During orientation for the program, the director of the Council on International Education Exchange Beijing gave us an easy comparison to put things in perspective. If you take your parents’ income and divide it by five; take your house size and put five times as many people in it; take your public transit system and put five times as many people in it; and take the difficulty of getting into college and make it five times harder, then you have China.

The thing that perhaps has gnawed at me most since coming to China is the lack of awareness about making and keeping lines. You could say I was in a state of unconscious incompetence when I arrived in Beijing. I was waiting in line at one of the restaurants on campus one morning to grab some 包子 (baozi, steamed buns) before class. The building was pretty packed and people were struggling to push their way through the door, trying to get closer to the front of the line. To be honest, I was a bit shocked. I passed it off as a busy morning or thought there must have been a massive event or something going on. At this point, I had progressed to conscious incompetence. I refused to form a negative view of Chinese culture.

A few days later, it happened at a bus stop. There was a large group of people trying to get on a packed bus, and people began running from the back and shoving their way onto it. I told myself it was rush hour and people needed to get home, but something felt somewhat off. It wasn’t until people began attempting to push in front of me at the ticket office that I realized that is how things are done here. I did some research and we talked about the event in class. At this point, I reached a level of conscious competence.

It turns out there was a massive pre-Olympic campaign to prevent this from happening in the face of the world’s tourists and the global audience. There were slogans, such as “我排队，我文明。我礼让，我快乐,” (“I wait in line and am cultured, I display courtesy and am happy”) that Beijing used to campaign, along with a national 排队日 (lineup day) held on the 11th of every month leading up to the Olympics. Four years later, the inability to queue still seems pretty prevalent. I am told, however, this is only a fraction of how bad it was in the past.

I have learned a few less rude ways to say, “Please stay in line.” These include: “请排队，好吗？” (Please line up, OK?), “不要插队” (“Don’t butt!”), “后面去” (“Get to the back!”), and my personal favorite “你丫怎么插队啊?” (“Why do you jump the line?”) I feel it is as much a problem of overcrowding as it is a problem of scarcity, despite there being only a slight difference between the two. If there are 250 people attempting to take a 100-person bus, it is inevitable there will be commotion trying to get on board. I have no doubt that this would be true in any society on Earth. I’ve witnessed it during rush hour in New York. I think because much of China needs to do it so often, it has permeated into every location: pools, workout rooms, stores, bars and security lines.

I’ve tried to keep an incredibly open mind and have learned to appreciate how different everything here really is. I feel understanding these cultural differences and learning to embrace them has already begun to benefit me and is something nearly everyone needs to accomplish at some point in his life.

This was not robbery, at least in the expected sense. What I mean is that I had robbed myself. I sat and performed an agonizing mental expense report for the week. There were those really over-priced glasses of beer (most of which were purchased under drunken impulse and remain hazy in my memory), a string of excessively sumptuous lunches, various unnecessary French knickknacks, etc.

These were all consumer decisions my former instincts would have instructed me to forego, possibly even scoff at rudely in protest of such hiked, touristy prices, but there seems to be a reflexive instinct for travelers to attempt to wring every pleasurable experience from their respective locale, which is all in all a good headspace to be in, granted with certain caveats so as to avoid the consequential poverty that hitches itself to such ruthless indulgence.

A first, well-heeded piece of advice is to choose your moments when spending. At minimum, a study abroad runs at least a month. This is actually a lot of time despite your travel instinct’s job to make you feel antsy and harried your whole stay.

Not every meal needs to be a service of worship to your taste buds. Some days you just need to get by. Here in Tours you can purchase fresh produce, along with hazardously long baguettes, and cuts of cheap, delectable cheeses. And if you’re doing a home stay you’ll probably make the rounds in terms of local cuisine anyway.

There is no perfect formula for going out cheaply here, but that’s probably true anywhere. I do have a few tips, though. First off, there are two focal points of nightlife here in Tours (at least that I’m aware of): Place Plumereau (a square that is enclosed by bars/restaurants and is in close proximity to discothéques or clubs) and the guinguette (a bar/restaurant/café/general-area-down-near-the-Loire-river where hordes of drunk and/or hopeful drunks flock to).

For the young and desperately thirsty, the open container law here will be a welcome surprise. The law basically means that you can drink in public, which in American culture is an activity traditionally reserved for haggard-looking alcoholics, rebellious teens, etc. Many of the night-owls double fist tall boys of room temp beers (the ice cold variety presents the problem of numbness) or bottles of liquor that tend to be the preface to a really horrendous following morning. Some of the more serious and resilient partygoers have even taken to wearing backpacks out and stocking them with choice alcoholic beverages to carry them through the night (personally, I carry around a standard two-step wine opener and heft a bottle of red, but to each his own).

Now you won’t be able to get a seat anywhere but this does mean you can offset some of the cost of drinking by supplementing with store-bought stuff between stays at bars or clubs. There are more devious methods you can try as well, like refilling a bar-bought glass with your own cheaply purchased stuff, but in general this is quite rude and will often get you booted out of a place with very little delicacy.

A last, really parent-ish sounding bit of advice is to make a budget for yourself. This might be seem obscenely obvious but you’d be surprised how many people coast by on guesstimated math and find themselves on the back end of their trip slurping ketchup packets and greedily devouring the complimentary bread at dinner.

If you live abroad smartly, you might actually have enough money left to buy all those souvenirs you promised.

Obama’s new policy restores the “people-to-people” contacts between the U.S. and Cuba that existed under the Clinton administration, reinstating the embargo exemptions for Americans traveling for humanitarian, religious and academic purposes that were barred under Bush. Also, more direct flights to Cuba will be permitted.

More academic and research travel will mean increased contact between U.S. academic communities and the new generation of students and faculty in Cuba, sparking active debate at a time when the country needs it. In the last years of the Clinton administration, Cuban colleges and universities enjoyed contacts with their counterparts in the U.S., and these new rules will restore them. And the new order makes it easier for religious organizations to fund travel to Cuba, a move that implies the Obama administration has a mature understanding of Cuban civil society.

Now that Obama has made his move, the Cuban government should rise to the occasion. Cuba should implement programs that are more open to academic connections, allowing individual applications by Cubans to undergraduate and graduate study in the U.S.

The question now is whether the governments of Cuba and the U.S. can maintain a positive course of engagement and manage the volume of “people-to-people” contacts, which is bound to increase. In any case, Obama should continue opening up the U.S. to Cuban society. Relations with Cuba have always been tricky, and the U.S.’s actions have not always produced reasonable responses from Cuba. But Obama has wisely broken from the habits of prior presidents, risen above domestic politics and put America’s greatest assets: its scholars, religious groups, and cultural figures – to work on bringing the two countries closer.

It was 9 a.m. and two friends and I lugged 100 pounds of baggage that held my life as it was in Berlin: sweaters, postcards, posters, a souvenir bottle of Club-Mate (a caffeinated drink), nine biersteins (for friends), a map of the city to hang on my wall.

I had two hours until my flight left, and that was a good thing. One of my bags was 20 pounds overweight, and I found myself sprawled on the floor, frantically re-packing in the hopes I could get both suitcases under British Airways’ 50 pounds weight limit.

Caroline Chamberlain, a fourth-year UCLA history student, and Ethan Kelley, a fourth-year U. California Santa Cruz linguistics student, watched and laughed.

It’s just like me to wait until the airport to finish packing. Eventually, I crammed everything back in and handed my bags over at the counter. A generous attendant ignored that I was still slightly over the limit.

I met both Chamberlain and Kelley through the Education Abroad Program. We became fast friends, solidified after we tried and failed miserably at making our own Korean barbecue. Kelley is staying the year, but Chamberlain flew back a few days after me.

We passed the remaining time lounging on the airport floor, counting the number of leopard print accessories we saw. It’s a habit we picked up in Spain, where faux-safari is all the rage. We tallied eight in just under an hour.

Forty minutes before my flight, I moved to the security line, crying a little and waving goodbye to my friends and to Berlin. Mostly, though, I was struggling to maintain a sense of dignity as I dropped all four of my carry-on bags at security.

I boarded the plane 10 minutes later, and in the comforting sterility of the Berlin Tegel Airport, my time in Germany ended where it began eight months ago.

The transition back to California has been surprisingly easy, but also very strange. To start, grocery stores here feel enormous. As do gallons of milk – in Berlin, we had only liters.

And I stopped by Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on my way back up home from a visit to Los Angeles to move into my spring sublease, ordered a medium cup, and was greeted by 16 ounces of steamy, black coffee. That’s right – finally, a proper cup of coffee, after months where a “large” was 6 ounces.

I thought it would be much harder to come back. I thought I would miss more, find the re-acculturation more difficult, and question my decision not to extend the program and stay for a year.

It has actually helped to relive Berlin through all the paper souvenirs I collected – ticket stubs, brochures, flyers, tags, receipts, etc. Each has a memory associated with Berlin.

During my time there, I also wrote down what I did every day. I can’t recommend this enough – I did so much in my time abroad to remember it all, so I wrote it down and collected as much as I could.

But it also helps that I have a lot to look forward to in Los Angeles. My classes at Humboldt Universität zu Berlin were less rigorous, met less often and were generally taken less seriously than at UCLA. I’m actually looking forward to lectures meeting more than once a week, writing papers in English and returning to math and physics. I’m also taking a German class to ensure I keep speaking the language.

Lastly, my quiet suburban hometown in Silicon Valley is so far from Berlin’s hustling and bustling industrial character that it’s hard to relate the two. Sleepy streets with two-story houses instead of imposing apartment buildings, silent hybrid cars instead of roaring trains and busses. And it doesn’t feel as if time has passed in Sunnyvale – there are even the same stores in the Safeway shopping center, the same highways, the same music on the radio.

Chamberlain said she feels this as well – everything in our hometowns appears so similar to how we left it, it’s as if no time has passed.

Yet, life here has gone on as always.

All of a sudden my sister – a senior in high school – is going to college. I find myself responding to waiters in German. Trader Joe’s has brought back their chocolate-covered espresso beans. My parents renovated the kitchen. And my time abroad already feels like it’s fading away.

“Berlin feels like a dream,” Chamberlain said. “I sometimes wonder why I missed so many things (when I was there).”

There are so many things I “shoulda, coulda, woulda” done in Berlin. Museums whose art I never saw, bakeries whose pastries I’ve never tasted, the list goes on.

But I could not do it all, and overall I am happy with what I did accomplish: Getting to know Berlin better than I know my hometown.

Back in Berlin, Kelley and Brianna Miner, a fourth-year UC Santa Barbara chemistry student who I also met through EAP, are enjoying unprecedented amounts of sunshine. The day following my return home it rained in California, but Berliners experienced their first day of spring.

The cafes along Simon Dach Strasse, our favorite street, have moved their tables back outside, Miner said.

She went to the botanical gardens and bought tulips. And come April, she plans on joining an outdoor ultimate Frisbee team repairing her bike and returning to the weekly Sunday karaoke sessions at Mauerpark, our favorite flea market.

Life will go on as always in Berlin too, and I wonder if it will feel the same when I return one day.

The students were detained Tuesday during a trip organized by students at the Harvard Kennedy School to al-Walaja, a Palestinian town in the West Bank. Shireen Al-Araj, the students’ guide and a coordinator of an organization in al-Walaja that protests Israel’s construction of a security wall in the West Bank, was arrested and then released soon afterward, according to several trip participants.

According to travelers, the police who boarded the students’ bus said that their vehicle was on a restricted military road. But many participants said that they did not notice any official signs in the area.

“The road we were on was not a designated military zone, nor was it restricted—yet authorities claimed it was,” said Atul Bhattarai, a traveler on the bus. “When asked, they couldn’t provide proof.”

A representative of the Quartet on the Middle East, an international diplomatic entity that is comprised of the United Nations, European Union, United States, and Russia and is headed by Tony Blair, echoed students’ claims that they were not on a restricted military road.“

I am very surprised that [the Harvard] group had an incident at Al Wallajeh yesterday,” Tim Williams, a Quartet adviser for movement and access, wrote in an email sent to trip participants. “I have taken many visitors there on behalf of this office, and I know of others who take visitors there regularly and I have not heard of an incident like this before.”

Israeli authorities did not respond to requests for comment.

“Right after the incident, trek participants were uncomfortable with what happened and [were] concerned about whether or not we had done anything illegal,” said Eliza M. Nguyen, a Crimson news editor.

A trip organizer claimed that other cars on the road were not removed from the area. The organizer, a Palestinian teaching fellow at Harvard, did not travel on the trip and asked to remain anonymous to avoid trouble with authorities when he returns home to Palestine.

Associate Dean of the College John “Jay” L. Ellison said in an email that he understood that the students were detained because they had taken photographs of restricted areas without authorization.

No charges were levied against anyone involved in the Harvard trip.

Kennedy School students organized the trip to show students a Palestinian perspective—a goal that participants mentioned when speculating about the cause of the incident.

“This just highlights how arbitrary and restrictive the Israeli military can be on no particular grounds,” Bhattarai said. “The place we were at didn’t have any military restrictions, but they imposed an ‘impromptu’ rule just to get us out of an area that has Palestinians that suffered particular injustice.”

—Nathalie R. Miraval and Rebecca D. Robbins contributed to the reporting of this article.

The Texas DPS issued a warning Tuesday (PDF) about going to any part of Mexico, including resort areas.

Drug cartel violence and other criminal activity remains a significant safety threat in the country, despite progress made in battling those issues, DPS director Steven C. McCraw said in a press release.

“The Mexican government has made great strides battling the cartels, and we commend their continued commitment to making Mexico a safer place to live and visit,” McCraw said.

Narcotics deals often lead to violence such as homicides, the release stated. It also said bars, nightclubs and resorts are “havens for drug dealers and petty criminals,” and that resort areas have had an increase in rape and assault cases.

The Baylor Police support the Department of Public Safety’s warning against traveling to the country, Baylor Police Chief Jim Doak said.

In the first nine months of 2011, 12,900 people were killed in Mexico, Doak said.

“We are concerned for our students and we want all our students to return after spring break,” Doak said.

Students thinking about going to Mexico should consider the dangers of their trip, even if they are staying in a resort area that was safe in the past, Doak said. He said all travelers must research their travel plans and make sure they know what they might be headed into.

“If they do go, there is nothing the police department can do about it,” Doak said, referencing the decreased access to help that students may have in Mexico.

Doak said the slaughter in Mexico is “senseless” and students need to apply common sense at the highest level when considering going there. If students go, Doak said, they should leave their information with family and friends so someone can know where they are.

Baylor U. senior Skyy Walton and BU senior Patricia Konowal were aware of the violence in Mexico but decided a cruise would avoid much of the problem by decreasing the amount of time they will spend on land, Walton said. She and Konowal will stop in Cozumel to visit the beaches, and then they will go to Progresso to visit the Mayan ruins.

Walton said her plans for staying safe are to stay in a big group and not go far inland. She said the ruins are the farthest they are going inland in Mexico.

“I am a little nervous about going to Mexico, but I think we’ll be fine because we’re going on a cruise,” Walton said.

Last month, the U.S. Department of State warned citizens about conditions in Mexico, as well specific areas with the most crime. Though the Mexican government has made an effort to fight transnational criminal organizations that participate in drug trafficking, homicide, kidnapping and carjacking, the U.S. government will continue to warn Americans about traveling to Mexico because its citizens have fallen victim to crime in the past.

Not everyone is in agreement about how the warning represents Mexico as whole, however.

“Sadly, some places in Mexico are having problems, but when the media talks about that they usually say Mexico and that’s a whole nation,” said Javier Muñoz, director for the Convention and Bureau office of Rocky Point. “It’s like instead of saying Arizona, you’re saying the United States.”

At the Spring Break Safety Fair on Wednesday, Muñoz spoke with students about visiting Puerto Peñasco, more commonly known as Rocky Point, during spring break as well as safety reminders regarding insurance and help numbers to call.

More students are showing interest in traveling to Rocky Point, Muñoz said, as there have been a 5 to 6 percent increase in reservations compared to last year.

According to the warning, “Sonora is a key region in the international drug and human trafficking trades, and can be extremely dangerous for travelers” and those going to to Rocky Point should “exercise caution.”

Matt Uellendahl, a U. Arizona freshman, frequently visits Rocky Point with his family. He said he has not worried about his safety when in Mexico, and that the only way he would stop visiting Mexico is if something “terrible” occurred, like a natural disaster.

“I don’t really agree with the fact that people aren’t going to Mexico as much anymore because of the fact that they think it’s dangerous. But it’s really the same thing except for people have a different idea of it now that there’s stuff happening with Americans,” Uellendahl said. “I don’t feel endangered at all.”

According to the warning, 120 Americans were murdered in Mexico in 2011, compared to the 35 who were murdered in 2007.

“It’s really not as dangerous as people make it out to seem. I mean, being in the United States is pretty dangerous too,” said Zoe Warren, a UA sophomore. “Now, I probably wouldn’t go to certain places but I think vacation places are still pretty safe.”

Warren lived in Mexico for a year in third grade and has visited Mexico more than 20 times since. Living in Mexico when she was younger, in addition to her ability to speak Spanish, helps her feel safer, she said.

At the safety fair, Nate Rettenmayer, Vice Consul from the U.S. Consulate in Nogales, spoke to attendees about what safety precautions to take. He explained that students should visit the State Department’s travel website and enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program. The program allows travelers to create an account on the travel website and log their trip, which will alert the country’s embassy that they are visiting, Rettenmayer said. When new travel warnings, advisories or information is released, it will be sent directly to the traveler, he added.

Rettenmayer said he did not think the travel warnings should deter students from traveling to Mexico.

“I would absolutely not say you should not travel to Mexico,” Rettenmayer said. “I would say use caution and familiarize yourself with the materials that are out there and then make an educated decision about traveling there based on those materials.”

The two that died are a macabre addition to a long list of 120 Americans who were murdered in Mexico in 2011, according to the Department of State website.

Students traveling to Mexico for spring break and other reasons should be concerned, especially in certain areas, Penn State U. assistant professor of history Grace Pena Delgado said.

In a travel warning issued Feb. 8, the U.S. Department of State officially notified American travelers that an ongoing war between violent drug gangs and Mexican government forces, has led to an alarming increase of gun battles, kidnappings, car-jackings and disappearances.

The narcotics-related violence has killed more than 47,000 people since December of 2006 and more than 12,000 in the first nine months of 2011 alone, according to the travel warning.

Delgado said she has delayed her own research plans in Mexico City for the last six months because the threat of violence is real — and now stretches from the borderlands of Mexico to the country’s interior, and even into nation’s resort areas.

Twenty-two foreign tourists were robbed near the coastal city of Puerto Vallarta Thursday after they departed their cruise ship at the port to explore the inland. None of the tourists where injured, but the assailants possessed a gun, according to a statement released by the city’s public safety secretary.

Delgado stressed that specific regions of Mexico, especially all border regions, Mexico City, Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and Ciudad Juarez should be avoided at all costs.

“[The drug gangs] are murdering people simply as a tactic of intimidation and violence,” she said. “They want to show that ‘we are the authority. We don’t follow the rules.’ ”

The U.S. travel warning advises Americans to take special precautions while in Mexico such as traveling only during daylight hours, avoiding isolated roads and using toll roads whenever possible. The warning also advises Americans to keep a low profile and conceal any signs of wealth.

The warning also states that resort areas and tourist destinations, in general, do not see the levels of drug-related violence and crime reported in the border region and in areas along major trafficking routes.

Cancun is a significantly safer area for tourists, Delgado said.

There is no U.S. Department of State travel warning advisory in effect for the state of Quintana Roo, which includes Cancun.

While chances are students would not be subjected to violence in this area, the random nature of attacks increases the danger of any trip to Mexico, she said.

Barbara Rowe, Penn State executive director of education abroad, wrote in an email that students and faculty are prohibited from studying or researching in countries where the U.S. Department of State issues a travel warning. However, students and faculty may petition for an exemption to this rule, Rowe said.

“If a faculty member or student submits a petition, we would consider carefully the destinations and how they match with the specific regions mentioned in the travel warning,” she wrote.

To her knowledge, no Penn State students or faculty have been affected by violence in Mexico.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Roupas, a Penn State U. sophomore, is studying abroad in Greece — an idyllic Mediterranean nation, home of olive trees, the Acropolis and, recently, violent clashes between Greek citizens and their government over the nations’ massive debt.

According to the Greek Tourism Organization’s website, Greece is a popular tourist destination because it is a “crossroads of colors and cultures,” and it has an “affluent historical past.”

But popular tourist areas have been sites of violence in recent years.

In January 2010, according to a State Department warning, a bomb exploded near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square, “a site popular with tourists.”

The European Union nations of Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal are all suffering debt issues, Terrance Guay, an associate professor of international business, said. Greece is in danger of defaulting on its loans, which the Greek government borrowed to cover budget deficits, Guay said.

The problem stems from excessive social programs, early retirement age, large pensions and a failure to collect taxes, he said.

And the EU will only bail out Greece if it gets its government finances in order first.

“That means raising taxes, laying off government workers and cutting pensions and social programs,” Guay said.

This threat of cuts has led to protests — some shockingly violent — in history-rich Athens.

The U.S. State Department has not issued an official travel warning for the Mediterranean nation, but does provide up-to-date U.S. embassy notices, including emergency warnings of the violent demonstrations.

The State Department’s web page on Greece warns that recent austerity measures have led to strikes and demonstrations in the center of Athens.

“We remind American citizens that even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence,” the warning states.

Barbara Rowe, Executive Director of Penn State’s Education Abroad, said students are free to study abroad in Greece.

University policy prohibits students and staff from studying or researching through Penn State programs in countries with U.S. Department of State travel warnings, though students and faculty have the ability to petition for an exception.

Rowe said no students have been affected by violence, and students studying in Greece, or considering traveling there, are advised to stay clear of the areas where demonstrations occur.

Roupas said except for her mountaintop view of violence at the Greek Parliament, she has seen little protesting and no violence.

About 50 people protest at Parliament every day, holding signs and blasting music, she said. Riot police are numerous, but the neighborhood where she resides has been totally quiet, Roupas said.

Penn State hasn’t provided Roupas with any special rules, but her professor looks out for her and other students, she said.

According to a U.S. government warning, on February 12 “thousands of protesters gathered nearby [in central Athens], with some throwing objects including Molotov cocktails, and authorities responding with tear gas. The situation is unpredictable, and we want to remind U.S. citizens that that there exists the continued potential for violence during the demonstrations outside Parliament.”

The U.S. Department of State also warns of “increasingly active” domestic terrorist groups within Greece.

Groups have bombed foreign embassies in Athens with moderate frequency in the past several years, and, according to the State Department, domestic group attacks have also involved “Molotov cocktails (gasoline bombs), small arms and rifle fire, targeted assassinations, and improvised explosive devices, the largest being a 100-kilo ammonium nitrate car bomb detonated at the Athens Stock Exchange in September 2009.”

Homesickness did not hit until I woke up Sunday morning, knowing I was going to throw up camel meat in a matter of seconds.

That’s not a typo. I had camel kefta for lunch last weekend and think it might be the death of me. I’m still shaking off whatever sickness I got from it. I haven’t eaten animal products with the same omnivorous passion since.

The food in Morocco is incredible. There’s couscous and tagines and fresh fruit and vegetables. The flavors are deep and there are spices used here that I’ve never even heard of. I was expecting the same with camel. I mean, it was a great idea. A chunk of camel chopped and ground in a back alley, cooked in a back alley grill and served in a back alley hole-in-the-wall? I mean, we even had lunch mates: a couple of flies and some stray cats. What part of that doesn’t sound like a great idea?

But sadly, it wasn’t.

Like all things, the sheen wears off after enough time. I’m still in love with Morocco. My classes are fascinating, the people are kind and the city still feels like home in spite of the amount of time I’ve spent with my head in a toilet. It’s just not as sparkly and new as it was when I arrived.

I miss home. I miss my family and friends. I’m craving a juicy bacon burger made with the most processed, all-American ingredients available. Those feelings don’t mean anything is bad or wrong about the culture I’m living in. It’s just different.

People are sometimes frightened of the unknown. We tend to cling to what’s close; the things that we know we love and that make us feel safe. That’s all my life has been up until now. This is my first time out of the country. Being in North Africa after the Arab Spring, when America’s image is so poor, feels very distant from what I know and love.

I haven’t regretted making the decision to travel here for a second, even in my frantic searches for a place to be sick. Every adventure has its setbacks, but at its core everything I love about this country remains the same. Some of the hiccups might even have made my love stronger — like getting sick, wondering why my teacher didn’t show up to class or being stranded in a snow storm at the Spokane airport.

It’s all a matter of putting things into perspective, finding the positives and remembering those even when times are hard. Maybe that’s a bit of advice we can all use sometimes.

Happy travels.

It makes sense.  Florence is an incredibly old city. It started around 80 BC, but the Florence as we think of it (under the control of the Medici Family) has been around since the thirteenth century. Florence promises romance and history and sitting in cafés watching life go by.  It’s situated on the beautiful fiume di Arno (Arno River).  The center of the city, where all of the universities and international student apartments are located, is big enough to boast numerous churches, grocery stores, bars, clubs and restaurants. But it’s small enough to walk from one end to the other in less than an hour. 

But because Florence’s economy is so dependent on tourism and study-abroad students, it doesn’t always feel authentic.  I hear almost as much English as Italian while walking through the streets in the center of the city.

I’m not going to undermine the value of studying abroad in Florence, or the beauty of Italy and Italian culture.  I have learned so much in the past five months.  I’ve been right in the middle of the euro zone crisis and have witnessed the most political change Italy has seen in years up close and personal.  I’ve traveled my way through the surrounding countries picking up a phrase or two in each one.  But by no means is living in Florence out of my comfort zone.  And for me, that was really the goal of studying abroad: to challenge myself with foreign cultures and language barriers and unfamiliar public transportation systems.

It was during a short trip to Barcelona, Spain, in October that I really began to think about how to break out of the American student bubble. When I got back to Italy, I started volunteering at a daycare, I signed up for a language exchange and sometimes I walked 45 minutes to get my groceries just to avoid the center of Florence. I also began corresponding with the UAF Office of International Programs and the International Studies Abroad program. When the opportunity to spend spring semester in Amman, Jordan came up, I decided to take it. 

It took me a few months to realize that I might be better suited to the bustling metropolis that is Jordan’s capital city than life in the heart of the Renaissance.  So for students interested in studying abroad, I have this advice: really do your research.  Talk to students who have studied at the university you’r

e interested in. Find out about their experiences. Email the people in charge of your exchange program with a list of questions and utilize UAF’s Office of International Programs.

This is the last column you’ll read from me in Florence. I start school in Amman in mid-February, where I’ll be taking Arabic, some Middle Eastern studies, writing classes and eating lots of shawarma. So arrivederci, Italy and merhaba, Jordan!

Any period of time overseas is worthwhile, and the more time the better because the only way one can really learn about another culture is to live in it. Last semester, I studied abroad in Italy, and I can honestly say that I did not have enough time there. Especially when learning a language, four months is barely enough time to mentally unpack. Time flew by as it always does, but I learned more about myself over the course of those four months than I had ever before.

College is a time to embrace personal change and growth. Making the choice to travel independently can jump start this growing process. The ability to deal with change helps the traveler’s transition when leaving a place he or she has become deeply accustomed to. It was very difficult for me to leave Italy — my time there felt unfinished. But because I have become accustomed to change, I am able to understand the fact that I am still young and one day I can go back. My trip was just the beginning.

I wouldn’t have been able to adjust as well as I did if it weren’t for the people I met. I made life-long friendships with people from all over the world. There is only experience to be gained by a venture overseas; there’s really nothing to lose.

My time abroad did nothing but make me a more determined person. I feel rejuvenated to have lived in a different culture, and I think it’s kind of beautiful that I and other students have the freedom to travel and live out these dreams so early in life. Most of us don’t know exactly where we’ll end up, but for now we might as well just enjoy the ride while we’re on it.

Travel + Leisure magazine released the results of its annual online survey last week, and New York City won the title of rudest city in America.

Each year, the magazine allows online readers to rank large cities throughout America in categories including Cleanliness, Safety, Ethnic Dining and Architecture. In the most recent America’s Favorite Cities survey, New York City received the lowest score by non-residents in the Friendly category.

Whether or not New Yorkers truly have a bad attitude or it just appears that way to outsiders has yet to be determined. NYU sociology professor Dalton Conley said it may be the diversity and pace of the city that gives people this impression.

“First, New York City is fast-paced, so we don’t reserve a lot of time for nicities,” Conley said.

“Also, it’s huge and anonymous, which means it’s not only not expected that you’d tip your hat and say hi to someone passing you on the street,” he added. “It would in fact be downright weird. Third, we are a city with a high percentage of foreign born [residents].”

Different cultures and languages represented in the city by tourists and residents from other countries lead to quick and basic communication that often appears rude, according to Dalton.

Los Angeles, Boston, Miami and Washington D.C., accompanied New York City as rude cities whereas New Orleans, San Juan, P.R., and Nashville, Tenn., topped the Friendly category.

NYU freshman Carlos Perez, a San Juan native, compared the New York lifestyle with the one back home.

“People are infinitely nicer back home,” Perez said. “Even just riding in an elevator, people usually say ‘good morning.’ I hardly ever see that happen here in the city.”

“In San Juan, people are generally just a lot warmer,” he added. “They take time out of their day to brighten yours.”

New York residents have a different perspective of New York City’s friendliness.

“From a service perspective, I don’t think it’s a very rude place,” resident Samantha Bullock, 31, said. “But from a ‘people-on-the-subway’ perspective — absolutely. There’s no chivalry there, either.”

But resident Doris Gerdes, 21, does not think New York City is rude.

“I think it’s harder for some people to survive here,” she said.

Not only was New York City rated the least friendly, but it was also voted last place in the Affordability, Cleanliness and Peace and Quiet categories.

Despite low scoring in the four other categories, Travel + Leisure reported that New York City ranked number 1 in the Theater/performance art, Diverse, Stylish, Classical music and Luxury stores categories.

Students who are under the age of 21 almost triple their drinking habits while studying abroad, according to a study done by U. Washington.

“I was the only UA student within my program. I did take advantage of the lower drinking age, but not as much the nightlife,” said Keely Dye, a U. Arkansas senior majoring in international relations, European studies and economics. “A lot of the drinking that took place within my study abroad experience was with my homestay family. They would have wine or spirits at almost every dinner and any celebrations I was a part of.”

Most countries have lower drinking ages than the U.S., which cause students to become more attracted to the party life abroad.

“I definitely think other students took advantage of being able to go out and drink, legally,” said Jessica Hawley, a UA senior majoring in Spanish. “That was the most popular thing to do for the majority of the students in the program.”

Studying abroad is a great opportunity for students to gain experience with other cultures while gaining credits toward their degree, but often students are distracted from this goal from overseas nightlife.

“My observation is that students do take advantage of the lower drinking age, not necessarily with the intention of abusing the privilege, but in part to enjoy the freedom,” said DeDe Long, Director of Study Abroad and International Exchange. “Learning how to drink responsibly is so important.”

While many underage students drink in the United States, the University of Washington found that those who increased their drinking levels abroad still continued their excessive drinking when they returned home.

“Once you do start drinking, it is easier to continue doing so once you go back home,” Hawley said.

The most popular study abroad destinations for American students are the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain, all of which have a legal drinking age of 18. Germany, Greece and Luxembourg have a minimum drinking age as low as 16 while Albania and Vietnam have no drinking age at all. The United States is one of only five countries in the world to have the legal age set at 21.

A factor that causes students to drink more while abroad is the convenience.

“The major appeal of the nightlife is living in an area with public transportation. You have a set way to get home without any worry of drunk driving,” Dye said. “You also are in a program with students in the same situation as yourself: away from home, more relaxed academic schedule and more accessible nightlife with almost no age restrictions.”

The U. Washington researchers discovered that studying abroad in Australia, New Zealand and European countries caused students to drink more heavily than those who studied in Asian, African, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries.

“Students need to take responsibility for themselves abroad just like they do when they participate in college life here in Fayetteville,” Long said. “If they get caught up in drinking here, they are going to have to be extremely careful not to mimic that behavior in another country, where access may be much easier.”

Studying abroad allows the student to learn new perspectives from being in a foreign country, but if drinking becomes too much of a distraction, the chance of a lifetime can become threatened.

“I think that those who did [drink more] tended to go to class less and focus less on their studies,” Hawley said. “School and studying was not their priority.”

The cornerstone of studying abroad is to acquire knowledge not already found in the United States, and the opportunity can benefit the future of the student.

“Study abroad is a significant investment of time and money,” Long said. “What a waste it would be to throw such a great learning experience away by finding yourself without money or a passport, or on a plane home after an accident caused by poor judgment.”

The study abroad program is trying to prevent and raise awareness of binge drinking overseas.

“In our pre-departure meetings with students, we continually stress how important it is for students to be mindful of their surroundings, take care of themselves, and to represent the University of Arkansas well,” Long said. “We strongly discourage over-drinking. Over-drinking can easily put a student in a vulnerable position, this is when they get lost, hurt or robbed.”

Some students already find normal college life to be distracting enough and factoring in the culture and exciting night life of a foreign country may lead them to stray away from the aspiration of studying abroad.

“I would tell students who are apprehensive about studying abroad that they should not worry,” Hawley said. “The partying scene wasn’t for me, and I had a very enjoyable time abroad without partying. I think you can have an enjoyable time anywhere, without having to drink or hang out at clubs.”

An executive order issued Jan. 19 is designed to encourage travel and tourism in the U.S. and spark economic growth for American businesses.

“Every year, tens of millions of tourists from all over the world come and visit America. And the more folks who visit America, the more Americans we get back to work,” Obama said.

The changes – which aim to cut backend waiting time for visa applicants – mark the easing of more stringent restrictions imposed on the student visa process after Sept. 11, 2001, director of George Washington U.’s International Services Office Greg Leonard said.

“The more multicultural the GW student body, the better the University can prepare its students to live and thrive in an increasingly multicultural world,” he said.

Universities nationwide, including GW, have ramped up efforts in recent years to attract more international students – who generally pay full tuition – while American students increasingly demonstrate higher need for financial aid in the face of the recession.

International student enrollment in the U.S. increased 5 percent to reach more than 723,000 students in the 2010 to 2011 academic year, according to the most recent Open Doors report by the Institute of International Education.

Foreign students still make up less than 4 percent of all college enrollments – representing a largely untapped market for American universities.

“Streamlining our processes and procedures and making them more user-friendly for students and visitors will save them time and money and encourage them to choose the United States as their higher education destination,” President and CEO of the Institute of International Education Allan Goodman said.

The executive order tasked the departments with interviewing 80 percent of non-immigrant visa applicants within three weeks of submission, expediting the overall process.

Obama also charged the Departments of State and Homeland Security to expand the Visa Waiver Program, which allows travelers from 36 pre-approved countries, including the United Kingdom and Japan, to enter the U.S. without a visa for stays of fewer than 90 days. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton nominated Taiwan to join the waiver program in conjunction with Obama’s executive order, according to the White House release.

Last semester, more than 2,500 international students were enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs at the University – a figure Leonard said he hopes to see grow. International students represent 12 percent of GW’s total student population, according to data from The Office of Institutional Research and Planning.

“In many programs, the goal is to have an appropriate balance of U.S. and international students to best prepare all students to function professionally in an environment that is increasingly global in nature,” Leonard said.

This academic year, the largest populations of international students at GW are from China, South Korea and India, internal data show.

The first apartment I visit is the one I end up taking, though of course I don’t know that when I walk in. My life here is still bordered by the soft edges of illusion: it’s concrete not yet hardened, waiting to dry. I go in and am not sure if I’m trying to fit the apartment into what I imagined or fit what I imagined into the apartment. What I imagined is hazy but there were wrought-iron balconies, engraved moldings, a view. Here there is a courtyard but not really a view. No moldings but the roommate is a philosophy student at the Sorbonne, his Plato lying half-opened on the couch. He plays the guitar and asks if I like Bob Dylan, hums some slightly off-key “Hurricane.” We laugh nervously and I wonder what it would be like to live here.

I’ve never gotten to know a city this way. I duck in and out of metro stops, checking the maps, reaching a cross street and then often having to turn around, because you never really know where you are when you emerge from underground. The next apartment is owned by a 20-something Finnish girl, quiet and blond. The melancholy of the place pursues me out the door.

Another flat can only be reached through a code that won’t work. I call to tell the owner and he texts me the same code. The door still won’t open. I stand outside in the gray and the wind pushes a flyer up against my shoe and it sticks there until I shake it off. I try once more, text once more, walk away quickly up the street without looking back. Ten minutes later he calls twice in a row. Both times I press ignore.

I don’t know what I’m doing, really. At most of the apartments I forget to check the bathroom, or see if there’s an oven, a washing machine. I’m asked if I have questions and wonder what they should be. I’ve never been very good with practicalities, and here it’s harder, in the city of lights and love. Hemingway and Fitzgerald—that 1920s cohort—were hardly the only expat American writers to project onto the city their own ideal of it, so that even its stories that are real aren’t really.

I’ve never been here before so most of the stories are not mine. A friend tells of a proposal from a stranger at a late-night crêperie. My grandmother recalls a long-ago trip and an afternoon café where she and her husband were caught up in a mass of students protesting in the streets. There’s no college football in Paris, said their expat friend and tour guide—this is what the students do instead. I walk across the Seine and these dialogues mix with stray lines from movies and books and the bridge creaks under their weight. I wonder what’s there in the raw reality, once the dreams are scraped away, the layers peeled off. It’s a reality I realize I haven’t yet reached, even though an apartment awaits me, with a pony-tailed roommate and a classic rock chord.

We’d been through some tough scrapes, my passport and I. I’d written its number on so many visa forms and hostel ledgers I knew it by heart. It was with me when I was 17, trying to smuggle a Thai frog into the U.S., and it found its way back when my money belt fell off in Kampala. We hitchhiked across India, sneaked into Burma and caught malaria. I kept it in my pack in Central America, and through every dollar hostel, crusty market and chicken bus, I hadn’t let it out of arm’s reach, not once. And all it took was a Swedish girl with green eyes.

I met her in a pub on Guatemala’s volcanic Lake Atitlan, and it was a full half hour before I realized I’d left my pack behind. I searched for it, of course. I had stuck reward fliers on every lamppost and cantina wall before I finally set out for the embassy to put in for a new one. But the whole way to Guatemala City, I thought about it, about how it was still out there, somewhere, behind enemy lines. I just didn’t know where to look.

But I found someone who did.

He called himself Fresh. Fresh was a Rastafarian with a grin that sparkled like lighting against his beaded dreadlocks and midnight face. He hustled, but who didn’t? His dream job was to smoke weed and take it easy. He talked about lobsters, mango trees and drinking rum until he fell asleep on the beach, and sometimes, he would just throw his fist in the air, shout “R-R-R-Rastafariman!” and laugh at the street.

His real name was Charlie. In fact, everyone in his gang had odd, Victorian names. There was Nigel, who liked to drink tomato juice, and Herman, who played the drums. And there was Edgar, who didn’t have any real passports but could make a just dandy one for $150. Fresh knew I wanted mine, and somehow, he knew why.

So we set off for the volcano lake and prodded an underbelly crusted in tourist residue: iPods, cameras, marijuana and (we hoped) passports. We talked to hustlers, hookers and lowlifes. We went to damp alleys, seedy cantinas and even a travel office rumored to deal passports on the side. But that was all we could find were rumors. Everyone knew someone who knew something, but no one knew anything.

I found one that looked somewhat like me, but it wasn’t mine and went for $700. It may not have been stolen; it’s not uncommon for broke backpackers to pawn their passports, sometimes for thousands. What good was it to find mine, I realized, if I couldn’t afford to buy it back?  I ran through scenarios that ended with me bolting out of some basement crime den. Fresh and I even set a rendezvous point in case we got separated. When I brought it up, he just gave a sober nod and said, “You have to take what is yours.”

This was all stupid, of course, but in my defense, it seemed more rational after a few days of probing the underworld with a drug-dealer-turned-private-eye. But it didn’t come to that. We chased leads for three days; finally, eating bologna sandwiches on the sidewalk, Fresh paused and said, “You really think we gonna find your thing?” and I realized he had given up a long time ago.

Fresh and I parted in Guatemala City. I put in for a new passport, went to the coast and did nothing but juggle for six days. Then I struck out for more adventures, bouncing off the borders like a pinball.

The new one had a different number. The pages had cheesy illustrations of American landmarks and patriotic quotes, and it didn’t have my stamps or that orange stain on the inside cover that almost kept me out of Ethiopian Immigration. But I was on a bus heading west when I opened it, and this passport would get me across the border. Then together, we would hitchhike across Mexico. I flipped to the front page and wrote 078373328.

I still know the number by heart.

The next two hours consisted of a lecture conducted in a language I’m supposed to know or at least be learning. The professor ended it with a slam of a book and a swing of his scarf. I turned to the girl next to me, stumbling to ask her in Italian what he had just said.

And so it began. The pile of confusion, incorrect translations, and “Itaglish” notes that would characterize my very first semester at this Italian institution.

Bologna, my home for the 2011-2012 academic year, has three nicknames: La Rossa, the red one, for it’s red-tinted buildings and communist political history; La Grassa, the fat one, for its world famous cuisine; and La Dotta, the learned one, for what is currently my university and the oldest university in Europe. The University of Bologna.

Since the university was founded in 1088, scholars such as Dante, Petrarch, and Copernicus flocked to study in the same buildings where I have lectures. But the age of an institution doesn’t necessarily equal perfection. In fact, after a semester of untangling the Italian education system, I have found that “education” has many different interpretations. And Italians don’t necessarily see organization as part of their definition.

It is normal for there not to be enough seats in a classroom. I’ve sat on the floor, and sometimes I share a seat with a friend. I’ve shown up for lecture only to find my building locked or my professor an hour late.

There is no such thing as an attendance policy. I could never attend class, enroll for my oral exam, and take it studying completely on my own or maybe not at all. If I fail, exams can be retaken a month, two months, even 10 years after I’ve completed the course.

And yet, despite its clear lack of order and maybe even functionality, the Italian system excels in other ways. The lack of attendance and enrollment reflect the fact that there is no cap on how many students can attend a lecture. In fact, courses are open to the public. I could sit in on any lecture I wanted to without paying a penny as long as I didn’t enroll for the exam.

Italians pay around $1500 a year to actually receive a degree from the University. But, their cheap education comes at a cost. There’s no Student Health Center. No on-campus living. There are no athletic teams or campus newspapers. The students are there to learn, and no one holds their hands through it.

I have come to realize how dependent I am on the rigid semester schedule I have back home: Test 1, Mid-Term, Test 2, Final Essay, Final Exam. I’ve been trained to expect deadlines and grade breakdowns. Seeing my Italian roommates study for a course they took two years ago because they didn’t feel ready for the exam right when the course ended makes me question how much I have retained. Could I pass my final for Calculus I took freshman year? Would I understand the plot of “Canterbury Tales” without the daily comprehension quiz?

After I complete my undergraduate education, I won’t be getting a seat assignment and a syllabus with instructions on how to succeed. Maybe a single twenty minute oral exam is a better reflection on the real world than the piles of busy work and online quizzes found throughout the American education system.

Then again, maybe I’ll change my mind when I see how many times I have to take the oral exam.

“I’d like to go home,” the 7-year-old whispers, her tiny arms clinging to a giant stuffed bear.

The mother and daughter had traveled 13 hours by bus from central Vietnam to one of the country’s leading hospitals, only to be sent away by the doctors. Hien Thu Thi Vo’s congenital heart defect would go untreated.

The girl had been waiting days for an ill-fated heart surgery before the doctors determined she was too weak.

At the hospital, the American college students who brought her there hadn’t known her, but all 50 had rushed to take pictures with her. They talked to her in Vietnamese and tried to make her smile.

But Hien remained silent.

Outside on the street, her mother, Vui Thi Nguyen, 47, feels the first drops of rain fall and fears the start of one of Southeast Asia’s summer monsoons. It’s time to go.

If fate hasn’t accepted Hien’s situation, her mother has. Without the surgery, her daughter will die.

***

At home in the Gia Lai province, a region in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, Hien’s family lives in a wooden house with two rooms, a living room and a bedroom for the daughter.

Illiterate, Nguyen works as “a farmer for other people.” Hien’s father has a mental condition requiring monthly medication and cannot work.

One of her brothers is in jail for causing a traffic accident. The other is a farmer who makes about 100,000 Vietnamese dong a day, about $5. In total, the family manages to bring in fewer than $10 a day.

To make matters worse for the family, the government has tightly controlled foreign aid in the Central Highlands in recent years.

Unrest among the Highlanders, an ethnic minority to which Hien’s family belongs, has risen in recent years as the government encourages Vietnamese migration to the area. In some cases, the tensions have come to a violent impasse.

Missionaries converting Highlanders to Christianity have also contributed to a rise in tensions.

All her life, Hien has required monthly hospital visits in the city of Hue. The girl gets tired easily, and her fingers, toes and lips are often blue or purple.

At night, Nguyen must massage Hien’s aching muscles.

Hien’s chest bears the telltale scar of a previous surgery that failed to correct her condition. With no money, getting another surgery would have been impossible, Nguyen said.

Because of her condition, the doctor forbade her from going to school, Nguyen said.

Before she met Kim, a middlewoman for University of California student group Medical, Educational Missions and Outreach, the family had little hope for their daughter.

Kim, who asked to be identified under an assumed name for fear the government would put a stop to her service efforts here, works with a host of nongovernmental organizations to help the Vietnamese people get the help they need.

“I stay in the background, but I link people together,” she said.

Hien’s circumstances made her an ideal candidate for a sponsorship from MEMO. Every year, their scouts in the country search for potential patients.

This year, MEMO raised enough money to bring two patients, Hien and one other, to University Hospital with the promise of receiving the life-saving surgery from American doctors.

Teaching Vietnam’s Harvard

Hundreds lined up outside the hospital entrance, trying to get admitted to what’s known as the Harvard of Vietnam – University Hospital.

Each day, 4,000 patients pass through the hospital’s congested, maze-like hallways.

Patients and families spilled out into an alley that doubled as the ambulance entrance. Some covered their faces with rags to avoid inhaling exhaust and pollution. Inside, even more people lined either side of the hospital corridors.

For years, MEMO has brought American doctors here to train the Vietnamese in advanced surgical techniques and tools.

Before MEMO, laparoscopic surgery at University Hospital was virtually nonexistent. The technique minimizes the size of incisions, lowering the risk of infection and hastening recovery times.

Thanks to the tools MEMO introduced, the hospital has become a leader in medical collaboration in Asia, said Long-Co Nguyen, co-founder of MEMO and a medical student at UC San Francisco.

In the cardiac ward, a dozen children rested two to a bed in the small ward, most with a vertical scar peeking over the collars of their hospital clothes.

Many of them suffered from the same congenital heart defect as Hien. In Vietnam, the disease is particularly prevalent because the rural villagers do not generally believe in preventative medicine, Nguyen said. Such heart defects aren’t any less common in the United States, but prenatal screening allows the problem to be recognized earlier, said Dr. Duy Nguyen, an Orange County surgeon and the father of MEMO’s founders.

Promoting a culture accepting of prenatal vitamins would go a long way in reducing the disease’s rate of occurrence, Long-Co Nguyen added.

The heart patient

The MEMO students first met Hien in a hospital meeting room. She sat in the back of the room beside her mother, lips pursed shut.

She shyly peeked over a table, her eyes big and weary, allowing a faint smile as she fidgeted and grabbed her foot. Her other hand, wrapped in gauze from an IV wound and blue at the fingertips, held her mother’s leg close.

The speaker at the front of the room introduced Hien as one of MEMO’s sponsored heart patients.

She was an instant celebrity.

A cluster of digital cameras clicked and flashed. Her mother beamed.

After the commotion subsided, Nguyen and Hien retired to the hallway.

Nguyen doesn’t know much about MEMO, she admitted.

“They are good people,” she said. “They take good care of my daughter.”

Wrong turn

All the mother could do was eat the free hospital lunch – vegetable soup and rice – as they waited for the results of a CT scan on Hien’s lungs to see if she would be fit for surgery. All she was told was that Hien could die if she had the operation.

Hien sat at her mother’s side, her short hair was matted to her forehead with sweat from the humid hallway.

That morning, the MEMO students again arrived at the hospital, this time bearing gifts. A stuffed giant puppy for Hien and a big teddy bear for MEMO’s second heart patient, Quynh Nhu, 11.

Hien sat in tears with her dog, coveting the bear in Quynh’s arms. Her mother negotiated a reluctant compromise between the girls. They would trade toys for the day, but Hien would give the bear back later.

The older girl scowled as Hien sat her first toy upright and fiddled with its yellow collar.

Amanda Tran, a third-year microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics student, sat next to Hien. Asking basic questions, she tried to start a conversation or elicit a smile.

“What’s your bear’s name?”

Without a response from the child, Tran suggested a couple names of flowers before finally suggesting naming the bear after Hien.

The child gave a slight nod and said a word Tran could not hear.

Meanwhile, Nguyen grew frustrated. She wanted to hear the results of the CT scan directly from the American doctor.

“I have to accept the truth,” Nguyen said.

She’s used to the situation.

After a number of phone calls back to Kim for updates, Nguyen decided to take her daughter and leave the hospital.

That night they would go to the church and wait for the results.

They’re not Christian, but they would stay in the church, Nguyen said. A nun taught the mother how to pray for the daughter.

“At the moment, I believe in God,” she said.

Meanwhile, Hien was hypnotized by her namesake bear, quietly stroking its arm.

Heading home

Late in the afternoon, the mother and daughter have left the hospital when the call comes from Kim.

There is no way Hien can get the surgery.

The doctors feared the pressure in her lungs was too high, making for a dangerous situation for the tiny patient.

In her mind, the possibility of getting the surgery is very small, Nguyen says.

“I still have some hope that there will be a chance for my daughter to have the surgery,” she says, maybe lucky circumstances will allow her daughter to get the surgery in the U.S.

As the Vietnamese summer gives rise to a monsoon, Nguyen calls a taxi.

Hien, still clinging to Hien the bear, follows her mother inside the cab, on their way home.

***

On Aug. 8, a month after the Daily Bruin met Hien, a surgeon at University Hospital agreed to take on her case.

On Sept. 8, the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in Gia Lai province approved $4,040 of the $5,500 total cost. MEMO funds will pay the remainder.

Hien was admitted to the hospital last week, but was sent home again because most of the hospital’s surgeons were out of the country at an international seminar.

She was asked to come back the last week of October.

This is just one of the things I learned this summer during my internship at China Market Research Group, a market research and consulting firm based in Shanghai. When many college students think about moving after graduation, it is hard to identify anything concrete about the country other than its cuisine. Study abroad is an option advocated by Princeton U. for summers and semesters. There are also various options for postgrad fellowships around the globe.

Critics of study abroad say it isolates you from the American business network while advocates argue that it expands your network beyond America and opens your eyes to “new cultures.” “Understanding foreign cultures” is a hot topic that is often found highlighted in study abroad applications. Often times, however, it is just an oblique way of saying, “I want to take cool pictures and look like a more interesting person.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m an advocate for study abroad. But I would argue that a study abroad experience that doesn’t include an active research component that engages you with the people of the country is a waste of time.

The market of every country captures the culture in some way or another. Over the summer, I conducted consumer interviews to gather insights for an iconic motorcycle brand that wanted to develop its China strategy. I also conducted interviews for a Fortune 500 company that wanted to do due diligence on its investments in a Chinese company. This was all done in part by approaching strangers and asking questions.

Going abroad also gives you access to opinions from business analysts with a reliable background in the country. This source of information is much more credible than reading newspaper articles written by journalists who have been in the country for a month or two and often have a predetermined angle.

My boss, Shaun Rein, has been living in China for over 12 years and has strong and supported opinions about the current state of China and its future. I find this topic fascinating, as China is incredibly relevant right now, with news about its 2011 GDP and position in the exports market making top headlines daily. I am not the only one who finds this interesting, it seems, as Shaun just landed a contract with a major publishing house and will be publishing a book in March titled “The End of China Cheap: Economic and Cultural Trends That Will Disrupt the World.”

The other day, Shaun and I got to talking about how to land a job in China after graduation. His greatest piece of advice was, “‘Understand that no matter where you wind up going in the future, and whatever relation to China, the rise of China is unstoppable and will affect how everyday Princetonians live.” He cited the rising Chinese yuan and its impact on higher export prices that are driving up cost of consumer goods in America as a key area of change.

He continued, “What worked five years ago won’t work now.” He pointed to e-commerce, noting that only a few years back everyone said that it wouldn’t work, but now it is growing at 60 percent per year. The key to success, he said, is to understand the indisputably large role China will play in shaping the future of the world and to build your career around this understanding.

No one knows where they’ll end up after graduation. My supervisor at work, Ben Cavender, graduated from Cornell, did Princeton in Asia and, instead of returning to the States as planned, wound up working with Shaun at CMR in its formative days. Ben’s now in his 20s and a well-established analyst and media presence — in my two months in China, I saw how well-known he had become there.

What Ben said to me about breaking into China was: “There is huge opportunity in China. But you need to be willing to work for it. It’s hard to get a job here. You need to come to China to get functional experience. Either do this by traveling or by internship. It’s a messy process and requires a lot of effort, but it’s the way to go.”

In my opinion, the best way to jump-start your career in China, or anywhere, is to stop discussing the country in broad strokes. At Princeton, use the Office of International Programs as much as possible. Make an informed decision about your future in another country by going there, getting the experience and forcing yourself to talk to the people. If you don’t, it’s like trying to become manager of a toy store in America without knowing what Christmas is.

Students who typically fly home for the holidays are expressing frustration over increasing airfare costs and additional fees.

Since last March, airfare prices for most U.S. carriers have increased between $10 and $60. In an effort to prevent ticket prices from increasing further, airlines are finding other ways to create revenue.

Airlines have begun imposing extra fees on heavy-packing fliers, among other efforts to increase revenue.

Continental Airlines and United Airlines now charge $400 for bags weighing 71 to 100 pounds for many international flights, while American Airlines charges $450 for overweight bags on its Asian-bound flights. For the first checked bag, Continental, American and United charge $25, and the fees increase to up to $200 by the third bag. These fees can be especially burdensome on college students with tight budgets.

“I don’t think it’s that airlines are specifically targeting students, but it does turn out that way,” said Erica Zara, a U. Southern California junior majoring in psychology. “They’re trying to squeeze every dollar out of you that they can.”

Zara said she flies back home to Las Vegas six to seven times a year.

“I try to carry less bags, but if I’m going on a long trip, then I’ll wind up still paying for it,” Zara said. “What else can you do? Fuel costs are rising, and the economy is bad. It’s a tough time for everyone.”

USC alumnus and transportation expert Alan Huynh, however, attributes the increased prices and the future rise in airfare to federal regulations.

“Fees have increased because of different federal regulations imposed on airports,” Huynh said. “That is why they charge you $25 these days to carry on an extra item.”

Any future tax increase will also affect the price of airplane tickets.

“The corporate taxes will affect ticket prices,” Huynh said. “The airlines are businesses. These big businesses will be paying more taxes. They will pass those costs to customers.”

Airlines were also hit hard by the closure of non-essential government services this summer.

“A big thing that happened this summer is that the [Federal Aviation Administration] shut down,” Huynh said. “The federal government loses money whenever there is a federal shut-down, but there is more of an impact in that the government loses a billion dollars in ticket fees.”

Though Huynh said he does not believe the government shut-down this summer is currently affecting ticket fees, which means taxes will only continue to increase.

With the increased prices, students said they are doing all they can to cut back and get around the hidden fees.

Zara said she has since switched from flying Spirit to Southwest because of bag fees. While Spirit charges $38 to $50 for the first checked bag and $45 to $50 for the second bag, Southwest does not impose any fees for the first two checked bags.

Other students said they agree increased prices will play a role in what airline they choose.

Thalia Ertman, a USC sophomore majoring in history and East Asian languages and cultures, said she looked for the lowest price when buying a ticket to fly home to Potomac, Md., for Thanksgiving this year.

“I always try to find the cheapest flight there is when I go,” Ertman said. “I make sure to search around.”

Some students said the increased fees also change the way they travel.

“There have been times when I have made sure to carry on because they charge you all these ridiculous fees,” said Lydia Froemelt, a senior majoring in engineering management and industrial and systems engineering. “I try to choose airlines where you don’t have to deal with those extra charges.”

Huynh said Southwest has been able to keep its prices down because of efficiency.

“For Southwest, they are probably just eating the cost,” Huynh said. “They did all these things to cut costs off. They use a certain kind of airplane that is a more efficient airplane. They did that before everyone else figured it out.”

But for most students traveling out-of-state, the costs are a burden. Flying is inevitable and students will pay what they have to in order to go home.

“I only go home for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Froemelt said. “I pay whatever I have to because that’s the only time I see my family.”

Everyday, tourists and even Southern California residents can be found hiking up — or sometimes driving up — to capture close up pictures with the sign. For Hollywood sign-goers, this is a thrill. For Hollywood sign neighbors, it’s an annoyance.

On one side, it makes sense how seeing a constant flow of tourist traffic in your front yard can be bothersome. A house on the Hollywood hills with a gorgeous view of LA deserves a quiet, pacifying environment to complete its perfect picture.

Also, a Los Angeles Times article stated that some 100 cigarette butts were picked up among other litter by the Hollywood sign. It’s important that we keep the area clean, as well as avoid any possible fire in that area.

On the other hand, like I stated earlier, the Hollywood sign is a huge landmark for Los Angles all over the world. It’s celebrity central. Tourists from around the world who look forward to visiting Los Angeles and hiking up Mt. Lee to take a picture with the ever-famous sign deserve to do exactly that, just as we are able to get up close and personal with the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building.

Moreover, residents of California, and especially Southern California, should be able to visit the Hollywood sign to further appreciate the landmark that we are most identified with.

Every year, and endless thread of new movies are premiered in theaters worldwide. Movies like “The Dark Knight” that people absolutely rave about. These same movies are translated either verbally or through closed captions and presented in countries all over the world. The Grammy’s, the Oscar’s and other award ceremonies are held in Hollywood. The famous red carpet is always thought about in association with Hollywood. The point is that because of popular culture, Hollywood is very largely famous.

Although it’s understandable that the clogging of tourism around the Hollywood sign can be a buzz-kill for those that are so lucky to live right by it. They want to be able to feel grateful about living exactly where they do without a constant flow of people in their front yards.

However, I do believe it’s more important that we make the billion other people around the world happy that they too have the opportunity to get as close to Hollywood as possible.

It is important that while tourists are able to hike up to the sign, the area is kept litter-free as well. Maybe establishing a few more rules and regulations for visiting the sign should be considered.

Just because we are seeing more and more people visit the sign doesn’t mean we have to close it off. It only means a bit more enforcement is needed in order to establish an organized flow of people visiting.

We should be flattered that our Hollywood sign has become such an increasingly popular monument.

If you want to start off with an experienced guide, the Leisure Center has several group hikes planned for the fall semester. Assistant Director of Recreation Services Andy Johnson encouraged students to join in, saying, “Hiking gets you off the beaten track and into nature.”

But for independent spirits who want to strike out on their own, there are plenty of resources online and in hiking books that can be used to plan trips.

Just follow the recommended safety tips and take a few of your friends. The options are near endless.

David Chatsuthiphan, a photographer who documents his hikes on UnrealHawaii.com, gave this piece of advice, “If you’re new to hiking, the best place to start exploring is the area between ‘Āina Haina and Hawai‘i Kai. … Each of those ridges have novice-friendly hikes with amazing views at the end. It will get you hooked.”

On the other hand, O‘ahu trails and access specialist Aaron Lowe pointed out that “close to UH you have the entire Honolulu Mauka Trail system.”

To get you started, Ka Leo has compiled a list of trails based on web research and recommendations from Johnson, Chatsuthiphan and Lowe.

Mānoa Falls

0.8 miles, easy

A short, easy walk, Mānoa Falls is doable for even the meekest of beginners. It ends at a waterfall that is scenic but not suitable for swimming, as landslides have occurred. To the left of the viewing area is ‘Aihualama Trail, which continues up the ridge but is not recommended for beginners.

Makiki Valley Loop Trail and the

Honolulu Mauka Trail System

0.7 miles, 1.1 miles and 0.7 miles, consisting of easy, medium and difficult components

In nearby Makiki, just a short walk toward the mountains on Makiki Street and then Makiki Heights Drive, you’ll find the entrance to the Makiki Valley Loop Trail. This actually consists of three different trails called Maunalaha, Makiki Valley Trail and Kanealole. Doing the loop is pleasant in either direction and takes one to two hours, depending on how fast you go and whether you stop to read the signs and displays about the Makiki Valley watershed. But branching off from the loop is a web that connects to other trails in Mānoa and Nu‘uanu. If you download a map from Nā Ala Hele and research beforehand, the Honolulu Mauka Trail System has many quality hiking experiences to offer.

Wa‘ahila Ridge

2.4 miles, medium

Located at the top of St. Louis Drive, this hike is a work-out. It has great views of Mānoa Valley to the left and Pālolo Valley to the right, as well as of the Ko‘olau mountains and Honolulu. At the end you’ll encounter Kolowalu Trail, also known as Mt. Olympus, which Nā Ala Hele advises you do not continue on, as it is a restricted watershed area.

Lanipo

3.7 miles, medium

A round trip of about seven miles, Lanipō can be grueling if it’s hot out. But like the other ridge trails featured, it offers beautiful views as a reward. Throughout this hike you get panoramic views of the Ko‘olau Mountain Range and can see Ka‘au crater and its waterfall, Pālolo Valley, downtown Honolulu, the entire windward coast, and even the Wai‘anae Range in the distance.

Hawai‘i Loa Ridge

3.5 miles, medium

This hike starts at the top of a gated community, also known as Hawai‘i Loa, but is open to the public. Make sure someone in the car has a Hawai‘i state ID, tell the guard that you’re there to hike, and he’ll let you in. Make sure you have water and snacks, as this trail goes through hilly terrain to the top of the Ko‘olau range. The view of the Windward side is awesome, but the return trip makes for a four or five-hour round trip.

Kuli‘ou‘ou Ridge

2.5 miles, difficult

With beautiful, almost 360-degree views of the island below and interesting changes in terrain on the way up and down, Kuli‘ou‘ou Ridge is another excellent trail on the eastern side of O‘ahu. But watch out, the further up you go the less-used the trail is, and some spots can be difficult for the inexperienced.

Maunawili Falls

1.25 miles, easy

An easy but often muddy hike, the trail to Maunawili Falls is a fun and casual experience. Be prepared to get wet, as the trail crosses over streams several times and ends at a waterfall with a small pool in which you can swim. Also, pay attention to where you’re going, as there are a number of divergences on the trail and it’s possible to get turned around.

Olomana

2.5 miles, medium/difficult

Climbing Mt. Olomana is fun and the view is rewarding. The first two-thirds of the trail to the first peak are tiring and not super exciting, but after that come a series of steep climbs that are fun and sometimes a little scary. Use the ropes on the trail and negotiate the tough parts with the help of your friends. The view at the top of the first peak is truly amazing on a clear day. The trail continues on from there to the second and third peaks, but these are less worn and more dangerous. Last April, a hiker fell 150 feet and died. The second and third peaks are doable only for those who are cautious and confident in their abilities.

Special interest:

Lanikai Bunkers aka Pillboxes

1 mile, easy

Located on the Windward side, Lanikai Bunkers is a short but steep and sunny trail that leads to great views and the remnants of military fortifications from World War II.

Makapu‘u Tide pools

1 mile, medium

Branching off the trail to the Makapu‘u Lighthouse (which is paved and quite easy) is a lesser known and more arduous trail that leads down to a group of picturesque tide pools which are excellent for swimming and very photo-worthy.

Ka‘ena Point

2.7 miles, easy

Ka‘ena point can be accessed from Mokulē‘ia on the North Shore or from Wai‘anae to the west. For UH Mānoa students, the drive out may be the most daunting part, but if you can organize transportation it is well worth it. The westernmost point on the island, Ka‘ena point is the jumping-off place for souls going into the afterlife, and watching the currents from the north and west crash into each other, you can definitely feel the mana of this place.

O‘ahu offers many more trails than these, especially if you have access to a car and can expand your range up the Windward side toward the North Shore, or west to the Wai‘anae range. For more information on these and other trails (including driving and bus directions), visit the links below and do your own web searching.

Nā Ala Hele

www.hawaiitrails.ehawaii.gov

Unreal Hawaii

www.unrealhawaii.com/hikes

Island Trails

www.kaleolancaster.blogspot.com

Hawai‘i Trail and Mountain Club

www.htmclub.org

•Bring water and snacks.

•Make sure you have proper footwear – that means hiking shoes or trail runners – to avoid slipping.

•Know your physical limits.

•Let someone know where you’re going and when to expect you back.

•Be aware of how long the hike is and your starting time, so you don’t get caught in the dark.

•Check the weather, beforehand, particularly for flash flood warnings.

•Never spend any time in or under a waterfall, because rock slides do occur.

•Be aware of leptospirosis; don’t drink water from

streams and if you have any cuts or open wounds, don’t go in the water.

•Be respectful of the homes and residential areas you may be parking in or walking through on your way to trails.

•Stick to “improved” trails, which are maintained for public use.

Leisure Center Hikes for Fall 2011

Aug. 19 Mānoa Falls

Aug. 20 Maunawili Falls

Sept. 5 Makapu‘u tidepools

Oct. 10 Olomana

Nov. 7 Lanikai Bunkers

Nov. 27 Ka‘ena Point

Waimea Bay

If you’re looking for clean sand, free snorkeling or adrenaline-filled adventure, Waimea Bay along the North Shore is a popular destination.

Local surfer Brenda Yun, who writes travel blog “SurfEatSleep,” recommended visiting Waimea in the summer and fall.

“When the surf’s up in the winter months, often 10 to 30 plus feet, this becomes a popular surf spot. But, during the summer time it’s completely opposite with quiet and gentle waves and great snorkeling,” she said.

Not only is this a beach for relaxing and snorkeling, it is well known for cliff jumping. On a typical day, you’ll see many people on a large rock that protrudes into the bay, ready for the jump.

MOKU‘AUIA ISLAND

Moku‘auia Island, located off the coast of Lanikai and Kailua Beaches, has been called “the gem of Kailua Bay” by some tourist websites. Despite that, it is secluded and private, as well as easy to access.

“You can swim or kayak out to the island,” said Andy Johnson, UHM’s sailing coach and Leisure Center director. “When it’s low tide, you can even wade out there.”

The island has a small, crescent-shaped beach on the southern side of the island, which is often deserted, as very few people venture out to the island. It is also a bird sanctuary.

Visitors can explore, swim, surf and hike. However, pets are not allowed on the island.

