AID-Omaha member receives recognition
Tuesday, January 17, 2006, 02:38 PM
Jenn Piatt: A Mother, Student, and Leader... with a Vision
by Vanessa Persico, Colgate University
Outstanding Student Leaders Digest (published by AIDemocracy.org)
Jenn Piatt, a sophomore at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) and now a recipient of the Outstanding Student Leader Award, has her priorities set.
“I’m passionate about my daughter, school and AID,” she says, “And it drives me.”
Indeed, it has driven her to accomplish amazing things on her campus. Early this November, Piatt, organized a town hall-style meeting for AID’s “Hope Not Hate” initiative, persisting in the face of many obstacles and hostile voices.
Five days before the town hall, Piatt received a phone call from an individual identifying herself as the secretary of the Imam of the Omaha Islamic Center, one of the panelists for the event. The caller said that the Imam would be unable to attend. Piatt was distressed, but rolled with the punch and began the search for a replacement speaker.
Click here for the rest of the article....
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( 3 / 279 )New Meeting Times & Website Update!!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005, 11:23 AM
AID meetings will take place every other Monday evening beginning January 23 from 7-8pm in the Gallery Room of the Milo Bail Student Center. A complete list of dates will be posted to the new page on our website soon.
In addition, from now on, you can access the current meeting schedules from the website. Along the right hand column, towards the bottom of the first box, is a link Meeting Times. AID will update this as things change. But, continue to post to the web and mailing list if meetings get cancelled or changed as the semester progresses. Thanks!
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( 3.1 / 286 )Hope Not Hate a success!!!
Sunday, December 11, 2005, 07:53 PM
This is a copy of a comment which was posted to our website. I wanted to re-post it on the main page to add emphasis! Thanks for everyone's support!!
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My husband and I attended the Town Hall meeting as the result of seeing it in the Omaha World Herald. We attended this meeting not fully knowing what the meeting was about but found the forum informative for us. We are main stream American confused about the political scheme of events and looking for more information on the Muslim community. I learned from this event the Muslim community is as diverse in their people and opinions as the Christian community. I learned the words terrorist and Muslim have been used way too much in our media causing much distortion and offense. I learned Muslim has a long and proud history we are not hearing about in the Christian community.
We walked away from the meeting full of observations and full of questions. The one thing we still are looking for is a way to connect personally with the Muslim community to establish personal relationships. We have had Muslim friends in the Omaha communtiy but they moved on to other settings. The strongest way for us to fight terrorism is for us to establish connections in our own community.
Thank for the Town Hall meeting opportunity.
MHT
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( 3 / 254 )Meetings suspended until Spring '06 Semester
Sunday, December 11, 2005, 07:48 PM
Meetings suspended until the new semester begins, at which time, we will begin to meet on campus and our meeting times will change to accomodate new schedules.
Please stay tuned to the website and mailing list for final announcements.
At the first meeting, we will discuss:
1) AID's transition into new leadership
2)Securing the Future!
3) Fight for What's Right!
4) and from there, determine which initiatives we want to pursue.
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( 3 / 271 )Meeting: Wednesday, November 30 at 7pm
Saturday, November 12, 2005, 07:11 PM
Our next AID meeting will take place on Wednesday, November 30 at 7pm at Don Carmelo's (The meetings for the 16th and the 30th have been cancelled). This will be our last meeting at Don Carmelo's. Starting in December, AID meetings will move to campus and time/date will change to accomadate a wider range of schedules. AID will post to the website and the mailing list once the new day/location becomes finalized (Please add a comment with suggested times and days). Thanks! [ 1 comment ] ( 72 views ) | permalink |
( 3 / 268 )Hope Not Hate: Islam & The West World Relations
Thursday, October 6, 2005, 08:18 PM
Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) will coordinate Hope not Hate, a town hall discussion on the future of relations between the West and the Islamic world. This town hall will address questions such as: “What is the long-term strategy for improving relations between the West and the Islamic world? Are the West and the Islamic world currently on the right path?”
The series began on the two-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks when citizens groups, 9/11 family members, and policymakers combined to commemorate September 11th with a positive call to collaborative action out of the ashes of tragedy. Last year, the series focused on the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that America must share its “vision of opportunity and hope” with the Muslim world. This year, Hope not Hate is broadening its focus beyond US-Islamic understanding to Western-Islamic understanding as a way of commemorating and constructively responding to the recent bombings in London, the March 11, 2004, bombings in Madrid, and the November 20, 2003, bombings in Istanbul.
