Kavya: NIOS has Changed 'My Outlook on the World'

I’ve been in the Unit 5 School System for over 11 years, meaning I have gone to school with the same kids since elementary school. We all used to eat lunch and play during recess together; however, that feeling of camaraderie does not exist anymore.

I've experienced, as have many others, the realities of 'bias' as I've matured.

Ideas, people and the environment that surround us shape our innocent minds in both good and bad ways as we grow older. These external sources of influence could be new-found friends, teachers or even a parent's banter.

Influences that give rise to a negative bias often result in students becoming ignorant about and close-minded toward others.

What caught my attention when I first heard about Not In Our School (NIOS) was the use of the world 'inclusive' in the NIOS mission statement - 'building safe and inclusive environments in schools'.

From my vantage point; most of the uninformed attitudes in school are due to the lack of exposure to other cultures and differences.

So as President of NIOS, I focus heavily on making our club an opportunity for students to get to know more about the diversity of our student body.

We have held a Culture and Religion Fair during school and the one stipulation for the NIOS members was to choose a culture/religion you were not very knowledgeable about to become better informed.

As part of our meetings, we hold discussions on current issues to broaden students’ horizons and to hear different viewpoints.

Furthermore, we conduct outreach to Unit 5 elementary schools to start students thinking of inclusion at an early age.

Most of the funds we raise come from selling signs, posters, and pins with the mantra: 'No Matter Where You Are From, We’re Glad You’re Our Neighbor'. Seeing the signs in almost every teacher’s door has positively impacted our school. Students feel welcome especially because we have many immigrants.

I am overwhelmed by the difference we make in our school environment.

At NIOS, we are bipartisan and firmly believe that through open-minded education and cultural exposure, our school environment will become even more inclusive.

The importance of a school with culturally aware students is a supportive school environment where students are free to unlock their full potential.

On a personal note; NIOS has helped strengthen my leadership and speaking skills. I have gained so many new speaking opportunities which hone my abilities every time I have the chance to speak.

I've also learned that organizing events is tougher than it appears as is applying the art of compromise when dealing with students and adults who share differing perspectives.

If you want to get out of your comfort zone and truly grow, I highly recommend Not In Our School.

It has changed my outlook on the world.

- Kavya Sudhir, Veteran Scholar

McLean County Diversity Project

Kavya: Education, Exposure Key to School Inclusivity

I’ve been in the Unit 5 School System for over 11 years, meaning I have gone to school with the same kids since elementary school. We all used to eat lunch and play during recess together; however, that feeling of camaraderie does not exist anymore.

I've experienced, as have many others, the realities of 'bias' as I've matured.

Ideas, people and the environment that surround us shape our innocent minds in both good and bad ways as we grow older. These external sources of influence could be new-found friends, teachers or even a parent's banter.

Influences that give rise to a negative bias often result in students becoming ignorant about and close-minded toward others.

What caught my attention when I first heard about Not In Our School (NIOS) was the use of the world 'inclusive' in the NIOS mission statement - 'building safe and inclusive environments in schools.'

From my vantage point, most of the uninformed attitudes in school are due to the lack of exposure to other cultures and differences.

So as President of NIOS, I focus heavily on making our club an opportunity for students to get to know more about the diversity of our student body.

We have held a Culture and Religion Fair during school and the one stipulation for the NIOS members was to choose a culture/religion you were not very knowledgeable about to become better informed.

As part of our meetings, we hold discussions on current issues to broaden students’ horizons and to hear different viewpoints.

Furthermore, we conduct outreach to Unit 5 elementary schools to start students thinking of inclusion at an early age.

Most of the funds we raise come from selling signs, posters, and pins with the mantra: 'No Matter Where You Are From, We’re Glad You’re Our Neighbor'. Seeing the signs in almost every teacher’s door has positively impacted our school. Students feel welcome especially because we have many immigrants.

I am overwhelmed by the difference we make in our school environment.

At NIOS, we are bipartisan and firmly believe that through open-minded education and cultural exposure, our school environment will become even more inclusive.

The importance of a school with culturally aware students is a supportive school environment where students are free to unlock their full potential.

On a personal note; NIOS has helped strengthen my leadership and speaking skills. I have gained so many new speaking opportunities which hone my abilities every time I have the chance to speak.

