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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 12/19/2013APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2013 7:00 P.M., 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Human Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Laura Kaczmarek (Chair), PG Narayanan (Vice Chair), Zina Nourkadi, Jenny Buckland, Sana Elassar, Sandra Filardo, Connie Iacovelli STAFF: Patricia Fenrick, Staff Heidi Wojahn, Recording Secretary STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Kristina Busch, Karena Lin, Chase Carlson, Emily Higgins I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Prior to the start of the meeting, Fenrick announced Kaczmarek resigned from the Commission due to other commitments. Narayanan has been appointed to fulfill the role of Chair for the remainder of this term year. Following a round of sharing favorite holiday traditions and food, Chair Narayanan called the meeting to order at 7:17 p.m. Commissioners Filardo and Elassar were absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Iacovelli moved, seconded by Nourkadi, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 4-0. III. MINUTES Iacovelli noted “objection” should read “objective” in the last line of page one. MOTION: Buckland moved, seconded by Nourkadi, to approve the November 14, 2013 minutes as amended. Motion carried 4-0. IV. REPORT FROM STUDENT COMMISSIONERS Carlson said a positive he has noticed lately is there are more kiosks at school which means more students are getting involved. A challenge is people are getting impatient and rushing. Higgins said her positive announcement is there is a blood drive at school tomorrow. She has also noticed more involvement from students at school and in the community. Busch did not have anything challenging to report but said she is getting positive vibes from people. She attended a blues/rock concert which raised a record- breaking amount of money, a portion of which is being donated to Amnesty International. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES December 19, 2013 Page 2 Lin said her positive is helping with a teacher appreciation event. Her challenge is that she is not able to donate blood herself. It is frustrating not all people who sign up to donate actually show up. V. OLD BUSINESS A. COMMUNITY CINEMA (CC) Fenrick distributed 2013-14 season flyers as well as postcards for the January 16, 2014 showing of “Las Marthas”. She said she has created work plan committees for all the activities needing to be done. Fenrick asked for feedback on the November showing of “The State of Arizona”. Higgins said she thought it went well. The speaker was very helpful in teaching things about immigration law the attendees did not know. It was both current and informative. Iacovelli said she thought both sides were balanced equally well until right before the end of the film. Carlson said he thought it was interesting and the discussion was good. Narayanan asked what the purpose of Community Cinema is. Fenrick said it is to raise educational awareness about specific human rights issues happening in the world. It is a learning opportunity. Narayanan suggested partnering with the school and perhaps showing films there to boost attendance. Fenrick said they are intended to be for everyone and are being shown at the public library but location is open to change. It is also okay to show a film multiples times. Discussion ensued about the ideal time of day to show films at Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) and which movies would generate the most interest among students. Fenrick said she has contacted the principal and was hoping to reach teachers that way but she has not heard back from anyone. She could use help connecting with them. Higgins suggested contacting social studies and Advanced Placement (AP) teachers for “The State of Arizona”. Busch suggested the Spanish teachers for “Las Marthas”. Fenrick asked them to feel out the teachers to see how open they would be to the idea. Higgins and Carlson said they would talk to the AP teachers, while Busch agreed to approach it with the Spanish teachers. Buckland said perhaps a more informal discussion would be better than trying to organize a panel for a school showing. Narayanan said rather than verbally bringing it up to the teachers, it might be better to have something written that they can hand the teachers so it is less easy to ignore. Fenrick said they can follow up with links. B. HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD PUBLICITY Fenrick distributed flyers for the Human Rights Awards and said she would like to hit this hard in the New Year. PG requested the flyer in a JPEG format which allows HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES December 19, 2013 Page 3 people to upload it to Facebook, etc. Fenrick listed the groups to whom she already intends to advertise. In addition to her city and educational resources, each commissioner added their own cultural, community, and religious contacts to the list. Higgins suggested getting it on Eagle Vision News at EPHS in January. Fenrick encouraged commissioners to also post flyers at their places of employment and favorite coffee shops. She explained it is not limited to individuals; groups can be nominated, too. Narayanan said this emphasizes HRDC’s ongoing need to create a database of contacts. Buckland suggested everyone send Fenrick the names and contact information for their respective contacts. C. 2014 WORK PLAN This item was addressed out of order under VII.A Work Plan Committees. D. COUNCIL PRESENTATION - Fenrick All commissions will have an opportunity to present to Council at a workshop on January 21 at 5:30 p.m. The event is preceded by dinner at 5 p.m. Those interested in attending the dinner should let Fenrick know. As chair, Narayanan will be presenting on behalf of HRDC. The presentation should be prepared in time for the January HRDC meeting. Narayanan and Buckland both said they are not able to attend next month’s commission meeting on January 9. Fenrick said she and Narayanan will find a way to touch base to discuss the presentation. She will also contact Filardo and Elassar to determine their availability for the January HRDC meeting. If they are both not able to attend, we will not have a quorum and will need to consider rescheduling. E. Martin Luther King (MLK) EVENT - Fenrick There are two Freedom Riders from the Civil Rights Movement living in the Eden Prairie community. She would like to have one of them present at the MLK event on January 28. VI. REPORTS FROM STAFF - Fenrick A. HUMAN SERVICES REVIEW COMMITTEE (HSRC) City Council approved funding recommendations for the 2014-15 grant cycle. The budget, which supports local service providers, is about $160,000 annually. Narayanan suggested publicizing the Human Rights Awards to grant recipients and adding them to our list of contacts. B. BIAS CRIME ACTIVITY