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WEDNESDAY, N( )\ 1 MB! K 14. 2007
African Student Association hosts first annual African Night
By Fontez Brooks
Staff Writer
fair idg 1 ® my.westga .edu
The African Student
Association hosted their
first annual African Night, a
showcasing of African culture
through dance, art, and music.
The performers shook it old
school- really old school,
exhibiting fashions and dances
that trace their ancestry all the
way back to Africa.
The ASA is the first
association of its kind on this
campus. Making its debut this
semester, the ASA encourages
interaction between students
of African origin and students
interested in African affairs.
ASA was by Chioma
Okafor, who was inspired by the
African dance routine during
the annual spring International
Night. After the dance, Okafor
began brainstorming to figure
out ways to show off African
culture more than once a
year. After gathering others
interested in her idea, she
founded the ASA with money
from the office of minority
affairs, headed by Dr. Jack
Reverend Doctor Joseph Lowery speaks at NAACP banquet
By: Johnathan Davis
Staff Writer
jdavis23@ my.westga .edu
The Carroll County
Branch of the National
Association for the
Advancement of Colored
Peoplehostedtheir34thAnnual
Freedom Fund Banquet at the
Campus Center Ballroom on
Saturday. In attendance was
Bill Chappell, newly elected
Chairman of the Carroll
County Commissioners, and
Cisco Baldizon of the Latino
Heritage Council, as well
as many local pastors and
ministers. The banquet hosted
the Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
Students face registration woes
By Kandace Williams
Staff Writer
Kwilli2o@my.westga .edit
It’s time to register for
next semester’s classes—
and that means it’s time to
stand in lines, get headaches,
and send numerous e-mails
to professors about class
overrides.
The University of West
Georgia prides itself on
having small classes, but will
these small classes be enough
to accommodate the growing
campus?
Many majors in the
College of Arts and Sciences
require that students take and
complete foreign language
classes all the way to 2002
levels, and it seems that the
preferred language of choice
for most students is Spanish.
The majority of students
begin taking Spanish classes
at the 1001 level, making their
foreign language last for two
years. But often, those two
years can turn into more. Each
Spanish class holds roughly
25 students, but if there isn’t
HJest (Georgian
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Photo h\ Kim Hahn
ASA members perform a traditional and very thoroughly choreographed African dance at the
first annual UWG African Night. The event was hosted by the African Student Association.
Jenkias.
African Night, which was
the ASA's official introduction
to the students at West Georgia,
offered a visual interpretation
of lifestyles in Africa. Using
the story of an African teenager
raised in America as its overall
theme. the purpose of the event
was to take the vision of Africa
that most Americans share and
replace those thoughts with a
more idealized view of African
culture.
as the speaker of the event.
Lowery was named
by Ebony magazine as one
of the nations 15 Greatest
Black Preachers and the
“consummate voice of
biblical social relevancy.” He
was awarded the NAACP
lifetime achievement award,
hailed as the “dean of the
civil rights movement.”
He delivered eulogies
at the funerals of Rosa Parks
and Coretta Scott King, and
he co-founded the SCLC with
Martin Luther King, Jr. in
1957.
Currently, Lowery
is actively pursuing
election reform and voter
a chance to register early, the
odds of getting in are slim.
IIWG senior Jonathan
Ashby knows about this first
hand.
“I couldn't get into
Spanish 2002 because
my registration date was
always towards the end of
registration- and even when
I did get to register early, 1
still had to wait because the
classes fill up so fast,” Ashby
said. “I actually had to wait
two semesters to finish, where
as 1 wanted to take it earlier.”
Spanish isn’t the only
woe students face. Many
students look forward to
becoming a junior or senior
so they can have an earlier
registration date and a better
chance at getting into their
class of choice.
“Registration is horrible,’ ’
psychology major Danelle
Foster said. “I waited all this
time, I did all these hours for
me to register early, only for
me to not be able to get any of
the classes that’s in my major
or minor.”
Foster actually had an
Judging by attendance,
the night was a major success.
A skit was split up
and shown in separate purs
between other acts during the
evening, giving the night a
more coherent feel.
ASAmembersperfi Mined
a traditional African dance
that was very thoroughly
chore* >gruphed. Some
performers danced behind the
audience while other dancers
performed chi stage.
empowerment, economic
justice, and criminal justice
refimn. He has called
for a moratorium chi the
death penalty and for more
alternative sentencing. He is
currently a very in-demand
speaker, known ft >r his the night
provoking sty le.
“I’m neither Democrat or
Republican. I'm Methodist."
Lowery said. “One of them
takes us for granted, the other
just takes us.”
