IT Colleagues,

It is common among many cultures to celebrate the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, with holidays, festivals, and religious observances in the surrounding days. Historically, these celebrations often involved feasts of the last of perishable supplies before the harsh months of winter, but there are many different reasons to celebrate. Holidays celebrated around the world at this time include Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Eve.

Christmas: Sunday, December 25, 2022
Hanukkah: Sunday, December 18, 2022 – Monday, December 26, 2022
Kwanzaa: Monday, December 26, 2022 – Monday, January 1, 2023

We hope that each of you have a safe and happy winter break spent with those close to you.

Thank you,
The SJSU IT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

IT Colleagues,

November is Native American Heritage Month, or as it is commonly referred to, American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month.

The month is a time to celebrate rich and diverse cultures, traditions, and histories and to acknowledge the important contributions of Native people. Heritage Month is also an opportune time to educate the general public about tribes, to raise a general awareness about the unique challenges Native people have faced both historically and in the present, and the ways in which tribal citizens have worked to conquer these challenges.

Learn more at https://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/ and read the Muwekma Ohlone SJSU Area Land Acknowledgement at https://www.sjsu.edu/diversity/land-acknowledgement/

Thank you,
The SJSU IT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

IT Colleagues,

I just wanted to take a few moments of your time to share a couple of things with you, starting with our awesome new shirts. I hope you will all wear these on Thursday, Oct. 27th.

Homecoming and NCSAM

October is an exciting month on campus! Not only is it National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), but it’s also Homecoming. To reinforce a campus culture of cyber security awareness, we’ve ordered t-shirts for everyone in the division. I’d like to encourage everyone to wear their SJSU IT Cyber Security shirts on Thursday, October 27. If you haven’t gotten yours yet, reach out to Willie and she’ll hook you up with one. If you can make it, there will be a quick meetup at the SJSU IT Service Desk at 11:30 am that day for a division photo. I hope to see you there.

I want to thank the Information Security team for their work coordinating with the campus and the CSU on NCSAM events and campaigns, such as the FBI Financial and Cyber Crime Webinar and the Cybersecurity Games: Cole Gunter, Janice Lew, Noel McCormick, and Marco Scardina. I also want to thank Willie Simon and the Service Desk team (Alfred Eclipse, John Hanley, Celine Mingfield, Eric Pan, Sharon Watkins, and Trevor Wylie) for getting these shirts into everyone’s hands.

Sparta Awards Reminder

A few weeks ago, we opened up nominations for this year’s individual and team Sparta Awards. The deadline is coming fast: October 31st! There’s still time to get your submission in and let everyone know about the amazing things your co-workers have done.

Fill out this Google Form with a brief description of your colleague’s work and how they meet the selection criteria to enter them for the award. As always, you can read about past winners and reference selection criteria on our website. I look forward to reading all about your colleagues’ success.

As always, if you ever want to connect, you can drop by my open office hours from 2 pm to 4 pm every Thursday. That’s time I set aside to be available for anyone and everyone in the division. And thank you again for all you do.

Thanks.
Bob-

Diwali or Deepavali (deep – lamp, vali – row), the Festival of Lights, is the biggest festival and is celebrated as an official holiday in twelve countries, including India. This year, the five days of Diwali begin October 22 with the main celebration happening on October 24, the day of the new moon. Diwali symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.

Observed by more than a billion people across multiple faiths, Diwali is celebrated with prayer, feasts, family, fireworks and, for some, a new year. For Hindus, it is associated with the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya, after his 14 years of exile and victory over the demon Ravana. On that day, he was welcomed to the kingdom of Ayodhya with rows of Diyas (lamps), lit throughout the kingdom. Thus, there is a tradition of lighting oil lamps that symbolize the victory of good over evil and freedom from spiritual darkness. In Southern India and in South East Asian countries, Deepavali is celebrated to mark the victory of Lord Krishna over the evil demon Narakasura. In this tradition, Krishna’s slaying of this demon symbolizes the innate ability in every human to overcome negativity and rise to new possibilities. You can learn more at https://isha.sadhguru.org/ca/en/blog/article/diwali-festival-of-lights.

A central theme of Diwali is family, with the fourth day reserved to celebrate the bond between partners and the fifth day for siblings. It’s a time to wear your best new clothes, gather together with the ones you love to eat good food, light diyas, shoot fireworks, and exchange gifts and well wishes.

There will be a Diwali Celebration hosted by some of your SJSU IT colleagues on Thursday, October 27 in the CC 2nd floor break room from 12:45pm to 2:00pm. There will be Indian sweets and savories to enjoy along with the company of your coworkers. Please note that this is not a SJSU IT-funded event.

It’s our hope that each of you and your families have a bright Diwali.

Shubh Diwali,
The SJSU IT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

IT Colleagues,

Dussehra, also known as Navaratri, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated every year celebrating the victory of good over evil. This year Navaratri celebration started on September 26 and ends on Wednesday, October 5.

Hindus observe a 10-day ceremony of fasting, rituals and celebrations during the Hindu month of Ashwin and Kartik. People across India throng to see a recital or enactment of the epic “Ramayana” stage plays during Navaratri nights. On the tenth day, also known as Vijayadashami, the festival is concluded by marking the triumph of Lord Rama over the demon ten-headed Ravana. Dussehra also symbolizes the triumph of the warrior Goddess Durga over the buffalo demon Mahishasura.

Many look forward to Dussehra as the end of India’s hot summer and the start of cooler winter months. You can learn more about the festival at https://www.festivalsofindia.in/dussehra.

The SJSU IT DEI Committee would like to wish everyone a Happy Dussehra.

Best Regards,
The SJSU IT Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee