Maya Hurricane Survivors Benefit, Cornel West Talk, Hugo Chavez Movie at CSUS This Week!

1.
Press Release: For Immediate Release, November 26, 2005

Contact: Jane Vendola Lee, janevendolalee [at] yahoo.com, 530-888-8434 phone/fax


Benefit for Maya Survivors of Hurricane Stan Set for November 30

The Spanish Department (Foreign Languages Department) of Sacramento State University is sponsoring a fundraiser for the Maya survivors of Hurricane Stan on November 30 from 5:00 to 8:00 pm at Mariposa Hall, Room 1000, Sacramento State, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819. Cosponsors include the Central America Action Committee and the Ulew Tinimit and Miguel Angel Asturias Spanish Schools in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.

Edna and Ingrid Godinez Calderon, directors of the language schools, will speak at 5:30 p.m. regarding the impact of the hurricane upon Mayan communities and what you can do to help rebuild their communities. Beautifully colored Maya woven items will be available for sale throughout the event to benefit the survivors.

Edna and Ingrid have previously striven to expose people to the woven goods of the Maya. The sales of these items can fund such projects as sewer systems in communities where flooding occurs on a regular basis due to torrential rains. Many children cannot afford paper or books and the ceiling for education is generally the 6th grade. The Maya in these districts were decimated in the civil war of the previous decades and are in dire need of tangible sources of income.

Please come show support for survivors, including those from Panabaj, the village buried by a landslide. Families are living in tents and need better shelter this winter. Quetzaltenango (usually referred to as Xela by the Maya) is at the 8,000 ft elevation and is very cold in the winter.

This event has been made possible through the graciousness of CSUS Professor Mario Blanc. For more information, contact Jane Vendola Lee, janevendolalee [at] yahoo.com, 530-888-8434 phone/fax; please call or write concerning donations.

2.
Press Advisory: For Immediate Release, November 25

Press Contact: Duane Campbell (916) 361-9072

Cornel West: Scholar-Activist to speak at Sacramento State

Black activist and philosopher Cornel West, author of the best-selling book Race Matters, (1993) and Democracy Matters: Winning the Fight Against Imperialism, will speak on campus at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 1 in the University Union Ballroom at Sacramento State University.

A professor in Princeton University’s African American Studies program, West is renowned for his scholarship, his controversial departure from Harvard, his support of reparations to blacks for slavery and for his ardent attention to economic and social issues. He is also known for his involvement in community empowerment programs such as national youth gang summits.

West’s political resume includes his role as senior advisor to 2000 Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley and advisor to Rev. Al Sharpton during his 2004 presidential campaign. Cornel West is a Honorary Chair of Democratic Socialists of America, which includes a Sacramento local.

West is from Sacramento. He received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, and a master’s and a doctorate in philosophy from Princeton, where he served as director of African American Studies. He has also taught at Harvard, Yale, Union Theological Seminary and the University of Paris.

Tickets are $15 general and $10 for Sacramento State students, and are available from the Sacramento State Ticket Office at (916) 278-4323 or Tickets.com.

Democratic Socialists of America is an activist organization, not a political party. From engaging in the anti Wall Mart campaigns, promoting single payer health care, to combating the war in Iraq and the war on the poor, to promoting democratic alternatives to the power of the transnational corporations, and defending public schools and public power (like SMUD), DSA is active in the struggle to create a progressive politics in the U.S.A.

“DSA is the major organization on the American left with an all embracing moral vision, systematic social analysis, and political praxis rooted in the quest for radical democracy, social freedom, and individual liberties,” Cornel West.

For information on DSA see:
http://www.dsausa.org
Duane Campbell, Chair. Sacramento DSA.

3.
Fundraiser to Send Sacramento State Students to Venezuela Set for Dec. 2

Hoping to attend the Americas Chapter meeting of the World Social Forum, a group of Sacramento State graduate students in social work will hold a fundraiser with a film showing at 7 PM on Friday, Dec. 2, at 909 12th St., Sacramento.

The film, "Chavez, Venezuela, and the New Latin America," will be followed by a discussion. Donations may be made at the event or by mail to 21 Groth Circle, Sacramento 95834. Checks (tax deductible) should be made to "Global Exchange," which is sponsoring a post-forum tour for the students, focused on innovative, community-based social services. Call (916) 444-7013 or email csusswgj [at] gmail.com for more information.

The students have formed Social Workers for Global Justice, committed to mobilizing the social work community on campus and in Sacramento and applying social work theories and practices on a global level. The event is co-sponsored by Sacramento Area Peace Action.

Sacramento Area Peace Action
909 12th St. #118
Sacramento CA 95814
Ph. (916) 448-7157
http://www.sacpeace.org