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Many successes at 31st annual Antonio Johnson scholarship gala
Scholarship

Kelly Shaw
Campus News Editor

Xavier University’s Black Student Association (BSA) and Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) hosted the 31st annual Antonio Johnson Scholarship Gala on Friday, March 23. This year’s winner was junior Keyona Gullett.

The gala is a premiere event at Xavier which recognizes outstanding students, faculty and staff for their accomplishments and contributions to the African American community at the university through academics and leadership.

The scholarship is given each year in honor of Antonio Johnson who was known as a guide for social change and justice at Xavier. As a student at Xavier, Johnson majored in urban studies and was president of BSA. He organized and implemented activities for Black Awareness Month in February of 1976. Sadly, he died later that year. The gala and scholarship serve to keep Johnson’s memory alive, and this year, Gullet helped with that aspect.

“I was so excited and happy when they called my name,” said Gullett. “I’m sure that this year’s panel had a really hard decision picking someone—there were a lot of great people nominated.”

Keyona’s mother, grandmother and friends cheered her on when the scholarship was announced.

“It was really neat to see the reception the winner got,” said Amy Goetz, an attendee and the Secretary of the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

The scholarship, which consists of a year’s tuition, including room, board and book stipends, is given to an African American junior who has demonstrated academic excellence, strong leadership, involvement and service.

The keynote speaker was Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, representative of the 11th congressional district of Ohio. Congresswoman Tubbs-Jones is the first African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives from Ohio.

This year, the ten finalists for the Antonio Johnson Scholarship were Christina Ellis, Shaudae Jones, Azure’D Metoyer, Keenithy Morris, Emanuel Ofori, Jordan Olinger, Adeleke Oni, Cecelia Towns, Jasmin Watson-El and the eventual winner, Keyona Gullett. Along with the scholarship, there were many other honors presented to students.

The gala, which was attended by roughly 430 students and faculty was a rousing success.

“It was such a beautiful occasion,” said Goetz. “BSA did a spectacular job. It was very well pulled off.”

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Disability awareness for XU

Rachel Williamson
Contributing Writer

Xavier’s occupational therapy club is hosting several events for Disability Awareness Day on Wednesday, April 18 as part of Diversity Week. All students and faculty are invited to sign up for the events starting at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 11 in GSC.

On the day of the event, each person who signed up the week before will be assigned a “disability” for the day. Participants might be asked to wear earplugs or sit in a wheelchair for the entire day. This will allow students to experience life in a different way.

“Some disabled students can’t even join clubs because they can’t get into the Dorothy Day House,” said senior Mandy Herzog, the acting president of the occupational therapy club. “It’s just not something people think about, you know? We want them to see what it’s like to have a disability.”

At the end of the day, all of the participating students are invited to the Clock Tower Lounge at 7 p.m. for a special guest speaker from Project Search. Project Search is a group that helps Xavier students with disabilities get training for all kinds of jobs. A group discussion will then be led by junior Amanda Stahl who currently has a disability awareness group in the works for Xavier.

During Disability Awareness Day, signs will be posted around campus to keep all of the non-participating students informed.

The occupational therapy club also invites all students to participate in the Walk for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a genetic disease that affects the voluntary muscles of babies and often leads to death. Anyone interested should meet at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 14 in front of Cintas Center.

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Walk-n-Roll to help children’s disease

Stephanie Brown
Contributing Writer

Imagine having a child that cannot walk, crawl or even swallow. Then imagine that this child will most likely die before the age of two. To be exact, 13,000 children in the U.S. die from this horrible disease called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) each year.

The Cincinnati division of Families with SMA (FSMA) has an annual Walk-n-Roll fundraiser to raise money to help find a cure for kids with SMA. The Walk-n-Roll will take place at Cintas Center on Xavier University’s campus on Saturday, April 14, 2007. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the walk begins at 10 a.m. The will include carnival games and other fun family activities.

According to FSMA, SMA is the “number one genetic killer of children under the age of two. It is part of a group of inherited and often fatal diseases that destroys the nerves controlling voluntary muscle movement, which affect crawling, walking, head and neck control and even swallowing.”

“SMA is one of the most prevalent genetic disorders. One in every 6,000 babies is born with SMA. Of the children diagnosed before age two, 50 percent will die before their second birthday.” SMA can strike anyone, regardless of age, race or gender. One in every 40 people carry the gene that causes SMA. The child of two carriers has a one in four chance of developing SMA.