I've also learned that organizing events is tougher than it appears as is applying the art of compromise when dealing with students and adults who share differing perspectives.

If you want to get out of your comfort zone and truly grow, I highly recommend Not In Our School.

It has changed my outlook on the world.

Kavya Sudhir, Veteran Scholar
McLean County Diversity Project

Mural 'Beautiful Gift' For Twin Citians

At the corner of Olive and East and the intersection of compassion and diversity, a group of seven McLean County youths have left their mark. The Diversity Mural, a work dedicated to a variety of positive community themes and covering two walls in a near-downtown Bloomington neighborhood, was dedicated last Monday.

The mural was the brainchild of Not In Our Town: Bloomington-Normal, adopted enthusiastically by the Downtown Bloomington Association, and shepherded as a key project by the McLean County Diversity Project. Seven Diversity Project students, working under local artist Vince Bobrosky, painted the mural this summer, incorporating their own images into a collection of thoughts and observations about inclusivity, kindness, diversity, and peace. The wall adjoining the artists' individual panels proclaims, "Let Our Light Shine," in a variety of languages and Braille.

Moses Montefiore Congregation Rabbi Rebecca Dubowe, right, offers a blessing for the mural along with Bloomington First Christian Church Rev. Kelley Becker.

NIOTBN leader and Bloomington Alderman Karen Schmidt deemed the mural "a very beautiful gift" that embodies a community "that's full of peace and respect for one another." As a librarian, she is excited by the myriad of concepts and ideas the work conveys, as well as the wealth of languages used to convey its central message.

"It's a wonderful celebration," Schmidt said. "I am overwhelmed by the work that the students have done in expressing their hopes and dreams. As a mom and as a citizen here, I'm love the idea that our next generation has taken this message and made it so vibrant on a corner that includes our public library, that includes our City Hall and our police station.

"And I just love the way that Vince was able to draw out of these youth just their feelings about what it means to let your light shine and to be a guide to the rest of the world. I have a lot of confidence in where these young people are going to take us."

IN THE WORDS OF THE ARTISTS

"I hope the mural conveys a message about love, hope, peace, joy, and happiness." - Richie Beck (top photo, left, with brother Max)

"I think it displays a really good message to the community: Be nice, enjoy diversity in all sorts of different things." - Max Beck

"Once I go to college, it will be nice to come back and see this out here, kind of to see what my impact was on the community." Oskar Urquizo (center photo, with sister and fellow artist Olivia)

"I think it's going to leave a major imprint throughout Bloomington and Normal. It's going to last for awhile, and people can take a good message away from it. It took up a lot of time during the summer, but it sure was worth it." - Abhiru Raut (bottom photo, with mural medallion presented to the artists by Vince Bobrosky

"I just thought it was really cool and interesting to leave your mark in Bloomington. What a good place to do this -- right next to a library." - Ved Lombar

"I would love for my kids and my grandkids and so forth to see my picture on the mural -- to see this piece of history." - Molly Klessig

Vince: A Summer and a Labor of Love

Local artist Vince Bobrosky spearheaded this summer's creation of a Not In Our Town/McLean County Diversity Project mural at East/Albert and Olive Streets. The mural will be dedicated October 10.

Thanks to the McLean County Diversity Project I had a very rewarding experience this summer. What began as an idea to recreate some artwork that already existed within Not In Our Town (NIOT), ended up being something quite different thanks to the foresight of Tricia Stiller Executive Director of the Downtown Bloomington Association.

Tricia contacted me and asked if I would be interested in doing a collaborative mural project with scholars from the McLean County Diversity Project. Since I really enjoy working with kids, I immediately accepted the challenge. I have to admit however, I didn’t know much about this group, but that would all change in due time.

Workshops were scheduled with the scholars to create the concept for this collaborative mural. I must say, I was a bit nervous, but it was excited nervousness. I met each of the kids at the door of our workshop room greeting them with a smile and a handshake as we introduced ourselves to each other. Little did I know that this would become the start of something that would create an experience  that will last for the rest of my life.

