Campus Currents

Tuesday, February 20, 2024, at 4:30 PM in Heineman Ecumenical Center

This event brings together voices from two political struggles against women’s imprisonment in Turkey and the US. Emek Ergun (Associate Professor, Women's and Gender Studies & Global Studies, UNC Charlotte) and Sashi James (Families for Justice and Healing, Roxbury MA) will join in a conversation about prison conditions, politics of prisons, and solidarity practices that flourish within and outside prisons. By telling the inspiring stories of courage and resilience of Kurdish women political prisoners in Turkey and incarcerated women of color in Massachusetts, the conversation will contribute to the efforts to forge solidarity among freedom struggles across borders. The event will also include the promotion of a new book on imprisoned Kurdish Women politicians in Turkey, The Purple Color of the Kurdish Politics (Pluto Press, 2022).

Sponsors: Arts & Ideas and the Sociology & Criminology Department

Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at 4:30 PM, at DPAC

Chinonye Chukwu’s Till tells the powerful story of Mamie Till-Bradley, the Chicago educator-turned-activist after the heinous lynching of her 14-year-old son, Emmett. His murderers have unfortunately never been brought to justice. Nevertheless, six decades after the crime, on March 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Emmett Till-Anti-Lynching Act into effect. Till not only acknowledges Till-Bradley’s courage and resilience, but also forcefully addresses questions of equity, inclusion, power, social justice in the lives of Black Americans.

Dr. Jeffrey Coleman, Vice President & Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, will lead a post-screening discussion with Dr. Jon Huibregtse and members of the Black Student Union and Brother2Brother. This event is being held in partnership with Framingham Public Library.

Sponsors: Arts & Ideas and the Division of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement

Tuesday, February 20
Stop by any time between
5:30PM - 7:00PM
Location TBD, Framingham state University

Participants of all ages are welcome!

Use telescopes to observe the Moon, Jupiter, Pleiades, and Orion Nebula! McAuliffe Center staff are available to answer your questions about telescopes and our Universe.

By Kaitlin Carman, Publications Intern

For the past decade, sociology professor Dr. Patricia Sánchez-Connally has conducted research focusing on immigrant students of color and education, including the resistance to immigrant families’ wisdom and perspectives in higher education.

Sociology and Criminology Department Chair Dr. Xavier Guadalupe-Diaz is a queer criminologist who studies intimate partner violence within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer communities with additional focus on trans victimization.

Dr. Beth Whalley’s research background includes incarcerated women’s mental health and sexual trauma, prison abolition, rape crisis centers, and institutional sexual assault response.

What do these three Framingham State University scholars have in common?

They have collaborated with Barbara Risman and Framingham State’s very own Virginia Rutter, professor emerita, to expand representations of diverse family structures, families of color, and LGBTQ families in the fields of sociology through the innovative chapters they contributed to Families as They Really Are, a book in support of the ongoing fight for social justice.

May Hara, Director of the Center for Excellence in Learning, Teaching, Scholarship, and Service (CELTSS) hosted the Spring 2024 Scholarly and Creative Showcase series which featured a conversation between Rutter, Sánchez-Connally, Guadalupe-Diaz, and Whalley highlighting their chapters and how, despite having varying fields of interest and expertise, their topics are interconnected within the diversity of family structures.

Rutter said these authors “were selected for excellence but also because they care about social change – pushing forward with new ideas – and they are connected as teachers and scholars to students and student perspectives.”

Her chapter, "A Case for Divorce," disproves the myth that divorce rates have been increasing and how “quasi-science makes folks believe that marriage is a cure-all and divorce is a disaster.”

It is not just about rebutting divorce shaming, but shaming on other family structures, especially towards single-parent families, she added.

Sánchez-Connally’s "Si Puedes: Latinx Families in Higher Education" discussed how immigrant students of color often have a dual-frame of reference between their native country and the United States and reference their parent’s immigration journey and challenges they faced to be a source of motivation.

“This work seemed significant for the book because I wanted to … highlight the contributions that Latinx families – in particular, migrant families – when it comes to helping students succeed.”

Rutter described Guadalupe-Diaz’s chapter, "Queering Intimate Partner Violence Through Transgender Inclusion," as analyzing how humans have been “coded into belonging in a family with the line being drawn to put trans people on the outside – including when their physical and emotional safety is at stake.”

He said he applies the concept of queering to these structures to disrupt normative expectations about how violence happens in romantic relationships.

“Through queering, gender IPV can help illuminate some of the distinct realities faced by transgender survivors of that kind of violence,” said Guadalupe-Diaz

"In Queering Family Sexual Violence," Whalley explains how in times of peril, gay, lesbian, trans, and queer family members are often neglected to be seen, believed, and learned from in cases of abuse.

Whalley described the chapter as asking the question “that if family sexual violence is distinguished by this betrayal of trust and safety, how do the limitations that we place on our understanding of family restrict this understanding of violence and the responses to it?”

Expanding the definition of family to include queer and chosen families as well as queering the idea of sexual violence within power dynamics is how the chapter answers that question, according to Whalley.

