Johns Hopkins Gazette: November 4, 1996 Form

On Campus:
Diversity Is Key
At CultureFest '96

Leslie Rice
Homewood
News and Information
CultureFest begins this Thursday on the Homewood campus, and organizers think this year's event is bigger and better than ever.

For the weeklong series, called "CultureFest '96: The World Within Our Reach," students will bring to campus a wide range of events including performances by the Lakota Sioux Indian Dance Troupe; a musical drama in remembrance of Kristallnacht; lectures by the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and motivational speaker Samuel Betances; a foreign film festival; and discussions on issues like the Iraqi-Kurd conflict, problems of second-generation Asian Americans and ways to conquer one's own homophobic views.

Students began CultureFest in 1987 to create the kind of exciting intellectual environment that happens when there is a social and cultural understanding among members of a diverse community.

This year's co-chairs are junior Gitanjli (Tanya) Arora and senior Varsha Reddy. Reddy said this CultureFest is much grander than ones in years past largely due to the involvement of dean of students Susan Boswell and the Homewood Committee on Diversity and Community.

"They've encouraged a lot of different departments to get involved," Reddy said, including the Counseling Office, Career Planning and Development, Office of Volunteer Services and Campus Ministries. "And the student cultural groups were also very enthusiastic this year; they're putting on all sorts of events, some that are just fun and entertaining, others that are very consciousness-raising."


CultureFest '96: The World Within Our Reach

Thursday, Nov. 7, noon
Breezeway between Ames and Krieger Halls
Opening ceremonies

Opening ceremonies to the annual week long-series of dance, demonstrations, and discussions designed to celebrate the many cultures that make up the Hopkins community. CultureFest '96 hopes to celebrate the beauty of our differences while strengthening the ties that bind us together. Opening ceremonies include an introduction by Hopkins president William R. Brody and music by the Baltimore Islanders Steel Drum Band. Free. (410) 516-5435.

Thursday, Nov. 7, 7 p.m.
Newbury Auditorium, Mudd Hall
Film

Color of Fear. This 90-minute documentary on racism is a searing study of the experiences of two educators, activists, and trainers on diversity issues. Free. (410) 516-5435.

Thursday, Nov. 7, 10 p.m.
E-Level Pub, Levering Hall
Band night

E-Level presents the Electric Chick Magnets, a popular Syracuse- based band that plays disco tunes from the 70s. $2. (410) 516- 5435.

Friday, Nov. 8, 7 p.m.
AMR 1 Multipurpose Room
Dance

The Afrikan Ancestors Living Theater will perform traditional African dance and ancestral art. The evening will include interactive activities such as dancing to traditional drums and songs, making masks and sculptures, learning how to prepare a gele (a Ghanian woman's head wrap) and fixing a delicious African meal. Free. (410) 516-5435.

Saturday, Nov. 9, 8 and 10 p.m.
Locations listed below
Foreign film festival

8 p.m., AMR 1 TV Room: Shallow Grave (Scotland, thriller). When three friends discover that their roommate has mysteriously died and left a suitcase under his bed, the boundaries of trust and sanity are pushed to the extreme.

8 p.m., McCoy Multipurpose Room: Strawberry and Chocolate (Cuba, drama/comedy). Experience the passion of life and love with a young, nationalist college student when he encounters two extraordinary people.

10 p.m., AMR 1 TV Room: Before the Rain (Macedonia, drama). A Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer travels to his homeland of Macedonia to salvage a small portion of peace that may be left.

10 p.m., McCoy Multipurpose Room: The Funeral (Japan, black comedy). An old man's unexpected death creates hilarious confusion when a modern Japanese family tries to undertake a traditional Buddhist funeral. All foreign films are subtitled. Free. (410) 516-5435.

Saturday, Nov. 9, 6 p.m.
AMR 1 Multipurpose Room
Talk

Dr. Frank Spellman and Dr. Desbele G.G. The JHU Black Student Union will present a unique look at the field of medicine in America. Desbele left an outstanding career as an eye surgeon in Eritrea to join the movement for Eritran Independence. He will discuss his participation in the movement as well as his return to medicine in the United States at Hopkins. Spellman, a JHU alumnus, is also a renowned eye surgeon who practices in Washington D.C. He will speak on his experiences as an African- American in the medical field. Free. (410) 516-5435.

