PIKJUILFORDIAN
Greensboro, N.C.
Guilford celebrates Martin luther King holiday
Charlie McAlpin & Deidre
Rhim
O Staff Writers
n Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. in
Dana auditorium, Alma
Adams hobbled to the podium,
crutch under one shoulder, red
flower pinned to the other, and
reminded her audience that
Martin Luther King's struggle
will never end.
Over 100 people arrived to
learn about initiative and com
passion from Adams, the State
House representative for
Guilford County since '94 and
professor of visual arts at
Bennett College. "Your commit
ment must be to pursue King's
principles of compassion for
humankind," said Adams.
Though temporarily crippled
recently from surgery, Adams
exhibited a kinetic energy that
she urged upon her audience.
Panel highlights effects of tsunami disaster
Kristie Parmenter
Staff Writer
Seats filled and doorways became
crowded on Jan. 11 as over 100 stu
dents and members of the community
attended a panel about the
earthquake/tsunami that devastated sev
eral eastern countries on Dec. 26.
The 7:30 panel consisted of five faculty
and staff members. Organized by
Professor Eric Mortensen, who spoke on
the situation in the Adaman and Nicobar
m Wt
M /I ■ |pK- n
KRISTIE PARMENTER/GUILFORDIAN
Members of the tsunami panel in discussion
"Service is the rent that you
pay for living on this earth,"
she said.
James Shields, director of
community learning, embodied
the theme "Reflections: Past,
Present and
Future" in his
introduction to
the event by
saying "we must
remember our
ancestors, all of
our ancestors,
and their shoul
ders that we
stand on."
Among others
from thp
Guilford com
munity, Holly
Wilson, Africana
Community
Coordinator,
and Sekinah
WWW.MRSDEWSONHATS.COM
Guilford county state representative Alma Adams
Islands, the panel raised awareness of the
disaster and its implications and briefed
students on the scientific aspects of such
occurrences.
Other members who gave presentations
were moderator Dottie Borei, Professor of
Geology and Earth Sciences Marlene
McCauley, Professor of Religious Studies
Shelini Harris, and Campus Ministry
Coordinator Max Carter.
As moderator, Borei introduced the
panel and summarized the topics each
person was to discuss. Borei also
answered several questions from the audi
Volume 91, Issue 15
www.guilfordian.com
Hamlin, Director of Multicultural
Education, organized and facili
tated the event.
Wilson, a '96 Guilford gradu
ate, explained that MLK Day is
not a "day off" but a "day on"
ence at the
end of the
evening and
compared
last month's
tsunami to
other catas
trophes. For
example,
this natural
disaster has
because campus is brimming
with anticipation for all of the
events for students and the
public.
"It's a day that not only cele
brates Dr. King but enlightens
us of his accomplishments,"
Wilson said.
She went on to explain the
importance of MLK for the col
lege and the day's significance
as one of the only holidays cel
ebrating a person whose prin
ciples of peace and equality
align with those of the college,
thereby setting MLK day apart
from any other.
"Dr. King fought for equal
rights for all and it is only fitting
that we here at the college cel
ebrate him and what he died
for," said Wilson.
The celebration began on
Jan. 15 with a gospel concert
Continued on Page 4
not left as many dead as epidemics such
as AIDS.
McCauley explained the scientific per
spective of oceanic disturbances. Any
undersea disturbance, such as earth
quakes or volcanoes, causes so much
force upward that the water begins to rip
ple outward in a circle. These waves grow
in size and have a much longer wave
length than wind-waves do. The waves
are farther apart and carry much more
energy when they hit the shore.
This particular tsunami, the source of
which was a 9.0 earthquake at the bottom
of the Indian Ocean, was "in scientific
terms... what we would call a whopper,"
said McCauley. "An earthquake of this cal
iber occurs with the energy of roughly
30,000 Hiroshima bombs. It only took 15
minutes in some areas for the first wave
to hit after the 'quake, while for countries
like Somalia and Thailand, it was nearly
seven hours after that. This raises the
unanswerable question of why there was
Continued on Page 4
January 21, 2005
Abbas elected
Palestinian
President
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Review of The
Life Aquatic
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Video games: To
play, or not to
play
Page 8
NFL playoffs
update
Page 12