Oral Tradition and the Irish by Lucas Weaver One of the consequences of having Irish blood is our library of tales.

Stories of fairies, the luck of shamrocks and leprechauns dawdling through the fields and beneath trees your grandfather, “just didn't remember being there before...” All these are commonplace at family gatherings, even more so on rainy days with a piping hot bowl of stew, made the way only grandmother could make it. These stories evolve over time, each listen yielding grandfather's battle of wits against the leprechaun a pinch more fruitful than the last.

That's the thing, with oral tradition. Over time, a single man can become a god, and gods can become nothing but taradiddle. Let us address the stories surrounding our familiar little friends, the leprechauns. You've heard the tales, sprightly little men with red hair and bright bushy beards in little green coats and gold buckled shoes. Commonly seen prancing about in meadows or near their favorite well. The lepre-chaun has become a characteristic figure in St. Patrick's Day celebrations and decora-tion despite their ambiguity.

Where does this fellow come from? Let us take a moment to look at another holi-day observed by those with Irish heritage, Lughnasadh. A place to feast, compete with one another and display feats of strength, Lughnasadh was the 'festival of Lugh'. That is to say, Lugh Lamfada, the god of all knowledge to the ancient Irish. It is said that Lugh created the holiday in remembrance of his mother, Tailtiu, who worked herself to exhaustion and death to clear the plains of Ireland for agriculture.

Lughnasadh is still celebrated today, and the memory of Lugh persists. But his true glory as the champion of the battle on the field of towers, the greatest of the gods and patron of the arts and crafts has not always been intact. As the old holidays were being forgotten and the oral traditions lost, Lugh's mighty name began to recede. Soon, even as the very language he was remembered with had died, he lived on, but he was no more than the fairy craftsman hiding in the sidhe, Lugh-cromain.

Lugh-cromain had been brought to hum-ble position by the ebb and flow of time and glory, even the name of Lugh-cromain was distorted. It became nothing more than Lepre-chaun. This St. Patrick's Day, and all month as we remember and share our Irish heritage and remember the efforts of Saint Patrick, he who drove the snakes from Ireland, raise your glass to Lugh. Tell the tale of how Lugh spawned leprechauns and join the oral tradition of the Irish—whether your blood flows green or not.

 

Campus Happenings  

EDRC Meetings March 4th & 18th—1:00 PM 

EDRC Foyer Anyone interested in volunteering or 

learning more about the EDRC is  welcome  

42nd Street Spring Musical ‐ Bishop Center 

March 5‐7 & 12‐14  

Desdemona March 9th—2:00‐4:00 PM 

Room #2250 Sponsored by the Diversity Committee 

 

Seasonal Affective Disorder Gerald Hermanson, Ph.D. March 10th—2:00‐4:00 PM 

Room #2250 Sponsored by the Human Services Club 

 

Safe Space Training March 11th—3:00‐5:30 PM 

RSVP by 3/9 with John R. 538‐4068 

March 2010 Volume 2, Issue 6

The Diversifieds

March is...

• Irish American Heritage Month

• National Women’s History Month

• International Expect Success Month

Awareness Dates:

The Diversifieds are a publication of the EDRC of Grays Harbor College. The mission of the EDRC is to promote awareness, respect, and equitable treatment of the diverse individuals and groups that exist within our campus and surrounding communities. The EDRC is open to all! Please come visit us in the 200 building.

A publication of the EDRC at Grays Harbor College

1 Hola Muhalla (Sikh) 2 Citizenship to Puerto Ricans (US) 2-20 Baha’i Fast (Baha’i) 3 Doll Festival (Japan) 4 Crispus Attucks Day (US) 6 Independence Day (Ghana) 8 Commonwealth Day (Canada) 8 Int’l Women’s Day 11 Restoration of Statehood Day (Lithuania) 12 Sun Yat-sen’s Death (China) 14 Mothering Sunday (United Kingdom) 14 New Year (Sikh) 15 National Day (Hungary) 16 Bikarami Samvat (Hindu) 16 Chetra Navratras begins (Hindu) 16 Ugadi (Hindu) 17 St. Patrick’s Day (Ireland) 19 Feast of St. Joseph (Roman Catholic) 20 Ostara (Pagan & Wiccan) 20 Chichen Itza Festival (Mexico) 20 Now Rouz (Afghanistan & Iran) 20 Independence Day (Tunisia) 21 Naw Ruz (Baha’i & Zoroastrian) 21 Int’l Day for the Elimination of Racial

