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Show Wednesday February 21, 2001 Westminster College Volume XXXIII Issue 17 Diversity Lecture Series Brings Alternative Views to Campus By Jason McDonald Staff Writer Looking around the Westminster Campus some would believe that there is a lack of diversity. Yes, Westminster has a large Caucasian population. However, within that population and the Westminster community as a whole, there is a plethora of diverse thought. Another shining example of this was Tuesday night, February 13, as the Gore auditorium was full to capacity for the fourth event in the KeyBank Cultural Diversity Lecture Series. The night was a continuous wave of momentum that grew larger with each new speaker and finally toppled over with an exhilarating question and answer segment. The theme of the evening was diversity in practice within government, business and community. The evening started with Westminster philosophy professor, Dr. Doug Wright, who gave a brief background about the night's speakers and told the audience his thoughts on diversity. According to Wright we are diverse and need to work together and lose the "us and them" mentality and become "we" which will bring even more diversity. Wright introduced the night's first speaker, Bruce Murphy, KeyBank Cleveland District President and Senior Executive of National Community Reinvestment. Murphy talked about the importance of diversity in business. According to Murphy, America is changing more quickly now than ever and businesses need to recognize this and continue to diversify. Businesses are looking for people who think differently than in the past, explained Murphy. "They (businesses) want people that open doors to indusiveness," he said. "Businesses need to realize that there is a rapidly increasing minority buying power that will continue to get bigger." Murphy stated that diversity is about different thinking. He said, "My ability to think differently has placed me where I am today." He believes progressive thinkers that see the "whole picture" will expand diversity within businesses and our culture. Marcella Montemurro, Program Director of YWCA Peace House, also believes in thinking differently. The YWCA Peace House provides an avenue for women of color to live without violence. She thinks the way sodety deals with immigrants, particularly women immigrants, should change. According to Montemurro, immigrant women do not trust the courts or police because they do not understand the system. She stressed that there is a fundamental lack of understanding within the systems of government that deal with issues relating to immigrants, espedally the individual needs of immigrant women. See DIVERSITY, page 6 Strong Leader and Sundance Film Bring Poverty to Life at Westminster By Michael DAsto Contributing Writer Slavery still exists in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi - a place so poor, that running water comes as a luxury. Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, this county is considered one of the poorest places in the nation. No one knows this better than Reggie Barnes, the one-tim- e superintendent and savior of the West Tallahatchie School District. Barnes flew west on a spedal invitation of the ASWC and the Philosophy Club to Salt Lake to address a wide-eye- d Westminster audience last Tuesday in a presentation commemorating Black History Month. Barnes, one of the only black people in the room, addressed an audience of roughly 40 attendees. He was preceded by a Sundance Film Festival documentary starring him and the people who live in his school district Reggie Barnes was the first speaker the college has brought in for Black History Month. called "Lalee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton." The work of Albert Maysles, Susan Froemke and Deborah Dickson, the film was edited in New York and premiered last month in Park City. The work was rated best in cinematography, and received accolades for its scenic portrayal of a black family over several generations in a historical context of slavery. The film depicted life in an economically-starved community, where the income ambles around $5800 a average year. Twenty years ago, this area was dubbed the Cotton King; a place where workers could labor in the fields all day collecting 300 plus pounds of cotton and receive upwards of $9. Today, modem farming equipment has replaced the work of 20 hands, ending a legacy of manual labor dating back to the days of slavery. "What remains is a community starved of income and self esteem," said Barnes. The people exist in a state of "mental slavery," said Barnes, who described Griffins Prepare for Final Home Game By Matt Gaschk Staff Writer in the season, the Westminster College and women's basketball teams led the Conference. It appeared as though both teams were going to have a cakewalk to the conference championships. But now, with only one game remaining on the regular season schedule, the Griffins do not look quite as invincible. While both teams split two road games over the weekend, no small task for any team in the conference, the play over the weekend appeared very uninspired. In front of a Carroll College crowd of over 2,600 fans, the Griffin men were blown away by This was after beating Rocky the Saints, after Mountain College by only four points, 93-8posting a 32 point victory at home earlier in the season. The men still lead the conference with a 12-- 1 record (19--7 overall). Meanwhile, the women experienced a similar fate. At home, the Griffin women swept Rocky and Carroll, but in Montana, without starter Dana Voorhees, they were unable to repeat their previous performance. While they did pull off a 54-5- 0 victory at Rocky, cold shooting dropped the Griffins to 0 (8-- 5 in conference) in a 55-4-9 loss to Carroll College. In Thursday's action, the women led by six after the first half and were hot on the court, shooting nearly 40 percent while holding Rocky Mountain College to 30 percent. The second half looked very similar, only with Rocky having the advantage. But the Griffins were able to hold on after shooting 10-1- 2 from the freethrow line. The Griffins were led by the 15 points of freshman post Rebekah Steenblik. She was closely followed by fellow freshman Rachael Patterson, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Also making a large contribution was sophomore Amy Jensen, who had a balanced game with seven points, six rebounds, and four assists. One of the primary goals for the women was to shut down Sarah Megyesi of the Bears. "If we can contain her, we'll have a good chance of winning the game," said Head Coach Daron Park before leaving for Montana. Westminster was able to accomplish that goal, holding the guard to no points on 9 shooting. In Saturday's game, the Griffins continued their cold shooting, shooting just 30 percent from the field in a 55-4- 9 loss to Carroll College. With just over eight minutes left in the first half, Kelsch hit a jumper from the baseline to reduce an early Saints lead to But they were not able to keep up with Carroll for the remainder of the half, as the Griffins were outscored 15-- 4 and were down 29-1- 6 at halftime. Early 95-7- 4. 9, 16-1- 0-- 14-1- 2. Although the Griffins made runs to keep the game within reach, they were down by as many as See BARNES, page 2 See BASKETBALL, page 3 - V S V ' x |