Lanikai Beach

It is impossible to write a list about the best beaches in O‘ahu without including one its most famous: Lanikai. According to National Geographic, Lanikai Beach has long been named as one of the world’s top 10 most beautiful beaches. What makes this beach so special? Austin Webb, an area resident, said, “Lanikai Beach is one of the best beaches here in O‘ahu because it’s very quiet and not overcrowded, with very calm waves and incredibly soft sand. One of my favorite things to do at this beach is to kayak to the Mokuluas (the islands offshore) which takes about 20-25 minutes.”

This beach is ideal for relaxing and enjoying the smoothness of the soft sand and waves.

KAHANA BAY

Johnson described Kahana Bay as “one of the places you just drive by on the way to the North Shore.” But he said the bay is definitely worth the stop.

Located at the mouth of the Kahana River, Kahana Bay is a popular place for kay

aking and swimming. The bay’s lagoon is near the end of the river, and there are many trees to shelter visitors from the bright Hawaiian sun. Hanging from one of the trees is a rope swing, which some will use to launch themselves into the water. Visitors can also kayak up the river, which is roughly a 15-20 minute trip.

Sandy Beach

Are you an experienced bodysurfer or body boarder? Sandy Beach is a popular spot for the big waves that draws many locals and college students on the weekends. President Obama has even been spotted body surfing along Sandy’s waves. Although this is a popular spot for bodysurfers, it is highly recommended to be an experienced swimmer.

“The attraction is the power of the wave,” said Clyde Hodges in a story by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. “When I think I’ve got it all together and want to experience powerlessness, I come here.” If you are not an experienced swimmer or bodysurfer, this beach is a nice spot to sunbathe and relax with your friends since most tourists don’t make their way out to this beach.

Kaimana Beach

Not all of us have access to transportation to get to some beaches. So what is your option that’s close to campus, yet not as crowded as Waikīkī? At the end of Waikīkī, is a less-populated beach called Kaimana, known officially as Sans Souci Beach.

Nick James, a student at UH, rides his moped there from his apartment located a few minutes from campus. “I like this beach because it’s very close to my apartment and has fewer tourists than Waikīkī. It is also a good spot for snorkeling – I once saw a sea turtle there.”

Ala Moana Beach Park

Ala Moana Beach Park is perfect for its location because it is close to campus and is easily accessible by bus or bicycle. Ala Moana also offers a picnic and BBQ area for the perfect day at the beach. Tyrell Ma’ae, a resident, born and raised on O‘ahu and a UH student said, “This is my favorite beach on this side of town. I like the fact I can BBQ with my friends and it’s an easy place to have everyone meet up at.” The waves at Ala Moana are usually always calm and it is protected by an outer reef. This beach is a favorite for the atmosphere and distance from campus.

In Brasília, everything is perfect—and right from the start, I hate it.

Driving into the heart of Brazil’s capital, what first strikes me is the city’s serenity—a serenity only recently planned, built, and cultivated. It’s easy for me to see how there was nothing here before 1955. Monuments and ministries flank the Via 2 Sul but their whitewashed concrete makes them look like bleached Legos, interchangeable and transitory, ready to be picked up and tinkered with at anyone’s whim.

“Brasília,” says our petite half-Japanese tour guide in hushed tones of awe, “was the first city built not at random or around a strategy but on a philosophy.” She pauses: “Modernism!”

Then-president Juscelino Kubitschek was a fan of everything to do with the movement, she continues, from the sleek lines of its architecture to the progressiveness of its politics. In its broadest sense, modernism meant modernity for Kubitschek, who wanted a capital for his country that would shatter the stereotypes of a backwards Brazil and launch it onto the world stage.

Hence the monuments and the ministries, each built in strict adherence to the tenets of modernist architecture, and the partitioned districts, enforcing an artificial equality among Brasilia’s inhabitants. Hence the wide-open boulevards and swaths of nothing, because “human beings,” our guide claims, “have a necessity of space, to think and to progress”—and it’s OK if that means everything should be far apart. After all, you have to rely on automobiles and oil to acclimate to a modern world, a world in which the Brazilian economy, at least, is playing an increasingly important role.

And while the trip itself is fascinating, I still don’t like the city. It’s too tidy. It’s too pristine. When we descend a hill to visit the Congresso Nacional, the three roads leading to the entrance are lined by a succession of politicians’ cars, each one flawlessly parallel-parked. How do they do that?

Returning to São Paulo, my home base for the summer, I find that I’ve missed the honking and swearing and adrenaline-fueled driving, the high-rises next to botecas next to banks, the street vendors peddling their coxinhas and pipoca for two reais each. São Paulo is hardly the ideal city, and when I’m stuck in a hopeless traffic jam with pollution shrouding the streets and shiny new skyscrapers casting shadows over the shantytowns next door, I can see where Kubitschek was coming from in his grand scheme to start from scratch.

But it’s just these nuisances, these flaws, that keep me invested in São Paulo. There’s something to be said for hanging onto its inconsistencies rather than abandoning them to start again.

I understand Brasilia’s longing to stamp out the imperfections of the country it governs. But I agree with Italo Calvino when he wrote that cities should be made, like dreams, of desires and fears, not to be neutralized with sterility, but rather to reflect the people of which they are composed. “Sem graça,” my host family says about Brasília when we talk about it at dinner. I look this up later to find that it means tasteless, bland. But I understand somehow from the literal translation—“without grace”—and realize that this is what I’m looking for and what I find in cities like São Paulo. It’s in flawed cities, the cities I love: a certain type of grace.

One of the nearby bridges is known for its bungee jumps, there are clubs and pub crawls abound and I watched someone try to outrace a tram — in front of the tram — on a bike. Fun? Yes. His brightest moment? Let’s hope not.

The city of Prague’s claim to fame is being the place where a guy got pushed out of a window and helped start a war. (Remember the Defenestration of Prague from high school world civ? Probably not.) The war was the 30 Years’ War, which is an excessively long time to fight about something even as frightening as falling 70 feet. After the trouble such lax rules about window safety brought them, you’d think they’d be more careful, but no. I saw the window, and they still had it open.

The only real rules in Prague are to try the goulash with dumplings, a pastry that looks like a slap bracelet made of dough called a trdelnik (that’s not a typo, things are spelled crazily here), and don’t fall into the pits that sometimes are randomly in the sidewalk.

As I was carrying my pack on my back like a true Prague backpacker, I almost fell backward into one of these pits (don’t laugh … my pack weighs half my body weight so I’d be like a beetle stuck on its back if I ever really fell), righted myself, then had my hair blown back by a tram that blew out of nowhere with no warning.

My little trip to Prague was a blast, but it did give me an appreciation for some of the rules that I scoff at that come with our wealthy American infrastructure. And it might stink that the U.S. dollar conversion rate is pretty bad right now, but at least it doesn’t take 17 dollars to make a crown (it takes about that many crowns to make a USD).

So, my suggestions for you if you ever visit Prague?

Eat a dumpling, pack light and don’t stand next to empty windows.

“The pico-hydro system is basically a small-scale hydropower,” Yang said in an interview with The Dartmouth. “It’s an inexpensive and sustainable way of delivering electricity.”

The system diverts water flow from streams near waterfalls into a large pipe, Yang said. The energy from the falling water is then used to move a turbine that generates electricity at the base of the waterfall. Batteries are connected to the turbine, and the potential energy from the system is turned into electric energy, Yang said.

This setup eliminates the need for “expensive electrical grids and the associated, potentially dangerous high voltages,” making the system accessible and safe for general use, Yang said.

The energy created by this process can be used to recharge cell phone batteries or lights for homes, Yang said.

Project leader Theodore Sumers will also travel to Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday to help implement the system.

“I became involved in the project because I wanted real world, hands-on engineering experience,” Sumers said in an email to The Dartmouth.

As project leader, Sumers is charged with managing research at the Thayer School of Engineering, maintaining communications with non-governmental organizations and overseeing DHE’s budget, he said.

The eight Dartmouth students will stay in Rwanda from July 15 to Sept. 15, Sumers said. During that time, they will work to implement their designs and build relationships with NGOs in Kigali.

“We’ll be revisiting two hydropower sites we built in the town of Banda in 2008 to replace a worn-out turbine with our new design,” Sumers said.

DHE constructed the two turbines — which were designed to imitate other hydropower plants in Rwanda — in 2008, according to a Thayer press release.

The eight students will also try to select a local NGO in Rwanda with whom they can work, Yang said. Though the trip’s original goal was simply to fix the 2008 turbine and install new ones, the lack of a prior established connection with a Rwanda-based organization has forced the group to expand its original intent.

The organization is currently affiliated with United Kingdom-based e.quinox, a humanitarian engineering group run by Imperial College London, the release said.

“Our first goal is to improve the pilot site of the turbine in Banda, but we also want to establish an NGO network,” Yang said.

Yang said that connecting with a local organization will be the most challenging part of the project, according to Yang.

“We don’t have any on-the-ground contacts at all,” she said. “We just have a few personal contacts and students we’ve kept in touch with.”

Before the first turbine’s failures, it significantly improved the quality of life in the rural community of Banda, according to Yang.

“From what I have gathered, while it worked, it was a great resource to the community because these rural areas are so far away from expensive electrical generators,” she said.

Yang said she has already benefited from the group’s preparations for the project.

“During the course of Spring term, all eight of us have really gotten to know each other,” she said. “Knowing that I have teammates who I can trust is very assuring.”

The project is funded by a grant from the National Collegiate Investors and Innovators Alliance and from the DHE general fund, according to Yang.

Les soldes (in English, “sales”) are state-regulated, biannual sales held throughout France. The government designates two, six-week periods beginning in early January and late June for nationwide sales on anything from clothes to shoes to electronics. Discounts start low at about 25 percent and can reach 80 percent in the sales’ final days.

“A lot of women will take the first day of the sales off to get to those rare or special items,” my co-workers cautioned me. “So if there’s something that you have your eye on, you might want to get it early, even though the discount won’t be that much.”

Despite my short time here, I’ve noticed that French life revolves around several staples: wine, cigarettes, coffee, bread, cheese. But with the onset of the soldes, everything changes. Employees spend time pre-shopping on the Internet at work, and small talk is initiated with, “Are you going to the sales this weekend?” In effect, a country that is usually laidback and slow-paced becomes energized and even frenzied—all eyes on the prize.

Unlike the sporadic, holiday-weekend sales in the States, the government-regulated soldes don’t fall on a major holiday or anticipate a gift-giving extravaganza. There’s no real excuse—it’s shopping without a purpose beyond purchase. It’s enjoying the things in life that matter to you, whether an espresso and a cigarette, or a sundress at half price.

I made a couple of trips to the largest shopping street in Toulouse, Rue d’Alsace-Lorraine. The street was devoid of its normal automobile traffic, and even mopeds and bikes had trouble squeezing their way through the crowds. A musician played the accordion on a street corner, and a few well-placed carts sold cold refreshments to exhausted shoppers.

I didn’t buy anything. But I’ll be back to investigate the second round of price reductions—for the sake of journalism, of course.

Citizens took to the streets in protest of their overbearing, authoritarian governments. This Arab Spring, the name given to the revolutions that have touched much of the Arab world, has brought about a time of collective initiative aimed at fundamentally changing the lives of all those involved.

The North African country of Morocco, encouraged through the influence of the Arab Spring, is primed to undertake its own political and social reforms as its citizens prepare to vote on Friday afternoon to instate a newly amended constitution.

Five KU students currently studying abroad in Morocco will have the opportunity to witness first-hand what this historical moment will mean for the country.

The protests and demonstrations put forth Feb. 20 in the capital city of Rabat, with thousands demanding changes to the constitution and limitations on the monarchy, received the attention of King Mohammed VI, who in response promised to consider their grievances.

The result has been the some 80 clauses that will be voted on by the people to be added to the constitution, of which include the relinquishing of powers to the parliament, constitutionalization of human rights and the official recognition of the Amazigh, or Berber, language and cultural identify.

“This can be seen as the beginning of a gradual move toward more democratization in the future, although, for some these immediate changes are simply not enough,” said Driss Maghraoui, history professor at Al Akhawayn Univeristy in Ifrane, Morocco. “The major concentration of power will still lie with the king. He still has the role of commander of the faithful. He is still the supreme commander of the military. He will also maintain his ability to remove the prime minister. But still for others this is seen as an important step in the right direction.”

The history of voting in Morocco has been one of floundering participation. With reportedly corrupt parties and rigged elections, most Moroccans have shied away from the voting process, or even political dialogue altogether.

“Unfortunately, this is the voting situation in Morocco,” Maghraoui said. “The level of corruption in the past has deterred many from wanting to vote because they know it will not do any good. This was especially true prior to the rule of the current monarch. This regime has been slightly more transparent, though many of the political parties have been discredited. People also know that the King ultimately still has the power. This is something though that I think this regime would like to change. If people don’t go out to vote it will not look good for them.”

The reforms in the new constitution and the push towards democracy have sparked political debate among many college-aged Moroccans who have begun to consider what role they will play in the future of their country and how they will ultimately continue its growth.

“Morocco needs active people,” Zineb Abbad El Andaloussi, a senior at Al Akhawayn, said. “The problem is that our social system is all over the place. Our middle class is almost non-existent. Families are either super rich or super poor, and if you can’t afford to take your kids to school then they will not receive the knowledge necessary to participate in the growth of our country. I ultimately want a transfer of power to the people, but we don’t know who these people are yet and what they would do with this power. Education is what it is going to take to take people out of the dark so they can form and act on their own opinions and not just do what they are told.”

It remains to be seen what will come of Friday’s election in Morocco, but one thing is certain, it has fundamentally started the wheels of change.

“I am anxious to see how this election will go, how many people will actually go and vote, and see if these changes will actually be introduced or not,” said Mehdi Lazrak, a senior at Al Akhawayn. “I really hope this election will get more people involved politically, because it seems that most Moroccans, including myself before this election, really don’t want to have anything to do with politics. The face of Morocco is changing and we all should help to make it what we want.”

As a student studying abroad in a foreign country, the opportunity to witness these kinds of fundamental changes is quite unique.

For Brandon Holland, a senior from Minneapolis studying Arabic this summer at Al Akhawayn Univeristy, Morocco has come to represent a home away from home, and one he is anxious to see what the future will hold for.

“The desire for political change is undeniable here, Holland said. “It’s really interesting to see how the king has handled everything. It hasn’t been a situation like we’ve seen in Egypt with Mubarak or in Libya with Gaddafi. He has kept it mostly peaceful. I have to commend King Mohammed VI for giving these reforms. He’s politically savvy enough to keep things from escalating. It’s all incredibly interesting and I really hope things turn out well here. I really do love this country.”

Our first concert took place in the coastal city of Cienfuegos. Two Cuban percussionists—I’ll call them Carlota and Roberto—were joining our shorthanded percussion staff, of which I was half, for George Gershwin’s Cuban Overture. After the dress rehearsal, I asked them in high school-level Spanish if they wanted to eat dinner. They did, and so did their music director, Tomasina, and the arts administrator coordinating the concerts, José.

We went into a hole-in-the-wall restaurant near the Teatro Tomás Terry, our concert hall. José ordered for us and, for my sake, guided the conversation in slow, articulate Spanish. (“Estoy oxidada,” I said to him. I’m rusty.) We compared our respective countries—the educational systems, the musical opportunities, the economies. While we drank sodas and munched on potato chips, they told me about the music they played in their orchestra and about the low salaries Cubans earn.

A two-piece band came in, and José pretended that it was my birthday so they would sing to me. Carlota and Roberto played a salsa groove on claves the band had given them. It was the first time I had heard that rhythm in Cuba, but it wouldn’t be the last. I tipped the band with my pocket change. Finally, our food came out: ham sandwiches, underwhelming. A classic American sandwich I could have gotten anywhere at home, made memorable because it was my first meal with Cubans.

When the check came, Carlota started to say something to me, which I didn’t fully hear, or maybe just didn’t understand. All I heard was—”para nosotros.” For us. I thought she and the others were offering to pay for me. I quickly told her that of course they didn’t have to do that.

Something was lost in translation. I took out my money, but nobody else did. They just sort of sat there, expectantly, while I put down a few bills. Maybe they were going to pay me back? I didn’t bother asking. And I appreciated their company and trusted them enough not to feel ripped off, either. I don’t know whether they thought I had offered to pay for them; I don’t know whether they couldn’t pay, since the bill was in Cuban convertible pesos (CUC), the tourists’ currency, and not in the regular pesos Cubans are paid in. Maybe they simply couldn’t afford it—what in my country would be an inexpensive dinner for five ($22) cost more than the average monthly salary there. Perhaps it was just some cultural more I hadn’t learned about yet.

Whatever the reason, it was certainly a first for me.

June 7 also happened to be the start of the annual two-day long National Higher Education Entrance Examination or, as it is more colloquially called, the Gao Kao. According to an article in The Global Times, praying at the temple of China’s most famous scholar continues to be a popular Gao Kao preparation method. So I decided to interview several of my Chinese teachers—themselves recent college or graduate school graduates—about their Gao Kao experiences.

The exam is given once a year, and an individual’s Gao Kao score remains the sole factor for admission to the majority of Chinese institutions of higher education. According to estimates from 2009, only three out of five students achieve a score high enough to attend college.

Though daunting, the Gao Kao has practical advantages. It guarantees that each applicant possesses a baseline standard of knowledge. It provides a quantitative measure for the college admissions process, sidestepping the difficult process of assessing the relative merits of extracurriculars and recommendation letters. Indeed, people I spoke with expressed a strong belief that a more holistic admissions process would not work with China’s astonishing glut of applicants.

But people I interviewed also mentioned the test’s disadvantages. They were quick to stress the particular form of anxiety caused by having your entire academic career and intellectual ability reduced to a single score.

Yet, most surprising to me was their strong belief in the fairness of the Gao Kao despite its reductive nature. With emphasis on catching cheaters (this year, Xinhua reported that 62 people were detained for suspected cheating before the test even began), admissions standards that vary by province, and the controversial addition of extra points for ethnic minorities, the government strives to provide an equal opportunity testing environment. But within provinces, disparities in income and access to educational resources affect students’ performance. Given the simplicity of the admissions process, there are fewer opportunities to examine or offset these factors than there are in a more holistic system.

Several experts have been critical of how the process has given way to dramatic stratification within the Chinese higher education system. Graduates from a few select universities enjoy a high status in China, but the job market has become increasingly dire for those who did not attend such schools. Indeed, the downside to the impressive pervasiveness of higher education in China is the devaluation of higher degrees from universities that are less selective. A study conducted last November found that the average college graduate makes only 300 more yuan per month than the average migrant worker.

In this high stakes climate, Chinese and American media alike have cast light on the extreme measures some parents take to ensure their only child’s acceptance into a top university. Memorably, last year there were reports of parents providing their children with oxygen masks in the hopes of improving their concentration.

Indeed, given the very real importance of the Gao Kao on the life of the average Chinese student, a mother resorting to faith or superstition is comprehensible. And while the government has announced plans to reform Gao Kao—in some cases by allowing students to retake certain sections—the pressure on children and parents remains immense.

However, artists from Durham are using art as a form of therapy to help Burmese refugee children in the Triangle adjust to life stateside.

The ramifications of political unrest from 1962 in the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar can still be felt today in Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham. As a result of renewed ethnic persecution and violent civil unrest, 48,600 civilians fled to bordering Thailand or Malaysia from 2008 to 2009, according to a report by the UN.

The Burmese population that lived in North Carolina during a spark in civil unrest in 1988 has acted as a support network for new refugees fleeing persecution, according to Art Therapy Institute Executive Director Kristin Linton. In January 2008, Linton started working with a small classroom of Burmese students on a grant from UNC to study and counsel the mental health of the young refugees. Now in its third year, the Art Therapy Instituteis working with over 80 students from Myanmar.

“The students we are working with are different ethnic minorities from Burma,” Hillary Rubesin, art therapist, said. “A lot of these students are Karen, an ethnic minority being persecuted in Burma right now.”

The Karen has historically been subjugated in Myanmar, evident in the etymology of the word, “Karen,” which means “wild unclean man” in Burmese. This open inequality demonstrates the misfortune the Karen people have endured; they are a community without a country, constantly fleeing borders. For the past half-century, many have come to accept civil war as a normal part of their lives.

“It’s been difficult for these students because they can’t express a lot of their grievances in English,” Linton said. “Art is a way to surpass this. They can express a lot of the really terrible things they’ve experienced without having to talk about them, in their own language or in English.”

Through May and June, The Art Therapy Institute is holding an exhibition for the students’ work at Cameron’s Gallery in Chapel Hill. The therapists and their students met for a reception at the gallery May 22 to celebrate their work thus far.

“I enjoyed the exhibition and I think it was a good way to share the stories of these children with the greater community,” Sonya Deulina, senior in psychology, said.

Deulina works as an intern with the institute and said she sees art as a way for children to verbalize themselves.

“It’s important because the students can have someone to talk to, especially when they are coming in and adjusting to American culture and recovering from adversity in Southeast Asia. A lot of them need someone to talk to or to communicate with,” she said.

The artwork featured in the gallery shows recurring themes of triumph and nostalgia as well as the word love written in both English and Karen. Many of the students also wrote accompanying poems about their pieces.

“We would put art materials out on the table, and they would start drawing,” Rubesin said. “They drew the mountains, scenes from refugee camps in Thailand, and sometimes a lot of war imagery as well. A lot of those images seemed to be a safe place for them to start the process of drawing, and it shows a collective identity in the work.”

The art allows the young refugees to think about their pasts and articulate their feelings in a creative way. Chir Htoo, a middle school student, painted a picture of his childhood in a refugee camp in Thailand and wrote a story to complement his art.

“I wrote a story of the past,” Htoo said. “This was in the camps, with my mother. My father, he is left.”

Htoo’s English faltered, but his father died when Htoo was a child in the camps.

“I wanted to write about it, but I didn’t know how. The painting makes me feel better and sometimes I’m happy. But it’s hard to think about it because the memory makes me sad…hard to remember.”

In addition to the children’s projects, the Art Therapy Institute has started new programs to provide more thorough support for the refugee community, both from within and outside of Myanmar.

“Not only are we working with the kids, but we do intakes with the families. We have a women’s group working with the mothers; We’ve tried to reach out to their entire community,” Rubesin said. “We’re also working with students from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Bhutan.”

Smith, curator of the USF Institute for Research in Art (IRA), received an email from her lawyer a few days later confirming her friend’s find: her case against a travel ban to Cuba may soon be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2006, then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush enacted Florida Statute 1011.90, which prohibited “state or non-state funds made available to state universities … used to implement, organize, direct, coordinate or administer, or to support the implementation, organization, direction, coordination or administration of, activities related to” travel to Cuba or other countries deemed terrorist states.

Smith said this posed a dire threat to her work.

“It was horrible,” she said. “Just devastating.”

Smith, who had been bringing Cuban residents, artists and scholars to USF’s Graphic studio since 1999, said the program was greatly weakened by this act.

“We really had a vibrant program with Cuba,” she said. “You can imagine with a program like that what happens when you can no longer pay to bring artists from Cuba, or you can no longer pay for yourself to go down there. Or you can no longer conduct telephone calls or write letters there, or anything like that. It’s just an absurd situation, and it’s handicapped the whole program.”

Shortly after the ban was enacted, the ACLU contacted faculty members across the state with research interests invested in Cuba, challenging the state of Florida on multiple constitutional grounds. Smith readily joined as a plaintiff.

Yet, it was when the Obama administration announced its plans to relax tensions and encourage travel with Cuba in January that the plaintiffs clearly felt the state was in constitutional violation, ACLU of Florida communications director Derek Newton said.

On March 11, a petition for a writ of certiorari to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court was filed.

“We have filed because we believe the Florida law is unconstitutional for a number of reasons,” Newton said. “It fails to distinguish between public funds and private funds for legitimate academic research. In essence, it imposes a foreign policy for the state of Florida, which is clearly the sole right of the federal government to set and enact foreign policy.”

Newton said if the case were heard by the court, oral arguments were initially expected in the fall — but the Obama administration has been invited to submit a brief supporting its case, which could potentially push back arguments.

As of Wednesday, the brief from the administration has yet to be filed, according to a spokesperson from the Office of the Solicitor General.

Though Smith is the only plaintiff from USF, she would not be the only one at the University affected by this case.

Rachel May, director of the Institute for the Study of Latin America and the Caribbean, said USF once offered a Cuban studies certificate for graduate students, but that program has been dormant due to the lack of credits available with the possibility of study abroad diminished.

“It’s a big problem because there’s a lot of interest and expertise in things pertaining to Cuba at USF — from marine sciences to literature and history and poetry,” May said. “But nobody can go to Cuba. It means we aren’t getting graduate students interested in doing research about Cuba. You can’t study a place if you can’t go there.”

If the ban is lifted, there is hope the program could be revitalized, she said.

“There are scholars who work on a broad range of issues that don’t supply support for Fidel Castro and the revolution, but there are a lot of people who do work on Cuba, and if the ban were to be lifted, they could continue to pursue their research and academic activities,” May said.

U.S. Rep. David Rivera (R-Miami), a proponent of the ban in 2006, said he does not believe the ban should be lifted even if the case goes to the U.S. Supreme Court and believes Cuba should be treated as a terrorist state.

“Florida’s constitution clearly delegates to the state legislature the authority to determine how taxpayer funds are to be utilized and how they are not to be utilized,” Rivera said in an email statement. “In Florida, the elected representatives of the people — the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Governor — overwhelmingly determined that taxpayer funds and taxpayer resources should not be used to facilitate or subsidize travel to terrorist nations.”

Smith said she only sees futility in upholding the ban.

“I think that the more the Cubans are exposed to Americans and the more Americans are exposed to Cubans, the better the future will be,” she said. “I don’t think anything is served by artificially keeping people apart.”

In response, a team of researchers from USF’s Center for Ocean Technology (COT) went to Japan, where they used remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) to assist the Japanese International Rescue Systems Institute.

The five-person team, which used underwater robots to inspect debris and search for bodies in six Japanese coastal areas from April 19 to 23, brought back with them accounts of the rescue effort and immense destruction caused by the disaster.

The team was headed by Robin Murphy, director of the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR) at Texas A&M University and a former USF professor. Eric Steimle, program manager for Applied Environmental and Ocean Sciences, and Karen Dreger, researcher at USF’s COT, brought the SeaMor ROV on the trip. This ROV uses 2-D sonar, ideal for water exploration.

These robots have the ability to explore areas too dangerous for human divers. They are controlled by four to six thrusters, and include manipulators and graspers. Steimle likened the ROV control box, with its joysticks and levers, to a straightforward video game.

“To be able to see through the water, you can use the sonar like a flashlight to identify objects,” said Steimle, who received his Ph.D. from USF in 1999 and is a visiting professor of environmental science and policy at USF St. Petersburg. “When you identify some kind of object and get closer, you can use the camera.”

The SeaBotix SARbot was also used during the trip. This ROV uses distance sonar to explore large underwater areas and has front and rear cameras. Designed for search and recovery missions, the SARbot was operated by Dreger, who received her bachelor’s degree in environmental science from USF in 2007 and her master’s degree in 2010.

During the trip, the research team worked in the fishing village of Minamisanriku. They also worked closely with the Japanese Coast Guard at five sites in Rikuzentakata, surveying acres of debris.

“We spent about six to eight hours working in the field each day,” Dreger said. “We were always busy and on the go. We tried to spend as much time as we could working each day, since our trip was relatively short.”

In Minamisanriku the ROVs were sent out for port inspections. They ensured that there was no debris five meters below the surface that would interfere with boat traffic. The people rely on the availability of the harbor to make a living, as Minamisanriku is predominately a fishing community.

“Based on our work there and our finding and recommendations, the mayor of that city reopened the port,” Dreger said. “It was the first step to bringing in more supplies, but also helping the people who survived return to their livelihood.”

No bodies were found by the ROVs. They did, however, find purses, backpacks, two cars and roofs ripped from homes.

The SARbot was able to explore inside of the houses, which had remained largely intact on the interior. License plate numbers and identification pulled from inside the bags were given to the Japanese Coast Guard to identify possible victims or missing persons.

Witnessing the devastation firsthand was a surreal experience for both Dreger and Steimle, who said it is difficult to describe exactly how bad things were.

“You see it on TV or go online to watch the videos, but you turn the corner coming down into the valley and it looks fake,” Steimle said. “I tried to block it out most of the time, but every now and then I’d think about it or get the local story of what had happened, and it would hit close to home. It was very, very bad.”

Damage varied based on location, as houses at higher altitudes did not get touched by the destructive waters. Some of these untouched areas are separated from the impact zones by mere feet, Steimle said.

Ultimately, the USF research team’s goal was to use the ROVs to help the people of Japan resume their lives after the disaster.

“There are a lot of environmental things you can do with these instruments,” Dreger said, “but to use them for a human aspect is great.”

Steimle said he witnessed the incredible ability of the Japanese to move on and deal with the devastation. Still, he said he hopes that the work the USF COT has done helped ease the road to recovery.

“Using this technology allows for closure,” Steimle said. “It gives people that sense of completeness and helps them move on.”

Several Tufts faculty members conceived of the study abroad program in conjunction with members of the Juan Marinello Cuban Institute for Cultural Research, a postdoctoral research institute focused on the social sciences of culture and culture policy. The institute would serve as the host for the program and local professors would teach courses.

With travel restrictions to Cuba easing since 2001, Tufts students have been able to study in the country for short periods of time under the university’s license for academic travel to Cuba.

Recent U.S. legislation, however, has necessitated that students studying abroad must now demonstrate that classes taken while in Cuba are accepted for credit by their university, according to José Antonio Mazzotti, chair of the Department of Romance Languages. The legislation holds that American students interested in studying abroad in the country are now not allowed to do so unless they can show that they are sponsored by an accredited university to receive academic credit.

Tufts faculty members conceived of the program last year as a fundamentally non-Tufts program after requests to start a Tufts program in Cuba were denied by the administration, according to professor emeritus Claudia Kaiser-Lenoir, a former associate professor in the Department of Romance Languages, who was one of the main faculty members involved in the program’s inception.

Under the proposed program, students would take classes through the Juan Marinello Institute, an organization for which there is no equivalent in the U.S. education system, according to Kaiser-Lenoir, who has served as the primary liaison with the institute.

“[It's] a mix between a think tank within a field of expertise and an institution for advanced research within the university,” she said.

Questions regarding the research-oriented nature of the institute, however, have complicated the approval process. Tufts’ policy requires that study abroad programs be offered through accredited degree-granting institutions, according to Dean of Academic Affairs for Arts and Sciences James Glaser, and the Cuban institution does not meet this requirement.

The policy ensures the legitimacy of students’ study abroad requests, Glaser said.

“The fact that it’s … an accredited degree-granting [institution] gives us some assurance that certain requirements have been met, and so we don’t have to go into every university and know every detail of how they’re operating,” Glaser said. “The accreditation tells us that this has been looked up by people who are knowledgeable and it’s been given their stamp of approval.”

Kaiser-Lenoir explained that the institute was chosen as the host institution because of its broad research in the social sciences and because professors for the courses offered come from Cuban universities.

“In several trips, we contacted the [Institute] and they were very open to holding meetings with our students … so when we starting thinking about what kind of place we could find to have a program that would offer this kind of very interdisciplinary environment, we thought about [it],” Kaiser-Lenoir said. “There are many others … but the Juan Marinello was the one that had the intellectual range that seemed to fit the students that we would take.”

Since the institute does not grant degrees, discussion is ongoing about changes that would have to be made to the program to align it with university standards and allow Tufts students to attend, according to Glaser.

Thus far, the program’s supporters have worked to demonstrate that the Juan Marinello Institute is comparable to a graduate school under the U.S. higher education system.

If the program is not approved for Tufts students in its proposed form, an alternative would be to seek an affiliation with another institution, according to Mazzotti.

A future possibility would also be to open the program to students from other universities.

Mazzotti emphasized that those involved are receptive to making the necessary alterations to ensure the program’s viability and compliance with university standards.

The International Relations Program, the International Letters and Visual Studies Program, the Latin American Studies Program, the Department of Romance Languages and the Institute for Global Leadership have endorsed the program and are involved in getting administrative support, he added.

Students have also been working to demonstrate interest in this proposal, initiating a petition in mid-April once they learned of the logistical issues that had arisen, according to rising junior Rosario Dominguez, one of those involved.

“What [we're] trying to do is show the administration that there’s a lot of student support for this, there’s a lot of interest,” rising junior Miguel Zamora-Mills, another petition organizer, said. “We’re trying to show that this would be a fantastic opportunity for Tufts, even if it’s not a Tufts program.”

Dominguez considered a Cuba study abroad program beneficial as a way to educate students about the country.

“This would provide a wonderful opportunity for Tufts students to be in Cuba at a very interesting time in Cuba’s history,” Dominguez said. “Most importantly, as active citizens, we should be responsible … and knowledgeable of relations with Cuba, because … we don’t have this past of the Cold War and Fidel [Castro]. It’s turning a new page in U.S.-Cuba relations, which could potentially be very interesting.”

Kaiser-Lenoir noted that if the program is approved for Tufts credit, it would build on a legacy of student involvement in Cuba starting in 2001.

The program’s organizers, however, are committed to ensuring the program’s availability to Tufts students for credit.

“[That's] part of what we do here as faculty,” Mazzotti said. “We open possibilities, a place for Tufts students to learn different ways to approach social, cultural and political issues while, in this specific case, taking a first-hand look at historical experiences on environmental care, public health issues, ethnic diversity — in this case Afro-Cuban — and many other aspects of this particular and unique Latin American country.”

Foley was originally captured April 5 while covering the Libyan conflict outside the city of Brega by pro-Gadhafi forces. Harvard alum Clare Gillis and Spanish photographer Manu Brabo were also captured with Foley and have also been released according to multiple news reports. A fourth journalist, British freelancer Nigel Chandler has also been released.

Foley contacted the GlobalPost soon after his release and said he was “overwhelmed” by the support shown during the course of his detainment.  Foley’s mother, Diane Foley, told the GlobalPost that she was “overjoyed” by the telephone call from her son.

“He told me he was well and looking forward to coming home,” she said. “We are extraordinarily grateful to the many people who have worked on his release and we hope to have him home as soon as possible.”

The governor’s office said in a press release that these 34 counties appeared to be the most severely impacted by weather-related damage, but that more could be added to the emergency declaration in the future.

This is one of the steps required for a county or other local government to seek financial assistance. Monroe county declared a state of emergency last week, the first step required to receive state assistance.

For a county to receive emergency federal assistance, the state in which it’s located must declare a state of emergency for the county.

Harvard Political Review: How has Turkey responded to the recent events and uprisings in the Middle East?

Dani Rodrik: Turkey was caught unaware by the Middle East revolutions. Turkey’s relationship with the countries of the Middle East was largely based on a strategy of establishing good relationships with the existing political leadership. To that extent, I think that Turkish leadership was at a loss as to how to respond and they did so in a relatively ad-hoc manner.

HPR: Do you think Turkey would like to see democracy throughout the Middle East, in an ideal situation?

DR: I think ultimately Turkey would like to see itself as a leader in a broadly democratic Middle East. There are a couple of things mitigating against that: Some economic interests with existing governments played a conflicting role. Part of the reason Turkey was behind the ball in Libya was that a significant amount of Turkish investment existed in Libya, and Turkey wanted to ensure the safety of those investments, thus delaying their willingness to be on the side of popular protests.

I think the second important factor that’s going to make it hard for Turkey to lead is that if Egypt does become a democratic country, it is going to be a much more central focus in a democratic Middle East, given its size and importance. Turkey could find itself in competition with Egypt if Egypt, as one hopes, emerges as a robust democracy.

HPR: You published a book in December on the trials of a broad range of individuals allegedly part of the “Sledgehammer plot” to overthrow the Turkish government. You wrote on your blog that you never imagined yourself having to write this book. Is this a sign of how much Turkey has changed recently?

DR: Turkey faces huge problems in terms of its political system. I think it is unfortunately going in an authoritarian direction, just as the rest of the region is going in the opposite direction.

I was hopeful until two years ago that the current government was interested in deepening democracy in Turkey and in strengthening the rule of law. Unfortunately, having watched the ongoing political and military trials closely, it is clear that the rule of law is being systematically undermined and that this would be impossible without the support of the government behind the scenes. Therefore, I see that the government is moving Turkey in a direction that is increasingly authoritarian rather than more democratic. I think the Western media missed this because of Turkey’s story—it looked like a straightforward and appealing narrative of a popularly elected government finally prevailing and enabling the judiciary to address the transgressions of the secular old guard. However, these trials are much closer to show trials.  Look at them closer, and what you find is that the evidence used to lock defendants up ranges from the circumstantial to the demonstrably fabricated. Their real purpose seems to be to demonize the opposition, mobilize domestic support and ensure that state institutions remain under the control of the government for a very long time, rather than to enforce the rule of law.

HPR: Could you describe Turkey’s current political situation in greater detail?

DR: There are three groups you need to consider to understand Turkish politics. The first are the representatives of the old order—the military, and the ultra secular groups of the past, which tended to dominate the universities, state institutions, and the higher courts until recently. This group has been the big loser during the last decade.

That leaves the other two groups in charge. One is the governing party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by Prime Minister Recep Erdogan.

And the third group, which very few people know much about, is a religious network—the Gulen network—directed by an Islamic preacher, Fetullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania. This is a vast network, very wealthy and very influential, which runs an educational and media empire. Its representatives occupy key positions in the national police and the judiciary. The Gulenists and the AKP have made common cause against the old guard. But given that the old guard has now lost its power, it may turn out that the tension between these two groups will come out into the open in the form of direct competition. I see neither Erdogan nor the Gulenists as a force for democracy.

HPR: Does the AKP have an Islamist agenda to turn Turkey into an Islamic state? Is that something that people should fear, either about the AKP, or about the Gulenist movement?

DR: I’m more worried about the Gulen movement, because it lacks transparency and much of the dirty tricks in Turkish politics and judiciary seem to be linked to it. Gulenist police and prosecutors have mounted sham trials under the guise of cleansing the system from coup plotters.  Gulenist media are engaged in systematic disinformation about these trials. These activities are very difficult to reconcile with the moderate, liberal and humane version of Islam that the movement preaches. As for the AKP, I worry less about its Islamist leanings, and more about an ingrained authoritarianism. My worry is less that Turkey will become the next Iran, but that Turkey will become a worse version of Russia, where the media and the judiciary are effectively controlled and manipulated by pro-government forces.

HPR: Do you think the central tenets of your most recent book, The Globalization Paradox—that economic globalization, national sovereignty and democracy are incompatible—can be applied to the current situation of the Turkey and the Middle East?

DR: The Middle East crisis reminds us of the centrality of national governments in people’s lives, in economic, political and social affairs, and of the need to have good governance at the national level.

Despite all the talk about how the world has become “flat” and national borders don’t matter anymore, the well-being of people by and large still revolves around what national governments do and don’t do. The countries that are in the best position to reap the rewards of economic globalization are in fact the ones that have strong, well-governed states and national governments.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Steinbaum said he first began studying the region with Engel after joining his staff in November 1993. When Engel was elected in 1998, a group of Albanian-Americans drew Engel’s attention to the “quiet ethnic cleansing” orchestrated by Serbians living in Kosovo. The group brought Engel to a rally, where the participants’ heavy accents led Engel to think they were chanting “free cold soda” instead of “free Kosovo,” Steinbaum said.

Congressional response to the Kosovar conflict was much quicker than many Americans believe is possible from their government, according to Steinbaum.

“If anyone ever tells you that members of Congress don’t listen to their constituents, I can tell you that after 20 years of doing this, they do listen,” he said. “They have to listen to their constituents or their constituents will throw them out.”

Steinbaum said he and Engel helped form the Albanian Issues Caucus, an informal Congressional group dedicated to solving the crisis in Kosovo. As his focus on the violence against Albanians intensified, Steinbaum travelled to the region with other American government officials on numerous occasions, he said. His first trip may have been the most eventful. When his visa was denied, Steinbaum found his way into the country with the help of Mercy Corps, an international relief organization, by pretending to work with a peace group called the International Hope of the Planet, an organization that Steinbaum fabricated for the occasion in homage to the International House of Pancakes, he said.

As Steinbaum traced the history of the region, he urged audience members to support the Kosovar independence movement. The violence began when Slobodan Milosevic, who served as the president of Serbia at the time, delivered a speech calling Serbians to regain their “national heritage,” which led to the treatment of Albanians as second-class citizens and began the widespread genocide, according to Steinbaum.

The Albanians, led by a pacifist president, responded to the genocide by creating their own “parallel system,” including a separate government, schools and health clinics, according to Steinbaum. Serbia could have ended the conflict at this point but instead chose not to compromise, Steinbaum said.

Steinbaum helped advise the Albanians to settle for autonomy rather than independence, a provision they correctly guessed the Serbians would not grant them, at a conference in France, Steinbaum said. As a result, Albanians appeared willing to compromise in the eyes of the international community, causing NATO to begin bombing Serbian forces, he said.

Despite the prolonged fighting, the war did not end Serbian sovereignty over Kosovo, Steinbaum said. When three Albanian children were found drowned in the Ibar River, the Albanians quickly blamed the Serbians and proceeded to burn hundreds of Orthodox churches, according to Steinbaum.

When the Albanians began to commit atrocities against the Serbians, Steinbaum said he and other government officials realized that Kosovar independence was the only long-term solution to the problem. Although Kosovo declared independence on Feb. 18, 2008, Steinbaum said more countries need to recognize Kosovar sovereignty and the international community needs to aid Kosovo in solving its internal economic and corruption problems.

The lecture was sponsored by Dartmouth Hillel, which is planning a trip to Kosovo this summer directly following Commencement. The program, now in its 10th year, sends between 12 and 15 Dartmouth students around the globe annually to study the issue of genocide, according to Rabbi Edward Boraz, executive director of Hillel. The Dartmouth students on the trip, who made up most of the small audience in attendance at the lecture, will partner with students from the American University in Kosovo while studying issues relating to conflict and resolution.

This analysis determined, of the 379 U.S. cities reviewed, which had the lowest and highest risk for being affected by disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, drought and hail.

Following Corvallis, Mt. Vernon-Anacortes, Wash. is in the number two spot and Bellingham, Wash. is ranked third. The next highest ranked Oregon city is Salem, as the seventh safest in the nation.

The West Coast has been known to be more vulnerable to earthquakes, as opposed to the Midwest, which suffers from tornadoes, or the East Coast, which withstands hurricanes every year.

While the honor may make some breathe a sigh of relief, one expert believes the analysis may have been too lenient in there assessment of threats from Mother Nature.

“In my view, the New York Times downplayed the threat from earthquakes,” said Robert Yeats, professor of geology in the geosciences department at Oregon State University. “Seattle got high marks even though there is a proven active fault running through downtown Seattle that had a large earthquake less than 1,000 years ago, accompanied by a tsunami that struck the Magnolia Heights area.”

According to the data posted from the New York Times, “Risks for twisters and hurricanes are based on historical data showing where storms occurred, (and) earthquake risks are based on United States Geological Survey assessments and take into account the relative infrequency of quakes, compared with weather events and floods.”

This research was conducted following events such as the disastrous storms in the South and the deadly earthquake in Japan, which reportedly killed more than 18,000 people with nearly 12,000 still determined missing.

Yeats said Corvallis was not the only city included in the survey that may have been incorrectly ranked for safety.

“In addition, suburbs Kent and Auburn have volcanic hazard from mudflows from Mt. Ranier, the most recent occurring 500 years ago,” said Yeats. “The survey also gave high marks to Bellingham, Mt. Vernon and Salem, all at similar risk from quakes, when in fact Salem was damaged by an earthquake in 1993.”

On the New York Times website, the data results are displayed on a map of the United States, with green dots representing cities with lower risk of hazards, and red dots indicating the cities with the highest risk.

Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas, was ranked the most dangerous city to live in the United States, followed by Jonesboro, Ark., Corpus Christi, Texas, and Houston, Texas. Texas rounded out with five cities in the top eight most dangerous.

Yeats fears the high marks for safety may give community members a false sense of security, possibly hindering emergency preparedness.

“I regard the survey as irresponsible, hampering efforts of emergency managers to make this a safer place to live,” said Yeats.

The eager army of Beavs is participating in a nationwide challenge called “Live Below the Line.” Live Below the Line is an event organized by the Global Poverty Project, an international movement to see the end of extreme poverty within a single generation. Until now, such a goal has always been economically impossible to accomplish. In an effort to raise awareness and funds for the Global Poverty Project to help developing nations to permanently rise above the line of extreme poverty, each member of the team, which calls itself “The BeaLIVErs,” will spend no more than $1.50 a day on food.

“Living below the line is more than just some diet,” explained David Fleming, a 19-year-old psychology major who belongs to the BeaLIVErs team. “It’s a way to learn empathy and gratitude.”

The team is representing our school well. While taking the challenge, participants typically ask family and friends if they would like to sponsor them to raise money for the Global Poverty Project. The BeaLIVErs, a group of fewer than 30 individuals, is currently ranked among the top-four fundraising teams in the country. Anyone who ever doubted that a small group of young people had the power to change the world was clearly unfamiliar with the giant-slaying determination of OSU students.

With my peers’ enthusiasm as my inspiration, I’ve decided to join the BeaLIVErs team. I want to participate not only in protest of extreme poverty, which I believe to be the most monstrous injustice in our world today, but also as an attempt to understand someone else’s suffering. There is no reason why I was born into a life of privilege and opportunity while 1.4 billion people must juggle the cost of food, healthcare and education on a daily budget of $1.50. The things I worry about every day are incredibly trivial in comparison to those daily hardships, and my challenge is to remind myself of their reality.

Many LBL participants agree that gaining a new perspective on poverty is a crucial part of making a global impact.

“I want to raise awareness for an important global issue and to experience what hunger really is,” explained Alex Schulz, a member of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and a junior at OSU.

“I am doing Live Below the Line to grow in compassion with those who are living in poverty,” added Monica Kolinska, also a junior at OSU. “Every person who says they cannot live on $1.50 a day is testimony to the fact that no one should have to. And we can help change that.”

The key word, of course, is “we.” No one person can tackle such an overwhelming problem alone, but when a committed group of people work together to make a change, the results can be staggering.

“I am living below the line so I can experience what 1.4 billion people have to deal with every day,” said Troy Love, an OSU construction and engineering management major. “I am hoping my small contribution will motivate others to end global poverty forever.”

For those who want to join the fight against extreme poverty, you can become a part of our team at livebelowtheline.com. Even if you’re not sure your belly can handle five days of rice, beans and ramen, you can still help The BeaLIVErs make a difference by making more modest sacrifices, like giving up your daily coffee one morning and donating the $3 you save to the cause.

As Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Changing the world begins with a change from within. In participating in this eye-opening experience, we hope to change our perspectives and thus change the world. We want to take a stand and bring an end to this suffering, and nothing would make us more proud than knowing our fellow students have chosen to stand with us.

Molly Jones is a junior in English. The opinions expressed in her columns do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Barometer staff. Jones can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com.

The money will go toward purchasing 48 passenger rail cars and seven locomotives — all capable of traveling at 125 miles per hour — in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri.

But despite the extra funds, the future of the proposed Iowa City-Chicago rail line is still in question.

Some officials hope that the continued interest in Iowa rail travel as a whole will positively influence public and governmental support for the proposed line.

Gov. Terry Branstad deemed the rail line fiscally irresponsible, fearing low ridership. Officials said the rail could cost $3 million a year. Tim Albrecht, a spokesman for Branstad, said the chief executive would continue to monitor the situation and the Legislature’s decision.

“Ultimately, the responsibility lies with [the Legislature] and whether or not it decides to fund this project,” Albrecht said.

Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, the head of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the recent federal funds require a $20 million match from the state over the next three or four years. The Senate hopes to include $6.5 million in the budget for fiscal 2013, he said.

The state needs the money to show the federal government it is interested in the match program, the senator said. And Dvorsky said he hopes the federal offering would help promote passenger rail in Iowa.

“I just hope it shows some momentum, that there is some support for passenger rail in Iowa,” he said.

It’s not yet clear how much of the funding will go to each state.

Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, said passenger rail service from Iowa City to the Quad Cities or Chicago would ease travel for students, businesses, and families. The funding could go to areas hit by the economic downturn, the congressman said.

“I hope this funding, which provides a necessary investment in new locomotives and passenger cars, will help improve the Chicago-Quad Cities-Iowa City passenger rail corridor and spur ridership,” Loebsack said in a statement.

The grant is a fraction of $2 billion awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation to improve high-speed rail travel in the Northeast, the Midwest, and California. The funds, originally earmarked for a high-speed rail line in Florida, became available after Florida Gov. Rick Scott rejected the federal funds.

In total, the Midwest is scheduled to receive $404.1 million to expand high-speed rail service, the press release said.

The Department of Transportation has provided $230 million for a new Amtrak route connecting Chicago, the Quad Cities, and Iowa City in October 2010.

The project is scheduled to be completed in 2015, according to a statement from Rep. Bruce Braley.
Kelly McCann, director of communications for the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce — whose members have long supported the project — said the Chamber is “delighted” the federal government is investing in Midwest passenger rail.

“This is another step in the right direction for the Iowa City to Chicago passenger rail route,” McCann said.

Although many of the social issues demanded by protesters are similar to those in places like Bahrain, Egypt and Tunisia, there is a major difference between the Syrian uprising and the people-led movements in these other nations.

It begins with the phrase “people-led.”

While there is absolutely no denying the abuses imposed on the citizens of Syria by the al-Assad family, particularly in the massacre of people currently living in Daraa, one should take a more discerning look at the opposition and ultimately question the true objective of this movement. More importantly, what is the current direction of the uprising in the region as a whole? The answer might shock you.

It is true that many nations in the region lack strong opposition parties due to suppression from the government, and opposition parties or large organizations did not lead the protests in Tunisia and Egypt. In fact, the Muslim Brotherhood, one of Egypt’s largest opposition parties, firmly declared itself as mere auxiliaries in the protests. The same cannot be said for Syria, considering that the initial protests back in February were spearheaded in part by the Reform Party of Syria.

The party is not based in Syria, but rather in the United States of America.

Meanwhile, recent cables released through WikiLeaks suggest that America has supported another opposition party, the Movement for Justice & Development in Syria, with financial assistance to the tune of over $6 million from 2006 to at least September 2011, if not currently. The MJD, headquartered in England, had members who were formerly part of the ruling Ba’ath Party that had only stepped down in order to “be on the safe side” should problems arise.

Meanwhile, the US has also helped fund a London-based satellite channel, Barada TV, which has been a key player in filming coverage of the protests.

President al-Assad has echoed his Libyan counterpart Muammar el-Qaddafi in denouncing the protests as a foreign-led movement, and based on the evidence above, he might not sound so crazy after all.

But this is not just about Syria. This is about a region that in February, America was losing its influence over. Allies like the Mubarak regime in Egypt and the Ben Ali regime in Tunisia were toppling, and the focus of the international community was on these nations and a nation like Bahrain, an ally on the verge of losing power.

But while these situations have entered a phase of status quo, and even suppression, in the case of Bahrain, the international community has begun to focus on the Civil War in Libya and now this emerging situation in Syria. Unfortunately, the U.S. has also ignored the fact that unlike Mubarak, Ben Ali and Bahrain’s Khalifa regime, al-Assad has actually removed the state of emergency that has been in effect since 1963, and the protests have somehow spiked after the lifting of it — one of the protesters’ major demands.

In a few short months, America and its allies have transformed the nature of the popular protest movement by turning the spotlight on situations and nations it can actually control, removing the power away from the people and back to the murky political waters that have ruled the Middle East for decades.

It took a year-and-a-half before the epiphany finally struck and the delay was ended; women, it was decided to the chagrin of human rights advocates, would not be permitted to vote this time either.

Nevertheless, the ban hasn’t swayed a number of intrepid Saudi women from taking to voter registration centers in major cities to push for their right to register to vote.

“You fear God and you love your country. Why won’t you let us participate?” one of the women asked the male officials in charge of a center in the capital city, Riyadh.

“There is no article in the system denying us the right to cast our vote,” proclaimed another.

Laws and acts discriminating against women must end, say the women, particularly since the Kingdom has signed international agreements prohibiting such prejudice.

In Saudi Arabia, my homeland, women are prohibited from traveling or working without the written consent of their male guardians, banned from the ballot box and not permitted to drive.

Two misconceptions vis-à-vis Saudi women are ordinarily mentioned in the Western media. The first is that such sexist practices are relics of the Islamic faith. However, this notion belies well-known historical facts.

During the early centuries of Islam, women were granted the right to participate in the political process and all other aspects of life. However, the current brand of Islam applied in the oil-rich Saudi Kingdom is fueled by an austere, convoluted interpretation of Shari’ah, or Islamic Law, at times at odds with Islam in its pure form.

The other Western misreading of the Saudi social environment is that the government is single-handedly accountable for the ostracization of Saudi women, an ill-informed opinion to anyone familiar with Saudi society.

Men and on occasion women, have been intransigent in their opposition to gender parity, concerned that any hints of compromise, such as allowing women to pilot a car, would open the floodgates of promiscuity in the profoundly conservative Kingdom. As an example, when two young women made attempts this week to register to vote, they were subjected by some of the public to a broad spectrum of insults, ranging from “unoriginal and impure Saudis” to “attention seekers” to “whores.” They were told “to stay home and raise kids,” and in some cases thought to warrant legal prosecution.

What at heart engenders such narrow-minded viewpoints?

As a Saudi Arabian national, I attest to the extremely narrow interpretation of the Qur’an and the Prophet’s actions, called Sunnah, that are inculcated into us from an early age in schools and Friday sermons, and through fatwas (religious rulings) and lectures disseminated through books and AV media. The doctrines promulgated devoted no small part to the subject of women, their rudimentary role in society and the protection of their honor.

Less than a week ago, a woman called a prominent sheikh during his TV show, reporting that her brother had sexually harassed his own daughter. The outcome? Rather than advising the caller to immediately report the sexually abusive father to the police, the cleric spared the father 90 percent of the blame and instead, based on pure conjecture, lambasted the molested girl for the manner in which “she dresses around her father,” for “spending time alone with him” and for all the sexual provocation that her erogenous actions could evoke in the father who, after all, is “a man” with desire.

Compounded by the 2006 Qatif Girl saga, in which a kidnapped and gang-raped Saudi girl was, for having been in a car alone with unrelated male, sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail (later to be pardoned by the King), the sheikh’s response epitomizes the prism through which Saudi women are seen: the presumption of guilt in a wrong committed by man is usually attributed to some woman’s sinful conduct.

Notwithstanding entreaties from women’s rights activists to open up more job opportunities for women, a recent fatwa was issued to render impermissible the employment of women as clerks in supermarkets due to “un-Islamic sex mingling.”

Yet, amid the bleak clouds of deep-seated misogynic societal convictions, strict policing by the religious establishment, and fatwas further curtailing women’s liberties, a ray of sunshine may be working its way to the top.

Having witnessed the far-reaching impact of social media in neighboring Arab countries, Saudi women have begun taking to Facebook and Twitter to make their voices heard.

Saudi Women Revolution (SWR) is a fast-growing women’s rights movement in a culture where women’s rights largely remain an alien concept, asserting time and again their demands work in tandem with Shari’ah Law, while calling for equality with their male counterparts.

For his part, a progressive King Abdullah has exhibited support when, in the face of vociferous outcries from conservatives, he inaugurated King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), the first co-ed institute in the Kingdom.

The future of gender equality in Saudi society therefore rests first and foremost in the hands of its women. To be sure, it will take considerable time and effort to undo decades of rigid interpretation and application of religion, but if you don’t fight for your rights, no one else will.

This round of municipal elections is a good place to start.

The University of Iowa junior, who is studying abroad in Seville, Spain, said she streamed Obama’s speech online after she saw the news on Facebook and Twitter.

The next morning, Schoop, 20, began to receive e-mails from the U.S. Embassy about travel warnings for Americans abroad, she said.

“I am definitely nervous now to be traveling back to the States, especially now since I will be by myself,” she wrote in an e-mail.

Schoop is studying with Cultural Experience Abroad, and she said the organization sent an e-mail to students, making sure they don’t participate in any demonstrations. The e-mail also said participants should “try not to ‘appear’ American.”

“I have been keeping up with all of the news and hope that all will be safe as I journey back to America in two weeks,” she said.

Meanwhile, officials emphasized the safety of the more than 300 UI students abroad is their top concern as the world reactions to the death of the Al Qaeda leader.

Even before the latest foreign-policy frenzy, UI Office of Study Abroad had started planning to expand its system for tracking students studying in other countries, said John Rogers, an assistant director of the office. The change comes on the wake of natural disasters in Japan and prolonged political unrest in the Middle East.

The current system keeps record of where students are studying, the dates of their programs, and a photocopy passports, he said.

Rogers said only students participating in UI study-abroad programs have been required to send the information, but now it’s becoming required of UI students traveling through other programs.

The U.S. Department of State travel advisories are always forwarded to students in other countries, Rogers said, and one was sent out Monday after bin Laden’s death.

The message included a note advising UI students to keep a low profile and avoid large crowds, he said. He said the Study Abroad Office has not received any indications of any UI student being in danger or expressing concerns about safety.

Rogers said the joint effort between the Study Abroad Office and UI administration is to ensure officials can contact students overseas in the event of an emergency.

No UI students are in Pakistan or Afghanistan because a United States travel warning prohibits the university from sending students to the area, Rogers said.

Alison Kiss, executive director of Security on Campus, a national organization that works to prevent criminal violence on college campuses, compared the time following bin Laden’s death as the time immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and said students should work to be informed about the political state of the country in which they plan to spend time.

“Many times for students, it’s their first time leaving the country,” she said. “Imagine [a high risk] added to that.”

But not all UI students who are studying abroad said they are worried about their safety.

UI junior Joe Moriarty, who’s studying in Cork, Ireland, said he is not concerned about anything bad happening during his travels.

He said he is confident about his safety because of increased safety precautions in the area after bin Laden’s death.

“If anything, I’d say people back home have more to worry about than anyone in Ireland, or Europe for that matter,” the 20-year-old said in a Facebook message.

A group of Gillis’ friends showed their support at an event in Boston honoring the work of James Foley, another freelance reporter who was detained in Libya with Gillis.

Family and friends of Foley shared his stories and writings, in addition to combat videos recorded while he was in Libya.

Ece G. Turnator, a Harvard graduate student who has known Gillis for five years, delivered a brief speech in support of the event and called for joint efforts to expedite the release of Foley and Gillis.

“We should act together and show a united front,” Turnator said. “When both come back, we will have a good party.”

Yet despite the optimism expressed by Turnator, the recent developments in Libya have made the situation of the captured journalists more uncertain than a week ago, when Gillis was allowed to make a second call home.

The Turkish government, which was previously negotiating for the journalists’ release through its embassy in Tripoli, made the decision to temporarily evacuate the embassy on Monday due to safety concerns following the NATO mission strike that the Libyan government claims killed one of Muammar Gaddafi’s sons and three of his grandchildren.

Michael Foley, James Foley’s brother, said the U.S. Department of State has not communicated to him about a “second course of action” after the Turkish embassy evacuation.

“The situation is dire out there,” Michael Foley said. “The amount of action required of all of us has now doubled. One conclusion is that if people in the room here aren’t prone to action, I don’t know if we will see a positive outcome.”

Renee Loth, an editorial editor at The Boston Globe who was at the event, stressed journalists’ safety and acknowledged the importance of Gillis and Foley’s work.

“Journalists operating in war zones should be considered civilians, with all the protection and immunity that civilians enjoy,” Loth said. “Reporters like James and Clare are the root and branches of democracy—they must be protected.”

Friends of Gillis are planning on holding a vigil in Harvard Yard next Monday, hoping to draw more support and attention to Gillis’ situation in Libya.

“This event shows a lot of people are putting pressure on all that they can think of to get the release of the imprisoned journalists,” said Jesse C. Howell, another friend of Gillis and a Harvard graduate student.

Howell said that individuals should continue to publicize the journalists’ ongoing captivity via mass media and the U.S. should uphold diplomatic pressure on the Libyan government.

“It makes me feel much more real to be here, hearing James’ parents talk. It also makes Clare’s situation much more present,” Howell added. “We really don’t know what effort would create the change, but like Michael said, there is really no effort that’s too small.”

Hample, who was a University sophomore at the time, recalls that the vivid dream involved Jesus, foreigners, food and himself, which he believed was a call for him to go to India. The only problem was that he did not know when the opportunity would arise.

That opportunity came nearly six years later when he left Eugene to go to India as a part of the child sponsorship program at Central Lutheran Church. For Hample, those six weeks in India changed his life, and he worked vigorously for the next two decades to help people in need in India.

In 1994, Hample’s efforts finally culminated in the creation of India Partners, a Eugene-based non-profit Christian grassroots organization that provides several “self-help” programs to impoverished people in India, such as primary school, fishing initiatives and health care provisions.

With offices in India, Portland, Eugene and Washington state, Hample, the CEO and president of India Partners, said the company has given nearly $3 million to numerous programs and initiatives in India. To add to these initiatives, the company began to provide microfinance loans — relatively small loans that typically range from $25 to $1,000 — to Indian fishermen after their boats were destroyed by the massive 2004 tsunami and earthquake. More than half a decade later, Hample estimates India Partners has provided nearly 50,000 people with loans — a company record of nearly $400,000 alone was given out last year.

However, with help from the University’s Microfinance Initiative, Hample is hopeful the company can expand its microfinance initiatives to more people in India.

“It seemed like the perfect fit,” Elizabeth Aldrich, the club’s vice president said in an email. “India Partners has such a wide variety of projects that it can be difficult for them to have specialized knowledge in every one of them, and our club thought we could provide some of that specialized knowledge to help develop a project we saw as valuable.”

Aldrich explained that India Partners has a rather unique business model, because it partners with organizations that are native to India to help them develop and implement projects rather than handling every aspect of their projects themselves.

“A lot of organizations that do projects abroad face one of two challenges: Either they work from a great distance, which doesn’t allow them to get their hands into a project and know that what they’re doing is really helping anyone, or they do the opposite and go to the country and do the projects themselves, in which case their projects often have unintended consequences because their understanding of the local cultural can never be as great as a local resident’s,” Aldrich said.

“The model which India Partners operates with allows them to overcome, at least a little bit, those two problems because they hand the reigns of the project over to an organization that understands the complexities of the local culture without completely giving up oversight on the project.”

Nevertheless, organizations such as India Partners face significant challenges in a country that has been victimized by the type of financial model that was implemented to help its citizens. Lamia Karim, a University associate professor of anthropology and the associate director for the Center for the Study of Women in Society, said microfinance loans were lauded as the “magic bullet for alleviating poverty for women” in countries such as India nearly a decade ago. Despite the high return rates that Karim said were marketed around 98 percent, she explained that these loans had very strict loan conditions. Unlike typical loans, microfinance loans have high interest rates and shorter maturity dates.

Karim said women were particularly easier targets for banks because they were largely confined to the domestic space. Because many people spent the money on other essentials, such as food and other necessities rather than entrepreneurial ventures, Karim said many of the women who borrowed money were unable to pay the money back.

“Microfinance does not help poor people,” Karim said. “In rare instances, it moves people from poverty. You need to create producers and not consumers and ‘entrepreneurs.’ Women who stay within the patriarchal home have their money usually used by their husbands and sons. However, women who have marketable skills can be helped, provided the institution is willing to invest in ensuring market access for them and trains them. Most microfinance institutions are unwilling to invest in human development.”

However, Hample said there is a big difference between what many of the commercial banks are doing and what India Partners is doing as a non-profit agency. Unlike many of the banks that offer small loans at high interest rates with increased pressure to pay back the money, India Partners creates “self-help” groups in addition to lending out money so that people can learn how to start up a business and encourage each other to repay those loans, even though Hample said there is no obligation to do so.

An example of this is an agency-run, one-to-two-year tailoring program in which young women and widows learn how to use foot-powered sewing machines so they are able to make clothes and sell them for their own profit. Upon graduation from the program, Hample said these women receive a free sewing machine and are able to use the skills they have learned to sustain themselves.

Hample said these skills are especially important in a country that has a 63.8 percent literacy rate and the second largest population in the world, according to the United Nations Development Programme.

“In villages, especially, where we do a lot of our work, the literacy rate is a lot lower,” Hample said. “We’ve always put an emphasis on teaching them how to get involved in new projects like these. Most people don’t have to read and write, so they have to learn things through speaking and talking to one another.”

Karim also agreed and said non-profit Christian organizations may be better at giving loans because they operate from a charitable perspective rather than viewing people as a means to generate profit.

“A Christian charity is in all likelihood less coercive than the market-driven microfinance institutions in loan recovery,” Karim said. “After all, they work within a charitable ethos.”

“There were people stuck under debris and yelling for help,” University of Alabama student Adam Melton said. “We went over and helped as many as we could. It’s just, everything has been completely demolished. The houses are gone, the business are gone. It’s something that I’ll never be able to forget.”

The University reported no structural damage campus.  Most damage occurred southeast of campus.

As of Thursday evening, 37 were confirmed dead in Tuscaloosa, while the death count of the entire state of Alabama has increased to 204, with nearly 100 more in surrounding areas. The University confirmed two of the deaths were students.

President Barack Obama has declared a state of emergency in Alabama. Obama plans to visit Tuscaloosa on Friday.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said Wednesday that search and rescue was the city’s main priority, which was why cleaning up the damage has yet to begin.

“We are in an urgent phase of search and rescue,” Maddox said. “This going to be a very, very long process. The amount of damage that is done is beyond a nightmare.”

Much of the city remains without power or cable as of Thursday evening while rescue efforts take first priority.

Gas stations inside the city with power were swamped with traffic Wednesday night and Thursday. As of Thursday afternoon, few gas stations still had fuel left.

Soon after the tornado hit on Wednesday, the University converted the Student Recreation Center into a refuge for students who needed a safe place to stay overnight.

On Thursday, the Student Rec Center also became an information center the University encouraged students or parents to contact for answers about the status of loved ones.

The University canceled school for the semester. For each class, students can choose to take exams at a later date or accept their current grade without a final. The University’s May graduation commencement, originally scheduled for May 7, has been postponed to August 6.

“These steps are being taken to allow students impacted by the storms to return to their homes while recovery efforts continue in the Tuscaloosa area,” a UA press release said.

This is how UCF graduate Cedric Dahl describes the charity rickshaw race he is participating in to help raise awareness of the human trafficking problem across India.

“The choices ranged from golf to making the world a wee bit better … so I thought I’d take a crack at the latter,” said Dahl, describing how he went from a job with Microsoft at the ripe age of 28 to riding a rickshaw across India.

While searching for charitable adventures he met Chris Keller, a study-abroad student at Mannheim University and pre-med student at San Diego State, who introduced him to the idea of “charity adventuring” and informed Dahl about the Rickshaw Rally.

