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Thursday, March 4,1999 - Page 8 COMMENTARY Quirks: Language Barriers at Western Maryland It was finally happening! The squirrels Anne Butler comments on "Qui?' Maggie echoed in French. city of Hungary? were staging a coup d'etat and attempting impending lingual disaster at I calmed down some more and did my If only they had offered Hungarian, I to take over the campus! WMG. best to remember what Ihad learned in Span- could have talked to those exchange students Unfortunately, I was the only one who ish 2. knew about it. I had to warn the rest of the available. "Las ardillas toman la universidad!" I and possibly gotten them to help me! a comer until I turned I kept searching students and staff, but there was a prob- Icrested the ridge and sited Mr. Kirschner. told them earnestly. Literally, I said, "The and found an army of huge grim-looking lem. "Risu Coup d'etat! Risu!" Icried using the squirrels take the college," the best I could squirrels that had been looking for me. Itried The fiendish little buggers had some- Japanese word for squirrel (coup d'etat is a manage to construct after a year of non-use. to run, but the "risu" closed off my escape. Carrie shook her head and Maggie fol- They fanned a circle and closed in on me, The fiendish little buggers had somehow erected a lowed suit. "No comprende, Ana ... " Carrie hatred in their beady little eyes. Iwas trapped answered. and most likely would die now. machine that seemed to cause all humans on the I scowled and hurried on. I had to find The college and I were done for because campus to lose the ability to speak or read American someone anyone, who would understand me. Some- I hadn't been able to take diverse language stop the squirrel one, who could English. madness! classes to know enough to tell of the squir- ' rels'plot. I found a group of Hungarian exchange "Kuso ... " I said as the squirrels how erected a machine that seemed to French word, so I was able to use that). students blissfully speaking unhindered in me down. pinned cause all humans on the campus to lose the Mr. Kirschner stared uncomprehendingly their native language. ability to speak or read American English. at me, so I shouted it twice more. He contin- I went up to them and repeated my cry, The leader, a huge ugly devil with a half- My primary methods of communication ued staring and then shouted a word in a lan- missing ear and a scar down one side of his were robbed from me, leaving me with a guage that I didn't know. small knowledge of Spanish, an even [ shook my head and rushed on to find I shook my head and rushed on to find someone else smaller knowledge of Japanese, and a someone else who might possibly understand who might possibly understand me, all the while handful of words from other languages. me, all the while cursing my lack of language Faced with the impossible task of or- skill and WMC's lack of language class vari- cursing my lack of language skill and WMC:S lack of ganizing a resistance without speaking En- ety. language class variety. glish, my heart sank. Not for the first time Next, I came upon Carrie (a French hom did I curse Western Maryland's small of- player) and Maggie (a spirited TV station vet- fering of language courses. eran) managing to have a halting conversa- "Risu! Coup de Risut Coup de ardillast" face, stood on my chest and stared down at For a campus with such amazing diver- tion in both French and Spanish. I cried out They stared at me for a moment and then me. sity, we offer a surprisingly small number for joy, surely one of these girls would be able one pointed at me and started laughing. Soon He looked around at his troops, who were of languages. to understand me! the others joined in. awaiting the final command in order to fin- And despite its complexity, American "Es un coup de Rim!" I yelled to them. Seeing that they would be of no use to ish me off. Sign Language does not fulfill the language Startled, the girls turned their attention to me, I ran off, yet again cursing WMC's lack The leader grinned at me knowingly, and requirement, therefore, I did not have it me. "Que?" Carrie asked. of languages. Why don't they offer Hungar- growled a phrase. Even though I don't know ian when we have a campus in the capital squirrel, the meaning was still painfully clear. Asian Students' Association founded at WMC Ron Mojica caLLs attention to a represent a group of people, and that is one of new group forming on campus the main goals of th'e Asian Students' Asso- despite prejudice problems. ciation. Much like organizations such as the Black Student Union (BSU), the Hispano-Latino No, don't be alarmed. In the midst of Alliance, the International Club, or any other the racist and sexist graffiti which deco- affinity group, the intent is to provide students rated the doors and walls of West em Mary- with an association to which they feel they land College's buildings this year, it's not belong and to represent themselves within the hard for one to think that a new hate group college community. has succeeded in establishing a chapter on The establishment of the Asian Students' campus. Association more importantly represents the This new campus group, however, is the college's desire for a culturally diverse envi- Asian Students' Association founded by ronment. our Multicultural Services Department. We as a community welcome all individu- On Thursday, February 25, Director of als regardless of race, ethnicity, creed, etc. and Multicultural Services Department Mary are willing to share and celebrate their differ- Grace Almandrez held the first informal ences with the rest of the campus. meeting for the new affinity group. Al- Also with the barrage of hate vandals and though the official induction of the organi- groups which have targeted the college within zation is still underway, matters such as of- the past two semesters, having cultural groups ficers, advisors, and future activities to be on .campus clearly illustrates to the ignorant sponsored have all been discussed and person that Western Maryland College em- should be finalized in the near future. braces diversity and absolutely does not tol- The organization does not limit its erate discriminatory acts. membership solely to AsianAmericans; the The founding of the Asian Students' As- group encourages all students who are in- sociation is an invaluable asset to the campus. terested to participate. ·Its main objective It represents our openness to all people and is not only to create a stronger sense of also allows the college to understand more community within the group of Asian about the Asian Culture. American students attending Western The timing of its establishment is more Maryland College but also to foster an un- than just a coincidence. Only a few days after derstanding and appreciation of Asian Cul- a hate group tried to circulate publications tures. throughout campus, the campus answers by Because of the small number of Asian starting an organization which fosters diver- students on campus, the necessity of hav- sity. It seems that it's a display of the adage ing an affinity group might be questioned. that good will always transcend the evil in the The answer is it only takes one person to world. or the ~ Stick World Apparel. Greeting Cards, Games, and Accessories visit us at ww.stickworld.com