Schedule for Multicultural Reunion 2023
Theme: The Road Ahead Together
Friday, November 10, 2023
8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Registration and Information Desk Open
Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center (JRC) 1st Floor Lobby
Stop by the registration desk to pick up your schedule and materials. Also, this is the spot to ask any questions you may have.
8 a.m.–10 p.m.
Quiet Room
JRC 203
This room is available to anyone who needs a quiet space to take a break from the events and programs of the weekend.
noon–2 p.m.
Lunch on your own
JRC, Marketplace
Enjoy eating amongst the students.
2–4 p.m.
Institute for Global Engagement (IGE) Open House
Humanities and Social Science Complex (HSSC), Marcus Family Global Kitchen
Come enjoy a tasty treat baked by Jane Hoffman ’25 in the Marcus Family Global Kitchen, while learning about the incredible programs offered by IGE. Stop in to say hello to the 2021 recipient of the Diversity Champion Award, Heidi Criswell.
2-5 p.m.
Crowdsourcing Photos
JRC, lobby
Help the Burling Library special collections and archives staff identify photographs from your time at Grinnell. Staff from the special collections and archives will host a table asking alumni to help identify people, places, and events found in our photograph collection. Please stop by and lend a hand!
4–5 p.m.
Undiscovered Grinnell: Illuminating Multicultural Stories
HSSC S3325
Learn about the Multicultural Archive Project, a collaboration between students, alumni, staff, and faculty to establish an Internet–based platform for collecting and documenting the histories of Grinnell College’s rich legacy of multicultural student organizations. Our main goals are to capture, preserve, and share the institutional memory that has gone undocumented, to show the impact that multiculturalism has had in shaping the College’s history.
5:15–6 p.m.
Welcome Reception
Grinnell College Golf Course
Welcome back to campus! Join fellow alumni, students, faculty and staff for a welcome reception to start the weekend right. Meet Bernard Jackson ’86, alumni council president, and Rick Rose ’88, co–chair of the Grinnell Rainbow Alumni Affinity Group.
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Shabbat Services
JRC 2090, Chaverim Multicultural Suite
Join Chaverim and Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay for shabbat services. All are welcome.
6 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Welcome Dinner
Grinnell College Golf Course
Join us for a delicious buffet meal, and hear remarks from Beronda Montgomery, vice president of academic affairs and dean of the college, and Marc Reed, vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and chief diversity officer.
6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Shabbat Table
JRC 209
Join Chaverim and Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay for shabbat table with dinner made by the students. All are welcome.
7:30–9 p.m.
Keynote speaker: Yoruba Richen
JRC 101
The Black Freedom Struggle, the LGBT Rights Movement and the Ongoing Struggle for Equality
Come hear award-winning film director, screenwriter, producer and intersectional scholar Yoruba Richen, whose work examines the overlap and tensions between the Civil Rights Movement and contemporary LGBTQIA+ liberation as they intertwine with and propel each other. A Fulbright and Guggenheim fellow, Richen is Founding Director and Associate Professor at the Documentary Program of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at The City University of New York (CUNY). Her multi-Emmy nominated films include The New Black, The Greenbook: Guide to Freedom, and The Killing of Breonna Taylor, among others. Her most recent film, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, airs on NBC’s Peacock, and won a 2023 Peabody Award.
9–10:30 p.m.
Paint & Sip
Bucksbaum Rotunda
Paint along with Sila Duran ’27, a piece from the Grinnell Museum of Art, General Toussaint L'Ouverture, by Jacob Lawrence. Learn about the painting, the artist, and enjoy good company while creating your own showpiece.
9–10:30 p.m.
Lotería
Bob’s Underground
Join this fun party with prizes and learn a little Spanish while you're at it! Lotería – sometimes referred to as Mexican Bingo – has existed longer than Grinnell has. Though its origins trace back to Italy, this game was made popular in the late 1700s in Mexican fairs. If bingo is your game-o, then join us for refreshments, a little Español, and a good time!
Saturday, November 11, 2023
8 a.m.–12 p.m.
Registration and Information Desk Open
JRC 1st Floor Lobby
Stop by the registration desk to pick up your schedule and materials. This is the place to ask any questions you may have.
8 a.m.–10 p.m.
