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President's Message |
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This fall and next spring, CSU, Chico will sponsor a number of events, celebrations, and conversations with the theme “Building Bridges.” In a February 2000 letter to students, faculty, and staff, President Manuel A. Esteban wrote, “These activities—events such as art exhibits, public forums, and addresses by public speakers—are designed to stretch sensibilities and create common ground between people so that they are better able to appreciate individual differences and confront acts of hate.”
Among the varied events scheduled for the academic year are a convention of Latino Studies scholars, a forum on “Teaching Tolerance in a Multicultural World,” a performance by South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and a world drumming exhibit at the Museum of Anthropology. Faculty members are expected to discuss issues related to tolerance and respect in pertinent classes. The concept of building bridges between disparate groups will not be relegated strictly to conversations about race and ethnic relations. Noted author Diane Ackerman, scheduled to speak on campus in September, will address how humans must also confront issues that affect other species. Ackerman is the author of The Moon by Whale Light, a collection of essays chosen by a university committee for faculty, staff, and students to read and discuss in various settings this academic year. “It is important to note that the university already sponsors events and programs that encourage tolerance and mutual respect, from CAPE [Center for Applied and Professional Ethics] forums on ethics and current issues to the Conversations on Diversity series,” President Esteban stressed in his letter. Spring 2000 included performances for schoolchildren and the community by the San Jose Taiko drummers; the Black Inventors Museum touring exhibit; an exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Museum on Varian Fry, a U.S. journalist who helped nearly 2,000 Jews escape from Europe during World War II; and a talk by celebrated South African novelist Lynn Freed titled “Between Two Worlds.” Sam Edelman, communication arts and sciences professor and director of the Modern Jewish and Israel Studies Program, is a member of the campus tolerance group. He believes Building Bridges should not be confined to a series of fall and spring activities. “We have learned from past experiences, such as the year the campus focused on looking at the Holocaust and genocide,” he says. “It is critical that we not stop at a few lectures and discussions that end in May but use these events as a springboard to create more lasting efforts to combat intolerance.”
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Building
Bridges was conceived by a group of faculty, staff, and students meeting
since August 1999 to discuss increasing tolerance and decreasing violence
on campus and in the community. Several things contributed to the forming
of the group: the Academic Senate passed a resolution in March 1999 encouraging
tolerance and respect; meetings were held in spring 1999 where campus
and community members discussed how to work together to reduce violence
in the community; and a gay alumni couple in Redding was killed in summer
1999 in what prosecutors termed a hate crime.
