Celebrating diversity Hector Garza, founding president of the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships, was on campus April 2 for two events recognizing Hispanic Awareness Month at Ohio State. Garza delivered a lecture titled "The Role of Hispanics in Higher Education" at the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black Cultural Center and participated in a video and panel discussion, "Blacks and Latinos in Higher Education: Coalition or Competition?" Both were sponsored by the President and Provost's Diversity Lecture Series. By Nathan Robinson

Residence Life program serves as role model for others

Schools regularly visit campus for training sessions

From adopting no-smoking policies in residence halls to moving in 6,000 students in one weekend, student life leaders from across the country tend to head for Ohio State to learn how it is done.

Numerous recognitions at many levels and professional affiliations have made the Residence Life program at Ohio State highly visible, but Residence Life Director Steve Kremer contends that the strength of the training process lies in the involvement of students.

"We try to involve students at every possible level," Kremer said, adding that in addition to the educational value for students, their input improves the quality of the information for those being trained.

"It's one thing to know Ohio State has a particular policy; it's another thing to experience the impact it is having on the students."

Steve Kremer is director of the Residence Life program at Ohio State.

Miami University experienced that impact firsthand. When a busload of staff and students from Miami rolled onto campus Feb. 9, they were here to study Ohio State's conversion to a no-smoking policy in the residence halls. It was Kremer's enthusiasm that helped convince Miami to pursue the conversion.

"He was so overwhelmingly positive about the smooth transition they had been going through at Ohio State," said Lucinda Coveney, director of housing contracts and meal plans at Miami. Kremer extended the invitation to spend the day at Ohio State.

Coveney said that Miami was considering a no-smoking policy, but was concerned about how it might affect dorm occupancy. But, she said, the visit revealed that Ohio State experienced no losses in occupancy and no student requests for release from housing contracts.

"Ohio State definitely was huge in our decision to move forward and get this accomplished," Coveney said. A recommendation has been forwarded to Miami's vice presidents, she said, with the possibility of a fall 2002 implementation of a no-smoking policy.

The visit also led Miami to reconsider its approach to discipline, Coveney said.

"Miami has a stricter enforcement of policies in the residence halls, while Ohio State's residence hall staff play the role of educators rather than the long arm of the law," Coveney said. "Instead of being the enemy, we can be somebody that is there to help."

After the visit, Coveney sent a letter of appreciation to Kremer, thanking his staff members for their graciousness, which included dinner and an OSU-Miami hockey game (and a Miami victory, by the way).

While the hockey victory was a coincidence, the warm atmosphere was not.

"Hospitality is an extremely important value we try to promote," Kremer said. "It's a natural extension of what we're doing with the students in the residence halls. When we have guests, we want them to feel valued."

But occasionally, long-standing rivalries cool things down, such as when University of Michigan officials asked Ohio State to help them restructure their own residence life system.

"Some of our staff asked,'Why in the world would we help them?'" Kremer said. "I said,'Don't think of it like that. It is an honor that such a great institution is coming to us for advice.'"

The result was a change of heart and a two-day training event that was so successful that Michigan has asked to return for more training this spring, Kremer said.

But Kremer found no takers when Michigan staff sent a box of hats and T-shirts -- all carrying the maize and blue insignia of the school up north -- as a sign of their appreciation.

The Residence Life program at Ohio State continues to gain visibility. When not hosting other schools for training, staff members sometimes host conferences on campus. On April 6, all Ohio colleges and universities with residence hall programs were represented as the Ohio Housing Officers meeting convened at the Jerome Schottenstein Center for a day of discussion and camaraderie. Officers get together twice a year to talk about issues and challenges regarding housing, such as recruitment, advising and department restructuring, said Scott Boden, Ohio State assistant director of Residence Life.

A feather in the cap for the Ohio State Residence Life program will be hosting the National Living-Learning Conference in the fall of 2002, Kremer said. "It would be a great opportunity to have a lot of people from across the country looking at our living-learning programs," he said.

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month gets early start

April features initial events for observance that runs through May

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, traditionally celebrated in May, gets a head start this year at Ohio State with a number of events occurring in April.

A list of May events will appear in the April 26 issue of onCampus.

For more information, contact the Office of Asian American Student Services at 247-6024 or visit the Web at www.osu.edu/asam.

• Wellness Symposium 2001: Understanding Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Issues in Minority Communities, 9:15 a.m. to 2 p.m., 150 Younkin Success Center. Leading experts from OSU and the Columbus community will offer their insights into why substance abuse problems exist in minority communities, as well as examine culturally specific prevention and treatment strategies.

• Asian Games 2001: Badminton, 3 to 9 p.m., Larkins Hall Blue Gym. The cost is $10/individual or team.

• Indian American Association (IAA) Talent Show, 8 p.m., Weigel Hall. Event features dance, singing, poetry and the Mr. India Pageant.

• Anti-Oppression Week, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on the Oval. Daily displays about various injustices occurring all over the world and speakers on the current situations in Iraq, Palestine and the United States.

• Arab AmericansÉThe Invisible Minority, 6 to 8 p.m., Hale Hall MLK Lounge. Refreshments will be available and prize drawings will be held.

• Asian Community Health Fair, noon to 5 p.m., Buckeye Village, 2661 Defiance Drive. This event features free activities such as screenings for high blood pressure and diabetes, self-defense training, health tips and games.

• Images of You, A Multi-Cultural Conference for Students, Fawcett Center. This event is designed to connect students from Ohio on a cross-cultural journey of themselves and others. Admission is $20. For more information, contact Erica Estep at estep.37@osu.edu or by calling 292-8611.

• Asian Games 2001: Soccer, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 21 and noon to 3 p.m. April 22, Larkins Hall Field.

• The Asian American film Fire will be featured on UNITS Movie Channel 21. For movie schedule, visit www.units.ohio-state.edu/moviechannel .

• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Kickoff: Asian Food and Cultural Fest, 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Ohio Union Ballrooms. Admission is $1 with OSU ID and $3 for non-OSU attendees. Food tickets are $6 with an OSU ID and $8 without. Food tickets include admission, three entrees, one dessert and a drink. BuckID and checks accepted.

• Marketplace, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Enjoy food and informative display booths.

• Cultural entertainment, 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Students will perform Asian ethnic-specific dances, songs and other performance arts.

• Talent showcase, 7 to 8:15 p.m.

• Beyond Peony Pavilion: Performance, Ethnicity, and Cultural Processes in China, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Holiday Inn on the Lane Buckeye Room. This symposium focuses on context and meaning of Chinese performing arts in local, national and transnational arenas. The symposium aims to explore the representation and reception/interpretation of various traditional Chinese performance traditions in a global context. For more information, contact Pat Sieber at sieber.6@osu.edu or Mark Bender at bender.4@osu.edu.

• Asian Games 2001: Basketball, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 28 and noon to 6 p.m. April 29, Larkins Hall Brown Gym. Register by April 13. The cost is $40 per team for OSU and $45 for non-OSU. Attendance at the captain's meeting at 7 p.m. April 19 in room 455 of the Ohio Union is mandatory. Forms are available at www.osu.edu/asam.

• Beijing Opera Live: An Evening with Performers Ju Yong and Xing Hongmei, 7 to 9 p.m., Drake Union Thurber Theatre.

• Post-Symposium Beijing Opera Workshop, 10 a.m. to noon, Thurber Theatre, providing an opportunity to learn more from artists Yong and Hongmei.

• Asians and Indians in the Old West, noon to 1:30 p.m., Ohio Union Buckeye F&G. This brown-bag series will discuss slave labor, racism and discrimination, and legislation of identity and existence.

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