Week 15: Not The End

Little did I know that this class would lead me to me to experience some true moments of real knowledge. I’m not talking about science and all the educational stuff that one can read about in a textbook (I never attended one of those scientific lectures--surprising), but rather those things that can only be learned by human experience. I certainly don’t mean to say that I have some sort of right to think that I “know” what some of the speakers have gone through, or that I can fully relate to them, but I could feel the honesty in many of their words. I’ve realized that one of my favorite parts of being human is our ability to share stories and personal memories with one another. Several of the lectures I attended involved this exactly, and those were probably the ones that will stick with me the most. Lots of people can speak in front of crowds, but not everyone has the ability to touch others with their thoughts. I feel grateful for having had the opportunity to hear a wide variety of stories, from individuals of many backgrounds.

I got a taste of what it was like to be transgender, a gay black man, a woman who has had an abortion, a man who has been in a wheelchair almost his whole life, a “bro,” a Muslim, a Sikh…the list goes on. Although I am none of these, that does not matter. The point is to realize that these are not merely categories, but that these are all people whose experiences often overlap. We all share the same strain of being human, so it boggles me to think of how inhumanely we have treated one another in the past. And unfortunately it is far from over, but I’m glad that classes like this exist and help us see things differently—in a much more broad and hopeful way.

This course, in a combination with others that I've taken this semester, has made me more critical (yet also more caring I’d say). I gave a presentation in my Islamic Arts of Africa class that spoke about the “Western” gaze on veiled women of the Middle East. Although public speaking is not really my forte, I left that worry behind as I got caught up in the material and discovered how stereotypes are rampant even in today’s pop culture. For example, I used a Bollywood music video for a popular song called “Mashallah” to show how Orientalist themes are still present today. Before this semester, I may have not even thought twice about the silly music video, but my awareness has shifted a little as a result of these classes. I hope it continues to expand and transform as I grow older.     

Week 14: I Hunger for Langar

Last Wednesday, the Sikh Student Association (SSA) fed over 1500 people at the first-ever "Langar" (or free kitchen) on campus. Until recently, Langar only existed as an idea for the organization of Sikh students...but the hard work and dedication of a few individuals has made a dream come to life.

I'm very proud to recognize that my two Sikh roommates, Simaren Sandh and Amrita Bamrah, were involved with this project at its core, and I don't think Langar would have ever happened without their leadership. Months of preparation and planning have went into this event, and we all got to see it pay off on April 24th, 2013. Some may just remember this as a day where a huge white tent was posted near the Engineering quad, in which free Indian food was being served.

 People coming purely for the food was expected, but the experience that took place was so much more than that. Many people do not know that Sikhism is a religion - and the fifth-largest organized one at that. In fact, our awareness of Sikh culture is probably limited to the image of an Indian man wearing a turban. (Keeping hair long and covered is common within Sikhism) Yet because of ignorance, many hate crimes have occurred post 9/11 because the turban became synonymous with terrorist.

      

Those killed in the Oak Creek temple shooting were remembered. 

You may recall just roughly a year ago when a gunman opened fire at the Oak Creek gurdwara (Sikh temple) in Wisconsin, killing six individuals. According to reports, those present at the gurdwara had been preparing for that day's langar, a communal meal which happens every week usually. In many ways, the Langar which took place on campus was an effort to reduce the ignorance which has often lead to so many horrors in history. Each person who stood in line for food received a pamphlet about Sikhism to browse through while they waited. Many people were actually reading them. Even Gino took one.


Sikhism preaches that everyone--regardless of race, gender, religion--is equal in the eyes of God. A person of any faith is welcome to enter a gurdwara and participate in langar as well. Thus, traditionally everyone sits together on the ground as they eat their meal. Serving the community is another key aspect of Sikhism, thus many volunteers (including my roommates' family members) and members of various Sikh communities nearby attended to help make the day run smoothly. They seemed very much happy to lend a hand wherever necessary, even though some of the volunteers appeared to be elderly. 
Some of them, including my roommates, were busy with preparations as early as 6 am, and did not leave until the langar was over around 5 pm.

