UMass Dartmouth celebrates diversity

Third annual Black History Ball to kick off next semester

By Katie Bresnahan

Preparations for UMass Dartmouth’s third annual Black History Ball, which will occur on Friday, February 15 in the Woodland Commons, are already in full swing.

“[The Black History Ball] is a celebration of diversity on the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth campus. It celebrates black diversity and all walks of life on campus,” says Emmanuel Lyte, a senior electrical engineering major who has coordinated the event with several others each year.

Sophomore marketing major Ashlei Parris, who is also helping to run the ball says, “It’s just to see all the different people that this campus has and to come together in one room to see what we can do together.” She added, “It’s to celebrate something on campus, something that’s big on campus.”

Parris is helping to coordinate the ball because “black history is part of me and I want to put my hands into something that’s part of it.

“This year, I’m using more of other people’s ideas and we’re trying to put more of a swing to it. We’re going to focus on Black History Month but make it very diverse for everybody to enjoy,” explained Lyte.

The ball usually consists of dancing, eating, performances and guest speakers. Possible guest speakers for this year’s Black History Ball include Frank Tuitt, an author who wrote a book called “Racism and Higher Education” and Parris’ father Leroy Parris who is CEO of a corporation in Barbados. “I want to focus on black professionals,” noted Parris.

They will also send invitations to Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick and UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Jean MacCormack.

Last year’s guest speaker was the president of the NAACP New Bedford chapter.

Lyte describes the event as being “very, very classy.” He says, “It’s really a ball. We try to focus on the ball [aspect]. The chancellor will address people. We have a live band playing. People can mix and mingle and take pictures… It’s like the prom at UMass Dartmouth.”

This year’s ball will feature the brothers of Sigma Phi Rho doing a step performance, singers, poetry and possibly a live band with a UMD student in it.

Lyte came up with the idea for the Black History Ball three years ago and has been running it ever since. When he proposed the idea to the then associate vice chancellor as something for him to do, he gave Lyte the go-ahead. Now that he is getting ready to graduate, Lyte has people like Parris and Salem Amanuel helping him.

Lyte explained, “Three years ago, Black History Month, it felt like people did it just the de facto: ‘Let’s do something so that nobody complains.’ So, there wasn’t really much put into it other than the MLK breakfast. So we wanted to have something on the later part of Black History Month.”

This spring, Lyte will be away on co-op, so he will not be around to help plan the ball as much as he did in the past. However, he will return to UMD to attend the event.

This year’s Black History Ball will take place on Friday, February 15. Tickets will be available at the UMass Pass office beginning on Monday, January 28. There is a limited amount of tickets, so they will be sold on a first come, first serve basis.

TOPICS IN MENTAL HEALTH

Home for the holidays: How is that a ‘break’?!

For many students, going home for the holiday break is the first extended period of time spent with family since arriving at college. While there may be some wonderful things about returning home, for many students (and their parents) this can also be a stressful time. Things may have changed at home: parents separate or divorce, your old room may be an office now, old family rules might feel unfair, parents might not recognize how much you’ve changed since leaving home or maybe home was never a particularly happy place for you to begin with. In this article I will talk about some strategies for managing vacation time and coping with family problems that might arise around it.

One of the things that can make returning home difficult is learning that the actual structure of your family has changed. Maybe your parents have separated or divorced since you went away to school. There are many parents who “stay together for the kids” and, once their children go off to college, they feel no need to do this anymore. Or maybe your parents have been separated or divorced for a long time. Either way, this can provide a challenge around holiday time in that you might find yourself having to split time between parents and even whole sides of your family. Trying to divide your family time might take up so much of your vacation that it leaves little time for you to see friends or do other things you might like to do at home. If you grew up with a single parent, you may find that he or she has developed new friends or a new romantic relationship that leaves you feeling excluded or less valued.

These kinds of changes in family structure can leave you feeling like the “home” you left is gone forever. One way to manage this is to talk with your parents ahead of time about how much time you’ll spend with them. Ask them if there are things they want to do with you and let them know if there are things you’d like to do with them. Additionally, let them know if you have made plans to get together with old friends and plan to be out a lot. Your parent(s) will likely want to spend some time with you and will be happy that you considered their needs on this at all. If you are going to be sharing time between two families, establish these plans ahead of time and let everyone know what you’ll be doing.

While family change can make vacation stressful, sometimes it’s the fact that your family hasn’t changed that is causing problems. Old family rules, curfews, and expectations just may not fit anymore. You have been living independently for at least a few months now and your parents may have trouble acknowledging this and altering their rules and expectations accordingly. This can also be something you talk about with your parents in advance of your coming home. Review what the old rules were and propose some new ones, understanding that there will likely be a negotiation process involved. Clarifying rules before you get home can help reduce conflicts around them once you’re there.

For many students, home has never been a happy place and the idea of returning there for vacations might feel like anything but a vacation. If being home is exceedingly complicated or painful for you, you might decide to spend the holidays with a friend’s family. Alternatively, you could opt to take classes over the winter break and stay on campus. There are also numerous work or volunteer opportunities that provide housing and/or involve staying overnight, which would allow you more time outside of your home. Vacation time is meant to be exactly that: a break. If being at home does not allow you to relax and feel rested and ready to come back to school, then planning to spend time somewhere else might be your best option.

Everyone experiences family conflict and “growing pains” at times. Being able to reflect on your family dynamics and the ways that they’ve shaped who you are and how you interact with others can be very helpful. It can also allow you to have greater understanding and compassion for your parents and other family members. Even if they hurt you or disappointed you at times (and everyone’s parents do), they helped to shape who you are today. There are likely to be at least a few ways that they’ve shaped you that feel positive to you, and keeping this in mind when you’re around your parents can help to minimize conflict and tension in the relationship.

If you are concerned about managing family problems while at home for vacation, please do not hesitate to contact the Counseling Center at x8650. If you have questions or comments about the information presented in this article, please direct emails to rachel.lively@umassd.edu.

Rachel Lively, Psy.D.
Counseling Center

To the campus community:

On Thursday evening, a student was struck by a motor vehicle while crossing Ring Road at a marked crosswalk at Woodland Commons shortly after 6 p.m.  The student was treated at the hospital and released Thursday night.  The accident is under investigation by the Department of Public Safety and reminds us of the importance of being cautious when walking and driving on our campus.  The university is in the process of upgrading campus lighting and making other public safety improvements and would like to provide a few tips to help keep our campus roadways safe.  

While operating motor vehicles, community members are reminded to always:  

1.  Obey posted speed limits.

2.  Slow down when approaching all crosswalks.

3.  Assume that there is a pedestrian trying to cross the road and recognize that pedestrians always have the right of way in the crosswalk.

4.  Use extreme caution when entering Ring Road from a parking lot.

5.  Report motor vehicle violations to DPS.

For pedestrians, remember to:  

1.  Use the marked crosswalks whenever possible.

2.  Never assume that a driver will see you and stop their vehicle if you are in the crosswalk.

3.  After dark, wear light-colored clothing, preferably with reflective markings, and especially if walking or jogging in the roadway.

4.  Use Dart Van/Blue Line service whenever possible.

Col. Emil Fioravanti,

Director of Public Safety