Discrimination (U.N.) 21 Benito Pablo Juarez’s Birthday (Mexico) 21 Youth Day (Tunisia) 22 Arab League Day (Lebanon) 22 Emancipation Day (Puerto Rico) 22 Human Rights Day (South Africa) 22 Vernal Equinox Day (Japan) 23 Republic Day (Pakistan) 24 Ramanavami (Hindu) 25 The Annunciation (Christian) 25 Independence Day (Greece) 26 Birthday of Zarathushtra (Zoroastrian) 26 National Day (Bangladesh) 28 Mahavir Jayanti (Jain) 28 Palm Sunday (Christian) 30 Passover begins (Jewish)

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The Diversifieds

• St. Patrick wasn’t Irish! His father was Italian and his mother was Scottish and he was born and raised in Scotland.

• St. Patrick did not drive the snakes or frogs out of Ireland when the Norsemen invaded Ire-land. They misheard Patrick for “paudrid” which means expeller of toads and since they saw no snakes or toads they credited him with making Ireland toad and snake free. (Though biolo-gists proved without a doubt that there were no snakes or toads in Ireland prior to or during St. Patrick’s time.

• There are more people born of Irish decent in the U.S. than in Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day is also more popular here than it is in Ireland.

• The wearing of green is a symbol of springtime, hope, fertility, and eternal life.

• The most popular food (other than beer) consumed on St. Patrick’s Day is corned beef and cabbage.

• The four leaves of the shamrock stand for hope, love, faith and luck.

The most important thing about celebrating St. Patrick’s Day is that you don’t have to be Irish to do it! The Irish seem to adopt everyone as family on March 17 and for one day the world seems to be one big, happy Irish family.

Some St. Patties Day Facts By Micah Dillon Irish Trivia

1. Today, how many Americans trace their ancestry back to Ire-land?

2. With 27,136 square miles of land, the Republic of Ireland is approximately half the size of what U.S. state?

3. In November 1995, the people of Ireland narrowly passed a ref-erendum legalizing ___________?

4. Today, who is the prime minis-ter of the Republic of Ireland?

5. Irish tradition says that anyone who kisses the blarney stone will be blessed with the Irish "gift of gab". What town is the blarney stone located near?

6. What does "Erin Go Bragh," a phrase heard often on St. Pat-rick's Day, mean?

Answers: 1. Forty million. 2. Arkansas. 3. Divorce. 4. Brian Cowen. 5. Cork. 6. Ireland Forever

St. Patrick - The Patron Saint of Ireland www.history.com

“It is known that St. Patrick was born in Britain to wealthy par-ents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D.”

“At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family's estate. They trans-ported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. Dur-ing this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian.”

“After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. Ac-cording to his writing, a voice-which he be-lieved to be God's-spoke to him in a dream, telling him it was time to leave Ireland. To do so, Patrick walked nearly 200 miles from County Mayo, where it is believed he was held, to the Irish coast. After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a second revelation-an angel in a dream tells him to return to Ire-land as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than fifteen years. After his ordination as a priest, he was sent to Ireland with a dual mission-to minister to Christians already living in Ire-land and to begin to convert the Irish.”

“Familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick chose to incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity instead of attempting to eradicate native Irish beliefs. For instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fire. He also su-perimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish.”

Pesach: Passover

Passover is probably the best known of the Jewish holidays, mostly because it ties in with Christian history, and because a lot of its observances have been reinterpreted by Christians as Messianic and signs of Jesus. The name “Passover” refers to the fact that God “passed over” the houses of the Jews when he was slaying the firstborn of Egypt. Probably the most significant observance related to Pesach involves the removal of chametz (leaven) from Jewish homes. This commemorates the fact that the Jews leaving Egypt were in a hurry, and did not have time to let their bread rise. It is also a symbolic way of removing the “puffiness (arrogance, pride) from our souls.

