowman will be putting on various Hall’s lobby gallery space
events in honor of Black History Month to educate the campus community. “I hope everyone can take in why it’s important not to just celebrate black history during the month of February but throughout the entire year because there’s a lot of information, successes, and key moments to learn beyond just these 28 days,” Obasohan said. Upcoming events that MERC has put together this month include multiple movie screenings of films like “Fruitvale Station,” “Love and Basketball,” and “Show Me Democracy” with a following student activist panel. MERC has put together dates for resource tables on black mental health, Feb. 12, and people of color in the LGBTQ community, Feb. 14, in collaboration with Counseling Services and the Identity, Gender, and Equity Center. “I hope to start off this first week with remembering our roots and where we’ve come from. Then go on to celebrate those roots for the rest of the weeks,” said Obasohan. MERC will also be collaborating with the Women’s Center for the Women of Color Dinner on Feb. 15, which is an invitation-only event that will include faculty and staff speakers and speakers from Williams College. Obasohan said he is also putting together a Men of Color Dinner on Feb. 22, which will invite MCLA alumni of color to speak. “I think it will be a good way to provide our men of
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Meeting with State Legislator John Scibak BY FABIENNE BOGARDUSSTREET STAFF WRITER Massachusetts State Representative John Scibak, chairperson of the Joint Committee on Higher Education, visited campus on Monday, Jan 29. Scibak toured campus and met with various people and groups during his time. The History House set up a meeting with him specifically to talk about state legislature with the history and political science students and faculty. Scibak first started out the meeting with his back-
ground, how he got into the legislator position and what he does for the state. Scibak has served as an advocate for disabled people, youth services, senior programs and veteran benefits. He is committed to ensuring equal access to affordable healthcare for Massachusetts residents. He also works to improve the quality of education for all levels and workforce training for economic development programs. Scibak mentioned his three job components, dealing with the state budget, the laws and bills that come through, which are
divided up between the committees present and his constituents which could be anyone within his district. Scibak has voted on major issues throughout his time as a legislator such as abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage. Scibak then went into discussing how he wants adjunct faculty for colleges to have health insurance. A new bill that has come up is free tuition in Massachusetts, people have been asking for this ever since New York state went in that direction. Scibak mentioned why college expenses are
going up in price, which is due to faculty salaries, cost of education, health insurance and the differences between private and public schools. One of Scibak’s main focuses right now are open housing for low to middle income families. He wants affordable housing for these families. However, more and more people are going into the Airbnb business, which is putting your house or apartment up for people to stay in while visiting Massachusetts for vacation or otherwise. This makes it dif-
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Photo from malegislature.gov
Massachusetts State Representative John Scibak, chairperson of the Joint Committee on Higher Education