UMass Dartmouth hosts AIDS Benefit

Above, left: Crowds gather while waiting to get into the AIDS Benefit. Above, right: Selective 8 dancers perform at the AIDS Benefit, held in the Main Auditorium on October 6.

The 6th annual AIDS benefit

By Chris Donovan

AIDS is a disease that weakens the immune system sometimes to the point that the carrier faces life threatening problems. The disease cannot be cured, only temporarily controlled and treated. There is a lot of focus on not just finding a cure for AIDS, but also helping prevent the virus from spreading. This past Saturday, October 6, 2007, Sigma Phi Rho presented its sixth annual AIDS benefit.

The show served as a way to “Promote AIDS awareness through various speeches, poems, and other forms of expressive art.” The event hosted almost 500 attendees. The proceeds generated from the benefit are going towards funding for AIDS-related projections in education, prevention, and care. There were tables set up with information to help educate people about HIV, AIDS and safe sex practices.

This year’s show was hosted by “Uptown Kevin Brown,” a comedian and actor who’s appeared on “Last Comic Standing,” “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” and who currently stars on NBC’s hit show “30 Rock.” He is a brother of the Sigma Phi Rho fraternity and has been the host of the AIDS benefit since it was started six years ago. His upbeat spirit and constant audience interaction made for a smooth transition between acts.

The AIDS benefit runs like a variety show, with many different types of acts that all focus on the common theme of AIDS awareness.

This year’s acts included singers, dancers, poets, comedians, and a jazz band.

The night did shift its focus from fun to serious when motivational speaker Lisa Tiger took the stage to talk about her tragic life which includes her own struggle with AIDS. She made it very clear that although she has AIDS, she has not let that stop her from living her life.

If you would like more information on the prevention, and/or treatment of AIDS, students can contact UMass health services at extension 8982.

Keynote speaker Lisa Tiger: Trials and tribulations

By Megan Gauthier

Acclaimed motivational speaker and HIV/AIDS educator Lisa Tiger was brought to UMass Dartmouth’s campus by the DOSA Programming Committee, Frederick Douglass Unity House, Women’s Resource Center, Health Education, SAIL, Student Affairs and Campus Services.

Tiger’s visit included talking to various classes throughout the day on October 4 and 5, holding an open presentation in the Library Browsing Area on October 4, meeting students and faculty at a reception dinner on October 5, and acting as a keynote speaker for Sigma Phi Rho’s AIDS Benefit on October 6.

Tiger, a member of the Muscogee Nation, has been involved in AIDS education since she first learned she was infected with the virus in 1992 at the age of 25. She has earned many awards for her AIDS awareness advocacy and dedication to raising abandoned and abused children, as well as her advocacy of the rights of women and minorities.

Her life has been fraught with emotional distress. When she was a child, her father committed suicide, putting a strain on her whole family.

In 1988, Tiger contracted HIV at the age of 23 from a boyfriend in her hometown of Muscogee, Oklahoma. She also suffers from Parkinson’s Disease, which is a disorder of the central nervous system that impairs motor skills and speech.

Despite her personal hardships, in 1996 she applied for and was granted custody of four Lakota (Sioux) orphans — siblings ages 3, 5, 6 and 7 — raising them as her own.

In 1999 Tiger’s HIV turned into full blown AIDS, the same year her brother Chris was shot and killed. This tragedy and the difficulties surrounding the conviction of his killer led Lisa to become an advocate for victims of violence.

Lisa married Pueblo potter Diego Romero in 2003, and the couple longed to have a biological child of their own. Romero and Tiger chose to use artificial insemination as the method for the conception of their daughter, Cornelia Margaret TaLadu Dana (Crickett). Tiger underwent a very difficult pregnancy and almost lost her life, but luckily, Crickett was born HIV-free and completely healthy.

Since then, Tiger has remained active, exercising every day. As a result, even though she has had AIDS for nearly 10 years, she has not even suffered from a common cold since Crickett’s birth, and is physically fit. Upon seeing Lisa, you would never guess that she suffered from any kind of physical ailment.

She also remains emotionally astute and positive, even though one of her adopted daughters was murdered only a month ago by a jealous boyfriend. Tiger was left with the responsibility of raising her daughter’s one year old baby, along with the three adopted children still alive, and her own biological daughter.

Says Tiger of the ordeal “I’m not the one who decides how things work out. I’m just the one who has to deal with all of it,” and she attempts to deal with everything in a positive manner, despite her inclination to fight fire with fire.

