Brown and White Vol. 126 no. 4

              Vol. 126 No. 4
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
‘All the Lehigh News First’
THE BROWN AND WHITE
Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894
SPORTS
Men’s lax begins season on the road
Page 12
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Vagina Monologues returns to campus
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LIFESTYLE
By BECCA BEDNARZ
The Lehigh community packed into Baker Hall Thurs­day night to welcome NPR’s Michele Norris to campus for the university’s annual Kenner Lecture Series.
The journalist and former host of the radio show “All Things Considered” was joined onstage by award-win­ning poet Sonia Sanchez for a performance entitled “NPR Presents: The Race Card Project.”
With The Race Card Proj­ect, an outgrowth of Norris’s family memoir “The Grace of Silence,” Norris asks people to summarize their thoughts, ex­periences and observations on race and identity into six-word stories.
According to the project’s website at http://theracecard­project.com/, Norris used little black postcards to encourage people to write their “six-word essays” and submit them to her to spark a discussion about race in America.
Twitter and social media helped the project take off, and people now regularly share their stories via the web­site’s “Race Card Wall.”
“I guarantee you, if you go to the website, you will see something what will make you uncomfortable,” Norris said.
The Kenner Lecture on Cultural Understanding and Tolerance was established by Jeffrey L. Kenner, ’65, in 1997. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Donald Hall, introduced Norris at the event. He said the lecture series rou­tinely features speakers who often rattle our commonly held views and challenge us to see things from new perspectives.
Events like Norris’s presen­tation, he said, help students reflect, grow, find new mean­ings and develop a sense of commitment and direction.
Hall said that leadership is ultimately about accepting that there are other points of view than our own, then finding ways to collaborate to find a solution.
“A hallmark of a Lehigh education is our students’ ability to anticipate and lead change, to view challenges as opportunities, to turn knowl­edge into action, and to make a difference in the world,” he said. “We seek to make the most of student growth and development while placing the individual in the broader con­text of human culture and the natural world.”
Baker Hall’s lights faded to black as Norris’s performance began. A single spotlight ap­peared, revealing Sanchez, who read several lines of poetry, before another light shone on the opposite side of the stage to reveal Norris.
“What are the occasions, if any, when you become aware of your race?” she asked.
The portion of stage be­tween the two grew illuminat­ed as four actors and actresses
B&W photo by CHRIS BARRY
Michele Norris and Dr. James Peterson open the discussion portion of Thursday’s event. “Lehigh is declaring open season for conversations on race,” Peterson said.
By GABRIELA MORERA
Lehigh’s Black History Month’s kick-off event, en­titled “Journey through the Beats of Africa,” featured performances by the Imani Edu-Tainers Dance Company, various Lehigh student organi­zations and spoken word read­ings by students in Lamberton Hall Friday.
“This year, Black History Month is about connecting to your roots while simultaneous­ly making strides toward the future,” said Burke Mammo, ’17, one of the hosts for the event, along with Simone Cot­ton, ’17.
The performances present­ed at the event ranged from traditional African dances to modern rap.
The Imani Edu-Tainers Dance Company presented various traditional African dances, all accompanied by African drums. The dancers dressed in patterned skirts and tops in accordance with Afri­can tradition.
They even allowed the audience to participate by se­lecting about 20 attendees and dividing them in two groups to learn some steps.
Following the lesson, they hosted a dance-off by hav­ing each group follow a set of dancers.
The dance company also presented some spoken word
See HISTORY Page 3
See NORRIS Page 4
n Traditional African dances, spoken word and rap were included in Friday’s event.
B&W photo by CHRIS BARRY
Talent show participants competed for a top prize of $150 and displayed a wide range of skills. The event included hourly raffle drawings and audience voting during the competition.
Students kick off Black History Month
By KO YAZAKI
University Productions held “Talent Lehigh,” Lehigh’s first-ever talent show open to all students, professors and staff, in Lamberton Hall Jan. 31.
UP, a student-run organiza­tion, wanted a way to show­case the Lehigh community’s talent and therefore decided to hold an event similar to that of popular TV shows such as “America’s Got Talent” and “American Idol.”
With the show’s top three acts eligible to win prizes (the first-place act took home $150), there were many con­testants eager to showcase their talents.
The event was interactive
See TALENT Page 3
Norris speaks at Kenner Lecture
UP hosts first campus-wide talent competition