Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Muslim CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 Ka’bah, they journey into the desert to a camp and pray. On the 10th day, all Muslims world wide join the pilgrims in cele brating Eid al-Adha, a festival symbolizing Abraham’s sacri fice of a lamb instead of Ishmael. Animals are slaughtered and divvied up between neighbors, family and the poor. They return to cast stones at pillars symbolizing Satan and walk around the Ka’bah again. It’s a chance for Muslims to meet their compatriots from all over the world. Languages and nationalities melt into a commu nity unified for a sacred ritual. “You see millions of people joined together as one single community,” Syed said. Even Malcolm X, a racial sep aratist, became more moderate when he met the masses, Salam said. “He saw that Islam was not a religion of one race,” she said. “It made him come over to the more orthodox Islam.” The Hajj is one of Islam’s five pillars, the basic tenants of the Muslim religion. “The first is declaring faith,” Syed said. Muslims declare their faith by saying, with conviction, “There is no prophet but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet.” “The second is praying five times a day, the third is fasting the month of Ramadan, the fourth is giving alms, and the fifth, the last one, is the Hajj,” Syed said. Comments on this story? Email gamecockmixeditor@hotmailcom Pageant reauires more than beauty BY COREY GARRIOTT THE GAMECOCK * Molesey Brunson, a second year criminal-justice student, won the Miss Columbia Beauty Pageant on Saturday. “Molesey was the best of the best,” said Leslie Ellison, the ex ecutive director of the Miss Columbia pageant. Brunson is not only in great physical condition, said Ellison, but is “very articu late — she answered her stage questions with such ease.” At the pageant, contestants faced a five-judge panel interview, a swimsuit competition, an evening-wear contest and two questions while on stage. Brunson performed consistently well throughout, winning the swimsuit competition and impressing the judges with West African dance. What does it take to win a beau ty pageant? “Poise,” Brunson said. “You have to have control, and you have to know who you are. You can be easily manipulated and intimi dated by a lot of other girls.” Brunson learned her poise dur ing her stay at the Governor’s School for Arts and Humanities, a residential high school for the ar tistically gifted, where she ma jored in theater. There, she began to participate in beauty pageants —- Miss Columbia was her 31st. “It really opened me up,” Brunson said. “It made me a lot more accepting of people who are different than me, people I wouldn’t normally go up and talk to.” At the opening ceremony for the school, which be gan in 1999, Brunson per formed in front of a crowd of a couple of thousand. “It was my first time ever really being on stage,” _—; j «ta OilL OU1U. XL II UU the ceremony that whet my ap petite for the stage.” The Governor’s School then im pressed upon her the skills she de pends on today. “I learned stage presence,” she “It really opened me up. It made me a lot more accepting of people who are different than me, people I wouldn’t normally go up and talk to.” MOLESEY BRUNSON MISS COLUMBIA said. “If you’re acting in the mo ment, you can take control of your situation and manipulate the crowd; you’re in control.” It was at the school, however, where she discovered that theater was not her true calling. Brunson knew theater — her application to Governor’s School involved two monologues and a song, as weu as an interview and a high GPA. “I learned that I wanted to dance when I saw a show by Alvin Ailey,” Brunson said. Ailey founded a world-famous ethnic dance theater in Texas. Rrnncnn'c stage presence and dance have done well for her. She is Miss Omega Psi Phi and Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Miss Fashionetta. Brunson even has a national title, the National Queen for a black Shriners association. She is a veteran of the beauty circuit and uses her publicity to put the spotlight on her charity, Performing Arts Positive Attitude. “It’s empowering youth through performing arts,” Brunson said. The program introduces “the per forming arts in the life of youth, helping them build their charac ter, discipline and confidence.” Brunson has helped students, who want to go to her alma matei ' and holds a summer program to teach West African jazz and the principles of ballet. “It’s not just a crown and a title — it’s a job,” Ellison said. The pageant means business; the Miss America organization is a non profit, and its reward is a full scholarship. Participants used to compete in beauty alone. Now, they must have a platform, keep abreast of local and national politics, do commu nity service, and maintain a rigor ous exercise and dieting regimen. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com I GD/SHOW REVIEW Engine Down attacks crowd with emotion “DEMURE” Engine Down Album: ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ Show: ★★★ out of BY STEVEN VAN HAREN THE GAMECOCK Demure (adj.) 1. Modest in man ner; reserved. “Demure,” the now year-old al bum by the Richmond, Va., quar tet Engine Down, might either be a clever misnomer or a regret tably accurate depiction of the band’s sound. The band’s latest ex ploration of emotional rock is a slightly more charged and disso nant outing than its 2000 release “To Bury Within the Sound.” To the uninitiated, Engine Down sounds like a tame, atmo spheric group. Monday night’s show at New Brookland Tavern ♦ ENGINE DOWN, SEE PAGE 9 1 I PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THE GAMECOCK From left, bassist Jason Wood, lead vocalist Keeley Davis and drummer Cornbread Compton give a booming performance. Directions: Joat across the Gervaia Sc Bridgej^jxft_at_Sccon<l_Liflht I Carolina Productions Presents: * fin turning with Susan £. Jautaf w - ^■ Wednesday, march 5m Russell Horn Ballroom ?:30pm Go Gamecocks! Based ;>n campus-wide survey data collected from a random sample of USC students during thrall of 2001. \ Funded by a grant received from the U.S. Department of Education Safe & Drug-free Schools Program: The Prevention of High-risk Drinking and Violent Behavior Among College Students Project Office of Student & Parent Programs • Russell House University Union • Department of Student Life • Division of Student & Alumni Services