Honoring Martin Luther King Jr’s legacy

Drum Major winners honored at sixth annual breakfast

By Stephanie Luz

Chancellor Jean MacCormick praises the achievements of Drum Major Award-winner, Susan Costa, the former Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at UMass Dartmouth.

Emotions surfaced as Donzaleigh Abernathy, the youngest daughter of Ralph Abernathy, enlightened over 200 people of her personal memories hitting upon the atrocities of racism and bigotry. The sixth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast and the 2008 Chancellor’s “Drum Major” Awards which took place at UMass Dartmouth’s Woodland Commons Center on Friday, February 1.

According to a press release on the university’s website, “Ms. Abernathy is also an accomplished actress whose credits include Don King: Only in America, Chicago Hope, Miss Evers’ Boys, EZ Streets, Murder in Mississippi and the Lifetime series Any Day Now. She is also a founding member of New Road Schools, which promote cultural, racial and economic diversity.”

Ralph Abernathy was a civil rights leader who partnered up with Dr. King while living in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1955, Abernathy and Dr. King organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott in rebuttal of Rosa Parks’s treatment when she refused to move to the back of the bus. Mr. Abernathy was also involved in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and held the title of Secretary-Treasurer and later, President, after Dr. King’s death. Mr. Abernathy’s daughter Donzaleigh was very young at the time and was present when Dr. King was shot, which is why Donzaleigh’s speech was so inspirational to the audience.

Chancellor Jean MacCormick awarded the Drum Major Awards to Dana Mohler-Faria, the Governor’s special advisor on education and Bridgewater State College President; Susan Costa, the University’s former Student Affairs Vice Chancellor; and the New Bedford Historical Society.

One of the speakers of the ceremony was Lee Charlton, former President of the New Bedford Chapter NAACP. Mr. Charlton was a 2004 Drum Major recipient and a former member of the Drum Major Committee. Mr. Charlton attested to the problems he faced as a young African American man and his experience upon hearing the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He told the crowd that after Mr. King’s death, young black people felt hopeless and they did not know what to do. As it turns out, Dr. King’s dream did not die in vain and people such as Mr. Charlton continue to fight for liberty and equality for all.

The organizer of the event, Yolanda Baird of the university’s Equal Opportunity / Diversity & Outreach department used Coretta Scott King’s quote to end the ceremony. She said, “Every King Holiday has been a national ‘teach-in’ on the values of nonviolence, including unconditional love, tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation, which are so desperately needed to unify America.”

The rush hour campaign trail

On Super Tuesday, February 5, supporters of presidential candidate Barack Obama patrolled the intersection of Routes 6 and 140. The last-minute campaigners hoped to catch eyes and change minds as residents drove to the polls.

TOPICS IN MENTAL HEALTH

UMD Counseling Center offers tips for dealing with anger

Anger is a normal, healthy emotion. As is true for many other emotions, it can be accompanied by physical changes such as increased heart rate, blood pressure and adrenaline. These physiological changes can sometimes heighten our subjective experience of the emotion, leaving us feeling even angrier. Because anger is often portrayed in the media as being equivalent to violence, many people do not know how to deal with it in a healthy way. When it is dealt with constructively, anger can actually lead to enhanced relationships and increased interpersonal connections. When it is dealt with destructively it can lead to a variety of problems in relationships, at work or school, and in everyday mental and emotional health.

Some of the things that can cause anger are external events (certain behaviors of other people, general life circumstances and an overload of stress) or internal events (remembering something that made you angry, thinking about how things “should” be, and worrying or brooding about personal problems). Collectively these external and internal events that lead to anger are called triggers.

