Oregon State University - Beaver Yearbook (Corvallis, OR)

Page 27 text:

 Above middle: Terri Ross, director of the department of Community and Diversity listens to Earlcan Wilson Huey of the Ujima Education office during a discussion at the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center. At times the conversation topics ranged from the portrayal of African-Americans in the media to the significance of a memorial day for Martin Luther King. Jr. Above right: Senior Lauren Smith, the Black Cultural Center internal coordinator leads a discussion during Friday night's MLK birthday celebration. Photos by Haley Rasmussen Above: Students and community members gather on the steps of the Memorial Union during the candelight vigil Monday night. After the vigil participants were invited inside the MU for a discussion on how to make Corvallis a more inclusive place. Photo by The Daily Barometer MLK ()' ■ o

Page 26 text:

dd i j c y ( yews' a (T Z s dead, jfdZfflds CA s(u e■ Zl$ ' a cZo da () JYZ artin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday has been a time of celebration, mourning, anil reflection on the ()Sl campus for decades, and this year was no different. The months of January and February were full of events that allowed the community to become a part of the civil rights leaders dream. Speeches, discussions, art exhibits, and a good old-fashioned birthday party complete with cake and ice cream marked his Jan. 15 birth. Kings birthday party, which was held in the Ixmnie B. I larris Black Cultural Center, featured an impromptu discussion which covered a variety of topics for participants to ponder while they enjoyed the birthday sweets. One of the primary goals of the evening was to motivate the audience to start making positive changes in the world through peace. Kings original message of equality through non-violence was also frequently covered. Speakers used historic and current examples to promote their messages. “Katrina gave a lot of people a wake up call. I low do we turn our feelings into something that will create change? Larlean Wilson Huey from the I'jima education office asked. The importance of knowing black history was also enforced many times. “A lot of our young people don’t know our history, folks who had to struggle don’t pass it down because it’s painful,” I luey noted. “People think what happened a long time ago doesn't affect them. The past has and always will affect the future until it’s dealt with, said senior Lutomia Kuto. An emotional candlelight vigil was held in honor of MI.K on Jan. 16. Participants walked from the Black Cultural Center to the steps of the MU. A photo exhibit from Corvallis featuring freedom marches and fundraising for voter registration in the South taken in the 1960’s tilled the MU Concourse for close to a month as well. The list of other events that were held in the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. this year was impressive, starting on Jan. 9 and going well into February. Finding a way to celebrate his life was not hard to find. C )ther events included art exchanges, book anil poetry readings, prayer services, video presentations, and numerous discussions each hoping to convey King’s message of creating social change and civil rights in our country. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that, “( )ur lives begin to end the day we become silent alx ut things that matter.” In his memory campus members spoke out about issues important to our lives and hold celebrations every year for him so that we do not fall silent. Story by Lmery Garcia vents . Tradif o vs

Page 28 text:

traeh baeh G 'catw s ifjc e ite ooA 'asA o rex c fc Trash never looked so good. On Feb. 13, students from the department of design and human environment showcased their latest fashion creations, all in the name of sustainability. Don’t let the words recycled fashion mislead: these designers could give some of the fashion industry’s biggest names a run for their measuring tape. Repeat Performance: Trash bash featured a runway of designs entirely made of recylced materials. Fach designer had a SIO budget for his or her piece. The low budget led the students to get creative with their materials. The final results included pieces made from bubble wrap, plastic water bottles, business cards anti coffee insulators. Design anti human environment faculty member Mary Pedersen said most of the budget money students had went towards hardware they could not glean from another source, such as zippers ami snaps. Pedersen was the advisor for OSU’s chapter of Fashion Group International, a nonprofit professional association of over 6,000 members. The OSU chapter began in 1991 and was the first of its kind in Oregon. Although Pedersen was the advisor, she was quick to point out that students did nearly all of the work for the Trash Bash. Students took the theme of always recycle to heart ami created high fashion pieces literally from trash. Plastic bag dresses seemed to be one of the themes of this year’s show with everything from black garbage bags to Carl’s Jr. take-out bags becoming halter dresses anil ruffles. The materials they found as well as their environment inspired the student designers. Kendra Thysell designed and modeled the first dress of the night. I ler pink anil black party dress was made out of garbage bags anil tissue paper. She also adil two strategically placet! party hats to create a Marilyn Monroe-inspired piece. ; vents 3ra( f onJt cocryc ay cte nr roro Thyscll said her inspiration for the dress came from a friend's birthday party. “I was at a friend’s party playing around with some party hats anil I thought 1 have to make a dress with this,” she said with a smile. No matter where the raw materials came from, the fashion these student designers were able to create showcased not only their understanding of apparel design, but also their creativity. After all, it takes real talent to create high fashion from lowly trash. Story by Colleen Moran