The race began April 17 at 10 a.m. Dahl joined with Keller and documentarian Daniel Gonzales. They began their journey in the town of Cochin.

They will be traveling 3,300 miles from Cochin deep into the northeast city of Meghalaya.

An auto rickshaw seats one person comfortably, generates seven horsepower and has a top speed of around 33 mph.

When asked by organizers to choose a team name, one of the boys yelled out “Rabbit Foot” in hopes of bringing them some luck.

Altogether there are 72 teams in the charity adventure from all parts of the world.

“It seems our shared madness knows no limits and doesn’t discriminate by race or region,” Dahl said.

As soon as the boys took off they immediately got lost. They quickly realized how insane driving in India really is.

Dahl describes the driving rules in India as people going forward as fast as they can while simply trying to not kill each other. They were run off the road several times before realizing it was normal.

After six days and near-death experiences virtually occurring hourly, Dahl and his team no longer get adrenaline rushes right before oncoming traffic almost kills them.

So why do it?

Because it’s for a cause. These three adventurers are trying to raise awareness of human trafficking and are doing so by raising funds. So far after six days and traveling 1,056 miles, they have raised $1,254.

Human trafficking victimizes more children in India than anywhere else in the world, according to rickshawadventure.com.

Dahl feels that there is no point of life without freedom, which human trafficking steals from individuals.

Although human trafficking is illegal in the country, enforcement is extremely weak due to the limitations of the country’s judicial system. This has resulted in substantial trafficking in woman and children within India and its borders.

Dahl and his team are making sure to raise the awareness of this growing issue by informing everyone about their cause.

Dahl graduated from UCF in 2007 with a BSBA in Management of Information Systems. He was possessed to live out his dreams while he was still young and capable and began to do so in the Rickshaw Rally.

“Our core values are people, freedom and creativity. The human trafficking problem affects people and their freedom. Our team is using a bit of creativity to help people gain their freedom. So this problem touches on all three of our core values,” Dahl said.

Help fight human trafficking by visiting rickshawadventure.com, which allows individuals to make a pledge and donate funds, which go directly to the International Justice Mission to combat slavery and forced prostitution. Together they have raised more than $45 million.

Prevelakis, a former Tufts affiliate and current professor at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, elaborated on Greece’s interactions with the European Union and talked about the profound implications of Greece’s debt woes in the wake of the financial crisis.

“Today we received unpleasant news from Greece,” Prevelakis said. “The financial deficit has grown.”

Prevelakis contextualized his speech by discussing Greece’s history and its “contradictory” reputation over the years.

“There is an ambiguity about the image of Greece,” Prevelakis said, noting that the nation’s positive image during the 2004 Olympic Games strongly contrasted with its reputation during the sovereign debt crisis just five years later.

Aside from history, Prevelakis discussed some of the factors that contributed to the debt crisis.

As he explained, neither the private nor the public sector was healthy in the time leading up to Greece’s sovereign debt crisis.

“From the moment Greece was in the Eurozone, it could borrow money,” Prevelakis explained.

But as Greece took out loans from other nations, this capital was not matched by foreign dollars coming into the nation to support business and development.

In fact, “practically no foreign investment was taking place in Greece,” Prevelakis said.

Prevelakis went on to discuss Greece’s issues with corruption in the public sector, particularly in the fields of education and healthcare.

As he explained, Greek taxes often failed to cover the national cost for public services. As a result, many Greek citizens wound up paying for services twice—first through their taxes, and later through under-the-table payments at schools and hospitals.

“The public sector was not functioning well,” Prevelakis said. “These forms of corruption start small but then grow.”

In discussing the nation’s membership in the European Union, Prevelakis said Greece is integral to the EU as “a member for three decades and a pioneer of the enlargement of the EU.”

He continued by noting that the financial problems in Greece are not completely isolated from the rest of Europe.

“Greece is in trouble, but so is the EU,” he said.

Violence against women is a huge issue on college campuses and it seems that it too frequently appears in the news surrounding Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s. But across the globe woman face a bigger fear than even being raped: Women fear being raped and being punished for it. This form of oppression cannot be tolerated and should most definitely not be tolerated by college students who understand the fear of (sexual) violence but rely (and can count) on a supportive campus community instead of further penalization for being assaulted.

Just recently Nicholas Kristof covered a piece about a Bangladeshi girl who was murdered for being raped. An older relative was raping the girl in her town when the rapist’s wife discovered them. The wife reported Hena (the 14 year old Bangladeshi girl) to her local mosque and the local imam found Hena guilty of adultery. A makeshift religious court in the small town sentenced Hena to 100 lashings for “adultery.” Hena collapsed after 70 lashings and was taken to the hospital. She died a week later. According to some it was due to her excessive blood loss. The doctors recorded her death as a suicide. Kristof notes in his article that many Bangladeshi woman and girls are expected to commit suicide after being raped.

Clearly rape is not just. College students, the Bangladeshi government and the United Nations (UN) can all agree on this fact. The UN in Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi government agree that equality should be maintained for men and women. Unfortunately, the official stance of the national government is not upheld in the communities. The local (religious) governments tend to ignore violence against women by justifying the cause or by reframing the situation. For example, domestic violence is called domestic dispute and is not recognized as a crime in Bangladesh. The UN has found that Bangladesh is currently one of the most violent countries and cites domestic violence as one of the leading causes of violence in the country.

That being said, the local Bangladeshi government has put Hena’s family under police protection (from members of the community who are angry with the family for reporting Hena’s death to the government) and has ordered an autopsy of Hena’s body. In addition, the Bangladesh press has reported on the issue, the Bangladesh civil society has shown extreme outrage about this case, lawsuits are underway against the doctors who proclaimed her death a suicide and according to Kristof, the alleged rapist and others involved in the case of Hena’s death are not being ignored.

It is important to understand when considering the implications of Hena’s death that although the government officials have taken action against her murder, the overall religious and cultural tone of Bangladesh allows for similar occurrences. As I have already mentioned, the Bangladesh government does maintain that men and women are equal, but it would seem (in these smaller communities at least) that the government’s policy on VAW issues is not the first code of conduct for many Bangladeshis. Kirk and Okazawa-Rey (2010 p. 266) have found that the cultural legitimization of male violence is not only influenced by law but by religion, education, popular culture, media, aggressive sports toys and games.

Changing public policy may not be enough to stop violence against women in Bangladesh. Activists may need to address other important aspects of male violence such as religion, education and media. It is apparent that for those involved in Hena’s death that public policy was not their first concern. Rather, the opinion of the imam was considered, respected and fulfilled. A girl died because religion mandated her death even though the mandate was contrary to public policy.

The harsh reality and complexity of this case paints a portrait of what violence against women (VAW) looks like on a global scale. It is true that even though the religious and cultural atmosphere of smaller towns in Bangladesh allow for women to be punished for being raped, there are many Bangladeshi activists who do not support punishing women for a rapist’s crime. The global portrait of VAW has rich tones of oppression, pain and opposition, but mostly silence. Women are not given a voice. Women are not given the right to testify or seek legal aid within (Islamic) Shari’a law.

Muslim law is called Shari’a and translates to “the path leading to water,” meaning the way to live. Shari’a law has its own legal system in which women are not required to have legal representation. Shari’a is interpreted differently across the globe and tends to be viewed negatively in the West. I do not believe that Shari’a is inherently wrong, but it should not be ignored that women are underrepresented in Shari’a law and have been stoned for simply being in the company of a man that is not part of the immediate family.

In 1996 a woman was sentenced to death for being alone with a man. Because women are not guaranteed representation in Shari’a law, she had little opportunity to defend herself against the court. Hena’s case is disconcerting but it is not the first case of rape in which the victim has been put to death. Because Shari’a does not tolerate adultery, many times the woman is put to death for being alone with a man or for having any sexual activity with a man — even if it was rape.

The problem of Hena’s rape is more complicated than poor public policy — it is a problem of strict religious policy that overrides good public policy. Hena died because religious policy is respected more than the good public Bangladeshi policy that respects the equality of men and women and does not tolerate rape.

It is important for students on this campus to understand the implications of Hena’s death in order to understand, sympathize with and stand against the global oppression of women. Here at Saint Mary’s and Notre Dame we understand that rape is never the victim’s fault, but women in other parts of the world do not have that luxury. Women fear penalization for victimization. Hena’s rape and subsequent death are unjust and do not follow her country’s constitution. It is good, as Kristof pointed out, that her death has aroused a public opposed to her punishment for being raped, but it is important that this case is not repeated in Bangladesh or any country where Shari’a is respected more than public policy.

What we can hope for is that Bangladesh will improve their public policy so that religious policy that allows for the killing of innocent victims will become illegal. Let us stand in solidarity with the women across the globe that fear more than rape: rape and a subsequent death sentence.

Earlier this month, France introduced a ban on full-face veils that forbids Muslim women from wearing the burqa, which conceals the whole body including the face, and the niqab, which conceals all but the eyes.

However, the ban did not come without a fuss. Many of the Muslim women affected by the ban believe this law impinged on their freedoms of religion.

Days after France’s full-face veil ban, a group of Muslim women at Ohio State gathered to share their feelings on a type of traditional Muslim head scarf that many of them wore — the hijab. In contrast to the burqa and niqab, the hijab allows for the face to remain uncovered.

Maria Ahmad, a third-year in speech and hearing sciences and the Muslim Student Association president, said wearing a hijab to “cover your hair, ears and neck is a minimum requirement,” and Ahmad considers this to be “an order from God.”

Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, an OSU alumna, pediatrician and children’s book author on the Muslim-American experience, said the hijab is the head scarf, but to be a hijabi, a woman must “cover herself and dress modestly.” Ahmad and Mobin-Uddin made a personal choice to wear the hijab.

Imaan Ali, a recent graduate in international studies and political science, also chose to wear the hijab, although initially “she was pressurized not to wear it.” Now, she blogs on hijab fashion to express her thoughts on “being a Muslim woman in a more positive way.”

Ayat Aldoori, a third-year in French and nutrition, said the hijab “is obligatory.” But Aldoori said her father believed the hijab “is because of the Arab tradition, but it is not necessary.”

Aldoori’s father told her wearing the hijab was her choice, but he doesn’t want her “to be hurt or discriminated against” while wearing it.

“All Muslims — all people — are at different points in their faith … inshallah (God willing), I’ll keep praying and maybe one day (the hijab) will be part of me being a Muslim,” said Aliah Hasan, a first-year in political science who does not wear the hijab.

Commenting on the Muslim full-face veil ban, Ahmad said about “2,000 women” in France wear the burqa or niqab.

“Covering the face is not actually commanded by the Quran,” Ahmad said.

Mobin-Uddin said there is a cultural component to wearing the burqa over the hijab.

“But for the small number of women and families that think that the face veil is obligatory, my argument is more that the women have the right to decide,” Mobin-Uddin said. “The state should not make the decision.”

French authorities claim this ban is partially due to security and identification issues.

“(This is) not a valid reason,” Ahmad said. “For security, no one minds taking off the hijab.”

Mobin-Uddin agreed and said there were ways to get around the ban.

“Of all the people who have robbed banks in France in the last 10 years, how many are Muslim women? Should we ban burqas or ski masks? The evidence and the facts do not prove any great safety threat,” Mobin-Uddin said.

According to BBC, offenders of the face veil ban will be made to take a citizenship course and pay a fine of 150 euros, or about $219. Masks worn in traditional activities like carnivals or religious processions are exceptions to the band.

Ahmad said a lack of communication between Muslims and non-Muslims adds to the problem.

“People assume that everyone who wears the hijab and the burqa are forced to wear it,” Ahmad said. “I don’t know of one person who was forced to wear it, ever. The assumptions complicate things. People assume but don’t ask. It’s the job of Muslims and non-Muslims to fight Islamophobia. If you don’t know something you’ll have a fear of it. (As a Muslim), have dialogue and be willing to answer questions; (As a non-Muslim), step out of your comfort zone, ask the questions.”

So Anderson did something a little unusual to answer his questions. To investigate the issue, Anderson and his friend, Derek Hammeke, decided to take a camera into the most notorious areas for sex trafficking they could find.
“We got a ton of crazy undercover stuff on camera,” Anderson said.

Posing as western sex clients, they went undercover, investigating one of the world’s most lucrative criminal industries. With the footage they collected, they created Unearthed, an organization based in Lexington that describes itself as “a nonprofit that produces media that prompts people to act against injustice.”

Anderson remembers one night during their months of filming when he saw a group of women gathered around an underage prostitution hotspot with a western man in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

“He was groping this girl — maybe 7 years old — almost like you’d see somebody feeling produce at the grocery store to ensure its quality before buying it,” Anderson said. “She was being sold for sex.”

The little girl in Cambodia was just one of thousands the Unearthed team saw while collecting footage.

“We talked to the locals, and they would say where not to go, and we would go there,” Anderson said. “We would basically say, ‘Hey, we want to buy young girls for sex,’ so obviously you find yourself saying things that are really weird and uncomfortable.”

He practiced responses and escape plans to use on brothel owners who wondered why he never actually used the services they were selling. The Unearthed team traveled to Thailand, South Africa, Cambodia and many other locations in Southeast Asia and the United States in 2009 and 2010. Wherever they went, they found eager sellers.
“These girls are like goods,” Anderson said. “A human being is reduced to a commodity.”

After pretending to purchase a sex worker for the night, Anderson and his team would take her to a restaurant and talk to her about her life. They heard stories of horrific abuse, brutal violence and revolting neglect.

They collected information about the age, location and number of people who had been trafficked at each location. Sometimes they would also get information that they could report to local authorities and were able to spearhead many raids of illegal sex businesses and free the workers. Unearthed then produced media to educate Americans about what Anderson said they found to be a global pandemic of injustice. Unearthed serves as a “conduit of resources” that collects donations and funnels them to existing safe houses and human justice organizations.

“You need rescue, healing and human justification,” Anderson said. He explained that the trafficked women need to be removed from abusive situations and provided safe places to go, but the men and women who traffic them must also be prosecuted.

Though the sex trafficking industry is often discussed as a foreign problem, Anderson said many American college students don’t realize “the ties between their private sexual practices and a global sexual pandemic.”
He said most of the demand funding the illegal sex trade comes from sexually addicted clients whose problems began with a porn addiction.

Anderson, a former porn user himself, met with several neurosurgeons to discuss pornography’s effects, and learned that pornographic images must become more and more shocking to satisfy, so users typically progress to more violent or child porn — and most of this pornography is produced with unwilling victims.

“College guys say to me all the time, ‘I’ll help sex trafficking, but I’m not giving up porn,’” Anderson said. “In that moment for them, it isn’t hurting anyone.”

One UK student who learned about the ties between college campuses and sex trafficking through Unearthed was Brent White, a master’s of business administration student who decided to volunteer with Unearthed after watching one of its videos. The injustice he saw on the Unearthed videos inspired him to become involved.

“Working with Unearthed has really opened my eyes,” White said.  “I used to think that my personal decisions and weaknesses didn’t affect others, but they do. When I look at porn, I hurt my future relationships, and I assist in driving the global sex trade. I was a huge hypocrite; there were behaviors and attitudes in my life that I had to man up and take responsibility for if I really was going to stand up for women and become a true gentleman.”
White said pornography addiction is one behavior many college students don’t take responsibility for.

“The biggest lie that I hear from my fellow students is that there’s nothing wrong with porn,” White said. “‘I’m not hurting anyone,’ ‘Those women want to do this stuff,’ ‘See? They’re smiling in all of the videos I watch,’ ‘They get paid really well.’

“The popular understanding of porn around UK’s campus is that porn is ‘my own business,’ and that ‘all the girls working are there on their own will.’ The reality is that most of the women in the porn industry were victims of sexual abuse at some point in their lifetimes. Many have been trafficked, or they’re women in desperate need of money to feed an addiction or provide for children. Drug addictions and STDs are typically the aftermath of a career in the porn industry — not a happy family with tons of cash. If the people using porn knew the back stories about the girls they masturbate to, they’d probably put their pants back on after vomiting.”

Anderson said casual porn users who start in college can become hooked on endorphins and seek to counteract the increased dissatisfaction with pornography by visiting strip clubs or massage parlors, and may eventually become a “sex tourist” like the western man he saw in Cambodia.

“Men in the west think (sex workers) want to be doing it,” Anderson said. “I’ve seen this happen. They are told, ‘You need to smile or I’ll beat you.’”

The Unearthed team found that sex trafficking industry usually follows a pattern. Poor or vulnerable girls are offered employment in the city, sometimes knowing what their line of work will be, but often not.

They are then “broken in,”  a process Anderson described as “brutally graphic” which usually involves being tied up, raped repeatedly, deprived of food and water, and being administered narcotic drugs to numb the pain.
Anderson said the average age of the sex workers he met was 13, but he saw girls as young as 5 being sold for sex.
“From a business end, what they (traffickers) are doing is brilliant,” Anderson said, pointing out that while other illegal goods like weapons and drugs can only be sold once, people can be sold multiple times, and the average sex worker will produce $250,000 for her pimp in her lifetime. According to the United Nations, illicit human trafficking is estimated to represent a total market value of $32 billion.

“One hundred percent of the women we’ve talked to do not want to be in this,” Anderson said. “What woman grows up thinking, ‘I want to sell my body to random men’? No girl I’ve ever talked to came out and said, ‘I’m really glad I did that.’ You have to talk to these women. You can’t just read books. We have to flip it and say you can’t believe these stupid societal assumptions that women want this. This isn’t the world’s oldest profession; it’s the world’s oldest oppression.”

He said men might be major contributors to the sex trade, but he also sees them as a large part of the solution.
“That’s what being a man is to me,” Anderson said. “You take responsibility for women and children and the things you haven’t caused. Even if it’s not our fault, it’s our responsibility.”

“If men want to do their part to prevent sex trafficking, they won’t look at porn or otherwise support the sex industry,” White said.  “Women shouldn’t put up with men who watch porn or intentionally inebriate women for the purpose of satisfying their own desires. The sad part is that women are beginning to settle for boys that can shave instead of men with ambition, direction and self control.”

“We’re all willing to throw a little money at a cause,” Anderson said. “We’ve got to get thinking differently about how we treat women and children.”
For more information about Unearthed, visit www.unearthedpictures.org.

“Railroad construction will make Piedmont North Carolina closer to the Northeast, to New York, Washington and Boston in peoples’ minds, as well as in time to get there,” said Tom Tiemann, economics professor at Elon University.

The agreement contributes to President Barack Obama’s vision for a high-speed rail system that will connect 80 percent of the population, according to a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

A portion of the federal funding will be used to construct a railroad between Charlotte and Raleigh.

“It is a step in the incremental project that connects Charlotte with Washington and all the way up to New York and Maine,” said Patrick Simmons, NCDOT rail division director.

The project will create 4,800 jobs related to the railway construction and enhance the state’s prestige with respect to economic and industrial growth, Simmons said.

“It will connect North Carolina with the richest, most productive part of the country,” Tiemann said.

Although the high-speed rail project enables North Carolina to become more closely associated with production in the Northeast, Simmons also sees the project as an opportunity to facilitate economic growth within the state.

“The public investment is an economic development tool that has been used for centuries to help stimulate the economy,” he said.

The construction of a high-speed rail connecting Charlotte and Raleigh particularly benefits North Carolina residents, Simmons said, as 60 percent of North Carolina’s economic and population growth will occur between Raleigh and Charlotte.

“It’s where our people live, it’s where our economy is, it’s where our growth is going to occur,” he said.

With the federal funding, the state plans to complete 24 projects throughout 11 counties. Projects in Alamance County include a realignment of the railroad tracks from Graham to Haw River and an extension to the Burlington train station platform.

“Technically speaking, North Carolina is now the seventh largest state in the country in terms of population and it’s going to add 4.5 million people by 2030,” Simmons said. “This project helps us prepare for that and ensure long term mobility for commerce and citizens.”

The railroad track construction will eliminate a 22-mile bottleneck and increase train speed from 55 mph to approximately 79 mph. The Burlington Station platform extension will allow all passengers to board without repositioning the train, reducing travel time as well.

“Modernizing our highway and railroad infrastructure will better prepare us for when the economy returns,” Simmons said.

Individuals who ride the passenger trains will have more travel opportunities, which is characteristic of a more robust transportation network, he said.

“Those that don’t use the train will still see improved safety and mobility through safety projects, and the economy will recover just an ‘nth’ degree faster because we have made investments in our infrastructure that have not occurred anywhere else in the region,” Simmons said.

The construction of a dozen bridges will also improve safety, according to Simmons. Bridges would elevate the street level, eliminating the number of crossing collisions between cars and trains.

The improved transportation network and increased job opportunities will contribute to North Carolina’s economic growth, he said.

The construction projects will also directly create 4,800 jobs throughout the state, according to Simmons.

“The economy will recover just an nth degree faster because we have made investments in our infrastructure that have not occurred anywhere else in the region,” Simmons said.

Nevertheless, Tiemann predicts the economic benefits will influence more than those directly employed for the construction projects.

But Tiemann predicts the economic benefits will influence more than those directly employed for the construction projects.

“It’s the multiplier effect,” he said. “Every dollar you spend on this, if you look at it nationally, causes $1.50 or $2 expenditure somewhere else.”

Getty Images, Hondros’ employer, called his family Wednesday and initially reported he had died after the attack, according to Paul Woolverton, a Fayetteville Observer reporter and former colleague who was with the Hondros family in Fayetteville Wednesday. Woolverton said Getty called the family again Wednesday to report Hondros is still in critical condition, but alive. Later on Wednesday, Getty called the family once again to confirm Hondros has passed away.

“They quit working on him. There was nothing they could do for him,” Woolverton said.

Tim Hetherington, the director of the film Restrepo, was killed in the attack, according to a News & Observer report.

An MSNBC post uploaded around 11:30 a.m. said Hetherington and Hondros were reporting from within the Libyan city of Misratah for the past several days. Pictures on the blog depict rebel fighters battling in the city and carrying wounded soldiers.

Hondros graduated from NCSU in 1993 with a degree in English after spending several years shooting for the Agromeck yearbook. He has returned to the University several times over the past few years to share his photography and mentor local student photographers.

While macro-economic stability and food security have improved in Iraq during recent years, civil unrest is high, according to panelist Shoubo R. Jalal, who is a fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.

“We are talking about a country in conflict, she said. “We still have violence, political instability, and mass demonstrations,” Jalal said.

Tensions have proven to be devastating for the state of women’s education. Between 1990 and 2002, there was a radical decline in the number of women enrolled in Iraqi schools, according to Jalal. At the same time, increasing costs and a lower value of education severely handicapped efforts to expand female education, she said.

While rising tuition costs have made it more difficult for all children to have access to education, families tend to prioritize the education of males over females, leading to a large gender gap in enrollment. In 2006, roughly 800,000 children were not attending primary school—and 74 percent of them were girls, according to Jalal.

In Afghanistan a country plagued by the world’s second highest maternal mortality rate and where over half of all young women are married by the age of 18, “education is the key to [female] empowerment,” said panelist Catherine A. Rielly. Rielly is president of Rubia, Inc., an organization dedicated to empowering women in Afghanistan by allowing them the opportunity to embroider clothing and trade their goods to the West for profit.

“Especially as they get older, there is a great social stigma for girls attending school due to the importance of early marriage,” Rielly said. Furthermore, women’s confinement to the domestic sphere can make attending school and finishing required housework altogether impossible, she added.

Rielly noted that women are not only excluded from education, but also often isolated from the nation’s economy.

But Rielly said that organizations like her own, which supports cottage industry, can help women become more economically independent.

“The activities are based at home and they are not required to change their lifestyles,” Rielly explained.

“Their husbands don’t feel threatened,” she added.

By allowing men to play an active role in the production and distribution of the embroidery, Rubia is gradually making the economic inclusion of Afghani women more readily accepted within these predominately patriarchal communities, Rielly said.

“We’ve helped them have access to markets in the West for the first time,” she said. “Many women have money in their pocket and are respected by their communities.”

The UA’s Student Anti-Genocide Coalition (STAND) sponsored the run, which was titled Dash for Darfur. This was the second time the race has been held on campus and a larger number of runners participated this year than last.

“It’s great to have all of these people come out,” said Aeen Asghar, president of STAND. “It shows, economically, that people are more willing to donate their money and time.”

Approximately 44 runners began at a chalked starting line at 8 a.m. in front of the Eddie Lynch Athletics Pavilion by the UA Mall. The course went though the UA campus and followed east on Sixth Street and north on Campbell Avenue before ending back at the starting line. The best time recorded was 17 minutes.

“I found out about the race at the Campus Rec Center when they were passing out flyers about a few days ago,” said Cora Crecelius, an anthropology senior and one of the participants of the race. “It sounded like fun and it was for a good cause so me and my friend signed up.”

This year the event raised about $700 from running entrance fees and donations. Asghar hopes that more people will continue to participate next year as away to raise awareness.

“This is our main fundraising event,” Asghar said. “It is also a public awareness event as well, people are able to learn more about what we are trying to do.”

Funds raised during the run will go to genocide intervention networks and protection programs for refugee camps in Darfur. The club raises $1,000 annually and said it wants to increase this number in the future.

The STAND chapter in Arizona started in 2005 at Desert Vista High School in Phoenix after a history class learned about the conflict between Arabs and non-Arabs in Sudan over natural resources. When some of the founding members went to the UA they expanded to a club on campus.

Sophomore Cailin Crowe is a student in Dr. Jan Pilarski’s course “Christians in the World,” a step towards fulfillment of the justice studies minor, which requires students to perform either community service or start a campaign on campus raising awareness for a social issue.

Crowe opted to enlighten the Saint Mary’s community about the realities of human trafficking throughout the semester.

“The issue of human trafficking isn’t getting enough attention. This is an issue that is a very serious and pressing matter,” Crowe said.

Human trafficking, or modern-day slavery, is a global issue that involves the coerced labor of people, usually women or young children, for sexual or commercial purposes, Crowe said. Victims are often smuggled across international borders and may work without pay or fair working conditions.

Pilarski, director of the Justice Education Program, supported Crowe’s decision to make the issue more widely understood on campus.

“Human trafficking is an issue few people are familiar with,” Pilarski said. “There seemed to be great potential to educate the campus about a relatively unknown problem with this project.”

Pilarski said her class is a learning-based experience in order to teach students how to apply classroom knowledge to their extracurricular activities.

“The students in this class are studying the intersection of faith, justice and action this semester,” she said. “We use the praxis cycle in our course, which connects experience, social analysis and action.”

The class project aims to help students understand the importance of working for social justice in our society through the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, Crowe said.

“This class looks into Catholic Social Thought and how crucial it is for us to apply what we learn in class to real life,” Crowe said.

Crowe and her classmates have created several events and projects to spread awareness about human trafficking.

The class held a Tuesday showing of the documentary “The Dark Side of Chocolate,” which discusses the ways chocolate companies like Nestlé and Hershey’s work with African cocoa plantation owners who use child trafficking to produce cocoa for those companies.

Crowe said the students also sent postcards to U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly that included shocking, little-known statistics of human trafficking and petitioned Donnelly to fight against human trafficking in Indiana and the United States.

Crowe said the students are also negotiating with Dining Services to have fair trade chocolate sold at Cyber Café next semester to help the student body make socially responsible consumer choices.

“So far, we have gotten a really good response,” Crowe said. “People seem genuinely interested in starting something on campus to end human trafficking.”

Despite the group’s initial success, Crowe said the group still wants to accomplish more, especially with involvement of the South Bend community in their efforts. By next fall, the group hopes to have an organized club on campus.

“We all have a responsibility to help these people,” Crowe said. “Our choices as consumers can affect the livelihoods of children and others around the world.”

There are screams from behind the doors and walls.

Closer, four men speak behind you.

They tell you they think you’re a spy.

“I’m not a spy,” you protest.

There is no bed in your cell, no pillow, only blankets on the floor.

The men’s voices tell you if you don’t confess, you could stay there for 20 years. They could even arrange the death penalty.

That is the scenario Roxana Saberi had her audience imagine yesterday.

In 2009, the veteran journalist was imprisoned in Iran for more than three months on charges of espionage for the United States. At the Mary Riepma Ross Center, she talked about her experience, what she learned and what others can learn about Iran, human rights, courage and the country’s inhabitants.

Her talk was just one program organized by the human rights and humanitarian affairs program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which has been reinvigorated by a gift from the Forsythe family.

“Basically the goal of the overall program is to examine issues of human rights from an interdisciplinary perspective,” said Brian Lepard, a law professor and co-director of the program. Saberi’s talk fit right into that goal.

“She has firsthand experience with human rights violations,” Lepard said. “But more importantly, through that experience, she learned how important advocacy is.”

The discussion of Iran comes as the Middle East region is continually embroiled in unprecedented unrest and civil protest.

“In every way, it really seems like great timing,” said Ari Kohen, professor of political science and Lepard’s co-director. “(But) I think it’d be an interesting talk at any time.”

The experience of others was the theme of Saberi’s talk.

“There are so many stories about individuals in Iran that we haven’t heard,” Saberi said in an interview before her talk.

Media coverage often focuses on Iran’s troubled relations with much of the world, which Saberi said are valid concerns, but the ordeals of the people on the ground – people like her cell mates, whose names are unknown to the outside world – aren’t heard.

“But they are people pursuing basic freedom,” Saberi said. “And they pay a great price for it. We need to speak out for those who can’t speak out.”

Saberi’s story started long before her arrest. She grew up in Fargo, N.D., with her Iranian father and Japanese mother. When she was young, Saberi found herself winning pageants, first Miss Fargo, then Miss North Dakota and then as a frontrunner for Miss America.

Her money went to her master’s degree, a program that sent her reporting in Washington, D.C., then to another master’s at Cambridge.

“During this whole time, I became more and more interested in my father’s home country, Iran,” Saberi said.

It wasn’t long before she took her reporting gig across the world. There she found an odd mix, with people hospitable and welcoming toward her, then bussed to government-sanctioned protests against the United States. Many of them didn’t take such protests seriously; some even smiled and laughed for pictures, their posters reading “Down with America.”

Saberi discovered much about her new home, especially as she worked on a book. It was a society much like any other. Hosts insisted she eat still more food. Girls in school had high hopes for their future. Wealth ranged from outright poverty to luxurious prosperity.

But other things reminded her that Iran was not North Dakota. Conversion from Islam to another religion is punishable by death. Parties with men and women dancing together, with the women letting their hair down, are illegal. A woman’s testimony in court is worth half that of a man’s.

Even Iran isn’t immune to change, however. A majority of college entrants are women, Saberi said. Women are firefighters, and just formed a national soccer team, though only other women are allowed to watch the athletes, who play in full hijab.

Then Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became Iran’s notoriously defiant president, and the country swerved toward the traditional hardliners. Free expression began to lose ground.

“But then I thought, maybe this is a blessing in disguise,” Saberi said.

Those thoughts were cut short one January morning, when four plainly dressed men barged into Saberi’s apartment and took her to Evin Prison, Iran’s most infamous prison. Held there are Iran’s political prisoners, journalists, activists and advocates. It is also where a Canadian journalist had mysteriously died.

“So when I was taken there by these men, I was terrified,” Saberi said.

Once she got there, it was quiet. The hall was bare. Behind the doors were other women, other prisoners.

“I was not physically tortured, but that does happen there,” Saberi said.

She eventually confessed to trumped-up crimes supported by fake evidence, with her release as the bait.

But then she met her cell mates, her “angels of Evin,” as she said.

These other women were prisoners of conscience, leaders of banned movements or religions, who refused to lie for the prize of escape. They were calm, had a sense of humor and controlled what they could: their attitude.

“This is a lesson they taught me,” Saberi said.

She recanted her confession. It was still used against her in court, and she was sentenced to eight years.

“Actually, I laughed,” Saberi said in the interview, “because I realized what a joke this whole thing was.”

By this time her story had spread around the world. Heads of state from the United States and Japan called for her release.

Her sentence was eventually overturned. It was this way that Saberi learned the power of others speaking out for those who can’t. But one emotion tempered her release: sadness.

“These people deserve freedom, too,” she said of her cell mates. Saberi couldn’t even tell an imprisoned humanitarian’s story to the international media, because Michael Jackson died. Those women are still there. So is a young blogger, who’s been sentenced to almost 20 years, and an attorney who found herself imprisoned with her defendants.

“Why should we care about the suffering of others?” Saberi asked her audience.

She gave the Daily Nebraskan the answer beforehand: “we’re all connected,” she said.

“Suffering, when it happens, spreads easily,” she told the dozens of people before her.

The stories of that suffering need to be told by others.

Saberi ended with a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

For some students, the violence has made it difficult to visit family in Mexico and has turned what was once a routine trip into a gamble for their lives.

“It’s keeping us away from our family, our friends and from the lives we used to know,” said Arianna Martinez, a UH alumni who graduated in 2009.

“It’s been a struggle because we want to be with our family, but at the same time you begin to think about all the things that could happen if you go to Mexico.”

For Martinez, the violence in Mexico hit close to home last August when her brother-in-law was kidnapped after a gunfire battle in Monterrey, Mexico.

Martinez’s brother-in-law, a bodyguard for one of the CEO’s of the Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery, was mistaken for a drug cartel member and was kidnapped along with another bodyguard. Martinez’s brother-in-law was off duty at the time.

Two days later, Martinez’s brother-in-law was found.

“He was in a car stranded in one of the neighborhoods along with the other bodyguards,” Martinez said. “He was pretty beaten up and was in the hospital for five days.”

Martinez’s brother-in-law regained his health and has begun the process of applying for a residency in the US, in part to be away from the violence and to rejoin his wife and baby girl.

Mexicans attempting to leave the violence behind have applied for asylum. According to the US Department of Justice, in 2010 there were 3,231 asylum requests from Mexican nationals, but only 49 percent of them were granted.

The violence in Mexico has no restrictions or boundaries and has found itself on the doorsteps of the Monterrey Institute of Technology, a prestigious private university in Monterrey.

Last March two students from the university, Javier Arredondo and Jorge Antonio Mercado, were killed when they were caught between the crossfire of Mexican drug cartel hitmen and the Mexican army, the Monterrey Institute of Technology said in a statement last year.

“The violence has changed me in that now I am more careful,” said Jacobo Gómez, a mechanical engineer sophomore at the Monterrey Institute of Technology. “I avoid going to known dangerous areas and luckily I have yet to come face-to-face with any violence.”

Gómez can also count on the increased security measures the institute has implemented.

“The university has made several safety tips programs,” Gómez said. “It has also increased security personnel, and put a new system at the entrance where you can only enter by scanning your university credentials.”

The violence in Mexico has been ongoing for a couple of years now and has left some residents jaded.

“There are so many reports on shootings, deaths and road blockages that I’ve noticed people see it as a common thing now,” Gómez said. “That’s not to say that we get accustomed to living with violence, but we hear it so often that the news begins to all sound the same after a while.”

The Harvard History Department issued a news brief on the incident last Friday. Gillis, who has extensively covered the ongoing Libyan civil war, was detained with three other journalists— James Foley, an American freelance contributor to GlobalPost.com, Manu Brabo, a Spanish photographer, and Anton Hammerl, a South African photographer. Libyan rebels who witnessed the scene reported that the car carrying the journalists was stopped by fire exchange at an intersection, where the loyalists arrived in two pickup trucks and took the journalists into custody. The car was destroyed with a rocket-propelled grenade, but the driver was released.

The State Department, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the GlobalPost have been working together to secure the journalists’ release. Human Rights Watch also claimed to have notified NATO of the potential location of the journalists. However, as of last Friday, GlobalPost said it had been unable to confirm reports coming from Libya that the journalists would be taken to Tripoli and released.

Gillis, who also received a masters from Harvard’s Germanic Languages and Literatures Department in 2003, was a history advisor in Adams House during the 2008-2009 academic year. She was a teaching fellow for nine undergraduate courses, including the sophomore history tutorial, Government 1082: “What is Property?” and History 1101: “Medieval Europe”—now known as Societies of the World 41.

“Clare Morgana Gillis was reporting on the situation in Libya on behalf of The Atlantic and other American publications,” said Atlantic editor James Bennet in an article published on the Atlantic website on April 7. “We appeal to the Libyan authorities for her immediate and safe release, and for that of the three other journalists detained with her.”

This incident came after the release three weeks ago of four New York Times journalists, who were detained by pro-Gaddafi forces for six days and received brutal treatment. Lynsey Addario, the only female journalist among the four, claimed that she suffered from beating, death threats, and sexual assault.

So, you can rightly assume that I was both surprised and delighted to read on the New York Times website that the United Nations and France have begun military strikes against the forces of former president Laurent Gbagbo.

Former president Gbagbo lost his campaign to remain president of Cote d’Ivoire, a former French colony, last November. The election, certified by several international agencies as fair and honest, awarded the presidency of this cocoa-rich nation to Alassane Ouattara. Unfortunately, Gbagbo refused to accept his loss, and held on to power. Since then, the situation in Cote d’Ivoire has only deteriorated.

Negotiations floundered, Ouattara set up his own government in his U.N.-protected hotel room, and, eventually, armed fighting began between forces loyal to each side.

Cote d’Ivoire descended into violence between pro-Ouattara supporters in the largely Muslim north and pro-Gbagbo supporters in the largely Christian south.

This violence culminated recently in the massacre of 1000 civilians in the town of Duekoue, a dangerous step towards genocide.

(Both sides deny responsibility for this massacre, though it does look like the blame falls on Ouattara’s forces.)

So I am pleased that France and the United Nations have stepped in to do something about it. France and the United Nations have commenced air strikes against military and political targets in Cote d’Ivoire. I am glad that someone in the Western world realized they had a duty to do so.

Yes, I said a duty.

You see, I advocate Western intervention to prevent genocides not just because I believe those who can prevent genocide have a responsibility to do so, and not because I am some naive bleeding heart who does not understand the so-called “real world.”

My insistence on aid and intervention for Cote d’Ivoire comes from my belief that the United States and Western Europe have a duty to help places like South America and Africa because our ability to do so, our wealth and all it buys for us, has been made at the expense of these places.

As a society, we often try to forget about the misdeeds of our past, to pretend things were not as bad as they truly were or to try to distance ourselves from what we claim to be the mistakes of our ancestors and therefore not our responsibility.

This is a fallacious argument.

Much of the wealth and power on which this country sits and uses to mold so much of the world into the shapes we find most pleasing has come to us because of what we and European imperial powers were able to take from places like Africa.

The Western world robbed Africa of its people and its resources, yet we assume that having given African countries their independence — a gift that we did not give but which we gave back — somehow absolves us of responsibility for the repercussions that African nations continue to suffer through.

By initiating military strikes against the despotic and violent forces of Laurent Gbagbo, France has made a bold step toward repaying the debt it owes its former colony and might just save a lot of lives in the process.

I hope, but do not expect, that we might see a greater response from the Western world toward the prevention of genocide and violence around the world, especially toward countries to which we owe so very much.

Although many other laws and acts were put into place since the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, slavery remains rampant today in the form of human trafficking.

According to the United Nations, human trafficking is defined as the “recruitment, transportation, transfers, harboring or receipt of persons by the means of the threat or use of force,” and using these threats for “a purpose of exploitation.”

Despite the challenges facing those who seek to solve human trafficking issues, Ariel Anib, junior in criminology and international studies, has decided to take the issues head on.

Anib founded the organization K-Staters that Care (KSTC), with the goal of helping students understand and become passionate about world issues.

Starting this week, Anib and KSTC organized the first “Stop Slavery Summit” to gather students in efforts to make a contribution to the eradication of human trafficking.

The Summit kicked off in the K-State Union Grand Ballroom, in the form of a benefit concert showcasing The Wrecking, a spiritual rock group who gave a moving performance. As the group started the last piece, lead singer Doug Elder said, “There are so many men and women around the world who don’t deserve to be in the situation that they are in, which is why we think it is so important to support this cause.”

As the evening continued, keynote speaker Andrea Martinez, a human rights lawyer, gave an informative presentation on the prominence of human trafficking.

Martinez has handled various cases in child sexual abuse, has been a vocal advocate to end human trafficking and the sex slave trade. Through her involvement in the International Justice Mission, an organization dedicated to the rescue and after care of human trafficking victims, Martinez says that she has found a cause about which she is passionate.

“Slavery still exists in the world. You can be a voice for the voiceless,” she said, as she urged students to take a stand.

As her presentation continued, the numbers reflected what is evidently a major issue in the world.

“There are 27 million slaves in the world today, of which 2.2 million are children,” explained Martinez. “The International Justice Mission hopes to reach out to all of those in need of our help.”

Martinez also went on to explain that between 14,000 to 17,000 people are trafficked into the United States every year, and went on to express the fact that human trafficking is “a universal problem that even wealthy and developed countries face.”

As the Wednesday portion of the event wrapped up, the effects of the music and keynote speaker were evident in the reactions from the audience.

Trevor Barnes, freshman in computer science, recounted, “I wasn’t aware of the human trafficking problem and how bad it really was until I got involved with the Stop Slavery Summit. KSTC is doing a great job in promoting awareness for human trafficking.”

The Stop Slavery Summit will continue through Thursday and Friday with several unique events featured each evening.

On Thursday night, the Summit will take its action outdoors. Attendees will participate in a Freedom Walk, in which students can stand out against human trafficking. There will be different facts and stories to further educate K-Staters about the issue.

On Friday night, students will receive the chance to work with Hagar, another organization dedicated to fighting human trafficking. Participants will be able to write letters to the victims of trafficking, adding a more personal touch to the Summit.

After a successful Wednesday event for the Summit, Anib is calling on K-Staters to participate and become involved in any way.

“Educate yourself, donate to the cause and come to the Stop Slavery Summit; these are all ways to make a difference,” urged Anib. “There’s a lack of awareness of human trafficking on the K-State campus, and it’s up to us to take the steps to make an impact on the world.”

For more information, visit www.k-state.edu/kstc.

“The Pelican State has the unfortunate distinction of being the most disaster-prone state in the nation, largely because of Hurricane Katrina, which was the costliest disaster in U.S. history,” the Kiplinger website says.

Kiplinger advises Louisiana residents to adequately prepare for the upcoming 2011 hurricane season, which begins in June.

Forecasters at Colorado State University released the predictions for the upcoming hurricane season in December.

The 2011 Colorado State forecast includes 17 named storms and nine hurricanes, five of which are predicted to be major storms.

Hurricanes are considered major if they fall between Categories 3 through 5, according to the Colorado State report.

The report predicts 48 percent of storms will make landfall on the Gulf Coast between the Florida panhandle and Brownsville, Texas, an area that also includes Louisiana.

The Colorado State forecasters make their predictions based on a system of teleconnections, which refers to the idea that weather in one part of the world affects the weather in another, Barry Keim, professor of geography and anthropology, told The Daily Reveille in January.

Keim said the main factor of whether a hurricane season will be active has to do with El Niño and La Niña in the Eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

El Niño occurs when sea temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific are warmer than normal, which in turn causes cooler than normal Atlantic temperatures and therefore a lighter hurricane season, according to Keim.

La Niña is the exact opposite — when cooler temperatures in the Pacific cause warmer temperatures in the Atlantic and therefore a more intense hurricane season, Keim said.

“We’re in a La Niña year right now,” Keim said. “Unless we swing into a strong El Niño, we can expect an above-average season.”

Keim said some of the worst hurricanes Louisiana has seen have been during “very quiet years.”

People in Louisiana need to be on guard at all times because there have been bad storms in quiet years, Keim said.

“Hurricane season serves as a great reminder to re-evaluate your preparedness plans and update your emergency toolkits,” said Col. Joseph Booth, LSU Stephenson Disaster Management Institute executive director.

The institute strongly encourages people to prepare families and businesses for upcoming hurricanes.

“It’s time for preparedness to go viral,” Booth said. “We encourage the entire LSU community to not only prepare themselves but to help prepare their friends and families. We actually have to put preparedness into action to make a difference.”

Phobias by nature are irrational; Islamophobia is defined as the irrational fear of Muslims.

Members of this town described Murfreesboro as warm, welcoming, and accepting of all others — a great place to raise a family. That is, unless you’re an American citizen and practicing Muslim expecting to be able to exercise your basic First Amendment right guaranteed to all U.S. citizens — in that case, you’re out of luck.

The members of this small town (who all live under the same rock, apparently) are under the impression that being a Muslim is the same as being a terrorist. It is because of this ignorant and erroneous belief that the majority of their citizens oppose the building of a Muslim-based community center on the outskirts of town.

What’s wrong with that? Essentially, it’s just another mega-church, just not one that is Christian-based. To the average and seemingly uneducated Murfeesboroan, the community center is going to be a terrorist breeding ground, hell bent on destroying the “great state” of Tennessee.

All joking aside, this is the latest symptom in a growing disease that is infecting the uneducated electorate in our country. To be clear: The idea that 1.6 billion people — one-fifth of our global population — are actively trying to kill all Americans is absolutely absurd. The main issue here is ignorance, and it embarrasses me to no end that our country has an appetite for such nonsense.

Last time I checked, religious fanatics come in all shapes and sizes. Moreover, they make up an unbelievably small fraction of a large group of good-hearted individuals.

Ironically enough, the Christian and/or anti-Islam members of the community actively and openly supported a terrorism of their own and tore down signs and vandalized trucks and other building equipment in order to prevent an otherwise peaceful process from occurring.

I can now understand why Americans are viewed unfavorably; this country was founded with religious freedom as a priority and is, again, denying it to those we don’t understand. History shows similar situations, such as anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic feelings of years past, tend to be something that we look back on and scoff at our own ignorance. While I believe that this is the same situation — that we are merely being overly dramatic and ignorant of something that many don’t understand and fear because of it — it saddens me that tomorrow will not be the day that we wake up and realize our foolishness.

As a result, NATO and the United Nations have jumped all over the opportunity to participate in the Libyan civil war by launching a no-fly zone, ignoring the severe repercussions of the protests still ongoing in Bahrain, Jordan, Syria and most importantly Yemen.

Yemen’s chaos is especially important when one considers the over $190 million dollars in aid the nation was receiving from the U.S., which considers Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh a pivotal ally in the ongoing albatross that is the war on terrorism.

This is the same Ali Abdullah Saleh who just last week declared a 30-day state of emergency, which suspends the constitution, bars protests and allows security forces to gain even further powers of arrest.

The reason for the state of emergency is the surge in protests that have gripped Yemen since February. People have been protesting Saleh’s 23-year reign, which has been notorious for corruption, torture and the false promise of democracy.

While Saleh’s regime has cracked down on protests, particularly in the capital of Sanaa, he has been unable to quell the outrage. Even claims that he would not run for the presidency in 2013 fell upon deaf ears, as many were reminded of a similar claim he made last election. Now promising to step down at the end of the year, his pledges are being contradicted by authoritarian actions like declaring this state of emergency.

And while Saleh makes inflammatory statements about how he will only relinquish power if the nation he has abused is in “safe hands” following his resignation, the international community has ignored his actions and words, choosing instead to focus entirely on Libya.

By ignoring Yemen, we are ignoring a nation where Al Qaeda has gained significant foothold despite the hundreds of millions of dollars America has poured in wantonly, as evinced by the recent capture and subsequent blast of a munitions factory that left over 100 people dead.

We are ignoring a nation that has been in the throes of a civil war for years now and whose army seems determined to subvert the protests that have been generated by the people.

As important as the ramifications of Libya’s civil war is for the international community, the unrest that was initially sparked by Tunisia has engulfed the entire region. And although it may be against American interests to create an arbitrary sense of order by focusing only on one nation’s struggle for freedom, there is no point in hiding the truth and sacrificing some people to help others.

American press covering conflict in the Middle East brings humanity back into a situation that can quickly become depraved, said author and journalist Lawrence Wright on Tuesday.

Wright, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for a book about al-Qaida, spoke in a panel with author Jason Brownlee and Glenn Frankel, the director of the School of Journalism and former bureau chief of The Washington Post’s Middle East desk. The three explained their understanding of the role of a journalist and of America in the face of revolution in the Arab world and the Middle East.

When reporting on stories — such as 9/11, U.S.-Arab conflict or revolution in the Arab world — journalists need to step in and prevent one culture from viewing the other as inherently evil, Wright said.

“When things get to that highly polarized status, the role of the journalist is to complicate things, to go in and add nuance and humanity to a situation that is reeling out of control,” Wright said.

The shrinking pool of foreign correspondents, which has fewer than 300 journalists, is alarming during upheaval in the Arab world, Wright said. Until recently, the American intelligence community has begun approaching open sources, including journalists, because its own information has not proved reliable, he said.

“America is an ignorant country,” he said. “We don’t know the cultures, we don’t know the people and we don’t know what kind of outcome we can expect. The rest of the world needs us. They need us to be the America that we want to be.”

The task of reckoning with Arab public opinion and the views and self-representations of the people of the Middle East after aiding Egypt and surrounding countries during their uprisings is troubling and scary for many American officials and leaders, said Brownlee, who is currently writing a book on U.S.-Egypt relations.

“The fear of an Islamic takeover in the Middle East is kind of a red herring,” he said. “I think what U.S. officials really fear is dealing with Egypt as an equal.”

The lecture gave insight into what a journalist thinks about in his or her daily life when dealing with difficult issues and foreign relations, said civil engineering freshman Hanna Paper.

“As journalists, they have to keep such an open mind,” she said. “It’s hard to think about that when your thinking about topics
like 9/11.”

As per the changes, a limit will be placed on paid hours foreign students will be allowed to work and English language requirements for applicants will increase. Only graduates who receive an offer for a job that pays over $31,000 a year will be able to stay in the United Kingdom.

There are 285 students currently studying at NYU London and a record-high 307 applicants to the program for next semester.

Despite the change, Chris Nicolussi, senior director of student services in the NYU Office of Global Programs, does not think students enrolling at NYU London will have any difficulty in obtaining visas, as the university already holds approved U.K. sponsorship.

Roger Duclaud-Williams, associate professor of politics at the University of Warwick in England, said the U.K. government’s decision to limit visas is a reaction to students who claim to be studying but are actually aiming to live permanently in the United Kingdom, not with institutions like NYU.

“NYU London does not offer internships or work placement services,” Nicolussi said. “Very few students enrolled at NYU London work or have internships, as the academic program is rigorous and most students wish to use days off from school and weekends to travel.”

However, LSP sophomore Stephanie Maida, who is studying abroad in London and has an internship, is concerned that having fewer work hours will still negatively affect NYU London students.

“If students are limited in their work hours, they won’t be able to experience British culture fully if they can’t support themselves financially,” Maida said.

But Tisch junior Gabriella Moses, who is currently studying in London through the school’s BBC program, thinks this measure is beneficial.

“It may seem like an initial damper on applicants, but in the long run, for better or for worse, a lot of kids spend their semester abroad partying and adventuring,” Moses said. “I know America is a stickler, from what I’ve heard from foreign friends, so maybe the U.K. is stepping up to the plate and dishing out the same dirt the U.S. gives their students.”

NYU staff in London, who are assigned to stay current on policies on issuing and obtaining proper visa for entry, have begun working to ensure that NYU London is in full compliance with new government policies to issue visa documents. The majority of work will be in place before students arrive for fall 2011.

One Heart Source — a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching HIV awareness in the country — aims to eradicate that problem. One Heart Source, created in 2008 by UCLA graduate students Jessica Gu and Hori Moroaica, is also under the HIV Prevention Club on campus. Volunteers from the organization, such as parks, recreation and tourism sophomore Kendra Reay, teach basic education and HIV prevention to Tanzanian children.

One Heart Source volunteers stay in a home stay, a Tanzanian family’s home, when they go to the country.

Reay said when she worked with One Heart Source in Tanzania last year, she saw how families were separated by work structures.

“I only met the father of my home stay once throughout my whole trip because he was a civil engineer and had to work further away from the village his family is living in,” Reay said.

In Tanzania, an eastern African country, nearly half of approximately 2.4 million orphans were orphaned as a result of the AIDS epidemic.

Tanzania, a country where more than half of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, has a culture unlike America’s, Reay said. Mud huts are common structures for houses, and a wealthy family would have land to grow their own crops or raise animals such as chickens and cows.

Chai tea is traditionally served as breakfast, while lunch and dinner usually consist of a type of bread known as chapatti, rice and beans. Fruits and vegetables such as corn, bananas, oranges and avocados are main staples in the Tanzanian diet, Reay said.

Eric Jorgensen, a materials engineering senior, had never experienced the Tanzanian diet before his One Heart Source trip.

“I’ve never really been to a Third World country and seen poverty on that level,” Jorgensen said. “You just get so completely immersed in a culture so different from us with mud huts, no television, no electricity. You experience different things like getting water from the well.”

Another “different thing” volunteers such as Jorgensen encounter on their trips is the taboo nature of AIDS and HIV in cultures like Tanzania. Contraceptives such as condoms are believed to be improper and a waste of sperm; therefore, they are not used as often as they should be. One Heart Source teaches that condoms are effective in preventing conception and the sexual transmission of infections, including HIV.

Talia Borgo, a kinesiology sophomore, is a coordinator for One Heart Source who plays an active role in choosing and teaching applicants.

“We teach basic hygienic and sexual education, including the ‘ABC’ curriculum,” Borgo said. “‘A’ for abstinence, ‘B’ for being faithful and ‘C’ for condoms.”

Methods like the ‘ABC’ curriculum help to curb rumors, such as that condoms have HIV in them, Borgo said.

Reay, who will volunteer in Tanzania again this summer, communicated to her host family through hand and body gestures.

One Heart Source volunteers go through pre-field training before going on their  four-week or eight-week programs in Tanzania. In the training, they learn the curriculum to teach the children in Tanzania, and how to get their message across through sentence-by-sentence translation by a Tanzanian translator in the classroom, Reay said.

Through posters and various comprehensive games, volunteers try to remove the stigma children have regarding HIV, including the spread of the disease through playing or touching someone. Volunteers teach different curriculum depending on the age group they are assigned to, Reay said.

For children below eighth grade, volunteers usually tutor English and math because they are too young to understand the concepts of HIV. Children from eighth grade through high school are educated about the biology of human cells, transmission of HIV infections and ways to prevent transmission, Reay said.

Jorgensen, who is also a project manager for One Heart Source, said pre-field training is important to prepare volunteers for their trip.

Basic Swahili, which is the national African Bantu language, is also taught to volunteers, Jorgensen said.

There is a program fee of approximately $2,200 or $3,200, depending on whether a volunteer chooses to stay for four weeks or eight weeks. It covers the expenses of transportation to and from the airport and home stays, but flight expenses are separate. Fundraising regularly helps volunteers fund their trips, Jorgensen said.

Borgo lived in a home stay in the Maasai tribe of Tanzania. Preparing to return this summer to volunteer again, Borgo was unable to forget the last night she had in Tanzania when she volunteered last year.

“In the Maasai tribe, women weren’t supposed to show any emotional expression,” Borgo said. “On that last night, Mama had to pull me back in the backyard, to tell me that she loved me through tears, which brought me to tears, too.”

Shorthand should not be confused with short term. Utility experts and economists say it will take many months, possibly into next year, to get anywhere close to restoring full power.

The places most affected are not only in the earthquake-ravaged area, but also in the economically crucial region closer to Tokyo, which is having to ration power because of the big chunk of the nation’s electrical generating capacity that was knocked out by the quake or washed away by the tsunami.

Besides the dangerously disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, three other nuclear plants, six coal-fired plants, and 11 oil-fired power plants were initially shut down, according to PFC Energy, an international consulting firm.

By some measures, as much as 20 percent of the total generating capacity of the region’s dominant utility, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. — or an estimated 11 percent of Japan’s total power — is out of service.

Until all the lost or suspended generating capacity is replaced, economists say, factories will operate at reduced levels, untold numbers of cars and other products will go unbuilt and legions of shoppers will cut back their buying — all taking a big toll on Japan’s economy.

The greater Tokyo region represents one-third of the nation’s economic output.

Masaaki Kanno, chief economist at JPMorgan Securities Japan, estimates that the country’s gross domestic product will shrink in the second quarter by about 3 percent on an annualized basis, with about half of that decline resulting from the power shortage.

A recovery will gradually begin to take hold in the third quarter, he said, as the need to rebuild the northeast portion of Japan’s main island, Honshu, acts as a major economic stimulus. But the power shortage will be a drag on economic growth for some time to come.

“We hadn’t initially expected the quake to impact the national economy to this degree,” Kanno said. But the lingering power shortages will be widespread, he said. Besides the direct effects on businesses, consumers “won’t go out as much and they’ll have to get home earlier,” he said, meaning they will not spend as much.

Tokyo Electric has been using rolling blackouts of up to three hours in designated zones to balance demand and supply. The cuts have at times been poorly communicated, further disrupting businesses already reeling from logistical problems and damage to factories in the north.

And Tokyo, more than most places in Japan, is highly dependent on electric trains and subways for commuting, so when there are blackouts, lots of people cannot get to work or easily organize their days.

“In the short term, it will be very difficult to make up the loss of power from the Daiichi plant,” Masakazu Toyoda, chairman of the Institute of Energy Economics, a research organization affiliated with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said. “At the summer peak, the shortfall will be in the 10 percent to 20 percent range.”

Tokyo Electric now has an operating capacity of 37 gigawatts and expects to be back up to about 54 gigawatts by summer, according to PFC Energy. (Each gigawatt is sufficient to power about 250,000 Japanese households.)

But Tokyo Electric’s peak summer demand is usually 60 gigawatts, according to PFC, meaning at least a 10 percent shortfall. Some economists say privately that the shortfall could turn out to be more than twice that large.

Tokyo Electric is trying to make up the lost generating capacity by restarting shuttered plants, repairing the damaged ones, tapping hydropower reserves, and temporarily operating gas turbines. But summer blackouts are inevitable, with plans for many areas to go without electricity for an hour or two at the hottest part of the day.

In theory, the Tokyo area could import electricity from the south. But a historical rivalry between Tokyo and the city of Osaka led the two areas to develop grids using different frequencies — Osaka’s is 60 cycles and Tokyo’s is 50 cycles — so sharing is inefficient.

There are transfer stations, but they have limited capacity. And the hand-off is comparable to two railroads that use different gauge tracks and have to unload cargo from one train and reload it onto another at the place the tracks meet.

“The simplest way to solve the problem is through conservation,” Toyoda said, “so the question of how to encourage that with the least impact is on the government’s agenda.”

Ultimately, the need to conserve energy could force Japanese companies — already among the most efficient in the world — to emerge even leaner and more competitive. But that is little consolation now.

Toyoda said policy makers would aim most conservation measures at consumers, rather than businesses, because households’ share of electricity consumption has been rising for decades.

“In 1973, the ratio of electricity used by industry was 50 percent,” he said. “Now it’s just over 30 percent.”

The energy crisis has even led officials to consider the unthinkable: Instituting daylight saving time, something they have previously declined to adopt because it might cause confusion.

Industry, meantime, has recognized the importance of a coordinated response.

Members of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers’ Association — including Toyota, Nissan, and Honda — are considering apportioning full days of power cuts among themselves, according to the Nikkei newspaper, as they seek to avoid power cuts that wreak havoc on manufacturing equipment.

Hirokazu Furukawa, an association spokesman, confirmed that the automakers were studying possible cooperation, but he said that the complicated matter would require more study and that no deal had been reached.

In 2005, the Environment Ministry introduced an experiment, called Cool Biz Japan, to save energy by cutting the cost of operating air-conditioning systems in Tokyo, where the summer heat and humidity rival that of Washington. As part of the plan, thermostats in government buildings were raised to about 82 degrees Fahrenheit.

Setting an example, the prime minister at the time, Junichiro Koizumi, adopted an open-collar look that helped to make him something of a fashion leader.

But Kazuharu Aizawa, a spokesman for the environment ministry, noted that more than 62 percent of Japanese had adopted the Cool Biz air-conditioning goal, so the room for additional energy savings this summer through turning up the thermostat would be limited.

“Many people are going to have to turn off the air-con altogether,” he said.

There has been some international support for intervention in Libya, although these resolutions have advocated for a much narrower range of military options than explored in Libya. Even the Arab League vote has been regretted substantially by those who voted for it. Libya has been overwhelmingly portrayed as a humanitarian conflict that will protect the lives of civilians, while Iraq was sold to the international community as a security action against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction primarily and a humanitarian action secondly.

The bombing of Libya is somewhat similar to the NATO assault on Serbia, which saw the international community intervening to stop the destructive trend of regional politics. It is worrying that despite successes in the Slavic states, the United Nations is still skeptical about the capacity of ethnic tensions to ease in the region and these developments may be replicated in Libya.

Obama sought to differentiate himself from his Republican peers by committing troops to Libya while confronting real concerns in the state. However, the basis for this commission is almost identical to that of Iraq. It became increasingly clear that a victory for Col. Muammar Gaddafi would set a powerful precedent in the Arab world that autocratic oppression of rebellious movements would lead to an end of political movements against the dictators in question. American intervention in Libya would therefore prevent this eventuality and ally the United States with freedom and democracy in the Middle East, which is a similar justification to that which motivated direct action in the war in Iraq. Iraq is a continuing military campaign, which has roots in an attitude of self-admiring support for democracy that both predated and survived the revelation that Saddam Hussein did not pursue weapons of mass destruction. This support was meant to portray that the United States was allied with pro-democratic movements in the Middle East, though they were certainly less noticeable until a Tunisian man resolved to set himself ablaze. Libya is therefore another attempt to place the United States in a favorable light in the Middle East by offering itself as the vanguard of regional democracy and will have similarly complex problems later when these attempts run against American interests of maintaining stability and the export of oil from the region.

However, the most striking difference between Iraq and Libya is that Bush at least attempted to maintain a semblance of democracy by lubricating the months leading up to the beginning of the conflict with a public relations campaign concerning the necessity of the conflict. Obama, surprisingly enough, has begun the Libyan campaign with little consultation from elected representatives, worrying, as there is a weak withdrawal strategy from Libya similar to that of Iraq where thousands of troops are still stationed. Let us not forget that Iraq was supposed to be a conflict concluded in a matter of months, not years. It seems reasonable to believe that Libya, while we are still stationed in Iraq, may become Obama’s Iraq. The gap of history is so minuscule between the two conflicts that it would be inexcusable if this were the case.

LiNK representative Angelica Metoyer introduced the event by encouraging support for the organization’s TheHundred Campaign, which aims to raise enough money to financially support the defection of 100 North Koreans and increase awareness related to the struggles of North Korean defectors. According to Metoyer, it costs about $2,500 to bring a refugee from China to safety. The cost to rescue a defector from North Korea is at least $6,000.

In her introduction, Metoyer also noted that the majority of discussion surrounding North Korea centers on nuclear proliferation, ignoring tragic human issues such as starvation, political prison camps and sex trafficking.

The documentary, “Hiding,” follows five North Korean refugees on their journey out of China and illustrates the hardships they face not only in escaping North Korea but also in traveling in China and other countries, where they are forced to remain underground. If caught, defectors are often sent back to North Korea, where they are put in political prisons or killed.

Following the film, Jo spoke about her own personal journey to freedom. As Jo does not speak English, her talk was translated by a member of KASA.

Jo’s defection required several attempts before she finally reached safety in the United States. Of seven family members, only three survived attempts to escape. Her father was caught trying to get food from China and charged with treason, eventually dying of hunger in a political prison. Her mother miscarried once, and another of her younger siblings died of hunger in Jo’s arms. Her grandmother also died of hunger. Her sister left for China as a virgin at the age of 18 and was sold into the sex trade in China.

Several other family members died on the journey out, attempting to survive by eating bamboo powder, corn roots and even rats and snakes.

Aside from Jo, only her mother and sister survived. Jo was captured several times and repatriated to North Korea. She was also thrown in prison, where she was beaten, starved and tortured.

Jo in particular noted the importance of raising awareness about the plight of women and children. She said women suffer in North Korean prisons due not only to instances of sexual abuse but also because of their treatment during their menstrual cycles: Because they are only given one piece of clothing, they cannot even use cloth. Pregnant women are beaten until they miscarry.

Children are equally helpless, she said, as they are too weak to survive the strong currents necessary to crossing the river into China. Many are sent to orphanages where they starve to death because they are only given three or four potatoes that are “smaller than a baby’s fist” daily.

It is important for college students to speak out, Jo said.

“When older people hear about tragedies, they cry because they do not have the ability to do something,” she said. “When younger people hear, they think about what they can do. If enough people had known about this, it would not have gotten this bad.”

Jo said that it would help if young people spread the word, because it is harder to ignore young people. When she lectured at Harvard, she said, she received threats from North Korea. North Korean officials had mostly ignored her when she spoke at churches, she added.

Sungwoo Chon ’13, the former political chair of the Asian American Students Association, asked Jo if “there will be some sort of movement against the North Korean government by the people.”

Jo explained that children of the elite in Pyongyang study abroad, where they gain a broader world view. Two hundred such students once wanted to protest, but all were killed on the morning of the protest because one was a spy, she explained.

Another student wanted to organize mass protests but lacked funds for an organized uprising, so he defected to South Korea to raise resources and is now in the United States, Jo added.

“So with the necessary funds, I believe that it will happen,” she said.

KASA’s political board and the LiNK chair said they were working to get University students more involved.

“We started a chapter [of LiNK at Princeton],” Grace Kim ’13 and Ewon Baik ’13, co-political chairs of KASA, said in an interview. “We feel that KASA political board’s mission is to really raise awareness of the political situation in the Koreas. We’re also going to work on more events [to raise awareness].”

Baik is also a photographer for The Daily Princetonian.

Jo expressed similar sentiments, saying, “If students took the money from the cost of one cup of coffee, one cigarette, buying a less-expensive designer item, and took that money and helped people, then if 1,000 people are dying and we save even 99 people, it would be worth it.”

Stealth bombers have dropped bombs, missiles have been fired and ships have been moved into position near the country’s coast. While the United States hasn’t employed full military force in Libya, these strategic strikes, aimed at crippling Gaddafi’s air defenses, are still military actions by our national armed forces.

The initial cost of these operations has been estimated from $400 million to $800 million, with a likely continuing weekly cost of $30 million to $100 million. President Barack Obama has stated that the U.S. plans to be done with operations in Libya within days, leaving other countries to perform any further operations. If the operations were to end today, however, the estimated cost is still $400 million.

It is clear that the Libyan rebels are fighting for a cause of freedom and revolution. It is also true that Gaddafi is viewed as a harsh ruler. Also, this is not the first time that the United States has taken military action against Gaddafi. Similar tactics were employed by the U.S. against Gaddafi’s regime in 1986.

My worry, however, is if this military conflict is something that America can feasibly be involved with. These operations cost money. And our country is still in the midst of a weaker economy than we would like to have. On top of that, we are already involved in two wars that each cost much more than strategic bombings and missile strikes.

While it seems that Gaddafi has a very small amount of support, evidenced by resignations of top tier officials within his own regime and defections in his military, the U.S. must be careful to not get sucked into a conflict that is too large. Not to directly compare the situations, but shades of Iraq before the U.S. invasion can be seen in Libya.

