Zimbabwe`s constitution talks delayed

February 2010
Volume 3 Issue 4
Highlights
Africa: Front Page
France reaches out to Rwanda
Kelsey Coolidge
Staff Writer
Americas Pg 2
New marriage and adoption
laws in Mexico City.
Middle East Pg 3
Bin Laden promises
Americans will “never live
in peace” until there is
peace in Palestine.
Asia-Pacific Pg 4
Obama meets Dalai Lama
in defiance of China.
Europe Pg 5
France proposes ban on
Islamic face veil.
FOCUS on Haiti Pg 6-7
Students have HOPE for
Haiti.
Opinions: Pg 8-9
Seton Hall Arabic program
needs reform.
Courtesy of BBC
Sarkozy will be the first French president to
visit Rwanda since the 1994 genocide.
France announced a scheduled
visit to Rwanda on Feb. 26 after years
of strained relations following genocide in 1994. Rwanda has accused
France of involvement in the genocide
by aiding Hutu Power.
France's new mission in Rwanda is
to reverse distrust for the international
community and engage in honest dialogue that can finally close the doors of
the genocidal past.
President Sarkozy's visit is significant because he will be the first French
president to visit Rwanda since 1994.
Rwanda accused various French
officials of complicity in genocide by
aiding Hutu Power groups in battle
against the Rwanda Patriotic Front
(RPF) and crimes against humanity.
The last visit by a French official to
Rwanda was in January 2008, during
which the French Foreign Minister
continued to deny Rwandan accusations. Rwanda severed diplomatic relations in 2006 following France's accusation that President Paul Kagame was
responsible for shooting down of the
plane
of
former
President
Habyarimana.
Rwanda has changed the country’s
official language from French to
English and has joined the
Commonwealth of Nations. This
move reflects Rwanda's desire to create
a new identity and to be removed from
its Francophone past.
Rwanda's experience from genocide generated extreme distrust of
international institutions and the intentions of the international community.
The Rwandan Genocide of April
1994, which cost approximately
800,000 lives, is rooted in the colonial
era. During Belgium’s colonial rule, the
minority Tutsis were favored over the
majority Hutus. Even after Rwanda
gained independence from Belgium in
1962, the Tutsis remained in power,
causing resentment between the two
ethnic groups.
In March 1994, the Rwadan
President and ethnic Tutsi Juvenal
Habyarimana was assassinated by Hutu
nationalists, igniting a conflict which
flared into a genocide by April of the
same year.
The lack of international action
was the most striking feature of the
genocide. The United Nations
deployed peacekeepers to the country;
however, once Belgium withdrew its
support from the mission, most peacekeepers left.
Throughout the conflict, it was
suspected that France covertly supported the Hutu Power over the
English-speaking Tutsis. Even today,
there are many Tutsis who resent
France for its role in the conflict.
In her travels, Diplomacy student
Danielle Storm lived in Rwanda. "The
genocide is a very sensitive topic, one
which is not often discussed,” she said.
“I could feel the undercurrent of genocide but few ever discussed it."
France is presented with a serious
dilemma: continue defending its military role in aiding Hutu Power or
explicitly reveal what happened in
1994.
"President Sarkozy's visit to
Rwanda is intended to transcend tensions between the two countries, to
repair and consolidate France-Rwanda
diplomatic relations," says Professor
Jacques Koko of the John C.
Whitehead School of Diplomacy.
Zimbabwe’s constitution talks delayed
Allison Marron
Staff Writer
Zimbabwe's constitution talks hit
another barrier on Jan. 21 when officials reached a disagreement over
gathering public opinions about a new
constitution for the country.
Zimbabwe, which gained independence from Great Britain in 1980, has
not revised its constitution since.
The country has experienced a lot
of political change over the past 30
years. In March 2008, the Zanu-PF
party lost its 28-year majority in
Parliament. Robert Mugabe, a leader
of the Zanu-PF party for many years,
lost the presidential election the same
month.
During the run-off election that
June, Mugabe defeated opposition
leader Morgan Tsvangirai, from the
Movement for Democratic Change
party, after Tsvangirai withdrew from
the race.
In February 2009, Tsvangirai was
sworn in as the Prime Minister after
agreeing to a power-sharing deal with
Mugabe. A new constitution was part
of this agreement.
"I feel that this power sharing
deal creates more tension than it
anticipates," said Vanessa Guevara, a
senior Diplomacy major who thinks
the power sharing plan is not ideal.
On Jan. 28, 2010, the two parties
resumed talks after agreeing they
would take into consideration official
reports from consultation meetings
held by outreach teams, according to
the Voice of America.
Constitution talks face other challenges as well. Important action
groups, including the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions and the
National Constitutional Assembly,
remain firm against constitutional
talks. In addition, Mugabe has said
that until travel bans for alleged
human rights abuses are lifted against
him and members of his party, there
will not be suffcient progress.
Guevara believes Mugabe's ultimatum for lifting travel bans presents
further problems. "This is an obstacle
they should have seen coming, unless
the deal was just a way to satisfy both
parties without resulting in undesirable consequences," Guevara said.
In an effort to review the power
sharing deal between Mugabe and
Tsvangirai, a U.S. congressional delegation is expected to visit Zimbabwe
later this month This visit is partly in
response to lobbying from Finance
Minister Tendai Biti of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe's goal is to reinstate its vot-
Morgan Tsvangirai, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.
ing rights within the International
Monetary Fund, which were revoked
in June 2006.
This is especially significant since
Zimbabwe currently owes US$138
million to the IMF under the Poverty
Reduction Growth Facility Trust,
which was intended to help the poorest member countries.
The country's approach to the
IMF is under debate as well. The
Movement for Democratic Change
party believes that if Zimbabwe is
classified as a Highly Indebted Poor
Country (HIPC) by the IMF, it will
help encourage economic growth. In
contrast, the Zanu-PF party believes
that the country is not poor enough to
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
qualify for HIPC status and that it can
pay off its debt by using its mineral
resources.
U.S. support is central to
Zimbabwe regaining its voting rights
in the IMF. The U.S. recently agreed
to support Zimbabwe's efforts to
recover its voting rights.
Other countries, however, may be
more wary in this regard. For a country that remains divided over its constitution and other issues, reinstating
Zimbabwe's voting rights may not
seem like the best decision. Until a
cohesive agreement is reached,
Zimbabwe's relations with other
countries could be strained even further.
February 2010
Page 2
Obama remains
hopeful for 2010
Constantina Soukas
Staff Writer
President Barack Obama’s first
State of the Union address on Jan.
27 challenged the federal government to make greater strides on
behalf of American citizens, especially the middle class.
Obama's speech included an
array of domestic issues which
have been transfixed during his first
tenure. At the top of his priorities
was job creation, to which he proposed a job bill. The president cited
the stimulus bill as a successful aid
in lowering the unemployment rate,
cutting taxes for various societal
sectors such as homebuyers and
college tuition payers, and lowering
the cost of health care for the
COBRA-insured.
Obama also highlighted clean
energy alternatives, which he
claimed would enlist new employment opportunities, as well as help
maintain America's leadership in
the global economy.
A dramatic contrast from previous administrations’ agenda
issues, however, was a noticeably
underemphasized international
agenda. An ongoing issue of
debate mentioned in his speech was
troop withdrawal from Iraq and
Afghanistan and the possible political stability of these countries.
According to Dr. Aaron Hale,
an International Conflict and
Security professor at the Whitehead
School, the impact of troop withdrawal from Iraq could cause leadership division regarding allegiance
to either Shiite or Sunni militias.
"The likelihood for more conflict is very, very high, but the U.S.
public has grown weary," Hale said.
Drawing on his campaign's
rhetoric of hope, Obama stressed
the importance of working with
allies to create a hopeful and safe
future for Americans and the international community alike.
Still, the president did not just
address defense issues as safeguarding civilians. The promotion of
education in America, food aid to
underdeveloped countries and
combating global and public health
issues were also discussed along
with policy implementation.
The president themed his message on the resilient American charTo
achieve
the
acter.
Administration’s goals, Obama
called for an end to partisanship,
earmarks and greater transparency
to better serve the American people.
As mandated by the U.S.
Constitution, the president must
inform
Congress
of
the
Administration's upcoming policy
agenda, along with the political and
socioeconomic conditions of the
country. The tradition of a president presenting a speech directly to
Congress started with Franklin
Roosevelt's deliveries 70 years ago.
AMERICAS
Marriage redefined in Mexico City
Ross Joy
Staff Writer
The legal definition of marriage
will be amended in Mexico City on
March 4 to allow for same-sex marriages, but the amendment passage
has challenged the political equilibrium and the role of the church in
Mexico.
According to new legislation, the
definition of marriage will be changed
from "a free union between a man and
a woman" to "a free union between
two people" in the city's civil code.
This change allows for same-sex
spouses to adopt children, a controversial issue that opponents claim will
have an ill effect on the wellbeing of a
child.
The city's Legislative Assembly
passed this amendment last December
with wide support from the center left
Party of Democratic Revolution
(PRD), led by the current Head of
Government of the Federal District,
Marcelo Ebrard. The opposing center
right and current ruling National
Action Party (PAN) vows to challenge
the law in federal courts.
With a democratic local government and the cosmopolitan sensibilities that are associated with affluent
urban dwellers, Mexico City has drifted from the rest of the country's
social views since 1997. Voters have
successively brought the PRD to
power, which has pursued a liberal
social agenda that includes a public
smoking ban, simplified divorce laws
and abortion rights for mothers
before the twelfth week of pregnancy.
In 2007, the Federal District
became the second federal entity, after
the state of Coahuila, to approve
same-sex unions. Though Coahuila’s
unions provide unprecedented rights
for homosexual couples, in practice,
the civil union status does not have
the same treatment under the law as
marriage. Public health insurance
plans and applications for state bank
loans exclude civil unions, while the
denial of adoption rights have made it
difficult to recognize a partner's parenthood.
Under the altered definition of
marriage, Mexico City will afford
same-sex couples the same rights as
heterosexual couples, including the
right to adopt children.
Since the anticlerical policies instituted in the ninetieth century, the
Catholic Church in Mexico has been
typically quiet on political issues.
However, the emergence of the conservative PAN that swept into national power in 2000 has emboldened the
church to lobby against political decisions which it views as a threat to traditional families, such as the recent
marriage amendment.
"The church [will] continue to
speak out against the law, but do so in
moderation, with careful consideration of public reaction," said Anthony
DePalma, who teaches a course on the
media’s role in Mexico at Seton Hall.
PAN has promised to challenge
same-sex marriage in national courts
due to what it views as a contradiction
within the Mexican constitution. This
decision foresees the national government’s efforts to reestablish its historical influence in Mexico City's local
politics.
Since 2000, Mexico has been orientated into a three party system com-
posed of the PAN, PRD and the old
guard Institutional Revolutionary
Party (PRI). The liberal agenda set by
the PRD and Ebrard demonstrates
the party's national ambitions.
"Ebrard is making a calculated political move, hoping that
his embrace of gay marriage
and other liberal policies will
...propel him over other candidates in the 2012 presidential
election.” -Anthony
DePalma
Mexico's debate over expanding
rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender (LGBT) persons is also
seen throughout the Latin American
region. The southernmost province of
Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, allowed
the region's first same-sex marriage in
December 2009, but has since suspended the weddings until national
courts determine whether the marriages are valid.
Argentina and five other South
American countries recognize civil
unions. Uruguay is advancing legislation to extend adoption rights directly
to civil unions rather than changing its
definition of marriage.
