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contents DEPARTMENTS EDITOR’S CORNER PRESIDENT’S LETTER FACULTY NOTES ON CAMPUS OUT AND ABOUT ALUMNI BUZZ A CLOSING SHOT Cover portrait of Dr. Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool by Eric Johnson FEATURES Chalkdust, Calypso and Culture Dr. Hollis Liverpool, professor, author, historian and Calypsonian, lives to teach and chronicle culture through song. Bright Horizons Student research in alternative energy reveals the powerhouse potential of Virgin Islands natural resources and research at UVI. 2004, Vol. 8 UNIVERSITY of the VIRGIN ISLANDS MAGAZINE 21 27 33 21 27 3 4 5 7 17 33 37 3 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 We Dare to Dream Photo by: Ethelbert Bedminster Patrice K. Johnson Editor-In-Chief EDITOR’SCORNER VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT Joseph Boschulte EDITOR IN CHIEF Patrice K. Johnson COPY EDITOR Gary Metz WRITERS Catherine Fahy Nanyamka Farrelly Karen Gutloff Gary Metz EXECUTIVE EDITORIAL BOARD LaVerne E. Ragster, Ph.D., President Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, Ph.D., Provost (UVI Magazine Founder) PHOTOGRAPHERS Ethelbert Bedminster Tina Henle Eric Johnson Samuel Joseph Gary Metz Dale Morton EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE Lois Rivera DESIGN & PRINTING iMinistry Solutions, Atlanta, GA MISSION: To foster interest in and support for the University by sharing information with our internal and external communities about the people and events shaping the University of the Virgin Islands. EDITORIAL INFORMATION UVI Magazine is published annually by the UVI Public Relations Office with the support of the Office of the President and the Institutional Advancement component. Public Relations Office University of the Virgin Islands #2 John Brewer’s Bay St.Thomas, VI 00802 T: (340) 693-1057 F: (340) 693-1055 e-mail: pr@uvi.edu UVI Magazine is copyrighted in its entirety. Please contact the Editor-in-chief for permission to reproduce any of the articles, photographs or artwork. World Wide Web address: http://www.uvi.edu The University of the Virgin Islands is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. The University of the Virgin Islands is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, 3624 Market Street Philadelphia, PA 19104 T: (215) 662-5606 The Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Commission on Recognition of Post-secondary Accreditation. UVIMAGAZINE UNIVERSITY OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS MAGAZINE 2004 B ack when the 21st century seemed too futuristic for most of us to envision, there were brave men and women who dared to dream. In 1969 I was one of about 100 children who sat cross-legged before a television screen at summer camp, watching with rapt attention as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface. As young as we were, we were impressed with how one person’s quest for greatness was made possible by so many others who supported and propelled him forward. So it is with the University of the Virgin Islands today. On each of UVI’s campuses great minds are being nurtured – minds that will one day impact the world in ways that we can’t even imagine. UVI students are securing, celebrating, exploring and discovering environments, habitats, communities and ecosystems at home and abroad. Members of the UVI faculty are instructing with a passion and expertise that is unrivaled. As our cover story illustrates, Dr. Hollis Liverpool, a renowned calypsonian and social scientist, is working to provide an inclusive view of history and to ensure that a facet of the Caribbean region’s cultural legacy not be lost. Students Sabrina Valdivia and Andre Francis are conducting cutting-edge research that demonstrates that their link to alternative energy is real, not imagined. With an eye toward the future, these students are looking at ways to refine and redefine the ways that we utilize energy in our everyday lives. UVI students are widening their experiences by living among those who speak other languages. Students who participated in a Mexican exchange program with the Universidad Internacional de Cuernavaca share their experiences in this issue. And, as if terrestrial experiences were not enough, this issue of UVI Magazine reveals the coral reef research conducted by UVI students Leia LaPlace and Emily Broderick, not only in the Caribbean Sea but in the Pacific Ocean as well. Come, visit with us, learn from our experiences. We are UVI. We specialize in futures. T he 2003-2004 academic year was one in which lives were positively changed by the University of the Virgin Islands. In this issue of UVI Magazine, we wish to share some of the more inspiring stories of the year. I believe you will agree that UVI is interacting with and influencing the community it serves. As an innovative public institution, UVI is developing entrepreneurial endeavors to reduce its dependency on government appropriations. And UVI is hitting its stride with competitive academic and research initiatives that are impacting the region and the world. Let me be the first to tell you how proud I am of UVI faculty, staff and students who have contributed to: UVI’s having been selected to administer the Virgin Islands’ Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR), a territorial research initiative designed to expand and enhance the U.S. Virgin Islands’ ability to participate in nationally supported research activities. The Virgin Islands Department of Education’s development of a plan to ensure the re-accreditation of St. Thomas’s two public high schools. 4 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 UVI’s Community Engagement and Lifelong Learning (CELL) center’s efforts to invigorate the local economy by providing courses that industry employers require in order to hire and promote skilled workers. A bank loan program, through UVI’s Virgin Islands University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, which assists the disabled in the attainment of low-cost assistive technology devices. I would like to publicly thank those who support the University of the Virgin Islands as we respond to the needs of the community. I encourage those who are considering supporting UVI to take a look at the University’s history of academic excellence and unwavering commitment to the social and economic development of the community. The work the University must do grows more challenging in difficult economic times and requires us all to support higher education in the territory and the region in whatever ways possible. I invite alumni and friends of the University to take pride in UVI’s past accomplishments as we continue to work together, anticipating the impacts we will have on lives that are being shaped for the future. Changing Lives Photo by: Ethelbert Bedminster LaVerne E. Ragster President PRESIDENT’SMESSAGE 5 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 U VI Humanities Professor Gene Emanuel and UVI Social Sciences Professors Dr. Robert Nicholls and Dr. Hollis Liverpool served as panelists during the 13th Triennial Symposium on African Art, which was held on Harvard University’s Cambridge, Mass., campus from March 31 through April 3, 2004. Sponsored by the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA), the Triennial Symposium on African art is the premier gather- ing of scholars, museum curators and interested members of the public devoted to the presentation of cutting edge research on the art of Africa and the African Diaspora. The conference encouraged participants to explore how African imagery has moved across cultures, places and time, and how it has fostered vibrant new forms of expression and interpretations in a global world. Emanuel, Liverpool and Nicholls participated in a panel that explored symbolism and cultural influences in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Caribbean region that are directly related to a common African heritage. “We looked at Ibo tonal character- istics and vocabulary that persist in the Caribbean today,” Emanuel said. Expressions such as “eh eh,” “kati kati” and “bam bam” are African examples of reduplication that are common in contemporary Caribbean dialects. “Clearly the panel was extremely well received,” Emanuel said. “The fact that I could give them greetings in seven African languages that were here has opened the door to an abundance of information about the African presence in the Virgin Islands.” U VI music professor Dr. Lorna C. Young- Wright, founder and director of Polymnia, a chamber choral ensemble, presented a choral concert in Paris, France on Saturday, July 3 at the Eglise Reformee de Paris. Under Dr. Young-Wright’s direction, Polymnia, with UVI student accompanist Monet I. Davis, presented Mozart’s Coronation Mass in C, Schubert’s Mass in G, and a collection of spirituals with the Spiritual Workshop Choir, a Parisian choral ensemble dedicated to the study and performance of the Negro spiritual. Notable performances included those of UVI student and soprano soloist Detra Davis and UVI graduate and soprano soloist Shaneel Richards. Polymnia received outstanding reviews and an invitation to return in November 2005. UVI Professor, Student and Alumna Perform in Paris FACULTYNOTES African Roots and Routes UVI Professors Speak at Harvard “The fact that I could give them greetings in seven African languages that were here has opened the door to an abundance of information about the African presence in the Virgin Islands.” GENE EMANUEL, Humanities Professor 6 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 FACULTYNOTES D r. Rosalie Dance, an assistant professor of Mathematics at the University of the Virgin Islands, received the 2004 Etta Zuber Falconer Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching Feb. 20, 2004, in Washington, D.C. Dr. Dance was presented with the award at the 13th Annual National Conference of Quality Education for Minorities (QEM). The award is named in honor of Dr. Etta Zuber Falconer, a pioneer in mathematics education. During her 37 years as a member of the faculty of Spelman College, Dr. Falconer carried out a lifetime commitment to increasing the number of African- American women in mathematics and the sciences. In her classes at UVI, Dr. Dance emphasizes interactive learning in a variety of contexts. She coordinates a developmental mathematics program and has stressed the importance of hands-on learning. “Rosalie Dance is highly deserving of this award,” said Dr. Camille McKayle, an associate professor of Mathematics at UVI who serves as liaison to QEM. “Her work over the years before UVI and during her UVI tenure is outstanding. It is very reflective of Dr. Dance’s belief in community, and her ability to provide meaningful mathematical experiences and challenge to students at all levels. She sees the classroom and beyond as a community of learners, and integrates material that puts mathematics in a real world context.” Dr. Dance has participated regularly in local, national and international workshops as well as in professional meetings. Recently, she presented her research at the Joint Mathematics Meeting of the American Mathematical Society, at the Mathematical Association of America, the Caribbean Assessment Conference, the 21st Century Mathematical Educators Conference in Brno, Czech Republic, and the Annual Meeting of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Dr. Dance earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Dickinson College, a master’s degree in mathematics from Boston College, and a doctoral degree in mathematics curriculum and instruction from the University of Maryland, College Park. UVI Professor Rosalie Dance Receives Mathematics Teaching Award U VI humanities professors Dr. Valerie Combie and Dr. Alma Simonet are closing the aquat- ic divide between the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Combie and Simonet recently initiated a linguistic study group in cooperation with the University of Puerto Rico’s Rio Piedras campus, which investigated linguistic character- istics that are unique to St. Croix and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Community involvement was a key component of the week-long study group, which convened Puerto Rican graduate students and Crucian community participants. The group looked at how a historically distinct Crucian dialect had undergone subtle changes over time due to various linguistic influences. The participants shared anecdotes, stories and expressions such as, “every pot has to stand on its own bottom,” and dialectical constructions such as “me seh me wan da” as unique to the region What the group also found is that the com- prehension of once-familiar sayings has begun to slip away. “It was a very good week for them,” Combie said. “They learned so much and they were able to make contacts.” Taking a Look at Language She sees the classroom and beyond as a community of learners, and integrates material that puts mathematics in a real world context. H ere it was that I was almost done – and was practically going to start over,” he remembers of his decision, which required him to take another four years of courses in order to earn a music degree. Four years later, Pickering was again preparing for gradua- tion – this time with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education – after becoming the first UVI student to have a concentration in the steel pan. The steel pan is perhaps the first instrument indigenous to the Caribbean that has gained worldwide popularity. First created in Trinidad from oil drums that were craftily dented to produce a melodic sound when struck, there are now several types of steel pans. The resulting steel bands developed from these instruments have since become well known and sought after throughout the world. When Pickering declared his Music Education major in 1999, he didn’t know about the steel pan concentration at UVI. He had planned to study the trombone, which he also plays. Professor Austin Venzen, who knew of Pickering’s musical talents, asked him to study the pan. Pickering has been involved with music for many years, eight of them as a member of the Territorial Court’s Rising Stars Youth Steel Orchestra. It was after being hired as an instructor’s aide for the Rising Stars that he decided to study music at UVI. He plays the tenor bass, six-bass and baritone bass pans and is now an instructor in the Rising Stars’ guitar section. The switch from biology, which Pickering, who trains race horses at Bovoni Stables, initially studied in the hope of becoming a veterinarian, was sometimes difficult – but he stuck it out. “It’s good to know that I’m starting off a possible trend,” Pickering said of being UVI’s first steel pan concentration graduate. “I’m hoping that this will encourage students who know how to play the pan to learn to read music and come into the program,” said Venzen, UVI’s Music Area coordinator and Concert Band director. With an example like Pickering, there’s no doubt it will. It turns out that Pickering wasn’t crazy at all. A Preference for Pan Everyone thought that Eltino Pickering was crazy – everyone except his parents and his professor. Pickering, a former biology major at UVI, changed his major to Music Education in the final semester of studies before his scheduled graduation. 7 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 ONCAMPUS “ 8 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 T he University of the Virgin Islands Community Engagement and Lifelong Learning center(CELL) and Our Town Frederiksted, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the renovation and preservation of Frederiksted, are partnering with King’s Caribbean Coffee and Illinois-based Bunn-O-Matic, to provide training in the service and repair of beverage equipment. As many as 30 local residents will be employed as beverage equipment service technicians or managers. CELL has received a $541,000 community devel- opment grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which will be distributed over the next three years for “critical community development” throughout the territory, with special attention given to St. Croix. Ilene Garner, executive director of CELL, says the grant gives CELL the opportunity to participate in the revi- talization of Frederiksted and provide training that will open up new career possibilities for V.I. residents. As part of the grant, a rundown building in Frederiksted will be renovated to create a community outreach center and training facility for CELL. Sunsational Tournament A Winter Treat T he University of the Virgin Islands varsity basketball squads will share a winter treat with students and local fans when they host the UVI Sunsational Basketball Tournament from December 28, 2004, through January 7, 2005. The Sunsational Tournament, now in its third year, gives the UVI men's and women's teams a valuable opportunity to play NCAA Division II and III teams, according to Athletic Director Peter Sauer. And, UVI students and Virgin Islands fans get an extended chance to see their teams in action. Sean Georges, UVI’s men's basketball coach, says he's "excited to see how the squad will match up and compete. That should be fun." Georges adds that he's pleased to see an improving talent level at UVI. "We have more and more high-quality student athletes choosing to attend UVI." UVI's Lady Bucs, second-place finishers in their ODI league play in Puerto Rico last season, chalked up their first win against a Division III squad in last year's tournament. A field of ten teams from eight schools, including UVI's men's and women's Buccaneers, will participate in the 2004-2005 tournament. The Sunsational roster includes men's and women's teams from UVI and Salem State College in Massachusetts; the men's team from Mary Washington College in Virginia; and women's teams from Wheeling (W. Va.) Jesuit University, Berea (Ky.) College, the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, Messiah College in Pennsylvania and Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. Sunsational is just one example of UVI's continuing commitment to host stateside sports teams. Volleyball enthusiasts regularly get to see the UVI varsity squad play NCAA Division III teams and university club teams during Labor Day weekend and spring break tournaments. Last year’s spring break also brought lacrosse to the territory, with three Division III squads practicing and playing exhibition games on UVI's St. Croix campus in March. Coffee Fuels Frederiksted Renovation ONCAMPUS ONCAMPUS 9 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 T he kids love it,” UVI Information Technology Specialist and computer science instructor Mary Zayac said. “It” is Blackboard, an innovative, online course delivery system that UVI professors say has made it possible for them to share documents with their students, communi- cate revisions, take and grade tests and rearrange schedules outside of the class- room. Blackboard is an online course delivery system that allows faculty to spend more time on the creative aspects of teaching. With Blackboard in use, information is accessible to everyone in a given class – including assignments and their due dates. “There’s no excuse that they didn’t see it or didn’t know about it,” said Zayac, who engaged faculty in hands-on Blackboard tutorials. Blackboard can provide students with support materials, transmit teacher feed- back and monitor students’ progress. It also works well for videoconferencing – enabling teachers and students to share information without face-to-face contact. “They don’t have to worry about misun- derstanding something because class notes are on it,” Zayac said. Students can check their grades and see how their performance matches up with the class average. A digital drop-box makes it possible for students to work from any terminal to access a common class calendar and announcements, which show up on each student’s homepage. Students can even “chat” with other students via Blackboard. Dr. Gary Ray, a biology professor, said Blackboard makes it possible for him to communicate with students in a way that didn’t exist before. Students select an e- mail address and it’s their responsibility to regularly check that e-mail for announcements, assignments and mes- sages. “It’s a multifaceted tutoring tool,” Ray said. “If I want to assign supplemen- tary readings and get them to dialogue about them, I can do it with Blackboard.” “I have found the Blackboard program to be quite useful in retrieving course- related information, as well as a means of communication between the student and the teacher,” said Suzette Kelly, a student whose Police Science and Administration class interacted via Blackboard. “Blackboard is a way of making life easier for you,” Dr. Gwen-Marie Moolenaar told faculty at a recent Blackboard seminar where those who had only recently begun to use the program were given pointers on the software’s finer points. UVI has 850 students enrolled in Blackboard- supported classes, with between 200 and 400 students logging on each day. “The best part of it is the students’ responsibility to interpret what’s going on in a course,” said Dr. Aletha Baumann, a social sciences professor on the St. Croix campus who has used Blackboard extensively. “The students also like it because instantly they see what they have done. They don’t want to go back to the old way of doing things.” In memoriam - Mary An Zayac (1955-2004) Forget the Chalk, UVI Utilizes a Virtual Blackboard H ow there is another incentive for St. Croix students who want to pursue an Associate of Science degree in Nursing from the University of the Virgin Islands. Through the STARS (Strategies for Achieving Results) Program, 10 incoming freshman nursing students will be selected this year to receive tutoring, counseling and a stipend. “It is intended to increase the number of culturally competent nurses within our community,” explained Joan Marsh, a nursing professor and chairwoman of the St. Croix campus Nursing Division. During an intensive two-week workshop held in July, students are encouraged to apply to be part of the program. Part of the STARS Program is the Future Nurses Club – a club for middle school students who are interested in pursuing a nursing career. The “future nurses” are mentored by the STARS Program participants and meet once every other month on UVI’s St. Croix campus. This year 40 students from Arthur Richards, John Woodson and Elena Christian