Friday April 8, 2005 www.kykernel.com newsroom: 257-1915 T H E K E N T U C K Y Campus pastor praises Pope John Paul II Page 4 erne 7 National Lampoon profiles . partying sides of UK in TV show Celebrating 33 years of independence page3 first issue free Subsequent issues 25 cents. No turning back for Azubuike Joiunmi nun | sun BaRhonda Dickerson. an integrated strategic communication junior, said she sometimes doesn't feel welcome when walking around UK. But through her work as the president of the Black Student Union. she hopes other black students Will feel more welcome in the future. Special Report: Defining Diversity ~ G BARRIERS This student is disappointed by the barriers she found when she arrived at UK and is now working to break down racial misconceptions. By Danielle Kornis Tilt KENTUCKY mm This is rhefiwnli installment in u four-part series l’.\'(lmlnln,‘..’ (liiwsin' (it ( 'K and the Anders of some student groups who (rim to (ldlYUll‘t’ (lii‘i’rsin' on (rumpus. RaRhonda Dickerson ad» mirs that she sometimes regrets coming to UK. White students barely look at her when she walks by on campus. and she is never picked first to he in a group in class. the integrated strategic communi cation senior said. But as president of the Black Student Union. Dicker- son said she wants to change the negative parts of campus Modern dance troupe Visits By Ashley Graves mt krnrrickv KIRNfl Young. energetic and provocative are words that are often used to describe Nebellen. the dance company that will be performing on campus Saturday: Nebellen is one of the per forming arts events that Stu- dent Activities lloaril has bmugbt to campus. culture and create a place for students who feel like her to go for support. “We‘re the open arms of the university for black students when they come to campus." Dickerson said. “A lot of black students feel like they're not part of the university. It does a lot to you to know that you're not really a part of something." The Black Student Union is an umbrella organization whose mission is to recruit and retain black students at UK. with a secondary mission of ed- ucating other students about the black community The group receives partial funding from the university There is no official membership for BSU be cause there are no dues. but "Nebellen is lively and en ergetic something that stu- dents can relate to." said Day- na Moore. director of per- forming arts for SA“. “The company provides a cutting- edge variety of talents." The group brings a blend of movement and passion to the stage. The dancers. whose ages range from 20 to 28. incorpo more than 50 people voted in its last officer election. While Dickerson. 21. wine from a historically black high school in Louisville. she is fa. mil iar with the feeling of stand- ing out in a sea of white. In ele mentary schml in Marion County. she was the only black student in the school. “People really put me in a box.“ she said. Returning to a similar situa» tion at UK. Dickerson said. was difficult. especially when old friends rave about the histori» cally black colleges they attend. But Dickerson couldn't pass up coming to UK she was of- fered free tuition through the William C. Parker Academic See Dickerson on page 2 rate moves that combine hip hop. martial arts. break danc ing. glow-sticks and more 0&- tablished dance forms like bal let and tap to create a new dance genre. ln order to create something new. Nebellen uses the most current. poprrlar mu- sic from electmnica to hiphop and Kim. "Their style. flavor and at- See Dame on page 3 This week: Tuesday: Diversity means more than numbers to many. Wednesday: The president of the Latino-American Student Association works for understanding. Yesterday: The former president of Lambda fights discrimination and works for acceptance. Gotowww emeLcom tosee stories. campus Nebeflen The modern dance group Nebellen performs at 8 pm. Saturday in the Singletary Center for the Arts. iicltets cost $7 for students, $12 for 5 faculty and staff. and $17 for the general public. For more information l . or to purchase tickets. call ZS'I-ilCS. BLBen Roberts in: kriirucxv mitt UK junior forward Ke- lenna Azubuike an- nounced yesterday that he will submit his name for the NBA Draft and will not return at UK for his senior season. Azubuike in- formed UK head coach Tubby Smith of his decision to enter his name in the draft before Smith left for Final Four fes- tivities in St. Louis. but he announced yesterday he had hired an agent. eliminating any chance Azubuike could return to UK. All NCAA Di- vision I basketball players are allowed to enter their names in the draft once and return to school, as long as they do not hire an agent. “I have submitted my name into the 2005 NBA Draft. and I have signed with an agent." Azubuike .(ti Azubuike said. “I know all the implica- tions of signing with an agent. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get bet- ter before the draft." Azubuike led the Cats in scoring this year with 14.7 points per game. and his 4.7 rebounds per game were second to team- mate Chuck Hayes. He earned second team All-Southeast- ern Conference hon- ors from both the As- sociated Press and the league’s coaches. The UK forward will be the first Cat to leave school early for a professional ca- reer since Nazr Mohammed was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 1998. and only the second player to leave early since Smith became head coach. Former UK players Keith Bogans and Tayshaun Prince entered their names in the draft as underclass- See Azubuike on page 6 Studentsput ‘Voice’ to rape in new play By Mary Kate Armstrong THE KENTUCKY KERNEL UK Women‘s Place, a center for violence against women. is seeking student experiences of sexual as- sault. violence and relation— ship issues for a new drama production. “In Our Own Voices." For the production. which will debut next se- mester during freshman ori» entation. Women‘s Place is also asking UK students to submit suggestions of how to make campus safer. Male and female students affected by these issues. either di- rectly or indirectly. are urged to submit their sto- ries and experiences. English sophomore Ash- ley Rouster. a student advo- cate for ITK Women‘s Place. said students should come forward for this production. “Student voices are strong. and it is time they are heard." Rouster said. “In Our Own Voices" Undefeatedin SEC. will incorporate these St0~ ties and experiences into a multimedia production that will be performed. directed and produced by students. Rouster said. The produc- tion will also present posi- tive solutions for the future of UK and help change oth- er people's lives. she said. In previous years. a pro duction of “The Date" was performed during Welcome Week for incoming fresh- men to address the issue of rape on campus. Dorothy Edwards. the di- rector of UK Women‘s Place. said the problem With “The Date" was that the fo- cus was too narrow and it didn't incorporate student voices. “In Our Own Voices" addresses these issues by creating a broader focus and including both male and female accounts. she said. "It is one thing to talk about a broad. national is- See Play on page 3 Cats face road test By Adam Sichko IH£ krurucriv KERNEL A few days ago. the Inter- collegiate Tennis Associa- tion released its newest rankings for women‘s ten nis. According to the lTA‘s formula. Georgia is the No. 4 team in the nation; [K is one spot behind. But the Cats who put their undefeated Southeast- ern (‘onference record on the line today against the Bulldogs had two words in reply to those rankings: Advantage. Kentucky "lt does seems a little that way." said sophomore Sarah Foster when asked if the rankings were unfair “But that can only give us even more incentive to get out there and beat them. It can almost work in our fa- vor. actually." Sophomore Kim Coven See Tennis on page 6 UK junior Danielle Petrisko practices with the women's tennis team Wednesday. No. 5 UK (19-3. 8-0 Southeastern Con- ference) faces No. 4 Georgia (13-3, 7-1 SEC) today at 2 pm. at the Dan Magiel Tennis Com- plex in Athens. Ga. “II-I mn