Festival planned to broaden the mind
The Broadening Horizons Festival will present students an opportunity to increase their awareness of the diversity of our world and win prizes at the same time.
Dr. Bruce Harshbarger, vice president for Student Affairs, will co-sponsor the festival. Dr. Sunita Manian, coordinator of Interdisciplinary Studies, will organize the events.
“I believe that a truly liberal education extends beyond the classroom,
where students engage and interact in diverse venues such as brown-bag discussions, plays, art openings, etc.,” said Manian.
Manian invited the Student Activities staff to participate in that process.
“Over the past year, the university has been engaged in selecting ‘Cornerstone’ themes to link the in- and out-of-class experience and to broaden the horizons of Georgia College & State University students,” said Harshbarger. “From a series of focus group discussions, three key themes emerged: Global Issues and Diversity, Service and Civic Engagement, and the Fine Arts. The Broadening Horizons festival is a joint effort of Student Affairs, The Office of Experiential Learning, and Interdisciplinary Studies to promote and encourage these cornerstones.”
Harshbarger wants GC&SU to develop a better understanding of these themes.
“I hope that it will encourage them to adopt a sense of adventure in experiencing something that they may not have otherwise chosen to experience,” said Harshbarger. “Ultimately, we would like all GC&SU graduates to share a knowledge and appreciation of global issues and diversity, service and civic engagement.”
The festival will be divided into the three themes Global Diversity and Awareness, which includes the Campus Week of Dialogue; (Service and Civic Engagement, which includes the “Potato Drop” and “You Can Make a Difference Day”); and Cultural and Performing Arts, which features a performance by the GC&SU concert band, the Goliard Southeastern Music Festival and an art exhibit by Erica Rasmussen.
Dr. Robin Harris, director of the Office of Experiential Learning, said she became an organizer after Dr. Harshbarger asked her to become involved in the conceptualization and implementation of the program.
“We feel an important part of college is expanding students’ vision of the world, stretching them beyond their comfort zone,” said Harris. “We want to show them that not everyone thinks like them, looks like them, worships like them, shares their values and/or their political agenda, appreciates the same music, art and literature or celebrates the same holidays. We want students to broaden their horizons to look beyond their own perspective and experience to be open and learn and understand different cultures, different philosophies and different music.”
Those who attend five or more events will be eligible for prizes. You can pick up a Broadening Horizons ‘passport’ at any event and have your passport stamped at each event you attend. Everyone who attends any of the five events, with at least one in each of the three Cornerstone areas, will win a prize. Grand prizes will include up to $300 in books for Spring semester, 15 priority registrations for Spring semester, and prizes reflecting ‘Cornerstone’ themes. These include dinners at ethnic restaurants, theatre and museum passes, movie tickets and service-related books from the GIVE center, said Harshbarger.
The Service and Civic Engagement aspect of the festival consists of the opening event, the “Potato Drop,” and closing event, “You Can Make a Difference Day.”
The festival kicks off Saturday, Oct. 12, with the “Potato Drop.” This event is sponsored by GC&SU’s GIVE Center and will provide 40,000 to 50,000 lbs. of commercially unmarketable, yet perfectly good, potatoes to hungry people in the community. These potatoes are donated to the Society of St. Andrew’s Potato Project by members of the agricultural community. An 18-wheeler will deliver the potatoes and dump them in a long row 3 to 4 feet high. This year’s “Potato Drop” is being held in honor of Georgia native Marjorie Champion Salamone, an active participant in charitable causes and service projects, who died in the terrorist attack on the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2002. If you would like to get involved in the Potato Drop, call the GIVE Center at 445-5936.
The Global Awareness and Diversity part of the festival begins with the Campus Week of Dialogue Oct. 14 through Oct. 17.
“This was an initiative started by the U.S. Department of Education devoted to open, free discussions on issues of race in America,” said Harshbarger. “We found that the week was a great opportunity for people to share and learn about issues that they might have otherwise been reluctant to approach.”
“I believe that we are living in a time when we need to be able to truly understand and respect one another, our diverse viewpoints, histories and way of life,” said Manian. “Hopefully, the Campus Week of Dialogue will help in fostering an atmosphere where we can do so, not just during this week, but throughout the year.”
The week includes three events held at the Arts & Sciences Auditorium.
It begins with the All in the Family diversity workshop on Oct. 14 at 4 p.m. This is a workshop presented by Katrina McClain that will explore the reactions people have about various ethnic and racial groups and help them to see diversity in a new light. A Forum on Race will be held Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. This will be a discussion facilitated by Dr. Beth Rushing devoted to topics of racism to bring people together and create positive change between all racial groups. A screening of the film “Higher Learning” will be held Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. This film concerns the turmoil created when students from different countries, races and social backgrounds are forced to integrate when they enroll at the fictional Columbus College. The week concludes on Oct. 17 at the Hoke Dining Room (pending approval of space) with the Town Hall Meeting at 1p.m. This will be an open discussion of diversity on GC&SU’s campus with Max Allen, executive assistant to President Rosemary DePaolo.
“I think students will get the opportunity to stretch themselves, to experience things that cause them to see the world and their place in it a bit differently,” said Harris.
The Global Awareness and Diversity theme continues with International Week, Oct. 21 through Oct. 25. International Week is sponsored by the International Education Center.
The Cultural and Performing Arts theme will be presented in three events: a performance by the GC&SU concert band, the Goliard Southeastern Music Festival and and art exhibit by Erica Spitzer Rasmussen.
On Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. the GC&SU concert band will perform Robert W. Smith’s musical work “Inchon” with featured guest bagpipe performer William Hunter. This music work was inspired by the Korean War assault at Inchon. The music is a strategic masterpiece conceived and directed by Gen. Douglas MacArthur.
The Goliard Southeastern Music Festival will take place Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Max Noah Recital Hall at the Porter Fine Arts Building. The program, led by tenor Jim Blanton, will present a mixture of gems of the classical repertoire with premieres of works by emerging composers.
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen will present an exhibit of mixed media and
handmade paper garments from Oct. 10 through Nov. 8 at Blackbridge Hall. Rasmussen is an assistant professor at Metropolitan State University and a papermaking instructor at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. Her work explores issues of identity and corporeality, often using clothing as a metaphor for one’s own skin.
The festivities conclude with You Can Make a Difference Day on Saturday, Oct. 26, at various locations around Milledgeville. This will be a national day of helping others that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. On this day, people volunteer for thousands of projects in hundreds of towns across the country. If you would like to be involved, call the GIVE center at 445-5936.
“I always tell my students to take advantage of every opportunity to attend a cultural event, lecture, or whatever is available on campus, even if they think they will hate it,” said Harris. “Especially if they think they will hate it. Never again in your life will you have the myriad opportunities at minimal cost that you do as a college student. Sometimes you discover something that you never knew about and you never experienced and it enhances your life in a way you never imagined such as opera, poetry, or ethnic foods. Otherwise you remain ignorant of some wonderful things out there in the world!”
For more information on the Broadening Horizons Festival, go to www.gcsu.edu/broadeninghorizons.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Oct 11 2002. Filed under News.
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