Volume LVI, Number^ ^
Serving UNC-Wilmington since 1948
September 23, 2004
Amigos are
here to help
Barbara J, Twigg
Assistant News Editor
Amigos Intemacional is the only
agency in Wilmington specifically
targeted to the Latino community,
which is estimated to be between
5,000 and 7,000 people locally.
“There is no other group geared
to just helping the Hispanic popula
tion,” said Lucy Vasquez, founder
and executive director. “I began
it myself voluntarily in August of
1999.”
The Latino population state
wide is growing by at least 16 per
cent each year. Vasquez saw the
need, the void, and began to fill it.
“I started in the spare bedroom in
my house here in Wilmington,” she
said. “Originally, 1 wanted to help
the non-English speaking Latinos
with hurricane preparedness.”
“They didn’t speak English, so
they didn’t even know a hurricane
was coming. There are no Spanish
language television stations here, so
they didn’t know what was going
on,” Vasquez said. “They thought
maybe there was a work strike that
was closing the stores.”
One of the first things Vasquez
did was set up a hotline. “We were
just in time. Hurricane Floyd hit
right after we opened. We were far
busier than we expected to be in our
first weeks.”
Vasquez, who was bom in Los
Angeles, concentrated first on get
ting the information out to the Lati
nos about a hurric!toe preparedness
kit. “We held workshops telling
them to stock up on bottled water,
canned food, flashlights, batteries
and first aid items. We told them
where shelters were located. Any
thing we thought would help.”
see AMIGOS page 2
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What UNCW has to offer students
PhcHo Illustration by Ntcote Smith I THE S6AHAWK
MPA Caesar C. Ross III has his blood pressure checked by regis
tered nurse Catherine A. Colborn at the Student Health Center.
Alisha Gore
Senior Staff Writer
UNCW provides a wide array of
services for students. These services
include Friday night films, concerts,
and counseling services, among oth
ers. However, many students are not
aware of many of the services that
are offered. Some on-campus orga
nizations are currently taking or
have already taken action to inform
students about the services that they
offer. Earlier this year, for example,
the Student Government Association
sent out a survey informing students
of programs offered by the SGA.
“We offer a lot [like] discounted
faxing,” Jessica Madden, SGA at-
large representative said.
SGA and other on-campus orga
nizations were busy informing stu
dents of the services that* they offer
at the annual Involvement Carnival
held on Aug. 25, Representatives
fi-om many on-campus organiza
tions, as well as representatives
from area businesses, encouraged
students to participate in their pro
grams. Students had the option of
learning more about organizations
that were of interest to them.
The Involvement Carnival
provided an opportunity for first-
semester freshmen and transfer
students to learn about all of the ser
vices and programs that UNCW has
to offer. One program that is directly
geared to freshmen is the Protege
and Leader Program.
“The Protege and Leader
Program was developed by the
Office of Campus Diversity to help
provide a welcoming and supportive
environment at UNCW for freshmen
see UNCW page!
From the convoys to the classroom
Jaclyn Thomas
Correspondent
As students all over the 50 states
return to college this fall, they could
be among our war heroes.
It may be hard to grasp the con
cept that men and women returning
home passed up college in order to
fight the war on terror.
Michael Hehng joined the United
States Marine Corps before he had
even graduated high school in 2000.
“While my buddies were buying
college stuff, I was in boot camp,
and buying, you know, GI Joe stuff,
Heling joked. Many active duty mil
itary enlist in the military straight
out of high school
Military recruiters offer hefty
incentives. While most enlist to re
ceive aid for college, Heling claims,
“The money will be nice, but if
I went to college right after high
school, I would never be as driven as
I am now.”
According to Tim Ring from
UNCW’s Veterans Affairs office,
“Veterans receive every imaginable
form of aid, from Pell to loans to
scholarships, as well as their associ
ated benefits, depending upon which
program they fall under.”
The financial aspect may be far
less mind-boggling than the actual
transition from soldier to scholar.
Soldiers don’t have to fear that the
alarm clock in the morning is a
warning of an enemy attack, but for
many, readjusting to a civilian hfe
can be difficult.
After being stationed in Camp
Lejeune, NC, for four years, Heling
wanted to attend UNCW, but return
ing to his home state would mean
more tuition reimbursement. He re
turned home to Wisconsin, and will
be a 23-year-old veteran and fresh
man.
“I guess I never thought about it.
Talk about an oxymoron; too young
to be a vet, too old to be a freshman,
yet I am both,” he said jokingly
“Students who fought in Iraq tend
to be more open-minded about the
war, and when they start thinking
about the justification of being there,
I think they see both sieves with a lot
of clarity,” said professor Paul Sum,
who teaches international politics at
University of North Dakota.
“In fact, many of the younger
vets are intent upon getting a degree
when they get out of the service and
do what they need to do to make
that happen,” Ring said. There are
many reasons for their desire to go
to college, but Heling has his own
thoughts.
“I take nothing for granted. I
learned a certain meaning of dis
cipline that will push me through
anything, and also the reality of my
decision when I was sent to fight ter
rorists at age 19 in Afghanistan."
There are currently 250 people
at UNCW utilizing veterans’ educa
tional benefits of some kind.
“We really do not break down
the vets into categories of having
served, but service members who
have been on active duty make up
the largest portion of our vets. Some
have served four to eight years and
decided to separate, putting them
in the 23-28 year old range,” Ring
said.
While the thought of a fellow
classmate being a battle-hardened
veteran may be bit hard to grasp,
the convoys returning shoreside are
making their way back into daily
life in every possible way. Veterans
Day, November 11, may hold special
meaning for many more students
this year.
CONTACT US
Editorial: 962-3229
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www.theseahawk.org
Rej^istration dealine
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page 7
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