We started with a few presentations. Camille Taylor from NIOT shared the story of Billings, Montana, where a rock was thrown through a bedroom window of a 6 year-old boy who had placed a picture of a menorah during Hanukkah. The story goes on to tell how the town of Billings united together by placing pictures of menorahs that were printed especially for this purpose, in windows all across town. This is where NIOT started, and has now spread across the country. Bloomington/Normal actually celebrated 20 years of involvement with NIOT this year.

I also shared a few videos, one of which showed astronaut Scott Kelly as he circled the earth on the International Space Station. He talked about being able to see the world with no borders as you would normally see on a map. He describes that the earth appears as one global community, one which radiates peace and hope. He goes on to say that he wishes for the day when mankind can live in peace and happiness. These presentations were very emotional. They set the tone on what would become some challenging and fun workshops to follow.

As we continued the workshops, I got to know the kids more each time. I was so impressed with the thoughts they had, and the images they drew. All in all the kids generated almost 150 words or quotes and countless images that reflected their thoughts what NIOT and diversity means to them. We brainstormed ideas on how to create a mural to represent all of this. Eventually we landed on an idea that would give each scholar their own space and colors to paint on the wall and create the message that they had to share. Bright colors and bold messages became a foundation. We titled the mural: "Let Our Light Shine."

What truly impressed me, was within this diverse group of young people, a common theme became apparent. The thought that we should all accept one another for who we are and simply get along and work together to make the world a better place became a common message. These scholars each had bold messages to say and this mural was going to give them an opportunity to show just what their message is.

As artwork began to emerge on the mural, it soon became apparent that each of the scholars’ individual space was as unique as each one of them. Their personalities shined along with each of their unique messages. It was fun and very rewarding to get to know each of the scholars as their painting progressed, not to mention their fearless leader Jeff. I told the kids they would hear all kinds of positive comments and compliments from many people passing by the mural while they worked. This happened numerous times.  As more and more artwork was painted, I could see the excitement and proud feelings that built within them. Each scholar took ownership of their area and did an absolutely wonderful job. They stuck it out to the end.

Having never been involved in such a project, I am sure that they learned some new skills and perhaps a little about themselves and the others that worked beside them. I know that I did, and for that I will be forever grateful for the experience that I had and new friends that I made.

The sincere thoughts and emotional expressions that are now a painted mural, will be a lasting message for countless people to see and experience. It has already touched many in a positive way. There was a gentleman that came up to me one day while I was painting. He asked “what is all this about?” I gave him a brief explanation. He replied with quite a negative comment. As I continued to walk him along the wall and show him some of the messages that were written, he couldn’t help but be touched by what he saw. When he left that day, he had a change of heart. This gentleman has returned many times to see the progress and compliment everyone for providing such a positive message. The light has truly shined on this individual.

No one can deny the positive message that this mural has. One person at a time, the light will become brighter and brighter.

- Vince Bobrosky, Artist and Community Leader

NIOTBN Mural Dedication October 10

Over the summer, an unsightly expanse of concrete on Bloomington’s downtown fringe has blossomed into a colorful, multicultural, personal and yet very public expression of an inclusive community, thanks to downtown planners, a youth-based education effort, a local artist, and Not In Our Town: Bloomington-Normal.

The newly completed Diversity Mural on Olive and Albert/East Street facades, will be dedicated at 5:45 p.m. October 10 at the Bloomington Police Department Osborne Room. Mayor Tari Renner and the Bloomington City Council then will recognize the work of seven young McLean County artists and their supervisor/mentor, Vince Brobosky. Bloomington First Christian Church Associate Minister Kelley Becker and Moses Montefiore Temple Rabbi Rebecca Dubowe of NIOTBN's Faith and Outreach Subcommittee plan to "bless" the mural at 5:15 p.m.

Downtown Bloomington Association (DBA) Executive Director Tricia Stiller has been instrumental in shepherding murals aimed at beautifying the downtown district. She reacted enthusiastically when NIOTBN approached her last fall with the idea of a new al fresco work designed to broadcast its message of diversity and understanding.

Armed with DBA Design Committee approval, Stiller contacted her friend Brobosky, a Twin Cities artist responsible for previous works on downtown facades. At the same time, she organized a series of educational workshops at the Bloomington Center for the Creative Arts Creativity Center in cooperation with the McLean County Diversity Project and its director, Jeffrey Schwartz.

