IN THIS ISSUE:
*Events
*Volunteer Opportunities
*Internships, Jobs, and Beyond...
*In the Spotlight: Student Activists’ Conference: A Conversation with Bill Ayers
SAVE THE DATE: 12th Annual Volunteer Recognition Reception
Monday, May 18th 2009
Nominations are now open for the following awards:
• President’s Volunteer Service Award
• Perry Herst Prize
• Faculty Service Award
• Staff Service Award
• CSRSO Award
• Turkington House Award
• Community Partner Award
Visit ucsc.uchicago.edu for award descriptions, eligibility and nomination forms.
EVENTS
Blaming the Survivor: It's bigger than Chris and Rihanna
Thursday, March 5
7:00pm-8:00pm
Valois - 1518 E. 53rd Street
Café Society hosts a talk around domestic violence, its ramifications on society, and preventive measures inspired by the domestic dispute between artists Rihanna and Chris Brown. Café Society is designed to foster a more robust civil society, more cohesive and interactive communities, greater media literacy, and a more informed and engaged citizenry through weekly coffee shop conversations about contemporary social issues.
“A Powerful Noise” Movie Screening
Thursday, March 5
6:30pm
AMC River East 21: 322 E. Illinois Street
CARE will present A POWERFUL NOISE Live in 450 movie theatres nationwide. The event comes in partnership with ONE and the UN Commission on the Status of Women. After the film, a town hall discussion will be simulcast in each theatre, including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Tickets are approximately $15 – more than 30% of ticket sales will go to support CARE's work to fight global poverty.
Volunteer Meeting for 14th Annual Walk for Peace and Celebration
Saturday, March 7
10:00am-12:00pm
3401 West Armitage
ALLIANCE OF LOCAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS (ALSO) in partnership with LA CAPILLA DEL BARRIO host a volunteer meeting for the 14th Annual Walk for Peace and Celebration. Learn about the event and festivities after the walk in May. For more information contact Maggie Pagan at (773) 235-5705.
Asian American Sexualities Conference
Saturday, March 7
8:30am-5:00pm
Social Sciences Rm 122 – 1126 E. 59th Street
The Lesbian and Gay Studies Project of the Center for Gender Studies, The Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture, and Amerasia Journal host a series of presentations and speakers focuses on social, legal, and practical challenges associated with sexual individuality. Keynotes include Amy Sueyoshi and David Eng. Note: Registration begins at 8:30am.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Volunteer in Africa is organization in Ghana which offers volunteer work and volunteer travel programs anytime year round to Ghana, Africa. Their program promotes sustainable development, international cooperation, friendship and understanding in Ghana. Volunteering includes opportunities in orphanages, schools, media/journalism, and HIV/AIDS. For more information: http://www.volunteeringinafrica.org/ghana.htm
Each One Teach One is a nonprofit organization that caters to under-performing and underserved students on the south side of Chicago. As a Coach Volunteer, you will work with targeted students for the entire semester; tutoring, teaching, and cultivating logical thinking and problem solving skills, so that they may begin to work through their math challenges with minimal assistance. It should be noted that all of our Coach Volunteers are adept in high school-level mathematics. For more information, contact Janisse Norman at Each1Teach1@UReach.Com or 877.274.1284.
March 14th, 2009
The Chicago Metro History Education Center invites you to make a difference in students’ lives by volunteering to judge at a History Fair event this spring. As a judge, you will evaluate exhibits, documentaries, performances, or research papers on topics in Chicago history produced by students in grades 6-8 or 9-12. For registration information contact Trudi at trudi@uchicago.edu
INTERNSHIPS, JOBS, AND BEYOND...
Due: 03-09-2009
The Dr. Aizik Wolf Post-Baccalaureate Fellowship in Human Rights will fund one year of work, after graduation, at a non-governmental organization, government agency, or international body dedicated to human rights. The award consists of a $24,000 stipend for 12 months of full-time work, with some additional support for travel and/or relocation expenses. For more information on the application, contact Trudi Langendorf at Trudi@uchicago.edu
Due: 03-12-2009
The Urban Institute Summer Academy for Public Policy Analysis and Research provides a unique and challenging learning experience for minority college students who are interested in careers in public policy research. Their eight-week summer program will give students between their junior and senior year of college the skills and exposure crucial to obtaining highly competitive entry positions in the field. To apply see http://www.urban.org/uisa/apply.cfm
Due: 03-15-2009
The Fellows Alliance is a year-long paid fellowship program committed to building religious pluralism and organizing interfaith activities on campus. IFYC provides mentorship, a network of peer colleagues, access to a national network of interfaith youth work organizers, internship and professional development opportunities. Contact Hafsa Kanjwal for more information at hafsa@ifyc.org or at 312-573-8926.
