Wednesday, January 24, 2024
|
|
|
Reflections on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
|
Feature by: Jessie Levine ’26 and Jonathan Becker ’26
|
Last semester, I convened a committee of students, faculty, and staff to organize programming for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Sophomores Jonathan Becker and Jessie Levine, members of the planning committee, wrote the following piece to provide a bit of context and share information about this week’s scheduled activities.
- Adam Kirtley, Interfaith Chaplain
|
This month of the Hebrew calendar is known as Shevat, the month in which the holiday of Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees, is observed. Although trees can be a symbol of life, they can also be viewed as a symbol of remembrance. For example, Ya'ar HaKdoshim, the Forest of the Martyrs in Jerusalem, has 6 million trees to commemorate the 6 million Jewish lives that were lost during the Holocaust.
This coming Saturday, Jan. 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The day was established by the United Nations in 2005 in recognition of the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, 1945. People around the world take this day to bear witness to the horrors of the Holocaust and honor the millions of lives lost.
The Holocaust was the deliberate and organized persecution and execution of people who did not align with Hitler’s ideal “Aryan” society. In addition to the 6 million Jews who were murdered, millions of people from other groups were also targeted and killed. These groups were deemed “undesirables” to Hitler’s ideal society and included groups like Roma, Slavs, members of the LGBTQ community, people with mental and physical disabilities, black people and political dissenters. It is important to recognize the numerous other communities that were impacted by the genocide and International Holocaust Remembrance Day honors all the lives lost in the Holocaust.
Remembering the Holocaust and the tragic impact that widespread hate can have on humanity is integral to keeping history from repeating itself. We take this day to renew our commitment to standing up against hatred in all of its forms. We also take this day to acknowledge the pain and intergenerational trauma we feel as a result of the Holocaust. We grieve lives lost and commit to collectively saying “never again.”
We, as members of Whitman College’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day Planning Committee, would like to invite you to join us for the programming we have scheduled throughout the week, including:
|
- A screening of “The Flat” on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 4 p.m. in the Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom.
- A reading of a mayoral proclamation in recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at Walla Walla City Hall.
- Mourner’s kaddish and musical reflection on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 4 p.m. in the Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom.
- A luncheon and virtual conversation with filmmaker Daniel Lombroso on Friday, Jan. 26 at noon in the Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom.
|
|
|
NiQo Bullock Interviewed on Life Altering Events Podcast
|
Associate Director Student Activities NiQo Bullock was recently interviewed by Frank Zaccari on the Life Altering Events Podcast. In the episode, titled “Walking the Walk,” Bullock talks about how he connects with students and encourages them to be their best selves, both as a student at Whitman College and as a student of life.
|
Camilo Lund-Montaño Publishes Article in The Global Sixties Journal
|
Assistant Professor of History Camilo E. Lund-Montaño recently published an article titled, “‘Undesirable’ travelers: US Radicals, Mexican Security, and the Cold War Summer of 1968.” The article explores the interaction between travelers and intelligence agencies in the U.S. and Mexico as both sides sought to interpret and contextualize the other to fit and shape their own expectations of Cold War politics during the global Sixties.
|
|
|
Dialogue & Dignity Series Begins Tomorrow
|
The Dialogue & Dignity Series begins on Thursday, Jan. 25 and the first guest speaker will be Zareena Grewal, a historical anthropologist, documentary filmmaker and Yale University professor. The first two events listed below are open to Whitman students, staff and faculty, and the lecture in the evening is open to the general public as well.
|
- “Campus Climate in Time of War” luncheon from Noon–1:30 p.m. in Memorial Building, Room 331 (first-come, first-served)
- Open Office Hours from 2–5 p.m. in Memorial Building, Room 326
- Talk: “Reading Muslims: Race, Islam and the War on Terror” at 7 p.m. in Olin Auditorium
|
Farewell Party for Chef Jon Next Week
|
Please join us next week as we bid a fond farewell to Chef Jon Sodini with Bon Appétit. A celebratory event is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 31 from 5–7 p.m. in Cleveland Commons. Stay tuned for more details.
|
|
|
This week, the Whitman Baseball program welcomed a new member to the Blues through a partnership with Team IMPACT. Learn more about 12-year-old Haydin on Instagram (@gowhitman).
|
|
|
|
|
Reid Campus Center, Room 207
|
|
|
|
|
Memorial Building, Room 205
|
|
|
|
|
Penrose Library, Room 313
|
|
|
|
|
Reid Campus Center, Young Ballroom
|
|
|
|
|
Sherwood 114 or Reid Side Lawn (weather dependent)
|
|
|
Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.
|
|
|
“Whitman Today” is produced by the Office of Communications and is emailed Monday through Friday to Whitman College staff, faculty and students.
All submissions are welcome! If you have accomplishments to celebrate, an event to publicize or other content to share with the Whitman community, email whitmantoday@whitman.edu. Submissions of 125 words or less are due by noon for the following day’s newsletter. Submissions may be edited and/or held for a later date according to space and editorial needs. Your submission also authorizes use on Whitman's social media unless otherwise specified.
Previous issues of Whitman Today are archived on our website.
|
|
|
Find us on social media: @whitmancollege
|
|
|
|
