© News the other press Kelly Parry e kelly-parry@telus.net February 4, 2004 Rie Cott Kelly Parry News Editor Watch out, they're coming! During the week of February 9, you may see people hiding in the bushes, slinking around the corner, and sneaking up to strangers to perform random acts of kindness. Dont be alarmed. Just say thanks. In 1994, a random act of violence took the life of a young mother in Edmonton and left the community searching for meaning and justice. Wanting to provide children with hope and an empowering way of responding to this crisis, teacher Colleen Ring was inspired to develop the Kids for Kindness program. The program not only inspired chil- dren, but also parents and teachers, and won a Hilroy Fellowship in 1995. At this point, Colleen received the book Random Acts of Kindness (published by Conari Press) that was promoting the idea of celebrating and focusing on Random Acts of Kindness Week. Colleen thought this was a wonderful way to spread goodwill beyond her classroom, and set out to spread this concept. In 1995, Colleen and her sister, Debbie Riopel, were successful in lobby- ing the Mayor of St. Albert to proclaim Random Acts of Kindness Week, mak- ing St. Albert the first city in Canada to do so. From there, Random Acts of Kindness Week took on a life of its own! The “Kindness Effect” rippled through Alberta and beyond, thanks to the hard work of a dedicated committee, a part- nership with the Edmonton Community Foundation, the support of the Mayor of Edmonton, and key spon- sorships from The Alberta Teachers’ Association and many other corpora- tions. From Random Acts of Kindness Week launches at Edmonton's City Hall, to enthusiastic media support, the spirit of the week has grown and been embraced by individuals, schools, churches, hospi- tals, service clubs, businesses, and com- munities far across Canada. For more information, the Random Acts of Kindness website at: . visit President’s \ Writing Contest on Diversity Millie Strom OP Contributor Is diversity troublesome and cumbersome, or is it a celebra- tion? Douglas College President Susan Witter wants to know what students think and feel about diversity, and the fourth annual President's Writing Contest on Diversity deadline is just around the corner— February 16, 2004. The contest itself, is diverse: the genre is not restricted. Students can submit essays or academic papers, poetry, plays, narratives, creative non-fic- tion, or short fiction. Groups can also submit, and each stu- dent or group can submit three times. The submissions can be classroom work or new creations. The length is also not restricted, but in the past, narratives ran about 1,000 words, and academic work ran a bit longer. Douglas College President Susan Witter explains why the topic of diversity was chosen for the annual college contest: “We chose Diversity as the theme for the President's Writing Contest because we wanted to do something that would stimulate a broader view—to get people to look around them and try to under- stand others a little better. We wanted to encourage students to listen to and appreciate peo- ple who are different.” “We live in such a pluralistic country—the College is a microcosm of the Canadian society. We are extremely lucky to live in a place with such a rich mix of races, cul- tures, religions, sexual orienta- tions, and abilities. Sometimes there are issues raised by situa- tions involving diversity in gender, age, or income level. There are many categories for identifying how Canadians may be different from each other, but when we read peo- ple’s stories, we also come to understand how we all share so many traits. Each of us yearns to be understood. We each want to have friends, share ideas, have fun, be stimulated by the educational ma: Page 4 e _http://www.otherpress.ca ' 1 ' ' ' ' ! ' 1! ' ' 1 ' 1 ' 1 ' ' 1 1 yl 1 1 ' 1 1 1 1! 1 1 1 ' 1 ' ' ! 1 ' 1 1! 1 ! 1 1! 1 1 1 ' ' 1 ! 1 1 ' ' ' 1 1! 1 1 1 1! ' 1 1! ' ' ' 1 1‘ 1 ' 1 1 ' ' 1 ' ' ' ! ! ' 1! ! ' 1 1 1 1 1 ' ' ' ' 1 ' ' 1 ' ' ! 1 1 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ! 1 ' 1 ' ' ! ' ' ' ' ' ' 1 ' ' ' 1 ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' 1 ' ! ' ' 1 1 1 1 ' 1! 1 1 1 ' 1 ! 1 ' ' ' 1 1 experience.” “Simply put, we wanted to do something to foster under- standing among students and the entire College community. I hope that mutual under- standing can lead to tolerance, acceptance, and appreciation of others.” CONTEST OPEN TO ALL STUDENTS The President's Writing Contest on Diversity is not only for writing students. One of the organizers of the con- test, EASL instructor Janice Penner, encourages faculty outside the. Humanities to pitch the Diversity Contest to their students. that all disciplines would have narratives diversity. Nursing is one. “What is the impact of the cultural concept of health? What is healthy food, for example, in a culture?” asks Penner. “Or what about the way the family handles death? Do you tell patients they are dying when some cultures do not tell family members death is near?” Business is another disci- pline with diversity narra- ethics may vary from a cultural perspec- tive, or business communica- Penner says on tives—business tions may vary from a man or woman's perspective. To assist students outside of writing departments, Janice Penner is holding drop-in ses- sions for students to discuss their ideas, receive feedback on their drafts, or have grammar checked before submitting their work. Barb Adamski, a contest winner in 2002 and 2003, says that feedback is important in the writing process. Feedback is an integral part of classroom activity in the Print Futures and punctuation program and in Creative Writing classes. Creative Writing instructor Calvin Wharton agrees. He says that workshopping is a great opportunity to find out what t works, and what someone else —the reader—thinks. If you missed the first drop-in sessions, the next—and last — drop-in sessions are: Wednesday, February 11th, llam-lpm in the Boardroom (4920), NW campus, and Friday, February 13th, 1lam- lpm Room A1060, DL cam- pus. Students can explore diversi- ty issues on film, too. Douglas College library has several video titles available including Love, Culture and the Kitchen Sink (2002), a Vancouver film that looks at the lives of four cross-cultural Canadian cou- ples. Adjust your Set: The Static is Real (1995) addresses the issues of power dynamics between men and women in a university setting. Blue Eyed’s (1996) director conducts a workshop where an arbitrarily selected group of individuals is targeted to experience preju- dice and bigotry. Susan Witter The last three annual con- test winners’ booklets available at the reserve desk in the library at both campuses for a two-hour loan. Winners’ work can also be viewed at www.development.douglas.bc. ca/intercult/controlinter.html > are CONTEST WINNERS RECOGNIZED DURING DIVERSITY WEEK Approximately 15 winners will be chosen and the entries published in a booklet. Each winner will receive books, book gift certificates, and five copies of the booklet at a spe- cial reception hosted by Susan Witter during Diversity Week, March 22—26, 2004. Get your fingers flying on the keyboard—the deadline is Monday, February 16, 2004. Application forms are available in the library. The President's Writing Contest Cay] ss — Co -= 0 se > IN Douglas College Both creative & academic writing welcome Applications in the Library (New Westminster & David Lam) Submissions required by Monday, February 16, 2004 Celebrating our diversity in gender, ethnicity, deaf culture... Prizes include books, gift certificates, and publication opportunities Winners will be announced during March 22 to March 26, 2004 reeoad by he commountoncons & earheslog offhue 2 168