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. 0 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 0 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. 0 0 0 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. 6 To find out how you can help, attend one of the following information sessions: