Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, April 17, 1998
Campus groups to display culture
Festival of Nations and World Expo designed to educate
By Sara Anderson
sanderson@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Students will not have to travel any further than the University of Kansas today to immerse themselves in other cultures.
The International Student Association will sponsor its annual World Expo and Festival of Nations today. The World Expo, an all-day exhibition of international campus groups and clubs, will take place from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. in front of Stauffer-Flint Hall.
The Festival of Nations, showcasing different cultural performances, begins at 7 p.m. at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Both events are free and open to the public.
"It's a time for students to stop by on campus and get to know about the different countries," said Tracy Murray, ISA co-cultural chair woman and Wichita junior. "It's a chance to share the different cultures with the campus."
The World Expo will consist of 14 informational tables displaying brochures, national and artistic artifacts and other cultural material from the respective countries and regions.
During the Festival of Nations, performances will include dances, musical selections and skits. Murray said about 12 groups would be participating. She said groups from India, Italy and Greece as
Sandra Rainero, ISA co-cultural chair and Venice, Italy, graduate student, said the show was unique because it was not geared toward one cultural group.
well as other countries would participate in the events.
"The other cultural events target people from their own culture," she said. "We try to bring an international awareness. We're using languages that are international, such as music and dance. We're going beyond the language barriers."
Rainero said the KU international student population had decreased during the last four years from about 3,000 to 1,500. She said many factors including economics and competition with other universities had contributed to the decline.
The events were important to the international campus community because they gave international students a chance to
"It's a really good opportunity because the international community isn't that large," she said. "So it's a good chance for them all to get together."
unify, Murray said.
Rainero said the events gave international students a chance to display their unique cultural backgrounds.
"I hope people get whatever they can," she said. "Maybe it will broaden their interest in a certain country or make them want to travel. Just by showing up you've learned something."
Murray said she hoped students enjoyed and learned from the programs.
"It's a chance to show who we really are, how we are different and how we are similar," she said. "We really hope American students come because it's the only occasion we get to show who we really are without words."
Pride Week geared to celebrate diversity
Activities directed at entire campus, not just minorities
By Sara Anderson
sanderder@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Next week, students at the University of Kansas shouldn't keep their pride in the closet.
Pride Week, designated to help showcase diversity at the University, begins Monday and runs through Saturday. Events include speakers, a drag queen show and a pride rally and march. All events are open to the public.
"The week is focused on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community, but the speakers we're bringing are not just going to address the gay community," said Corrina Beck, co-coordinator of Pride Week and Kansas City, Mo., junior. "They'll also be taking about race, gender and sex. It's kind of like a stir-fry of minority issues."
Beck said one of the most popular programs was the "Brown Bag Lunch Drag," an event featuring six drag queens from the Kansas City area and a drag king from
the Lawrence area.
"People seem to be most attracted to the drag lunch," she said. "But I can't say one event is better than any other."
Katie Shay, president of Queers and Allies and Leawood freshman, said the events weren't only for members of the homosexual community.
"Students should come because each speaker represents a different aspect of a group of people," she said. "When you hear a speaker, you're not just listening to a queer issue, but something that is personal to them. I'm really excited and think the week will be great."
Pride Week began 20 years ago, Beck said. The first celebration was "Wear blue jeans if you are gay" day. She said the week started including speakers about eight or nine years ago.
Beck said the week was important because it was one of the few times the homosexual community was given significant attention.
"Queer studies in general are not studied much," she said. "The only time we have queer lecturers is during Pride Week."
Beck said she hoped students would learn to appreciate differences during the week.
"The week is a celebration of all our diversity," she said. "I hope other people
PRIDE WEEK EVENTS
Speaker: 7 p.m. in the Big 12 Room of the Kansas Union. Scott Nakagawa will speak about "Making Democracy Work." Free.
Monday, April 20
Tuesday, April 21
Speaker: 7 p.m. in the m. in Bainistel 12 Room of the Kansas Union. Kate Bornstein, transgender playwright and performance artist, will perform "Cut'n Paste." The program will include dramatic monologues, slam poetry and an interactive lecture. Free.
