West Virginia University launches its annual Diversity Week observances todayand the five-day festival that carries the theme,Making Friends Near and Faris a perfect avenue to showcase the multicultural, melting-pot life thats just business as usual at WVU and in Morgantown.

From spirited discussions to international displays, from fresh looks at Brown v. the Board to demonstrations of the esoteric art of Japanese fencing, the week has a whole host of stories just waiting to appear on your newspaper pages and radio and television broadcasts.

We welcome your coverage. For assistance with interviews, photos and video shoots, please call Jim Bissett at 304-293-5510.

Also visithttp://www.nis.wvu.edu/2004_Releases/making_friends.htmfor a complete schedule.

In the meantime, heres a quick rundown featuring a few of the weeks highlights:

* MONDAY

* HIV and the World: The global politics and particulars of HIV and AIDS will be addressed in a panel discussion hosted by Caritas House, a Morgantown outreach center. The panel, which convenes at 7 p.m. in the Mountainlairs Shenandoah Room, includes longtime medical activist Peggy Kovac, a chief coordinator with the WVU Health Education Program; and Eric Simpson, a public health professional who talks about AIDS and HIV prevention across West Virginia.

What really happened: Drs. Ancella Bickley and Rita Wicks-Nelson will discuss how young black women across West Virginia were affected by desegregation at 7 p.m. in the Mountainlairs Gluck Theater. Their talk,Desegregation of West Virginia Schools as a Result of Brown v. the Board of Educationis a frank remembrance of what was lostand was gainedas black students moved into the schools where they previously werent welcomed.

* TUESDAY

*A hope for harmony: WVU honors the regions Native American community and offers a collective hope for harmony when it rededicates its official Peace Tree in a noontime ceremony next to Woodburn Hall. Native drumming and a live, American eagle will also figure into the outdoor ceremony, presided by Chippewa leader Chief Robert TallTree, a direct descendant of Black Elk.

Its your right: The decision launched the Civil Rights movement in America. The film introduces us to the man credited withkilling Jim Crow.The film,The Road to Brown,will be screened at 7 p.m. in the Mountainlair Gluck Theater. Its a chronicle of everything that happened after Brown v. the Board, and it also showcases a brilliant, but virtually unknown black lawyer Charles Hamilton Houston, who waged heroic courtroom wars against discrimination. A panel discussion follows, featuring College of

Law professor Kevin Outterson; Dr. Katherine Bankole, who directs WVU s Center for Black Culture and Research; and Dr. Elizabeth Dooley, a department chair in the College of Human Resources and Education.

* WEDNESDAY

*A world of awareness: The Woman of Color Luncheon at noon in the Mountainlair Ballrooms features Morgantown-based author, journalist and activist Asra Nomani as keynote speaker. Nomani will discuss her global travels as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and her inward journeys of awareness that come from being a multicultural woman living in the 21 st century.

Its all about respect: Sexuality and society will be discussed by WVU community medicine specialist Dr. Ruth Kershner in her talk,Respecting Diversity: Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgenders,at 6:30 p.m. in the Mountainlair Rhododendron Room.

* THURSDAY

*Awareness, advocacy, accessibility: Dr. Edward Keller is a biology professor and wheelchair user known for his advocacy work for students with disabilities. Hell talk about it at 2 p.m. in the Mountainlair Gluck Theater in his presentation,Disability Day: Past, Present and Future.Displays and demonstrations of assistive technology will also be offered during the day in the Mountainlairs main corridor next to Hatfields.

* FRIDAY

*Never-ending: The cause for social justice is an ongoing mission, and Ric MacDowell will talk about the perseverance needed to keep up in a world where what is conventional wisdom todaymight be outmoded tomorrow.What do you mean, �€~the struggle for social justice never ends?is the title of MacDowells 4 p.m. talk in Room 458 of the College of Business and Economics. Making the social leap from intolerance to advocacy will be one of the main themes. Hes a WVU assistant professor and extension agent.