Education Series
2019-20 Events
- COCC Season of Nonviolence, February-March 2020
- World Muse Conference, 3.7.20
- Future and Career Counseling Night, 4.20.20
- PAST PRESENTATION: America - A Global Perspective with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, 11.18.19
- PAST PRESENTATION: How to Be an Ally to LGBTQ+ Youth, 1.28.20
- PAST EVENT: Documentary Film: 7Hills, 2.18.20
COCC Season of Nonviolence, February-March 2020
COCC Season of Nonviolence, February-March 2020
The Season of Nonviolence honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi and their nonviolent work to advocate for human rights. This year is COCC's 12th season hosting programming to honor this international commemoration, and Cascades Academy is pleased to partner with another educational institution in Central Oregon to make these events possible.
The 2020 Season of Nonviolence Program is co-organized by the Nancy R. Chandler Visiting Scholar Program and COCC's Diversity and Inclusion office with sponsorship support from The Oregon Community Foundation, Cascades Academy of Central Oregon, Oregon Humanities and Fairfield Inn by Marriott.
Community Book Conversations
COCC and other community organizations are hosting book conversations on Ijeoma Oluo's New York Times best-seller, So You Want to Talk about Race. Oluo guides readers through various topics in an attempt to in
We invite folks from all identities to engage in conversations about racism, discrimination, intersectionality and more. Her honest and constructive approach facilitates difficult conversations through engagement and dialog.
Click here to see dates, times and locations for book conversations.
Two Special Events with Ericka Huggins
Spiritual Activism & Social Justice
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Wille Hall, Coats Campus Center
COCC Bend Campus
6:00-7:30pm
Ericka Huggins will share her personal experiences of finding life-affirming balance as an activist, and as a mother while on trial for her life. It is this balance that has continued to sustain her every day since. This talk will focus on everyone’s capacity to return back to humanity and find inner stability in the face of continual daily challenges, so that we create healthy ways to sustain ourselves.
Free and open to the public but we encourage you to RSVP here to reserve your seat.
Creating a Toolkit for Resiliency
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Wille Hall, Coats Campus Center
COCC Bend Campus
9:00-10:30am
Join us for a session with Ericka Huggins to reflect on and discuss the race, gender and identity challenges in school and work environments, and focus on healthy responses to these challenges through relaxing our minds and acknowledging our emotions. This session will be of direct benefit to students, educators, employers and employees as well as any other community members.
Free and open to the public, but we encourage you to RSVP here to reserve you seat.
About Ericka Huggins
Ericka Huggins is a human rights activist, poet, educator, former Black Panther leader and political prisoner who has devoted her life to the equitable treatment of all human beings. She has lectured across the country and internationally on issues relating to the well-being of women, children & youth; restorative justice as the antidote to punitive justice; whole being education, and the role of spiritual practice in sustaining activism and promoting social change.
Facilitated Conversation: Sentenced for a Season, Punished for Life
How Long Should People Pay for Past Crimes?
Facilitated by Pamela Slaughter Thursday, February 20, 6:00 p.m.
Don Reeder Community Room
COCC Madras Campus, 1170 E Ashwood Road, Madras, OR
Many of us have grown up being told—and believing—that after a person serves their sentence for a crime, the slate is wiped clean. Every possibility exists for them to find a decent job, a decent apartment, a decent car. From there, they can go on to build a decent life. But the truth does not often bear out this scenario. A felony conviction can restrict travel options, licensing options for employment, housing, and financial aid, just to name a few. What does it mean to our society that 8 percent of our overall US population—and 33 percent of African American men—who have felony convictions run into these barriers after they serve time in prison? Join facilitator Pamela Slaughter in a conversation about how this reality affects our communities and what alternatives might look like.
FREE and OPEN to the public, but we encourage you to RSVP here to reserve your seat.
This program is an Oregon Humanities Conversation Project and made possible with support from Oregon Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Oregon Cultural Trust.
About Pamela Slaughter
Pamela Slaughter is a native Oregonian with varied interests. She works as an adult protective service investigator for Multnomah County and is a licensed real estate broker with Keller Williams Realty Portland Central, working as a Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES). Pamela also serves as BellaOnline magazine’s Senior Issues editor and hosts a weekly writing group—Shut Up & Write! Pamela loves showing off the beauty of Oregon and gets to do so regularly as a co-leader for People of Color Hike!
Looking Beyond Our Differences:
Seeing the Humanity in Each of Us
Justice Adrienne Nelson, Oregon Supreme Court Justice
Justice Adrienne Nelson will talk about how her life experiences -- from being the first person of color at her Arkansas high school to be named valedictorian to serving as the first African American on the Oregon Supreme Court -- have informed her focus on leadership, diversity, inclusion, mentoring, community service and the legal profession. She works daily to “make this world a little bit better.” Justice Nelson will also give us global perspectives and believes if we each connect to our humanity, it opens us up to many more possibilities.
Tuesday, March 3
Wille Hall, Coats Campus Center, COCC Bend Campus, 6 p.m.
