April 2012 Archives

This week, "Crossing the Globe" will focus on a topic quite different from its typical content: the Native American. As to be expected, many readers may stop and think, "Wait a minute- Native Americans? They aren't foreign!" My response is simple. The Native American who continues to live the traditional lifestyle of his/her people, has become so ostracized that they may as well be foreign. The people who are the original inhabitants of the United States have not only had their lands taken away, but many have been robbed of their culture. Today, descendants of Europeans- the real foreigners, if you think about it- make up the majority of America and are now considered "the norm."

However, to avoid turning this blog into a space for ranting and personal opinions, I seek to inform readers of an important event occurring on the IUP campus. Multicultural student organization Mosaic, which seeks to spread a message of equality among students, will host an event for "Stand Against Racism." Stand Against Racism is a national movement created by YWCA, a 154 year-old organization for American women.

Mosaic's event, to be held on Friday, April 27, at 2:30 p.m., involves a human chain which is set to encircle the Oak Grove. After the chain, Navajo Jean Whitehorse will take center stage at the HUB Susquehanna Room. Whitehorse has been described by the Navajo Times as a storyteller; on April 27, she will take on the role of activist. The event page describes her upcoming presentation as touching upon "issues such as boarding schools, sterilization, relocation and the American Indian Movement."

The Indiana County Karma Thegsum Choling (KTC), a Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center located on Philadelphia Street, and IUP organization Friends of Himalayan Buddhism hosted a series of talks with Lama Kathy Wesley. Wesley was a student of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, who is a highly-regarded Buddhism instructor.

Wesley is a native of Columbus, Ohio, and has been practicing Tibetan Buddhism since the late 1970s. Her recent visit to IUP marks her third.

Beginning on Friday, April 20, Wesley delivered a speech in the HUB Monongahela Room regarding the effects of devoting oneself to one's community, the planet and themselves. The following day, Wesley presented a second talk followed by a Life Release ceremony.

Life Release is a practice central to Buddhism, which involves saving animals that are set to be killed. During Wesley's presentation, she offered Indiana residents to bring their pets in order to receive a blessing.

After a third set of speeches on Sunday, Wesley conducted a brief meditation session before concluding her visit with a prayer ceremony for Earth Day.

The Indiana KTC's presentation of Lama Kathy Wesley coincided with a series of Tibetan Buddhism Earth Day ceremonies. The center plans to host Wesley's instructor, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, next fall. Until then, the center offers a series of meditation sessions for anyone interested in the practice.

The IUP Committee for the Study of Culture and Religion (CSCR) will sponsor a trip to Pittsburgh's Hindu Jain Temple at 9 a.m. on Sunday, April 22. 

The Office of International Education at IUP will continue its Foreign Film and Music Series by screening Italian film Mid-August Lunch on Sunday, April 15, at 5:30 p.m. in Sprowls Hall's McVitty Auditorium. The film will follow in the footsteps of previous films in this series and will be shown in its original Italian language accompanied by English subtitles.

Writer/director Gianni Di Gregorio stars in this quirky tale of an Italian slacker who lives with his elderly mother. In the story, Di Gregorio's character (also named Gianni) has failed to pay the rent on the run-down apartment he shares with his mother. Gianni is hit with a stroke of good luck when, during Italy's largest summer celebration, the Ferragosto, his building manager offers to forgive Gianni's debt. In return, Gianni must care for the manager's mother.

The Ferragosto is, quite literally, a Catholic holiday marking the Virgin Mary's entry into heaven. The festival is celebrated in over a dozen countries, where it's observed as a public holiday. The Ferragosto is celebrated every August 15, hence the film's title.

Upon the release of "Mid-August Lunch" in 2009, critic Philip French of British publication The Guardian, hailed the film as a "delightful and witty homage to older people." While the film may not have garnered any Academy Award nominations, it has received a number of awards from various film festivals. "Mid-August Lunch" is a treat, however, because it provides an opportunity for audiences to take a respite from everyday life to partake in a light-hearted cinematic experience.

Each semester, while students are bombarded by stressful schoolwork and difficult classes, the Ascension Meditation and Yoga Association at IUP (AMYA) holds a weekly meditation/yoga session.

Meditation is individually-based and has been practiced for thousands of years. Perceived widely as a practice linked to religion, meditation has a place in nearly every religion still practiced today. Meditation acts as a personal stress-reliever and teaches people to broaden their mental capacity. 

Yoga, on the other hand, is rooted in India and, therefore, is mostly associated with eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. Yoga combines the capabilities of a person's physicality, mentality and spirituality, with a goal of reaching immaculate spiritual balance. Yoga sometimes involves practitioners contorting themselves into difficult positions for long periods of time; however, long-term practitioners typically receive health benefits such as increased flexibility, better posture and greater strength.

At no cost, AMYA invites IUP students to improve their overall well-being by joining the group in the HUB Susquehanna Room, between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. for a spiritually-beneficial session.

On April 11, the group gathered together to practice four distinct forms of yoga. According to the The IUP Student Organizations news page, attendees engaged in roughly 10 minutes' worth of laughter yoga, which involves exactly what it insinuates. Laughter yoga requires practitioners to laugh for, literally, no reason while incorporating pranayama, the yogic art of controlling your breathing.

Next, the group did a physical/hatha yoga exercise, which seeks to join the mind and body through exercises geared toward improving posture.

"I used to go to hatha yoga classes and they were really good," Lopa Chatterjee (junior, biochemistry major at New Jersey's Rutgers University) said. "Positions varied from easy, intermediate, to expert. It was a nice workout and it improved my posture."

If this doesn't get your mouth watering, nothing will.

The Department of Hospitality Management at IUP will host an event called "21 Magyar: A Hungarian Bistro" on Thursday, April 5, at The Allenwood.


The Allenwood is a restaurant, frequently student-run, located on the lower level of Ackerman on the IUP campus. Beginning at 11:45 a.m. and concluding at 1 p.m., guests will be able to dine on an all-inclusive Hungarian meal for no more than $6.95. Reservations and take-out orders can be placed by calling 724-357-2626.

Magyar, a term which refers to the people of Hungary; however, in The Allenwood's terms, it's a three-course meal. The meal commences with a cucumber salad, seasoned with spices and vinegar, before the main entree of chicken paprikash is served.

Chicken paprikash is a traditional Hungarian dish that provides diners with an enticing blend of paprika, sour cream and other ingredients to give the chicken a bit of a spicy kick. The Allenwood plans to serve this dish with a side of potato latkes (cakes of fried potatoes) and rolls of Hungarian cinnamon bread.

To conclude the Hungarian feast, The Allenwood will feature dessert choices of either a chocolate-walnut torte or apple-filled palacsinta; the latter of which is described by the event page as "fresh apple pie filling wrapped in a delicate crepe."