Thursday, October 11, 1990
THE COIIPASS
FEATURES
Page 3
In the
shadow of Saddam:
ECSU student
copes with pain
of Iraq's invasion
ECSU student Basem Calis, whose parents still live in Kuwait, last spoke to them by phone on Aug. 2. He worries daily about
their safety. With his funds cut off, he also must worry about how to pay his bills. Still, Calis tries to maintain a positive attitude.
By Becky Overton
When he talks about Kuwait, Basem Calis’ dark eyes grow
somber, and his voice rises:
“Imagine that one day you have everything and suddenly
you have nothing,” he says, pacing back and forth and smoking a
cigarette. “Not even contact with your family.”
Calis, an ECSU junior from Kuwait, came to the U.S. in 1986. He
worries daily about his parents, who are still living in Kuwait.
“My main concern is, are they alive or not. If someone came out of
Kuwait today and told me that they were fine, I still would not know if
they are alive now.”
Calis last spoke to his parents by phone on August 2.
“I talked to them just a little,” he says. “They said at 6:30 a.m. my
father was going to woik and he heard on the radio that the country was
in a state of war. He tried to go' to the bank, but it was already closed.”
Calis had no futher contact with his family until his younger brother,
Rami, 16, arrived in the United States on September 14.
“My brother went to Iraq in a taxi where he crossed the border to
Jordan the next day,” he says. “My uncle met him in Jordan and then
he came to the United States.
Calis says that he feels a great responsibility to protect and care for
his younger brother.
“I have to start thinking about my responsibility to my brother. He
is my main worry. In Kuwait he had everything done for him. He even
had a maid that my mother flew in from the PhiUipines. Now I have to
take care of him completely.
“I want him to have a nice place to say. I realize to him this is not
even close to home; this is his first time away from my parents. One of
“The United States is not protecting the
Kuwaiti citizens. It is protecting its oil interests.
That is the only reason that the U.S. let the Jews
have Palestine; they had nothing to gain
financially.”
Basem Calis
my troubles is food; he’s very fussy about that.”
Although Calis said his father “is very well established” in Kuwait,
he added that his father stands to lose everything now.
“When we were in Kuwait, before the war, Kuwait gave my father
a nice home and a car every three years. We were living happily. We
didn’t need anything, but since the war there is no money.”
Calis admits that the money problem has brought him difficulties at
ECSU.
“I have no money and I can’t woric because I have no work permit,”
he says. “I owe the school a lot of money—aU of the tuition for tiiis year.
Next montii I might not have a place to stay, and sooner or later I will
have to start selling my personal things.”
Calis thinks Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, is “not crazy; in fact,
he’s extremely smart, but he took too many chances. What he’s done
is wrong.
“Kuwait is an established independant counuy, and it has been for
250 years. Hussein did not calculate well. He knows what he’s doing;
he knows how to get to the womb where it really hurts. He has the power
to destroy the world’s economy.”
Calis believes the stories of crimes and rapes in Kuwait are some
what exaggerated.
“The regular Iraqi soldiers are not that bad; the volunteers to the Iraqi
army are the ones who are committing the crimes.”
iSespite his concern for his parents and his country, Calis, who, like
his parents, holds Jordanian citizenship, said he opposes the U.S.’s
military presence in the Gulf.
“The United States is not protecing the Kuwaiti citizens. It is protect
ing its oil interests. That is the only reason that the U.S. let the Jews have
Palestine; they had nothing to gain financially.
“Most will disagree with me, but I feel that the U.S. military
involvement made matters worse. The embargo is helping, but the
military forces are a waste of money if there is not a war. If there is a
war Iraq will fire to destroy oil tankers which are very close to my
house. The most important thing is not tiie oil, but the people.”
Calis said if war breaks out, the U.S. will encounter fierce fighting
from Iraqi forces.
“Hussein has excellent ground forces. And you can’t underestimate
his chemical weapons. The protective suits are fine, but how many can
they protect from a chemical war? The Middle East is extremely hot,
too hot for the suits. The American soldiers might not be able to take
it.”
In reflecting upon the changes in Kuwait, and his own life, Calis con
tinues to strive to maintain an optimistic attitude.
“Everyone has problems,” he says. “You just have to know how to
deal with them. Luckily, my parents taught me how. Don’t give up.
Whether it takes a month or a year, you never give up.”
School's new band director says
’Music is important to the world'
Photo b; Jfickie Rountree
By Tymekia Troy
Dr. Gary Callahan, ECSU’s
new Band Director, makes
no secret of his faith in the
power and beauty of music
“The Lord created music, and the
birds sing,” he says. “ Even when the
wind blows, it’s music.
“Music is important not only aca
demically, but also in the world in
general. Music is universal in the sense
that it doesn’t matter what country
you go to you can basically play the
same music, and you can find the joy
and aesthetic love that seems to exist
in music.”
A native of Springfield, Ohio,
Callahan comes to ESCU from the
Columbus, Ohio public school sys
tem. He learned of the band director’s
position from an ad in the Chronicle
of Higher Education.
“As I thought about it, I remem
bered Dr. Sullivan when he was at
Ohio State,” said Callahan. “When I
looked at how things were going at the
campus, and learned of the plans for
the future, I began to get really ex
cited.”
After visiting the campus, he de-
' cided he wanted the job. So far, ECSU
has surpassed his expectations.
