Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / April 16, 1996, edition 1 / Page 8
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8 Tuesday, April 16,1996 MINORITIES FROM PAGE 3 was bom of a particular need, and when the times and needs changed, so did the organizations. Mvmeiag Student Needs One of the oldest organizations on cam pus, the Black Student Movement was founded in 1967 as an advocacy group for black students at the University, said Harold Wallace, special assistant for minority af fairs and a faculty advisor for the BSM since 1973. “Prior to the founding of the Black Stu dent Movement, we had a local chapter of the NAACP. It spoke to some of the stu dents needs, but it was more tied to the agenda of the national and state NAACP. “Black students felt they needed an or ganization that spoke specifically to the need of students here on campus, so in addition to the NAACP chapter, they founded the Black Student Movement.” Wallace said the BSM’s goals had changed little in the nearly 30 years that Bizarro rj,VeY Mom! Me Mo penny I FIGURED OUT A GREAT WAY Dilbert THIS DOG 15 SPECIALLY 8 he’ll HELP fAE FIND | TRAINED TO DETECT S OUT LOHY YOUR PROTECT ; WE'LL DEGIN COASTED RESOURCES. § IS BEHIND SCHEDULE ! A5 SOON A5 Ht ' s I g EVEN AFTER ADDING I DONE PLAYING 5 fAE AS MANAGER. i AROUND. J * V The Student Mind During a Final Exam. EeiA-y, lAteeiACj, The prof lA-eveE no-i/vy, moe... Ytcid the boote. I hope the curve is really Low. sj([J j§ . situs Here’s fast-actli/cg relief Hi from, the pressure of school! seniors flud grad students cau get $-A-oo 00 cash bacte* ou the purchase or lease of arvy • To be eligible, you must graduate with an associate s or bachelor's degree or be currently enrolled in graduate school, between 10/1/94 and 1/3/97 You must purchase or lease your new vehicle between 1/4/96 and 1/3/97 Some customer and vehicle eligbility restrictions apply See your dealer lot details have passed since its founding. “It’s probably gotten a little more so phisticated and articulated in its goals, objectives and agendas for each year, but essentially it is still the organization that is an advocate for black students.” BSM co-president Chandra Taylor said the organization was second only to the Carolina Athletic Association in under graduate membership. The BSM currently has more than 400 student members, Tay lor said. “The goal (of the BSM) is always to promote black culture on campus and to foster unity among black students.” Black students had already established a strong and vocal presence on campus by the time other minorities arrived at UNC in significant numbers. In 1974, Carolina Indian Circle formed as a support group for Native American students, Circle President Linwood Watson said. Since then, the Circle has come to serve a three-prong purpose. “Our main aim is to help the Native-American stu dents here adjust to campus life in a major ity non-Indian world and to help recruit Native American students to that end.” Because Your Brain Doesn’t Have Wheels. He said the Circle, which has a member ship of more than 30 students, also worked to secure the hiring and retention ofNative American faculty and staff and to enhance knowledge of the Circle. “Indian culture is alive and well, and we seek to let people know that,” Watson said. Into the 'Bos It was not until nearly 10 years after the formation of the Circle that the torrent began. During the mid-1980s, at least four groups formed in rapid succession, includ ing SANGAM, the Asian Students Asso ciation, the Korean Students Association and the Carolina Hispanic Association. According to statistics from the Office of Institutional Research, the minority population at the University was increas ing steadily during these years, with the greatest growth among the Asian and Pa cific Islander population. With this influx of students came a desire for social interaction. So perhaps it is no surprise that most ofthe groups formed during the 1980s began as social organiza tions. Since then, however, they have changed to focus more on raising cultural awareness and doing community service. Since its founding in 1987, SANGAM, which changed its name from the South Asian Students Association to the South Asian Awareness Organization last year, has expanded beyond Indian students to include descendents of Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Once an organization consisting of just a dozen friends, SANGAM is now a 150-member organization with 7 elected officers and a 19-member executive board. “I think a lot of the focus for students who are coming to Carolina as freshman is to find the Indian or South Asian social scene, and they immediately turn to SANGAM, ” PresidentNeelam Patel said. Although it was originally founded as a social organization, SANGAM has ex panded to include cultural and service ac tivities. “Asa cultural awareness group, we per form many dances for other groups’ events,” Patel said. “We have gone into elementary schools to explain what it means to be South Asian.” Patel said about 30 to 45 members of SANGAM also regularly volunteer at the Bum Center at UNC Hospitals. ih ls lincludes the hlgh-perfotmai/tce MustaiA,-g! call ±soo-32i-±53& or visit ouy Web site at http://www.ford. c,qya. for the fw.ll story. . ,n -jm Bfl rfufr. rTW JmS ;JjT 3 . • * _6i tS J_Wj DTH/ASHLEY BROOME The Pit the University's town square, is sometimes cited as an example of a place where students segregate themselves. Students Know How to Haws Fnn^ Albert Hwang, president of the ASA, said that group was formed seven years ago primarily as a social organization. “Their only goal was to get together. They