Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / Jan. 25, 2006, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of Meredith College Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Volume XVYIII, Issue 14 Educating Women To Excel January 25, 2006 Meredith Experiences Sri Lanka Part of the group pauses for a picture, while they are climbing Sigiriya Rock. ON THE INSIDE: Sri Lan-ka Continued Page 2 Sri Lanka Journals Page 3 World News Page 5 Coffeehouse Success Page 5 Meredith Sports Page 6 Announcements Page 8 WEDNESDAY Sunny High 53/ Low 29 THURSDAY Sunny High 52/ Low 28 FRIDAY Sunny High 54/ Low 36 SATURDAY Showers High 62/ Low 46 SUNDAY Showers High 63/ Low 49 MONDAY Mostly Cloudy High 65/ Low 39 TUESDAY Showers High 56/ Low 36 KELLY BETH SMITH Contributing Writer Sri Lanka is a little like Comhuskin’—you just have to experience it! On December 26th a group of Meredith students, fac ulty, and friends embarked on a journey halfway around the world. After 30 hours of traveling (1 wish I could say that was an exaggeration), we arrived in Sri Lanka. We spent 10 days in this beau tiful country and then pro ceeded home to the US by way of London. We’ve only been home for a little over a week now, and many of us are just recuperating fromjet lag. There is an 11 hour time difference between the Unit EMELIA DUNSTON Staff Writer On Monday, January 23, 2006, Meredith College was privileged to have renowned author Rebecca Walker come speak to students as a part of the College’s convoca tion series. Rebecca Walker, the daughter of writer Alice Walker and liberal Jewish lawyer Mel Leventhal, was bom in November of 1969 and grew up in New York and San Francisco. She is the author of the internation al bestseller Black, White and Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self and the founder of the Third Wave Foundation, the only nation al, philanthropic organiza tion for women. Ms. Walker came to Mere dith to talk about commemo rating the work of Dr. Martin ed States and Sri Lanka, but judging from how distinctly different these two countries are one might assume that the time difference was more like 30 years. Sri Lanka is a lush, tropi cal country with the bright est shades of green trees you could imagine. We spent a significant amount of time on our tour bus as we cov ered most of the southern and central part of the country in only a week and a half We would pass by rolling hills of tea plants and catch stunning glimpses of the Indian Ocean from our windows. You nev er knew what kind of surprise stops Dr. Webb and our tour guide, Upali, had up their sleeves for us. We visited a Batik Factory where women Luther King, Jr. and how ev eryone can take a part of his work and lessons into their everyday life. Her speech was entitled “Today is the tomorrow that was promised to you yesterday.” She be gan by saying that everyone needs to honor Dr. King be cause he asked Americans to live up its ideals and chal lenged everyone to be more loving and caring to each other. She felt that if every one took the right steps, they could rise to the challenge and become better human be ings while making the world a better place. She also dis cussed that there are many things bubbling beneath the surface that are going to cause problems in the fiiture if they are not taken car«$ of For example, Ms. Walker stated that American culture is growing more extreme ev hand dye cloth into all sorts of wonderfiil creations; wall hangings, shiris, saris, etc. Their tools are primitive, but their final products are breathtaking and elaborate works of art. We also paid visit to a sea turtle sanctuary, an herbal medicine garden, a wood carving store, a tea eryday, but Americans are led to believe that if they go along with it, everything will be okay. In return, she asked if everything’s okay, “Why do we still live in a segregat ed society?” She believes that the major cause of this problem is the concept of in dividualism. She feels that it is at that the very core of western thought and destroys the possibility of peace and prosperity. Also, she men tioned that the most valuable resource that humans have is openness, a state of mind all humans are capable of achieving despite personal beliefs. But it’s almost non existent. This openness, as she said, allowed Dr. King to have a dream not just for African-Americans but for everyone. “The measure of a human being has more to do with openness and how factory, and many Buddhist temples. Oh, and I can’t for get our elephant ride! The value of an American dollar is evidence of how privileged we all are: one dollar is equal to one CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 adaptable one is to others, than what grades you get in your classes,” she said. To close her speech, she left the audience with one final thought, “If we continue to believe that everything is okay, we will continue to de stroy ourselves. We must re learn how to be open to each other. This is something Dr. King would be proud of” Even some may not have agreed with her opinions on issues, Rebecca Walker cer tainly left a lasting impres sion with the students and staff here at Meredith. She made people take a second look at their own actions and practices and hopefully wonder what they can do to make the world a better place for everyone. Author Rebekah Walker Speaks at Meredith
Meredith College Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 25, 2006, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75