Garment industry is topic of next Under-Told Stories Forum Nov. 12

The next Under-Told Stories Project Forum asks the question, “Is What You’re Wearing Enslaving or Liberating?” A panel of speakers will conduct a public discussion about issues related to the garment industry Wednesday, Nov. 12, at Saint Mary’s Winona campus.

The event’s keynote speaker is Joe Bozich, CEO of Knights Apparel, who is convinced his Alta Gracia collegiate sportswear subsidiary can compete with Adidas and Nike while providing a living wage to the Dominican workers who make the clothes.

Bozich has more than 20 years of manufacturing, sourcing, marketing, and operations experience. He founded Knights Apparel in 2001, and by 2009 Knights Apparel became the largest supplier of college apparel in the United States. Knights Apparel also holds exclusive rights with the NHL. Bozich was named Ernst & Young’s 2005 Entrepreneur of the Year for the Illinois Region and in 2010 the Huffington Post nominated him as one of the top 100 Game Changers in the nation.

Participants will be asked to think about these questions:

• Bozich pays Alta Gracia garment workers 3.5 times the legal minimum wage. What’s your price point for fairness?
• In Bangladesh, 4 million people are employed in the garment industry, many in unsafe conditions with poverty-level pay. Are “non-living wages” better than the alternative?
• From “fair trade” to “green washing,” can consumers be persuaded to make socially responsible choices?

The moderator will be Fred de Sam Lazaro, who directs the Under-Told Stories Project at Saint Mary’s—a program that combines international journalism and teaching—and is a senior distinguished fellow at the university’s Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership. He has served as a correspondent for PBS NewsHour since 1985 and is a regular contributor to Religion and Ethics Newsweekly on PBS.

Panelists will also include:

• Chandu Valluri M’06, assistant professor of marketing at Saint Mary’s. Valluri has advised CEOs and senior business leaders in the textile, information communication technology, and food and beverage industries, both domestically and internationally.

• Nikki See, producer and editor, Under-Told Stories Project. See covers a variety of global issues for PBS, including those in the apparel trade and human rights. See brings the rare perspective of one who has spent time amid the garment racks in Cambodian and Bangladeshi factories, as well as those of the fashion retailers she browses for her own consumption.

This event—free and open to the public—is planned for 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Page Theatre. (The same event will be held 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, at Saint Mary’s Twin Cities Campus.) Register at www.smumn.edu/utsseminar.

This event is made possible by the Under-Told Stories Project as seen on the PBS NewsHour, and is sponsored by the Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Fall Preview Day today draws more than 100 families

Fall Preview Day provides students’ with an introduction to Saint Mary’s in all its fall splendor. Visitors can tour the campus, learn about academic departments, and speak with Saint Mary’s staff and students. There are sessions reviewing the college search timeline, applying to Saint Mary’s, and how to access scholarship and financial-aid resources.

On Oct. 16 we welcomed nearly 40 families for individual visits to the campus.  Today, we anticipate a sizable number of visitors to the campus with 110 families planning to attend our Fall Preview Dy. The Friday program will begin at 9 a.m. in the Page Theatre with a welcome. Prospective students and their families will meet with admission personnel, and learn about various academic programs, and other areas including study abroad, athletics, student success and the ever popular Wow! Winona presentation. They will also have the opportunity to join us for lunch in the dinning hall.

Please take time to engage with our visitors and share your Saint Mary’s stories  as we welcome these families to our campus.

Solidarity Council event celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

The Solidarity Council hosted a Solidarity Talk in celebration of Hispanic Heritage month on  Oct. 8. The talk was titled “Latinas at Saint Mary’s University: Two Generations of Mexican-Americans” and was facilitated by Dr. Esther Peralez, Lupita Garza-Cienfuegos, and Briana Torres. The panelists shared stories of their upbringing, expressed important facets of their culture, and discussed how to celebrate diversity at Saint Mary’s.

For more information on Solidarity Council, contact Demetrius Young, dtyoun13@smumn.edu, or Alece Newberry, anewberr@smumn.edu.

Faculty Development luncheon is Oct. 20

The next Faculty Development Committee luncheon will be Monday, Oct. 20. Melissa Luedtke and Beth Seebach, with their respective minigrant teams, will discuss the research and work they did through their internally awarded minigrants this past summer 2014. The Education faculty minigrant is titled “Changing Frowns to Smiles: Student and Program Centered Collaborative Assessment,” and the Psychology faculty minigrant is titled “Curriculum Review at Foundational and Baccalaureate Levels.”

