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McKissick offers folk music CD Kristen Truesdale FOR THE GAMECOCK USC’s McKissick Museum through its Folklife Resource Center has released a CD of gospel and blues songs and Gullah spirituals. Titled “Feel the Presence: Traditional African American Music in South Carolina,” the CD features some recipients of the Jean Laney Harris Folk Heritage Award. The award, created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1986, is presented annually to artists committed to the state’s traditional arts. The McKissick Museum and the South Carolina Arts Commission administer the awards process. Saddler Taylor, chief curator of folklike and research at McKissick, said the museum is interested in preserving folk music because “it is a key part to the story of South Carolina. It’s a part of our collective past, provides identity in the present, and a sense of continuity for the future.” The CD is the second in the museum’s traditional music series “Considerable Grace Traditional Music.” While the first volume was more of an overview of the state’s traditional music, from blue grass to gospel, subsequent volumes include a more genre specific approach. The title, “Feel the Presence,” reminds listeners that folk music is passionately intimate. It has been part of a community for many years, and for people to understand this concept, Taylor said, they must redefine the conventional perception of community. “Sure, it can still refer to a geographic or physical community,” she said, “but when I talk of folk music, I also mean church congregation as community, pool hall as community, street corner as community — the people and places where the music is played constitute the community.” The music, while fun and reverent, is also filled with pain and sorrow. “It can teach us to value and appreciate that which is sometimes so close to us that we overlook its importance,” Taylor said. Recorded in family rooms, street corners and sanctuaries, the music presents different interpretations of different genres on a more intimate level. “This music is rooted in rural churches, hardscrabble farms, and the indignities of slavery,” Taylor said. “It’s about praising God, making political or social statements, and having a good time.” “We consider it a privilege to promote this type of music,” Taylor said. “The project addresses many important issues — education, preservation, promotion and, one shouldn’t forget, celebration.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockfeatures@giom. sc. edu brbrbirg • connnucD prbriio Medicine in New York. No treatment can completely erase a brand, Spencer said. “You’re killing the skin,” he added. And in doing so, there’s a risk of infection and keloids, puffy scars that are a particular risk for African-Americans, Spencer said. Unlike tattooing, branding is not regulated in Florida. The Department of Health’s Board of Medicine views it as an extreme procedure that should be performed by a licensed physician. In fraternities, a brother usually performs the branding, and it is sometimes a ceremonial event. Members say it hurts, for sure, but opinions on the pain level range from excruciating to a little sting. Some say tattooing is more painful. Most fraternity brothers say branding is voluntary, but “certainly there is peer pressure,” said Hank Nuwer, author of “Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking.” Hazing researchers say they haven’t heard of involuntary instances of branding. Still, even some fraternities dislike the practice “We frown on it,” said Tyrone Patton, international grand executive secretary for Iota Phi Theta, a black fraternity. “Why would any human being sit still and allow someone to burn and sear his flesh with a hot iron?” Other fraternity brothers counter that the brand reflects loyalty to their organizations. When Brian Jenkins first arrived at the University of Central Florida, he viewed fraternities only through hard partying stereotypes. Yet when Jenkins was introduced to Phi Beta Sigma, he changed his view. He saw the organization as a way of life and wanted to show his affiliation with a brand. “It shows I’m . part of something big,” Jenkins said. William Madison expressed a similar sentiment. The brand “represents the lifelong commitment to the ideals of the fraternity,” said Madison, 20, a University of Florida junior and Omega Psi Phi member who received his brand at the beginning of the semester. “It makes me feel like I’m closer to living what pur fraternity stands for.” KRT CAMPUS Brian Jenkins, 22, and Rodriguez are members of the same fraternity and got branded together. ESjuia Cultural Awareness Commission Brings you: What W3S til© ff^St COlWltry tO Itural al,ow ^°m</n | . . M puD]v»z :J»msuv I The mission of PSIC is to work to increase the credit hour limit from 16 to 18 hours per semester, work on establishing a grade forgiveness program that would allow students who made a D or F to retake a maximum of three courses with the higher grade applying to their GPA, and to offer a solution to the parking problem by exploring the benefit of eliminating freshman parking. If you are interested in participating on this Commission, please stop by the SG Office for an application. I Are you traveling this Holiday Season, and want to learn important techniques to protect your car? Student Government and Parking Services will be sponsoring a Know Your Car program to teach you everything you need to know to be safe on the road. The event will be held Thursday, November 17,2005 at 3pm in the Pendleton Street Garage. Please visit www.sg.sc.edu to register. This is open to both students and faculty. The deadline to sign up is today at 5:00pm. SG plans to launch SGTV on Gamecock Channel 4. Comparable to C-SPAN, SGTV will televise Student Senate meetings, Cabinet meetings, press conferences, events, etc. SGTV will also televise student organization and university events, student film projects, etc. All students living on campus will have access to SGTV via Gamecock Cable. For suggestions on SGTV programs, please visit http://www.sg.sc.edu/letsTalk.htm. i I The Senate has recently passed resolutions regarding campus dining, higher I education, environmental issues, the price of textbooks, the USC football team, I parking, and the faculty posting of syllabi To learn more about the Senate visit our Iwebsite at http://www.sg.sc.edu/studentsenate.htm. I Cocky is up for Mascot of the Year and he I I needs your help! To vote, go to I I www.capitalonebowl.com. Be sure to check I I out the standings first and vote against all I I the mascots who are ahead of us! I