An Ongoing Trend

By Genevieve Buthod

An Ongoing Trend…

I’ve noticed that SXU has a habit of finding fantastic speakers to come in for lectures for the students. This past week was no exception. I was lucky enough to catch John D. Marquez of Northwestern University speak about black/Latin@ race relations in the U.S., particularly the Southwest and Southern California. He said that the conflicts that are happening, and that we perceive any conflict at all, are simply symptoms of the social disease that we all have. It was a very interesting way to introduce race issues, and I think that framing them in these terms helps us to overcome a term he uses, “racial fatigue”—a weariness with the very mention of race and racial problems in this country, a feeling that we are “past it” and don’t need to work anymore.

I was very surprised when he talked about black minutemen groups forming in southern states, an expanding black vote for Tea Party candidates, and an effort in L.A. to keep Latin@s out of municipal seats. In the words of famous Chicago hero Fred Hampton, “You don’t fight fire with fire, you fight it with water. You don’t fight racism with racism, you fight it with solidarity.” Strikingly true words, and worth noting no matter your affiliation with any political party.

On a similar note, I also had the opportunity to speak with Sami Kishawi of University of Chicago that same evening. He came to speak about his experiences in Gaza when he traveled there as a student recently. He told an amazing story about the efforts to rebuild after Israeli attacks. You may not know this, but there are absolutely no construction materials allowed into the Israeli-occupied territories, so the Palestinian people have been rebuilding with the rubble from their bombed buildings. They have collected shattered concrete and straightened out bent iron as one way to put their lives back together. Kishawi told me about his nights with the families, calmly enduring the nearby airstrikes by the Israeli military, and how they had just become accustomed to it as a part of daily life. He also made clear that our very own Students for Justice in Palestine Club on campus represents a view we won’t see in the news, and we should keep our eyes open to different sources of information in order to learn the reality of what’s happening in the occupation. In his words, a just peace benefits us all. If you want to learn more, or do something about this unjust military action, there are over 10 student groups in Chicago alone working towards justice for the Palestinian people, as well as the American Friends Service Committee.

Genevieve Buthod is a sophomore, and a double major in computer science and philosophy. She is a women’s studies minor, and thinking about a music minor as well. Genevieve is an officer in the Alliance (the GSA) and is a happy, healthy vegan. She is also involved with the Students for Justice in Palestine.