Faculty and academic staff are warmly welcomed to attend. The presentations will be in the Faculty Dining Room: lunch is available at noon, and presentations start at 12:15 p.m. Those interested are invited to go through the cafeteria line and tell the Chartwells staff at the front that you are with the FDC lunch, and FDC funds will pay for your meal.

Students celebrate National Chemistry Week during Chemistry Nights

Many area high school juniors and seniors will perform hands-on chemistry projects during upcoming Chemistry Nights at Saint Mary’s, which will run 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, Oct. 22 and 29.

Chemistry Night, sponsored by the Saint Mary’s Department of Chemistry and the La Crosse-Winona local section of the American Chemical Society, is an annual event designed to help students explore the discipline of chemistry and appreciate the positive role that chemistry plays in our everyday world.

Each year students solve challenging but fun chemical problems, based on the National Chemistry Week theme. This year the theme is “The Sweet Side of Chemistry—Candy.”

Students will work in small teams, using wet chemistry and working with chemical instrumentation in the Saint Mary’s Department of Chemistry, under the guidance of chemistry and biochemistry majors.

Prizes will be awarded to the teams that have the greatest success in solving the chemical problems. Prizes will include Saint Mary’s scholarships of $2,000 and $1,000. Pizza and refreshments will also be provided.

About 10 area schools and 50 students typically participate in this event.

For more information, contact Dr. Brett Bodsgard at Ext. 6972.

Discussion about flower workers in Colombia is Oct. 20

Flower workers and the U.S. free trade with Colombia will be discussed at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, in the Common Room. All are invited. The event is hosted by Modern Languages, the First Generation Initiative, and the Political Science Department.

Flowers are one of Colombia’s biggest exports  (with 76 percent imported to the U.S.)–and a priority sector in the Labor Action Plan created as part of the U.S. Free Trade Agreement

The workers, 65 percent female, have few protections. They are often forced to take pregnancy tests and birth control to avoid the common birth defects.

Workers are exposed to 127 different pesticides, three of which the World Health Organization has labeled as extremely toxic, and pesticides are sometimes sprayed directly on to workers.

During the busy season, workers can be forced to work 12-16 hour days, six days a week.

Cactus is a Colombian advocacy organization that encourages women flower workers to fight for their rights by offering legal advice and support programs.

Two representatives of Cactus will speak:

• Josefa Gomez is a former flower worker who spent almost a decade in the industry. She became involved in Cactus through its outreach programs, and she eventually joined the organization’s administrative team. With her experience as both a worker and organizer, she brings a unique perspective to the analysis of the current situation.

• Leonardo Luna Alzate is an expert on territorial issues and social movements. As the leader of the Cactus program directed toward building solidarity among women flower workers, their families and youth of the savannah, he offers an analysis of the benefits and challenges of creating a unified movement in the face of powerful economic interests.

Music faculty to perform Oct. 26

Members of the Saint Mary's Music Department faculty will present a free recital on Sunday, Oct. 26, at 3 p.m. in Figliulo Recital Hall.

This performance features Dr. David Leung (violin) and Derek Clark (cello) performing a duet by Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly, 18th century arias performed by Lindsy O’Shea (soprano), a rare performance of a galant-style flute sonata by Anna Bon performed by Dr. Janet Heukeshoven, solo jazz piano works performed by Eric Heukeshoven and a Canonic Sonata by Telemann played by David Leung and Janet Heukeshoven. Pianist Aleah Harvey will be performing with Heukeshoven and O’Shea.

For more information, contact Dr. Janet Heukehoven at jheukesh@smumn.edu.

Public invited to panel discussion about elections

The public is invited to a panel discussion about the importance of elections and how the election process works on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Salvi Lecture Hall, located on the third floor of Saint Mary’s Hall.

Panel members include Jeff Narabrook, voter outreach director for the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State; Scott McMahon, Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs associate vice president for external relations; and Dr. David Lynch, department chair and professor of social science.

The event will be held in a question-and-answer format, with the Saint Mary’s student Legislative Affairs Committee asking questions of the panelists prior to opening up questioning to the public. Information will be provided to students about voting locations, and there will be time for discussions about ballot measures that affect the Saint Mary’s and greater Winona communities.

Rouault’s ‘Seeing Christ in the Darkness’ is next gallery show

“Seeing Christ in the Darkness,” a collection of the world-class prints of one of the most important printmakers of the 20th century, Georges Rouault, will be on display Oct. 16 through Nov. 16 at Saint Mary’s University.