“I have always enjoyed collaboration and involving young people,” Stiller related. “I had had five prior seasons with the Diversity students, and I knew this would be wonderful for them, because, truly, what Not In Our Town represents is them.

“They are from very diverse backgrounds, and through their exercises, they figure out how to get along together and celebrate one another. We should take a lesson from them, and model our behavior from them.”

During four two-hour workshops beginning in June, young artists with NIOTBN assistance honed in on their interpretation of the phrase “not in our town” and discussed their own experiences with bullying or discrimination. “Tragically, many of these young people, who are in seventh grade through high school, had heartbreaking stories to tell,” Stiller said. A student crew emerged from those discussions: Oskar Urquizo, his sister Olivia Urquizo, Abhiru Raut, and Ved Lombar, all of Bloomington; Colfax brothers Richie and Max Beck; and Molly Klessig of Downs.

Beyond its fundamental message, the mural offered the opportunity to address what Stiller deemed “one of our top candidates for beautification” – an “ugly” retaining wall for a funeral home parking lot that faces the Bloomington Public Library. The wall’s Olive Street facade provided ample space for Brobosky and his seven young artists to express a variety of personal messages about tolerance, respect, understanding, cooperation, and compassion, as well as a landscape of Twin Cities landmarks, while the East/Albert Street side of the wall was dedicated to the message “Let Our Light Shine,” accompanied by that phrase in a variety of languages and Braille (a series of braille plaques also will communicate that message) .

A few months after project launch, the perennial eyesore according to Stiller is now a “magnificent” addition to the library/Bloomington City Hall corner, at the threshold of a key Bloomington residential neighborhood. She is hopeful about “the connections that can be made from that, behaviorally, socially."  

“The message of the mural is to be shared,” Brobosky said. “The work that is going into the celebration and everyone that will see and read about it will be touched and inspired.”

Local Youth Create Visual, Musical Accompaniment to NIOTBN Efforts

Maria Nagle

The Pantagraph

When 16-year-old Oskar Urquizo saw his silhouette Friday on a retaining wall across Olive Street from the Bloomington Public Library and City Hall, he was taken aback.

"It's kind of scary because how accurate it looks like me," said Urquizo.

But more importantly for Urquizo is why his silhouette and those of six other McLean County Diversity Project students — known as "scholars" — are being painted on the wall.

The silhouettes anchor a 115-foot-long section of a mural the youths are creating to spotlight efforts by Not In Our Town of Bloomington-Normal to end hatred and bigotry in the communities.

Local artist Vince Bobrosky is guiding the students to allow their personal narrative to become visual art. Each scholar's silhouette is the centerpiece of a section the scholar will complete his or her own way.

"Me and my dad were racially profiled here in Bloomington, so that is one of the main reasons why I wanted to be part of the project," said Urquizo, who grew up not far from the wall.

"There are so many things you wouldn't know about a person unless you talked to them," added Urquizo. "This project is kind of showing the differences between all of the different people in our community."

Other silhouettes are of Oskar's sister Olivia, 12, Abhiru Raut, 13, and Ved Lombar, whose age was unavailable, all of Bloomington; brothers Richie Beck, 16, and Max Beck, 13, both of Colfax; and Molly Klessig, 13, of Downs.

Klessig said she wants to use the image of a Protea, a South African flower, in her portion of the mural.

"It's really kind of perfect,” said Klessig, who was among four scholars at work on the mural Friday. “It represents diversity."

After the students complete the mural over the summer a dedication ceremony will be announced.

To go along with the mural project, two other scholars — Kristin Koe, 18, and Ethan Clay, 13, both of Bloomington — formed a piano-cello combo to record "Vicissitudes," a piece featuring music they composed. David Rossi, owner of Bombsight Recording Studio, donated his time and and facility for the project.

"'Vicissitudes' actually means 'change,'" said Koe. "I think it is representative of the song itself, but also the mural and what Not In Our Town stands for."

Camille Taylor, a retired educator and a NIOT member, and Jeff Schwartz, founder of the the Diversity Project, also worked with the youths on the project.

It was the scholars' idea to do a mural, which they are calling "Let Our Light Shone," said Taylor.

