Page 2-The Michigan Daily/New Student Edition-Perspectives -Thursday, September 10, 1992
Student Organization Development Center bilds leadership skills
by Tami Goodstein
The Student Organization Deve-
lopment Center (SODC) makes
available professional and peer con-
sultants for those students who wish
to become involved in the cocurricu-
lar life at the University.
The SODC provides many pro-
grams and services aimed at helping
you become an effective organiza-
tion member or student leader and
helping your organization reach its
goals. What you learn with us will
help prepare you, not only for stu-
dent leadership, but also for endeav-
ors beyond your college years.
Along with our many programs
- such as beginning and advanced
leadership classes (for credit), cam-
pus-wide leadership conferences,
and leadership recognition awards
- we also offer the following pro-
grams aimed at getting students
involved.
Festifall, the University's student
organizations fair, will take place
this year on Sept. 18 on the Diag.
From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., students
will have the opportunity to meet
representatives from more than 200
student organizations and University
departments to determine their inter-
est in joining these groups.
offer an increase in performances
and entertainment by various student
organizations. The University
Activities Center's Amazin' Blue,
the U-M Folkdancing Club, Fencing
Club, and the Gilbert and Sullivan
Society will display their talents
while UAC's Soundstage will host a
local band performance. For the first
time, students wishing to test their
The SODC provides many programs and
services aimed at helping you become an
effective organization member or student
leader and helping your organization reach its
goals.
College Bowl tournament. Students
will also be able to have their bicy-
cles registered with the University
Department of Public Safety.
The Emerging Leaders program
is an eight-week, non-credit leader-
ship class for first-year students
only. The program covers topics
such as time/stress management,
communication skills and leadership
style assessment. We meet once a
week in the evenings. Each partici-
pant will be assigned to a small
group, led by upperclass group lead-
ers who planned and will implement
the program. Interested students
should contact the SODC regarding
the application process.
Among SODC's most popular
services is the student organization
directory. These directories list ap-
proximately 400 of the 600 regis-
tered student organizations on learning personal management skills.
campus. We want you to derive the best
Another successful service is our experience from the University no
free consultation. By providing matter what level of involvement.
The University Activities Center's Amazin'
Blue, the U-M Folkdancing Club, Fencing Club,
and the Gilbert and Sullivan Society will
display their talents while UAC's Soundstage
will host a local band performance.
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prompt, personalized, and knowl-
edgeable information, we can help
you explore the vast array of cocur-
ricular involvement opportunities.
Consultations are tailored to met
your specific needs, whether they be
joining or leading an organization or
The Student Organization Develop-
ment Center, 2202 Michigan Union,
763-5900, Monday through Friday, 8
a.m. to 5 p.m.
Goodstein is an employee of the
Student Organization Development
Center.
Last year's Festifall was a suc-
cess with more than 1,000 students
participating. This year, Festifall will
trivia knowledge will be able to
compete against the University's
regional champions in a mini-
Progressive People of
, Color struggle to fight
prejudice, address
common political issues
by the PPC Steering Committee
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Students participate in the Unity March on Martin Luther King Day.
BMC fosters racial research, activism
by the Baker-Mandela Center
Board
In the winter of 1987, the campus ex-
ploded when Black students, supported by
other progressive students, organized to
fight against blatant racist attacks and in-
stitutional racism at the University.
Students formed the United Coalition
Against Racism (UCAR) which presented
the University with a list of 12 demands to
make the University more hospitable and
equitable for people of color.
The Baker-Mandela Center (BMC) is a
multi-racial, student-run facility initiated
by UCAR. The Center's primary goal is to
encourage research and activism regarding
issues of race, class, gender and sexuality
and to challenge Euro-centric, racist, sex-
ist and homophobic paradigms. Pro-
gressive people of color, women, lesbians
and gay men must present alternative por-
trayals of our communities in order to
counter right-wing mythologies about us.
BMC is an alternative teaching facility
which uses the expertise of all segments of
our communities: students, community
members, campus workers and faculty.
Since BMC was created through politi-
cal struggle, the underlying philosophy of
the BMC is to think in order to act. We try
to create theoretical work that can be of
practical use. This means engaging in edu-
cational projects that have direct connec-
tions to struggles being waged on and off
campus. Since most people of color are
excluded from universities, channels must
be created through which "scholarly"
work is made accessible and relevant. We
must consciously make our resources and
our skills available to communities outside
the University.
To that end, BMC collects materials
which focus on race, sexuality, class, gen-
der and progressive political struggle.
Books on the histories of people of color;
periodicals such as The City Sun,
Out/Look, and Palestine Focus; pamphlets
on the Puerto Rican independence and
Free South Africa movements; videotapes
such as The Framing of the Panthers and
DiAna's Hair Ego: AIDS Education Up
Front; cassette tapes of Malcolm X and
Angela Davis; student-created photo dis-
plays; and magazines and news clippings
from the 1960s are just a few of the BMC
resources available for student and com-
munity use.
The BMC also produces its own publi-
cations including a pamphlet called
Racism in Education and a bulletin on
hate-violence. We are expanding our
publications to include an activist-oriented
journal, By What Means?, for which we
are currently soliciting articles.
BMC has many on-going projects. For
example, one committee is working on a
series of events to counter the myth of the
"discovery" of "America" by Columbus
and to celebrate 500 years of resistance by
indigenous peoples. This fall, the Women
of Color committee will focus on issues
regarding sexual assault in communities of
color. A BMC film series is in the works.
The BMC also provides technical and
material support to campus and commu-
nity activists. Additionally, the BMC
maintains a speakers' bureau and can pro-
vide workshops and consulting services to
other organizations.
