1995_03 The Daily Collegian March 1995

              By Draeger Martinez
Staffwriter
Neither torrential rain nor
gloom of night would prevent
CSU, Fresno students from
holding Southeast Asian Cul¬
ture Night last Friday. A crowd
of about 200 came tosee a unique
display of cultural pride and
heritage.
Sengphet Houngvieng-
kham, vice president of the Lao
Student Association, welcomed
the crowd. "Cambodians,
Hmong, Laotians and Vietnam¬
ese all share a common heri¬
tage," she said. "We were all
once French colonies, and we
have fled our homelands to seek
freedom in America/'/"
^^HahnTran, president of the
Vietnamese Student Associa¬
tion, introduced the first per¬
formers, the Phi Long Dragon
dancers. Phi Long was per¬
formed by two-person teams
animating a long fabric dragon
with huge and ornately detailed
head, accompanied by kettle¬
like drums and cymbals.
Vey So from the Cambo¬
dian Student Association pre¬
sented the night's second act,
the coconut shell dance. Five
women and five men performed
the dance in an slow and easy¬
going slow rhythm, each clap¬
ping together two coconut
shells.
Next came a series of
instrumental. Toftg Thao
played first, using a "xee xao"
or Hmong violin. Thao's first
Asia night full of pride
song, one rooted in Hmong tra¬
dition required delicate string
work, resulting in a delicate
haunting lilt. The second song
had no specific nationality, and
it evoked a lamenting quality,
describmgscmethingpriceless
now lost
The second performer, Bee
Yang, employed two subtle in-
strurnerteaseociated with love.
His first instrument was the
"tshuab ncas" or mouth harp.
He men demonstrated" the art
of "qu v nplooj" or leaf bio wing
by bringing a single leaf to his
mouth and blowing out riffs
from a few well known songs,
including Happy Birthday.
The audience laughed up¬
roariously at the next act, a skit
titled "America, At Last," about
one Lao family coping with
their new life in America. The
crowd took particular delight
in the antics of the daughter,
portrayed by a male actor in
lipstick and a dress.
The Lam Seung, a Laotian
form of dance for the spirit of
celebration, came next on the
schedule The dancers were ac¬
companied by an Asian form
of xylophone, followed by a
brass instrument combo.
The audience next saw a
skit based on Hmong stories
about the First Farmer. In the
end, the narrator spelled out
the story's message: Farming
today is hard work as a result
of the First Farmer's laziness in
gathering ttis crops.
The next treat of the
evening wasthe Bopha Lokei, a
traditional Cambodian dance
celebrating the beauty of blos-
sorrting orchids. Thefiveyoung
dancers started by kneeling and
then gently swayed side to side.
Slowly, they mimed leaves
growing and flowers opening,
using their hands and gently
getting up off their knees.     \
Forrnanymattendanoe,fhe
highlight of the evening came
next in the Fallen Angel danc¬
ers..Each of the eight dancers
held in their hands brightly col¬
ored feather-fans. They used
their fans to simulate fluttering
wings in beautiful geometric ar¬
rangements.
The night's penultimate
event was Phouak Kha Noi, a
Lao traditional song. The
Phouak teaches perseverance in
school, respect for parents and
wishing parents health and
good fortune.
Finally, the Lao and Hmong
organizations conducted a fash¬
ion show, featuring garments
traditionally worn by Laotian
people
Fresno Cify College sopho¬
more Saphanphet Phagnasay
enjoyed every part of the show.
"I liked the America skit best,"
said Phagnasay, "because thaf s
exactly how it was for my fam¬
ily. The Southeast Asian organi¬
zations at FCC are still pretty
new, so we're here to show our
support. Maybe someday well
send our own groups here to
perform."
We're looking...
f-
for a few good acts
Applications now availabe in USU Room 306
<     Deadline: March 24th
Air Guitar '95
From Page 3
Unlike the three other en¬
dowed chairs in Armenian stud¬
ies, management and finance, the
new chair in journalism wiU not
be used to fund a full-time profes¬
sorship. Instead, plans are being
worked out so that people with
professional and practical experi-
encein the field of mass commu¬
nications wiU have a chance to
come toCSUFs mass communi¬
cation and journalism department
for guest lectures, workshops or
possible "journalists-in-resi-
dence," who would come on cam¬
pus and spend time either teach-
ing a specialized class or program,
Jim Tucker, an MCJ professor,
'"•said. Tucker served as the
department's chairman during
the early stages of fund raising for
the Tatarian chair.
"At the top of the list, I'd tike
to* see what Roger would like to
see—someone like himself, at the
top of their profession. If not, I
would like to see someone come
and teach for a semester or some¬
one whocould take a week's leave
of absence to teach," Tucker said.
, "We'd like to explore many
possibilities," he said.
Tucker, who has known
Tatarian for a cniarter<entury,
said the fund drive to establish
the endowed chair stalled a few
years back because the demand
for donations at the university
stretched the budgets of many
would-be donors.
"I was involved in the earli¬
est stages, the early fund-raising
efforts," hesaid. "We got the fund
upto$150,000and then westalled.
There was a lot of competition for
money," he said. Tucker served (
as chair of the journalism depart¬
ment from 1980 to 1990.
Tucker said the investment
fund, which wiL draw on interest
to provide the money for the en¬
dowed chair, may not mature for
a few years.
• "I don't think that one wjll
see interest come back on the fund
muchbeforethe/95-'96year.How
the Daily Co
much interest can you get from
$300,000?"
FellowMQprofessorSchyler
Rehart said he hoped the money
generated from the fund would
enable someone to teach on a full-
tune basis.
"I would hope the Tatarian
Endowed Chair would someday
evolve into a full, endowed pro¬
fessorship," he said. _
Tucker said Tatarian was
most deserving of the honor, not
only because of his academic and
professional achievements, but
because of his personality as welL
"The thing that was so un¬
usual about Tatarian was that he
^as a great classroom teacher as
well as a distinguished profes¬
sional S^s
''He took to teaching and he  -
turned out to rje wonderful,"
Tuckersaid.
President John D. Welty said
the chair was a great honor for the
university and the department
"This is a great accomplish¬
ment— it reflects on the quality of
the department and the commit- ,
inentoirMcClatchy Newspapers."
Hr wm Potts, president and
chief executive officer* of
McCla tchy Newspapers, said the
company was more than happy
to kid; in the last $155,000'for the
chair..
"Since we hold Roger in such
high regard, we decided to go for
it/' said Potts.
Potts said he hoped the re¬
sources from the gift would bring
quality professionals to the uni¬
versity. "I think w«»_would hope
distinguished people would come
and strike some chords, so our
goals would be met," hesaid.
The professionals who would
come to the university will reflect
the changing business of journal¬
ism and mass communication as
a whole, Potts said,' but the bask
premise of news and information
remains the same.
JTotndamentaUy,the function
of journalism gathering informa-
hon, becoming informed will con¬
tinue in some form, whether [in¬
formation] technology is new or
old," Potts said.
Orderyour
college ring NOW.
JOSTENS
Your Jostens representative will
be at Keqpel Bookstore on the
following days: »
Date: March 13-17* Main Level
Time; 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.       278-4268