Visiting speakers spread awareness about climate change through Rosenfield Program

By Ashley Baek baekashl@grinnell.edu

Grinnell College has been featuring events centering the international and domestic effects of climate change. On March 2, the Pakistani Student Organization (PSO) and the Rosenfield Program worked together to produce an informational event called Flooding in the Global South. The featured speakers included Shuchi Kapila, professor of English, Timothy Dobe, professor of religious studies, and Rumi Shammin, professor of environmental studies, from Oberlin College. On March 9, the Rosenfield Program hosted a Scholars’ Convocation on security issues that arise from climate change featuring Cullen Hendrix, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

space that felt comfortable for me and people like me, both in a South Asian and an international student context,” Shaikh said.

Barbara Trish, professor of political science and the director of the Rosenfield Program, stated, “It’s really important to talk about the different consequences of climate change and seeing it from multiple different lenses.

It’s something that we might not have been thinking about as much as 20 years ago when we thought about climate change. I’m really excited to bring in people who are on the cutting edge of thought on climate change.” does he say that? Because most climate change plots appear in science fiction, because we think, ‘Oh, somewhere in the future, this could happen.’ What would you do if it started happening now and your novel of everyday life starts to have floods and tsunamis? That’s sort of the question Ghosh was asking.”

At the panel, Shammin spoke about his research in Bangladesh. He emphasized the importance of how taking action is more than donation. He claims that the money still helps, but influencing opinion and working with local actors is additionally crucial. He showed the importance of being an ally, learning about how you can help and how spreading that education helps others.

Ekta Shaikh `24 initiated the climate change panel as treasurer of PSO. “After the floods in Pakistan last year, we started the Pakistani Student Organization. We decided that we wanted to do something regarding climate change that would involve a panel discussion. We wanted more awareness, and we thought that a panel discussion would be helpful,” Shaikh said. Shaikh said she was really inspired by the turnout at the event. “It was great centering voices that aren’t normally at the center of a conversation. It was about having the ability to create a

Kapila visited Oberlin and heard a talk given by Shammin about his work in Bangladesh. Kapila described Shammin’s work with activist groups on the ground responding to climate disasters as the reason behind requesting him to speak at Grinnell College. “I thought that would be of interest to students,” Kapila said. “There are many [activist groups] in South Asia because it’s a hotspot, and I felt like this is a good topic of discussion.”

During the panel, Kapila spoke about climate change in literature. One particular novel that Kapila mentioned is “The Great Derangement” by Amitav Ghosh. According to her, Ghosh makes the point that climate change is hard to represent in novels and we have not done as much work in literature as we should. She then launched off that point, asking “Why

Rally to protest anti-trans legislation in Des Moines

tax-exempt non-profit, cannot legally participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of a candidate or make partisan comments in official publications. College employees, however, are not restricted from political activity or speech.

“I think that even if you’re here for four years, you can be part of the balance,” Bly said. Iowa has moved to electing Republicans by wider margins since 2016. In 2022, Iowa Republicans gained a supermajority in the Senate, took control of 60 of Iowa’s 100 House seats, obtained all 6 congressional seats and took hold of every state-wide office except the Auditor’s office.

will destroy the house.

These two events were part of the Rosenfield Program’s focus on climate change. They are continuing their next part of the climate change symposium with Dorecta Taylor on

Monday, March 13 at 4:15 p.m., and she will speak on “Untold Stories of the American Conservation: Privilege and Social Inequality.” The series will continue with an alumni panel on Tuesday, April 4.

“Learning from the Latinx community”: Spanish MAP

based on trust.”

Julie Lascol, associate director of community engaged learning, said she coordinated with the Spanish department, Dean’s office and community partners to make this year-long, six-credit experience possible. One major part of the planning for this course was determining its budget, Lascol said. Grinnell College will compensate the community partners for their time and provide transportation to the students while making sure the opportunity remains completely free for students.

Those who helped plan the course recommend taking it. Nicole Cabe `23, Spanish major and community engagement coordinator, said, “I think this course will be revolutionary. It’s a good opportunity for students to take their learning in Spanish into a very applicable [setting].”

Rally to Resist—

Continued from Front Page held beliefs,” and a bill restricting students from using bathrooms matching their gender identity from grades K-12.

