Bennington Connects

02/24/2017

We are looking for performers for the Intercultural Festival! The event will take place on Saturday, March 25 at Martha Hill at 7pm. Please email Rumana Mehdi ([email protected]) if you are interested in performing or in helping organise!

01/16/2017

Happy Martin Luther King Day everyone! This day, let's promise to do our bit to get rid of racism, s*xism and to advocate for equal rights!

Below is a poem by Syeda Rumana Mehdi'18 that reminds us to do what we can. Everyday.

Broken Dreams

He said that,
the moral arc
of the universe bends
at the elbow of justice.
But today we bend,
At the altar of racism,
Sexism, misogyny,
We burn the scraps of civil rights,
In the pyre of selfishness, greed and hatred,
Like vultures,
We feed off the rotting flesh of whatever is left of humanity.

Today we celebrate the legacy,
Of a man who taught us to stand up,
Who taught us to fight violence,
With non-violence,
Who taught us to dream,
Today we dream to live in a mansion,
Built by slaves,
We dream to marry women,
So that we can trample her underneath
Our feet.

Here’s to the man,
Who reminded us,
That the hottest place in Hell,
Will be reserved for those who remain neutral,
During times of moral conflict.
Here’s to the man who gave up,
His life to promote a life of equality,
A life that is valued,
And precious.
Here is to his dream,
That shatters right before our eyes.
Here is to Martin Luther King,
A legend, much needed, much loved,
Much forgotten.

10/08/2016

A bit of fun on a Friday Night - You do You!

09/19/2016

French filmmaker and journalist Rokhaya Diallo is set to screen her film, 'Steps to Liberty' at the March on Washington Film Festival today.

09/15/2016

Food for thought.

Our culture celebrates drunk hookups - but the truth about them is usually a lot murkier.

09/10/2016

A share for all those who may be interested:

Eid Prayers are happening this coming Monday (the 12th) in Williamstown! If you are interested in attending and securing a place in the van, let Selina Petschek know. Information, as posted by the International Student's page, is below.

A wonderful Saturday to you all!

06/13/2016

As the world around us is engulfed in stories of hate, violence and sorrow, the least we can do is to stand with the victims. The least we can do is to ask ourselves who and what gave us the right to punish those who we think are wrong?

Below is a poem that Syeda Rumana Mehdi'18 wrote in the light of the recent tragedy at Orlando:

The right love

When I was young,
My parents taught me,
That love was born out of love,

But they never told me,
About the rules of love,
That love is calculated,
You can never fall in love,
With the wrong person.
And who determines who is,
The wrong person?

Religion of course.
I wear my religion on my sleeve,
I may not pray five times a day,
But I've to kill a boy,
In love with a boy,
I may not fast during Ramadan,
But I'll murder a girl,
If she falls in love,
With a boy who is not from her sect.

It is my moral duty,
To spread morality.
The gun is now the new sign of morality,
The sound of the bullet is the new Azaan,
As we stand together,
Each of us holding a different Quran,
Each of us holding a different gun,
Each of us firing a different bullet,
In a different direction,
As we aim to wipe out immorality,
From planet Earth.

Why didn't my parents ever tell me,
That immorality is born out of love?
That to love someone,
Means to breach one's honor?
So fire a bullet through my chest,
For I fell in love,
With a human,
And I cant do that,
I had to fall in love,
With a man.
Because gender comes before,
Humanity.

Dig my grave next to that of an unmarked grave,
Of a victim of honor killing,
Like her, I've sinned,
And broken the rules of love.
But who gave you the right,
To shoot me?

So what if fifty people died?
So what if fifty-three people need blood?
No immoral can give blood to another immoral,
Love is not born out of love,
But death is born out of death.

I'll tell my children,
That they carry the responsibility of morality,
On their fragile shoulders,
That they have to protect everyone's honor,
And in doing so,
It is ok to kill someone,
But not ok to fall in love,
It is perfectly fine to r**e a girl in public,
But not fine at all to kiss a man in public,
It is socially unacceptable to talk about s*x,
But it is completely acceptable to hush any occurrence of marital r**e.

It is not Islam that needs to wiped off,
It is the hogwash that has brainwashed us,
It is the demonic icon of morality,
The illicit perception of love,
That needs to be thrown out,
Of our lives.

Today, we stand with Orlando,
Tomorrow, we'll stand with someone else,
And after that, we'll still be together,
Holding hands in our graves.

Tomorrow, I'll breathe my last,
Because I was physically assaulted by a man,
But a le***an wasn't allowed to give me blood,

I'll tell my children,
To carry grenades with them,
So that they can blow themselves up,
Before falling in love.

05/30/2016

Bennington Connects' core members (minus some others finishing their finals) at the well deserved ice cream social. Thank you for everyone who has been involved in whatever capacity with us this year!

05/16/2016

"Don't assume we speak African?"

What I talked about in this video: True Size of Africa: http://goo.gl/zHsYdF True Size of Africa (2): http://goo.gl/V3vm9Q Lupita Nyong'o: http://goo.gl/NYRh...

05/11/2016

Please take out a few minutes to fill out this survey for a Stats project! Please take this survey only if English is not your native language. Thanks!

SSO Login, Bennington College

05/08/2016

A massive thank you to all those who became a part of Bennington Connects at SunFest!