For the first of its kind, this Langar was hugely successful and it drew in people from all kinds of different backgrounds. It is presumable that another langar event will be taking place next year, in case you missed it this time around. It also made the front page of The Daily Illini. To read more about it, check out the article here: http://www.dailyillini.com/news/campus/article_3686276a-ad39-11e2-8d90-0019bb30f31a.html   

Week 13: Health, Hunger & Happiness

Apparently there are at least 19,000 people in Champaign who do not have health insurance.

I learned this last Friday at the YMCA, where I heard Dr. Irfan Ahmad - from the Avicenna Community Health Center - speak about local healthcare opportunities. Avicenna's main goal is to "provide healthcare for the uninsured or under-insured." I have heard a friend refer to it as "the free clinic."

Among the Board of Directors, Dr. Ahmad is the president of the organization. His Islamic faith has played a definite role in the work he does today, but unfortunately I struggled to understand some of his reasoning because of technical difficulties with the microphone and due to his slight accent. So, I feel like I didn't get the full gist of what he wanted to communicate with us (which according to the event info was supposed to be about "local faith-based responses to hunger and healthcare").The clinic basically emerged as a response from local Muslims who found that access to free medical treatment was very limited in Champaign. I certainly got the vibe that Dr. Ahmad is a humanitarian of sorts, and has a humble character. There must be scores of people who get treated at Avicenna weekly that probably wouldn't be able to afford normal medical care otherwise.

Another speaker present was Donna Camp, representing the Wesley Evening Food Pantry, which fights local hunger on the third Thursday of every month. She has found that health crisis within the family is the No. 1 crisis which leads to seeking food at the pantry. Clients may take as many food items as they want, "as long as it fits" in the large cart that is provided.

Her talk seemed a bit more emotional in many ways --she relayed many personal stories to us of touching client interactions she has had and also of the changes she has went through in her own journey. Again, I got the strong feeling that she too genuinely cares about helping others, and sees much value in it in doing so. It seemed like she was almost choked up and holding back tears at some points.

"When it [compassion] goes away, everything falls apart."
--Donna Camp, Director of Wesley Evening Food Pantry

One of the key points she made was her realization that sometimes we are the givers, and sometimes we're the receivers. At the end of the day, we are more alike than we are different. We all have one fundamental thing in common: that we are human. And although the pantry is run in a church, a person of any faith may come to receive food or volunteer. Again, it was great to see religion brought about in a positive light. The no. 1 thing Camp tells volunteers is to smile and have a conversation; to make everyone feel welcome. Camp explained that she can't help but see a little bit of God in every person now.  

Surprisingly in all of this, there was a slight shift in the atmosphere during one particular moment of the Q&A in which an elderly man directed his question to Dr. Ahmad. This man said he knew a female who had gone to the Avicenna clinic for concerns about her skin problems, but ultimately did not get treatment because of her modesty around male physicians. He also threw in the word "Quranic" into his question, so he came across as rather critical and seemed to be questioning the legitimacy of Avicenna's practice. Dr. Ahmad responded saying that there are indeed female physicians as well, and tried explaining that there is no religious reason as to why the woman in this situation couldn't have been treated. So, it was interesting that this moment of awkward tension came up. The man also seemed to be offensive when he brought up the "give someone a fish, or teach them how to fish" quote in regards to the work of the pantry. Or in other words, he probably thought that it would make more sense to teach the people who come to to the pantry how to not be poor.
To me, he was taking away from all the good things that organizations like Avicenna and the Wesley Evening Food Pantry are doing, but to each his own I guess. His words certainly didn't ruin the presentation for me, and I doubt they did for Dr. Ahmad and Camp either.

  































Avicenna Community Health Center: http://www.avicennahealth.org/
Wesley Evening Food Pantry: http://wesleypantry.org/

 

Week 12: Stevie Hopkins and the Heart

Last Thursday, I listened to a young man named Stevie Hopkins talk about growing up with Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 2.

Hopkins is a University of Illinois alumni who started a company called 3E Love with his sister Annie to change society's perception of disability. He began his lecture by recounting a story he heard in which an old woman was dying of cancer. In her last days, she just wished that she could have been seen as a grandmother, a mother, a sister, or a friend...instead of just another "old woman dying of cancer." This struck a chord with Hopkins, who understood what it was like to be reduced to a "disabled" person.

