The “Big Tent,” a collaborative community art project between Wake Forest students and local high school students, was set up on Wake Forest’s Reynolda Campus for the first time on March 27 outside the Z. Smith Reynolds Library.

The tent event was held as a part of the University’s yearlong Faces of Courage celebration. Student groups came together to showcase the tent and to encourage their peers to think about diversity and identity on campus through art. Some of the projects and activities around the Big Tent included:

Not just one color

Members of Delta Xi Phi, Wake Forest’s multicultural sorority, helped students mix paints to create colors to match their skin tone. “We wanted to show that skin color is not just black or white. You might need to add a little yellow, purple or red,” senior sociology major Jessica Smith said.

Differences can connect

Senior religion major Sarah Hinshelwood, a member of Delta Xi Phi, passed out slips of paper to students at the event and asked them to write down what makes them unique. She then connected the individual pieces to make a chain, showing that our differences can connect us.

Not just one race

“Ambiguity in Race: The Haziness of Social Lines” by senior anthropology major De’Noia Woods and first-year student Tai Hensley uses photographs to deconstruct ideas about race. “It addresses the concept of being mixed race and being stereotypes because of a small feature, like a nose or mouth,” Hensley explained.

Music brings people together

Gerson Lanza, a senior history major, and Lee Gan, a sophomore finance major, perform tap steps as members of the Setting the Groove Tap Dancing Club. The club represents how it is not only race and ethnicity that make students unique, but also their diverse interests and talents.

Stereotypes can break people

“Unraveling” by senior biology major Mary Alyce McCullough and Mt. Tabor High School student Jon Cunningham is made from wire, fabric and windows. The piece deals with stereotypes of culture, ethnicity and race. The broken windows represent the violence that can come as a result of racism. The fabric represents the assumptions that can contribute to race relations.

Wake Forest’s first Latino graduates, Carlos Perez (’65) and Peter Bondy (’67), were honored March 21 on campus at the Celebration of Latino Heritage. The event was part of the ongoing Faces of Courage series, marking Wake Forest’s 50 years of integration and the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Perez came to the United States from Cuba as part of Operation Peter Pan, a program that brought many Cuban children to the U.S. in the early 1960s.

While a student at Brevard College, he made a weekend visit to Winston-Salem, toured the University and decided to transfer to Wake Forest. “I went, I saw, I fell for it,” he said. He enrolled in 1963 and became the first Latino graduate in 1965.

During the celebration of Latino heritage, Perez spoke to a standing-room only audience about the impact the University has had on his life and shared memories of playing intramural softball with Wake Forest sports legends Brian Piccolo and John Mackovic.

He also talked about his academic experience. “I could not have asked for better people as teachers,” he said. “They were knowledgeable, caring and demanding yet fair.” Inspired by his time at Wake Forest, Perez earned his doctorate and became a professor at the University before going on to teach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Bondy, who is originally from Ecuador, was also quick to note his lasting and meaningful relationships with Wake Forest faculty, many of whom he credits for his professional success as an actuarial consultant in Baton Rouge, La. These mentors included “surrogate parents” Dean Dyer and his wife as well as professors King and Campbell of the Romance Languages department.

Bondy continues his connection to Wake Forest by serving on the Board of Visitors and the Global Programs Advisory Committee. As a part of the committee, Bondy has influenced the education of thousands of Wake Forest students through initiatives including the establishment of the Flow House in Vienna and the creation of first-year seminars.

As he spoke about his experience as a Wake Forest alumnus, Bondy said, “It is awesome to be able to tell others what Wake stands for and what they can look forward to enjoying.”

After the awards presentation, the celebration continued with traditional Latino performances by Wake Forest’s Salsa Club and the Mexican dance group, Ballet Folklorico.

Both honorees were surprised by their selection as recipients of the “Faces of Courage” award. Perez said, “I never did anything like Jackie Robinson or Rosa Parks.”

Senior Nancy Aguillon, president of Wake Forest’s Organization of Latin American Students (OLAS), said of Perez and Bondy: “Your courage paved the way for students like me to be here.”

Less than a year ago, communication professor Alessandra Von Burg launched an ambitious project that invited people to share their ethnic and cultural experiences through one-on-one video interviews.

