AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE » SPRING 2011 » ISSUE 008
CLICK IT OR PICKET? ACTIVISM IN THE
INTERNET AGE
+ HIP-HOP EDUCATION + MOTHERHOOD AND JOURNALISM + TOGOLESE STUDENT TAKES ACTION WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » SPRING 2011 2
AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE » SPRING 2011 » ISSUE 008
MISSION: AWOL is a progressive magazine run by American University students in Washington, DC. Founded in the spring of 2008 with support from Campus Progress, we are now a recognized publication of American University.
“I just realized, why are we waiting for a messiah to come and deliver us, awaiting a leader to come out and help us? Why can’t we be our own leaders? And that’s how I started to see that I could be a leader myself.” - Farida Nabourema, p. 11
We exist to ignite campus discussion of social, cultural and political issues, and serve as an outpost for students to explore solutions to local and global problems. We hope to build bridges between American University and the world around it, ultimately making our campus more inquiring, egalitarian and socially engaged.
Illustration by Max Gibbons
AWOL is not affiliated with any political party or ideology. Our stories have an angle, which is different from having an agenda; our reporting is impartial and fair, but our analysis is critical and argumentative.
EDITORS: EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Chris Lewis and Amberley Romo EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Alex Burchfield MANAGING EDITOR: Audrey Van Gilder DESIGN EDITOR: Hannah Karl STAFF EDITORS: John Bly, Zac Deibel, Ashley Dejean, Lori McCue,
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Kelcie Pegher, Seth Shamon CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Gustav Cappaert, Robert Cavooris, Shay Longtain, Ethan Miller
PHOTOGRAPHERS AND ILLUSTRATORS: Felicia Afuan, Samantha Baron, Louise Brask, Colin Crane, Max Gibbons, Margaret Hayford, Hannah Karl, Kyoko Takenaka, Ellie Yanagisawa
