'I MLK DAY "Service projects honor MLK By Kristin Wright Daily Staff Reporter Participants -in the philanthropical ..efforts of Project Serve hoped to give tan- -gible meaning yesterday to the theme of the University's celebration of Rev. Dr. WMartin Luther King, Jr. Day, "Why We Can't Wait" Project Serve members and other University students came together in an efforts to continue Project Serve's annual community service drive. Jennifer Johnson, a member of Project Serve's Campus Programming Division, said the theme of the service project, "Acting On a Dream," was inspired by a speech given by Coretta Scott King, emphasizing the impor- tance of realizing the goals of her late husband. "The point is to honor him in a way that carries out his dream," Johnson said. Three hundred students and site lead- ers from Project Serve assembled in the Chemistry Building for a brief com- memoration of the holiday and then split into groups to go to various sites in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Detroit. FocusHope, the Ronald McDonald House, Latino Family Services and -.Recycle Ann Arbor were among the 26 organizations that volunteered yesterday. Johnson said that sending students to The Michigan Daily- Tuesday, January 20. 1998- 3A Tribune columni1st. reflects on struggle to eliminate racism, JOHN KRAFT/Daily Julie Wong and Heidie Savin help to knit a sleeping bag for Knitwits. The non-profit group will donate the finished products to the homeless of Ann Arbor. Working with Knitwits was just one of many Project Serve volunteer events held yesterday. By Lee Palmer Daily Staff Reporter Insisting that audience members in a packed Hale Auditorium crowd keep their "eyes on the prize,' Clarence Page, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Chicago Tribune, at "A Drum Major for Justice," a program sponsored by the School of Business Administration. Kofi Bruce, president of the Business school's student government, introduced Page as an accomplished journalist and timely speaker to honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Today we look back on our nation's history and renew our daily struggle of fighting racism," said Bruce, who detailed Page's accomplishments as a member of the Tribune's editorial board, a regular panelist on Black Entertainment Television's weekly news panel program "Lead Story;" and a biweekly commentator for National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition Sunday" Page, who mixed humor, personal narrative and historical perspective in his talk, said that "Dr. King provided a model not just for us, but for the rest of the world:' Page added that just by the audi- ence's presence at his speech, they were "living King's dream." Bonnie Brereton, a comparative reli- gion professor at Eastern Michigan University, said she has noticed a more diverse climate in Ann Arbor since she graduated from the University in the late 1 970s. She said she considers the MLK Day programming an integral part of honoring this diversity. "It's good to see so many students here," Brereton said. "I wasn't sure if so many students would be interested or not." Medical student Peter Thomas said-he was struck by Page's powerful delivery. "I especially enjoyed Mr. Pag's satirical review of the historical pres- ence of racism and race relations,"* Thomas said. "He was satirical vet insightful of the irony and hypocrisy that exists on an everyday level in American society."* After reading excerpts from King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech, Page connected the time of King's activism to his own experiences with racism.,. "I was four years old when I first learned the rules of race,' said Page, speaking of a white-only amusement park he could not visit. Page was seven when he first heard the word "segregation." His father explained that the signs over the public water fountains referred not to the color of the water but to the race of the peo- ple allowed to use the fountain.. Page said he has noticed that Americans either believe that we "ain't made no progress" or that we have "made all the progress we need to make." Page finished by offering several "pre- scriptions" to help cure the racism epi- demic in the United States, including acknowledging the problem, creating honest dialogues between the races-and insisting that whites actively fight racism. different sites makes it possible for stu- dents to feel more involved in the events surrounding MLK Day. "We try to get a more narrow focus on issues because it's more involving for stu- dents' Johnson said. "This is more for students who, have really never done community service before. It's to let thenm try it out and see how they feel: The Indian-American Student Association and the Muslim Student Association expressed the importance of cultural unity by joining together for Knitwits, a community service project officially known as the Bedroll Project for the Homeless. "I think it's really cool that they have these kinds of days. I wish they hap- pened more often:' said LSA junior Sonia Mathews. "It's bringing different groups together on campus." Knitwits is a group of University stu- dents, alumni, faculty and other volun- teers that provides toiletries and sews bedding for the homeless. All supplies for Knitwits are provided by donations from the community. Knitwits staff member Tina Smith said she was impressed with the student participation during yesterday's holiday. "I think it's absolutely wonderful?" Smiith said. "This is the best turnout we've ever had and we've only done it twice" Students transformed drapes donated by the Michigan League into bedrolls for the homeless. They removed linings from drapes and then sewed sheets, thick blankets and padding in its place. Inside the bedrolls, Knitwit members placed T-shirts and assorted toiletries, then tied the bundle with two men's ties. Other students at the Knitwits site made maize and blue mittens and scarves for the homeless out of fleece scraps. LSA, junior Nick Pittman said he feels a sense of accomplishment for using the day to participate in an activity with such great meaning behind it. Athletes conduct experiment to display effects of racism 500 student-athletes participate in segregation activity By Erin Holmes Daily Staff Reporter University athletes were given the opportunity to experience segregation first-hand at Cliff Keen Arena yester- day. As part of a program consisting of short skits and monologues pre- sented by 35 student representatives from a variety of varsity sports, the audience of about 500 