November 1. 1996,
Features
Food events tempt students’ palates
by Amanda Willoughby
Anyone looking for a
break from the ordinary rounds
of mashed potatoes and gravy,
or waffles and Captain Crunch,
was in luck last week. The Black
Student Union and the World
Cultures Club brought delicious
foods from all over the world
right here to St. Andrews, with
two marvelous celebrations of
international cuisine.
The first of these two
events, the BSU International
Food Fair, was held at the Gath
ering Place on October 18. Ad
mission was a dollar, and that
dollar bought participants a
taste of native dishes from
Spain, Liberia, Kenya, and Ko
rea, among others. BSU member
Ihuoma Bailey called the fair
"pretty successful.” It was so
successfiil, in fact, that the food
went much too fast, and a sec
ond fair is in the works for
Spring Term.
The following Sunday,
members of the World Cultures
Club invited students, faculty
and staff to Granville, where
they were offered the chance to
stuff themselves yet again, this
time with Thai rice, Vietnamese
chicken and lemongrass, curried
potatoes, Afghan rice, Ecua
dorian style potatoes and on
ions, Mexican pork chops...and
too many other goodies to
name.
This gathering, however,
was about more than just scarf
ing down food. First year stu
dent Sinath Suryanarayanan
sang a Hindu kirtan, and the
drum section of the pipe band
favored listeners with an
inpromptu mini concert from the
courtyard.
WCC members Kate
Brady and Donna Sammander
also spoke of the WCC’s mis
sion to raise awareness about
the situation of oppressed Af
ghan women, and offered every
one the chance to sign a peti
tion to raise the issue in con
gress.
They also shared their
hopes of making the World Cul
tures Club a real tool for help
ing international students ad
just to new surroundings, “be
cause it’s not cool to arrive in a
foreign country and not know
where the bank is for a week.”
WCC member Christine
Aubain called the event “a
chance for international stu
dents to share their
experience...splendid...better
than SAGA.” Better than SAGA
or not, these two gatherings
brought the St. Andrews com
munity an opportunity to get to
gether as friends, and as lovers
of food— the hearty, the spicy,
the savory, the sweet. And to
think, they got to top it all off
with apple pie for dessert.
Mnhe your
voice heRrd.
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Guest Column
Highland Hall must help itself
What would it take for St. Andrews
to recognize Highland Hall as just another
dorm? First, Highland Hall must wake up;
secondly, the outside community must
take interest, starting within the college
itself
Something is terribly wrong when
Highland’s representatives do not receive
proper feedback from its own members.
Something is also very disturbing when
that dorm’s residents don’t even express
a desire to become engaged in college
sponsored activities.
Saying that we in Highland should
remain asleep, content that we have the
opportunity and privilege of attending St.
Andrews only renders multiple, unneces
sary excuses. Yes, everyone here in High
land has the right to be pleased with them
selves by the fact that each of us have
overcome seemingly insurmountable odds
to be here. But this praise can only go so
far, especially when one considers the
sheer array of parties, events activities,
and clubs each of us, individually or as a
dorm, could partake or join in.
Extreme sadness and terror over
take me when I see the complete and ut
ter apathy assigned to this dorm by both
parties. There are two basic reasons why
I feel this way, each feeding off of the
other. The first deals with the harsh fact
that as each succeeding class graduates,
1 estimate, 15 to 20 disabled students go
out into the world without any real sense
of well-being and independence. This
point must be dealt with by each student
here in Highland on an individual basis.
The second point needs to be accepted
and addressed by the members of the
community, starting with dorms such as
Albermarle and Granville: understanding
what we want and expect from ourselves
and the rest of the community.
As I’ve said before, independence
starts from within. Once someone wants
to gain his or her independence, it can
become very discouraging to fmd that
no one is willing to help guide them on
the right path. Gaining the will to become
active in the community where for years,
society' has not noted the achievement
of the minority, can lead to the most de
structive emotion: apathy. Since the will
is evident within the individual to make
hard choices, and (s)he has the support
of his or her friends, nothing can stop
that person from achieving his or her in
tended goal, no matter how bold it may
seem.
This semester Highland Hall has a
new, progressive outlook toward the com
munity. As Hall President, together with
Pennie Hardin, Ann Orr, Candace
Finkelstein, Joseph Lowe and Lisa Hinton,
I hope to put it back on the campus map!
The weekend that the Art Club
painted the mural on the center wall be
tween rooms 117 and 119, the whole ap
pearance of the Hall changed for the bet
ter. This type of encouragement is exactly
what the residents of Highland need the
most. The picture on the wall represents a
good beginning in what could become a
very bright future for Highland. But right
now, that’s all it is, a beginning, a starting
point.
Currently, Highland exists in a ver)'
discriminant, inclusive, and introspective
atmosphere, which will ultimately lead to
our inability to relate to the outside com
munity if something isn’t done soon, and
vice versa. The answer lies within each
resident of Highland, and must originate
here. If everyone takes of his or her sub
jective and collective blindfolds, each of
us will clearly see what must be done. In
order to accomplish this aim, everyone
must willingly partake in the struggle to
redefine Highland’s role in the community
at large.
The time to act is now!
-Jason Cohen