Following Mexico City's lead, four
additional Mexican states have proposed or are now considering samesex marriage. The PRI has joined the
PRD in several of these states to
make same-sex marriage a platform
issue.
Social-networking fills Venezuelan media void
Cassie Denbow
Staff Writer
Twitter is the newest form of terrorism according to
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
The closure of six TV stations prompted student-led
protests across Venezuela, and activists utilized social networks
such as Facebook and Twitter to broadcast the protests.
In addition to five smaller stations, the Caracas-based TV
station Radio Caracas Television Internacional (RCTV) was
removed from cable networks on Jan. 24. The termination
came after the network’s failure to broadcast a speech by
President Chavez given the previous day.
The closure of RCTV has incited a wave of protests in a
country familiar with social advocacy. Social networking sights
are serving as planning boards for the protests with pictures of
police crackdowns posted on Twitter and links to the pictures
posted on multiple anti-Chavez groups on Facebook, including
those promoting the new anti-Chavez slogan "Chavez, estás
Ponchao" or "Chavez, you've struck out," based on the president’s love of baseball.
The closure of the TV stations comes after years of growing censorship. Four of the six stations closed were quickly relicensed and returned to the air; however, as a perpetual critic
of Chavez, RCTV was not among them. The Caracas station
was previously removed from public airwaves in July 2007 after
not being allowed a license renewal and had been operating on
a paid subscription until the recent closure.
Chavez justified the closure of the television stations under
the 2004 broadcasting law known by the acronym of
RESORTE. The law closely monitors broadcasted programming on the pretense of protecting family values but originally
applied only to companies holding public broadcasting licenses.
In July 2007, however, Venezuela's telecommunications
commission reworked the law to include cable networks as
well. Under the adjustment, any station which broadcasts 70
percent Venezuelan programming is classified as national and
therefore subject to the regulations of the 2004 law. Under
RESORTE, all national broadcasters are required to play
speeches and programs given by Hugo Chavez.
The prominent use of social networking sights in the
organization of protests has led some to compare the
Venezuelan protests to those which took place in Iran in 2009.
However, Whitehead School Professor Dr. Benjamin
Goldfrank warns against such comparisons.
"In the sense that some protesters use these networks, yes,
they are similar, but the same is true of protesters in other
countries as well," said Goldfrank. "More importantly, the
protests in Iran were much much larger, much more sustained,
and much more heavily repressed by the government.”
Despite the renewed broadcast of four of the six stations,
the protests against the closure of RCTV have continued.
While generally peaceful, there are reports of anti-riot police
using tear gas and plastic grenades to break up the protests.
Two pro-Chavez students were killed in skirmishes, but it
remains unclear who the perpetrators were or if they are associated with anti-government protests.
In addition to the vexation of the media crackdown,
Venezuelans have been bombarded with a multitude of growing problems, including blackouts, rising inflation and elevated
crime. With congressional elections in September, Chavez's
party, Patrido Socialista de Venezuela (PSUV), could face a
much harder time at the polls. In the meantime, the marchers
continue their protest of media censorship, seemingly energized by the tweets, wall posts and fan-pages spreading across
the web.
MIDDLE EAST
February 2010
Page 3
Bin Laden warns the United States in new message
Sean Corrigan
Staff Writer
"My strongest feeling about the recent
terrorist activity in the
world today is that
Muslims are taking a
bigger part in
fighting it."
-Adam M.
Osama Bin Laden warned of violence against the West in his latest
audiotape released to the U.S.
The tape, released on Jan. 25 and
allegedly from Al-Qaeda chief Osama
Bin Laden, directly addresses the
American people, promising that they
will "never live in peace until there is
peace in Palestine… It is unfair that
you enjoy a safe life while our brothers in Gaza suffer greatly."
The message came one month
after the failed Christmas Day bomber
plot in Detroit.
Bin Laden refers to the decadesold conflict between the displaced
Palestinian people and Israel, which is
supported by the West and presents
an intractable foreign policy dilemma
for the United States.
The message asserts that Bin
Laden himself was behind the failed
Detroit bombing. Yet, the tape has
drawn much criticism from U.S. officials and counterterrorism experts,
who say that the claim is nothing
more than a ploy by Al-Qaeda to keep
itself relevant in world affairs.
The demands and statements
contained within the tape are nothing
new, but it is distinct from bin Laden's
previous messages in that he only
mentions U.S. support for Israel as the
primary motivation for the attempted
Christmas bombing as well as numerous other atrocities carried out across
the Middle East and Europe in recent
years. U.S. officials state that it is odd
he has not mentioned other, more
well-known locations of American
involvement,
such
as
Iraq,
Afghanistan, Somalia or Chechnya.
Bin Laden also praises the wouldbe Christmas Day bomber, Umar
Farouk Abdulmutallab, calling him a
hero for "delivering the message previously conveyed by the heroes of
September 11th."
While most officials in the United
States and Europe believe that AlQaeda is grasping at straws in a scrambled attempt to rally support for their
cause, other experts maintain that the
threat is still very real.
Experts maintain that although
the attack failed in its objective of cre-
ating mass civilian casualties, AlQaeda has succeeded in dominating
the headlines as well as highlighting
serious flaws in the United States'
intelligence and security networks.
This result, they assert, is far more
effective and has resulted in an
overblown effort by the U.S. to drastically improve airport security, causing
immense confusion during the holiday
season.
Further, Al-Qaeda has shown that
even in its state of disarray and disunity (whether it be the core group hiding
in the frontier provinces of Pakistan
or its offshoot groups in Yemen and
Saudi Arabia), it still has the financing
and training ability to get a man with a
bomb onto an airplane.
While many in the United States
see the threat from foreign extremists
as a daunting challenge, others are
more optimistic. Adam M., a sophomore International Studies and
Middle Eastern Affairs major at
another university with familial and
religious ties to the region, sees the
impact of the terror attempt as a
hopeful reminder of the importance
being placed on collective security.
"My strongest feeling about the
recent terrorist activity in the world
today is that Muslims are taking a bigger part in fighting it," he says. "The
Detroit bomber's father reported him,
so that says a lot about where people's
real loyalties lay."
Of concern to the Obama
Administration is the unique wording
of Bin Laden's message. He begins
and ends his dialogue with the phrase,
"may peace be upon those who follow
guidance." This phrase has been seen
numerous times in Bin Laden's previous statements and could be a warning of future attacks in the U.S., possibly within the next year.
The international community has,
however, almost unilaterally dismissed
the audiotape as a half-hearted
attempt by Al-Qaeda to draw attenntion to itself by jumping onto the
Christmas Day bombing plot and
claiming responsibility.
In reality, it has been confirmed
that the bomber, a Nigerian citizen,
received his funding and orders from
an Al-Qaeda affiliate group operating
out of Yemen. Security services in
that country have since begun a systematic campaign aimed at rounding
up suspected terrorist financiers. They
have also succeeded in eliminating a
sizable amount of Al-Qaeda masterminds with substantial help from the
CIA and its arsenal of unmanned aerial drones.
Syria opening to civil society Britain bans failed bomb detector
Kelsey Coolidge
Staff Writer
Syria is showing signs of opening
to civil society. The number of foreign
dignitaries who have met with
President al-Assad and a number of
non-governmental organizations are
rising.
The First Lady of Syria, in a recent
speech, encouraged Syrians to participate in community organizations,
focusing on issues of social development. These signs in Syria are attracting
both applause and criticism, while
Western governments realize that
improving civil society in Syria is essential to achieving regional diplomatic
engagement.
In recent years, Syrian President
Bashar Al-Assad has met formally with
international leaders. Syria turned to
isolation after the Ba'ath coup in 1963
and was closed from foreign dialogue
until Bashar Al-Assad became
President in 2000.
Since Al-Assad assumed leadership, Syrian foreign relations have
eased significantly. The transfer of
power was eyed carefully by the international community and was considered a hopeful sign of progress.
The swift change in U.S foreign
affairs following the inauguration of
President Barack Obama has aided
efforts to involve Syria in the vast network of interdependent nations. The
Syrian president has also reached out to
regional powers such as King Abdullah
of Saudi Arabia, visiting the Kingdom
in 2009.
This intensity of international outreach from Syria is untypical of the for-
mer regime and attracting both positive
and negative attention.
Critics argue that the “signs of
progress” are merely a smoke screen to
detract attention from Syria’s shabby
human rights record.
Freedom House rates Syria as
“not free” and its comparison to neighboring states like Jordan and Lebanon
makes Syria's political system appear
lack-luster at best. Many critics cite that
bureaucratic processes in Syria preclude NGOs from development, and
the Syrian government often closes
down civil groups that are considered
unfavorable to the state.
"In the entire Arab world, governments try to widen their totalitarian
regime to appeal to the Western
world,” said Dr. Issam Aburaya of the
Seton
Hall
Religious
Studes
Department, who is critical of Syrian
civil society. “But once there is too
much freedom, when people become
too critical, they repress."
While the Syrian government's
intentions are met with doubt, First
Lady Asma Al-Assad encouraged
Syrians to pursue the creation of nongovernmental organizations in January.
The Syrian Trust Fund, an NGO
developed by Mrs. Al-Assad, encourages the social and political development of Syria, focusing on rural development, women's empowerment and
the promotion of Syrian culture.
She cites that NGOs are essential
to Syrian society because of the role
they play in improving society from the
grassroots. Mrs. Assad also emphasizes
the role of citizens in a civil society.
Sarah Shedeed
Guest Writer
Britain has banned the export
of the ADE-651, a handheld bomb
detector used in several developing
states such as Iraq, Thailand, and
Afghanistan.
On Oct. 25, 2009, suicide
bombers who managed to get two
tons of explosives into downtown
Baghdad killed 155 people and
destroyed three ministries.
The suicide bombers passed
through a checkpoint where the
ADE-651 was typically used, but
the explosives were not detected.
Another attack in December killed
120 people, and the question of
how the bombs got into the city was
prevalent.
Jim McCormick, director of
UK-based ATSC, which sold the
devices to the Iraqi government for
$85 million, was arrested and bailed
last month. Concern over the
detectors was originally raised by
American skeptic James Randi, who
offered McCormick $1 million if he
could prove that the ADE-651 was
not faulty. McCormick has yet to
take him up on the offer.
Since 1995, the FBI has issued
multiple warnings against devices of
a similar nature made by ATSC, but
the Iraqi government defends these
detectors.
Interior Minister Jawad alBolani insists that the detectors
have caught over 16,000 bombs. AlBolani also claims that the business
of security is prevalent in Iraq, and
rival companies are trying to "belit-
tle the efficiency of these instruments the government is buying."
Mr. McCormick stated that the
company has been dealing with
doubters for ten years, partly
because "the machine does look
primitive," and they are working to
create a new model with flashing
lights.
Western militaries do not
employ the device. "I don't believe
there's a magic wand that can detect
explosives,” said Major General
Richard J. Rowe Jr., who oversees
Iraqi police training for the
American military. “If there was,
we would all be using it. I have no
confidence that these work.”
"The reason the director of the
company was arrested was not
because the device doesn’t work,
but because he refused to divulge
the secret of how it works to the
British authorities, and the
Americans before them,” said the
Iraqi Assistant Deputy Minister
General Tareq al-Asl.
Still, there are many Iraqis who
are not so convinced. Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered an
investigation, and the Security and
Defense Department of the
Ministry is conducting one as well.
"The Iraqis are so desperate to
prove that they are able to take back
their country that they are willing to
go the extra mile and take the risk of
using these devices,” said Legna
Perez, a sophomore at the
Whitehead School. “It goes to show
they want this war to be over and
for the American soldiers to leave
even more than we do."
