LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 25, 2002 -3A Kids-Fair brings elementary students to 'U, Native Americans hold dance pow wow At the 30th Annual Dance for Moth- er Earth Pow wow, Native Americans will gather for social dancing, dance contests and demonstrations of differ- ent styles of traditional dance.. Many participants will wear ceremonial dress, and traditional Native American food and crafts will be sold. The pow wow is historically the largest gathering of its kind in Michi- gan and is sponsored by the Universi- ty's Native American Student Association and the Office of Multi- ethnic Student Affairs. It will be held Friday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Satur- day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sun- day from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Power Center. NBC correspondent speaks about his life experiences "Dateline NBC" news correspondent John Hockenberry will speak alout his life experiences tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. in the Michigan Union Ballroom. Hock- enberry, who was paralyzed from the waist down after a spinal cord injury, is the winner of two Peabody Awards and several Emmy Awards. He has written a novel and a mem- oir, performed a one-man off-Broad- way show based on the memoir and worked for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, National Public Radio and ABC News. Rivers and ACLU's Steinberg to discuss antiterrorism laws Congresswoman Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor) and Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union Director Michael Steinberg will speak about "The Antiterrorism Laws and their Implications" Wednesday, fol- lowed by a panel discussion. The talk is part of a series, titled "Conflict and Culture in the Middle East and Central Asia," organized by Ann Arbor parents and students. It will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Rudolf Steiner School, 2775 New- port Rd. UC creative writing Prof. reads from her most recent novel University of California creative writing Prof. Susan Straight will read excerpts from her latest novel, "High- wire Moon," Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Business School's Hale Auditorium. The novel is about a Mexican migrant worker who is separated from her daughter. Law prof. speaks on globalization The Center for International and Comparative Law will host a lecture on globalization and the World Trade Organization titled "Building a Better WTO: The Limits of Interpretation." Suffolk University Law Prof. Sara Dil- lon will speak. The lecture will be held today at 3:40 p.m. in 116 Hutchins Hall, 625 S. State St. Lectures held on Phillipine culture The University's "Philippines Stud- ies Initiative," a series of lectures exploring the culture and history of the country, continues tomorrow with a lecture on the politics and society of Manila. Urban planning Prof. Gavin Shatkin will speak at the lecture, which will be held at 7 p.m. at the School of Social Work Building, 1080 South University Ave. Lecture, exhibit highlight Harlem Renaissance art In conjunction with an exhibit of black artist William Johnson's works, art history Prof. Jacqueline Francis will lec- ture on the Harlem Renaissance. She will speak tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at the Washtenaw Community College's Stu- dent Center, 4800 E. Huron River Dr. -Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Jordan Schrader By Soojung Chang Daily Staff Reporter Eating snowcones in Antarctica, making mara- cas in South America, practicing African tribal face painting, fishing in the Nile river and build- ing boomerangs in Australia were some of the booth themes at this year's fourth annual K-grams Kids-Fair, titled "Smilin' Around the World." More than 1,000 students from nine local ele- mentary schools and 1,850 college students par- ticipated in the event held Friday at Crisler Arena. "This year, we decided to integrate an interna- tional theme, threading it throughout the entire event," Ani Shehigian, executive director of the Smile Programming Council, said. SPC is the organization that runs K-grams. "Because the focus of Kids-Fair is to provide educational and interactive activities for people of all ages to enjoy, the international theme added a unique flair to Kids-Fair this year," she said. K-grams, short for "Kids Programs" promotes interaction between.college and elementary stu-. dents. The K-grams Pen Pal Program pairs stu- dents living in the residence halls with elementary school kids who write to each other throughout the school year. "This is kind of the culminating event," Busi- ness junior Leon Salkin said. "The pen pals get to meet with their college pen pals." LSA junior and Kids-Fair Director Channelle Kizy said this year's kids fair involved more than 120 student groups. "Our turnout has been incredible this year. We had over 800 buddies, which is a larger number than we've ever had before," she said. At the Kids-Fair, pen pal pairs participate in booth activities by University student organiza- tions, ranging from fraternities and sororities to multicultural organizations and athletic teams. LSA senior and SPC member Erin Krumrei noted that sometimes college buddies can not make it to the