Campus Y aims for unity

The Campus Y kicked off its annual Y Horizon Week on Monday with the goal of increasing its membership and presence on campus this year.

The current membership of the organization is more than 1,400, but Campus Y leaders say they want to increase membership to 2,000 by the end of the year.

"Two thousand is a big number, but in terms of the number of students who come to our speakers and events, it's not out of range," said Virginia Carson, Campus Y director.

Leaders of the Campus Y also are looking to stabilize the organization by uniting its 16 committees.

"We want to unite the organization so that all members feel like they're members of the Campus Y, not just the committees," said Elizabeth Sonntag, the group's co-president.

This unification effort will not stop within the organization. It also is looking to work with other student groups in special projects this year. Co-President Derwin Dubose said the group plans to co-sponsor all of its events with another student organization.

Organizers said they hope Y Horizon Week will prove to be a springboard for these goals.

"We're hoping to get our name out as an organization where people can come and feel comfortable talking about issues that are important to them," Sonntag said.

In addition to holding events in the Pit, the Campus Y has planned special events for Y Horizon Week to generate student interest.

Hunger Lunch, one of its committees, sold a beans-and-rice lunch in the Pit on Wednesday. All profits go toward helping to establish an agricultural self-sufficiency program in an African village. Nine more lunches are scheduled for this semester.

"This year, we're trying to eliminate the cost of the food," said Kamal Menghrajani, co-chairwoman of Hunger Lunch. "We're working with the Panhellenic Council to coordinate lunches."

Tonight, Professors Julius Nyang'oro and Andrew Reynolds will address the current crisis in the Sudan at the Y's co-sponsored teach-in.

"It is just another example of the Y bringing to campus an international problem, something that is apart from our everyday lives," Carson said. "These speakers will give a framework for what we see in the headlines."

Campus Y leaders also are promoting new programs for later in the year. The Hurricane Relief Drive is a unified effort with student government to provide clothes, canned goods and cleaning supplies for the hurricane victims in western North Carolina.

In a partnership with the Committee for a Better Carolina, the Campus Y will be holding a series of political debates and speakers.

"We're looking into bringing in conservative speakers, including white, Christian, heterosexual males," Dubose said. "Sometimes in focusing so much on diversity, we forget about the majority."

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