Academic Service-Learning

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In Memory

Authored by Amy Del Debbio

A memorial plaque creates a sense of honor and family with a visual reminder of faculty and staff who passed away. This memorial piece, along with other pieces, are found in Wilby High School’s courtyard—which is an extension of the school’s library. During the warmer months, students are encouraged to read or work quietly in the courtyard.

While visiting the Egyptian pyramids during WWII, Franklin D. Roosevelt remarked that “Man’s desire to be remembered is colossal” (Prasch 2013, 198). While the pyramids may be an appropriate memorial for a pharaoh, a memorial plaque may be more suitable for the average person. Prior to the courtyard being transformed into a memorial garden, the memorial plaque, which was donated by the Class of 2005 and contained in Wilby’s library, was the centerpiece of the cabinet that housed all “In Memory” artifacts.

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Responding to Genocide

Authored by Madeline Sanchez

A group of young Jewish girls from Shtetl, a town in Eiskes pose before being murdered in September 21, 1941 by the Einsatzgruppen, a special task force that was actively hunting and killing Jews

Inhumanity is one of the most cruel and atrocious acts committed by human beings because of personal bias. The disregard of another individual’s life has led to one of the worst events recorded in history, the Genocide. Encompassing the Genocide during World War II into one word; it was savagery. Human lives destroyed due to the Holocaust, violating human rights, and overall eradicating liberty for the Jews.

The group of young Jew girls exhibited in this image was part of Shtetl a small market town in Eastern Europe, Poland (Zollman, n.d.). This image emphasizes the direct contrast of normalcy and the horrors of the Genocide, as well highlights the millions of lives shattered because of racial prejudice.

Eastern Europe, Poland held the largest Jewish population that lived before the war, and was where extermination of the Jewish population of the world collectively took place (Frontline, n.d.). On September 24, 1941, the entire Jewish populations of Ejszyszki was shot in the Jewish cemetery of Ejszyszki by the Einsatzgruppen (Yad Vashem, n.d.). The Einsatzgruppen were a special task force considered mobile killing units that operated in German-occupied Europe. These groups were actively hunting and killing Jews in many other countries occupied by the Nazis (Aktion Reinhard Camps, n.d.).

Deprived of human worth, the Jews imprisoned in concentration camps; shot, starved, gassed and ultimately burned being the many torturous ways they died. 6 million European Jews murdered by the German Nazi regime, considered an inferior race, an overall threat to German racial purity and community (History, n.d.). Germans considered themselves racially superior to Jews (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d.). Based on this catastrophic event among many others that occurred throughout history, it is clear that without laws to protect human rights, those facing discriminatory persecution can suffer grave humiliation and even annihilation as was the case of European Jews.

The Holocaust era was one of the most devastating events that have marked our history. Its everlasting effects will always be remembered as the Holocaust obliterated innumerable of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. Holocaust survivor’s history can urge elected leaders to unite, take responsibility and strive for social justice, to protect the oppressed and aim to end genocide.

 

References

“Einsatzgruppen.” n.d. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://www.deathcamps.org/occupation/einsatzgruppen.html.

“Introduction to the Holocaust.” n.d. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143.

“Shtetl – The Life and Death of a Small Town and the World of Polish Jews – Shtetl.” n.d. FRONTLINE. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shtetl/reflections/.

“The Holocaust – World War II – HISTORY.com.” n.d. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.history.com /topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust.

“The Untold Stories. The Murder Sites of the Jews in the Occupied Territories of the Former USSR.” n.d. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://www.yadvashem.org/untoldstories/database/index.asp?cid=188.

“What Were Shtetls? | My Jewish Learning.” n.d. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/shtetl-in-jewish-history-and-memory/.

 

 

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A Herstory on Lesbians

Authored by Nicole Loder

Image of Joan Nestle, Polly Thistlethwaite, and cat. Lesbian HERstoy Archive Collection. 1994.

Pictured are activist and writer, Joan Nestle, current Chief Librarian at the CUNY Graduate Center (Thistlethwaite 2014) Polly Thistlethwaite, and cat at the Lesbian HERstory Archives (LHA) in 1994 taken by the photo collection manager, Saskia Scheffer. I discovered this picture, with the help of an archivist, in a crammed filing cabinet, not too far from where the picture was taken. The cabinet was organized with an eclectic cataloging system, determined by the many archivists over the years. I was searching for content involving cats for an upcoming exhibit when we discovered this artifact. As I held this image, I wondered when the last time someone took notice of this seemingly insignificant photograph.
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The Founding of the Ninety-Nines (Organization of Female Pilots) at Curtiss Field

Authored by Gabriella Trinchetta

Aerial photograph of Curtiss Field, Valley Stream, New York

Aerial photograph of Curtiss Field in Valley Stream, New York, taken on July 30, 1935. Courtesy of the Valley Stream Historical Society Archives.