When people experience one of these triggers they can express their anger in one of three general ways. First, anger can be expressed aggressively. This is the form of anger expression that is often portrayed in the media and includes things like overt displays of physical, emotional, or psychological violence (i.e. hitting, kicking, harassing, threatening, throwing things, punching a wall or putting-down). When people express their anger aggressively they generally fail to deal with their own behaviors but rather act out and blame others. They might feel a temporary sense of relief, but this kind of acting out does not generally produce long-term reduction of anger or any understanding of the situation that triggered it. Aggressive and violent expression of anger frequently leads to repeated trouble with the law, severe relationship problems, and difficulties at school and work.

A second way that anger can be expressed is passive-aggressively. People who express anger passive-aggressively are masters at internalizing and denying their feelings. Instead of overtly blaming or hurting others as the aggressively angry people do, they will frequently deny that they are angry altogether or blame themselves. At the same time, they might give others the cold shoulder or the silent treatment, spread rumors or become depressed. While these folks deny that anything is wrong, their behavior generally makes it clear to others that they are angry. This form of anger expression does not allow for effective coping because the angry person is denying the feeling altogether while at the same time punishing others and pushing them away.

A third way to express anger is assertively. This is often referred to as “healthy” anger and involves expressing your feelings directly and in a non-threatening way. Expressing your anger directly includes being clear about what your needs are and how they might be met without hurting others. Assertive expression of anger can also mean coping with it on your own without talking to others. This might be done by channeling your anger energy into something like exercise or a creative project. Being able to do this may also require that you work on your general self-soothing skills such as relaxation exercises, taking time-outs as necessary, and healthy physical activity.

If you’re someone who typically has trouble expressing your anger assertively, it might be helpful to try out some of the strategies listed below.

Recognize anger

This may sound simple but some people (especially those who tend to express things passive-aggressively) are not necessarily conscious of their anger. You can recognize anger by asking yourself things like, how does my body feel right now? What were things that might have triggered anger? Where is the anger coming from?

Learn to relax

Relaxation skills like deep breathing and using mental imagery can really help. Visualize yourself doing something relaxing (i.e. on vacation, lying on the beach or in a hammock). Take a few deep, abdominal breaths (this means breathing from your stomach instead of your chest). Additionally, you can try mentally repeating a calming word or phrase to yourself like a mantra (“Take it easy” or “You’re okay”).

Restructure your thoughts

This is a fancy way of saying, “Change the way you think.” When you are angry you might notice that things become exaggerated and feel more important than they probably do when you think about them later. You can often replace these exaggerated thoughts with more rational ones both in your own mind (with positive self-statements and humor) and in the way you talk to other people. Using what’s called “I statements” can be helpful in this regard. This means that you start all of your sentences with “I feel...” or “I think....” instead of things like “You never...” or “You should...” By doing this you begin to take responsibility for your own feelings, stop blaming others for your anger, and help other people feel less defensive and more able to listen to you.

A big part of changing your thoughts can be paying close attention to your use of words like “should”, “always” and “never.” These kinds of absolutes are often not only inaccurate but blaming. They can lead to further anger and defensiveness. Ask yourself questions. Just because I want something to happen, does that mean it “should?” Is it true that my partner “always” disappoints me? Is it true that my mother “never” listens?

Communicate more clearly

Using “I statements” is one technique for doing this. The idea is that you want to slow yourself down so that you have time to think about what you want to say rather than just blurting out the first angry thought that comes to your mind. Taking time to think of how you want to respond also gives you time to really listen to what other people are saying. When you really hear what they are saying, this might change what you want to say in response.

Change your environment

If there are particular situations or people who regularly frustrate you, maybe you need a change of environment. It’s okay to take a break from people you are often angry at—even (or especially) if you are in the middle of an argument and think you might say or do something you will regret. Sometimes simple environmental changes like taking more alone time, getting enough sleep or walking away from a heated argument can help reduce your anger.

Evaluate yourself and your responses

After a conflict, ask yourself: What happened there? What did I do well? What could I do better next time? Did I handle my anger assertively or did I act out in one of the other, less healthy ways?

