Continuing from last semester, the Elizabethtown College Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking’s (CGUP) first annual Forum on White Supremacy and Colonization will shift gears to focus on international concerns. In the fall semester, the Forum focused primarily on issues of race on a domestic level. Now, the scope is expanding to the global scale.
Describing this transition in focus, associate professor of education and Interim Director of CGUP Dr. Shannon Haley-Mize explained, “We’re turning our attention to more of the global colonization issues and questions, really wanting to build on the foundation that was laid in the fall where we talked about oppression and power….as it relates to this country….and wanting to talk about colonization, its implications across the globe and hearing from members of our community.”
This semester, CGUP will be sponsoring and hosting a number of events. These include:
⁃ A small-group media series taking place in Nicarry 127 wherein students will watch and discuss two films and one series dealing with various global issues. The dates of the different showings are:
⁃ The Roots Show – Feb. 17th at 7:30 p.m.
⁃ The True Cost – Feb. 22nd at 7:30 p.m.
⁃ Living on One Dollar – Feb. 24th at 7:30 p.m.
Registration for this event can be completed by following this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe0s1AeprbclEC2MmwXCy-E0dgFvl8wUgh_zDJ3Eg9PJhsucw/viewform
⁃ Campus-Wide Film Screening and Q&A with Director – I am Belmaya (Thursday, March 7th at 7 p.m. in Steinman Auditorium)
⁃ Requiring no registration, this campus-wide event will showcase the film “I am Belmaya.” Described by director Sue Carpenter, the film is “An inspirational tale of rebellion, courage and hope in patriarchal Nepal. Silenced and subjugated for most of her life, uneducated Belmaya takes up the movie camera to tell her story.” Following the showing of the film, Carpenter and Belmaya Nepali will be available to answer questions. (TW/CW for sexual assault and violence against women.)
⁃ International Storytelling and Food Truck Event (Wednesday, March 9th at 11 a.m.)
⁃ A panel discussion featuring Etown International Students and professors on various cultural experiences and the impact of colonization in different parts of the world. International cuisine food trucks on campus for dinner.
⁃ Field Trip to Washington, DC. (Saturday, April 9th)
⁃ Participants will travel by charter bus to DC for a visit to the African American museum and the National Mall. All travel and admission expenses will be covered by CGUP. Applications are due by March 15th.
Registration for this event can be completed by following this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzVky-idfFHKN9cwd7jR2ty29RmFeR0mZa4CKsDBrAJzG7JA/viewform
In discussing her plans for CGUP’s Forum this spring, Mize expresses a strong desire to highlight student perspectives: “The idea is really to center the voices of our international students on campus,” she said. “The goal is to get students to participate and develop learning outcomes, to build knowledge and skills around diversity, peacebuilding and social justice across campus.”
In addition to CGUP, other organizations and individuals involved in planning include the International Students Club, the Faculty Coalition for Anti-Racist Education and associate professor of public health Robert Aronson.
Sophomore international business major Misaki Yamaguchi is president of the International Students Club and Communications Coordinator for CGUP. She has played a crucial role in coordinating events between CGUP and international students.
Aronson coordinated the screening event for “I am Belmaya”— reaching out to the film’s director and bringing CGUP on board as a sponsor. In his teaching of public health, he felt the film was important in helping students develop a decolonized perspective on issues related to the Global South.
This goal is in direct alignment with CGUP’s values, as noted by Mize: “We want the discussion to extend to the various countries represented, how has colonization played out for those countries? What does it look like?”
Regarding the Faculty Coalition for Anti-Racist Education, it is an organization created by Mize in response to what she learned from the first semester of the Forum. What Mize feels is crucial from the Forum is that students are able to apply what they learn from the events to their education, making these events co-curricular and academically relevant. It is the Faculty Coalition’s intention to bridge this gap.
“I learned that we really need to make a concerted effort to increase student participation, and that really led to the creati[on] of the coalition which is really focused on working with professors and instructors to integrate some of the opportunities into their course expectations,” Mize said. “We need to center a focus on anti-racist education. It is not enough for us to pay lip service to being a diversity friendly school, we need to actively dismantle policies and procedures that are oppressive. I hope to be more active.”
Mize likewise hopes that students become more engaged with the events sponsored by CGUP, offering feedback and suggestions. To this end, she said: “One of the things I would like to see happen is that as people learn more about CGUP and what we are doing on campus, that if they have priorities, needs or ideas that we are not addressing that they [feel] welcome to give input because I really want our agenda to be student-driven. I encourage students to communicate their priorities…we want to be responsive to what the needs are on campus.”
Students are also encouraged to apply to the Peace and Global scholars program, which allows them to tailor their involvement according to their own professional goals and interests and to access funding from CGUP for study abroad or research.
Those seeking more information about CGUP and its plans for the Spring 2022 semester are encouraged to contact Dr. Mize directly (mizes@etown.edu), follow CGUP on social media (IG: @etown_cgup) or reach out to any members of the student leadership team.
