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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 10/09/2014 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2014 7:00 P.M., 125 EDEN PRAIRIE CENTER Office of Housing and Human Services COMMISSION MEMBERS: Sandra Filardo (Chair), PG Narayanan (Vice Chair), Tonja Bivins, Jenny Buckland, Sana Elassar, Connie Iacovelli STAFF: Patricia Fenrick, Staff Heidi Wojahn, Recording Secretary STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: Emily Higgins, Karena Lin, Elizabeth Corpuz, Tanvi Mehta, Shreya Venkatesh I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair Filardo called the meeting to order at 7:16 p.m. following a `get-to-know the student commissioners' activity. Student Representative Lin was absent. Commissioner Bivins arrived at 8:04 p.m. Student Representative Higgins arrived at 7:22 p.m. II. BRIEF STUDENT REPORTS This item was discussed out of order after Item IV. Minutes. Mehta announced a Unity Day is being planned at Eden Prairie High School (EPHS). People will wear orange to signify anti-bullying and anti-suicide. Fenrick requested the students post flyers at the high school advertising the October 28 Unity Day event at Hennepin Technical College (HTC). Narayanan suggested this go through the contact person at EPHS in charge of coordinating the school event. Corpuz stated there was a lot of interest in the first Amnesty meeting of the school year. Each monthly meeting will feature a different topic to debate and discuss. Fenrick offered a resource to facilitate discussion for the death row topic. Discussion followed about the death penalty's relevance to HRDC. Higgins arrived at 7:22. Venkatesh reported on a women's rights discussion sparked by analysis of a poem in her AP Literature and Composition course. Narayanan said this might be fitting for the "Makers" community cinema showing. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES October 9, 2014 Page 2 III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Iacovelli moved, seconded by Narayanan, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 5-0. IV. MINUTES MOTION: Buckland moved, seconded by Iacovelli, to approve the September 11, 2014 minutes. Motion carried 4-0-1 with Elassar abstaining. V. REPORTS OF STAFF —Fenrick A. PUBLICTY Fenrick has been busy working on upcoming HRDC events. Events are communicated via the city manager's weekly Friday report to staff internally, the City's Facebook page and Fenrick's personal "EPHumanRights" Facebook page. There will be articles coming out in the paper about the Unity Day and Stop the Trafficking events. Events are also being promoted via flyers. Other ideas to help spread the word are welcome. B. BEST BUY GRANT $5.10 remaining. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. STOP THE TRAFFICKING COMMUNITY CONVERSATION - Elassar On Wednesday, October 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Cambria Room at the Community Center, an FBI special agent will provide an inside perspective on the issue of human trafficking with a focus on Minnesota and other states in Region 5. Due to mature content, minors should be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Filardo and Narayanan deemed the disclaimer unfortunate saying it may deter youth from attending. When asked by Higgins if it could be recorded for later viewing, Elassar said she was doubtful that would be permitted,but she will ask. Elassar explained navy blue is the color for human trafficking. She distributed wristbands for people to wear to raise awareness. She also circulated free materials she requested from the Department of Health and Human Services to distribute at the event. Fenrick noted tomorrow night is Breaking Free's annual candlelight vigil for women coming out of trafficking or prostitution. Narayanan suggested the flyer include an image in order to increase interest. He also asked what we can do to help educate the younger generation on this issue. Higgins said CORE Thursdays, a 50-minute block of time set aside at EPHS for HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES October 9, 2014 Page 3 studying or enrichment opportunities, might be a good venue for this. She recommended including the school's police liaison. Fenrick stated she will send an Outlook invite to commissioners for the October 15th event. B. MAKERS FILM WITH GIRL SCOUTS - Filardo This film is being shown in partnership with Girls Scouts of Eden Prairie. Filardo troop will be attending and she is waiting to hear if Corpuz's Girl Scout troop will lead the discussion portion. She will also bring refreshments and "Girls Can Do Anything" patches. She requested Fenrick email her a color copy of the flyer. The event will be held Sunday, October 26, 2-4 p.m. in Community Rooms A and B in the basement of the Eden Prairie Center Mall. C. UNITY DAY THEATER AND HUMAN LIBRARY - Fenrick This year's Unity Day at HTC will take place Tuesday, October 28. It will feature a Readers Theater production by World Without Genocide