And this day shall become a memo-rial for you, and you shall observe it as a festival for the LORD, for your generations, as an eternal decree shall you observe it. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove the leaven from your homes ... you shall guard the unleavened bread, because on this very day I will take you out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day for your generations as an eternal decree. - Exodus 12:14-17

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Volume 2, Issue 6 WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, 2010 - A PROCLAMATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Countless women have steered the course of our history, and their sto-ries are ones of steadfast determination. From reaching for the ballot box to breaking barriers on athletic fields and battlefields, American women have stood resolute in the face of adversity and overcome ob-stacles to realize their full measure of success. Women's History Month is an opportunity for us to recognize the contributions women have made to our Nation, and to honor those who blazed trails for women's empowerment and equality.

Women from all walks of life have improved their communities and our Nation. Sylvia Mendez and her family stood up for her right to an educa-tion and catalyzed the desegregation of our schools. Starting as a case-worker in city government, Dr. Dorothy Height has dedicated her life to building a more just society. One of our young heroes, Caroline Moore, contributed to advances in astronomy by discovering a supernova at age 14.

When women like these reach their potential, our country as a whole prospers. That is the duty of our Government -- not to guarantee suc-cess, but to ensure all Americans can achieve it. My Administration is working to fulfill this promise with initiatives like the White House Coun-cil on Women and Girls, which promotes the importance of taking women and girls into account in Federal policies and programs. This council is committed to ensuring our Government does all it can to give our daughters the chance to achieve their dreams.

As we move forward, we must correct persisting inequalities. Women comprise over 50 percent of our population but hold fewer than 17 per-cent of our congressional seats. More than half our college students are female, yet when they graduate, their male classmates still receive higher pay on average for the same work. Women also hold dispropor-tionately fewer science and engineering jobs. That is why my Administra-tion launched our Educate to Innovate campaign, which will inspire young people from all backgrounds to drive America to the forefront of science, technology, engineering, and math. By increasing women's participation in these fields, we will foster a new generation of innova-tors to follow in the footsteps of the three American women selected as 2009 Nobel Laureates.

Our Nation's commitment to women's rights must not end at our own borders, and my Administration is making global women's empower-ment a core pillar of our foreign policy. My Administration created the first Office for Global Women's Issues and appointed an Ambassador at Large to head it. We are working with the United Nations and other inter-national institutions to support women's equality and to curtail violence against women and girls, especially in situations of war and conflict. We are partnering internationally to improve women's welfare through tar-geted investments in agriculture, nutrition, and health, as well as pro-grams that empower women to contribute to economic and social pro-gress in their communities. And we are following through on the commit-ments I made in Cairo to promote access to education, improve literacy, and expand employment opportunities for women and girls.

This month, let us carry forth the legacy of our mothers and grandmoth-ers. As we honor the women who have shaped our Nation, we must re-member that we are tasked with writing the next chapter of women's history. Only if we teach our daughters that no obstacle is too great for them, that no ceiling can block their ascent, will we inspire them to reach for their highest aspirations and achieve true equality.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2010 as Women's History Month. I call upon all our citizens to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that honor the history, accomplishments, and contributions of American women.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this second day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independ-ence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

1. Who was the first woman to run for President of the United States (1872)?

2. Who wrote the first version of the Equal Rights Amendment, in 1923?

3. Who was the first Black woman elected to Congress? 4. What leading suffragist was arrested and convicted of at-

tempting to vote in the 1872 election? 5. What woman was turned down by 29 medical schools before

being accepted as a student, graduated at the head of her class, and became the first licensed woman doctor in the U.S.?

6. What former slave was a powerful speaker for the rights of women and Black people?

7. When was the Equal Rights Amendment first introduced into Congress?

8. Who was the last queen of the Hawaiian Islands, deposed because American business interests wanted to annex Ha-waii to the U.S.?

9. Which woman was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for holding religious discussion meetings in her home?

10. Who spoke out for the advancement of American Indians’ rights from speaker’s platforms nationwide and before Con-gressional committees in the 1880s?

11. Who drove a stagecoach across the roughest part of the West without anyone knowing until she died that she was a woman?

12. When did Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 go into effect, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded school programs and activities?

