For a look at tonight’s game against UTEP, see page 6
DAILY HELMSMAN Tuesday 03.5.13
The
Vol. 80 No. 081
Independent Student Newspaper of the University of Memphis
Chinese Cultural Day
www.dailyhelmsman.com
UM organizations join to host a day honoring Asian traditions
Jazz Week
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Taller Than Giants EP
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Softball
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Monks bring Mystical Arts to UC
By Samantha Esgro
news@dailyhelmsman.com
duction to Chinese culture. The Confucius Institute and the Office of Multicultural Affairs at the U of M sponsored the event. Steve Coons, a student worker at the Confucius Institute and a senior Asian studies and international trade major, wore traditional royal Chinese garb for the day’s festivities. Coons lived in Taiwan from 2007 to 2009. He is the only non-native Chinese speaker of who teaches the language at the Institute. For him,
the event reveals the good that every culture has to offer. “Each student can glean something useful and meaningful for their own lives,” he said. Riki Jackson, assistant director of the Confucius Institute, explained the significance of the clothes in the fashion show. The colorful, flowing garments represented the Qing and Tang dynasties. She said that Chinese dress, as well as dance and the martial arts, address the strongly
held belief in the harmony of mind, body and spirit. “Every movement defines something, stands for something,” she said. Yiping Yang, associate director of the Confucius Institute, helped organize Chinese Cultural Day. He views the event as an opportunity for Americans of all backgrounds to learn more about China and its rich
chair and assistant director of admissions at the office of recruitment and orientation at the U of M, said. The University volunteered to host SROW, the Region VI Conference of the National Orientation Directors Association, NODA. Region VI is the largest NODA region composed of nine states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. This is the first year the University
has hosted this event. “It is a great opportunity for institutions to host a NODA conference, especially for Region 6,” Joyce Holl, executive director for NODA, said. Professionals and students from universities and colleges throughout the region will travel to Memphis for the workshop. Of the 1,900 scheduled to attend, about 1,600 are undergraduate students. “One of the great benefits that insti-
tutes experience that host a NODA conference is that they gain a lot of exposure,” Holl said. The activities include case studies; a song, skit and dance competition; a service project; T-shirt and banner competitions and educational sessions. This year’s service project calls for attendees to bring school supplies such as backpacks, folders and markers that
Today at 6 p.m., the University Center Ballroom will get a Tibetan awakening courtesy of the performers of Drepung Loseling Monastery. The event, hosted by the Student Activities Council, will feature monks from Drepung Loseling Monastery performing traditional dances and multiphonic singing. “The performers are genuine monks who share their cultural traditions on the tour with hopes of making a contribution to world peace and providing greater awareness of the Tibetan situation,” said Teneshia Arnold, a SAC advisor. The Tibetan situation that Arnold is refers to is the Chinese Communist invasion in 1959, which forced the “closure and destruction” of its 6,500 monasteries, according to the Mystical Arts website. Since then, the estimated 250 monks who were able to escape now preserve and represent the traditions of their culture through the Mystical Arts of Tibet performances. “I did some research on the monks and I just really felt like it would be a cool cultural aspect to bring to the U of M,” said Ophrah Payne, the cultural arts chair for SAC. The Mystical Arts of Tibet normally consists of eleven acts, but their performance at the U of M will feature only one part of the usual performance split into two segments that last 45 minutes each. “The purpose of the tour is to make a contribution to world peace and healing through sacred art and dance and to generate awareness of the endangered Tibetan civilization,” Arnold said. The world tour is co-produced
see WORKSHOP on page 6
see MONKS on page 7
Asian studies major Steve Coons demonstrates the art of Chinese calligraphy.
By Tyler Stafford
Special to the Daily Helmsman The University of Memphis held the first annual Chinese Cultural Day yesterday in the University Center. Special features included Chinese cuisine, calligraphy, a fashion show, Chinese lantern and decorative knot design and jianzi, a hacky sack-type game played with feathers and weights. The overall aim of the event was an intro-
photo By NathaNael packard | staff
see CHINESE on page 4
UM to host regional orientation workshop By Lisa Babb
news@dailyhelmsman.com The University of Memphis will host the Southern Regional Orientation Workshop March 15-17. More than 1,900 college orientation leaders, staff members and students are scheduled to attend. “The entire conference is very high energy, like cheerleading camp on steroids,” Destin Tucker, SROW conference
The Daily Helmsman is a “designated public forum.” Students have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. The Daily Helmsman is pleased to make a maximum of 10 copies of each issue available to a reader for free. Additional copies are $1. Partial printing and distribution costs are provided by an allocation from the Student Activity Fee.
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