MU Diversity News
Ryan Gibbons, Columbia Missourian
“Flyin’ West,” set in 1898, is the story of four women who have escaped racial oppression of the South and found independence and intellectual freedom in the African-American town of Nicodemus, Kan. Simply moving west, however, does not mean that these women have left all their racial troubles behind
Lindsay Toler, Columbia Missourian
I was only two weeks into my freshman year of college when a friend was raped . . . Throughout that semester, more women I knew were raped, beaten or assaulted by a partner, friend or stranger. I tried to comfort my friends and educate those around me, but I never felt like I could do enough to stop the violence I saw. I felt powerless and scared. When someone posted a flier in my dorm for "The Vagina Monologues" auditions, I realized I didn’t have to be alone in my fight. For four years now, I’ve been a member of a group of women who dedicate their lives to fighting for women all around the world.
Krissy Tripp, The Maneater
Four panelists discussed Thursday the prospects and perspectives of peace to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Students for Progressive Action and the Columbia Peace Coalition sponsored the discussion.
Angela Case, The Maneater
"Lent is a time of inner reflection, a time of renewal, a time to restart your relationships with Christ and other people," said the Rev. Simon Felix Michalski, associate pastor of the Newman Center. "We take a little time to pause and to reflect upon the nature of life, where we're going, where we've come from, how we're going to get there."
Krissy Tripp, The Maneater
In the past, Muslim students have found Campus Dining Services to be less than accommodating to their religious requirements.
Eva Dou, The Maneater
A long-discussed proposal to require students to take a diversity-related course is now before Faculty Council, but it is unlikely that a decision will be reached this semester.
James Hatler, The Maneater
With games, music and brightly colored costumes, participants of International Night spread awareness of cultures Saturday night.
Jacob Gonzales, The Maneater
Ron Lykins has traveled to many countries with different teams, and now he is working as the Missouri Tigers wheelchair basketball team's coach
Eva Dou, The Maneater
Faculty efforts to create a diverse campus environment should be considered as intellectual work and rewarded in the tenure and promotion systems, education professor Jeni Hart said. "Diversity work is often considered to be in the service category and ultimately devalued," she said.
Ayla Kremen, Columbia Missourian
An MU researcher says he has found that a certain drug could possibly be a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy for treating breast cancer.
The MU Undergraduate Mentoring in
Environmental Biology (UMEB) program "Training Ecologist Doctors for
the 21st Century" is now reviewing applications for 2009-2010
scholarships.
The Missouri State Archives invites applications from graduate or advanced undergraduate students who are interested in working with the many collections of material related to African American history in Missouri held by the Archives.
Claire Constant, Columbia Missourian
A small group of people met Tuesday night to find a 21st-century solution for what Princeton University professor Noliwe Rooks says is a 19th-century problem — the need to recognize black studies as an established department in higher education.
Karen Pojmann, Mizzou Wire
The day in 1993 when his fellow villagers were slaughtered, 12-year-old Ishmael Beah was away from home, performing with a hip-hop group in a nearby village. Discovering the massacre, a part of Sierra Leone’s nine-year civil war, Beah and other child survivors fled the violence, traveling in search of food and safety.
Andrew Denney, The Maneater
A former child soldier from Sierra Leone, who has since become a storyteller, will make several appearances this week in Columbia to discuss his experiences
The Maneater
Administrators' lack of sensitivity and awareness in regards to diversity issues is both appalling and embarrassing. Students have been fighting for a long time to include the protection of transgender members of the MU community in the nondiscrimination clause and they continue to run into ignorance from the administration.
Evan Spaulding, The Maneater
Unbeknownst to many students, faculty and staff on campus, there is a group of people who are still vulnerable to discrimination in the UM system
Christian Basi, News Bureau
From Spain to Georgia, France to Minnesota, Ron Lykins has travelled the world coaching and training wheelchair basketball teams. Now, after 29 years of experience, Lykins is proud to call Mizzou his new home and the Tiger Wheelchair Basketball Team (TWB) his new team. Lykins was named the new coach of TWB on Feb. 2.
Laura Latzko, Columbia Tribune
Research into the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has grown dramatically on the University of Missouri campus over the past four years, attracting more professors and students as well as generating additional private and government grants to fund the work.
Krissy Tripp, The Maneater
The Catholic Student Association of the St. Thomas More Newman Center held its annual Newman Week. The proceeds from Newman Week will benefit the Refugee and Immigration Services.
Temia Griffin, Columbia Missourian
The classroom was silent as a multicultural crowd listened to MU professor Robert Baum explain the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the religious history of the sacred territory in Israel.
Eva Dou, The Maneater
For some couples, it's a question of holding hands in public. "It's not an easy environment to date in," former Triangle Coalition President Josh Barton said. "I've never known many same-sex couples to blatantly date. You very rarely see same-sex couples walking around hand in hand or kissing in public, unless you're in an environment that's gay-owned or gay-friendly."
Jonathon Braden, Columbia Missourian
Teachers and students will have an opportunity for some cultural education this weekend as an energetic dance troupe visits the University of Missouri campus. Step Afrika, known for its electrifying performances based in African traditions, will give a presentation of dances including stepping styles, the gumboot dance and the South African Zulu dance.
Jeffrey Beeson, MU News Bureua
During an interactive seminar, the Step Afrika ensemble will delve into the history of stepping, correlating it to traditional African and African-American dances like the hambone, ring shout and tap dance for an audience at the University of Missouri.
The Maneater
A couple months, ago it seemed as if the Muslim students on campus had resolved the problem of where to conduct their daily prayer between classes. But A.P. Green Chapel just hasn't been working out because the space is public and can be rented out, and members from the Muslim Student Organization have complained of the space being locked during some of the specific times it was needed for prayer.
Greg Young, The Maneater
iIt was the middle of the day and Muslim Student Organization Spokeswoman Nabihah Maqbool needed to complete one of her the daily prayers that her faith requires. As she began to pray at the A.P. Green Chapel, Maqbool heard someone playing an acoustic guitar, an annoyance Maqbool is used to enduring while praying there.
Wes Duplantier, The Maneater
The NAACP MU chapter began a week of events Sunday that recognizes the centennial of its national organization with a celebratory feast at the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center.
Juana Summers, The Maneater
For one University of Michigan professor, the change President Barack Obama spoke about was a long time coming but not one he expected to see.
"When he first announced, I told people I didn't think he had much of a chance. I never thought I would see this in my life," said Hanes Walton, a University of Michigan political science professor. "I was in college in 1959. I was there when the sit-ins started in 1960."
Laureen Kattan, Columbia Missourian
The MU Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center is hosting a weeklong celebration titled “The Dream Lives On: Celebrating 100 Years of African-American Values" to commemorate the NAACP's 100th anniversary. All events will take place at the Black Culture Center at 813 Virginia Ave.
Eva Dou, The Maneater
Minority student organizations shared their concerns with Chancellor Brady Deaton and other administrators at a Four Front meeting Tuesday.
Members of Four Front, the umbrella minority coalition, wanted to know how MU will attract diverse students and faculty, address students' religious dietary needs and ensure protection for transgender students under school non-discrimination policies.
Wes Duplantier, The Maneater
The MU chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will hold a week's worth of events starting Sunday to celebrate the national organization's 100th anniversary.
Ryan Gavin, Mizzou Wire
When LeAnn Stroupe came to Mizzou as a freshman in 1987, she was part of a small, close-knit, supportive group of black students. Now, as the university's coordinator of visitor relations, she sees the black student population growing and those students' experiences changing as they branch out across campus.
Jeffrey Beeson, News Bureau
In January, the world watched and welcomed the first black president of the United States. This month, another historic moment in African-American history will be celebrated as colleges and universities nationwide commemorate the 40th anniversary of Black Studies in the United States. University of Missouri leaders also are celebrating this national anniversary with a month-long series during Black History Month.
Will Guldin, The Maneater
For those who enlist, service in the armed forces means making sacrifices at home. On Monday, Missouri lawmakers proposed legislation that could be a way to address several of these sacrifices.
Taylor Combs, The Maneater
The smell of sesame seed dumplings and spring rolls filled the air Friday night in Memorial Union as students gathered for a Chinese New Year celebration. The event was co-sponsored by Missouri Students Association and the Graduate Professional Council International Programming Committee and part of a series of Friday night events put on by Mizzou After Dark. The event welcomed more than 500 students, faculty and Columbia community members
Ryan Gavin, Mizzou Wire
When LeAnn Stroupe came to Mizzou as a freshman in 1987, she was part of a small, close-knit, supportive group of black students. Now, as the university's coordinator of visitor relations, she sees the black student population growing and those students' experiences changing as they branch out across campus.
Jeffrey Beeson, News Bureau
In January, the world watched and welcomed the first black president of the United States. This month, another historic moment in African-American history will be celebrated as colleges and universities nationwide commemorate the 40th anniversary of Black Studies in the United States. University of Missouri leaders also are celebrating this national anniversary with a month-long series during Black History Month.
Kyle Daly, The Maneater
"It is my contention that an understanding of and a respect for the constitution, and a robust discourse that is suppose to accompany it, is worse on college campuses than just about any other place in America," he said.
Claire Hanan, Columbia Missourian
MU students gathered Wednesday evening to discuss President Barack Obama and his presidency as part of the "You in Mizzou" discussion series, which focuses on diversity issues.
Jehan Roberson, Columbia Missourian
Efforts made by faculty members to create a more diverse environment need to be more highly valued and rewarded, MU assistant professor Jeni Hart concluded in a recently published study.
Jeffrey Beeson, MU News Bureau
"The central mission of the Black Studies Program is to prepare students to critically understand the experiences of people of African descent in the United States, Africa and the Diaspora," said David Brunsma, interim assistant director of Black Studies. "The program’s interdisciplinary design encourages specialization within the university's broad liberal arts curriculum."
Britney Buchanan, The Maneater
Athens Boys Choir performed at Neff Auditorium on Monday night but the performance did not consist of several male vocalists indulging in the usual choir songs.
Athens Boys Choir is actually one man, Harvey Katz. Katz is a transgender male who writes and performs music.
Taylor Combs, The Maneater
The smell of sesame seed dumplings and spring rolls filled the air Friday night in Memorial Union as students gathered for a Chinese New Year celebration.
Daniel Everson, The Maneater
Members of the Jewish Students Organization and Muslim Students Organization spent their Friday night ice skating in Jefferson City.
"We have a history of working together," MSO spokeswoman Nabihah Maqbool said. "We try to meet each other and keep an open line of communication, so this is just one of a series of events of continuing the bonds our student organizations have with one another."
Eva Dou, The Maneater
Faculty efforts to create a diverse campus environment should be considered as intellectual work and rewarded in the tenure and promotion systems, education professor Jeni Hart said.
Karen Pojmann, Mizzou Wire
February 2009 heralds a new era for Black History Month celebrations at American universities — including Mizzou. Forty years ago, when the first black studies programs were established on campuses nationwide, a movement toward inclusion and diversity in academic life was just beginning. From 1968 to 1970, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the end of segregation in the South, Mizzou students founded the Legion of Black Collegians, and Mizzou administrators hired the university’s first black full faculty member, Arvarh Strickland.
Jeffrey Beeson, News Bureau
Many college campuses are striving to become more diverse in their faculty and student populations, but creating a diverse environment can be a challenging and demanding process for faculty members. In a new study, Jeni Hart, assistant professor in the College of Education at the University of Missouri, examined how placing diversity and service work in a category separate from other faculty roles, such as scholarship and teaching, can create false dichotomies.
Eva Dou, The Maneater
Student government members aired their complaints last month when they believed the Department of Student Life had misdirected $30,771 from the diversity fee to a fund to cover moving expenses.