Von Burg’s vision was born of the idea that everyone has stories to tell whether they are lifelong U.S. citizens or recent immigrants. The compilation of these video stories is now online at the new Where are you from? Project multimedia website.

Alessandra Von Burg

The site, designed by documentary film program graduate student Chris Zaluski, includes short interviews of people discussing their heritage as well as an interactive feature where visitors can post a self-made video interview. A Google map info-graphic shows where people in the videos were born. The new website is the next step in creating a common history that will help connect Americans who come from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Von Burg, along with Zaluski and her team of Wake Forest documentary film program graduate students, undergraduate communication students and willing volunteer storytellers, has produced more than 30 videos. The project began with experiences of migration and mobility told by students, faculty and staff at the University. Now, interviews from permanent residents, green-card holders, foreign-born naturalized citizens, as well as undocumented residents and refugees, are also included.

While video submissions continue, and all are invited to participate, the next phase of the project is in planning. Full transcripts of the interviews will be made available for data analysis as open source material on the website.

Math professor Kenneth Berenhaut and communication professor Ananda Mitra will be analyzing data from the interviews. Von Burg has presented preliminary findings from the project at domestic and international conferences. “We anticipate the interviews and the conclusions from the data analysis will inform and influence policies about immigration,” she says.

Computer science professor William Turkett and students in his department are developing an application for mobile devices that will allow users to watch the interviews, leave comments, record and write their own story, upload video and pictures and invite others to submit interviews.

The website launch was announced at an international dinner hosted by World Relief, an organization that assists with immigration and relocation in the Triad area. The organization is developing an outreach campaign to help identify new community partners for the Where are you from? Project.

The Where are you from? Project is made possible in part by funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

This summer I spent two months in Algeria studying a tattooing tradition that is quickly fading among an Amazigh (also called Berber) group, the Chaouia. Inspired by the tattoos on my Algerian grandmother’s face, I wanted to know more about how this custom began, and why it is disappearing.

My research led me to uncover that tattoos not only adorn the faces of Chaouia women, but also often hands, arms and legs. I learned that tattoos held multiple purposes, including beauty and health, were often given by gypsies called adasiya who most likely came from Tunisia, and that some symbols hold a likeness to tattoo symbols found in Iraq – 2,500 miles away.

It also became apparent how quickly the tradition is disappearing — for several reasons, including religious prohibition of tattoos by Islam.  With the adasiya nowhere to be found and changing ideas about modern beauty, only the eldest generation of women now bear the tattoos that can be traced to a Middle Eastern tradition that is over 1,000 years old. In the near future, the tattoos may completely disappear among the Chaouia of Algeria.

For a long time, I found this deeply upsetting, even though it’s embedded in anthropology that cultures change.  But through my interviews, I found that the fading tradition is not something the tattooed women themselves are actually saddened by.  I will never forget the response one 90-year-old woman gave me when I asked her how she felt about the disappearance of the tattoos.

“We are fading. Our health . . . our dreams. Everything is fading, young girl,” she said.

In Chemora and throughout Algeria, I stayed with my family (I’m half-Algerian), and they were such a wonderful support system to have behind my work.  They were constantly giving me input, finding sources and contacts, and took a genuine interest in what I was doing.  Having them as a resource facilitated my project beyond what I could have ever imagined.

In addition to my family, my project wouldn’t be complete without the incredible 20 tattooed women I interviewed, ranging in age from 70 to 90.  These women completely trusted me with photographs, voice recordings, and telling their story, which takes immense courage.  They also showed me kindness and generosity, and those traits are probably the things I will remember about them the most.  To share one example, I was a little bit sick on the day I did an interview with one tattooed woman named Rabaiya Zgrir.  The next morning she walked by foot across town to bring me handmade bread prepared with barley, and I was better in no time.

These elderly women also happen to carry beautiful tattoos on their faces, like my grandmother’s. She was also one of my interviewees, and I learned so much about everything from tattoos to traditional jewelry from her.

