Campus Currents

Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023
Artist Exhibition: Record Keeper

Reception (4:30 p.m.) at the Mazmanian Gallery and Panel Discussion (5:30 p.m.) at the Alumni Room, McCarthy Center

Record Keeper is an exhibition of ceramic artworks that explores how artists use clay, one of the oldest artistic mediums, to grapple with time. The included artists take a wide range of approaches to this theme. Adero Willard explores her diverse ancestries by employing building techniques indigenous to West Africa and by using red clay as the skin of the vessel. Megumi Naitoh's ceramic animations combine clay with digital technology to address the waves of racism currently aimed at Asians during the global pandemic. Paul Briggs' box-like forms reference the architecture of confinement within the prison system, suggesting what it means to be held in place and lose time. Elshafei Dafalla's contribution to the show will be a literal record of his time spent working with students in the art department during Fall 2022 to make an installation of forms that document the community and show how art can bridge differences.

President Nancy Niemi invites you to join her in a Community Conversation on Race and Policing

The event will be facilitated by Dr. Jeffrey K. Coleman, Vice President for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement, on Wednesday, March 1, 1:30 – 2:30 pm in the Center for Inclusive Excellence, O’Connor Hall 120. We hope you will join us!

Promised on Paper, Pathetic in Practice: Race-Related Protections in the U.S. Constitution

ACLU Massachusetts Racial Justice Director Traci Griffith
Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 12:30pm
McCarthy building Alumni Room (CC309)
Framingham State University

A lawyer, journalist, academic, and advocate, Traci most recently served as an Associate Professor in the Communications Department at Simmons University and previously was Chair of the Media Studies Department at St. Michael’s College in Vermont. Her areas of research focus have included First Amendment law and ethics, as well as Race and Gender representation in media. She is a former correspondent and national editor for the Associated Press and holds a JD from Notre Dame, M.S. in Journalism from Florida A&M, and BA in Political Science from DePaul. Her most recent work includes a well-received 4-part series with New England News Collaborative on racism in New England.

During the past 8 years Traci served on the Executive Committee of the National ACLU Board of Directors, and served as the National Board Secretary. Before joining the National ACLU Board as the Vermont representative in 2014, she served the Vermont board as its Vice-President and as a member of the Executive and Nominating Committee.

For question or more information, contact Professor Carol Gray, cgray5@framingham.edu, 413-297-1075. 

Historians of Color Speaker Series: Mary McNeil, "The Responsibility to Remain: Black Power and Red Power Claims to Massachusetts"

Thursday, March 2, 12:30 p.m.
O'Connor Hall 120

The history of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is undergirded by persistent regimes of dispossession, displacement, and enclosure. It is also undergirded by Black, Indigenous, and Afro-Indigenous resistance, survival, and survivance. In this talk, Mary McNeil shares her research on the spatial imaginaries of the Black Power/Red Power era, examining how Black, Indigenous, and Afro-Indigenous communities and nations developed a political praxis guided by "the responsibility to remain" in Massachusetts.

Here is a bit more information about Mary McNeil:
Mary is an Instructor in the Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora at Tufts University. Her research and teaching interests sit at the intersections of Black studies, Native American and Indigenous studies, social history, and geography. Mary received her BA in American studies and History from Wheelock College and is completing her PhD in American Studies. Keenly invested in public humanities, she has worked with the Framingham History Center, and the African American Trail Project at Tufts University; she currently sits on the board of the Royall House and Slave Quarters. Mary was born and raised in Louisville, Ky and is an enrolled member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.

Wednesday, March 8
Hybrid Format, Alumni Room, McCarthy Center at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Register for Zoom Link Here

In the book Nobody’s Girl, Barbara Amaya shared her stories of sexual abuse, human trafficking, drug addiction, rape, imprisonment, and domestic violence. All these sufferings happened on the streets of Washington DC and New York City before she even turned sixteen, as she was brutally exploited and trafficked for over a decade. Amaya was arrested multiple times, even though she was a child and a trafficking victim, not a criminal. Her experiences were far from ordinary, but her life is a reflection of our systemic failures to protect vulnerable teenagers and the pressures that trap them in contemporary slavery and human trafficking. In her lecture, Amaya will describe the process of how she survived contemporary slavery and transformed her pain and agony with courage.

Contact Information:
Abigayle Versackas, aversackas@student.framingham.edu

Sponsorship:
Arts & Ideas, Council on Diversity and Inclusion, the Center for Inclusive Excellence, The Sociology and Criminology Department, the English Department, the History Department

Tuesday, March 21
Hybrid Format, Heineman Ecumenical & Cultural Center at 4:30 PM
Register for Zoom Link Here

Jennifer Dowling’s creative work explores various art and technology approaches. Her focus is on health challenges that are simultaneously personal and universal, to encourage healing despite adversity. Zahra Tohidinia’s work on green consumers focuses on analyzing their frustrations
and providing solutions.

Wednesday, March 8, 2 p.m.
Center for Inclusive Excellence

Have you ever wondered where the McAuliffe Center got its name? Join the Center for Inclusive Excellence in celebration of Women's History Month to watch a film about Christa McAuliffe, Framingham State Class of 1970, who was a teacher and astronaut on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. The film includes interviews with her parents and students before and after her untimely death. 

Fulbright Info Session - Virtual
Thursday, March 09, 2023 at 2:00-3:00 PM

Register at: https://apply.iie.org/register/GPS5

Hope you can join the FSU Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs for a virtual info session to learn all about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The U.S. Student Fulbright Program awards an academic year-long experience to eligible applicants. These awards allow grantees to travel abroad to conduct research, attend graduate school, complete an art project, or serve as an English teaching assistant. Registration is required here. More information about the program be found here.

Fulbright Info Table
Tuesday, April 4, 2023 11:00 AM-2:00 PM
McCarthy Center Lobby
Hope you can stop by our table to learn about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program! The U.S. Student Fulbright Program awards an academic year-long experience to eligible applicants. These awards allow grantees to travel abroad to conduct research, attend graduate school, complete an art project, or serve as an English teaching assistant. More information about the program be found here.

Tuesday, March 7
Dr. Charles Steinberg, President of the Worcester Red Sox
6:30 pm in The Forum
Networking to Follow

Dr. Charles Steinberg is the first President of the Worcester Red Sox and was instrumental, together with his mentor Larry Lucchino and ballpark designer Janet Marie Smith, in the creation of Polar Park, located in the “Heart of the Commonwealth.” The rookie year of the WooSox and Polar Park captured Minor League Baseball’s top two awards: one for best community outreach among all 120 teams, and the other for best Hispanic and Latino outreach. 

Register at: www.alumni.framingham.edu/steinberg

Our annual Accepted Student Receptions will be held this year on Saturday, March 25th and Saturday, April 1st.

We hope to have faculty and staff on hand to help demonstrate to our accepted students why Framingham State University is their best option for continuing their education!