Wednesday. April 22
Speaker: 8 p.m. in Porter ABC of the Kansas Union. doris dowenwill present, "Clouds and Mountains, Illusions and Identities: Poetry and Related Digressions from Three Books of Poetry." Free.
noon to 7:30 p.m. on Wescose Beach.
Shindler's list survivor, Alex Rosner will speak at 7:30 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Kansas Union. Hillel-sponsored event.
- Reading names of Holocaust victims for Holocaust Remembrance Day,
Thursday, April 23
Friday, April 24
"Brown Bag Lunch Drug." Noon-1
m on the Inland Plaza. Graz
see it that way and that KU sees it that way too. We have a lot of diversity on campus but we tend to keep it hidden."
Pride Week sponsors include Queers
"Prom You Never Had." 7:30 p.m.
1:30 a.m. at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts.
$10. Must be 18 to enter and 21 to drink.
Saturday, April 25
Pride March and Rally. March begins at 1:30 p.m. at Sixth and Massachusetts streets in the parking lot across from City Hall. March to South Park where the rally will be held.
For more information call Corrina Beck or Katie Shay at the Queens and Allies office (785) 864-3091.
and Allies, Multicultural Resource Center, Student Senate, School of Social Welfare, University Theatre, Religious Studies and the Student Development Center.
Greek houses lend support to AIDS project
By Carl Kaminski
ckaminski@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The University of Kansas Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association served up 100 pounds of spaghetti and handed out 700 cans of Coke to benefit the Douglas County AIDS Project yesterday.
About 600 people paid $3 for a spaghetti dinner at the Sigma Nu house, 1501 Sigma Nu Place, for IFC's and Panhellenic's spring philanthropy. Proceeds from the dinner benefit the Douglas County AIDS Project.
In addition to yesterday's dinner, the philanthroony will include a walk tomorrow
At the dinner, students and faculty also heard Dennis Dailey, profess of social welfare, speak about AIDS and sexuality, and Pam Casagrande of the project talk about her daughter, who is HIV-positive.
"We have no idea what he's going to talk about," said Ryan Sheahan, IFC vice president for philanthropy and community service, of Dailey. "He wanted free rein."
Casagrande spoke about what it was like to be a parent of an HIV-positive child and about some of the recent medical news regarding HIV.
The dinner was open to the entire University, said Maggie Ball, Panhellenic Association vice president for philanthropy and community service.
She said filers were posted in every University living organization and around Lawrence.
Tomorrow's walk also is open to the public.
Students can register for the walk between 9 and 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Lawrence Recreation Center at South Park, said Becky Hollady, Panhelenic Association spring philanthropy chair and Norman, Okla., senior. Students can get sponsors or sponsor themselves for $5, she said.
Ball, Overland Park junior, said the goal of this year's philanthropy was to raise $6,000 for the project, but she expected it to make even more than that. She said the philanthropy could raise between $8,000 and $9,000.
Last year's spring philanthropy was Dance for Heart and was not as successful as its sponsors had hoped, said Sheahan, Ft. Collins, Colo., sophomore. He said he expected this year's efforts to go better than last year's dance.
"Over the past couple of weeks I've heard so much enthusiasm about it," he said.
"We want to adopt DCAP," Ball said.
Ball and Sheahan said they hoped to make the dinner and AIDS walk an annual philanthropy.
The food for the dinner was donated by Cisco and Paisano's Ristorante, and the Coke was donated by Coca-Cola, Ball said.
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As a special offer, show us your face, a student ID to match and give them the code "Y814" and you get 10% off. Better yet, if you have a Student Advantage Card stuffed away in your book bag, you get 25%.
Go home. Visit friends. Even go back for summer classes if you have to? All at up to 25% off regular fares. You do the math. Good for travel between April 13 and June 20, and includes any of the over 500 destinations Amtrak serves.
Hurry. Seats are limited (this isn't a term paper you can blow
off to the last minute). For more information on fares & reservations, call your travel agent or Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL. Trains depart from the Amtrak station at 413 E. Seventh St. in Lawrence.
Offer shown is for coach class travel only and is subject to availability. Reservations are required. No multiple discounts. Fares, schedules and restrictions are subject to change without notice. Blackout dates may apply. Not valid for Autotrain, peak Metroliner, or Canadian portion of ViaRail.