Off Campus Diversity News
Alicia Swartz, Columbia Missourian
KaShaye Mathews has learned how to pass, dribble and shoot a basketball with such expertise that she's helped her team win a spot at the state Special Olympics Three-on-Three Championship competition.
Gianna Volpe, Columbia Missourian
In honor of Black History Month, about 30 people gathered at Douglass High School Thursday to share a musical experience. “Without music and dancing, what would this world be like?” asked Tryee Byndom, coordinator of the “Second to None” hip hop talent show.
Amy Allen, Columbia Missourian
Behaving more as activists than students, Hunt and Wilder are working on their final project for Matthew Cone’s contemporary issues class. They learned about the HIV/AIDS epidemic and related issues during the past few months and chose to complete a rigorous stint as activists rather than read and analyze a book.
T.J. Greaney, Columbia Tribune
A handful of local members of the NAACP picketed outside the Business Loop studios of KMIZ-TV/Fox 11 yesterday as part of a nationwide protest of an editorial cartoon published in a newspaper owned by the parent of the Fox television network.
Vannah Shaw, Columbia Missourian
For most people, a typical day involves leaving work or school and stopping in at a restaurant for a quick sit-down meal. But for many black people, this was not an option prior to the 1960s.
Julie Vaughan, Columbia Missourian
Local talent will be on display at a Hip Hop Talent Show from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in honor of Black History Month. The community division of the city's Parks and Recreation Department is organizing the event at the Frederick Douglass High School gym.
Jonathon Braden
Rock Bridge High School senior Brenna Blazis, right, talks with Nadege Uwase from Rwanda about HIV/AIDS/ during Matt Cone's Contemporary Issues class. The students used art as a jumping off point for their conversations about HIV/AIDS with guest of the class.
Megan Ogar, Columbia Missourian
Saragnese's art display was part of a project for her Contemporary Issues class at Rock Bridge, taught by Matt Cone. Students created projects aimed to explain the AIDS epidemic and the problems surrounding it. On Tuesday morning, the class invited several members of the community to view the projects and discuss what they have learned throughout their recent unit on AIDS.
Jason Scott, Temia Griffin, Columbia Missourian
Music rang through the air Sunday afternoon as a large group assembled to celebrate the annual Gospel Explosion and Soul Food Dinner at St. Luke United Methodist Church.
Katie Bascuas, Columbia Missourian
Walking into an unfamiliar house of worship or religious service is intimidating : is there a dress code? A different entrance for men and women? Can anyone take communion? When are the appropriate times to sit, stand or kneel? What many people do not realize when entering an unfamiliar house of worship with ostensibly mysterious customs and traditions is that most churches, temples, mosques and other places of worship want everyone — members and nonmembers — to feel welcome and comfortable.
Rebecca Delaney, The Maneater
We've got a biracial president and a female speaker of the house. Women are chipping away at the glass ceiling, and, though there's much work to be done, the walls of racism look like they're starting to crumble. Guess we can call it a day, grab a beer and retreat to rest on our tolerant laurels.
Greg Young, The Maneater
At the St. Paul AME Church, Columbia residents gathered for a forum discussion Thursday night in which they discussed their feelings about the presidency of Barack Obama and other domestic issues.
Julie Vaughan, Columbia Missourian
What started out as a conversation about a controversial political cartoon published Wednesday in the New York Post grew into an in-depth discussion about President Barack Obama as a leader and role model for young people.
Sara Semelka, Columbia Tribune
After five long years of fundraising projects, amid creeping doubt that the vision of a place to call home might never solidify into reality, the Center Project will host a “first look” reception at its new 2,000-square-foot community center tomorrow night.
By Will Guldin, The Maneater
The water temperature at Stephens Lake was 33 degrees Saturday, but it didn't deter more than 250 people from jumping in.
