February 23, 2007

SJECCD contingent visits Evergreen’s Gurdwara Sikh temple

One of San José/Evergreen Community College District Chancellor Rosa Pérez’ favorite things to do is to learn about the community that is served by the colleges under her guidance, Evergreen Valley and San José City.

On Feb. 1, she and an eager contingent of District office vice chancellors and department heads, as well as presidents, employees and deans from Evergreen Valley and San José City Colleges were invited by Board of Trustees member Balbir Dhillon to visit San José’s Gurdwara Sikh temple.

Dhillon, who is the newest Board of Trustees member and also the vice president of the temple, graciously hosted his new colleagues on a tour of the Gurdwara, sharing information about Sikhism, and entertaining his guests with hymnal music and a freshly prepared vegetarian meal.

“Sikhism is over 500 years old and is practiced by over 20 million people worldwide,” said Dhillon. “ My religion believes in only one God, recognizes the equality of all people, and we reject idolatry, ritualism, and the caste system. I was pleased that Chancellor Pérez and so many others from the District were eager to learn about my temple, religion and way of life.”

The tour was arranged by Evergreen Valley College librarian Joy Chase because of interest expressed by several staff members at Evergreen Valley College wanting to visit the temple.

“We were a bit shy of going by ourselves so we decided the best thing to do was to include others,” said Chase. “When Trustee Dhillon offered to give us a tour, we were delighted. I’m happy that Chancellor Pérez included so many District and college administrators. This is only the first tour as I’m sure there will be many others.”

“What an honor it was to learn about Sikhism and to be exposed to the exciting and ancient Sikh culture,” added Evergreen Valley College President David Wain Coon. “I am proud that the EVC campus is a diverse place, and I am looking forward to exposing our students to a culture and belief system that has something to offer each and every one of us.”

Individuals accompanying Chancellor Pérez, Trustee Dhillon, President Coon and Joy Chase also included Vice Chancellor Ron Root, Director of Facilities and Maintenance Robert Dias, Vice Chancellor Anita Morris, District Police Chief Ray Aguirre, Diversity Director Sam Ho, Director of Institutional Research Bayinaah Jones, Custodial Services Manager Bruce Gordon, along with Evergreen Valley College’s Vice President Kuni Hay, CFO Paul Lam, Webmaster Shashi Naidu, faculty members Nasreen Rahim and John Carrion, and San José City College Dean of Business and Service Careers Kishan Vujjenii.

Members of the Gurdwara who gave their time and shared their knowledge included temple General Manager Bob Gill, temple President Balwant Singh Chahal, Santa Clara University engineering professor Dr. Sukhminder Singh, Head Granthi (priest) S Mohinder Singh Bajwa, Stage Secretary Jaswant Singh Hothi, Harinder Singh Anand, Kabul Singh Dhanota, Sohan Singh Dhanota, Mehnga Singh, Harbhajan Singh Johal, Dr. Kulwant Singh Gill, and Jarnail Singh Banwait.

The San José Gurdwara is located at 3636 Murillo Ave in the Evergreen district of San José. The temple welcomes visitors seven days a week—one of Sikhism’s most important principles is “no one is a stranger, no one is an enemy”—and there are numerous times of worship throughout the week, with major services offered on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit the Gurdwara’s Website at www.sikhgurdwarasj.org.