February 2010
Page 4
ASIA-PACIFIC
US-China relations strained over Dalai Lama,Taiwan
Matthew Ausloos
Copy Editor
President Obama's recent meeting
with the Dalai Lama was marked by
strenuous protests from China, as U.S.China relations have become increasingly strained.
The meeting, which occured on
Feb. 18, was defended by White House
Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who
told reporters that the Dalai Lama was
an "internationally respected religious
leader."
The meeting came after the
Obama Administration announced the
sale of military hardware to Taiwan in
late January, which sparked similar
protests from China. Beijing summoned the American ambassador and
scolded him for interfering in China's
internal affairs.
The $6 billion sale includes
advanced weaponry such as anti-ship
missiles and Black Hawk helicopters. It
is the third installment of a sale begun
by the Bush Administration in late
2008. The sale is part of the U.S.'s
long-standing commitment by law to
assist in the defense of Taiwan.
Taiwan has always been a thorny
point in U.S.-China relations, and
China has reacted in what many analysts consider a predictable manner. It
has stated it will scale back military
cooperation with the U.S. and may seek
to impose economic restrictions on
Courtesy of The Jakarta Globe
Cameras were not allowed into the meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Obama.
U.S. businesses selling weapons to
Taiwan. This could hurt these businesses' chances of gaining access to the
Chinese economy, which is expected to
overtake Japan's to become the world's
second largest this year.
Predictable as this response may
be, it is no less concerning, considering
other sources of tension in the U.S.China relationship. During President
Obama's first year in office, relations
between the two countries began cordially. Relations have since become
bogged down by a series of disputes
involving cyber-spying and concerns
over the undervaluing of China's currency.
The global economic downturn
has reinforced a growing view that the
U.S.'s power is waning and China's is
rising. While the U.S. is still struggling
to restore its economy to full employ-
Sri Lankan opposition leader arrested
Grace Chung
Editor-in-Chief
The arrest of the Sri Lankan president's main opponent has raised concerns over whether the post-conflict
nation is ready for democracy.
Incumbent President Mahinda
Rajapaksa won the Jan. 26 election
with a sweeping majority, but weeks
later placed his defeated challenger,
General Sarath Fonseka, under arrest.
"This is not an arrest," his wife
told reporters. "It is an abduction."
Supporters of Fonseka claim that
military police "dragged him" away
after raiding his Colombo office on
Feb. 8. They worry that the arrest is
part of Rajapaksa's wider campaign to
take complete control of the government. Leading up to his arrest, at least
37 members of the military were
imprisoned. In addition, 14 senior
army officers who openly supported
Fonseka were forced into retirement.
The day after Fonseka's arrest,
Rajapaksa dissolved parliament to
clear the way for early elections.
Analysts worry that without Fonseka
to lead the opposition, Rajapaksa will
easily secure the two-thirds majority
needed to change the Constitution.
"The episode has nothing to do
with our political differences,"
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president's
brother and defense secretary, told
The Straits Time, a Singapore-based
newspaper, soon after the incident.
He accused Fonseka of planning a
coup in addition to ordering the
killing of journalists and planning a
political career while still in uniform.
Referring to the general's claim
that he would provide evidence
against the state in an international
war crimes court, the government
explained in an official statement that
Fonseka was "hell-bent" on betraying
Sri Lanka's "gallant armed forces."
According to the UN, over 7,000
civilians were killed in the final
months of Sri Lanka's civil war, which
ended in May 2009. Human rights
groups have accused both sides of
violating international law.
Rajapaksa and General Fonseka
were once united in their efforts to
crush the Tamil Tiger insurgency.
Fonseka was instrumental in helping
the president crush the rebels and end
their separatist campaign. However, as
the power of the military expanded
toward the end of the civil war, tensions grew. This animosity was
cemented when Fonseka resigned
from his position as top general to
enter the presidential race.
The campaign was marked by violence and electoral irregularities, but in
the end, Rajapaksa defeated the former general with over 1.8 million
votes. Election observers have said
there is no evidence of significant
fraud, but Fonseka refuses to accept
defeat.
Fonseka's lawyers are challenging
the government's actions in court. On
Feb. 16, Fonseka's lawyers filed a petition with the Supreme Court. They
demanded scrutiny of the ballots, citing Rajapaksa's use of bribery and
manipulation of the media. They say
that the government-controlled media
overwhelmingly supported the president while broadcasting lies about
Fonseka.
ment and healthy growth, China's
economy is humming along after a
brief downturn at the beginning of the
global recession.
Many analysts in the U.S. who
study China are unconcerned by
China's bellicose rhetoric. The U.S.
remains the most powerful country in
the world militarily, however, in the
2006 Quadrennial Defense Review,
released by the Bush Administration,
China was identified as the emerging
power with the "greatest potential to
compete militarily" with the U.S.
Increasingly, public opinion in
China plays a role in the Chinese government's approach to its disputes with
the U.S. Of particular interest is the
internet. Many Chinese blogs and chat
rooms harbor nationalist sympathies,
and the government has found it
increasingly necessary to take note of
this sentiment and its implications for
public opinion of the government
itself. China's government does not
want to invite public anger over a foreign policy perceived to be acquiescent
to Western pressure.
Despite recent tensions, few
believe lasting damage will come to the
two countries' relationship. Dr. Zheng
Wang, Assistant Professor at the
Whitehead School of Diplomacy and
International Relations, points out that
while a growing China with increasing
international clout may find it more
difficult in the future to accept foreign
actions that it sees as sensitive to its
domestic interests, Beijing does not
wish to see a severe deterioration in
relations with Washington.
"China pays greater attention to
this bilateral relationship than any
other," Wang said. "There are going to
be conflicts, and as China grows the
relationship will change, but the foundation of the relationship is much
more stable than it was ten years ago."
The U.S. views positive engagement with China as key to resolving
pressing issues of the day, from climate
change to Iran's nuclear program. Both
countries recognize the economic
interdependence that has developed
between them and the need to disallow
small disputes from developing into
major rows.
Google sparks wider US-China debate
Karina Kainth
Section Editor
The impasse between Google and
China after hackers based in China
attacked Google's operations in
January has caused tensions in relations between the U.S. and China.
Despite the fact that Google has
been complying with China's regulations for several years, the issue
between the U.S.-based business and
China has been portrayed as an ideabased conflict between the U.S. and
China, revolving around the sensitive
issue of censorship.
Google threatened to close its
offices in China immediately after the
incident, in which the hackers
attempted to extract information
from Google's databases about
Chinese human rights activists who
protested the government's censorship of the internet.
The U.S. has responded by putting pressure on China to investigate
the cyber attacks and is reevaluating
its relations with countries that have
strict censorship policies.
China has remained defensive to
the United States' accusations of censorship, maintaining that other countries censor to some extent as well.
In a speech given at the Newseum
journalism museum in Washington,
D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton condemned countries such as
Iran, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam that
restrict freedom of speech through
the internet. Clinton's speech was censored by the Chinese government.
Meanwhile, an editorial in The
Global Times, a popular Chinese
newspaper, reads, "The World does
not welcome the White House's
Google," an indication that Google is
being closely associated with the U.S.
government and its foreign policy.
The Chinese people have so far
not abandoned Google. "The public
seems to be tending toward putting
Google on a moral high ground," said
Dr. Zheng Wang, Assistant Professor
at the Whitehead School of
Diplomacy
and
International
Relations.
China's search-engine market is
currently worth approximately $1 billion. Google holds about one-third of
this lucrative market. When Google
began its operations in China, it
agreed to comply with Chinese policies regarding censoring information
about Tiananmen Square and Tibetan
independence movements.
Currently, Google is still complying with China's policies, including
removing information that the
Chinese government intends to withhold from the public. While the company has publicly suggested that it will
pull out, Google is looking to compromise with China so that it will be
able to continue its operations.
The Global Times described the
Chinese government's censorship
policies as a reaction against "information imperialism," or the U.S.'s
attempts to impose its values.
The U.S.'s tough stance on censorship, however, may hold some
weight. "The pressure is building,"
said Wang. "In the long term, this
pressure may influence the Chinese
government's actions when dealing
with freedom of speech through the
internet."
EUROPE
France proposes ban on Islamic face veil
February 2010
Page 5
Muslim garment declared contrary to French values but concerns arise over stigmatization of Muslims
Matthew Ausloos
Copy Editor
France came one step closer to
banning the Islamic face veil late last
month when a French parliamentary
committee recommended a partial ban.
The proposal would ban the covering
of the face while in public, including on
the streets.
"The wearing of the full veil is a
challenge to our republic," the committee said in a report released Jan. 26.
"This is unacceptable. We must condemn this excess."
Face veils are typically part of an
item of clothing worn by many Muslim
women known as a burqa, which consists of a loose body-covering, a head
covering and a face veil.
The recommendation follows
months of debate in France over how
to restrict the use of the burqa. French
President Nicolas Sarkozy created a
commission last year to investigate the
issue.
"We cannot accept to have in our
country women who are prisoners
behind netting, cut off from all social
life, deprived of identity," Sarkozy told
reporters. He later went on to say that
the burqa was not a sign of religion, but
of subservience, and it would not be
welcome in France.
The Socialists, currently in the
Courtesy of BBC
An estimated 1,900 women wear the burqa in France where a proposed law would ban it.
opposition, are opposed to a ban on the
burqa, despite their distaste for the garment itself. Party spokesman Benoit
Hamon reiterated on French radio his
party's opposition to the burqa, but also
said a law would not have the anticipated effect.
One concern about a proposed
ban is that it would stigmatize Islam
and further alienate Muslims from
French culture. This could embolden
hardliners and extremists in the faith
who wish to bring about a total separation of Islam and the French state.
France is particularly concerned
about the burqa because of its centuryold tradition of secularism, which
strictly forbids the intermingling of reli-
Britain raises terror threat level
gion and state in the public sphere.
Most French see their secular state as a
hard-won right. They view the burqa as
a sign of oppression against women
and an item which is not prescribed by
Islam.
"In France, if you want to be here,
you need to know and respect the
French culture," said Giles Ambonou, a
resident of Paris originally from Cote
d'Ivoire. "In France, like in the rest of
Europe, you need to comply with what
the French do and what they are."
There are fears that Muslim
women who wear the burqa could face
mounting domestic pressure if they are
forced to remove it in public. Writing
for the newspaper Liberation, editor
Laurent Joffrin wrote, "France would
be the only country in the world that
sends its policeman…to stop in the
street young women who are victims
more than they are guilty."
The debate over the burqa continues within the French Muslim community. "It is a cultural thing, a tradition,
introduced and kept alive by fundamentalists," said Ambonou. "Women are
also divided, but I believe a vast majority do not wish to wear it."
If France does indeed ban the face
veil, it is likely to face a lot of criticism
from abroad, much like Switzerland did
last year when it banned the construction of minarets. France has been criticized for trying to enact an illiberal policy that ignores the cultural considerations of Muslim women, most of
whom are French citizens. France has
countered that it is only upholding its
secular values.
There have been other instances in
recent years of French restrictions on
the burqa and other Muslim garments.
In August, French officials banned
women from swimming in public pools
while wearing a burkini, a variation of
the burqa used as a full-body swimsuit
by some Muslim women. Officials
banned the wearing of religious symbols, including the Muslim head scarf,
in French state schools in 2004.