In the 1920s and 1930s, female pilots famously made strides in aviation through participating in air races, holding positions in the commercial sector, and completing lengthy solo flights, all while facing discrimination. Many people believed that a woman’s stereotypical delicate nature prevented her from successfully flying a plane because of weakness (Corn 1979, 560). Unfortunately, women pilots also faced difficulty in finding careers even after acquiring their licenses, so they often regrettably held positions in airplane sales. Famous professional female pilots, such as Amelia Earhart, Louise Thaden, Blanche Noyes, and Ruth Nichols worked in airplane sales before finally given the chance to prove their strength in flight (Corn 1979, 560). Even when airlines hired female pilots, they hesitated to allow them to fly in all conditions. For example, some airlines prohibited their female pilots from flying in less than perfect weather conditions (Corn 1979, 562-563). Continue reading →

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Ed Koch, Immigration, and S. 461

Authored by Nicolás Cabrera

Handwritten memo and copy of S. 461

A memo sent to Arthur P. “Skip” Endres by Ed Koch.

Senate Bill 461 of the 94th Congress was introduced January 28, 1975, by Sen. Harrison A. Williams, Jr. [D-NJ] to grant “…a child adopted by a single United States citizen the same immigrant status as a child adopted by a United States citizen and his spouse pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act” (Library of Congress 1975).
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Dr. Challis H. Dawson: Career and Talent

Authored by Debra L. Calvin-Smith

 

Dr. Challis H. Dawson, Kimberly, 1949.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bright watercolors of this painting depict Kimberly, a small neighborhood and bridge of Suffolk, Virginia. The bridge still connects the end of the peninsula where the Nansemond River wraps around it. Kimberly was a lively part of town with a variety of businesses, houses, and farms (Blair-Greene 2017). Continue reading →

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Endres Collection – Metro tells firm to hire 2 who don’t speak Spanish

Authored by Diane Darcy

Article from the Miami Herald dated October 26, 1984.

 

This article is a cultural artifact housed within the Arthur P. “Skip” Endres Collection owned by The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS). Arthur Endres was an influential figure on immigration when he served as counsel for the House Judicatory Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law from 1973-1989. The collection consists of documents that Endres created or used during his tenure. It provides rare primary sources of how migration and refugee law was made and how that process might be improved for future generations of immigrants (CMS 2018).   Continue reading →

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The Northport March

Authored by Julia Sukhu

Illustration of a Grand March

The “Pleading and Practice Grand March” sheet music cover image from the Stony Brook University Archives.

The oddest things can bring a community together. In the case of Northport, a Long Island community, a piece of music made to advertise law books has a special place in the community’s history and brought them together in 2015. This bright and well-maintained illustration is the cover page for the “Pleading and Practice Grand March” sheet music created by George H. Bishop to sell law textbooks in the 1800’s.  Continue reading →

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Hudson River Valley History; Reese Family Papers Collection- “Jefferson Letter”

Authored by Alyssa Alonzo

Image of Thomas Jefferson Letter

Marist College, (1806, May). [Image of Letter written by Thomas Jefferson], Reese Family Papers File 34, Archival Collection of James A. Cannavino Library.

Ebenezer Stevens, was a participant in the Boston Tea Party, commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Artillery in 1775, and fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. George Washington selected Ebenezer to raise battalions against Quebec to join the expedition against Canada. Ebenezer was present at the surrender of the British General Burgoyne at Saratoga, New York, on October 17, 1777. He served under the French general the Marquis de Lafayette in Virginia. He was later transferred to the New York artillery and in 1781 was one of the commanders at the siege of Yorktown. By 1805 he had risen to the rank of Major General and was involved in the defense of New York during the War of 1812. After his military career, Stevens was a successful merchant in New York and a member of the state Assembly (Reese 2010).  Some of his other titles include: Superintended the construction of the fortifications on Governor’s Island, New York, in 1800 he helped defend the city in 1812, and was Senior Major-General until 1815 (Boston 2008). Continue reading →

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Endres Collection: The Proposed Narcotic Addict Rehabilitation Act of 1970

Authored by Catherine Sheehan.

Press Release from the office of Peter W. Rodino on Narcotics Use.

The press release from the Office of Peter W. Rodino dated April 26, 1970 is part of the archived Arthur P. Endres Papers at the Center for Migration Services. The collection contains Endres’ documents, who served as counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and International Law, from 1973-1989 (CMS 2018). Continue reading →