student-ath- letes were seated according to height. The tall and short athletes who attended were allowed to sit in the front of the arena, while those who were "average" height were pushed to the back. During the event, those sitting in the front were treated to lollipops and soda, while those in the back sipped from cups of water. Michigan football player Terrence Quinn, who helped produced yester- day's program, said the event aimed to remind students of the adversity black people have faced. " 1 am sure the experiment will change some minds about what really went on during Martin Luther King's struggle' Quinn said. Athletic Director Tom Goss-said the program gave athletes an opportunity to share with each other what segrega- tion is all about. He added that similar events should be sponsored at least three times a year. Aaron Walter, a Michigan wrestler, said all members of his team were encouraged to be present at the event. Walter said the event would be a good way to show the negative side of segregation, but he admitted he did not feel that racial tensions were high among University athletes. "There's no real separation in the athletics here because there's so many minorities involved," Walter said. In addition to the segregation experiment, the program highlighted events from King's life, and silhouet- ted athletes and faculty who were personally involved in the strugg!Q for equality during the '50s and '60s. Dwayne Fuqua, a track athlete W140 gave the closing remarks, said 0tt black athletes still face an up-hill climb. "When people see a black athle representing a predominately while university, they assume that's the only reason they're there:' Fuqua said. "They don't see black athletes the same as they see whites:' Fuqua said. Greg Malicke, a Michigan hockey player, said while he has never been closed-minded in his athletic career, the program still opened his eyes. "It got to me when I couldn't drink soda and had to get water instead" Malicke said. Fuqua ended the program by point.- ing out that "there are a lot of forms of segregation -- it's not just color any1 more:' JOY JACOBS,/Daily -,John Trudeli, former chair of the American Indian Movement, spoke on the nature of raising consciousness and how humans *have lost perception of reality over time. Trudell noted that he wants to believe but "finds a lie in the word." Minonty rights activist lends *theories on the spirit of life By Susan T. Port Daily Staff Reporter University students and Ann Arbor residents crammed into the Mendelssohn Theatre on Saturday night ,to hear John Trudell's provocative address on the essence of the human >spirit. Trudell first becamie prominent as an 'activist for minority rights. He was the chair of the American Indian Movement from 1973 to 1979. His often-explosive activist efforts have, among other things, earned him a 17,000-page FBI file on his exploits. Trudell's lecture began with the idea that humans are the children of the Earth. "We are all the descendants of tribes - each and every one of us," Trudell said. "The being part of the human *being is the spirit." Trudell emphasized that through evo- lution and the appearance of Europeans in America, human beings have lost their identity and their "perception of reality:' LSA junior Shanon Muir said Trudell raised many salient points. "I thought it was very entertaining, very poignant:' Muir said. "He said a lot of great things about spirituality. I really appreciated that." Trudell said that somewhere in our pasts, people understood the spiritual nature of life. But now "the other part of reality said the earth is no longer the important thing." Trudell added that peo- ple have lost their relationship with Earth. It is seen as just a piece of property, Trudell said. MLK Program Coordinator Tara Young said she really enjoyed listening to Trudel l's speech. "He is so deep,"Young said. "A lot of it was smarter than I am." Young said Trudell maintained his sense of humor during the lecture. "I know for a fact people drove at least three hours to see him:' Young said. "He is a strong part of Native American histo- Trudell said people look at power and authority as status. He said people see power as being something to attain rather than something to find within themselves. "Let's look at power and authority" Trudell said. "We are conditioned to believe that whoever gets the most money has power. That's not true. Whoever gets the most money has access to authority. not power, authority" Local resident George Roman said he anxiously awaited Trudell's speech. "I think he was passionate in his speak- ing," Roman said. "There was a lot of raw truth in the things he said that we are not used to:' Trudell encouraged audience mem- bers to think more and believe less. "When we believe we no longer think:' Trudell said. "We lose all our objectivity. We no longer see." Prepare for Your MCAT with U of M's most:I ~ effective review course and save $200I So Marketing Geniuses we 're not! Wbile other programs shout how they Ware the oldest, largest, most expensive or most crowded, Excel has been quietly providing the most effective MCAT preparation for U of M students for the past 12 years. In fact, it is the only program designed for the specific needs and superior aspirations of U of M students. Ours is not a generic approach to the MCAT. M ost of our students come to us by word of mouth recommendations; however, as we now begin to expand beyond the U of M community, we need more scores to document the success of our students. Thus, you can~ reduce your MCAT tuition by $200 by agreeing to provide us with your MCAT scores. Call now for enrollment information, or to arrange a FREE Trial Lesson. ~EL 996-150 ~\ estPreparation 1100 South University LECTURE NOTE BLOWOUT!!., Til L/k LL.. N.1 What's happeningIn AnnArbor today GROUP MEETINGS Ll Alpha Phi Omega, 997-9333, Michigan League, Henderson Room, 7:30 p.m. O.Cleptomaniacs and Shoplifters Anonymous, 913-6990, First n.--4:46 ^" -L' C*n C L --- C Panther Part y and Beyond," Sponsored by Revolutionary Anti- Imperialist League, Trotter House, 7 p.m. J "Alpha Phi Omega ," Photo Exhibition, Sponsored by the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Pierpont Commons, Q~ "Yiddish Illustrated Books from Russia, 1917-1960," Lecture, Sponsored by Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, Salryer Resource Center, Room 3040, 12 pm. SERVICES EA' 10 DAYS ONLY Blo Anthro 161 Econ 101 Econ 102 Econ 370 Geo Sci 107 Nat Res 470 Poli Sci 140 Psych 111 Psych 330 Psych 340 Psych 345 Psych 350 11 I - . ~- - - -- II r