Beyond the Burg
Compiled by Nicole Mathieu

American indian fraternity started
(U-WIRE) TUCSON, Ariz. -- Josh Lucio was shocked to hear his name announced as fraternity President of the Year ...

Lucio serves as the president of Beta Sigma Epsilon, a group of five men who have formed the first American Indian fraternity in the western United States.

Founded at the University of Arizona in January 2000, Beta Sigma Epsilon did not receive official university recognition until a year later. ...

Pryor and cofounder Eric Riggs started the fraternity with a solid mission -- to improve retention of American Indian men by recruiting them. ...

According to the Department of Decision and Planning Support, the retention rate for American Indian students at the UA is 23 percent, compared to a 55 percent overall university rate. The retention rate is even lower for men, Lucio said.

"It serves a good purpose to create an organization that will graduate its members," he said, adding that so far the organization has a 100 percent graduation rate.

Beta Sigma Epsilon ensures its members maintain a certain level of involvement on campus and in the Tucson, Ariz., community, in addition to providing a social network and providing or helping members find academic resources. ...

For two years, fraternity members have spent two weeks of their summer at the Native American Youth Entrepreneurship Camp, the fraternity's official national philanthropy. At the camp, the fraternity brothers teach business skills to high school youth from various reservations. ...

"The fact that these young men were able to establish a national framework was an accomplishment," Bullins said, Greek Life Coordinator.

That framework laid the groundwork for the fraternity's expansion to other universities. ...

Other groups at colleges in Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon have expressed interest in starting their own chapters, Lucio said.

"Greek organizations that are as young as Beta Sigma Epsilon and operate on budgets as small rarely see the sort of success that this organization has," Bullins said. ...

By Cara O'Connor, Arizona Daily Wildcat (U. Arizona)

Students unafraid of studying abroad
(U-WIRE) SALT LAKE CITY -- Despite the U.S. war on Iraq, Cindy Schmidt says she is not afraid to study abroad in Kenya this summer because she will be helping people with greater needs.

Schmidt, a junior, is one of a small group of University of Utah students who will be visiting Kenya in June, a country that has been plagued with terrorist attacks in recent years. ...

Bill Barnhart, director of the International Center, says students who are about to go on such trips will be offered safety tips during pre-departure orientations. ...

Another way to stay safe while out of the country is to avoid demonstrations, protesters and large crowds, according to Ken Jameson, the program director for the last Ecuador study abroad program. ...

Barnhart also pointed out Americans tend to be louder and therefore more visible in foreign countries.

"We have asked the students to keep a low profile, in a sense, on their trips," Barnhart said.

Some students in Schmidt's group, in order to protect themselves, lied and said they were Canadian when asked where they were from. Although many of the students will be staying in rural areas, project directors have been asked to report back to the center on a frequent basis via e-mail, especially with the war on Iraq and international criticism of the United States. ...

Despite possible dangers in foreign countries during this time of war, Jameson says it may be safer outside of the United States than in it.

"Although traveling abroad will be more difficult for Americans from now on, perhaps now is the most important time for students to study abroad, rather than pull inside," James said.

By Chi-Chi Zhang, Daily Utah Chronicle (U. Utah)