When you learn how to manage anger in a healthy way, it stops being a scary emotion and becomes just another feeling that comes and passes like any other. Knowing that anger will pass can help you take it less seriously and not get bogged down in it.

If you or someone you know has trouble managing anger and wants individualized help, 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

SCIENCE OF THE NOW

A light lesson in evolutionary biology

By Nathan Yetton

The platypus and echidna are strange and unusual creatures. Little is known about their evolutionary past, as they have a spotty fossil record at best. Part of the monotreme family, they are strange mammals. While the platypus sports a duck-bill, both monotremes lay eggs and suckle their young. How did these unique creatures come about?

There is a great deal of debate over the origins of monotremes. Due to a nearly absent fossil record and intermittent interest, very little information has been extracted about them, which would enable a more complete natural history of the species. Recently, a common ancestor of both was found, called teinolophos. A paper in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences tackled this problem in conjunction with the molecular clock model.

The molecular clock model is a statistical analysis of differences in the genetic code of different organisms, which can give a fair estimate of time since they had a common ancestor. It is based on the notion that DNA mutations occur randomly at a regular, predictable rate. As all genetic variation is based on mutation, one can count the number of differences in the genetic code between two organisms to estimate that common ancestor. This method is widely used throughout modern biology to evaluate the evolutionary history of organisms. It has helped revise the modern idea for origins of many species.

In this paper by Timothy Rowe et al., both the molecular clock model and traditional taxonomical studies, the research group determined that teinolophos was a common ancestor to both the platypus and the echidna, but they did not differentiate into separate species until later. The teinopholos lived about 115 million years ago, while the genetic data suggests that the last common ancestor for the modern monotremes was alive around 79 to 89 million years ago.

While there is no definitive last common ancestor for both the echidna and the platypus, it is certain they share one in recent evolutionary history. It will take some fortunate archaeological finds on the oceanic continent to really establish an accurate image of the last common monotreme ancestor. The last common ancestor of both the echidna and platypus is likely to resemble teinolophos. Only time and luck will tell.

SENATE SNIPPETS

Student Senate measures its success

Last semester your Student Senate was hard at work on some issues that were brought up as concerns by the student body. We were elected by you; it’s only fair that we let you know what we’ve been up to for the past four months.

Let’s start with the smaller things: at all Sodexho vending locations you can now use debit and, as of Monday, February 11, credit cards. At Birch, Skyranch, the Grills, the Underground; there are now more ways to pay than just cash or snack allowance (though if you’ve already burned through your snack money you may want to avoid the vendors altogether).

We sent a letter, drafted by now graduated Jeff Barnes, to the Residential Life Advisory Committee on the condition of common space (and the lack thereof) in the residence halls. Over a million dollars has been set aside to refurbish the freshmen dormitories—including turning the forced triples back into common spaces. While on the subject of housing, if you sign up for on-campus living next year, you’ll have the option of living with international students.

If you spent all hours of the night in the basement of the library during finals, (a Senate initiative dating back two years) you may have noticed a few students bringing in coffee, hot chocolate, chips and other assorted sundries. This was all donated by Sodexho.

During the beginning of last semester you may have noticed free newspapers available in various locations around campus. That was part of a pilot program offered through USA Today. The results were good so we’re trying to get a permanent program set up to offer local and national papers to students, free of charge.

We held a campus clean-up. Only about thirty people showed up but they rustled up a sizable pile of garbage. It was almost as successful as the trivia night we held afterward for members of SROs. There was a constant one-hundred plus students in the commuter café for a vastly entertaining event hosted by Morgan White Junior.

We allocated money to various groups and organizations to help co-sponsor guest speakers and presentations, including bringing Gloria Steinem to campus this Thursday, February 7.

We were able to lower the private budget of the Student Senate—which comes from your student fees—in order to have more money to allocate to student groups. We can’t give everyone everything they ask for, but we’re heading in the right direction.

