SPRING
2014
Through the Golden Door: Immigration Experiences
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Keep, Ancient Lands, your storied pomp... Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, the tempest-tossed, to me; I lift my lamp beside the golden door! “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus Inscribed at the foot of the Statue of Liberty
Through the Golden Door: Immigration Experiences
Immigration is at the forefront of social justice movements on college campuses, particularly in the wake of Alabama’s own HB56 legislation, one of the harshest immigration policies in the nation. The “Through the Golden Door: Immigration Experiences” series aims to bring to light the unique voices and experiences of our campus community on a topic which is so often reduced to its politics. Free Food for Thought’s Spring 2014 series will synthesize the individual, cultural and social forces at play when we discuss immigration, and invite students to share and expand their experiences. Free Food for Thought encourages building a community that values diversity. Interested participants exchange viewpoints on selected topics, resulting in a greater awareness about issues and experiences across social and personal identities. Learning from one another through facilitated respectful discussion helps us value the contributions of our peers. In exchange for opinions, we provide Free Food.
SESSION 1: Document That!1 Establishing a Common Language of Immigration
Thursday, February 6, 2014 | 6:00 p.m. - 8 p.m. The Edge of Chaos, 4th Floor Lister Hill Library
We will discuss what language means to us and unpack the language we use to discuss immigration. We will take a critical look at some of the language- formal and colloquial-we use to label immigrants, and the language used within immigrant communities to label immigrant experiences.
SESSION 2: “If you don’t like it, leave.”1 Pressure to Assimilate
Wednesday, February 19, 2014 | 6:00 p.m. - 8 p.m. The Edge of Chaos, 4th Floor Lister Hill Library
The pressure to assimilate and adapt to a set of cultural norms is one faced not only by immigrants, but by many groups in the U.S. regardless of social identity. In this session, we will examine the seemingly disparate elements of our own identities, and explore the complex power dynamics of cultural assimilation.
SESSION 3: “To Learn America”2
Film Screening of “I Learn America” and Community Dialogue with the Director Thursday, March 6, 2014 | 6:00 p.m. - 8 p.m. The Edge of Chaos, 4th Floor Lister Hill Library
This community event is an advance-screening of the documentary “I Learn America” by JeanMichael Dissard and Gitte Peng. This film follows five immigrant teens, respectively hailing from Myanmar, Guatemala, Poland, the Dominican Republic, and Pakistan, over a high school year at an international public high school in New York City. The poignant experiences of the students through the course of the year bring to life the challenge of coming of age in a new country. Director Jean-Michael Dissard will be joining us for the screening and discussion about it means “To learn America” here in the United States.
SESSION 4: Involve to Evolve1 Wednesday, March 19, 2014 | 6:00 p.m. - 8 p.m. The Edge of Chaos, 4th Floor Lister Hill Library
The culmination of a semester of discussion, this session allows students to adopt stakeholder positions and, in round-table format, explore subtopics of immigration from multiple identity perspectives. From their stakeholder positions, students will use genuine dialogue to brainstorm creative and innovative solutions to oft-debated issues such as healthcare and deportation.
Registration required; to register, visit uab.edu/diversity Co-Presented by the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (HICA)
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Immigration by the Numbers
41.7
million number of immigrant people living in the United States
400 thousand
28 percentage of immigrants who are undocumented
number of annual deportations between 2009 and 2013
foreign born population of Alabama
161,534
Foreign Born by Region of Birth, 20113 25.2%
29%
South and East Asia
Mexico
6.7%
South America
7.6%
18.5%
All Other
9.3%
3.7%
Central America
Caribbean
Middle East
Dialogue vs. Debate Dialogue
Debate
Collaborative; two or more sides work together toward common understanding
Oppositional; two sides oppose each other and attempt to prove each other wrong
Finding common ground is the goal
Winning is the goal
Involves listening to the other side(s) in order to understand, find meaning, and find agreement
Involves listening to other side to find flaws and to counter arguments
Enlarges and possibly changes participant’s point of view
Affirms a participant’s own point of view
Creates an open-minded attitude; an openness to being wrong and openness to change
Creates close-minded attitude, a determination to be right
Involves a real concern for the other person and seeks to create empathy
Counters the position of the other person without focusing on feelings or relationship and often belittles or criticizes the other person
Remains open-ended
Implies a conclusion
Source: American Community Survey via Pew Research Center
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UAB Inclusive Campus Statement I will strive to build an inclusive community at UAB. I believe that every student, faculty and staff member has the right to be treated with dignity, respect and self-worth. I will work to ensure that my behavior and my actions do not harass or make fun of anyone due to their race, gender, culture, faith, class, sexual orientation, disability, or any other difference. Although I know I am not perfect and I will make mistakes, I believe that it is my responsibility to act in a manner free of bias, exclusion and discrimination. I believe I have the power to build an inclusive UAB.
1501 University Boulevard Campus Recreation Center 190 Birmingham, AL 35294 (205) 934-8225 uab.edu/diversity diversity@uab.edu