Saturday, Nov. 9, 10 p.m.
Glass Pavilion, Levering Hall
Salsa lessons

With a little music, ambience and enthusiasm JHU's Latin-American student group OLE (Organizacion Latina Estudiantil) will teach you how to salsa like a native. Learn as professionals teach you how to salsa, mamba and release your wild side. Free. (410) 516- 5435.

Sunday, Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m.
Schafler Auditorium, Bloomberg Center
Performance

"An Evening with Madame F." This powerful experience of music, song, and drama depicts the experience of Fania Fenelon, an Auchwitz inmate forced to perform music for Nazi officials. The performance takes place in observance of Kristallnacht, "The Night of the Broken Glass." The evening remembers Nov. 10, 1938, when 91 Jews were killed as rioters burned and destroyed Jewish synagogues, homes, and shops in Germany and Austria. Sponsored by Campus Ministries. Free. (410) 516-8188.

Monday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m.
Newbury Auditorium, Mudd Hall
Lecture

Rep. Donald Payne, D-NJ, will talk about the NAACP and its future. Payne is a prominent member of the House of Representatives and is presently chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus. Free. (410) 516-5435.

Monday, Nov. 11, 8 p.m.
Schafler Auditorium, Bloomberg Center
Discussion

The Iraqi-Kurd Conflict in the Middle East. This panel, composed of experts on the Middle East, will discuss the Iraqi-Kurdish conflict. Participants include Rend Rahim Francke, an expert on the Ba'th party's political impact on Iraqi society since its takeover in 1968; Nameer Jawdat, an Iraqi-born political analyst; Ebrahim Marashi, a politically active student who has worked at the Iraqi Front Desk; Phoebe Marr, professor at War College and expert on the history of the conflict; Barham Salih, representative to the United States from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan; Muawhid Shah, editor of the Asian Review who will discuss the Muslim perspective in the Arab World; Joshua Sinai from the Library of Congress, who will discuss the factors that prevent the Kurds from establishing their own nation and will propose some creative solutions to the Kurdish predicament and Kani Xulam, director of the American Kurdish Information Network who will talk about the history and culture of the Kurds. Free. The event will be followed by a reception catered by the Cheesecake Factory. (410)516-5435.

Monday, Nov. 11, 8 and 10 p.m.
Locations listed below
Foreign film festival

8 p.m., AMR 1 Multipurpose Room: Eat Drink Man Woman (China, drama). Enter the world of Chinese cuisine where a master chef is about to discover the importance of love over his culinary creations.

8 p.m. McCoy Multipurpose Room: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Australia, comedy). Three drag queens are about to relive their theatrical glory days on one wild road trip through Australia.

10 p.m., AMR 1 TV Room: Man Bites Dog (France, black comedy). Follow a film crew as they document the life of a charming, philosophical homicidal maniac and try to keep their objectives straight.

10 p.m., McCoy Multipurpose Room: Wend Kuuni (Burkino Faso, drama). A mute abandoned child is adopted by a villagers who name him "God's Gift." Journey with them to rediscover his past through traditional values. All foreign films are subtitled. Free. (410) 516-5435,

Tuesday, Nov. 12, 8 p.m.
Shriver Hall
Dance

Lakota Sioux Dance Theater. This 15-member Native-American dance troupe will perform Cokata Upo! (Come to the Center!) in three parts: birth, death and rebirth of a nation. The program includes the grass, jingle dress, fancy, traditional, horse, buffalo, eagle, round and inter-tribal dances, juxtaposed with dance interpretations of the Lakota warrior tradition. The dances are performed against a backdrop of spectacular video imagery and traditional, sacred, and courting songs. $8 general admission, $5 for Hopkins students. (410) 516-8209.

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 3 p.m.
Great Hall, Levering Union
Discussion

"Breaking Barriers: Cracking the Corporate Ceiling." Although some progress has been made to provide equal opportunities, is there equal representation of women and minorities in upper-level management positions? What can you do to get on the fast track? Representatives from government and the private sector will discuss how women and minorities can break the barriers into upper-level management positions. Presented by the Office of Career Planning and Development. Free. (410) 516- 8056.