This event is FREE and OPEN to the public and will take place on:
Wednesday, November 9th from 6-8pm in the Milo Bail Student Center (MBSC) on the University of Nebraska (UNO) Campus. Parking will be available on campus at no charge.
Moderator:
Dr. Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado
Speakers:
1) Dr. Dale Stover
2) Shakil Ahmed (Independent Muslim voice)
3) Dr. Naser Alsharif
4) Dr. John Calvert
5) Dr. Terry Clark
Suggested Reading:
Young Leaders Seek Ways to Resolve Middle East Conflict
US-Muslim Views Discussed
UN's Middle East Road Map
NPR's - The Middle East & The West: A Troubled History
Dialogues: Islamic World - US - The West
Search for Common Ground
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( 3 / 249 )Events & Opportunities with AID
Thursday, October 6, 2005, 07:51 PM
1) October 19th meeting will change to 1pm in the SOLP Office to assemble the banner which will hang in the Student Center (volunteers welcome!)
2) AID is in the process of finalizing speakers for Hope Not Hate: Islam and The West World Relations which will take place on November 9th. Bio's will be posted to the web and mailing list once they are complete. Stay tuned for more information.
3) AID is currently seeking a moderater for the Hope Not Hate Town hall. If you have any suggestions, please email them to Jenn at jnpiatt(at)gmail.com
4) Officer Elections were held at the October 5th meeting. The changes are effective starting November. The results were: Treasurer: Jay Filipi, Secretary: Craig Martin, Vice President: Vacant!!, and President: Jenn Piatt. We are currently seeking a student to fill the Vice President position. This is a wonderful opportunity to expand your leadership skills and have fun in the process! Please contact Jenn if interested.
5) The October 26th meeting is temporarily postponed so that AID members can participate in the "Meet Eleanor Roosevelt" event on campus. We will reschedule that meeting and post the new date (as that is the last meeting before the town hall!) when it becomes established.
6) On Monday, November 7th and Tuesday, November 8th, AID will hand out fliers to students on campus and staff a table in the MBSC over the lunch hour. Please respond to Jenn with available times. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
7) And lastly, PDF's available with town hall advertisement to distribute. Please contact Jenn for a copy.
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( 3 / 261 )Invitation to "Meet Eleanor Roosevelt"
Thursday, October 6, 2005, 08:02 AM
You are invited to attend a special performance entitled "Meet Eleanor
Roosevelt: Advocate for Universal Human Rights" on Wednesday, October 26.
The event is free and open to the public. The event will take place in the Eppley
Auditorium, located on the ground floor of the Eppley Administration
Building, and will begin at 7 p.m. A reception will follow the performance,
which is suitable for high school students as well as adults.
For More information, please visit:
Department of Women's Studies
Photographs and Reviews
or contact: Karen Falconer Al-Hindi, Ph.D at kfalconeralhindi[at]mail.unomaha.edu
Parking is available on all three levels of the UNO Parking Structure for
$1. The Eppley Building is a five-minute walk from the structure.
Thank you.
Jenn
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( 3 / 265 )FREE ONE Campaign Bracelets
Sunday, September 18, 2005, 04:19 PM
Participants in the Videoconference this Thursday will receive a FREE ONE Campaign bracelet (while supplies last). The ONE Campaign donated these bracelets to AID for participating in this event.
This is a great way to show your support for the ONE Campaign and to help raise awareness about the Millenium Development Goals.
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( 2.9 / 244 )Videoconference: September 22 from 9a-11a
Tuesday, September 13, 2005, 05:33 PM
AID will participate in a Videoconference with The World Bank, Tanzania, and Ghana on Thursday, September 22 from 9am-11am in Alwine Hall, Room 308.
The topic of discussion will be the United Nations Millenium Development Goals .
Main questions that will be raised: 1.) What can civil society do in order to further and build upon the MDGs? 2.) Where are they (each country involved in the videoconference) doing with the MDGs? 3.) What are the obstacles hindering the progression of the MDGs? 4.) Which strategies have been successful in advancing the MDGs? Other questions may include but are not limited to: How does the UN operate to facilitate change in these areas? Or what can the U.S. do?
For further reading:
Millenium Campaign
The One Campaign
Time Magazine Artile - The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs
Millenium Project
You can attend the videoconference at any time and light refreshments will be provided. We look forward to seeing you there.
Thanks! - Jenn
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