HomeMy WebLinkAboutHRCMinutes_2017_12_11Brookings Human Rights Commission Minutes
Monday, December 11, 2017
Room 300 Community Room, Brookings City & County Government Building
Attendance:Steve Bayer, chair;Maggie Owens, vice-chair;Lawrence Novotny, recorder;Laura Renee Chandler;
Penny Hauffe; Judy Karen;Meagan Irvine-Miller (student representative);Shari Thornes, city clerk-staff;
Absent:Chandradhar Dwivedi; George Hamer; Shafiqur Rahman (county representative); Nathan Ziegler, SDSU
liaison
Chair Bayer called the meeting to order at 11:20 am.
A motion was made by Karen, seconded by Miller,to adopt the agenda with the addition of a report on diversity
training.All present voted yes;motion carried.
A motion was made by Karen, seconded by Chandler, to approve the minutes of the October 10 meeting. All
present voted yes; motion carried.The November was cancelled due to chair and vice-chair not being available.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Award Program
Sixty-six essays were submitted with fifteen from the middle school and fifty-one from the high school honors
English class. Members scored each essay using a rubric, and the scores were compiled in a spreadsheet. The
highest scores were determined to be the winners.
A motion was made by Karen, seconded by Hauffe, to award the following middle school essay contest winners.
All present voted yes; motion carried.
1st place tie:Grace Enz and Aditya Tummala –$100 each
2nd:Olivia Foster –$50
3rd:Nithin Perumal –$25
A motion was made by Miller, seconded by Chandler, to award the following high school essay contest winners.
All present voted yes; motion carried.
1st Place:Nathan Cole-Dai –$100
2nd Place tie:Jenna Schmidt and Abigail Schuldt –$50 each
Two hundred thirty eight poster entries were submitted.A motion was made by Owens, seconded by Karen, to
award the following poster contest winners.All present voted yes; motion carried.
Grades K-1:Sanhita Tummala –1st Place $25;Jagat Perumal –2nd place $15
Grades 2-3:Kingston Schneider –1st Place $25; Abigail Peck –2nd place tie $15;Quinn Ulvestad –2nd
place tie $15
Grades 4-5: Anika Hooda –1st Place $25;Olivia Hove –2nd Place $15
The posters will be displayed on Saturday, January 13 and taken down on Saturday,January 27.Hamer is
verifying the location of downtown businesses.A discussion will be held at a future meeting as to whether the
poster and essay contests are an efficient way of commemorating Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.Day.
Action to co-sponsor SDSU International Conference on Global Human Rights.Discussion was postponed to the
next meeting.
Community Common Read:
The panel presentation on religion pluralism was powerful.Attendance was around 290,with a large percentage
of SDSU students attending as a class assignment.Over 90 students started to leave shortly after the panel
started.The students stayed long enough to record a little bit of the panel on their cell phones to de monstrate
they had attended. Approximately, one quarter of the attendees were community members. The commission
would like to increase this number in the future.A commission member raised a concern with the questioning
format and having every panelist answer each question. They would have appreciated more interaction amongst
the panelists.
The total expenses for the Community Common Read were $3,256,$2,500 was donated to SDSU to help cover
the keynote speaker and the reminder used to promote the community common read program.Unfortunately,
the Commission was not recognized as a sponsor on the campus promotions and had difficulties obtaining
tickets for the members.
Bayer, Owens and Thornes will meet with the Mayor to discuss future involvement from the Commission and to
develop a better understanding of BHRC’s role along with SDSU in the campus/community common read.
Meeting Schedule:
A motion was made by Hauffe, seconded by Chandler, to meet on the second Monday of each month from
January until August 2018. All present voted yes; motion passed.
Diversity Training:
Maggie Owens conducted diversity training for employees for the City, County and Brookings Municipal Utilities
management staff on November 30. The training was very well received, and she kept everyone’s attention.
This training was pro bono, but needs to be budgeted on an annual basis for new hires.Employees from
Brookings Municipal Utilities and Brookings Health System and city volunteer boards, committees and
commissions. Owens is looking to incorporate safe zone training in the future.
Commission Terms:
Owens, Novotny and Dwivedi terms expire on December 31.Dwivedi announced that he will be moving to Sioux
Falls in 2018.Owens and Novotny are scheduled to be re-appointed by the Mayor.Karen announced that she is
resigning from the HRC at the conclusion of this meeting.
Correspondence:
A postcard was received from the Brookings Area Food Pantry thanking HRC for donating 112 food items that
were collected at the October Diversity Potluck.
Calendar:
January 8 –HRC meeting
January 13 –hang Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Contest posters
January 23 –Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Contest award presentations at City Council Meeting
January 27 –take down Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Contest posters
Adjourn:A motion made by Karen,seconded by Miller,to adjourn at 12:27 pm.All approved.
Submitted by Lawrence Novotny, recorder