Oregon daily emerald., October 17, 2001, Page 8B, Image 16

ASUO student groups offer something for everyone
■loiuutjfii-run organizations
offer community support,
cultural education and activism
for many on campus
By Anna Seeley
Oregon Daily Emerald
There is a hallway on the bottom
floor of the EMU that many students
may not know about. The long hall
way is lined with open doors that
lead into rooms full of smiling,
laughing students with whom any
one can talk and share ideas and ex
periences. These are the offices of
some ASUO student organizations.
Student groups have been an im
portant presence on campus since
the University’s early years. They
provide a means for students to ex
press their viewpoints and ideas with
others. For some, not being involved
in a student group isn’t an option.
“As a student of color, you can
never not be a member of a student
group,” senior public relations ma
jor Brandy Alexander said. “It is up
to me to get involved, but indirectly
I am still involved in issues affect
ing students ot color.
Student groups are an important
part of campus life for three reasons,
according to ASUO Vice President
Joy Nair. ASUO groups provide an
open platform for students to dis
cuss ideas, they allow students to
participate in a democratic process
by requiring group leaders to create
a budget, and they go along with the
mission of the University, which is
to promote the physical and cultur
al diversity of students, she said.
There are a range of different stu
dent groups open to everyone on
campus. Whether people are stu
dents of color, are interested in
women’s issues or political issues,
or just want to get involved in bring
ing events to campus, a group exists
to fit their interests.
One such group is the Native
American Student Union. NASU,
which is open to people of any eth
nicity, works to provide resources
for Native Americans on campus,
co-director Annelia Norris said. The
group sponsors many different cul
tural activities and creates a support
system for students, she said.
“NASU is like our family here on
.campus,” Norris said. “Our people
are really family-oriented, so it’s really
important to keep the family aspect.”
The group also provides cultural
sharing among its members, and of
fers cultural events for the whole
community to educate people about
Native American culture, she said.
“This is where you come to be edu
cated on native issues,” Norris said.
Like NASU, the Vietnamese Stu
dent Association is here to educate
students about Vietnamese culture
with “fun Vietnamese culture stuff,”
VSA secretary Yen Nguyen said. The
group welcomes students of all back
grounds to visit its office, she said.
“We try to get diverse students so
people have a chance to mingle with
people of all cultures,” she said.
The Asian Pacific American Stu
dent Union also strives to serve as a
reference and provide support for
students interested in learning more
about Asian/Pacific culture and is
sues, as its mission statement says.
However, when the group got started
in the 1970s, it had a different focus,
APASU member Noelle Miller said.
“We used to be more political, but
we changed to a more social and
community group,” she said.
MEChA also began with a political
aim, but unlike APASU, it has kepi
that, focus. MEChA was founded in
the late 1960s in response to growing
inequalities in the Chicano commu
nity, member Mario Sifuentez said.
“We are not a student organiza
tion, but a student movement with
major emphasis on uplifting cul
tures,” he said.
The Black Student Union also has
a political aspect to it. The group is
politically active with civil rights,
and its members also put on a lot of
events and have outreach programs,
BSU member Jason Floyd said.
The Multicultural Center, which
formed just a few years ago, is here to
act as a hub where students of color
can gather, former MCC member Huy
Ong said. The MCC gives students an
opportunity to address still-existing
institutionalized racism, he said.
“The MCC is one of the Universi
ty’s focuses for student activism,”
he said. “It does great things—great
programming.”
Another hub for activist groups on
campus is the Survival Center. The
Survival Center works for social and
I
dt0
4®
ii
m 11
BOOK YOUR SUMMER
IN OREGON
■
2002 SUMMER SESSION
GROUP-SATISFYING AND ELECTIVE COURSES, SHORT COURSES,
SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS BEGIN THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER.
Summer session begins June 24. Registration starts May 6.
The UO Summer Session Catalog will be available in early
April. You can speed your way toward graduation by
taking required courses during summer.
2002 SUMMER SCHEDULE
First four-week session: June 24-July 19
Second four-week session: July 22-August 16
Eight week session: June 24- August 16
Eleven week session: June 24—September 6
l
333 Oregon Hall
1279 University of Oregon
Eugene OR 97403-1279
Telephone (541) 346-3475
http://uosummer.uoregon.edu
UNIVERSITY of OREGON
SUMMER
SESSION
environmental justice, as well as
fighting for the end of oppression, co
coordinator Randy Newnham said.
“We think the awareness of socie
ty needs to be raised to recognize the
rights of all people, all works, all
life,” he said.
Students don’t need to have a po
litical interest or be a student of color
to find a group that fits their inter
ests. The Cultural Forum is a pro
gram that provides for the campus
and community by bringing art and
music presentations to campus,
Cultural Forum Program Director
Linda Dievendorf said.
“There is so much going on, on
campus, but I think we are the heart of
the campus,” she said. “The campus
benefits by the programs, and the stu
dents themselves benefit from the ex
posure and opportunities to go to con
certs and lectures outside of class. ”
There are many more student
groups for people to get involved in.
From the Women’s Center to the
YWCA, from LGTBA to OSPIRG,
there is something for everyone.
Anna Seeley is a student activities reporter for
the Oregon Daily Emerald.
Greek history
continued from page 6B
a whiskey still in their house. Fear
ing a raid, they sold the still to
members of Sigma Nu, who were
caught with it.
In 1960, The Register-Guard re
ported a strong Greek system at the
University, with 16 sororities and
22 fraternities. Greek housing was
in demand, but property near cam
pus was scarce and very expensive.
But during the later years of the
decade through the 1970s, many
chapters, faced with declining
membership and high mortgages,
were forced to close.
University Greek Life coordina
tor Shelley Sutherland said fewer
students joined fraternities and
sororities during the 1960s and
1970s because of the Vietnam War
and the overall social climate.
“Students rebelled against au
thority and being organized,” she
said.
Four sororities and 12 fraternities *
closed between 1965 and 1971.
The 1978 release of “National »
Lampoon’s Animal House,” with
scenes filmed inside the Sigma Nu
house, brought notoriety to the
chapter.
Since then, however, Greek or
ganizations nationwide have tried
to distance themselves from the
picture of Greek culture shown in
the movie, with binge drinking and
riotous behavior by toga-clad mem
bers of a fictional fraternity.
At the University, several frater
nities and all sororities have joined
Select 2000, which bans drinking
in chapter houses and promotes
leadership and academic values.
And while the numbers of stu
dents in the Greek system have nev
er again reached the levels of the
1950s, Greek membership began
rising again in the 1980s and ’90s.
Several houses that closed dur
ing the late 1960s, such as Delta
Upsilon and Lambda Chi Alpha,
have returned to campus.
And over the past several years,
fraternity and sorority membership
has remained consistent, although
Sutherland said fraternity member
ship is declining slightly.
Lee’s sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha,
which closed in 1971, has not re
opened a chapter on campus. But
she still attends sorority reunions
every year, she said. She said the
friends she made in the sorority are
“friends for life.”
Kara Cogswell is a student activities reporter
for the Oregon Daily Emerald. She can be
reached at kdracogsWe!f@dailyemdr^.cQm: