dateline: UVI The monthly newsletter of The University of the Virgin Islands November 19, 2004, vol x, number 11 Events Calendar Nov. 19 Faculty Colloquium STX Nov. 19 EPSCoR Lecture STT/STX Nov. 19-27 Paradise Jam STT Nov. 20 Music Lecture STT/STX Nov. 20-23 Little Theater Play STT Nov. 20-21 Agriculture Fair STT Nov. 22-23 SBDC Seminar STT Nov. 22 Free HIV Testing STX Nov. 22-24 IASTED Conference STT Nov. 25 Thanksgiving Day - UVI Closed Nov. 26 Fortsberg Day - UVI Closed Nov. 29-30 SBDC Seminar STT Dec. 4 Christmas Concert STT Dec. 4 Holiday Party STX Dec. 4 SBDC Seminar STT Dec. 7 Holiday Party STT In a tightly contested pageant, Shakima Stoutt walked away with the Miss UVI title. A former Miss British Virgin Islands, Stoutt also claimed the Best Ambassadorial Presen- tation and the Best Evening Wear titles. Stoutt was closely followed by first-runner up Khalilah Gordon, who won Miss Intellect and best talent. Tamica Gordon was the second runner up. More than 300 people attended the Nov. 6 show, held at the University of the Virgin Islands’ Reichhold Center for the Arts. The three-hour pageant was an explosion of tal- ent, with contestants vying neck-and-neck for the title, and singers and dancers providing en- tertainment. Stoutt is a junior enrolled in UVI’s Pre- Medical Technology Program. She plans to become a gyne- cologist and open a women’s health facility in the BVI. As Miss UVI, Stoutt will serve as the good-will ambassa- Katsunori Kajihara traveled halfway across the world to St. Croix – not for the usual sun, sand and sea – but to learn more about Caribbean Literature. Kajihara endured a 20-hour flight from Japan to attend the Sixth Annual International Conference on Caribbean Literature (ICCL) hosted by UVI’s St. Croix cam- pus. He was one of the dozens of people who traveled to UVI’s dor for UVI. She will receive a full scholarship (academic and room/board) for one academic year. Stoutt will also receive a laptop, and a free cellular telephone, cellular phone service and $75 gift certificate from Tom and Jerry Cellular Phones & Fashions. Gordon and Lawrence will each receive a Palm Pilot, a gift certificate from Payless Shoe Source Inc. and a gift certificate from M.A.C. beauty supplies. Each of the young ladies will also receive a gift certificate from America’s Paradise Gym. During the show dancers Code Blue wowed the audience with their up-tempo dance, while songstresses Detra Davis and Tiffany Matthew swayed the crowd. The contestants were ser- enaded by trumpeter Simba Leonard. At the audience’s urging, the male trio B.E.S.T consented to an en- core performance. Miss USVI Kinila Callendar also per- formed the dance routine that helped her win her title. Pre-Med Student Shakima Stoutt Claims Miss UVI Title Caribbean Literature Conference Sparks Needed Conversations Kamau Brathwaite, left, speaks with a student at the Inter- national Conference on Caribbean Lit- erature, held on UVI’s St. Croix cam- pus. People came from throughout the world to attend the event. ICCL continued on next page Newly crowned Miss UVI Shakima Stoutt. Photo by Dale Morton dateline:UVI 2 John Brewer’s Bay St. Thomas, VI 00802 GET CONNECTED TO UVI news, activities and accomplishments at . . . www.uvi.edu dateline:UVI is a production of the UVI Public Relations Office. Contact us by telephone at (340) 693-1056 FAX: (340) 693-1055 GET CONNECTED TO UVI news, activities and accomplishments at . . . www.uvi.edu St. Croix campus to attend the three-day event held Nov. 3-5. “This conference is the most lively that I’ve ever experi- enced,” Kajihara said. A member of the English Department at Aichi Prefectural University, Kajihara frequents similar confer- ences. He was on the panel that explored Caribbean texts and cultural transmission and presented the paper “Edouard Glissant and Derek Walcott: The Relations of Language, History and Epistemology.” Kajihara was intrigued by the role literature plays in the lives of Virgin Islanders. “Literature here is deeply connected to the daily lives of people,” he said. It was Kamau Brathwaite’s first time attending the ICCL. The literary great was a guest speaker at the daily luncheons, which featured acclaimed Caribbean artists. “Writing is so isolating that it is important that we relate to Caribbean people on Caribbean soil,” Brathwaite said following one of the luncheon lectures. “It is important that we meet each other, that we talk.” Brathwaite, who has written several books, is a professor of comparative literature at New York University. More than 125 scholars served on approximately 40 panels over the three-day period. The ICCL is sponsored by Morehouse College and Purdue University-Calumet. The theme of this year’s conference was “Being and/in Narrative: The Historical Tradition of Caribbean Literature.” ICCL Continued It pays to be a student leader. Just ask the five student leaders from UVI who attended the Thurgood Marshall Leadership Institute, held Oct. 29 through Nov. 1 in New York City. “I wasn’t aware that there were so many opportunities for black people to excel at major Fortune 500 companies on a corporate scale,” said Ivan Connor, the Student Gov- ernment Association (SGA) presi- dent on UVI’s St. Thomas campus. For Connor the conference provided “a greater realization of what is attainable.” Designed to enhance the scholars’ experience by helping them bridge their academic achievements with necessary and meaningful skills for the workplace, the institute is held annually for student leaders attending Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund colleges and universities. St. Croix campus Golden Key Honour Society President Jasmine Buttolph jumped at the opportunity to network. “Networking is often overlooked as an essential part of advancement,”she said. Other attendees were St. Tho- mas campus SGA Senior Senator Alkin Paul, St. Croix campus SGA President Thamarah Gomes and Al- pha Kappa Alpha Sorority member Anne Auguste. One of the student development workshops, “Navigating Corporate Success,” was presented by Omarosa Manigault- Stallworth, the well-known contestant from television’s “The Apprentice.” UVI Student Leaders Attend Conference in New York Thurgood Marshall Student Leadership Institute at- tendees were, (left to right) Jasmine Buttolph, Alkin Paul, Thamarah Gomes, Joseph Boschulte, Ardrina Scott-Elliott and Ivan Connor.