In 1984, not long after he was born, the head of a neurology department at a hospital told his mother that she should go home and pretend like nothing had happened. He told her that she should simply "stop feeding, stop caring, and stop loving" for her 15-month old son because he wasn't going to live past 2 years. Luckily, his parents were not as heartless as that doctor. Even when his little sister Annie was born with the same muscular atrophy condition, they never treated their children like disabled people. So, Hopkins did the best he could to live a normal childhood. And for the most part, it wasn't so bad. In fact, he recalls being "the most popular kid in elementary school" and playing tons of sports.

Aging brought about its own complications though. It's a complex time when we become more aware of sexuality, body image, race, gender and other major issues within ourselves and society. This, combined with the arrival of more medical issues, proved to be a difficult period in Hopkins' life. Suddenly, the same kids who had played with him in childhood were the ones throwing things at him, and calling him names. Depression ultimately came to replace the fun of his early years as puberty and high school took over. I can't even begin to imagine the psychological trauma of being stuck at home playing video games all day while others are out and about living life, relying on personal assistants, or watching people dance and moving about freely--things that most of us take for granted. All of that free time proved to be worthwhile for Hopkins though. Instead of writing one page book reports, he wrote 10. His studying paid off; he graduated valedictorian of his class, and was accepted into UofI for his undergrad studies.

"This school is like heaven for people with wheelchairs," Hopkins said. I had no idea. I thought handicap accessibility was just a no-brainer on college campuses, but clearly that hasn't always been the case. In fact, Annie, who also attended UofI, seems to have played a role in the building of ramps at many sorority houses.  Hopkins had a positive outlook on life as he began his freshman year. "We're all going to be equals. People are going to treat me differently," he thought. Of course, it wasn't that simple though. His dorm, known as Beckwith Hall during that time, grouped him together with others who had physical disabilities and diseases, some he had never even heard of. He was scared of his own surroundings.

On his first night, typical drunk students were leaving the bars around 2 am. There were some bushes near his window, which was open, and he remembers hearing rustling. Some guy was trying to urinate into the corner of Hopkins' room, and others outside began to laugh saying, "Haha, this is where all the retards live." That was the first time he had ever been called that in his life.

The 3E heart symbol is seen on the bag above.

Needless to say, his first semester wasn't the best. He had little money, got drunk a lot, fell in love with a lesbian...the list goes on. Eventually, he made some genuinely good friends and those with disabilities finally began to intermingle. Beckwith Hall had become a frat house for kids with wheelchairs. If they wanted to go out for dinner, they did. If they wanted to host a barcrawl, they did. Suddenly, everyone started forming romantic relationships too. "We were living the college dream," Hopkins said.

Of course, this "golden age" came to end at some point, and once again reality took over. Finding a job, heartbreak, lost friendships. However, this time Hopkins learned to finally embrace all of his challenges. With the aid of a graphic designer friend, his sister created what has become the symbol of the 3E Love movement. The image features the traditional handicapped symbol, but instead of a wheelchair a heart is the dominant form. The 3E slogan stands for "embrace diversity, educate your community, empower each other, and love life."

Unfortunately, I had to leave the lecture early before hearing more about Hopkins' work and the organization. After doing a little research though, I was a bit shocked to find out that his sister had passed away in 2009 at the age of 24. The work that Hopkins does now is a continuation of her legacy and message to "embrace diversity and live life to the fullest." I had actually thought that Annie was one of the girls in the front of the room while the lecture was being delivered. There were many other students in wheelchairs who had came to hear Hopkins speak though.

I suppose what stuck with me from hearing this talk was just seeing how personable and hilarious Hopkins was. We laughed at his humor, and felt the pain in his honesty. In fact, he was probably a better public speaker than most people I know. We're often guilty of dehumanizing people who have any sort of disability, or at least thinking we cannot relate to them. Or perhaps we find ourselves feeling very sorry for them...but it's not sympathy that they're looking for--it's equality.





            




http://www.3elove.com
http://www.mcdonoughvoice.com/article/20111110/NEWS/311109951

Week 11: The Coolest Patel I Know

When I first saw that someone named Eboo Patel was giving a lecture on campus, I was both surprised and confused. Of course the word "Patel" just naturally jumps out at me, since it's my last name. Yet I've never heard it paired with Eboo before. Then I realized that this man must not be your typical Gujarati "Patel" like most of the ones I know. In fact, he is anything but that.

