Posts from — December 2009

Following is the transcript of President Obama’s speech at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo on Wednesday, as released by the White House:

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:

I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations — that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.

And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. (Laughter.) In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who’ve received this prize — Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela — my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women — some known, some obscure to all but those they help — to be far more deserving of this honor than I.

But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of the military of a nation in the midst of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that America did not seek; one in which we are joined by 42 other countries — including Norway — in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks.

Continues here

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to draw your attention to a joint hearing happening today (Monday) to discuss updating the master plan, and issues relating to public higher education in California. I found the story on a KQED Report. I think this is something we all really need to be aware of and listen carefully to what is being said at this meeting. It might also be a good time to finally send that letter or make that phone call to our legislator about the budget cuts and how it is impacting our experiences at SJSU. I am personally committed to public education not only because I work for a CSU but because I firmly believe that quality public education is a bastion of democracy and something we must fight to maintain.

Challenging Power and Privilege in Schools:
Un Encuentro in Applied Chicana/o Studies
Featuring the Work of MAS Graduate Students at SJSU

Monday, December 14, 2009  -  6pm
Cultural Heritage Center ­ Room 525
MLK Library (5th Floor) -  San José State University

This event is the culmination of the Applied Seminar in Chicana/o Studies in the SJSU Master¹s Program in Mexican American Studies.  The students in this class will share our efforts to bring Chicana/o Studies to life in our communities.  In several distinct projects, we focused on developing Chicana/o Studies Methods for Social Justice.  We will share our preliminary insights from individual projects, as well as the collective lessons we have developed together.  Our goals are to share specific strategies that may be applied to other communities and issues, and to dialog about what this work means and where it can go next.  You are invited to join us for the presentations and to share in the dialog.

Students in the class and their projects include:

• Lupe M. Allen, ­ Finding Voice & Creating Safe Spaces: An Analysis of the Experiences of Undocumented University Students
• Elizabeth Caldera, ­ The Impact of Teacher Expectations on the Academic Achievement of Latina/o Students
• Alicia Casas, ­ Understanding the School Disengagement of Fifth Grade Chicano Boys
• Claire González, ­ Latina/o Student Voices: High School Students¹ Insights on the Latina/o Achievement Gap
• Yanira I. Madrigal, ­ Responding to the Internalization and Normalization of Violence in Oakland: Listening to the Voices of Chicana/o Youth
• Margarita Ortiz, ­ Where is Osvaldo?: Confronting the Absence of Latinas/os in US History Textbooks
• Robert Unzueta, ­ Debunking Meritocracy: Understanding Intergenerational Chicano School Experiences