The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 13, 1996, Image 3
A ary 13, l> — he Battalion tnctlH a y M |bruary 13, 1996 nd eductj r 'day Sicj though id d beliefs^ d state, ^ hat relijjt Aggielife Page 3 ^lAACP week to focus on fnizes U many d 3 interer; i and we mproving race relations bara Gnu Amy Protas it Battalion n a month that celebrates the diversity and histo ry of the African-American culture, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peo- e is setting aside a week for one of the country’s n presik ^ an< d largest civil rights organizations. Tonight, Cary Cauly, the Brazos County Com- issioner, will speak on disunity thin the African-American corn- unity. Freddie Fountz, Texas A&M AACP vice president and a nior electrical engineering iththeStnj tuations, rtable wr; s is a jon counselis at the Sit ajor, said this issue is par- ularly important to him cause he sees the rks at Silfrican-American commu- the CMl ty divided every day. “What I would like to see improved relations be- feen African-American stu- lon pars! ! time as as issues’ AllFai mts and the community,” ? are nun y Driven mi r mindil- rt ordere; [formation ecision lest, been i ite revie' lot imrae- e appeals e prosecu- osecutor 1 the trial Tuesday ide lav November r of up tc tuntz said. “We need to work igether to accomplish common jals. The African Americans in le community think the students link we’re too good. We all need to realize lat everyone is the same.” NAACP week will also feature an AIDS presenta- on. Speaker Ann Boney will give a speech titled we Must Embrace Each Other,” and there will etwo movie nights. Lovely Murrell, press and publicity chair for the lAACP and a junior anthropology major, said lAACP week will give the University a chance to etter understand the NAACP. This is a way for people to come out and get to now the organization and what we stand for,” Mur- ellsaid. “Instead of just offering a list of things that lave happened in African-American history, we (anted to make it different. We are going to focus on (here we need to go as people.” Octevia Evangelista, NAACP political action hair and a junior political science major, said February African-American students need to become more ware and active within the organization and he University. “Students need to be aware of their surround- acknowl- ings and how it affects them, especially with the t at 21 locial climate on this campus,” Evangelista said, also is African Americans have been extremely apa- uicidein ihetic about what’s around us. Through the fNAACP, we help people become more aware i wasaf- assisted i eath oi through education and involvement.” A problem that can plague any organization is in difference toward involvement until something ex traordinary or controversial occurs. Fountz said students should be involved at all times, not just for convenience. “I think NAACP is misunderstood on this cam pus,” Fountz said. “People don’t come out unless there is a big problem on campus. I want to give African Americans on this campus a wake-up call to what’s going on. We can’t keep fight ing and treating each other like dirt.” One of the goals of the NAACP is to implement the 12-point plan. The plan includes objectives like getting more minority scholarships under the President’s Achievement Award and hiring more African- American faculty. Fountz said the 12-point plan is one of the principal reasons he joined the NAACP. “I joined the NAACP because I wanted to make a difference for African Americans and all minorities here,” Fountz said. “I want to see the 12-point plan implemented and to help that happen. The only way to deal with prob lems at this university is to come together and work to solve these problems.” Another project the NAACP is working on is the Matthew Gaines statue. Gaines was a former slave who became a Texas senator in 1871. He was instru mental in helping pass the Morrill Land Grant that granted the land for A&M. Evangelista said $5,000 has been given by the University for the statue, but over $250,000 is still needed. “The Rudder statue went up really quick,” Evan gelista said. “It’s really hard to get the money, but we need to all work together to get it. Gaines was a Republican senator, and the College Republicans are also working to get the statue built.” Evangelista said it is important to have the Gaines statue to reflect the diversity of A&M’s past. “One of our goals is for the images of A&M to be inclusive of all minorities,” Evangelista said. “I see a lot of white faces, but not my own faces. If we can get the Matthew Gaines statue, it will set a prece dence for the University.” Fountz said he is glad A&M will have a chance to know about Matthew Gaines. “I’m glad TAMU is going to find out things about it’s origins,” Fountz said. “The school needs to give respect to others who helped found the University.” Ambassadors strive to create cultural awareness, acceptance across campus aments of jssful. f, Russia it was a alifornia ency haa lillion ia ler vain- payment les. e embar jncealin? illion. cow and investi' Yeltsin's lents in ie ‘ accused: ' helping iurces. cial who said because ompany in Octo- ,’s head’ mainin? ■/$ EraTOR S EOITOR lorCol* Kendra >• in, A m,,e, ioacUf rs: Helen pher, Pb' 1 lark, Ef' 1 ' % Millen ^owning, , Jill MaZ' ferLyn 1 * Ami*' in the l> ^ssifie* 1 p 5in ^ dfiOP* II a' nd ep ,on A* M Gwendolyn Struve, The Baitaijon Officers and members of the Ambassadors represent the Department of Multicultural Services. By Amy Protas The Battalion O n a campus that has had its share of racial tension, get ting students to understand and appreciate multiculturalism may be a next to impossible goal. Ambassadors for the multicul tural department strive to do 'list that — to create both a cul turally diverse and culturally aware campus. Ambassadors act as liaisons between all the organizations in the Multicultural Department, the school and the community. Kevin Carreathers, director of Multicultural Services, said de mand on the department from outside organizations convinced him to create the Ambassadors. T would often get phone calls from a variety of departments,” Carreathers said. “They were looking for students to serve on Panels and speak to various orga nizations. I decided to go ahead and have a group of students there already educated