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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Every February, Black History Month is observed across the United States. Black History Month is a time to embrace and celebrate aspects of African-American culture. This year, Black History Month is particularly important as the Georgia Tech Community recognizes the 50th Anniversary of the Matriculation of Black Students. Please mark your calendar and take note of the various scheduled events:
Tuesday, February 1st – Black History Taboo
7 pm,
Student Center Piedmont Room
Attendees will play a Black History version of
the popular game Taboo.
Sponsored by AASU
Tuesday, February 8th – Black Amazing Race
6 pm, Starting at Student Center
We will be playing Amazing Race with
Black Historical locations in the Atlanta area. Each team (with a car) has to go
to each location and take a picture and whoever comes back the fastest wins a
prize
Sponsored by AASU
February 9th – Salute to Ellington
10am; Ferst Center for the Arts
Free lecture/demo by Jazz Reach that introduces students of all ages to the world of jazz music.
February 12th – Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra
7PM; Ferst Center, Richard Gallery
February 12th ~ Sound check and Q&A for GT students followed by Jazz Connect @ 7PM in the Richards Gallery of the theater. The performance will be held the same day @ 8 PM; student tickets are $10.
Tuesday, February 15th – Book Club Discussion – The Help by Kathryn Stockett
12 – 1 pm, Women’s Resource Center
Bring your lunch and join the WRC and Diversity Programs for a conversation about Kathryn Stockett’s The Help. Set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Miss., where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia Skeeter Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing about what disturbs you. The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies and mistrusts enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who’s raised 17 children, and Aibileen’s best friend Minny, who’s found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams.
Sponsored by the Office of Diversity Programs and the Women’s Resource Center
http://www.womenscenter.gatech.edu/plugins/content/index.php?id=58
Tuesday, February 15th – “Understanding Identity and
Building a Collective Voice” Panel
6 – 8 pm (including a reception),
Klaus 1456 and Klaus Atrium (for reception)
The purpose of the “Understanding
Identity and Building a Collective Voice” Education Session will be to show
students the value of stepping outside of their own identity groups in order to
build community. While sometimes uncomfortable, and sometimes met with
resistance, the value of thinking and acting with a community in mind, and not
just the parts that make it, produces extraordinary results. GT Alumni panelist
will share their experiences and stories about times in their careers,
communities, and personal lives where they have focused outside of their
immediate circles to highlight inclusiveness, or to build a collective voice to
reach a broader goal, and the success they have found in those ventures. This
panel will allow students to consider their own identity groups and allow them
to consider how to bring strength to a community by leveraging their
individuality and experience.
Sponsored by SAA, AASU, OMED, and the 50th Matriculation Committee
http://www.gtsaa.com/?q=understanding-identity-panel
Thursday, February 17th – Trivia Night @ Junior’s
Grill
6 pm, Junior’s Grill
Annual Black History Trivia Night at Juniors.
Sponsored by AASU
Thursday, February 24th – Natural Hair Panel with “GT Campaign for EveryBody”
7 – 9 pm, Student Center Ballroom
Sponsored by GT Housing, Office of
Diversity, AASU, and Women’s Resource Center
Friday, February 25th – ONYX BALL!!!
8 pm – 1
am, The Biltmore
Every year, the African American Student Union finishes Black History Month by hosting the Onyx Ball where Georgia Tech students and their guests come dressed to impress to celebrate the accomplishments of African Americans throughout history.
For more information contact Erin Wilson at gtaasu.blackhistory@gmail.com
http://www.cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/aasu/onyx_ball.html
Monday, February 28th – Unveiling of African American
Exhibit
6:30 pm, Alumni House
You are cordially invited to an
evening of “firsts” as we celebrate the accomplishments of Black Alumni, Faculty
and Staff over the past 50 years by unveiling the first Georgia Tech African
American History Exhibit.
Cocktail Reception, Business Attire
Sponsored By: The Georgia Tech Black Alumni Organization
Honored Guests: Georgia Tech’s First Vice President for Institute Diversity, Dr. Archie Ervin
Dean for the Ivan Allen College, Dr. Jacqueline Royster
RSVP - contactus@gtblackalumni.org