Junior High Schools joined the Future Nurses Club. Marsh said she expects another 40 students to join the club this year. The STARS Program is funded by a $443,539 grant from the U.S. Bureau of Health Professions and will be administered over three years. Future Nurses Are STARS on St. Croix Campus “ ONCAMPUS 11 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 S o when, as a member of UVI’s Afternoon on the Green Committee, he was able to write a jingle in a matter of minutes, everyone was delighted - but not surprised. Afternoon on the Green is like a huge lawn party held annually on the St. Thomas campus golf course for which members of the community prepare and contribute food. “I asked for a list of cooks,” George remembers of that After- noon on the Green committee meeting. “Right there in the meeting I wrote that jingle,” he said, “then I perfected it later on.” He explained that the catchy theme, “Cuisines Galore for 2004” made it easy for him to pen the jingle, which was used in radio advertise- ments and became a favorite among listeners. Soon George began hearing that familiar question: “Why did you stop singing calypso?” The public kept urging him to consider recording and singing calypso again. That, coupled with the audience’s response from his performance in the UVI Fall 2003 Little Theater production “Man Better Man,” made George consider a comeback. In the play, George played Hannibal, the equivalent to a chorus in Greek plays. Hannibal narrated the play through song - which in this case was calypso - helping to relate the story to the audience. George decided to perform in St. Thomas 2004 Carnival – and what a comeback he had. George was the first runner-up in the “Boy ah Boy, Big Man ah Big Man” calypso competition, where contenders wrote and performed a song on the topic, “If I Was Governor and I had all the Power.” “It was fun,” George said of the competition. “I didn’t feel rusty – just had butterflies. I was anxious to do it.” Even with a comeback like that, George is apprehensive about competing again. “I just feel that I’ve done my part in elevating calypso to where it is now,” George said, noting that he enjoys the spectator role. “I enjoy watching and helping people.” If his fans have anything to do with it, George will be back - again. Calypsonian Enjoys Comeback, But Prefers Spectator’s Role Ashley George sings while he works. He sings while he waters plants. He sings while he pulls up weeds. And he sings when he drives. You see, although Ashanti, as he is known to friends, is the grounds supervisor of UVI’s St. Thomas campus, he is also a calypsonian. “Ashanti”, the Calypso Monarch of St. Thomas in 1981, had not performed since 1994. ONCAMPUS 12 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 T he first students to complete the Associate in Applied Science Degree Program in Process Technology received their degrees during commencement exercises on the St. Croix campus on Sunday, May 23, 2004. Janella Christian, Natalie Dick, Stephen Dujon, Linda Martinez, Andrew Mayapin, Augustin Nemiah and Trish St. Jean have been working at HOVENSA since January 2004. Another group of students will complete the program in December 2004. The University of the Virgin Islands, in conjunction with HOVENSA L.L.C., began offering the Process Technology degree in fall 2002 on the St. Croix campus. The program prepares students to enter employment as operations technicians in the process industry, which includes oil production, refining, chemical manufac- turing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, power generation, utilities, wastewater treatment facilities management and food processing. This program arose out of the need to provide skilled operations technicians for the HOVENSA Oil Refinery on St. Croix and other industries throughout the Virgin Islands. According to Eric Douglas, a chemical engineer and program coordinator of UVI’s Process Technology Degree Program, there will be as many as 60 students enrolled in the program for the fall 2004 semester. First Process Technology Grads Already on the job UVI Student Nets Coral Reef Internship E ver since she can remember, Leia LaPlace has had a love affair with nature. By the time she was in high school, LaPlace knew what she wanted to do – unite her love of nature with her love for the beach. This year, LaPlace’s two loves have netted her a reward – a three-month, all-expense-paid summer internship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Silver Spring, Md. LaPlace, 21, a senior marine biology major at UVI, is one of two, first-time recipients of the Governor Tause P.F. Sunia Coral Reef Conservation Summer Internship Award. LaPlace of St. Croix and Aja Reyes of Guam were chosen based on their demonstrated interest in coral reef conservation in their home islands, exemplary academic achieve- ments and related work experience. “People don’t take as good care of what’s unique to us as they should,” LaPlace says, referring to the fragile state of the Virgin Islands’ coral reefs. “Hurricanes and human influences are destroying the corals.” Because corals act as a buffer for the region’s beaches, LaPlace says people need to be informed about the consequences of their actions. “Corals are living animals that take thousands of years to get where they are now. There are so many things happening that are negative – like sewage, sedimentation and garbage – I want to let people know that this is going to affect them. I want to help protect our marine environment.” Process Technology degree recipients (left to right) Martinez, Dick, Dujon, St. Jean and Christian are employed at the HOVENSA Oil Refinery on St. Croix. ONCAMPUS ONCAMPUS T he National Science Foundation has awarded the U.S. Virgin Islands a grant that will amount to $4.5 million over the next four years. The grant will support a program based at the University of the Virgin Islands, the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (VI-EPSCoR), which is designed to expand and enhance the U.S. Virgin Islands' ability to participate in nationally supported research activities. The U.S. Virgin Islands is the smallest jurisdiction to have ever received such an award and UVI is the only Historically Black University ever awarded. VI-EPSCoR, which is administered through the National Science Foundation, was developed at UVI with continuous input from representatives from all sectors in the U.S. Virgin Islands community. The EPSCoR grant supports development of the University's capacity to conduct research on Caribbean coral reefs, which is of immediate significance to the territory's economic development. Additionally, among other things, the grant will also provide for the development of materials for enriching elementary, secondary and undergraduate science and mathematics education in the territory. Through the EPSCoR program, the National Science Foundation aims to partner with the U.S. Virgin Islands to effect lasting improvements in the territory's research infrastructure. UVI Is First HBCU to Administer EPSCoR Grant 14 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 T he University of the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, a Division I basketball tournament that has become an institution in the territory, will bring 14 teams to St. Thomas in November 2004. The tourney, now in its fifth year, continues to provide top-notch entertainment to local sports fans, while attracting a flood of visitors – second only to St. Thomas Carnival - to the territory. The 2004 men's field, with play from November 19-21, includes: Arkansas, Austin Peay, Eastern Michigan, Saint Louis, Troy University and Winthrop. The championship round will be played on November 22. The women's tourney, playing from November 25-27, includes: Kentucky, Louisville, Hampton, Nebraska, NC State, Oregon State, Rutgers and South Dakota State. UVI Paradise Jams On… D isabled Virgin Islands residents will be able to obtain low-interest loans to buy equipment that can improve the quality of their lives, thanks to an agreement signed April 1 between Banco Popular and the Virgin Islands Assistive Technology Foundation (VIATF) Inc. The agreement is believed to be the first of its kind in the Caribbean. Supported by a grant obtained by the University of the Virgin Islands’ Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (VIUCEDD), the VI Assistive Technology Foundation has been designated as the not-for-profit, community-based organization that will administer the Virgin Islands Assistive Technology Loan Program. “I want to thank Dr. Yegin Habtes for staying on target with this effort,” UVI President Dr. LaVerne Ragster said upon signing the agreement yesterday. “The territory now has a new foundation charged with doing great things.” Dr. Habtes is the executive direc- tor of the University’s center for the disabled. Through the Assistive Technology Loan Program, disabled individu- als, their family members or authorized representatives will be able to obtain assistive technology devices that will improve their func- tional capability and quality of life. Assistive technology devices include wheelchairs, hearing aids, text telephones, computer talking software, computers, Braille printers, optical scanners, as well as home and van modifications. Disabled to Qualify for Low-Interest Loans “The territory now has a new foundation charged with doing great things.” Dr. Yegin Habtes, Executive Director of the University’s center for the disabled ONCAMPUS S ummer took a salty turn for 48 Virgin Islands high school students enrolled in the 2004 Summer Science Enrichment Academy on the St. Thomas campus of the University of the Virgin Islands. The academy exposes V.I. youngsters to the wide variety of opportunities available in the medical and science professions. The students live in the dormitories, getting a taste of college life, and have a chance to make new friends from throughout the territory. In a break from five weeks of classroom sessions and land-based field trips, the students boarded the UVI research vessel “Willy Mac II” for beach cleanup trips in July. Their destination was St. Thomas’ Perseverance Bay, one mile west of the MacLean Marine Science Center dock. On the rocky beach they collected more than 1,000 pounds of trash and debris, learning first-hand the extent and effects of modern pollution. The UVI program was begun in 1991 as the Health Careers Opportunity Program. Its scope expanded in 2000, with the addition of grant funding from the National Science Foundation. That same year Junior Summer Science Academies were begun on UVI’s St. Croix campus for seventh and eighth grade students. The 2004 Junior Academies enrolled 60 students from the territory. UVI’s Summer Science Enrichment Academies program is made possible by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Health and Human Services - Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Jones-Byran Holloway Foundation. Summer Turns Salty at UVI for V.I. High School Students UVI ASSIGNMENT: Summer Science Academy Assistant Coordinator Brittany Marshall hands out an assignment at the beginning of the Summer Science Academy boat-beach trip to Perseverance Bay. UVI INSTRUCTIONS: Summer Science Academy Instructor