GV PS

Conference: Michigan's Underground Railroad Network

The African and African American Studies program in collaboration with the Michigan Freedom Trail Commission, the Hauenstein Presidential Studies Center and the Johnson Philanthropy Center will host a conference at Grand Valley on September 26-27, 2008 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the founding of the National Network to Freedom and the Michigan Freedom Trail. The theme of the conference will be 'Michigan's Underground Railroad Network: A Decade of Discoveries.'

The keynote speakers will be Karolyn Smardz Frost, Toronto archaeologist and author of I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad, Betty DeRamus, Detroit author of Forbidden Fruit Love Stories of the Underground Railroad, Anna-Lisa Cox, author of A Stronger Kinship One Town’s Extraordinary Story of Hope and Faith, and Allen Guelzo, Lincoln scholar and professor at Gettysburg College and others.

The National Network to Freedom and the Michigan Freedom Trail were created by national and Michigan legislation to enable citizens to recover, document, preserve and commemorate the histories of the underground railroad networks devised by black and white Americans that enabled blacks to resist and escape from slavery. The work that citizens have done to recover our state’s stories will be highlighted in the conference. In the past decade the work of citizens throughout the nation has dramatically increased our understanding of the Underground Railroad and abolitionist movements.

Details of the conference are posted and updated on the conference website.

Amy Goodman to Speak May 10

Radio talk show host and author Amy Goodman will be speaking in Grand
Rapids on May 10. Amy and her crew with Democracy Now! are on a speaking
tour with Amy's newest book "Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes
in Extraordinary Times."

Her visit would be an excellent opportunity for your students to hear
about the work of someone in the independent media field, We are aware
that her visit is after the semester is over, but we would be grateful if
you could pass this information along to students.

This event is being sponsored by the Grand Rapids Indy Media group
MediaMouse.org. Media Mouse is an independent media collective that works
to provide independent news pertaining to Grand Rapids and the world.
Wherever possible, Media Mouse aims to draw links between national and
local issues and between movements for social change. In turn, it is hoped
that this news will be a catalyst for action and will help spur organizing
for social change.

The Amy Goodman lecture begins at 7pm at Plymouth Congregational UCC
located at 4110 Kalamazoo SE, just north of 44th street. Doors open at 6pm
and since this is a fundraiser for Media Mouse we are asking people to
donate anywhere between $5 and $25 to help support the independent media
we do here in West Michigan.

Following the lecture, there will be a book signing and books will be
available for purchase.

You can download flyers and find other promotional materials here.

Electoral College Debate

From the Hauenstein Center:

Join Grand Valley's Hauenstein Center on Thursday, April 24, 2008, for a debate on the electoral college. The debate will take place at 7:30 in the Loosemore Auditorium, Pew Campus. RSVP.

The Constitution says,

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress.... The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons.... The Person having the greatest Number of Votes shall be the President....

Is the design still necessary? Or -- 180 years after Andrew Jackson ushered in America's Democratic era -- is the system an anachronism of an earlier age?

Gary Gregg II will argue in favor of the electoral college. Gregg is Mitch McConnell Chair in Leadership at the University of Louisville, where he is also Director of the McConnell Center for Political Leadership. He is the author or editor of five books, including The Presidential Republic: Executive Representation and Deliberative Democracy (1996), Vital Remnants: America's Founding and the Western Tradition (1999), and Securing Democracy: Why We Have an Electoral College (2001).

Burdett Loomis will argue against the electoral college. Burdett is professor of political science at the University of Kansas and former director of the Robert J. Dole Institute for Public Service and Public Policy. He is author or editor of more than a dozen books, including Choosing a President: The Electoral College and Beyond (2002), Republic on Trial: The Case for Representative Democracy (2002), and The First Shots of the Culture Wars: Politics, Institution, and Change (forthcoming).

10th Annual Jewish Film Festival of Grand Rapids

On behalf of the Jewish Film Festival of Grand Rapids, I would like to extend to you and your students an invitation to the 10th Annual Jewish Film Festival of Grand Rapids.

The festival will begin on Sunday, May 4th and continue though Thursday, May 8th. All movies will be shown at Celebration! Cinema North.

Brochure: Download filmfestival2pages_brochure_2008.pdf

Admission price is: $ 6.00 each film. Flex Pass ticket (8 admissions) will be available for students group for free upon request before April 30th.

See you at the movies

Sari H. Cohen
Programming Director
Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids
4127 Embassy Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Phone 616-942-5553 x.17
Fax 616-942-5780

Email at sari@jfgr.org

The Jewish Federation of Grand Rapids: Connecting, Supporting, and Uniting our Community through Philanthropy. Thank you for continuing to Live Generously.®

For more information, or to make a donation, please visit www.jewishgrandrapids.org.

Dawud Walid Lecture on Extremism, Terrorism and Islam's Position

Extremism/Terrorism and Islam’s Position
“Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

Tuesday, April 8th
5PM-7PM
Kirkhof Center room 215/216

Description
Join the Muslim Students Association on their last event of the year. Our amazing speaker, Dawud Walid, will be presenting about Extremism and Terrorism and where does Islam stand on the whole game. Please come and let everyone know about this event. We'll love to have you there.