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 8 p.m.
Newbury Auditorium, Mudd Hall
Lecture

The Frank R. Kent Memorial Lecture with Frank Rich, op-ed columnist for The New York Times. Rich's twice-weekly column comments upon American society and culture, drawing from his background as theater critic and observer of art, entertainment, and politics. Presented by the Office of Special Events. Free. (410) 516-7157.

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 10 p.m.
E-Level Pub, Levering Hall
Party

Arabian Night. Come to E-Level for a magical night in the Middle East. There will be exotic foods, beautiful surroundings, live music, and professional belly-dancing. Afterward, dance till 2 a.m. to the latest Arab-American music. Free. (410) 516-5435.

Wednesday, Nov. 13, 10 p.m. and midnight
Locations listed below
Foreign film festival

10 p.m., AMR 1 TV Room: The Two Daughters (India, drama/comedy). Two stories of relationships, one concerning the encounter between a postmaster and an orphan girl and another chronicling a man who rejects his mother's choice of a bride. 10 p.m., McCoy Multipurpose Room: Swimming With Sharks (USA, black comedy). Discover the story of an aspiring young man as he tries to enter the harsh world of corporate climbing in the Hollywood film industry.

Midnight, AMR 1 TV Room: The Vanishing. (The Netherlands, France, thriller). The psychodrama of a man's obsession to discover what happened to his girlfriend, who inexplicably vanishes at a vacation rest stop.

Midnight, McCoy Multipurpose Room: Night on Earth (USA, drama, comedy). Five separate stories of five taxi drivers in five different cities around the world in one night. Start the meter. All foreign films are subtitled. Free. (410) 516-5435.

Thursday, Nov. 14, noon to 4 p.m.
Glass Pavilion
Fair

Grab a CultureFest '96 passport and let student cultural groups take you on a trip to faraway lands. Stroll through the bazaar to learn customs of other nations, write in different languages, dress in a foreign land, and learn how to prepare some of the most exotic foods in the world. Free. (410) 516-5435.

Thursday, Nov. 14, 5 p.m.
111 Mergenthaler
Lecture

"Between Two Worlds: Experiences of Second-Generation Asian- Americans." Asian-American college students in the U.S. are often socialized in two differing value systems -- the more "traditional" Eastern mores of their parents and Western traditions of the mainstream North American culture. This seminar will explore some of the specific ways in which this issue affects Asian families in the United States and how those of the second-generation balance the sometimes differing demands of Eastern and Western cultures. Free. (410) 516-5435.

Thursday, Nov. 14, 8 p.m.
Shriver Hall
Lecture

A talk by Samuel Betances, a leading motivational speaker in the United States. Betances presents refreshing, informative, and witty new perceptions concerning issues of diversity. A biracial, bicultural, and bilingual citizen of the world, Betances rose from inner city poverty, racial discrimination, violence, welfare, and illiteracy. He has a master's and doctorate from Harvard University, is professor emeritus of sociology at Northeastern Illinois University, and is a national and international consultant on diversity issues. Free. (410) 516- 5435.

Friday, Nov. 15, 3 p.m.
AMR 1 Multipurpose Room
Discussion

"Social Aspects of Sexuality." The panel of speakers in this discussion will address topics aimed at a primarily heterosexual audience. Topics will include heterosexual and homosexual friendships, student-to-student social interactions, and conquering one's own homophobic views. Free. (410) 516-5435.

Friday, Nov. 15, 7 p.m.
Levering Hall
Closing party

"The Tastes and Sounds of the World." CultureFest '96 wraps with a dinner banquet and cultural show. Baltimore's finest ethnic restaurants will offer a vast array of dishes. During dessert, enjoy a celebration of culture with performances by Hopkins student groups.

Afterwards, join New York City's Magic Sounds D.J. in E- Level and dance to the latest dance music from countries all over the world. $8 for both the banquet and E-Level; $3 admission to E-Level only. (410) 516-5435.


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