Dr. Adam Parr explains the procedure for timing the boat trip from the UVI dock on the St. Thomas campus to Perseverence Bay at the beginning of the Summer Science Acad St. Thomas. UVI CREW: Virgin Islands high school students enrolled in UVI’s Summer Science Enrichment Academy program prepare to haul off the debris they collected in a beach cleanup field trip at Perseverance Bay. 15 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 ONCAMPUS Diving in Guam UVI marine biology major Emily Broderick and Christy Loomis, an assistant data manager in UVI’s Eastern Caribbean Center, spent six weeks over the summer of 2003 studying coral reefs in Guam. “It was very intense and I learned a lot,” Broderick said. “The reefs are a huge resource – especially for island communities.” Broderick and Loomis were chosen to participate in the all-expenses-paid trip by a competitive application process. The six-week course in coral reef monitoring and management was taught by scientists from the University of Guam, the University of Hawaii, the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Florida. Both women took a UVI marine ecology course during the spring of 2003, which helped to prepare them for their Guam experience. Broderick was the only undergraduate selected to participate. The other students were graduate students or working professionals. Although she was accustomed to diving in the Caribbean and had observed some 40 species of coral in the Virgin Islands, Broderick said diving in Pacific waters was a breathtaking experience. “There were so many species I had never seen before,” she said. There are just hundreds of species. It’s a woven tapestry of color and life.” Presenting Research One of the most important opportunities for professional development for UVI students is travel to scientific conferences. Sixteen UVI students attended the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in San Diego From October 15 to 24, 2003, where they presented their findings as posters or oral presentations. Funding for the conference attendees was supported by grants UVI received from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. In February 2004 four UVI students won awards at the annual National Science Foundation’s HBCU-UP conference, held at North Carolina A&T University. More than 15 universities competed, with more than 100 posters and in excess of 60 oral presentations given. The conference was held to showcase student research in science, technology, engineering and math. Kevin Mills placed first in the poster exhibits for mathematics. Rachel Lasley took second place for her oral presentation in the biology division. Thora Henry came in second for her oral presentation in chemistry. Alkin Paul claimed third place in the poster exhibits in biology. Fourteen other UVI students participated in the conference, with travel supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Student Research Conducting research and studying abroad go hand- in-hand, as many UVI students have discovered. 16 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 ONCAMPUS ONCAMPUS UVI marine biology major Emily Broderick. 17 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 OUT&ABOUT P erhaps it was the colorful costumes, the well thought-out themes or the dance routines. Perhaps it was a combina- tion of all. No matter the reasons, the UVI family celebrated as its floupe (float plus troupe) in the 2004 St. Thomas Carnival Adults’ Parade won first place and its troupe in the Children’s Parade won second place. The UVI floupe was themed “Knowledge, Culture and More for Carnival 2004” and depicted various cultures that contributed to knowledge in the region. Red raffia skirts and beaded red neck pieces were reminiscent of the Dogon tribe of Mali, white togas and purple and gold gladiator costumes depicted the Greco-Romans, and orange and black skirts with matching triangular neck pieces signified the local Tainos. On the float was a brain con- structed to symbolize knowledge. UVI’s own Peas Soup band provided the music. UVI Communications Supervisor Cherie Wheatley has been chairwoman of the St. Thomas campus Community Engagement Committee, the group that organizes UVI’s annual Adult’s Parade entry, for the past four years. She credits UVI’s winning entries to the winning attitude of her committee members. “The committee I have had the opportu- nity to work with over the last four years is made up of serious individuals who are all committed to being culture bearers,” Wheatley said. “Our desire to keep the spirit of Virgin Islands culture alive here at UVI, along with a competitive spirit, are the driving forces that yield us a win year after year.” Other elements that contribute to winning entries include solid educational and cultural themes, creative costume design, enthusiastic participants and dedicated volunteers. The UVI Cooperative Extension Service’s 4-H troupe won double accolades. 4-H’s Monetrick Olive and Kahlid Blyden won the Junior Queen and King of the Band titles, respectively. Olive’s costume portrayed a fan dancer. Rose-patterned lace, fabric trimmed with frills, and gold lamé made up Olive’s four-foot-high and eight-foot- wide fan costume. Blyden’s eight-foot-wide costume portrayed Pancho, a Mexican boy, who guards the South of the Border bill- board, a tourist landmark that marks the border between North Carolina and South Carolina. Pancho’s magical hat grows larger and larger as the sun gets hotter. UVI’s Family Life Center (FLC) Pan Panthers gave impressive performances in both the Steel Band Jamboree and the Children’s Parade. Members of Pan Panthers were made up of the students from the FLC, some of their family mem- bers and members of the UVI staff. They learned six performance tunes, including, “Children are the Future,” “Beating Iron” and “Look the Band Coming.” Dressed in white tops, madras bottoms and matching madras head pieces, 24 members of the band pounded out calypso tunes down the parade route. FLC Director Carmen Rogers- Green lauded the steel band’s instructor Samuel Lawrence for “always challenging these kids to their best.” The assistant instructor is St. Clair DeSilva. UVI is well on its way to creating a carnival legacy. Carnival Successes Build a Cultural Legacy “Our desire to keep the spirit of Virgin Islands culture alive here at UVI, along with a competitive spirit, are the driving forces that yield us a win year after year.” – Cherie Wheatley C rouched in the cabin of a 402 Cessna airplane while surrounded by live stock, Drs. Robert Godfrey and Bethany Bradford made a 500-mile flight from St. Thomas to Haiti. There they delivered five sheep and seven goats donated by the people of the Virgin Islands and UVI’s Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) to Heifer Project International (HPI). Dr. Bradford, a veterinarian at the V.I. Department of Agriculture, contacted HPI with an offer of assistance. Then she contacted Dr. Godfrey, the assistant director of UVI-AES, who willingly endorsed the project. “We are physically located in the Caribbean and it’s just good for us to work with our neighbors,” Dr. Godfrey said. He added that it is the Experiment Station’s responsibility to promote island agriculture systems. Through HPI the animals were given to farmer associations that are part of two projects on Haiti. HPI participants receive training in animal husbandry, are required to build adequate housing, plant improved forages and keep records on the animals. HPI has technicians that visit the associations monthly to monitor their progress. Two hair sheep from UVI’s animal science program on St. Croix were given to the University in Les Cayes for its breeding program, and one of the Boer goats from a St. Thomas farmer was given to the Christian Veterinary Mission, which distributes improved livestock throughout Haiti. The other animals were donated by Dr. Bradford and St. Thomas livestock farmers Sinclair Hamm, Arthur Harthmann, Buddy Henneman and Eugene Peters. The animals were tested for a variety of diseases by the National Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, prior to shipment. The flight to Haiti was provided by Coastal Air Transport. Look! Up in the air, it’s a … goat? At top, Dr. Robert Godfrey accompanies Virgin Islands livestock to Haiti. One of the Virgin Islands animals enroute to a new home. Dr. Bethany Bradford, right, supervises the transport of St. Thomas livestock in preparation for the flight to Haiti. 18 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 OUT&ABOUT 19 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 A mid the ruins of the ancient Aztec pyramids in Mexico UVI students are testing their command of the Spanish language and expanding their knowledge of history. “Mexico is full of history . . . The history here is not hidden, it is very obvious,” said UVI sophomore Terisha Fahie, who spent one semester studying in Mexico. In increasing numbers, Fahie and other UVI students are signing up to complete their foreign language requirement on a separate continent. Through an exchange program between UVI and the Universidad Internacional, The Center for Bilingual Multicultural Studies (UNINTER) in Cuernavaca, Mexico, UVI students can earn all 12 of their Spanish credits in one semester – and there are no prerequisites. “Actually we want students to take advantage of the option to do all their Spanish there,” said UVI Assistant Professor of Spanish Violeta Donovan. Championed by Professor Donovan, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the two universities in 2002. The exchange program enables UVI students to spend one summer or one semester studying in Mexico, and for students at UNINTER to study for one summer or one semester at UVI. The exchange agreement with UNINTER is the first for UVI with a foreign institution outside of the region. During the semester of exchange the students pay tuition and all fees to their respective schools and only have to pay for their airfare to the exchange institution. When students arrive at UNINTER they are tested in order to determine their level of fluency in Spanish. They are then placed in appropriate classes, which are held daily from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The time after 2 p.m. is spent participating in extra curricular activities at the school and with host fami- lies, with whom the students live for the duration of the semester. The students from UNINTER live at the dormitories on UVI’s St. Thomas campus and usually take a full load of courses, including an English as a second language course. For Cinthya Rodriquez Brito, who spent one semester at UVI, learning English is imperative for a lucrative career in Mexico. “To get a good job they demand both languages,” Brito said. She added that because the U.S. and Mexico are so close it only makes sense that the people of both countries learn each others language. Brito explained that the different accents and dialects spoken in the Virgin Islands presented an additional challenge in learn- ing English. However, she made friends who helped her to understand local dialect. The exchange students are encouraged to speak the language of the country they are in at all times – no matter their level of fluency. Professor