Dr. Angela Perez Miller Scholarship 2009
Due: 03-27-2009
Named after the late Dr. Angela Perez Miller, who dedicated her life to the rights of Latinos in education and health, the scholarships are offered to first-year college students who are enrolled in an institution of higher learning in the amounts of $1000. To receive the application or if you have any questions please contact Melissa Gonzalez: (773)542-7077, melissa@latinospro.org
DOROT Internship
As a DOROT intern you will be exposed to the complex issues of aging, and gain experience in all aspects of DOROT's operations. Among many activities you may: visit with seniors in their homes, escort seniors to cultural events, doctor appointments or shopping, tutor seniors in computer use, and assist professional staff in the DOROT office with the planning and execution of programs. To apply contact Shayna B. Finman, Coordinator of College Volunteers at sfinman@dorotusa.org or fill out the online application at www.dorotusa.org
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Student Activists’ Conference: A Conversation with Bill Ayers
Klara Scharnagl, Staff Writer
Last Saturday, students and community members alike made the morning journey to Ida Noyes Hall for the annual Student Activist Conference run by the Social Justice program. The morning began with a conversation with Bill Ayers, lifelong activist, and professor at UIC. Hannah Jacoby, fourth year in the college who coordinates the Social Justice program, moderated.
Ayers first became an activist in college, at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. There, he was part of Students for a Democratic Society, a group trying to get the professors to go on strike protesting the Vietnam War. “We thought of ourselves as organizers,” Ayers said. But, the professors would not go on strike. This alleged ‘downfall’ in their plans actually led to the formation of the very first Teach-In where all professors, in their respective subject areas, taught their classes about Vietnam, Cambodia, or the American military. Ayers explained there is “always an idea that we can get better.” There is no end to falling down, he said; the only difference is that we get back up again.
When asked how and when his desire to become a teacher came about, Ayers laughed and explained it was about the same time he became an activist. Ayers was arrested at a protest and met a man in jail whose wife ran a small Freedom School called “Children’s Community.” Ayers volunteered there for three months before he was asked to become the director. From then on he has been involved in teaching. “But,” Ayers emphasized as he looked out at the forty-odd students and community members seated before him, “whatever else you do, teaching is part of what you should be doing. [After all], if you’re going to be an organizer, you’re going to be a teacher.” Ayers asked who in the audience were going to become teachers. A few people raised their hands.
What suggestions, Jacoby asked, did Ayers have for the aspiring student activists in the audience? Ayers had two main ideas, each with three points:
The first, he tied to teaching. “Focus,” he said, “on doing and making, rather than receiving and memorizing. Second, learn from, rather than about; essentially, experiential learning. Third, focus on a curriculum of questioning.” For Ayers, “the hidden curriculum is that we have minds of our own.”
His second idea focused more on being an activist, or as he puts it, an ‘active citizen.’ “Number one,” Ayers said, “open your eyes – you have to see the world. Number two, act in the world. Number three, rethink or doubt that your action is all that good.” In order to ensure that our actions are not trapped in our own dogmas, Ayers suggests asking oneself: “Did I teach somebody?” and “What did I learn?”
When the conversation opened up to the audience for questions, Ayers was asked what seemed to be on all of our minds: how does one choose how to devote one’s energies, when there is so much going on in the world? The crux of every young idealist or activist is great passion; giving so much away that their own life is spent, or becoming so overwhelmed as to do nothing at all. As just one person, we all ask, what difference could I possibly make? Ayers laughed, saying his students are always chastising him, saying he wants them to do everything. Ayer replies, “do one thing beyond what you are doing now. Then take the next step.” Bill Ayers has this to say: “Love your own life enough to cherish it. But love the world enough to put your shoulder on history’s wheel, when history requires it.”
When, at the end of the conversation Ayers asked the audience again who were going to become teachers, everybody raised their hands.
The University Community Service Center (UCSC) fosters the development of civic-minded students by providing substantive community service opportunities through community partnerships based on mutual trust and respect. If you have questions - how to get involved as a student or how to connect to students as a community organization - please contact us.
University Community Service Center
5525 S. Ellis Ave., Suite 160
Chicago IL, 60637
Tel: 773.753.4483
Fax: 773.834.1160
ucsc.uchicago.edu