Tiger spoke of the anger in her youth, and how she wanted revenge on anyone who hurt her or her family. She admitted that it was hard not to want to kill her daughter’s murderer for what he had done when she sat across from him in his jail cell, but was reminded of her aspiration to be forgiving. She laments, “I never got to forgive the guy who infected me with HIV, so I need to be able to forgive others now to make up for it.”

Tiger’s goals are to be “a saint and a comedian,” and she dreams of starring on Oprah and sharing her trials and tribulations with a national audience. She delights in touching people with her story and her strength, noting that through it all, she has become stronger in spirit and has come to know her purpose in life.

“Through it all,” Tiger quipped at the end of her story, “I have always kicked butt,” and it is this perseverance and personal reconciliation that shine through — proving that there is light at the end of any tunnel.

UMass Dartmouth community reacts to PCE waiver for full-time day students

By Sara Kelley

“If we’re paying $9,000 for tuition, why should we have to pay to take another class?” asked Tracy Anthony, a full time junior English major.

UMass Dartmouth day students taking at least 12 credits qualify for the discount to take a Professional and Continuing Education (PCE) class-running during the evening, online, or on weekends-for 50 percent of the tuition and fees. Day students paying the tuition for a 12-credit course load can take up to 18 credits at no additional cost. So why do day students have to pay to take a PCE class if within the 18-credit limit? Several other students interviewed echoed Anthony’s discontent about PCE’s “discount.”

PCE courses used to be included in the day tuition, so when did this change? According to Maria Cordeiro, the Associate Director of the University Enrollment Center, the change took place in 2005 because most PCE waivers require students to pay at least some fee. “PCE is self-supporting and operates at no cost to the University; so instead of getting rid of the waiver completely, we still offer the Continuing Ed. courses at a discounted rate,” said Cordeiro.

English Department Chair Catherine Houser agrees with Anthony. “A few years ago students could take night classes for a small service charge, but certainly not the 50 percent tuition...But you have to realize, PCE is a completely separate program, so they have their own challenges. It seems to me that if you’re paying the full load to be here during the day, you ought to have an option to enroll in night courses for free considering so many of our day courses get filled up fast in registration,” said Houser.

Day students also choose to take these courses to catch up or get ahead or simply because the courses fit their schedules.

Meredith Wilbur, a graphic design major, took four PCE courses her first semester at UMD. At the time, she was not a full time student, and therefore did not qualify for the waiver. But unlike Anthony, Wilbur said that she did not think it was unfair for day students to pay some portion of the tuition and fees. “You make the decision yourself; you choose to take the class because of convenience... it’s not that big of an issue to pay for it. They’re already giving a discount,” she said.

According to Wendy Holmes, a PCE staff member, a regular 3-credit, undergraduate-level PCE course that meets in person is $618, which includes the campus center fee, library fee, and registration fee (there is an additional variable college fee with each course). Students must pay the full $30 registration fee with the waiver, but the tuition and other fees are half off, giving the student a sizeable discount. Despite this fact, Holmes — also a PCE student — stated that she could understand day students being upset over having to pay at all.

Holmes and Wilbur did agree that day students who take PCE courses enhance the experience. Holmes felt that the day students brought a “really unique perspective,” while Wilbur called the PCE courses some of her best yet at UMD. The day school student waiver allows students to have this experience during the fall and spring when the waiver is valid.

However, none of the day students interviewed even knew about the waiver. Most said they might take advantage of it now that they were aware, even though some were annoyed at having to pay even 50 percent of the tuition and fees.

Information on the waiver is listed in the PCE catalog and on their website (www.umassd.edu/pce). Many students also learn about it by word-of-mouth.

The Enrollment Center staff usually tell students registering for courses in person, but many students just use COIN to register, adding to the lack of awareness.

The waiver used to be advertised on the day course listings but isn’t anymore since the listing has appeared strictly online for the past three years. Despite this, Cordeiro said that the number of students using the day school student waiver has grown, from 75 in the fall of 2006 to 170 in the spring of 2007.

Houser said that she does not encourage day students to take PCE courses because of the additional fees. “I generally recommend they try to get into courses they’re looking for the next semester in regular day school. I only recommend PCE as a last resort to our day school students.”

Day students now aware of the waiver should keep both perspectives in mind when registering for courses. PCE courses from different areas of study typically run one night a week or on the weekend for three hours at one of the PCE sites (Dartmouth, New Bedford or Fall River). Students can register for PCE courses using the 50 percent tuition waiver up through the add/drop period, which is generally the first or second week of the semester.

For course listings or more information, please visit the PCE website, send an email to pce@umassd.edu or call PCE directly at 508-999-9202.