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Show Friday Jan JO, The Utah Statesman£amp_u$News Student vigil urges equality Briefs Speaker urges students to eliminate racial discrimination BY CANDACE MABEY Staff Writer Eliminating racial discrimination and carrying on a 40year dream is what keynote speaker Dr. William A. Smith urged Utah State University students to do during a candlelight vigil honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tuesday night. Smith is an assistant professor of education, culture and society at the University of Utah, a civil rights activist. He spoke to nearly 100 students gathered in the Sunburst Lounge in the Taggart Student Center. He shared personal experience and research to inform the audience about the racial crisis in America and a condition he calls racial battle fatigue. Smith said his father was a bodyguard for King and was very much aware of civil rights, but also affected by racial discrimination growing up in Chicago. Today, Smith said he is a civil rights activist because he decided when he was a boy he wanted to make the world a better place. He said that racial battles continue like they did when he was young, but he sees hope for improvement if all people will help fight these battles. "We have a lot of work to do, we have a lot of challenges ahead, but if we can make one small act toward this, then we can help carry out Dr. King's message from 40 years ago," he said. In response to a personal experience he had a few years ago with a child calling him a demeaning racial term, he said, "It felt like he just stabbed me in my heart." Smith said that even though this experience happened years ago, "The feeling is fresh; the pain is still there." It is experiences like these, Smith said, that cause people of color to have racial battle fatigue. This condition is based off of Smith's own research, he said, and also 40-50 years of research literature. Symptoms of racial battle fatigue, Smith said, include headaches, back aches, high blood-pressure, changes in appetite, ulcers, anxiety, worry He talked about and much more. social justice These are stresslone activism being a induced when movement against people of color by everybody; stereotypes and are placed in iverybody has a role.'' discrimination situations that that can take are demeaning, William A. Smith place at USU. where untrue, "[It] stereotypical should be done by comments are everybody; everymade or instancbody has a role," es of racial he said. "White allies can send microagression, he said. messages and open up doors to Smith said that a national staff and students everywhere." study conducted by universiSmith said that a major conties such as Harvard, Michigan cern he has is the declining State, Berkley and Stanford show there are obsessive stereo- number of African-American students, as well as teachers types directed toward people of and professors. He said there is color. Smith said that these stereotypes include such ideas that faster and larger growth among African-American females people of color are criminals than African-American males, or predators, they have ghettospecific knowledge or behaviors, according to research that he has gathered from 1991-2001. they attend school only as athHe said he believes it is because lete-students and they are antiintellectual and, therefore, not a these males have racial battle legitimate part of campus. These fatigue from the way they are treated on campuses across are all false stereotypes and America. Smith said anyone can be proactive in treating people of color Smith quoted Amos Wilson with respect and treating them when he said, "To be a black as individuals, not stereotypes. male is to have your integrity chronically under question." Social justice activism will help stop such feelings. In a question-and-answer session after Smith's speech, the new dean of the College of Natural Resources, Nat Frazer, made it clear he wanted to do something about racial injustice on USU's campus. He said he's from the southern part of Georgia and that he knows the discrimination that takes place. He told the audience that if there was anyone there who felt they were in a situation where they had been discriminated against because of their race, that he wanted to know about it. Smith responded positively to Frazer's comment. "We need people who will be responsive to these issues," Smith said. "And it's great for a dean to be willing to do so. But it's faculty and students that need to be willing to follow your example." For more information, contact the Black Student Union at 797-1733 or HYPERLINK "mailto:bsu@cc.usu.edu" bsu@ Statesman file photo cc.usu.edu STUDENTS AND COMMUNITY members participate in Tuesday's candlelight vigil in the Sunburst Lounge in the TSC in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. ASUSU party in Merrill Library canceled Council discusses future goals for 2006, election policies BY MARIE MACKAY Assistant News Editor A university-wide party, orginally scheduled to be held in the Merrill Library Jan. 27 has been canceled due to fire-code violations. Laurel Evans, ASUSU Programming Vice President, announced the cancelation Tuesday during the Executive Council regular meeting. Because the building is scheduled to be demolished, its sprinkling system is no longer functioning, Evans said. However, Evans assured the council that another party is being planned and will be announced in the coming weeks. Originally the party was going to be held after the men's basketball game. Activities such as live bands, wall painting and dancing would have been present. Other items discussed at the meeting included whether or not the council should be allowed to support candidates who will be running for an ASUSU student government position this semester. Currently, there is no formal written policy. Guidelines are determined by the council each year, said Public Relations Director Holly Scott. "We try to run elections as the real world runs them," Scott said. Members of the council discussed whether making specific rules of how ASUSU officials can support candidates could be detrimental or not. "Unless we have a strong opinion one way or another, we should just let the race run its course," ASUSU President Quinn Millet said. In years past, there have been problems with ASUSU officials sponsoring