The Valpo Core

Are you new to Valpo? Have you been wondering what it’s all about?  Join The Social Action Leadership Team (SALT) for our “What is Valpo?” night to learn about the new community you are a part of!  We will discuss the people, places and businesses that make up Valparaiso.  This will be a great opportunity to learn how you can understand and fit into the world around you!  See you on Tuesday, Sept. 8th at 9:00 in the Lumina Room of Huegli Hall! Don’t forget,  it’s CORE approved!

Sponsored By: The Social Action Leadership Team (SALT)

Join the Social Action Leadership Team (SALT) Monday night to learn more about what makes fair trade so fair!

On Monday, December 8th, 7:00 pm, in the Community Room of the CCLIR, SALT will have a speaker from a fair trade company called Ten Thousand Villages.  She will give a presentation and will display some of her goods.  She will speak for a while, then answer questions.  SALT is sponsoring the event as a kick off to their fair trade fair which will run Tuesday and Wednesday (9th-10th) in the Union from 11-5 pm.

Flyer: Fair Trade

Colombian human rights worker Abilio Peña will speak on campus Thursday, 11/20, at 4 pm in the Christopher Center Community Room.

Abilio Peña is an important human rights defender and leader of the ecumenical Comision Interreclesial de Justicia y Paz (Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission). The Inter-Church Justice and Peace Commission works in the Chocó department of Colombia to denounce the illegal acquisition of traditionally collective Afro-Colombian land by paramilitary groups.  He has extensive knowledge of the situation in  Colombia, potential effects of the pending US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement in his region, the increase in violence, and threats towards human rights workers and communities who speak out against impunity. Mr. Peña, a lay theologian, is a skilled public speaker who clearly and proficiently draws audiences into the reality of Colombia through his personal stories and experiences.  His visit is coming only months after he received death threats from the paramilitary group Aguilas Negras.

This event is cosponsored by SALT (Chapel of the Resurrection), the Spanish Department and Amnesty International.

A panel discussion open to the Valparaiso and VU campus community.

Thursday, November 13th, 8-9 pm, in Neils Science Center 224.

Come learn about homelessness in our area from a community leader working with the homeless in Porter County, and learn about what you personally can do to help. Also, the systemic causes of homelessness will be discussed from an economic perspective.

The Panel will feature Tom Isakson (Current Director of Men’s New Creation Center, former Director of Spring Valley Shelter) and Virginia Shingleton (VU Department of Economics Associate Professor and Chair).

Both of the events described below are related to SALT’s World Relief Campaign’s fundraising effort for a Child Creativity Center in Jakarta, Indonesia:

EdJakarta: Imagination in Session Coffee House
SALT World Relief Campaign
Saturday, February 2, 8-12 pm, in the CCLIR Community Room
Donation accepted at the door
Featuring performances from fellow students (anyone can perform — sign up at the event) with information about Indonesia and the campaign between musical performances.

EdJakarta: Imagination in Session Educational Dinner
SALT World Relief Campaign
Monday, February 4, 6 pm, at St. Teresa’s
Donation accepted at the door
Featuring traditional Indonesian dishes and a presentation by Professor Nelly Van Doorn-Harder about Indonesia and the campaign.

On Thursday, November 29th, in Mueller 140 from 5-6:30 pm, a focus group associated with S.A.L.T. will be holding an awareness Q&A discussion about the problems of the current foster care system and the burden placed on the system related to the increasing number of children. The session will begin with a brief overview and history of the system. The panel of 3-4 guests will then discuss their involvement in the system and their experiences. Then the discussion will turn to questions and comments from the audience. The panel will consist of two current foster parents (one from the Valpo area and one from about an hour away), a training facilitator for Porter County foster families, and possibly someone who has gone through the foster system.

Foster Care Panel flyer

November 14, 7 pm, CCLIR Community Room

Shane Claiborne is the author of The Irresistible Revolution and the founding partner of the community “The Simple Way.” He will be speaking on the topic “Another Way to Be.” His talk will focus on his own experiences of living in simple community along with other Christians in solidarity with the poor in Philadelphia. A sample chapter of his book is available at:

http://www.thesimpleway.org/shane/sampler.pdf

Sponsors: Chapel of the Resurrection (SALT) with OMP and VUCAB

Students Against the Crusader Mascot and SALT present
A Peace and Social Justice Symposium Session

“Reconciling Image with Identity: The Problem with the Crusader Mascot”

What: an open-ended discussion on the Crusader mascot issue
When: Saturday, Nov 10, 11:00-11:50 AM
Where: Mueller Hall, Room 12

Flyer for Crusader mascot discussion

On Thursday, October 25th at 6 pm, come to 807 Mound Street for some good soup and bread and a chance to learn about a widespread problem: hunger.

This informational event will give insight into the nature and extent of world hunger as well as in the United States, with a focus on what can be done here at school to help solve this problem.

Sponsored by the Office of Residential Life and SALT (Social Action Leadership Team).

Approved for Core 5th-hour credit.

Flyer: Focus on Hunger: The Soup Kitchen Discussion