All proceeds from sales of the book support the Council on Contemporary Families, which is a group of scholars committed to advancing grounded knowledge that is accessible and clear to all.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2024
4:30PM | DWIGHT PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (DPAC)
Film Screening, Chinonye Chukwu’s ‘Till’
Mamie Till-Bradley’s fight for justice after her son Emmitt’s heinous murder sparks a movement.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2024
10:45AM | BOSTON, MA
Black History Month Freedom Trail Tour
Learn about African Americans who played vital roles in the American Revolution.
Register Here

JANUARY 2 — FEBRUARY 29, 2024
HENRY WHITTEMORE LIBRARY, FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY
Exhibits highlighting Civil Rights accomplishments and events in Massachusetts and beyond, spearheaded by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Dr. Betty Shabazz, and others.

Fly Me to the Moon
Friday, February 23
SHOWTIMES at 2:30pm AND 3:45PM

An elaborate 3D-animated film offering big adventure and comedy, set against the real story of our first visit to another world. Follow three young flies as they inadvertently stowaway aboard Apollo 11 and join Neil, Buzz, and Michael on their mission to pull off the very first moon landing!

Recommended for: Families and all ages
Length: 49 minutes
https://cm-center.org/event/feb23films

Please join the Danforth staff and the exhibiting artists for our Spring Reception. There will be light refreshments and a cash bar. We are excited to celebrate with all of you.

Saturday, February 24, 2024
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Danforth Art Museum

Unearthing
Sandra Matthews

Harvest, Foraged, Found
Madge Evers, Lynda Goldberg, Bob Kephart, Saberah Malik, and Sarah Sockbeson

Not a Story to Pass On
Jennifer Davis Carey and Scarlett Hoey

Register here

It's a great time for members of the FSU community to take advantage of everything happening over at the Danforth. Not only are there new exhibitions up in the museum, but several public events are on tap as well:

Drop Into Art Program - Drop into Art is designed to celebrate the creative potential in all of us. With new themes and projects every month, Drop into Art offers opportunities for kids with their caregivers and adults to create together and connect with one another. Each program is unique, fun, and free, emphasizing invention, improvisation, and hands-on creativity.

March 10 -Tiny Treasures Collage
April 14 -Vessels, Baskets, and Face Jugs
May 12 -Museum Blooms

In addition, The Danforth has the following public program described on its website:
Photographing Place and Time: A Panel Discussion, March 2, 3:00 pm

Finally, the following public program is a joint effort between the Danforth and FSU's Arts & Ideas. It will be held at the McCarthy Center's Alumni Room:
Creating Between Two Worlds: Contemporary Artistic Diasporas, A Panel Discussion, April 10, 4:30 pm

Reception in the Mazmanian Gallery Tuesday, February 27 at 2:30 PM
Lecture in the Forum, McCarthy Center, Tuesday, February 27, 2024 at 3:30 PM
Zoom Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvf-GpqD8uHtcJ4Utn_6mr7WAySIsBzCgC

Artist Lisa Iglesias (she/they) will present an exhibition in Mazmanian Gallery and speak about her artwork. Her projects incorporate expansive histories and potentials of drawing and painting, take into consideration the translation of patterns, images and gestures across materials. Iglesias’ multidisciplinary work explores issues of social participation, collectivity, caretaking, family connection, and transnational identity, all of which speak to the Arts & Ideas theme of resilience.

Sponsors: Arts & Ideas

Wednesday February 21 at 12:30pm in UM14 (Whittemore Library)

Registration link: https://framingham.libcal.com/event/11553904

You’re invited to join the Whittemore Library’s No Homework Book Club! What is the No Homework Book Club? It’s a discussion group for people who like to read and talk about books but don’t want to do assigned reading! It’s for people who are looking for their next great read! It’s for everyone, whether you finished a book last night or last month!

Join us this spring for lively discussions about books and reading. You don’t need to read anything ahead of time--just join us for a fun discussion about books and reading! Visit the link above for information about meeting dates and times. To see a list of the books we discussed last semester, please visit our blog!

Alumni Room, McCarthy Center
Tuesday, Feb. 27
4:30 p.m.

Learn how to use naloxone (Narcan) to stop an opioid overdose

Attendees will receive free Narcan

English Language Programs
Study English with us this Spring!

The new six-week Saturday session starts on March 9!
Register now!

FSU Full-Time Employee Tuition Waiver, for any inquiries please contact (508) 626-4958
Registration is open through March 16.

Rams Refresh Presented by the Counseling Center
Whittemore Library Rams Renew Space C-UM-08
Every Wednesday; 1:45 to 2:15 p.m.

Join for relaxation and de-stressing. 

https://framingham.libcal.com/event/11771905

March 9th, 2024 from 9am-2pm – Spring Open House
April 6th, 2024 from 10am-2pm – Rams Rising: An Accepted Student Event
April 13th, 2024 from 10am-2pm – Rams Rising: An Accepted Student Event