Marcus Grayson , Rehecca Harper, and Sheri Banks call prospective students. Ujima worked with the Admi ss ions o ffi ce calling minority srudents and talking to them ahout Hard ing. French Club. 1st row: N ita Popaescu . Diana Ung (prog ram committee) , Angel a Qui roa (program committee), Mari a V. Bendana (treasurer). 2nd row : Tara Tubb, Laura Ri ce, Tami Whit e (secretary) , Stacie Evans, Chris Ann Quigl ey. 3rd row: Billie Brooks, Gio vanni Salamanca (pres ident) , Daryl Rodgers ( p rogram committee) , Hod Bradley, Todd Wo lfe ( v ice pres ident ), Brian Snow. Ujima offers students an alternative The organization jima was an alternative club for those people who did not fit into the mainstream of the Harding niversity campus. It basically functioned in the interest of all minority students at Harding. Since this organization 's formation in 1983, it functioned more as a social club than as an organization. This year, jima members participated in a hayride , a banquet and also some service projects including working with the Marquadt church of Christ in Kensett with their door-knocking campaign and other activities. The month of February proved to be the most active one of the year for Ujima. They were in charge of coordinating all of the chapel programs for a full week to emphasize Black History month. During the last weekend of February, Ujima worked with the Admissions office to organize their "Gospel Explosion. " This was an activity the Admissions office used to recruit minority students , and consisted of performaces by different gospel choirs from around the campus, region, and nation. Marcus Grayson, president of Ujima , said, 'The purpose of jima was to educate differ- . ent peoples. We are not a 'black club,' like a lot of people think, but we are a club that wants to meet the needs of all minority sudents on campus ." Grayson also said he wished the rest of the university would notice and follow their exTamara Paden and Manuel Centeno talk after Wedn esday night's Bible swdy . The Spanish Club met in the Communi cati o n building each week and had a w o rship serv ice in Spanish . ample . He said, "Anyone can join our club, and w accept you as a person rather than what you have to offer or what you can do for the club. We are an alternative for those students who want to be social , but are upset with and do not fit into the social structure that Harding offers. " Mark Drum, a member of jima , said his favorite aspect of the club was the "good fellowship. " He said, "The people in Ujima accept you as you are, and everyone is there for the same purpose. " Grayson and Drum agreed that this purpose was to help each other grow and set an example of Christlikeness . Drum said, "We wanted to fulfill what is expected of us from God. " Grayson said the most important thing about Ujima was the strong spiritual basis of the club. Before January of 1992, Ujima was called "Skotia. " This name was given to the club when it was originally formed in 1983. Skotia is a greek word that means "darkness. " However, in January of 1992, the members did some research and found that the word Skotia actually refers to an evil type of darkness. So, the club decided to change its name to "Ujima ," which is a Swahili word that means "collective work and responsibility for all. " - David Jacobs Organizations 95
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