Story by David Glasgow
Photos by Jonathan Rodgers

Walking from a hilltop orphanage past grass roofs in small fishing villages along the Ugandan shore of Lake Victoria is bound to make a lasting impression on anyone used to Western comforts. On his most recent research trip to the region, assistant professor of musicology (ethnomusicology) Greg Barz felt a profound sadness surrounding the many empty houses that had once been home to laughing children. In sharp contrast, the members of the local women's performance group he was preparing to record were dressed in a rainbow of brightly colored dresses and excitedly invited everyone they passed to join them for the evening's performance. The dirt road carried the party down to a small fishing village in the area where many think the HIV virus first emerged.

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International student dies following brain aneurysm

by Jessica Howard

Cheong

An international exchange student studying at the Owen Graduate School of Management was remembered last week as an excellent student and "a delightful young woman" after her death from a brain aneurysm.

Sut Man (Pastina) Cheong, 26, died Oct. 25, four days after being stricken while shopping with friends at a local mall. She was unresponsive upon her arrival at the Vanderbilt University Hospital, where she was placed on life support. She never regained consciousness.

A native of Macau, China, Cheong was spending the fall semester at Owen as part of an exchange program with the International University of Japan.

Endowment outperforms benchmarks in bear market

by Jessica Howard

The downturn of the stock market led to a 4.7 percent decrease in the University's endowment portfolio, ending fiscal year 2001 at $2.16 billion. University officials said the decline from last year's $2.3 billion endowment market value is no cause for alarm.

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