Newspapers / Bennett College Student Newspaper / Sept. 20, 1985, edition 1 / Page 3
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1985 THE BENNETT BANNER PAGE THREE /'.X Belle broadens understanding of world August occasion; Talia McCray responds to the welcome of the junior class at the luncheon given for freshmen. Dr. Nelloulse Watkins presided over the affair, and Mrs. Effle E. Miller gave a spirited greeting to the new class, (photo by Keith Miller) U.S. aids foreign lands To the EMitor: “Live Aid,” “Band Aid,” “We Are The World” and “U.S.A. For Africa” are familiar words that bring to mind the human tragedy of drought and famine that has plagued the peoples of developing countries that most Americans had never heard of one year ago. There is a new awareness in America, an awareness that each of us can make a difference. The Yuppie mentality of our more re cent past is giving way to a re surgence of compassion and con cern about how we can best help our brothers and sisters of the world face the complex human problems that have confounded humanity throughout the ages. The Peace Corps, a United States government agency, has been a partner in that effort for 25 years. Almost 25 years ago, then-pre sidential candidate John F. Kennedy tossed out an im promptu challenge to thousands of University of Michigan stu dents: “How many of you go ing to be doctors are willing to spend your days in Ghana?” To his astonishment, a petition signed by more than 800 students af firming their interest reached him just two days later. Since that time more than 120,- 000 Americans have served in the Peace Corps in more than 90 countries around the globe. There are now 6,000 Peace Corps volun teers serving in 60 countries, more than half of whom- are in volved in agriculture and agricul- turai-related projects. Individual volunteers can proudly point to their accomplish ments as catalysts for self-help projects. Michael Shean, 27, com pleted a remarkable task of sur veying the soil of one million acres of terrain in Nepal; he re cently extended his two-year as signment for another year to oversee $1 million worth of pro jects which will triple the amount of available farmland. Lynn Blalock, 63, enhanced the quality of native sheep in Bar bados through better animal nu trition, which improved the diet of the Caribbean people, increased the income of farmers and de creased costly meat imports. These brief examples are in tended to highlight the work of Peace Corps volunteers in the area of food production. Their ef forts and these of their host coun try co-workers are helping to create a foundation of hope and promise for a future free of hunger, disease, poverty and illi teracy. Together these collective contributions of people helping people in the remote corners of the world demonstrate more than any other measurement the caring and compassion that oan be shared when one is given the opportun ity to offer one’s time and talent. Peace Corps volunteers receive extensive skill, language and cross cultural training and are provided medical care transpor tation, and student loan defer ments. Additionally, they are paid a monthly living allowance and a readjustment sum of ap proximately $4,500 upon comple tion of service. For information call 800-424- 8580. Tyler’s theme is the ambiguous nature of family life A review by Laura Nelson Dinner At The Homesick Rsetau- rant. By Anne Tyler Berkeley Books, 1982. $3.50. Anne Tyler creates the starkest reality of a family in Dinner At The Homesick Res taurant. The Tulls are a close family sharing the kind of love that only family members under stand. The Tulls—P earl, mother and sole provider, and her children, Cody, Ezra and Jenny — take the reader on a journey into the secrets, joys, and horrors of family life. The story begins as Pearl and Beck Tull begin a life of their own. As their children are born, there are triumphs and defeats. The reader shares the hardship of Beck Tull’s desertion of his wife and children. From that point on, the Tulls clash and fall into the pattern all families seem to have in common: keeping their darkest and most feared secrets from others. Pearl goes through each day, living a facade. The Tull children must endure her oc casional rages. Above these rages are Pearl’s endless nights and days of faithful love to her children. Cody and Jenny share a way of dis tantly loving their mother while Ezra gives love freely. As the family matures, the idea that one can never ex plain the essence of a family appears. The children branch off and begin to make lives for themselves. The central theme is created by the reno vation of Ezra’s restaurant. The Homesick Restaurant symbolizes all the hope, faith and love Ezra feels for his family. Whenever Ezra has something important to an nounce to his family, the Tulls gather at the restaurant. Yet, the family never finishes a meal because of fights or dis putes. Jenny, the only daughter, goes through many marriages seeking someone she does not have to be distant to. Jenny desperately attempts to rid herself of family memories only to find that attempt im possible when she, as her mother did her, begins to abuse her daughter. Jenny reflects, “Was this what it came to that you never could escape? That cer tain things were doomed to continue generation after generation ?” Cody, the oldest, seems to think little of his family and only wants power and riches. Cody carries a jealousy for Ezra that even he does not understand. Although he mar ries the woman Ezra loves, his jealousy is never aband oned. As Pearl grows older, she muses over the exper iences of her family. She wonders what secrets other families hide. Longing for the closeness that other families share, she questions why her family could not be as close. Tyler shows through the feel ings of each family member that people often wonder what makes other families better and if those families have secrets they do not wish others to know. The coming together of the Tull family occurs after Pearl’s death. Beck, the long absent father, reappears. In this deeply moving and brilliantly writ ten scene, the members of the family are forced to abandon their egos. Anne Tyler creates in the Tull family a family that readers can, in more than one way, relate to. Her characters are filled with life and the emotions all people experience —love, hate, anger and resent ment that make families uni que yet so similar. Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant gives the reader a sense of enlightment and fulfillment, for Tyler offers a look into the ambiguous nature of family life. by Tricia Hairston While many students were “chilling out” at the beach, seeing their boyfriends and punching time clocks, junior LaVada Day was studying at Cambridge University and immersing herself in Euro pean culture. “It was a thrill to see the ancient buildings and the cul tivated land, farmers, cows and horses,” she says. LaVada’s first stop was Lakenheath, England. “The place made me feel like I was going back into time. The farmers were also storekeep ers and they sold the goods raised on the farm in the stores,” she recalls. Day was impressed with Cambridge where she took pre-calculus. She describes the school as “a very open atmosphere. Students were everywhere on bicycles. They are very serious about their education. They go to school all year, and they only study courses in their major.” Her calculus teacher was “very sweet and understand ing although it was sort of hard for me to understand her.” She also stated that “one needs to know a foreign language because the people there know at least two lan guages.” In London, LaVada visited Buckingham Palace. “I didn’t go into the palace. I just looked through the gates. You couldn’t go in. The guards were on patrol all day, and they step very high when walking. It was really funny how they hold on to that ancient tradition. Also you can’t enter the House of Par- liment, either,” she explains. Another side of her tour included seeing how the poor lived. “To me, I didn’t see a middle class; it was either well-to-do or not too well-to- do,” she says. “Before going to Paris, I had to pass a ghetto, and it was very sad. The streets are littered and the people live in ‘breakfast houses’; that means one room serves as a kitchen and bedroom while the bathroom is down the hall where you share it with other families.” She continues: “It was very ironic because we stopped there before going to Paris where everything is beautiful and exciting. The rent is also very high for the breakfast houses.” LaVada compares London to New York: “There were a lot of nice cars, big houses and street vendors. They even had a little Chinatown.” Not much was said about Shake speare and “the people there were very interested in Michael Jackson, Madonna and punk rock.” They criti cized Reagan, dressed like Michael and Madonna and al so very punk. “Some of the styles I simply could not be lieve,” Day says. The blacks there “kept to themselves and sort of took a backseat to society. This upset me because I never saw one expressing himself.” LaVada wouldn’t want to live there because “they only show old movies on TV such as Clark Gable and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. There’s no cable TV and most of the houses have no central heat ing.” But she adds, “I would love to study over there be cause they are dedicated when it comes to education.” Being an American made LaVada appreciate the things we take for granted: “Living here is much easier — the freedom of choice we have being able to pursue life, lib erty and happiness.” Overall, Europe “enhanced my knowledge on different things relating to history,” she says. “It’s a big change learning about the European culture in Mrs. Addo’s history class and actually seeing it.” Fashion and Broadway trip planned Support your SGA If you’ve ever wanted an inside look at the world of fashion, you’ll have a chance to fulfill your dream during spring break. The home economics de partment is coordinating an off-campus program in New York City for undergraduate and continuing education stu dents interested in design, retailing and advertising, ac cording to Dr. Geraldine Ray. The New York Fashion/ Merchandising visit will oc cur March 9-14. Participants will get a be hind-the-scenes look at a var iety of companies in the heart of the U.S. fashion industry and learn about fashion career opportunities. The program will include guided tours of the show rooms and workrooms of ap parel and fashion accessories manufacturers. Students will view the latest designs, and hear insiders discuss the de velopment of the new designs. At deartment stores like Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s as well as trendy boutiques, stu dents will see first-hand how new merchandise is presented in exciting ways to potential customers. Group members will visit extensive fashion collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and at the Fashion Institute of Technology to discover the historical backgrounds of many “new” fashion inspira tions. “The New York Fashion/ Merchandising visit is care fully designed to broaden stu dents’ understanding of past. current and future trends in the industry in which they plan to make careers,” Dr. Ray explained. The program is being ar ranged to Dr. Ray’s specifica tions through Campus/New York, a company whose fash ion consultant is Florence Lentz, former fashion editor of Seventeen Magazine. For 15 years the fashion director for Burlington Industries, Lentz is now a member of the faculties of The Berkeley Schools and the Fashion Ins titute of Technology. During their New York stay, students will have time for sight-seeing and shop ping. They will also attend evening performances of two Broadway plays. Interested students can reach Dr. Ray during her office hours at 210 Black Hall or call extension 143. Trip-from page 1 business on her own by trad ing jeans and perfume for sculptures. Adams is already planning chapter 100 in her quest for more enlightenment. She wants to teach in Africa as part of an exchange program. “It would really benefit me to do it. There’s so much I can do to further my deve lopment,” she says. Miss Penny Hill to be crowned Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.
Bennett College Student Newspaper
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Sept. 20, 1985, edition 1
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