Idaho State University to host second Humanities Café on Nov. 3, collecting donations for refugees

Idaho State University to host second Humanities Café on Nov. 3, collecting donations for refugees

The goal of the evening is to celebrate and recognize the diverse things our community offers, and organizers hope the event will create an environment where fear, anger and intimidation will not spread.

The speakers for the evening include Pocatello resident Mona Kashani Heern whose speech titled, “Escaping Iran as a Baha’I Refugee” will focus on her experiences as an Iranian refugee in Pakistan. Justin Lee, assistant professor of social work, will speak on, “The Role of the Community in Successful Refugee Integration” and University of California Irvine associate professor of anthropology Michael Montoya will focus on “Beyond Stereotypes: The Limits of Cultural Competence.”

ISU Master of Fine Arts student Dustin Thompson will share his experience of creating ceramic dishes and gifting them to family who was in a state of need in his talk, “The Ceramic Experience.” And last, Jedd Greenhalgh, an ISU music science student, will discuss how music helped him embrace his own identity as a member of the LGBTQ community in his presentation, “Artist for Hire: A First Look at the Upcoming Album.”

Donations for the College of Southern Idaho’s Refugee Center will also be collected at the event. The Refugee Center is currently in need of socks, lip balm, lotion, keychains, toys, shampoo, conditioner and shaving kits, as well as lightly used winter clothes, scarves and gloves. More information on the CSI Refugee Center is available at refugeecenter.csi.edu.

The event is free and open to the public. There will be appetizers catered by the Sand Trap and a cash bar hosted by Club Charlies.

The event is sponsored by the ISU Diversity Resource Center, ISU Cultural Events Committee, ISU Department of History and Latino Americans: 500 Year of History.