Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 20, 1992 TAG: 9202200525
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
FLEMING CLUB KEEPS MELTING POT FROM BOILING OVER
William Fleming High School students say that when someone does a good job in a physical education class, other kids grab him and rub his head, by way of congratulation.It's meant to be a harmless gesture, but a year ago, if someone had done that to 10th-grader Tung Le, a fight would have started. There would have been misunderstandings and hurt feelings all around. In Le's Vietnamese culture, the head is sacred and touch ing it is unthinkably rude.
Last year, his American class mates didn't know that. This year, more of them do, thanks to the Intertional Club.
Fleming has long been known as one of the most racially balanced schools in the Roanoke Valley. Lately, however, because of an influx of foreign students, it has become a melting pot. And when cultures clash, the pot occasionally boils over.
The International Club was formed two years ago to deal with these problems and to promote understanding between different groups, said sponsor Pat Butler.
It's the kind of club anyone can belong to. "It's like a little United Nations. We want them to share with each other, to be a global family," she said.
Recently, 13 club members met to talk about their group. Most of them joined to learn more about their own and other cultures and to meet different people.
So far, members have exchanged food, friendship, celebrations and ideas. Both students and teachers say it's been a big help.
"I wanted to learn what we can do to get along better with each other. We didn't know what offends them," said senior Lori Bolden, referring to immigrant students.
Le and his sister, Thuy, also a 10th-grader, said they and the other Vietnamese students felt left out. Because they are still learning English, they couldn't understand the announcements and never participated in school activities.
Now, the International Club makes sure school announcements are sometimes read in Vietnamese, Laotian, Chinese or Spanish, as well as in English. Tung and Thuy said they even have been able to encourage other Vietnamese students, whom they describe as shy, to come to dances and sports events.
The club has more than 130 members, far too many to meet in one room, so it is split up into different branches - groups for Asian-Americans, Latin-Americans, European-Americans and African-Americans. The African-American branch is the largest and is divided as males and females.
The students are not required to join the branch that concentrates on their own ethnic group, but co-sponsor John Canty said most of them do. Because of their age, he said, most of the students are more interested in learning about themselves than and their own backgrounds.
But there are some African-Americans in the European branch and several Jamaican students meet with the Latin-Americans.
Desiree Thomas, an 11th-grader, drew laughs when she recited the long list of cultures in her ethnic makeup, which includes Irish, English, German, Indian and Spanish ancestry.
But Renee Kasey nodded her head in understanding. Although she belongs to the African-American group, "I can't think of myself as one race," she said. "None of us really knows our ancestors."
But the students say the groups do mingle. In December, the entire club put together a "global Christmas tree" decorated with the flags of the world and held a dance. Each branch also takes turns presenting programs to the group as a whole. Also in December, the Asian students made a Vietnamese rice dish. During February, the African-American students are performing daily skits about black inventors, and in March, the European-Americans will hold a St. Patrick's Day dance. The Asian-Americans, who also are planning a dance, will organize a trip to a Chinese restaurant.
At the end of the year, Butler said, the club will hold an International Day, with food, music and clothing from around the world.
But the most important thing the group has done, the students said, has been the improvement of relationships between different ethnic groups. The members themselves have stopped fighting, they said, and when they see other students having a conflict, they will often step in, acting as translators and mediators.
"If we don't pull together and help each other, we'd still be having fights," said Davina Lee.
"I tell them `this is your brother', we're the same even if we're different colors," said Chrystel Lamonde, a ninth-grader.
The students agree that relations between black and white American-born students are better, too. In the past year, they said, it has become more acceptable for black girls to date white boys. It used to upset some students, even though no one seemed to mind much when white girls dated black boys, they said.
The students also say their parents approve of the club. "They think it's terrific," said 10th-grader Greg Journette.
`We're very proud of the club," said principal Alice Szathmary. "The teachers and the students are doing a superb job."