College of Agriculture hosts diversity day celebration

Chris Richards Arizona Daily Wildcat Tod Gregoire, a College of Agriculture staff member, plays his bagpipes as part of yesterday's "Celebrating Diversity in the College of Agriculture" event, held in the Memorial Student Union's Arizona Ballroom. Gregoire, the pipe sergeant for Tucson's Seven Pipers Society, was just one of many individuals on hand to share different cultures.

"We don't just do music and theater. People will learn from us if they want to," said Frank Hernandez, special project manager for Third Street Kids.

Third Street Kids was founded 12 years ago in Tucson by Marcia Berger, a pediatric physical therapist. The group is now composed of 100 young people, both disabled and non-disabled.

The group has performed in several countries including Hong Kong, Australia, Mexico and China, as well as in the United States and at the White House for President Bush.

The group performed several skits illustrating how disabled people are subjected to unfair judgments on a daily basis.

As they sang "We Celebrate Diversity" and "A World Working Together," songs which were composed by the group, the audience of faculty, students, deans and curious bystanders joined in mimicking the sign language version of the songs.

Yesterday's event, "Celebrating Diversity in the College of Agriculture," was held in the Memorial Student Union Arizona Ballroom. It was organized by the College of Agriculture Diversity Committee, which was formed five years ago, said Shirley O'Brien, associate director and affirmative action administrator for the College of Agriculture.

"We try to do something every year to help faculty and staff to be aware," O'Brien said.

"(Diversity) enriches us so much."

O'Brien said the College of Agriculture has more diversity than any other college in the University of Arizona.

The college encompasses 259 international students from 58 different countries, including Sri Lanka, Botswana, Poland, Brazil, Cyprus and Bangladesh.

A wealth of cultures, ideas and philosophies were in the room yesterday as the crowd visited the various booths and learned about Navajo cradle boards, Chinese martial arts, traditional ways of storytelling and the Fair Housing Act.

Huanmin Zhang, assistant research scientist in the Animal Sciences Department, spoke passionately at the Chinese booth about how the 7,000 year-old Qigong (pronounced "chee gung") cured his back and neck pains.

Qigong is the foundation of martial arts and a type of Chinese meditation, said Christine Huang, senior research specialist in the College of Medicine.

"(Qigong) helps me relax, so that I can go back to the lab and talk to people," Zhang said.

Zhang said that Qigong energizes the body and decreases hunger and stress pains.

"You eat less, you sleep less, but your life is more efficient," Huang said.

The modern day form of Qigong was introduced in the United States by Dr. Yan Xin. The International Yan Xin Qigong Association local Tucson chapter meets every Saturday night in the Memorial Student Union.

Across the room from the Qigong booth, Fannie Begay, administrative assistant of the College of Agriculture Apache County extension office, proudly displayed artifacts of her culture.

She said she would have left her job if the environment wasn't so diverse.

"The people I work with have a little more understanding of where I am coming from," Begay said.