Dear Ohio State University Student

Dear Ohio State University Student:

Thank you for your interest in applying to serve as a Program Committee Chair for the 41st Annual African American Heritage Festival. Planning the African American Heritage Festival is an exciting opportunity to assist the Office of Student Life, Multicultural Center, African American Student Initiatives and the University in planning one of Ohio State’s signature, campus and community events. The festival also serves as a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions that people of African diasporacontinue to make to our world today.

Historically known as the “Block Party” in the late 1970’s, the festival has grown from a one-day gathering at the end of the academic year, to an eight-day festival celebrating a chosen Swahili word that is connected to every program and event. This past year, we celebrated our 40thanniversary utilizing the theme, “Urithi(Legacy): Live a Life, Leave a Legacy”. Simply put, our mission was to engage the campus and local communities in activities that generated an appreciation for the African American experience.

As we work diligently to lay the groundwork for the 41st festival, we are looking for dedicated, involved and hard-working students who want to make the upcomingprograms and events unforgettable. We encourage you to apply.

Please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Katherine Betts, at 614-688-8449 or , Chris Travers at ,Yonatan Tsige at , or Kamaria Thomas at f you have any additional questions or concerns. Thank you again for your interest and we look forward to receiving your application.

Sincerely,

Katherine Betts, Overall Advisor
African American Student Initiatives
Multicultural Center-Office of Student Life / Chris Travers, Graduate Administrative Associate
African American Student Initiatives
Multicultural Center-Office of Student Life
Yonatan Tsige, Co-Overall Chair
40thAnnual African American Heritage Festival / Kamaria Thomas, Co-Overall Chair
40th Annual African American Heritage Festival
Application Process: Applications for Program Committee Chairs will be accepted from March30 to April 13, 2018 at 5p.m.. A complete application must include the following items: aProgram Committee Chair Application, Advising Reportand Resume.
Please submit all items electronically to , by 5 p.m. on April13, and CC . For additional information or questions about the application process, please contact Katherine Betts in the Student Life Multicultural Center in the Ohio Union or by email at , Chris Travers at , Yonatan Tsige at , or Kamaria Thomas at . Your application is not complete until all requested items have been received.

PROGRAM COMMITTEE CHAIR APPLICATION

Today’s Date:

Name:Preferred Name:

Mailing Address: Apt/Unit:

Zip Code:E-Mail Address:

Current Academic Year (FR/SO/JR/SR):

Major: Minor:

Expected Graduation Date: Cumulative GPA:

Main Phone Number:Secondary Contact Number:

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

(Please TYPE your responses to the following questions)

1. What strengths do you bring to the African American Heritage Festival Planning Committee? How do you see yourself growing through this leadership experience?

2. Please discuss previous leadership experiences that may be useful in planning this year’s Heritage Festival?

3. What skills do you have to facilitate the success of the specific committee(s) you are interested in co-chairing?

4. Case Studies

A) You are currently the vice president of Black Student Leaders of OSU (BSLO). You are also the chair of Town Hall Forum (THF) for the 41stHeritage Festival. It is spring semester and you have been picking up the slack for the president of BSLO’s lack of leadership for two semesters and the general body of BSLOis ready to impeach your president. They have asked you to head up the proceedings for the impeachment and also want you to take over the presidency immediatelyfollowing the impeachment. Your THF committee was at a solid five members, but only two have been showing up for the last three meetings. You heard indirectlythrough the “grapevine”, that the other three members do not plan on returning to the committee to help with Town Hall Forum for the rest of the semester.

How would you handle resolving these issues?

B) It is the week before the 41stAfrican American Heritage Festival and you have proudly served as the Co-Chair for Variety Show all year. You walk into one of yourclasses and notice the official poster you worked on all year for the week of events is hanging up in the class. There is about 10 minutes before class beginsand you sit behind Jim, a white male sophomore from Chillicothe and Ali, an African American junior from Cleveland. They are discussing the Festival andyou overhear their conversation saying that they don’t see the purpose in having a week-long festival and specifically Jim doesn’t feel invited to the space.

How would you handle this situation?

Committee Preference Ranking

Please number 1 to 10in priority order the committee(s) you are interested in chairing or co-chairing (with 1 being the highest desired chair position and 10 being the least desired chair position). The number in parenthesis indicates the numberof chair position(s) available for the committee.Numbers are subject to change at the discretion of the overall chairs and advisor.

Mahogany Moments (5)

Gospel Festival (6)

OSU Reads/Scholarship (1)

Kick Off (2)

Poetry Showcase (3)

Variety Show (7)

Word on the Street (4)

Volunteer Coordinator (8)

Theme Thursday(9)

Communications/Marketing (10) *If this is your number one preference position, you will need to complete a separate application*

Complete and submitaProgram Committee Chair Application, Advising Report,and Resume,electronically y 5 p.m., Friday,April 13, 2018 and CC . Interviews will begin the following week. More information will be provided after applications are due. Your application is notcomplete until all requested items have been submitted.

Please note, all selected committee chairs are REQUIRED to attend the following heritage festival events:aCommittee Chair Retreat on Friday and Saturday at the beginning of fall semester, Overall Planning Meetings, Overall Chair-Adviser 1-1 meetings, committee chair meetings, and all Heritage Festival events.Absence from any of these meetings is subject to final approval by Overall Adviser. All final dates for heritage festival events will beposted on the heritage festival website, and provided to each committee chair.

