'Remember the Titans' coach Boone to kick off Cultural Kaleidoscope Week of diversity /

ALEXIS STRJZZIERE SPORTSEDITOR

Legendary Coach Herman Boone, from which the major motion picture "Remember the Titans" is based, will be speaking in the Nerney Field House at the Dixon Center on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. to kick-off Cultural Kaleidoscope Week.

In an effort to help tackle various diversity issues on campus, the senior class board is taking giant steps forward by bringing Coach Boone to campus to share his words of wisdom regarding diversity and the importance of perseverance. The address, entitled "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," will be open to the general public free of charge. Coach Boone was the first African American head football coach at T.C. Williams, one of the first integrated high schools in

Alexandria, Va. after the 1955 Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.

For years now Cabrini College under the guidance of Diversity Initiatives has been working towards bringing a more diversified outlook of the campus to its students. As students of all backgrounds look for a common ground to stand upon, the office of Diversity Initiatives, run by Shirley Dixon, looks for a stepping-stone for students to start with. "This event is a great start to help tackle the issue of diversity we have on this campus, the seniors have taken a real initiative in regards to this matter," Jason Bozzone, director of student activities, said. Coach Boone's speech will be the kick-off of Cultural Kaleidoscope Week to help bring a weeklong calendar of activities that will promote diversity among the students.

The senior class board originally approached Bozzone in September of 2002 with the idea in mind that they would begin the process of searching for a commencement speaker early. Bozzone notified the class board of the commencement speaker decision but suggested hosting another event with a speaker from their list of possible candidates for commencement, Coach Boone being one of them.

"The senior class board wanted to do something special for 100 nights before graduation, which fell in early February," Gina Roswell, senior class board vice president, said. "With February being Black History Month and Coach Boone only being able to come on Feb. 17, which is the start of Cultural kaleidoscope Week, everything seemed all too perfect. It would have been absurd for us not to take advantage of the seem-