Leslie Horn, Columbia Missourian
Storyteller Laura Simms adopted Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier from Sierra Leone, Africa, after they met at a UN conference on children affected by war more than a decade ago. Beah, now a best-selling author, and his mother will bring their story to Columbia as a part of the program "Telling Stories, Changing Lives" this week.
Katy Steinmetz, Columbia Missourian
“Everyone’s a little bit racist,” the Avenue Q musical number goes. “Ethnic jokes might be uncouth, but you laugh because they’re based on truth.” How true, how true. Everyone’s also a little bit sexist, but that is similarly OK (and inevitable) to a certain degree, and gender-equality battles should be chosen accordingly.
Christine Martinez, Columbia Missourian
Health literacy means knowing where to find medical help and how to get it: problems for many in the growing Spanish speaking population in mid-Missouri.
Laureen Kattan, Columbia Missourian
Nathan Stephens wanted to find a new and innovative way to involve young people in art, which he thought was disappearing from schools' curriculum.
Matthew Cavanah, Columbia Missourian
When Scott Drochelman and Cassie Shields participated together for the second time in the Polar Bear Plunge, a yearly fundraising event for Special Olympics Missouri, they took the plunge in more ways than one.
Joe Meyer, Columbia Tribune
Style meant everything when jumping into the frigid water of Stephens Lake yesterday during the second annual Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Missouri.
T.J. Greaney, Columbia Tribune
A former child soldier in Sierra Leone, Ishmael Beah, has lived through hell and emerged stronger. Next week, he and his “American mother,” Laura Simms, will visit Columbia for four days as artists-in-residence to take part in a series of lectures, panel discussions and story-telling seminars.
Columbia Tribune
Child soldier-turned-advocate Ishmael Beah and professional storyteller Laura Simms, both of New York, are scheduled to participate in a series of events this week in Columbia.
Eva Dou, The Maneater
Gov. Jay Nixon visited MU's Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders on Thursday to announce the release of $5 million for a new autism facility that was previously on hold.
Jason Scott, Columbia Missourian
The centennial anniversary of the the NAACP was celebrated by Columbia's local chapter at the Second Baptist Church on Feb. 12 with home-cooked refreshments such as meatballs and tuna salad, as well as a whipped cream cake adorned with the organization's insignia.
Michael Schrantz, Columbia Missourian
There is a revival of youth involvement in the NAACP happening in Columbia. The Columbia Youth Council acts as an arm of the Columbia NAACP group. Youth members have participated in joint programs and volunteer their time to assist with the adult chapter's events. Here are members of the Columbia Youth Council board.
It is a pleasure to welcome you to this website to learn more about Kansas State University's upcoming Arab-American Women Conference, hosted by our own University Distinguished Professor, Dr. Michael Suleiman. At this time, 36 noted scholars from around the world are scheduled to make presentations on a variety of topics, including issues of gender, identity, health, assimilation, experiences, challenges, and accomplishments. Kansas State University is pleased to have this timely and important conference on our campus, and I know that it will provide a stimulating atmosphere and thought-provoking sessions that will help to give this important topic the attention it deserves. I hope to see you here when the conference commences this coming March.
On April 15-17, 2009 the Marriott at Metro Center in Washington, DC, the NMCI will offer its intensive training workshops for diversity practitioners to develop new skills in creating and implementing diversity initiatives and network with others in the field.
Casey Johnson and Jennifer Kreger, diversitycentral.com
What is your first impression when you see a woman clad in a full length dress and covering her hair? What assumptions immediately surface? Foreign? Oppressed? Terrorist? Perhaps the interpretations are less negative: Traditional? Pious? Conservative?
Whatever your judgments, stereotypes are deceptively easy to endorse and tend to homogenize the identities of Muslim women.
Michael Schrantz, Columbia Missourian
There is a revival of youth involvement in the NAACP happening in Columbia. Both the Columbia Youth Council and the MU chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People are active once again.
Jesse Washington (AP), Columbia Missourian
In 1908, a race riot in Springfield, Ill., left at least seven people dead and led to the birth of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 2008, Barack Obama, who had launched his campaign just blocks from where the blood had been spilled in Springfield, became the first African-American president.
