Hunger Banquet
Last week Dominican hosted a “Hunger Banquet,” which is an educational experience that dramatically simulates the disparity of food resources in the world. Each participant is placed randomly in a low (50% of participants), middle (35%) or high (15%) income group, and given a persona and story to identify with. Over 200 people participated from Dominican, as well as from Concordia University, neighbor school down the block, and from the wider community. It was a consciousness-heightening experience and it gave people lots of options for taking action for the common good by engaging in local and global efforts to address hunger. It’s linked as well with a wonderful community gardens project.
This week the Rosary College conference room is host to drop-offs for donations to “Welcome to America! Packs” being donated to new refugees being resettled in Chicago neighborhoods. Each pack contains essential household items. Students involved in this initiative are learning about how war and poverty contribute to the world-wide refugee crisis, and developing relationships with refugee families. We’re doing this in partnership with a wonderful organization, Exodus World Service. It’s a phenomenal learning experience and a chance for ours students to deepen their understanding of what it means to be globally positioned and ethically responsible.
Both activities are part of the work of our new Interfaith Cooperation Committee.
Tomorrow we host the ACCA Scholarship of Pedagogy Symposium, a wonderful conference of teachers from across the Chicago area, coming together to talk about why they love teaching and how they inspire students. I love participating in these kinds of events. I learn a lot and am reminded of how much passion, knowledge, and deep commitment it takes to be a university faculty member. My own students remind me about that every Tuesday and Thursday as well! It’s hard work but work worth doing. If you click on the link above you’ll see the program and the exciting variety of topics we’ll be addressing.
It’s a busy but wonderful semester. The banquet continues!
