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Volume 54 lssue 50 “Tin Student Vom nt tin l nirersih of 'West ( *eorf*ia since 1^54 % Wednesday,. April 26, 2006
Ceremony honors students, faculty, groups
By Mariam Abuhaideri
Staff Writer
mabuhaideri@yahoo.com
The Campus Activities
Awards Program has been
held annually for the past
nineteen years to honor
special contributions of
faculty, staff and students
to the University of West
Georgia.
This year was no
different. Several awards
in various categories
were presented to
deserving individuals at
the Nineteenth Annual
Campus Activities Awards
Program and Reception on
Tuesday April 18.
The awards are highly
competitive, and in order to
be chosen for the awards,
individuals have to first be
nominated.
The nominations are
then sent to individual
departments or
organizations to which the
award belongs.
Once sent, the
departments/ organizations
have their own criteria for
selecting the winners.
The Campus Awards,
however, are presented
by the Department of
Student Activities.
According to Chris
Geiger, the Associate
Director of Student
Activities,“Ourdepartment
mainly coordinates the
program and the selection
process. We leave the rest to
the presenting organization
or department.”
He also adds that
the winners represent the
diversity of campus life,
BSU offers stress relief
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Photo by Matt Hagler
Last Tuesday, the Baptist Student Union offered the chance for students to relieve
stress that tends to come with the end of the semester drawing near. UWG student
Bowen Bhenna takes a whack at the car. One dollar equaled two hits and all proceeds
go towards benefiting missionaries.
and are well deserving.
“It is important to
recognize people who go
above and beyond doing
so much for the campus,”
he says.
The Intramural,
Student Government
Association, Student
Activities Counci, Greek
Life, Black Student
Alliance, University
Ambassadors and Omicron
Delta Kappa were the
departments/organizations
that commended dedicated
service.
SGA presented four
awards while the BSA
thanked three deserving
beneficiaries.
Among the awards
presented by SGA, Dr.
David Goff, chair of the
Mass Communications
Program, won the SGA
Faculty Member of the
year, and SGA senator
of the Year award was
presented to Angel Bums
and Adrian Myers.
The Department
of Student Activities
presented campus awards
in categories of Community
Service to Chi Omega,
Advisor of the Year to
Karen Boettler of the
Department of Residence
Life, Outstanding Student
Organization to the Student
Peace Action Network,
Mass Communication
Society, and to BSA for
Distinguished Service for
the Roberts Hall hurricane
relief effort group, and
the Dr. Bruce Lyon
Distinguished Student
Leader to Blake Lord and
Clint Cannon.
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Photo by Mariam Abuhaideri
Dr. Brad Yates, left and Dr. David Goff, right, pose with Sheree Garrison, president of the Mass Communications Society.
The organization won a Campus Activities Award for new student organization of the year. Dr. Goff won the SGA Faculty
Member of the Year award. Dr. Yates is the faculty advisor to the Mass Communications Society.
The Outstanding
Student Organization
awards were presented in
three sub categories.
The Mass
Communication Society
received the award in the
new organization category,
SPAN in the award in the
small organization category,
and BSA in the large
organization category.
This year West
Georgia helped graciously
Senior tells of escape
from native country
By Van Jenkins
Guest Writer
vaneric@hotmail.com
Phouthone Nguyen,
a graduating senior
here at the University
of West Georgia, drew
strength from her almost
unspeakable misfortunes.
Instead of using the
past as a handicap, she
viewed it as her destiny.
In her native country Laos,
the government killed
some of her family, while
she barely escaped with
her life, and was forced to
survive in the jungle with
little to no provisions.
Afterward she lived
through deplorable
conditions, had to learn a
new culture and language,
working 30 to 40 hours a
week to help support the
rest of her family, all before
graduating high school.
Having the odds
against her, she is
in sponsoring housing to
several families displaced
by hurricane Katrina. The
Distinguished Service
award was presented to
the individuals that helped
during those difficult
proving that regardless
of circumstances, always
reach for your goals.
Nguyen is majoring in
Biology, and she is on track
to accomplish her life long
goal of becoming a doctor.
About 25 years ago,
Nguyen, and a few family
members, barely escaped
with their lives trying
to escape an oppressive
Communist regime in
Laos, while witnessing
horrible acts of violence
that only most of us hear
about through the media.
Yet she has accomplished
much in academics and
in her community with
dreams of doing much
more.
Before Laos was
under communist control,
Nguyen and her family
were sympathetic to the
United States and its idea
of democracy.
Unfortunately, Laos
fell to the communists
times.
“The Awards
ceremony has become a
university tradition and we
are glad that the response
has been so great,” said
Geiger.
and on February 15, 1980,
Nguyen and her sister fled
the country in fear of their
lives.
“We grappled with the
difficult choice between
imminent and daily terror
of the Communist regime
or the equally dangerous
escape to freedom,”
Nguyen said.
As they fled, she
recalls bodies floating
down the Mekong River
that were left intentionally
by the government to be
seen to those trying to
escape Laos.
The scare tactic did
work for some, but not for
Nguyen and her sibling.
Nguyen said, “Once
you decided to go you’re
going to go, rather dead or
alive.” Often without food
they had to rely on wild
fruit, and sometimes their
own urine to survive.
See STHKNT. page 2