It is clear that Gaddafi is an unjust and unethical ruler. It is also clear that it is fair for America to support the motives of the rebels in Libya. The United Nations has stated that it supports actions to aid the revolution, and multiple countries have come to the aid of the rebels.

I hope that Obama and the officials monitoring U.S. actions in Libya hold to their word that we will be out of the conflict soon. I think it is acceptable and fair for us to help the rebels. And we have. Now it is our turn to return to our ongoing military conflicts and leave the Libyan situation to the U.N. and other fully capable countries.

With two other wars, a down economy and no need for our involvement, maybe it’s best if we patiently watch this situation before getting in too deep.

The event, titled “Crisis in Japan: the Way Forward,” focused on long-term reconstruction strategies in response to the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan about two weeks ago.

“Japan is moving out of the initial phase of emergency response,” said Harvard School of Public Health Professor Michael R. Reich, pointing out that coverage of the disaster is “no longer on the front page of The Times.”

Reich addressed possible social risks of the disaster, which could include Japanese citizenry losing trust in their government.

Kotaro Tamura, former Japanese Parliamentary Secretary for Fiscal and Economic Policy and for Financial Affairs offered solutions to concerns about the impact of the disaster on the Japanese economy, including the potentially damaging effect of reduced electric power and potential decreases in overall Japanese spending.

The goal of the event was to move beyond “sensationalist” news coverage and instead focus on an objective analysis of the disaster’s long-term impact, said event organizer Shinju Fujihira, associate director of the US-Japan Relations Program at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.

William M. Nehring, program coordinator for the program on US-Japan Relations, said that “a wide variety of voices and experiences were represented” at the event.

Doctoral student Naoko Miake, who has attended recent events at Harvard and MIT about the disaster in Japan, said she was impressed by the “interesting combination of experts” present in the panel, noting that it was good to hear from panelists “with hands-on knowledge of issues.”

But event attendee and Brandeis University student Ryo Morimoto said that he had expected more from the panelists.

“A lot was nothing new,” Morimoto said. “I was hoping for more inside information but at the same time I thought it was an interesting discussion.”

“The panel was incredibly informative,” said Midori Takasaki ’14, who was collecting donations for the student group Harvard for Japan following the event.

“It was interesting hearing [the perspectives of] both American and Japanese representatives,” he said.

Panelists also included Takeshi Hikihara, Boston Consul General for Japan, and Yoji Koda, Senior Fellow at the Harvard University Asia Center.

The event was part of the Harvard for Japan week, a week-long series of fundraising and informational events regarding the Japanese disaster.

The revolt in Libya, the most censored country in the Middle East and North Africa according to the 2009 Freedom of the Press Index, is an illumination of the vigorously growing opposition fueled by youth who, through access to social media, have seen how the rest of the world lives and want it for themselves. They want the freedom to make their own choices and the freedom to have their own voices.

The immobilizing wall of silence was first broken in the Tunisia revolution. The popular uprising that ousted the nation’s leader Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was the first democratic revolt in the modern Arab world and a catalyst for the rest of the Middle East to press for reform in a region dominated by authoritative regimes. The oppressed citizens of other Arab and North African nations did indeed begin to respond — several countries are currently fighting against the corruption and nepotism they have lived with their whole lives and are realizing that political freedom and economic reform comes from democracy.

Following their neighbors in Tunisia, in January protesters in Egypt demanded the overthrow of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and his regime. After weeks of popular protest and pressure, Mubarak resigned from office in February. A record number of voters turned out in Egypt approving constitutional amendments to secure a free and fair democratic system.

In Yemen last week, President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a determined U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism, declared a state of emergency and dismissed his cabinet after government-linked forces killed more than 40 unarmed protesters. On Monday, news came about of several top army commanders and one of Yemen’s key tribal leaders having sided with the protesters.

And that’s not it. Opposition leaders in Bahrain were arrested after troops disbanded thousands of protestors that were occupying the central square of Manama. The king called for a three-month state of emergency. In Saudi Arabia, Sunni Muslims sent troops to mollify the mainly Shiite upheaval in bordering Bahrain. King Abdullah offered over $100 billion in added benefits to citizens following relentless protests in Riyadh.

Let’s take a look at Syria. Protesters set fire to a headquarters of the ruling Baath Party — a raging indication of dissent in one of the region’s most authoritarian states. And now Libyan people pouring across Tunisia’s border are being offered food and assistance from their neighbors.
It’s obvious now that Libya is but one part of a remarkable wave of revolt in the Arab world. The Arab people, mainly the youth, are no longer sitting paralyzed under oppression, restricted by religious theocracies.

The U.S. should continue supporting the dissidents in Libya and the quest for freedom in future autocratic governments. Middle Eastern dictator-run governments are finally changing — an extraordinary step in the modern Arab world. And the United States being a part of it is a tremendous thing.

Sociology and journalism senior Amy Romero is one of the students who will go to Haiti this summer. Romero is part of UT Students of the World, a nonprofit organization that works to highlight social and world issues through various media. The organization partners with college students nationwide every year and sends them to a community where they will document innovative solutions to issues in that area.

Last year, the UT team traveled to Kosovo to document the efforts of MPOWER, an organization that provided financial services to those who couldn’t obtain them by traditional means.

Romero said a major goal of their project was to inspire people to take action and work toward building a sustainable economy in Haiti.
“Most of us know that Haiti was devastated by a massive earthquake [last year],” Romero said. “But what many people don’t realize is that the impact of the event was only worsened by a crippling economy and a lack of jobs.”

This year the UT team has been assigned to Jacmel, an art-centric city in southern Haiti, and will work in conjunction with students from Haiti’s only film school, Cine Institute. The UT team is composed of a journalist, photographer, graphic designer, event planner and two filmmakers to help with their project. Both plan to document the work of Soul of Haiti, an Irish organization that helps struggling communities by facilitating trade and investment.

Maria Arrellaga, international relations and global studies freshman, is also on the UT Students of the World Team. Arrellaga said one of the reasons this trip is important to her is because Jacmal is an “artist hub” city like Austin.

“Artisan products are Haiti’s number one export, generating the majority of the country’s income,” Arrellaga said. “We will be working to capture the work and progress of Soul of Haiti nonprofits and the Haitian people’s enormous cultural and creative strength.”

To help fund their trip, Arrellaga is organizing the “Artists for Artists” benefit concert, featuring twelve local bands and more than ten hours of music on two stages. Arrellaga said “Artists for Artists” hopes to showcase some of Austin’s diverse talent while helping the artists in Jacmal. Some of the bands include The Daze, Hello Caller, Major Major Major and Grinning Man. The show also includes a special performance by Inverness, a Chilean group.

All profits from the event will go to funding the team’s project and month-long stay in Haiti.

Romero said one of the goals of the team is to show Austin and other communities in the country Haiti’s condition a year after the earthquake.
“We are a group of seven small individuals but we have the potential to make a huge impact,” Romero said.

That afternoon, the two got in a cab bound for a subway station, and at 2:46 p.m. JST, Kern says the vehicle “just started shaking.” The driver became somewhat concerned, but after the initial quake, Gercik decided they should stay in the cab.

As it turns out, this was a good call. The subways closed, emptying waves of people onto the streets and creating massive gridlock traffic. Aftershocks continued during the rest of their ride, but the two made it back to their hotel just as traffic came to a halt.

The scene was relatively calm, recalled Gercik. “People streamed out of buildings and subways. They stood at corners and in parks, looking at the sky as if they expected the relief would come from above. The mood was quiet; not too many people talked to each other, but some were on cell phones.”

Their dinner with MISTI alumni and other program contacts that night was cancelled since the lack of public transportation made it difficult for both attendees and restaurant staff to travel.

“There were 50 aftershocks that night and I didn’t sleep for the next two nights,” Gercik said.

The scene was much worse in northeast Japan. The initial earthquake off the coast of Honshu — Japan’s main island — created 30-foot waves in a disastrous tsunami. As many as 200,000 residents as far as 20 kilometers away from the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were evacuated as tsunami waters killed the generators and the reactor cooling systems began to fail.

As of Wednesday night, CBS reported the death toll neared 4,000 in Japan while more than 8,000 people were unaccounted for. Communication was crippled, cities were destroyed, and food, drinking water, medicine, and fuel shortages became the norm. Nearly half a million people were left homeless in the aftermath of the quake and tsunami. Damage is estimated to be $200 billion.

Kern and Gercik remained in the Tokyo area over the weekend, but even when train service started up again, fewer trains than usual were running. As more and more of their Monday meetings were cancelled, they decided it was time to head home, arriving in the U.S. on Monday afternoon.

Because phone service was down, Kern relied on e-mail to communicate with her contacts in Japan.

Fortunately, there are no current MISTI students in Japan. On Sunday, the U.S. Department of State recommended that “all non-emergency official U.S. government personnel defer travel to Japan” and urged “U.S. citizens to avoid tourism and non-essential travel to Japan at this time.”

Kern is optimistic about the summer, noting that the program still has a couple months to prepare for interns traveling to Japan. According to Kern, host companies in the Osaka area — about 400 miles away from the epicenter — experienced “no real effects” from the disaster, and the hosts she talked to in Tokyo say “they think they’ll be fine” for internship placements over the summer. Kern said MISTI students are still looking forward to their travel to Japan, too.

“We’re doing everything to make sure host companies are okay” with continuing the internship plans and are “keeping students well-informed” of any updates, said Kern.

Kern says she didn’t feel a sense of panic during last weekend’s stay in Tokyo. “It was a totally different experience depending on where you were.” Areas close to the Honshu coast in the Tōhoku region experienced evacuations, flooding, high death tolls, and destroyed buildings. However, Tokyo was mainly concerned with problems in transportation and supply as food shelves at grocery stores were emptied by concerned residents.

“The press did not really give out too much information, and one felt that there was every effort by the government to avoid panic. By the end of the weekend, the shelves of all convenience stores were empty,” Gercik said. “There was no sense of panic, but one of disbelief.”

Still, Tokyo was not without serious problems. Five people in Tokyo died as a result of a building collapse, according to Kern.

Professor Richard J. Samuels, director of MIT’s Center of International Studies (CIS), noted that MIT tends to take two types of responses to international disasters such as Japan’s: humanitarian aid and analytic discussion. The CIS, he said, offers opportunities for the latter: “When there’s a crisis, we try to organize an event to share what we know. It’s our mission.”

By bringing in experts on the topic — such as faculty from MIT’s Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) department — and organizing public Starr Forums, it is the CIS’s hope to educate the MIT community on the technical background of the nuclear reactor problems.

The CIS took a similar approach in response to the 9/11 attacks and crises in Gaza and Egypt earlier this year.

“We each do what we can do according to our abilities,” Samuels said. At MIT, he remarked, there is “so much talent and willingness to fix what is broken.”

Students respond with aid

Miho Kitagawa ’14, a member of the Japanese Association of MIT (JAM), made one of the first moves towards a campus-wide charity event by announcing JAM’s donation drive in Lobby 10 and the Stata Center in an e-mail to dorm lists.

Along with collecting funds for disaster relief in Japan, JAM also encouraged passersby to leave a message for the afflicted in Japan. The messages were written on a white board, and the JAM members took pictures of the message and its author (see sidebar). These messages, Kitagawa said, are a “really huge thing.” Money can certainly help victims, but letting the Japanese people know that someone else in the world is thinking of them will make those afflicted feel much stronger in light of their tragedy, Kitagawa hopes.

The response has been overwhelming. Kitagawa faced a deluge of e-mails, especially from student groups looking to help. The American Red Cross Team and Network of MIT (ARCTAN) offered to reward donations with bread from Au Bon Pain, while Victoria W. Lee ’10, a member of the Figure Skating Club, said the club wanted to hold an additional fundraiser to supplement JAM’s efforts.

Although it’s a lot to work with, Kitagawa said, “It’s really nice. I really appreciate it because everyone’s helping us.”

Looking at pictures of the devastation in Japan, Kitagawa said her first thought was, “I can’t believe it’s Japan.”

With 50 members, JAM is a group of mostly Japanese international students, the majority of whom are graduate students. Kitagawa has been in touch with her family, who lives far from the epicenter in Japan, and friends in Ibaraki, who experienced the loss of food, water, and electricity plaguing the afflicted areas.

On Monday night, JAM had already collected about $4,000, and Kitagawa said her hope was to collect $2,000 each day for the rest of the week. On Thursday night, they had already surpassed this goal, reporting more than $17,000 in funds raised and more than 500 messages collected, according to their website, http://web.mit.edu/jam/.

Camilla M. Brinkman, communications coordinator of the Public Service Center (PSC), stressed that “We want to be as supportive as we can.” While the office does not hold its own events, Brinkman said its goal is to be a “set of extra hands to help with disaster relief.” The PSC posted news about events relating to the crisis on its website, http://web.mit.edu/mitpsc, and supported the JAM with their donation drive. In the past, the PSC has helped students organizing disaster relief events with grants, advertising, setup, and donation coordination.

JAM received further help from the MIT Figure Skating Club (FSC), which held a benefit skate yesterday at Johnson Ice Rink and raised $1,345. An exhibition by FSC members was followed by a period of open skate lessons for attendees.

Lee, a member of the FSC competition committee and four-year FSC member, organized the event after conceiving the idea Monday morning. Within 24 hours, the rink was reserved, the event was registered, and Lee had a full program of performances for the exhibition.

“I’m extremely proud of the FSC’s phenomenal response in helping out, from volunteering to skate in the show to volunteering to teach,” Lee said.

Proceeds from this event will go directly to JAM. The Zesiger Center also agreed to donate all proceeds from the skating rentals.

Last January, after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti, the FSC organized a similar charity event called “Skate for Haiti.”

Faculty Chair Professor Thomas A. Kochan was a leader in MIT’s response to the Haiti disaster, and he says he’s noticed similarities between the two situations. In response to Haiti, he said, “we knew various faculty and student groups had initiated a number of separate aid and recovery efforts but felt perhaps a more coordinated effort would be helpful given the limited resources within Haiti.”

Commenting on the “impressive” number of campus-wide efforts, he added, “In this case, the decentralized efforts, along with the letter to the MIT community from President Hockfield and the Chancellor’s good work in reaching out to our Japanese students, may be the most appropriate responses.”

Discussion of the nuclear reactor crisis

On Tuesday, 10-250 was jam-packed with attendees for the MIT Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) “Briefing on the Japan Nuclear Crisis,” featuring a panel of Professor Richard K. Lester PhD ’80, head of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE); Professor Mujid S. Kazimi PhD ’73, director of the Center for Advanced Nuclear Energy Systems; NSE Professor Ian H. Hutchinson; Dr. William B. McCarthy, deputy director of the MIT Environmental Health and Safety Office; NSE Professor Michael W. Golay; and Dr. Jacquelyn C. Yanch, research affiliate of NSE.

The purpose of this public forum was to educate the MIT community with a technical description of the nuclear reactors in Japan and to answer questions from the audience.

As the panel described, the Fukushima plant consists of six boiling water reactors, but three of those (No. 4–6) were undergoing routine maintenance at the time of the disaster and were not active.

While the plant seemed to survive the earthquake “pretty well,” it was the tsunami that did most of the damage that is now causing headaches for Japan. According to Hutchinson, the first hydrogen explosion at reactor No. 3 on Saturday injured four people and was followed by a second explosion on Monday morning. On this day, nuclear fuel rods were exposed after cooling water evaporated, so seawater was used to cool the rods; a third explosion, this time in the No. 2 reactor, resulted in a containment breach, which increased the opportunity for the escape of radioactivity. Within the next two days, fire broke out at reactor 4.

At one point, radiation levels in Tokyo were as high as 20 times background levels, according to Yanch, who then reasoned that one would need to be exposed to these levels for days to reach the same dosage as a single chest X-ray.

Starting on March 13, students in the NSE department maintained a blog of entries related to the Japan crisis. As the site, http://mitnse.com, states, “The purpose of this blog is not to provide up-to-date information about the ongoing situation at the nuclear facilities in Fukushima, Japan, nor is it to promote to a pro-nuclear political agenda. Rather, we are trying to provide non-sensationalized, factual data from engineers in a manner that the general public can understand.”

The first entry comes with a brief explanation of the blog’s starting point: “The original post of Josef Oehmen appeared on Morgsatlarge. Due to the large and unexpected popularity of the original post, Dr. Oehmen handed the blog to the [NSE] Department in an effort to correct the presented information and provide a starting point.” Since then, posts have covered topics from radiation health effects of volatile fission products such as Iodine-131 and Cesium-137, nuclear reactor decay heat (the NSE blog describes this as the energy deposited into the fuel from the decay of radioactive isotopes), and spent fuel pools (“fuel after it has fueled a reactor,” according to the blog).

On Wednesday, the MIT Center for International Studies, MIT-Japan Program, and Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering hosted its Starr Forum: Japan’s Nuclear Crisis. Among the three speakers, including Samuels and Golay, Political Science Professor Kenneth A. Oye, offered his perspective after returning from Tokyo for a business meeting.

As Oye described to The Boston Globe in their March 11 article, Oye first felt tremors from the earthquake while sitting in a bus outside his hotel.

The “movement was far more severe than anything I’ve ever felt in an earthquake before,” said Oye, who had lived in California and traveled to Japan during previous earthquakes, as the Globe reported.

The aftershocks came while Oye was in a meeting. The onset seems to come straight from a movie script. As Oye described, he first noticed the “coffee in the cup started wiggling back and forth. The chandelier started moving, and then you realize you’re moving, too.”

Since Tokyo is more than 200 miles away from the epicenter, Oye remarked that the scene in Tokyo was less severe than the devastation witnessed in the northeast of Honshu island.

“No one was really aware of how serious the earthquake was. … In fact, it looked pretty normal [outside my hotel],” he said. The worst he noticed was the number of people out in the streets.

A third discussion of the nuclear reactor situation was held by the MIT Energy Club on Thursday evening, which also covered the hazards and implications of the disaster at the Fukushima plant.

On March 13, President Susan J. Hockfield wrote a letter in response to the crisis, noting MIT’s wider community in Japan “from our MISTI students, through the MIT Japan program, to faculty members who work in the region or collaborate with Japanese colleagues, to our alumni who come from or have settled in Japan.”

At the time, Hockfield wrote that more information from those who were “directly affected” by the disaster was being collected, but confirmed that “we have accounted for many students, staff and faculty currently in Japan and have determined that they are safe.”

Along with reaching out to those in Japan, Hockfield reassured the Japanese community on MIT’s own campus, saying, “Current students from Japan enrolled at MIT have been contacted in the wake of the disaster, and we are offering support and guidance.”

Akira W. Monri ’12 is personally connected to the crisis. He’s been using e-mail and social media to keep in touch with family and friends in his hometown of Tokyo. “From what I hear from my friends in Tokyo, there are countless aftershocks, some of which are not even aftershocks and are new earthquakes.” Monri estimated that there were about four new earthquakes at about magnitude 6.0 in the days after the initial 9.0 magnitude quake.

Although far from the epicenter, Monri’s friends in Tokyo have been feeling the effects: “Every time they feel the tremor, they say how scary it is, especially when they find out that it’s not an aftershock. It is said that there has been over 190 aftershocks in the first three or four days.”

“One of my friends, who is in the middle of job interviews, found out the night before that during or before her interview there may be a blackout, and had to look for alternative ways to get there. Another friend, whose family lives in New Jersey, had to leave several hours earlier than usual to get on a plane to the U.S., in order to arrive at the airport on time.”

Inconsistent information relating to the nuclear reactors is what concerns Monri the most. “The U.S. Embassy has ordered U.S. military personnel helping with the relief efforts to not go within [an] 80 km radius of the Daiichi plant, which is 60 km wider than what the Japanese government has issued. That, because I do not know what the underlying facts to that decision are, is really scaring me.”

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of State updated its travel warning and recommended the evacuation of all U.S. citizens within 80 km of the plant.

Monri took things into his own hands by developing a donation drive separate from JAM’s, starting within his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta. “I was only able to collect over $5,000 within three days because my brothers were here with me at the booth [in the student center] allowing it to be manned almost all seven hours.” As of last night, that total had jumped to $6,000.

“I cannot begin to explain how grateful I am to the community for their support,” he added. According to his donation site, http://phidelts.mit.edu/japan-relief.html, “Phi Delta Theta will cover all transaction fees that may arise from sending this fund to Japan, in order to make sure that every cent donated gets to the Japanese Red Cross.” According to Monri, “Phi Delts will be around on campus even after spring break, with Japanese treats for sale to further raise the relief fund to send to the Japanese Red Cross.”

Belize A group of NYU students made their way on an 10-hour trip to Punta Gorda, Belize, for a ProWorld experiential learning trip. On the day of their arrival, locals welcomed them with dancing and music, a fitting introduction to a week spent teaching topics such as diversity and conflict resolution to high school and middle school students and building septic tanks. In their downtime, the NYU group spent some time soaking in the sun on beautiful Sea-Glass Beach.

New OrleansThe Residential College at Goddard made their third annual trip to New Orleans to assist with the ongoing Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The group worked with local non-profit Historic Green on many development projects, such as insulating homes. “Many people have already forgotten about NOLA, but that’s just a mere misconception. NOLA still needs help and I was humbled to give what I can,” Stern freshman Daniel Kao said. The group also immersed themselves in the culture of the city, digging into local food to partaking in St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

Trinidad A total of 10 volunteers from NYU Law’s AnBryce Scholars visited St. Michael’s School for Boys in Trinidad for at-risk individuals. The group focused on health education, career development and goal-setting workshops. Trip attendee Michelle Wu said, “Working with the underprivileged youth at St. Michael’s School for Boys has inspired me to work hard and give back to my own community.”

South Korea is quickly becoming one of the most popular destinations for American students seeking to teach English abroad after college. If you’ve visited Craigslist in the past year or so, you may have noticed an advertisement for Teach Abroad South Korea that pops up with almost every search. The advertisements are simple: great pay and accommodations, and no teaching experience necessary – all you need is an undergraduate degree and a willingness to relocate.

Rebecca Heeb, an American college graduate teaching in Seoul through a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship, says teaching English in South Korea can be a great experience for students looking to work and travel after college.

“The cost of living is good here, people are friendly and generous, and you will have a better shot at learning Korean than any other Asian language – it’s got an alphabet and it’s not tonal,” said Heeb. “There is also a fairly large population of ‘foreigners’ – mainly English teachers – in Korea right now.”

According to a May 2010 GlobalPost.com article, there are more than 22,000 foreign English teachers living in South Korea. The majority of these teachers seem to be young college graduates from the United States.

“The Korean government wants their people to learn English,” says Caroline Gould, Assistant Director of Career Services at UMass. ”They asked, ‘Who can we get to teach our citizens English for cheap?’ And they thought, ‘Aha, the Americans!’”

As South Korea continues to grow into its role as an Asian economic power, there is a mounting pressure for citizens to learn English in order to compete in the global economy. As a result, the Korean government has invested a lot of money in order to attract native English speakers to teach in the country’s schools. That’s why the deals for English teachers in South Korea are better than programs in almost any other country. In fact, only Saudi Arabia beats them out with an average yearly salary of $75,000 a year for English teachers.

Through the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), teachers in South Korea can earn between 2 and 2.7 million won – about $1,700 to $2,300 – per month. Another popular program in South Korea, the English Program in Korean ( EPIK ), pays between 1.8 and 2.1 million won per month ($1,500-$1,800). Both programs provide free housing, paid medical insurance and vacation time, and some compensation for flight costs in and out of the country.

Of course, teaching English in South Korea is not without its risks. There’s the crime rate, the possibility of getting ripped off by the South Korean government, and, oh yeah, the threat of nuclear war between North and South Korea. Even with the benefits, is it safe for Americans in South Korea?

“First of all, I wouldn’t let fear over tensions between North and South Korea deter you from coming here,” said Heeb. “I have found that these tensions have had a very minimal effect on my daily life and on the lives of my Korean coworkers, host family, etc.”

Her attitude was echoed by Eunkyul Claire Park, a South Korean citizen and former UMass international student.

“I understand that you’re somewhat worried about the political situations around here,” said Park. “No one can surely say about the situation right now, but actually most of the people doubt the possibility of war breaking out, or of a worse situation. Besides that, I’m sure you’ll have so much fun here.”

Even without the threat of war breaking out along the thirty-eighth parallel, there is still the possibility of being ripped off by the South Korean government. South Korean laws are not the same as U.S. laws, and if the deals they are offering sound too good to be true, well, sometimes they are. According to Gould, their government is known for sometimes going back on deals.

“They offer to pay your flight and housing if you agree to stay for 10 months,” said Gould, “then kick you out of the country on some pretense after nine months.”

There have also been cases in which teachers’ vacation time is not honored, particularly in the case of EPIK. If you want to avoid being scammed, it’s best to research the programs ahead of time. If you are interested in teaching abroad at all, be prepared to do a lot of your own research. UMass doesn’t have many resources on the subject – career services will give you the virtual tour of eRecruiting and some pamphlets, and the International Programs Office will only give you more pamphlets. The campus Work Abroad Fair was the best – their pamphlets had pictures and colored ink.

The best way to learn about teaching abroad is simply to talk to people who have done it and research the programs you want to participate in and the schools you want to work through. See you in Seoul.

Tokyo Electric and the Japanese Government have claimed that there is still enough water in the pool at Reactor 4 to hold spent fuel rods and keep them cool. However, the chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission has claimed that this is not the case and that the fuel rods are releasing radiation into the atmosphere.

Considering a 2005 report from the National Academies of Science that any level of radiation, however small, can cause cancer, this is especially alarming. Even worse, another U.S. official has claimed that if drastic action is not taken in the next 24 to 48 hours, Japan will have a situation that will be “deadly for decades.” Even so, bringing the situation under control would be a “suicide mission” according to the official.

While some are still talking of the “potential” for a nuclear meltdown, U.S. Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, a Nobel Laureate in Physics, has stated that there already is a “partial meltdown” at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Japanese authorities have told people to evacuate 12 miles from the plant, while the U.S government has advised American citizens and ordered American military personnel to stay at least 50 miles from the plant.

Considering the danger this situation poses to not only the Japanese people but to everyone in the region, the Japanese government has a duty to be honest about the extent of the crisis.

It is hardly surprising that Japan is downplaying the damage, as the nation is heavily invested in nuclear energy. Less than a year ago the United States government deliberately downplayed the damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, damage that will most likely continue to hurt the Gulf for decades.

Japan was aware of how dangerous earthquakes can be – and how they can cause nuclear crises. Cables released by Wikileaks show that in late 2008 the International Atomic Energy Agency warned the Japanese government about the threat that a major earthquake could pose to its nuclear plants. In response, the Japanese built an emergency response center at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, but the center was only prepared to withstand a 7.0 magnitude quake. The recent earthquake has been upgraded to a magnitude of 9.0. Considering the history of major earthquakes suffered by Japan, this was not enough.

Regardless of the actions taken after this tragedy, The News-Letter sends its best wishes to those affected by the earthquake, both at Hopkins and abroad.

The study found no association between India’s economic growth since 1992 and the rate of undernutrition in children, according to co-author S. V. Subramanian , associate professor of society, human development, and health at the School of Public Health.

According to Malavika A. Subramanyam, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, undernutrition plays a major role in preventing India from achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing child mortality. Children suffering from undernutrition also get more infections, which, in turn, leads to poorer health.

At the start of 1992, over half of Indian children under the age of five suffered from undernutrition, a problem that has been persistent and endemic in India.

The researchers measured undernutrition by examining stunting in children and found that rates have barely changed since 1992, during which time the Indian economy has seen significant growth.

Researchers say that there are two main underlying causes for the dogged persistence of undernutrition in India. First, many kids are being born to mothers who are anemic, under-weight, and not healthy enough to bear children. Additionally, India’s policy on undernutrition has focused too much on economic growth.

“While removing people out of poverty is good,” Subramanian said, “the problem is that the only section that is benefitting from the economic growth is the population that is driving it—a mere 25-30% of the total population.”

The study, a joint effort by the Harvard School of Public Health and the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan, suggests that to make a dent in the MDG goals relating to hunger and malnutrition there needs to be broad-based economic growth.

“If one billion people in India were participating in the economic growth,” Subramanian said, “then I would find a strong association between economic growth and health outcomes.”

Subramanyam added that if economic structures can be improved at the household level, it will result in better nutrition among children.

The researchers propose that revenue generated from India’s economic growth should be spent on things that directly impact health.

Subramanyam said that the first thing that needs to be done is to channel revenue into a more efficient and efficacious implementation of existing health programs, such as the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme, which aims to prevent undernutrition among children under the age of six.

“Some programs and infrastructure already exist—we just need to provide enough funding for them to do their job,” she said. “This would be the minimum.”

Although she had heard of Egyptian citizen protests against the country’s government planned for Jan. 25, she did not initially find it necessary to evacuate. But by Jan. 28, she explained, “things were unstoppable.”

“I must admit I was nervous, as I lived alone in Cairo,” Cummins wrote in an e-mail to theWheel. “My biggest concern was the inability to communicate with my loved ones back home and even friends across town. With both the Internet and mobile phones down, there was virtually no way to talk to anyone for a few days.”

Even though Emory had attempted to contact her through e-mail when uprisings began in Egypt, a faulty Internet system prevented her from receiving the message.

Emory did, however, contact her father in Florida, who was listed as her emergency contact, to ensure she was able to leave Egypt. On Feb. 1, she evacuated to Istanbul, Turkey on an American Embassy flight.

Cummins is one member of the Emory community among several who witnessed political and social conflict while pursuing academics overseas recently.

Some recent events have either raised concerns about security and safety or altered student and faculty itineraries for studying abroad.

“Whether it has to do with health safety or security safety, we always have information and measures in place,” said Philip Wainwright, director of Emory’s Center for International Programs Abroad (CIPA). “From street crimes to war breaking out, we make sure students know what to do in the event of an emergency.”

To do so, Wainwright explained, students participating in CIPA programs are advised on how to stay safe while studying abroad during both pre-departure orientation as well as when they arrive at their destination.

Specific topics commonly addressed at these meetings include what kinds of activities or behaviors could be dangerous and not walking around alone, especially at night.

“A lot of the advice is the same advice we would give someone on being safe here in Atlanta,” Wainwright said. “A lot of it is very practical: which areas to go to, which areas not to go to.”

College junior John Culnan, currently studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain, wrote in an e-mail to the Wheel that he feels students are generally capable of taking responsibility for themselves and their actions and to act with prudence.

“If we sense danger in a situation, we should make sure we take appropriate steps to ensure our safety,” he said. “That’s a given regardless of the conditions.”

But Wainwright also acknowledged that CIPA addresses possible issues at pre-departure orientation regarding political unrest or natural disasters and emphasize what sources to rely upon if they are caught such a situation, as well as how to acquire assistance, communicate with the program on site, and if necessary, come back to Emory.

A few students facing such situations in recent months, not all of whom were undergraduate students in CIPA programs, have had to ensure their own safety and security due to the political unrest in Egypt.

Clare Fitzgerald, a PhD. student studying ancient Egyptian Art History who is currently completing a fellowship, wrote in an e-mail that she was supposed to remain in Egypt until October 2011. She has been there since this past September and evacuated back to Atlanta in the beginning of February.

“[I’m] waiting to see when I can go back,” Fitzgerald wrote, adding she was not in Egypt as part of an Emory-administered program.

Cummins, whose plans were also cut short, explained that it was “every man for themselves to get out of the country.” She wrote that when she decided to evacuate Egypt and eventually arrived at the airport, she was unable to reach the terminal she originally planned on going through.

“Thousands of people were crowding the first security checkpoint into the terminal, and fights were breaking out,” she wrote. “Police did not appear to be letting anyone in.”

However, a friend also studying in Egypt called her from a more mellow private plane terminal where the American Embassy had put her friend on a flight to Istanbul.

At first, she was unsure of whether she was going to be on the same flight as her friend, as the American Embassy placed those evacuating on flights to Cyprus and Athens as well.

“When I had left my apartment that morning, I had no idea if I would make it out of the country that day, so it was really quite amazing that things worked out,” Cummins wrote.

But students were not the only ones with itinerary changes. Faculty member Peter Lacovara, senior curator of ancient Egyptian, Nubian and Near Eastern Art at Emory, was in Egypt when the uprisings started in late January, and although he was not in Cairo, he said his trip was also disrupted by the protests there.

“I had plans to go to other areas of Egypt and possibly other places in the Middle East,” he said.

Lacovara was in Abydos, Egypt — located approximately 700 miles south of Cairo — when the protests began, on an excavation for material from an old kingdom’s tomb, a trip sponsored by the University of Michigan in conjunction with the Carlos Museum. Students and faculty from both Michigan and New York University were also on the trip.

Lacovara said even though Abydos was “pretty safe,” faculty still cut the trip short due to concerns of student safety in the country.

“Their faculty wanted to get them out, but we were in no immediate danger,” Lacovara said.

Lacovara had plans to continue his travels in Luxor, Egypt, but was unable to do so. Still, he explained, Emory staff did show concern for his safety.

“They e-mailed me when they could … but it was hard to get through because communication was cut by the government,” he said.

Cummins noted there were no security measures in place for her, so she stayed in her apartment most of the time before leaving Egypt.

With the safety issues in Egypt, Wainwright said he is unsure of whether the Egypt CIPA program will take place this fall.

He explained that CIPA continues to monitor the situation through State Department travel warnings and alerts and risk assessment from International SOS, an organization devoted to ensuring security and health safety during travel.

“We are proceeding with the applications of the students who want to study [in Egypt],” Wainwright said. “But we are working with them to develop some alternatives, looking to alternate destinations or a different time frame to travel there.”

College sophomore Christiana Ponder said that she postponed her fall 2011 travel plans to Egypt partially due to security concerns.

Ponder was initially planning on studying in Egypt this fall, but due to the violence in combination with the fact that she plans to be abroad for the entire year, she is now applying to travel to Europe for fall 2011 and Egypt in the following spring.

Although there were recently some uprisings in Morocco, College sophomore Deborah Schlein, who plans to study there this summer, said protests in the area have been calmer than those in other regions.

Despite some conflict, Schlein and several other students will still be going to abroad.

“I still want to go because I think this program is a great opportunity to improve on all my Arabic skills, and attaining fluency in this language is very important to me,” Schlein said.

Wainwright acknowledged that despite conflicts overseas, many students, like Schlein, both in the past and present, want to study abroad to pursue their academic goals.

“There are many things that can be accomplished by studying abroad in a particular location,” Wainwright said. “If it’s possible to support a student who wants to study abroad to advance their educational goals, we’ll do it, but not if it’s dangerous. And that’s really the conversation that’s going on now.”

Wainwright said that as a result of political and social unrest overseas, Emory has canceled programs in the past, including past programs in India, Israel, Kenya and Mexico over the past decade due to health-related issues, unrest or war.

“If we feel like there are particular places abroad that are not safe for students, we make different plans to make sure students are safe,” said Dana Tottenham, CIPA associate director and study abroad advisor for Spain programs.

While students and faculty in the Middle East have seen political unrest up close, another event has also raised safety and security concerns about students and CIPA staff: the death of 22-year-old San Diego State University (SDSU) student Austin Bice, whose body was found in the Manzanares River in Madrid on Mar. 8. Bice, who was found intoxicated, had left a nightclub by himself, though the precise cause of his death remains unknown.

Culnan wrote that initially, the death had not been talked about much. However, a week after the death occurred, the program director brought up the incident at a meeting with all of the study abroad students on the program.

“She recommended we register with the U.S. Embassy, and unsurprisingly, advised us to always be responsible, especially about alcohol consumption,” Culnan wrote.

Valerie Molyneaux, director of BBA International Programs for the Goizueta Business School, with one of these programs located in Madrid, said “it is natural for educators at all universities to re-double efforts to make sure students are as safe as possible.”

B-School junior Carli Simkin, currently studying abroad in Barcelona, wrote in an e-mail to the Wheel that many students have been affected by the death of Bice, not only because it is a “true tragedy,” she wrote, but also because many of her peers have begun taking extra precautions to stay safe in Spain. She said many of her friends have taken vows to always travel in groups at night.

Recently, Simkin witnessed a student leaving for home after dark.

“Rather than let her walk home alone or pay for an expensive taxi by herself, several of her friends insisted that they each pitch in a Euro or two so that she could take a taxi home without having to worry about not having enough money to pay for it,” Simkin said.

Tottenham said Emory is saddened by the news of the student’s death and that the health and safety of Emory’s students studying abroad is one of CIPA’s top priorities. She noted that students traveling to Spain undergo the typical pre-departure and on-site safety orientations, but also that CIPA stays alert for incidents that happen abroad so they can monitor the situation to ensure student safety.

Although she has not received any specific inquiries from students or parents regarding the incident, she said she will likely mention the student’s death in next semester’s pre-departure orientation.

“Because this particular student was leaving late at night, it’s something we would mention to our students,” she said. “Making sure you’re not alone at night, making sure you have a safe way to get home — those are really important.”

Although Cummins had to resign from her job in Egypt, she wrote she is now pursuing her studies full-time.

“I left for more reasons than just the protests,” Cummins wrote. “But since the project was a government project, I felt there was even less financial security in the job now.”

Tottenham said that as unexpected conflicts occur overseas, the University stays in tune with what is happening, making decisions based on the information it acquires.

“If we feel like there are particular places that are not safe for students, we encourage them to make different plans to make sure the students are safe,” she said. “The world is a very dynamic place, and we are constantly abreast of what is happening.”

The University’s response to the disaster will include leading fundraising efforts, lending support to universities in Japan and soliciting student suggestions for innovative ways to provide assistance, Simmons wrote.

“This is consistent with the approach we took after Katrina,” Simmons wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. “The community is invited to help devise approaches that are uniquely representative of Brown.” She added that the fund will come from University resources as a way to generate donations.

The Japanese Cultural Association will also throw a relief concert to raise money this Sunday, which will feature student performers, a capella groups and the Brown Jazz Band. Simmons will match the donations if the event raises at least $2,000, said Rie Yamamato ’12, one of the association’s co-presidents.

“The tragic aftermath of the earthquake in Japan demands that the University respond in a concerted and careful way with humanitarian assistance,” Simmons wrote in the e-mail.

Students participating in study abroad programs in Japan this semester may have to find alternative plans.

The study abroad program at the Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies will be halted by next week, wrote Helen Diagama ’12, one of three Brown students participating in the program, in an e-mail to The Herald. The program is currently examining different options available to the students and should be able to provide more information shortly, Bergeron wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. Though Kyoto was not directly impacted by the earthquake and tsunami, the state department began issuing warnings encouraging the evacuation of Americans from Japan yesterday. “The state department strongly urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Japan at this time and those in Japan should consider departing,” the travel warning read.

“This is very sad for us, since we do feel safe and don’t want to leave, so most students are protesting,” Diagama wrote.

Jack Boeglin’12, who planned to study at Keio University in Tokyo, said he has not received additional information since first learning that orientation for his program would be delayed until April 4. “Local and international authorities continue to state how difficult it is to gauge the level of risk accurately,” Bergeron wrote in the e-mail. “We continue to monitor the situation closely, consult with our partners and peer institutions, consider the best options and communicate with the affected students and families.  We expect to have more news by this weekend.”

Yamamato said the association has been in touch with both undergraduates and graduate Japanese students who have family in Tokyo. Yamamato said her friends have described the situation as reminiscent of “wartime,” as Japanese citizens are being forced to ration food and water and planned power outages are blanketing the city in an effort to conserve energy.

“The whole nation right now is uncertain,” Yamamato said. Everyone is now asking “how safe is it to be in Japan?”

There is a website dedicated to helping these travelers plan their vacation by introducing them to other travelers headed to the same place. Vacation Relation is a website that answers a simple question: Who will be at your vacation?

Vacation Relation is designed to help travelers know who will be in the area that they are traveling to. Its tagline reads “Socialize your vacation.”

It allows travelers to search their upcoming destination and time frame in a database to introduce them to people around the globe that will be there at the same time, according to the website.

“It could be really helpful, especially going to a place you have never been to,” said Jordan Nelson, a sophomore broadcasting major.

Nelson said the idea of Vacation Relation is interesting.

“I personally would only use it if I was traveling internationally,” she said. “I feel that it would be a time in which you would want to know people.”

The benefit of the website for students is that it allows travelers to do vacation planning and socializing all from the convenience of a Facebook page. The website makes the point that making another travel community is unnecessary when it can all be associated with your Facebook account. Vacation Relation gives travelers the opportunity to find others that are vacationing with them, according to the website. She said having Vacation Relation go through Facebook is a convenient way of using other forms of social networking.

“You don’t have to worry about another thing and having it on Facebook makes it more accessible,” Nelson said.

According to the Vacation Relation website, the way a person gets started is by going to the website and entering in the information needed such as where you are going and during what time frame. This information will be placed into the site and a list of others who have entered similar information will be brought up.

The only way to enjoy the total functions of Vacation Relation is to join a vacation listed on the website.

“I think that Vacation Relation could be nice, but it depends on the purpose people use it for,” said Cecil Meeusen, a graduate student with the Survey Research and Methodology Program.

Meeusen will be traveling over spring break and said she would personally not be using it. Her reasoning was if she were going for a few days to a new city, she would want to see the city and spend less time socializing, she said.

The only downside that both Nelson and Meeusen brought up was how safe it is.

“You never know what kind of people will contribute to the site,” Meeusen said. “You can be vulnerable if you are alone and the application could be misused.”

Nelson said with any website that people use, the responsibility is in their hands.

We know that, however painfully, Japan will rebuild from this horrible tragedy. But that such wreckage can happen in such a rich country is appalling and still somehow shocking. As the international community sends its prayers and turns its attention to the people of Japan, we wanted to readdress the aftermath of a disaster in a country whose economy, political institutions and infrastructure are far more vulnerable: Haiti.

Over a year has gone by since an earthquake hit Haiti in January 2010, and the nation remains in shambles. While Japan ranks third in the world in gross domestic product, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, exacerbating an already difficult situation.

Over one million people in Haiti are still displaced and live under tents as their only means of shelter. While aid from the international community was vital in the initial relief period, Haiti has yet to make significant inroads in its long-term recovery. Last October, the country experienced an outbreak of cholera, likely caused by problems in hygienic infrastructure and water supply. Further, allegations of fraud and vote-tampering marred December’s presidential elections. Protests around the country against the elections turned violent and produced many casualties.

The University responded promptly and decisively to the destruction in Haiti. Just a week after the earthquake, it formed the Brown Haiti Crisis Response Committee that encouraged donations — including a union with Partners in Health — scholarly lectures and disaster relief. Last March, student groups on campus raised $25,000 for Haiti relief. This past fall, Brown committed to increasing “educational partnerships” with groups in Haiti and started the Brown-Haiti Medical Exchange and the Brown Haitian Studies Initiatives.

With another crisis now present, and with all of the commitments the University has made, it is natural to pat ourselves on the back and direct our gaze elsewhere. But Haiti was poor even before the earthquake. We urge University officials to continue to sustain and increase our partnership with the agencies and people of Haiti.

Japan, just like Haiti, will need a long-term recovery plan after the initial relief. Just two weeks after the Haitian earthquake, CNN reported that donations had decreased over 50 percent, and recovery workers noted that “after the initial response, care from outside Haiti has markedly decreased.” It will take an extremely long time to rebuild infrastructure in both Haiti and Japan, and thus our community must make a long-term commitment to both.

Ultimately, Brown students continue to devote their energy, time and money to the many international disasters that have occurred in the past decade. The Brown Disaster Relief Group has organized a spring break service trip to Tennessee to work in the aftermath of the storm and flood there last year. Countless Brown students have worked with Habitat for Humanity and other groups to help the Gulf Coast years after Hurricane Katrina. We hope that as the Brown community looks East and offers support to Japan and its people, it will still remember that there is much, much more to be done in Haiti as well.

It is nearly impossible for young adults from the United States to understand what it means to not have access to books. We have never truly had to hide our books away for fear of political prosecution; or worse, experience getting caught reading with a flashlight at night or hiding a book in our desk during class. We cannot imagine going into a Borders or a Barnes and Noble and seeing only government-approved books and magazines, and I know we wouldn’t want to.

Many of the books that were previously banned or criticized in the United States are now glorified. The American Library Association sponsors Banned Book week in the last week of September and this year the NCSU Libraries and the Society for Collegiate Journalists rounded up students and administrators to read excerpts from some of them. Chancellor Woodson read a part from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, and Coach Elliott Avent read Gone with the Wind. Many of these books are also assigned reading in high school meant to make us think, as well as to reflect on a time when the ideas were contrary to thinking in society. Tunisia and Egypt can now experience a renaissance in ideas and thinking.

As free citizens, we can relate and relish with the Egyptian and Tunisian citizens that the ideas and stories from decades ago are now free to flow in these countries. Books are an accessible way of spreading knowledge and ideas, and setting the tone of society. According to Time, La Regente de Carthage by Nicolas Beau and Catherine Graciet, a book which outlined the corruption of now former Tunisian first lady Leila Ben Ali’s family, was promptly banned there when it was published in 2009. Since the outing of the regimes, the book and many others are now reappearing in bookstores in Egypt and Tunisia for sale, which can help these societies reestablish their identity.

Thomas Jefferson, known for his love of books, said, “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” From our early days as a country we believed this. Freedom of the press is guaranteed in the First Amendment, and has protected our right to freely write and disseminate information from the government since the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791. This freedom is now a reality for Tunisia and Egypt. These countries can start enjoying again the freedom that reading and writing give a society.

The video has faced a myriad of criticism, prompting UCLA Chancellor Gene Block to release a video message openly criticizing Wallace’s YouTube post.

The original video, titled “Asians in the Library,” was posted by Alexandra Wallace, a junior majoring in political science at UCLA.

Wallace said Asian students talking on their phones lack manners and she blamed them for distracting her from her work.

“In America we do not talk on our cell phones in the library…when I’m about to, like, reach an epiphany, over here from somewhere, ‘Oh, ching chong ling long ting tong? Oh,’ ” Wallace said in the video.

Block said in his video response that Wallace’s YouTube post has “caused a lot of pain.”

“This has been a sad day for UCLA and a disappointing day for me personally,” Block said. “The UCLA described in the video is not the University that I know.”

Since releasing the YouTube video, Wallace has apologized.

“Clearly the original video posted by me was inappropriate,” Wallace said. “I cannot explain what possessed me to approach the subject as I did, and if I could undo it, I would.”

The death toll for the tsunami and earthquake in Japan, which occurred on March 11, is currently 6,000, but continues to rise.

“My train nearly derailed in Chiba Prefecture, which is about 200 miles from Sendai, the epicenter,” he said in an e-mail.

In the days following the onset of an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and ensuing catastrophic tsunami that hit the east coast of Japan last Friday, UC officials are working to ensure the safety of faculty like Williams – who was able to return to Berkeley this past weekend – as well as the potential relocation of students that are currently abroad.

According to a UC Office of the President statement released Friday, the UC has identified some 32 faculty, staff and researchers who were in Japan as well as about 80 students in the UC Education Abroad Program.

Mary McMahon, the UC Education Abroad Program regional director, said the students in Japan have been accounted for and are safe. A subsequent UCOP statement released Monday stated that the faculty, staff and researchers are also safe.

Another group of students was scheduled to begin their spring term in Japan on April 1. From this group, UC Berkeley sophomore Alex Hendricks said he is now unsure as to whether he will be able to depart.

“Basically, no decision by the university has been made either way as to whether I’ll even be allowed to go to Japan if I wanted to,” he said in an e-mail. “And at this point I’m vacillating between whether I’d even want to go if given the opportunity.”

McMahon said most programs will be moving forward, while those universities that have been affected – namely those in northern Japan – will either offer students the opportunity to study at another university in Japan or in another country. McMahon declined to name which universities had been affected.

Because universities were on spring break, most UC students abroad were relatively unaffected by the event and were either traveling in other parts of Europe and Asia or were at home with their families, said McMahon.

However, she added that roughly 15 students will be relocated to the UC Tokyo Study Center, where housing has been arranged to accommodate those that were residing in affected areas.

“Our first 48 hours were finding students, making sure they were safe and then relocating any that may be in a danger zone,” she said. “We are now turning our attention to try to look forward and see what can go on as normal and what we might need to adjust.”

UC spokesperson Lynn Tierney said issues affecting the entire country, such as a lack of water, limited housing and rolling blackouts, will also affect students, especially if they do not have constant power sources.

UC Berkeley graduate student Bart Watson was in Fuji City – about 84 miles southwest of Tokyo – for an Ultimate Frisbee tournament when the earthquake hit and said that travel following the tsunami was difficult because the country’s electric trains had stopped running due to the blackouts.

“We didn’t get much of the tsunami, luckily,” Watson said. “We stayed there for another day because no trains were running and eventually made it back to Tokyo … I saw panic behind. People were buying bread and water and there were super long gas lines.”

He said after traveling to Tokyo by car, he was able to return to Berkeley on Monday. Though there was little structural damage in Tokyo, there were aftershocks from the earthquake about once every hour, he said.

“We could still feel the earthquake (in Fuji City) pretty strongly and it was definitely the strongest I’ve ever felt,” he said.

Tierney said now that the UC has located all students, they are continuing to make plans to move forward.

“Our position is to try to … make sure they’re safe, make sure we get them to a safe place and then make decisions about continuing their education,” she said.

I have met people from Egypt and Australia, and it makes my heart feel heavy when I hear of disasters in far away places like that, but it’s different when you know somebody from there, I mean really know them. It’s different, for example, when I read about the casualties of American soldiers in the Middle East because I have friends who are soldiers. It’s different whenever something happens in Germany because I have family there.

For this reason, when I heard about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, my heart stopped and I immediately sent a text message to Yosuke Michishita, one of my line artists, hoping his family was OK. Fortunately, they are, but the question on my mind at the time still haunts me: If they’re not, what do I say to him?

I can’t fathom what an earthquake or a tsunami must be like. The videos on the news and online don’t do them any justice. I have seen tornadoes here in Kansas. I was living in Ft. Stewart, Georgia, when hurricane Hugo crept up to the East Coast in 1989 and nobody was sure if it would hit us or swing northward and hit the Carolinas, instead. I remember taping up the windows and wondering if the roof would blow away, but not really feeling it because I was too young to grasp the enormity of the situation.

Storms, however, give people time to prepare while earthquakes come without warning. The June 2008 tornado that ripped through our community left no one dead, but I’m sure it scared more than just the people around here. There were probably people on the other side of the world worrying about someone they cared about here, powerless to do anything about it but wait for contact. And we have a little baby fault line of our own that caused a 5.1-magnitude trembler right here in Manhattan in 1867. It could happen again. Worst case scenario, the dam could rupture and flood our town. The chances are slim, but it could happen to us.

Empathy hurts, but it’s necessary. If we can recognize our own fears and remember our own painful experiences, then we can identify with those who are experiencing their own fear or pain, regardless of whether we know them or not, or think we don’t have anything in common with them. I encourage everyone to look within themselves and remember a time they experienced something bad or scary or tragic and were helped by somebody else. It’s your time to help now. Whether you know anyone from Japan or not, you can help. You can give water, food, blankets or money, even if it’s just $1. You can donate through organizations like the American Red Cross, GlobalGiving or the Salvation Army. Or you can donate through the Japanese Student Association here at K-State by contacting JSA president Shohei Sato at shohei@ksu.edu

Helping somebody you don’t know in a country on the other side of the world is difficult, because it feels impersonal. You will never see the face of the person you help, but they will remember it forever.

Global distribution systems (GDS) are worldwide computerized reservation networks used by online agencies to reserve a variety of travel means and amenities, such as airline seats, hotel rooms, or rental cars. These networks compile information from numerous information and then aggregate it on websites such as Expedia, Orbitz, and Priceline.

The end result is one of greater consumer convenience, as they are able to compare and contrast prices on a single webpage instead of having to pull prices from various different websites.

While the one-stop-shopping created by these global distribution systems provides a clear benefit for consumers, airlines recently have begun to express grievances with the extra fees required to use the distribution systems. The fees had always been an area of dispute, but no real conflict had ever arisen from them until American Airlines decided to remove its flight listings from all online travel agencies.

In December 2010, American Airlines, an industry leader, announced its intention to remove its flight listings from all online travel agencies by mid-year 2011. This announcement was American’s first bold step towards trying to steer more reservations to be booked through its direct connect reservation system.

American claims that its direct connect system will help provide passengers with a more personalized flying experience by offering benefits to travelers based on their history of preferences (e.g. more leg room or lower fees for checking baggage). However, there are clear financial motives for the switch to direct connect – namely the opportunity to avoid global distribution fees.

The announcement by American induced an ugly lawsuit between the airline and Travelport, a leading global distribution systems provider. As a result of the lawsuit, Travelport hopes to regain lost booking fee revenues, as well as other damages that American has allegedly inflicted on Travelport’s business operations.

Travelport is not the only company to lash out against American’s rebellious actions. After American pulled all of its flight listings from Orbitz.com in December, Expedia countered by adjusting its global distribution in such a way that made American Airlines flights extremely difficult to find on their website. After only about a week, Expedia dropped American’s listings from its databases altogether.

As the battle between airlines and online agencies continues, travel agents are steadily becoming more alarmed in regard to the future prospects of their business. Airlines had been expressing their discontent with paying third party fees for several years, but before 2010 no company had been bold enough to make a move like the one made by AA. Should more companies follow in American’s footsteps, the future of online travel agencies could be very bleak.

The most alarming aspect of the current American Airlines dispute is the future consequences that will be absorbed by consumers.

Though American claims that its direct connect system has been organized and implemented with the best interest of the consumer in mind, in reality it seems to just be a way of generating higher profits and reducing transparency for potential customers. Online travel agencies provide consumers with convenience, an essential aspect of their shopping experience.

The airlines’ separation from these agencies would just make it more difficult for consumers to compare prices and choose the best deal. If big airlines begin to mimic American’s course of action, consumers will certainly suffer along with online travel agencies.

No country is deserving of natural disasters, and Japan is no exception. Remarks that claim that Japan deserved this tragedy, or that its people should be dealing with the issues themselves, are unacceptable and inhumane.

That being said, one of the issues that have arisen is that of nuclear power plants. Anti-nuclear power proponents have pointed to what has happened to certain plants in Japan as indications for eliminating nuclear power.

Damage to several nuclear reactors in the area have led to fears of nuclear exposure, as well as a loss of power. As of Monday, three reactors in a particular plant have been unable to cool down, and another two reactors had their containment buildings destroyed. An additional reactor had its fuel rods fully exposed briefly as well. Currently, if the reactors’ containers continue to overheat, there is the possibility of a meltdown, and consequently, a release of radioactive material.

Additionally, explosions that occurred on Saturday and Monday led to criticism about the nuclear energy industry. Government officials have ordered evacuation when necessary, and according to Murray Jennex, a nuclear expert at San Diego State University, “Everything I’ve seen says that the containment structure is operating as it’s designed to operate. It’s keeping the radiation in and it’s holding everything in, which is the good news.”

Nonetheless, 11 of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors, which together accounts for 30 percent of Japan’s electricity, have been shut down. This has led to other countries, such as Switzerland and Germany, to reconsider their own usage of nuclear power.

Nuclear energy, regardless of one’s position on its viability and safety, already exists. Now is not the time to be pointing fingers or wringing hands, but rather to seriously assess the safety standards of nuclear energy. It appears that Japanese officials were careful in preparing their plants for natural disasters and took the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their people. The issue at hand, then, should be for the United States and other countries around the world to check on the status of their own nuclear power plants, making sure that if they are ever faced with a similar situation, that they can properly deal with the aftermath.

Mark Salisbury, director of Institutional Research and Assessment at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., is the head author of a paper published this month that pertains to the growing gap between white and minority students studying abroad.

According to Salisbury, the paper is part of ongoing research in the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, a group that checks on higher education promises to students.

“Higher education diversity is increasing, but the diversity in study abroad programs is at a dramatically slower rate,” Salisbury said.

Harald Leder, LSU director of Academic Programs Abroad, said he does see a difference in the number of white students who study abroad compared to minority students.

“It depends on how you define minorities. African-American students are very few [in the program]. Different minorities constitute a larger amount,” Leder said.

Leder said some of the more common minorities in study abroad programs are Asians and Hispanics.

Salisbury found the dominant marketing technique of study abroad programs nationally is stressing the importance of gaining a deep cross-cultural experience.

“White students who think that obtaining a cross-cultural experience in college is important are highly likely to study abroad. African-American students who think the same thing are not any more or less likely to study abroad,” Salisbury said.

The data gathered by Salisbury and his team revealed studying abroad appeals to white students more because of the emphasis on acquiring a cross-cultural experience outside the national borders.

“Telling an African-American student you have to go across the planet to get a cross-cultural experience is like telling a native of Louisiana to go to New York City to get a good gumbo,” Salisbury said.

Salisbury’s conclusions from the research suggest adjusting the marketing techniques to reach the minority audience.

Leder said research shows minorities are in programs that are not conducive to studying abroad, like science and engineering majors.

“The rarest of all [students studying abroad] is a male African-American engineering student,” Leder said.

Katrice Albert, LSU vice provost of Equity, Diversity and Community Outreach, acknowledged in an e-mail that minority participation in the University’s study abroad programs is low compared to their white counterparts, but she encourages all students to participate as a critical part of student development.

“Many students of color may be discouraged from studying abroad because of the costs associated with tuition, program fees and living expenses. Similarly, there may be fear and anxiety related to studying abroad,” Albert said in an e-mail.

Jonathan Daisy, an African-American business junior, said he would not feel comfortable studying abroad.

“I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving home and my family,” Daisy said. “I would feel out of place as a minority.”

Mike Wilson, an African-American anthropology alumnus, studied abroad in Sweden in 2003 and 2004 and is now affiliated with the Peercorps Network as an international project coordinator. Wilson said a possible reason why minority students do not study abroad is because of fear.

“There is a fear among some minority students, especially African-American students, that they will be met with racism that they cannot handle. They feel they are diving into a sea of whiteness, and they will stick out, and people will talk about them,” Wilson said.

Wilson said his study abroad experience benefitted him greatly.

“I thought that with a study abroad experience, I could potentially be a global citizen,” Wilson said. “It increased my confidence and my ability to interact with people of different backgrounds.”

Leder said he sees the importance of encouraging more minority students to study abroad, and he visits the African American Cultural Center to promote study abroad programs.

“We are aware that we need to reach out to those who are underrepresented,” Leder said.

The center’s weekly Friday coffee hour kicked off with a tinge of melancholy as Japanese exchange students sat with their eyes glued to breaking news reruns depicting houses, cars and bodies being swept away by a 23-foot wall of water.

Tears flowed freely, and students of many different nationalities offered hugs and words of consolation to one another.

Japanese Student Organization President Zachary Yamada somberly addressed the assembly, asking for a brief moment of silence to honor the dead and displaced.

“For about 30 seconds,” Yamada said, “I would like this room to focus on those who have lost their lives and those who continue to struggle.”

JSO members are currently developing community outreach and fundraising efforts to bring relief to their countrymen in the wake of such a momentous natural disaster, which had claimed the lives of more than 1,500 Japanese  as of Sunday afternoon.

Concerned students will begin tabling today in front of The Duck Store from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and will continue to collect donations and provide information along East 13th Avenue until Friday afternoon.

JSO has also set up a Facebook group called “University of Oregon Sendai Earthquake Relief” and a website at www.sendaiearthquakerelief.org to spread information, coordinate volunteers and collect donations.

Yamada said his organization’s first step in addressing the grave natural disaster is to inform and educate the University community, hoping to foster support and awareness for its coming relief efforts.

“A lot of people don’t realize the magnitude of this situation,” Yamada said. “We really need to make sure people know what is happening.”

As of Friday, JSO members were just beginning to brainstorm what route they will take to address the catastrophe.

“At this point, there are a lot of plans, but none of them are very developed,” Yamada said. “Right now we are just setting up ideas.”

At the meeting in the international center, Yamada invited anyone wishing to get involved with JSO’s burgeoning charitable endeavors into a back room to discuss logistics.

University political science major Saki Shibata attended the meeting out of a desire to help her country.

“My family is OK,” Shibata said. “I just worry about Japan. I want to do something.”

JSO will host a vigil this week, and is currently looking for speakers and presenters to talk about how the disaster has personally affected University members, their friends and their families.

The organization has asked anyone interested in sharing their experiences publicly to contact Kellen Wertz at wertz.kellen@gmail.com or Zachary Yamada at zyamada@uoregon.edu.

University spokesperson Julie Brown said various campus groups are working together to assist the 142 students and 11 faculty members and scholars who are Japanese citizens currently working and studying on campus.

“International Affairs is working directly with the Japanese Student Association to offer the Mills Center as a home base for students who may wish to watch the news and connect with other students and staff over this tragedy,” Brown said.

The school is reaching out to contact current students studying abroad in Japan, none of whom are in immediate danger.

“It’s a break between semesters, so nine UO students are still there or on their way back to the U.S.,” Brown said. “None of the UO programs are located near the epicenter of the earthquake.”

University President Richard Lariviere issued a brief statement Friday to those affected by last week’s calamity living both abroad and at home.

“On behalf of the University of Oregon, our hearts go out to everyone affected by the earthquake and tsunamis,” Lariviere wrote. “Events like this remind us how small the world is, and how much we value our family, friends and colleagues.”

Over 200 people were killed by the quake and hundreds more have been injured.

Chief government spokesman Yukio Edano said that the earthquake was the largest ever to hit Japan and it has already caused “enormous damage.”

According to MSNBC, there have been at least 90 fires reported, a train missing and the coast guard is searching for a ship that was carrying roughly 80 people.

Now, pressure is rising at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima after its cooling system failed.

Nearly 3,000 residents near the plant are being evacuated as pressure inside the reactor is approaching 1.5 times the normal level.

Shortly after the quake hit, a nuclear emergency was also declared at a nuclear power facility in Onagawa when a fire broke out at the plant.

This morning, President Barack Obama released a statement expressing his condolences for the people of Japan and saying that the U.S. “stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial.”

NYU vice president of student affairs Marc Wais said the university will be sending out e-mails offering support to students who list their permanent address as being either Japan or Hawaii.

Wais added that the university is monitoring the situation closely and given the current path of tsunamis may send letters to students with families on the West Coast later in the day.

‘NYU spokesman John Beckman said, “I am sure I speak for the entire NYU community when I express our sorrow at the events in Japan, and our deep sympathy for the Japanese people; the images of destruction are horrifying, and our thoughts are very much with people of Japan and all those who have suffered because of this natural disaster.”

Due to its sheer magnitude, the quake can now be categorized as a “mega-quake” and it is one of the largest recorded earthquakes in history.

Four million homes in Northern Japan are reported to have lost power  and there are also concerns over fires started in oil refineries in the area.

The largest quake ever recorded occurred in Chile in 1960, and was a magnitude of 9.5. The earthquake that occurred in Haiti last year was a 7.

MSNBC footage shows water and mud flooding into small towns, clearing boats and cars, as well as the image of an incredibly large boat overturned. All modes of transportation have been suspended, and reports say Sendai Airport was destroyed by the flooding.

NYU’s Stern school had planned an annual trip, “Japan Trek 2011″ in which Stern students would travel to the country, including to the city of Tokyo. It is currently unknown if that trip will proceed as scheduled.

A tsunami watch was put out for all of the Pacific, including the west coast of the United States and Hawaii. So far, no serious damage has been reported.

Gas prices have risen to more than $3.50 per gallon at some Iowa gas stations as political turmoil continues in countries such as Libya and Tunisia.

UI sophomore Jimmy Novak will travel to Daytona Beach, Fla. with 11 other friends in three cars after forgoing plane tickets because of last-minute plans. Novak estimates the group will spend roughly $400 per car on gas.

“It kind of sucks, but I want to go on this trip badly,” the 20-year-old said. “I’ll have to be careful with my money, and most of that is going toward gas, so I can just be there.”

On Monday, Iowa State Gas Prices reported an 11.8-cent increase per gallon in retail gasoline prices over the past week — which keeps it below the national average of 12.6 cents per gallon.

But experts said it’s still unusual for Iowa, which generally doesn’t see sharp spikes and tends to have lower gas prices this time of year.

Whether the increases will stop is difficult to say. Experts said it’s unlikely consumers will see any dramatic drops in the foreseeable future, and $3 per gallon will be the “new norm” for 2011.

“It’s virtually impossible to determine if it’s going to go up,” said Gail Weinholzer, a director of public affairs at AAA Minnesota/Iowa.

Black and White Cab company owner and driver Siham Elneil, 50, who sometimes stops at the pump more than twice a day, said the prices have taken their toll. The cost of gas cuts into drivers’ income, she said, but some customers have begun tipping a little more in sympathy.

Elneil said she also hesitates taking customers on longer routes because of the cost.

“This is really affecting what we bring home every day,” she said.

Weinholzer said Iowa gas prices currently average a $3.48 per gallon for regular. The state typically hovers around the national average, now at $3.51, she said.

Though political unrest in the Middle East over the past few months is a factor in increased gas prices, numerous UI professors said the direct effects aren’t apparent — at least not yet.

“You usually think price is affected by current supply, but supply from the Middle East hasn’t changed,” said UI political-science Professor Vicki Hesli. “But people expect the supply to change in the future, and that’s pushing up the price.”

Whether the increase will continue depends on whether unrest spreads to other countries in the region, especially large oil-producing countries.

Hesli said some fear if states such as Egypt, which has less oil than many of its neighbors, can be affected by the political unrest, the movement could spread to larger dictatorships such as Saudi Arabia, which is the world’s largest oil producers.

The present effects seen at local Iowa City gas stations are the result of a ripple effect, said UI urban and regional planning Professor John Fuller.

“The special thing about oil is we all buy gasoline — well, most of us do,” said Fuller, who is also on the economics faculty. “Oil prices are embedded in just about everything.”

The Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice sponsored the event. The center is an interdisciplinary organization that aims to encourage dialogue and scholarship at the intersection of activism and advocacy.

The event started with the screening of “Nostalgia de la Luz” — “Nostalgia for the Light” — a film by Chilean documentary filmmaker Patricio Guzmán, and was followed by a panel about human rights featuring law professor Zipporah Wiseman and assistant Spanish professor Luis Carcamo-Huechante.

A friend of Guzmán, Wiseman said the film was shot in the vast Atacama Desert and was featured in the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. It moves between women searching for the skeletons of those they loved who were murdered by the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and the huge astronomical observatory at the top of a mountain above them, where astronomers gaze into the cosmos.

“The film is an extraordinary work of art and advocacy,” Wiseman said. “Anyone who sees it can’t help but take away the women’s tragedy of losing family to a dictator and murder.”

Carcamo-Huechante, a Mapuche Indian from Chile, talked about the history of the Chilean dictatorship and gave a broader background of human rights in Chile, putting the issue into a larger context.