This research wouldn’t have happened without Wake Forest’s Richter Scholarship and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, both of which funded my work. This project not only combines the two grants, but connects two fields of study I am extremely passionate about: anthropology and journalism.  It’s a fantastic feeling to see my anthropology major and minors in Middle East and South Asia studies and journalism come together so seamlessly for application in the real world.

Wake Forest is an intellectually and culturally diverse place where interfaith programs, the new Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Queer (LGBTQ) Center and a variety of guest artists and speakers reflect the University’s commitment to cultivating an environment which fosters the inclusion and engagement of everyone, regardless of individual differences.

“If we can promote being part of a rich Wake Forest culture and enjoy a more inclusive and diverse campus, while still maintaining our own identities and culture, then we will have lived up to the University’s motto of Pro Humanitate,” said Kevin Smith, who graduated from Wake Forest in May.

During the 2011-2012 academic year, Associate Chaplain for Muslim Life Khalid Griggs led an interfaith journey to the Holy Land. As the students visited sites in Israel and looked at them from Christian, Jewish and Islamic perspectives, Griggs said he saw many of them become energized about interfaith work. “Nowhere else in the world is the message clearer of why interfaith cooperation is so important,” he said. Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, emphasized the importance of bringing together people of all religious identities to form a bridge from religious intolerance and misunderstanding to a new reality focused on the common good during a Voices of our Time lecture on campus.

Angela Mazaris was named the first director of Wake Forest’s LGBTQ Center in September. This spring, political science and law professors provided background information and analysis regarding the vote on North Carolina’s same-sex marriage amendment.

In February, Wake Forest’s Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion Barbee Oakes was nationally recognized for her personal interest in and steadfast commitment to initiatives that promote pluralism and foster community. Diverse Issues in Higher Education named Oakes one of the “25 Women Making a Difference.” This spring, Wake Forest kicked off a yearlong celebration, “Faces of Courage,” that will run through the 2012-2013 academic year. The initiative marks the 50^th anniversary of Wake Forest’s historic decision to integrate and how it shaped the University.

The following highlights from the year provide a glimpse at the people and programs showing ways Wake Forest embraces diversity:

Student Storyteller: Forum for black male students
May 2, 2012

Kevin Smith, a senior from Wilson, N.C., shares his experience with M4, a group that brings together male African-American students to talk about contemporary issues.

Faces of Courage kickoff
April 25, 2012

On April 27, 1962, trustees voted to end racial segregation at Wake Forest and the University became the first major private college in the South to integrate. Fifty years later, Wake Forest kicks off “Faces of Courage,” a yearlong celebration of the historic decision and how it has shaped the University.

Building bridges of faith
March 2, 2012

Eboo Patel, founder of the Interfaith Youth Core, emphasized the importance of bringing together people of all religious identities to form a bridge from religious intolerance and misunderstanding to a new reality focused on the common good.

Oakes receives Top 25 honor
March 1, 2012

As head of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Barbee Myers Oakes long has been known in the Wake Forest community for selflessly going above and beyond. Now she has received national recognition for her personal interest in and steadfast commitment to initiatives that promote pluralism and foster community.

Statement by Melissa Rogers regarding White House accommodation of religious concerns on contraceptive mandate
February 10, 2012

Following is a statement by Melissa Rogers, the director of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at Wake Forest University School of Divinity and a nonresident senior fellow in the Governance Studies program of The Brookings Institution. Rogers previously served as the chair of President Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Interfaith pilgrimage
February 3, 2012

School of Divinity and undergraduate students led by Associate Professor Neal Walls and Associate Chaplain for Muslim Life Khalid Griggs spent two weeks exploring the history and religious traditions of Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities during Wake Forest’s Interfaith Pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Chaplain joins the U.S. Army
November 11, 2011

Two years ago, Rabbi Michael Gisser exchanged his Canadian citizenship for U.S. citizenship – step one towards fulfilling his lifelong dream. On Veterans Day, Gisser – the associate chaplain for Jewish life at Wake Forest – takes step two. He’ll be installed as a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve.

WFU establishes LGBTQ Center
September 1st, 2011

Angela Mazaris has been selected by Wake Forest to establish a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Queer (LGBTQ) Center at the Reynolda Campus. The center will be a source of educational programming, support and advocacy for the entire campus community.