wssu
from pane AI
"We saw it as a good opportu
nity," said Olasope Oyelaran,
director of WSSU's Office of
International Programs. "The
objective is to have them live
among our students and expose
them to the culture on campus."
The formation of the Office of
International Programs was one
of Chancellor Harold Martin's
first directives in 2000 as the new
leader of Winston-Salem State.
The office is responsible for
coordinating study abroad trips
for WSSU students and working
to bring in foreign students like
Thomee and Torres.
"Our Office of International
Programs exists for our students
as a gateway to the outside world.
I urge our faculty and students to
consider the opportunities study
ing abroad can offer," Martin
said.
The office also advocates for
the natural infusion of global
thinking in courses and programs
at the university. Last week. Oye
laran led a daylong workshop for
WSSU professors, showing them
ways that an international cspin
can be added for such subjects as
health, science and math.
"The society's is globalizing;
this place should not be left
behind," Oyelaran said.
While historically black col
leges and universities such as
Florida A&M University. More
house College and Spelman Col
lege have well established and
much praised Offices of Interna
tionul Programs, the offices are
still fairly rare among HBCUs in
this state. Of the live HBCUs in
the UNC system, only two have
formal Offices of International
Programs, WSSU and North Car
olina A&T State University.
Since WSSU launched its
office two years ago, students
have studied in countries such as
Russia. Mexico, Australia, Fin
land, Sweden and Ghana. The
university currently has two stu
dents in the popular Semester at
Sea program, where students sail
to 12 countries on five continents
while taking a full academic load.
There are many more students
waiting to study abroad. Oyelaran
said.
He says the university will
also continue to seek students
from abroad to come to WSSUto
study. The school hopes to estab
lish its own linkages with over
seas universities, separate from
those already established by the
UNC system.
Oyelaran joined Martin in the
first step toward that last month
with a trip South Africa. Martin
led a delegation front the UNC
system to the nation to help estab
lish linkages in the Western Cape
region of South Africa. Oyelaran
said he and Martin were also
keeping an eye on establishing
partnerships for WSSU.
The university is also hxtking
to build relationships with civic
organizations here in the city in
the hopes that such groups will
host an exchange student for a
day or a weekend. The local chap
ter of Links. Oyelaran said, has
already expressed an interest in
hosting the current crop of
exchange students.
Thomee and Torres have
already gotten a chance to experi
ence the city outside of the
WSSU campus. They attended
the Board of Aldermen meeting
last week, briefly telling board
members about their experiences
in this country thus far. They also
attended the recent Fiesta event
hosted by the Hispanic League of
the Piedmont Triad.
The event was especially eye
opening for Torres, who got a
taste of the city's burgeoning
Mexican- American culture.
"I have had a chance to meet
a lot of Mexicans here," he said.
Both say that the fact that
WSSU is a majority African
American school has not posed
any challenges. In fact, they say. it
has enhanced their experiences.
"I wanted to meet a lot of dif
ferent people and to know about
all types of people," Torres said.
Although Thomee is from a
European country that many
believe is lily white, he says he is
used to diversity. Many Africans,
Arabs and Eastern Europeans
have found their way to The
Netherlands, a small nation
tucked between Germany and
Belgium.
"I don't have any problem
with (being at a HBCU). The peo
ple here are nice just like any
American." Thomee said.
Thomee and Torres currently
share a dorm room. That will
change next semester. Torres will
return to h|gxico. Thomee will
spend the entire 2002-2003
school year at WSSU.
Photo courtesy of WSSU
From left: Betsy Brown, associate vice president for academic affairs for UNC system; Minnie
Battle Mayes, director of international programs at N.C. A AT; Steve Flynn, director of UNC
Exchange Program; George Wilson, associate provost for international affairs, N.C. State Uni
versity; Olasope Oyelaran; and WSSU Chancellor Harold Martin pose at the Cape of Good
Hope during a recent trip to South Africa.
Photo by Courtney Gail lard
N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper speaks to parents and educators.
Cooper visits city to speak
out against school violence
BY COURTNEY GAJLLARD
THE CHRONICLE
N.C. Attorney General Roy
Cooper vowed to work with
educators to help improve par
enting skills at The Parenting
Institute's first annual confer
ence Sept. 11.
The Parenting Institute,
with headquarters in Winston
Salem, works to promote good
parenting skills in hopes of
strengthening families. The
Duke Endowment funds the
institute.
"Helping families, helping
parents be better parents to
their children is the very best
thing that we can do to fight
crime in the long run," said
Cooper, who believes that par
ents who lack consistent and
effective parenting skills are
having a detrimental effect on
their children's behavior in the
classroom. Cooper spoke
briefly at the conference,
which was held at the Adam's
Mark Winston Plaza Hotel.
"The very best way to fight
crime is to stop it before it
happens. We. need to make
sure that we make a difference
in the lives of our children.
And it begins at home: it
begins with parents with good
skills who love their children."
Cooper said.
According to Cooper, state
officials are working hard to
instruct law enforcement offi
cers and teachers how to react
and prevent violent incidents
in schools. A strong supporter
of strict law enforcement.
Cooper stated that if "you do
the crime, you do the time."
"We hope and pray that we
never have Columbine High
School type of incident (of
school shooting) in North Car
olina, but we owe it to our kids
to be ready," Cooper said.
Past school shootings have
been the result of bullying
incidents, and Cooper says
that state educational officials
are making strides in anti-bul
lying efforts by providing
Critical Incident Response
Kits to every school, both pub
lic and private, in the state.
A bully who is identified
by the age of 8 is six times
more likely to be convicted of
a crime by age 24. Cooper
said, and he believes The Par
enting Institute is a major pre
ventive source to identify at
risk children early on.
Patricia Stewart was one of
the educators who attended the
conference. Much of her job as
parent coordinator at the Black
Child Development Institute in
Greensboro is to teach parents
how to advocate for their chil
dren at school. Stewart says
that she is always encouraging
parents to get involved in their
children's school life.
"It's very important that we
as adults get back into role
modeling. It's not just about
whether we have a child that's
involved. It takes a village to
raise a child," said Stewart,
who is a retired teacher.
As the parenting popula
tion gets younger, Stewart says
that younger parents are losing
sight of what their priorities
should be where their children
are concerned. While bullying
may not be a problem among
black youths in school, Stew
art says that peer pressure (to
do drugs, become sexually
active and drink alcohol)
should be a major concern to
parents today.
I'M DOWNTOWN BECAUSE "I want to help make it a cooler place"
b
There's music in the streets, art along
the sidewalks and new shops, new
imsi nesses jpid pjasrgy^everywhere. ^
Thanks to people like Millicent and
' other members of the Downtown
Winston-Salem Partnership, the plan for downtown is coming
alive right before our eyes. But don't take our word for it,
come downtown for a great evening of music, theatre or dance
during the Artslgnite Festival. September 27th - October I2th.
_/? *
Visit www.downtownwinslon-salem.com
i