Donovan said that the exchange allows students to learn a second language in the country in which it is spoken while immersing students in a different culture. “It’s a very holistic way of learning,” she said. Marquex Boynton can attest to that. “The best benefit (of the program) is not in the classes but living with your host family,” said Boynton, a UVI junior. Boynton lived with a middle class family and spent many afternoons talking to them and watch- ing Spanish television programs in addition to completing homework. During the week- end he explored the country. For Spring break he visited the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. Boynton, who had failed one of the two Spanish classes he took at UVI, is now quite ¡VivaMexico! UVI Students Immerse Themselves in Spanish Celeste Radelet, Terisha Fahie, Marquex Boyton and Tequasi Hendricks spent one semester in Mexico. OUT&ABOUT OUT&ABOUT fluent in Spanish. “I’m seeing how much I’ve evolved,” said Boynton, who entered UNINTER at a level 1, the lowest level – and left at a level 3.2. He even kept a diary, in Spanish, which helped to improve his grades. “The school is set up where you feel very comfortable,” said UVI sophomore Celeste Radelet. She noted the 5-to-1 student-to- instructor ratio. “The atmosphere is easy to learn in and the faculty is determined to see students excel,” Radelet said. Language-related courses are not the only ones available. UVI freshman Tequasi Hendricks took an introductory accounting course at UNINTER. That class, of course, was taught in Spanish. After overcoming the initial difficulty of the first week of class, Hendricks was able to understand all of the concepts and went on to pass the class with a 90 percent. She said that the Mexico experience boosted her confidence in speaking the language. It boosted Fahie’s confidence also. “I know for sure that my Spanish has improved because I now think in Spanish,” she said. “When people ask a question, I can answer immediately without translating in my mind.” All of the students initially experienced culture shock when they first arrived in Mexico, but it soon wore off. The culture shock went both ways though. Boynton said that he was the first person of African descent that many of the people he came in contact with had seen. He had to field questions like, “do you know Bob Marley?” and “can I touch your hair?” “It got to the point that they were taking pictures of me and I’m in like all the local papers,” Boynton said. Boynton, Fahie, Radelet and Hendricks spent the Spring 2004 semester at UNINTER, meeting their UVI foreign language require- ment. Their travel to Mexico was sponsored in part by E.D. Plumbing on St. Thomas. UVI students also have the option of studying French in fulfillment of the foreign language requirement. “The school is set up where you feel very comfortable. The atmosphere is easy to learn in and the faculty is determined to see students excel.” - CELESTE RADELET, UVI Sophomore OUT&ABOUT 21 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 Professor, Author, Historian, Calypsonian D R H O L L I S L I V E R P O O L . Dr. ‘Chalkdust’ by Karen Gutloff Photos by Eric Johnson 22 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 “Look at this!” he says. “This student lists five or six citations and sources at the end of the paper. But none of them are referred to in the text. They can’t fool me!” He furiously scribbles a series of notes on the paper. The telephone rings. A student is on the line pleading for more time to get in a final project. “If you want to graduate, get your work in today!” he says firmly into the telephone. If that’s not bad enough, Liverpool is having a bad sinus attack, made worse by a recent airplane trip. Turning back to his stack of papers, he says, “I will fail them if they do not perform! They know I’m very hard, but very fair. I have high standards - university standards.” Indeed, in two years at the University of the Virgin Islands, students have come to know Liverpool as a professor with rigorous standards and a passion for unraveling the mysteries of history and sociology. Administrators and faculty, in the Caribbean and U.S. mainland, admire Liverpool for stimulating lectures in the social sciences, as well as his authorship of a half dozen books on Caribbean culture. To many people in the Caribbean, however, Liverpool is simply “Chalkdust” - the small-framed, master calypsonian with the trademark white beard, who provokes smiles, nods and outright laughter as he puts the community’s social and political foibles into song. Each of these personas shares a single trait: a high standard for excellence. The Education of Hollis Liverpool The Liverpool standard of excellence got its genesis long ago in Chaguaranus, a small U.S. Army basis in Trinidad, where his father worked. Hollis was born there in 1941. “I actually grew up in a small village in Trinidad called Laventille Hill. I never knew I was poor. It was a middle class community. We had to dress well on Sundays and we rode our bicycles. People were friendly and respected the village authority,” Liverpool says. Hollis Liverpool came of age in the Catholic school system during the late 1940s and 1950s. Polite company might say it was the system’s emphasis on discipline that brought about his love of learning. Liverpool, however, states it more plainly. “It came from licks and blows,” he says laughing at the memory. “I’m talking about real blows. I remember I got 20 strokes on my pants in primary school. Those teachers would wail us, man. I remember one teacher in particular, when he finished with me, I couldn’t sit down.” It’s one day before final grades are due for the Spring 2004 semester and Dr. Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool is not having the best day. Hunched over a stack of student papers, Dr. Liverpool, assistant professor of sociology at the University of the Virgin Islands St. Thomas campus, flips through the pages, shaking his head in dismay. 23 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 The young Liverpool earned good “O levels” in the British-based school system in Trinidad, excelling at St. Mary’s College - a secondary school. A family misfortune, however, took him out of school and on the hunt for a job. “My mother died, so I had to go to work. I went to a priest and asked him to give me a recommendation to join an airline company,” he says. Divine intervention, of a different kind, however, put him on the path to teaching. “While I was there talking to the priest, it was as if someone else was talking to the priest while I was there. I heard this voice say, ‘Go and teach, son. God wants you to be a teacher.’” I said, ‘What?’ I left there and applied to the Catholic board to become a teacher.” He pauses at the memory. “I don’t tell many people that, but it’s true.” Liverpool attended Teachers Training College, graduating in 1966 with a teacher’s diploma. He eventually enrolled at the University of the West Indies. At UWI, medicine was his first choice of study - with one small problem. “That was my first love but I couldn’t see blood,” he says with disdain on his face. He switched to the law program, and began taking courses in history. It was a subject that caught on like fire and became the beginning of what he calls his “magnificent obsession.” Liverpool’s voice is filled with passion and zeal at the mere mention of the word “history.” “When you study history, life unfolds itself. There is a history of everything. To understand the world, to understand yourself, to have a sense of identity, you have to have a sense of history,” he says. After receiving his degree in social studies, in 1977, he earned a master’s degree in histo- ry at UWI. Today, his bookshelves are overflowing with titles on history and culture of the Caribbean: “The Growth of the Modern West Indies,” “Carib Slave Society & Economy,” “Ideology of Racism.” “When I first began to study history, I was studying world history and Caribbean history. When I began to study Caribbean history, I Photo by Eric Johnson The Mighty Chalkdust performs during Virgin Islands Carnival 2004 24 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 began to see what our people did, our customs,” he says. “And, I saw African history when I studied that. You can’t study Caribbean history in a vacuum. You have to study and understand European history, African history. And so I began to see the links.” Those links between European, African and Caribbean history inspired him to pursue both a master’s and doctorate degree at the University of Michigan. He earned a master’s degree in African History in 1990 and a Ph.D. in history/ethnomusicology in 1993. Carnival: Looking Beyond the Fete Liverpool’s dissertation - “Rituals of Power and Rebellion: The Carnival Tradition in Trinidad and Tobago, 1783-1962” - is the basis of a course he’s taught on the St. Thomas campus for the past three years. It was also the genesis for his book of the same name, published in 2001. The book is a comprehensive treatise of the African and European influence on the evolution of Caribbean Carnival. The book - and the course - looks at Carnival from a sociological standpoint. Swiveling in his chair, Liverpool explains, “Carnival is not just a fete. It is an African tradition that goes back way past the history of the Caribbean. It’s a festival celebrating freedom.” “The goal is to see Carnival within the social science dilemma,” he explains. For example, for one segment of the course he has students study the “economy of Carnival,” looking at the impact of the event on major players from costume designers and pan players to hotel operators. And, for the 2004 Virgin Islands Carnival celebration on St. Thomas, students were required to write final papers on sociologi- cal aspects of the event. Students wrote papers titled: “Carnival and Double Consciousness” and “History of the Hugga Bunch Troupe.” Students who take the course have to be prepared to take a hands-on look at Carnival festivities. “I had a student who said, ‘I’m Seventh Day (Adventist) so I’m not going to the Carnival village.’ Well, that student can’t pass my course,” he says adamantly. “You don’t have to partake of Carnival, but you have to know of it. You have to know why things are. When you see a woman ‘wining up’ during Carnival, you have to know why she is doing that.” His course, “Introduction to Social Sciences,” also requires students to immerse themselves in Caribbean culture. Liverpool uses data from the Caribbean to teach geography, history, anthropology, sociology and psychology. “We have a standing joke in the class when we’re talking about language,” he says. “I have a class of students from various Caribbean cultures. I ask each one, ‘Where you come from, how do you say, ‘My girl- friend is cheating on me?’ They came up with 14 different ways - phrases. It’s a whole exposé of Caribbean culture.” The Rise of “Chalkdust” Liverpool’s most recent book, “Straight From the Horse’s Mouth,” tackles a subject of Caribbean culture even more dear to his heart - calypso. The book features interviews and stories of more than a dozen top Trinidadian calyp- sonians and ranks as perhaps the most comprehensive look at the artform. Liverpool’s eyes twinkle when he reflects on his own beginnings as a calypsonian - starting as a student at secondary school. “In secondary school we used to com- pose songs for our football tournaments. All through the match we’d sing. Our school was CIC – College of Immaculate Conception. And our rival was QRC – Queens Royal College. So I wrote a song that said, ‘Send your songs to CIC and your dogs to QRC,’” he says with a hearty laugh. “That’s when my composing started.” He was also inspired to study music at age 16 after writing a school essay on “Music and the Listener.” “I researched Winston Spree Simon, the man who invented the steel pan. I couldn’t go to established musicians so I went to him and he was so glad to see me. My essay was read to the whole school, man! It was an assignment, but that opened my mind to research,” Liverpool notes. Chalkdust the calypsonian, however, was truly born when he entered college. “Somebody cheated on an examination and we were told that everybody in the school had to do over the whole exam,” he recalls. “So I composed a song about that. I wrote the chorus, ‘Whoever write that exam, we sorry for they bam bam!’ The whole college was singing the song.” The name “Chalkdust” however, would come much later. And contrary to what many people may think, the name has nothing to do with his with his chalky white beard. “Chalkdust came from a book written by a Mr. D’Wilton Rogers, a teacher of sociolo- gy. He made sociology come alive, man!” he says animatedly. “Rogers wrote a book called ‘Chalkdust’ in which he was looking at the problems of teachers in denomina- tional or parochial schools in the British islands. The priests really controlled the schools. “When I joined the teaching profession, I “Somebody cheated on an examination and we were told that everybody in the school had to do over the whole exam,” 25 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 got into problems with priests. I met a priest telling me I can’t do this or I can’t do that. For example, he accused me of teaching children anti-Catholicism, because I was teaching about God,” he says, pausing. “He wanted me to teach the catechism word for word.” Leaning forward, Liverpool continues, “I told him, ‘I can’t teach that. I’ll teach them about God, teach them their faith, but not to learn things by heart.’ He accused me of breaking the system and wrote to the archbishop about getting rid of me.” “When I began to sing calypso, I remem- bered Rogers’ book on the system, and called myself, ‘Chalkdust’,” Liverpool says. “Rogers helped orient my teaching and made me the teacher I am today.” The story of the white beard, though, is one that makes one pause, shudder and contemplate the divine. It’s one Liverpool recounts reluctantly, after some prodding. “My beard turned white in Michigan in 1989. Just like that, with no warning.” He explains that while awaiting a flight in the Detroit airport, he got into a pro- longed conversation with a fellow traveler about Trinidad history and missed his flight. Moments later, that airplane crashed into the road. “The same plane I was going to take,” he says softly. “So, history saved my life. In about a week my beard turned white. The doctor said the fear, the reality of death changed my hormones and the beard turned white on its own.” That divine intervention has personal and global implications. Such a loss may have been too much for the academic and calypso world to take. After years of honing his craft, Liverpool is respected as a master calypsonian in the tradition of Mighty Sparrow and Lord Kitchener. “All good calypsonians are inspired by Sparrow and Kitchener,” he says. “I used to also listen to Bomber and Mighty Composer and Nap Hepburn. They were my idols. Just outstanding!” He recites, with pride, the rigorous rites of passage calypsonians endured to make it to the big stage. “Kitchener used to have auditions on a Sunday morning for those who wanted to be in his tent. His yard would be packed with calypsonians – fellows under a mango tree rehearsing their songs,” he recalls. “Kitchener would be on the gallery listening to them. Someone would come before him and sing one line: “I meet a gyal last night…” And he’d say, “Next!” Liverpool still shakes his head in awe. “It was no joke, you know. When Kitchener allowed them to sing a whole verse of calypso, it was a great damn calypso.” The budding calypsonian paid close attention to those yard sessions, honing his own composing and singing skills He competed in the Buy Local competi- tions in Trinidad and won third place while still a college student – a prestigious honor. In 1968 he auditioned for a calypso tent and was invited to open the program. His first big calypso was a song titled, “Brain Photo by Ethelbert Bedminster Dr. Liverpool instructs students on the St. Thomas campus. 26 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 Drain,” sung in 1968, about Trinidad’s teachers leaving for Canada. “I always liked political and social com- mentary. I have never sung about sex and those things. I grew up in a real Catholic environment both at home and at school. I grew up to respect women,” Liverpool notes. After a series of local competi- tions, Chalkdust performed before Sparrow, Kitchener and other mas- ters of the art on the big stage in Port O’ Spain in 1976. He won his first Calypso monarchy. He has competed every year since then, going on to win Calypso King of the Worldin St. Thomas eight times between 1973 and 1985. He was twice crowned World Calypso Monarch in New York. In his home, Trinidad, he won the Calypso Monarch title in 1977, 1981, 1989, 1993 and most recently, February 2004. Liverpool captured his latest crown on the strength of the song “Trinidad in the Cemetery.” “That was about how the morals and values that we had are buried in the cemetery with our ancestors,” he says. Liverpool says he’s had many calypso monarchy wins that went to someone else. “People in Trinidad will tell you I won for the past three years, but I didn’t get the crown. I couldn’t win it in 2001 because Sugar Aloes was singing a song extolling the favors of the government. It was celebration time and they were celebrating an election victory. Nobody could have beaten him. But calypso for calypso, everyone knew I won,” Liverpool says matter-of-factly. He’s not bitter about those results and doesn’t place blame. “In 1973, I sang a calypso (breaks into song) ‘Until I die, you’ll hear my cry.’ I just sing, win or lose.” In fact, he criticizes many of today’s calypsonians for backbiting their peers and public fighting over competition results. “You have to pay your dues. To be a calypsonian in Trinidad, you had to win a competition in your village, then win the crown in your county before you attempted to come in town to Port Of Spain and get on the national stage,” he notes. “We had to go through auditions before they selected us. They would tell you, ‘Go fix that song, change them lines and come back.’” Today’s competitors, he says, “don’t understand calypso.” “The name calypsonian meant that you were a master of the lyrical word. That’s where the art form came from. Now, a fel- low feels that he can drop two or three lines and he’s a calypsonian.” He calls many of today’s artists “journal- ists.” “They sing literally what they see. There is no double entendre or word play. I can sing on something or someone without calling their name - that’s the art of calypso,” he explains. Liverpool’s songs are in no way limited to Trinidadian life. He’s penned songs about Black history, Caribbean heroes, and the social politics of the wider Caribbean. During St. Thomas Carnival, he wowed the crowd at Lionel Roberts Stadium during the International Calypso Revue, singing “The Dump.” “The song is about the important papers found lying in the public dump in Bovoni,” he says, before breaking into song: “Just because I teaching history, Lord Blakey took me up to Bovoni. He said the dump in Bovoni have plenty history, that St. Thomians dem never see. So, like a scavenger bird I went and dig and if you see things I see. I see a long letter with names in red, from the St. Croix health Commissioner. Big men would fall, good Lord, so I can’t call dey name. It’s a big, big ex-senator, a really just preacher, is a list of men in the territory who sick with HIV. I find all these names lying openly in the dump over at Bovoni.” By now, the sinus medication has kicked in and Liverpool is feeling a bit better. He logs the last of his student grades into an Excel spreadsheet on the computer screen. The next day he is scheduled to board a plane to Trinidad. Each summer he heads to his home on the island, where he spends time in the town square, talking to folks, catching up on social and political happen- ings. That information will be used to compose songs for the upcoming calypso competition. While in Trinidad this summer, Liverpool will also conduct interviews for his newest book project, a look at the role of “Bad Johns” in Trinidad Carnival. In between those projects he’ll also travel to St. Maarten to present a paper on the “History of Carnival” at the University of St. Maarten and to New York to sing at calypso events. Historian, sociologist, calypsonian, author, teacher. Dr. Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool blends each role with passion and energy. That’s why he has no tolerance for students who do not take their education seriously. Restacking his graded papers, he says, “I have taught in Connecticut, Oregon, Michigan, Trinidad. A university student must be able to perform at university level, to write and express himself, to analyze.” He adds, “On the first day of class, I ask students to write a paper. It’s only worth 10 of 100 points. One time 15 of the students walked out. They said they were not writing since it’s only 10 points. I gave them all incompletes. They cussed me! But I told them, ‘This is the university, this is not high school. What we try to teach you here is you have to work’! ” ✸ “…‘This is the university, this is not high school. What we try to teach you here is you have to work! ’” 28 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 In a perfect world, proponents of alternative energy envision all of us zipping around in electric vehicles along roads lined with turbines instead of telephone poles, shopping in stores where compact fluorescent bulbs are as common as coffee makers and living in neighborhoods where solar panels are standard in every home. Also standard in this alternative energy utopia are solar hot water heaters and timers, low-flow show- erheads and many other energy-saving devices that are only now catching on in our world. Some of us may already have one foot in this perfect world, especially in the Virgin Islands where saving water, for example, makes low-flow showerheads commonplace. Regardless of your familiarity with the world of sustainable energy – also called ‘alternative’ energy - or your use of energy-saving devices such as solar panels, it makes sense to ask what more this world can offer us and how it affects us in the Virgin Islands. John Munro, an associate professor of computer information systems at the University of the Virgin Islands’ St. Croix campus, said the abundant sunshine that makes