Rouault (1871-1958) was a lifelong Roman Catholic, but the Church resisted the darkness of his work. It wasn’t until the end of his life that he received a church commission. But the graphic art in this exhibition, done at the height of the artist’s powers, shows how deeply the artist identified with people’s sufferings and, indeed, saw within this darkness the salvation that Christ brought.

Rouault’s work will be on display in the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries. The exhibit is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Saint Mary’s to host first Career Fair, prep workshop

The first Saint Mary’s University career fair will be held 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30, in the Toner Student Center.

All students and alumni of Saint Mary’s are invited to check out local and regional businesses and organizations, network with potential employers, and find out what they are looking for in potential interns and employees.

This is a great opportunity for students to practice job interview skills and potentially land a job or internship that could launch their careers.

To help prepare for this career fair, the Career Services and Internships Office will be offering one final workshop, Conducting a Winning Interview, 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, in Lab 23, Hendrickson Center. Interviewing can be a scary thing, so come to this workshop and discuss what kinds of questions students can expect, strategies for answering them, and questions to ask employers/interviewers.

Special Halloween ‘Boo-fet’ and costume contest is Oct. 31

Start planning your spooktacular Halloween costume now; get your office or department together and vie for the highly coveted traveling Halloween contest trophy. The last costume contest winners, Development and Alumni Relations, aren’t going to give it up easily!

This is the Saint Mary’s Volunteer Committee’s first “Let’s Do Lunch” potluck/fundraiser.

This year’s winner and runner-up will be able to direct their $300 and $200 winnings to their choice of the following worthy causes: Winona Food Shelf; scholarships at Saint Mary’s; Saint Mary’s in Jamaica; Habitat for Humanity; the First-Generation Initiative; or the Red Cross.

The lunch will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, in the Common Room. All faculty and staff are welcome!

It’ll be a frightfully good time; ghoul be glad you came!

‘Make a Difference Day’ and ‘Lasallian Day of Service’ are Oct. 25

Make a Difference Day

In recognition of national “Make a Difference Day,” Saint Mary’s Volunteer Mentors group is inviting Winona residents and nonprofit agencies to submit requests for service.

The university hopes to get as many students as possible out into the community between 1 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25. Students are willing to help individuals and organizations with anything from painting to yard work.

Saint Mary’s will supply the workers, if you supply the materials needed (paint, brushes, rakes, tools, etc.).

“Make a Difference Day” is a national day of helping others, a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Created by USA WEEKEND magazine, this annual event takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. For more information, call Anna Waechter at Ext. 7268 or email awaechte@smumn.edu.

Lasallian Day of Service

Also on Oct. 25, alumni are invited to participate in the sixth-annual Lasallian Day of Service. This is a day that allows alumni to come together in the spirit of the Lasallian mission in service to others. The alumni association has established a volunteer site for the Winona area at a Habitat for Humanity house.

Sites have also been confirmed in the Chicago, Twin Cities, Saint Louis, Milwaukee and Denver areas. Alumni who reside outside these locations have been encouraged to arrange their own service project(s).

For more information go to:  www.mysmumn.org/LDOS14.

Halloween Fun Night is Oct. 27 at Saint Mary’s

Elementary and preschool children from the Winona area are invited to attend the 14th annual Saint Mary’s, Halloween Fun Night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27.

Participants should stop at the guard booth at the main entrance of the Winona campus for directions on where to park.

Young trick-or-treaters should start out the evening at the Hall of Fame Room, located in the Toner Student Center, where tattoos and stickers, a coloring station, and other fun games will be offered, and the Cardinal mascot will greet pint-sized ghosts and goblins.

From there, Saint Mary’s students will lead groups of trick-or-treaters through the residence halls of the university, where they can go door to door for candy.

Last year more than 750 youth participated in this free, safe and fun event, sponsored by the Office of Residence Life.

Get set to scream at annual Walk of Horror

This year’s Saint Mary’s University Walk of Horror is again guaranteed to give you goosebumps. New scares are planned around every corner.

The 18th annual hair-raising fundraiser for the Cardinal fastpitch softball team will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 24-25 and 30-31 in the campus bluffs. Walkers are asked to meet on the lighted path between the Saint Mary’s baseball and softball fields, where the haunted walk will begin.

Groups are then escorted through the dark bluffs for approximately 20 minutes.
The cost is $5 for adults, $4 for students with ID, and $4 for children 12 and younger. Tickets are available at the gate.