WRITERS Tahmina Ahmed, Sarah Allen, Gustav Cappaert, Robert Cavooris, Ashley
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SHOUTS FROM THE CORNER
FIELD REPORTS
JABS AND JEST
03 HOW NOT TO DEVELOP GUATEMALA’S LAS TROJES II MINE
07 SHAPING POLICY IN NICARAGUA
25 PROFESSOR PROFILE IRIS KRASNOW
by Alexandra Gordon Why the people oppose the mine
04 ARCHITECTURE AT AU AESTHETICS AND ACADEMICS by Anna Naser Can AU go from drab to fab?
05 REBELLIOUS RECREATION DRUGS, ALCOHOL AND ACTIVISM by Richard Phillips This is your revolution on drugs
by Erin Lockwood The other side of US policy in the 1980s
09 TWO CITIES, ONE STRUGGLE by Tahmina Ahmed Reflections on HIV/AIDS in Cape Town and DC
11 STUDENT INSPIRED BY ARAB SPRING by Ashley Dejean Faure Must Go! Togo Libre
14 FONKOZE IN RURAL HAITI by Audrey Van Gilder and Shoshanna Sumka A microcredit success story
19 HIP-HOP’S GROWING ROLE IN EDUCATION by Kevin Kunitake Can Kid Cudi help kids study?
22 ACTIVISM IN THE INTERNET AGE by Zac Deibel Do you want to start a revolution? There’s an app for that.
by Kelcie Pegher AU Journalism Professor chats about “psycho journalism”
27 AWOL NEWSWIRE by AWOL staff Editors’ choice news cuts
28 BON APPETIT by Gustav Cappaert Conversations with Bon Appétit employees
29 AWOL BULLETIN BOARD What AU clubs are up to
SHOUTS FROM THE CORNER
Informed opinion and provocative editorial
HOW NOT TO DEVELOP
GUATEMALA’S LAS TROJES II MINE By Alexandra Gordon // Illustration by Margaret Hayford
To reach the indigenous Guatemalan community of Las Trojes II, visitors drive two bumpy hours outside Guatemala City. During the approach, the skin of the people darken, their clothes become more colorful and the graffiti on store fronts and brick walls yells louder and louder: “No a La Mineria” or “No to the mine.” In theory, this large development project — a cement mine financed by Guatemalan and Swiss companies — should provide jobs and money to the Guatemalan people. To the people of Las Trojes II, however, international development means imprisonment, intimidation and contamination of water and food sources. While Las Trojes II lies thousands of miles from DC and is just one small dot on a map, the town’s story matters to us. Hundreds of AU students study international development and hope to become leaders and contributors to the field. The community members of Las Trojes II are calling out to them for help. This January, I was fortunate to travel to the community with a group of AU students on an alternative break trip. As part of the trip, we expected to meet with just a few community leaders to hear their perspectives on the effects of the mining project, but were stunned to see the entire community greet us instead; more than 100 mothers, daughters, sons and grandfathers surrounded us to share their testimonies through tears and frustration. We learned that prior to the commencement of the mining project, the community was self-sustaining. People had been growing their own fruits for centuries and had access to clean, fresh water. In our eyes, they were living in poverty, but to them, living in peace on their own land was enough. When the mining project began, however, their lives changed rapidly. Intimidation tactics began as soon as the community started organizing in opposition to the project, which was rapidly destroying the town’s land and compromising its water supply. Community members were jailed and beaten in the company’s attempts to silence them. The Guatemalan government has done little to support or protect the community, which remains in opposition to the project and is now looking to the international community for help and recognition. After hearing about the community’s heartbreaking situation, we knew that more than anything, their story must be told so that communities like theirs can avoid suffering the abuses of misguided development projects. We left with an overwhelming sense of responsibility. This community’s story is a revealing example of the gap between the ideals of international development and what it actually means for those living on the ground. Unfortunately, it is often too easy for multinational companies to disregard the rights of people and get away with it, especially when companies operate in countries like Guatema-
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la, where impunity rates are as high as 99 percent. While development projects such as the Las Trojes II mine are designed to further develop the country’s infrastructure, they often become the catalysts of repression, violence and — in extreme cases — death. Some AU professors are attempting to highlight the perils of such development projects. Professor Maria Clark, an adjunct professor specializing in international development, said she attempts to teach her students about the complexities of international development. According to Clark, unless governments have adopted guidelines of good practice, there is little communities can do to stop oppression and intimidation at the hands of foreign companies. Recognizing an even grimmer point, Clark said governments today are especially eager to demand minerals and to initiate mining projects. As long as development guidelines continue to be disrespected, human rights violations will increase. Real international development takes experience in the field. Learning how to improve broken communities takes more than reading case studies in a textbook. AU students who hope to change the world need to take advantage of the opportunity to look at international development practices through the eyes of communities like Las Trojes II. Only then can we begin to help communities that desperately seek recognition. s
Alexandra Gordon is a senior studying print journalism and Spanish and Latin American studies.
ARCHITECTURE AT AU
AESTHETICS AND ACADEMICS By Anna Naser // Illustration courtesy of AU
Prospective college students may tour dozens of campuses in their application process. After touring school after school, each one’s buildings, quads, dining halls, libraries, dorms — they all start to blend together. By the time applications are submitted, all campuses basically look the same. One reason AU’s campus stands out among the others is the fact that it is a designated arboretum and public garden. And according to AU Architect Jerry Gager, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of a university’s positive use of physical space: “The combination of innovative, well-designed buildings and equally prepared grounds adds to a student’s academic experience at the university and is beneficial to all community members.” Considering the professed importance of utilizing physical space, it’s interesting to note the extent to which universities have been bound by convention. As centers of learning, universities ideally function as incubators of creative thought and youthful energy, and should naturally overflow with creative and avant garde expression. But this all takes place in a setting that, often, neither encourag-
es nor reflects this creativity. Besides now offering a broader range of subjects to more diverse student bodies, universities have not changed much in decades — least of all architecturally. Universities are driven in part by profit, and ancient knowledge and everlasting prestige sell well. Beige color palettes and stoic classical architecture imply a businesslike seriousness, which may be appropriate for training the next generation of policy makers, businesspeople and analysts. AU’s design has its roots in the 1893 Chicago World Fair’s Columbian Exposition, whose “White City” inspired the university’s classical architecture style. As the university grew in the century following its founding, new facilities reflected changing trends. Hamilton Hall is a Gothic stone construction from the 1930s; the former SIS building, now the East Quad Building, is in the 1950s International style; Bender Library is a 1970s product of the Brutalist movement in modern architecture. AU is continuing to grow. According to Gager, the integration of more open public space into buildings — seen in the wide open atriums of the new SIS building and the Katzen Arts Center — and the introduction of environmentally conscious designs are the latest trends in campus construction. But should we not demand actual creativity from the university, rather than adherence to trends? Judging by the “make-or-break” mentality of campus tours, looks do matter. There is a thriving world of experimental design out there, and universities, with their massive endowments and guaranteed tenants, are in the perfect position to take advantage of it. Universities can afford to test new styles that promote a creative, productive atmosphere, and could even act as spring boards for innovation into the mainstream market. AU has been active in pursuing high-quality campus improvements; the new SIS building features LED lighting in the garage, natural lighting throughout the building, photovoltaic panels to make electricity from sunlight, a solar ventilation preheating system which cuts down on heating costs, and a rain garden to return storm water to the ground. The office of the University Architect reports that the building is in the running for several awards for its innovative energy-saving design — and Katzen has already been the recipient of several design awards. Energy-saving architecture is crucial, and AU should be lauded for implementing more sustainable design, but the design envelope can always be pushed further. As the university prepares to expand with a new East Campus across Nebraska Avenue, it should consider embracing new ideas and styles that are not only popular and sustainable, but aesthetically impressive, innovative and effective. When we look around campus now, we see bland vestiges of long-gone architectural movements. In 50 years, when we look at the coming East Campus buildings, will we see mere remnants of a past “green” fad? Or will we see buildings that remain as striking, practical and beautiful as they have always been? s
Anna Naser is a freshman majoring in international studies.
WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » SPRING 2011
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SHOUTS FROM THE CORNER
Informed opinion and provocative editorial
REBELLIOUS RECREATION
DRUGS, ALCOHOL AND ACTIVISM By Richard Phillips // Illustrations by Margaret Hayford
Marijuana is a gateway drug. Drugs will fry your brain like an egg. If you take ecstasy once, you could die. Scared yet? If you paid attention in high school, these are just a few of the lessons you should remember. They are also lessons that ring rather hollow after even limited interaction with people who actually use drugs and alcohol. If any of it were true, almost everyone in college would have fried eggs for brains and many would be dead several times over. The hyperbolic approach to drugs and alcohol that American high school students experience is just one example of how American culture has utterly failed to grapple with the reality of drug use. From AU policy to even our own progressive community, the damage caused by hyperbole and misinformation surrounding drug use is indisputable, tainting activist causes and perpetuating stereotypes. In order to counteract mechanisms of misinformation, it is critical to demonstrate how institutional and cultural approaches to drug and alcohol use are harming our society.
AU’S CAMPUS: HIGH AND DRY According to the 2008 Core Alcohol and Drug Survey performed at AU, as many as 43.3 percent of undergraduate students reported having used marijuana in the past year while 14.4 percent reported having used a drug other than marijuana. Twenty-three percent of undergraduates characterized themselves as current marijuana users. If these numbers are accurate, it is worth noting that out of an estimated 1,400 undergraduate marijuana users, only 102 drug violations were reported at AU during the 2009-2010 academic year. Robert Hradsky, Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students at AU, said the university tries to “take an educational rather than punitive approach” to drug and alcohol use. Shane McCarthy, Co-President of Students for Sensible Drug Policy at AU, agrees, saying that SSDP has been largely successful in making the judicial process here “more accountable to students and more proportional to the violation that happened.” Where McCarthy said there has not been a significant policy improvement is the question of implementing a Good Samaritan Rule, which would allow individuals who alert AU officials to the possibility of a drug overdose to not suffer any judicial consequences. Students surveyed argue that AU’s dry campus policy is both ineffective and has numerous unintended, harmful consequences. Hradsky explained that because most students in the dorms are underage and the university is required to adhere to the law, it’s simpler from an enforcement perspective to ban student alcohol use at AU entirely. One graduate student in SPA expressed incredulity at the dry campus policy, saying the policy — instead of allowing small groups of friends to stay in the dorms to drink — pushes students to take rides from strangers to off-campus locations, where they will need a ride back. He went on to say that even a look at the LA quad during Welcome Week reveals the “utterly bizarre and dangerous result of the university’s dry campus policy.” For his part, Hradsky clarified that organizations have the ability to legally offer alcohol at events on campus. In addition, he says AU wants to encourage students to make responsible decisions, and to this end, the university has created educational programs including a requirement for incoming students to take a drug and alcohol class before starting school.
JUST SAY “YES!” Since the 1960s, drug use has played a significant role in the activist culture of the left. Because of this, negative stereotypes pervade how people view college students who pursue both activism and drug use, causing people to dismiss them as “hippies” or just stoned college ac-
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tivists. This perception, however, masks the complex and evolving role that drug use plays in college progressive culture broadly — and specifically at AU.
