Mentors Guide Minority, Low Income Students in Graduate Work
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. SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT Freshmen shine despite gloomy 58-3 loss Rancid returns to hometown and rabid fans to Oregon, give coach hope for future in Berkeley after four-year drought SPARTANSee page 4 DAILY See page 6 September 22, 1998 Volume 111, No. 16 Serving San Jose State University Since 1934 Mentors guide A touch of technique minority, low income students in graduate work By Katrbut Toranski develop an individual academic Staff Writer plan. The mentor also guides the design and completion of the Time is running out to apply research. for the McNair Scholars "I think it's a wonderful pro- Program. gram, and it permits people to The program was established have an opportunity they might by Congress in 1989 to prepare not have otherwise," said Aaron minority and low-income bache- Goldman, a history professor lor's degree students for gradu- who worked as mentor to a stu- ate schools and doctorate pro- dent. grams. For the research project, the According to Connie Baker, scholars get a $2,400 stipend. director of the McNair Program Slater said the students also get at San Jose State University, to a chance to attend national con- qualify, an independent student ferences and symposiums relat- must be at least 24 years old and ed to their research and make make less than $12,075 a year. formal presentations about their For a dependent student study. under 24 years of age, the If a student has financial dif- income for a family of four can't ficulties and might be unable to be more than $24,000 a year. attend a conference, the pro- target stu- gram will help the student. 'These programs Chris Riley/ Spar tan Daily dents who live in poverty and The SJSU program has 30 try to improve their status," students. Every semester, when June ly works on a castle structure complete with a dragon as taught by Stan Welsh, and the project is designed to help students Baker said. The Civil Rights Act a student from the program part of a Beginning Ceramics slab cylinder project. The class is learn form and technique. of 1964 is the basis for the pro- graduates with a bachelor's gram which provides equal degree, a new student is admit- opportunity for minorities to ted to the program. work and study. According to Baker, there are The program was named about 10 spaces open this after Ronald E. McNair, an semester. She encourages stu- Yoga enlightens campus via video African-American NASA astro- dents to turn their applications naut who died in the 1986 in by the end of September. By (;inny White name, Sahaja, meaning spontaneous, and Another believer is Matthew Malley of Challenger space shuttle explo- The application is 16 pages ',raft mer yoga, meaning union with one's self. Self- the musical group Counting Crows. He says sion. long and the applicant needs a realization, as explained by presenter Karan he experienced his self-realization for three McNair graduated from letter of recommendation from a Followers call it the second birth, enlight- Khurana, is attained through meditation months in 1987. North Carolina State University professor. enment and even the next step in the evolu- and the repetition of questions and state- "It was like a hammer out of the sky," with a bachelor of science degree Slater said there are more tion of human awareness. ments prescribed by founder Shri Mataji Malley said. in physics, and at the age of 26 applicants than spaces open, but Whatever the description. Sahaja Yoga Nirmala Devi. Malley said he has helped fellow band he earned his doctorate degree it's a great opportunity, so it is had an effect on the small group gathered in Self-realization is the spontaneous and members and some of the crew in attaining in laser physics from the worth trying. the Umunhum Room on the third floor of the effortless awakening of the kundalini. their self-realizations too. Massachusetts Institute of Carlos Sanchez, a McNair Student Union Saturday. Mataji said the kundalini is a pure desire "Artistic people feel it on an artistic level, Technology. program graduate, said that The meaning of this belief is found in its inside the person, a motherly and soothing but everyone can feel it," Malley said. "This The first requirement for the when the program started three spiritual energy which lies dormant in the is inside of you and it's active not just talk program is for the applicant to years ago he got a letter in the sacrum bone at the base of the spine. The or promises." be a first-generation college stu- mail, decided to apply for it and kundalini is a sort of antenna to the power Khurana said in order to spread peace dent who comes from a low- was accepted. behind blooming flowers, sprouting seeds throughout the world, it must be found for income family or a member of a Since then, he has worked and a baby growing in its mother "the oneself. group that is underrepresented with the program, and last May power of pervading Divine Love." "First you must anchor yourself," in graduate education. he finished his bachelor's degree "Meditation is the only way you can grow Khurana said. "Peace must be attained with The student also has to have in advertising. This semester he ... because when you meditate, you are in stability and balance before it can be spread at least 30 units completed, a started working on a master's silence," Mataji said in a videotaped presen- to others." Khurana emphasized the imbal- sophomore standing and a 3.0 degree in philosophy at SJSU. tation. "You are in thoughtless awareness. ance of a fast-paced world where commuting grade point average. "It (McNair Scholars Then the growth of awareness takes place." to work and stressing out about it consumes The students who are admit- Program) opened my eyes to the After Mataji led the group through the much of the day. ted to the program have to work opportunities," Sanchez said. meditation process on campus, Khurana "Once you have your peace, your self-real- on a research project either dur- In order to get the funding for asked that all who felt the cool breeze ema- ization, everything else is just along the ing the school year or summer. the program, SJSU needs to nating from the tops of their heads to raise way," Khurana said. Baker said the program renew its application every four their hands. Only a handful of the 20 in Believers say Sahaja Yoga is an ancient prefers students do research on years. Currently. Baker is work- attendance didn't feel it. secret that was passed only from guru to dis- a topic related to the area of ing on writing and submitting "It is quite normal for most, if not all ciple and not all of the disciples were able to their study. Baker said there is a the application to the Congress (first-time meditators), to feel something," attain the self-realization that Mataji claims lot of research done in most by Oct. 2. said Ursula Doring, who has been involved to bestow "en masse" around the world. graduate schools. The application has to outline with Sahaja since 1983. She holds a bache- "We have the Mother within ourselves, in "Research in most doctorate the need for the program, lor's degree in biology and is a long-time our hearts," Mataji said. "...if She is awak- programs is the core of the pro- include the plan of operation employee of United Airlines. Doring said she ened, She is going to look after us (and give gram," Baker said. and a description of the people had been suffering from a painful ulcer until us) all the protection that is needed." A McNair scholar has to who will be working with the she experienced self-realization while with a Mataji was born into a Christian family choose a faculty member as his program. friend. and is a direct descendant of the royal or her mentor. According to This year Baker will be sub- isalinthi Garza/ Spartan Dailv "It was like someone had threaded a nee- Shalivahana dynasty of India. Her parents Slater, a mentor has to do the mitting an application of about dle (in me)," Doring said. "I haven't needed were involved in India's Liberation academic advising for the stu- 150 pages describing the SJSU Colleen Gilligan sits with her palms open to any medication for that ulcer since." dents and help the scholar McNair Scholars Program. better channel tier flow of energy. See Yoga, page 5 New dean has Noble vision for social science departments By Canny White cal science, psychology, econom- ing courses, from remedial to specialized in comparitive poli- of time in Asia and especially the in the Philippines, wrote a book Staff Writer ics and more. Noble also recruits 100W courses for the majors, tics and Philippine politics and Philippines making her regular entitled "Organizing for students to the college. according to Denise Murray, taught a wide range of courses. research trips. Democracy," taught a semester Lela Noble, the new dean of Charles Darrah, chair of the chair of linguistics and language Noble served as associate aca- She has done research on in England and traveled in the College of Social Sciences, is anthropology department, says development. demic vice president for faculty Muslim separatist movements Europe. known by her colleagues for tak- that student recruitment by the The conimittee also has to affairs for 10 years, and returned ing teaching seriously.