and a Human Library. Bivins arrived at 8:04 pm. Volunteer `human books' are needed to talk about their experiences with labeling, stereotyping, and discrimination and to answer questions and discuss. This portion of the event will be held 3-6 p.m. in an open house format with the theater performance immediately following. Iacovelli requested additional information on the time commitment and involvement in terms of training. VII. NEW BUSINESS A. 2015 WORK PLAN IDEAS Fenrick distributed a list of HRDC's past programs and projects and asked commissioners to spend some time brainstorming speakers and discussing which topics to focus on for 2015. She also solicited new ideas noting we will need to prioritize as we are not able to do everything on the list. Narayanan said he is a believer of continuity and would like to see us carry on with human trafficking and the teen job fair. Elassar stressed the 5K was a lot of work, but we could play a smaller role. Fenrick agreed we do not have the capacity to be involved at the same level as before. The job fair is not a human rights issue,but the event will be held again through her office and she welcomes Narayanan's involvement. Narayanan readdressed the concept of an International Festival. Lots of other cities are hosting similar events. Higgins suggested HRDC have a booth at the EPHS diversity fair. It would increase visibility of the commission. She will research this further and report back. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES October 9, 2014 Page 4 Filardo noted HRDC has not done much related to the GLBT, disabled, and Native American communities. Fenrick stated there is an upcoming showing of "Dakota 38" in November which is Native American Heritage month and we participated in ally training this past June during GLBT awareness month. Disability awareness month is October,but we need a little more time to plan. We do need to do more to represent these groups. Buckland said Fraser deals with special needs. With autism being at the forefront, we could build a profile around that disability. Elassar added we also need to include the elder community. Buckland said the senior center recently created a club on current affairs for seniors. Interest has been good and speakers are being sought. We should look into a relevant independent lens film to show. Bivins said a discussion around gender stereotypes is warranted. "Miss Representation" is a documentary about objectification of women in the media. There is also one about men/boys in this country called"The Mask You Live In". Trailers to both can be found at therepresentationproject.org. She will look into obtaining a copy of"Miss Representation" for screening. Narayanan recommended commissioners also view Emma Watson's recent speech on feminism. Buckland suggested selecting themes to focus around, for example"Makers" and trafficking could center on empowering women. Filardo said she was in favor of the autism tie-in to a disability theme. Buckland said anxiety and mental health issues are on the rise and she would like to see that linked in somehow, as well. Fenrick said in general, we need to reach out to these communities to serve on the commission. Discussion ensued about encouraging more men to apply for HRDC. Filardo said she likes the idea of themes but feels we need to narrow down the number. Her preferences are disability and gender. We should partner with Eden Prairie Schools; they have a great program for kids with disabilities. Elassar said she could connect with a colleague to talk about disability. Narayanan asked how we can help those who come and educate us on various issues. Fenrick said the programs and projects we sponsor help raise awareness, and we can bring issues in the community to the attention of Council via presentations. Fenrick announced non-profit ECHO will train emergency responders in cultural sensitivity in two weeks. Hennepin County, fire, and our own Community Emergency Response Team will participate. Elassar requested we be mindful of the elderly during winter time by keeping an eye out for them and checking on them. Fenrick said Senior Community Services can help on a regular basis if we know of somebody in need. Fenrick reported the International Town Hall has been postponed until next year. Narayanan suggested incorporating the Human Library concept into the Town Hall. Fenrick said she will take the theme ideas and try to align them with projects and programs and then ask commissioners to prioritize them. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES October 9, 2014 Page 5 VIII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 13, 2014, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. October 15 —Stop the Trafficking Community Conversation October 26 —Makers film with Girls Scouts troop October 28 —Unity Day theater and Human Library IX. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Narayanan moved, seconded by Buckland, to adjourn. Motion carried 6-0. Chair Filardo adjourned the meeting at 8:51 p.m.