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(03/30/05 12:00pm)
Despite all the publicity the Student Government Association (SGA) has had regarding this week's referendum for the creation of a position of Vice President of Equity and Diversity, not one student attended an information session held last week to educate the student body about the proposed position.
Nevertheless, Joanna Holguin, SGA senator at-large, Holguin presented the tasks of the proposed position at the session.
Holguin said the responsibilities of the position include managing monthly cultural displays, analyzing student survey results from the office of Equity and Diversity and addressing those results, managing the Diversity Ambassador Program, assisting with diversity training needs and developments, communicating with other student organizations in regard to current diversity issues or possible programs and assisting in planning campuswide events.
The goals for the position also include increasing students' leadership abilities in a diverse society, identifying and enhancing processes that create an inclusive community and creating an environment where "diverse opinions and backgrounds are valued and treated with respect and dignity."
"I wanted to set up an infrastructure for equity and diversity issues within SGA and the campus community," Holguin said.
Lee Whitesell, newly appointed vice president of Academic Affairs, argued that the position would not adequately address the problem.
"The position implies that the rest of SGA does not take seriously a commitment to either equity or diversity," he said. He added this implication is "on the border of insulting."
Whitesell also argued that the position insults the students it would represent. He said, "Just like affirmative action, this position may be construed as saying, 'Here, you can't do it yourself, so let us help you by passing some legislation to help you get up to speed.' The more we play to misperceived disadvantages, the more credence we lend to them."
In response, Holguin said, "I don't think it's so much an insult. It's more like we found a weakness in the SGA and we are working on ways to improve it."
She added that the debate is "not related to affirmative action because this position does not focus solely on racial issues."
During the debate Thea Schoenberg, senator of education, proposed an amendment to change the position from vice president of equity and diversity to director of equity and diversity. The change to director would mean that the position, in addition to carrying out senatorial duties, would address issues of equity and diversity.
Schoenberg's formal proposal for the amendment was voted down by the senate.
Supporters felt the amendment would enable SGA to first identify what the problems are and then address those problems.
Whitesell criticized the sponsors of the bill for being "unwilling to compromise and create a director or commissioner position first, to demonstrate the existence of such problems and the need for such a position."
"I don't think I was unwilling to compromise because there were some amendments made. Any amendments I refused would have taken away from the goals," Holguin said.
Of Schoenberg's amendment, Holguin said that changing the position from a vice president to director would "spread the person too thin."
Annelise Catanzaro, student trustee, showed support for the position by saying, "This new vice president position would constantly be thinking in a mindset that focuses on issues of equity and diversity."
Student referendum voting on the position began yesterday and continues today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Brower Student Center.
(03/02/05 12:00pm)
Deborah Hutton, assistant professor of art history, was awarded the Millard Meiss Publication Grant by the College Art Association (CAA) for the publication of her book manuscript, "The Art of the Court of Bijapur."
The book, a revised version of Hutton's Ph.D. dissertation, examines the architecture and paintings of the kingdom of Bijapur, a Muslim-ruled empire in India during the 16th and 17th centuries. It is set to be published by Indiana University Press in Fall 2006.
The grant honors accomplishments of art historians. It is a great achievement for Hutton, as art history books are difficult to publish due to the high costs of image printing and of receiving permission from museums to use photographs of artwork.
CAA awards the Millard Meiss Publication Grant to "support book-length scholarly manuscripts in the history of art and related subjects that have been accepted by a publisher on their merits, but cannot be published in the most desirable form without a subsidy."
The book received an award from the American Institute for Indian Studies (AIIS) last year, and Hutton already had a publisher. However, the Millard Meiss Publication Grant will help with the financial strains of the publication process.
Hutton's accomplishment has met with the approval and enthusiasm of students and faculty. James Lentini, dean of the school of art, media, and music, said, "One thing I believe that is really exciting is that it fits in so perfectly with the College's mission of having a community of teacher scholars. Our faculty here are not only people who teach young minds, but they are also engaged in their (own) artistic or scholarly studies." Lentini was excited that Hutton achieved this kind of success so early in her career and anticipates further accomplishments. He added, "This kind of publication brings great recognition to (the College)."
Mandy Floyd, sophomore graphic design major, said, "It is really cool to be taught by a professor that has received such high recognition. It shows how enthusiastic she is about what she teaches."
The book, which contains photos of artwork that has either never been published or has not been not published since 1920, focuses on the artwork from the kingdom of Bijapur, a diverse empire comprised of people from both Islamic and Hindu religions. Though the kingdom was Muslim-ruled, the artwork reflects aspects of both Islamic and Hindu culture.
Hutton said, "It was an Islamic kingdom so the rulers were Muslim, but the population was largely diverse. I looked at how the development of the art reflected this diversity and how they shaped the art to draw on different traditions that make up the diversity of the kingdom." She calls this trend "intercultural exchange."
The publication of the bookwill coincide with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's first exhibition on Islamic art in India. Hutton will be actively involved in the affair, as she will be writing an essay for the exhibition.
AIIS also awarded Hutton a grant to travel to India this summer as part of a new project. Hutton will be focusing on the photography of late 19th century India. Hutton expects to examine "how they used photography to create identity for the court that reflected all these different aspects."
Hutton highlights two main goals for her focus of study. First, she feels the presence of Islamic art in India is "highly understudied" and that there are countless pieces of art and architecture, which she intends to expose and detail in her work, that reveal a great deal about the development of Indian culture and its diverse background.
Hutton's second goal revolves around the common assumption that Islamic culture is adverse to any type of cultural integration. She hopes that her work can help to redefine this aspect of Islam.
"For me, my goal is to get people to reconsider what they think Islamic culture is, or broaden what they think it is and how it interacts with other cultures. I'm reacting against the popular idea that Islam does not clash well with other cultures," she said.
Hutton hopes that she can use her studies to raise awareness and expand the College's spectrum of South Asian studies. She will team up with Anita Anantharam, assistant professor of women's and gender studies, to meet this goal.
"We are trying to build up interest in South Asia. It is an interesting part of the world because it is so diverse and because of its growing importance in the world today," Hutton said.