“I hope that attendees are moved by the film, either by its artistic expression or by its grave subject matter,” said Rapoport Human Rights scholar Stacy Cammarano. “This film is a great avenue for people with different academic backgrounds to think about enforced disappearance, the transition and recovery from human rights abuses and how those themes are portrayed in film.”

The screening is the first event by the newly-created Human Rights and the Arts Working Group, a mix of professors and graduate students from multiple departments who are working to bring arts to campus and have a human rights discussion.

“Art is so often used for human rights advocacy, or as a means of understanding and coping with traumatic events,” Cammarano said. “We chose this movie because it is a perfect example of the intersection of art and human rights.”

The event featured a 30-minute screening of the movie “Be Like Others,” an official selection of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival which explored the nuanced and complicated social phenomenon of sex reassignment surgery in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Iran, described by Grungras as a country fraught with strict and conservative social mores, is among the “most dangerous countries in world to be LBGT in terms of government persecution.”

Grungras traced the origins of the unusual permissibility of—and sometimes even the encouragement and subsidization of—sex-change operations in the otherwise conservative country to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. After the Iranian Revolution, Khomeini issued a religious edict to make sex reassignment surgery permissible for “diagnosed transsexuals,” giving rise to a generation of young Iranian men adopting transsexual identities, Grungras said.

“The government ideology is, if you are homosexual, you must have been born into the wrong body, so the only obstacle that remains is to change sex,” he said. “The complex situation in Iran includes social stigma, legislation, subsidies, and corruption that comes together tend to compel or force people who are lesbian and gay to have sex reassignment.”

The government position on sex-change surgeries can leave individuals who are transgender or choose not to opt for surgery in an uncomfortable situation, he added.

Emma Q. Wang ‘12, co-chair of Queer Students and Allies—which co-sponored the event along with the Harvard Undergraduate Legal Committee, Trans Task Force, and the Radcliffe Union of Students—said she plans to stay involved with ORAM, the first organization focusing exclusively on refugees fleeing from sexual and gender-based violence. She plans to write her thesis on LBGT individuals who have successfully sought asylum in the United States.

Wang, Samuel J. Bakkila ’11-’12, and Jia Hui Lee ‘12 worked at ORAM for two weeks over January Term at its headquarters in San Francisco, where they compiled country profiles and examined benefits for refugees in certain countries, such as housing stipends or subsidies for HIV treatment.

“I learned a lot about issues facing refugees,” Lee said. “It got me thinking about law school.”

“He controls everything in our lives,” she said. “He is not the kind of president that gives you the chance to lead a normal life with respect and ambition.” Nsir said she loves her country.

“I want my country to be free,” she said. “I want my people to be respected all over the world. I want them to be strong, to do whatever they want to do.” Since the uprising began, a number of people have died. BBC News stated 300 deaths are confirmed, though the casualties could be as high as 2,000. Nsir said she has trouble sleeping and studying out of fear her family could be harmed. Her husband and children are back home in Tripoli, the capital city where much of the fighting now takes place.

“Those mercenaries go in the streets sometimes and attack houses,” she said. “I have fear. I am worried all the time that my husband could be killed … Whenever I see those people who are killed in the streets, those are Libyan people. Those are my brothers and sisters and my kids. It’s very hard to see your people killed in the streets just because they raised their voice and want to be free.” Doctoral education student and Libyan citizen Talal Amara is from a city west of Tripoli. He said he hopes there will be no more bloodshed, but he believes Gaddafi will not give up so easily. He also said he wished the United States would not have waited so long to make a statement about the protests.

“The United States, specifically Barack Obama, could have stopped this bloodshed a long time ago,” he said. “They could have come out on the second day, because 200 people died in two days, they could have come out and said ‘You have to stop that.’ But they didn’t.” Amara said he wants WSU students to understand what is happening in Libya.

“I want them to understand the whole situation from the beginning,” he said. “It’s not just a matter of just watching the news. They need to watch the news and they need to see the people, the real people who have experienced this, their reactions and their stories. The stories I see in the media is not enough. It’s not covering the real story.”

“Thailand is a pedophile magnet and has become a destination of choice for people who prey on children,” said Joe Chongsiriwatana.

Most of the demand for sold children comes from tourists, including Americans, he said.

Chongsiriwatana, his wife Yumi, and their three children, 11-year-old Noah, 9-year-old Naomi and 6-year-old Emi, will move to Thailand by June to work in the ZOE Children’s Homes Ministry.

“We have an ordinary family and we just want to radically obey God,” Chongsiriwatana said.

A branch of ZOE International Ministries, ZOE Children’s Homes Ministry rescues sold or orphaned Thai children who are victimized in crime, abuse or prostitution slavery.

According to its mission statement, ZOE works to abolish child trafficking and provide Christian homes, academics, medical care and nutrition for these orphans.

Chongsiriwatana spoke to an H2O church service on Feb. 20 about his work with human trafficking. H2O is a christian church on campus that meets weekly.

Though he is an American citizen, Chongsiriwatana is from Thailand and can read and speak Thai. He said moving to Thailand with his family brings fear of the unknown.

Trying to learn ministry in a country outside of the U.S. comes with challenges because he worked as an engineer his entire adult life, Chongsiriwatana said.

“The transition from working in the U.S. to working in ministry in Thailand would be hard,” said Austin Crass, a third-year in consumer and family financial services who was at the service.

Before moving, Chongsiriwatana is trying to raise awareness of human trafficking in the United States.

“Americans know how to get things done,” Chongsiriwatana said. “When our support raising is complete, we will leave for Thailand.”

Crass agreed with Chongsiriwatana’s message about human trafficking.

“There’s a lot of need in the world and we need to get out of our comfort zone and provide service and support in a radical way,” Crass said.

Bringing Chongsiriwatana to speak at H20 exposed “OSU students to what God is doing overseas,” said David Luk, 26, a field staff member at Great Commission Ministries.

During his presentation, Chongsiriwatana clicked through a picture slide show portraying the human trafficking situation in Thailand.

Human trafficking “is a sensitive subject, so you don’t want to overwhelm people with the gravity,” said Kevin Cody, 19, an H20 small group director.

Chongsiriwatana lightened the mood when he said his wedding ceremony was held on the OSU campus. H20 attendees laughed when he displayed a large picture of his wedding day, taken at OSU, and said, “Top that!”

Chongsiriwatana’s audience was made up of about 500 OSU students and community members, who gathered in Hitchcock Hall, room 131.

Forty-five minutes following the H20 service, almost 100 people remained in the Hitchcock Hall lobby, conversing with each other and taking turns talking with Chongsiriwatana about his ministry.

About 15 people gave Chongsiriwatana their e-mail addresses, asking for further information about ZOE’s ministry and how they could contribute to its mission.

Chongsiriwatana’s three children were with him in the lobby, and he said their education would continue in Thailand, just as it has in the U.S.

“ZOE offers excellent schools at the missionaries and my children will attend school there,” Chongsiriwatana said.

GW has no plans to launch its own Cuban study abroad program, but students can petition to study with programs offered by other universities such as American University, Central Michigan University and Northern Michigan University.

Adam Frankel, freshman representative for the Organization of Latino American Students, said about 2,100 U.S. students studied in Cuba annually before restrictions were put in place by former President George W. Bush in 2003.

“It’s important that as we see, presumably within our lifetime and in the near future, a transition toward democracy in Cuba that Americans be informed and be in touch with Cuban culture so that we can engage and be supportive of whatever direction they may take,” Frankel said.

Professor Cynthia McClintock, director of Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs, went on a 2-week seminar with GW and American University students to Cuba over 30 years ago and said she sees Obama’s announcement as “good news.”

“I don’t think there’s really more risk [in Cuba] than any other country,” McClintock said. “In fact, Cuba tends to be a pretty safe country.”

Rudy Mayor, a senior and the founder of Students for Free Cuba, said the looser restrictions will not change the human rights abuses in Cuba and that the U.S. must do more to stop such abuses.

“It’s not something that would really create any positive change in Cuba because the change has to come from those in power,” Mayor said.

Since 1961, the Peace Corps has sent more than 200,000 volunteers to 139 countries to spread peace and friendship. IU ranks 23rd among large colleges and universities for producing the most current Peace Corps volunteers, according to an annual rankings press release. These Hoosiers are part of the IU Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, a group focused on promoting the third goal of the Peace Corps: to strengthen Americans’ understanding about the world and its people.

Abbie Hantgan
Mali, West Africa
January 1998 through June 2001
Ph.D candidate in African linguistics

Abbie Hantgan intended to spend the normal two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, West Africa, but ended up extending her stay for a total of three-and-a-half years.
“After two years, I finally had learned the language and the culture. I finally learned how to live there, so why leave?” she said.

After graduating from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina in 1996, Hantgan began to research programs and decided on the Peace Corps for a variety of reasons.

“I went to Cameroon in college for a service project and wanted to go back. I was looking for a program that had some financial support, and I was also thinking about health care,” she said. “I had a little knowledge of French, so West Africa was a great fit.”

Hantgan spent her time in the village of Koira Beirier teaching a women’s group to read and write.

“I worked with a literacy instructor and an organization called the Near East Foundation to teach the women’s collective to read and write in a Dogon language, but there are about 18 Dogon languages,” she said. “While they learned Najamba, which they do speak, their own language is Kindige.”

Literacy materials are now being made for the teaching of Kindige, she said.

Hantgan has returned to West Africa three times since her time with Peace Corps.
She spent summer 2008 and summer 2009 in West Africa and recently returned from a six-month stint there. Each time, she has continued teaching literacy.

“I began also working on another thought-to-be Dogon language, Bangime, which turns out to be completely unrelated, though the people live among the Dogon.”

Hantgan is currently a Ph.D. candidate at IU in African linguistics and said she hopes to complete her dissertation by next May.

“I just got back from doing this research and have been wanting to spread the word,” she said.

Shan Weatherbee
Kachiry, Kazakhstan
June 2004 through July 2006

Shan Weatherbee spent his two Peace Corps years as a volunteer on the edge of southern Siberia in the village of Kachiry, Kazakhstan, teaching English to primary and secondary school students.

He said learning the native language and communicating was probably the hardest part, as it probably is for most volunteers.

“I didn’t know the language or culture, so communication was pretty hard, but you get a hold of it after about six months or the first year,” he said.

Weatherbee spent his first year living with a host family but lived on his own the second year in the back rooms of a house that was shared by a woman and her son who lived in the front.

“It was a little better to be living on my own just because it gave me more independence,” he said.

While on his own, Weatherbee had to keep his rooms warm by buying coal and wood.
“It was a pretty life-changing experience,” he said. “Living in a different country and seeing what problems people have to deal with that we take for granted, like the coal for keeping warm. The whole experience was great and a real eye-opener.”

Kate Slavens
Mali, West Africa
July 2007 through July 2009
Master’s student in SPEA

After finishing her undergraduate studies and graduating in May 2007, Kate Slavens said she decided to spend two years in Mali, West Africa, in the village of Senossa with a population of about 3,500.

Slavens focused on general health and sanitation there by holding workshops and presentations for the community.

“We did weekly baby weigh-ins and also did demonstrations for mothers about how to make a more nutritious and substantive porridge,” she said.

Slavens said she had always thought about being a Peace Corps volunteer.
“I’ve always been interested in new countries, new cultures and new languages,” she said.

While Slavens majored in French at University of Evansville, a prominently spoken language in West Africa, as an undergraduate, she still had to deal with the language barrier of the local dialect, Fulani.

The first nine weeks of her stay were spent learning the language, Slavens said. Along with Fulani, the training also included health safety.

“There was a lot of training about safety when drinking water and how to cook,” she said. “There were also lots and lots of shots in preparation for the trip.”

Because the days mostly revolved around the sun, Slavens usually began her average routine at sunrise followed by breakfast while listening to BBC radio. After eating lunch with her host family, she would then visit schools or make follow-up visits in the afternoon.

While in Mali, Slavens stayed in regular contact with her family.
“The use of cell phones is growing exponentially, so I actually had a phone. My parents also got a Skype account, too,” she said. “There was also a lot of letter writing.”

Slavens is now at IU, pursuing a master’s in publics affairs with a concentration in nonprofit management.
“It was an amazing experience,” she said. “Everyone was so warm and friendly.”

The Libyan people demand the right, above all, to be treated as human beings. There is certainly pressure from global leaders for Qaddafi to take a bow and step down for good, and to see a somewhat cohesive stance on this is welcome and refreshing.

President Barack Obama commented on the situation in Libya, stating “The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters. These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop.”

President of France Nicolas Sarkozy says it is possible that the European Union would sever economic ties. The United Nations voted 15-0 in favor of a resolution that would place an arms embargo, asset freeze and travel bans on Qaddafi’s family and associates. “This resolution will be a signal (to) put an end to the fascist regime that is still in existence,” said Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalgham, Libyan ambassador to the UN.

But if anything could be said about Qaddafi, it is that he is as mad as he is stubborn. His second oldest son, Seif al-Islam, recently vowed that “his family would fight until the last bullet.” Regardless if this was just a wild boast, it is sadly in the realm of possibility.

Speculations from human rights groups and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon estimate that Qaddafi’s allied military and security forces have killed anywhere from 300 to 1,000 people during the uprising.

With hope, the killing may end sooner and somewhat smoother than expected. Intelligence says the rebel forces are gaining majority control and military and political defections are becoming more common.

Qaddafi has been considered a joke and a target for mockery for many years as he grabbed for esteem and support where it wasn’t deserved. But now, no one is laughing because the punch line has worn itself thin.

Some may call the situation in Libya a civil war, while others may say that it’s a revolution. But practically everyone worldwide would call a future without Qaddafi one to look forward to.

Law and urban planning graduate student Sherief Gaber flew straight into Cairo on Jan. 30 to join the protests in Tahrir Square before Mubarak stepped down from the Egyptian presidency. Gaber, who grew up in the United States but holds dual citizenship, booked a ticket to Egypt on Jan. 28.

The protests began on Jan. 25, when Egyptian citizens rallied for a democratic government. More than 300 Egyptian civilians were killed before Mubarak ceded power to the military on Feb. 11. Mubarak was in power for more than 30 years.

“I knew I was just going to be one in a million people there, but I thought on the one hand, my being there would be a way to communicate to people back here what was going on from the perspective of just one among many, not a journalist,” Gaber said.

On Feb. 2, Gaber used a metal barricade to protect other protesters in Tahrir Square. After stepping out from behind the barricade for a moment, he was hit in the face with a stone. He saw a flash of white before getting a nosebleed and losing vision briefly in his right eye, he said.

“There was this moment where the government kind of brought in a bunch of paid thugs with weapons to basically attack the square,” he said. “I was roped into protecting the people in the square. There was this feeling that if we did not stand there and stop them from coming in, they would have killed everybody in the square that night.”

Gaber said he hopes to return to Egypt as soon as possible to celebrate Mubarak’s resignation.

“It was amazing,” he said. “It was different every day. The situation was constantly changing, but overall it was the most exciting place I’ve ever been in. When you were there, when you were in the square, it was like a festival. But you weren’t there to see an artist or anything. You were there to participate with these other people.”

Egypt’s military is not as strong as many believe it to be because of desultory training, poor maintenance of equipment and dependence on American funding and logistical support, said government professor Clement Henry in an article he and Naval Postgraduate School professor Robert Springborg published in February. A civilian government similar to that of Tunisia would work for a country like Egypt because of the similar uprisings and military- and police-based governments, he wrote in the article.

“Since he has dual citizenship, [Gaber] was doing his civic duty,” Henry said.

The dissolving of the Egyptian government came as a shock, said undeclared communications freshman Katelyn Usher, who moved to Maadi, Egypt, in the eighth grade and attended high school there. Maadi is a suburb about 15 minutes south of Cairo.

In addition to news coverage, Usher received mobile updates on the situation from people in Cairo who had access to satellite phones after the Internet and phones were shut off by the government, she said. It a relief that the protesters got what they wanted, she said.

“My dad said they’re just so excited that they won,” she said. “They’re cleaning the streets and painting the trees with the flag colors and passing out stickers with ‘January 25.’ I would love to go there now and celebrate with the Egyptian people.”

Among the dead was one student at the University of Canterbury, where the two Cornell students were studying, according to Dr. Richard Gaulton, director of Cornell Abroad. The student was not killed on the university’s campus, he stated.

Gaulton said Cornell Abroad contacted the two students within a day of the earthquake and both are doing fine.

When the earthquake first hit, Taimur Alamgir ’12 was on the Canterbury campus, which suffered a power outage, Alamgir said in an e-mail.

“We initially didn’t think that the earthquake was as bad as it turned out to be as there was minimal damage to the University of Canterbury,” Alamgir wrote in the e-mail.

However, after friends that were off campus returned and shared their stories from around the city, the gravity of the event hit him, Alamgir said.

“The reality of the situation only hit us when a friend who lives with us returned from the downtown area,” Alamgir wrote. “She described traumatic scenes like the spire of Christchurch Cathedral falling on a bus and people trying to pull a severely injured man out of fallen rubble.”

Several large office towers collapsed, including the Pyne Gould building and the Canterbury Television headquarters, The Times reported. Cars, buses and people were crushed by the debris.

The University of Canterbury has suspended classes and Alamgir is now staying in a town outside the city.

“The situation here is dire, and my fellow study abroad students and I are not sure if the university will open at any time soon and if it will be possible to continue our semester,” Alamgir said. “Although my friends and I are currently staying at a very small town on Maori land, we are planning to return to Christchurch as soon as possible to volunteer in the relief effort.”

Gaulton said that he is keeping up with communications sent out by the University of Canterbury and will continue to monitor the situation in New Zealand. Gaulton added that he has attempted to communicate with the University of Canterbury, but has not yet received a reply.

“They’re trying to communicate with thousands of students and thousands in the community,” Gaulton said. “I don’t expect to be at the top of that list.”

According to Gaulton, Cornell has dealt with similar situations before, including the earthquake in Chile and the typhoons in Australia just before Cornell students were scheduled to arrive.

“Natural disasters can happen in many different places,” Gaulton said. “It’s not unheard of. Preparing and thinking about these situations is something that we have to do.”

While most Americans watched the protests in Cairo unfold on TV from the safety of their homes, one UW alumna was on the front lines during the clashes between police and protesters earlier this year.

Day felt both the ferocity and compassion of the protests: Police attacked, chased and gassed her during the ugliest days, but protesters tried to protect her and make sure she got to safety.

The following is a part of her story is from an interview with The Badger Herald.

Cairo by night

I start walking to Tahrir and I am going past these personnel carriers. Personnel carriers are common in Cairo. They look like train cars filled with people. They had a fleet of these personnel carriers leading up to Tahrir.

I am walking by and all these men are cat-calling me because it’s late at night and I’m a foreigner. I look over and I see that there are all these protesters gagged and cuffed inside these personnel carriers

I thought, “Oh, dear God.”

I started talking to the soldiers because they’re always up for talking to American girls. They start letting me take their picture and in the picture you can see people gagged and cuffed in the background.

Pepsi and Prayers on Anger Friday

A call to prayer went off and the Muslim men got down and were praying on this bridge that goes into Tahrir Square and the non-Muslim men went in front of them, as well as the women.

It was this moment that seemed to say, “Time-out.” These men and women stood between the police and these praying Muslim Egyptians on Friday, which is the Muslim day of prayer. So then, the call to prayer ends, the men stand up and it was like, “Time in.”

The police immediately start covering the entire area with tear gas. And when they shoot these canisters, it is a propelled shot.

A single protester would run up, grab the tear gas and throw it into the Nile or into the side of the street to get it away from the protesters.

Then somehow the protesters would run up and grab the protester and bring them back to safety and grab Pepsi, or some other kind of condiment in their eyes.

Pepsi was neutralizing the effect of the tear gas if you kept it in your eyes. There were all these crazy little tactics people had adapted as the week went on.

On encounters with the police

I was attacked by these police officers with clubs. They were hitting me with these clubs trying to hit my camera out of my hands. I was screaming and yelling. I ran off the bridge [to Tahrir Square] as another fleet of police walked on. It was unbelievable.

I get down into downtown Cairo and I am trying to get into Tahrir. Downtown Cairo: This is an area that probably had about 10 lanes of traffic.

This is a main part of Cairo. The Ramses-Hilton is right there. It’s just this central downtown area. It’s completely deserted. This is probably midnight, so this is unheard of in a city of 20 million people.

There’s smoke, there’s tear gas, you can hear sirens, you can hear gunshots from the bridge. There are groups of men roaming the streets with clubs. There are groups of police roaming the streets with batons.

It was just this eerie scene from an urban civil war.

No tweets, no status updates, no problem

Social media played an enormous role in organizing the initial protest.

However, the momentum of that initial protest was so contagious that by that evening it was all over the news that people had come home from work and come out.

The brutality escalated the entire situation. Not just social media, but Al Jazeera’s coverage, which was fantastic, really fueled this momentum. It was feeding into each other. People were getting more and more excited and losing their fear.

A New Egypt

I would love to go back to Egypt. Right now, Egyptians are calling on foreigners to come to Egypt. I have already seen advertisements for the “New Egypt.”

I am not uncomfortable going there.

I do not think Westerns should be uncomfortable going there. The protesters weren’t not about America’s involvement in Egypt. That was what I found to be most beautiful about it. I thought there would be more animosity towards America’s support of Mubarak, and certainly there was.

There was a kind of responsibility I saw from the protesters that was wonderful. They took responsibility for their own country’s corruption. They didn’t blame it on the U.S., which does play a role in the corruption.

I look like a sorority girl, and I would be comfortable going to Cairo next week.

The demonstration was put together by UK student Luebab Ahmed, a psychology and business sophomore, and his mother, Wafa Nashnoush, to show support to their relatives and other fellow Libyans.

“(This rally) was sparked from what’s going on there,” Ahmed said. “It’s difficult to sit back and know that you have family members that are just being slaughtered in the streets and I’m in the comforts of home … I wish I could go there right now, but I can’t.”

Ahmed said helping put on the protest was really close to his heart because of his father’s past actions and the current actions of his family in Libya.

“It means a whole lot to me because this situation isn’t something that has been new to me. It’s not something that we’re just now experiencing,” Ahmed said. “Specifically, in my past my father had taken action into his own hands when he was in college, and because of doing that he was imprisoned, tortured and then managed to escape. That’s when we immigrated to the United States.”

His mother, Nashnoush said she loves her home country of Libya, but did not realize Ahmed had the same feelings until recently.

“I was really proud of Luebab, I was sad that I had more feelings towards my home country, but Luebab proved to me that he has as much belonging and feeling as I have,” Nashnoush said.

With a crowd of around 80 people in attendance, Ahmed handed out signs for the attendees to hold, and spoke about the problems in Libya as well as getting rid of Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi. Many protestors brought the old Libyan flag to wear or wave around.

Mariam Addaret, a fellow protester began with a speech about why they were gathered today.

“We felt compelled to make a stand and give a voice to the Libyan people, since they don’t have one,” Addaret said. “For over 40 years, Muammar Gaddafi has consistently demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the right of Libyan citizens to live in peace and dignity. He has shown the world he wouldn’t bat an eyelash at killing the entire Libyan nation as long as he can keep his power. The people of Libya are paying the ultimate price for freedom, they are sacrificing their lives so that others can live with dignity.”

Suleiman Darrat, a professor of Islamic studies and a native of Libya, has been in the U.S. for about 26 years and said he feels that the protest gives those young people who have never been to their homeland a strong connection to their roots.

“Keep in mind that all these young people you see here are born and raised in Lexington, in Kentucky,” Darrat said. “Many of them never went home, could not go home because of their situations of their parents, but still their connections to the homeland of their parents is so strong that they feel that they want to bring to their homeland of their parents the same values that they want to enjoy here.”

Darrat led the group in singing the nation’s old national anthem “Libya, Libya, Libya.”
There also were Egyptian-Americans at the rally and others supporting the Libyan people in their fight for freedom.

“Luebab (Ahmed) came in and told us about all his family members who are still in Libya and it really made me cry,” Tyler Miller, an undecided freshman minoring in Arabic studies said. “It made me upset, so I wanted to be out here.”

Ahmed and others are spreading the word by contacting Libyans and posting videos and pictures on the Internet, so people can see what is happening inside Libya.

“Now that this is finally going on, I am saddened about all the lives that are being lost for no reason,” Ahmed said. “But I’m also so happy and so proud to see the old Libyan flag waving in the second largest city of Libya.”

The argument from the people of Bahrain seems to revolve around the same “pro-democracy and down with the current administration” rhetoric that has filled a few nations in the neighborhood recently. This outcry is not really surprising when you consider what the administration in Bahrain looks like.

According to the BBC, Bahrain’s King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah has been the all-powerful entity since 1999. He controls the parliament and elects members to the Upper House – including the prime minister, who has remained in power since 1971. All this is evidence enough that Bahrain is really a pseudo-democracy, which is not something that any population would choose to endure for too long.

While seemingly ripe for its own revolution, Bahrain and Egypt’s protests are far removed from each other.

Firstly, looking at the economics of the island nation, it is easy to rule out that economic development is the problem right now. The per capita GDP of Bahrain is $25,420, according to 2009 World Bank statistics, a figure comparable to many developed countries. On the other hand, per capita GDP of Egypt hovers around the $2,000 mark and 40 percent of Egyptians live on the poverty line, earning just $2 a day while Mubarak was raking in billions.

Secondly, the difference between toppling a single dictator in Egypt and a monarchy in power since 1783 in Bahrain, which has complete control over the administration, is vast. In Egypt’s case, the military was determined to protect the citizens from violent clashes with the Egyptian police. But being a monarchy, the Bahrain King sent out an absolute message to the people protesting in Pearl Square on Feb. 17 – go home or perish. Unlike Mubarak, he has the backing of the military.

Lastly, the crux of the uprising is deciphered by reading between the lines; an old religious rift which has time and again raised its rather inconvenient head. It revolves around the clash between the two Muslim sects – Shia and Sunni, which has gone on for a few hundred years. The majority of Bahrain’s population are Shiite who are ruled over by a minority Sunni regime – a fact which is reflected in Saudi Arabia’s soft spot toward Bahrain. The popular belief in the administration also seems to be that Iran is fueling the fervor on the streets of Bahrain. Of course, this notion stems from the fact that Iran has a Shia regime. It is speculation at its best.

Self-flagellation by the common person is hardly the answer to an administrative problem. Bahrain has been a prosperous nation for a while now. The absolute last thing it needs is a religious-based wound opening up for radical opportunists to take advantage of. The need of the hour is for both the people and regime of Bahrain to maintain peace and hopefully put an end to any further violent clashes. They need to take the lead and show the proper way forward for other nations to follow.

Liberty in North Korea UO, in association with the Multicultural Center, will use video games as a gateway for educating registered players about the humanitarian crisis in North Korea. LiNK UO is a student chapter of LiNK Global, a grassroots organization focused on spreading awareness through stories of North Korean refugees affected by starvation, imprisonment and human rights abuse. The partnership with the Multicultural Center plays an integral part of LiNK UO’s mission, assisting the chapter with a place for meetings as well as arranging its event locations.

“We try to be independent as much as we can,” said Luke Larsen, codirector of LiNK UO. “It’s really good to have a connection with the Multicultural Center.”

Currently, the ASUO does not fund LiNK UO, but Larsen said he hopes the consistency of planning fundraising events that go directly toward North Korean refugees can “turn into something more permanent.” The chapter has already hosted a number of benefits, ranging from documentary screenings to a music concert. For this particular benefit, Larsen introduced the real-time strategy game, popular in South Korea, as a friendly battle between avid gamers for a good cause.

“You’re not just playing video games,” Larsen said. “You’re helping people.”

University sophomore Adrian de Leon, coordinator for the University’s StarCraft II league within the Collegiate StarLeague, has encouraged many of his teammates to participate. de Leon says the opportunity for a StarCraft II local area network multiplayer competition has drawn “quite a bit of interest.”

“There’s a nice connection between StarCraft and Korea,” de Leon said. “As far as a StarCraft tournament, it really connects with the cause of LiNK.”

Students in Oregon State University’s StarCraft II league will be making the trip from Corvallis to Eugene to play in the tournament. Oregon State junior Charles Catino, president of the OSU Gaming Club, said the trip is for a combination of charity and competition.

“The reason people are going is because people want to play StarCraft,” Catino said. “(People) are willing to pay a few bucks to get in, and to help someone is a bonus.”

LiNK UO has already received donations and prizes from local shops Nostalgia Collectibles and Big City Gamin’. The chapter has also seen an increase of new people interested in their cause. With the cost of freeing a refugee approximately $2,500, Larsen hopes the chapter can reach this goal. So far, LiNK UO has collected about $1,800 from donators.

“These people are sitting in these places waiting for the money to come in.” Larsen said. “That is where the sort of urgency is for our fundraiser to demonstrate towards those people.”

Clarke, a junior majoring in Middle East studies and linguistics, arrived in Egypt on Jan. 19 to study abroad at the American University in Cairo. He had planned to study in Cairo for four months and had enrolled in Egyptian history, anthropology and Arabic language classes before evacuating the country Jan. 31 because of the protests and political unrest in Egypt.

The Egyptian revolution began Jan. 25, just six days after Clarke landed in Egypt. There were street demonstrations, marches, riots and labor strikes in Cairo and throughout the country. The protestors wanted to remove Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from office to bring an end to corruption, repression and reforms of the political system. Mubarak resigned Feb. 11.

Clarke was looking forward to experiencing Egyptian culture, but he is now taking the semester off before returning to USC in the fall.

“As a Middle East studies major, I was obviously looking for an overseas program in that area,” Clarke said. “The one located in Egypt seemed the most appealing to me because the history of that country is so interesting. Plus, Egypt is one of the more influential countries in the Arab region, both politically and culturally.”

Clarke was the only student from USC to attend the American University in Cairo for the spring 2011 semester, but was placed in a dormitory with other college students from universities across the United States. Clarke arrived Jan. 19 for orientation week, but did not understand the extent of the civil unrest in Egypt.

“Our orientation leaders and other people at the dorms were keeping us apprised of what was going around us,” he said. “We did have a television, so we were able to watch CNN and Al Jazeera. But even with that sort of access, we still did not know the full extent of the protests.”

Because the dorms were located on an island in the neighborhood of Zamalek in Cairo, away from the center of the riots, Clarke said he and his fellow students were never truly fearful for their safety. The private security in the dorms made them even less afraid.

“None of us really felt the full effect of the demonstrations because we were so isolated,” Clarke said. “I didn’t witness anything violent firsthand, but it was definitely a unique experience to be in the middle of such an historical event, especially when I got back to the States and saw how bad it really was.”

On Jan. 25, the orientation leaders informed the students of the government-imposed curfew, and also urged them not to go anywhere near Tahrir Square, where the largest protests were being held. For the first night of the curfew, the students had to be in their dorms from 6 p.m. until 8 a.m., but by the next day their curfew began at 4 p.m.

Lisa Anderson, the president of the American University in Cairo, came to speak to the students in the dorms to let them know they had the option of leaving the country on one of several flights chartered bythe U.S. State Department. Clarke boarded a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, flew through Europe and finally reached his hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota Jan. 31.

Students also had the option to remain in Cairo and wait for any improvement in the situation, but the vast majority chose to leave the dorms.

Clarke decided leaving Egypt would be in his best interest because it was unclear whether the situation would improve. Unbeknownst to Clarke at the time, USC had issued a recommendation to evacuate the area as well.

“We didn’t have any cell phones or internet access, but I was able to talk to my parents on a landline through calling cards they had provided us with,” Clarke said. “I talked it over with them, and we all agreed it was the best thing for me to leave Cairo.”

Clarke said the Egyptian students who were attending orientation week were both concerned and hopeful about the demonstrations.

“Most of them were pretty anxious about what was going on,” Clarke said. “They were all definitely hoping that this would lead to a change in Egyptian politics, but I don’t think any of them expected Mubarak to resign from office. They just wanted a step toward democracy.”

Clarke said watching the events unfold before him added a new perspective to what he had learned about in classes he took at USC.

“I was enrolled in a course last semester that was about the politics of the Middle East,” he said. “We learned about the persistence of the authoritarianism in the region, so it was really interesting to see the people around us rise up on their own.”

Clarke now plans to take the rest of the spring semester off, and hopes to get a job in either Sioux Falls or in the Los Angeles area. Nevertheless, Clarke said that leaving Egypt was extremely bittersweet for him because he had so been looking forward to spending four months in Cairo.

“At the time it was kind of disappointing, but we were also just so hopeful that this would be bring about some kind of change for the people of Egypt,” Clarke said.

Obenchain is the founder of Pearls for Life, a pending 501C3 non-profit organization aimed at bringing clean water to the people of Bangladesh. Pearls for Life is an initiative of Taylor Pearl, Obenchain’s for-profit company that buys pearls in Bangladesh and sells them in America. The organization works in collaboration with a non-governmental association, Humanitarian Aid for Rural Development (HARD).

The inception of Taylor Pearl and Pearls for Life began when Obenchain traveled to Beijing, China in July 2005.

“I saw the opportunity to buy pearls here and sell them in America,” said Obenchain, describing his walk through a local pearl market.

According to Obenchain, he visited an orphanage later that day. Though impressed by the organization’s efforts to provide abandoned children with a safe environment and the opportunity for education, Obenchain said he was struck by group’s financial struggle.

“A dollar a day fed one of those kids, and they weren’t always able to make ends meet,” Obenchain said. “That number hit me, and that point of inspiration fused with my experience earlier at the pearl market to create the company.”

Obenchain traveled to Bangladesh for the first time in May 2009, and the concept of utilizing freshwater pearls to bring fresh water to the region was born in February 2010. By May of that year, Obenchain and his team had amassed the necessary funds to go on their first research and development trip.

In order for Pearls for Life to gain a concrete understanding of the region’s complex problems, Obenchain said the group saw the need for all research to be conducted in Bangladesh. Obenchain outlined three questions he and his team sought to answer in evaluating the most effective course of action: “What is the problem? What can we do to have the biggest impact? And how can we make sure the impact is sustainable?”

Returning home, Obenchain sought the assistance of Vanderbilt faculty members, Brooke Ackerly, professor of political science, George Hornberger, professor of engineering, and Steven Goodbred, professor of oceanography. They provided Obenchain with guidance and put him in contact with the developer of the Sono filter, a device with the ability to filter out 100 percent of arsenic in a water supply.

Built upon the principles of social responsibility, Taylor Pearl rebranded in June 2010 and selected a name that “was classy, short and could be embraced by our clientele,” said Obenchain. The name is also emblematic of the company’s heritage. In 2006 Obenchain met Taylor, a 6-year-old orphan whose smile Obenchain says he will never forget.

For every order that Taylor Pearl receives, three people are given access to clean water. Obenchain said the number of Bangladeshi citizens benefitting from the water filters is actually higher.

The campaign uses microfinance extension, a type of banking service that is provided to unemployed or low-income individuals or groups who would otherwise have no other means of gaining financial services.  Recipient families pay off the cost of the water filters over the course of 14 months, and funds are recycled back into the community to perpetuate the installation of Sono filters and thus expand access to safe drinking water.

“Every dollar that goes towards this multiplies forward, and we have set up a mechanism to make sure that is occurring,” Obenchain said.

After graduating, Obenchain was offered a job with Huron Consulting, and in December of 2010, he accepted. Fortunately for Pearls for Life, Huron is allowing Obenchain to defer his start date to January 2012.

“I will have time to fully invest in Taylor Pearl and find someone to succeed me,” he said

Currently, the operation has brought clean water to 300 in Bangladesh, and Obenchain said the goal is to bring that number to the thousands in the coming months.

“What makes me smile is being in Bangladesh, drinking water from one of our filters and then waking up the next morning healthy — and staying healthy through the trip,” Obenchain said. “Contaminated water can get one sick pretty quickly. It’s one of the ways I know we’re making an impact.”

Tommy Obenchain is the President and Founder of the Taylor Pearl Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Oben International Corporation. He is also a member of the Oben International Corp’s board of directors.

He attended Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas, where he served as the president of the student body in his senior year and was the recipient of the National Honor Society’s Blanket Award. Obenchain founded Taylor Pearl in July of 2005, and he has led the company through its six-year history.

Obenchain is majoring in both International Business Communication and Political Science and will graduate in May of this year. Following graduation, Obenchain will continue to serve as the president of the Taylor Pearl Company and chairman of the Pearls for Life campaign.

How does the filter work?

The filter works by pouring raw, contaminated water into the entrance on top of the filter. Water then travels through the first layer of filtration that is a combination of rocks and sand. This organic material filters out bacteria and iron. Water flows to the lower segment of the device, where it passes through an arsenic probe. A final layer of sand completes the purification process and water exits free of bacteria, metals and most importantly, Obenchain said, arsenic.

After considering going back to her home country, Pan says she has ultimately decided to stay in the U.S. because of the better job opportunities in the States.

“Obviously, the Boston, New York, Philadelphia area is just rife with biotech start-up and pharmaceutical companies, and therefore rife with healthcare consulting companies,” says Pan, who will be working for Massachusetts-based healthcare consulting firm Putnam Associates. “That’s not really an opportunity I found too readily available in Canada.”

Yet a larger job pool does not necessarily translate into an easier job search. As an international student, Pan needed to find a company that not only appreciated her talent, but also was willing to sponsor H-1B visas, a temporary work permit for those with non-immigrant status.

“There were definitely a few firms that I was planning to pursue, but they specifically said they don’t sponsor visas,” Pan says.

In fact, one “big firm” Pan applied to, the name of which she prefers not to reveal, first accepted her application, but then declined it after they found out that she needed a H-1B visa.

According to the Harvard International Office, international students can be at a disadvantage during the job search process because many employers are reluctant to sponsor visas for international students—a hurdle which many of the 695 international students at Harvard may have to face if they choose to pursue employment in the U.S.

THE COST OF H-1B

A. Cansu Aydede ’11 is lucky to be among those international students who have secured H-1B visa sponsorship. She will be working next year at Bridgewater Associates, a large investment firm which manages a $75 billion global investment fund. But Aydede acknowledges that visa sponsorship is frequently a headache for international students.

Students on F-1 student visas can remain in the U.S. for a 12-month period—known as Optional Practical Training—without acquiring a work visa.

Yet the Optional Practical Training period does not curb the difficulty of obtaining H-1B visas, according to Aydede. Only the large and resourceful firms can afford to sponsor H-1B, as the process is both time consuming and costly.

“Nobody hires you for [just 12] months, unless [the companies] are big enough, [or] they know that you are staying with them and are worth all the trouble of them going through the process [of getting the visa],” Aydede says.

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service website, companies petitioning for H-1B must file a series of documents and pay a fee ranging from $825 to nearly $4,000.

In addition, the U.S. government currently caps the number of H-1B petitions at 65,000 per fiscal year. As of Jan. 26, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced it has already received the maximum number of petitions and will no longer accept H-1B applications until next year.

“Not all firms that are willing to take on American students are willing to sponsor the H-1B, because they don’t have the resources,” says Anusha Tomar ’11, who will be working with McKinsey & Company. Although Tomar is sponsored by McKinsey, she says some of her international friends have encountered problems obtaining H-1B visa sponsorship.

When it comes to fields other than finance and consulting, the issue of H-1B sponsorship becomes even more salient. Students say that companies in the public sector and non-governmental organizations generally tend to be even less willing to invest money in sponsoring H-1B visa.

According to Aydede, many students with interests other than finance or consulting “don’t even apply” to jobs in the U.S. in their fields of interest.

“My impression is, if you are international, and you don’t want to go into finance or consulting, you are in trouble,” Aydede says.

BRIDGING THE GAP

L. Daphne Durham, a Harvard International Office advisor, suggests that students take advantage of Optional Practical Training when searching for post-graduation employment and H-1B sponsorship. Durham points out that students do not need to have a job offer in order to apply for the OPT, which can help them transition into the workforce after graduation.

“[OPT] gives students the chance to try out careers, and also companies the time to apply for H-1B,” Durham says. “It will help you feel more confident about yourself, because you can sell [OPT] to the company.”

Yet the Harvard International Office can only provide limited support when it comes to company sponsorship of the H-1B visa itself.

“We do sponsor outside attorneys who can provide information and give presentation on H-1B and green cards,” says Sharon Ladd, director of HIO, “But there’s not too much we can do because H-1B and green cards are all employer based.”

Students have to take a lot of initiative when it comes to securing a visa, says Robin Mount, director of the Office of Career Services.

“It is important to educate yourself about what options there are, to do research about the companies, to talk to them, and to know in what countries they have offices,” Mount says. “These things are difficult … this is a tough economic time. Not every opportunity is open to everyone.”

EDUCATING STUDENTS

Some international students say it would be helpful if the College provided more information about the difficulties of securing visa sponsorship.

“The HIO tries as much as possible to provide as much information for international students, but they don’t have enough talks,” Rumbidzai C. Mushavi ’12 says.

“They need to start talking about the issues that international students might run into a lot earlier than they choose to do right now,” she says. “You need to know what options are available to you.”

Mushavi suggests January term as a good time to host visa or OPT workshops, as a number of international students stay on campus during winter break.

Pan adds that it would be beneficial to hear more fellow international students’ experiences.

“OCS has so many info sessions, but from what I know, never ones with international students talking about their experience in finance or consulting. It would be helpful to have someone who has gone through the difficulties and struggles, and gotten their visa,” Pan says. “That would quell the fears of some people.”

In addition to peer information sharing, international students say they wish firms could make their policies on international recruitment more transparent.

“[The On-Campus Interview Program] is actually a good screening mechanism for companies who are willing to sponsor international students,” Aydede says. “If they are big enough to sponsor H-1B, they are big enough to go through the ‘trouble’ of OCI.”

Yet complete transparency may prove to be difficult, as companies looking for particular skill sets may make decisions about H-1B visa sponsorship on a case-by-case basis.

“Even as a Canadian, [where] culturally there isn’t a huge difference … the visa is definitely an issue,” Pan says. “In fact, if you were from further away, it would almost seem more worth it. We are so close, but we still need to spend so much on sponsorship.”

Since Tufts does not have an abroad program in Egypt, Tufts students studying there are typically enrolled in non-Tufts programs such as the one run by Middlebury College through the C.V. Starr School in the Middle East in Alexandria.

Middlebury cancelled this semester’s program in the early hours of Jan. 30, evacuating its students from Alexandria by plane through Europe to the United States.

Tik Root, a Middlebury junior, witnessed the first days of the protests in Alexandria before the school decided to cancel the program.

“We knew we were going to be evacuated, and I had a feeling we weren’t coming back,” Root told the Daily. He said he instead plans to study this semester at Damascus University in Syria.

While four Tufts students studied in Egypt during the fall, no one went there for the spring semester this year, according to Associate Dean of Programs Abroad Sheila Bayne.

“It just so happened that there weren’t any [students] this spring,” Bayne said. “It was lucky.”

The decision to cancel a program rests in the hands of the directors in question, Bayne added. “Student safety is very important, and we try to give students the information that they need to make good decisions,” she said. “But it’s up to the programs that are running there to decide whether they’ll run in a given semester.”

Middlebury Program Director Nehad Heliel, who has remained in Egypt after the end of the protests, said student safety was the top factor in the decision to cancel the program. Heliel’s comments were provided to the Daily by Middlebury junior Otis Pitney, who has remained in contact with the program director.

“As the director of the Middlebury program, number-one in terms of my duty, my job description, is I have to look out for [students'] security,” Heliel said. She said the decision to cancel the semester was taken after discussions between Middlebury administrators both in Egypt and in the United States.

Several Tufts sophomores considering study-abroad programs in Egypt next year said despite the political uncertainty, Egypt remains an attractive destination because of the benefits of language immersion.

Sophomore Mark Rafferty submitted his application to the Middlebury program for fall 2011, but is still undecided where he will end up.

He said the likelihood that he will study in Egypt next year depends on the political situation.

“I was very optimistic about it until I read a few days ago that they’re postponing elections for six months,” Rafferty said. “If it’s going to be uncertain until that point, [the program] probably won’t want to risk it.”

Heliel said she was confident about the future of the Alexandria program, predicting that interest in the program would only increase.

“It’s not going to make students run away from Egypt — it’s going to actually make Egypt a more interesting location in terms of study abroad,” Heliel said.

Sophomore Caitlyn Doucette is in the process of applying to the Middlebury program and said she was confident in the university’s decision.

“I would feel comfortable if they felt comfortable still having the program,” Doucette said.

Paul Wulfsberg, a former Tufts professor who also served as an associate director of Middlebury’s Alexandria program until August, told the Daily that safety concerns from parents are sometimes incongruous with the situation on the ground.

“In terms of State Department travel advisories and all the press, perceived instability is important for students’ parents,” Wulfsberg said.

He cited Syria as an example. “A lot of students are hesitant to think about Syria because their parents are worried about them going there when it actually has been a pretty stable place.”

Doucette is unsure whether her parents would be comfortable with a decision to study in Egypt, but said she would make the final call.

“I’m kind of at the point in my life where they trust me to decide whether a place is safe enough. Ultimately, it’s my decision — I just don’t like unnecessarily scaring them,” Doucette said.

Wulfsberg said even in the event of the creation of an anti-Western government in Egypt, the continuation of study-abroad programs next year is not impossible.

“If it’s a government that’s opposed to American policies, it will probably be more difficult, but not impossible to have American study-abroad programs there,” Wulfsberg said. “I doubt that the government there would place significant obstacles to study abroad. Egypt is dependent on having a regular in-flow of foreigners and tourists so that would not be in their best interest.”

Heliel said that she believes things will be back to normal by September.

“I think people are going to act very civilized, and things are going to calm down,” she said. “I do think that by September things will be better.”

Though the announcement of the future partition was met with a resounding celebratory reception, there are evident points of discord and matters for hard deliberation that will need to be addressed during the six-month wait until South Sudan is permanently established. The most obviously basic of these concerns is the creation of a new government. South Sudan will need a president — and he will come in the form of the cowboy hat devotee, Salva Kiir, the current vice president of Sudan and leading proponent of Southern secession. Admired for his role as the unifying voice among different Southern ethnic groups, Kiir, with his highly militarized background, has yet to be tested out in presidential waters. Accordingly, an accountable and competent new government is not automatically ensured.

A second, more dramatic issue relates to the North and South’s heavy dependence on oil revenues. However, it is only the South that possesses the majority of the oil fields. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005, that engendered the recent referendum, also calls for equal oil distribution between these two regions. Noting the aridity of the North and the visibly and comparatively lush greenery of the South, the paucity of oil in the North becomes more apparent and teeters on precariousness. This friction is demonstrably reflected in the currently contested oil-rich area of Abyei. The CPA initially proposed a joint referendum for the vote on Southern secession and the decision of Abyei to stay with the North or join the new South. Yet, since voter eligibility in this area is still being disputed, Abyei’s referendum is attached to an undetermined date.

The latest wave of violence that challenged the mood of jubilation in South Sudan was in the Jonglei state; clashes between Southern Sudan army and a rebel group has left 211 people dead, many of whom were civilians ensnared in the fighting, according to an Associated Press report. Nevertheless, no where is the conflict more pervasive than in Darfur. The paramount reason for the insurrection in Darfur involves ethnic clashes between the government-backed Arab militia, the Janjaweed, and the rebel forces comprised of Christian and traditional Southern Africans.

Stephanie Sobek, a third-year in political science and Middle Eastern studies and president of the Ohio State chapter of STAND, an anti-genocide coalition, explains that the incumbent president of Sudan, al-Bashir, “hired the Janjaweed militia and they systematically killed all the African descendents in Darfur.” She goes on to elaborate on the scale of the atrocity: “It’s so brutal. The Janjaweed militia would burn villages, and rape the women and children, and run the men off the villages. A lot of those refugees moved to Chad.”

Recently STAND held a fundraiser to help raise awareness for the ongoing conflict in Darfur. Sobek, sporting a shirt with the club’s motto, “don’t stand by, stand up,” introduced the comically radiant 8th Floor Improv troupe as it helped generate a commendable amount of donations that will go directly into assisting people displaced by the Darfur genocide. Still, since Darfur will remain a part of Northern Sudan, the prospect of a dissolved insurgency seems grim.

As South Sudan’s secession moves forward, a changing paradigm may take hold in Africa. Sudan has redrawn its own borders — the first to do so in a continent encumbered with the arbitrarily defined borders of its colonial past. Countries, such as Niger or those in the Ivory Coast with similar tensions, may look to Sudan as setting a precedent; secession could become the go-to solution. However, partition is no panacea: It does not ensure ethnic homogeneity, fair resource distribution or transparent leadership.

Last week, The UN Security Council met to discuss the ongoing situation in Sudan. In the presidential statement released, the Security Council encouraged “the international community to lend its full support to all Sudanese people as they build a peaceful and prosperous future.” With a complementary stance, Sobek urges OSU students to get involved as the conflict ensues in Sudan. Outlining a primary goal of STAND, Sobek says “we educate ourselves about different areas and spread that education.” Though, as Sobek advises, a good starting point for all students “is just becoming aware of the problem.”

The event featured two keynote speakers — activists Dana Sender, who represented OneVoice-Israel and Roza Helou, who represented OneVoice-Palestine. Sender spoke about the Palestine-Israel conflict’s impact on her childhood in Israel, while Helou spoke about its impact on her childhood in Palestine.

“We’re here to share personal stories so you know what it’s like to be an Israeli and a Palestinian,” said Sender, who served in the Israeli army as a social worker.

Helou, whose father was imprisoned by Israeli forces for his affiliation with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, talked about the struggles she faced in Palestine because of the violent nature of the conflict and said she wishes to be free of the trauma one day.

“It’s not easy for us because we’re in a conflict each and every day … we need to live a normal life like you live a normal life,” she said.

The Rutgers Hillel board invited OneVoice to speak last night because they agree with the overall message the organization promotes, said Ezekiel Pariser, Orthodox Committee Chair of Hillel.

“OneVoice’s goal is to encourage and promote solutions to the conflict … to help citizens of America see the conflict from both sides [and to] encourage leaders in government to act and help in the conflict,” said Pariser, a School of Arts and Sciences junior.

Hillel Vice President and event coordinator Kim Schwartzman arranged the event in December after her Jewish studies professor Samuel Peleg encouraged her to work more closely with OneVoice, an organization Peleg was affiliated with.

Although the initial purpose of the event was for Hillel to work with OneVoice to relay both sides of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, School of Arts and Sciences senior Schwartzman said the goal has slightly changed.

“At first, it was just to get people to hear both sides of the conflict, but now we think this is a perfect event to help open minds,” she said.

Pariser said Hillel wanted both sides of the conflict to be heard so University students could see the real, uncolored issue at hand.

“Hillel’s goal [in holding] this event is to promote dialogue that invokes the public to both sides of the issue,” he said.

Rachel Steinberg, the International Education Program manager for OneVoice, agreed that both sides of the issue should be heard, but disagreed that OneVoice wanted to encourage any one solution.

“We’re not trying to promote anything,” she said, “But there is significant consensus for a two- state solution based on 1967 borders.”

OneVoice is a purely non-partisan organization, Steinberg said.

Following Sender and Helou’s narratives, as well as Steinberg’s short Powerpoint presentation, audience members were given the opportunity to ask questions of the two speakers to end the event.

Pariser hopes the event made a positive difference to the University community.

“It will promote peaceful dialogue on campus, in which both sides are given the opportunity and the chance to express themselves in an informed and intellectual and academically honest forum,” he said.

The Hillel student board extended an invitation to BAKA: Students United for Middle Eastern Justice in a letter to the editor published in The Daily Targum on Feb. 7 but BAKA declined to take part in the event.

Hoda Mitwally, the public relations officer for BAKA, said she, along with BAKA, do not agree with the two-state proposal OneVoice promotes.

“OneVoice’s approach takes a very Israel-centric approach … there’s hardly any mention of what falls upon the Palestinians,” said Mitwally, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. “It calls for a two-state solution which is extremely flawed.”

Mitwally disagreed with Pariser and said the event did not impact the University community in any way because OneVoice withholds a significant number of details that surround Israel-Palestine conflict from the public.

“OneVoice places a veil on these very important issues and turns important discussions on Israel-Palestine into a pow-wow session where everybody holds hands and talks about peace but does not talk about how to formulate the conditions for peace and justice,” she said.

Although the organization refused to take place in the event, members of BAKA had the right to attend on their own, Mitwally said.

Sami Jitan, events coordinator for BAKA and a School of Arts and Sciences senior, considered attending the event because he wanted to know if OneVoice would spread any misconceptions surrounding the Middle-Eastern conflict.

“I’m interested to see what they’re saying,” he said. “As Rutgers students are going to be listening to the event and taking what they say, I’m interested to see what kinds of misconceptions that might be propagated at the event.”

Mitwally nor Jitan believe Hillel or BAKA are ready to sit down without administrators to discuss the matter at hand.

“I think a lot needs to be acknowledged before we can sit down,” Jitan said.

Mitwally, on the other hand, does not agree with Hillel’s approach in any aspect.

“Well the approach that Hillel is taking is to silence Palestinians and supporters of the Palestinian people, to pigeonhole them into positions, to make accusations about what they stand for,” she said. “I don’t think we’re ever going to agree on our politics.”

Schwartzman said she wishes to remain hopeful that Hillel and BAKA can negotiate successfully one day.

“We’re still going to keep on trying to reach out,” she said. “If it takes us nagging them to co-sponsor, we’ll do it.”

Austin supporters of the movement hit the streets as well Friday evening in an event spearheaded by the International Socialist Organization and members of the Austin Arab community.

People gathered in front of the Capitol to demonstrate their solidarity with the Egyptian movement for democracy through chants, speeches and song. But with the morning’s triumph, celebration was also in order.

“I’m more excited today than I have ever been in my entire life,” said English and pre-med senior Sara Rady. “The Egyptian people accomplished something that no other country ever has. They showed that a nation of people could unite to bring about freedom and democracy.”

The Egyptian revolution is unique in several ways — the most prominent being its lack of a single uniting ideology or leader for the millions of people who broke out in strike or protest for days at a time, said Roy Casagranda, an associate government professor at Austin Community College.

Currently, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, is the highest-ranking figure in Egypt and will remain so for the next six months, according to Al Jazeera English. The military promised a smooth transition to a democratic system following the hiatus.

Although the military dissolved the Parliament on Sunday, they failed to retract the emergency law that is governing Egypt. The law grants the government the ability to extend police powers, suspend constitutional rights and practice censorship. Its abolishment remains one of the core demands of Egyptian protesters. The future therefore remains uncertain, Casagranda said.

“This is going to sound strange because I’m Egyptian, but this is not the happiest day of my life,” he said. “The happiest day of my life will be when Egypt puts in place a successful and stable democracy.”

A stable democracy means a president is elected into office by the votes of the Egyptian citizens alone, said event organizer Karen Burke.

“[Mubarak’s resignation] is amazing and a huge victory for the people of Egypt,” she said. “However, it answers only one of their demands. They wanted Mubarak to leave but they also want all of his cronies gone.”

This “good job, but the work’s not over yet” sentiment was echoed up and down the blocks of Congress as the mass of about 200 marched to the lively beat of both drums and a steady chanting of “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! The people made Mubarak go! Hey, Hey! Ho, ho! One down, lots more to go!”

But as the group returned to their meeting place in front of the Capitol gates, the exhilaration from the day’s victory could no longer be stifled by concern for what lay ahead. Instead, spontaneous bursts of Egyptian national song, bolstered by instruments and honks of camaraderie from passing cars, rang throughout the rally.

—

Egypt by the numbers:

30 Years Hosni Mubarak was President of Egypt
44Years the Emergency Law has been in place
18Days of protest leading to Mubarak’s resignation
50,000Egyptians present at the initial Jan. 25 protest in Tahir Square
335Civilians killed

Civilian participants in Feb. 1 March of the Millions:

2 million + in Central Cairo
400,000 in Alexandria
250,000 in Sinai and Suez

Sadat, surpassed so many military leaders and political figures to appoint Mubarak, who was the leader of the air forces during the Oct. 6 war against Israel.

Disastrously, Mubarak was a 48-year-old general from the air force who had no political experience of any kind.

When Sadat was assassinated in 1981, Mubarak was directly appointed as president.

In the beginning, he tended to take neutral decisions to satisfy Western policies. After a while, when he settled down, he tended to appoint people who were loyal to him to political positions, beginning with the head of the military and the cabinet and ending with senators and members of local cabinets and syndicates.

The situation was bleak before Jan. 24.

There was almost no political contribution for individuals, and the economic situation of the country was suffering from huge amounts of foreign debts, which reflected on individual income and prices.

Also, the excessive use of power against opposition from opposing parties — movements like Muslim Brotherhood and individuals like Khaled Saeed, a 28-year-old Egyptian from Alexandria who was murdered in 2010 by two police officers because he had some evidence against some police department officers.

After more than two weeks of demonstrations and protests, the Egyptian people are seeking their freedom no matter what it takes.

Protesters in Tahrir Square are willing to die in order for their wishes to come true.

Appointing Omar Suleiman as a vice president after the position has been vacant for 30 years, and replacing the cabinet with faces from Mubarak’s same loyal regime is not deceiving people anymore.

Actually, people right now are much more aware of what is happening to them and what they are achieving more than ever — both because they have been going through this for 30 years and saw 300 people die during the first five days’ demonstrations.

Claims of creating a political gap if Mubarak stepped down immediately is not threatening them at all.

The new vice president is playing with the Muslim Brotherhood card to warn the West that Egypt may turn out to be another Iran in the next few months, which is not true.

In fact, the revolution was created basically by people from all over Egypt — rich and poor, Muslims and Christians, men and women, young and old.

Despite the fact that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is not popular politically, they announced several times before and during the demonstrations that they have no will to run for presidency or claim power and the people believe them.

Mubarak’s speech Thursday about giving his authorities to his vice president was really disappointing for most Egyptians, as they wanted his entire regime to step down immediately.

They are not worried who would come next because they are pretty sure the military will stand to support them until a safe transition of power is achieved. Many central political figures are ready right now to replace Mubarak, and they already have the people’s support.

Amr Moussa, for example, has been the secretary general of the Arab League since 2001 and has been active in Egyptian politics and diplomacy since working as Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs until 2001.

I am so happy for my country and happy that people around my age were able to say their words and achieve what Egyptians have dreamed of for so long.

I want to congratulate them and tell them we must always take the lead and create their future with our hands.

Ahmed Abdel-Khalek is a 25-year-old transportation engineering graduate student from Cairo.

“The people ousted the regime,” rang out chants from crowds of hundreds of thousands massed in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square and outside Mubarak’s main palace several miles away in a northern district of the capital.

The crowds in Cairo, the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and other cities around the country danced, chanted “goodbye, goodbye,” and raised their hands in prayer in an ecstatic pandemonium as fireworks and car horns sounded after Vice President Omar Suleiman made the announcement on national TV just after nightfall.

“Finally we are free,” said Safwan Abou Stat, a 60-year-old in the crowd of protesters at the palace. “From now on anyone who is going to rule will know that these people are great.”

Mubarak had sought to cling to power, handing some of his authorities to Suleiman while keeping his title. But an explosion of protests Friday rejecting the move appeared to have pushed the military into forcing him out completely. Hundreds of thousands marched throughout the day in cities across the country as soldiers stood by, besieging his palace in Cairo and Alexandria and the state TV building. A governor of a southern province was forced to flee to safety in the face of protests there.

His fall came 32 years to the day after the collapse of the shah’s government in Iran.

The protests have already echoed around the Middle East, with several of the region’s autocratic rulers making pre-emptive gestures of democratic reform to avert their own protest movements. The lesson many took: If it could happen in three weeks in Egypt, where Mubarak’s lock on power had appeared unshakeable, it could happen anywhere.

The United States at times seemed overwhelmed trying to keep up with the pace, fumbling to juggle its advocacy of democracy and the right to protest, loyalty to longtime ally Mubarak and fears of Muslim fundamentalists gaining a foothold. Neighboring Israel watched the development with growing unease, worried that their 1979 peace treaty could be in danger. It quickly demanded on Friday that post-Mubarak Egypt continue to adhere to it.

Friday was the biggest day of protests yet in the upheaval that began Jan. 25. The movement grew for the Internet organizing of small groups of youth activists into a mass movement that tapped into widespread discontent with Mubarak’s authoritarian lock on power, corruption, economic woes and widespread disparities between rich and poor.

The question now turned to how the military, long Egypt’s most powerful institution and now its official ruler, will handle the transition in power. Earlier in the day, the Armed Forces Supreme Council — the military’s top body — vowed to guide the country to greater democracy. State TV said a new statement by the military would be issued Friday evening.

Vice President Suleiman — who appears to have lost his post as well in the military takeover — appeared grim as he delivered the short announcement.

“In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic,” he said. “He has mandated the Armed Forces Supreme Council to run the state. God is our protector and succor.”

Nobel Peace laureate Mohammed ElBaradei, whose young supporters were among the organizers of the protest movement, told The Associated Press, “This is the greatest day of my life.”

“The country has been liberated after decades of repression,” he said adding that he expects a “beautiful” transition of power.

Outside Mubarak’s Oruba Palace in northern Cairo, women on balconies ululated with the joyous tongue-trilling used to mark weddings and births.

“Finally we are free,” said Safwan Abo Stat, a 60-year-old in the crowd of protesters at the palace. “From now on anyone who is going to rule will know that these people are great.”

Another, Mohammed el-Masry, weeping with joy, said he had spent the past two weeks in Tahrir before marching to the palace Friday. He was now headed back to the square to join his ecstatic colleagues. “We made it,” he gasped.

Another Wildcat, Fulbright Scholar Lauren Bohn (Medill ’10), told Northwestern Magazine last week she has only begun to feel unsafe recently and has had difficulty balancing being a journalist and keeping herself safe.

Carlstrom and Bohn, who each received master’s degrees from Medill, have been in Cairo reporting on the protests that call for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak . Carlstrom is reporting for Al Jazeera English, and Bohn is reporting on the people behind the protests while studying at the American University in Cairo on a Fulbright.

Pro-democracy protests reportedly began on “The Day of Anger,” Jan. 25, in Tahrir Square. More than 300 people have been killed since the protests began, according to Human Rights Watch.

The protests transformed a relatively safe and quiet place into a dangerous one, according to media reports. Protests in Tahrir Square have been especially violent. Protesters reportedly threw Molotov cocktails, and the Egyptian military reportedly violently attacked peaceful protesters.

“The atmosphere turned into a lynch mob,” Carlstrom said of Tahrir Square. The Internet played a major role in the initial coordination of the protests, said Wendy Pearlman, a professor of Middle East Studies at NU. The government has since restricted Internet access, but Egyptians are still using social media to spread news of Egypt’s state of affairs.

“Tech-savvy people are figuring out ways around the Internet block,” Pearlman said, including an Egyptian blogger she heard about who was dictating his entries to a colleague in Chicago.

Both Carlstrom and Bohn said the lack of Internet access has made reporting more difficult.

Phone lines have been mostly reliable, but Egyptian cell phones have been blocked from dialing internationally, making communicating with family and friends difficult, Carlstrom said.

The economy, repressive government and Egypt’s close relationship with the United States and Israel are the major issues of contention for protesters, Carlstrom said.

One encounter with a protester as he was leaving a mosque was “stunning” for Bohn, she said.

“He looked into my eyes with a straight face and raised his fist in the air discreetly but purposefully,” she said. “I still get goose bumps thinking about it.”

Bohn is studying Arabic and Middle East studies at the American University in Cairo. She said she chose to study there because she wants to change misconceptions and miscommunication about the Middle East.

“I want my journalism to challenge the stereotypes and one-dimensional caricatures that have become all too prevalent in the modern media landscape,” she wrote in an e-mail.

Bohn wrote in the e-mail that her time in Medill has prepared her to cover this “historic time in every medium possible.”

This revolution has been 30 years in the making, Bohn said. “So to see this change, to see people mobilizing, which they’ve really never done before, it’s really touching to see,” she told Northwestern Magazine. “I’ve been absolutely inspired.”

The Alliance to Combat Transnational Threats has helped drive down illegal entries and pressure cross-border smuggling organizations operating in the Sonora-Arizona corridor, said Bersin at a news conference Tuesday at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

The alliance, launched in September 2009, consists of 60 federal, state, local and tribal law agencies in Arizona working to disrupt criminal organizations, he said.

Statistics show “these efforts are making a difference in the lives of the people of Arizona,” said Bersin, commissioner of a branch of Homeland Security responsible for security at and between the ports of entry. “We have more work to do, but there’s been significant progress made to date.”

In making his case, he pointed to a six-year decrease in apprehensions of illegal border crossers and an increase in drug, cash and weapons seizures along the U.S.-Mexico border and steady or declining violent crime rates in U.S. border communities.

But critics say Bersin’s repeated claims that the border is more secure are inaccurate, and that he is only trying to score political points. The Dec. 14 fatal shooting of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry near Nogales and the March 2010 fatal shooting of Cochise County rancher Robert Krentz on his ranch northeast of Douglas illustrate the danger. Both cases remain unsolved.

The fact that Arizona still accounts for about half of all apprehensions and marijuana seizures made along the U.S.-Mexico border shows the state remains the epicenter for cross-border criminal activity, said Patrick Bray, spokesman for the Arizona Cattlemen’s Association.

“Our folks continue to live with fear and anxiety and anger over this issue,” Bray said. “The federal government has failed all of them.”

Since its September 2009 launch, Bersin said the alliance has:

–Made 270,000 apprehensions of illegal border crossers between the ports of entry.

–Turned away 14,000 people at the ports of entry who were determined to be ineligible.

–Seized 1.6 million pounds of marijuana.

–Seized 3,800 pounds of cocaine.

–Seized 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine.

–Seized $13 million in illegal cash going south into Mexico.

Yet, I’ve been feeling connected to these demonstrations. As someone intending to pursue a career in journalism, how could I not?

Much has been made of President Hosni Mubarak’s decision to shut down internet and cell phone services, but recently the press has focused on the dangers both Western and Arabic journalists face upon entering Egyptian borders.

Mubarak’s National Democratic Party recently claimed the Western media and Al-Jazeera are, more than anyone else, responsible for the recent violence. And, somehow, people buy it.

As Mubarak’s regime has vilified journalism, reporters have become the primary targets of NDP supporters. Much of this began with Al-Jazeera Cairo, which continued to broadcast the protests long after the station was supposed to have been cut off.

In response, the dictatorship shut down Al-Jazeera’s office, which was later broken into and torched by angry vigilantes.

Pro-Mubarak protesters also recently attacked CNN’s Anderson Cooper, while CBS’s Katie Couric and ABC’s Christiane Amanpour were threatened and warned to stop broadcasting.

The demonstrations have already claimed one journalist’s life: Photographer Ahmed Mahmoud was shot by a sniper while filming a conflict between Egyptian riot police and pro-democracy demonstrators from the balcony of his own home.

This was just the start. There were 101 reported instances of such violence in the last week alone.

