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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuman Rights and Diversity - 11/13/2014 APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 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 7:22 p.m. following recognition of Fenrick's contributions to human rights, the commission, and the community. Commissioner Bivins was absent. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Iacovelli moved, seconded by Narayanan, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 5-0. III. MINUTES MOTION: Elassar moved, seconded by Iacovelli, to approve the October 9, 2014 minutes. Motion carried 5-0. IV. REPORTS OF STAFF —Fenrick A. BIAS CRIME A recently-reported bias crime will not be filed as such because bias came out in the heat of the moment rather than being the reason for the incident. Fenrick is working with the police department and is in the process of educating the families involved on more appropriate ways to manage their anger and frustration. B. SEX TRAFFICKING ITEMS Wojahn reported on a newspaper article and announced an upcoming play, both of which focus on sex trafficking. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES November 13, 2014 Page 2 C. DAKOTA 38 FILM Due to insufficient planning time, Dakota 38 will not be shown this fall. Instead it will be shown in March to align with the"Why Treaties Matter" exhibit being brought to Hennepin Technical College (HTC) by the Minnesota Humanities Center. Discussion followed as to the best time to advertise this event. D. HUMAN RIGHTS SYMPOSIUM Filardo will be attending a policy-type human rights symposium featuring speakers and legal presentations on December 10. There is a cost for this all-day event being held at the University of Minnesota Extension campus in St. Paul. Fenrick will forward information in the event other commissioners are interested in going. E. BEST BUY GRANT $5.10 remaining. V. NEW BUSINESS A. YOUTH ONE VOICE Higgins reported on a Youth One Voice follow-up meeting she had with the principal of Eden Prairie High School (EPHS). During the meeting, the principal indicated he found the results of Higgins' report enlightening and the students' proposals intriguing. He is interested in holding the event again, this time in a three-part series during the 45-minute block called CORE on December 4, 11, and 18. Higgins proposed designating the first session to identifying problems, the second to small group discussion, and the third to setting a specific plan to address issues. The results would be written up over break with discussion continuing into next year. Filardo stated she felt it was important for an adult to moderate. She can attend December 11 and 18. Fenrick suggested students lead the small group discussions. She will plan to participate on December 4 and 18. Higgins said she will confirm with the principal and reserve a room. Discussion followed on action steps for advertising including Eagle Vision News, the daily bulletin, and posters. Higgins recommended using the same poster. Narayanan requested Fenrick's "EPHumanRights" Facebook page be added to the poster. Higgins said she will look into getting this designated as one of the enrichment opportunities available during CORE time. Filardo inquired about using the same questions and outline as last time. Higgins suggested using the report findings as a baseline to see if anything has changed. Buckland offered to look at the report and pull out the top three concerns as a starting point. Narayanan suggested surveying students in advance and developing HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES November 13, 2014 Page 3 discussion points based on their feedback. Fenrick recommended finding out if the principal supports the idea of a survey before determining whether to implement a survey up front or do it after the event to solicit feedback for future discussion. B. 2015 WORK PLAN IDEAS Fenrick asked commission members to split into three groups and brainstorm work plan ideas using the Eden Prairie Manifesto as a guideline. They were to prioritize their top five ideas from the existing and new lists. Each commissioner then shared ideas and the item about which he or she was most passionate. In response to Buckland's expressed desire to educate City councilmembers about human rights issues in the community, Fenrick noted council workshops are a good format for sharing concerns. Elassar explained how the diversity game is played. Lin departed at 8:34 p.m. Fenrick said she will send a rough draft of prioritized items so final decisions can be made in December. Commissioners shared suggestions for area kitchen facilities that could be tapped for food and conversation cooking classes. Fenrick pointed out the need to organize this quickly in order to meet the community ed catalog deadline. Commissioners should send her names and contact information for potential cooks. VI. OLD BUSINESS A. STOP THE TRAFFICKING COMMUNITY CONVERSATION This item was discussed out of order after Item VI.C. Buckland said Grace Church wants HRDC to continue as a community partner for this event but is aware we will not be able to provide the same level of commitment as before. We can offer support by distributing t-shirts, picking up supplies or posting flyers, and sending a team to participate in the run/walk. Grace Church is joining with other churches. Whether we have a representative attend meetings may depend on our degree of involvement and our need to monitor any potential conflicts regarding religious aspects. Filardo suggested perhaps being copied on communication would be sufficient. Iacovelli said she felt it was important for HRDC to have visibility. Buckland said if our logo is displayed, we probably need to do due diligence by attending. She can continue to go to meetings. Iacovelli offered to serve as a sub. B. MAKERS FILM WITH GIRL SCOUT TROOP Filardo reported there were 45 moms and girls in attendance at the showing of the "Makers: Women Who Make America". Corpuz's troop did a great job helping. HUMAN RIGHTS AND DIVERSITY COMMISSION MINUTES November 13, 2014 Page 4 The girls loved it and Filardo's troop was still talking about it at the next troop meeting. Narayanan volunteered to pick up patches for Filardo to distribute. C. UNITY DAY THEATER AND HUMAN LIBRARY Fenrick said Elassar was the most popular book in the human library. Elassar said she herself checked out the hearing-impaired book and found it enlightening. She shared what she learned. Multiple commissioners gave the play rave reviews. Fenrick said HTC is interested in hosting the human library again. VII. FUTURE MEETINGS/EVENTS The next HRDC meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 4, 2014, 7 p.m. at Eden Prairie Center, Room 125. VIII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Narayanan moved, seconded by Buckland, to adjourn. Motion carried 5-0. Chair Filardo adjourned the meeting at 9:03 p.m.