Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Quote of the Day - "Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die yjk today." I 1 James Dean IPlC^ImpCk ■ '*4s£|Ef'fu: jET Friday, February 4,2000 . . Malik Husser works hard to juggle classes, meetings and his duties as president of Student Government _A ill by Mackenzie Craven Assistant Etcetera Editor What’s it like to be Malik Husser? Does he prance around his office all afternoon or dering pizza and talking to his buddies? Does he walk around Five Points, waving like a celebrity? If you ever had this opinion of your student body president, you are sadly mistaken. He is not just a run-of-the-mill politician. “Don’t come in just thinking all you have to do is come in your office and make a cup of coffee. It’s like being a CEO of a compa ny. If something doesn’t get done, no matter which of your constituents said they were go ing to do it, it falls back on you, because you are the head,” Husser said. A job that never ends In his role of Student Government presi dent, Husser thinks he has to be “invisible,” “ap proachable” and “user friendly.” Husser is responsible for knowing everything about everything. Some of the issues Husser is questioned about include die location of the first aid kit, parking and the heating problems in res idence halls. “I am a people person. It’s not difficult for me. I love talking with people; I love meeting people; I enjoy conversation, and I enjoy know ing about what is going on, because I don’t like being in the dark,” Husser said. Getting an early start A typical day for the one-man show starts around 8:30 a.m. He heads for class around 10 a.m. and is eating lunch by noon. Depending on his schedule, a lunch couldhe as long as an hour or as short as minutes. If he has some inafinie during lunch, . 0 . \ ■ - v i (■ u\9 a** he usually walks around and talks to his peers. Communication is key Then, after lunch, it’s time for Malik to get down to business. Between 1 and 5 p.m. Mon day through Thursday, he stays in his office or makes his campus rounds. On a typical day, he makes 10 to 15 phone calls. About five of those calls are getting back to people. The other calls are to voice his con cerns to various departments on campus. Before his term as president, Husser worked with the Russell House and with the Housing Department. He said those positions helped him while he was president. “It makes things a lot easier in getting connected and coming to talk,” Husser said. Husser will be working on Unity Week at USC in March. Husser will provide ideas for the week and, if necessary, get Student Gov ernment officials to work on the projects. Many university departments rely on Huss er to offer his student perspective on projects they want to pilot. He tries to make sure that his opinions reflect those of the student major ity. “I don’t want to make something opinion ated. This is not my position; it’s the students’ position,” Husser said. Husser tries to get to know as many students as possible to get a feel for their opinons. Husser said he knows at least half the 26,000 people on campus. R-E-S-P-E-C-T “My mom always taught me to give re spect to those who give respect to you,” Huss er said. “It’s not that I have to have every one like me, but I would like them to respect me,” Husser said. \ mi auemuuu siruu Periodically, Husser and Brandon Anderson :pend part of their afternoon walking around :ampus to meet their peers. They go to the Tow ;rs and ask freshmen about their friends, in volvement on campus and their education. Classes are the first reason that we are here, Husser said. “We want to know what’s going on with heir academics first, then involvement in so cial life,” Husser said. When he leaves office March 22, he hopes 10 one will follow in his footsteps. He hopes hat the future president of USC learns from his nistakes and creates his or her own mark on ;ampus. “Don’t look at the past administration as .omething you can follow. Look at it as some :hing you can build off and promote your own idministration,” Husser said. Later in the afternoon, Husser had plans to >peak to the upcoming candidates. He thought t was necessary for them to know what they ire getting into before they jump in. “I will probably just let them know this iffice isn’t just a benefit for you as a USC stu lent. It is a privilege for you to serve as student iody president - for you to make decisions for ;hem,” Husser said. Husser has learned many lessons. “People in general have taught me if you work for me, I will work for you; if you help ne, I will help you,” Husser said. He has also seen the true side of people. “There are people that are on your side and billing to help you out, and there are people ^ou can’t trust, even if you see them every lay,” Husser said. “Action definitely speaks louder than words What really happened after our meeting? Husser had to go get his tire fixed. Celebrities ivouldn’t really do that. _ ‘Don’t come in just thinking all you have to do is come in your office and make a cup of coffee. It’s like being a CEO of a company, if something doesn’t get done, no matter which of your constituents said they were going to do it, it falls back on you, because you are the head.’ Malik Husser Student Government President Black History Month focuses on future -Although historically they [women] were not able to attain posi tions of power, they were always the force behind the men who thought they had the power.' Sharon Draper Wlp University of Cincinnati BY TABAll COLLEBB Cincinnati— tablished Negro 1926, he might* it would come to country today. That week f for what it is now, commoi Black Histo ry Month, a time 1 the contri butions African have made to the United States rest of the world. Woodson’s vision to set aside special time to call attention to issues of equality, race and a better America Still exists - and is a vital part ofeAtiailBg that African Americans continue to succeed, many black educators and professionals say. . “My prayer is that people would real ize through the myriad efforts and sacri fices - the jailings, beatings and murders - that black people and poor people have suffered... that we must do better, and quick ly,” said the Rev. FVed Shuttlesworth, a Cincinnati pastor who worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in Alabama. “We talk about building a bridge into the 21st century; let’s not (hag a lot of discrimina tory and racist baggage over it.” There are indeed many issues - politi cal and social - that