Campus Currents

November 8, 2021, 7 p.m., In-Person - McCarthy Center Forum

Starr Carter is the only witness when police fatally shoot her friend Khalil. This 2018 film, based on the novel by Angie Thomas, brilliantly depicts Starr's courageous truth-telling about police violence against African Americans. The movie will play in the Forum. FSU and MetroWest communities are welcome to join the movie viewing and discussion.

Framingham State and partners are hosting events to recognize Native American Heritage Month featuring author, Joy Harjo. Free copies of her book, An American Sunrise, are available.

November 8, 2021, 4:30 p.m. Contemporary Native American Poetry

Whittemore Library, virtual event. Dr. Brinkman will discuss Native American poetry, drawing on the LOC Living Nations, Living Worlds exhibit of first people’s poetry curated by Joy Harjo and the Modern American Poetry site.

November 17 and November 22 at 7 p.m., Book discussion on An American Sunrise

Framingham Public Library

November 10 and December 6 at 1:30 p.m., Book discussion on An American Sunrise

Whittemore Library, virtual event

November 13-14, 2021, 10 a.m. Professional Development Workshop

Danforth Art School, 14 Vernon st. The workshop will focus on Native Americans: A Poetry and Art Workshop for teachers centering on Joy Harjo’s book An American Sunrise.

December 8, 2021, 4:30 p.m. Keynote author event “A Talk with Joy Harjo”

Whittemore Library, virtual event Joy Harjo, of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, and 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States, will talk about her book of poetry An American Sunrise.

February 2, 2022 Presentation

Larry “Spotted” Crow will give a presentation at MassBay Community College Library.

NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest.

Events take place on Friday via Zoom and start at 4 p.m.

December 10
Mini Gingerbread Whoppie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

You can register for an event by clicking on the embedded links above. Zoom links and ingredient lists will be sent out the week of each event. For questions contact cwickham@framingham.edu.

See you all in the kitchen soon!

November 15 - December 10, 2021

Reception: November 16, 2021, 4:30-6:30pm

Mazmanian Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of artwork produced during sabbatical by two faculty from the department of Art & Music.

Please consider participating in the 7th Annual Giving Tree program, hosted by the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership Development and the United Way of Tri-County. The Giving Tree program allows our community to come together to provide gifts for children during the upcoming holiday season for those who are in need.

This program has been extremely successful because of the participation from FSU community members like you. We hope that you will consider helping to make the Giving Tree a success once again. This year we will be sponsoring 70 children, with hopes to increase that number through your participation.

To participate in this program, please email kmacmaster@framingham.edu no later than Monday November 15th, 2021 with the number of children or individual gifts (3 gifts per child), your club, organization, office, or you as an individual, would like to sponsor. Please see attached flyer for FAQs.

You may also visit one of our information tables to sign-up:

Tuesday November 9th 11:30 am – 2:00 pm MC Lobby
Friday November 12th 11:30 pm – 2:00 pm MC Lobby

When you register to participate, you will receive the wish list of the specific gifts requested by the child or children you are sponsoring. Please deliver your unwrapped gifts to SILD (MC 510) no later than Friday, December 3rd, 2021 at 5 pm.

Thank you for considering being a part of SILD’s 7th Annual Giving Tree Program. We hope that you will choose to join us in our goal of making a family’s holiday season full of joy!

By Donald Halsing - Publications Intern

Beatriz Alavardo said the “cosmovision” of Andean peoples is completely different from Western worldviews, emphasizing connections between nature and human experience.

She discovered “powerful messages” within Andean and Amazonian oral traditions during several trips through South America collecting data about indigenous peoples.

Alvarado, a Spanish language and Latin American cultures professor at FSU, was one of the speakers during the Linda Vaden-Goad Authors and Artists series Zoom presentation Oct. 26.

Tim McDonald, a painting and drawing professor at FSU, also shared the story behind his latest artwork.

Alavardo shared why she wrote “Entre el Sol y la Luna,” Between the Sun and the Moon, a collection of Andean and Amazonian myths and legends.

She said the people of Peru speak 48 different languages. However, some of those languages rely on oral traditions because they have no written format.

Alavardo said oral traditions play “a key role in the survival of traditions and customs” of rural communities she visited.

“I found the best way to connect with these communities was through hearing their stories about their lives,” she said.

Alavardo compiled the stories she heard in a bilingual book - written in both English and Spanish - so people who only speak one of those languages can share reading experiences with their families.

McDonald said Greenfield Lake in Wilmington, North Carolina, is “a wild place in the middle of a very tame place.”

His observations of the lake from his studio in Wilmington inspired his latest drawing.

McDonald, a painting and drawing professor at FSU, shared pictures of natural growth and manmade structures from the area around Greenfield Lake that he incorporated into his drawing “ancient future/song of the swamp.”

He showed viewers pictures of birds, alligators, and trees he noticed in the area, including a 475-year-old Live Oak in Airlie Gardens.

As for the manmade structures, McDonald noticed “piles” of debris in the world around him. He incorporated multiple “stacks” into the drawing, including a “pile of houses” representing construction around the lake which required clear cutting pine forests.

McDonald included rising flood waters and shadowy figures as reminders of human activity’s impact on nature. “Are these ghosts? Are they projections into the future?” he asked.

He said “pastoral” landscapes often do not include evidence of human activity. “But, I've been interested in the opposite of that because we are … leaving our fingerprints on everything.”

McDonald’s drawing “ancient future/song of the swamp” will be on display in the Mazmanian Gallery between Nov. 15 and Dec. 10.

Alavardo’s “Entre el Sol y la Luna” can be purchased from a variety of book retailers and online.

Wednesday Employer Showcases

Employers showcase their organizations, in person, most Wednesdays in the McCarthy Center lobby. Their goal is to network with and recruit students for full-time jobs or internships. Students can stop by their table to learn more.

There are two time slots: 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and 12 Noon to 1:30 p.m., featuring up to four different employers:

11/10 10am-11:30am: Nordstrom
12pm-1:30pm: Altar’d State

11/17 10am-11:30am: Unites States Navy
12pm-1:30pm: United Way of Tri-County – Call2Talk

12/1 10am-11:30am: HMEA
12pm-1:30pm: The National Guard

12/8 10am-11:30am: Danforth Art Museum
12pm-1:30pm: AMC Theaters

MA State Universities Fall Virtual Career Fairs on Handshake
The Massachusetts State Universities are hosting four joint virtual career fairs to be held on HANDSHAKE. Students will virtually meet with employers and explore internship, part-time, and full-time opportunities that meet their career goals, though video group chats and one-on-one sessions. Students MUST pre-register on Handshake.

Each fair is industry focused, but ALL majors are welcome to all fairs.
Register on Handshake at https://app.joinhandshake.com/career_fairs.

MA State Universities STEM and Health Sciences
Virtual Career Fair
Tuesday, November 9th, 2021, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m.