It’s remarkable just how easily the media can be made a scapegoat. If the people you would normally receive your information from aren’t acting in your best interests, your only choice is to believe whatever your government tells you.

Looking back, I can see a parallel between what the current events in Egypt and the chaos surrounding WikiLeaks.

The way the government and television media responded to the unauthorized release of controversial information  was revolting.

The leaks themselves were not the news — it was the guy who leaked it, Julian Assange. By being exposed to all the dangers that occurred because of the leaks, and not the content of the leaks, the public was distracted from the real news.

It was a very media-friendly topic: Assange became America’s real-life Bond villain.

The sex allegations, the use of buzzwords like “hacker,” “anarchist” and “high-tech terrorist,” Sarah Palin’s public statement that he ought to be hunted down like bin Laden —everything came together to produce hours of primetime broadcasting that entirely missed the point.

As all this was happening, tensions were growing in Spain over a particular set of WikiLeaks cables that focused on the 2003 death of Spanish cameraman Jose Couso, who died while standing on the balcony of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad.

The building was full of journalists from around the world risking their lives, not unlike Cooper and Couric, to publicize the truth from the ground in Iraq. Couso’s death, along with numerous journalist and non-journalist casualties, was the result of American tank fire, according to the cables.

The event went virtually unnoticed by the American media, only revealed seven years later by a WikiLeaks embassy cable.

As it turns out, the Couso family had tried to sue, but the U.S. ambassador to Spain manipulated, on orders, the Spanish judicial system into dismissing the case, according to the Spain Review. It would have been bad press for the United States for the same reasons that we are up in arms today about Mubarak.

That was in December. On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, who cared? Who even knew?

I certainly didn’t. All I knew was that Julian Assange was being accused of sexual misconduct in Sweden.

This frustrated me at the beginning of the new year. Now, looking at CNN’s dramatic footage of Anderson Cooper being assaulted, I’m furious. And I’m scared. The scapegoating of journalists is becoming an international trend.

We look down upon it when the free flow of information does us no harm, but as soon as American hegemony is threatened, as soon as our flaws are revealed, suddenly the messenger becomes accountable and whatever it was he had to say doesn’t mean anything anymore.

Such politics of fear have no place in a society where reason, logic and effective civic discourse must take precedent over intrusion from outside forces.

Radwan returned to Cairo on Jan. 29 and on Feb. 2 was beat up – badly enough that her wounds required stitches – by pro-government supporters after she had given an interview with the international news agency Democracy Now!, whose offices are close to Tahrir Square, the main site of demonstration. The attack came on the ninth day of protests against Mubarak’s government.

“Somebody caught on to the fact that I was trying to get into (Tahrir Square) and then they yelled to the mob, ‘She’s with (the protesters), get her!’” Radwan said in a Feb. 3 interview with Democracy Now!. “Two big guys came and held onto my arms and … handed me on to a mob that started beating me and pulling my hair. They ripped my shirt off.”

In the interview, Radwan said that she needed stitches on her head after the attack, which also left her with numerous scrapes and bruises.

“I underestimated what they were capable of,” she said in the interview.

When Radwan left the Democracy Now! office, pro-government supporters surrounded her and asked if she was pro- or anti-Mubarak, according to Sarah Moussa, a representative of the Arab-American community in Sacramento. When Radwan didn’t respond and tried to walk away towards the square, the Mubarak supporters ran her down.

“(The attack) dispels the myth that the violence is happening on both sides,” Moussa said. “It is definitely one way. Mubarak people are inciting against protesters and journalists alike.”

The Sacramento chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations held a press conference on Feb. 4 in the state capital, at which Radwan spoke over the phone to condemn the violence in Egypt. State Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg and other community members also spoke at the press conference.

“We … should be inspired by the courage of those in Egypt willing to risk everything for a chance at a better life,” said Steinberg at the press conference. “I stand with them in their call for free and fair elections and the right to have a voice in their own destiny and their own futures.”

While extreme upheaval is occurring in Cairo, the atmosphere in some rural areas was relatively peaceful, according to Hans Barnard, an assistant adjunct professor in the UCLA Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Department and research instructor on the team of UCLA archeologists that was evacuated from Egypt on Feb. 1 more than two weeks ahead of schedule.

The team – which was associated with UCLA’s Cotsen Institute for Archeology and included students from UCLA, UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego – had been conducting a geo-physical survey of the ancient Egyptian king Akhenaten’s capital 200 miles south of Cairo. They had planned on leaving the site on Feb. 15 before they were evacuated.

“It is an extremely rural area – daily life is normal,” he said. “But the governor’s office of that state … insisted that we leave.”

Despite the abrupt removal from the site, Barnard said whatever findings the team had uncovered at the ancient capital would be published and that he plans to return to the site at some point to complete the research.

For Eaman Attia, living 7,000 miles away in Ontario, Canada, watching the country in the throes of a popular revolution is simply “ecstasy.”

Attia has never lived in Egypt, but travels there regularly. Her father moved away from the country 40 years ago to attend school in the United States. When the opportunity to return to teach in Cairo arose, he turned it down to pursue a better life for himself and his family.

“Here we feel like humans are treated with dignity, with understanding and freedom of choice. He didn’t have that in his homeland,” Attia said.

“As Arabs in the West and everything we take for granted, we wanted our people to have the same rights to equality, to choose your leader, the freedom of choice and expression,” she said.

Attia has been emotionally invested in the conflict. Her two brothers-in-law living in Cairo have been active in the protests in Tahrir Square, the central location for anti-governmental rallies.

While protests began peacefully, in recent days violence has erupted as Mubarak supporters have taken to the streets. Even while worrying about the daily threats they face, she said the protestors have been trying to set the right example.

“People from all walks of life are passing out water, blankets and fruit, talking to each other. People are going around with garbage bags, are going around picking up after each other, because they almost feel like they’re human. They say, ‘I am man’ because I am able to say that this is wrong. I won’t accept oppression and I want my voice to be heard,” she said.

Support for the protests in Egypt has transcended nationalities. UMaine Muslim Student Association representative Abdulraheem Sbayi said in the fight for human rights, camaraderie is universal.

“I am not even Egyptian, yet I feel that I am still part of them because everyone in this world stands against injustice and we all feel for each other’s pain and anguish,” Sbayi wrote in an e-mail.

The outcome of the popular protests has consumed the world’s attention. Recently, President Obama has placed pressure on Mubarak to step aside before elections in September and hasten his transition from office. Hopes for a democratic regime are tempered with lingering doubts as to whether the political scenario can meet protestors’ demands.

UMaine political science professor Howard Cody noted that the 30 years of one-party rule and political rule have left a considerable gap in organized opposition parties.

Mubarak’s National Democratic Party currently holds 420 of 508 seats in the Egyptian parliament. The Muslim Brotherhood, the only opposition group that has had a history of electoral support, has been treated with suspicion over their Islamic political views.

“They don’t have a real party system. The Muslim Brotherhood, which Mubarak has outlawed, is the only effective potential opposition party at this point,” Cody said. “Others will emerge if they have the chance but they will need some time. Mubarak is correct in saying if he were to quit today there might be chaos because there isn’t anybody to take over.”

Despite the concerns, Attia said the movement could have a very important impact on the political development in the region.

“Most of the Arab countries look toward Egypt and they say ‘if the Egyptians can gain freedom, if they can gain democracy, maybe we can too,’” Attia said.

Mohammad Tabbah, chairman of the board at the Islamic Center of Maine in Orono, added that the revolution has an important impact on the world’s perception of Islam.

“They are just standing up for freedom. We are very proud of what’s happening in Egypt. The name ‘Islam’ means peace. Peace doesn’t just mean there’s no violence, doesn’t mean there’s no tension,” Tabbah said. “The status quo in Egypt and all similar countries around the world has been like that for a while. People thought that was peace, but it’s not peace because there was no justice.”

Like Tabbah, UMaine history professor Alexander Grab said he believes the protests are moving toward a better society. He characterized the movement as “a popular protest by the Egyptian people against the brutal dictatorship.”

“It is a revolution of the Egyptian people against poverty, social injustice and lack of freedom which characterized Egypt under Mubarak,” Grab said.

“The Obama administration needs to tell Mubarak to step down and to support the interests and aspirations of the Egyptian people for freedom, democracy and a better economic future,” he added.

For now the question isn’t if Egyptians will have a change in government, but when and under what conditions. The revolutions in Egypt carry immense implications for U.S. strategy.

Concerns over Egypt’s control over the Suez Canal and the 3 million barrels that pass through it daily — much of it to the United States — has caused oil prices to rise. Yet the revolution’s most significant impact may be on the public’s perception of Islam.

Sbayi wrote, “We’re all human,” noting how throughout the duration of the protests, Coptic Christians have been forming protective rings around Muslims while they prayed outside amidst the upheaval.

“As Americans we stand for civil liberties, we stand for justice, we stand for democracy and we stand for all that is right because that is what our country was found upon. This Egyptian revolution should be something that anyone who believes in any of that should be supportive of,” Sbayi said.

Nabeel Hashmi, a first-year biochemistry major, echoed his sentiments.

“I believe this right to be able to peacefully attack oppression wherever we see it is actually a duty in Islam, as this religion and many others has its roots in oppression and struggle,” he said.

For Attia, revolution, while a significant step towards democratic progress, is not the end of the line in the struggle for freedom.

“Victory and success come through patience, perseverance and sacrifice. Change is not going to come easy,” Attia said, adding that Mubarak is, “sitting there thinking ‘how long can I wait here until these people go home,’ but I think the Egyptians can be a little more stubborn than Mubarak.”

Editor’s note: The following letter was provided to The Maine Campus by Eaman Attia.

An excerpt from a letter from midst of chaos in Cairo

As we stood with the thousands of protesters chanting the slogans against the regime, I was uplifted by the unity and peacefulness of the people in the square. I felt truly content and safe amongst these people whom I had never met before. I could not believe that this was the same spot and the same people that had witnessed bloodshed just a few days ago. At that moment, I decided that I wanted to continue to raise my children in Egypt if these were the men and women that they would grow to be.

Many many in Egypt would be completely shocked to hear that I took an infant, toddler, and pre-schooler to Tahrir, but I am truly happy that they witnessed this honourable revolution and saw the exact spot that the brave men and women had stood just days before, defending their rights and freedoms. Similarly, I wanted the world to see that Tahrir square was not a place of fear but a place of peace, tranquility, and hope.

God willing, in 20 years, in a brighter Egypt, I will tell my children the story of Tahrir square and the trip we took, and they will tell their children of how they were part of bringing Freedom to Egypt.

- Sarah, a relative of Eaman Attia

Cairo, Egypt

It meant leaving behind both her family and the growing revolution she supports, though staying may put her status as a UC student in jeopardy.

“Leaving Egypt in the midst of all this, packing up my bags and leaving my family, I didn’t see it as an option,” Kamel said. “As someone from Cairo, how people have come together has been something incredible to witness, and I’ve never felt as proud of the Egyptian people as I’ve felt in the past week. This is history, and it’s being made right in front of my own eyes.”

Kamel’s decision to stay and the simultaneous removal of UC community members – including 19 students – Tuesday afternoon came after eight days of protests across Egypt as citizens of the nation called for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.

Following a travel advisory for Egypt issued by the U.S. State Department, UC affiliates, including an archeological team from UCLA, were evacuated from Cairo Tuesday afternoon. According to Haydn Dick, executive director of the UCLA International Education Office, the removal is part of university policy governing UC study abroad programs.

“When we run study abroad programs, whenever there’s political unrest that’s a concern,” Dick said in an e-mail. “When the State Department upgraded to a travel warning over the weekend and started suggesting that Americans go home, it’s standard policy in the UC system that we will cancel a UC program and get students out of there.”

Kamel, a sophomore international student studying development studies at UC Berkeley who returned to Egypt in the fall to study abroad at the American University in Cairo, did not evacuate with the rest of the Education Abroad Program – making her status as a UC student unclear because staying means she has officially withdrawn from the university, which could also result in the cancellation of her F1 student visa, she said.

She added, however, that the decision was one she does not regret because she is able to watch and participate as her country stages a “people’s revolution.” On Tuesday morning, Kamel joined thousands of protesters in Tahrir Square, describing it as “an unforgettable moment in (her) life.”

“In terms of the solidarity and the camaraderie and the patriotism, you feel it when you’re walking in the streets, and it is something that is amazing to see,” she said. “This is a revolution of the people that took to the streets and got together on Facebook, on Twitter and decided they were going to do this. That’s what this revolution is about.”

According to Barira Rashid, a UC Berkeley junior social welfare major who was among the students evacuated Tuesday afternoon, “being torn from Egypt was extremely disheartening.”

Rashid said though she did not join in the protests because of program safety concerns, she spent days stuck in her apartment, located in the heart of Cairo, watching the daily protests from her seventh floor balcony.

“There were thousands and thousands of people – women in burqas and niqabs, children, young men, old grandpas, people from the lower class, people from the upper class – all standing there supporting each other and this cause they were willing to lay down their lives for,” she said. “The strength of these people was incredible.”

Jordan Bach-Lombardo of The Daily Californian contributed to this report.

Attempts have been made to shut down the uprising, using everything from rubber bullets to tear gas, and eventually resorting to live ammunition. This resulted in some fatalities, and consequently, intensifed the riot.

The situation became extreme, and the Egyptian government, shut off the Internet and mobile services for the entire country.

Considering the important role that the Internet plays in getting footage out, this may have be a wise move. But there are other reasons for the Internet shutdown besides a few Youtube videos. All the information being leaked caused the government to panic.

Social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook were used to rally the protesters and gained attention from the media. A Facebook page plotting the protest had 80,000 fans, and Twitter posts from various protesters flooded the website.

Facebook and Twitter are known for connecting a world simply, easily and freely. These two sites allow people worldwide to keep in touch and share stories.The social media giants also present the lives of its users uncensored.

Twitter is important as a collection of the random thoughts and blurbs of millions of people. And by keeping things simple, approximately 140 characters, their thoughts are straight to the point.

These tools have fueled the revolution by making communication between the protesters easy. The rest of the world was also kept in the loop by these technological means.

The Egyptian government did its best to oppress the rights of the people by isolating them from the world. But, such actions only strengthened Egyptians’ will to fight for what they believe in.

Some may abuse the powers of social media, but in the hands of the right people — or in this case, angry protesters — regular people can become a force to be reckoned with. The riots are a testament to this.

Whether or not they achieve what they want, they will go down in history. Not only for lasting so long under such an overwhelming opposition, but also for being one of the first protests to harness the power of social connection over the Internet.

Are you currently studying abroad in Egypt and where? Since when have you been there?

I was studying abroad in Egypt. I was to attend American University in Cairo for the 2011 spring semester. I had arrived Jan. 21, and left Feb. 1.

What’s your living situation like? Homestay/apartment/roommates? Where in Cairo?

I was living in the Zamalek dorms, located on the Zamalek island neighborhood near downtown Cairo (Tahrir Square was right across the Nile from us). It was a dorm of largely American/international students, separated by genders (one half of the building was men’s, one half women’s).

Can you describe what you have experienced in Egypt so far? Have you experienced any of the violence/riots/etc.? What was it like? Is it scary? What have your friends experienced?

In terms of experiencing the sights of Cairo, not a lot happened. We had a week of orientation on the AUC campus, which is located 20 miles outside of Cairo in New Cairo, and most days the orientation ran from 9 to 3, with us catching a 1.5 hour shuttle ride back to the dorms … not a lot of time to explore.

On Tuesday, Jan. 25, the start of the protests, a tour of Old Cairo/Islamic Cairo was arranged for us. We had at least 15 plainclothes cops/security officers following us (about a group of 100, mostly American, students), as well as quite a few regular police officers. The day was supposed to last until 5 pm. Around 1, we were rushed through Khan el Khalili (the big, famous bazaar in Cairo) and around 1:30 were loaded onto our buses saying we were all being taken back to New Cairo campus … not the dorms. We were told by our RAs this was simply a precautionary measure and that we were all safe, but we’d have to stay on campus for an hour before the buses could take us home.

Hearing this, Eva Rasho, Macarena Torres-Girao and I (all AU students), went to sit a mere 30 feet away from where everyone else was sitting so we could chat and enjoy the view of the gardens at AUC. AUC’s campus is literally the most gorgeous campus I have ever seen. Knocks AU’s socks off.

Anyway, after 20 minutes we head back to the main plaza and everyone is gone. We’re told by someone that the bus left 10 minutes ago. We of course panicked, but believed another, regular shuttle would take us back. At that point it was 3:55, and we were told another shuttle would arrive at 4. We get on this shuttle, and 10 minutes out, the shuttle turns back and the driver says we are stuck on campus … no shuttles are running to Zamalek since the roads have been blocked (we drive through downtown to get back to Zamalek). We began calling RAs, orientation leaders and others … and are told we will probably have to spend the night on campus.

However, the three of us as well as two other girls left behind did not want this to happen. We called a cab, and spent 2.5 hours driving to our dorms. We had to take a circumnavigated route, going halfway across Cairo in order to find an unblocked bridge onto our island.

For the past week we’ve been on curfew set by the government, usually from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. During the day we would walked around Zamalek, since we could not access the rest of town really. At night, we’d sit on the rooftop terrace and here gunshots and tear gas grenades echoing through the city, because Cairo, a city of 18 million, essentially became a ghost town at night. The dusk calls to prayer echoed throughout the city, being the only sounds beyond those shots we’d hear.

We’d watch billowing smoke rise from buildings that were set on fire/being looted, and would look down below as we watched people who lived in the Zamalek neighborhood arm themselves with sticks and pipes, the only means of defense against looters. Tear gas would waft up to us along the wind, making our throats burn and our eyes water.

One night, I can’t remember which now, we saw a car get smashed in from the terrace. Another night, I think Sunday night, around 2 a.m., RAs came pounding on our doors telling us to lock them from the inside – something was going on outside. It turned out to be a false alarm, but nonetheless, for many students who left the next day (Monday) for evacuation, it only confirmed the need to leave Cairo.

As for myself, I never felt in danger on the island. If I had ventured into the protests I would have felt different I’m sure, but if I could have stayed I would. AUC however had already delayed class a week, and the day we left said they were delaying it another week – AU said if the semester became too truncated, we would not receive credit if we stayed. None of us could risk staying and not getting credit/no refund, so we left. It was not due to the protests that we evacuated, but due to academic uncertainty.

What’s happening to the students in the AU program now? Are they remaining in Egypt for the rest of the semester or are they being sent home?

For AUC, 7 of the 8 of us have evacuated (we weren’t really in contact the with the last person). Macarena and I are going to the AMIDEAST Rabat program, leaving Istanbul for Morocco tomorrow. Hannah and Kaitlin are studying abroad in Istanbul and are already here (they left Monday night, we left Tuesday afternoon).

Eva is returning to D.C., however it is up to the professors whether she can get into classes, and many professors have shown reluctance at letting her reenter due to their feeling that she could not catch up, even though she is willing to do the work and is in a dire situation.

Patrick is unsure yet, but may go to the UAE Sharjah program or back to D.C.. Finally, Greg is planning attend AU Rome. We’ve all been evacuated and all ended up in Istanbul.

But more information on the AMIDEAST program: It already started, however, half of AMIDEAST Cairo is going to the same program, so we’ll all start behind together. I will be doing home stay and the program ends May 14, early than AUC’s May 26. Luckily, I booked a one-way ticket to Cairo to being so do not have to worry about cancellations/connections/reimbursement for that flight.

Are you getting reimbursed for any part of your study abroad program?

For AUC, since we did not start classes we get a full reimbursement for our tuition, which will go to our new programs. For dorm costs, we are unsure, but are hoping we’ll be mostly reimbursed. Most of us also paid for trips arranged by AUC, such as trips to Alexandria and Sinai that were obviously canceled and we hope to be reimbursed for those as well. We are unsure how long this process will take.

Do you plan to return to Egypt when things have calmed down?

Macarena and I plan to return to Cairo at the end of our Rabat program for two weeks to actually see Egypt, and visit our Egyptian friends we made there. Hopefully things are calm by then.

Is there anything else you think is interesting to add?

As much as this was an interesting experience, never did I once feel unsafe. More than anything, the worst part was us not knowing what to do, what was happening or where we’d go. It was a state of limbo for a number of days, and everyone was feeling the pressure. I may have a stomach ulcer now.

Duke, and universities across the country, is monitoring what could happen to study abroad and summer program opportunities in Egypt if pro-democracy protests escalate despite Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s announcement Tuesday that he will not seek re-election.

Students across the world are drawn to Cairo—the political center of more than a week of protests against Mubarak’s authoritarian regime—and its cultural and intellectual opportunities. One Duke graduate student has been evacuated from the region, and although no undergraduates are currently studying abroad in Egypt, the University is watching the protests closely because their outcome will likely determine the fate of future study abroad opportunities.

Sophomore Amir Abdu, whose father is from Egypt, said he hopes Mubarak lives up to his promise to not run for re-election.

“My hope is that the Egyptian youth will get what they want—a democratic government that promotes freedom,” he said.

In the meantime, administrators at Duke are monitoring the situation’s developments. Margaret Riley, director of the Global Education Office for Undergraduates, wrote in an e-mail that the only program the University currently offers in Egypt is a non-Duke administered program based in Cairo at the American University in Cairo. If a government with radical Islamists at the helm replaces Mubarak’s—or, worse, if the protests escalate into factional warfare—then the University may be forced to halt its study abroad opportunities in Egypt even if it does not wish to do so, she added.

“If the International Travel Oversight Committee determines to add Egypt to the ‘Restricted Regions List,’ then undergraduates would no longer be permitted to study there,” she wrote.

Even without an official warning, some undergraduates are already reconsidering their desire to study in Egypt due to lingering political uncertainty in the country. Some students fear that all study abroad programs in Egypt in the Fall could be canceled if the unrest continues.

“There are three Duke students who have active applications with American University in Cairo for the fall,” Riley wrote. “They are seriously considering other options at this time.”

Study abroad programs for graduate students are also being affected. The lone Duke graduate student studying in Egypt this semester has already been evacuated, as have the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s graduate students, according to The Herald-Sun.

“International SOS arranged for the evacuation of the one current Duke student who was in Egypt this week,” Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations wrote in an e-mail. “[It] also assisted several recent graduates who were in the country on study and research tours.”

Schoenfeld said it is premature for Duke to make any official decision at this time. Any action on Egypt’s status as a study abroad destination should be well-thought out, he noted, because of the nation’s immense archaeological, historical and cultural opportunities. Few countries can match Egypt’s diverse educational opportunities, he added.

“We look at each program and country on a case-by-case basis to balance the risks with the educational value,” he wrote. “It is important not to make general assumptions or decisions based on the events in one particular country.”

The University also has a DukeEngage program based in Cairo, which last year sent about 10 students to work with refugees, disabled youths and community development projects. This will be the program’s fourth summer, and it is set to take place from May 30 to July 29. Representatives for DukeEngage did not respond immediately to requests for comment on whether the program could be canceled if the unrest continues.

The possibility that study abroad opportunities in Cairo will be canceled is particularly striking considering the popularity and success of past programs there. Two Duke students studied in Cairo last semester at AUC. Junior Ross Taggart, one of the students, said he enjoyed his experience.

“I absolutely loved my experience in Egypt,” he wrote in an e-mail, citing the beautiful historical sites and the “wonderful people” he met.

Although Taggart experienced a relatively peaceful and informative stay in Egypt, he said some political tensions were noticeable even last semester.

“Some of my professors [at AUC] talked at length in class about the rampant corruption in the Egyptian government and Mubarak’s blatant manipulation of the electoral process,” he wrote. “Still, elections were held and Mubarak was re-elected while I was there with absolutely no incident that I was aware of.”

Even a complete change of government would not necessarily spell doom for study abroad opportunities in Egypt. The protests are pro-democratic in nature and are led mostly by liberal reformers under the age of 30, despite the attempts of religious organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood to gain a foothold in the movement. If the government is wholly replaced, the transition could be not only peaceful, but also beneficial if democratic reformers lead the government rather than religious groups, Ebrahim Moosa, associate professor of Islamic studies, wrote in an e-mail.

“[The protests in Egypt] will only affect us in the immediate short term since safety and security concerns would be foremost in dispatching students to the region,” he wrote. “Depending on how long these protests drag on, Americans would be welcome once things go back to normal, but as of now we do not know what ‘normal’ means.”

Moosa added that he believes the Muslim Brotherhood is not as ominous a presence as the United States, Israel, some members of the media and Mubarak himself have made it out to be.

“Using the Muslim Brotherhood as a scarecrow has been a red herring used by the Mubarak regime and also sections of our political establishment and media to support the status quo,” he wrote. “If the Egyptian people choose a political party they prefer but one that is not to our liking, we might be able to lament their choice, but we have no right to subvert and block their right to choose freely.”

Moosa added that the United States and Israel should support democracy in Egypt, rather than continue to support Mubarak.

The Egyptian protests are larger than Duke or any one institution. Whatever the outcome, it has the potential to affect millions, for better or worse. The protests have already helped start or sustain similar protests in Tunisia, Yemen, Lebanon and—most recently—Jordan. The “domino effect of change” that Moosa cited could very well cause further protests throughout the notoriously volatile region.

Egyptian students at Duke are watching the events closely.

Abdu said he believes radical groups have neither the influence nor the means to seize power once Mubarak steps down.

“Although it is a concern, I have doubts that the Muslim Brotherhood has the popularity or the influence to take control,” he said. “Although they support the demonstrations, the Islamic fundamentalists don’t seem to have an active presence at all.”

Abdu added that he believes a peaceful result is likely.

“Egypt seems to be on the verge of real change, and I have faith that it will achieve a positive result,” he said. “I truly believe that after all the dust has finally settled, my family will be able to enjoy freedom, stability and peace.”

On a ship, the Laurence M. Gould, Wurtzell worked on hydroacoustics — the study of sound waves in water — with Prof. Joe Warren, marine and atmosperic sciences, State University of New York-Stony Brook. Hydroacoustics allows scientists to survey a large amount of ocean, but the images generated by an acoustic towfish cannot differentiate between certain species.

On a team of four scientists that included Warren, Wurtzell conducted research on salps — transparent gelatinous filter feeders — and krill — shrimp-like crustaceans — in an effort to differentiate the similar acoustic signatures of the two very different organisms.

Salps and krill are studied together because it has been found that the populations of the two species are inversely related. At the same time, both are critical to the ecosystem. Krill make up the diet of many marine animals, and salps play a significant role in the world’s carbon cycle as a carbon sink.

Wurtzell explained that salps eat large amounts of phytoplankton, and salp fecal pellets sink in the ocean, transporting a large amount of carbon away from the surface. This process removes enough carbon from the surface waters that salp populations can alter the earth’s carbon cycle.

Working 16-hour shifts, Wurtzell operated a conductivity, temperature and depth instrument, collected samples using nets and measured the density of salps and krill caught in the nets, among other measurements. The long days were difficult, and the lack of sleep became a problem for Wurtzell, but she says the experience and all the hardships were worth it.

Although working in Antarctica was a new experience for Wertzell, going on a research cruise was not. Her experiences began when she participated in Sea Education Association Semester, an oceans study abroad program. The 12-week journey in the Pacific Ocean piqued Wurtzell’s interest in research cruises.

After returning to Cornell, Wurtzell worked in the Lab of Ornithology’s Bioacoustics Research Program on whale sounds. The following summer Wurtzell secured an internship at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center. There, Wurtzell did work on fishery acoustics, and as a part of her internship, she went on her second research cruise. That internship connected Wurtzell to Warren’s Acoustic Laboratory for Ecological Studies.

About joining Warren on the Antarctica research cruise, Wurtzell said “I never believed in networking, but that was definitely a who-you-know situation.”

Reflecting on her experiences, Wurtzell stated that boarding a research vessel was “the best career move I ever made.”Even after 13 weeks on three separate research cruises, she has only seen the tip of the iceberg and is excited for future research cruises whenever and wherever they may be.

The last time I was in India was sometime around 2002. I was in Ahmedabad, Gujarat during the Hindu-Muslim riots. It was like watching a clip from a cable news network, except it was all so much more real than that. From the backseat of a taxi speeding on its way to the airport to catch a last-minute flight out, I saw people running screaming through the streets, shops being set on fire, terror everywhere.

This time I spent most of my trip in Mumbai. Thankfully, I didn’t witness any senseless acts of violence like last time. Instead, I fell in love with Mumbai all over again – its people, its food, its dilapidated buildings, its pigeons that perch on apartment terraces, its million cows sitting patiently beneath skyscrapers. If I were ever to move to India, Mumbai would be the place. I could deal with almost every thing that makes living in Mumbai miserable – the traffic, the pollution, the bureaucracy, the corruption, all of that – for just a moment sitting on a patch of dirty Juhu beach sand, sipping on coconut water, watching lovers hold hands over the Arabian Sea.

But I don’t know if I could ever deal with the fact that money rules Mumbai. Some might say money rules the world, but this fact is compounded 10 times over in Mumbai. I was only there for a short time over winter break, but even I could easily discern that in one month.

Money divides the city – it’s a class society, and where you are is where you are. If you’re anywhere in the lower class, good luck making your way out. But if you have money, you can live a very nice life in Mumbai. Even a simple middle-class home in Mumbai typically employs at least one servant – someone who comes and washes laundry daily, does the dishes three times a day after breakfast, lunch and dinner. Wealthier homes can have anywhere from two to six servants – and then there’s always Mukesh Ambani, who has a whole floor of his personal skyscraper dedicated solely to his housekeeping needs.

Ambani’s Mumbai mansion is the perfect example. Ambani is a business tycoon, currently the fourth richest man in the world. The thing rises 27 stories into the sky. The first six floors alone serve as a parking garage housing his many, many imported cars. One floor is a gymnasium, another floor serves solely as his live-in servants’ quarters. The roof holds three helipads.

But directly opposite Mr. Ambani’s home, you will find collapsing buildings with their paint chipping off, and beggars on the street corner. In Mumbai, the wealthy live in extreme luxury right next to extreme poverty, and it all seems to make no difference to anyone. The juxtaposition is the one sore spot in the middle of all of the city’s incredible potential and beauty.

“If you want to see the real Mumbai, go to Dharavi.” When an older cousin of mine offered to take my brother and I on a tour of Mumbai, this was my 16-year-old cousin’s retort. Dharavi is one of the world’s largest slums, with a population estimated somewhere between 600,000 and 1 million. I did actually request so see Dharavi during my trip. But no one would take me there. My older cousin flat-out refused – “It’s a maze. Once you get in, it’s very difficult to get out.”

And that’s how it is for much of Mumbai’s have-nothings. In Mumbai, poverty is an elaborate maze. Even if one wants to get out, there’s no clear way to escape the mess. Who are the emaciated kids sleeping on dirty floors in Dharavi supposed to turn to for help? The government provides little, if any, welfare. While I complain of having to shower with a bucket of lukewarm water in a spacious flat rising 11 stories above the dusty street, on that very same street there is a girl younger than me who doesn’t even have access to a toilet or clean water and lives in a room the size of my bathroom.

Despite all my affection for Mumbai, living in the city for a month was mentally exhausting. All around Mumbai is privilege side by side with poverty, and no one seems to care. Maybe the next time I visit Mumbai, it’ll be different. For now, I’ll just remember the sweeter parts of the city – the hazy skyline at dawn, the fuchsia-hued saris floating orb-like in alleys and the fact that in Mumbai, you’re never alone.

The Nittany Lions’ team plane had to land in Evansville, Ind., on Monday night, because of a major ice storm hovering above Champaign. With no signs the storm will subside any time soon, the Lions will remain in Evansville for the night and leave for Champaign by bus Tuesday morning. Sports information director Brian Siegrist said in a text message that no departure time has been set yet.

The team landed in Evansville around 8 p.m. and hoped to bus into Champaign Monday night, but the weather wouldn’t allow it.

It’s roughly a four-hour drive to Champaign from Evansville.

The Lions are hoping to make it to Champaign in time for their noon shoot around.

The Nittany Lions beat the Illini 57-55 on Jan. 11 at the Bryce Jordan Center, and are currently tied for fourth place in the Big Ten, having won four out of their last six games, including a win Saturday over then-No. 17 Wisconsin.

The historic events began on Jan. 25 when across Egypt a “Day of Anger” was planned to coincide with National Police Day. A national holiday mandated in 2009, it has roots in the Egyptian fight against colonialism when local police officers refused British Army demands to disarm. The ensuing stand-off left 50 police officers dead and was a widely documented event in the fight for independence from de facto British rule.

Fast forward to the present where President Hosni Mubarak has turned the revolutionary day into a forced day of honor to the guardians of his police state. In power since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981, Mubarak has ruthlessly terrified the Egyptian populace into compliance for three decades.

Seen as a symbol of stability in the West, Mubarak has built his one-party state on a foundation of fear (against the ever exaggerated threats from Islamist political group, the Muslim Brotherhood) and boatloads of cash from the American government.

According to the Christian Science Monitor, the U.S. government has given the Egyptian state $1.3 billion in military aid every year since 1979. Including smaller amounts towards “economic assistance,” which inevitably ends up going to Mubarak-loyal companies, Egypt has been on the total receiving end of more than $50 billion from American taxpayers.

While Egypt has been home to protests against the government before, none have been this large and pervasive across all walks of life: From the 40 percent of Egypt’s population of 80 million that subsist on $2 a day, to the foreign-educated middle class. Even the religious divide between Christians (which make up 10 percent of the population) and Muslims has apparently been bridged with chants of “Muslameen Mesiheen Kolina Masreen” which means “Muslims Christians We Are All Egyptians,” routinely rising up from the protest crowds.

And despite the reasons for protesting varying from high food prices and unemployment to political corruption and a lack of civil liberties, all protestors agree on one thing: President Hosni Mubarak must go.

With tens of thousands of protestors turning into hundreds of thousands across the country, the government shut down all conventional Internet service providers and blocked cell phone signals on Jan. 28.

While many foreign observers have been more than eager to attribute some, if not all, of the protest’s strength to Facebook and Twitter, most of the protest planning has been spontaneous and by word of mouth.

Facebook and Twitter have been utilized by some tech-savvy youth, but mostly as a means of getting information out of the country and not as an organizational tool within.

President Mubarak, in a display of isolation from his own people, has refused to step down from power and continues to unleash a variety of carrot and stick methods to get the protestors to go home.

First, it was Mubarak’s usual method of sending out the police to bash in some heads.

This time, however, the protests are so large and the issues are so grave, the protestors have been able to withstand police attacks.

Al Jazeera has even noted several policemen taking off their uniforms and crossing over to join the protestors.

Mubarak then called in the army, but reminiscent of scenes from the fall of the Soviet Union, the protestors happily greeted the soldiers who were all too reluctant to fire on their own people.

Then, on Jan. 29 came the firing of Mubarak’s cabinet, their replacement by military figures, and the appointment of Egypt’s intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, as vice president.

These token gestures were taken exactly as such by the protestors and can be best summed up by one of the protest signs: “I will go home when Mubarak goes home.”

The latest Mubarak tactic, according to numerous locals via Twitter, is to sow chaos through theft and vandalism to make the citizens support their government again.

The prisons have released all their prisoners, and the police now roam the city in plain clothes, looting homes and destroying priceless antiquities in the public museums.

Though the army has not showed any violence towards the protestors yet, the protestors’ enthusiasm for them has waned as jets now strafe the protestors to intimidate them.

Despite the arrival of Mohamed ElBaradei (former Director general of the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency) to lend his support to the protests, the U.S. government refuses to endorse the well-known moderate as a transition figure and repudiate the dictator Mubarak. If the U.S. is to have any shred of legitimacy left, it should cut all foreign aid to Egypt and stop supporting Mubarak.

The students, who are in Cairo to participate in BC’s external program at the American University in Cairo, will leave Egypt over the next few days as a part of the U.S. State Department’s optional evacuation of American citizens from Egypt, said Bernd Widdig, director of the Office of International Programs.

“The American University [in Cairo] is coordinating the evacuation in close coordination with the State Department and we anticipate that our students will leave Egypt in the next few days,” Widdig said.

In an e-mail, Widdig said that the OIP has remained in contact with the two students, their parents, and their colleagues at the American University in Cairo since the protests first sent shock waves across the region just over a week ago.

“Since the situation in Cairo remains volatile and the safety of our students is our primary concern, our students will take the offer by the Department of State to be flown out of Egypt to safe haven locations in Europe,” Widdig said.

He said that the OIP would continue to work with officials from the American University in Cairo as the evacuations proceed over the next few days.

Ellis was looking to document the revolution unfolding in Egypt, but his role as a bystander was transformed when police threw tear gas canisters into the crowd.

“I was basically suffocating after I came out of it. Tear gas isn’t an instant pain, it creeps up on you. You can run away from tear gas, but it’s still on you,” said Ellis, who is in the Middle East studies graduate program.

Ellis said a group of Egyptians carried him to an alleyway, giving him smelling salts to keep him conscious.

“The Egyptian people saved my ass. They really helped me,” Ellis said. “They told me to go back to my country and tell the world.”

Unrest has engulfed the country since Jan. 25, threatening President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year hold on the nation and making Egypt the epicenter of Middle East uprisings that have swept the region from Tunisia to Yemen this month.

The protests, fueled by social media before Facebook and Twitter was shuttered by the government Friday, are in response to Egypt’s high poverty and unemployment rates, as well as torture and corruption allegations against Mubarak’s regime.

For many of the 14 GW students who have watched their semester abroad turn into a firsthand account of historic upheaval, the demonstrations mean lockdown in their apartment complexes on the outskirts of Cairo.

GW spokeswoman Candace Smith said GW students are being advised to “remain in place,” while GW and program administrators in the country develop a plan to bring the students home.

“Program administrators are working to identify options to bring our students back to the United States safely and as quickly as possible,” Smith said.

The State Department reduced its diplomatic presence in Egypt Sunday, authorizing the voluntary departure of dependents of diplomats and non-essential workers, various media outlets reported. Neighboring Georgetown U. is currently attempting to evacuate the students from its university out of the country.

Internet access was shut down in the country Friday, but GW is able to connect with students through landline telephones, Smith said.

“We have advised our students to take precautions to ensure their continued safety, including avoiding demonstrations and staying in close contact with their parents and program administrators,” Smith said.

Though he was advised by program organizers to stay away from the protests and police, junior Ian Goldin also took to the streets last Tuesday as an observer, but tried to avoid danger.

“I took cover that first day behind the pillar to take a photograph of a demonstration and an Egyptian walking by me told me not to be afraid. I thought that was pretty powerful and symbolic for an Egyptian to tell an American in English not to be afraid,” Goldin said.

Goldin said he “stayed a safe distance” away from the riots, but could not pass up the opportunity to watch the riots unfold.

“I didn’t come to Egypt to take classes. I can take classes at GW. I went 5,000 miles away from home to experience another part of the world and immerse myself in the culture,” he said. “I major in international affairs, so I want to experience international affairs. I didn’t want to let the chance to witness history slip by me.”

Some students in Egypt thought venturing out into the protests was too great a risk, not only for their safety but also for their role as Americans.

“We represent America no matter what we do,” Lauren Kardos, a junior, said.

Kardos said the diplomatic consequences of an American student being seriously hurt or killed in a protest would be too significant.

“It’s not our place because it’s not our fight. If you were to get hurt protesting, you would cause so much more damage for the country. It would cause more problems than it would help,” Kardos said. “You can show solidarity by hanging signs or bringing food to your Egyptian friends after they come in from protesting.”

Program directors told students to expect protests Jan. 25, a day the government designated as a holiday to celebrate a police force that Egyptians view as abusive.

“We’d been coached the whole time how to react. We know that police will chase after us and smash our cameras if we try to use it. We’ve been taught what to do, what not to do, what to take pictures of. We’ve been barred from going to the protests,” Kardos said.

While the students expected the protests, they did not anticipate the government shutdown of Internet and cell phone services that began Friday, disconnecting them from friends and family and introducing them to the world of authoritarianism.

“You understand intellectually when you live in Egypt that it’s not the United States. You don’t carry your rights and privileges with you in your luggage. But once Twitter and Facebook went down, it was sort of a slap in the face and you understood what it was like to live in a place with not as many rights,” Goldin said Thursday in a Skype interview.

As the protests continue, uncertainty pervades.

“I was thinking while I was at the protest: I don’t know the milestone for success. That’s why these protests might go on for more days, or even weeks,” Ellis said. “I think the general sentiment is that if they keep trying, then something’s going to give.”

“All 22 students studying with Middlebury’s program in Alexandria, Egypt, have made it safely to the Alexandria airport, which is secure and guarded by the army,” wrote Middlebury’s Dean of International Programs Jeff Cason Sunday, in a statement on Middlebury’s website. “We expect that the students will be leaving the Alexandria airport tomorrow, and that their first stop outside Egypt will be Athens, from where students will travel back to the United States.”

The Middlebury program — a Brown-approved alternate study-abroad option — decided to evacuate the students and stop the program, given the

continued volatility of the situation in Egypt, according to another statement released Saturday by Michael Geisler, vice president for language schools, schools abroad and graduate programs at Middlebury.

Michael Dawkins and Amanda Labora — the Brown students studying in Egypt this semester — could not be contacted due to the virtual blackout of the internet and cell phones. Landline usage has been at least partly restored, allowing communication with the United States.

The program has been in contact with parents of the students and in touch with the program in Egypt through limited landline use.

Protests against Mubarak’s 30-year rule began last Tuesday, largely spurred on by social networking sites and coverage from Al-Jazeera, an international news station located in the Middle East. The protests escalated Friday in Cairo’s Tahrir Square as civilians continued to retaliate against police forces.

Protests at this level are “virtually nonexistent” in the Middle East due to the enforcement of the police state in the region, said Melani Cammett, director of Brown’s Middle East studies program and associate professor of political science. “The military is the backbone of the state,” she added.

The protests are grounded in frustration over the economic conditions in Egypt, where about 50 percent of people live on less than $2 a day under a corrupt government system, Cammett said. But the current economic conditions alone did not cause the eruption of protests 30 years after Mubarak took office, she added. A combination of factors — including the recent overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia and the influence of social media and Al-Jazeera — all fueled the intensity of the protests.

The overthrow of the government in Tunisia was “utterly shocking,” Cammett said, since Tunisia is an even stronger police state than Egypt. Cammett, who has spent years living in countries throughout the Middle East, said she was less surprised when the protests broke out in Egypt due to the success in Tunisia and the response of the police who eventually backed down, rather than stomping out resistance. While there were localized protests in Tunisia covered by the Human Rights Watch in 2008, protests “on a national scale with this much energy and violence” are largely unprecedented, she added.

Social networking energized protesters until the government shutdown of the internet. Sydney Silverstein, who studied at the American U. in Cairo last semester, said she started to see hints that something might happen through her Egyptian Facebook friends about a week ago.

“There was a lot of activity from people I still know in Egypt,” Silverstein said, including initial postings about the protests.

Silverstein lived only 10 minutes away from Tahrir Square by car last year, taking the 6th of October Bridge — one of the epicenters of this week’s turmoil — to get to classes in the city.

“We literally were just there,” Silverstein said, adding that it is shocking to “see the bridges we crossed, the buildings we were in.” She said she witnessed resentment against the government, particularly after parliamentary elections appeared rigged against the opposition party, but she did not expect the protests to happen.

Andrew Leber, who studied in Alexandria through the same program as the two Brown students currently there, said “people thought things would change someday, but no one knew how.”

But last week, he said Facebook friends began writing about “some type of revolution.” He added that this all occurred before “everyone cut out on Facebook” due to government blackout of social networking sites.

On Sunday, the Al-Jazeera office in Cairo was also shut down by the government, although Al-Jazeera correspondent Dan Nolan tweeted that they would continue to find ways to give updates, according to the Huffington Post.

Leber has been coordinating with students involved in the program last semester to send e-mails with their thoughts and prayers to the students currently in Alexandria.

Middlebury did not immediately decide to evacuate the students. On Friday, Middlebury released a statement saying Saturday’s classes were cancelled with the potential to resume the following week. But when Saturday came, Middlebury announced the evacuation. The safety protocol is carried out by the school sponsoring the program, wrote Kendall Brostuen, director of international programs at Brown and associate dean of the College, in an e-mail to The Herald. He added that Brown has been in close contact with both Middlebury and the families of the students in Egypt.

The U.S. Embassy recently released an advisory recommending Americans leave Egypt, according to the Associated Press.

Mubarak still holds power in Egypt, though he has fired other government officials and replaced them with new leadership. Cammett said this is a “standard” move by the government, meant as an attempt to “pick a scapegoat and continue with business as usual.” But she said it appears that the Egyptian people are not buying it this time.

The protest does not appear to have been started by the opposition parties in Egypt, though notable resistance leaders, such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, have expressed their support.

“This is clearly a youth protest,” she said, noting that “at a certain point you have nothing left to lose” as many Egyptians cannot even afford to get married.

Cammett said she could not predict the outcome, but added, “Each moment that it continues and each confrontation is another step in what seems like a tipping point.”

President Obama’s administration lifted restrictions on study abroad programs to Cuba on Jan. 14, overturning limits put in place by then-President George W. Bush in 2004.

Janis Perkins, the UI Study Abroad director, said studying in Cuba as a student lets young people visit a nation that is difficult to access after graduation.

“You can go as a student, but Cuba is not being opened up just for vacations and tourism yet,” she said.

The UI discontinued its 2003 Afro-Cuban drum and dance workshop in Cuba, but now, the Study Abroad Office is looking into creating new programs.

Perkins said the Study Abroad Office is working on a proposal for a winter literature program in Cuba — likely to be the UI’s first program offered in the country since the president’s decision. The university hopes to offer an official study abroad program in Cuba by 2012.

Sarah Griebel, a senior Spanish and English major, said Cuba appeared to be a place fewer students would be willing to visit.

“I think it could be an interesting and different approach to studying Spanish,” the 22-year-old said.

Downing Thomas, the dean of International Programs, said many UI students and staff members expressed interest in completing Cuba-centered research in the past few years.

The interest led the UI — and 27 other universities — to sign a letter organized by the Association of International Educators asking the president for the “removal of current restrictions on academic travel to Cuba.”

The Oct. 28, 2010, letter argued the restrictions lowered the number of U.S. students making their way to Cuba.

According to the Open Doors Report, only 251 U.S. students studied in Cuba during the 2008-09 school year, compared to 1,279 in 2001-02.

Ursula Oaks, a spokeswoman for the association, said educational exchanges were a key part of opening a society.

“I think really the point is that American students can travel just about anywhere in the world, and they should be able to travel to Cuba,” she said.

But not everyone approves of the decision.

Frank Calzón, the executive director of the Center for a Free Cuba, said he thought it was “shameful” for a university to support study-abroad programs in Cuba, where academic repression is constant.

Calzón said Cuban leaders only reform policy when the Cuban regime is short on money — but an influx of study-abroad dollars will prevent reforms.

“You think you’re helping the Cuban people, but you’re not,” Calzón said.

Yet Thomas said the UI presence in Cuba would be “very limited.”

“We’re not giving money to the Castro regime,” he said. “We’re giving opportunities for students to study abroad and opening up cultural exchanges between the people of Cuba and Iowa.”

The speech, delivered in front of more than 1,000 students, was in support of the president’s “100,000 Strong” Initiative, a plan Obama announced during his 2009 China visit that is a national effort to greatly increase the number and diversity of Americans who are able to study in China through the promotion of programs and scholarships.

In her speech, the First Lady emphasized the importance of pursuing study opportunities in China by citing the key role young adults can play in shaping United States-China relations and expanding collaboration between the two nations on both regional and global issues.

“Studying in countries like China isn’t only about your prospects in the global marketplace,” she said. “It’s also about whether you can come together, and work together with them to make our world stronger. It’s about the friendships you make, the bonds of trust you establish and the image of America that you project to the rest of the world.”

Dan Schnur, director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics, said sending American students abroad has tremendous national and global benefits, particularly with regard to the nation’s ties to China.

“The first lady is absolutely right,” he said. “The more American college students that spend time studying abroad, the more equipped our society is going to be to work in a global community in the years ahead. The good news around here is that USC is already one of the nation’s leaders in encouraging these types of efforts, and it would be nice to have some company.”

USC boasts an international office in Nanjing, China, two abroad programs run by the Office of Overseas Studies and 19 Chinese-related language programs offered by the USC U.S.-China Institute.

Clayton Dube, associate director of the U.S.-China Institute, said the university’s presence in China is particularly strong and has grown in recent years.

“We had 11 summer programs last year, and that doesn’t even include the ones that the U.S.-China Institute ran for teachers and students who served as ambassadors at the World Expo,” Dube said.

USC’s U.S.-China Institute organized more than 160 participants to serve at the World Expo in Shanghai last year, Dube said.

Nationally, the number of Americans who study in China has steadily increased in recent years, as well. Ten years ago, roughly 3,000 Americans studied in China, compared to about 14,000 who went in 2008 and roughly 20,000 in 2009, according to a paper Dube published last August.

In addition, the U.S. State Department sends more Americans to China for study abroad than to any other country, according to Ann Stock, assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs.

Schnur said USC students stand to benefit even further if students from across the country are able to take part in similar ventures.

“[Former] President [Steven B.] Sample and [President] C. L. Max Nikias have both made the strengthening of these ties an absolute priority for the university,” he said. “It can only be a good thing for USC students to take advantage of this experience if other students from other schools have similar opportunities as well.”

Alex Silkin, a sophomore majoring in computer science, who went on USC’s Beijing summer program last year, said his experience abroad helped him place his academics in a global context.

“I could see with my own eyes how Beijing … will shape the future of human civilization [but] my experiences in Asia also highlighted the problems of modern society,” he said. “[Studying in China] is not only an excellent way to learn a language and submerge oneself within a culture, but also broaden one’s knowledge about the state of the world.”

That’s all of North America. We’re at USC, where the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences alone has 52 different study abroad programs in 28 different countries.

These places can range from somewhere as exotic as Costa Rica to a bustling city like Beijing. The Study Abroad office offers destinations in 48 different majors.

Chances are, almost everyone has thought of going overseas.

This consideration could range from reading up on actual programs to watching the movie Eurotrip‚ and thinking Eastern Europe wouldn’t be so bad for a semester.

Either way, it’s an easy notion to entertain.

What doesn’t cross most peoples’ minds is the preparation that studying abroad entails.

More specifically, I’m talking about that awkward window of time when everyone’s back on campus and you’re‚ well, probably at home, packing. Unless you’re one of the few people who plans to study abroad multiple times and has gone before, you’re gearing up for an experience you still don’t understand.

But your program should let you know what you’re getting into, right? To some extent.

Although the glossy brochures help you visualize the experience, you can’t expect the basic details of your trip to be set in stone.

For example, the two central components of my trip are still giant question marks.

My destination is Amsterdam. I know I’ll be taking classes, but I have no idea what they are. I know I’ll be living with a host family, but again, I have no idea who they are.

This is the first time my program has let students pick a non-dorm option, and so far, staffers haven’t seen it necessary to give me my new family’s contact information.

With no friendly e-mails for reassurance, I can only ask: What if they hate me? What should I bring them from the United States? What if I turn up at the airport and they ditch me? Yikes.

The lack of information has taught me the first lesson of studying abroad: No matter how excited you were when you applied, at some point, you’re going to end up terrified.

For many people, that point comes as soon as they land. For others, it’s a month or more into the  experience.

I’ve heard of a honeymoon period when everything about the host country seems sparkly and magical‚ until you get lost in 10-degree weather and can’t read the street signs. In my case, that point is now.

But fear of uncertainty should not stop any student from going abroad.

When you choose to spend a semester in another country, you essentially make yourself grow up a little. That fact might be more obvious for those studying in countries where running water isn’t a given, but even more urban destinations require a maturity boost.

We’re all going to grow one way or another. It’s a privilege to be able to make that growth a conscious choice, one pre-packaged with college credit and a résumé booster.

After all, most growing experiences involve no warning or organized selection. Life slaps you in the face and expects you to deal.

But our specializations are different, right? After three years and a few 300-level classes, you’d think you would be close to proficiency in a subject, if not close to an amateur expert.

Wrong.

After spending a little more than a week in Santiago de Chile, I can tell you with absolute certainty that despite years of studying Spanish, the three-year-old cousin who spends a lot of time at my host family’s house speaks this language better than me.

Don’t get me wrong, I never thought I’d be able to just jump into this place without some language issues. But I didn’t think that I would require amazing patience from Chileans to get anything more complicated than the simplest pieces of information.

My host family and people at the university seem sympathetic and are used to foreigners, so they speak slow and tell me to just relax. Add that to the fact that Chile has one of the roughest accents in the Spanish-speaking world and I have a lot to learn here.

My point is, classroom work doesn’t cut it for truly learning these things. Even if I were a Spanish expert, I’d still get weird stares because about half the words I was taught aren’t used by anyone outside of Spain or Mexico.

You think carro or coche means car? Not here. Stick with auto. Aguacate? You must mean palta. Trying to tell your family about your novio or novia back home in the States? You’d better either be engaged or looking for the word amiguito(a).

I don’t mean to sound like I’m complaining. I love this place so much that if I decided to cancel my ticket home and stay forever, nobody should be surprised. But the transition to Chilean Spanish isn’t easy by any means.

Anyone who has studied a language and then gone abroad likely knows what I’m talking about here, as do people who’ve worked jobs or internships in their fields of study.
School can teach you a lot, but it doesn’t hold a candle to real-world experience. So get out there and learn a little, in addition to the mandatory experience many majors require.

Volunteer in schools if you’re an education major. Watch French movies without the subtitles if you’re a French minor. Go cut some people open if you’re a medical student — wait, actually, scratch that last one.

Step outside of campus to round out your education. You will be surprised to see how little you actually know, but it will motivate you to learn a lot more than those questions you need to answer at the end of capítulo cinco will.

I’m able to get from point A to point B with relative assurance using the bus system, I know how to ask someone for help if I get lost, and I know how many pesos a Corona costs on Thursday nights at El Cumbanchero, the local salsa bar.

I know that when you’re hot, you always want to say you’re calor, not caliente, (unless you are in fact caliente, which probably isn’t something you want to advertise on the street). I know that the Yucatecan culinary special, “Pollo Pibil,” is a sure bet at most restaurants, and that if you are an easily-offended young American female who doesn’t take well to being ceaselessly ogled by the locals, this probably isn’t the place for you.

On the list of quagmires I have yet to solve is figuring out a polite way to tell my host mother that there is no hot water in my bathroom, that there is a colony of possibly carnivorous ants living in my bedroom, or that I would like a little more than rice and lettuce for dinner sometimes. (Dinners are quite small here across the board; lunch is the main event in most of Latin America and Spain).

Speaking of my host mother–her name is Maria Lucia, and she is the nicest, most helpful Mexican woman that I have met thus far in Mérida. She is patient with me as we attempt to converse in Spanish over breakfast at 6:30 a.m., she gives me directions everywhere I need to go, and-channeling the spirit of my real mother-she will not let me leave the house if my shorts are too corto (Take a guess at that one).

Maria Lucia has three grown children who live here with her-Pricilla, Patricio, and Paulina. In this culture, it is customary to live at home until you marry. Pricilla works for a company based in Boston that sells travel packages to American and Canadian universities sending students abroad. I see her the most out of all my host siblings, and she speaks fluent English because of her work.

Patricio recently graduated from a local university, where he studied marketing. He is currently tirelessly looking for work, yet he always enough free time to tell me where all the best discotecas are (and appears to frequent them nightly).

I see Paulina the least out of the three-she leaves for work before I wake in the mornings, and retreats upstairs before I have time to talk with her any other time of the day. It seems that Maria Lucia, as my primary caretaker, is the only one who takes much notice of me. I can hardly blame the kids for their lack of interest in attempting to speak Spanish with me-the family has been hosting students from the U.S. and Canada for over fifteen years.

As my second week in Mérida draws to a close, I can already tell that the most difficult task facing me on this trip will not be learning the language or writing ten-page papers for my classes, but rather, deciding which of the hundreds of exciting activities offered to visitors of the Yucatan I can squeeze into ten short weeks.

Paraphrasing the way he told it, “We saw a place called ‘The Smoke House.’ We got all the way inside before we saw the glass cases and the salami. [...] It was a deli. The proprietor totally knew what was up!”

Indeed, the idea that studying abroad in Amsterdam must be a sort of European “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-with-tulips-and-clogs” follows us Amsterdam exchange students at every step of our travels. Undeniably, there is that side to the city, but there is much more that I want people to appreciate about Amsterdam.

Being alone in a new city for the first time is inevitably an intimidating experience. The first few days, I got lost in Amsterdam’s circular streets; I was afraid my transit pass would expire and that I’d face an uncomfortable confrontation with an irate tram driver.

And there was inevitably a moment of awkwardness whenever I was asked something in Dutch. During that time I felt more comfortable shopping at the tiny halal groceries and falafel stands of the North African and Middle Eastern district in which my apartment sits. I felt reassured by first-generation immigrants who, wherever they had come from, had already gone through the process of adjusting to this new culture and home.

The first thing you do in Amsterdam is to get a bicycle. The Dutch proudly tell foreigners that the city has more bicycles than people. They are the most convenient mode of transportation to any destination if you’re willing to brave the reckless Dutch scofflaw cyclists.

So, a few days after my arrival, I accompanied two friends to the used-bike store around the corner from our apartments to try out the rides. The Portuguese bike repairman who staffs the store – let’s call him Tomás – is like a sketchy used-car dealer that you can’t help but like. I don’t trust him, but his amiable teasing is placating.

We wanted to try out some bikes that were chained through the wheels out front, but there was a problem! Tomás had lost the key to the padlock. I helped him search as he stumbled around the over-full shop, swearing profusely in several languages. We found the key, and he ruefully admitted that he should probably “stop drinking on the clock.”

When classes finally started, I noticed some differences from the American system. There is no class list available. Students are assigned classes based on an interview in which they talk about their interests with the head of the music department.

The Dutch trademark informality is evident every day, although the teaching is rigorous: Students refer to professors as “teachers.” Homework is rarely graded – grades are often assigned based entirely on a final exam.

And I was very surprised one day in Music Aesthetics class when our charming, diminutive teacher asked us to submit a paper and to “avoid copy-pasting from sources because it will ruin the tone of your essay – and I will know – and if you copy from Wikipedia the writing might not even be that good.” It was the gentlest admonition against plagiarism I’d ever heard! As the Canadian next to me paraphrased, “If you’re going to plagiarize, at least do it from a reputable source.”

I’m sure that any actual plagiarism would not be taken lightly, but this quiet confidence characterizes what I think of as the typical Dutch attitude towards life: People are treated as equals. Individuals may make mistakes but should still be treated with dignity; challenges are approached and overcome calmly and logically.

After four months in the Netherlands, I feel more confident. I’ve learned enough Dutch to complete simple transactions in the vernacular, and my skills on a bicycle have reached a point where I can pull on a glove one-handed with a bag of groceries in the other hand and a missing right pedal – it broke and I’m too cheap to get it fixed.

The people I’ve met – friends, colleagues and the wonderful characters around the city – are as important a part of the experience as the classes I’ve taken. At this point, my biggest concern is how I’m going to re-adjust to America next year. But I still have another term in the Netherlands to figure that out!

I came back from Spain three weeks ago with none of these. Which is mostly a blessing, I guess, but also sort of a curse, because as far as I can tell, my interactions with other humanoids right now are supposed to involve lots of starry-eyed contemplation and patronizing explanation — because, I mean, I wouldn’t expect you to get it, or anything, seeing as you haven’t actually been there.

Mostly, though, I’ve stuck to single-word descriptors of the last four months: awesome, amazing, great, etc., which seem to fit the bill — or would, were I to invent a 20- (nay, 10-) second story of blissful, ephemeral Mediterranean romance. Which would hopefully also involve a beachside sunset and sangria — or maybe cava, Spanish champagne, to demonstrate the completeness of my cultural immersion.

It’s a problem I share with a good friend of mine, who’s just back from six months in India. No one really wants to hear her stories, either, lest they include bindis, the Taj Mahal or photo-ops with the cast of Slumdog Millionaire. (Or their probable on-screen stand-ins. Whatevs.)

Thing is, world wonder-/club-hopping gets to be kind of exhausting. The full, awful truth inevitably involves a lot of boring stuff, like learning that no one walks outside with their paper Starbucks cup and that most of the paella they give you is frozen and overpriced anyway. Bet that one made your jaw drop in envy.

Everyone’s collective stomach for the real awe-inspiring stuff tends to fill pretty fast, too. And I can’t blame ’em: spending three boozy months in a dorm in Paris with other UC students does not, actually, make you a connoisseur of French wine. It makes you insufferably annoying. (Also, a likely fellow lit major.)

There’s a difficult line to walk between airing your smug, bourgie worldliness and staying tight-lipped on your time away. It’s easy to find the appeal in the latter: decreased douchiness, fewer treasured acquaintances lost.

But some — maybe actual friends — will claim to want a full report. They will want to hear about the sights, the food, if his name was Alejandro or Fernando.

And, in truth, it’s hard to tell them. The strangest thing that no one seems to know about going abroad is that afterwards, when you have a suitcase of train tickets and museum passes and clothes that probably smell like cigarettes, there’s not really any other evidence that you’ve been gone.

You hear “please” and “thank you” and “excuse me” at the airport baggage claim, which all serve as a weird, unusually polite reintroduction to America. Maybe the next day you eat your first burrito in what feels like three lifetimes.

But then it’s all sort of normal again.

You get used to the good service at restaurants and carrying a coffee cup outside. The jet lag fades. No one looks at you funny for walking and eating breakfast at the same time. It’s life, and whatever precipitated it wasn’t.

Going back to school is stranger still. After months of alleged studying at a place where classes start 20 minutes late and open-book final exams dare to ask, “What is the protagonist’s name?”, it’s difficult to readjust to a place where failure and ADHD drug reliance are the norm.

It just calls for certain adjustments. Taking Spanish from a nice, perfectly capable grad student whose ancestors may well have sailed over on the Mayflower is a pretty obvious one, but there are also small, forgotten pleasures to behold: the proximity of the nation’s premier nude beach; the phrase “can you charge it to my student account?”

Two weeks’ time has been distance enough to even make me wonder, in moments of bleary eyed sleeplessness, whether it all really happened. I guess it did.

(And, for what it’s worth, his name isn’t Alejandro.)

I smiled approvingly. Somehow, the elderly man’s words seemed right. Everywhere I turned in this ultra-modern city, construction cranes rose like monuments in the soft November sky. Oil revenue is fast turning Norway’s once quaint capital into the Dubai of Northern Europe, and the evidence is everywhere.

To the casual visitor, the most obvious example of Oslo’s modern resurgence is the Oslo Opera House, a 1,100-ro

om complex built at the head of the Oslofjord, one of the largest of Norway’s famed fjords. Opened in April 2008, it was constructed at a cost of 4.4 billion Norwegian Kroner (approximately $880 million), and is the largest cultural building built in the country since the Nidarosdomen was completed around 1300 A.D.

“It’s definitely attracts a lot of visitors,” said Valkeapää, whose store sits less than 300 meters away. He’s not kidding — in its first year alone, more than 1.3 million people passed through the Opera’s doors, with many more simply taking photos outside of its low sloping roof, which literally rises out of the ice-cold water. The expressionist-style building has also received considerable international attention from the architectural community, winning both the World Architecture Award in October 2008 and the 2009 Mies van der Rohe Award, the European Union prize for contemporary architecture.

Indeed, the “Tiger City” seems to have adopted a new slogan: bigger, taller, glitzier. Out with the old, in with the new. Already a “young” city by European standards, Oslo has been turning back

the clock even more. No better confirmation exists than the under construction Edvard Munch museum, dubbed “Lambda” by architect Juan Herreros. Upon completion in 2013, the 14-story museum will replace the current space dedicated to the world-renowned Norwegian painter, which itself first opened in 1963. With promises of sustainable construction and visitor-friendly design, the project has generated virtually no controversy among locals.

I was surprised, to be sure, of just how modern Oslo is becoming. I had decided to spend a day in the city with a couple of friends of mine, and our expectations were decidedly mediocre. Others I’d talked to had described the city as little more than a retail-oriented port with a reputation for being one of the most expensive cities in the world (indeed, it holds the top stop according to The Economist’s 2010 rankings), or worse, a drab capital lost among tourists to the more popular and slightly less expensive Kristiansand and Bergen.

To be sure, when we first entered the Oslo metropolitan area in the early morning via bus, there wasn’t much to see: Asker looked like a typical bedroom community, and Drammen was a riverside industrial burg. But when we finally reached Oslo, I was awed by a spectacle of high-rise glam and construction that for a moment convinced me that I was looking at a much larger northern city like Berlin or Moscow.

The first thing we did was take a walk. Even at this early hour, the streets were crowded with business people on their way to work and chipper travelers conversing in half a dozen languages. Everything was clean, bright and functional.

There were little white candles flickering everywhere – even in the cozy café where we lingered over a lavish breakfast smorgasbord. According to our preferences, we fortified ourselves with hard-boiled eggs and shrimp salad, with mackerel in tomato sauce and muesli. We refilled our plates and sipped our tea and coffee, reluctant to go out into the winter cold. Candles in silver stemmed goblets and smoked glass boxes burned on every table, like a promise to hold onto the light right through the frosty autumn morning and the rest of the day.

While my companions endeavored to visit the cultural sites of Oslo, from the National Gallery that houses such Munch masterpieces as “The Scream” (recently put back on display after being stolen in 2004) to the Stortinget (the seat of the Norwegian parliament) and the Royal Palace, I was determined to discover just exactly what Oslonians thought of the immense changes taking place in their city.

“It’s hard to imagine, but when I first opened [my store] there were only a couple of T-bane (subway) stops,” said Per Hermansson, owner of Shadowland Records. “Now they’re everywhere.”

Hermansson has lived in Oslo since emigrating from Sweden in 1992. He opened Shadowland Records in 1998, specializing in gothic and electronic music. Located on Storgata, one of Oslo’s busiest shopping streets, the store is in an easy-to-miss alley next to a shopping mall. I came upon it by chance, having become lost after grabbing a bite to eat at a 1950s-themed American deli, and knew instantly that I’d found something unique: stores devoted to this type of music – a genre with admittedly few fans – are rare, and usually only found exclusively in much larger cities like New York or London. Its mere existence was a sign of Oslo’s evolution.

“It’s the oil,” Hermansson told me. “Everything goes back to oil.” Hermansson first came to work in the lucrative oil fields of arctic Norway, and decided to settle in the country for good.

Largely unaffected by the worldwide economic recession, Norway has been banking on energy for decades. First, it was timber. Later, hydropower. Now it’s oil.

In August, Norway’s daily oil production was more than 2.3 million barrels per day, placing it ninth worldwide, just behind Iraq and above other oil-rich nations such as Nigeria and Venezuela. Most of it comes from offshore wells in the North Sea, where there are an estimated 6.7 billion barrels in reserves.

