click logo for homepage
 
 

	Vol.7, No 72, February 15, 2000
	Conference encourages students By Jill Newell Daily Forty-Niner Middle school students were taught to relieve stress as part of a student leadership conference held Saturday at Cal State Long Beach. "Empowering Trio Students for a New Millennium," was the theme for the all-day conference, which gathered more than 400 students from Southern California Trio programs to celebrate National Trio Day. Trio is a federally funded program aimed at helping low-income, disabled or first-generation college students. The program started in 1965 with three services and has grown to nine, said Cherryl Arnold-Moore, director of Student Support Services at CSULB. Students, ranging from sixth grade to college level, heard motivational speeches and participated in activities geared toward reaching personal goals. "It is not failure, but low aim that is a sin," said Robert Belle, director of federal Trio programs for the U.S. Department of Education. Workshops were held ranging from "University of Dreams Come True: The College Experience," for middle-school students to "What's Your Mission? Developing a Personal Mission Statement," for college-level students. Arnold-Moore presented a middle school workshop called "Stress Management and Relaxation," in which sixth, seventh and eighth-graders listened to sounds of chirping birds and practiced breathing exercises to relieve tension. "Let's teach them to handle stress before they really have it in high school and college," Arnold-Moore said. Arnold-Moore led a guided imagery demonstration where the children lay on the floor, listening to ocean sounds, as they breathed deeply and imagined themselves in a different place. "Move the stress up and out," Arnold-Moore said. "Release all the stress." The children also learned to how to handle burnout by simply saying no to more responsibilities and learning to laugh at themselves. "I feel good," said Cam-Tu Nguyen, an eighth-grader from Franklin Middle School in Long Beach. "I learned how to imagine myself in another place so I can relax." Damien Pena, an academic counselor at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, led an assertiveness training workshop for high school students. Pena asked the students to assert themselves by searching for others with their same birth month, favorite color and favorite breakfast cereal. Pena said he has received many positive responses from students who have taken his workshop and used his techniques, which include using eye contact, a normal voice and being aware of another's personal space. "I have had students tell me that people are listening to what they say, instead of just hearing them," Pena said. CSULB has four Trio programs on campus, Student Support Services and McNair Scholars, which both help students get through school and Upward Bound and Talent Search which recruit students to CSULB. "It is amazing to see them start out as freshmen and finish up as seniors with positive attitudes," said Valinda Intaratana, a student and program assistant for Upward Bound. "They say, ëWow, thank you so much for helping me.'"		Sandler film no parking problem   Writer leaves audience rolling with laughter   Conference encourages students   More books available   Workshop saves time for students Tighten the Net   How much does a wife cost?   LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Student dances into show business   Suicide Machines rock fans at the Roxy   Great music saves Yahoo! Tour Gauchos cool 49ers   NBA's most eccentric player returns   Dirtbags not soiled Spring 2000 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
© 2000 Daily Forty-Niner. All rights reserved.