need to be addressed to ensure that African Americans achieve their full potential, said John Brackett, an associate professor of African American Studies at the University of Cincinnati and director of two after-school academic pro # grams for inner-city children. Poverty, Brackett said, is perhaps the most pressing, because it prevents many children from get ting a good education. “Society can’t rebuild families that have broken apart, but society can reconceive schools,” he said. “We need to take kids in at age 3 and keep them extended hours... until they are ready for high school. We need to increase the social welfare services that are avail able to them on-site, as well as improve academic instruction.” To ensure continued success in the black community, more African Americans will need to embrace diversity, said Linda Bates, founder and president of Black Career Women, an internationally renowned group intended to support black women in a va riety of professional endeavors. “African Americans will need to learn to accommodate greater diversity within their own ranks - diversity of experience, physical features and even of political views,” she said. “We won’t be able to define peo ple or issues as black or white. They’ll be black, white, red and brown. We’ll have ‘ten dencies,’ not absolutes.” e So, where should African Americans and other minority groups look for hope of find ing a better future? Sharon Draper, a resident teacher at the University of Cincinnati who was named National Teacher of the Year in 1997, said the answer is clear: women and children. “Although historically they [women] were not able to attain positions of pow er, they were always the force behind the men who thought they had the power,” she said. “But women today, especially African American women, are teaching their daugh ters there are no limits. It’s not going to be easy, but those children will see possibili ties that were not there for us a century ago. Among the greatest advances are in the field of African American literature, said Angelene Jamison-Hall, a professor at UC. Recent strides at the end of the 1900s rank it as the most productive period for African American writers, she said. “There are more African Americans writing and getting published than ever be fore,” she said. “Writers such as Toni Morrison, Charles Johnson, Octavia Butler, Walter Mosely, the late Audre Lorde, Paule Marshall and many others have gained worldwide appeal and together have given the world a chance to experience the creativity of African Americans.” Perhaps hope for the future and all it holds for the African American communi ty also can be seen in what some scholars say might be one of the smallest profes sional groups in the nation: black, female architects. The number of African American women practicing architecture has more than doubled in the past 10 years. According to the Directory of African American Architects, the number of li censed black, female architects is 111, up from 49 in 1991. That’s still only a small fraction of the nation’s 1,302 African American architects, who in turn make up only slightly more than 1 percent of the country’s licensed architects. But it’s also an encouraging sign of the times, said Sharon Sutton, director of the University of Washington’s Center for En vironment, Education and Design Studies. “I see opportunities for African Amer ican women architects,” she said. “Many African American women grow up in extended families and provide lead ership within community institutions like churches or civic focus - what lots of people in the field are saying the pro fession needs.” Campus Notes Philosophy lecture to be held A colloquium by Mary Hawkesworth, “Democratization: Reflections on Gendered Dislocations in the Public Sphere,” will be at 4 p.m. Friday in Gambrell 005. A reception will pre cede the colloquium at 3:30 in the Welsh Humanities Office Building in Reading Room 615. Columbia City Ballet performs Swan Lake The Columbia City Ballet will be per forming “Swan Lake” at the Koger Center today and Saturday. For ticket infc mation, call Sydney Miller at 799-7605. Drop-In Center offers nutrition consultations Nutrition and exercise consultations, percent body fat estimations, blood pressure readings and more are offered by peer health educators in the Open Door Drop-In Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday in the basement of the Student Health Cen ter. For more information, call Grace Ramirez at 777-8248. Red Cross Adult CPR course to be held Health and Wellness Programs will of fer an American Red Cross Adult CPR course from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Feb. 17 in the Blatt P.E. Center. The class costs $20. To register, call 777-6518. International Institute to host lecture at USC Lynn Weber, the director of women’s studies at USC, will be the featured guest speaker for the spring scholar lecture of the International Institute for Human Understanding. The lecture will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday in Room 403 of the College of Nursing. The program is called “A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality.” Call Becki Darigerfield at 777-9505 to make reservations for the lecture. Amoco Award to be offered to professors The Amoco Award for outstanding teaching is given annually to an out standing teacher in undergraduate courses. The committee urges students to nominate their most effective un dergraduate professor. Students should write a letter with the name of the nominee and a short paragraph giving the reasons for the nomination. The letter should be addressed to Lori Thombs, chair of the Amoco Commit tee, Department of Statistics, USC. The deadline is March 3. The winner will be announced at the spring general faculty meeting. The winner will re ceive a check and certificate, and the winner’s name is engraved on a perma nent plaque on the main floor of the Thomas Cooper Library. Previous win ners are not eligible. Web site has facts on candidates ♦ All USC students may view informa tion about candidates for the USC Stu dent Government election at http://www.sa.sc.edu/sga/sg.htm. February is National Heart Month February is National Heart Month. The Open Door Drop-In Center is of fering cholesterol screenings and free blood-pressure checks. For more infor mation, call 777-8248. ■ CORRECTIONS ♦ A story in Wednesday’s paper should have said that the Darla Moore School of Business’s debt is projected to be be tween $400,000 and $ 1.1 million.