Greek debt crisis worries Eurozone
Ornella Dajlanaj
Section Editor
Maria Ekimoglou
Staff Writer
Britain recently raised its terror threat level to "severe," the
second highest level on its terror threat scale. While it had stood
at "substantial" since July, the new alert level means that a terrorist attack is "highly likely."
"Moving to this different level says ‘yes, we have to be more
alert,’ and it means that an attack has moved to the level of being
likely," Home Secretary Alan Johnson told reporters. "But we
have absolutely no intelligence to suggest it is imminent."
The decision for the elevated terror threat level was made by
the UK's Joint Terrorism Analysis Center. According to the
home secretary, JTAC makes such decisions based on intelligence regarding the "intents and capabilities of international terrorist groups in the UK and overseas."
Johnson refused to reveal intelligence that contributed to the
change or to make any links to the failed Detroit airliner bombing on Christmas Day.
"We never say what the intelligence is, and it would be pretty daft of us to do that," Johnson told reporters.
While the chairman of the Home Affairs Sub-Committee on
Counter Terrorism claims that a certain amount of intelligence
would be helpful to the public, Lord Carlile, the UK's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, stated that "the message is
not that we should be more afraid but that we should be a bit
more vigilant than we have been."
"The message has not scared British people at all," said Ron
Choularton, owner of the American-produced British paper
Union Jack. "Britons have learned to live with bomb threats since
the Northern Ireland conflicts in 1972. There have been three
generations of Britons trained to live under such circumstances.
They are very vigilant and know well what to do."
Choularton noted, however, that such measures could make
the public more eager to be prejudiced against a certain age or
ethnic group or resort to racial profiling.
Along with the raised terror alert, all direct flights between
Yemen and the UK have been suspended as a further security
measure. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also announced
that the country's terrorist watch list is being extended in order
to include individuals who have appeared during surveillance
operations but were not previously included on the list.
The new security measures bring the UK to a similar alert
level as the United States.
Greece's staggering debt has shaken the
faith of investors and put fellow members
of the common European currency on high
alert. Greece's national budget deficit for the
past fiscal year is estimated to be at 12.7 percent of GDP, over four times the maximum
deficit percentage permitted for eurozone
countries. Greek debt is expected to rise to
120 percent of GDP by the end of 2010.
Years of fiscal mismanagement by former Greek administrations have left the
Greek economy with negative growth.
Doctored national accounts, which put the
national deficit at 6.7 percent when in reality it was 12.7 percent, have left the
European Commission suspicious of
Greece. It is speculated that Eurostat, the
European Union's (EU) statistical agency,
will bring charges against Greece once the
current crisis has been resolved.
The new administration, which came to
power in October 2009 under Socialist
Prime
Minister
George
PASOK
Papandreou, has pledged to reign in government spending. Papandreou based his campaign on the promise of real wage increases
and extra welfare spending, despite advice
from the European Central Bank that he not
continue the spending spree of previous
administrations.
In the midst of the crisis, however,
Papandreou and his finance minister,
George Papakonstantinou, are taking action
to prevent the collapse of the Greek economy and reestablish credibility in Greek markets. These measures include a pay freeze on
all civil servant salaries of 2,000 euros a
month or more, a sharp decline on publicsector recruitment and military spending,
and a tax increase for wealthy Greeks.
A recent poll taken by the Economist
shows that Greek citizens, 20 percent of
whom live under the EU poverty level, are
confident that their new prime minister and
finance minister will be able to handle the
debt crisis and restore credibility in the
Greek economy before drastic measures
need to be taken by other members of the
EU. While the economic measures that need
to be taken to correct the current situation
promise to be punishing on the Greek populace, there is widespread agreement that, as
long as the burden does not rest with one
single tax group, Greek citizens will support
the efforts.
Members of the EU with stronger
economies had been urging Greece for
months to cut back on spending and enact
public measures that would generate revenue back into the economy. The EU is now
waiting to see whether Papandreou's actions
will bring about the change needed.
Should Greece come close to defaulting
on its national debt and declaring national
insolvency, the EU is expected to intervene
and prevent total collapse. However, this
option is seen as a measure of last resort. If
the EU is forced to intervene, Greece will be
the first country to hand over certain sovereign rights to the body and will be forced to
accept all stipulations made regarding its
national economy; this could result in the
loss of some economic sovereignty for
Greece.
The collapse of an economy in the
eurozone is a non-option for many EU
members. Should Greece fail to pull itself
out of the crisis, national sovereignty within
the EU will take second place to preserving
the competitiveness of the euro. For now,
Greeks and Europeans alike are hoping that
Papandreou's actions, though late in coming,
will be enough.
FOCUS ON HAITI
February 2010
Page 6
Seton Hall alum perishes in Haitian earthquake
Dianna Schwegman
Editor-in-chief
As Haiti works to recover from a devastating 7.0 earthquake which wrecked the
country on Jan. 12, stories of heartbreak
and hope continue to circulate the globe.
Current estimates of the numbers
killed range from 100,000 to 200,000, and
an estimated 1.5 million Haitians are
homeless. Many have been moved to temporary tented villages. Tens of thousands
still lack access to food, water, and medical
supplies.
The UN maintains the scale of the
disaster is "historic," with its staff confronting devastation and logistical problems on a scale never seen before.
Yet, behind official statistics, long-run
development analysis, and domestic aid
blockages and breakthroughs are the people of Haiti, both determined survivors
and innocent victims.
One such victim was Nivah Odwori.
Tragically killed in Haiti's earthquake,
Odwori, 36, was a native of Margate,
Kenya and a Seton Hall alum who graduated in 2006 with a dual graduate degree in
Diplomacy from the Whitehead School
and in Strategic Communication from the
College of Arts and Sciences.
Odwori had been working as a
District Coordinator with the United
Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
(MINUSTAH) since July 2009, where she
was supporting the elections process.
A valued member of the UN Mission
in Haiti, Odwori was also part of the
United Nations Volunteers (UNV) program. According to the UNV, Odwori was
one of 222 UNV volunteers serving in
Haiti at the time of the quake, including
seven Kenyans.
"Nivah was a compassionate and talented individual who had chosen to apply
her skills to the cause of peace and development as a volunteer,” said Flavia
Pansieri, UNV Executive Coordinator, on
(Left) Tents and other temporary shelters cover a stadium surface in Loagan, Haiti on Jan. 17; (Right) Nivah Odwori.
Jan. 16. “She was highly motivated and
enthusiastic, and this is a great loss to the
Mission, her family, and her friends.”
In addition to providing much needed
skills to assist and complement the UN in
meeting ever growing peacekeeping
demands, UNV volunteers are tasked with
bringing a high level of team spirit to UN
mission operations and mobilizing civilian
staff and local communities to volunteer
in local initiatives.
"UN volunteers go beyond their regular scope of duties to bond with communities and build support for the presence
of the mission," says UNV Executive
Coordinator Ad de Raad. "Through the
promotion of volunteerism, they make
solid steps at healing the wounds caused
by war, and at the same time channel their
energies towards promoting reconciliation
and peace."
Odwori's passionate work in the fields
of peacekeeping, development, civilian
empowerment, and election-building
extended well beyond her efforts in Haiti,
a notoriously impoverished country.
Prior to serving in Haiti, Odwori
worked as a UNV volunteer and District
Electoral Adviser with the United Nations
Mission in Nepal (UNMIN). Like Haiti,
Nepal is one of the world's poorest coun-
tries and is struggling to overcome the
legacy of a 10-year Maoist insurrection.
Odwori also worked with the
International Federation of the Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), serving as an adviser to its delegation to the
61st session of the UN General Assembly
in 2006.
While at Seton Hall, Odwori notably
left an impression on her peers, her
instructors, and Whitehead School administrators. "As a person, she was very determined, with a confidence in her direction
in life…to pursue her passion knowing
she could make a positive influence on the
lives of others," said Associate Dean
Ursula Sanjamino, who remembers
Odwori as always being committed to the
issue of human rights and to pursuing her
passion for human dignity in a less developed country where she could utilize her
skill-set and energies.
"Nivah was dynamic, engaging, and
full of life in and out of the classroom--a
rarity among studens,” said Assefaw
Bariagaber, Professor and Department
Chair of Diplomacy and International
Relations, who similarly remembers
Odwori as an active and determined student. “She wasn't one who came to class
and then left. She impacted others.”
Courtesy of CNN.com and www.unv.org
"We were participating in a graduate
seminar on the European Union's political
affairs and monetary system,” said Dalai
Fazio, a 2006 Whitehead School alumnus
who met Odwori while on a trip to
Luxembourg in 2004. “Though the content was sometimes grayer than the
bureaucrats' suits in Brussels, Nivah was
uncommonly colorful and delightfully
enthusiastic about the world…In class, she
was outspoken, a defender of development aid, and honest about goals and realities."
In fact, Odwori, proficient in six languages, completed her thesis on conflict
resolution challenges in Sudan and India.
"Nivah opened our hearts and our
minds,” said Lee Mesham, also a resident
of Margate, who spoke of her friend
Odwori at a memorial service on Jan. 23 at
Blessed Sacrament Church in Margate.
“Her smile told us all we needed to know.
Most of us remember the effortless grace
in which she moved about the world…She
left me a better mother and a better person…Nivah believed, and I believe, that
she is going to a better place. She is traveling one more time."
Ms. Odwori is survived by her mother, sisters and brothers. Odwori is to be
buried in her native Kenya.
The Hall has HOPE for Haiti
Maggie Bridgeman
Staff Writer
Campus-wide programs to raise funds for the reconstruction effort in Haiti are currently underway, as Seton
Hall students work to bring aid to a country in great need
of healing and hope.
Held on Ash Wednesday, a Feb. 17 Mass in remembrance of the earthquake victims officially peaked a week
of events entitled "Helping Haiti Heal.” Throughout the
week, the Haitian Organization Promoting Education
(HOPE), along with HRL, SGA, and other organizations,
hosted a variety of events on campus to collect funds for
the Catholic Relief Service.
"There are numerous activities,” said Cassandra
Germana, president of HOPE and co-organizaer of the
week’s events. “HRL for example is having Spreading
Love, where they will sell hearts, and you can donate a
dollar and write down any message you want.”
HOPE initiated the collaborative effort by calling all
clubs and organizations together to form a committee at
the beginning of the spring semester.
The planning committee now meets every
Wednesday at 4 p.m. in the University Center, and since
the first meeting, over 18 organizations have volunteered
to help. Some clubs have even altered their previously
planned events to gear them towards Haiti.
"I wasn't sure what to do, I just knew that we needed
to come together as a student body and try to come up
with activities to raise awareness," Germana said.
In addition to the week of events in February, the
committee will continue to plan activities throughout the
semester.
"This is the time more than ever that we need to
stress the idea of continual help,” Germana said. “It's not
something that's going to happen in a week, two weeks,
or a month that we can change, and our donations must
continue to happen.”
To do this, HOPE will continue to raise awareness
with its annual masquerade ball in March. This year, the
theme will be "A Taste of Haiti," and the black and white
ball will symbolize Haitian culture and history.
"Even though the earthquake did tragically take so
many lives, we're trying to celebrate the culture of the
Haitian people, and that's why we have activities that are
geared towards the celebration of the music, the cuisine,
and the people," Germana said.
HOPE has also worked towards spreading awareness
about the political situation in Haiti since its inception in
2004, but according to Germana, the earthquake's direct
impact on the families of many members of HOPE has
given the club new meaning.
"Our whole purpose was about education, and now
it's more toward awareness," she said. "What we're trying
to do is raise awareness that the Haitian people are a
resilient nation and that the people are hardworking."