1. Victoria Woodhull (1838-1927). 2. Alice Paul (1885-1977). 3. Shirley Chisholm (b. 1924). 4. Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906). 5. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910). 6. Sojourner Truth (C. 1797-1883). 7. 1923. 8. Queen Liliuokalani (1838-1917). 9. Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643). 10. Sarah Winnemucca (1844-1891). 11. Charlie Parkhurst. 12. 1976

For interesting statistics on Women visit:

http://www.onlinewomeninpolitics.org/statistics.htm

http://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/main.htm

http://www.now.org/issues/violence/stats.html

Eliminate Racial DiscriminationEliminate Racial Discrimination The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Dis-crimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid "pass laws". Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination (UN resolution 2142 (XXI)).

http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/racial/

Committee Chair: Brian Shook

The Diversifieds Staff:

Erin Frasier

DIVERSITY COMMITTEE

Equity & Diversity Resource Center 360-538-4247

Room 219 1620 Edward P. Smith Drive

Aberdeen, WA 98520 edrc@ghc.edu

http://www.ghc.edu/edrc/brochure.pdf

Calling All Writers! The Diversifieds are an extension of the GHC campus and our surrounding community. We would like to welcome and encourage students and staff to submit articles for publication in The Diversifieds. This is a monthly publication. Please contact Erin Frasier at efrasier@ghc.edu for next month’s topics and to sub-mit articles, poems or artwork.

Deadline for submission in next month’s

newsletter is March. 26

Colcannon 8 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 ½ inch pieces 6 scallions, finely chopped ½ c. milk 3 tbsp. butter 1 small head cabbage (approximately ½ lb) salt and pepper to taste Boil cabbage and potatoes separately, approxi-mately 15 minutes. Drain the cabbage and chop. Drain the potatoes and mash. In a large saucepan, cook scallions in milk on me-dium heat. Add potatoes and butter and combine until fluffy. Stir in cabbage, and season to taste.

Shepherd’s Pie 2 lb. Ground Lamb 1 lg. Onion, chopped finely 3 Carrots, sliced and cooked 1 10 oz. Bag frozen peas 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce 1 tbsp Ketchup 2-3 lbs. Mashed Potatoes Salt and Pepper to taste Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Season lamb with salt and pep-per. In large frying pan, sauté lamb on medium high heat until browned. Drain off fat. Add onion and cook until onion is translu-cent. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Remove from heat. Put meat and onion mixture in a casserole dish. Add peas and Car-rots and stir. Spread Mashed pota-toes on top until no beef is visible. Bake for 15- 20 minutes or until potatoes begin to brown.

Try a taste of Ireland this month...Try a taste of Ireland this month... Irish Soda Bread 4 c. Unsifted All-purpose four 1 tsp Salt 3 tsp. Baking Powder 1 tsp. Baking Soda ¼ c. Sugar ¼ c. Butter 1 Egg 1 ¾ c. Buttermilk 2 c. Raisins 1 ½ c. caraway seed Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, raisins, and cara-way seed. Cut in butter and mix until crumbly. In a separate bowl, beat egg and add to buttermilk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture until thor-oughly combined. Knead dough on a floured board for 2-3 minutes. Divide dough in half and shape into 2 round loaves. Place each round in an 8-inch pie pan and press down until dough fills pie pan. Cut a cross in the top of each loaf approximately a half inch deep. Bake for 35-40 minutes

In Memory of a Friend Equity and Diversity Resource Center volunteer and friend, Martin Anthony Field passed away peacefully at his home in Westport this past Feb-ruary. Marty spent some time at Grays Harbor College as a running start student on his way to graduating with honors from Ocosta High School and then on to Washington State University where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Micro-biology. At WSU, he was active in student gov-ernment, a member of the men’s volleyball team, and a residence hall advisor. Marty was currently completing a master’s degree. Marty volunteered for more than 100 hours in the EDRC over the last few months, and has been a contributor to The Diversifieds. His mother, Tracy Warren is a current student of Grays Harbor College, and Marty is missed and remembered in the EDRC.

Come join us at Grays Harbor College for a performance, discussion, and workshop

led by Desdamona, an award-winning international Spoken Word Artist

based in Minneapolis. With her hip-hop lyrical

boom bap sound, Desdamona

will screen her video project, “Too Big for My Skin,” perform spoken

word and lead a workshop on body image, women and power. “Too Big for My Skin” is

an international campaign that invites you to leave your response,

so be prepared to share

Too Big For My Skin A Spoken Word Workshop on Body Image

March 9th, 2010

Featuring Award-Winning Artist

Desdamona

your inner voice.

Sponsored by the GHC Diversity Committee . EDRC & GHAB

2pm-4pm, Room 2250