“At Elizabeth City State, I’ve run
across some of the ^st people I’ve
ever worked with,” he said. ’’There
are several bands that I’ve t>een with
that talk about pride, but this band has
demonstrated more of it. This band is
self-motivated due to some of the
changes they’ve been through with
other directors and other problems
that they’ve had.
“The group is young, and I’m look
ing forward to a stronger band for the
future.”
The tall, slender educator said he
has definite plans for his students at
ECSU.
“I want to take musicians from
where they are to where they are ca
pable of going, to keep them focused
as a group and help them learn how to
get along with each other,” he said. ‘ I
want to take the potential here and get
everybody to realize how much that
is, and be able to really reach for it.
Callahan said students gain many
“AtElizabeth City State, I’ve run across
some of the best people I’ve ever worked with.
There are several bands that I’ve been with that
talk about pride, but this band has demonstrated
more of it. This band is self-motivated due to
some of the changes they’ve been through with
other directors and other problems that they’ve
had.”
Dr. Gary Callahan
things from their participation in band,
including “the enjoyment of being
able to demonstrate their love for their
university, and their love for music.”
“Since not everybody can sing or
rap, band gives students a way to
express themselves through song.”
Pointing out that most students in band
have above average academic stand
ing, Callahan added, “Band also helps
discipline them. The time they put in
band is so extensive that they don’t
have time to do anything else but
study.”
Callahan’s wife, Linda Florence
Callahan, teaches journalism at Ohio
State University. He looks forward to
f
the time when his wife and his twenty-
month old son, Jesse can join him in
Elizabeth City.
“My wife had some commitments
and obligations that she had to stick
with,” he said. “She is the president of
the Columbus Black Journalist Asso
ciation, and they had several func
tions they had planned for the year.
“She also has several minority
gradutes that she advises and works
with, and she didn’t want to leave
during the middle of their program.”
Callahan said his family “is the
biggest part of my life. But being that
my family isn’t here I have to spend
most of my time working on things for
the band.”
He pointed out tiiat, among other
things, this also allows him time to
help recruit new members for the band.
Callahan will also have time to
play his beloved saxaphone, his fa
vorite instrument. He also plays clan-»
net and string bass instruments, “and
a little keyboard, just enough to do
arrangements for the band.”
He likes a variety of types of mu
sic, including “classical, blues, or
chestra, chamber winds, ‘oldies but
goodies,’ and gospel—depending on
my mood for the day.”
Callahan earned his bachelor’s
degree at Wittburg University in
Springfield, Ohio, his master s de
gree at the University of Micliigan,
and his Ph.D. at Ohio State Univer
sity.
Dr. Gary Callahan pauses to meditate while working with members of ECSU s Marching Band. Callahan,
a native of Ohio, says he’s looking forward to “a stronger band for the future.”
Campus leaders tackle problems
during August retreat in Virginia
By Chukundi Salisbury
ECSU’s student leaders
grappled with some weighty
issues during their annui
student leadership retreat in Ca-
pahosic, Virginia.
The issues included campus van
dalism, and how to handle problems
like drinking, drugs and fighting.
The retreat, which ran from Au
gust 17-18, was sponsored by the
Student Goverment Association and
the Division of Student Affairs. The
event was coordinated by SGA presi
dent Renel Sample, former Assistant.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs/
Programming Treva Thomas and Wil
lie Spence, the Assistant Vice Chan
cellor for S tudent Affairs/Administra
tion.
During the retreat, administrators
and students discussed problems fac
ing the campus, including faculty-
studentrelations, vandalism and prob
lems with controlled substances.
An anonymous “rat-on-a-rat” type
telephone number was suggested to
help curb campus vandalism and the
drug problem. Dr. Leon White, Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs sug
gested a “get-tough” policy on stu
dent behavoiral problems like drink
ing and fighting. Under this policy if
a student is involved in a fight on
campus he or she will be automati
cally suspended from the University.
ECSU Chancellor Jimmy Jenkins
addressed the group, asking students
“to take the responsibility for your
selves,” in their education.
Attorney Ronald Penny followed
the Chancellor with a presentation on
“What’s Going On In The ‘90’s.”
Penny’s speech was followed by
dinner and recreational activities,
including a basketball game.
The game pitted students against
the “old guys” (administrators Dr.
Leon White, Dr. James Hedgebeth,
Mr. Ulysses Bell, and Mr. Roger
McLean). The students, Chukundi
Salisbury, Renel Sample, and Kelvin
“Kaz” Brown, played exceptionally
well and defeated the “old guys” after
a grueling physical game.
“Dr. White played like a Patrick
Ewing or a Charles Barkley—very
physical,” said one student {wtici-
pant in the game.
Following this, Spence moderated
a SGA officers panel disscusion on
“Conflict & Resolution.” This dis
cussion took a satirical look at some of
the conflicts that arise between stu
dents living together.
This session marked an end to the
business portion of the evening, and
then the real recreation begun. The
rec room at the center was moderately
equipped and provided entertainment
for everyone with table tennis and
cards and a television to watch the
‘Skins’ game. Outside the rec room a
group of students swam in the center’s
pool.
The next morning after breakfast
Dr. Helen Caldwell and Dr. Hedgebeth
presented a program on “Improving
Faculty/Student Relations.”
Next a program on “Student Be
havior & Conduct” was presented by
White, Mclean, Sample, George
Mountain, chief of campus police,
Kenneth Roberts, Director of Resi-
please see RETREAT p.9