October 19, 2006

Briefs

Oct. 20-22 > Homecoming

Northwestern alumnus Stephen Colbert, star and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated late-night series on Comedy Central, “The Colbert Report,” will serve as Grand Marshal for the Homecoming Parade this weekend (Oct. 20-22).

During the 7 p.m., Oct. 20, Marching Band Homecoming Concert and Pep Rally at Cahn Auditorium, the Wildcat Marching Band will perform pre-game, half-time and Ryan Field favorites including during a program directed by School of Music faculty member Daniel J. Farris. Guests will include Willie the Wildcat, members of Northwestern's football coaching staff and the Ladycats Dance Team. Admission is free and seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis.

The 2006 Homecoming Parade begins at 8 p.m., Oct. 20 at the intersection of Sheridan Road and Chicago Avenue and proceeds north on Sheridan Road to Lincoln Street. This year’s Homecoming week theme is “Roll Out The Purple Carpet” inspired by Hollywoo’s Walk of Fame.

Football fans also are invited to help greet the University’s football team when it arrives at Ryan Field by joining the Wildcat Marching Band and singing the Northwestern “Fight Song” at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21 during the Walk With Us event. Meet at the corner of Ashland and Walker Way (the driveway between Ryan Field and Welsh-Ryan area).

The 9 a.m. Saturday pre-game Wildcat Alley Alumni Tailgate party at Rocky Miller Park, at the corner of Ashland and Isabella, is open to the public. The tailgate party will end at 10:45 a.m.

The 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21 Homecoming Game at Ryan Field will pit the Wildcats against the Michigan State Spartans.

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Oct. 21 > Sweet Tea: A performance in the words of black, gay men of the South

How do gay black men survive life in Dublin, Ga., Jasper, Texas, Hickory, N.C., and other places big and small in America’s South? The answers to this and other questions asked of 70 gay, African American men living in the South by a Northwestern professor are the basis of “Sweet Tea,” a dramatic reading Saturday, Oct. 21. Free and open to the public, “Sweet Tea” will be performed at 8 p.m. in the Wallis Theatre of the Theatre and Interpretation Center

A riff on the South’s favorite beverage, its use of “tea” as a word for gossip and on pejorative terms for gays (“he’s got a little sugar in his blood”), “Sweet Tea” is based on a book about gay black life in the South. The book by E. Patrick Johnson, also titled “Sweet Tea,” will be published by University of North Carolina Press. Johnson’s dramatic reading will be the final event of a free, one-day “Black Performance Studies” symposium featuring speakers on topics from African theatre to African American feminism.

“Black queer life in the South has gone largely undocumented,” says Johnson, the Northwestern associate professor and chair of performance studies who conducted his face-to-face interviews between August 2004 and September 2005. “Histories of gay life have focused on urban areas on the east and west coasts, perhaps because the South is perceived as an inhospitable place for gays generally,” he says. “Sweet Tea” will be the first book-length study to look specifically at gay black men living south of the Mason-Dixon line and is, in part, Johnson’s attempt to debunk that perception.

For more information about the 8 p.m. performance of “Sweet Tea” or about the symposium, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Norris University Center, call (847) 491-3171. For a complete schedule of the symposium, go to www.communication.northwestern.edu/performancestudies/news/blackperformance/.

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TIAA-CREF consultations available

TIAA-CREF consultants are available for private consultations regarding personal financial matters during open enrollment.

The private consultants are by appointment only and will be held at Norris University Center in Evanston or Abbott Hall in Chicago.

Consultants can help staff and faculty develop long-term strategies, determine the right allocation mix, explain basic types of investment choices and provide information on TIAA-CREF retirement income flexibility.

To make an appointment for a free counseling session, go to www.tiaa-cref.org or call (800) 842-2005.

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Oct. 24, 26 > NUSAC hosts health care information sessions

Guy Miller, associate vice president for human resources, and Tom Evans, director of benefits, will discuss new options for University health care plans for 2007 on Tuesday, Oct. 24, on the Chicago campus and Thursday, Oct. 26, on the Evanston campus,

Hosted by the Northwestern University Staff Advisory Council (NUSAC) and the department of human resources, the sessions will give staff an opportunity to learn about all the changes in health care coverage from administrators who have been deeply involved in the planning process.

The schedule follows: Noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, in the Baxter International Room 107, Kellogg School of Management, 340 E. Superior, Chicago campus, and noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, McCormick Tribune Forum.