STATUS Fenrick recently attended a hearing with the victim of a bias crime and the victim’s family. Because the perpetrator met the public defender for the first time at the hearing, a second hearing was scheduled for January. The outcome of that will HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES December 19, 2013 Page 4 depend on the plea. The victim has filed a harassment disorder. The suspect is not allowed to have any weapons. The mayor received an email from a resident who was upset about immigrants in the community. He wanted to know why certain groups are coming here versus other cities and expressed concern whether taxpayer dollars are being used to support immigrants and/or pay the salary of someone hired to help immigrants settle in the area. With the mayor’s blessing, Fenrick contacted him about what groups are here and why and explained the Eden Prairie Manifesto. She has not yet received a response. This was a good opportunity for her to educate someone who had misinformation. Nourkadi said she is not offended by people asking questions. She prefers they do that than act out. Buckland said we should spend time thinking how to raise educational awareness about immigrants. Fenrick said a lot of it is repetition but it does fall under the role of the Commission. Buckland offered to put together a one- page checklist with Fenrick of important points in raising awareness. It should include Eden Prairie immigration-related data. Narayanan recommended this be added to the website as well. Fenrick said she will add it as a work plan item. Buckland said she envisioned doing three or four of these a year. C. OTHER REPORTS FROM STAFF 1. Best Buy Grant $5.10 remaining. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. WORK PLAN COMMITTEES Fenrick said she took the work plan ideas from last month and made a list. She wants one or two leads on each item to create a timeline and action sheet. Reports can be sent one week in advance of monthly meetings. This will allow other commissioners the opportunity to review them ahead of time and ask questions, request clarifications, and make suggestions at the meetings. Discussion of items for the 2014 Work Plan included the following:  Commission recruiting -- Fenrick noted Kaczmarek’s position will not be filled until spring. Nourkadi’s and Narayanan’s terms are ending. Narayanan said he would like to renew. Fenrick said commissioners should be thinking of anyone who would be a good addition to HRDC and could fill the position vacated by Kaczmarek. People are more apt to apply if they are asked. Iacovelli suggested asking Kaczmarek if she has any recommendations. Fenrick said there are no barriers to student representatives continuing in their roles, but they can encourage others to apply.  Human Right Awards publicity -- this was changed to “all” instead of solely Carlson. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES December 19, 2013 Page 5  MLK Day -- Buckland has already expressed an interest in working with Fenrick on this.  “Warmth of Other Suns” book discussion -- this is going to be announced on MLK Day with book club discussions to follow a few months later. Buckland will work on this, with Higgins taking on the student discussion portion.  January 21st presentation to Council -- Narayanan  “Islam Neighbor” seminar for spring 2015 -- Elassar and Nourkadi  Welcome Packet/Welcome Center -- Filardo and Iacovelli  Diversity 5K -- Buckland and Iacovelli volunteered to work with Elassar on this. Lin said to tentatively put her down to help.  “One Voice” youth conversation (April) -- Filardo, Higgins, and Lin  “One Voice” adult conversation (August) -- Nourkadi and Buckland  International Town Hall -- Fenrick said she would like to get help and input putting together a presentation. Council will probably dictate the subject and date.  Welcoming City Initiative -- Iacovelli. Fenrick said this is about Eden Prairie being intentional about becoming a city of welcome. It involves making a presentation to the City Manager and Council.  Connection with EPHS youth clubs -- Filardo and Higgins  Community Cinema -- Fenrick asked for one person each month who can commit to being there to do the introduction. Carlson agreed to take January, Higgins March, Buckland April, and Iacovelli May.  Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MHDR) awareness months -- Fenrick said the amount of participation can be whatever we desire. She is looking for people to brainstorm with her on a variety of topics. Bush said she would take GLBT (June), Higgins and Iacovelli will work on disability in employment (October), and Buckland tentatively agreed to take Native American heritage (November).  Hennepin Technical College Unity Day -- Fenrick said we want to repeat this anti-bullying event. Higgins and Lin said they would work with Fenrick on this.  MDHR youth “I Have a Dream” competition -- Fenrick explained commitment consists solely of getting the word out. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES December 19, 2013 Page 6 Buckland said she is planning to pilot a Connection Café in the form of a blog next quarter. She invited others to contribute reflections on events they have attended and to encourage people to follow it. Those who do will have the capability to share it on their Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest accounts. The goal is to create a movement of connection among those in the Eden Prairie community who are interested in the types of events the Commission is a part of. She stressed this is not an HRDC initiative and she cannot link to the City website or post as a commissioner.  International Day – Narayanan re-introduced the idea of possibly doing an International Day. Buckland said it is her understanding the 5K will be HRDC’s first big event and is not sure we have the wherewithal to take on another major event. Discussion on available funds, registration fees, and sponsorships for the 5K ensued. Fenrick said it would need to be done in conjunction with Parks and Rec. Higgins said there is already a 5K course in place at one of the parks. Additional brainstorming ideas were discussed. Fenrick said she will email the revised work plan to the commissioners. One designee for each item should send monthly reports to Fenrick. Looking ahead to next month, the leads on MLK Day and the January Community Cinema film should give thought to their items and action plans, put them in a report, and send them to Fenrick. Fenrick reported she arranged for a URL redirect for the HRDC website and the Human Rights Awards page via the Communications Department to simplify matters. VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC meeting is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, January 9, 2013, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Buckland moved, seconded by Iacovelli, to adjourn. Motion carried 4-0. Chair Narayanan adjourned the meeting at 8:48 p.m.