wanted to meet people, ” Hwang said. “They wanted to have parties, they wanted to throw dances and let people come and meet Asian students and realize, ‘Wow, Asian students know how to have fun, too.’” But Hwang said ASA’s focus began to shift from social activities to cultural issues about four years ago. “While the social part is good and works to an extent, if you really want to be re spected or really want to be noticed as a minority group, you have to start taking stands on certain issues,” Hwang said. “(ASA) shifted its focus towards more of an activist role, protesting certain injus tices and starting certain initiatives.” For the past three years, ASA has spon sored a major cultural event each semester “Journey into Asia” in the fall and Asian-American Heritage Week in Febru ary. The group also operates the Asian- American Resource Center, which pro vides peer counseling for students. Unlike SANGAM and ASA, CHispA began as a cultural awareness group with the social aspects coming later, CHispA president Jessica Rios said. Rios said CHispA’s growth in recent years had been phenomenal. In the six years since the group’s founding, member ship has expanded from 10 members to 40 members, Rios said. Together or Apart? Despite their formation as separate cam pus organizations, minority groups have come together to participate in a number of activities in recent years. “You’ve had that natural development of dialogue promoting understanding among the various minority groups on campus,” Wallace said. “(The BSM has) worked with a number of groups and orga nizations on the campus, not just to ad vance their agenda, but to advance an overall agenda of the University to im prove race relations and make progress on diversifying the faculty, staff and student body.” Hwang said ASA and the BSM started an annual joint meeting last year, and he said the two organizations would hold a picnic together later this spring. “I think on campus there’s the general air that minority groups have really real- ized that we have common goals, and it’s time to start working together,” Hwang said. KASA President Jung Wook Lee said although KASA was primarily formed to make the University community more aware of Korean culture and to meet the needs of Korean students, interaction with other minority organizations was also an important part of KASA’s goals. In addition to working with other mi nority organizations, ethnic groups fre quently collaborate on special projects with predominantly white organizations. Wallace said the BSM frequently worked with student government and the Campus Y. A Concert 4 Unity on Thursday will feature performances by the Clef Hangers, Opeyo! Dancers, BSM Gospel Choir, SANGAM dancers, Loreleis, Harmonyx, CHispA, Carolina Indian Circle and the Vietnamese Students’ Association. Watson said the Carolina Indian Circle also collaborated with University adminis trators on curriculum development, spe cifically within the American studies and music departments. Wallace said he was pleased with the level of interaction that had developed among minority groups. “On some cam puses, you do not have the same degree of interaction, dialogue andalliancesthatyou have with the Black Student Movement.” Bull’s Head Bookshop presents Faulty Professor Lloyd Kramer ■■•wM tahiH ttrbi: /bi-7 ft • -a Lafayette in Early American History: Politics Then & Now Prof. Kramer will sign his new book “Lafayette in Two Worlds” after the discussion B Bull’s Head Bookshop UNC Student Stores • 962-5060 ’Yom fl.n.Sh.o stfa. Holocaust Memorial Service "To X 4 "to 5h “ mau m a U ■ TODAY, April 16 ■s■■■ 12:20 pm PnSJSjSm on the steps of Wilson Library TOP 10 REASONS TO DONATE PLASMA MAKE SSO THIS WEEK! (New & Returning Donors, ri/wrnr ITT PA vuviuti those who have not donated In the past 30 days.) tlnMtdJlAlt PAYMENT! 1091/2 E. FRANKUN ST., CHAPEL HILL M-FlO-6 * 942-0251 ©ljp Bailij ®ar Hppl Despite the alliances that have formed between minority organizations, the Uni versity does not have a coalition to for mally unite the various groups. “One thing that the UNC campus lacks is a minority students coalition,” Patel said. “I found that at the University of Pennsylvania and at Duke they have dif ferent groups that serve as a panel for minority groups to communicate.” Efforts are underway to form such an organization. Under the guidance of the BSM and ASA, minority student organi zations are trying to form a Presidents’ Council, which would hold a regular joint meeting of the heads of all minority groups. The groups are not the only factor influ encing the direction of diversity. The ways in which people of different races interact is also shaped by a myriad of programs, from policies that attempt to diversify the residence halls to classes like UNITAS, which deals with cultural differences. In the end, however, the issue ofwhether the groups promote diversity or wrap stu dents in a cocoon that protects them from dealing with it remains. But for now, at least one University leader is leaning to ward the first answer. “As we leam about who we are and we come together, we can share with others,” Boulton said. “That’s pluralism, and that, to me, is diversity.” #4 Filters out dining hall food residue. 5. Medical proof you’re alive after Thursday nite. 6. It’s easy & comfortable on the very latest high-tech equipment 7. Similar to donating whole blood. 8. Better than working. 9. Get to Idck-back in cool donor bed. 10. The plasma you give could help a patient in need & could save a life.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 16, 1996, edition 1
8
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