Under the baobab: Voting is the can’t-miss event in Centre County this week
The election season has begun. The probable front runners for their party’s candidate for President have announced their campaigns. In both houses of Congress the margin of control can be counted on one hand. The lines between the parties and their attendant policies are clearer than they have been since the Civil War.
Our local elections are the bedrock of our democracy. Your vote matters. People have sacrificed their lives and livelihood so that you will have the opportunity to vote on Tuesday.
Around the community
Last week, “See Yourself at 3 Dots” celebrated art, artists and YOU. Lauren Steinberg and Lori Bedell from Happy Valley Improv hosted and DJ Elbow Knee Knee spun discs while local artists created self-portraits in all media. Carolyn Donaldson, Terry Watson and myself served as judges. Bri Wiegand took first place for a mixed performance on an electronically modified xylophone. Coconut Wolf won second sharing an original spoken word rap. Recent Penn State graduate David Arevalo was awarded third place for his creative video presentation, “Un Atorretrato.” Joe Bell and Jon Vickers Jones were honorable mentions. 3 Dots has emerged into an important community organization. Over the last year they have engaged over 36,000 neighbors, generated $900,000 in downtown economic impact. They have awarded 59, $1,000 grants, hosted 6,500 open hours, and collaborated with 150 artists and 60 community partners. They were awarded Best Community Space by State College Magazine.
The event took place during the Centre Gives campaign. 3 Dots Coordinator Erica Quinn announced that they had received a matching grant of $10,000 as well as winning a bonus for soliciting the most pledges during Power Hour. The 12th annual event raised a record $2,316,315 through 15,213 gifts to more than 200 organizations.
On Friday, in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, WPSU, Procter & Gamble and Penn State sponsored a livestream discussion, “What’s in A Name.” The panel included Clarabelle Lin, a first-generation Chinese American and Penn State alum who is executive director for Online Education Strategy and Business Development at Penn State World Campus. Yea Yun Chow is a senior brand director at Procter & Gamble with more than 21 years of experience in building brands; she led the creative development of Procter & Gamble’s “The Name” campaign. Nalini Krishnankutty is the Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Program Manager in Penn State Human Resources, a first-generation Indian American and Penn State alum. Her TEDx talk on “How Immigrants Shaped the United States” is used in classrooms around the country. Janet Luong, an Asian born Chinese, is a senior brand director at Procter & Gamble with over 10 years of experience in consumer health marketing. Youngeun Kim is head of equality & inclusion at Procter & Gamble IT with over seven years of experience as a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion leader in various capacities.
The Jana Marie Foundation held its annual JAM Fest celebrating mental health awareness in the Martin Luther King Plaza on Saturday. Co-sponsored by Mount Nittany Health, Tides, GP Audio, The Meadows and PeerStar, there were over 20 vendors and five performing acts. The AAUW will continue its annual used book sale at the Snider Ag Arena through Tuesday.
Monday at 7 p.m. Centre Stage will present “One Night on Broadway” at the Penn State Downtown Theatre. Directed by Penn State alumni Robert W. Schneider, with music direction by Jordon Cunningham and choreography by Catherine DeLuce, the show will feature current Broadway and Penn State musical theater alumni: Matthew Hydzik (“The Cher Show”), J Savage (“Bad Cinderella”), Lexi Rhoades (“Black Nativity”) and more.
And on May 21, the newly formed Centre County Interfaith Coalition for Gun Safety will hold a screening of “Armor of Light” at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. A discussion will follow.
On Tuesday, go vote. Our democracy depends on it.
Charles Dumas is a lifetime political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Party’s nominee for U.S. Congress in 2012.
