Winter Jubilee -- Fun for you, Fun for Me!

     Festivities abounded Monday on the Esplanade as Trinity Diversity Connection celebrated Winter Jubilee!
     TDC and our 13 Associate Groups came together with different events, activities, and FOOD (of course) to show Trinity some alternative winter traditions. TDC had vegan and regular smores and pictures taken in different holiday settings -by the fireplace, in a sleigh, etc.
     Even though it was wicked cold outside, the good company (and cups of hot chocolate and cider) kept us warm enough to visit all the different groups booths. For instance, the Chinese Culture Club and the Muslim Student Association both Calligraphy (two different types: Chinese and Arabic); Black Student Association had cookies and milk as well as a visit from Santa; Sexual Diversity Alliance celebrated with Vegan Cake and coloring pride flags; Latino Exchange had a pinata with candy; Jewish Student Association made menorahs out of marshmallows, pretzels, and spice drops; Gaelic Cultural Society decorated gingerbread cookies; Asian Subcontinental Association had mango smoothies and did Rangoli, a traditional Indian art form made by arranging beans in different patterns; and MANY more!
Hope everyone who made it out for this event had a great time and "Happy Finals to all, and to all a good-night."

Dialogue on Diversity

      This past Monday-Nov. 22nd- was the last Dialogue on Diversity for this semester. The topic was an Interfaith Dialogue and there were representatives from faiths such as Hinduism, Judaism, Catholicism, Sikhism, and Islam. During the dinner, - which was delicious, by the way - each representative give a brief introduction to the main beliefs in their religion. After this summary, the floor was opened up to questions from guests at the dialogue.

      Monday night was a civil discussion of discovery and education about the different religions represented on campus. However, even those with no faith (or a faith not represented) were welcome to join the discussion. If you have ideas for future dialogues, contact Maria Tariq.

Carnival!

      Well, Friday was the Carnival at Prassel Lawn! There was plenty of jumping in bouncy castle's, eating too much cotton candy, playing games, winning prizes, and acting like, well, kids again. The facepainting, balloon animals, and especially henna were a hit with carnival goers (shout out to Divina and Tanvi for applying henna until their own hands were numb). People enjoyed our guest booths: Trinity University Volunteer Action Community (TUVAC) had two groups, Habitat for Humanity built gingerbread houses and the Cancer Awareness group tie-dyed shirts; Association of Student Representatives (ASR) did a knock down the cans game that I couldn't hit to save my life; and Society of Women Engineers (SWE) did a dart balloon pop game.There was also a cake walk, duck pond game, bucket toss game, guess the number of toothpicks, and booths for TDC and SPB. Congrats to everyone who won a raffle prize and hope everyone else had a great time!

And thank you again to everyone who helped make this carnival a success, it would not have been possible without you!

Carnival- Looking for Artists and Bands!

Current Events, Exec. Board Meeting 11/2

     Happy Late Dia De Los Muertos (November 1st)!  Also known as Day of the Dead, Dia De Los Muertos celebrates the memory of dead relatives and friends through prayer, gifts, and visitation to gravesites. Another well known tradition during this holiday is creating alters (or ofrendas) inside or near the home to remember loved-ones. Latino Exchange, one of TDC's Associate Groups built an altar in Coates for use by anyone at Trinity. Another interesting Dia De Los Muertos altar was erected by Storch Memorial Building to honor Possum, a recently deceased cat. Check them out (and add to them) while you still can!

     Also, Tuesday night was a new TDC Executive Meeting, where we learned about the United States President Obama's visit to India. The debate centered on Obama's refusal to visit India's Sikh Golden Temple and the possible political reasons behind not visiting this historic site. Our fearless discussion leader found the political statement “we can never do as many events as we’d like to do” to be an inappropriate excuse for sure an important holy site (SALDEF news brief). According to the Daily Mail, the President might have canceled his visit because it might make citizens see this act as proof that he is Muslim.  We discussed why this would be (and shouldn't be) an issue for Obama, to have other people perceive him as a  secret worshiper of Islam. Another issue that was brought up was the distinction between the Sikh faith and the Muslim faith: "The temple - called Harmandir Sahib - is the spiritual centre of the Sikh religion and one of India's most popular tourist attractions" (Daily Mail Reporting). However, the concern was that the public would infer Obama is Muslim- because he will need to cover his head out of respect- even though the temple is for Sikh worshipers, not Muslim ones. Obama's running from a possible controversy (if indeed he is), is disappointing for America as a whole because instead of an illuminating conversation about the intersection of religion and stereotypes, we instead get denial and fear.

*If you would like to voice your opinion about the White House's decision not to visit Harmandir Sahbib, see the SALDEF news brief for more information. *