Germana explained that because of the country's
dire political and economic situation, Haiti needed a help-
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
A small quake survivor looks to MINUSTAH agents for resources.
ing hand long before the earthquake. She stressed that
this is why HOPE intends to continue programs such as
"Helping Haiti Heal."
"It saddens my heart that it's a country that has so
much wealth, beauty and culture, but there's so much
political corruption that has overtaken that," she said. "I
just hope that the earthquake is an eye opener for us, and
that we are able to restore and rebuild and be united as a
people."
February 2010
Page 7
Clinton, Red Cross face obstacles in Haiti relief efforts
Caleb Barnhart
Staff Writer
Former President Bill Clinton, who had been serving as the United Nations chief coordinator of relief
efforts in Haiti, was hospitalized for chest pains Feb.
11 at the Columbia Campus of New YorkPresbyterian Hospital in New York City.
Clinton's appointment came with the hope that his
"celebrity" would raise awareness and keep the focus
on Haiti even after mainstream media coverage diminishes.
As the U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti, Clinton has
visited Haiti twice since the earthquake. With the lack
of a central coordinating organization, many relief
organizations hoped Clinton could revitalize relief
efforts, but it remains to be seen how his most recent
health problem will affect Clinton's oversight of relief
operations.
Clinton has been reported to be in great health
after returning to his home in Chappaqua, New York,
less than 24 hours after his operation. While he was
encouraged not to engage in any heavy activities, it was
speculated that he would return to work on Monday.
In hopes of continuing relief efforts, Clinton told
reporters outside of his home: "I'm doing very well. I
feel very blessed."
The Red Cross also continues to struggle to unify
its relief efforts amid the mountain of challenges that
have confronted Haiti. Since its founding in 1919, the
International Federation of the Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies has experienced its most widespread and difficult relief work in Haiti.
After the devastating earthquake on Jan. 12, more
than one million Haitians were displaced from their
homes, and all forms of industry and service were disrupted.
Organizational problems quickly became apparent
as the Red Cross sent more than ten thousand volun-
Rescuers search a collapsed building on Saturday, Jan. 16 in Port-au-Prince.
teers to the nation. Since then, supplies have arrived
missing vital parts, medicine has been inadequately distributed, and thousands are still starving as food spoils
in aid containers.
With the help of the United Nations, however, the
Red Cross hopes to reshape its support by erecting a
strong leadership team to provide more oversight. Yet
such reforms seem unlikely to reach their goal.
More than 900 non-governmental organizations
have flooded the country in hopes of assisting relief
efforts, but the traditional coordination that governmental services provide is lacking.
In many cases, entire governmental agencies have
been displaced due to a lack of shelter. In turn, those
most affected by the earthquake are not being given
proper treatment.
Even with extensive donations, organizational
flaws deter effectiveness. The text "Haiti" fundraiser
has garnered more than $32 million for relief efforts,
Courtesy of CNN.com
as a simple text message donates $10 to the American
Red Cross. Donations provide vital food and water,
shelter, or first aid supplies for Haitian families.
Although donations have been record-breaking,
the lack of on-the-ground coordination inhibits effective relief efforts in a country that is already plagued by
instability and governmental mismanagement.
With both the Red Cross's organizational problems and Bill Clinton's own health problems, Haitian
relief efforts are entrenched in challenges. More oversight must be provided by the UN, and donations must
continue.
Although media coverage is extensive at this point
in time, it will subside as new challenges confront the
world. Moreover, relief efforts must continue for
years, as the nation of Haiti needs to be rebuilt, and its
industry, services and governmental structures must be
revitalized.
SHU students share insights on Haiti relief efforts
Allison Marron
Staff Writer
The earthquake that shook Haiti on
Jan. 12 would have knocked even a sturdy country off its feet.
For the poorest country in the
Western Hemisphere, however, it was
enough to turn poverty and hardship
into devastation and chaos.
As with any natural disaster of this
scale, relief has been pouring in from
around the world. Governments, as well
as nonprofit organizations, have been
responding with money, food, clothing,
medical supplies and as many volunteers
as possible.
With such a great outpouring of
relief, reconstruction would seem easy.
The reality is anything but. In a country
where people were already hungry,
where orphanages were already pushed
to the brink, and where infrastructure
was notoriously insufficient, it has been
difficult to respond quickly and efficiently.
"One of the most obvious barriers
is that they are starting from scratch,”
said Mark Cantine, a senior Diplomacy
major who has visited Haiti. “The entire
country must rebuild from the ground
up- everything from damaged hospitals,
schools and agriculture to additional aid
operations for the number of people
injured. The struggle is that Haiti
already has a substantial amount of debt
and has limited resources within the
country with which to work."
"I think in this case we are examining a disaster on top of a disaster,” said
Craig Marcklinger, a 2009 Whitehead
School alumnus who was in Haiti when
the earthquake struck.
The absence of leadership serves as
another challenge to implementing relief
efforts. President René Préval, who has
been in power since 2006, has not coordinated with the numerous organizations that have come to Haiti's aid, such
as the American Red Cross and the
United Nations.
Préval has not assumed the leadership role expected of a president in this
sort of situation, and Parliament has
remained at bay as well.
Concerns of infringing upon Haiti's
sovereignty have largely prevented outside parties from taking control.
Consequently, no party or organization
is actually in charge of coordinating aid
efforts. Organizations are doing what
they can, but without official leadership,
they remain unsure of how to begin.
Yet Cantine, who learned about disaster relief during his internship at
Caritas Internationalis, suggests that a
lack of official leadership may not be a
problem for nongovernmental organizations.
"NGOs are able to make fast decisions and do not have to worry about
taking the kind of political stances states
do,” Cantine said. “In the case of Haiti,
most of the initial responders were
NGOs who were already established in
the country and who already had a team
down there.”
Marcklinger also agrees on the role
of NGOs. "Haiti is a unique case,” he
said. “Because of the country's lack of
central government, NGOs provide
many essential services. For this reason,
I am inclined to think that perhaps
smaller NGOs that are well-connected
to communities have the potential to be
more effective. They are more nimble
and are able to operate outside of large
binders of rules and regulations."
As relief pours in from NGOs and
other sources, however, efforts may
overlap, leaving some areas well
addressed while others fall by the wayside.
Moreover, assessing the full needs
of the country has proven difficult; the
confusion that still plagues the country a
month after the quake has made it problematic to accurately calculate the enormity of the situation.
Alexandra Stockton, a senior
Diplomacy major who has family in
Haiti, believes that one of the main
problems facing Haiti's recovery efforts
is aid irregularity.
"The efforts need to be consistent,”
Stockton said. “That is the main problem. Aid is being dispersed in one place
early in the morning and that is
it…There needs to be consistent places
that people can get food, and it needs to
be dispersed in a non-chaotic way.”
World Vision, a nonprofit that provides relief to poor children and families
in over 100 countries, estimates that
over a million people have been left
homeless as a result of the earthquake,
and at least 700,000 have suffered serious injuries.
Stockton notes that some of the
greatest needs of the population are
very straightforward. "I think that as
much as first aid and food are top priorities, there needs to be temporary shelters made for the people who are homeless and a place where they can bathe,
sleep, and receive meals,” she said.
“Most people don't have that right now,
especially in the capital, and besides
food, this is a primary need."
"It is really important that needs
beyond food and water are met,”
Cantine further suggests. “In order for
food distribution to be effective, there
must be order, security, and protection
for the vulnerable." Elderly individuals
who cannot easily access aid and children who are at risk for trafficking are
most in need of protection.
Marcklinger feels there are still
other challenges as well. "I think the
most difficult challenge in reconstruction will be keeping the long-term focus
on Haitian development, especially since
NGOs and other groups have been trying to improve the situation in Haiti for
years."
One can only hope that these challenges will not deter continued relief
efforts and that the domestic situation
will be improved for the long-term and
not just alleviated for the immediate
future.
OPINIONS
February 2010
Page 8
Europe sinking into decline
Zishan Jiwani
Staff Writer
Europe is in decline. This has been the case for
quite sometime. A sign of its demise was effectively
illustrated by President Obama’s recent refusal to
attend the scheduled U.S.-EU summit in May.
White House officials insist the decision is a
matter of scheduling, but we know better. The
President is in trouble, and international trips haven’t
helped him with the electorate. Yet for the President
to skip meetings with America’s most reliable partner
shows signs of a deeper trend: the Era of Europe is
coming to an end.
Europe’s decline is both relative and absolute.
The relative decline is expected. With the rise of
Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), Europe,
more so than the United States, has to make room
for these new players to wield their influence. China
and India are both expanding their interests in Africa
and are doing so to the detriment of former colonial
powers, who had previously carved out spheres of
influence.
Yet the more troubling aspects of European
decline are in the absolute sense. Europe is losing as
an economic power. Chronic unemployment is rampant, and declining population in many European
countries is seriously troubling. After the devastation
of WWII, Europe rebuilt itself. Rather than military
force, it projected economic force with the creation
of the European Union.
Over the past several decades, Europe has
moved closer together, and some have speculated
that Europe could act as a ‘United States of Europe,’
counteracting the power of the U.S. Nothing could
be further from the truth.
Europe’s internal bickering is infamous. After
working for over ten years to create a new constitution, it failed. Following its failure, the Lisbon Treaty
was adopted, but when the time came to put dynamic leaders into place, they chose pedestrian Herman
Van Rompuy, a Belgian politician with little flair as
President, and the inexperienced Catherine Ashton,
a former trade minister as High Representative of
the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
European leaders did not want the likes of Tony
Blair to outshine them.
The other aspect of Europe’s decline has been
Europe’s xenophobia translated into Islamophobia.
The clearest evidence of broad scale attack against
Muslims was in Switzerland, where a referendum
was passed banning the building of additional
minarets on mosques. It is a rather obscure issue, as
the law does not ban the building of additional
mosques, nor does it require the removal of current
minarets. However, this subtle move is likely the first
Repeal
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Christopher Sprague
Staff Writer
It is time that the U.S. Military repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
policy that has muzzled lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(LGBT) volunteers for nearly two decades. The outdated policy hinders overseas operations, places limits on personnel, decreases troop
morale, and does not reflect the status of civil rights in the twentyfirst century. Doing away with such a misguided policy is in the best
interests of the U.S. and would be a landmark event in the struggle
for LGBT rights for years to come.
From a strategic standpoint, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has locked
out hundreds of qualified servicemen and women of substantial
value, including highly-skilled Arabic and Farsi linguists. It is estimated that $369 million has been spent discharging and replacing personnel under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” since the US invaded
Afghanistan in 2001.
Particularly in a time when U.S. military forces are stretched thin,
continuing to bar openly LGBT members is not smart policy. If
someone wishes to serve their country in honorable defense of the
freedoms and liberties we cherish as a nation, then we should
encourage their ambitions. Repealing the law now would open the
doors to thousands of young men and women who wish to stand
united against the threats of the new century without compromising
the person that they were born to be.
If government leaders such as President Obama, Admiral Mullen,
and even former Vice President Dick Cheney openly support a
repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” then we as a society just might
learn to do the same.
Over the next year, the military will undertake a thorough assessment of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. The outcome of this
review will hopefully result in a more tolerant military stance regarding openly gay service members. Even so, the repeal is unlikely to
take effect for several years due to a desired transition period to help
smooth out anticipated backlash against LGBT service members.
The power of repeal lies with Congress, where politics figure to play
a major role in the final decision.
