The Rev. Francis L. Markey Women in Ministry Speaker Series event, Making a Way Together in This Time of Transformation, with Mary Novak of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, provided a backdrop of the current political environment in the United States, underscoring the tenuous fabric of our democracy. A few of the attendees commented that they recently turned 18 and have been overwhelmed by the barrage of negativity. Centered on hope, Mary provided a path forward for all to understand the concerns and consider ways to discern and engage in the upcoming elections. Watch the video recording.

Dear College Faculty and Staff,

Last weekend’s service celebrating the life of Michelle Bezanson was quite moving. Michelle truly had a huge impact on the people in her life and those who spoke on Saturday illustrated that so sincerely. If you weren’t able to make it, you can view the recording online. We will have a memory book at the front desk of the Dean’s Office throughout next week if you would like to write a note about Michelle. Please come stop by and add to it.

Also of note this week was the Teach-In on the conflict in Gaza. The event represented an educational and peaceful collaboration between faculty and students, serving as a good model for continued dialogue about difficult issues near and far.

With about one more month of classes in the academic year, I wish you all a “second wind” for the rest of the quarter!

Sincerely,

Daniel

Highlights

Faculty listen to Diana Morlang (Political Science and the Drahmann Center) offer tips for advising in the context of new SCU policies.

Over 60 faculty from CAS attended at least one of four workshops offered April 15-22 to gear up for Mandatory May Advising. The workshops were offered jointly by the Office of Undergraduate Studies and the Drahmann Center and covered advising basics, understanding the Core Curriculum, advising beyond the major, and advising in light of new SCU policies. All sessions were recorded and are available on the Drahmann Center and Faculty Development websites.

Image: Creating Afro-Asian fusion artwork (left) and building alliances for Black and Asian soliarity (right). 

On April 9, SCU members visited AIMS High School in Oakland for Part I of Black/Asian Encounters: Past, Present and Future discussions. Darrien Mitri '26 (Communication, Economics), Hsin-I Cheng (Communication), Hsin-hung (Sean) Yeh (Modern Languages & Literatures), Jose Kabeer (AIMS College Prep), and Sonia Gomez (History) shared lesson plans designed to facilitate conversations on Asian and Black relations. Asian and Black senior students created Afro-Asian fusion artwork and discussed opportunities to build alliances for Black and Asian solidarity.

Julia Voss (English), Nicole Branch (Library), Loring Pfeiffer (English), and Julia Kovatch ’23 (History) presented “Minoritized Students as Standard-Bearers: Challenging Deficit Thinking about Information Literacy Learning” at the Conference on College Composition and Communication in Spokane, Washington, on April 5. Their research, which is also supported by Bryce Nishikawa ’24 (Sociology, Ethnic Studies), shows that while undergraduates struggle to write about popular sources, minoritized students demonstrate more sophisticated information-literacy skills than their majoritized peers. This presentation highlighted key findings from the group’s data analysis and featured an interactive demonstration of a tool for peer review of popular sources that the group has created based on the results of their study.

Image: L-R: Julia Voss, Nicole Branch, and Loring Pfeiffer at CCCC 2024

Brita Bookser (center, back) presents her paper during the roundtable session.

Brita A. Bookser (Child Studies) attended the American Educational Research Association's (AERA) 2024 Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in April. She presented her research in the roundtable session, "Mirrors, Windows, Sliding Glass Doors: Critical Approaches in Early Childhood Education to Counterstories, Language, and Literature." Brita's paper, "Unsettling Early Care and Education Origin Storytelling: Introducing a Genealogical Counterstorytelling Methodology," introduces a methodology to confront dominant narratives of early care and education origins. She applies this method in a larger project that focuses on a set of exploratory questions about the carceral foundations and liberatory strategies that characterize the emergence and sociopolitical evolution of early care and education in the United States. The first paper from this project is forthcoming in the Journal of Pedagogy, Culture, and Society this summer. Additionally, Brita served as Chair for the roundtable session, "Humanizing and Honoring Children's Identity, Agency, and Voice," which included four paper presentations from colleagues in the US, UK, and New Zealand. Finally, she attended several excellent paper symposia and roundtables organized by leaders in the field of education, and she reveled in Kimberlé Crenshaw's and Gloria Ladson-Billings' magnificent keynotes.

Amy Lueck (English) presented "Revising a Woman's Remembrance through Cultural Rhetorics" (with her daughter in tow) at the Conference on College Composition and Communication conference in Spokane, Washington. This presentation built on her experience as a fellow with the Center for Arts and Humanities, during which time she coordinated for Ohlone experts to consult with the Winchester Mystery House to develop a land acknowledgement practice for their attraction. In her presentation, she shared about how the funding provided her this opportunity to engage with Cultural Rhetorics practices in the context of feminist historiography work to advance histories that are more critically attentive to intersectionality, transnationalism, and settler colonialism.

Image: Amy Lueck presenting at the CCCC conference, accompanied by her one-year-old daughter, Ronnie.

Mohammed Kadalah (Modern Languages and Literatures) presented a paper at the American Comparative Literature Association annual conference. The paper, titled "Navigating Space in Syrian Prison Literature: Aesthetics of Dissent" endeavors to illuminate and scrutinize the methodologies and approaches employed by former Syrian political detainees in their resistance against their jailers. It situates the ostensibly confined prison cells as arenas for heightened political dissent and activism, discreetly operating beyond the purview of their custodians. The contention posited herein is that former detainees sought to reconfigure the spatial dynamics of their confinement, a testament to their unwavering commitment to their respective ideological tenets.

Molly M. King (Sociology) attended the Pacific Sociological Association Annual Conference in San Diego at the end of March 2024 with her research assistant and collaborator Annie Yaeger ’26 (Sociology). During the conference, Annie presented their joint project titled “Disasters Discriminate by Disability: Information, Confidence, and Preparedness for Natural Disasters.”

Image: Annie Yaeger and Molly King at the Pacific Sociological Association Conference

Simone Billings (English) accompanied English majors Nikhita Panjnani '24 (English) and Kamyllie Gutierrez Arteaga '25 (English, Theatre Arts) to the annual convention of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English Honor Society, which was celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. At the convention, held in St. Louis, Missouri, Nikhita presented her paper “Desdemona and Lady Macbeth's Sexed (and Unsexed) Downfalls," and Kamyllie presented her paper "Correction: More Narratives Don’t Rewrite History.” Besides attending other sessions, the three also enjoyed seeing some sights in St. Louis, including the St. Louis Arch, which Nikhita and Kamyllie rode up. All three were surprised and thrilled when Simone won the 17th Delta Award given in the society's 100 years. An award given for long-standing and continuous service to Sigma Tau Delta, Simone received it for her 35+ years of being a co-sponsor of SCU's chapter, for being the Far West Regent, and for being on the Board of Directors for Sigma Tau Delta.

Image: Kamyllie Guttierez-Arteaga, Simone Billings, and Nikhita Panjnani in the lobby of the hotel just as they were leaving for the airport after the awards lunch.

Anna Sampaio (Ethnic Studies) was recently featured on the podcast series The Last Best Hope?: Understanding America from the Outside In, a production of the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford, for their episode discussing “How Are Latino Voters Changing America?” The episode examined the historic origins of the Latino electorate in the U.S., the diversity and complexity of the current population, and how their political preferences, participation, and voting behavior have evolved in the 21st century.

Anna Sampaio was also was also interviewed by Bret Burkhart and Patti Reising of KCBS as part of a conversation on the recent Arizona Supreme Court decision creating a near-total ban on abortion access in the state by allowing a law from 1864 to go into effect.

SCU Model United Nations delegation: (front row, l-r): Ken Faulve-Montojo, Varsha Pai '24 (Economics), Ariana Yamasaki '25 (Political Science, Philosophy), Lyla Stanislaw '24 (Political Science), Dilyn Odoardi '26 (Political Science, French), Sara Galeb-Roskopp '25 (Political Science); (back row l-r) Huxley Murray '25 (Political Science), Ariel Lee '27 (Business Undeclared), Leah Jannetti '24 (Political Science), Izzy Fleming '25 (Political Science), Jo Yang '24 (Political Science), Jade Haddad '26 (Political Science, Philosophy), Anna Jesse '26 (Communication, Political Science), Swapna Panuganty '24 (Computer Science), Madden Hart '26 (Political Science), Lock Marquis '26 (Political Science, Philosophy), Sean Gallagher '24 (Political Science), Donal Pradeep '24 (Computer Science and Engineering), Bryan Reyes '24 (Political Science), and Max Silveira '24 (History, Political Science).

On April 19-23, Kenneth Faulve-Montojo’s (Political Science) Model United Nations class (POLI 116A/B) and Registered Student Organization participated in the Model United Nations Far West (MUNFW) Conference in Burlingame, California. Ken's class partnered with 22 other colleges and universities from around the country and globe to simulate model sessions of the United Nations. This year’s theme was “Human Security: Our Shared Sense of Responsibilities in the 21st Century.” Through this simulation program, the MUNFW helps students develop a greater understanding of the United Nations as an instrument of international cooperation and provides an opportunity for students to participate in engaged learning about differences in power and wealth and cultures and backgrounds. This year Santa Clara represented Germany, Iran, Israel, South Africa, and Slovenia. SCU participants acclimated themselves well to their roles and served with distinction. SCU delegates stood out, but some drew particular attention from their peers, especially political science majors Bryan Reyes '24 (Iran), Sean Gallagher '24 (Israel), and Leah Jannetti '24 (South Africa), who was selected by her committee as a Rapporteur, the delegate who reflected the best spirit of cooperation and understanding in the committee. Leah had the honor of presenting her committee’s final report at the Closing Plenary Session of the General Assembly.

College of Arts and Sciences Calendar

20th Anniversary Celebration of the New Playwrights’ Festival

The 20th Anniversary of the New Playwrights’ Festival continues! Join us for three more electrifying new plays written by SCU alumni and former festival participants of NPF.