NEWS EDITORS: Martha Landry & Chris Reinoos
Students fight for a Hmong history class to be added to the University curriculum STAFF WRITER
Students are making some noise now that a Hmong humanities class has been eliminated, making Hmong language at the 101 and 102 levels the only classes related to Hmong culture at UW-Eau Claire. On Oct. 11, a proposal was submitted in hopes of adding a Hmong history class to the Eau Claire curriculum. Ong Xiong, senior biology major and student representative for the Hmong Student Association, said lots of communicating and processing has been going on between advocates for a Hmong history class. The process has taken a while, but the students wanted to outline exactly what they wanted in the VUE proposal. Students collaborated with Selika Ducksworth-Lawton, an associate professor of history who is writing a Blugold Commitment grant for funding for a visiting scholar to teach Hmong history at Eau Claire for three years. On the fourth year, the scholar will potentially be offered a permanent position. “Currently there isn’t really a professor
in the history department who is capable or familiar enough with the topic to teach it ... we kind of need a new history professor in that area,” Xiong said. Recently, advocates have started attending student senate meetings to show the desire and need for Hmong history, Xiong said. Xiong said it will not be known if the proposal is accepted until about a year from now, as the process is very long and extensive. “Oftentimes Hmong history is just touched on briefly in other classes and the problem with that is that it’s not comprehensive or complex enough to acknowledge ... Hmong history,” Xiong said. Xiong said this is why there is such a strong need for one class on Hmong history. Gerardo Licón, an assistant professor in Latin American studies, said the Hmong population is a big part of the Eau Claire community so curriculum would be beneficial. Anything the university can do to includes Hmong curriculum would be a step in the right direction, he said. Charles Vue, associate director of the office of multicultural affairs and current professor of the Hmong language courses, said this is a time where students are searching for cultural information on the Hmong. “Particularly Hmong students are making their voice heard in their thirst for information on their own background. Most students feel they’re the representatives of Hmong
history and culture when they don’t know it themselves,” Vue said. Vue said times were hard for the Hmong before, but now the difficulty has doubled or tripled what it was. Students are speaking up because they feel they’re being cheated, Vue said. This is what their money goes toward. Vue doesn’t believe the lack of Hmong curriculum is intentional. “Some people just don’t look at the big picture,” he said. Currently, 30 students are enrolled in Vue’s Hmong language course, but the capacity is set at 27. Last year, Hmong history month was celebrated for the first time in Eau Claire’s history, Vue said. There hasn’t been a strong individual pushing for this until now, he said. No matter what happens with the proposal, Xiong said she believes students will keep working to achieve their goals of having Hmong curriculum in Eau Claire. Xiong said students will come back after graduation to see how everything is developing. In the meantime, advocates are motivating underclassmen. Piecing the dominating culture of society with the minority helps people better understand the world as a whole, Xiong said, adding that Hmong history provides an eye for that, and that’s why it needs attention.
Lobbying a greater focus with IGA Changes to bylaws sends commission in new direction Alex Zank
CHIEF COPY EDITOR
The proposed bylaw changes to the Intergovernmental Affairs commission had several student senators speaking with excitement at Monday’s meeting. “This … is the next big, great thing in student governance statewide,” Tyrel Zich, chief of staff, said about the bill during the meeting. “This is the culmination in … trying to organize a structure by which we can manage this … I’m really excited about this.” Vice President Patrick Martin had similar sentiments about the
content of the bill. “We really are the forefront of this,” Martin said at the meeting. “We are just beginning to rewrite how student governments operate not only in this state, but potentially across the nation.” The bill, passed by voice vote with an amendment proposed by Information Technology Commission Director Ben Streeter that dealt with requirements to involvement of the commission, fundamentally changed what kind of commission IGA will be. The major changes to the bylaws are the addition of an IGA intern and adding a legislative liaison aspect. There are also more minor details in the bill such as adding an 11-member cap and the charge for creating a yearly legislative priority summary.
“We are just beginning to rewrite how student governments operate not only in this state, but potentially across the nation.” PATRICK MARTIN
Student Body Vice President
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Thursday, October 18
Culturally starved
Amelia Kimball
NEWS
The reason these changes are now coming about is a court case cited in the bill named Keye v. Board of Regents (1990) which sets legal precedent that “greatly expands student government’s ability to formally lobby” on the behalf of students, the bill stated. To summarize the court case, student governing bodies in Wisconsin are actually considered a state agency, and therefore have the ability to have liaisons that enjoy exemptions of reporting requirements that other lobbyists have with organizations that are not government agencies. This means student senate can take a more direct approach to discussing student concerns with state officials. This is what got Martin and Zich fired up. Based on this recent discovery made by senate members regarding the senate’s status as a government agency, Martin said that the changes are being made to IGA in order to reflect this discovery. “We are taking our IGA commission … and turning (it) to a self-contained legislative outreach,” Martin said.
The other major aspect seen in the bylaw changes is the establishment of an intern. The intern will attend local government meeting and do research at the state MARTIN government level, IGA Director Jason Rector said. The intern will receive payment equal to half the salary of the IGA director, as stated in Attachment “A.” The legislative summary, also stated in the attachment, is a comprehensive report of “issues and policies at the local, county, and state levels” that affect Eau Claire students and will include the senate’s official position on such issues. “(The summary) gives (officials) a clear and concise list of what we’re in favor of and where we stand on issues,” Rector said. Martin said the changes of IGA were just the start of what he describes as this newfound authority, and he hopes this paves the way for other student governments in the state follow suit.
CAMPUS CALENDAR NOTABLE EVENTS HAPPENING ALL OVER CAMPUS
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OCT. 18
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OCT. 19
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OCT. 21
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OCT. 23
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OCT. 24
* 6 p.m. — Green Bay Packers Marketing Manager Presentation, Hibbard 102
* 8 p.m. — UAC: Native Slang, The Cabin in Davies Center
* 8 p.m. — UAC: Do It Yourself Daisy, The Cabin in Davies Center
* 11 a.m.-9 p.m. — National Day on Writing, McIntyre Library
* 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. — Flu shot clinic, Council Oak Room in Davies
“Our Town”
7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Thurs., Fri. and Sat. Riverside Theatre, Haas Fine Arts Center
Illustration 54 Runs through Oct. 25 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri. 4:30 p.m. Sat.-Sun.
Foster Gallery, Haas Fine Arts Center
UAC Films “Children of Men” This film is set in the year 2027 in a world in which humans no longer procreate. One miraculous pregnant woman must be transported to a sanctuary at sea, where her child’s birth may help scientists save the future of mankind. 7 p.m. Fri. and Sat. 2 p.m. Sat. and Sun. Woodland Theater, Davies Center