University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

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Elizabeth Alexander burns incense, which symbolizes air and fire. 24 Popularvievvs depietvvitehes as evil or unnatural hovvever, Wiccan witches are anything but. These nature lovers lll.'PEL'l'IIIi' MYTIL ' I woMAN's GREEN FACE, wart-laden nose and night-flying broom is the image that often comes to mind when witches are mentioned. Larry Phillips, Wiccan high priest, said this public image asso- ciated with Witches originated from the Roman imposition of Christian- ity upon Northern Europe. At the time, the Europeans of the country were practicing magic and wor- shipping their means of survival, such as the Earth and sky. The Romans perceived the coun- try people as backward and poor. The words pagan and heathen origi- nally were insults referring to the odd country folk. A long pointed hat and other outdated clothing was the common dress for the people of the country. The Qld English word wit means magician or priest. The image and stereotype of the Witch f o r m e d from these roots. Today, the title of witch denotes someone who has begun a magical practice in a system, such as Wicca, Phillips said. Elizabeth Alexanderi, Wiccan high priestess, said, A witch is someone who has a nature-based belief, believes in the Wiccan rede I nornburg or creed, upholds the threefold law and views the creation force as a male and female dichotomy or worships the triple goddess. BY KERRY HILLARD HWICCA IS A NA'l'U IIE BASED IIELIGIIIN IIONOIlING ALL LIVING AVID NIDNLIVING THINGS. liLIZABE'l'Il ALIEXANIDIEII, WICCAN HIGH l'llIlES'l'liSS I I I I I Being a witch is the first of three stages of Wiccan initiation. After one year of study, the title of witch is conferred upon the stu- dent, Phillips said. The title of priest or priestess, the second stage, is received upon the completion of ritual training, Phillips said. Christian clergy is the basic equivalent. The final stage is becom- ing an autonomous high priest or priestess. This further teaching serves the basic purpose of priest or priestess only on a deeper level, Phillips said. One cannot become a high priest or priestess until they have proved themselves capable of running a group, Alexander said. According to Phillips, 95 percent of the magic a witch practices is directed back to themselves for personal develop- ment. Wicca.ns believe in the free will of all, including chil- dren, Alexander says. Magic cannot violate another's free will. Free Will, Alexander said, is whatever a person wants to do. A Wiccan should not stand in the

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ldlyze hp W and Emlliit is nghnt Ui lie mm H011 On Q. 391301145 'Li to ig' L allegdlior. 15 3 lima Wm the t 9111 the 118 Dm iid lake air: Hiiniiieii S to tem U1 lmoiiii 0 lsteii atiom pened ai 1' Big fight Govermie' 3 35 3 lfiff ig togeie' 'hen we E n work om. lhe i' stomat ple hater H even 5, she iii nees. lllf gif belief? id. 2re shi? le, and li' comllleii mtv, lil' mitioni mehoil' Peoplf jj1gOfllf aid. a,lum0f at HWS' of her problems originated from the religious holidays she observes. Teachers tend to not accept absences for jewish holidays, she said, and sometimes her grades suffer because of it. I went through the ranks when a teacher threatened to lower my grade because I'd missed class for a Iewish holiday. She said the biology department was responsive to her, she said. But going through the ranks could be time consuming and frustrating, Baron said, and sometimes it was just easier to be given a hard time by a teacher or to take a lower grade. The Student Senate Rules and Regula- tions explained procedure for this problem in line 2.1.4. It states that a student must take the initiative to inform the instructor of the reason and time of their absence. If justified, a grade cannot be altered for observing a religious holiday. Baron said the effects of prejudice also were felt in society. Verbal statements and slang create prejudice. Students don't realize their comments are offensive, she said. Someone was talking about jewing down the price of jewelry at a store. I explained that the phrase, 'jew you down, was anti-semitic. They had no idea. EDUCATION David Ambler, vice chancellor for student affairs, thinks education might be the answer. The University has hired more minor- ity faculty and staff. We've made a lot of progress, but there is still work to be done in terms of representing minorities well, he said. Ambler said KU's history of admitting minorities has been supplemented with programs to help other students learn respect for different cultures. The Multi- Cultural Resource Center, which is sched- uled to open in Fall 1995, is one example. When we learn to appreciate ethnic development, we understand that differ- ences aren't a source of fear but an enrich- I If I could tell you we were prejudice- free, I'd be very happy, but I'd also be very naive. We're not immune from what we all grew up with because We didn't have opportunities to see the differences, Ambler said. The differences were more apparent than ever when several alleged Ku Klux Klan attacks took place in the Iayhawker Towers. The events prompted the Fed- eral Bureau of Investigation to examine potential civil rights violations in mid- Ianuary. lsgoren said the opportu- nity to see those differences could be offered through an orientation class. By gradu- ation, she said, students will have had experienced enough diversity that their prejudices will have de- creased. Baron also said providing classes about differences in cultures and beliefs would decrease prejudice. But until such a class is reality, students like Baron and lsgoren promote education on their own. Prejudice used to scare me a lot, but now I take it as ll1l'l'lZ AND BIAS COMPLAlN'l'S Seventeen complaints were filed with the KU Police Department. Anti-jewish Intimidation 6 5 complaints were filed falsely by an individual who has been charged Criminal damage 1 Anti-White Assault 1 Disorderly conduct 1 Anti-Black Criminal damage 1 Assault 1 Disorderly conduct 2 Anti-Asian Intimidation 1 Anti-Gay Intimidation 2 Others Intimidation L 1 1993 figures are the most recent available from KU Police Department. more of a chance to teach somebody something, Baron said. lsgoren said most international students were happy to dispel prejudice by ex- plaining their homes and cultures. Stu- dents just need to ask. Education seems to be a simple answer to prejudice. But not everyone thinks it is an assured solution. Education is important, but if there's no heart behind it, it won't succeed. On the part of the administration, faculty, and students, real efforts must be made, Dawson said. 13 ei 13 Qi Q 1 f I . - ea . U peg' fl f' -W Q gff 4 n ,lf :fi Y Y 2- f. ff ,V Y .- ing aspect of life, Ambler said. When we begin to forget the fact that we have different skin color and lan- guages, then we will be able to say we are without prejudice. And education must extend beyond the classroom. I'm not talking about assimi- lation. I'm talking about integration. That's what life in the United States is about, Moore said. Silence is death. . W -

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is way of what people choose to do. Based on this belief, the threefold-law was very important to Alexander. She explained the law with her stoplight theory: A driver was waiting at a stoplight. Others drivers were trying to merge into traffic. If the driver waiting at the stop light let the other drivers in, the next three lights would be green. The good the person did would come back to them threefold. Based on this law, witches are able to practice bad magic. However, if they do, they will send three times the bad back on themselves. honoring all living and nonliving things. We honor all the critters and happy green things and happy green nonliving things, like rocks and dirt, Alexander said. The Mother Goddess or Mother Earth represents life, Alexander said. Life comes from the Earth in the form of food rain and sun. Alexander said things in nature origi- nate from a male and female. Wiccans usually worship a pair of gods, which consists of a male and a female, to repre- sent the balance of nature. Others wor- ship only the triple goddess, Alexander said. The triple goddess has three faces: ,ff Watch what you say and do. Temper your words or they will come back to haunt you, Alexander said. we ffm Jan: maiden, mother and crone. The balance Laffy of nature is achieved through the female Phllhps Cycle. Wican high Despite the importance of free, it is not The nature aspect of Wicca first inter- the main focus of Wicca. Nature is the primary component. ested Alexander. prays near l'Ve always been a part of nature. I Wicca is a nature-based religion used to talk with trees. When I was a