tourism the mainstay of the Virgin Islands economy also makes it the perfect proving ground for new solar energy-related technology. Munro said now more than ever, affordable new technology is needed to offset uncertain oil prices that could leave poorer countries in danger of depleting their natural resources – as Haiti has. Once a country begins losing its natural resources it generally begins losing its tourist appeal as well, since natural resources such as trees lend the beauty and greenery tourists enjoy. For this and many other reasons the Caribbean’s reliance on alterna- tive energy is essential to its future. “Alternative technology is guaranteed to become a crucial source of energy,” Munro said. BRIGHT HORIZONS: The Powerhouse Potential of Virgin Islands Natural Resources and Alternative Energy Research at the University of the Virgin Islands by Catherine Fahy Photo by Tina Henle “Alternative technology is guaranteed to become a crucial source of energy.” Professor John Munro 29 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 Not that standard energy sources such as electricity generated by the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority (WAPA) will become obsolete. While it’s possible to live ‘off the grid’ as a handful of residents already do in the Virgin Islands, most of us will always rely at least in part on electric power from WAPA. In a perfect world, WAPA would continue doing what it does best, Munro said – with a little help from the sun and the wind. “We can blend the two and coexist with the energy grid,” he said. What’s encouraging and even a little surprising to local proponents of alternative energy is that unlike many utility companies in the United States, WAPA fully supports and even facilitates alternative energy research. In 2003, WAPA’s research and projects coordinator, May Adams Cornwall guided UVI towards the receipt of its first solar energy research grant from the American Public Power Association (APPA), the largest membership organization in the U.S. utility industry. Cornwall said WAPA is very much behind lending its resources to UVI’s pursuit of additional energy research grants. “I hope this is just the beginning of energy research at the university,” she said. WAPA’s support of energy research at UVI, plus steps UVI President Dr. LaVerne Ragster is taking to form partnerships with several ener- gy-related organizations in the territory underline the growth of ener- gy research at UVI, said Munro. It also hints to the potential of the Virgin Islands’ becoming a pioneer in a world where electricity from the sun and the wind and even the ocean currents is accepted as a viable, complementary and reliable alternative to hydrocarbon fuel. In the beginning… Few people in the Virgin Islands know more about the potential of energy efficient technology than Andre Francis and Sabrina Valdivia, the two UVI students whose research caught Cornwall’s eye and prompted her to think they’d be good candidates for an APPA grant. Her instinct was uncanny. Not only did Francis and Valdivia win UVI’s first APPA scholarship grant, they also helped the territory take its first step towards establishing a reputation as a leading incubator of cutting-edge energy efficient technology. What’s more, their study comparing the efficiency of stationary versus tracking solar panels made a surprising discovery. Francis and Valdivia based their study – called Solar Energy: The Efficiency of Panel Tracking Systems – on the premise that stationary panels do not generate as much energy as tracking panels because tracking pan- els are inherently designed to produce more energy by tracking the path of the sun throughout the day. But since most tracking panel systems are designed, manufactured and sold in areas farther from the equator than the Caribbean, where the direct rays from the sun are weaker, the study found the energy required for the tracking panels to follow the sun here, plus the con- siderable wear and tear they incur, make stationary panels a better choice in the Caribbean. “Because we get such a surplus we do not need the tracking system,” Francis said. Besides being unnecessary, he said tracking systems are more expensive. Francis called his project’s discovery “enlightening” but said it is just the beginning. Next, he said consumers should have a method or a meter, for example, to deter- mine how a particular solar panel will perform according to their location and how they plan to position the panel. “I would say in the future this would be extremely useful if you’re really going to go and develop solar panel research,” he said. “We need to develop some sophisticated systems.” Also necessary is more research into storing surplus solar energy, which in most cases goes unused if it is not captured by battery banks that are generally too expensive for the average consumer. “You really need to find a way to store all this energy so I think we still need to do a lot of research,” Francis said. Ironically, neither Francis nor Valdivia was a big alternative energy buff before they began their project, which was launched at the urging of Munro and Dr. Velma Tyson, a UVI mathematics professor on the St. Croix campus. In fact, Valdivia’s interest lay more in the moon and the stars than the sun. As a math and physics major at UVI, her goal was to become an astronomer. “It started when I was five and saw the Haley Comet,” she recalled. “I wouldn’t let go of it and made them (her parents) buy me a radio telescope.” Francis, a math and chemistry major at UVI, had a little more experience with the environment closer to home, having been “Under Dr. Ragster’s leadership the University has really taken off in a very convincing and tangible way towards the pursuit and study of energy efficient and renewable energy technology,” V.I. Energy Office Director Victor Somme III Sabrina Valdivia Andre Francis interested enough in the related field of environmental pollution to invent a crude oil cleaning system that he said is now on file with the U.S. Patent Office. “I’ve always been interested in the environment,” he said. Few research projects develop in a vacuum and Francis and Valdivia began developing theirs in 2002 as part of a summer program for emerging scientists. Their collaboration led Valdivia to present a poster at an annual science research symposium for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) hosted that year by Tuskegee University. Although the project consisted of borrowed materials and, according to Valdivia, was essentially finished when it was presented as a poster, it nevertheless won a prize. From there, it became the topic of the feature story in the St. Croix Avis that caught Cornwall’s eye. At the time, in early 2003, Cornwall was becoming more aware of the growing interest in renewable energy through WAPA’s developing partnership with the Virgin Islands Energy Office. Recognizing the study’s potential and assuming it shared the funding needs of research projects everywhere, Cornwall drew on her knowledge of grants and targeted the APPA’s Demonstration of Energy Efficient Development (DEED) Program as the study’s best potential source of grant funding. Cornwall arranged a meeting with Francis and Valdivia through Munro, who said Cornwall’s interest came as a complete surprise. “I never expected to get that call,” Munro said. “We thought the project was over.” A legacy of energy research… Based in Washington, D.C., the APPA DEED Program has been funding energy-related projects in the utilities industry for nearly a quarter of a century, said DEED Program Manager Michelle Ghosh. The program awards 10 grants a year in varying amounts for energy- related projects at utilities with dual memberships in the APPA and the DEED Program. Among the APPA’s 2,000 members, about 600, or slightly less than one third, also belong to the DEED Program. Grant scholarships like the one UVI received are awarded twice a year, Ghosh said, for energy education research projects sponsored by a DEED Program member. To promote energy education, dual-member utilities such as WAPA can sponsor a project at a school in their area. According to Cornwall, WAPA had never been a sponsor before 2003 but turned out to have made a worthwhile choice its first time out when it helped Francis and Valdivia win the Virgin Islands’ first APPA DEED Program scholarship grant. Along with considerable recognition, Francis and Valdivia received $4,000 to continue their research. They didn’t suffer the fate of many in their position, whose life’s work is stalled or abandoned for lack of funding. In the larger context of the general community, the DEED Program grant is tangible proof of the Virgin Islands’ potential to become a powerhouse of energy-related research and development, not to mention a proving ground for energy-efficient products and devices. “We have a backyard full of opportunities,” Cornwall said, refer- ring to abundant wind and sun as the most obvious opportunities, plus the lesser-known and more recent discovery of deep ocean currents as a source of renewable energy available in the Caribbean. Valdivia said that’s what makes her continued research so interest- ing. “The project may be fun but there’s so much more we can do with it,” she said. “You can start with one project and just keep going.” In March, the University made a significant step towards taking advantage of the renewable energy opportunities in its backyard when it finished the largest solar lighting installation on any U.S. college campus on UVI’s St. Croix campus. Size matters little without function, of course, but by the time classes let out in May the solar lights had proven their worth and illuminated the campus every night without fail. A significant factor working against more widespread use of solar energy is cost. The initial price tag on a project the size of UVI’s, with 66 solar-powered streetlights and four solar-powered flashing cross- walk lights, is approximately $330,000. Fortunately for UVI, much of the price of its solar installation was paid for with a $275,000 grant from the V.I. Energy Office, which in turn receives support from the U.S. Department of Energy and other sources of federal funding. Energy Office Director Victor Somme III praised UVI and its new, progressively minded president, Dr. Ragster. “Under Dr. Ragster’s leadership the University has really taken off in a very convincing and tangible way towards the pursuit and study of energy efficient and renewable energy technology,” Somme said. “The installation signifies the university’s commitment to increasing its research of renewable energy.” The University and the Energy Office stand to gain more from each other since earlier this year, with money from an anonymous donor, the Energy Office established an endowment for a new annual energy education award named after one of its former employees, Vincent D. George. The endowment is off limits for a few years while it accrues interest. Somme said that once it can be tapped into, the endowment will be used for the winner of the Vincent D. George Award, who will participate in a paid internship at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab in Boulder, Colo. “This is the first award of its kind in the