Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / Feb. 23, 2000, edition 1 / Page 3
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February 23, 2000 Meredith Herald Campus News 3 Other cultures celebrated with MIA Week Jenny Altier Staff Writer Last week, Feb. 14 through 18, Meredith International Association sponsored MIA Week. This week is a time when students of dilTerenl cutiurai backgrounds can come togeth er and share some of their dtf- fereni customs and activities. The aim of MIA Week is to promote cultural awareness among Meredith students. Natasha Venema, a junior at Meredith and president of MIA for the second year, voiced her opinion about the week. “I think it is great that MIA Week gives students from 30 to 40 different countries the chance to share their experi ences and cultures with other students. “MIA wants to have every one involved share how they did things back home in hopes that it will help them celebrate their culture. MIA Week’s aim is to make the students who participate feet more at home since many of them do not have family living here in North Carolina,” Venema said. MIA sponsors various activ ities during the Week. Last Monday, MIA had a day when international stu dents were invited to wear the clothing of their home coun tries. Many students were seen around campus wearing their international dress as they cele brated their culture and their heritage. Another activity MIA spon sored last Thursday was an international luncheon. A vari ety of students cooked some of their favorite foods from their home countries. These ethnic foods were put together to cre ate a luncheon for Meredith’s faculty and staff. Last Friday, in the Belk din ning hall. MIA sponsored an East Indian tradition called Mehndi. Mehndi is a tempo rary henna "tattoo" that lasts for about two weeks. In India, this type of body painting is typically used for weddings and other special occasions. Seema Patel, the vice presi dent of MIA, is originally from India, and she has participated in this tradition before. Patel had some of her Indian friends come to Meredith and paini these temporary "tattoos” onto the hands and arms of anyone who wanted them. Venema thought the Mehndi body paint was very interest ing. “Seema's friends tried to enhance the ambiance of Belk dinning hall by wearing tradi tional dress and playing Indian music. They tried to make it as realistic as possible,” Venema said. This year’s MIA Week proved to be a success, for many students enjoyed the diversity and culture they were able to experience through the MIA-sponsored events. Lizzeth Jaar, a freshman from Honduras, found that it was educational to have a week when other students from dif ferent countries could learn about each other. Free Your Mind Forum TusiJay, Feb. 29 6 p.m. Bslk Dining Hall^ SfringFielJ lids Eueryone is welcomei *ipomore^ Itg SGA anJ SluJent LiFe* Meredith celebrates 109 years of educating women jOTJl Smfth staff Writer This is a special time in Meredith College history because on Sunday, Feb. 27, Meredith College will turn 109 years old. Meredith went through many changes and phases before being chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly on Feb. 27, 1891 and named after the first editor of the Baptist newspaper the Bib lical Recorder, Thomas Mered ith. The first idea to create a col lege for women was raised by an unknown person. The Bap tist Assembly debated for many years on the topic before Bap tist Female University, now known as Meredith College, was founded in 1899. The first class graduated in 1902 and has forever been called "The Immortal 10” because there were only ten students in the graduating class that year. In 1904 the name was changed to Baptist University for Women and then in 1909, the college adopted the name Meredith College. The Founders’ Day celebra tion that was held at the convo cation on Monday introduced a person whom Vice President for Student Development Dr. Jean Jackson called a “contem porary founder,” Vice Presi dent for Academic Affairs Dr Rosalind Reichard. Jackson said. “It is a remark able time in our history with the leadership of Dr. [Maureen] Hartford whom we already know, and Dr. Reichard whom we look forward to knowing more about.” Jackson wants the entire Meredith College community to recognize Saturday. Feb. 27 as an important building block for the college's future. Many events have marked celebrations of past anniver saries of Meredith’s founding. For instance, Jackson led Meredith in its Centennial Cel- etM-aiion in 1991 when such speakers as Ruth Schmidt, president of Agr>es Sc«t Col lege; Sandra Day O’Connor. Supreme Court Justice; Erma Bombeck, author and colum nist; Jene Levy, professor at the University of Chicago; Phyllis Trible. professor at Union Theological Seminary; and Patricia Schroeder, House of Respresentatives. ail appeared in a huge celebration. What will be in store for Meredith in 2001? In 2021? In 3000? Jackson is definitely looking into the future and Meredith’s place in it. She said, “One hundred and nine years is a good start on forever.” Wear red ribbon for AIDS Lisa Wilson staff Writer AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, has affected an increasing number of people in our society. Everyone has heard about AIDS, but most do not realize how much of a problem it real ly is. The majority of people who test positive for this disease are under the age of forty. For this reason, the Meredith Col lege Student Life Committee puts on an AIDS Awareness week every year. This year, the co-chairs of AIDS Awareness Week are junior Laura Aponte and senior Amy Aim. They have organized the week into what they hope will be an informa tive experience for all stu dents. This week, Feb. 21 through 25, is this year’s week set aside for students to become more aware of AIDS, its causes and its consequences. All week long, volunteers will pass out red ribbons for students to wear in support of AIDS. In addition, there will be a photo exhibit on the first floor of the Cate Center displaying pictures dealing with AIDS. Furthermore, information will be available in both Cate Center and the lobby of Jones Chapel. On Wednesday morning, the Chapel service was dedicated to this issue with a special “We need to focus and be aware of [AIDS].’^ -Kelia Hester, Student Life Committee Chair guest speaker. In addition, the Student Life Committee spon sored a reception afterwards. The Counseling Center will be very involved with the issue of AIDS all week. On Monday Feb. 21, they held , a screening for healthy relationships, a time for stu dents to talk to someone about their own relationships. On Thursday and Friday, the Counseling Center will be available alt day long for stu dents to talk about AIDS. Any questions students have can be answered and explained. Resident Assistants on each floor in every residence halt _ have been given information and asked lo put up bulletin boards to help spread the word around campus. AIDS is a slow moving dis ease that has an incubation period of up to eleven years. If someone even thinks there is a possibility she could have AIDS, she should get tested. Now, testing is a process that can be done anonymously. The reason for this week - was said by Student Life Committee Chair, Kelia Hes ter, who said, "I just think it is really important for an all women's college because we are really affected by this. “The women here are the target age of AIDS. We need to focus and be aware of this problem.”
Meredith College Student Newspaper
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Feb. 23, 2000, edition 1
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