Quiet Room
JRC 203
This room is available to anyone who needs a quiet space to take a break from the events and programs of the weekend.
9:30–10:30 a.m.
Recentering Yoga
Bucksbaum 131
Start your second day of Multicultural Reunion with Melissa Mitchell ’91 who will be teaching yoga for all abilities.
10:30a.m.–noon
Connect and Share Workshop
HSSC, Global Living Room
A skills-based sharing event for alumni and students. Do you want to connect and share with students and alumni? Do you have advice to share with students and alumni about life and career skills? Then join us in this community building space.
12–2 p.m.
Lunch in the Dining Hall
JRC, Marketplace
Join alumni, students, and faculty in the Marketplace Dining Hall. We have reserved the Whale Room, located through the doors on the west side of the dining hall. Enjoy some of your favorite foods, share your stories, and don’t forget to grab ice cream.
1:30-4:30 p.m.
Disability Cultural Center Open House
Steiner 204
The Grinnell College Disability Cultural Center aims to form a diverse, disability-centered community for students, faculty, and staff. We seek to empower our community by expanding our views of normality and success. We aim to foster campus connections and revolutionize Grinnell’s view of disability. Through advocacy, we will make Grinnell College’s disability culture prominent and respected. Hosted by students from the Disability Cultural Association and Grinnell Disability Alliance.
2-3 p.m.
Asian American Association (AAA) Open House
JRC 209
Connect with students from AAA and visit the multicultural suite nearby.
2-3:30 p.m.
Chaverim Open House
JRC 2090
Join students from Chaverim in the Chaverim lounge for refreshments and snacks! Talk with current students about Jewish life on campus and reminisce on your time at Grinnell!
2-3:30 p.m.
First Generation Low Income (FGLI) Gathering
CRSSJ
Come be in community with other first-generation, low-income alumni and current students as we share snacks and stories. We'll also have the student pantry and low-income lending library open for folks who want to check out the space.
2-4 p.m.
Student Organization of Latinxs (SOL) Open House
Spanish House
We welcome the past, present, and future of SOL to mingle, share experiences, and create solidarity amongst Latine Grinnellians that surpasses space and time. We look at what SOL has been, what SOL is, and what SOL could be. Hosted by students from SOL.
2-5 p.m.
Rainbow Alumni Kick-off Event
JRC, Laurel Leaf Lounge
Come mix and mingle with LGBTQIA+ students and the Rainbow Alumni, the first identity-based affinity group at Grinnell College. During short tours of the Stonewall Resource Center, get updated on its current uses and future plans and meet students from Students from Asexuality & Aromantic Spectrum Support (AASSN), Queer People of Color (QPOC), and Trans at Grinnell (tag).
3-5 p.m.
Conney M. Kimbo Black Cultural Center (BCC) Open House
BCC
Students from BSU and ACSU invite both alumni and students to come socialize and explore the historical center. Join us to share, debrief, and discuss our experiences on campus.
3:30-5 p.m.
Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Social Justice Open House
CRSSJ, 913 8th Ave.
Join us! Whether you identify with a specific religious group or not, you are welcome! Come for snacks and to see our beautiful gathering and prayer spaces.
5 p.m.
Social Hour
Main Lounge
Enjoy social time, hors d’oeuvres, and refreshments before dinner.
6 p.m.
Multicultural Alumni Weekend Gala Dinner
Quad Dining Hall
Celebrate the culmination of the weekend with students, faculty, staff, and fellow alumni at a capstone banquet featuring remarks by President Anne F. Harris and Bernadine Douglas, vice president for development and alumni relations. We will honor the Diversity Champion Award recipient, Minna Mahlab, for her work with the Grinnell Science Project.
8:30 p.m.
Drag Show by Queer People of Color (QPOC)
Harris Center
A tradition for Grinnell College students since 2006. The Xtravaganza, which occurs in the fall and spring, raises money for various humanitarian organizations. It is an event that encapsulates the best of Grinnell: a celebration, exploration, and performance of diversity and self-expression, with a commitment to social justice. Come see what all the fuss is about.
Sunday, November 12, 2023
10:30 a.m.
Black Church
Herrick Chapel
Enjoy a worship service featuring a performance by the Young, Gifted, and Black Choir and sermon.
Learn more about Multicultural Reunion 2023 on the Multicultural Reunion homepage.