Items of Importance

IOI081114

8 MCSD Schools participate in Mix-It-Up - up from last year

Blackmon Road, Blanchard, Columbus High, Dawson, East Columbus Magnet, Forrest Road, Hardaway, and the Teen Age Parenting Center were all involved with the National Mix-It-Up program on Thursday, November 13. Congratulations are in order to the students, faculty and staff who planned and executed programs at lunch and in class rooms yesterday.

 More than 4 million students across the country challenged social and racial boundaries as part of the seventh annual Mix It Up at Lunch Day project designed to foster respect and understanding in schools and communities.  Students in 8,000 schools including 221 in Georgia and 8 in the MCSD questioned each other and crossed racial and cultural boundaries by sitting with someone new in the cafeteria yesterday, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center's Teaching Tolerance project.

 Mix It Up encourages students to plan activities for the whole day, and some used the event to kick off yearlong explorations of social divisions.

"This year, Mix It Up Day has a special significance because of the historic election of Barack Obama as the first black president," said Mix It Up Director Samantha Elliott Briggs. "Students across America are very excited about doing their part to tear down the walls that divide us."

Student organizers say that Mix It Up at Lunch Day encourages students to cross group lines and meet new people; help foster school spirit and unity; raise awareness about social boundaries; help students make new friends; and make students feel more comfortable interacting with different kinds of people.

Contact: Vicky Partin 706-327-0400  

TUESDAY,  November 18, 2008 - Dialogue Group    

The First Presbyterian Dialogue Group will continue its discussion on the topic "The Marketing (or exploitation) of Race in business" Tivika Reed talked about her interview and work as the first African American in her position with a media organization and said that she had productive sales and very few conflicts with her clients once they knew what her product was - increasing their bottom line. These sessions begin at 6:30 pm on Tuesdays. The next session is on Tuesday, November 18. Enter the church from First Avenue across from the CB&T parking garage.

Notes from these Dialogue Groups can be found on the One Columbus website: www.onecolumbus.org  under "Dialogue Groups" as well as articles, selected readings and contributions from participants.

Contact: Berrien Zettler at 706-324-6363

E Pluribus Unum Series Returns

Tuesday, November 18, 2008  - Second Session: "The Constitution Then and Now: what it means to us and why."  

WHAT: The public is invited to a free, four-lecture series titled "The Constitution Then and Now: What it Means to Us and Why."
WHEN: 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Nov. 11 & 18 and Dec. 2 & 9
WHERE: CSU's Center for Commerce and Technology, room 237  
WHO: Presented by the One Columbus E. PLURIBUS UNUM committee and CSU
WHY: To make the U.S. Constitution better understood and more accessible.

BACKGROUND: CSU political science professor Tom Dolan will present the series, focusing on the historical setting of the U.S. constitution as it was written; the federal style of government it established; the development of civil liberties and civil rights; and what Americans should expect
from their government in the future.
In early 2007, One Columbus' E PLURIBUS UNUM committee launched a series of three panel discussions on Constitutional issues, which generated an enthusiastic response from the community.
The upcoming sessions are free and open to the public, and copies of the Constitution will be provided.
For more information, call Rabbi Max Roth at 706-596-8005.

Contact: Rabbi Max Roth (706) 596-8005