territory,” Somme said, adding that he hopes that by the time the first award is ready to be presented, there will be a large pool of talented students to choose from. 30 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 Other projects in the pipeline at the Energy Office that the University will likely be involved in are the installation of wind anemometers and wind turbines on St. Thomas, plans to monitor wind pattern, flow and speed on St. Croix and ultimately plans to install wind turbines throughout the territory. While Francis and Valdivia will probably be well into their professional careers by the time any of these projects begin, they would both like to see the wake of energy efficient research expand behind them. With a little more support from the local government and more understanding of the need to pay up front for the installation of technology that will more than pay off that installation cost in the long run, Valdivia said the territory can reduce its reliance on the mainland. “We need to be able to support ourselves because we’re so far away from the mainland,” she said. Valdivia, 22, was born in Chile and moved to the Virgin Islands when she was 14. She said it is relatively easy for students presently studying science at UVI – or those planning on studying science – to find a mentor and move ahead with groundbreaking research. “Because we’re small we can get attention that not many other students can get at other universities,” she said. “I’ve seen a number of students at UVI do really well.” Francis said he hopes to be at the forefront of future energy- related research in the territory. For starters, he said he envisions designing and implementing a digital electric meter reader that displays, with split-second accuracy, how much energy has been consumed in a household since the last billing cycle, how much is being consumed at any given moment and an up-to-the-minute detail of costs incurred in the present billing cycle. Francis said he thinks it’s possible that if consumers want to see what’s draw- ing the most power in their households at a particular moment, the meter reader he has in mind will tally the total amount of power a household is using, divide it according to how much each operating electric device is using and determine how much each device costs to operate. Francis said his design won’t be a high-tech toy but a tool to give consumers greater control of their electric bills. He said he envisions businesses using it to adjust overhead for greater profits or people on low and fixed incomes using it to gauge precisely how much electricity they’re consuming, where they can cut back to save money and how much they can expect to spend on their next bill. “The importance of this is that many places are deep into poverty because of a lack of resources and, sadly, a lot of those places are in the tropical regions,” Francis said. “We need energy to do so much and to me the big change is in people’s attitudes and in the country’s approach.” Basically, he said, the scenarios are endless for anyone who wants to manage their money more effectively and take the guess- work out of their electric bill. One scenario might involve trying 31 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 32 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 to avoid a big electric bill spike from houseguests using the air conditioner in the spare bedroom. By determining, for example, that the freezer in the garage uses as much energy as the air conditioner, one could empty and unplug the freezer and treat the houseguests to its contents. “If you ask anyone how much energy we use on a daily basis, we can’t say, but we know how much we’re spending,” Francis said. “Seeing it going up in real digital time, broken down by appliance, that basically is what I foresee in the future. That is the be all and end all.” Unfortunately, the bridge to the perfect world of energy efficient technology development and implementation is fraught which obstacles, not the least of which is cost. Unlike the electricity that comes from wires connected to every home, electricity from the sun and the wind can’t be produced without certain equipment that can cost a lot to install. And since energy from alternative sources is still relatively new, consumers have no guarantee it will be easy and reliable, making skepticism another obstacle to more widespread use of alternative energy. The beginning of a new world… Changing the resistant, skeptical mindset of the general population toward the ultimate benefits of alternative energy is the key to making it part of the mainstream, Cornwall said. Consumer education and the successful use of incentive programs offered by the V.I. Energy Office are contributing to the develop- ment of a public-private consortium of organizations interested in furthering alternative energy research in the territory. Working together, it is hoped that the V.I. Department of Agriculture, WAPA, the V.I. Energy Office and the university will be able to identify more grants like APPA DEED to further alternative energy research in the territory and to educate the public more effectively. WAPA’s incentive, in addition to recognizing the environmental benefit of alternative energy, is avoiding the capital expenditures that will be immense and ongoing if the public continues to rely solely on electricity from WAPA, Cornwall said. “In terms of planning, we have to have 200 percent more power available than peak demand. If we get the peak load down, then we don’t need to make capital investments. We can make capital improvements instead.” Among the places in the Virgin Islands that exhibit the ease and effectiveness of alternative energy are the Nature Conservancy’s eastern Caribbean headquarters in Little Princesse on St. Croix, Mt. Victory Camp on St. Croix’s west end, Coral World on St. Thomas and numerous residential and commercial properties on St. Croix and St. John. With continued commitment on the part of the University, the Virgin Islands government and the private sector, the territory may one day be an alternative energy showplace — a perfect world where coffee makers are powered by solar energy and power outages are a thing of the past. ✸ Photo by Tina Henle Solar lights provide illumination on UVI’s St. Croix campus. acqueline Chapel-Hardy believes in signs. One day while eating breakfast at her Miami, FL, home, the UVI alumna got a sign she couldn’t ignore. She was eating and listening to the radio when she heard an advertisement for a reality show scheduled for taping in Florida that was seeking area residents as contestants. Then she turned around to read her newspaper and saw an ad for the same reality show in the paper. “I took that as a message that that was something I should be involved in,” Chapel-Hardy said. The show, “Ten Years Younger,” produced for the Discovery Health Channel by London-based Keo Films, challenged five adults to “turn back the biological clock” and lose 10 years of their lives in 10 weeks. Chapel-Hardy, who had just turned 50, called the show’s producer. She impressed the producers and was selected to be a contestant. Cameras followed the “agebusters” around as they embarked on intense diet, exercise and skin care regimens and were advised by a team of healthcare experts. Part of Chapel-Hardy’s regimen included two-hour workouts five days a week, consultations with a psychiatrist, treatments with a dermatologist and yoga once a week. The 1994 UVI graduate lost five inches from her waist and gained a refreshing new attitude. “We did things that I had never even considered doing.” One of those things included canoeing in the Everglades through a reptile-infested waterway. “I gained a sense of adventure that I felt I had lost over the years,” Chapel- Hardy said. “Now I feel like I’m in my 30s. I feel like a young girl.” Perhaps the last time that Chapel-Hardy felt so youthful was when she taught computer theory and computer applications at UVI after earning her Master in Business Administration degree there. “I loved the kids. That added to my sense of youthfulness,” she said of her teaching experience. “When the show first aired, what floored me was that everyone else all over the world was watching it,” said the Cunard Line Ltd. computer security officer and systems administrator. “Ten Years Younger,” was broadcast across the United States, Europe and Latin America. In the end, Chapel-Hardy was declared the “ winner,” having “lost the most years.” “It just turned out to be one of the most enriching experiences in my life,” the grandmother of a seven-year-old said. She still exercises and eats healthily. Chapel-Hardy encourages others to take charge of their lives by exercising, eating healthily and being adventurous. “It’s never too late. Take control of your life.” 33 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 UVI Alumna Sheds 10 Years – On Reality TV J Chapel-Hardy and fellow “agebusters” prepare for one of several televised challenges. UVI alumna Jacqueline Chapel-Hardy. ALUMNINEWS 35 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 Alumni Receptions - UVI President Dr. LaVerne E. Ragster reached out and touched someone – or rather several someones – at UVI alumni receptions held in the Washington D.C. metro area, on St. Thomas, St. Croix and the British Virgin Islands. UVI Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Auguste E. Rimpel, Jr., left, meets with Dr. Darshan Padda and family at a UVI alumni reception in Washington, D.C. ALUMNINEWS ALUMNINEWS P resident Ragster and key UVI administrators reconnected with alumni throughout the Caribbean and on the east coast of the U.S. mainland during the 2003-2004 academic year. During the receptions the University’s strategic plan, combined with Dr. Ragster’s vision and direction for the institution, which are integral to alumni involvement, sparked lively discussions between UVI administrators and alumni. The activities also served to reunite alumni and to develop a networking base. Dr. Ragster was accompanied by Dr. Auguste E. Rimpel Jr., chair of the UVI Board of Trustees, Joseph B. Boschulte, vice president for Institutional Advancement, and staff of the UVI Institutional Advancement Component. Planning meetings for upcoming receptions have been held with alumni from the Miami chapter and in the Atlanta area, where a commitment has been made to create a new chapter. 36 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 D.C., Atlanta, BVI ALUMNINEWS UVI President Dr. LaVerne E. Ragster, upper left, and UVI Alumni Affairs Supervisor Jacqueline Sprauve, far right, visit with alumni at receptions in Washington, D.C. and Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. 37 UVI MAGAZINE 2004 ACLOSINGSHOT The Heath Distinguished Speakers Forum highlighted UVI’s Charter Day - March 16, 2004. Dr. Alfred O. Heath, left, and his wife Geraldine, right, with inaugural series speaker the Hon. Ronald V. Dellums and UVI President Dr. LaVerne Ragster. University of the Virgin Islands Established 1962 #2 Jon Brewer’s Bay St. Thomas, USVI 00802-9990 www.uvi.edu Return to/address correction Public Relations Office NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID CHTLE. AMALIE VI PERMIT #17 Etleman Observatory, St. Thomas