Midwest University Tour Creates Awareness and Highlights Post 9/11 Challenges
Washington DC; September 27, 2011 – Earlier this month, the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) was invited to participate in a series of presentations and panel discussions at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and the University of Indiana-Bloomington. On September 6th, speaking as part of the Food for Thought discussion series at the Asian American Cultural Center of the University of Illinois, SALDEF Associate Executive Director, Jasjit Singh, provided the over 100 attendees, comprised of students and faculty, with an introduction to Sikh Americans and the challenges Sikh Americans have faced post 9/11. Later that day, SALDEF participated in the Interfaith Speaker Series hosted by the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations. The Interfaith Speaker Series featured a panel of representatives from several faiths and focused on the topic of what “service” means in each faith. Mr. Singh spoke of the prominent place ‘service’ has in the Sikh scriptures (Gurbani) and throughout Sikh history. The panel discussion was followed by a lively question and answer session. Then, on September 7th, the University of Indiana, hosted an interfaith panel to discuss the impact of 9/11 on religious communities. Some of the topics included the changes in America since 9/11, media reports and the rise against multiculturalism, and how the events of 9/11 affected the United States in terms of diversity education. If you would like SALDEF to make a presentation about the Sikh religion and Sikh American civil rights issues to your college, law school, or graduate school, please contact us via email.