Back to SMC, and Upcoming Events on Campus.

Hey Folks!

Over the recent Thanksgiving break, I got to go home for the first time this semester to visit with my family in Rome, NY, where, for a few days, our extended family and grandparents descended on the house for holiday festivities and movies and such. It was a refreshing weekend, but Sunday night I made the trek back to school and am settling in for finals week. Lucky for me, I have sit-down finals in all five of my classes, so it'll be a busy next few weeks (heh heh... heh).

Anyway, besides the end-of-the-semester stress and business, we have some really cool events coming up on campus! Two of which are being put on by your friendly, neighborhood Saint Michael's College organization for LGBT (queer), allied and intersecting issues, social justice and activism: Common Ground.

The first event is a Transgender Day of Remembrance, which will be held this Thursday at 6.30 after the Common Ground meeting (which meets at 5.45). This is in honor of November being Trans* awareness month, and it will be a small ceremony, including candle lighting, readings, sharing, and reflection. Given the timing in the semester, and having recently celebrated Thanksgiving, I think the timing of this event is very appropriate. Even though we all have lots of stress at this time of year, it's important to remember those who have faced a great deal of hardship and challenges, and be humbled by our own good fortune. The location will be either the Center for Women and Gender or the Chapel, and we will walk there from the regularly scheduled Common Ground meeting.

The second event we're hosting is a guest speaker by the name of Chloe Schwenke, who is a USAID senior advisor appointed by Obama, as well as a self-identified transgender woman. Her areas of expertise are Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance, as well as LGBT policy, and she has worked largely in Kenya and South Africa, as well as one year as a Fullbright professor in Uganda. The event will be held in McCarthy at 5pm on Wednesday, December 5th, and due to her areas of interest, will likely entail lively discussion and learning! It's also free and open to the public.

So it will be a busy and interesting end to the semester! And definitely swing by these events if you can!

Thanks for reading!