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Program allows for discussion Hookup Culture from Page 1
This issue, News Intern Tyler Franklin sits down with Steven Munassi, president of Delta Sigma Phi, to talk about philanthropy and giving back to the community.
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What kind of philanthropic events has Delta Sigma Phi been involved in so far?
St. Baldrick’s, the buffet for American Red Cross and then the canned food drive, and that one is going to American Red Cross and their efforts in the Philippines.
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What motivates you to get involved in philanthropy efforts?
It really comes from interest and just kind of seeing what’s happening and what needs our attention. As soon as we heard about the typhoon, we understood that we should really help with that.
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Is there any reason why you chose these particular causes?
Our national philanthropy is Red Cross, so we really want to start doing things that will benefit them. As far as the typhoon relief, it happened, and we saw a need. So we wanted to try and address that. In terms of St. Baldrick’s, I looked into it and saw it was a really good cause. I had a friend who had leukemia when I was a kid … [St. Baldrick’s] gives me an outlet to help.
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How have these events gone so far? I am very impressed with not only our participation from the actives, but also very, very happy with how much the community came out for the typhoon relief.
What have you learned from these experiences?
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It has been great to see how passionate the guys get when you give them an opportunity to give back. It’s been quite an experience seeing how our brotherhood can come together and influence something – like how the guys can grow from helping out with this stuff.
6
Why do you feel that it is important for student organizations on campus to give back?
Our whole motto is ‘better men, better lives.’ My core values see that I should always try to be a better man than I was yesterday. So I feel like when you give back to the community, you’re not only helping out through your actions, but you’re also learning from your experience and growing from that.
What are some of the challenges in giving back? I find that LMU gives you so many opportunities to get involved, it’s almost a little tough to commit. I feel one big issue on campus is just overinvolvement, but LMU definitely does give you a lot of opportunities to try and make a change.
MORE QUESTIONS
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Want to read more questions with Steven Munassi? Check them out at laloyolan.com.
daily lives, according to Briana Maturi, special assistant in the office of the senior vice president for student affairs and coordinator of the Healthy Relationships Initiative. Maturi said she recognizes that the hookup culture is a topic that frequents the pages of gossip magazines and gains plenty of media coverage. However, she also understands the importance in localizing it to LMU. “It’s one thing to look at what’s nationally happening but we’re our own unique community, so it’s important for us to have that discussion,” Maturi said. The discussion will be led by intercultural facilitators who are part of the student peer leadership group on campus run by EIS. Maturi said that allowing students to participate in a dialogue with their peers is an important aspect of the program. According to Maturi there was a similar program done last spring that was well attended and the feedback they received from students was positive. Students stated that it’s “helpful to hear
from their peers what’s actually happening” on campus regarding hooking up versus going off of what the media may be feeding to students. While the media seems to over-exaggerate the normalcy of a hookup culture at every college, there are a number of people who have found themselves equally confused by this ambiguous term. Amanda Holman, a doctoral student at the University of NebraskaLincoln took part in a study on this very topic with Dr. Allan Sillars at the University of Montana. Holman said that “hooking up is strategically ambiguous,” in the Huffington Post article “Hooking up – What does it really mean?” published Oct. 12, 2011. In the same article, Time Magazine’s Megan Gibson agreed with Holman’s opinion saying “It seems the phrase offers a way of divulging information - which, yes, could still be considered gossip - but also provides an element of mystery about the encounter, which could protect privacy in some cases. And in today’s social media-obsessed,
oversharing culture, that’s not a bad thing.” The Healthy Relationships Initiative hopes that, through programs such as the upcoming open discussion on hookup culture, students can learn to have open conversations with their peers on relationships and combat unspoken peer pressure, according to Maturi. “Let’s understand what the campus culture is rather than guess,” Maturi says. Through this program she has been working on, she wants students to be reminded that they “always have a voice and a choice.” The Healthy Relationships Initiative is scheduled to host two more programs in the springtime. The first will feature speaker Amber Krzys, who will come to campus to speak about body image and learning to love the bodies we’re in. The second event will be a session with Dr. Drew, who is famous for his work with “Celebrity Rehab” as well as his current radio show, Loveline. The Hookup Culture forum is the last event of this semester and will be held at 6 p.m. in The Hill.
Students encouraged to think outside the bluff World Fest from Page 1
The events started this past Sunday, Nov. 17, and will be continuing until Sunday, Nov. 24. On Sunday, there was a Lion Pride Worldwide pre-basketball game festivity to support the LMU men’s team players that are from counties such as Croatia, Nigeria and Zambia. On Tuesday, there was a Stories from Abroad presentation and the Art of Sushi Making event put on by the Center for Asian Business and Asian Pacific Student Services. “This year I decided I wanted to do something fun and cultural, so I decided to do the sushi-making. But we also want to promote our new course offered at LMU,” Hackett said.
The event brought in a sushi chef to demonstrate the process and instruct students to make their own crab and spicy tuna rolls that they could eat when they were finished. On Wednesday, the two groups are also putting on a “Planet B-Boy” movie screening, as well as a special performance by B-Boy Status. Wednesday also has a dialogue on interculuralism – When Cultures Meet – that explores the stereotypes and social norms of two different cultures. The week continues with events on Thursday, Nov. 21, at Convo with Culture Shock in Alumni Mall showcasing African drumming and dance, and a Lifelong Benefits program in Malone 6-9 p.m. that will discuss programs for scholars in Germany, Iceland, Mexico and
Argentina. World Fest week will close on Sunday with a World Music Concert, influenced by Bali and Ghana, in Murphy Recital Hall at 3 p.m. During LMU’s international education week, OISS emphasizes the effort to increase the international student population and to promote the idea of international studies. “We want students to experience this in whatever way that appeals to them, whether it is mentoring, or studying abroad, making friends with an international student and visiting their home country or just encouraging students to think outside the bubble on the bluff,” said Csilla Samay, director of International Outreach.
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