It is rather disappointing to witness the pure hatred and intolerance espoused by so many in the United States, even as we stand in
our most fragile and vulnerable state. When we as individuals and a
society learn to accept the differences inherent among us, then we
can begin to distance ourselves from the tragedies of our past. By
repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the America our all-volunteer
armed forces risk their lives to defend can continue working to earn
the title of the land of the free.
of many to combat the growing population of
Muslims in Switzerland.
Other European countries aren’t far behind.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy stands as the
strongest oppoent of Turkey’s entry into the EU and
announced in his state of the nation address that full
Muslim veils were a sign of debasement and were
not welcome in France.
Italian authorities required all Roma (also known
as Gypsies) peoples (including children) to get fingerprinted. Meanwhile, according to the European
Agency on Fundamental Rights, there were 3,536
reports of Hate Crimes, including over 100 related
to anti-Semitism in Sweden during 2007. The examples go on and on.
The irony of the whole affair is that Barack
Obama’s popularity in Europe is higher than anywhere else in the world. Italians, French and
Germans love him for being a minority from a humble background who beat the odds to become
President of the United States.
Yet many of the same people discriminate
against the Turks, Roma and Africans. Our greatest
asset is the diversity of the peoples who reside in the
United States, and despite many ongoing problems,
we have been able to manage this diversity. Europe
has failed in its efforts and thus will likely fail to
impede its inexorable decline.
South Korea:
Education Model or Disaster?
Grace Chung
Editor-in-chief
The enormous leap in education that
South Koreans have been able to achieve
have won them plaudits from around the
world. In multiple speeches, President
Obama has compared South Korea with
the U.S. in an effort to rally American educators.
“If India or South Korea are producing more scientists and engineers than we
are, we will not succeed.,” Obama warned
the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
In a speech delivered in March of last
year, Obama said, “Our children--listen to
this--our children spend over a month less
in school than children in South Korea
every year.”
There is reason to be impressed. In
only one generation, South Korea was able
to jump from third-world achievement
levels to attaining some of the highest test
scores and graduation rates in the world,
beating out the U.S. in every subject.
However, the Korean education system is not something we should try to
emulate in the U.S. Although 15-year old
South Koreans have some of the highest
test scores in Math and Science in the
world, according to an international PISA
survey, they also show the least interest in
these subjects. Almost all exams in Korea
are multiple choice with few open-ended
questions. Korean companies regularly
complain that students lack the creativity
needed to be successful in the workplace.
What’s more, South Korea’s public
education system ranks relatively low compared with other developed nations. As a
result, parents rely on private institutions.
Despite Korea’s recession, the Bank of
Korea said that households spent a record
40.5 trillion won ($35 billion) on education
from October 2008 to September 2009,
up 3.5 percent from the previous year.
A lot of this money is used to pay for
after-school classes called “hagwuns” and
private tutoring, which often runs as late
as 10 or 11pm. It’s not uncommon to see
students sleeping through their classes in
school (even bringing pillows) so that they
can be alert for their after-school classes.
In 2008, parents spent 20.9 trillion won on
private tutoring. This phenomenon, called
“education fever,” has raised concern
among activists who worry about a growing achievement gap between wealthy and
poor students.
Korean students get one chance per
year to take the College Scholastic Ability
Test--an exam which primarily determines
their chances of future success.
Every president in South Korea has
tried to stamp out the emphasis on private
tutoring. The current President Lee
Myung-bak promised that more students
would be able to enter top schools without
private lessons. His administration altered
the admissions system to shift more
emphasis on school records and extracurricular activities. However, his policies
have only given rise to new mutations of
private tutoring and admissions consulting.
There are certainly some valuable lessons that can be learned from South
Korea’s education system. Increasing the
number of school days and hours of private attention for students could certainly
boost America’s grades; however, there is a
reason why so many Koreans come to the
U.S. to study and so few Americans venture to Korea for their own studies.
In the U.S., even a student with poor
grades and low standardized scores can get
a second chance. The U.S. is a land of
opportunities and second chances, and we
as Americans are fortunate to enjoy it.
OPINIONS
Students want better Arabic program
Shawn Gunaratne
Guest Writer
In the summer of 2006, the IsraelHezbollah war sparked my interest in
Arabic. I remember watching CNN
and realizing how little I knew about
why these people were fighting. I spent
days at the local library determined to
find out why people would spill so
much blood over a sliver of land.
Although I still do not have a complete
answer, this research sparked an interest in me to study Arabic and attain a
deeper insight into the Arab world.
Therefore, when I found out that
Seton Hall offered an Arabic course, I
was ecstatic. The challenge of learning
a completely new language, with an
alphabet that resembled nothing I had
ever encountered, excited me. Coming
to Seton Hall in the summer of 2006, I
was ready to become as proficient in
Arabic as a person could possibly
become in four years.
I have taken Arabic for three years
now, and I am embarrassed to say that
our newest professor must start his lessons from the beginning.
“When I came to teach this level
(fourth year Arabic), I was expecting
students to be able to speak the language,” said Professor Karam Tannous
in an interview for this story. “I was
surprised that students had to start
from the beginning because they didn’t
even know essential vocabulary.”
The reason is simple: the Arabic
Program has no structure. There is no
Arabic department, and the program
does not fall under Modern Languages.
Rather, it is part of Asian studies.
However, Asian studies does not seem
to have an invested interest in the
growth and quality of the program.
This lack of interest in the Arabic
program at Seton Hall is most clearly
illustrated by the lack of a full-time
tenure track professor. With the exception of the current professor, few--if
any--of the other professors have been
trained to teach Arabic.
In the three years I have taken
Arabic, I have only received a syllabus
once. Due to this lack of structure,
each professor has free reign to teach
using whatever method or order he
wants to. Furthermore, without a syllabus, we had little idea what our final
grade would be based on.
My Arabic professors have not
been particularly responsible either.
Last semester, the professor would frequently miss class without notifying
any of the students. “More times than
not, he didn’t even show up to class,”
said junior Jassim Abbasi. Even the day
of Abassi’s final, the professor was
nowhere to be seen. These types of
events are inexcusable especially when
students are paying nearly $3,000 for
the course.
Many students have found it necessary to go abroad to reach a proficient level of Arabic. “The reason I
went abroad is because I refuse to have
four years of Arabic without knowing
how to speak a word of Arabic,” said
senior Carl Wilhjelm who studied
abroad in Egypt last year.
Many of my peers and I are
Diplomacy majors. Therefore, when
we go to the Diplomacy School to
lodge formal complaints, we are directed to the Asian Studies Department,
but Asian Studies seems to have little
interest in addressing our concerns.
It should be noted that I have not
always been the best student. I have
missed assignments and skipped classes occasionally. That being said, there is
a serious lack of incentive to attend
classes and do assignments when the
students know that the professors will
probably not check the assignment or
that there is a good possibility that the
professor will not show up to class.
One element I must commend the
Arabic program on is their ability to
hire professors who are directly from
the Middle East. They have provided a
unique perspective into the challenges
currently facing the Arab world, and
because of their experience, it has
made for a richer Arabic education.
Many students have commented that
the Arabic program is currently mov-
ing in the right direction. My current
professor uses a systematic approach
to teaching Arabic, simultaneously following the book and supplementing it
when necessary. He is patient with his
students. However, until he or someone equally qualified is hired as a fulltime professor, we cannot be sure that
the Arabic program will flourish.
Our university is committed to building global servant leaders. It is not farfetched to argue that the Middle East is
and will likely remain a central focus in
U.S. foreign policy for the forthcoming
future. If our Diplomacy School is to
be one of the best, Arabic can no
longer be ignored. There is an increasing interest in Arabic among graduating high school students because many
students see Arabic as the doorway to
the Arab world, as I once did.
To give students the edge that they
need, there should be more collaboration between the Diplomacy school
and the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Diplomacy School must take
more responsibility for the Arabic program since an overwhelming majority
of students in the program are
Diplomacy students and are required
to take a language to fulfill their class
requirements.
Also, an effective Arabic program
requires a set curriculum so that
regardless of which professor leaves
from year to year, the next professor
will know where to begin his or her
first lesson.
Finally, I cannot stress enough that
the most valuable commitment the
College of Arts and Sciences can make
to the Arabic program is to hire a fulltime faculty member, who is a professional Arabic teacher.
Even though I believe I could have
benefited from a stronger Arabic program, I hope that the Diplomacy
School and College of Arts and
Sciences will collaborate to implement
a stronger program so that future students will be able to understand the
Middle East through the Arabic language.
whitehead envoy
John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations
Dianna Schwegman
Editor-in-Chief, FOCUS
Grace Chung
Editor-in-Chief, Opinions
Matthew Ausloos
Jacie Jones
Europe, Asia, & Copy Editor
Americas, Entertainment Editor
Timothy Dooley
Pirate Adventures, Sports Editor
Karina Kainth
Africa Editor
Ornella Dajlanaj
Dean Courtney Smith
Middle East Editor
Faculty Advisor
The views expressed in the Whitehead Envoy are those of
the writers and are not intended to represent the views of
the Whitehead School or of Seton Hall University.
Staff Writers
Dan Grimm
Kelsey Coolidge
Sean Corrigan
Constantina Soukas
Cassie Denbow
Allison Marron
Kelly Freeman
Caleb Barnhart
Christopher Sprague
Maria Ekimoglou
Zishan Jiwani
Ross Joy
Maggie Bridgeman
Jenny Lewellen
Want to share your opinion? Write a letter to the editor
and send it to [email protected].
February 2010
Page 9
Your Voice
Needed
Kelsey Coolidge
Staff-Writer
My initial reaction when I first
heard about a committee to
reform the diplomacy school curriculum was relief; finally a forum
in which students could address
their grievances to the Whitehead
School without appearing uncoordinated.
The Whitehead Curriculum
Reform Committee will be distributing a survey to all undergraduate Diplomacy students.
This committee is a student initiative consisting of seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen
and is charged with the purpose
of representing the students’
opinion on the curriculum. The
committee hopes that the student
input will help the Diplomacy
School shape its curriculum for
the future.
I found it encouraging that
the committee was not just making recommendations to the
Whitehead School but backing
up their recommendations with
concrete results. Since then, I
have been inspired and excited to
work with this committee on its
various projects.
Our success relies on the
undergraduate Diplomacy students at Seton Hall. Without
your input, our results will appear
lackluster. The more responses
we are able to collect, the more
comprehensive and influential
our report will be.
The surveys will be collected
both online and on paper. All
undergraduate Diplomacy students should expect emails from
members of the group with a link
to access the online survey.
Look for the Curriculum
Reform table outside the cafeteria with laptops available for your
use. Representatives from the
Committee will be made available
to answer questions and provide
more information.
All students are encouraged
to complete the survey online. A
goal of the Curriculum Reform
Committee is to promote environmental sustainability. The
online version is convenient,
paper-free, and can be taken at
any time of the day.
If you are unable to take the
survey online, a paper hand-out
will be available within two
weeks. You can obtain a copy of
the survey from a representative
of the Committee.
From this survey, we will
generate a report. This report will
be sent to the Diplomacy School
as a resource for curriculum
reform and as an assessment of
student opinion. Our success in
this initiative is your success.
Take the survey and we will take
the responsibility of addressing
your concerns.
February 2010
Page 10
Olympic hockey
is a toss-up
Dan Grimm
Staff Writer
At the start of February, all eyes
were on Canada. The Winter Olympics
returned to our northern neighbors for
the first time since Calgary hosted in
1988. The expectations were not only
high for the city of Vancouver but also
for the Canadian men's hockey team.
