University of Arkansas Fayetteville - Razorback Yearbook (Fayetteville, AR)

Page 29 text:

EARLS OF WISDOM “Most diamonds come from Africa,” Jewel Diamond Taylor told the crowd gathered in the Union Theatre in celebra¬ tion of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. “They start from a piece of black coal, and they’ve got to go through friction and cutting and fire. After they go through all these obstacles, then they come out a beautiful, radiant dia¬ mond. I believe Dr. Mar¬ tin Luther King was a dia¬ mond.” After a candlelight march from the Walton Arts Center up Dickson Street, the crowd gath¬ ered in the Union for Taylor’s speech, a vibrant oration on King and how people can benefit them¬ selves and their commu¬ nity. Besides using the theme of diamonds, which stemmed from her name, given to her by her jeweler father, Taylor used the themes of time, religion, poetry and lists to help convey her mes¬ sage. “(King) had a fearless heart,” Taylor said. “He knew what time it was, just like Rosa Parks knew that it was time to sit down. We are honoring the man, the messenger and the mes¬ sage. We are keeping the dream alive.” As well as praising the efforts of King, Taylor asked the audience to live their lives to the fullest of their potential, em¬ phasizing economics as the key to build¬ ing the power of blacks and other mi¬ norities. She hammered on this point, saying blacks need to aspire to own more businesses and property, because, “if you don’t own it, you don’t care about it. You’re dependent on others. If you’re in debt, you’re dependent. If you’re depen¬ dent, you become depressed, and if you’re depressed, you have self-destruc¬ tive behavior.” Jaquator Hamer, direc¬ tor of Multi-Cultural Stu¬ dent Services, was pleased with the event, including the racial mix of attendees. “I’m very pleased with the program,” Hamer said, “and I’m pleased with the people that turned out, not just black people, but whites, His- panics, all the races to¬ gether that came out to help celebrate Dr. King’s birthday.” Taylor read a self-writ¬ ten poem, “I Ain’t Giving My Black Back,” which elicited cheers, encour¬ agement and laughter from members of the au¬ dience. “I thought it was a very motivational speech,” sophomore Tiffany Wright said. “She did a wonderful job of building self¬ esteem and self-awareness, not just in the black community, but in the whole population.” “I really liked it,” junior Carrie Parker said. “She summed up the ways of the world when she talked about self-esteem, because that’s how it really is.” W e Shall Overcome. The participants of the march on Dickson Street gathered in the Union Theatre singing various inspirational songs on flyers that were handed out be¬ fore the march. Jewel Diamond Taylor asked that everyone in the audience “live to their fullest potential” and “keep the dream alive.” [Photo by Adrai White] Todd S. Takei Jewel Diamond Taylor

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M otivational speaker Jewel Diamond Taylor speaks in the Union Theatre after the Martin Luther King, Jr., March. Taylor spoke of how people should strive to make their community and way of life better not just for themselves but for everyone. [Photo by Adrai White] S tudents, faculty and residents of Fayetteville join together for the Martin Luther King, Jr., March on Dickson Street January 15. Dickson Street was closed off from the Walton Arts Center to Gregson Hall and Garland Ave. to the Union. [Photo by Adrai White] Jewel Diamond Taylor

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University Programs hosts the Bust-A-Gut Comedy Series. EST MEDICINE Her head throbbed from an informa¬ tion overload. All day, teachers and friends were telling her things she had to remember and had to do. There had to be something to help get her mind off her upcoming Western Civilization test, the seven- page philosophy paper she still hadn’t started and the fact that she had no money. For freshman Jennifer Cannon, the Bust-A-Gut Comedy Series was a re¬ freshing break from ev¬ eryday life. “I really thought the Comedy Series was great. It was a cool thing to do with my fiance when we were both broke, and it also gave me a chance to unwind from classes,” Cannon said. “Having it on a Tuesday night was a wonderful idea because it helped students get over the first of the week blahs. My favorite come¬ dians were Happy Cole and John Heffron be¬ cause they made jokes about stuff I could iden¬ tify with.” University Programs, a student-funded organization, provided eight different co¬ medians to perform throughout the school year at what was popularly known as the Bust-A-Gut Comedy Series. These performances, including well-known and award-winning comedians such as Buzz Sutherland, Ngaio Bealum, Mitch Mullany, Mark Britten, Happy Cole and the com¬ edy team Selected Hilarity, were free to students who paid the activity fee. iney were also given in a night club setting, including provided refreshments. Seven of the eight comedians per¬ formed on Tuesday evenings, while one performed on a Thursday, and about 100 students averaged in attendance at ev¬ ery show. “Attendance had been lower this year than in past years, but I think students still like to come because it’s free and it’s a great way to break ten¬ sion. It also helps to take time out of your hectic schedule and have a good time,” University Pro¬ grams Celebrity Show¬ case Chairman Kenny Schweer said. The Bust-A-Gut Com¬ edy Series was known on campus for being unlike any other activity Univer¬ sity Programs hosted. “I think the comedy series, almost more than anything we do, brings programs to campus that are unlike anything else,’’ University Programs President Matt Helmer said, “because students can really appreciate the com¬ edy break they get from school that’s free.” It’s been said that laughter is the best medicine. Thanks to University Pro¬ grams, students and faculty alike were administered a healthy dose of laughter once a month with the Bust-A-Gut Com ' edy Series. A s part of the Bust-A-Gut series, John Heffron performs at Redeye. Heffron recalled childhood and college experi¬ ences students could relate to, such as pretending to be a su¬ per hero and problems with roommates. [Photo by Heather Bowe Rice] Blair Luper 28 Bust-A-Gut