fair, which is why every kid receives a pic- ture of their buddy at the end of the day. "We did have extra buddies," she said. "The kids did get to meet college students throughout the day even if it wasn't their pen pal." According to Shehigian, a major part of the Kids-Fair is to provide elementary students with an opportunity to visit the University, interact with college students and experience college life, in addition to its educational component. Karl Szynwelski, a fifth grader at Carpenter Elementary School, has been to three fairs and agreed that this year's fair was a success. "It was the best one I went to so far," Szynwelski said. Szynwelski's fifth grade teacher, Pete Larson, said he has involved his students in K-grams for the past four years. "It helps kids a lot with letter writing," he said. "It also helps them get to know what sort of things happen in college. Planning for this year's Kids-Fair started in June and involved the 60 plus members of the SPC. "We do all of this for the kids - that's what it's all about," Shehigian said. "The smiling faces, the excitement, the learning taking place right before our eyes, the inter- action between elementary and college stu- dents, faculty/staff, parents, and teachers; we can honestly say that Kids-Fair has exenipli- fied the purpose of K-grams." Students celebrate Anfican fashion, dancing and music By Karen Schwartz Daily Staff Reporter Dancers wearing traditional African outfits swept through the Michigan Union Ballroom last night in a flurry of sights and sounds as the African Stu- dents Association presented a night of fashion, dance, music and food. The show, titled "African Lights Mis- chee" addressed culture throughout the African continent, focusing on issues including inter-generational conversa- tions, bridging the traditional and the modern, and marriage and the family. "We want to show that there is an* African student presence on campus and that we are strong contributors to the University community academi- cally and culturally," show organizer Ijeoma Nnodim said, adding that it is important to share knowledge and educate the, campus about Africa and African history, as well as to let peo- ple know there is a resource for those who want to learn more. Nnodim also addressed what she said was the need for Africans to be able to speak about their history and issues that affect them. "We are here to say that we are Africans - that we are proud of our culture and our identity and that we epit- omize the contradictions of the stereo- types usually portrayed about Africa and African culture," she said. Stereotypes that usually come to mind when people talk about Africa, she said, include that one of the first ideas that people think of is AIDS and people dying of AIDS. Nnodim said this and other stereotypes are perpetuated by the media and misrepresent reality. "Whatever is here in the U.S. is there. No society in the world has a monopoly over poverty and disease, it is in Ameri- ca too," she said. Nnodim questioned why these stereotypes exist and why the media is intent on showing negative images in the continent as opposed to positive images. "It makes it seem like everyday there's war, disease and famine, but that's not the case," she said. "People live there like they live here and that's a fact." ASA member Victoria Rosser said Friday night's show is different from other cultural shows because its empha- sis on the continent of Africa. "I think there are a lot of people who don't know about Africa, and it's very important to learn about and embrace different cultures," she said. Rosser stressed the beauty of the cul- ture and the chance to experience African culture by way of music, food and clothes. "African people have issues and a culture we should educate our- selves about," she said. LAURIE BRESCOLL/Daily As part of the African Students Association's African lights Mischee, two women perform a market skit in traditional African dress. Greek week aims to benefit local and national charities By Jordan Schrader Daily Staff Reporter BR I MOUNIAIN/Uaily LSA sophomore Abigail Short serves traditional German food while she displays german toys at the International Tea at Martha Cook Residence Hall Friday. Tea festival displays intern-ational cultureus Fraternity and sorority members who run, jump, limbo and ride tricy- cles for charity on the Diag today will be able to meet the children who bene- fit from their games, during this year's Greek Week. The annual event raises money for several national and local charities during two weeks of activities and contests. Last year, Greek Week donated $36,000 to Camp Heart- land, a Minnesota-based outreach and camping program for children infected with HIV and AIDS, out of about $40,000 raised from sponsors, donations and Greek system partici- pation fees, LSA senior and Greek Week spokesman Dan Fanton said. Kids from Camp Heartland will be on hand to participate in and judge today's Greek Week events. They will speak about their experiences tonight at 7 p.m. in the Power Center in an AIDS awareness presentation titled "Journey of Hope." "With a lot of charity programs, we see there's not much contact with the recipients, and with Greek Week we try to change that to make as much contact as possible," Fanton said. Money not donated to Camp Heartland will be divided between the Coach Carr Cancer Fund, the New York Firefighters 9-11 Fund, the Boys and Girls Club of America and Students Promoting Eating Dis- order Awareness and Knowledge. SPEAK co-president and Social Work student Lauren Victor said Greek Week is donating proceeds to the organization this year for the first time because members of the Greek system have come to realize how much they are affected by eating disorders. "Living together in close quarters with a lot of girls (in sororities) pro- motes a kind of environment of compe- tition; Victor said. "That environment really cultivates the problem." SPEAK is a student group that pro- vides support for people who suffer from eating disorders and teaches oth- ers how to recognize and confront vic- tims of those disorders. The money raised by Greek Week will help the organization, better disseminate its message, Victor said. Apart from the donations to charity, LSA sophomore and Interfraternity Council spokesman David Jira said Greek Week creates a greater sense of community between participants because a fraternity and a sorority are paired as a team for competition in activities. Each team must also participate in a sexual assault prevention workshop, which creates bonds by showing frater- nity members are willing to enter a discussion on assault, he said. The games on the Diag and the Jour- ney of Hope presentation are the main events today. A contest for the title of Mr. Greek Week 2002 will be held tomorrow at 7 p.m. at. the Power Cen- ter. On April 1, participants will gather at fraternities on State Street for more games and will hold a spelling bee and lip sync contest that night. Teams will conclude Greek Week by singing and dancing in Hill Auditorium at 6 p.m. on April 3. Blood drives will also be held throughout this week and next at the Michigan Union. Fanton said the general public is welcome at Greek Week events. By Karen Schwartz Daily StaffReporter Lindsay Benstead brought a piece of Thailand home with her after teaching there for two years, sharing a recipe for mango and sweet sticky rice a Thai woman taught her with the campus community at the annual Martha Cook International Tea Festival. Martha Cook Residence Hall resi- dents presented cuisine and culture from more than 20 countries Friday, giving visitors a chance to sample diversity through their taste buds. "We can't ever possibly travel to all these countries but we can learn about them by going to events like these;' she said. "It's a rare chance to be able to learn and try all these different things." Thetheme of this year's Internation- al Tea Festival was "Embracing Diver- sity, in Search of Identity." "Learning about others helps you identify yourself," Ethnic Council chair Yumna Mackie said. Mackie said the event is presented annually as a celebration of culture and diversity and a showcase of the University com- munity. Cultural presentations at the festival included an Irish Whistle, a Japanese drum performance, Czech polka dancers, Scottish dancers and Arabic drums. Martha Cook President and LSA senior Angie Bur said she feels the event is a good chance to introduce Martha Cook to the community and to give people a chance to explore the residence hall, which otherwise oper- ates under a strict escort policy. "This just opens our dorm to the community and reflects the type of residents who live here. It's a chance to celebrate diversity," Bur said. She added that if students had not taken advantage of other cultural events on campus, this was the one to visit. "You get a window into many cul- tures and gain a greater appreciation for other cultures," she said. "I think the message is clear, to appreciate and honor multicultural students and that's what a Michigan education is about." Engineering freshman Tucker Berckmann said he heard about the event through e-mail and friends. "It just sounded cool ... you don't get to drink good tea very often and free food everywhere ... you can't pass that up," Berckmann said. "And I think it's neat because it's nice to be able to get into the building, which is really cool but normally closed off." - U During the Passover observance, alternative meal options are available for residence hall residents or students with Entree meal plans. P vER Information and forms available at all residence hall offices, Entree Office, and Housing Information Office. Forms must be submitted by March 27. University Housing, Division of Student Affairs in cooperation with the Hillel Foundation and Chabad House (Jewish Student Centers) @Salfu IVu HE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor today $2.00 Off '*SirnY4 Any Purchase of $15 Or More ! Must Mention Coupon When Ordering " Coupons May ! Not Be Combined With Any Other Offer. Expires 4/30/02 I ! $12.49+Tax s 3 Any Two Dinner Combinations #Must Mention Coupon When Ordering " Coupons May ! EVENTS "Iraqi Sanctions Kill Innocent Lives"; Spon- sored by the Arab-Anti Orchestra Performance; Sponsored by the School of Music, 8 p.m., Hill Auditorium "Landon Carter's Uneasy "The Shapes They Wore Onstage"; Sponsored by Women's Studies, Talk by Lisa Merril, noon, 2239 SERVICES Campus information Centers, 764INFO, info@umich.edu, or www.umich.eduinfo S.A.F.E. Walk. 763-WALK, i p lo l !!I! !I!