Head fastpitch softball coach Jen Miller said the event is fun for all ages. The scare level is toned down for younger children and turned up for groups bold enough to face their fears. Last year more than 1,100 brave souls took the Walk of Horror.

Proceeds from this event will be used for the softball team’s travel expenses.

For more information, contact Miller at Ext. 6923.

Figliulo to speak at Chamber luncheon

The Winona Area Chamber of Commerce 2014 Manufacturers & Technology Week Luncheon is 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Riverport Inn.

The luncheon will also feature keynote speaker Rob Figliulo, former Saint Mary’s trustee and 1976 alumnus, speaking about “Importance of Innovation and Leadership.” Figliulo serves as the CEO of The SPR Companies, a position he has held since 1992.

As part of the week-long Manufacturers and Technology Week celebration, the Winona Area Chamber, in partnership with the Winona Workforce Center will be recognizing a deserving manufacturing business as the recipient of the Minnesota Governor’s Commendation.

Chat and Chow events continue Oct. 22

The Chat, Chow & Web 2.0 professional development series, hosted by the library, IT, and Instructional Technology, is open to all faculty and staff. Meet in the main lounge of McEnery; lunch is provided. An RSVP is appreciated, but not necessary, to Jason Spartz at jspartz@smumn.edu.

The next session, “Curiouser and Curiouser”  will be on Oct. 22. Topics are 3D printing and business intelligence. Staff and faculty are invited.

A printer that can create jewelry, hand guns, or car bodies?  The IT department's  3-D printer might not be quite that sophisticated, but  Jason Spartz (Instructional Technology) will demonstrate what it can do and speculate on how faculty may be using 3-D printers in the future. In addition, Michael Ratajczyk (Business) will satisfy your curiosity about something called business intelligence.

Page Series hosts Creole Choir of Cuba Oct. 23

The Page Series will host an evening of vibrant dances, spectacular harmonies, and colorful rhythms of the Caribbean Thursday, Oct. 23, as the Creole Choir of Cuba takes the stage.

Experience the heart and soul of Cuba through irresistible melodies, poetic lyrics and impassioned vocal and percussive performance. With influences from both the Caribbean and West Africa, the Creole Choir of Cuba tells stories of survival, faith and tragic history, drawing you in with infectious music.

This Grammy-nominated choir sings the vital music learned at home from grandparents and parents, as well as the songs of some of the foremost groups of contemporary Haitian scene. The Creole Choir’s Cuban name Desandann means literally “descendants.” Members of the Creole Choir of Cuba are descendants of Haitian and Dominican migrants who came to Cuba in waves, first escaping slavery and then as laborers in Cuba’s sugar plantations. The Philadelphia Inquirer calls the choir’s performance “as much for the emotions and gut as it is for the ears and eyes.”

Tickets are $27 for adults, $24 for seniors and students and are available online at www.pagetheatre.org or at the Saint Mary’s box office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

McCullough, Crozier to participate in history event

“Farming the Ridge: Yesterday and Today” will be presented at the Winona County History Center, 160 Johnson St., on Tuesday, Oct. 28. There will be a reception at 7 p.m., and the performance will begin at 7:30 p.m.

The material for this event is taken from interviews conducted by poet Ken McCullough with farmers and their families who live and work on the Garvin Heights Ridge. McCullough will read the pieces spoken by men, and Lynn Nankivil, playwright, will read the pieces spoken by women. They will be accompanied by violinist Betsy Neil and pianist Mark McGuire.

The program will begin with a song titled “Valediction,” sung by soprano Teri Tenseth Market and tenor Leslie Hittner. The lyrics were written by McCullough, and the music by Tim Takach, a Minneapolis composer.

“Early Settlement of the Ridge,” a presentation by Dr. William Crozier, emeritus professor of History at Saint Mary’s, will follow the performance.

The program is free and open to the public, and is sponsored by the Southeast Minnesota Arts Council and the Winona County Historical Society.

Students invited to participate in innovation challenge

Registration is now open for the 2014 Innovation Challenge, and the top prize is $7,000.

Miller Ingenuity, a manufacturing innovation leader in Winona, invites all college and graduate students to submit plans and creative ideas in response to the challenge, “How might an American manufacturer attract the best and brightest innovative minds to pursue careers in the manufacturing industry.” The best solutions will win $7,000 (first prize); $2,000 (second); $1,000 (third). Submissions are due Nov. 5.

The contest will be announced nationally Oct. 22. For more information, go to http://www.milleringenuity.com/challenge.