Claire Hanan, Columbia Missourian
It was in the mid-1960s, when Mary Ratliff tried to buy a house with her husband, Lonnie, that she realized there was a need for more civil rights activism in Columbia.
Michael Schrantz, Columbia Missourian
After a few years' hiatus in which membership dwindled, the Columbia NAACP youth council is once again active and growing after regaining its charter a year ago.
Valerie Insinna, Columbia Missourian
A member of Missouri's House has raised suggestions that she was denied a position on the House Committee on Children and Families because she is a lesbian.
Columbia Missourian (AP)
A Missouri House member has apologized for any offense caused when he referred to the Civil War as the "War of Northern Aggression."
Katie Harris, The Maneater
Various organizations in Columbia will be hosting events to celebrate Black History Month, a time of significant historical reflection. Missouri NAACP President Mary Ratliff said Black History Month is important because black people were left out of the history books. She said Black History Month deserves more attention so young black children know what they can accomplish.
Greg Young, The Maneater
Thursday night, the League of Women Voters and the Columbia Public Library hosted a legislative town hall meeting that featured four local elected officials.
The town hall style meeting featured Reps. Mary Still, Chris Kelly and Stephen Webber, all Columbia Democrats, and Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia.
Stephanie Rapp, Columbia Missourian
Sahba Jalali, a Columbia optometrist, was only 12 when his house in Iran was burned down because his family practiced the Baha’i faith. It was 1978, and the revolution was under way.
Spencer Engel, Columbia Missourian
In 1965, Maxine Nelson and two other students at Columbia's all-black Douglass High School enrolled in a predominately white school a year before integration would become mandatory. The fifth-grade teacher said there were no spots available in her class, Nelson recalled, and placed her in the special education class.
Roberto Barros, Columbia Missourian
The sound of electric motors is constant, the crash of a collision occasional. But it’s the shouts of “Shift!” “Spread it out!” and “Go, go, go!” coming from a practice of Columbia’s Driving Force team that make it clear that power soccer is a competitive sport.
Jehan Roberson, Columbia Missourian
The Hong Kong Market on I-70 Drive Southeast was abuzz Saturday as many of its patrons shopped for last-minute food items and party favors in preparation for one of China's biggest holidays - the Lunar New Year, which begins Monday.
Missourian staff
Regardless of their political views, some people of faith in Columbia hope President Barack Obama will set a new tone for religious cooperation in America.
Katy Steinmetz, Columbia Missourian
Why did Missouri not reject the National Socialist Movement’s application to be part of the litter prevention program? The answer from the Springfield office of transportation was that the state was not legally able to (due to a court decision that came down after the comparably extreme Ku Klux Klan fought for their right to pick up trash in 2005). But even if the state were legally allowed to reject the National Socialist Movement's application, why should they?
Wes Duplantier, The Maneater
Immigration advocates oppose the law, calling it discriminatory.
Laureen Kattan, Columbia Missourian
In light of President Barack Obama's inauguration and in conjunction with Black History Month, which begins Feb.1, the Oxford University Press is making the African American Studies Center database available for free to the public throughout February.
Leslie Horn, Columbia Missourian
"I thought I could find Celia's voice," Pawley said. "I was interested in (the story) because this (woman) made the decision to take control of her own life, and the law was against her because she was property. It's a very human story."
Columbia Missourian (AP)
Eddie Logan, who shined shoes at Santa Anita since the racetrack opened on Christmas Day 1934 and was a former boxer and Negro League baseball player, died Saturday. He was 98.
Jeffrey Beeson, News Bureau
Popular film and television shows have shaped the way Americans view American history – especially the frontier encounters between settlers and Native Americans. Examining the ways Native Americans are portrayed negatively in Westerns and other film genres, Joanna Hearne, assistant professor of English at the University of Missouri, describes recently produced animated films by Native directors that are countering media misrepresentations and helping promote Native-American stories and languages.