Many of the resources at BMC are not
found in other areas of the University. The
University's curriculum tends to ignore
the historical and cultural realities of peo-
ple of color. And if you look beyond the
public relations rhetoric to the actual
policies and practices of top University
administrators, it is clear that their com-
mitment to combating racism, sexism,
homophobia and elitism is limited at best.
As intolerance pervades campuses across
the country, masquerading as complaints
about political correctness and first
amendment infringements, and as hate
crimes and state sponsored violence esca-
late in our communities, it is critical that
we get together to address these problems
with serious research, debate and action.
There are a variety of ways to get in-
volved with the BMC and make use of its
resources. All students are welcome to
stop by and visit us in Room 3 on the first
floor of the East Engineering Building on
Central Campus. The Center is open
Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3
p.m.
In recent months, people of color have
been witness to and victims of continued as-
sault on our human and civil rights.
We watched on national television, as
eleven white men denigrated and humiliated a
Black woman who stood up against sexual
harassment. We continue to suffer as
Michigan Gov. John Engler strips our com-
munity members of their homes and the social
assistance they depend on to survive in these
hard economic times. We witnessed, despite
U.S. media coverage, the unjust murders of
the Iraqi people by the U.S. government
during Operation Deslrt Storm. We
shuddered at the sight of the videotaped beat-
ing of Rodney King by the Los Angeles
police.
We can't help but see the inherent racism
in the United States' treatment of Cuban,
Haitian, Latin American, and other emigres.
We are ashamed by the efforts of the U. S.
government to blame the Japanese for the
failing U. S. economy. Historically, actions
on the part of the government and the media
which have embellished anti-Japanese propa-
ganda have resulted in Japanese Internment
Camps, and anti-Japanese violence reminis-
cent of the Vincent Chin murder. We are
frightened by the growing acceptance of prej-
udice and intolerance demonstrated by the as-
cendance of David Duke and Pat Buchanan.
Progressive People of Color (PPC) is a
group of students, community members, and
others who have come together at this critical
juncture when our communities are under
siege.
We recognize the need to fill the void of
progressive political action and leadership by
people of color. We are members of African
American, Latina/o, Asian American, gay,
lesbian and bisexual communities.
Historically we have struggled independently
within our 'racial' and 'ethnic' communities
for self-determination both culturally and po-
litically, but we have much to gain by work-
ing collectively across communities to ad-
dress our common concerns. Our struggles
can all be strengthened by working in soli-
darity. We use the term 'people of color'
while recognizing the work ahead of us in
making it represent a political reality. We are
committed to the on-going task of building
cooperation among our communities.
We are concerned with equality for all and
we extend a hand to those who share our
goals. We have an explicitly progressive po-
litical agenda that strives for equality of out-
comes for all people regardless of color,
class, gender, and/or sexual orientation. We
value the richness and quality of ideas gener-
ated by different perspectives and experiences
and we strive to create an organization where
all individuals of color can participate equally
and freely. We recognize that the status quo
has much to gain by encouraging us to squab-
ble over the proverbial crumbs - we will not
be divided.
By organizing and educating ourselves
and our communities, we hope to create a
forum where our collective voices can be
Historically we have
struggled independently
within our 'racial' and
'ethnic' communities for
self-determination both
culturally and politically, but
we have much to gain by
working collectively across
communities to address our
common concerns.
heard. We are building a grassroots move-
ment to address issues ignored and distorted
by the popular media, politicians and the gen-
eral public while setting political agendas for
our communities as we enter the 21st century.
We will not shy away from confrontations or
be intimidated.
We are influenced by national and interna-
tional politics, as a consequence we see our
community as exterading beyond the
University and Ann Arbor to the nation and
the world.
We are concerned with a broad spectrum
of issues which include, AIDS, sexism, ho-
mophobia, "racial" harassment, sexual ha-
rassment, police brutality, access to afford-
able and acceptable housing, concentrated
poverty, and educational access. Our agenda
is ever-evolving in order to address the wide
range of issues that directly affect communi-
ties of people of color.
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UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDICAL CENTER
VOLUNTEERS
I ,-
ROTC trains students to become
scholars, armed forces officers
by Anthony Grow
The Naval Reserve Officer's
Training Corps (NROTC) offers
qualified men and women attending
the University the opportunity to re-
ceive a commission a as an officer in
the United States Navy or Marine
Corps.
At the University, midshipmen
are treated as University students
first, reflecting the importance of
academics and timely completion of
the student's degree. NROTC gradu-
ates are commissioned as Ensigns in
the Navy or as Second Lieutenants
in the Marine Corps.
The University has an excellent
NROTC Unit. There are many op-
portunities for students, both through
the Unit and the University itself.
Within the NROTC Unit there are a
number of activities and events in
which the midshipmen have the op-
portunity to participate while at the
The NROTC Unit at the
University is active in community
events. Each fall NROTC volunteers
to assist the American Cancer
Society's Big 10 Run. The Unit also
participates in the Tri-Service
Haunted House which raises thou-
sands of dollars for local charities
each year. Throughout the year, the
Unit conducts goodwill visits to the
Veterans Administration Hospital
and organizes blood drives for the
Red Cross.
Although NROTC is a time
commitment, most students actively
The Unit sponsors in-
tramural teams in
football, soccer,
hockey, track/cross
country and softball.
participate in the myriad of other
Originally, this section was intended
to be a point-counterpoint discussion of
important campus issues by groups with
opposing views. Unfortunately, not all
of the groups originally contacted were
able to submit articles.
Time and space constraints made it
impossible for all campus groups to be
represented herein. However; we have
tried our hardest to provide a valid
cross-section of the diverse University
community.
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To find out how you can help,
attend one of the following information sessions: