News

Workshops and Discussions Offered for MLK Day 2015

**A Conversation and Lunch with Brian Gittens ’89 — 12 p.m.**

Students and faculty spent lunch with Brian Gittens ’89, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Keynote Speaker, continuing discussion about Gittens’s impact on the Andover community and exploring issues of diversity and equity.

**Race and Socioeconomic Status in Achievement Gap — 11:30 a.m.**

David Gutierrez ’15, Won Woo Kim ’15 and Carrie Ingerman ’15, aided by faculty advisor Noah Rachlin, Instructor in History, explained how race and socioeconomic status factor into the achievement gap, as well as the long-lasting effects of the achievement gap on individuals and society as a whole.

**A Tale of Three Cities: Hip-Hop in the 21st Century — 11:30 a.m.**

Dr. David Canton, Associate Professor of History at Connecticut College, lectured about three genres of hip-hop: commercial, battle rappers and underground.

**Dominant Standards of Beauty: How They Affect the Self-Perception of Women of Color ALL WOMEN — 11:30 a.m.**

Veda Robinson, former Andover college counselor and Brace Center Faculty Fellow, facilitated a discussion about beauty standards for women. The workshop was only open to women.

**Do You Look Like Captain America? A New Age of Heroes — 3 p.m. **

In this workshop, Bella Oliva ’16 and faculty advisor Adrian Khactu, Instructor in English, hosted a discussion on the topic of racial and cultural representation in comic books.

**LGBTQA+ Ally Training — 12 p.m.**

Participants in the workshop learned how to become effective allies through discussion and group activities. The discussion was facilitated by AJ Augustin ’15, Jaleel Williams ’15, Hanover Vale ’15 and faculty advisor Andrea Orben, Health Educator.

**Catch Me If You Can: Identity Politics and Performances in Socioeconomic “Passing” — 11:30 a.m.**

Fadzi Gambiza ’16 and Ashley Scott ’16 with faculty advisor LaShonda Long, Instructor in English, discussed socioeconomic passing in American Culture and at Andover throught the context of Steven Spielberg’s film “Catch Me if You Can.”

**Race Science: 19th- and 20th-Century Justifications for Racism and Eugenics— 2 p.m.**

Carrie Ingerman ’15 and Nicole Navarrete ’15, with faculty advisor Damany Fisher, Instructor in History, discussed Social Darwinism in the context of science, media and discussion.

**Use of the N-Word — 3 p.m.**

Emmanuel Odjo, Instructor in French, as well as Madison Pettaway ’17 and Zach Ruffin ’17, hosted the workshop to discuss the use and history of the “n-word.”

**An Oppressive Ideal: Contemporary Representations of Black Men in Television, Film, and Pop Culture and Their Repercussions — 5 p.m.**

Avery Jonas ’16 explored the different representations of black masculinity in the media in his BRACE Fellow presentation. His faculty advisor was Tracy Ainsworth, Instructor in History.

**Different Strokes for Queer Folks — 2:30 p.m.**

AJ Augustin ’15, along with faculty advisor Kassie Archambault, Admissions Officer, examined the differences in LGBTQ culture between white communities and communities of color.

**#LiftEveryVoice: Examining the Contemporary Language around Race and Privilege — 12:30 p.m.**

Fiona Yonkman ’16, Andrew Wang ’16 and Auguste White ’17, along with faculty advisors Catherine Tousignant, Instructor in English, and Isabel Geathers, Senior Associate Director for the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers, explored the language used on campus to discuss issues of race and racism at Andover.

**No, Where Are You Really From? The Asian-American Perpetual Immigrant Dilemma — 12 p.m.**

Hosted by Victoria Bian ’15, Adrian Khactu, Instructor in English, and C.N. Le, a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, this workshop focused on the various issues faced by Asian Americans.

**I Got Next: Basketball, Power, Community, and Spirit — 3 p.m.**

Cem Vardar ’15 and faculty advisor Onaje Offley Woodbine, Instructor in Philosophy and Religious Studies, explored the roots and importance of basketball in black communities.

**CAMD Scholar Presentation—The Fight to Be American: The Lack of Indian-American Political Activism — 6:30 p.m.**

Kailash Sundaram ’15 presented on the topic of Indian-American political activism. His faculty advisor was Theodore Parker, Instructor in History.