ON CAMPUS:Student teaches others about life in Africa

Two years ago, when Yetunde Fatunde moved from Nigeria to attend UC Irvine, she was asked questions that, at times, made her wince. Did she live in the wild? Did she hunt animals for breakfast?

“All they knew of Africa was what they saw on Discovery Channel and National Geographic specials,” she says. “They were surprised I lived in a house in a city with tall buildings.”

Fatunde, a biological sciences major, has set out to educate both campus and community about Africa.

“Sometimes when I hear their questions I have to force myself to be patient. I might be the only person from Africa they’ve come across, so it’s important for me to talk to them.”

Fatunde speaks about Africa as a board member and outreach coordinator of UCI’s Afrikan Student Union, which provides a venue for African American students to share their concerns and seeks to enlighten students through programs like Afrikan Consciousness Quarter 2007, featuring weekly educational and social events.

Fatunde also directs community service for the UCI chapter of Minorities Assn. of Pre-Health Students, which helps undergraduates enter the medical field. Each spring, the association invites minority students from Southern California high schools to campus to encourage them to attend college.

“We call it ‘Shadow Day’ because they shadow us all around campus,” she says.

Last month, she served as co-chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium march and rally, volunteering at a food bank with other students as part of the symposium’s community service day.

“Without Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders who have opened doors for others, no matter where they’re from, I wouldn’t be here. Now I want to do this for others. I want to educate African Americans about to the importance of attending college.”

Fatunde’s interest in the civil rights movement has prompted her to take classes in UCI’s African American Studies program.

“In Africa, they teach you about Africans — but not African Americans,” she says.

While pursuing her interest in community service, she’s also carrying her heavy pre-med course load; she hopes to become a pediatrician, like her mother, who lives in Corona.

“I’m thinking of going back to Nigeria after I become a doctor to help the people who helped me when I was growing up,” Fatunde said. “Eventually, I want to help out the African community worldwide.”

For more information, go to https://spirit.dos.uci.edu/asu/.

Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellows Series

Three events will take place during February as part of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellows Series:

For more information, call (949) 824-6503 or go to www.chancellor.uci.edu/cdfs.shtml.

OLLI launches program

for boomers

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UCI has joined UC Irvine Extension in launching a “Boomer Generation Program” to help adults age 50 and over fulfill their educa- tional and personal pursuits during this important phase of their lives.

Courses, taught by UCI faculty and Osher Institute experts, are planned during evening and weekend hours to meet boomers’ busy schedules. The spring term will feature the following courses, all held at Woodbridge Village Center in Irvine:

Dance Visions

The Claire Trevor School of the Arts dance department presents “UCI Dance Visions 2007” — a concert combining ballet, modern dance, live music, video and other disciplines — Feb. 8-11 at the Irvine Barclay Theatre.

Dance Visions will premiere and reprise works by the university’s dance faculty and guest choreographers, including the debut of “Personal” by Claire Trevor Professor of Dance Donald McKayle.

Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $9 to $15. For more information, call (949) 824-2787, (949) 845-4646 or go to www.thebarclay.org.

Engineering school celebrates E-Week

The Henry Samueli School of Engineering will celebrate National Engineers Week, or E-Week, Feb. 19-24.

Open to the public, E-Week features competitions that allow engineering students to demonstrate their creativity. Events include a popsicle stick bridge competition, egg drop from Engineering Tower, Rube Goldberg competition (in which students create a complex contraption to perform a simple task), and paper airplane contest.

For more information, go to https://esc.eng.uci.edu/eweek

‘Vertigo’ screening

The Film and Video Center will show Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, in Humanities Instructional Building, Room 100. Lauren Steimer, lecturer in film and media studies, will introduce the movie. Tickets are $3 to $5. For more information, call Kimberly Yaari at (949) 824-7418 or e-mail [email protected].

For more campus news and events, go to www.today.uci.edu.