Loaded with NHL superstars,
Team Canada is looking to win its second gold medal in the last 58 years.
Thus far, the hockey tournament has
shown that this will not be an easy task
for Canada or for the rest of the field.
Canada, along with Sweden (gold
medal winners in 2006) and Russia,
were the clear-cut favorites to win the
gold medal at the start of the Olympics.
Team USA, filled with young talent but
lacking veteran presence, was perceived
to be an "underdog" in the tournament.
The games began according to
plan on Tuesday, Feb. 16 with Canada
drubbing Norway 8-0, the U.S. taking
care of Switzerland 3-1, and the
Russians rolling past neighboring Latvia
8-2. Day 2 also saw predictable results,
with Finland beating lowly Belarus 5-1,
Sweden getting by Germany 2-0, and
the Czech Republic winning a hardfought battle against rival Slovakia.
Surprises came into play on the third
day of hockey.
Day 3 started off as expected with
Team USA putting up six goals against
a weak Norwegian team. But then tournament-favorite Canada needed a
shootout to put away the pesky Swiss,
who had beaten them in the previous
Olympics. The day was capped by the
biggest shocker of the tournament thus
far: a 2-1 shootout win for Slovakia
over heavily-favored Russia.
These last two games proved that
winning the gold will not come easy for
any team, no matter how talented the
players.
The Winter Olympics features
both men's and women's ice hockey.
Unlike the men's tournament, the
women's is concentrated between
Team Canada and Team USA. The two
powerhouses have combined for 72
goals in 6 games while only conceding
3. Look for Canada and USA to remain
unbeaten until they face each other in
the gold medal game.
With the competitive difference
between the men's and women's tournament, the men's games should be
more exciting and less predictable.
However, Ryan Duffy, a freshman at
Seton Hall and avid hockey fan, does
not feel that way.
"Even with these upsets and close
games, the talent from the big teams
such as Canada and Russia will overtake
the others in the medal round," says
Duffy. Duffy, who has been watching
the NHL and international hockey for a
number of years, feels that the preliminary round is not an accurate representation of what is to come in the tournament.
"It's just like the regular season in
the NHL. There's going to be upsets
and such, but, in the end, the best team
always wins."
SPORTS
One on one with Jamar Nutter
Timothy Dooley
Section Editor
Recently I had the chance to catch
up with Jamar Nutter, a former shooting guard for the Seton Hall basketball
team. He was instrumental in helping
the Pirates reach the NCAA tournament in the 2005-2006 season. Nutter
has played professional basketball
overseas since leaving Seton Hall and
is currently with AS Sale in Morocco.
The following interview was conducted over the internet.
TD: How long have you played
overseas?
JN: I have been playing overseas
for two years now.
TD: How long did you play basketball in Germany for the
Svortdmund 49ers?
JN: I played for the team in
Germany for six months after I got
released from a former team in
Denmark, which was my first stop out
of SHU.
TD: You played shooting guard at
Seton Hall. Have you played this position on your international teams?
JN: On all the teams I have
played on, I have played both point
guard and shooting guard. In
Uruguay, I sometimes played the small
forward position, since we had another Uruguayan shooting guard.
TD: How much has your game
changed since playing overseas?
JN: I feel my game has not
changed. I just have developed more
as a player. Since I am out of school,
have no class, and am far from home,
I have plenty of time to work on it. I
have improved in all areas of my
game, so I cannot say it has changed
from college. I just have developed
more into my game.
TD: You currently play in
Morocco for AS Sale. How is that
going?
JN: Playing in Morocco has been
good so far. I have nothing bad to say
at all. There are only ten teams in the
league, and my team is currently in
second place, but we are working our
way back up to first place. As far as
the other teams, some teams do not
have the best athletes, but they make
up for it with their work effort, so it
makes the games very competitive.
TD: Was there much of a culture
shock in either Uruguay or Morocco?
JN: There was not much of a culture shock because both countries are
mostly Americanized, but both countries of course have their own food,
culture, and traditions.
One thing that was shocking was
while I know that the U.S. has homeless people, the homeless in Uruguay
and Morocco live differently. It was
down right bad seeing little kids in
both countries that were no more
than six years old looking in garbage
cans for food, trying to find bottles to
turn them in for money, and even
sleeping on the streets with no place
to go. It was just heartbreaking to me.
TD: One of your biggest shots
was against Syracuse during the 20052006 season. Have you had a really big
shot like that in international play?
What do you feel your best game was
so far?
JN: Yes, I have had a couple of
big shots like that overseas. I can
remember in Germany our team was
down by like nine points with about
45 seconds left. I helped my team
come back from down nine, but then
we got down by three. I hit a huge
"and one" three and then hit the free
throw. We won the game on that play.
I would have to say, though, that
was not my best game. My best game
was in Uruguay. We were playing the
second place team. We were down sixteen points in the fourth quarter with
four minutes left in the game. I went
into a zone and scored twelve straight
points which got us back in the game.
After that, we pulled together and
Photo Courtesy of S.R. Smith
Nutter is one of 37 players to score at least
1,000 points while playing for Seton Hall.
won. It was a great run, and it sure felt
real good.
TD: How different is international ball from college ball?
JN: Well it depends on the country and the league. Some leagues out
here are just as competitive as college
basketball, and there is really no difference, but some leagues are less
competitive. The big places that are
very competitive are Spain, Germany,
Poland, Greece, Austria, Australia,
Italy, Venezuela, and Argentina.
TD: Do you have to secure a contract at the end of each season or can
you get multiyear deals?
JN: It depends on your play. If
you perform very well and to your
potential, then you will definitely get a
job from year to year. There are also
teams out there that if you play great
and are a big key of winning games
for them, then they will sign you for
multiple years. It depends on your
performance honestly.
TD: Do you still talk to any Seton
Hall players?
JN: I talk to several former SHU
players and am still friends with a
majority of the teammates I played
with during my years at SHU. I talk to
Donald Copeland, Kelly Whitney,
Grant Billmeier, Brian Laing, JR
Morris, John Allen, Marcus Toney-El,
and Desmond Herod. I also speak to
the current players at SHU through
the internet from time to time to wish
my guys lots of luck. They are a
NCAA tournament team.
Early victories in Vancouver
Jenny Lewellen
Staff Writer
The Vancouver Winter Olympics kicked off with
Canadian snowboarder Johnny Lyall jumping through the
Olympic rings in the 2010 Opening Ceremony on Feb. 12.
This impressive entrance set the tone for a night which
featured an enchanting celebration of Canadian culture,
with performances by singers Nelly Furtado, Bryan Adams
and Sarah McLachlan.
Over 60,000 people filled the stadium in jubilation,
despite the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili
earlier that afternoon. Kumaritashvili died after crashing
into a metal pole during a test run on the luge course.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques
Rogge told Vancouver2010.com, "The IOC is in deep
mourning, [Kumaritashvili] lost his life pursuing his passion.
I have no words to say what we feel.''
During the ceremony, the stadium observed a moment
of silence for the luger, while his seven Georgian teammates
wore black armbands in his memory.
John Furlong, the chief executive of the Vancouver
Organizing Committee, suggested during his speech that the
athletes play the games in Kumaritashvili's honor, saying,
"May you carry his Olympic dream on your shoulders and
compete with his spirit in your heart."
After the games began, Canadians waited eagerly for
their first gold medal ever as hosts of the Winter Olympics.
Their patience was finally rewarded when Alexandre
Bilodeau won the men's mogul skiing competition on
Sunday, Feb. 14. He finished the course in 23.17 seconds to
earn a score of 26.75, upsetting the defending Australian
champion Dale Begg-Smith.
Bilodeau sped down the slope in his final run, pushing
himself almost to the point of falling. His fearlessness paid
off, and he was serenaded by Canadian fans singing "O,
Canada" at the announcement of his victory.
Bilodeau's gold medal breakthrough paved the way for
more host country victories. He expressed confidence in his
fellow Canadian athletes. "It's too good to be true,” he told
The Star-Ledger. “There are more golds to come for
Canada. It's just the beginning of a good party in Canada."
Two days later, Maelle Ricker became Canada's first
woman to win a gold medal in Vancouver, placing first in
women's snowboard cross.
For the United States, snowboarder Seth Wescott
claimed gold in the men's snowboard cross, becoming a
two-time medalist.
During the beginning of the medal round, Wescott was
fighting for the silver medal position with France's Tony
Ramoin. After American Nate Holland lost an early lead,
Wescott caught up to Canadian Mike Robertson in the middle of a pivotal turn, finally passing him in the last few seconds of the competition.
ENTERTAINMENT
February 2010
Page 11
Hope for Haiti Now:
Celebs unite to host largest telethon in history
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
“It’s a big world out there,
and we all have a lot of responsibility to help out people who can’t
help themselves.”
Jacie Jones
Section Editor
Over $66 million has been raised
for Haitian relief efforts through the
powerful Hope for Haiti Now
telethon that aired on Jan. 22. The
unprecedented celebrity effort aired
on nearly every local and cable channel, including more than 25 networks,
making it the most widely distributed
telethon in history.
The telethon attracted approximately 83 million U.S. viewers and
another 5.8 million online video
streams, in addition to those viewing
the event internationally and those listening to the radio broadcast in Haiti.
The program was broadcast from
New York, Los Angeles and London,
including clips reported by Anderson
Cooper directly from Port-Au-Prince.
The two-hour event was spearheaded by the efforts of George
Clooney, Wyclef Jean and MTV.
According to MTV, Clooney contacted CEO Judy McGrath just two days
after the 7.1 magnitude earthquake
swept Haiti. He had already enlisted
the help of Jean, Bono, Sting and
Bruce Springsteen to make the
telethon happen.
“We’ve all seen that music plays a
role in horrible times,” McGrath said
in a interview with PEOPLE maga-
zine during the planning stages. “It’s
healing and mobilizing. If we bring
the music and George brings his
incredible advocacy and all his relationships, we’ll have something really
strong.”
Fortunately, “strong” proved to
be an understatement. Clooney used
his experience organizing the massive
telethons for 9/11 and the South
Asian tsunami to bring together over
100 celebrities helping in every way
imaginable, from performing and
answering calls to taking donations
and offering speeches of encouragement and hope.
Callers were greeted by celebrity
operators, including Jack Nicholson,
Ben Affleck, Taylor Lautner, Drew
Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Steven
Spielberg, Tom Hanks and the Jonas
Brothers, all personally thanking
callers for their donations and support.
Another slew of stars spoke during the two-hour TV event, including
Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt,
Morgan Freeman and Halle Berry.
The various celebrities shared testimonies of the hope and horror being
endured by Haitian survivors, inspiring tales of perseverance, peace and
tragedy for viewers.
The music performances featured
in the broadcast were selected to
inspire hope and survival, as well as
acknowledge the loss and despair of
those impacted by the disaster. Stars
covered songs such as Better than
Ezra’s “Breathless,” Leonard Cohen’s
“Hallelujah,” The Beatles’ “Let it Be,”
the civil rights anthem “We Shall
Overcome,” Paul Simon’s “Bridge
Over Troubled Water,” and a newly
released song for the occasion called
“Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour),”
which featured Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono
and the Edge.
Artists performing for the event
included Wyclef
Jean, Bruce
Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J.
Blige, Shakira, Sting, Alicia Keys,
Christina Aguilera, Madonna, Dave
Matthews, John Legend, Justin
Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Beyonce,
Keith Urban, Kid Rock, Cold Play,
Bono, Jay-Z and Rihanna, among
many others.
Apple coupled with the efforts by
offering all of the event’s performances for purchase from the iTunes store.
