Brown and White Vol. 111 No. 17

              the brown and white lehigh university's student newspaper founded in 1894 vol 11l no 17 friday november 7 2003 all the lehigh news first blacks face unique challenges hurdles by joe abel editor in chief aman abdulkadir 05 enters marketing class and the eyes find him they always do he takes his seat trying to play the role of a typical lehigh student midway through lecture abdulkadir's moment of truth arrives the professor requires class participation and abdulkadir readies himself for judgment he knows he can't win he has a dark face they look at me to see if i'm going to be dumb or smart he said the very first chance people get they are looking to judge me if a teacher calls on me and i can't answer the question that could be it look at this dumb kid and if i answer the question right then it's the exception abdulkadir's situation isn't unique similar scenarios have been played out for many black lehigh students in lehigh in part 3 of 3 spring 2003 there were 148 degree-seeking black students at lehigh 3 percent of the school's population that may not sound like many but it's an improvement from fall 2000 when 119 blacks stu dents attended school here 2.5 percent of the population many of these students say the school provides a less than ideal academic social and cul tural environment diversity initiatives aside the sentiment for many black students remains the same it's not easy going to lehigh culture shock kashi johnson a theater professor and 1994 lehigh graduate has viewed race on campus from the perspective of both student and faculty member she grew up in harlem an area as diverse as lehigh is homogenous the sting of being in the b&wpholo by laina erde minority was evident from the first day johnson set foot on campus i was in m&m and i remember my mother drove stephan coggs assistant dean of multicultural affairs said that umoja house's move to the hill is working out well production highlights minority views by michelle brinker news writer theater professor kashi johnson and her students have created an original production called speaking freely diverse lehigh voices to give insight into real events con cerning diversity on campus the performance speaking freely which will be held nov 14 to nov 15 and nov 19 to nov 22 at 8 p.m and nov 16 at 2 p.m at the zoellner art center's diamond theater cen ters on the experiences and insights of minorities on lehigh's predominantly white campus the main intent of this pro duction is to give those voices we don't normally hear a chance to be heard johnson said cast members include faye strothers 05 marie koskelin 05 judy chow 04 obi ugokwe 04 steve munoz 07 malik francois 06 and aalok shah 07 different people will have various reactions to the differ ent topics and subject matter that we deal with in the play shah said in order to create a script about actual events rather than generalized ones each of the seven cast members inter viewed 10 people of color on campus they asked these people the same 15 questions and listened to their stories a town hall meeting also took place in which people voiced their opinions and told their stories regarding diversity at lehigh the results of these interviews and meetings became the original script the stories that will be per formed are the people's words as they spoke them johnson and the cast members did not edit or suit them to fit their needs this production is not meant to alienate those of the majority or make them feel bad strothers said this production is meant to enlight en and educate the script costume lighting and sound designs have all been a collaborative process health center offers flu vaccinations by mike psathas and jessica glowinski news writer and assistant news editor the health and wellness center and vaccessheaith will be offering flu shots next wednesday and thursday at discounted prices vaccinations will be avail able from 11:30 a.m to 6 p.m in the ulrich student center for 18 pneumonia shots will also be available for 25 according to the u.s centers for disease control cdc the flu season lasts from november through march october and november are the best times for people to get a flu shot and this vaccination will protect against the disease for the entire season the cdc web site reports that more than 20 percent of americans contract the flu every year more than 100,000 of these people are hospital ized although people more than 65 years old and children are most at risk for serious cases of the flu the cdc recommends everyone receive a vaccination regardless of age or health people also should get a flu shot every year as flu strands adapt to the vaccination flu symptoms include a headache dry cough runny nose and sore throat most people also experience fatigue and muscle aches and the flu can cause fevers of up to 104 degrees symptoms of pneumonia include chest pain fever chills shortness of breath rapid breathing and an accel erated heart beat these symp toms develop quickly and most cases require immediate medical attention serious cases of the flu can develop into pneumonia if left untreated many students say they will take advantage of the services despite the advice of the cdc other students have mixed feelings about receiving flu shots the flu vaccine is a hoax chris orben 06 said if a person tries to keep him or herself healthy mainly by get see blacks page 3 see speaking page 4 see flu page 4 i -â–  â– â– â– â– â– â– ' â– â– â–  v wrestle-offs take place before record crowd in grace hall see story page 24 sports 21-24 playmakers 21 men's crew 23 cross country 24 reorganized spanish club hopes to bring latin american cul ture to campus see story page 5 news 1-7 world news briefs 2 safety update 6 political debate 7 eating disorders on an image-obsessed cam pus a first-person view see story page 9 lifestyle 9-16 horoscopes 12 first person 13 reading for pleasure 16 quick the nude resort industry has grown by 233 percent in the past decade source www.amusingfacts.com