All overall planning meetings will take place on Mondays at 7 p.m. in the Hale Center.

PROGRAM COMMITTEE DESCRIPTIONS

ALL Chairs are expected to form a working committee and meet with this group on a regular basis outside regularly scheduled AAHF Planning Committee Meetings and keep abreast of the work and products of other committees. Regular communication with other committee chairs, overall chairs and advisors is essential. Committee chairs are expected to attend all committee meetings to hear and share progress.

Communications/Marketing

• These committee chairs will work in conjunction with Student Life Marketing to help with the overall communications and marketing of the African American Heritage Festival. Committee chairs will work hand-in-hand to design, schedule and implement publicity, advertising, press releases and community relations’ projects on and off campus.

OSU Reads/Scholarship

• Scholarship: As the African American Heritage Festival marks its 41st Anniversary; it also commemorates eight years of awarding scholarships to deserving high school, undergraduate and graduate students. The chair is responsible for developing a creative essay question based on that year’s theme and requirements for the scholarship. The responsibilities of this committee chair also include soliciting applicants and reviewing scholarship applicants. The scholarship will be awarded at the discrepancy of the committee.
• OSU/Columbus Reads: One of the most important events that occur during the week is OSU Reads. It is an event occurring throughout the entire week of the festival. During the event, local area youth in grades Kindergarten – 2nd grade visit our campus. Volunteers read books, poems and other literary forms of expression prominent in the Black culture. The event serves to emphasize the great significance of reading, a fundamental tool, and how it contributes to their overall educational success.

Mahogany Moments

• A well-known and respected tradition, Mahogany Moments, is a semi-formal affair that ends our week in style and elegance. Mahogany Moments is held at an eloquent venue – often with a full course dinner and dance to follow. The chairs will be responsible for planning every aspect of Mahogany Moments, including choosing entertainment, venue and the dinner menu.

Gospel Fest

• Since slavery, Gospel has been an integral aspect of the Black identity assisting in our survival of oppression through spiritual uplifting. The Gospel Festival was introduced, providing a critical element of the Black community and celebrating heritage. Local and national artists and church choirs are invited to show reverence to God. Those of all religious backgrounds are welcome. The chairs will be responsible with helping to select national, regional, or local artists that offer artistic expression within the genre of gospel music. This event requires logistical planning for large groups, experience in gospel music performance, and the ability to design and implement a large concert.

Kick-Off

• The Kick-Off celebration is a highly energized showcase of fun and activities for every age group. The purpose of this event is to introduce the festival to the campus and city of Columbus. We share this event with various Columbus groups, such as African dance and youth drum line teams. The event is the beginning of a weeklong celebration, and should set the tone for the festival. It requires experience in planning large events such as carnivals and artistic cabarets. This event may require individuals that think outside the box and create a new experience that can showcase the upcoming week of the festival.

Poetry Showcase

• The Poetry Slam is a competition focused on one of the most common forms of written/oral Black expression – spoken word, and performance poetry. During the competition, students are challenged to express their work around the overall theme of the festival. This event requires knowledge of spoken word and current artists in the spoken word community. The selected chair(s) must be able to execute trials and select talent for the evening, as well as secure national and regional spoken word artists to serve as featured guests.

Variety Show

• Variety Show is a talent showcase of local and student artists. It consists of rounds where contestants are selected to move to the higher round to compete for a grand prize, or are eliminated by faculty and prominent members of the community serving as judges. Students prepare the hottest dance moves and sing with precision to be the crowned winner. It is great fun for the entire community. Committee chairs must be able to put together a variety or talent show with national and regional artists as well as Ohio State and Columbus talent. The selected chair(s) must be able to select strong talent and judges that can offer coaching and feedback to variety show participants to help them prepare for the evening. Further, committee chair(s) should also be able to plan a large event that requires a production of lights, staging, and artists.

Word on the Street

• Word on the Street is an educational dialogue held during the week of the African American Heritage Festival. It brings the Ohio State and Columbus communities together for an informative session on an issue that affects members of the Black community locally, nationally and internationally. Word on the Street is intended to provide the community with an open atmosphere to engage in dialogue and hear perspectives of experts in various fields. Guest speakers are invited to participate in the discussion. Committee chair(s) must be able to identify and develop a program around a critical issue within the Black community. Further, they should be able to help identify a presenter or a public figure that is a content matter expert in the area being explored. This event also requires the ability to create and implement a forum for the campus community.

Volunteer Coordinator

• This person is responsible for soliciting volunteers needed to implement programs occurring during the entire Heritage Festival week. The chair should facilitate an orientation program for all volunteers, and establish and maintain a volunteer command post during the week of the African American Heritage Festival. This chair will work in conjunction with the other Committee Chairs to determine the number of volunteers needed along with detailed descriptions of volunteer roles.

Theme Thursday

• This event usually takes place Thursdays of the African American Heritage Festival. This committee is responsible for creating an event that creatively displays the theme of the festival that year. Past events have included a diasporic conversation Black Living Across Cultures (BLAC), Dismantling the Master’s House with Symone Sanders and a Life Class with author Tamara Winfrey Harris. The chair should be flexible and able to think creatively about ways in which we can continue to be innovative as a festival.

Contact Persons:

Katherine H. Betts
Overall Advisor
/ Chris Travers
Graduate Advisor

Yonatan Tsige
Co-Overall Chair

/ Kamaria Thomas
Co-Overall Chair