ASUO encourages community involvement
■ Student volunteers are
in high demand at several
local programs
By Emily Gust
Oregon Daily Emerald
The ASUO is shifting its focus to
a new outreach effort that includes
four volunteer programs to get stu
dents involved in the community.
ASUO Outreach Associate Gabe
Sitowski said that in order to help
students discover the available op
portunities, the ASUO held a meet
ing last week to introduce four ex
isting programs to interested
students: Start Making A Reader To
day (SMART), Pathfinders, Bolder
Options and Lunch Buddies.
SMART sends volunteers to se
lected schools for one hour a week,
where they read with two at-risk
children in kindergarten through
third grade, said Liz Degner, South
Valley area manager for SMART.
One of the most apparent effects
of the program, Degner said, is that
participation often changes stu
dents’ attitudes.
Some students will have bad atti
tudes in the classroom before con
necting with a SMART volunteer,
she said. But, “After they work with
volunteers, their self-esteem in
creases and they start displaying a
better attitude about being at
school.”
The goal is for every child to work
with two volunteers per week. But
with more than 950 children in the
program and about 900 volunteers
— many of whom work more than
the one hour required — some chil
dren aren’t receiving their two vis
its.
Degner said the program needs
about 300 more volunteers to make
sure every child is fully served.
Options extend beyond third
grade, and a few programs offer
guidance to older youths. Commit
ted Partners for Youth directs two of
these — Pathfinders, which is set
up for middle school children, and
Turn to Outreach, page 6
Catharine Kendall Emerald
Hadley Brown, SMART reading program coordinator for Westmoreland Elementary, reads to 5-year-old Antonio Garcia.
Kwanzaa observance celebrates history, looks to future
Laura Smit Emerald
Abolade Majekobaje waters plants and seeds in honor of the past and the elders during
the pre-celebration of the African American holiday Kwanzaa.
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■ University students will
celebrate Kwanzaa a bit early,
but the holiday’s lessons are
as powerful as ever
By Serena Markstrom
Oregon Daily Emerald
Umoja, Kujichagulia, Ujima, Uja
maa, Nia, Kuumbaand Imani.
They are seven principles, repre
senting seven days and they are not
in November, hut the celebration of
them often is.
Each year Kwanzaa, the winter
holiday celebrating African Ameri
can culture, begins the day after
Christmas, but because of the
school-based schedule, many of the
celebrations fall in November.
Dominique Beaumonte, director
of the University Black Student
Union, said the early observation of
Kwanzaa ensures proper acknowl
edgment of an important holiday.
“1 think it would be horrible if we
overlooked it as a program on cam
pus,” said Beaumonte, a sopho
more pre-journalism major.
The BSU held its Kwanzaa pro
gram Wednesday in the EMU Ball
room. About 150 people came to
hear the music, see the skits and
learn a bit about the background of
the young holiday.
Olivia Callier, a freshman,
opened with the Black National An
them, followed by a performance by
the University Gospel Choir.
C ( The goal is to provide
cultural awareness by
working together and
enjoying each other’s
presence.
Dominique Beaumonte
director
Black Student Union %%
“Keep your head up, don’t give
in,” Sara Chiles, a soloist, sang,
“Everything will be all right.”
This singing set the stage for an en
tertaining and informational program.
“The goal is to provide cultural
awareness bv working together and
enjoying each other’s presence,”
Beaumonte said.
The event was put on entirely by
student volunteers.
Students acted out the first day,
Umoja, or unity, with a simulated
classroom skit outlining the pur
pose of Kwanzaa.
In 1966, Dr. Maulana Kaxenga, an
activist and black studies scholar,
founded the holiday. Today, Ameri
cans celebrate it in a number of ways,
most of which involve a spiritual re
connection to the African American
community and to one’s goals.
The professor asked his class if
anyone knew who Karenga is. A
ditzy student, portrayed by Abo
lade Majekobaje, eagerly raised her
hand and said he is, like, the best
football player.
Beaumonte, playing a smart stu
dent, corrected her and ultimately
moved his chair away from the ig
norant student, evoking laughter
and applause from the audience.
Majekobaje, whose father is
Nigerian, said she also learned
about Kwanzaa in real-life school,
Turn to Kwanzaa, page 6
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more days
...until the Oregon Daily Emerald holiday issue.
(The last issue for fall term. Advertising deadline is Wednesday, November 29)