specific candidates through e-mail and other forms of communication. "We need to be 100 percent one way or 100 percent in the other in my personal opinion," Administrative Assistant Joseph Ure said. Legislation concerning the topic will be put on the agenda during the council's next meeting Jan. 24. Election packets are now available for students interested in running. FRANCO •THERAPIST From page 7 here right now: enrollment," he said. "That would be my number one priority." Franco has been involved with helping USU increase its enrollment and he said already there have been more applications submitted than there were last year. He said one of the major keys to continue improving USU's enrollment rate is to get the southern Idaho students back. Franco said the central administration at USU is very supportive of Student Services and has worked very cooperatively to meet student needs. "Students are on the forefront of this In other items, the council discussed ASUSU goals for the year 2006, including legislation that would only allow professors to order textbooks that have been on the market for at least one year. "There are not enough books," Evans said. "Textbooks don't change that much in a year." This semester, many students were not able to buy some of the textbooks for their clashes because they were new editions and not enough of them were in print, Evans said. Another idea was to take steps to making the Financial Aid Office more studentfriendly. Athletics Vice President Rosie Strong said she has heard of students that were misinformed of the financial aid situations which delayed their schoolingOne solution to the problem would be to have student employees be better trained about the rules and regulations involved with financial aid at the university. Decisions on goals will be made discussed later. -mmackay@cc.usu.edu From page 1 campus and the reason for everything we do," he said. "I've found if you treat [students] with repsect, treat them like adults, they will treat you in kind." Other nominees for the UNL position include Don A. Aripoli from Missouri State University, S. Leellen Brigman from the University of Wyoming, Randy E. Hyman fro Ball State University and Marysz P. Rames from South Dakota State University. UNL officials did not respond to requests for comments. -bnelson@cc.usu.edu own stress, but she said was more than happy to open up a location easily accessible for students on campus. Cook said she loves to hear the success stories from people she has helped and says that it is truly where her heart lies. The center is available to USU students and their spouses and children. -vlsedgwick@cc.usu.edu Resident, tuition bill proposed in Utah A bill that would allow active-duty | military personnel to maintain Utah j resident status and pay the low-cost \ in-state tuition at public colleges : and universities cleared the House ' Education Committee Tuesday. ; HB232, sponsored by Rep. Mike Morley, R-Spanish Fork, passed with a majority vote and now goes to the House floor. HB232 entitles military service ' people and their immediate family ; members to "resident student status" ; if they had lived in Utah before active ; duty and return when their service ' ends, Morely said. ' The bill makes a "modification to Utah law," which already allows tuition waivers for active-duty Utah National Guard members and some military veterans. Two members voted against HG232. West Valley City Rep. Ron Bigelow opposed the bill because it "preserves residential status" of individuals who live in the state but are not Utah residents and join the military, they can return to Utah and claim the low-cost college tuition, he said. Rep. David Hogue, R-Riverton, opposed the bill because it did not include a "fiscal note," explaining the difference between in-state and out-ofstate tuition rates. Energy workshops available to Utahns The Utah Wind Working Group is hosting a series of renewable energy workshops around the state in early February' to help Utahns harness wind power and other renewable energy resources. Energy efficiency experts will also be on hand to help Utahns learn how they can save energy and money. Workshops will be held Feb. 8 in St. George at the Comfort Suites, Feb. 9 in Provo at the USDA Service Center and Feb. 10 in Logan at Utah State ; University. ! Participants will learn about grants and loans from section 9006 of the : 2002 Farm Bill created specifically to assist rural small businesses and agricultural producers develop wind power, geothermal, solar and biomass projects. No fee or advance registration is required for these workshops, which are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind Powering America : and Geopowering the West Programs, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Utah Geological Survey's State Energy Program, Utah Clean Energy, and the USDA Utah Rural Business-Cooperative Services. To find out more about these workshops or if you have any questions, contact Nykole Littleboy at the Utah Geological Survey at 801-538-5413, nykolelittleboy@utah.gov or Richard Carrig at the Utah USDA at 801-5244328, richard.carrig@ut.usda.gov. Finance course offered to students Utah State University is offering a personal financial management course in several Utah locations beginning spring semester. The course, developed by the Trustee's Education Network, Inc. is designed to meet the requirements of the the Bankruptcy Code for filers • needing to be discharged from bankruptcy. According to Ann House, USU Extension bankruptcy prevention agent, Utah has had the distinction of having the highest bankruptcy rate in the nation. "USU Extension had to apply to be a provider of this financial education, a,nd we are currently the only face-toface provider in the state," said House. "The other options for education are by phone or online. For most situations, personally attended classes are the most meaningful and beneficial." The course, Personal Financial Choices, is designed to be flexible to each attendee's level of financial understanding. It includes education on communication and personal planning, money management, becoming consumer savvy, restoring credit and the wise use of credit. Those attending the course should pre-register by calling the office of the class they wish to attend. • Compiled from staff and media reports |