FREE and OPEN to the public but we encourage you to RSVP here to reserve your seat.
Wednesday, March 4
Room 209, COCC Redmond Campus, 2030 SE College Loop
Redmond, OR
9:00-10:30am
FREE and OPEN to the public but we encourage you to RSVP to reserve your seat here.
About Justice Adrienne Nelson
Justice Adrienne Nelson was appointed to the Oregon Supreme Court January 2018, making her the first African American to sit on the state’s highest court. She is a frequent speaker on topics including diversity, inclusion, equity, leadership and professional development. She sits on the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Public Education, is the Oregon delegate to the ABA House of Delegates, chairs the Lewis and Clark Law School Judge Roosevelt Robinson Scholarship Committee and is vice-president of the Owen M. Panner American Inn of Court.
Facilitated Conversation: Can We Get Along? 
Examining Our Personal Experiences of Connection and Community
Facilitated by Chisao Hata
In 1992, in the midst of riots sparked by the acquittal of police officers who brutally beat him, Rodney King asked, “Can we get along?” This iconic American question still resonates today. What is it that drives this question, and why can it be so difficult to answer? What holds us back from connecting with each other? How do our personal experiences contribute to—and have the potential to break down—these barriers? Join facilitator Chisao Hata as she holds space to examine our individual and collective questions on race, perspectives, and cultural values around what brings us together and what separates us. This conversation may include some hands-on activities.
Monday, March 9
RTEC 209, COCC Redmond Campus, 6 p.m.
2030 SE College Loop, Redmond, OR
Free and open to the public but we encourage you to RSVP here to reserve your seat.
Tuesday, March 10
Room 119, COCC Prineville Campus, 5:30 p.m.
510 SE Lynn Blvd., Prineville, OR
Free and open to the public but we encourage you to RSVP here to reserve your seat.
This program is an Oregon Humanities Conversation Project and made possible with support from Oregon Humanities, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Oregon Cultural Trust.
About Chisao Hata
Chisao Hata is an artist educator, dance director, arts integration specialist, community activist, and performing artist. For over two decades through her work in education, she has been a protector of imagination and personal discovery, and a champion for individual expression. Creating engaged learning for our youth, our citizen artists, is her life’s work. She has had the honor of serving hundreds of Portland’s children, youth, and adults across many communities. Chisao believes that we are all inextricably linked and the arts are our conduit to build bridges between our communities.
World Muse Conference, 3.7.20
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MUSE Conference
March 7, 2020
The Tower Theater
Cascades Academy is pleased to be a partner once again for MUSE Conference. We are deeply honored to join in welcoming Civil Rights Leader & Faith Healer Valarie Kaur to MUSE Conference 2020. Valarie will be one of the keynote speakers during the main conference program, and there are some exciting "extra" events planned for Valarie's time in Central Oregon, including a film showcase in partnership with BendFilm and a special Q&A segment. Full conference details and tickets for all MUSE Conference events can be purchased here.
Future and Career Counseling Night, 4.20.20
PAST PRESENTATION: America - A Global Perspective with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, 11.18.19
Monday, November 18, 7:00pm
with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, host of NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday
at Tower Theatre, Bend, Oregon
Tickets $15 - Get your tickets here
Free student tickets are available in COCC's Student Life Office (Coats Campus Center)
NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro moved back to the U.S. after years abroad as a foreign correspondent in places like the Middle East and Latin America, that have been heavily impacted by US policy. How does the rest of the world see us and how do we see the world? She will share examples from her years of field reporting and from her current role as host of NPR's Sunday show.
Presenting Sponsor: University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. Additional support from COCC Office of Student Life, Cascades Academy, Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund, Associated Students of COCC, and Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott.
PAST PRESENTATION: How to Be an Ally to LGBTQ+ Youth, 1.28.20
How to Be an Ally to LGBTQ+ Youth
with Jamie Bowman of The Equity Collaborative
Tuesday, January 28, 2020
6:00-8:00pm
These days more than ever youth are realizing that they have wiggle room to be who they really are. Join us in learning the difference between sex, gender, expression, and orientation. Walk away with the knowledge to feel confident talking about these topics and how to be an accepting ally.
In this session, you will learn:
- How to be an ally to LGBTQ+ youth
- Correct terminology
- The differences between sex, gender, expression, and orientation
PAST EVENT: Documentary Film: 7Hills, 2.18.20
Unlocked Films Presents the Premiere of 7Hills
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
6:00-8:00pm
The refugee crisis in Amman, Jordan, as told through the eyes of 7Hills skatepark founder, refugee children and street artists.
According to the UNHCR 2018 fact sheet, Amman, Jordan is host to nearly 800,000 refugees - hailing from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and other nations torn apart by war. 51% of these refugees are children.
“To have true empathy for the people going through these hardships is to recognize that these are just people born into a bad situation and they’re trying to escape for the betterment of their family.” -Tony Hawk on the refugee crisis.