SPRING 2011 EDITION
S P R I N G
Q U A R T E R
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MA Y
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Celebrating Asian Heritage Month!
For information
about the Office of
Ethnic Programs
and Services and
for more pictures
Check Out
U.c.EPS on
Facebook!
During the week of May 9 through May 13, the Office of Ethnic Programs and
Services celebrated Asian Heritage Month with a week of educational and socially
conscious events. Beginning with Henna on Tuesday, Martial Arts Fusion on
Wednesday, Becoming American documentary and discussion on Thursday, and
ending with comedian Eliot Chang on Friday; this week of events brought together
not only the Asian student community but drew diverse students into relevant discussions. By breaking cultural boundaries, EPS celebrated Asian Heritage Month
with a series of events meant to not only increase knowledge about Asian cultures
but to break stereotypes, barriers, and begin cross-cultural conversations.
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Henna
Henna has been used
since the Bronze Age
to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather, silk
and wool. In several
parts of the world it is
traditionally used in
various festivals and
celebrations. For skin
dyeing, a paste of
ground henna (either
prepared from a dried
powder or from fresh
ground leaves) is
placed in contact with
the skin from a few
hours to overnight.
Henna stains can last a
few days to a month
depending on the quality of the paste, individual skin type, and
how long the paste is
Come visit Ethnic
Programs and
Services in Steger
Student Life
Center Room
555!
Martial Arts Fusion
The Martial Arts Fusion
provided an opportunity
for attendees to learn selfdefense and inner
strength. Any martial art
promotes healthy lifestyle
with physical fitness and
stress relief.
The workshop and demonstrations included several different Asian martial arts techniques such
as, Kendo, Taekwondo,
Shotokan Karate, and
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Shaolin Wu Shu. Participants were introduced to these
styles beginning
with a brief history, description,
demonstration,
followed
by individualized
group workshops
where everyone
actively learned
defense techniques.
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allowed to stay on the
skin. Student artists
from DAAP, George
Hakim, Pooja Kwatra,
and Ronak Makadia
created beautiful designs on the hands and
feet.
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CINCO DE MAYO FIESTA
On Thursday, May 5,
2011, the Office of Ethnic
Programs & Services, Latinos En Accion (LEA)
and the Residence Hall
Association (RHA) collaborated for the Cinco de
Mayo Fiesta. The Cinco de
Mayo Fiesta was a cultural
event dedicated to educating the University of Cincinnati student population
on the actual significance
of Cinco de Mayo.
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The real significance of
Cinco de Mayo is to celebrate the Mexican army's
unlikely victory over
French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5,
1862. The Battle of Puebla was one of the major
battles leading to the ultimate Independence of
Mexico which occurred
on September 15, 1810. In
comparison to the popularly misconception that
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Cinco de Mayo is a holiday dedicated to the Independence Day of Mexico. The Cinco de Mayo
Fiesta brought together a
diverse population of students, faculty, and staff
to celebrate this national
holiday by riding the mechanical bull, gladiator
jousting, and eating free
Chipotle burritos. Check
out more pictures on the
U.C.Eps Facebook page!
Becoming American: The Asian Immigrant Experience
Becoming American:
The Asian Immigrant
Experience discussion
began with segments
of a documentary focusing on the shared
and common immigrant experiences of
the Asian American
communities. Issues
that the documentary
and discussion
touched on are methods of early immigrant transportation,
economic hardships,
family relationships,
education philosophy,
language barriers, and
Asian slavery in
America, the fight for
Civil Rights and more.
This discussion was a
vital and much needed
educational component of the Asian
Heritage Month as it
not only promotes the
pride of Asian American origins but also
teaches others about
the history of Asian
immigration to America. On the East Coast
and West Coast where
there have always
been a greater influx
of immigration, the
issues associated with
immigration are discussed frequently and
general knowledge
about immigration is
more prevalent however in the Midwest,
where diversity is not
always prevalent or
inherent, students
benefited greatly from
this program.
