Diversity Digest A newsletter for and by the many faces of CJS... Inside every issue Profiles in Diversity ..................... 2 Student Spotlight ........................ 3 Advising Avenue………………………..3 Dean’s Corner ............................. 3 Celebrang Diversity................... 4 Recipe ......................................... 5 Submissions ................................ 6 Announcements.......................... 6 Images in the feature story The images presented on this page are from the Fordson High School Football team in Michi- gan, not EKU Colonels. Ramadan tough for Muslim Student-Athletes Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. It began this year on the evening of July 8th (or July 10th in some places) and ended August 7th. These dates are significant for another reason—it’s the middle of football training and for an EKU student-athlete, adhering to the require- ments o f fasng can be tough. “Somemes I want to cheat and go to McDonalds! Plus, my teammates make it harder, although they don't’ know I am fasng, and some of them don’t even know I’m Muslim,” says an EKU football player who wished to remain unnamed to avoid the possible sgma that comes with being Muslim in American culture. “I’m not that different from anybody else. Growing up Chrisan and converng to Islam, I see the similaries between the two religions. I wish others could see it too.” The student recalls that he maintains his strength through Ramadan by prayer. Although it is iso- lang, the brotherhood that is experienced through football is encouraging and supporve. So what is his ritual? This student-athlete takes us through his day: He awakens before dawn to eat precisely seven dates—the tradional Muslim fast-breaking food—and drinks a gallon of water. “No one thinks this is weird because they think it’s a snack before my morning workouts.” Then he prays for strength. He touches no food and is not supposed to consume liquid unl sunset. “This is where I deviate a bit but ask for forgiveness. I think God recognizes the dilemma with play- ing football and working out in this crazy heat and overlooks my water and Powerade consumpon,” he says with a chuckle. “ I have to keep my body, the temple running, so I’m realisc.” He then makes sure to eat a well –balanced dinner. “Well as best as possible for Powell. I wish Straon’s [cafeteria] was open for dinner. I’d be good.” When asked about the issues he faces as a Muslim, he shares a comical story. “I oſten get cricized by my Chrisan teammates, who know I’m Muslim. They make fun of things like me not eang pork. I tell them, according to your Holy Word, your not supposed to eat it either! (Laughs) But seriously, I don’t face that many problems. When people see me, they see a Black man. So I get all that goes along with that . But my Arab brothers and sisters face more issues for being Muslim than I ever will. And I feel bad for that. “ He discussed the purpose of Ramadan and be- came passionate. “We do this to remind us that there are people who don’t have food. Since the poor and hungry will always be among us, we have to be reminded of them to keep helping anyway we can.” September 2, 2013 Inaugural Issue: Volume 1, Issue 1
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Here in the College of Justice & Safety, diversity is more than rhetoric: we are
actively promoting diversity of all forms in our faculty, our students, and our staff.
Our ability to provide quality education and to grow is determined by the breadth
and the depth of our inclusion of all people. The more we embrace our differ-
ences – diversity of thought, experience, perspective, race, gender, sexuality,
faith, and more, the better we can deliver what our students need and the more
successful as a College we will be. 3
Student Spotlight
I believe that every criminal justice
student should care about the ver-
dict in the Zimmerman trial because
it goes to show three important
things: 1) evidence plays an im-
portant role in deciding someone’s
fate; 2) the important role of the
jury is often overlooked; and 3) our
system is still full of human error
that can often lead to discrimination.
When you have a homicide,
you want to collect as much evi-
dence as possible even if it is just the
simple things. I’m pretty sure a lot of
people knew or even thought Zim-
merman was guilty because there
was so much that was said to make
you think Zimmerman was your guy.
But prosecutors do not always have
enough evidence or the defense
lawyer may just be better than the
prosecution.
The issue with the jury is
that it is full of human beings with
opinions and assumptions. People
take their viewpoints everywhere
they go. And the comments made by
some of the people on the jury after
the case reveal that they had pre-
conceived ideas about both Martin
and Zimmerman. This goes hand in
hand with my third point. Historical-
ly and currently, the criminal justice
system has been biased against
males, the young,
and African-
Americans. Put
these groups to-
gether and you
get the most dan-
gerous mix in the
eyes of many
Americans: the
young Black male.