Dawud Walid served in the United States Navy for four years receiving two Navy & Marine Corp Achievement Medals for his work under the Administrative Officer and the Command Judge Advocate of his unit. He is currently the Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Michigan (CAIR-MI), is an educator, community activist and decorated veteran who has been active in the Detroit Metropolitan area for years. Currently, he also serves as the Assistant Imam of Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit, Michigan, a member of the North American Imams Federation (NAIF), and an executive board member of the Metropolitan Interfaith Workers Rights Committee.

He has lectured across the country at several mosques and universities including Harvard University, the University of the Virgin Islands and Youngstown State University. He also has had numerous articles on Islam and Interfaith dialogue published as well as appearing in major media outlets such as CNN, Al-Jazeera, the New York Times, LA Times, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, and the BBC. Other past leadership positions, which he has held in the community include Chairperson of the Board of Trustees for Al-Ikhlas Training Academy, a pre-K – 12th grade private Islamic school in Detroit, Chairperson of Religious Studies for The American Society of Muslims' National Young Adult Association, and Congregational Organizer for The Interfaith Partners wing of The National Conference for Community and Justice – Detroit now known as the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion.

Food will be provided.

Russian Presidential Election

The Russian Selection: Views on the Recent Presidential Election in Russia
GVSU's International Relations Organization (IRO) is sponsoring a discussion on the political, historical, and cultural significance of the recent election of Dmitry Medvedev.

Speakers for the event are:
Dr. Edward Cole, History Department
Dr. Christine Rydel, Modern Languages and Literatures
Dr. Glenda Quarnstrom, Political Science Department
Dr. Heather Tafel, Political Science Department

Tuesday, March 25
4:30pm – 5:30pm
Kirkhof Center, Room 142

Regional Perspectives on Decolonization

Regional Perspectives on Decolonization:
Exploring the Process and Effects of Decolonization around the Globe

Sponsored by GVSU's International Relations Organization (IRO):

Africa: Dr. George Kieh, Political Science Department
India: Dr. Yosay Wangdi, History Department
China: Dr. Patrick Shan, History Department
Mid-East: Dr. Roy Cole, Geography Department
Europe: Dr. Craig Benjamin, History Department
Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Republics: Dr. Heather Tafel, Political Science Department

Moderator: Dr. Robert Stewart-Ingersoll, Political Science Department

Tuesday, April 1, 2008
4-6 p.m.
Kirkhof Center, Pere Marquette

Lecture on International Criminal Justice

Ms. Lada Slojan, Legal Officer in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former-Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, will lecture on the challenges of international criminal justice and share her work experience with the ICTY. The lecture is scheduled for Monday, March 24, 2:00-3:30 in the Pere Marquette. This event is sponsored by Area Studies.

Ms. Soljan is involved in the prosecution of seven individuals who are charged with Genocide, Conspiracy to Commit Genocide, and various violations of the Laws or Customs of War and Crimes against Humanity, in relation to the fall of the enclaves of Srebrenica and @epa in July 1995 (Prosecutor v. Popovi}, Case No. IT-05-88).

Prior to working at the ICTY, Ms. Soljan was an associate in the International Litigation department of the law firm Alston & Bird LLP in New York City. For an eight month period in 1999-2000, she was a research assistant for Professor Bruno Simma, Chair of the Public International Law department at the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany. She obtained her JD from New York University School of Law in 1999, and her B.A. in Biological Sciences and European Studies from Smith College in 1996.

A Light Hearted Look at the Serious Subject of the American Presidency

GVSU's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies is proud to host HW Brands, award winning historian and author of 20 books as a Scholar in Residence. From March 10-12, Professor Brands will give a total of 6 different lectures, under the theme "That Man in the White House: A Light Hearted Look at the Serious Subject of the American Presidency." Tickets are $10.00 per lecture, but all (high school and college) can attend for free with a valid student ID. Seats can be reserved at www.allpresidents.org, unless reserving student seats. Please call the Hauenstein Center's main line at (616) 331-2770 to reserve student seats. If you have questions please feel free to contact me either via e-mail or my direct line (616) 331-7072. The schedule is as follows:

Monday, March 10
10 AM in the Richard M. DeVos Center
The Half-Step Rule
(Timing, Timing, Timing)

7:30 PM at the Gerald R. Ford Museum
Loyal to a Fault
(Why Nice People Make Lousy Presidents)

Tuesday, March 11
9 AM in the Richard M. DeVos Center
Sam Goldwyn's Secret
(Sincerity is Everything; Learn to Fake It and You'll Go Far)

2:30 PM in the Cook-Dewitt Center
They Don't Vote in Montevideo
(All Foreign Policy is Local)

Wednesday, March 12
10 AM in the Richard M. DeVos Center
Leave Under a Cloud
(and the Sun is Sure to Shine)

7:30 PM in the Richard M. DeVos Center
Dance with Them that Brung You
(Remember Who You Work For)

* All lectures in Grand Valley's Richard M. DeVos Center will take place in Loosemore Auditorium in Building E.

Media Portrayals of Arabs and Muslims: Progress or Progressively Bad

You are invited to a lecture by Laila Al-Qatami, Communications Director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Feb. 21, 1 p.m. in the Grand River Room

Title: "Media Portrayals of Arabs and Muslims: Progress or Progressively Bad?"