The students met over four Fridays after school at the city's Creativity Center to put the project together. They also had help from the Downtown Bloomington Association, which also has a public art program.

Rays extending from the silhouettes contain each student's personal message about NIOT. The rays also shine on depictions of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, the Normal Theater and other iconic Bloomington-Normal buildings.

"When you think about the youth and the messages that they are going to have inside each of the silhouettes, their message is the light," said Taylor.

"They are basically filling our community with hope for the future," she added. "They are generating from their hearts and heads their hopes and dreams for this community and the world. There can't be anything better than that."

The musical recording will be uploaded along with pictures of the mural to NIOT's website, www.niotbn.com.

The duo will perform the song at the Not In Our Town Festival from 6-9 p.m. June 28 on the downtown Bloomington square, said Taylor.

“I think it is super cool that when I have kids and they have their kids that they are going to be able to go to this wall and say, 'Hey, grandma painted that; mom painted that.' I want it to be a memory,” said Klessig.

Tricia: Downtown Collaborative Mural to 'Articulate Emotion'

Tricia Stiller, Executive Director

Downtown Bloomington Association

As seen in this preliminary design conception, the downtown mural will be based on NIOTBN's "quilt" design created in November 2014.

It's been a challenge for me to find just the right words for this essay. I've started and re-started more times than I'm willing to admit. I think the stumbling block lies in the fact that I'm genuinely excited about this collaboration, and to articulate emotion into plain text is not always an easy task. That's the beauty of this planned mural project - Art speaks for us when words can't. 
 
The evolution of this idea, in my mind, is a wonderful illustration of what makes ours a great community. We are a city that actively seeks opportunities to expand our understanding of one another. We passionately stand against all discrimination, through the efforts of NOT IN OUR TOWN (NOIT), and we ignite the spark of compassion in our future leaders by providing students with opportunities to meet and interact with those who live differently through the McLEAN COUNTY DIVERSITY PROJECT. And those are just two examples.

Bloomington/Normal is full of extraordinary people doing amazing things. 
 
When I was first approached about the idea of creating something lasting that would speak to this community's heart, I didn't hesitate. Though my previous explorations with the Diversity Project have been theatrical, I was especially pleased that I was asked about a mural, for that is something the Downtown Bloomington Association is quite passionate about. Through our Public Art Committee, we have added 4 murals to the downtown landscape in the last five years. We envision a city with art on every corner!

With this mural collaboration, scholars from the Diversity Project will be depicting the mission statement of NOT IN OUR TOWN on a prominent wall in our community. I am still awaiting confirmation on the exact location, but if things go as I hope, it will be stellar! 
 
The scholars will participate in a series of workshops that will incorporate conversation and creation, and I may even throw some theatre scenes at them, to help solidify our understanding of what our efforts mean - to us, to this community, and to the generations that follow.

In addition to the mural, original music, inspired by the message, will be composed by a couple of scholars, and those recordings will be added to the NOIT website.

Great things really do happen when we all work together. 

I am honored to be working on this project, and look forward to taking every step with these wonderful students.

NIOT:B/N Gathers Input for School/Campus Strategies

During the McLean County Diversity Project's Annual Retreat at East Bay Camp this week, local students were working in groups identifying issues at their schools and proposing a "Not In Our School" (NIOS) plan/campaign for the fall.

Retired Bloomington educator and Not In Our Town: Bloomington/Normal leader Camille Taylor presented NIOT/NIOS concept and participated in a variety of exercises with students.

Meanwhile, Faye Freeman Smith, co-chair of NIOT:B/N's Education Committee, is spearheading a Not On Our Campus (NOOC) initiative for college-aged students to kick off in the fall. 

During Heartland Community College's Springfest earlier this week, NIOT manned a Pledge Card table along with a 10-question survey Freeman Smith designed to determine campus climate/issues for her to target as the NOOC focus.

Students, faculty, and staff stopped by the table and the LGBT Pride group had cards at their table, as well.

NIOT:B/N's Mary Aplington, Anne Libert, Jamillah Gilbert, Faye Freeman Smith, and Camille Taylor. Freeman Smith is seen here with Heartland mascot Hunter the Hawk.