Clarion 2007-04-05 Vol. 82 No. 19

              Culture
Q and A with stars of
TV show Traveler'
-page 4
Culture
Johnson event exhibits
art, music and stories
-page 5
r
Sports
Softball returns from
Florida with 10 wins
-page 12
EL  UNIVERSITY
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Volume 82 • Number 19
Banner to soon replace CARS computer system
Upgraded system looks to bring advantages to campus computing
Photo by Danica Myers
The Admissions and Financial Aid offices are the first to receive the
new database system, Banner.
Hmong genocide in
Laos, Thailand still
prevalent, Vang says
Choua Vang lectured on Hmong history and culture as part of Hearing Many
Voices, a Bethel Community Council
series
By Angela Willson
jor difficulties adjusting to an
Choua Vang spoke about    American way of life,
his life experiences and continu- Although    thousands    of
ing Hmong genocide in Laos    Hmong fought and died along-
and Thailand
on March 26, as
part of an event
called Hearing
Many Voices,
sponsored by
the Belhel Community Council.
Vang, assistant director
of multicultural
admissions, is
a second generation Hmong
American,      his
"I love the richness of the
academic institution. I see
these things as
gold because I
wouldn't have
side U.S.
forces in the
Vietnam War,
official action to help
Hmong immigrate to the
U.S. only began in 1975,
Vang said.
After
U.S. forces
pulled out of
Vietnam and
Hmongbegan
family immigrat- the  OppOrtUnitieS to      migrate
ing to the United
in Laos or Thai-
states in 1975.
Vang     presented   the   history      of      the
Hmong      since
1975, when U.S.
forces pulled out
of Vietnam, leaving thousands of Hmong people
to be displaced and targeted for
genocide by the Vietnam government.
The Hmong lived in Laos,
Thailand and parts of Vietnam
and have had the same way of
life for centuries, Vang said.
"Hmong people don'l evolve
fast. I would call ihem stubborn," he said, explaining one
reason   immigrants   have   ma-
land,"
-Teng Xiong, on
life at Bethel
to America, roughly
2,000 to
3,000 were
left behind
to be put in
re-education
camps in
Laos by the
Vietnam government and targeted for genocide, Vang said.
The numbers are unclear as
to how many Hmong have died
to this day, but the situation is
consistently ignored by the U.S.
and U. N. The human rights
violations continue as Hmong
refugees are still in hiding in the
jungle from the Lao and Viel-
Hmong continued on page 9
By Jonathon Svendsen
Belhel University will soon switch from the CARS computer
system to the newer Banner/Portal system.
To many, it is easy io wonder aboul ihe reasons for the switch-
Mary Holmes, director of Information Services and Banner Project
director, said Bethel was not dissatisfied with the old system, bul
was simply upgrading to a newer product.
She said that in the transition, "Available time has been the biggest challenge for many of us, along wilh consistency of information
and availability of consultants from SunGard, Banners vendor."
Work on the project began in August of 2005. Those working
on the project served in teams for the various modules and committed half of their time after the initial training toward activation
of the new system. They would sometimes spend 60-70 hours a
week working.
Daniel Nelson, assistant to the President for Financial Aid, Enrollment, Institutional Research and Planning, and chairperson of
the Banner Project Steering Committee said, "Although we were
told that the Banner conversion project would be very time-intensive, it has been even more consuming than we thought."
The Human Resources department first began using this system back in January for all employee services, including student
workers, for worker timesheets and paychecks.
Banner is also being used by Admissions to irack, admit and
communicate wilh incoming students. The College of Adult and
Professional Studies, Graduate School and Seminary are expected
to soon follow the same paitern.
For College of Arts and Sciences students, one noticeable dif-
Banner continued on page 9
r>
Photos courtesy of Matthew Runion
Many Bethel students spent their spring breaks working in the mission field in Chihuahua, Mexico; Appalachian Mountains; Dominican
Republic; New Orleans and Minneapolis.
Clockwise from top: Chihuahua Team 2, Appalachian Mountains, and
New Orleans.
A
**.   !_____
Charity basketball game to fund
AIDS orphans in South Africa
'The Showdown' of Bethel students and faculty will give proceeds to the Amakhaya House in South Africa
c   bren's mm
UTAW-
■
f!
Photo courtesy of Nathan freeburg
The Amakhaya house seeks to provide a future for children affected by
AIDS.
By Briana Dalberg
While Bethel experienced a long streak of exciting basketball games this past season, anticipate more excitement with "The
Showdown" on April 12 in the RC gym. In a twisi on the traditional
basketball rules, Belhel students and faculty will go head-to-hcad
for a greater cause.
The sole focus of this night is not only to have fun, bul to support the Amakhaya House, a home for orphans of AIDS in South
Amakhaya continued on page 2
Blast from the Past
A group of Bethel students participate in two mat Twister at Blast from
the Past. Along with Twister students played Halo 2, watched old TV
shows, swam, and could aet massaaes.