Eboo is a Muslim Indian American of Gujarati heritage. Although I have met a few others who were like this, he is the first "Patel" I've ever known that practices Islam. He's the founder and director of the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a member of Obama's faith advisory council, an author, a speaker, a father...the list goes on. Patel was named one of "America's Best Leaders" in 2009 by U.S News & World Report, and for good reason.

An article describes him as one of "America's deepest thinkers on religion and the human condition." And here at the University of Illinois is where it all got started, which is incredible to think about. Patel spoke to us about his undergrad years in the early 90's. He found that lots of important conversations about race, sexuality, and gender identity were already happening, but nothing was being said about religion. To some extent, we still see this today. I remember saying the Pledge of Allegiance in elementary school, and then somewhere along the way it just fell off the radar. I don't even remember when that happened. It's true though that religion has become a sort of taboo topic, especially when we think about everyday American classrooms.

Growing up, Patel always tried to "play in the white game" and recalls becoming a target for racial slurs by classmates. (On a side note, I also found it interesting that many of the attendees for this lecture seemed like older white men and women. Traditionally, I tend to think of this group as being the most conservative...but surely stereotyping has played a role in that) Later on in life, he began to ask big questions like "Who am I?" and "How do I contribute?". For Patel, the college campus is the best place to begin these experiences and expand religious awareness. He believes the campus can (and should) play a vital role in promoting interfaith cooperation and appreciation. The identity politics that have shaped our turbulent world history is best summed up in the question, "How have you oppressed me?" Patel's most basic job is to try and fight these problematic dialogues every day. The conversation we should be engaging in with one another should involve questions like: "Who am I? How do we relate to each other? What can we do together?". Yet he also believes that in order to become a part of that larger conversation we must have a strong sense of our own identity. For him, this meant finding value and appreciation for his own heritage, for Islam, for the samosas that his mother packed for lunch...

Patel wanted to make it clear that interfaith cooperation was not about taking a spiritual or political stance. One of the main goals of the IFYC is to "change the public discourse about religion from one of inevitable conflict to one of cooperation and religious pluralism." And basically what that means is using faith as a bridge instead of a barrier in order to strengthen societies and promote "the common good for all". This ties along very harmoniously with last week's student panel on religion - I have a feeling Eboo Patel would have been proud just knowing that such a conversation was taking place.

Overall, I found him to be very knowledgeable and truly leader-like. I found more of his lectures on YouTube, and shared one of the videos about the strong influence of women in his life and faith with fellow blogger (and roommate) Roshni. After watching, she said it "brought me to tears" and that his passion is "so beautiful." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIaEOl6tLF8

Sources:
http://www.usnews.com/news/best-leaders/articles/2009/10/22/eboo-patel-obama-faith-adviser-preaches-religious-tolerance
http://business.illinois.edu/ael/alumni/illinois-entrepreneurs/profiles/patel.html

This event took place at the University YMCA as a part of their Friday Forum series.

Week 10: Interfaith & Ignorance

Religion. Faith. Belief. Love. Hate.

More often than not, I feel like I get these things mixed up. I don't consider myself to be overly-religious, nor do I know what exactly causes someone to fall into that category. I would say though that I've come to develop a somewhat negative connotation to the overall idea of religion, and I'm not really sure why. Similarly, if you were to ask me why I identify as a Hindu, I don't have a clear answer. I was born into a Hindu family, so that part makes sense. Do I believe in all the tenets of Hinduism? Do I even know what Hinduism is all about? Probably not. But I'm okay with that, and I'm willing to bet that there are others out there like me.

I believe in something - that much is clear to me. And religion does play a definite role in my life, I know that too. Just last week as I was reading an article for my art history class, the Islamic Arts of Africa, I found myself wanting to defend my religion. The term "god-pictures" was used by someone to refer to the common usage of deity iconography in everyday Hindu life. It's true, images of important gods and goddesses are often abundantly seen in our homes. It's also very typical for Hindus to have some part of a home reserved for prayer and meditation, in which you're likely to find a small-scale mandir (temple). And inside it is where you'll probably find the so called "god-pictures." All of this can be found in my home in Kentucky.

My "prasad" from the Women's Resources Center.
Too good.

