Springfield – The World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts and the Polish Center of Discovery and Learning will present a lecture featuring Dr. Wiktor Askanas, Professor Emeritus of the University of New Brunswick on Poland in the Context of Current Political and Economic Turbulence. The program will take place on Tuesday, April 8 from 4 to 6 pm at 1350 Main Street, 9th Floor Gallery, in downtown Springfield. The event is free and open to the public but pre-registration is required. Light refreshments will be served.

Dr. Wiktor Askanas is a distinguished academic and corporate leader with expertise in strategic management, governance, and international business. With a career spanning Canada, Poland, and beyond, he has held leadership positions in academia, government, and corporate boards. Recognized for his contributions to management education and corporate governance, Dr. Askanas continues to shape the field through teaching, research, and advisory roles.

For tickets, visit Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/poland-in-the-context-of-current-political-and-economic-turbulence-tickets-1303386266409?aff=oddtdtcreator.

The World Affairs Council will present Dr. Kavita Khory, Ruth Lawson Professor of Politics and Carol Hoffmann Collins Director of the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives at Mount Holyoke College, at an Instant Issues brown bag discussion on Wednesday, April 29 at noon in the 9th Floor Gallery at 1350 Main Street in downtown Springfield. Dr. Khory will speak about the rise of emerging powers in the international system and the implications for US foreign policy.

Visit the World Affairs Council Western Massachusetts Facebook page.

A holiday commemorating a civil rights leader’s birthday is fast approaching, but it’s not recognized the same way in every state, including Massachusetts.

In a handful of states, March 31 is Cesar Chavez Day. The date corresponds with the birthday of Chavez, a farm worker and civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers in the 1960s.

Through “humility and non-violent methods,” Chavez led strikes and marches “to better the lives of farmworkers,” according to the Los Angeles County Library’s website. In 1994, Chavez was awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom following his death the year before.

San Francisco first recognized Chavez’s birthday as a city holiday in 1994, El País reported in 2023.

In 2014, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day, a federal commemorative holiday. The holiday marks Chavez’s birth and his legacy.

“Raised into the life of a migrant farm worker, he toiled alongside men, women, and children who performed daily, backbreaking labor for meager pay and in deplorable conditions,“ Obama said in his proclamation. ”They were exposed to dangerous pesticides and denied the most basic protections, including minimum wages, health care, and access to drinking water.”

While a commemorative holiday, Cesar Chavez Day is not a national holiday — something Obama vocally supported in 2008 and 2011, El País reported.

However, the day is a state holiday in nine states: California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota, Nevada, Utah and Wisconsin. While not a state holiday in Washington state, it is observed there.

Despite the designations, Cesar Chavez Day is recognized differently. In Texas and Colorado, the holiday is optional. In Tuscon, Arizona, Cesar Chavez Day is a paid holiday.

State offices and schools in California are closed for the day, though schools are not required to close for the state holiday, according to state law. Colorado’s state offices must remain open, Time and Date reported. In the other states that commemorate Cesar Chavez Day, public events are typically scheduled on or around March 31 to recognize Chavez’s life and legacy.

As Massachusetts does not recognize Cesar Chavez Day, state offices and schools will be open on Monday, March 31.

An international student at Tufts University says the arrest of graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk has him careful about his movements around the area, calling it unprecedented fear. 

“I’m scared, my parents are scared,” said the student who did not want to be identified. 

Ozturk, an international student on a visa, was handcuffed and taken away by plainclothes federal agents late Tuesday afternoon, some wearing masks. Some in the community are calling it a kidnapping. 

“You come to a country where you’re told there’s rule of law, and certain guaranteed constitutional rights for everyone on the land, and you see what seems like flagrant violations of that happening, it’s natural that I’d be pretty scared,” the student said. 

The Department of Homeland Security claims Ozturk supports the activities of Hamas, without providing any evidence. 

Immigration attorney on arrest

Immigration attorney Stephen Roth calls it unusual to remove her from Massachusetts or New England, and believes it was deliberate to send her to Louisiana. 

“I believe it is a way for them to separate her from her attorney, from her friends, from her family and her ability to have contact with people in her jurisdiction who are able to help her,” Roth told WBZ. 

Her attorney has appealed to the courts for her return. 

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell says the federal government refuses to answer many questions about a student here lawfully. 

“Where was she in the first 24 hours, why is she being detained?” Campbell said. “What are the allegations, has she violated any laws, does she have a criminal record?” 

International students wary

Tufts has reminded international students to carry documentation with them. The student who spoke with WBZ says the arrest has him rethinking his future plans for graduate studies in the U.S. 

“I feel like I have to suppress and sort of lay low in public, but at least on campus I haven’t felt that I needed to,” the student said. “Everybody I’ve spoken to has been really supportive and understanding of the situation and that’s been a silver lining.” 

Demonstrations in support of Ozturk have drawn hundreds, but Roth says it’s that kind of outspokenness that international students now must be wary of. 

“If you are out there protesting, posting online, then yes you are now what I believe to be a target by the United States government, even though your right to free speech is protected by the First Amendment,” Roth said.