From the Desk of Diversity
Northwestern's Diversity & Inclusion Newsletter
Orange Issue
- Orange Campaign
- Words to Live By
- Did You Know?
- Nominate a Dignity & Respect Champion
- Random Acts of Kindness (RAK)
- Links to Explore
- Days to Remember
- Topics in Diversity: Diwali, Festival of Lights
- Community Engagement
- Past Events
- Get Involved
- Learning & Training Opportunities
- Apply for a Scholarship
Orange Campaign
Our university wide orange campaign will be promoting awareness of the efforts by both organizations to stop violent acts against women and their children.
- 1 in 3 women have experienced physical or sexual violence.
- 1 in 5 homicide victims are under the age of 19. 1 in 3 of those are under 10 years of age.
We will be tabling at noon in the foyer from Monday, November 23 to Wednesday, November 25. We will gather at 12:25 in the foyer on Wednesday of that week for a moment of silence to honor victims of violence. We will be conducting a fundraiser by offering orange wristbands that are imprinted with #EndViolence and Orange Your World to honor both women and children. The wristbands will be $1. All proceeds will be donated to the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. Our goal is to donate at least $250.
Our Wednesday highlight is a campaign to dress in orange attire. Please email Beau Foshee with any questions.
Submitted by Beau Foshee, wfoshee@nwhealth.edu
Words to Live By
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
–Margaret Mead
Did You Know?
There are 774 million illiterate individuals,. Two thirds of them are women.
Facts gathered from the UNESCO Education for All Global Monitoring Report.
Nominate a Dignity & Respect Champion
Please take five minutes to nominate your Champion. Thank you.
Random Acts of Kindness (RAK)
If you see something, say something.
Please email Sara Cooper, scooper@nwhealth.edu, to nominate someone and make their day.
Days to Remember
Here are some holidays during November and December. Check out the Office of Diversity & Inclusion's Cultural Calendar for more information on upcoming holidays or holidays not published here.
November
- Native American Heritage Month
- National Epilepsy Month
- National Adoption Awareness Month
- November 1st - Día de los Muertos
- November 11th - Diwali / Deepvali and Veteran's Day
- November 25th - Orange Your Neighborhood
- November 26th - Thanksgiving Day (United States)
- November 27th - Native American Heritage Day
- November 27th-29th - Hmong New Year
December
- Learn a Foreign Language Month
- Native American Winter Holidays
- December 1st - World AIDS Day
- December 3rd - International Day of Persons with Disabilities
- December 6th - St. Nicholas Day
- December 6th-14th - Hanukkah
- December 10th - Human Rights Day
- December 25th - Christmas Day
- December 26th - Boxing Day
- December 26th-January 1st - Kwaanza
Please also feel welcome to explore these links on American Indians and calendars:
Topics in Diversity: Diwali, Festival of Lights
Diwali, commonly known as the Festival of Lights, is India’s most celebrated and important holiday. It is comparable to Christmas. Since it is based on the lunar calendar, the date varies every year, but it usually falls around mid October to mid November. Depending on the religion, it has a specific significance, and depending on the region, it is celebrated in different ways. Nonetheless, the underlying meaning is the same. Diwali celebrates good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and light over darkness.
The way that it is traditionally celebrated in India is different than what happens outside of India. The usual tradition is for people to wake up in the early hours of dawn and every member of the household is involved with the preparations for the day. The house is first thoroughly cleaned. Floors are washed, windows are cleaned and every inch of the house is dusted. After a thorough bath, everyone dons new clothes before participating in the prayer ceremonies. The prayer rooms are adorned with fresh flowers and incense is lit. The beautiful fragrance of the flowers and incense permeates the entire house and makes its way into the streets, for windows are often left open. The floors of the courtyards are decorated with rangolis, hand drawn patterns using colorful chalk powder, colored rice, fresh petals or sand. Small clay lamps, called diyas, are lit throughout the whole house in the evening. Family members adorned in their best ornate silks, get together and celebrate with a wide assortment of festive food. Gifts may or may not be exchanged but fireworks are sure to light up the night sky throughout the neighborhoods.
The lit clay lamps symbolize our internal light. This internal light destroys all evil such as jealousy, anger, greed or lust by igniting knowledge and wisdom. Fireworks are used to scare evil away. For certain Hindus, the houses are cleaned and diyas are lit to welcome the Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, so that she may find her way into the homes and bless everyone with wealth. Windows are also left open for this very reason. However, depending on the region, other Hindus may interpret Diwali in slightly different ways. Whether it’s to celebrate King Rama’s return home, or Lord Krishna’s or Lord Vishnu’s victory over a demon, the common theme is victory of good over evil. In Sikhism, another religion in India, Diwali commemorates the day that Guru Hargobind Singh Ji, the sixth Guru, was freed from prison along with 52 other prisoners.
As a Sikh, I remember growing up with Diwali in a simpler way. We would come home from school, shower and get ready to pray together. My uncle, aunt, grandmother and cousins would all come over. We’d go to the temple for a prayer ceremony. The parking lot would be overflowing. Crowds of people would try to make their way into the temple. After the ceremony, we’d return home to light diyas and incense. New clothes, fireworks or gifts were not emphasized. My mother would make a sumptuous fresh feast but before we’d dig in, we would all pray in the prayer room, and ask for guidance, forgiveness and strength. After the food was blessed, we’d all run to the kitchen and dig into Mom’s mouth-watering food. And licking the delicious home made sweets off my fingers was the best part!
This year, Diwali is being celebrated on November 11th. Since it falls on a weeknight, we will be getting together with other families after homework is completed. The celebration will be a mini one…but my girls probably won’t want to end the night until after the fireworks in the driveway…
Submitted by Amrit Devgun, ND, AAP, adevgun@nwhealth.edu
Community Engagement
Northwestern's Women's Leadership group meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 12-1 in the Holtz Boardroom. Please feel welcome to bring your lunch and be ready to discuss. RSVP to Alejandra Dashe (adashe@nwhealth.edu) or Michele Maiers (mmaiers@nwhealth.edu).
The Office of Diversity & Inclusion is organizing people interested in child care back up options and helping parents out when they need it. Please meet with Dr. Dashe on 11/16 at noon in L3
Interested in forming a leadership group? The Office of Diversity & Inclusion is happy to assist. Start organizing your group today - contact Alejandra Dashe (adashe@nwhealth.edu) for assistance.
LGBT Aging - free training! Nov 17 at noon in L4.
The NWHSU Veteran's Day Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, November 11th from 11:00am-1:00pm. This ceremony will feature the presentation of colors by Color Guard, and a ribbon cutting to mark the opening the new Vet Center here at Northwestern. There will also be a presentation by guest speaker, Dr. Chad Paulson.
Orange Your Neighborhood is a campaign from UNWomen raising awareness about ending violence against women. Northwestern is participating in this event on November 25th and continuing on for the this 16 day campaign. Look for more information coming soon.
The Hmong New Year Celebration is being held on Nov 27-Nov 29 between 8am and 11:30pm at the St. Paul River Center. Check it out!
The “We Are Hmong Minnesota” Exhibit will be at the Minnesota History Center from March 7-November 29, 2015. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Hmong migration to Minnesota.
Minnesota Multicultural Student Leadership Conference will be held November 14th, 2015 from 9:00am - 5:00pm at the Coffman Memorial Union on the East Bank Campus of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Early-Bird Registration August 1st - September 21st at $35.00 per person. After, registration will go up to $50.00 per person. Attendance is limited to 200 participants. Please see Dr. Dashe at adashe@nwhealth.edu if you are interested in presenting, attending, and/or volunteering.
Are you engaged in health related research and a minority in your field? Visit PRIDE to attend summer week long research seminars to boost your presence and skill set in your field. All are encouraged to apply for cohorts forming in Summer 2016.
The Office of Diversity & Inclusion is looking for health care shadowing opportunities with professionals who work with populations that have documented health care disparities.
For all outreach events, please share your interest and opportunities with diversity@nwhealth.edu.
Submitted by Alejandra Dashe, adashe@nwhealth.edu
Past Events
World Food Day
Special thanks to the following donors:
SACA - Andrea
SACA - Anna
SACA - Becky
Asian Culture Club
Canadian Club
The Rock Bible Study
Spanish Language Club
Verena Van Fleet
Isaac Brist - Senate
Nathan Servey
Brittany McCormick - Volunteer
Jessica Keesling - Volunteer
Janis Keesling
We raised about $130 and received a box full of food!
This event was sponsored by the Student Senate Volunteer Committee & the Office of Diversity & Inclusion
YWCA It's Time to Talk Forums on Race
A special thanks to the attendees for taking time out of their day to attend:
Andrea Budke, Marketing
Alejandra Dashe, Undergrad & Diversity
Bobby Dorn, Chiropractic Student
Beau Foshee, Chiropractic Student & Student Senate President
Stacy Severson, Admissions
Kim Tamble, Partnerships
Carolyn Weiss, Chiropractic Student & Student Senate Vice President
If you are interested in continuing our conversation that we held at the luncheon or holding a new conversation about race at Northwestern, please feel welcome to contact Dr. Dashe to get it set up. It's never too late to talk about race.
This event was sponsored by the Office of Diversity & Inclusion. We also thank the YWCA for their generous scholarship to allow us to complete a table. Please consider joining us next year at this remarkable event.
Get Involved with Diversity & Inclusion
- Take training! See "Learning and Training Opportunities" below. Most trainings are free or low cost and can get you CEUs.
- Take the Dignity & Respect pledge.
- Join one of our cultural clubs.
- Want to write for From the Desk of Diversity? Book Club book suggestion? Engaging diversity activity idea? Contact Dr. Dashe, Beau Foshee, or Celia Peters.
Learning & Training Opportunities
- Webinar: Every Day Bias: Identifying and Navigating our Unintentional Blind Spots; Howard Ross from Cook Ross
- Acupuncturists Without Borders and Doctors Without Borders
- 200+ Super Free Online Public Health Courses & Training + Certificates MPH Programs List
- Think Cultural Health: Promotores de Salud; Office of Minority Health, Department of Health & Human Services
- A Physician's Practical Guide to Culturally Competent Care
- Health Resources and Services Administration: Effective Communication Tools for Healthcare Professionals 100
- Immigrant and Refugee Health Online Course by the U of M Medical School Department of Global Health (and other opportunities)
- YWCA of Minneapolis Racial Justice Workshops & Events
- Rainbow Health Initiative Trainings & Presentations
- Minnesota AIDS Project
Office of Diversity & Inclusion
Email: diversity@nwhealth.edu
Website: http://nwhealth.edu/diversity/
Location: Northwestern Health Sciences, West 84th Street, Bloomington, MN, United States
Phone: 952-888-4777 235
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Northwestern-Diversity-Inclusion/678001138890536
Twitter: @NWHSU_Diversity
Senior Editor
Director, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Assistant Professor, College of Undergraduate Health Sciences
Email: adashe@nwhealth.edu
Website: http://www.nwhealth.edu/undergraduate-studies/faculty-directory/estrindashealejandra/
Editor
Student, College of Chiropractic
Diversity Scholar
Email: cpeters@nwhealth.edu
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/celia-peters/9b/b28/b74
Assistant Editor
Student, College of Chiropractic
Diversity Leadership Scholar
Student Senate President
Email: wfoshee@nwhealth.edu
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/beau-foshee/a/58b/493