He continued. "Our
Foreign Policy has been nasty
and wTong...beginning with
slavery.” He went on to talk
about, "Our smart bombs sent
on dumb missions.”
early registration date. She
was able to register on Nov. 5,
the first day for juniors— but
the majority of the classes she
wanted were almost full.
“I think the main
problem is that everyone
gets to register first,” Foster
said. "Resident assistants,
people with disabilities, the
Honor's College,and learning
communities all get to register
first. So even though I think I
have an early registration date.
1 actually don’t.”
To avoid dealing with
registration stress, always
have back up classes lined up.
A lot of classes do fill up fast,
so in the instance that a class
does fill up, an alternate plan
will be available.
Remember that advisors
are there to talk and plan with.
An advisor can give students
better insight on what to do just
in case they become stuck with
undesirable classes or worse,
no classes at all. And always
remember to keep an eye on
the ever-changing Banweb
class listings, especially in the
early morning hours.
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Masthead Art by Jesse Duke
There were also
three mini-fashion shows,
containing garments
representative of dress styles
of the African countries
Nigeria, Ethiopia, Gambia,
Sierra Leone and Cameroon.
One designer is a member of
ASA. Nesie Abdulai. Other
outfits in the show were
made by Rebel Wear and
Afrokicks, stores that cater
to those seeking Africanized
fashions.
While Lowery did spend
time discussing politics and
foreign affairs, the focus of the
speech was “Unity through
Diversity.”
"Seldom do we stop
and think about the soul of
America.” Lowery said. He
rebuffed those w ho talk about
African-Americans returning
to Africa, "Go back to Africa.
How in the hell can they go
back, they ’ve never been? ’
Lowery closed with a
call for unity in America.
“Americans need to learn
to turn to each other instead of
on each other.” He told the
audience. “Get up. and save
America."
UWG Young Democrats hold first meeting
JR* V
Photo by Terence Rushin
UWG Young Democrats President Skyler Akins
speaks with student Ashley Lynch.
By Johnathan Davis
Staff Writer
jdavis23@my.westga .edit
With numbers
comparable to the College
Republicans, the UWG
chapter of Young Democrats
met on Wednesday to
organize its efforts to reach
out to the student body. The
meeting was originally set to
meet in the Political Science
lounge at Pafford Hall, but
the large turnout forced the
Young Democrats to move
to a larger room.
“This is probably
the most exciting time in
nil WIST (,K )K(,IA\ \T\VS
Most of the fashions
used loose materials with the
colors yellow, green and red,
with tight black leggings.
The event oiganizers
attempted to serve ftxxl that
reflected what someone living
in Africa would eat. The
menu for the night consisted
of regular white rice, Jallof
rice, plantains, puff-puff
(fried donut wholes), baked
chicken, Sanbusa, and fish.
Okafor has much more
i r
|v* * •i- rfmtoAm
Photo courtesy of www .google .com
The Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery recently spoke at
the NAACP Freedom Fund banquet hosted by UWG.
America to be a Young
Democrat,” UWG Young
Democrats President Skyler
Akins said. “We currently
control the US House and
Senate, and will be taking
back the White House in
2008. The Congress is, for
the first time in modem
American history, fighting
for young people, and
America’s children.”
The main order of
business was for the like
minded students to get
together and discuss the
recent election, as well
as plans for upcoming
elections. Akins noted
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in store for UWG students
next semester.
“We plan to have several
more fundraisers as well as
African week, which will be
a week of events, including
a soccer event, which is
the biggest sport in Africa.
We re basically try ing to raise
awareness about Africa,” she
said.
Notably absent from
the event was any mention
of the conflicts, deprivation,
starvation, genocide, tribal
wars, desertificatitMi, and
diseases— especially AIDS
—that are ravaging the
continent, although Okafor
did admit that there will be an
upcoming speaker addressing
the Darf ur conflict next year.
Okafor wants students
to know, “It’s not always
about, like, racial stuff.
Basically we’re just trying
to get our culture out there.
It’s fun, we’re just trying to
educate people, we’re not
trying to like, separate or
whatever. Africa is a very
diverse continent. We have
all different kinds of cultures
there.”
that college students
overwhelmingly vote
Demcxratic during major
federal elections, but he
said that more effort needs
to be placed on the state
and local-level elections,
as these elections have a
more immediate impact on
students’ daily lives.
“We will be involved
in trying to regain control
of our state legislature, and
making sure that Democrats
are elected throughout
Carroll County,” Akins
said. “We will also be
using social networking
and media outlets such as
Facebook and the West
Georgian to alert students of
our meetings, and events.”
The next meeting
for the UWG Young
Democrats is scheduled
for Nov. 28, and all are
welcome. Those interested
in more information can
e-mail Skyler Akins at
skylerakins@gmail.com
or join the group “College
Democrats” on the West
Georgia network of
Facebook.