In 2007, the state-controlled Norwegian energy companies Statoil and Norsk Hydro merged to form Statoil ASA, which today is the largest offshore oil and gas company in the world. With operations in 21 countries, it is ranked by Fortune as the 36th-largest company on earth, and the biggest in Scandinavia. Employing more than 29,000 people, the Stavanger-based company pours more than $3.5 billion into the Norwegian economic machine every year.

Hermansson decided to leave the oil fields because he wasn’t completely happy. “I’d seen a couple of accidents, and didn’t want to spend the rest of my life on a rig,” he said. “I just wanted to make some money and start my business.”

The first few years were difficult for Hermansson and Shadowland. With rent in Storgata being among the highest in the Nordic countries, business simply wasn’t brisk enough in the small, low-ceilinged store. But around 2004, things began to change.

“More and more people started coming in,” Hermansson told me. “It was strange, because most stores of this kind were closing [because of online downloading]. But they kept coming in somehow. I was able to start putting on shows [by bringing bands to local clubs] and last year was one of my best years ever [for business].”

According to Hermansson, there are only a few dozen record stores worldwide that he knows of that sell gothic music, and his is the only one in Scandinavia. Shadowland’s growth, he believes, is directly related to Oslo’s emergence as a destination for cultural digestion, including exposure to various subcultures.

“When I first came here, there really wasn’t a subcultural element to Oslo,” explained Hermansson, his Swedish accent virtually indiscernible from lifelong residents. “As the city has grown, the scene here has grown as well. Now we’re one of the biggest in Europe.”

Turid Melhus, 24, has lived in Oslo her entire life. “There’s definitely been a lot of change here,” she said, her English easier to understand than almost any New Yorker.

Melhus is a bartender at 34 SkyBar, a posh bar located on the 34th floor of the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel. At 117 meters, the building is the tallest in Norway, and the third-tallest in Scandinavia. Inside, its sleek, futuristic design is a microcosm of Oslo’s aspirations.

“When I was a little girl, there were very high taxes,” Melhus told me as I sipped an Irish coffee over the glass-topped bar. The crowd, mostly middle-aged foreigners, was elegantly subdued, the legato crooning of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” wafting over glass tables and plush red chairs. “But the taxes helped pay for many things that have been built here, and now business is taking over and paying for it,” Melhus added. “None of this existed when I was young. It almost seems like it sprouted overnight.”

To the uninformed, it may seem that way indeed. As night descended on the city, the temperature outside was beginning to dip. Little snowflakes fluttered by the floor-to-ceiling windows like flecks of dust that had been disturbed, and suddenly I realized the symbolism of the moment.

“There may be a furious storm outside,” Melhus told me as I nursed my coffee. “But when you come here, you know you are in heaven.”

I smiled. So that’s what Oslo aspires to be: heaven. With the annual Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony taking place Dec. 10 and the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships taking place in 2011 (an event which has unsurprisingly sparked a construction boom of its own), the world may begin to see the results of the makeover.

“The changes have been unbelievable,” Melhus said. “In another 20 years, I probably won’t recognize the way it is now.”

If Oslo’s transformation continues at its current pace, she may be right.

It didn’t stop there. Each day, the death toll continued to rise as the floods continued to wreak havoc in the lives of many, washing away village after village. Vast areas of agricultural land were destroyed as the heaviest rains in living memory hit Pakistan.

However, this flood-devastated region, which includes the Swat Valley and Chitral, is one that I will always envision as a dreamland, a land of exquisite beauty and serenity, even after the Taliban insurgency. Every summer, as a family tradition, we would travel through northern Pakistan. Just two summers before coming to Harvard, I went through the Karakoram Highway, the highest paved international highway in the world, driving all the way up to Gilgit. I took a small detour to go through the Swat Valley, renowned for its scenic landscapes and Buddhist heritage. We approached Saidu Sharif, the urban hub and capital of Swat, where the lush orchards had been replaced by a myriad of barricades and barbed wires along the newly-built road, an early reminder of the heightened security tension in the once tourist attraction. From here, we drove all the way to a place called Marghazar, where we saw the White Palace, built by the former Ruler of Swat. It was here where we lodged for a mere $10 a night.

The following day, we embarked upon our journey to Kalaam Valley and then beyond that to Mahodand lake. The view was breathtaking; the emerald-green Kalaam river winding around the road on one side and the gigantic mountains of the Hindu Kush on the other. We continued to stop at various stations for a cup of tea and to take photographs of the place. Some of the men were saying their prayers, prostrating on a flat boulder next to a ravine, and probably were oblivious to what the world thought about them. They may have had beards; they may have appeared primitive, but they were not terrorists or radicals. The only things you saw in their eyes were humility and purity. Small children wearing bright shalwar kameez gathered around the car, almost perceiving it to be some magical creature. No words could describe the beauty of these shy and innocent children, who were oblivious of the world and its perplexities. They had no clue of what fate awaited their homes and villages.

Looking back, I wish I had spent more time in appreciating the simplicity of the Swati people, because little did I know that this would be the last time, at least for a long time, where Swat would be in the same state of beauty, peace and tranquility.

Come 02138. Seven thousand miles away across the Atlantic Ocean, in my home away from home, I witness the “image deficit” that Pakistan is facing. It has been unilaterally portrayed in the media as war-torn, ravaged by terrorism, war, and now a natural disaster. However, Pakistan is more than this summation. But just as in Haiti, when the floods hit, nobody is hurting more than the innocent victims of a great catastrophe, people who are drowning not only from the waters, but from disease, famine, poverty, and despair. Nobody is at a loss except the innocent.

Many Pakistanis abroad consider themselves ambassadors for their country, trying to remove the negativity that pervades Pakistan’s image. A nation so brutally damaged by terrorism, fundamentalism, earthquakes. and now floods, Pakistan is probably the last nation on Earth that would be on anybody’s bucket-list. However, it is about time that we remove this image deficit and show Pakistan’s true and vibrant colors. Fortunately, a number of initiatives are being undertaken by various student groups and faculty members to do precisely this and to raise awareness about the floods in Pakistan.

In our capacity as students, there is only so much that we can do to alleviate the suffering of the flood victims. Countless have been orphaned and countless have been deprived of an innocent childhood, out of no fault of their own. These children, who played in the valleys, swam in the lakes, and were nurtured by Mother Nature herself, deserve much better. I only hope the coming generation after me, which has seen only war and despair, can get to see Pakistan’s natural beauty and cultural heritage that I was fortunate enough to see. I only pray that the supplications made on “Shab-e-Qadr” are heard and the “Night of Destiny” truly bring a hopeful destiny for all.

A recent study conducted by researchers at U. Washington revealed college students significantly increase their alcohol consumption while abroad.

The study, which was published in the Psychology of Addictive Behaviors journal on Monday, examined the drinking habits of 177 UW students before and after they studied abroad.

UW researchers found that students reported drinking more because they observed other students in their study abroad program drinking more, and followed suit. Students considered drinking abroad an important aspect of cultural immersion.

Students who participated in the survey said they drank over twice as much than they normally did at home while abroad, which amounted to about 10 drinks per week, according to the study.

After returning home, they said they resumed their normal drinking habits of three to five drinks per week.

While the average student increased his or her alcohol consumption by 105 percent, students under the age of 21 increased their drinking by 170 percent, the study said.

Joseph Finkhouse, the director of institutional relations for Boston U’s study abroad programs, said “students’ behavior abroad generally reflects students’ behavior at home.”

Finkhouse said the study only showed the behavior of a small sample of students and could not be used to generalize the behavior of BU students while abroad.

Many of the more than 2,200 students who travel abroad through BU travel to places where the drinking age is under 21, he said.

“Our policy is that students are bound by the laws of the country that they’re in,” he said. “We’re not going to tell them that they can’t drink, but we like to emphasize that drinking isn’t necessarily part of the culture.”

While the BU study abroad program sometimes has rules about alcohol consumption in residences abroad, the program does not attempt to curb legal drinking in the host country, Finkhouse said.

Alice Boudes, a senior in the College of Communication who studied in Paris last Spring, said that there was no pressure to drink more alcohol because alcohol was readily available everywhere.

“I think people were drinking about the same amount,” said Boudes.

However, instead of drinking a lot at once, students spread out their alcohol consumption over a longer period of time, she said.

Alexa Fernandez, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and COM, had a similar experience when she was studying abroad in Sydney last fall.

“I guess I did drink more because I could actually go out to the bars and the program would provide alcohol at events as well,” she said.

Fernandez said that students seemed to be more responsible while drinking abroad, as they “would be going to bars, not parties.”

Both students agreed traveling abroad changed their drinking habits for the better.

“I learned to enjoy it,” Boudes said. “My program actually had a wine-tasting event during which we got to learn how to drink, savor and recognize wine properly.”

Boudes said that binge drinking seemed much more common in students in Boston than in Paris, regardless of their legal drinking status.

“My bosses would bring beers to work and we would drink on the job,” added Fernandez. “They have a ‘work hard, play hard’ lifestyle.”

According to the study, Europe, Australia and New Zealand were the countries where students’ drinking increased the most.

It is easy to see why the SkyRider, a seat that compresses passengers by angling them downward, appeals to airline companies. Airlines would be able to fit more of these seats on an airplane and create new class of seating that would be cheaper than coach fares. Although some in the industry are skeptical about the SkyRider’s market potential, many are confident that the low prices would appeal to certain customers who are presently priced out of flying. Ideally, the seats would only be used for short flights, though manufacturers claim that they would also work for flights up to four hours. According to Avioninteriors, several airlines, including a few in the U.S. have expressed interest in the new seat designs. Ryanair, the notoriously low-budget Irish airline that was the first to charge for in-flight meals and considered charging for restroom use, has also expressed an interest in SkyRider seats.

On one hand, “saddle” seats would provide passengers with cheaper alternatives to flying. Some passengers would willingly forsake the comfort of 31 to 35 inches of leg-room for reduced fares, and the rest would still have the option of first-class or coach seats.

On the other hand, there are still various safety concerns that need to be dealt with before such a seat can be approved. Seating passengers together in such a crammed way would be disastrous if an evacuation were necessary.

But perhaps just as saliently, this new class of seats would increase stress and tension in-flight, thus making the overall state of flying even more difficult. Current airplane seats aren’t the epitome of comfort unless one chooses to pay more for first-class or extra leg room. At only 31 to 35 inches of leg-room, these seats are nonetheless decent. After rushing through long and hectic lines at the airport, I would prefer to sit down somewhere relatively decent than cram myself into a tiny, claustrophobic-looking seat that’s somehow supposed to resemble a saddle-seat. Anyone who says otherwise is deceiving themselves; SkyRider passengers will very likely be extremely uncomfortable throughout their flight.

Airline travel has increasingly become more stressful with numerous fees for checked luggage (in some cases, even carry-on luggage), in-flight food, and entertainment and some airlines have even gotten rid of their complementary beverages. Airport lines to check-in and pass through security tend to be long and only aggravate the stressful experience. What airlines need to understand is that combined, these minor annoyances become more than just an issue of comfort. Flying is a hazardous procedure that requires teamwork on the part of the crew and passengers, and overly agitated passengers make a flight less safe.

I acknowledge that the industry is struggling, but that is not an excuse to disregard the safety and comfort of passengers—which are perhaps linked. Passengers are already paying excessive amounts for these extra fees; they should at least be able to pay decent prices for decent seats.

The airline industry is desperate. It is pushing its customers’ patience and will likely continue to do so with outrageous fees and ridiculous ideas. Even if the SkyRider is not adopted by most airlines, its mere creation only indicates that things in the airline industry can only get worse.

In a nation overloaded with counter-terrorism and security experts and watchers, we have become masters of the vague threat alert. The latest: terrorists mimicking the tactics of the tragic 2008 Mumbai attacks in any one of Europe’s three biggest countries. Osama Bin Laden may or may not be involved; so might other leaders. Of course, the same experts who can divine terrorists’ intent do so only before strictly necessary. The official who spoke to the Associated Press also said there were no indications that there was a capability of such attacks to actually take place. So to summarize: Al-Qaeda wants to attack tourists in Europe but probably doesn’t have new methods to do so.

This is newsworthy if you strongly believed that Al-Qaeda didn’t want to attack Europe. I, for one, was expecting Middle Earth to be a target—but the intent to target the United Kingdom, France, or Germany? This New Yorker and eyewitness of the 2006 Heathrow terrorism scare never saw that one coming.

Of course, I may have been too flippant just now, but consider what this travel alert really means. It’s not as serious as a “Travel Warning,” such as is currently in place for Mexico. The struggling war on drugs in that country is rated as a higher risk for Cabo San Lucas aficionados. In Europe, the State Department just wants you to be mindful of “the potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure.” Tourists should remember that they are not safe on subway, rail, aviation, and maritime services. The State Department must not have to take taxis when they travel—if cabs are the only safe mode of transportation left to us, we are in trouble.

The United Kingdom duly followed the United States in upping its traveler threat level. France was already at its second-highest threat level, which apparently already included vague, non-imminent attack possibilities, so they stayed put. No arrests have been made in connection to the alleged plot that has sparked all this. The BBC, however, reports that, according to “European officials,” several people are still under surveillance. This should be particularly troubling here in a nation where we are used to not a single person ever being under surveillance, thanks to the Constitutional stand taken by the Bush administration. Oh, wait.

Along with the media’s job to report that the State Department issued this warning—and if you agree with the warning, you should be glad that the media duly publicizes it—the media has of course not let us down in adding a hysteria factor to the story. The BBC, in a mostly responsible article on the alert that concludes with a section on America’s corresponding increase in drone attacks in Pakistan, still includes a gem speculating that the alert may hurt European tourism industries. Then there are whole articles that write this speculation large. The Associated Press, for example, posits that Europe’s economy may take a hit before quoting experts as saying that it actually will be the same. Well done, AP: providing a balanced look at a ridiculous question by contrasting the comments of several random, concerned tourists with the opinions of actual experts who don’t see this as a major concern yet.

If anything, the speculation of a financial effect from this travel alert will be potentially self-fulfilling. Spreading doubt sells, but it also creates more doubt. Hopefully those who are considering travel to Europe will take in the State Department’s alert, process it, and continue with their plans. Reading stories about how they might stay at home, hurting European business, would only make them reconsider whether they should in fact stay (to avoid hypocrisy—travelers reading this story: Go!).

All travel comes with risk. An attack may happen eventually in Europe; it’s happened in the recent past in Madrid, London, and elsewhere. That attack may even have similarities to Mumbai and would be a human disaster. We must of course hope that any such attempts are thwarted before they begin. Yet, if such an attack does happen, it will not validate this alert and its media attention. Tourists should always be vigilant and aware of their surroundings—traveling in a foreign place is not entirely safe even without the prospect of terrorism. Tourists can get robbed, ripped off, scammed—it happens every day in every travel destination in the world.

Such generalized, half-measure alerts may appease the 24-hour news cycle. The government can always say—if something tragic does happen—that it warned its citizens to be vigilant. But vigilance alone would most likely not be enough to ensure safety in such a situation. And we should all keep our eyes open when we travel, if only to avoid the guy on the corner who won’t leave us alone until we buy one of his Eiffel Tower pencil sharpeners.

Short of a shipping off to Ottawa, the best place to go abroad and be lame at the same time is England.

Your semester abroad is a time to experience another culture in a way that is inaccessible to casual tourists. Ideally you’ll also get kicked out of the Egyptian embassy, fall in love and buy crappy knockoffs of designer brands. If you’re smart, you’ll learn another language. Even if you’re already a native speaker of two, learn a third, few things in life are as satisfying.

Many people study abroad in England because it’s easy. You don’t have to take language classes in Ithaca, you can enroll directly in a University there and with cheap flights to other European cities every weekend, your passport pages will look like Lebron’s arms.

The caveat to my position is if you’re pursuing a well-defined course of study that you could only do at Oxford or Cambridge. Their thousand year histories and academic sub-cultures make them destinations in their own right. And make me jealous.

Granted, there are some fantastic things to see in England. However, given the linguistic and cultural similarities between our two countries, at any point in your life you could deplane in London and strike up a conversation with an English bartender about politics or Beckham’s career in the U.S. The English might actually care about the latter. To do the same in Kuala Lumpur or Stuttgart would take months, but the rewards would be greater.

In my first month in Quito, Ecuador, (alert — typical study abroad story, glaze over until I’m finished) I kicked the dirt in frustration over my inability to articulate myself in Spanish, my lack of Ecuadorean friends and the bureaucratic mess required to file my academic and immigration papers. Two months later the ease with which I sailed through my surroundings was a triumph; telling a joke about Ecuador in perfect Spanish was a victory hard-won.

England offers few chances to feel the thrill of fitting into a truly foreign place.

Furthermore, a semester in England affords you little chance to become an ethnic food snob. Yes, I understand, the malt vinegar on the fries blows you away. Try impressing your next date by taking her to an English pub and proclaiming that the Lee and Perrins Worcestershire sauce tastes exactly like it did in England.

Even if you do feast on succulent braised beef tongue in London, that fantastic meal will cost you a lot more than it would in Lagos. My semester in Ecuador was the cheapest one I had in college, including my plane tickets there and my spring break trip to Peru. Those Inca, always D.T.F. If you want your dollars to go further, convert them to Rupiah, Quetzales, Kip or Gepantums, not Pounds Sterling.

Okay, I made up Gepantums.

Lastly, study abroad should be dangerous. There’s a world out there that doesn’t ask you for a waiver, doesn’t provide a handrail, doesn’t require a helmet and doesn’t say “no fires on the beach.” Maybe you get mugged, maybe there’s a coup, maybe you Jackson Pollock a toilet once a month from questionable street food. Ships are safe in a harbor, but that’s not where ships are meant to be. Unless you’re in Somalia, in which case you should stay the fuck inside the harbor.

So take a risk. Ride on the roof of a bus, bribe a police offer, eat goose intestines or pretend you’re a Norwegian oil engineer — all of which are easier in Thailand than on the Thames. Have an adventure, not the fish and chips. And if you’ve never been outside of the “developed” world, clearly I think a semester somewhere other than Western Europe is a must.

The best things in England — tea, curry and Freddy Mercury — all came from abroad anyway. Even the Beatles cut their teeth in Germany for a year as a house band. If you’re truly an Anglophile, then do what the English did 150 years ago and get out of the British Isles.

Go to South Africa, where you can watch cricket in Africa’s largest economy. Pull a Jamal and find your Latika in Victoria Terminus in Mumbai, where you can see some of the most impressive British architecture in the world. Check out Hong Kong, Singapore, the former British Honduras, Jamaica, Zanzibar or Fiji. In many of these countries you can find university programs entirely in English, and Cornell Abroad sometimes requires only a semester of language study before you go.

If you must spend a semester in England, remember to put a postcard in the mail to your friend studying in Vancouver. She’s dying to tell you about the maple syrup.

I am in fact talking about Beirut, Lebanon’s capital (not the drinking game). Currently, the U.S. Department of State “continues to urge U.S. citizens to avoid all travel to Lebanon due to current safety and security concerns.” And in compliance with this warning, Harvard College offers no funding or sponsorship to students who are interested in studying there. The U.S. travel warning needs to be revisited in light of the new developments in the country, and the College should re-evaluate this policy in order to encourage academic inquiry there.

The warning, issued in March of 2009, came before a pivotal election, which gave U.S.-backed politicians majority in Parliament and resulted in a unity government. The unity government came to resolve political tension that had governed the country since 2005, and it so far has maintained an enviable security record relative to the region with the exception of a recent incident last August. The British government has updated its travel warning since then to include only certain places in Lebanon where security might be an issue, South Lebanon and the Palestinian refugee camps. Moreover, 2009 saw almost 1.85 million tourists visiting the country, and the number is expected to increase for 2010. To keep this in perspective, note that Lebanon has less than four million inhabitants.

The U.S warning references a few examples of sporadic violent outbreaks, notably the 2006 summer war between Lebanon and Israel and the fighting that occurred between supporters of Hezbollah and those of the Future movement that resulted in the blocking of roads leading to and from the Lebanese airport. But both incidents came as a result of building political tensions and other internal factors, which have since been negated, due to the unity government and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Additionally, evacuation of foreigners in these two incidences was remarkably easy. Any foreign citizen on Lebanese grounds could have easily left either by driving to Damascus, two hours away, or by sailing to Cyprus.

Travel and study in Lebanon are sure to be uniquely rewarding. Lebanon is a scenic country, it has a diverse culture, and it has unique demographic interactions that are worthy of study. Eighteen different religious groups coexist in Lebanon under the rule of a democratic parliamentary system that is heavily influenced by religion. Moreover, the National Museum contains relics over 6,000 years old showcasing life in Lebanon from the Phoenicians to the Ottomans, passing by the Romans and the Crusaders. Biodiversity in Lebanon is one of the richest in the world, with terrain ranging from coastal strips to 10,000 feet high mountains.

Lebanon is also home to some of the oldest universities in the Middle East and some of its best. Both the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University are registered in the state of New York, and their degrees are internationally accredited. Recently, LAU opened a medical school in collaboration with Partners Harvard Medical International. Also, Clemenceau Medical Center recently opened in Beirut in partnership with Johns Hopkins University and was ranked among the top 10 hospitals for Medical Tourism.

Lebanon has a lot to offer students in various academic fields, and the current political climate allows students to enjoy it in the midst of a peaceful economic boom. It is, hence, regrettable that the U.S. Department of State urges its citizens to refrain from visiting this Middle Eastern haven, and it is even more regrettable that Harvard refuses to offer sponsorship and funding to students interested in experiencing all that Lebanon has to offer. Students would then see for themselves why Beirut is the Paris of the Middle East.

Professor Viva Bartkus teaches the class, which is open to students in the Mendoza College of Business Master’s of Business Administration program and to the Kroc Institute’s Master’s of Peace Studies students.

“Only at Notre Dame would you have a class like this,” Bartkus said.

Students in “Business on the Frontlines” spend one quarter or “mod” researching a country before traveling there for 10 days to work with Catholic charities in the country. After the trip, the students spend a second “mod” constructing a project to help build a healthy economy in that country.

The unique class has already gained admirers outside of the University. Forbes recently ranked Bartkus’ class in the Top 10 Most Innovative business school classes, which Bartkus considers proof that U. Notre Dame is doing something right.

“This shows the strengths of Notre Dame’s focus on values, on ethics, on Catholic social teaching,” Bartkus said. “This kind of class is at the heart of what Notre Dame should be doing.”

“Business on the Frontlines” is part of an entire initiative in the Mendoza College of Business to focus on ethical business leadership, Bartkus said.

“This is the direction that the Mendoza College of Business is heading in,” Bartkus said. “We have to ask more of business and more of ourselves.”

The students in Bartkus’ class have to beat out stiff competition to get there, contending with eighty other applicants for the eighteen prized seats.

Omar Shaban, who took the class during the 2009-10 school year, said he credits Professor Bartkus with transforming his perspective on the business world.

“Professor Bartkus is one of those professors that changes the way you look at things,” Shaban said. “She has the power to inspire her students to go out and change the world for the better — and that really showed in this class.”

Shaban and five other students went to Lebanon through the class. Six other students went to Kenya and another six went to Uganda. Students in the previous year’s class went to Bosnia as well as Lebanon.

Shaban chose to study Lebanon because of his Egyptian cultural heritage.

“This was an incredible opportunity to make an impact in a region of the world where I have cultural roots,” Shaban said. “I improved my Arabic while learning to solve business problems.”

After returning from the Christmas break Lebanon trip, Shaban and the other students in his group built an economic simulator, designed to build peaceful communities through economic interests.

“It’s essentially a game that brings together members of different religious sects that don’t want to cooperate and shows them how they can cooperate with each other economically,” Shaban said. “The different groups learn how they can benefit from each other.”

Shaban’s economic simulator is one example of the students helping the country they have researched — but their visits to the countries help the students too.

“I have a changed outlook on the role of business in the world,” Shaban said. “The role of business should be to bring people together, to unify them. Business is a powerful tool that people underestimate.”

The students were first introduced to the medical aspects of global healthcare during two weeks of classes at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. They then departed to Mumbai for a week and a half. Dr. Sonia Suchday, co-director for the Institute for Public Health at Einstein, organized all lectures and planned the entire mission.

The course requirements for the first part of the mission, both at Einstein and at IIHMR, included attendance at all lectures and debriefings as well as two research papers, the completion of which earned participants three credits in biology. Dr. Suchday put together a group of dynamic faculty members from different specialties to teach the students the breadth and depth of global health issues. The lecture series was open to undergraduate and graduate students and was designed to prepare them for what they would encounter in India.

The second part of the trip began in Mumbai where the group took a general tour with a Jewish-Indian guide named Yael and saw several historical landmarks including the Gateway of India, the Sassoon School, and the Sassoon Synagogue.

The mission spent two Shabbatot in Chabad Mumbai and visited the old Chabad Narriman House, which was attacked in the famous November 2008 assault by Pakistani Islamic terrorists. Two shlichim (messengers) from Chabad took the members of the mission on a tour inside the old Chabad House where the students saw for themselves the destruction that had captured headlines across the world.

“India is one of the few countries that hasn’t persecuted Jews within its shores,” commented Dr. Suchday. “The fact is that within India, the destroyed Chabad House was universally mourned,” she said, adding that the Hindi people showed their remorse and condemnation of the attack by circling the thousands of bullet holes in red.

After the first weekend in Mumbai the group took an hour-long plane ride to Jaipur, located in Rhajastan – one of the seven states that comprise modern India. The mission made their way to IIHMR to participate in lectures along with Indian students interested in medicine, psychology, and hospital management.

At IIHMR the group learned about different recent epidemics in India. AIDS is a major healthcare setback, but is making strides. “At the end of 2011, drugs used to cope with AIDS will be free [of cost],” promised P.R. Sodani, dean of IIHMR. “Now it’s twenty dollars a month.”

Diabetes is considered a prevalent epidemic in India as well. According to Dr. Judith Wylie Rosette, professor of epidemiology and population health at Einstein, “India is the new diabetes capital of the world.”

Research in health care shows the poor reality of the public health sector. “In India, health insurance is relatively rare when compared to most developed countries; only ten percent of the population has private coverage,” declared Dr. Komal Bajaj, a faculty member at Einstein. “This increases to approximately fifty percent when surveying upper-middle class Indians. As a result, the majority of a patient’s expenditure is still out-of-pocket.”

The group visited a community hospital with communal wards for male and female patients and no air conditioning. Doctors see between 200 to 300 patients a day and make diagnoses by methods that are not conventional Western techniques. In contrast, the private hospital the group visited in Mumbai five days later was immaculate with sterilized rooms, marble floors and air conditioning.

A health care professional in the private hospital pointed out a sign that delineated the illegality of gender selection – aborting a child based on its sex. The Indian government tries to prevent this by blacking out the gender of the baby on the amniocentesis test results. Another gender selection issue arises with vaccinations. A male child is often vaccinated before a female child when there are limited resources because of the widespread preference for males in the Indian culture. Therefore, the Indian government takes necessary precautions to ensure the equality and fair treatment of women and children.

The educators at Einstein demonstrated how the disciplines of science and psychology are both vital to the medical field. Having the appropriate decorum and understanding the culture is not just respectful, but a necessity to function properly in any profession. As Dr. Suchday constantly emphasized, “There needs to be awareness that the world is not as big as we think.”

A delegation of student government presidents from Ivy League universities, including Vincent Andrews, president of Cornell’s Student Assembly, traveled to China for a biannual student networking trip in August. However, the students did not encounter the open dialogue they had expected.

“It was truly an honor to be on this trip, and I was impressed by [everything],” Andrews said. “That being said, the only disappointment was the lack of opportunity to speak frankly with students … We weren’t able to truly establish a dialogue on the cultural divides between America and China.”

Two student forums were the only opportunities for delegates to communicate directly with Chinese college students. Both forums were recorded and supervised by government officials.

“The only [cultural] issue we could try to discuss was freedom of speech, but when we got to the issue, the answer was always avoided … When I tried to get some one-on-one with students after the forum, we were always rushed off to other appointments.”

Andrews said he realized this problem and discussed it with the rest of the Ivy student presidents with two days left in the trip.

Some students, like Diane Mokoro, a senior at Brown University and president of the university’s Undergraduate Council of Students, agreed that the group was taken by surprise and expected more interaction with Chinese students. But others took a more passive stance.

“The conversation we had was about why certain people [on the delegation] weren’t upset [about the lack of direct interaction] and why some were,” Mokoro said. “It wouldn’t be such big of a deal if we knew what was expected; [but] we didn’t receive the itinerary until two days before [our  departure for China] and the itinerary did not have enough specifics on what we will be doing.”

The trip was organized by the Ivy Council, an independent student-run networking organization, and All-China Youth Federation, a national student organization operated by the Chinese government.

Melissa Im, a senior at Columbia University and president of the Ivy Council, explained that the purpose of the organization is connecting students, and trips like these are intended to expand the networking function overseas. Although the Ivy Council started as a body for conversation between Ivy League student governments, it has become independent and serves more of a networking function.

“That beginning purpose has transformed,” Im said. “Now we’re about students doing extraordinary things for other students, and we are a voluntary organization.”

Since the Ivy Council operates outside the student governments and lacks the full backing of each university, it becomes difficult when members have limited leverage with organizations, such as the All-China Youth Federation, which is government controlled.

“When [the Chinese] are inviting the Ivy League student government presidents, it is political in their minds. The student presidents are political in a sense, but [they] represent much more about campus life, about their policies, and about their universities.”

When pressed about why there was a misalignment between the expectations of the student presidents and the actual events of the trip, Im explained that they will make sure the process is more transparent in the future.

“We’re in a unique position [because] we’re just college students trying to connect with other international organizations,” Im said. “Especially with China, which opened up its doors to international conversations recently, we are well aware of the situation … [We] are in open and respectful dialogue about what we appreciate and [do] not appreciate about the trip.”

Benjamin Brinkopf, a senior at Harvard University and co-head delegate of Harvard’s Ivy Council chapter, echoed Im’s statements and reiterated that the All-China Youth Federation understand they are only a group of students and are not official representatives for the universities.

“[For this trip,] the delegates happen to be student government presidents, and you have to understand that they are coming on their own and it’s not an official visit.”

According to Brinkopf, the event is intended to help nurture inter-Ivy relationships.

“Before [the Ivy Council], people in student government were doing similar tasks, but had no communications,” Brinkopf said. “While we were able to talk about common [student government] issues with Chinese students, there was also a great degree of dialogue focused on the differences between our institutions.”

Andrews emphasized how much he learned about China during the trip and the importance of fostering a healthy relationship between China and the United States for the future.

“The most impressing part … was the modern image of what is still a developing nation. The Chinese people themselves were extremely modest,” Andrews said, “although [their country] became the second largest economy in the world shortly before our departure.”

That’s the main advice I give to any George Washington U. students wondering if they should study abroad during their collegiate years. After spending the majority of 2010 outside the U.S. – in Israel to be exact – I can say confidently that studying abroad is a valuable experience that gives students useful skills, both tangible and intangible.

One of the most important aspects of the experience is language. Perfecting or improving one’s skills in a foreign language is always more fun and practical in a country of people who speak the language. It helps you gain confidence and use the language in social and everyday situations. Just be careful not to forget English.

Fresh off my international flight back to New York, I had to stop myself at the Wendy’s counter at the airport after I first started ordering in Hebrew, then in Arabic. I stood dumbfounded for a couple seconds, then looked around at the long line behind me to see people’s reactions. They were not amused.

Another major facet of study abroad is location, and along with that, travel. When else will you be able to take class trips to the Andes Mountains, the Great Pyramid, or, in my case, obscure Bronze Age pre-Biblical archaeological excavations? I have to say, the small desert city in southern Israel I called home for six months was quite the change from crowded, sand-less D.C. While my friends back at GW braved a huge snowstorm, I basked in golden sun. Soon, sun gave way to clouds as Israel went through its rainiest winter season in years (it never rains in the summer).

Taking trips farther away was also a plus. Exploring different cities, small towns, hiking to waterfalls, experiencing natural wonders – going abroad brought so many exciting places to my fingertips. Not to mention the highly discounted price of international travel when a flight is significantly shortened, or not even required. On breaks from classes, my friends took excursions to places like Turkey, Italy and Spain. Spring Break Cancun? Who needs that? Spring Break Cairo is more like it!

But apart from the language, the travel, the food and of course the learning, the single most important component of an experience like my own is the connections formed with other people. Whether you are familiar with the host culture before studying abroad or not, you will end up learning something new and becoming enriched by the interactions you have with people. You will have the opportunity to acquaint yourself with different sectors of the host society. And it’s not only the host culture, either. Most international study abroad programs are not made up of just Americans. Through my program, I interacted with Jewish- and Arab-Israeli students, as well as students from Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey and Jordan.

Although I traveled almost 6,000 miles to escape it, GW followed me to Israel. One of the most fascinating things I discovered was the power of the GW alumni network. During the semester, I attended a gathering of GW alumni and students in Israel held at a restaurant in a Tel Aviv skyscraper. Business professionals who studied at GW decades ago showed up and mingled with those who graduated more recently and also with Colonials who still have a bit to go. Israeli natives and American expats alike were all proud of their GW experiences and eager to interact with and help out other GW affiliates.

And so I realized GW’s international character is all part of what GW is. Some students think that D.C. is too awesome of a place to take a semester to go somewhere else during their college careers. After all, they’d be missing out on a semester of internship opportunities or wild club parties. They think it’s not worth it to get away for a semester or a year. And to an extent, they’re right – we’ve all heard the motto: “GW: Something Happens Here.”

But sometimes, to understand “here,” one must spend some time “there.” Study abroad experience is inseparable from the type of institution GW tries to be and the type of students that come here. We’re known for being international, open-minded and eager to experience what the world has to offer.

Come enjoy what I and hundreds of other students experienced last semester. Do it, and I bet my falafel sandwich that you won’t be disappointed.

Rich in spirit and culture, the Bahamas, like the rest of the world, is currently suffering from an economic crisis that has traumatically dampered the growth of what could be a successful and rich country.  Has our vacationing become the only sense of income to troubled paradises?

On the short ride from airport to high-end hotels, one is certainly not blind to recognize the lack of work opportunity and poor conditions that lay outside the embellished resorts.  No matter how turquoise the water maybe or how white the sand may sparkle, no beauty can override the fight to make ends-meet.

These observations do not just stand for the Bahamas but numerous countries that we as Americans flee to for vacation, includes Jamaica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Recent reports show that tourism in the 700 islands of the Bahamas creates over 60 percent of gross domestic product from tourism.

According to statistical reports from the United Nations department of tourism, in 2009 a total of 927 million people traveled this past year, essentially employing 220 million people.  Many Caribbean countries have resulted and implemented tourism as the answer when coming to poverty elimination projects and primary financial strategies.

“I have nothing else but the bags I make.  This is my life.  I need people to purchase them,” Denise, market vender, said.  Her plea each and everyday is to bargain prices with tourists, hoping a $20 purchase for a straw hand made bag will be sufficient enough to cover her electric bill that is six months past due.

“If I was not able to work here at the hotel, my family would go hungry,” doorman at Sheraton Hotel said.

This doorman’s story is not much different then most employees found throughout the islands.  He was born in poverty and witnessed his parents struggle to provide necessary needs.  Now as an adult with two young children, he refuses to follow in the unsuccessful steps of his parents, even if that means holding a door open, day in and day out.

Lack of decent and livable standards often leads to crime and other negative attributes.   This then brings upon false and unwanted connotations to countries that immensely want to share their beauty with worldly travelers.

The key and often the most prominent struggle is maintaining a unique culture and a promising identity.   This is essentially the only way to cultivate tourists in wanting to create memories in these countries.

“I feel blessed to work here at the Atlantis resort.  My friends would kill for this job,” KJ, a lifeguard of 5 years, said.

While floating in the clear water searching for jellyfish and feeding the angel fish, KJ openly shared the benefits and the secured opportunities that the resorts and hotels offer, making jobs more available for those in need of economic advancements.

If America continues to face a downfall in our economy, less people will choose to travel, for there are far more important things to cover financially then lavish vacations.  So because of our current frugal living, we as an interconnected world face serious downfalls when trying to enhance global tourism.

The mission included seven engineering student volunteers who worked to build a water purification system for the high school section of Sonrise School. The Christian K-12 school, populated with a majority of students who are genocide or AIDS orphans, was founded in 2001 by Bishop John Rucyahana, the Anglican Bishop of Shirya, Rwanda, and the nonprofit group Bridge2Rwanda that he cofounded.

The water purification system was designed last spring in the engineering senior design class. As part of the project, the group also installed a solar panel system used to power the water purifier. Before, Sonrise School had to boil all water before it could be used. The system was installed for use in the cafeteria for cooking, as well as for drinking. The system that was installed works by shining ultraviolet light through the water in order to kill bacteria.

Working with Bridge2Rwanda meant this trip was about more than just engineering. The mission of Bridge2Rwanda, as stated on its website, is “to build a bridge from our world to Rwanda and transform lives at both ends.” This was ultimately the same goal Jordan had for his students.

The students, handpicked by Jordan, were chosen because they are committed to using their skills to help others and were interested in helping Christians who had a poorer quality of life.

“We want to make a positive difference in the lives of the people of Rwanda, but I want my students to be different as well,” Jordan said. “I think our students were profoundly affected by this trip, in terms of seeing how they can use their skills to help people.”

The team worked closely with the faculty of Sonrise School to ensure the completed project was important to the students of the school. This allowed for a lot of informal interaction between Baylor and Sonrise School students. Many times students of Sonrise School gathered to watch and ask questions about what was being done and how the system worked.

This summer, Sealy MBA student David Fait was selected as team leader for the mission because of his experience working at Sonrise School with Jordan in 2009. He was also the project manager for the senior design project that created the purification system.

Fait appreciated his time in Rwanda more this time, due in part to his previous knowledge of the country and school, and also to the increased amount of time he was able to spend with the students.

The team was also able to spend time playing soccer, volleyball and basketball with the students while waiting for parts for the system to be delivered. This interaction was where the mission aspect of the trip came into play.

“Interacting with the students and hearing their dreams and aspirations is really what gives you hope for the nation,” Fait said.

The people of Rwanda are still recovering from the genocide of 1994.

The team was able to visit the Genocide Memorial in Kigali on their first full day in the country.

“This was a very hard time for our students, but it helped them to understand the need for the Christian development that is occurring at the Sonrise School,” Jordan said in a report sent to donors and supporters of the trip.

“The people there are incredible; the turnaround from what happened in 1994 to now is just incredible,” Fait said. He described his trips to Rwanda as life-changing and said he could definitely see himself working for a nonprofit that does engineering mission work abroad after graduation.

Baylor Missions sent 12 teams to eight locations this past summer and will potentially have 20 teams in 12 locations next summer.

Trips are led by Baylor faculty and staff and applications are open to all Baylor students with a desire to serve others.

“The impact is made on the students who are transformed by these experiences,” Rebecca Kennedy, associate chaplain and director for Missions, said. “They go and see the hope and possibilities and are changed because of it.”

Applications for students to participate in mission trips are available on the Baylor Spiritual Life website and informational meetings will take place throughout the semester.

Marko Grünhagen, Lumpkin distinguished professor of entrepreneurship, said it was important students went out of their comfort zone to learn more about themselves.

“You don’t take American students on a trip like this for three weeks to a culture that is so different than ours without you seeing how they cope and how they become more responsible,” Grünhagen said.

While students spent time in class studying the Chinese language, Chinese history and several other subjects, they also spent time outside the classroom sightseeing and learning more about how business is conducted in China.

Grünhagen said a “key moment” in the trip was when the group traveled to the Great Wall of China.

While they were there, one of the students bought a souvenir from a street vendor and shortly after walking away, the woman began to scream at the student.

Grünhagen said he was ready to help, but the other students took charge and tried to neutralize the situation.

“The other students in the group, they came over to her, they shielded her, they protected her, they told the woman to, you know, cool down, slow down and let’s figure out what happened here,” Grünhagen said.

Grünhagen said he thought is was cool how the students “took responsibility of each other, not just for themselves.”

Jeanne Peceniak, a senior marketing major, said the trip helped her grow as a person.
“I’m more independent,” Peceniak said. “I feel like I’ve grown up a little bit.”

While on the trip, seeing how people lived in China made Peceniak appreciate living in the United States, especially because of the freedom of speech.

Brian Chmura, a senior marketing major, also appreciated this freedom after attending classes where the professors had to peddle around answering risqué questions about the government.

“China is just a whole completely 180 from America,” Chmura said.

Chmura said the food in China was different than the Chinese food in America.

When the group went out to dinner the first night, he was surprised when he ordered a dish and found the animal’s heads on the plate, proving the meal was fresh.

Students learned how important meals and creating a relationship with other companies are in China when doing business.

“The Chinese, they spend a lot of time eating,” Grünhagen said. “In China, it is, you stay around the table; the meal is an event.”

Grünhagen said Americans often get frustrated when they perform business with the Chinese.

In China, it is more important to build a relationship with clients before conducting business.

In America, people conduct business and then they might form relationships.

Another difference in China was driving a car.

“I closed my eyes every time I got into the cab,” Peceniak said.

Grünhagen said the way people drive there is much different and made traveling in Chicago seem like nothing.

“We were in a bus and the bus would make a U-turn in an eight lane highway,” Grünhagen said.

Despite the sometimes dangerous rides in buses or cabs, Peceniak and Chmura both said they would return to China if they had the chance.

“It was overall the best thing I’ve ever done,” Chmura said. “You’ve just got to experience it.”

In Grünhagen’s classes, he said they often talk about China, but for students to see it for themselves is “critical.”

“(Studying abroad) truly takes you into a world that you have never imagined before. You know we can talk about this stuff in a classroom and it just isn’t the same,” Grünhagen said.

The trip, which was the first time the School of Business offered students to study abroad in China, was possible because one of Grünhagen’s contacts in Beijing.

“Like many of the study abroad trips,” Grünhagen said, “they oftentimes happen because there is some connection that somebody had with somebody overseas.”
Grünhagen said there is sense in going to China as a business trip.

“They are the up-in-coming thing,” Grünhagen said. “They are an emerging country, they have industrialized like crazy over the last 15 years.”

While abroad, students were able to see the industry side of China by visiting companies like Coca-Cola, Hyundai and Merck.

However, Peceniak and Chmura’s favorite parts of the trip were seeing the Great Wall of China.

“That was the most breathtaking sight I’ve ever seen,” Peceniak said. “To be surrounded by so much history, it was incredible.”

Peceniak said she liked how the Great Wall, that was once meant to protect China from others, now brings people together.

The trip allowed the students to learn more about who they are as well as more about a different culture and made them appreciate their lives in the United States.

Sitting on a plane heading to a completely foreign country should not be the first time you open a guidebook to read about that country. Yet here I was, heading to Cyprus for a month-long study abroad program opening my Lonely Planet guide for the first time. Cyprus, I learned, was currently divided into two halves, one with Greek Cypriots and the other with Turkish Cypriots. The Republic of Cyprus, where I was headed, was a part of the European Union and consisted mostly of Greek Cypriots. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized as a sovereign state only by Turkey, was home to most of the Turkish Cypriots.

The United Nations had to intervene to make peace between the two sides and is currently occupying a buffer zone between them. As I sat on the plane with less than an hour to land, I realized I was entering a country that, until quite recently, had undergone considerable political strife and violence. Excellent.

When I first got to Nicosia, the capital of the island, all the apprehension I had built up during my plane ride disappeared immediately. The area around the University of Nicosia, where I was living, was a lazy, quiet sort of place, and the downtown area was filled with numerous places to eat and shop. The locals were warm and extremely helpful — my second day in Nicosia I had the owner of a small roadside eatery spend 15 minutes helping me decipher the Greek menu there. On the weekends, we went on trips to the tourist-packed beach resorts around the country. We went to the popular Ayia Napa region, one of the hottest European tourist destinations, often called the “Cancun of Europe”; to Paphos, an area famous for archeological ruins; and to Polis, where I had one of the best hiking experiences of my life. Although the weekends, with afternoons spent lazing on beaches and nights at bars watching the FIFA World Cup, were fun, I had some of the most memorable experiences of the trip in Nicosia.

The last divided capital in the world, Nicosia had plenty of opportunities for me to get acquainted with the cultural and political side of the country. I went to numerous art shows and a jazz festival, and ate the traditional “meze,” a sampling of local delicacies. We even went to mass at a Greek orthodox church, which in spite of being completely in Greek and lasting for nearly three hours, was one of the most interesting experiences I had in Cyprus. During our last week in Cyprus, a group of fellow students and I decided to cross the border in Nicosia and visit the Turkish side of the city.

The gateway at the border was decorated almost festively with balloons, streamers, and colorful signs promoting peace between the two sides. We simply showed our passports at the border, walked for a couple minutes, and were on the Turkish side. Contrary to all the fanciful images that my mind had concocted, the city on the other side of the border seemed no different from the one I had just left. We walked among similar looking shops and for the longest time the only difference was that signs that had been in Greek were now in Turkish. When we ate and shopped, however, we were surprised (and quite pleased) to find that the Turkish side was considerably cheaper than the Greek side. We ate a large amount of food on the Turkish side and became especially fond of a dish we decided to name a cheese boat; all it consisted of was local cheese stuffed in boat-shaped pita bread, and it was delicious.

As we walked back across the balloon-filled gateway at night and began to look for a taxi, we noticed an old woman following us. After nearly 10 minutes, we began to get worried and quickened our pace. That was when she called out to us and asked us stop. In broken English, she questioned where we had just come from. We tried walking away, but this woman was persistent. Finally, we told her we had just come back from the Turkish side and she then asked us what we were doing there. Nothing, we tried telling her, we were just tourists and were visiting the area. She shook her head and told us that we should never go there. She told us her house had been there and when the Turkish army had occupied the area she had to leave all her belongings behind and run. She had never been back since. What had been a completely normal day for us had suddenly transformed into something else.

In my last week in Cyprus, the old woman had taught me that I knew very little, if anything, about the sentiments of the people there and the way they felt. To understand a country, you need to understand its people, and I barely touched the tip of the iceberg. One month, I now realize, is too short to be little more than a tourist in a foreign country. I hope to go back to Cyprus one day and truly understand the essence of the island.

This July, AAA Carolinas predicted a 12 percent increase in Fourth of July tourism and more coastal tourism than in the previous two years, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Connie Nelson, communications and public relations director at the Wilmington/Cape Fear Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, wrote in an e-mail that North Carolina beach accommodations saw an increase in business from people displaced by the spill.

“Accommodation properties have reported that they have had inquiries and/or bookings from visitors who previously vacationed in the areas affected by the Gulf oil spill,” she wrote.

Wit Tuttell, director of Tourism Marketing for North Carolina Division of Tourism, said that despite the original concern that the spill would “dampen” travel, it has had the opposite effect on coastal locations.

“The oil spill was sort of a mixed blessing,” Tuttell said. “It helped us in that some people changed their beach location and came to North Carolina instead of the Gulf Coast. Hopefully we made believers of these people and they’ll come back again and keep bringing their spending to our areas.”

Indeed, tourism on the North Carolina coast saw a major increase in room demand rates, according to the Smith Travel Research June 2010 Monthly Lodging and Year To-Date Reports, which showed that the Southeast, Northeast and Eastern regions of the state saw increases of 5.1, 7.8 and 5.6 percent, respectively, from last June.

Despite the initial fear that oil would drift to North Carolina’s shores, experts say that such a spread is unlikely. Richard Di Giulio, professor of ecological toxicology and Director of the Integrated Toxicology Program for the Nicholas School of the Environment, said he does not predict that there will be damage to the state’s beaches or wildlife.

“There has really been no effect of the Gulf oil spill on the North Carolina coast,” said DiGiulio. “When it first happened people were concerned, but from what I understand the oil is pretty well contained in the Gulf—we’re off the hook so far.”

Still, the government has taken measures to prevent any negative effects the spill could have on the tourism economy. Governor Bev Perdue signed a bill Aug. 2 intended to lift the cap on damages caused by the spill. The bill states that any businesses affected by damage due to “oil or other hazardous substances” have “cause of action” to recover the cost of clean-up, damaged goods and income losses from those responsible for the release of toxins.

Mark Johnson, communications director for the governor’s office, said the bill was issued to protect the coast as well as to prevent any future disasters.

Johnson said the bill has put North Carolina in a better position to protect its coastline.

“It [will] hopefully help prevent another such disaster.”

Only five students traveled to that region five years ago; last year, the number ballooned to 55.

“There is definitely an interest in the study of the Middle East lately,” said Janis Perkins, the director of UI Study Abroad. “I think it’s because it’s an area of the world that our country is generally focused on.”

Though the most frequently selected programs are in European countries, the Middle East programs’ popularity is increasing every year, Perkins said.

UI senior Laura Wonderlin said she is anxious to travel across the world to spend three and a half months in Amman, Jordan, in less than a month.

“I am more excited than nervous,” said the 20-year-old.

After a year of studying Arabic behind her, she said, she is ready to live among the many cultural differences and gain knowledge from the trip.

Wonderlin isn’t the only one who’s taken an interest in Arabic at the UI.

During the 2004-05 school year, 86 students enrolled in Arabic classes. Five years later, that number grew around 66 percent to 143 during the 2009-10 school year. There are currently 99 students enrolled in the fall semester alone.

The region has garnered more attention recently because of the war in Iraq, the area’s oil resources, and its location as the “crossroads between the East and the West,” said UI political science Professor Vicki Hesli, who teaches Introduction to Politics of the Muslim World.

“This region has always been important,” she said. “It simply wasn’t on the strategic radar of most citizens until after the 9/11 attacks on Washington, D.C., and New York City.”

The Institute of International Education reported that from 2002 to 2007, the number of students studying abroad in the Middle East has increased from 562 to almost 3,400.

Egypt, followed by Morocco, is the most popular Middle Eastern country that UI students visit, Perkins said.

Middle Eastern students are traveling to Iowa as well. Last year, 124 students from 15 different Middle Eastern countries studied abroad at the UI, said Scott King, the director of the Office of International Students and Scholars. Of those students, 24 — 19 percent — came from Jordan.

The safety of students abroad depends on their location and activities, Perkins said, particularly during their time apart from organizers. And in the sometimes tumultuous region of the Middle East, safety can be a concern.

“There are certainly dangerous areas in the Middle East, and students can run some risks traveling independently in these areas,” she said.

Official study-abroad sites work to ensure the safety of traveling students, she said.

Each year, a little more than 1,000 UI students study abroad. Around 40 percent spend a semester abroad, and 5 percent travel for the whole academic year. Another 40 percent of students travel during the summer, and 15 percent go on a winter program.

For them it was all in an effort to lend a hand in increasing affordable housing across the country.

The Bike and Build program is a national organization that combines sport and service.

Participants not only ride across the country, they stop at various places to help out at affordable housing project sites.

The trip was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, said Brian Nahas, one of four Penn State students on a route from South Carolina to Santa Cruz.

Dave McDonald, who biked from North Carolina to California in 70 days, said it was an “awesome” experience.

The bikers provided extra manpower to groups that were building houses, by doing odd jobs like framing, roofing, painting and landscaping, he said.

Though the students were on separate routes, they got the chance to collaborate on one specific project.

In Colorado Springs, Colo., McDonald helped lay the foundation for a house. One week later, the bikers on the California route came through and finished the project.

Nahas (senior-architectural engineering) said it was incredible to know they had all worked together to help someone out.

The best part about the experience was that it provided a chance to not only help out a great cause, but to also explore big cities and small towns across the country, he said. Other highlights included watching sunsets and sunrises.

Biker Lance Nissley said it was great to see the physical terrain of the country in a whole new way.

Nissley (senior-predmedicine) said he enjoyed talking to the people the team built houses for and seeing the impact they were having on those lives.

Bikers rode through deserts, redwood forests, the Grand Canyon and the Rocky Mountains.

“It’s basically an adventure across the country with a purpose behind it,” Nahas said.

Other highlights of the trip included hiking six hours up Pike’s Peak — a 14,090 ft. mountain, Nahas said.

Spending up to six hours a day on a bicycle riding an average of 75 miles per day was the best way to spend a summer, McDonald (senior-aerospace engineering) said.

McDonald said he had been involved with affordable housing projects before and said though he had never been a serious road biker before, the challenge and adventure was too good to pass up.

“When I heard Bike and Build combined biking with service, I thought it would be an awesome experience — something I couldn’t miss,” he said.

The O.U.T commission of Oxford, as well as the Ole Miss Associated Student Body, has been working hard to relieve the overcrowding of parking and to provide more transportation options for students.

“We are trying to change the culture of our campus to more pedestrian-friendly,” Cory Washington, director of transportation, said.

Although the parking problem has not been eliminated, the ASB has been working with the O.U.T commission to lessen the impact of such a large incoming freshmen class.

O.U.T buses will make periodic trips to and from the South Lot, where more student parking will be available. This will better utilize this parking space while ensuring that students that park there won’t have to walk too far to get to class.

“The O.U.T bus is a great investment because it’s energy efficient and alleviates the parking burden on campus,” Ariel Rodgers, a junior at Ole Miss, said.

Some students staying on and off campus this past summer may have noticed some of the routes the O.U.T Bus took during the year were not being offered, but they will all be in effect during the school year said Alderman Ulysses “Coach” Howell.

“Hopefully more and more students will use the O.U.T buses, so that we can cut down on the traffic,” Howell said. “There are also new buses being put on routes to numerous destinations.”

The O.U.T buses will have five routes this year: the blue, green, orange, red, and yellow routes. The O.U.T buses have transfer points at public venues, where riders can get on and off and switch buses free of charge.

These transfer points will be in places like the Student Union, Walmart and the Square. Students who do not have vehicles or those who just want to stay “green” will have a safe and clean mode of transportation.

Students that live off campus will have the opportunity to utilize O.U.T. as well. The O.U.T buses have stops at apartment complexes around the community, such as the Exchange, The Links, Brittany Woods and Lafayette Place.

The blue bus route will begin in downtown Oxford on the Square, at 6:10 a.m. It will circulate through town, with stops at Walmart and the Student Union.

The red route will also begin in downtown Oxford, at the Square, and stop at Belk and Azalea Gardens.

The green route starts at 7:00 a.m. and will stop at the Exchange, the Mississippi Department of Transportation parking lot and the Student Union.

The yellow bus route will begin at 7:26 a.m. at the Student Union and will service the Tad Smith Coliseum, Hawthorne and Campus Walk.

The orange route bus will begin at 6:58 a.m. to Walmart and The Links.

The buses stop at multiple other destinations, and circulate every 10 to 30 minutes.

University of Mississippi students and faculty do not have a riding fare as long as they have their Ole Miss identification cards, and any other patron will be charged a maximum $2 riding fee.

More information about O.U.T. bus routes can be found on the City of Oxford website.

Hong Kong surprised me with its beauty.

When I first learned I would be spending two months of my summer doing an internship in Hong Kong, I imagined a grimy city akin to Shanghai. Don’t get me wrong; I love Shanghai. But I would never associate the word “scenic” with it.

However, Hong Kong had a combination of mountains, skyscrapers, and sea that took my breath away as soon as I stepped out of the airport. Looking out of my office building from the 47th floor, I could glimpse a fantastic view of the picturesque harbor, the steel and glass of downtown Hong Kong, and hilly islands in the distance floating on the blue South China Sea.

The city is a great place to be young. My weekends were packed with nights out at the numerous bars and clubs in Lan Kwai Fong, shopping trips to everything from Louis Vuitton stores to cheap-as-dirt-but-need-to-bargain shops in Mongkok, and customary visits to popular tourist spots around the city. Lan Kwai Fong, or LKF as it is more commonly called, is the most popular nighttime hangout spot. Spanning just a few streets, the area is closed to traffic at night, allowing people to walk around freely among the various clubs and pubs. I loved the atmosphere in LKF at night — everyone was dressed up in their bling best, intoxicated, and having a good time. Mongkok — with its popular Ladies’ Market — proved to be my favorite shopping destination. Everything from cheap tops to jewelry to accessories was on sale — and thankfully I had a native Hong Kong friend to bargain for me in Cantonese.

Hong Kong is all about the views. You can go up Hong Kong Island’s tallest mountain, Victoria Peak, in a tram and catch a glimpse of the glittering buildings at night. Take a ferry across to Kowloon Island and walk along Star Avenue for a view of the skyline up close and lit up in a daily light show. Take a trip to Lantau Island and see the spectacular Big Buddha statue perched on top of a hill from a cable car. And while there are many, each view never fails to disappoint.

Hong Kong is also perfectly situated for further exploring Southeast Asia. During my time there, I made two trips to the glitzy casino city of Macau. If Hong Kong is the Eastern New York City, Macau is the Las Vegas. With its own Wynn, Venetian, and Sands casinos, Macau proves to be the ultimate gambling destination of the East. I’m not much of a gambler, but I still enjoyed the glamour of the casinos. Beyond the casinos, the city’s Portuguese architecture is also worth a look.

Hong Kong culture comes off as strongly cosmopolitan, with the high foreign population and abundance of Western brands everywhere. But if you dig deep — and make some helpful Hong Konger friends — it’s hard to overlook the distinct Chinese culture. Make sure you get a taste of both worlds, because their coexistence is exactly what makes Hong Kong so unique.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is tasting the local fare. My food adventures let me sample a wide range of cuisines: delicious Hong Kong staples like wonton noodle soup and egg tarts in tiny street shops, tasty dim sum lunches at a quiet tea house and a bustling family-style restaurant, and Taiwanese dumplings and Korean barbecue. Hong Kong’s international culture also expanded my restaurant choices. Italian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Mediterranean food all graced my plate while dining at fancy restaurants in the culturally diverse area of SoHo.

Life in Hong Kong proved to be perfect for a 20-something working and living alone. It was fast-paced, with the right amount of adventure and excitement balanced by lazy Sunday mornings. I fell in love with the city the moment I saw it, and after two months there, I can’t wait to plan my trip back.

Editor’s note: This is the 10th in a series of stories and photos bringing the U.S. and the world to UT.

ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands — Almost 3,000 miles away, tucked in the northernmost corner of the Caribbean, lies a tropical paradise that has managed to remain fairly untouched.

In the British Virgin Islands, you will find no fast-food restaurant chains, no shopping malls and no multilane highways overrun by hours of traffic — but that does not mean the island is not experiencing increased development.

In the past few years, the country has seen a 10-percent increase in tourism from not only other Caribbean islands, but Europe and Asia as well. This has highlighted the need for the government to rethink its approach to tourism.

“What we have done in the last few years is that we have gone back to focusing more on the niche marketing side of tourism,” said Lynette Harrigan, marketing manager for the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board, the country’s tourism agency.

Harrigan said that instead of trying to attract as many people as possible to the country, it now tries to appeal to a specific clientele by marketing the uniqueness of its islands. Water activities such as swimming and diving and the country’s capacity as an exotic wedding destination are all points of interest to the elite traveler.

“[We’re marketing to] people who can afford to come to the [British Virgin Islands because] it’s not easy to get here, and it’s not a cheap place either,” Harrigan said.

The effects of the former mass-marketing strategy are not lost on the board, however. In the past few years, there has been an explosion in the number of cruise ships that dock on the main island of Tortola.

During the high season for tourism — from November to April — more than 5,000 individuals are in port on a given day. For a country of less than 30,000 people, the effects of such an influx are immediately noticeable.

“When there are three and four cruise ships in town, it’s very crowded,” Tortola resident Kishona Dasent said. “You have to take the back roads to avoid traffic, and the town is so small for all those tourists.”

Along with the mass crowds came the need for an exportable culture. Instead of handmade local souvenirs, silk-screened T-shirts with tags reading “Made in China” are sold by vendors lining the dock. Harrigan said the tourist board limits the flow of tourists from the ships into Road Town, the nation’s capital.

In the past, the historical sites that could have been educational points of interest for tourists were often not given the amount of attention necessary to make
them attractive.

“With our infrastructure, we’re doing a lot with our heritage sites,” Harrigan said. “A plan is already in place to do [improvements], and some of them are already started.”

There are still more issues to be worked out as the country’s economy continues to grow. There is also no denying the importance of tourism in a country where the only other significant source of income comes from the investments of offshore corporations.

One thing is certain, however: The more people who are attracted to the crystalline waters of the 60 islands, rocks and cays that make up the British Virgin Islands, the more the government, tourist board and residents will have to adapt to the new benefits and challenges that travelers bring.

Graffiti covers the majority of plain walls, garage doors, sidewalks, and even a few grandiose public statues in both the cities and small towns I visited this summer across various countries of Latin America. The graffiti extends from the grittiest slums I visited, where homes consist of chicken wire covered with trash bags, to the highest income neighborhoods in Argentina, such as Recoleta in Buenos Aires. And apart from the occasional tagger who crafts indisputable works of art, holds a singular infatuation with his name, or loves words that in English begin with A, B, C, F, and S, most of Latin American graffiti exults politicized messages.

Messages from political groups of all stripes compose the dyes of this wallpaper. Mainstream campaigns, like the current president of Argentina, have some of the largest messages. “Long live the Kirchners!” declares one message by train tracks near Tigre, Argentina where each multi-colored letter stands taller than my body. One candidate is ready for the 2011 elections with amazing name recognition; “Pacha 2011” scream the template-drawn messages that are mosaicked across walls in La Plata, Argentina such that, without exaggeration, nearly one out of five street corners in the city center plug the campaign. Nonetheless, not a single local I asked knew for sure who Pacha is or even what office he (or she) is running for.

Beyond candidates, special interest groups like the vegans have taken their aim at public opinion. In capital letters, I found the message “Milk=Torture, Meat=Murder” in Spanish and capital letters, like all the other messages, on a wall besides The National University of La Plata. And I can only imagine what cutting hot breakfast would have been like at this university; earlier, I read messages on a nearby wall objecting to the purportedly low nutritive content in medical students’ dining hall meals as I watched student protesters holding similarly-worded signs blockade the adjacent road with stacked desks.

However, alongside the groups with more entertaining, creative messages, some graffiti seems to carry genuine sentiments of distress from people feeling neglected by their political leadership and the justice system. One of the most common of the more personal and passionate messages—and some of the largest and most elaborate graffiti displays that I saw across much of Argentina—stems from the families of los desaparecidos, the political victims of torture and murder by military dictatorships during the 1970s and 80s. On sidewalks surrounding a number of law schools in Buenos Aires, I found cries for justice and pleas that the nation not forget the extensive political cleansings of decades past.

Related to another mass-murder, in the central plaza in Bariloche, Argentina, hundreds of spray-painted white bonnets adorn the ground along with victims’ names printed alongside a number of the emblems. Along with the curt charge, “GENOCIDE,” the logos also peppered the plaza’s statue of General Julio Argentino Roca, who some associate with forced expulsions of indigenous populations in early 20th century Argentina.

It is hard to translate the proliferation of these public political expressions to deep insight on the political behaviors of regular Latin Americans. Despite the graffiti and reputations of mass protests in large public plazas, many of the Argentines I spoke with across various age groups expressed a general sense of disillusionment from the current political parties. Many hesitate to wade too deeply into political activism after military dictators three decades ago meticulously quashed dissent from local universities, often through murder. Nonetheless, remaining exposed for months or longer between coats of fresh paint, these messages have become part of the urban art.

As someone who will eventually graduate with the word “history” stamped on her diploma, I naturally cringe at Piñera’s suggestion. But the more I learn about Chile, the more I see that it is in many ways trapped by its past, and that history can function as a barrier to progress.

In this fairly developed and modern country, divorce became legal only in 2004, and abortion is still illegal under any circumstance, even when the mother’s life is in danger. There is no abortion “debate” so to speak in Chile: the only thing that comes close is when politicians occasionally discuss the possibility of opening up “debate” on the issue. A complex web of history and culture keeps the topic of abortion (and other so-called moral issues) strictly out of the public discourse.

Under the deeply conservative and “pro-family” Pinochet government, women were mercilessly persecuted for trying to obtain abortions, and the fear and stigma that became associated with the procedure is still very strong. Many things have changed in Chile after the return to democracy, but abortion has remained a taboo subject.

The silence is partly due to the power and influence of the Catholic Church, which enjoys the unusual distinction of being allied with both the left and right political coalitions. During the dictatorship, the Church was an outspoken critic of the military junta’s human rights violations: Many individuals on the political left owe their lives directly or indirectly to the Church’s efforts. As a result, almost nobody wants to touch an issue that will certainly cause conflict with ecclesiastical authorities.

Chileans seem to confuse the Church of the past—which was a source of hope during a dark time, with the Church of today—which refuses to change its tune even though Chile’s repressive laws force thousands of women to seek abortions in clandestine, and sometimes terrifying, conditions. Botched abortions are believed to be the third leading cause of maternal mortality nationwide, an outcome that affects poor women—who cannot afford to have the procedure done in a safe and sanitary environment—in disproportionate numbers.

President Piñera and I probably don’t agree on many things—a woman’s right to choose, for one—but I think he was right when he said in an interview with ABC that “it is unfortunate when the past becomes an obstacle for the future.”

It is important not to forget the past—neither the crimes of Pinochistas nor religious leaders’ bravery in the face of them—but letting old loyalties and antagonisms dominate current policymaking is a serious error. I can only hope that one day, Chile will figure out how to face its history without becoming prisoner to it.

Morocco has very little processed food. We usually shop every two days for fresh fruits and veggies, meat that was just slaughtered and olive oil that is made less than 20 miles away. To purchase our food, we talk to the vendors, haggle over prices and exchange pleasantries. The best part of all of this is a sack full of the freshest, most flavorful, and healthy food you can get for the equivalent of about 75 cents, American money. This is where Americans can take the hint; farmer’s markets (usually) offer better prices for fresher, tastier and healthier organic foods. Nowadays in America the worst food for you is the cheapest and going to a health food store can put a real dent in the wallet… make healthy, good food more reasonable and we will be better off in return.

Something I was told not to expect in Morocco was lines when waiting for the checkout at a grocery store or for when going to restaurants. I first experienced the lack of lines at McDonald’s. Instead of the four or five neatly formed lines behind the registers, there was a mass gathered around the counter. People with their trays were coming out, but lifting their trays above their heads to get through the mob. We would stand in a “line” and if we weren’t tightly enough packed, other customers would have no qualms cutting in front of us. Invasion of bubbles is a regular occurrence, so it is just the culture. Although, with this mob mentality, I would hate to be caught in a crisis. Now I understand how people can get trampled if something bad were to happen. Common courtesy is to wait a turn, to make it easier and less stressful to get your meal at a restaurant seems to make sense. I’m keeping this mentality when I go home.

In a previous column, I mentioned going to the hammams where an attendant will scrub you while you relax in a sauna-type environment. The locals will go a whole week in the summer without showering to spend the afternoon getting pampered. While I do not advocate going without the showers for that long in our humid Nebraska summers, I HIGHLY advocate the building of hammams. While we would have to get over our shyness, it is like hanging out in a hot tub, plus pampering. It is a place to be social and be comfortable, while being naked. If anything, it is a place to build confidence and realize everyone is different and you can be comfortable in your own skin, literally.

One of the last things I’m taking back with me is more respect for the rules of the road we have in America. Not only do we pack seven people into a taxi here; here in Morocco we don’t even drive within the lanes of the road. I am sure this is a crossover from the “not standing in lines” bit. When I get into my Blazer at home, I am just slightly afraid of everyone cutting me off and honking their horns at me, telling me to get over so they can pass and also finding people at the stop lights trying to sell me their products. As much as I speed and hate getting tickets, I like to think America’s safety standard is much higher than here in Morocco. We wait for people in the crosswalks and stay in our respective lanes most of the time. Here this is not always the case.

So, while I am happy with all the things I have learned – not only the language but the culture – I am glad we do some things differently. Our customs here in America might not always make sense while you live here, but it is not until some things are taken away that we really appreciate them.

Students from BYU’s Bradley Public Relations Agency were hired to organize a local 5K run to gain support for Livermanne’s trek. The run will take place on Saturday at Liberty Park in Salt Lake.

Nick Barnes, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif., is the account manager for the event. He said childhood obesity rates are skyrocketing and people need to learn to be active. That is why they called the 5K “The Big Fitness Walk.”

“Our client had the idea to do this as something that will bring about a healthier lifestyle for everyone,” Barnes said. “Children who are healthier are happier, regardless of wealth.”

The website says the money raised from the run will support elementary school physical education programs.

“We’re hoping to get more awareness for the issue of childhood obesity,” Barnes said. “The issue is a huge problem worldwide, but especially in the United States. We want this 5K to become a fun event on a yearly basis and continue to raise money for physical education programs. Ultimately our goal is for people to be healthy.”

Though Livermanne is originally from Texas, he got the idea to walk across the country while in Utah. He read a “Guinness Book of World Records” entry about the current fastest walk across the country record, which is 53 days.

He has been training in Utah and most recently walked from Salt Lake to St. George and back again.

Even though his cross-country walk won’t take him through the Beehive state, graduate student Brittany Warnock said she hopes the 5K will generate awareness in Utah.

“We wanted to gain local support first,” said Warnock, a masters of communications student from Lucerne Valley, Calif. “Matt Livermanne will be there with the runners at the park and will be walking all day from the time the park opens to when it closes.”

Warnock said when Livermanne makes his two-month journey, he will stop at elementary schools along the trail.

“It’s a really cool idea for him to be walking across the country and work with schools to promote being healthy,” Warnock said. “I think what he’s doing is important. Not trying to reinvent the wheel but reinforce [physical education] programs that are already there.”

Those interested in participating can sign up at thebigfitnesswalk.com by Tuesday. The entrance fee is $20, which includes a T-shirt.  Students get $5 off registration.

This summer, I had the opportunity to work in Mexico. It was one of the best experiences of my life because I had the privilege to live in another country and encounter a unique culture.  Although the two places I worked in, Ciudad Juárez and Ciudad Acuña, are highly American-influenced border towns, they are still significantly different from cities I have visited in the U.S.

I won’t pretend to know everything about Mexico after spending only three months in the country, but I would like to share my experiences of culture shock during my stay.

Besides everyone but me speaking fluent Spanish, the most glaring difference was the overwhelming amount of military personnel, mainly in Juárez. At first, it was startling to constantly pass federal vehicles full of soldiers in SWAT gear. Call me crazy, but I don’t immediately warm up to people carrying assault rifles.

After I almost soiled myself a couple of times, I began to realize that the Mexican military was on my side. The military presence is so large to combat the corrupt local police as well as the cartels. When I knew who the good guys were, having my truck searched at military checkpoints actually made me feel safe, because I knew they were just doing their jobs.

While driving, I always had to be on the lookout for speed bumps. I’m used to encountering them in parking lots, but in Mexico speed bumps are everywhere, even on major highways.

My first few times behind the wheel in the country were pretty unfortunate, as I learned that there are not always road signs to forewarn you of those demonic speed barriers. Many bumps are not even painted bright yellow, but camouflaged into the road to ensure maximum misery.

But the more I thought about speed bumps, the more I realized how much they reflect Mexico’s siesta culture. With speed bumps, you have to slow down.  In the U.S., everything is always “go, go, go,” but life is a lot more relaxed in Mexico. Time doesn’t hold a death grip on everyone’s lives. What we view as fashionably late is considered an early arrival in Mexico. I still hated the speed bumps, but they were a constant reminder not to live in hurry-up mode around the clock.

One thing I struggled to remember all summer was not to flush toilet paper. Many of the septic systems can’t handle an excess amount of the product due to expensive maintenance.  There are several areas where you can flush toilet paper, like in tourist hot spots, but I was not anywhere near those.

It took some time to get accustomed to using a wastebasket. I will sadly admit that my first trip to the little niños room, I remember thinking how backward and gross it is to throw used toilet paper into a trashcan. What I didn’t know then is the majority of the world’s population doesn’t flush toilet paper.

The most surprising discovery for me during my time in Mexico was the inexplicable joy many of the people have. I say inexplicable because the average household income for the communities I worked in was less than $60 a week. They have nothing, yet they are happy.

At first, I couldn’t figure out how anyone could be content with constant military checkpoints, poor plumbing and godforsaken speed bumps. None of that makes sense to me, but that’s because I’ve only known how to view things through my American lenses. I hope this doesn’t sound like one of those “we’re too culturally insensitive” speeches, but it is easy to view our culture as the status quo.

These past three months have helped me understand some of our cutural differences. Just because another country does not operate the same way as America doesn’t make it wrong or inferior. It’s just different. I’ve always known that, but it’s something I’m only beginning to understand.

Traveling is the best geography lesson. No matter how glossy the photos and detailed the descriptions, textbooks give the impression of flatness and uniformity to a multidimensional and diverse land. Nowhere was this more apparent than in my family trip to the Grand Canyon this summer. I’ve lived in Florida my whole life, so it was a change of scenery to see pine forests give way to bayous, the landscape buckle into hills and valleys before giving way to immense plains of wheat.

We first arrived at the Canyon rim at midday, when the sun canceled out all the shadows. The Canyon was so huge that it looked disappointingly flat, a photograph under an endless blue sky. However, a change of lighting transforms its entire character, highlighting the cliffs and small mesas, poetically called “temples.” At sunset, the air turns a delicate blue shade, like smoke, because of air pollution. Light filters through the air, becoming visible shafts that are shaped by the silhouette of the canyon. The effect reminded me of an Impressionist painting, or perhaps Chinese watercolors.

Inspired by movies, I had expected the landscape around the Canyon to be a scorching, barren wasteland, with only a solitary tumbleweed to break the monotony. But life has a tendency to cling to even the most inhospitable places. When I arrived, I found greenery in stunted shrubs eking out an existence between the rocks and parched soil, even resurrection in the tall flowers of the agave. Constant winds bent the bristlecone pines into gnarled shapes, like hunched old men. Grazing on the desert plants within sight of the road were local mule deer, so called because of their long ears, and an occasional brave, bushy-tailed Abert’s Squirrels, appeared to the click of cameras. I’ve never seen squirrels so tame in my life. They had no problems with clambering beneath the legs of sitting people and even stealing muffins from tourists, who had been carefully warned not to feed the animals, lest they bite fingers.

The Ancient Pueblo Peoples have also lived in the area for millennia. Although there are many archeological sites with petroglyphs and pictographs, we could only visit the Tusayan village ruins, a pueblo built by the labor of 8-year-olds. People matured much faster then, becoming adults by 13 and elderly by 35. Perhaps their 10 hour workday made up for that. They lived by farming and gathering, using every part of the animals, trees, and bushes that grew around them. The thick-leaved agave plant was useful as thread, needles, soap and food, especially the delicacy of the tall flower stalk each plant only produces once before dying. They even consumed the poisonous agave leaves by cooking them underground for four days, although one wonders how that was discovered.

The wild plants, with their twisted branches and tiny leaves so adapted to a harsh climate, were vulnerable to one thing: humans. Although the crowds that gather at the park love nature, their presence requires paved parking lots and trails, naturally destroying habitats. Even hiking can turn deadly, for the plants at least, when people trample on young sprouts and inadvertently snap off brittle branches. For that reason, I saw plants with hoops of chicken wire wrapped around them, caged for their own safety. Toddlers used them as trash cans. Isn’t it curious how humans are a force of both preservation and destruction, spending so much effort to reverse the impact of our own existence?

I’ve traveled internationally, to China, Spain, and France, yet there are sides to my own country that I’ve barely experienced. Although Boston could hardly be more different than Arizona in climate, architecture, and nature, I look forward to going to MIT as an adventure just as exciting as the Grand Canyon.

Yet, sometimes, you’ll manage to stumble upon an entirely different world. If you get lost or off the main track, you might happen upon narrow, winding streets with small, traditional houses and a hive of activity. People are outside playing cards and talking to the neighbors while sidewalk vendors hawk basic goods and tasty foods. The smells, sounds, and sights of these hutongs, traditional alleyways and narrow streets of Beijing, paint a sharp contrast to the silent and heartless concrete jungle that makes up a large portion of the city.

Now this is not to say that much of the development is welcome; a modern city with amenities and accommodations fit for the 21st century is something that everyone deserves to live in, and economic development inevitably will bring about urban transformation. But sometimes, in the interest of preserving a special part of China’s heritage, the government should set aside areas as protected for historical purposes and make sure that they stay as they were.

A connection to a country’s history and origins is essential for forming a national identity and informing views on the past and future. In the old neighborhoods of hutongs, everyone hangs out with their neighbors and a strong sense of community develops. People internalize the neighborhood and it becomes a part of their experience and their life. As the entire nation moves to apartment buildings, its important to preserve some of the old city to still have that understanding of what a traditional Chinese community used to be, and what, exactly, progress has meant for the society.

A recent New York Times article documents how the historic Gulou neighborhood, north of Tiannamen Square, will soon be demolished to make way for the “polished tourist destination” of “Beijing Time Cultural City.” Residents are mixed on the changes, but some intellectuals and historians are fighting to save the space. As Yao Yuan, a Peking University professor, puts it, “this is not about preserving a historic monument. It’s about saving a living, breathing community that has evolved organically over hundreds of years.”

The Gulou area is one of the last neighborhoods of its kind in Beijing; its loss would be another blow to the heart of the city. Granted, this will mean a few less apartment buildings and maybe the loss of a tourist complex and new department store. Yet with its staggering growth, China will have no lack of any of these amenities even if it does set aside some areas for preservation. The small sacrifice now will have immense returns when this generation’s grandchildren are still able to see a little bit of old Beijing.

Though I’m inwardly groaning, I smile and nod at this tall, overdressed woman. She appears to be the substitute dietician, and she appears to know everything about me—from my name to the fact that my co-intern departed last week. I’ve never laid eyes on her before in my life.

“Right. I’m pre-med. I’m still in college.”

It’s about 10 A.M. on a Thursday. I’ve been at work at the HIV clinic for 90 minutes, and it’s already been a long day. I can predict exactly how this conversation will go: for the umpteenth time since my arrival in South Africa, I will have to explain that no, although I’m 21 years old, I’m not yet in medical school. We Americans do things differently.

The novelty of this conversation has long worn off, and I would much rather be playing peek-a-boo with the two-year-old boy sitting in the waiting room in front of me. He doesn’t understand a word of English, but things are simpler that way sometimes. Peek-a-boo transcends the English/Zulu language barrier, and for this reason, Thursdays—the day when the pediatrician is on duty in the clinic—are my favorite days at Ethembeni.

Then the dietician drops the second-most common question I am asked in South Africa: “So, what’s different about our country compared to yours?”

This is a question that I find unnecessarily difficult to answer.

The education system, obviously, is a difference I spend a lot of time talking about. The fences that line middle- and upper-class neighborhoods also come to mind. I have never seen such a concentration of electric fences in such a widespread area as I have in my travels around the greater Durban area. There’s greater poverty here, of course, and we don’t have HIV clinics like this at home because there’s no need for them. Throw in the obvious stuff—different language, different majority race, different indigenous animals—and I can generate a pretty good, if uninspired, list.

But after that, I start to get stuck.

Well then, surely the food or the TV shows or the rhythm of life? Every evening here, I walk home from the hospital, check my email, read a little bit, eat dinner (last night: spaghetti bolognese), and watch television with the family I live with (their favorite shows: Survivor, Gossip Girl, and Will & Grace). Sounds pretty much like what I would be doing at home, except here, I get to watch a beautiful sunset over the Valley of 1,000 Hills every night, and though it’s the middle of winter, we still go to the beach on the weekends. So there’s that, at least.

Eventually, the dietician grows bored of our conversation. Maybe it’s just that I’m grumpy—close to 100 patients come through the clinic each day, and registering them and sorting through their files is a monotonous task in this computer-less system—and not willing to engage in intellectual debate this morning.

I turn back to the little boy. He’s been tugging at his mother’s skirt, but upon realizing that my attention is back on him, he toddles over to my desk, and we resume our game of peek-a-boo.

Or maybe it’s just that things really aren’t so different after all.

The Indian train system is epic. It is considered the backbone of the economy and transports about 6.9 million passengers a day across Mumbai. The stations—a chaotic tangle  of train tracks, stairs, and overpasses—are also emblematic of the railway system’s political disarray.

The general guidelines for train-riding recommended to all visiting Americans generally include: 1. Make sure it’s Sunday midday when it is most quiet. 2. Go with someone who knows the train system. 3. Buy a first class ticket. 4. Sit in the ladies car. 5. Only do it once.

I did not heed the instructions exactly. Nevertheless, riding my first local train (on a Wednesday evening during rush hour, without a fellow female escort, in second-class), I discovered affection and pandemonium in the ladies car.

Rush hour in the ladies car is a little like a girls’ bathroom during a high school dance. Sweaty women pack together, pushing and shoving for space, gossiping, adjusting their hair and outfits, admiring jewelry that sellers bring around on something that resembles a clothes hanger. A few women remove their hijabs to wipe sweat from their necks. Loud giggling girls are jostled aside by aggressive women holding children. Whenever I travel alone by train, I am the only foreigner in the car. But squished together with students in school uniforms and women in saris, I am just another one of the girls.

About three stops away from my destination, I ask the women around me which side I must exit from, and then start pushing toward the door. If I wait until my stop to attempt to get to the exit, I’ll never make it–I’ll be trampled by a flood of women pressing to board the train. But in the ladies car I am always in good hands; when I ask for my stop, a few women will take it upon themselves to fuss over me, to thrust me in the right direction, and to prod me off the still-moving train as it pulls into the station, to be absolutely sure I get off just in time.

The unexpected sense of camaraderie that I have discovered in a foreign (and formerly intimidating) daily activity is both perplexing and wonderful. To all the women who have helped me find the right track, who have shoved me towards the door, who have jumped off the moving train while clutching my arm, and who have made me feel at home on the Bombay Western railway, I thank you.

Luggage fees and new regulations have been set in place for most airlines, making it difficult for passengers to bypass new rules without paying for it. Unfortunately, sometimes paying more for a bag doesn’t mean it will arrive in the right place without mishap.

According to a study by Forbes, the largest air carriers reported around five luggage incidents per thousand customers from March 2008 to February 2009. That is roughly 150,000 passengers affected.

Of the airlines that fly out of Salt Lake City International Airport, JetBlue is ranked the highest, meaning they have the smallest number of baggage reports per thousand passengers. Averaging around three complaints per thousand, the airline has steadily improved its performance.

Southwest Airlines carried more passengers than any other airline from March 2008 to February 2009, and only reported 4.14 baggage reports per thousand customers. The airline does not charge for the first two checked bags. Whitney Eichinger from Southwest Airlines said baggage handling is a priority for the airline.

“Southwest prides itself on tremendous customer service, and that [pride] is customers arriving at their destination with their baggage,” she said. “Baggage is the main subject of our advertising campaign.”

The airline has launched a “Bags Fly Free” campaign to advertise its unique dedication to free baggage handling, despite the competition’s decisions to charge for luggage.

“Getting customers to their destinations with their bags is a goal of any airline,” Eichinger said. “Doing it well is the key, and … our folks who are handling our baggage wouldn’t have any recognition of what the bag is being charged for. It’s not about charging for them [that] equals better handling.”

The lowest-ranked airline in terms of baggage handling was Delta, which averaged more than five complaints per thousand customers.

Lauren Lytle, a public relations major from Seattle, was recently flying home from an internship in New York City when she encountered trouble at the baggage counter.

“First, they wouldn’t take my luggage, because I had too many bags and two were overweight,” Lytle said. “I had to pay almost $300 to get my stuff on the plane. It is not fair for airlines to take advantage of people and charge such large sums of money for baggage.”

She ended up arriving in Seattle with only two of her bags.

Also this summer, Lytle flew to Scottsdale, Ariz., for a conference. Her flight back to New York City was canceled, resulting in her waiting an entire day for another flight.

“When I got to the airport the next day to get on a different flight, they almost didn’t let me take my bag because the strap was too long and they thought it would get caught,” Lytle said. “It was all very frustrating and I got zero compensation.”

Lytle said she has had enough of air travel for a while.

One woman is suing American Airlines for $5 million over a lost bag. According to the class action complaint that Danielle Covarrubias filed, the airline breached its agreements with its passengers every time they lost or delayed luggage and failed to refund the passengers’ baggage fees.

Covarrubias arrived at her destination without her bags and was not compensated or taken care of by airline personnel. She is seeking money to make up for damages and delays caused by the lost bag.

Wendie Davis, a mother of five, was waiting for her plane to arrive when she witnessed the blatant carelessness of airport employees.

“The little truck pulling all of the boxes and carts full of suitcases to load into the plane came roaring around the corner,” Davis said. “We were laughing so hard when it turned the corner way too sharp and quite a number of bags went flying end over end onto the pavement.”

The bags were then run over by the truck, clothes destroyed and contents spilled everywhere.

“I was sad when we got to our destination and found out that one of those bags was mine,” Davis said. “My suitcase was shredded. The handle was ripped off, the whole bottom was torn off, including the wheels, and all of my clothes had road rash.”

Carelessness and disorganization could be contributing factors in the lost luggage nightmare of air travel.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, airlines have collected $769 million in baggage fees from January to March of this year.

Cheapflights.com offers tips for keeping your luggage situation a dream instead of it turning into a nightmare.

For example, don’t pack expensive or irreplaceable items, keep documents and valuables with you when you travel, put additional identification inside the suitcase, along with a trip itinerary to help the airline locate you.

In addition, make sure your suitcase is in good repair, add a distinguishing element to the outside of your bag, and if your bag does not appear, notify airline personnel immediately. If your bag is lost, complete the necessary paperwork with the airline and ask them to provide you with basic amenities, such as a toothbrush.

Editor’s note: These are the eighth and ninth in a series of stories and photos bringing the U.S. and the world to U. Texas.

NEW YORK — Like soda stands, skyscrapers and celebrity sightings, artists selling original works are a fixture on New York City streets. But a set of new regulations may cut the number of artists who can vend in four Manhattan parks.

The Parks Department put codes in place July 19 after a group of artists lost an injunction that would have delayed the regulations. As a result, spaces for what the city calls “expressive-matter vendors” are limited in Union Square, Central Park South, Battery Park and High Line Park. Vendors must station their stands behind small medallions on the ground, and once all medallions are taken, no more artists can set up in that park.

The department said the regulations are intended to reduce congestion in parks, but artist Joel Kaye, a professor at NYU who also makes and sells ceramic tiles with original photographs in Union Square, said he has never seen any traffic problems or heard about anyone being injured because of street artists in the parks. The restrictions run counter to the city’s history of diverse arts culture and a constitutional mandate for freedom of expression, said Kaye, who is a plaintiff in the appeal fighting the ruling.

“This is opening the door to let government agencies limit people’s rights because by coming down on us, the city is coming down on all free speech,” he said.

Kaye and other artists said they believe the city and Mayor Michael Bloomberg aim to drive all artists out of the parks so they can set up commercial vending and charge for permits in the areas where artists currently sell for free. City officials insist they are concerned about safety and congestion because the number of vendors has risen over the past few years.

Street art is a vibrant and standard part of park culture for local residents and tourists, said digital artist Miriam West and her partner Tony Chisholm. The pair have been selling art in Union Square for seven years, but West said they may have to relocate.

Under the new restrictions, there can only be 18 artists on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays — the days that the Greensmarket Farmers Markets is in the square — and 58 on other days. In the past, there would be between 100-150 artists on weekend days without congestion problems, Kaye said.

“People come to the park just to look at art, to converse with artists, to exchange ideas,” Chisholm said. “By bringing our work, people can buy art that’s not homogenized. Not everybody can go to a museum or gallery, but here we can bring art to people who can’t afford to see or purchase it any other way.”

Tracy Kutch, a tourist from Coppell, went to Union Square on Sunday to buy art for her sons. Kutch said she was surprised by the high quality of the art available and felt the venue was valuable for art sales.

“These are trained artists, not just people messing around to make a few bucks,” she said. “I would rather help someone who is out here than a gallery that will take a huge commission.”

However, the city said that because artists can still vend without restriction on any public street and in any of the other parks in the city, there is no compromise of free speech and the new regulations qualify as time, place and manner restrictions designed to promote the “significant government interest” of avoiding congestion and maintaining public safety.

In the ruling against the injunction in July, Judge Richard Sullivan cited a previous ruling on the same issue that stated “the First Amendment does not require that New York City permit plaintiffs to sell their work directly to the public in an ideal venue.” Sullivan wrote in the ruling that artists may actually have more rights than other types of vendors.

“Expressive-matter vendors, unlike souvenir vendors, are free to sell at other locations throughout the parks, so long as they do not use carts or stop in one spot for longer than necessary to complete a transaction,” Sullivan wrote. “And if expressive-matter vendors would prefer not to be bound by the restrictions set forth in the revisions, they are always free to obtain a general vendor’s license.”

The city has drawn a line between itself and the artists, Kaye said, and artists will continue to fight for their rights in court and through protests. Painter and screen-printer Mush Hosotani said the most important thing is that artists keep sharing their work as much as possible.

“The saddest part is so many artists have left completely,” Hosotani said. “We must continue to sell art here, even if there are only 58 or 18 of us. We can’t reduce our rights anymore.”

NEW YORK — Somehow between exploring hip areas such as Tribeca and the East Village, transferring from local to express trains, running in Central Park and working at Sports Illustrated, I have discovered the city’s greatest cupcake.

In December I found out I’d be spending the summer interning in New York and quickly gave myself a mission to accomplish during my time the city: Find the best cupcake. First, I laid down some ground rules:

1. I have to order the same cupcake (chocolate with vanilla buttercream frosting with sprinkles) at every single bakery.

2. The cupcake has to be baked on-site that day.

3. The cupcake must be moist. This really should be rule No. 1.

4. The bakery has to smell like heaven.

Upon my arrival in early June, the first cupcake bakery I went to was Crumbs. Their cupcakes are just too big, and it’s more like eating cake than a cupcake. Cupcakes are the perfect dessert because you can hold them in your hand and eat them in a myriad of ways. The only way to eat Crumbs’ cupcake is with a fork. It turns out they don’t bake their cupcakes in-house, nor are they fresh daily.

Up next was Amy’s Bread. Amy’s version of my usual had hot-pink buttercream icing, which was appealing. The cupcake met the moistness criterion and was extremely luscious, but something about the cake and icing was too sweet.

Baked By Melissa, a closet-sized bakery, serves quarter-sized cupcakes that come in 10 different flavors. I got my usual, plus a tie-dyed cupcake that was really just vanilla with food coloring. Both cupcakes were extremely moist and the frosting was perfect — not too sweet, not too hard, not too soft but just right. The reason why Baked By Melissa doesn’t rank above Magnolia Bakery is because its cupcakes are just minis.

I found out about Butter Lane from Food Network. There were so many flavors to choose from, but don’t worry — I didn’t stray. I ordered the Vanilla French, which is its chocolate-vanilla buttercream duo. It was delicious. The frosting was silky smooth, and the cake, in the words of Barbra Streisand, was like “butta!” My teeth literally sunk into this delectable creation.

Next stop: Magnolia Bakery. Now, I know Magnolia is famous because of Carrie Bradshaw and “Sex and the City” as well as the fact that it is all over New York and has produced a famous cookbook, but that doesn’t matter.

Magnolia aced all four of my rules with flying colors. Inside, the air smells like sugar, but in a cupcakes-are-just-out-of-the-oven way that doesn’t give you a headache. The charming treats are lined up uniformly behind fingerprint-free glass cases, and the flavors aren’t complicated. The little name tags in front of each group read “chocolate” or “vanilla” or “red velvet” rather than “The Elvis” or “Strawberry Swing” or “Mama’s Favorite.”

Not only are these cupcakes savory and divine, but before you even take a bite, you know it’s going to be perfect because the server behind the counter pulls them fresh off the cooling rack.

After the first bite, Magnolia Bakery soared to my No. 1 spot, but there were more bakeries to try. There’s a place called Sweet Revenge that serves beer and wine according to which the cupcake you order. It only has specialty cupcake flavors, though, with names like “Bird of Paradise” and “Crimson & Cream.”

Some say Magnolia is too hyped up, others call it average. But I say, put the same flavored cupcake from all these different bakeries in front of me without telling me where they’re from, and I bet you $100 that I still pick Magnolia as the best.

Studying abroad means you will have to overcome any fears of being an outsider. Wherever you end up, no matter how many other students you are with, you will eventually realize that you are in fact, alone, in an unfamiliar land, filled with unfamiliar people. You may speak their language, you may even know some of their culture, but in the end you are a stranger to them. It’s the value of that experience, of finding yourself lost but at the same time exactly where you chose to be; that can be one of the most educational parts of the entire trip, no matter what classes you end up taking.

The experience of being in an unfamiliar place is amazing, but the lessons you bring back home are what count the most. For some it’s a chance to discover themselves, for others, maybe totally reinvent themselves. Some may not change at all, but I guarantee they return home with a new found confidence in who they are.

To be completely honest, I still haven’t figured out which part of such an experience causes this sort of thing to happen. Whether it’s being stuck with a group of new people, or living in a new environment, maybe just the illusory fantasy that being in another country provides; they seem to blur together in a barrage of unforgettable weeks. Time seems to accelerate, you find yourself packing your things for the trip home, and you’ll wonder where your entire trip went. It’s a strange paradox; the most memorable moments are the ones that seem to pass by in an instant.

Being back home now, there are things I’ve realized I want to change in my life; things that before my trip I was just afraid to face head on. The world doesn’t seem so big once you travel it a bit. People are people, no matter where you go; no matter what culture you visit, or language you speak. Life isn’t so overwhelming, because after you return home, you’ve lived that much more of it.

Perhaps that some of what I’ve said may seem a little grandiose for a study abroad. But I know for myself, every word of it is true. It doesn’t come simply by packing a bag and catching a plane. You have to throw yourself at every moment you can, and while you might hit the ground (hard), it’s the times when you catch an updraft that make the bumps and bruises worth it, and it will always keep you climbing back up to try again.

Being in another country helps to make those first leaps less frightening. And when you finally make it home, you realize the cliffs aren’t any higher, and the risks aren’t any scarier. So to the 1,499 other Miami students who studied abroad this last year and the thousands who have in previous years, I hope you can try to remember some of the excitement that you might have experienced when you were abroad. I also hope you can bring that excitement back to Miami’s campus. For those who haven’t had the chance yet to go abroad, please look into doing so, and until you get the chance, try to throw yourself at everything you can. It’s a fresh new year ahead of us; let’s make it the best we can.

Of course, the flowers that I walk by on a daily basis don’t have quite the same effect. When I told my French roommate of the association I had with the poppies, she laughed and told me that the wildflowers were so commonplace that she rarely took the time to think about them.

Poppies do, however, hold symbolic meaning for the people of the region. Here called “coquelicots,” they stand for the fallen soldiers of WWI. The flowers are hardly the only mark of the Great War on the landscape; graveyards of French, English, and American soldiers are almost as common as the wildflowers, and even the smallest village has some kind of monument dedicated “à nos morts.” In the nearby town of Coucy-le-Chateau-Auffrique, the abandoned remains of some kind of World War I German weaponry were until recently hidden in the undergrowth of a forest that has sprouted up over the last century.

Though I personally associate the flowers much more strongly with a scene from my favorite childhood movie, they are in fact a frequent feature of Veteran’s Day in the United States and of other Remembrance Days around the world. WWI poet John McCrae famously wrote, “In Flanders fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row.” Somewhat more recently the flowers appeared in a Captain Beefheart song: “It don’t get me high / It can only make me cry / Your Veteran’s Day poppy.”

It was not until I was living here, though, that I registered the darker associations of the brightly colored flowers. I have often heard people remark, after traveling in Europe, that there is a greater sense of history here, and that in the United States the marks of our country’s comparatively short history are often too easily erased. But I have found these wild memorials of the fields of war to be much more powerful than any of the manually built ones. Here, the poppies blossom annually as reminders of the blood lost in these very same fields. But even as they stand in memory of the anonymous dead, they are also markers of the regenerative nature of the land. Though it was once devastated by war, the countryside is now lushly green, save for the occasional field of red coquelicots.

The Maasai are a Tanzanian tribe noted for their steadfast adherence to their traditions. Men are easily identified by the purple and red cloaked attire and their wooden walking sticks; the women often also wear cloaks, have bare heads and wear dangly beaded-and-spangled earrings from a piercing at the top of their ear. Most still live in simple huts or houses and herd cattle for a living. Many Maasai choose this low-cost lifestyle consciously, not because of a lack of money. Upon seeing a teenaged Maasai drive an average-sized herd of around 20 cattle across a rural highway, I asked a local friend how much one of the cows was worth. He estimated 400,000 Shillings, or $266; the average annual income in Tanzania is $564. When I visited a top gynecological clinic in Arusha, over half the clientele were Maasai women.

The contrast between the Maasai’s wealth and lifestyle has made them a locus for outside attention. A majority of tourist paintings, postcards, and other souvenirs feature images of Maasai, even though they make up only 1.3 percent of the national population. One could argue that all this external attention is excessive at best and patronizing at worst. Of course “wazungu,” as foreigners are called here, would be obsessed with a Tanzanian ethnic group that fits their superficial stereotype of the backward, tribal African. When I first came here I felt bad that the Maasai were subject to such insidious curiosity about why they chose to live in a decidedly “unmodern” way.

However, rather than make efforts to nuance foreigners’ views, the Maasai seem to encourage simplification. The jewelry-selling woman was the first of many Maasai to approach me offering a picture for money. In fact, if you point a camera vaguely in the direction of a Maasai on the Northern safari circuit they are sure to reach out their hand and ask for a tip—even the young children. Additionally, nearly every hostel and tourist office has a brochure advertising “Maasai Camp.” For around $100 a day you can, “sleep in a traditional dwelling!” “participate in a traditional ceremony!” and “get your perfect picture!” To me, it would be as if I asked for five bucks every time a tourist snapped a picture of me hurrying to class in the Science Center, or if we Harvard students organized exorbitantly expensive tours of our habitat—“sleep in Lamont!” “participate in a problem-set session!” “get a picture with a dean!”

In marketing themselves as nothing more than a stereotype, the Maasai are setting back efforts to make foreigners understand that the way of life here is so much more than what gets shown on National Geographic. Each tourist that comes to Tanzania is an opportunity to expand conceptions of who Africans are, but if they are spoon-fed back their preconceived notions they will never see the difference between product and person.

For some reason, a huge percentage of American tourists in Paris seems to bring with them a copy of Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast—the classic memoir of Paris in the 1920s, when, naturally, Hemingway would write in cafes all afternoon, hobnob with other (wealthier) expatriates, and, perhaps less naturally, actually capture and kill real, live pigeons when he no longer had the money to dine out.

At first, this ostensibly literary obsession is charming, almost cute. So charming, in fact, that, for a while, fanny packs, white sneakers, and mom jeans all become somewhat tolerable—well, at least forgivable—when you see the same mullet-headed men and frumpy, sunburned women (whose behavior would otherwise impel you to feign an accent and pretend to be Canadian) happily en route to Hemingway’s first Paris apartment just off Place de la Contrescarpe or to the Café de la Paix, where he famously couldn’t afford his 1922 Christmas dinner.

“Hey,” you almost want to say to that section of French public opinion that insists America is a country that persecutes “intellectuals” like, say, Roman Polanski. “Looky here! My countrymen have come to Paris to retrace the footsteps of an artist who isn’t Jim Morrison! Suck on that!”

While almost no one would argue that the Lost Generation represents anything but a remarkable moment in the history of Americans abroad, I have to wonder about the need to traipse through the streets of what is perhaps the world’s most beautiful city in search of the various bars in which Hemingway once drank. (The answer: all of them! A more interesting question would be where that man didn’t drink.)

More importantly, however, I question the need to see Paris through someone else’s eyes, to search in vain for the Paris of the rosy past in order to avoid the inconvenient truths of the Paris of the present, whose cafes are no longer cheap and whose personality is hardly the same as that of the city in Hemingway’s memoir. A good traveler should make the effort to see a city as it is rather than as it once was, to forge his or her own impressions of a place instead of accepting at face value the recollections of a writer active long ago.

After all, Paris after Hemingway has been invaded in a World War, transformed—at least in terms of population demographics—by an influx of immigrants from former French colonies in North Africa, and rocked by the growing sense of unrest among those immigrants who, to say the very least, found the City of Light to be a bit less than welcoming after they arrived en masse.

That’s the Paris of the present, the Paris that any traveler has an obligation to see. And as eloquent a love letter as A Moveable Feast may be to the French capital, it alone is not enough to guide one through the city; it is no substitute for the Paris of the present or for one’s own impressions of that Paris, a bit seedier perhaps but, nevertheless, the real thing.

The other day I found in my apartment a copy of Bob and Roberta Smith’s classic Make Your Own Damn Art, which, as the title might suggest, urges readers to rage against the machine and create the art that moves them, based on the lives they themselves have lead.

Well, folks, the same seems true for Hemingway’s memoir and the City of Light: Make your own damn Paris!

Being a Seinfeld fan to the bone, when word got around that the shop made famous in one of the most well-known episodes was reopening, I was psyched. In the episode, a hot-tempered man called the Soup Nazi makes some of the best soup in Manhattan, but imposes a strict set of regulations on his customers. Patrons must approach the counter, state their order, move to the left, take their soup, and leave. Violations will result in the Soup Nazi snatching away the soup and delivering his admonishing catchphrase: “No soup for you!”

The night before and the morning of July 20, I mentally prepared myself for the feat. Did I have exact change? Yes, I had 11 one-dollar bills, which would be more than enough. Did I want bread? Only if he gave me bread. Was I going to dilly-dally, tap my fingers against the glass, and try to make small talk? No, no, and no.

When a friend and I arrived at The Original SoupMan, only five people were waiting in front of the modest soup counter with pots and ingredients laid bare for on-lookers. To the right was the menu of soups. Above the counter, signs with three simple rules in many different languages ordered customers to have their money ready and move to the left of the counter after ordering their soup. To help them move to the left, the sidewalk had white footsteps guiding customers along that path.

But no one really did move to the left, largely because no one made them. The cashier was a college-aged woman who seemed too gentle to yank away the soup if a customer breaks a rule. The man who appeared to be in charge raised his voice only twice: once to announce they only had chicken vegetable, turkey chili, and mulligatawny, and again to state that they had run out of one-dollar bills and required exact change.

What the staff may have lacked in intensity was compensated by the soup. I ordered a cup of mulligatawny—the soup Elaine was denied when she told the Soup Nazi that he resembled Al Pacino. It was absolutely delicious, thick, rich in flavor, and served with a piece of bread, an apple, and a Lindt chocolate truffle. My friend gave similarly rave reviews for her cup of chicken vegetable soup.

Since it was the first day, they even gave us free t-shirts, a kind gesture that defied the cruel reputation the establishment had among those only familiar with the TV show. Ironically, it actually would have been nice if they were meaner—or, at least as my friend put it, more brusque—as that would have accorded with my conception of the restaurant, but in Yeganeh’s attempts to shed the Nazi moniker he rightfully abhors, the commonness of the treatment was able to give way to the exceptionality of what really mattered—the soup.

Moldova earned a spot in the American news stream for a brief period in April. Disputed election results and accusations of fraud culminated in a political uprising.

Protesters stormed parliament, three people died, and the world’s first “Twitter Revolution” was underway — though Twitter’s actual role in the demonstration remains questionable.

By the end of the week, news outlets had lost interest, and Moldova quickly disappeared from their collective news feeds. As a result, many Americans — myself included — forgot about this small Eastern European country.

That is until two months ago, when I added Chisinau, Moldova’s capital, to the itinerary of cities I’d visit during my six-week European excursion.

Before my June 14 departure, I spent several nights researching Moldova, Europe’s poorest country.

What I found in news archives, YouTube videos and Wikipedia entries was equally fascinating and disturbing. I read stories about economic struggle, a national identity crisis, corrupt government officials and nearly every form of illegal trafficking, including human, organ, weapons and even Tyson chicken.

Yet no amount of research could have prepared me for my trip to Kirileni, a small village in Western Moldova. Dasha, a young Russian I met on the train from Kiev, Ukraine, to Chisinau invited me there to visit her and her grandparents.

I took her up on the offer and arrived in Kirileni six days later. Of course there were the obvious signs of poverty and rural life: rutted dirt roads, farm animals wandering freely and houses made from steel roofs and mud bricks. But it was a peaceful village with few signs of corruption, political unrest or trafficking — a place of little interest to most people.

Dasha and her family were warm and gracious hosts, as equally interested in me as I was in them. Though their living standards fell far short of most Americans’, they appeared content. Dasha even boasted that while many villagers still rode horse and wagons, her grandfather had not one but two cars.

This quaint and peaceful side of Moldova is rarely presented in American mass media. To experience it, you must go there yourself.

That’s not to say I expect everyone who reads this to catch the earliest flight to Chisinau. But in a time when an infinite amount of information is available at the click of a mouse, it’s easy to substitute the virtual world for the real world.

No number of YouTube videos, Wikipedia entries or Flikr photo galleries could adequately represent Kirileni. The same holds true for any village, town or city in any country anywhere in the world.

When it comes to understanding the world, it took me a village to realize there is no substitute for firsthand experience. We must discover it for ourselves.

My original intention was to bike from county to county with the wind at my back and the scenery all around me. Without a doubt, that plan would have killed me. You see, Ireland maintains narrow, winding roads built centuries ago and while they provide absolutely breathtaking views, most have only recently been paved to accommodate more than one vehicle at a time. The green isle also maintained a rainy disposition with the weather for most of my trip. I took the bus, and I learned to greatly appreciate the bus.

The hostel system became the one warm and recognizable comfort throughout the trip. And if I could recommend anything other than the obvious scenery, it would be to travel the way of the poor hostler. The rooms may be half the size of your own room back here and full of six or more like travelers from Germany, France or Spain with no translator, but they are cheap, and they are safe. Home base if you will. I could walk out the door in the morning, leave my things unattended to for several hours while I trekked the countryside, and everything would be as I had left it. Much more adept were the other hikers, however. Learning quickly that I was not nearly in their league I found a solution to who I had been and who I was on this trip; for lack of a better phrase, I was a turkey. Constantly looking up with a wide-open mouth, whether in awe of my beautiful surroundings, or simply overwhelmed with the prospect of being so far away from everything I had ever been complacent with. But with navigating through the streets without a backpack, wallet or any desire to patronize the local tourist trinket shops, I could fool myself that I was blending in.

Killarney was the fourth town after a sidetrack to Kenmare and a small fishing village called Castletownbere where this skill became much more prominent. I subdued my astonishment and kept my camera hidden to not give away a tourist-soaked odor. What the town of 14,000 lacked in complexity, its national park made up for an awe-inspiring capaciousness. Rolling hills and castles on the banks of a large lake could only feed my cinematic imagination. I felt so very privileged. A feeling I had more or less been struggling to express throughout the trip came to me in waves. I felt privileged to be experiencing this exact moment and that I hadn’t spoiled it by playing the game of catch-a-bus, see-the-town, go-to-sleep. This was something more. Mine to enjoy.

The nights were filled with trips to the pub (or several pubs as there’s clearly no stable business like that of one of the dozens of them in any one town). A couple drinks in the corner of the room or a conversation with a local at the counter. One particularly nice Scotsman convinced me to change my route slightly for which I certainly owe him thanks. A few minor acquaintances were all well and good and quite good companions when I may have had one too many pints of Murphy’s one night in Tralee and was helped by them back to my hostel. Quite enjoyable evenings with my thoughts.

It should be noted that by most accounts, this trip was not what I intended it to be. I set out to grasp self-discovery and a little more internal clarity. I don’t think I failed, but neither did I succeed. Too short a time and too fogged a mind, I suppose can be blamed for that. What this ended up being was a rest. A rest from my school, a rest from my town and a rest from my own mental outlook. I looked out the window of the plane and saw a great, wispy blanket of white. Traveling at 30,000 feet as opposed to the 1,500 max I had hiked in the previous seven days seemed so much less significant. What I had done was take this rest and try to turn it into something ethereal or preposterous. But I realized it’s only one part. This was a trip at the beginning of many other trips that would hopefully, in years to come, help me be a more whole person.

I regret nothing from my trip if not that one week is simply not enough. I only managed to see a very small portion of a country known for its grandeur. There will be more trips, more vacations and more explorations. I only hope they can match this initial sense of belittling.

Editor’s Note: The following are excerpts from assistant culture editor Andrew Beale’s blog about his self-funded travels in Mexico. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

June 20
Revolutionary idea: Refuse all help from the government. This is the policy of Zapatista groups throughout Mexico. They refused to accept materials from the government to build concrete floors and tin roofs for their houses. Many of them sleep on dirt floors and have no running water.

That was last summer, before he knew the earth would shake. Five months before the quake, he didn’t know one wall of his house would fall. He didn’t know then that his wife and children would survive, although thousands of Haitians would die January 12.

In May, I visited Haiti to learn about a tree-planting project and visit friends. I made a trip to see Andre, who had taught me Creole during the 2008-2009 school year. I found him outside of Port-Au-Prince in a small office where he hunts for jobs.

Before the earthquake, Andre had hoped to find work in education somewhere in Haiti. At IU, Andre earned an MA in French Instruction and was working on another in French Linguistics when he decided to return to be with his family.

Higher education achieved abroad doesn’t guarantee work, especially in Haiti, a country where more than two-thirds of the population doesn’t hold a formal job.

After the earthquake, Haiti needed doctors and construction workers more than it needed professors. But Andre has been able to find work as a translator for visiting aid groups. Andre’s fluency in Creole, English, and French make him an ideal translator for working with educated Haitians as well as those who speak only Creole. The work, however, comes and goes with the visitors.

Andre’s struggle to find lasting work represents one of the great frustrations of Haitian life: even if you find an opportunity for education, you will return to a country that isn’t ready for your work.

Or perhaps Haiti most needs people like Nick—people who have gone and returned. Nick has lived comfortably in Bloomington, but returned to Haiti because it will always be his home.

“It was a good decision to stay with my family, but it also is hard to stay and not have a job when I need to help my family,” he said.

His on-and-off job as a translator means he has time to pick up his children from school. Their classes have started again after the earthquake, but sessions are held outside in the schoolyard. Students and teachers are still scared the buildings will crumble.

But the students learn. In their yellow shirts and khaki shorts and skirts, the students sit in rows and learn about their history.

As they grow, they will face a struggle similar to Andre’s—finding a meaning and a place for their education and the experience of living through the quake.

IU’s link to Haiti is a strong one. The Creole Institute, where Andre was a research assistant and teacher, is a prime source for Creole language materials that have been used by government officials, aid groups, and students since 1964.

As long as IU shares this link to Haiti, there will be a community of support for people like André who have been part of the Bloomington family and returned to where they are most needed.

We met Arthur last Monday on the Pont des Arts, a bridge where crowds of French students descend every night to chill together with a bottle of wine. That night we had a mission, the aspiration of any student abroad: to make local friends. It started off as sort of a joke, until we realized that we had brought red wine, but no bottle opener and asked for help.

“Un tire-bouchon s’il vous plait?” A hip-looking French redhead in a plaid shirt and artsy hat opened the bottle for us, and we started talking to him and his friends, a group of architecture students at the University of Paris. As a thank you, we shared our wine, and they shared theirs. And then their vodka, and then their apple juice, and even the absinthe they imported from Spain. When it was ten passed midnight, we decided to go back to catch the last metro. We exchanged numbers with Arthur and his friends and said good-bye.

A week later, we were on our way to meet up with him again. We expected another quiet night of drinking on a bridge.  What we got was a wild underground electro music rave on a raft. We came at 11 pm to find that this party has been hopping since 2 pm with no end in sight. Being there was like watching Luis Buñuel’s Un Chien Andalou for the first time – absurd, surreal, shocking, and fun.

A faithful account of the ensuing events follows. It can also be used as a model for being bohemian for the reference of anyone who is not feeling sufficiently hipster:

2 pm – indefinitely

Arthur and friends make Sunday their big party night, as it is the least practical one. Friday and Saturday have become too mainstream.

11:35 pm

We are ridiculed for not understanding the difference between house and electro. Apparently, the distinction is key to understanding the life of a French hipster. We are even more criticized for liking Lady Gaga. (Leedi Gaaga? Heads shake with disapproval).

11:55 pm

Arthur  illicitly sneaks a bottle of red wine onto the raft. Looks of respect all around.

11:58, 12:06, 12:14 and every 8 minutes for the next six hours

Arthur makes his own cigarette and smokes it.

11:59 pm

We start imitating the spontaneous dancing style we see, made up of wild but smooth gestures best described by the word “whatever.”

12:30 am

The music gets turned off. There is kind of a riot.

12:50 am

After raucous protests, people resign themselves to the fact that the first party is over. Everyone is on their cell planning their own underground after-party.

1:02 am

On a Paris nightbus. Arthur is sharing the wine with neighbors.

1:48 am

On another bus. Arthur refuses to share any more alcohol. Sean and I start to realize we are leaving Paris, and don’t know where we’re going.

2:06 am

We arrive to the banlieue, the place outside Paris where the rent is cheaper, sometimes called the ghetto. I get nervous. Sean is feeling great.

2:21 am

We keep walking. It’s very dark and empty. I consider taking a taxi and escaping before it’s too late, but there are no taxis around. We’re really not in Paris anymore.

2:24 am

Arthur sees a chair on the street and takes it. Reason given: we need more chairs.

2:35 am

Raggedy old man asks the whole group for a cigarette. They all say they are very sorry, but the Americans don’t smoke (what!?) and they’ve run out. The man tells us that we are all really awful people. The chair Arthur is holding over his head starts breaking, and parts of it almost fall on the man’s head. Now he has a real reason to think we’re evil. We apologize and move on.

2:45 – 3:03 am

Arthur reassembles the chair. We reach Pierre’s apartment. He has been waiting there for the last 40 minutes, and is very happy to see us. Pierre is a part-time student, part-time DJ and has a girlfriend named Lucile. He puts on his headphones, takes out 45-inch records, and starts blasting electro like we’ve never heard before. The place turns into a private disco. Somehow, the neighbors don’t complain.

3:10 am

Lucile silently decides that my outfit needs a change. As I’m dancing, she comes up and begins to tug on my skirt, which renders me somewhat distressed. She says, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to rape you or anything.” That’s a relief. Lucile reaches for my shirt and pulls it into my skirt for me. “There. You’ll be more comfortable.” She goes back to decorating everyone’s arms and legs with permanent marker designs.

3:11 am

Arthur sits down on Sean’s lap, and assures him he is not a homosexual.

3:15 – 6:13 am

Six person rave. Hours of unrestrained dancing. We all try on the DJ headphones which makes the music sound even more amazing.

4:46 am

I lie down to rest on the couch, and the even electro beat lulls me to sleep Everyone seems perfectly understanding, until I feel Arthur’s teeth bite into my arm. When I look scared he tells me “Don’t worry. This doesn’t mean anything. It just means we’re becoming friends.” And it’s true, he tackles all the guys and girls in the room in a similar way – the French are much more physical with each other than Americans can imagine. After this, I feel wide-awake and we keep dancing.

5:15 am

The neighbors complain. We turn down the music for ten minutes, and then blast it again.

5:46 am

Arthur is hungry and takes out a huge bowl of rice salad from Pierre’s fridge. He passes the salad around and we all eat some. He puts spoons of rice salad into the mouths of Sean and Jacques.

6:15 am

It is now morning. The metro opens in 15 minutes. We say goodbye and thank you to Pierre and Lucile, and the four of us leave the apartment.

6:30 – 7:25 am

On the way out, Jacques takes a little boy’s parked bike and looks very happy riding it as we walk to the metro. As we kiss them good-bye on the cheek, they tell us they’re doing the same thing again tomorrow night. We get back to Paris at 7:25 am, leaving us plenty of time before our 9 am class.

7:30 am

We both get a text from Arthur: “Good night friends.”

Having recorded the aforementioned events with our utmost diligence, we hope that it may serve as a fruitful contribution to hipster awareness in America. As academic norm dictates, we end this report with a call for further study.

1) Research the programs available to you and ask others’ opinions before you decide. I was told there was only one program available in Paris, but I found out later you could do a few others that are not always mentioned or encouraged. I would never take back this opportunity, but I would do it differently.
My program is completely laissez-faire, there are no living arrangements and you must find housing on your own. It was truly a mission since you are going to classes at the same time and most places in Paris are tiny, old, dirty and overpriced. I also had to choose my own university and classes; I thought it was very unorganized and unstructured.

2) Have living arrangements sorted out prior to the beginning of your program. I was given a dorm for 10 days and by the end of that I had to find a place to live. I did not know anyone and luckily found my roommate through an acquaintance. Everything ends up working out; don’t stress.

3) Do not overpack. During your time abroad you will accumulate so much that going back will be even more difficult than getting there. My parents came with me to help me during the apartment search so I was unfortunately able to bring an excessive amount of clothes in my luggage as well as theirs. This turned out to be a very negative thing.

4) Do take advantage of traveling. Especially if you study in Europe, everything is so close and there are discounts just for being under 25 or a student. Unlike Miami, where you drive for seven hours and remain in Florida, you can get to another country in just two hours and stay there for the weekend.

5) Do not worry about meeting people. I had a small freak-out right before embarking on my study abroad trip. I knew no one and had no idea who I would live with or hang out with. Despite my worry, I could never have made a better decision in my life. In the past three months I have met so many amazing people, including two princes, and friends from all over the world.

6) Recognize that we are spoiled in the United States in terms of space and convenience. Everything is much smaller in Europe, and in France there is a protocol for everything. Tasks that are extremely simple back home can be a mission while abroad. Back home you can fix almost anything through the phone or online, whereas in Europe you need to show up in person to get almost anything accomplished.

7) Enjoy your time abroad. You don’t know when you’ll have the opportunity to live in another country again without worrying about major responsibilities.
Go see and do everything that is available in your city including going to museums, parks and monuments. Go out, have fun, meet people, establish relationships and travel!

Having lived in Europe for a number of years, here are some tricks I’ve found for making sure you still have a positive balance when you return home to Orlando.

Unless you have military family overseas, have friends in a European country or have work connections, your requirements are pretty simple: flight, train and miscellaneous money.

Fortunately for U. Central Florida students, a direct flight out of Orlando to most European nations will have one layover, followed by a much longer flight. Bring an iPod.

Booking this flight at least six months in advance will save you a hefty amount of cash and provide you with the time to apply for your passport. This first leg, though, is the least of your concerns.

If you were to stay in Europe for two weeks and randomly stay in regular hotels in each country, your final bill would run into the thousands. Playing the lodging game smart has its benefits: miscellaneous money.

We’ll talk about this later.

If you want to enjoy the drinks, food, culture and attractions of Europe, you really have no other way than to pay for them. There are no coupons, free tickets or discount prices.

Absolutely everything is paid for in cash.

Seeing as how you’ll be on the train more than you care to think about, a Eurail pass is ideal for tourists. Eurail.com is the only way to purchase these tickets from the U.S.

According to the website, traveling 15 days within two months of train time on a “Global Pass” will run you 515 Euros, roughly $660. This includes all countries within the European Union and, in the long run, will be incredibly cheaper than buying tickets at the train station.
More information can be found at Eurail.com.

When you’re on that long haul from Berlin to Munich for six hours, get some sleep. If you time it right, you’ll get the rest you need while on the train, giving you time to see the city and saving you the cost of a hostel.

In Munich, you’ll want that extra money for when you visit the Hofbrauhaus. To provide some perspective, the Oktoberfest you’ve seen in movies and on TV shows can be seen here in the fall.

According to a Hofbraeuhaus worker, it is one of the most heavily visited locations in Munich and provides plenty of opportunities for tourists from all over the world to interact.

From there, run over to the hostel you (hopefully) booked months in advance. This shouldn’t cost you more than 30 Euros or about $38 per night.

Obviously, in places such as these, miscellaneous money applies. You’re in Europe, so you need to drink real beer and eat whole foods throughout the day. Powerbars and chips won’t cut it, so when you wake up in the morning, run downstairs to the local bakery and find a decent breakfast.

You’re going to need the fuel and a good pair of shoes because the amount of walking to be done will surprise you.

In Europe, just as anywhere else, there are some free, outdoor gems that can be found.

Some of the most noticeable are Germany’s rubble hills. The most well known of these can be found in Stuttgart, called the Birkenkopf.

After the bombing of the city during World War II, rebuilding efforts forced its residents to pile the rubble into a 1,677-foot hill with a monument placed at its summit.

The path that winds to the top is mostly covered in trees, but once at its summit, pieces of buildings and architecture can be seen.

The view provided by these hills is second-to-none, and its historical significance is invaluable.

Not only do you get away from the expensive cities and bars, but you also experience something very few people have or ever will get a chance to.

Also near Stuttgart, you can find the Mercedes-Benz factory, which builds a majority of the company’s models and provides free tours of its production plant. Entrance and the tour costs 8 Euros, a little more than $10. The same applies to the Porsche museum and factory, provided you pay a nominal fee of 8 Euros.

When you return home to Orlando, people will ask you about the big experiences: the Eiffel Tower, Berlin and Madrid.

What you’ll never forget, though, are the small memories that led to an incredible, affordable and positive trip that will have you returning time and time again, possibly even for a job after graduation.

It is 8:00pm and, I am working as an intern at a PR firm, staffing a fashion show for a high-end retailer’s centennial celebration. The spotlights and camera flashes are blinding, as VIP guests glide across the red carpet. Women with designer handbags slung casually by their waists and men with silk pocket squares barely acknowledge me as I scan their invitations and welcome them to the event. The fashion show and after party are a whirlwind of models, champagne and booming music.

On the surface, Shanghai is a dazzling neon-metropolis. But behind the newly erected walls glistening with fresh paint, are the shikumen of old Shanghai, the slums, the homes of the laobaixing, the common people. Like Beijing during the Olympics, Shanghai hastily tried to hide “less desirable” aspects of the city from the swarms of tourists and international media for the World Expo—but at what cost?

A few days before the fashion show, I was wandering only a block away from the most cosmopolitan streets and shopping areas when I found myself in one of the neighborhoods that the city was trying so hard to hide—in a different Shanghai, where the most common modes of transportation are not luxury sports cars, but bicycles, three wheeled carts and mopeds. Strings of bright laundry on lines took the place of neon lights. Skyscrapers and department store windows were replaced with open market stalls from which fried buns sizzle on giant cast iron pans, lantern-red crayfish scurry in crates by rolling vats of spicy broth, and farmers with tan skin and straw hats lounge by pickup trucks full of watermelons.

I walked past a woman in pajamas and slippers is carrying a plastic bag of warm buns and a group of men having a drink on three legged stools, into a restaurant built beneath a family’s home. The menu, handwritten in cursive Chinese scrawl, was stained with soy sauce and the food was served on mismatched plates, but the flavors and aromas awaken fading memories of my own Shanghainese grandparents.

In a few years this neighborhood will probably be gone, replaced by another skyscraper or mall, and the woman in the slippers and the family who owns the restaurant, relocated. As China hastily races to embrace modernity, I can’t help but think, that the quintessence of this nation may lie not on the next new development, but beneath the trail of the bulldozers.

BOLOGNA, Italy—“American girls, I have not talked to one in so long,” started off the dark-haired, clear-eyed Italian boy standing across from me.

“But most of the girls I talked to…they are not like you. They are….I don’t know….fat. Why are you not?”

Mm, interesting line.

I had been standing at a party in a field half an hour outside Bologna’s city center for about three hours and I was not really feeling it at this point.

But Filippo did not give up. Pointing out his red car in one corner of the field, he told me, “the backseat is so big, the girls, they uh make love.”

Blank looks from me. His first line was bad, but this was just a cheap cliché.

“No, like, it is so big and nice and they really love that…The car,” he tried to clarify.

More than 24 hours having passed since my 2 am wake up call earlier that day to catch a cheap but inconveniently early flight from London, I was too grumpy to enjoy what was undeniably hilarious.

But flying back to my internship in London, I realized that may have actually been one of the better moments of the weekend, which I had planned to be a reminiscent trip back to the city where I studied abroad last fall.

A few weeks earlier, I had booked my Ryanair flight back to Italy, with thoughts of returning to all my familiar favorites dancing through my head: gelato on via Funivia, an aperitivo at Byblos 2, pizza from La Mela, a walk through Piazza Maggiore and down via Zamboni.

From my first day landing in London, it had felt strange to be living in Europe but nowhere near the one European city that felt like home.

But upon my return I found that my friend Martin who I was staying with had acquired a transformative haircut, his apartment was in a part of Bologna I had never even seen before, and while his friends were fun, I didn’t know them. With my Italian seven months out of practice, I couldn’t keep up with their fast-paced conversations full of gossip about more people I had never met.

I felt silly dragging Martin and his friends around to all my old haunts so instead we ended up spending Friday night at some kind of benefit party in a field amongst Bologna’s hills. Aside from Filippo, the crowning jewel was a band of young Italians singing everything from semi-decent covers of the Black Eyed Peas to failed attempts at Madonna. And while it was an experience, it didn’t feel anything like home.

The weekend was another reminder of a lesson I have learned so many times before: just because something was good, that doesn’t mean you can or should try to recreate it. Maybe especially because something was good.

Next time, I’ll have to enjoy Filippo’s faltering flirting more.

“Hello!” he beamed, confidently extending is hand for a handshake—a western custom many Chinese find uncomfortable. “To our department, we welcome you with happy.”

Biting my lip a little to stop myself from smiling too much, I responded in Chinese. “Thank you, I’m looking forward to working here.”

“You speak Chinese!” he said in surprise. “But we are international department, now that you join us. We will only speak English with you! Together we can have good English. Together we make you happy, we happy. That is our destiny.”

I chuckled a little at the word “destiny,” wondering where he had picked up that word, of all words, to use in daily conversation (he used it at least twice more that day). A few minutes later, when we were talking about movies, he mentioned that he had watched Slumdog Millionaire multiple times. Ah, so that was where.

It’s not just my boss (whose self-given English name is O’Sullivan) who shows so much enthusiasm for American customs and for learning and practicing English. It’s my coworkers, the cleaning lady at my hotel, the Expo volunteer being bombarded with questions, and the man I see during my morning runs.

It’s funny because here I am, having taken three years of Chinese, and eager to become fluent, but people want to hear my native language instead. They’re excited that I know Chinese, but they encourage me to speak English, and they repeat my words in an accent that makes me marvel at the way languages morph when combined with a different speaking habit. I wonder just how ridiculous my Chinese sounds to them.

The real irony is that though you’d think I’d be relieved to communicate in English, I actually dread having to speak it here. It probably helps them learn, but for me, the communication lag is more excruciating. While English is taught in school often from an early age in China, and pricey ESL programs like “Disney English” and “Wall Street English” thrive, people don’t always have the opportunity to really practice it. Just like how I took 6 years of French in middle and high school, but I might as well be mute when I talk to a real French person.

I’ve sadly realized I’m selfish with language. When my coworkers speak to me in English, I find myself automatically completing their sentences when they pause to find the right word—filling in their thoughts before they have a chance to do so themselves. They rarely complete my thoughts for me when I speak Chinese, waiting patiently without even a hint of exasperation.

It’s not a lesson of language; it’s one of patience. Perhaps it’s one that many Americans have to learn. I teach ESL to Chinese immigrants in Boston, and it’s easy to have patience in the classroom setting for only two hours a week. But these immigrants have to have the patience to understand and be understood every day. I’ll never forget how one elderly student, when asked to write about his weekend for homework, gave me a heart-wrenching story about how he had approached the local senior center to find out what they were doing for Thanksgiving (he had no family in the area). He speaks English well, but very slowly. He said the receptionist rolled her eyes as he spoke each halting word and got frustrated at him, eventually yelling at him to go away and get a translator. He went home and spent the holiday alone. Reading the story nearly brought me to tears, but to him—and all my students—such short-tempered encounters unfortunately are common.

Apparently, it does not bother him in the least. As it turns out, my question demonstrated my lack of understanding of Chilean culture. In Chile, he told me, young people are expected to go out and socialize as much as possible. Chilean youth start partying and clubbing when they are in their mid-teens, with the full approval of their parents.

As a norteamericana, I sometimes find it difficult to comprehend how much value Chilean place on building community and strong social ties—the right social ties, that is.

Socialization is extremely important because social networks are the key to success in Chilean society, which is fairly classist and socially segregated. The friends you make in grade school, my Chilean dad tells me, will be your friends for life. You get to know a certain group of friends, and all their relatives as well, and after you graduate from university you have a vast network of contacts from which you can draw upon to get a good job. Just about everyone in the top echelons of Chilean government and business went to school together.

Unlike in the U.S., most Chileans go to universities located close to home and continue to live with their parents all the way into their twenties. Many attend university with friends whom they’ve grown up with. In fact, you can tell a lot about a Chilean by asking him or her where she went to grade school, because from the name of the school you can tell where that person lives, roughly what his or her socioeconomic status is, and which social circles he or she moves in.

The most sought-after universities in Chile occupy a social cache similar to that once held by the Ivy League, and top Chilean grade schools and universities exact a hefty fee for the privilege of joining that cache.

In comparing Chile and the U.S., I recognize that social prestige has its place in American society as well—and that a Harvard degree still carries a certain amount of weight. But with the advent of comprehensive financial aid programs and the impressive array of top-flight non-Ivy private and public universities, going to a so-called “name-brand” school just isn’t the be all end all anymore.

There is value in the type of connections one makes at a place like Harvard, but I think there’s still a streak of individualism in American culture that runs counter to placing excessive importance on social networking. Young people move out as soon as possible, at least telling themselves that they can “make it” on their own. It isn’t uncommon to go to college thousands of miles from home, and to slowly lose touch with grade school friends. Connections are frequently made and broken, as people move through different stages in their lives.

In some ways, perhaps this is the lonelier path to take. But maybe it’s ultimately the fairer one. The Chilean social network provides valuable support for those lucky enough to enter into it early in life, but it also sets up limitations for those born outside its boundaries.

In a fit of pretentious spontaneity, I took a trip to Ireland this past week. And at the risk of sounding like a James Joyce wannabe in the previous passage, I have to confess that my wayward college mind is to blame for such a pilgrimage.

You see, I have a theory that we all have a greater view of ourselves than we put foreword. That’s probably nothing special to comment on in and of itself. The ego provides us with wonderful illusions of grandeur. The self-preservation Id exists to eventually work us towards becoming the person that we want to be. And it’s a hard-fought stream of self-discovery to become comfortable with it. Years and years of introspective analysis and frustration just to find things out that may in fact not be there at all. This is why I went: to try and put a notch on my bedpost. To say I tried.

It was probably an error on my part to rush my trips conception so hurriedly, but recently, I’ve adapted a more “fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” mentality. I’m young and stupid…might as well do something out of the ordinary while this skin is still fresh. I had rested on my failed convictions of the past for too long and was gung-ho on making this one happen. I desperately wanted, nay, NEEDED to go.   Ireland had always appealed to me and at the drop of a hat; I purchased my plane tickets and my first night’s room at a Hostel in Cork.

People seemed so astonished when I said this would be a solo affair, and would have to answer every query with slightly distained resilience. But 12 straight hours of travel, three layovers and a near missed flight at London Heathrow effectively excavated their doubt from my head. I felt accomplished simply by navigating that. So as it turns out, the rest of it was more than manageable. I left on a Sunday and landed in Cork on a Monday (thanks, time zones!). And immediately began the desultory, aimless, superfluous wandering around the city I had looked foreword to.

The tourist-centric downtown in ANY historical state is a bit of a sad affair. Tommy Hilfiger, The Buckle etc., sharing space with St Peters church and Briton’s Quay almost makes one cry for the collective sole of the organic populous who have to endure it. but tourists like me might be an equal headache. people who want to get beyond it, but don’t really know how at the beginning. But this is where a shift happens. It takes a certain confidence to ditch all of that. Yes, it’s safe, it’s comfortable, and it’s sanitary…but it’s not real. Marble white storefronts offer reflections of the vain and the positioned. And I, not wanting to associate myself with either, turned around and simply started walking.

Back alleys, narrow streets, and rows of brightly colored stucco houses that shy away from the brighter lights of the town center. Tight and compact is how the city has been organized for centuries. The cracked, jaunty sidewalks float just inches from the brick road and half the girth of a skinny man from the sides of buildings. THIS is authenticity. Far past the coherent and the organized lies the dirty, but charming. The humble but the spectacular. The simple but the beautiful.

Not even after nearly six hours of heedless walking and looking had the experience seemed old or tiring. My feet were most definitely tired, but my mind hungered for more.  I walked on and soon found that I had circled around most of he southern end of a city with a population roughly that of Lincoln.  I lamented to my physical hunger and popped into a pub to feast on a meal of Guinness with a side of Guinness and was washed down with a smooth, smooth Guinness (as is what I assumed all Irish children are brought up on). In this first leg I had found a solid ground to travel along. Things were starting out well, if not a bit more stressful than my liking. But I was seeing farther down the road. I had found a little solace for the moment in a pub on Beachy Cowld Street.

One of my first and most powerful memories of Haiti was a little boy named Ronald living at an orphanage in Gressier. His family gone, Ronald looked up at me through prematurely wearied eyes and gave a smile, all the while cradling his battered and untreated right arm.

While his friends, also malnourished orphans, played with other missionaries, Ronald sat with me, communicating without words that in this moment, I was Dad.

Ronald’s story is one of millions of stories of orphaned children wondering who will love them. There are stories of abundant hope, unfailing love, and steadfast faith, but the harsh realities of malnutrition, neglect and death cannot be escaped. In the next 24 hours, 30,000 children worldwide will die from hunger and preventable diseases.

For as much hope as there is in Haiti, there is just as much despair. Witnessing firsthand the situation of the Haitians inspired 23 men and women from College Sta