Eliot Chang
Written By: Carlo Cruz
The Office of Ethnic Programs and Services in collaboration with Residence Hall Association, closed a
week of Asian Heritage Month celebrations with a hilarious performance by Eliot Chang. The L.A.based comedian delivered an interesting mix of topics that truly lived up to the "High Inappropriate"
tour title. It didn't matter whether you were a sorority girl, Facebook addict, or avid photographer -Chang had a little something to say about everyone. In a unique texting-based Q&A session, the audience learned more about Chang's history and motivations as a comedian. In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, Chang's successes represent the progress of Asian Americans in mass media and entertainment. As the Asian American community moves forward, Eliot Chang stands at the forefront of representing Asian American culture. Not only does his comedy support the voice of the Asian American
community, but it also shapes a new figure for the typical Asian American.
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Tacos on Tuesday
Worldfest began
with a dynamic personality in the form
of Dr. Juana Bordas,
President and founder of Mestiza Leadership International
and Vice President
of Greenleaf Center
for Servant Leadership. Dr. Bordas is
also the founder of
Mi Casa Women’s
Center, the founding
President/CEO of
National Hispana
Leadership Institute,
and The Circle of
Latina Leadership.
Her list of accomplishments however
does not do her justice.
In person, she is dynamic, energetic, and
full of life. She danced
her way into the UC
Mainstreet Cinema and
asked everyone to join
her, imparting her
lover of “salsa, soul,
and spirit” to all. In the
spirit of Worldfest and
Dr. Bordas’ love of diversity, the Office of
Ethnic Programs and
Services and Latinos
En Accion hosted the
traditional Tacos on
Tuesday. Bringing the
liveliness of Latin music through the halls of
Steger Student Life
Center, over 300 students joined in celebrating Latin heritage
through the traditional food catered by
Taqueria Mercado.
Marinated chicken,
grilled beef, slow
cooked pork, seasoned
rice, salsa, freshly
made tortillas, chips,
and more. The crowning glory of the event
however was the tres
leches cake made by
Panaderia Las Mexicana, a local Fairfield
bakery.
Come visit Ethnic
Programs and
Services in Steger
Student Life
Center
Room 555!
International Fashion Show
The Worldfest International Fashion Show is a collaboration of students from diverse
cultures and countries. This year students wore traditional clothing from Africa, Latin
America, East Asia, and South Asia with special performances by UC Breakdance, UC
International Dance Team, Black Arts Collaborative, and Habeeba’s Dance of the
Arts. From Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Peru, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Japan, Vietnam,
Cambodia, and India, the beautiful garments wowed the audience. Exciting dance performances roused the crowd from their seats.
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Holi Festival
The Office of Ethnic
Programs and Services
in collaboration with
Worldfest hosted the
first ever Holi Festival.
Translated as the
“Festival of Colors,”
Holi is a traditional
holiday celebrated by
Hindus and Sikhs. It is a
celebration of Radha’s
love for the Lord
Krishna (Hindu god).
Radha applied colors to
her skin to usher in the
Spring, a season of love,
prosperity, and abundance. During this festival, participants threw
powdered colors in the
whole of the color spec-
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trum symbolizing the
colors of spring, bestowing love on everyone. Emcees, Priya
Srivastava and Sunny
Patel welcomed over
250 guests to traditional
North Indian food. Ms.
Ronak Makadia and Ms.
Pooja Kwatra danced to
a contemporary Bollywood song and the UC
Bhangra Team wowed
everyone with one of
the happiest performances ever seen. There
are no words to describe
the Holi game itself
(please see pictures).
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The Rafael Rennella Scholarship Banquet
On May 13, 2011, Latinos En
Accion (LEA) in collaboration
with the Office of Ethnic Programs & Services sponsored the
annual Rafael Rennella Scholarship Banquet at the University of
Cincinnati’s Stratford Heights
Banquet Hall.
graduating from U.C., Rafael
began working with Procter &
Gamble as a systems analyst.
Rafael’s life and labor were cut
short at the age of 26 when he
died of an asthma attack in
1995.
The annual Rafael Rennella
Scholarship recipient was Ms.
Milena Fernandez, first-year
student in the Computer Engineering program. Mr. Alfonso
Cornejo, President of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in
Cincinnati, attended to recruit
volunteers for the new H-100
Community Outreach project.
The Rafael Rennella Scholarship
is in dedication of Rafael Rennella,
LEA Founder, who was a student
leader at the University of Cincinnati. He came to Cincinnati from
Argentina in 1979 and eventually
earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering at U.C. in
1994. Rafael left a legacy of service and accomplishment. Upon
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