Songs can be purchased for $0.99,
while the album itself was released for
$7.99, with all proceeds benefiting
Haiti. According to Apple, the album
is currently leading iTune sales as the
#1 album in 18 countries and is the
biggest one-day album pre-order in
iTunes history. These sales (or any
other corporate donations) have yet to
Local celebrity leads area
relief efforts
Multi-platinum Haitian-American rapper and
recorder Wyclef Jean is one of many celebrities raising
funds and awareness for the tragic Haiti earthquake. Jean
helped organize the Help for Haiti Now telethon and also
led extensive national relief efforts through his nonprofit organization, the Yéle Haiti Foundation.
The foundation was created in 2005 as a predecessor
of the Wyclef Jean Foundation, with the goal of distributing scholarships to Haitian youth. To date, their efforts
have provided over 50,000 hot meals to struggling earthquake survivors in the region surrounding Port-AuPrince, in addition to drinking water and other supplies.
WANT TO HELP?
Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org
Phone: 877-99-HAITI
Text: Text “GIVE” to 50555
Mail: Hope for Haiti Now Fund
Entertainment Industry Foundation
1201 West 5th Street, Ste T-700
Los Angeles, CA 90017
be figured into the total $66 million
raised.
In order to ensure that 100 percent of the funds raised provide direct
support to Haiti, the Entertainment
Industry Foundation waived all
administrative fees for hosting the
telethon.
The proceeds are split evenly
among relief efforts organized by the
Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the UN
World Food Programme, Oxfam
America, Partners in Health, the Red
Cross, UNICEF and Wyclef Jean’s
Yele Haiti Foundation. Hope for Haiti
Now is still accepting donations
online or via text, phone or email.
“It’s a big world out there, and we
all have a lot of responsibility to help
out people who can’t help themselves,” Clooney said in an interview
with MTV.
Jean provides pop culture a direct connection to Haiti
and also brings one right here to South Orange.
As a local resident, Jean attended Valisburg High
School, just blocks from SHU. His wife maintains a business in downtown South Orange, called Fusha Home
Accents.
When news of the earthquake hit, Claudinette Jean
placed the store’s stock in storage and converted the retail
space into a drop-off location for local donations.
Volunteers sort through the donations before the materials are shipped to Haiti through the Yéle Foundation.
The store is collecting everything from school supplies to bedding, paper products, cooking utensils and
dishes, as well as monetary donations.
Find more details on: southorange.patch.com
Russian skaters spark cultural controversy
Kelly Freeman
Staff Writer
The World Ice Dancing Champions
Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of
Russia were favored to take the gold at the
Olympics. The pair are known for their artistic creativity and distinctive style, but this
year their creativity has sparked controversy
in Australia.
To some, the portrayal of Aborigines in
their dance number seems creative and
unique. To others, however, it seems a crude
representation of the true aboriginal culture.
The Olympics is an event meant to bring
the world together and to foster mutual
respect and cooperation among different
nations and cultures. This dance, however,
seems to ridicule the aboriginal culture with
costumes consisting of tan body suits, white
body paint and green leaves.
Their dance contains a primal and animalistic tone. However, it is still performed with
much grace and poise, which is a main component of ice dancing. Those who are
Courtesy of the Associated Press
Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Russia
detached from the issues that the Aborigines
have faced see this as entertainment, but to
the Australians, especially the Aboriginal elders, the routine goes much deeper.
The Aborigines have undergone years of
oppression beginning with English coloniza-
tion in 1788; yet their culture is what has
allowed them to maintain their identity. For
this reason, they do not want it ridiculed and
transformed into a tourist attraction in the
international arena in Vancouver. According
to the Aborigines, the routine creates generalizations about their culture which discounts
true understanding of their society.
Ice dancing and figure skating in general
has a continuing trend of representing ethnicities and cultures as a form of entertainment
and as a reflection of the skaters' personal
opinions and curiosities.
Though this may be considered artistic
expression, to the aboriginal people of
Australia, this is not an accurate or true representation of their culture. Domnina and
Shabalin are merely following a trend of ethnic representations in figure skating. Had
their program been created as a true demonstration of Aboriginal culture, their performance would be appreciated wholly for their
extreme talent and athleticism.
February 2010
Page 12
PIRATE ADVENTURES
Pineda recounts teaching adventures in Korea
Marie Vivienne Pineda
Guest Writer
“Anyong ha shimnikka!” Greetings from Korea!
For almost seven months, I have called Korea
my home. I live in Mokpo, a coastal city that is a
five-hour drive south of Seoul. Living in Mokpo
involves daily servings of seafood, ranging from
grilled squid and seaweed soup to raw fish dipped in
wasabi sauce. And with every meal is the staple rice
and kimchi--pickled cabbage spiced with red pepper
powder and Korea's contribution to international
cuisine.
As a cultural ambassador under the U.S.A.Korea Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship
program, I have had ample opportunities to witness
Korea's heritage, from the preserved royal palaces in
Seoul and the monthly provincial festivals that celebrate chrysanthemums to kimchi and, yes, even winter. But even more significant than my excursions
are the daily cultural exchanges that happen in the
classroom. I teach English to 600 students at
Mokpo Jeong Myeong Girls High School.
So how is it being a foreign English teacher in
Korea? Exhausting yet thrilling at the same time.
I will not forget my first day. I battled pass my
nervousness as I introduced myself to a mixture of
30 confused and excited faces. Then, upon mentioning that I was their English teacher from
Hawaii, exuberance and understanding ruled as the
students, in their broken English or their occasional and quite helpful body language, asked if I
danced hula. When I said yes, they requested a
demonstration, which I reluctantly provided.
With a few variations, I repeated the same
introduction and witnessed the same response in
my other 17 classes, each having about 30 girls. Yes,
I was exhausted after teaching almost 20-hours a
week but thrilled to have received an enthusiastic
welcome.
Since the first-day introductions, the following
weekly meetings have not only solidified our relationship but also fostered my thirst for knowledge
Photo Courtesy of Marie Pineda
“Teacher Marie” with her students. She is wearing a “hambok,” the traditional dress of Korea.
about Korea's unique culture, its energetic youth,
and its regimented education system.
Every week, I follow a routine. For hours, I create lesson plans that were constantly adjusted to
accommodate my students' varying levels of
English ability. My students speak English poorly,
despite having a strong grasp of English vocabulary
and an advanced level in reading comprehension.
With their English electronic dictionaries handy, my
students prefer to read English short stories.
Along with their English ability, my lesson plans
also accommodate the ever-changing mood of my
students. One week they are enthusiastic and willing
participants in class activities; in other weeks, especially before exams, they are exhausted, begging that
I allow them self-study time, which mostly means an
hour of catching up on sleep.
When such a request happens, I can only sym-
pathize, having witnessed their busy schedule.
Their weekday schedule involves studying in
school for ten hours, from 8am to 6pm. They have
the standard math, science, English, Korean, and
social studies classes. When school ends, they either
stay in school for an additional four hours of selfstudy or attend “hagwon,” which are subject-specialized tutoring centers.
And so, without adequate sleep, I am no longer
surprised to see several sleeping students in the
classroom. In fact, to be comfortable, they wrap
themselves in fleece blankets and rest their heads on
desk pillows.
Thus, by keeping in mind my students' English
abilities and their moods, my lesson plans include
activities that hold their attention and encourage
participation. Word search puzzles, clips from
American movies and shows, and candy are some of
the resources I utilize to promote class participation. Games, such as Telephone and Taboo, bring
out my students' energetic and competitive spirit.
My students' interest in American culture, along
with my interest in the Korean culture, have also
shaped many of my lessons. For example, to celebrate Halloween, my students watched scenes from
the movie Hocus Pocus, listened to an audio-reading of a scary story, and even wrote their own scary
story in English. Upon learning the tradition behind
"trick-or-treat," my students hounded me for candy
for a week.
Additionally, in several lessons, my students
carefully explained Korean pop culture. Knowing
about Big Bang and TVXQ, famous Korean boy
bands, is a must for English teachers in Korea to
ensure their students' attention and admiration.
In a few weeks, I will be starting my second and
last semester as an English teacher in Korea. I am
feeling the initial mixture of excitement and nervousness. However, I now have semester-long experiences and insights that I am confident will correct
past mistakes and enhance previous accomplishments.
Pirate Alum discusses state stability through coordination
Timothy Dooley
Section Editor
Disclaimer: Joshua Ayers did not
speak in official capacity or represent the
position or interests of the United States
Government, or any of its subordinated officers or legal entities.
The Reserve Officer Training
Corps, better known as ROTC, is a
path where college students, mostly
undergraduates, strive to become officers in the United States Army. Joshua
Ayers, a Seton Hall and Whitehead
School
of
Diplomacy
and
International Relations alum, not only
completed his Master's Degree but
also finished the ROTC program,
aquiring training to become a Second
Lieutenant.
Ayers recently completed several
months of advanced military instruction. On Thursday, Feb. 18, he presented a lecture on Coordinating
Stability Operations in foreign states.
Ayers' discussion mainly focused on
the U.S. military's effort to coordinate
peacekeeping and peacebuilding strategy with federal and non-profit civilian organizations during times of
ongoing and decreasing conflict.
"General Anthony Zinni was one
of the first to point out that 'everything is connected to everything
else,’” Ayers said. “This means that
security, human services, rule of law,
shared responsibility, and economic
governance are interconnected and
dependent on each other.”
Such interconnected strategy is
currently being employed in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Ayers also pointed out
that Haiti is a setting where increased
cooperation is utilized because it is a
humanitarian mission where security
concerns are at the forefront.
In addition to discussing cooperation between the U.S. military and aid
or reconstruction agencies such as
USAID, Ayers discussed how to
become a successful military officer.
Specifically, lieutenants must layout
effective plans for a platoon to execute.
"The conflict in Bosnia was called
the 'corporal's war' because the junior
non-commissioned officers really
took control. The plans developed by
senior officers were broken down to
their simplest components and carried
out effectively."
While Ayers learned how to interact with local leaders in places like
Afghanistan, he also credits Seton
Hall for instructing him on how to
better understand the intricacies of
cross-cultural communication.
"In particular, the Political Ethnic
Pluralism class by Professor
Bariagaber,
Cross
Cultural
Negotiation with Professor Wang, and
History of the Modern Middle East
"In particular, the
Political Ethnic
Pluralism class by
Professor Bariagaber,
Cross Cultural
Negotiation with
Professor Wang, and
History of the Modern
Middle East with
Ambassador Hassan
gave me the best tools for
interaction with
other cultures.
-Joshua Ayers
Photo Courtesy of Joshua Ayers
While at Seton Hall, Joshua Ayers received the training to become a Second Lieutenant.
with Ambassador Hassan gave me the
best tools for interaction with other
cultures. I also learned a lot in
Professor Huang's Global Health,
Bioterrorism, and International
Security class."
Ayers will be using his training
and education as he prepares for his
first deployment in South Korea.
After this tour, Ayers would like to
work with the 82nd Airborne Division
based out of Fort Bragg, North
Carolina.
After the lecture, Ayers answered
questions from several graduate students about decision-making while in
combat. In answering questions, it
became very clear that Ayers remains
firmly committed to working with his
civilian counterparts to ensure that
infrastructures will develop in the
countries where the United States military is currently deployed. "Overall,
the goal is to go from the Army's primary mission to the complete mission
of peace and nationbuilding," Ayers
said.
Ayers is originally from South
Carolina and majored in political science at Clemson University. After
spending two years in the professional world, he enrolled at Seton Hall.