American Studies teaches students about their place in the world "The American Studies program provides student with a chance to broaden their experiences beyond those found in a normal classroom setting. You have an opportunity to learn from people who are actually out there in the field - not just from textbooks ," saidJay King, a senior from Dallas , Texas, and vice president for the lecture series . The American Studies Institute Distinguished Student Program offered students many opportunities to broaden their horizons. The award-winning program promoted students' understanding of the values and institutions of America and the ideals on which the country was created. Cecilia Parra , a senior from Guatemala, served this y ar as vice president for membership. She said, " ot being an Ah1erican myself, the program has helped me to see how Americans think and understand issues. It has allowed me to better re~lize the forces behind events that happen. It gave me a chance to understand varying views and the American culture." The program hosted its annual series of lectures which covered a wide variety of subjects. The lectures were open to the whole student body and any other interested citizens. Guests for the 1992-93 school year included Robert ovak and Bob Beckel , political journalists and commentators; Vladimir Lukin , Russian Ambassador to the nited States ; Gerald Ebker, IBM vice president; and others. 84 Organizations "I enjoy learning about the different topics the speakers discuss," commented April Legg, a senior from Broken Arrow, Okla. "I also like the timeliness of the issues - for example the debate we had right before the presidential election. It was very informative and entertaining at the same time." Besides the speakers, the program also involved other activities designed to enrich students' development and understanding of American history and culture. Trips to the Heifer Project International and other nearby places of interest such as Arkansas' capitol were taken. In the spring, 40 students were selected from the program to go on the annual trip. The destination was Huntsville , Ala. , where students were able to visit the Space and Rocket Center as well as other local businesses. The trip included a trolley ride , a tour of downtown Huntsville and learning about the city's antebellum history. Heather Knox, a senior from Alabama , said, "Taking part in the program - the lectures and the trips - was fun , but one of the best things about American Studies was getting to know the other students and realizing that there were a lot of other people getting ready to graduate and go out in the world as professionals who had many of the same values , goals and ideas that I did." - Melanie Johnson Ho nors stude nts Amy Hawkins ancl Jimmy Broo ks load up the car. The Ho nors Huma n Situati o ns II cl ass had a re treat a t Pe tit j ean mo untain at the e nd o f the fall semes te r. Matt Branch and Cec ilia Pa rra display the signs of hidden talents. American Studies stude nts e xperi e nced the art o f manual bri ckmaking on the ir trip to the Heifer Project Inte rnati o nal Arkansas he adqua rte rs . Honor s. ! st ro\\' ( I to r ): Shauna Q ueen, Julie Krute, Melan ie Matthews, Jessica Clark , Caroline Clements ( hi~t or i a n ) , Ri ck Warpul a (soph . rep .), Craig Hanson. 2nd row: Minda Ruggles, Chris Ann Qu igley , Sondra Smith , Diadra McGregor ( jr. rep .), Anna Clements, Melaniejohnson, Pam Shea rer , Moll y Luten. 3rd row: Laura Ri ce (president ), Heather Fuchs, Amy isbett, Mi chell e Ponds, Ri chard Bankhead , Amy .J ohnson, Ana Kulik!. clth row: Jason Dare, Victor McCracken (vice-president ), Apry l Greer , Brian Mitchell , Kevin .J ensen , Jason Arnold. 5th row: Gig i Graham, j immy Brooks, Amy Haw kins, Ma ll Branch, Bryan Ries ( fresh. rep .). Craig Gusta fson . Danny Ho lcomb. 6th row: Trav is McNea l , Aa ron Kit e, Tom Gask ins, Derek Hampton, Clint Strong, Dawn Walli s, l~ancl a ll Hunter.
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