about the department, instead of having to go down a list and look for stu dents to send.” In addition to manning panels and speaking to organizations, Ambassadors host luncheons with Texas A&M President Ray Bowen before football games and give campus tours. Chris Gaines, an Ambas sador and a sophomore civil en gineering major, said the group is significant because many people do not understand what the department does. “Ambassadors serve as public relations between the department and the University,” Gaines said. “A lot of neat things happen that people pass up because they don’t know they’re there. The depart ment is tucked away in the Memorial Student Center, so peo ple miss out on a lot.” Lindsey Maxwell, an Ambas sador and a freshmen biomedical science major, said education about multiculturalism will help all students in the future. “It is very important because when students get into corporate work, it is going to be totally multicultural,” Maxwell said. “If we don’t learn it now, we never will. Multiculturalism is impor tant here and everywhere. We have to appreciate and work with other people.” Michelyn Washington, an Am bassador and a sophomore ac counting major, said learning about other people is part of a col lege education. “Ambassadors are important because people need to learn about new things,” Washington said. “People come to college to learn new things and gain new ex periences. If people are exposed to multiculturalism here, they will appreciate other cultures when they are in the working world.” Ambassadors also try to edu cate students about multicultur alism in order to lessen racial ten sion on campus. Maxwell said in order to ac complish that goal, people must work together. “I feel it takes everyone on campus to resolve the racial ten sion,” Maxwell said. “Everyone has to get involved and be sup portive. People have to do things, not just say things.” Gaines said one’s ethnic back ground does not matter because everyone should help in under standing diversity. “I looked around, and I sensed a lot of racism on our campus,” Gaines said. “Fm white, and I thought I could make a differ ence. I wanted to show other whites it’s OK to want racial equality. When I’m in the de partment, I don’t see a lot of whites. Ambassadors represent the whole department, and I wanted to do something with the whole department.” Gaines said he wants to show the campus that everyone can work together and get along. “People think to accept and re late to minorities, you have to be where they’re from,” Gaines said. “You just have to be a human be ing to relate. Ambassadors has al most every race, and I want to show the campus even though people are different, they’re still human beings.” Washington said Ambassadors can be an example of unity of di verse cultures. “We have people from various backgrounds on campus,” Wash ington said. “I think we’re a prime example of how people from differ ent backgrounds and cultures can come together.” Pow wow celebrates Native-American lore NASA Lyndon Alec was Head Man Dancer at the NASA Pow Wow. Photo by Rony Angkriwan By Kristina Buffin The Battalion N ative Americans from Ok lahoma and Texas trav eled to College Station this weekend to take part in the fourth annual Pow Wow spon sored by the Native American Student Association and Ameri can Indian Science and Engi neering Society. For the first time in four years, the pow wow was a two- day event. The event started Friday night with gourd danc ing. Head Gourd Dancer Ernie Kauahquo, who is a Kiowa-Pon- ca from Oklahoma, said he ac cepted the position because of his friendship with one of the or ganizers of the dance, Head Lady Dancer Amber Clark. “I like this dance because it is a nice gathering,” Kauahquo said. “I’ve been to other US AO (University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma) events in Okla homa, and I go there and here because I support my friends that are involved. They did a great job; they had a great turnout and treated us well.” Friday night did not attract as many people as NASA had hoped, but master of cere monies Alva Roughface said he knew Saturday would be bigger because people were used to the NASA pow wow being on Saturday. “It was iffy at first, but as it went on, it got better,” Roughface, who is a Ponca from San Antonio, said. “This is kind of way out, and people want to come, but they can’t make it on Friday. As time went on, people came from San Antonio and Dallas and we got more of an audience.” For many participants, pow wows are an opportunity to gather with friends to socialize. “We go to Oklahoma every weekend for dances,” Daniella Vickers, who is a Kiowa, said. “Some people who are sick come, and the music lifts them. The drum has significance and does a lot for people, so it com mands a lot of respect. It is more of a social event.” The main reason NASA puts on the dance and hosts Native American Week is to make the community and the A&M cam pus more aware of Native-Amer ican culture and issues. “This is the third year that I have been here,” Roughface said. “They have held this for four years, and it has made the community more aware of the Native-American culture. I think that it has made the stu dents more aware as well.” For the first time since the in ception of Native American Week, the week-long festivities and programs had to be scrapped because of budget cuts. Instead, the inter-tribal council decided to host a two-day dance. “I think the dance went well with the overall participation and organization,” Sandra Medi na, adviser for NASA, said. “I know that the other events in the past were very important and would have contributed to the program. But because we couldn’t bring in the speakers and certain resources, we could n’t accomplish what we had in the past.” Medina, along with the inter tribal council, hope that as the program continues, it will only become bigger and serve the campus and community in terms of education. “I thought it was very impres sive and everyone seemed to en joy the program,” Medina said. “I wish more people could have come, but people do not know what they are missing. In years to come we hope to do bigger and better things to help educate the University and the community.” Rony Angkriwan, The Battalion Native-American singing was a popular festivity at the NASA Pow Wow.