Spring Break
Former and current TAASU members join to celebrate
David Cordill
Issue date: 2/11/08 Section: News
Daniel also asked students not to look down on those without college degrees.
"Some of the brightest, smartest and hard working - the most conscious people I know - have never set foot on a college campus," he said. "You have a lot to tell people after you get this degree, but you also have to listen."
In attendance were 10 of the original 60 founding members of TAASU. Among them was Ella Love, employee of the Kansas City Missouri School District, who reminisced about the campus mood at the time of TAASU's inception.
"We worked together with students of color and non-color," Love said. "I did not find that we had racism … all of the students [who] were in TAASU were first generation new students getting for the first time a diploma, a baccalaureate, for their families and for their ancestry. We were happy to be here."
Current TAASU members also had their chances to express the organization's importance to them. Vice president Tylena Martin spoke of the group's present agenda and was followed by president Janita Butler, who called for continued focus on TAASU's purpose.
"We want you to know that it is truly important to us to continue to foster a sense of community in African American students here at UMKC," Butler said, "and to stimulate the intellectual, political, cultural and social growth of all students here at UMKC."
A jazz quartet comprised of UMKC students performed during the dinner. Band members included Ryan Lee on drums, Hermon Mehari on trumpet, William Sanders on saxophone and Ben Leifer on bass.
UMKC student Travette Winters gave a solo dramatic performance of The Prayer and the Strayer, a self-penned dual character dialogue on the power of prayer and belief. Conservatory graduate student Crystal Robin performed an interpretive dance to Bobby McFerrin's "Sweet in the Morning."
For more information about TAASU, visit http://studo.umkc.edu/taasu/.
dcordill@unews.com
"Some of the brightest, smartest and hard working - the most conscious people I know - have never set foot on a college campus," he said. "You have a lot to tell people after you get this degree, but you also have to listen."
In attendance were 10 of the original 60 founding members of TAASU. Among them was Ella Love, employee of the Kansas City Missouri School District, who reminisced about the campus mood at the time of TAASU's inception.
"We worked together with students of color and non-color," Love said. "I did not find that we had racism … all of the students [who] were in TAASU were first generation new students getting for the first time a diploma, a baccalaureate, for their families and for their ancestry. We were happy to be here."
Current TAASU members also had their chances to express the organization's importance to them. Vice president Tylena Martin spoke of the group's present agenda and was followed by president Janita Butler, who called for continued focus on TAASU's purpose.
"We want you to know that it is truly important to us to continue to foster a sense of community in African American students here at UMKC," Butler said, "and to stimulate the intellectual, political, cultural and social growth of all students here at UMKC."
A jazz quartet comprised of UMKC students performed during the dinner. Band members included Ryan Lee on drums, Hermon Mehari on trumpet, William Sanders on saxophone and Ben Leifer on bass.
UMKC student Travette Winters gave a solo dramatic performance of The Prayer and the Strayer, a self-penned dual character dialogue on the power of prayer and belief. Conservatory graduate student Crystal Robin performed an interpretive dance to Bobby McFerrin's "Sweet in the Morning."
For more information about TAASU, visit http://studo.umkc.edu/taasu/.
dcordill@unews.com
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Sister Lucille
posted 2/16/08 @ 11:28 AM CST
Wow! What a great evening you gave the founders. Thanks for such a welcoming spirit from Chancellor Bailey and Vice Chancellor Tyler. I look forward to next year's celebration. (Continued…)
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