SUNDAY 23 APRIL, 2017 – UWI TODAY
23
CAMPUS NEWS
“There is nothing like a
little dance,”
says Mr. Andre
Largen, Adjunct Lecturer in
Dance at the Department of
Festival and Creative Arts
(DCFA) of the St. Augustine
Campus. “I don’t know
what a little dance is; dance
requires work, effort and
practice.”
Mr.
Largen
was
speaking on the importance
of encouraging the next
generation of dancers to
pursue their dreams by
supporting their performances. On April 21-22, DCFA’s Dance
Unit hosted one of the most consistent student dance events in
Trinidad and Tobago precisely for that purpose: Sole to Sole.
This year’s Sole to Sole took place off campus at the Little
Carib Theatre, the historic headquarters of West Indian folk
dance.
VICE-CHANCELLOR
speaks on reparatory justice at SUNY
SOCA DRAMA:
Student players of the Theatre Arts Unit of the
Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) on stage during
a performance of “Stick-ey Desires” on March 31. A first of its
kind soca musical, “Stick-ey Desires” was created and directed by
Louis McWilliams, a Theatre Arts Lecturer. The musical is set in
the 1990s in Toco and New York and includes soca tracks from
the past and today. DCFA’s theatre students took part in every
aspect of the production. “Stick-ey Desires” ran until April 9.
NewStudent Guild
The students of the St. Augustine Campus
have
spoken. On March 9, elections were held for the 2017-
2018 UWI St. Augustine Guild of Students and change
has come. Former Guild Treasurer Jonathan St. Louis-
Nahous is the new Guild President Elect, one of many
new office holders.
In a statement following his victory, St. Louis-
Nahous said “I see this not as a personal victory, but
rather a triumph for the students of UWI as we return
to the essence of representation.”
The election results followed a week of
campaigning that began on Thursday, March 2 and
included forums at all five halls of residence as well
as a general forum at the Student Activity Centre
(SAC). Voting was held at SAC, the Faculty of Law
(law students only) and the Medical Science Student
Council Office at Mt. Hope (medical students).
“As the students ofThe UWI we are the key players
in a movement towards a socially, economically, and
politically sustainable region, and we must seize the
potential for powerful impact on the global stage,” St.
Louis-Nahous stated. “It is time for us to remember
this. There is a call to be answered, a call to be greater.”
Campus Principal Professor Brian Copeland congratulates
Guild President Elect Jonathan St. Louis-Nahous.
“Reparations lead to democracy
and democracy is founded on
the notion of inclusion,” said Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-
Chancellor of The UWI.
Sir Hilary, who has long been a scholar and advocate for
reparations for slavery, was the featured speaker at the first
event of the State University of New York’s (SUNY’s) Year of the
Caribbean.
In his presentation, “Reparatory Justice and Economic
Development: Critical Support for the Social Growth Paradigm
in the Caribbean” at the 2017 Boyer Family Lecture, the Vice-
Chancellor said:
“The greater the inclusion of more people into the centre of
decision-making – black, brown, women, etcetera – the stronger
the democracy.”
The Boyer Lecture, held on March 22, was part of SUNY
Empire State Colleges annual All College Conference. The
conference kicked off the “Year of the Caribbean” at SUNY
Empire, the first theme of a new initiative designed to explore
specific topics through a variety of activities at the college.
Sir Hilary noted that the 21st Century democratic
movement will integrate many marginalised people and that
role of education will be to make the community part of the
democracy through the “education pipeline” that will help people
become part of the economy and make contributions.
Since 2016, The UWI has been strengthening its relationship
to the SUNY. In September 2016 the SUNY UWI Centre for
Leadership and Sustainable Development was established at
the SUNY Global Centre in New York. In February 2017 the
Centre hosted its first major public event, a finance and banking
symposium that dealt with correspondent banking and its impact
on economic development in the Caribbean.
PHOTO: KEYON MITCHELL
Official Guild Election
Results 2017-2018
President:
Jonathon St Louis-Nahous
Vice President:
Darrion Narine
Treasurer:
Yenver Caezar
Secretary:
Priya Harinarine
Post Graduate President:
Nikkev Marshall
Part Time and Evening Representative:
Colin Ash
Publications Committee Chairperson:
Justin Clark Bisnath
Student Activity Committee Chairperson:
Brandon Mohammed
National Affairs Committee Chairperson:
Jeniece Scott
International Affairs Committee Chairperson:
Eden Corbin
Games Committee Chairperson:
Reynaldo Christie
Faculty of Food and Agriculture:
Videsh Mosodeen
Faculty of Social Sciences:
Renelle Kissoon
Faculty of Science and Technology:
Nicollette La Chapelle
Faculty of Humanities and Education:
Keva Liverpool
Faculty of Law:
Ayanna Norville
Faculty of Engineering:
Jenelle Bernard
Faculty of Medical Sciences:
Matthew Desaine
Student dance takes the stage at
SOLE TO SOLE
“Attendees (saw) great performances from our student
dancers as well as thework of our budding young choreographers,”
said Largen, who is also the Artistic Director of the Little Carib
Theatre Dance Company.
He spoke about the drive of the students and the need to
keep dance alive:
“They are here because dance is their passion. And as long
as you have a passion for something you will do it well. We have
students that are actually going on to look for scholarships to
pursue dance. This is why we must support them. The dance
community in Trinidad and Tobago is quite small. A lot of people
still think dance is an extra-curricular activity. Dance can be a
career.”
Sole to Sole has grown from a showcase of the Dance Unit’s
certificate students to include Bachelor of Arts students and
members of the DCFA’s Festival Dance Ensemble. Finalists from
the Secondary Schools Dance Festival also perform at the event.
The dancers perform a mix of student and lecturer choreography.
Sole to Sole took place on April 21-22 at the Little Carib
Theatre. For more information contact maria.cruikshank@sta.
uwi.edu.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DCFA.