In the mandir or shrine, there may be framed color portraits/illustrations, small figurines, etc. Each is a beautifully-done artistic rendering of Hindu gods, goddesses, or other religious icons. They are seen as manifestations of God, and are meant to be treated with the same holy veneration. We light diyas (oil lamps) in the temple everyday, sing prayers here, and also serve prasad (food offerings) to the deities - which is then believed to have been blessed by the gods themselves. 

Basically my point is...I was offended by this simplified take on Hindu iconography. Maybe to an outsider, it's an acceptable way of looking at it. This train of thought is risky though, and lends itself to the creation of stereotypes.

__________

Now I wasn't thinking about any of this as I walked into the "Speedfaithing" event at the Women's Resources Center last Friday. I actually didn't even know I was going to attend - one of my roommates told me she was on the student panel that would be leading a discussion on faith identities. She was representing Sikhism, a major religion in India. The other 3 student speakers were followers of Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism. They responded to pre-determined questions by another Muslim student, Najah Batty (seen to the left in the picture below).

  

As you can see, a representative for the Christian faith was missing. It was also a little strange to me that only one person was guiding the discussion in many ways, since Q&A from the audience was mostly held off until the end. Regardless, the issues addressed were still pretty interesting and relevant. One of the questions asked the panelists to describe any stereotypes associated with their particular religion. In the post 9/11 world, Anti-Muslim sentiment is still evident today. Unsurprisingly, this has affected Sikhs as well, who are known for wearing turbans in their religion. Ignorance has caused some to equate this symbol for terrorism, leading to an increase in hate crimes.

Of course, sometimes it doesn't even take a politicized symbol to spark tension and racial discrimination. I  haven't forgotten the day that a group of older boys began to laugh at me because I looked like "Osama Bin Laden's daughter" to them. This happened in sixth grade -nearly a decade ago- and the memory is still fresh in my mind.

The theme of unity and love between human beings was a message being promoted across the board by the student panelists. This is essentially the core (or should be) of any major religion, it seems like. It was nice to see such a positive outlook on religion, because as I said earlier, I have doubts about some things. And it seems like it's not so much religion that has flaws, but rather the actions of certain individuals who compel us to think that way. Promoting awareness and defeating ignorance is key to a better tomorrow. 

Photo by Ross Wantland

Week 9: Transformation Tuesday

I had no idea that today I would be hearing powerful words from a transgender artist, Rebecca Kling. Sometimes it amazes me how little I seem to know about the complexities of human beings, but I am grateful to have these opportunities to expand my knowledge. Kling gave a spoken word perfomance called "Uncovering the Mirrors" - a sort of coming-of-age personal narrative that she wrote herself. It is full of stories and metaphors, humor and wit, pain and pleasure.

Kling is the kind of person that can tell a good story. There were no gimmicky props, costumes, or distractions - it was all about the words and the movement of her body. There were times when I felt like she was looking right at me, and for a moment I was terrified. And yet at the same time, I was in awe of her strong presence. She's just that good.

Although I would be lying if I said I understood all of her performance clearly, there were several parts that stood out for me. She painted this great picture in our heads of The Land of Gender - a place that was once vast and beautiful, wild and untamed. It was full of secrets and the unknown, where explorers would make ambitious treks in attempts to understand its landscape. The Land of Gender refused to be defined, until one day an explorer named "He" arrived. He feared the unknown, and began to create a map that would "measure, manage, and master the Land of Gender once and for all." Instead of consulting other explorers for their unique perspectives on the land, He relied only on his own beliefs when mapping out the terrain. Ultimately, He was successful in mapping the landscape - but it only had two paths from which travelers could travel through. Both were very rigid and straight, and very much separate.      

I found these clever and evident metaphors fascinating. In fact, it provoked me to find more of Kling's writing online. You can read from her book, "No Gender Left Behind" right here: http://www.rebeccakling.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/No-Gender-Left-Behind-Rebecca-Kling-free-download.pdf

After the performance was over, time was left for questions of course. A decent amount of time was actually spent on this. A lot of times, it seems like only a few questions are asked by audience members. And even though the group wasn't that large, a valuable discussion began to take place. Kling was genuinely interested in our thoughts and curiosities, and was very honest in her responses.

For her, the "transitioning"process did not have a definitive starting point, nor has it ended. She rather sees herself as always having been "Rebecca," and believes that she would have committed suicide had she not taken the steps that brought her to where she is today.

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 Photo by Peter McCullough