According to Rosemary Hilston, a grandmother who is actively involved in FSMA and whose grandson has SMA, “By one year, they have about 10 to 20 percent of the muscle strength of a typical child.”

Some sit before they regress, but most never sit without total support. Otherwise, they do not walk, crawl, control their head and neck muscles, roll over and some cannot swallow. Some require breathing assistance. Their arms and hands are very weak, so handling objects and feeding themselves are very difficult tasks. As to how many die each year, FSMA has said the number is 13,000.” There are currently around 25,000 children in the U.S. who have SMA.

There are four types of SMA; types I and II are the most prevalent. Type I is the most severe form of SMA; it strikes infants between birth and six months old.

“Children affected with Type I cannot sit without support. Fifty percent of Type I babies will die before their second birthday” (www.fsma.org).

Type II affects infants between seven and 18 months old. These patients may be able to stand or sit without support but are at risk for complications from respiratory infections.

Type III strikes at 18 months but can surface as late as adolescence, and sufferers are able to walk but weakness is common. Most patients with Type III need to use a wheelchair.

Type IV is the adult form of the disease; symptoms tend to appear after age 35.

When Hilston was asked about what inspired her, she shared that her eight-year-old grandson, Alex Marshall is her inspiration. He is very limited in his abilities and cannot participate in activities common for other kids his age.

“The plight of these SMA children is what inspires us to work for this cause; they so desperately need a cure,” said Hilston. “My husband John and I lived near Cleveland when Alex was diagnosed. We both quit our jobs and moved to the Cincinnati area to help the family and to devote our lives to finding a cure.”

Alex Marshall is inhibited by his disease. He goes to school like other kids but needs more help.

“I can’t walk. I have to wear braces on my legs and hands at night,” said Marshall. “When I am in my stander, I have to wear bigger braces. I can’t play like other kids.”

Alex often has a hard time because he wishes to do things on his own instead of needing help with every activity. When asked about his happiest moment, he said that it was when he went to Orlando, Florida with his family as a part of “Give Kids the World” program. He said that his favorite part of the vacation was when Mayor Clayton, the rabbit character of the resort, tucked him in at night. Marshall said that the saddest moment of his life was “when we had to leave Mayor Clayton.”

When asked about fulfilling memories from working for a cure for SMA, Hilston said that there are “so many good people, so many dedicated people, so many people with sad stories, so many people to cry with. Only those who really know what is involved in caring for an SMA child can truly understand the tragedy of these children and the immense amount of care that is needed. Every dollar we raise gets us closer to a cure. That is what keeps us all going.”

Recent research at Ohio State University in 1999 found that large amounts of protein could prevent the damage caused by SMA or even reverse the impact of the disease. Since then, more research steps have been made to find a cure. The research for the study was funded by FSMA.

According to Hilston, the first Walk-n-Roll raised “$33,000, our second $66,000 and our third $87,000. Last year, our Chapter raised about $110,000 for SMA research to find a cure.” This year, FSMA hopes to raise more money to find a cure for their loved ones.

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Police Notes

March 26, 3:30 p.m.—A student reported being harassed and the violation of a no-contact order by an acquaintance. Cincinnati Police were notified.

March 28, 3:27 a.m.—Campus Police extinguished a trash can fire on the residential mall.

March 29, 9:05 a.m.—Campus Police and the Cincinnati Fire Department responded to a fire alarm in Alter Hall. The authorities confirmed that it was a false alarm.

March 30, 2:28 p.m.—Campus Police investigated a report of students strewing toilet paper across the residential mall. Campus Police were unable to confirm the report.

March 30, 5:45 p.m.—A student was cited for the possession of a fake ID after it was found by a Brockman RA.

March 31, 1:16 a.m.—Campus Police assisted Norwood Police in breaking up three student house parties on Ivanhoe Avenue.

March 31, 11:25 p.m.—Campus Police broke up a house party on the 1500 block of Dana Ave. Several underage students were cited for the possession of alcohol. A beer keg was also confiscated.

April 1, 12:09 a.m.—An RA reported damage to the fifth floor common area in Kuhlman Hall.

April 1, 8:56 p.m.—Campus Police assisted Norwood Police in apprehending a suspect wanted on several felony warrants. The suspect was found hiding on a vacant university property near West Lexington and Montgomery.

April 2, 2:39 p.m.—A student reported that they were assaulted over the weekend at a house party in Norwood. Norwood Police were notified.

April 3, 8:52 a.m.—A subject questioning Xavier employees about the possibility of joining a labor union was cited and referred to Human Resources to get permission to properly solicit outside programs on campus.

April 3, 2:24 p.m.—A student reported that their cell phone was stolen from the library approximately four weeks ago.

April 5, 6:45 p.m.—A student reported that an unknown person used their credit card to make $600 worth of illegal transactions. The credit card charges were later dropped.

April 9, 12:22 a.m.—Two students climbing on the roof of the chapel while running from police were cited for disorderly conduct and underage consumption of alcohol.

April 9, 10:27 p.m.—Campus Police and Residence Life investigated the smell of marijuana coming from a room. Nothing was found.

Police Note of the Week

March 31, 1:09 a.m.—Campus Police investigated the break-in of a university-owned property on the 1400 block of Dana Ave. Investigators learned that a student attending a nearby house party broke into the vacant residence to dance on the roof. The student was gone upon the police’s arrival. However, the suspect was later identified and will face disciplinary action.

 Briefs

Katie Rosenbaum 
Campus News Editor

Tibetan Sand Mandala exhibition

There will be an exhibition of a Tibetan Sand Mandala beginning Tuesday, April 10 and ending Saturday, April 14. The event is hosted by a group of monks from India and is free and open to the public. The opening ceremony is at noon on Tuesday, April 10 at the library, and is open for view in the afternoons of April 10-14. The closing ceremonies are at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 14 in the library. For more information, call Cynthia at x3922 or visit http://www.gomongtour.org/mandala.html.

Alliance T-shirt Giveaway

The Xavier Alliance will be giving away T-shirts at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17 on the greenspace. The T-shirts will say “Gay? Fine By Me” in an attempt to rid the campus of homophobia and promote acceptance towards GLBT students. The T-shirts ran out quickly the last time they were given out, so make sure to arrive early to get yours. Any questions can be directed to alliance@xavier.edu.

Alternative Breaks salsa dance

Xavier Alternative Breaks is sponsoring a salsa dance at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 13 in the Clocktower Lounge. Tickets are $5 and will benefit the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Arizona/Mexico trips. For more information, please contact beckelhimersc@xavier.edu.

Bookstore sidewalk sale

The Bookstore is having a Sidewalk Sale from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Friday, April 20. Take an additional 20 percent off all sidewalk clearance items. If the weather permits, the sale will be on the sidewalk closest to Bellarmine Chapel in front of the GSC. In the event of bad weather, the sale will move inside the atrium by the Bookstore. All sales are final. Sizes and supplies are limited. For more information, call or email Mary Papania from the Xavier Bookstore at x3740 or at papania@xavier.edu.

Club X

Any freshmen or sophomores who are interested in hosting a prospective student overnight this Thursday, April 12 are asked to contact Jenna Vogl at vogljm@xu.edu. The overnight activity will include a movie, prizes and free food. Call or email Jenna at x2949 or vogljm@xavier.edu for more information.

Student director of diversity needed

The Student Director of Diversity provides a student government-led and student-centered response that facilitates and promotes a diversity-embracing culture among students at Xavier. This position fosters awareness of the existing diversity in the Xavier community and the need for cross-cultural dialogue through community-wide programming. Applications for this position are available in the SGA office, GSC room 210, and are due by Friday, April 20 in the SGA office. This person is a peer advocate and point of contact within the Association for the student body relating to discrimination and harassment concerns. For information, contact SGA President Maggie Meyer at meyerma1@xavier.edu or x4249.

Student advocate application

Applications for the position of student advocate are now available in the SGA officer, GSC room 210. The student advocate is an associate offices of SGA and strives to assist all students in understanding their rights and roles in the university discipline system. It is also a great way to develop sound leadership skills and serve fellow students. Forms will be due on April 20 in the SGA office. For further questions, contact SGA President Maggie Meyer at meyerma1@xavier.edu or x4249.

University committee opportunities

If you are interested in having a voice in campus organizations, applications for the 2007-08 university committees are now available in the SGA office, GSC room 210. Membership is available on the following committees: Admissions, Athletic Advisory, Board of Undergraduate Studies, Budget Review, Commencement, University Discipline, Facilities Planning, Financial Aid and Scholarship, Library, Multicultural Student Concerns, Parking, University Calendar, Public Honors and Technology. For more information, contact SGA President Maggie Meyer at meyerma1@xavier.edu or x4249.