In order to help allay the high cost of books, we’re putting together a ‘Free Student Library’. Students will be able to donate their old textbooks and instead of getting pennies on the dollar, the book will go to the library. The library will be accessible to all students. It is located in the Senate office on the second floor in the campus center. You won’t be able to leave with the text, but you may be able to get away with not buying it. It’s fairly new, but we have high hopes for it.

More behind the scenes, we have several senators on as many campus initiative committees, such as Library Expansion Use, Enrollment Management, Campus Safety, Staff Search Committees, New Student Orientation, and a new committee with public safety that will be looking into parking fees and their use. These committees are focused more on long term issues, but change doesn’t happen overnight.

So that’s what we did during the fall of 2007. We’re not some secretive cabal, and we’re not trying to hide anything. Our meetings are every Monday evening at 6 p.m. in the faculty dining room, right next to the Commuter Café. All students are invited to attend and be heard.

Adam Turner
Recording Secretary
Student Senate

GREENING THE CAMPUS

What’s so interesting about sustainability?

When you drive to school, do you think about how much carbon dioxide you are responsible for? Or when you throw away a plastic bottle instead of recycling it, do you think about how it could have been reused? These are all questions related to the subject of sustainability. And in the upcoming months and years, you’ll be hearing quite a bit about the subject.

Sustainability is most often defined as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to care for themselves.” It represents a hopeful and systematic approach to changing the ways we interact with the earth and with each other.

Why is everyone so interested in the topic? Well, for one, global forces like Climate Change have intersected with personal and community realizations that the path forward involves a lot of choices – choices on a large and small scale that will impact every aspect of our lives. Like choosing the food we eat, the way we move from place to place, how and where we make things, the structures we live and work in, the way we power our appliances, what we choose to use and discard, and even the way we govern ourselves.

College students across the country are part of a generation that will have the opportunity to revolutionize the way we do things. The silver lining in planetary upheaval is that it gives us a chance to remake the world.

And the students at UMD have already started. They’ve begun a farmer’s market, done wind calculations for a turbine feasibility study, worked with Sodexho to serve local foods, discussed a farm and a bike path, and instituted events such as a campus clean-up. Student groups like Social Change, MassPIRG, and Net Impact have lobbied congress, held fair-trade sales, and have attended conferences on Real Food and Sustainability.

Students have been involved in service projects related to recycling and internships related to campus paper usage. On the research front, students are investigating the use of used vegetable oil in campus vehicles, the use of solar panels to heat the swimming pool, and a study of heat loss through the library windows. Our Sustainability Minor will soon go before the University Curriculum Committee for approval and many classes on campus now include a sustainability component.

This semester, the Office of Campus and Community Sustainability will host several brown bag lunches to keep the sustainability dialog on campus going. The first, scheduled for Wednesday, February 13, is focused on student sustainability. Some of our other workshops are directed toward faculty and staff sustainability as well as to Campus Transportation, Recycling and Green Building. Our film series also continues, with a showing of Supersize Me taking place in the Library Browsing Area Wednesday, February 6, at 6:30 pm.

We will also be hosting several speakers, including Van Jones and Peak Oil expert Richard Heinberg during Earth Week. And to ensure that our students, faculty, staff, and administration have ample knowledge on the subject, we’ll be filling you in on topics relating to sustainability through this column for the remainder of the semester. So, if you’re interested in taking part in this planetary revolution, or if you just want some more information, give us a call at 508-910-6464 or shoot us an email: sustainability@umassd.edu. Otherwise, tune in next week to find out how you can do your part.

Susan Jennings,
Interim Director
Office of Campus and Community Sustainability

A look at literacy: UMD celebrates African American Read-In

Dr. Dawn Blake-Souza reads from her book of poetry and short stories during the Read-In in the Liberal Arts building.

Anthony M. Baird, M.ED addresses the audience during the Monday, February 4 event.

An unscheduled speaker represents the Writing and Reading Center.