From what I’ve learned in my Race &
Crime class , this group is most likely
to be sentenced harshly and viewed
the most dangerous and blamewor-
thy. So if Zimmerman did view Mar-
tin in a negative light, he is not on
his own. This is the view that most
people have of young Black men.
What we should take away
from this trial: cases like this are not
isolated. They occur frequently and
we need to start shedding more light
on them and not let the media guide
our thinking.
Why CJ Students Should Care About the Zimmerman Trial… By Celeste Washington
Celeste is a CRJ Major, Class of 2013
Dean’s Corner Allen Ault, Dean of CJS
Celebrating Diversity
We often get into the habit
of just celebrating diverse
populations during particular
months or weeks. The Col-
lege of Justice & Safety feels
that diversity could and
should be celebrated year
round. So this section is
devoted to featuring neat
facts, historical information ,
and issues of justice about
diverse groups in American
history, regardless of what
month or week it is! Their
history is American history!
A History of U.S. Anti-Japanese Actions
1868: Japanese immigrants arrive in Hawaii to work in sugarcane industry.
1869: Japanese immigrants begin to arrive in California.
1882: Congress passes Chinese Ex-clusion Act, which stops flow of Chi-nese workers to U.S. and results in increasing immigration of Japanese workers.
1890s to 1924: Economic hardship pushes farmers and peasants to leave Japan for the United States, where they are sought by mining, logging, agricultural, railroad and fish-canning industries.
1900: King County (Wash.) Republi-can Club calls for exclusion of Japa-nese.
1908: Under so-called "Gentleman's Agreement" between the two coun-tries, Japan stops immigration of la-borers to U.S.
1919: Anti-Japanese League formed by Seattle businessmen.
1921: California and Washington pass laws prohibiting Asians from owning land.
1922: Congress passes Cable Act, effectively revoking U.S. citizenship of women who marry Japanese-born immigrants. U.S. Supreme Court up-holds prohibition against Japanese immigrants becoming naturalized citizens.
1924: Immigration Exclusion Act prohibits all Asian immigration except Filipinos, who are U.S. sub-jects.
1936: Congress repeals Cable Act, which revoked citizenship of any woman who married a Japanese im-migrant. President Franklin D. Roose-
velt suggests the Chief of Naval Op-erations compile a list of suspicious Japanese living in Hawaii who would be placed in prison camps in the event of trouble.
Nov. 7, 1941: Munson Report deliv-ered to Roosevelt Administration, which says people of Japanese an-cestry living in the U.S. are loyal Americans and do not pose a threat to the country.
Dec. 7, 1941: Japan attacks U.S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor, prompt-ing U.S. entry into World War II. Newspapers and politicians unfairly blame Japanese Americans for aiding in attack and initiate call for American prison camps.
Feb. 19, 1942: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066, clearing the way for more than 120,000 people of Japanese descent – two-thirds of them U.S. citizens – to be taken to 10 prison camps.
1943: War Department creates two
segregated Japanese American com-
bat units – the 442nd Regimental
Combat Team and the 100th Infantry
Battalion. Japanese Americans also
serve units including the 522nd Field
Artillery Battalion, Military Intelligence
Service and 1399th Engineer Con-
struction Battalion.
4
Celebrating Diversity
September 16th is “Keiro no hi” or Respect for the Aged Day - a day the Japanese honor elderly citizens.
1944: The 100th and 442nd combat units suffer more than 800 casualties rescuing the 211 members of the Texas 'Lost Battalion' in October. In December, U.S. Supreme Court rules the government cannot impris-on "loyal citizens" in a case brought on behalf of Japanese Americans. The last Japanese American prison camp won't close until March 1946.
April 29, 1945: Members of the all Japanese American 522nd Field Artillery Battalion are among the first Allied troops to liberate prisoners at
Dachau concentration camp near Munich, Germany.
August 1945: U.S. drops two atomic bombs on Japan, forcing surrender.
1948: Congress authorizes reim-bursement of some property losses suffered by Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II.
1952: Congress overrides President Harry S. Truman's veto and legalizes citizenship for Japanese immigrants.
1983: After a three-year investiga-tion, the Commission on Wartime
Relocation and Internment of Civilians calls for a pres-idential apology and pay-ment of $20,000 to each of the 60,000 survivors of the Japanese American prison camps.