On Wednesday, March 8, following the Sunday protest, the Iowa House of Representatives passed Senate File 538, a bill prohibiting Iowa doctors from providing genderaffirming medical care like puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgery to people younger than 18. The bill had been passed along party lines — 33-16-1 — by Senate Republicans late Tuesday night.

Grinnell Representative Annette Sweeney and Senator Dean Fischer voted for the bill’s passage.

“The Republicans have the votes for all of these bills that are left. That’s the reality. These bills are probably going to pass,” Bly said. “That doesn’t mean we need to give up, that means we need to fight harder.”

The College, being registered as a

“We used to be motivated by what was right, not what was political,” Bly said. “There’s not going to be any young people left because of things like this.”

The Grinnell LWV holds regular legislative coffee sessions at Drake Community Library and on Zoom for constituents to ask questions of Grinnell’s elected officials, including questions on LGBTQ+ issues. The date of the next session, scheduled with Fischer and Sweeney, has not yet been announced.

“Hidden Letters” director Violet Du Feng hosts screening

Violet Du Feng—

Continued from Front Page

“To me, the key value of Nüshu is that it allowed this honesty for these women,” said Feng. “Honesty is really the fundamental foundation of me being a filmmaker and also thinking that it’s not just the final product — it’s really every step of the process.”

Feng has been involved in other documentaries not as a director, but as a producer. She said her current professional aspiration is specifically producing women’s work so China may have more female representation in the film industry. “Hidden Letters” represents her personal beliefs and experiences as a woman in Chinese culture, but the film also adds to her work-centered hopes through the inclusion of the work and art of Hu Xin and Simu.

Qiaomei Tang, assistant professor of Chinese, attended the screening. Tang has researched China’s past with a focus on women and their relationship with men and society. She said, “I think it’s always good to hear the marginalized voice as much as we can.”

The following week, the Rosenfield Program held a Scholars’ Convocation regarding climate change featuring Dr. Cullen Hendrix from the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Hendrix’s talk was titled, “An Age of Actorless Threats: Rethinking Climate Security,” and it dove into the security effects of climate change. In his lecture, Hendrix emphasized the idea that “climate change is a silent killer.” He said that climate change is not the big bad wolf threatening to blow down your house but instead millions of termites eating away at the framework, which if left unattended, cal tradition of Nüshu that was utilized in ages before them by women whose worth was tied to the men around them. As the director, Feng takes a feminist approach in including the modern pressures placed on Hu Xin and Simu as women in a male-dominated world — a world that, though seemingly progressive in comparison to the period when the writing practice originated, continues to oppress them.

Kate Murray `23, CJEAS SEPC, worked to contact Feng and get the documentary screened in Grinnell, spearheading the effort since last semester. “Most of what we learn about China is about and/or through men,” Murray wrote in an email to The S&B. “This expanded my understanding of China and Chinese culture in an indispensable way that can’t be communicated otherwise.”

“It’s impossible to have an unbiased, entirely objective documentary, but the subjectivity of it is the important part of activism and change-making,” said Kate Guiney `23 from the Film Club, who helped with the organizational and budget elements of the presentation. She also commented on the aspect of the film that brings in honesty and realness that separates itself from other formats.

“Hidden Letters” speaks not only to the women in China, according to Feng. “At the end of the day, the strug-

SOFIIA ZARUCHENKO gles of what these women are experiencing are quite universal,” said Feng. “When we’re talking about a global context, I think the camera functions in a way that is purely observational so that it makes you feel that you can be present in that.” The film will be launched nationally on PBS on March 27, 2023.

Feng answered questions and discussed the film with attendees following the screening.

“It’s a unique experience,” Lascol said. “I was lucky to take a community engagement class in my master’s program, and that’s how I found my first job.”

Lascol also reflected on the novelty of this course. “This structure is also very innovative in higher education,” she said.

According to the planning committee, this structure is being viewed as a pilot — if the course is successful, it could open the door for other departments to follow suit and begin to offer year-long courses with significant community engagement portions.

The course registration deadline is May 1. If you are a Spanish student and want to learn more about this opportunity, reach out to Nicole Cabe, Julie Lascol or Maria Carmen Valentin. Additionally, there will be an informative session taking place on Wednesday, March 8 at 4:15 p.m. in the Humanities and Social Studies Center, room N3325.