From HGP's Friendly House, Ben Landsverk speaks about leading the Low Bar Chorale and the importance of community singing and arts access during troubled times, and leads the audience in songs to give a feel for the Low Bar Chorale experience. Landsverk, creator of the Chorale and half of the duo “Wonderly” (who penned the NYT “The Daily” theme), has been hailed as a “prominent Portland composer” (Bloomberg Magazine) and “a unique musical talent” (Willamette Week). A Yale graduate, he has played with and orchestrated several musical luminaries and choirs for over 25 years.
The Scholarship Committee (Amanda Feller and Sue Pearce chairs) felt hope and optimism in adjudicating 27 high school essays submitted from across the Metro area. From FH, we’ll hear how these thoughtful, forthright, and earnest individuals think about their futures as informed by Humanism. Dakota Mears, 1st place, responded to the prompt "How might Humanism as a philosophy help you navigate a personal challenge in your life?” Shahzad Khosravi, 2nd, responded to "How can the application of Humanism serve a particular field or organization (e.g, your possible career interests)?” And Abigail La Brie, in 3rd, responded to "Is there a threat from religious fundamentalism to the U.S. democracy and U.S. governance? …How does Humanism respond to those threats?"
People often blame the chaotic precarious political landscape in the US on polarization and culture wars, with the wars playing out in the classrooms and campuses. Instead, Whitney Phillips and Mark Brockway argue that the seeming left-right battle is the result of 80 years of densely overlapping religious and secular messages that have transformed how we see education. Whitney Phillips is Ass’t Prof. of Inf. Politics and Media Ethics at the U of O, and author of You Are Here and Share Better and Stress Less. Mark Brockway is Assistant Teaching Professor in Pol. Sci. at Syracuse University.
Our speaker, Will Aitchison, will lead us through stages of Forest Park, from formation through the adoption in 1995 of the Forest Park Natural Resources Management Plan to restore “ancient forest”, and the city’s subsequent failure to conduct necessary scientific studies of the park. He’ll cover development pressures on the Park from mountain biking and PGE, and list organizations protecting the park, ending with a look to the future. Will Aitchison is a labor lawyer, long-time Willamette Heights resident, and president of the Coalition to Protect Forest Park.