The Diversity Leadership Transcript Program’s Autumn Quarter Career Event was hosted Monday by the Multicultural Center and Leadership Transcript Program. The event kicked off with two poster presentations by Taqdees Khan and Erin Michel about social justice issues. The DLTP group hosted these women because the issues they addressed related to social justice, which is a large focus of the DLTP group, said Rachel Gibson, a graduate student in nursing and graduate administrative assistant for the multi-cultural center.

“This event is one of many events that will be hosted by the program,” Gibson said. “It fulfills a requirement for members of the Diversity Leadership Transcript Program working towards a certificate in intercultural awareness in community engagement.”

Khan and Michel, both first-year graduate students in social work, began the program with discussions on honor killing and addiction treatment.

Khan said most honor killings occur when a woman has “shamed” her family name. This can be a result of rape, adultery and a marriage by choice.

“This happens in America,” Khan said. “It’s happened in Georgia and Texas.” In Georgia, A young woman was killed by her father for trying to divorce an arranged marriage to a cousin twice her age. Her father was arrested and prosecuted. A similar situation took place in Texas, but the killer was not found.

Michel’s presentation addressed addiction treatment for women.

“The importance of women’s issue’s focused addiction treatment is to incorporate structural issues and oppression in to the treatment services, so women can become empowered and over come their addictions,” said Michel, a first-year graduate student in social work. “Issues include poverty and sexual violence.” Michel discussed methods of treatment in her presentation, such as 12-step meetings and issue integrated therapy, which she said proved to be ineffective.

The opening speakers complemented keynote speaker Wanda Dillard, who spoke about her research on injustice in health care.

“We need something that says everyone has a right to health care,” said Dillard, who is the director of community development at the OSU Medical Center. “We need our civil rights to be up to par for the 21st century.”

For more information, visit the Multicultural Center Web site at www.multiculturalcenter.osu.edu.

Belinda Heiman can be reached at [email protected].