Forty years ago the Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings were held on Northeastern’s Main Campus. This week, Northeastern will commemorate the anniversary of the hearings with a special Japanese American Redress Conference, which will feature artists, activists and scholars from across the country to examine the significance and influence of the CWRIC hearings as well as how racism continues to impact non-white Americans. Northeastern also named Kamau Rashid as Founding Director of the Ed.D. in Urban Education and Latinx/o/a Heritage Month is underway. Read the latest Vaccine Incentive Program and COVID-19 updates and more in this week’s Noteworthy at Northeastern.
Around the Commons
Northeastern Illinois University to host Japanese American Redress Conference
Northeastern Illinois University in collaboration with numerous local and national supporting organizations will host the Japanese American Redress Conference on Sept. 22-23, 2021, exactly 40 years after the Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings were held on Northeastern's Main Campus. Due to COVID-19 concerns, the conference will be held via Zoom. Alice Murata, a retired Northeastern professor of Counselor of Education and author of the book “Japanese Americans in Chicago,” is the coordinator of the conference. Murata was born in Los Angeles and was forced to live at Poston Internment Camp in Arizona as a very young child. “Because of the testimonies Japanese Americans gave during the Redress hearings, we were able to receive an apology and reparations for being placed in concentration camps during World War II,” Murata said. “The goal of this conference is to remember that victory and focus on remedying prevailing injustices. We want participants to understand the actions they can take to create a kinder, better, more just world.” The Japanese American Redress Conference is free and open to the public. It will bring together artists, activists and scholars from across the country to examine the significance and influence of the CWRIC hearings as well as how racism continues to impact non-white Americans. Murata hopes the conference will give participants tools to actively work toward eliminating detention, improving immigration laws and passing H.R. 40: Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act.
Northeastern names Kamau Rashid as Founding Director of the Ed.D. in Urban Education
Northeastern Illinois University’s Daniel L. Goodwin College of Education has named Kamau Rashid as the Founding Director of the new Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) in Urban Education Program. Beginning Fall 2021, Rashid will work alongside colleagues in the Goodwin College of Education, as well as others across the campus, to design ad implement this program. “I believe that this program will not only strengthen those ties, but also expand and deepen the ways in which this university supports students in actualizing their dreams and in enhancing their capacity to positively reshape their communities,” Rashid said. “My hope is that this program will prepare generations of scholar-practitioners to take up the weighty challenge of imagining and bringing into being a better world.”
And there’s more!
- Professor of Spanish and Chair of World Languages and Cultures Denise Cloonan Cortez de Andersen presented a paper “Acquisition of Global Speech Phenomena in Spanish through Regional Literature” at the British Association of Applied Linguistics 2021 Conference held virtually at the University of Northumbria. Additionally, she chaired the panel on Vocabulary Studies.
To do
Latinx/a/o Heritage Month
The Angelina Pedroso Center for Diversity and Intercultural Affairs is hosting a series of events to celebrate Latinx/a/o Heritage Month. Upcoming events include:
- The Realities of Latin America: Cuba, 3 p.m. Sept. 22
- Latino Suburban Integration: A Step Forward or Side-Ward?, 6 p.m. Sept. 22
- Unlearning Resiliencia, 5 p.m. Sept. 23
Also this week
- Future Health Professionals Information Sessions: University of Illinois (UIC) College of Dentistry, 3 p.m. Sept. 23
- Jewel Box Series: Storyteller Nestor Gomez: Immigrant Stories, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24
View the NEIU events calendar to get additional information on all upcoming events.
In the media
- Associate Professor of Art + Design Vida Sačić was in a Patch article discussing her “Press and Clay Exhibition” at the Moraine Valley Community College Fine and Performing Center through Oct. 25.
- Professor Emeritus of Economics Ed Stuart was a guest speaker for APICS-Chicago’s Economic Outlook Update Series on Sept. 16 and is scheduled to be their guest speaker on Sept. 30 to discuss issues with the U.S. supply chain.
COVID-19 update
During the week of Sept. 8, 2021,19 students and one employee reported a positive COVID-19 test. Six students and the employee were on campus. Since March 2020, a total of 62 employees and 293 students have self-reported to the University that they tested positive for COVID-19. Employees and students who feel sick should stay home. If you test positive for COVID-19, students should immediately notify Student Health Services, and employees should notify their supervisors and the Office of Human Resources. Additionally, faculty and staff are required to report positive and presumptive student COVID-19 cases and exposures to Student Health Services. When someone who has been on campus tests positive, Northeastern works with the Chicago Department of Public Health to determine the appropriate response, which differs greatly depending on the situation. We continue to follow Chicago Department of Public Health and CDC guidelines as we ensure proper protocols and preventative measures are in place for the health and safety of our students and employees.
As part of Northeastern’s Vaccine Incentive Program (VIP), all students and employees who have completed and submitted their COVID-19 attestation or exemption forms can stop by Village Square to pick up a free NEIU keychain and a $5 gift certificate to Fooda or Café Descartes Tuesdays from 11 a.m.-noon, Wednesdays from noon-1 p.m. and Thursdays from 3-4 p.m. through October. Winners of $500 tuition scholarships and gift cards are chosen weekly through a random drawing and are being contacted via Nmail. COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Students and COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Employees can be found on the University website. Questions regarding the VIP can be directed to vip@neiu.edu.
Stay up-to-date on everything regarding COVID-19 updates by visiting the Return to Campus website.
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Top photo: Eigo and Elsa Kudo giving testimony during the Commission on the Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC) hearings panel on Japanese Peruvians in 1981.
