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Namaste India
Student presents her study abroad experience
Dv/ Oormcin v A.
By Carmen Boone
Copy Editor
Luz Hernandez is a senior at Brevard College
that spent the Spring semester of her junior
year studying abroad in India. She gave her
presentation about it on Thursday, Feb. 21 at St.
Philip’s Episcopal Church. The silent auction
started at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 and
then the presentation was at 7.
First, Hernandez gave a little background
about why she wanted to study abroad. Her
reasons were; her high school experience
“sparked” the idea, she wanted to “challenge
[her] adaptability and self-reliance and open
mindedness” and “be taught in a different
setting.”
A lot of preparation and work went into the
planning of a semester abroad. Hernandez’s
advisor helped her find the KEl (Knowledge
Exchange Institute) Program. Knowing that she
wanted to study in an Asian country, Hernandez
chose India. There was a package for the
program in India that included “University;
Symbiosis International University, pre
departure advising and planning, courses were
taught in English, cultural field trips, KEI onsite
help 24/7 and Hindi language olfered.”
Next Hernandez spoke about Pune, India,
the city she lived in. It has the eighth largest
economy and sixth highest per capita income
in the country. It also has the highest number of
engineering colleges in India. Aga Khan Palace
is in Pune as well, the place where Ghandi, his
wife and his secretary were held as prisoners
during the “Quiet Movement” in 1942. It’s a
very historic place.
Where Hernandez stayed, her dorm was called
a hostel. She thought of it like a “five star hotel.”
It was very well furnished and had plenty of the
necessities, there was a washer installed after a
little while of washing clothes by hand and the
room was cleaned once a week by a worker. A
couple things she noticed right away were that
all the international students were seperated
from the Indian students. The Indian students
Photo by Peter Trench
Hernandez speaks about her studies in india to
community members
See 'Namaste India' on page 3
Stand Up, Speak Out
IWIL to host domestic violence awareness event
By Mary Lewe
Managing Editor
Every spring, second year students from
Brevard College’s Institute for Women in
Leadership (IWIL) tackle an issue faced by
the Brevard community. The students spend
a year planning an event that will benefit the
community in some way.
This year, the returning IWIL students are
taking on domestic violence in the Brevard area
by hosting an educational and recreation event.
“We’re getting ready for a big event in
April, we do have a name for it; Stand Up and
Speak Out; Brevard College Versus Domestic
Violence,” student Claire Wylie said in an
interview.
Students from IWIL say that the event will
primarily educational, but will also include fun
activities like button-making and a self-defense
class.
“We’re going to have a lot of resources
from organizations like RAINN, whose main
purpose is to prevent domestic violence
nationwide; and resources from SAFE, which
is Transylvania County’s domestic violence
prevention organization,” student Cameron
Ranslow said.
To prepare for the event, the students have
gotten to speak with experts from SAFE, as well
as BC’s own counselor Dee Dasburg, magistrate
Mary Ann Hollocker and assistant professor of
psychology Lisa Busche.
“I think the biggest thing I learned is that
you can’t just tell someone who’s in an abusive
relationship to ‘just leave,’ because it could be
a very dangerous situation for them,” Cameron
Ranslow said. “The person who’s being abused
is the expert on the relationship and he or she
knows what their partner is capable of doing.
“I always just thought it was as simple as
getting someone to listen to you, but it’s not as
simple as that,” she said.
Stand Up and Speak Out; Brevard College
Versus Domestic Violence will take place on
Wed., April 17 from 4-8 p.m. on campus at
Tornado Alley.