Just don’t claim that it’s revolution,” Mark opined in an interview with AWOL. “If revolution comes about from what we consume rather than what we create, then I think we’re lost.”
One major question: what is it about drug use that makes it especially attractive to activists on the left? One SIS sophomore believes the connection may be that both activism and drug use “are manifestations of an intrinsic drive to challenge the status quo, to be unafraid to try new things, to be compelled to find better solutions and to discover a sense of peace.”
IT’S THE PERSON, NOT THE DRUG
According to a junior in SPA, the connection is even more direct because drug use is itself a revolutionary act. He explained that drug use is “such a positive act of rebellion against untruthful social standards and the oppressive drug war, that it makes what should be a normal every day thing an act of revolution.” Many other activists pointed to it as a critical part of building an effective activist culture. “Partying and drug use help form bonds between people, which can then be relied on when trying to recruit people,” said Mary Schellentrager, AU alumna and former CASJ Collective member. “It is only one way bonds of friendship can be formed, but is often the most effective way.”
ANTI-DRUG ACTIVISM Other college activists see drug use as much more of a burden than boon to progressive activism. Many express concern that the stereotype of the “stoned hippie” makes it difficult for college activists to be taken seriously.
The reality of drug and alcohol use does not justify the extreme rhetoric surrounding it. Drugs are neither inherently good nor bad. In a response to an email query, AU Psychology Professor Alan Silberberg explained, “What determines whether you see persistent drug use — despite its potentially devastating effects in terms of relationships, employment and one’s arrest record — is not the drug, but the person who is using the drug.” What this means is that we need to confront the realities of how and why drugs are abused and not romanticize their benefits. For the US, this means ending its devastating War on Drugs and beginning anew with the understanding that in order to deal with the negative effects of drugs, it needs an entirely different social healthbased approach. For AU, this means ending the dry campus policy and implementing a Good Samaritan Rule in order to prioritize student safety over strict enforcement of anti-drug and alcohol use rules. For AU activists, this means recognizing that while responsible drug use has its place in activism, it is not the sole instrument of revolution. s
Richard Phillips is a graduate student studying public policy.
Mark Andersen, the co-founder of Positive Force DC and a wellknown straightedge activist in the District, also directly questions the assumptions that drug use is somehow a revolutionary act or a critical part of activism. “If you want to have a good time, then fine. People have been getting high, intoxicated or whatever for almost as long as human history.
WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » SPRING 2011
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FIELD REPORTS
In-depth examination of the issues that matter
SHAPING POLICY IN NICARAGUA
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS FROM A DIFFERENT COUNTRY — AU PROFESSORS SHARE THEIR STORY By Alexandra Gordon // Photo by Colin Crane
According to AU professor Dr. Elizabeth Cohn, Ronald Reagan’s presidential legacy has been whitewashed. This is not a reactionary political slogan; it is a conviction born of her work as founder and director of the Central American Historical Institute from 1982 to 1988 — the height of the Reagan Administration’s covert support for anti-government “contras” in Nicaragua. During that same time, AU professor and Distinguished Diplomatin-Residence Anthony Quainton was serving as the US Ambassador to Nicaragua — a position that eventually forced him to confront his own misalignment with the Reagan Administration’s priorities and strategy in Central America. Students of the social sciences are likely familiar with the maxim, “where you stand depends on where you sit,” a reminder that context matters in understandings of political and historical phenomena. I spoke to Cohn and Quainton to hear their stories, which illustrate this principle in the case of US involvement in Nicaragua. Cohn was 25 years old in 1982, when the Jesuits of Central America asked her to found and direct the Central American Historical Institute, a progressive think tank headquartered at Georgetown University. The Jesuits — active in liberation theology movements such as the Sandinista National Liberation Front’s 1979 revolutionary overthrow of the Somoza dynasty — wanted Cohn to take the lead in providing accurate, non-governmental information about Nicaragua to US policymakers, activists, journalists and academics. Soon, researchers in Nicaragua were sending telex messages to Cohn in DC, which she then compiled into reports and mailed out to a list of subscribers. Cohn notes that even though Central America was the foreign policy issue of the 1980s, it was difficult to get accurate, in-depth information about conditions on the ground, especially if it contradicted the official position of the Reagan Administration. The Central American Historical Institute quickly became a leading source of reporting and analysis on Nicaragua, surpassing Cohn’s own expectations of her organization’s influence. She recalls being surprised to learn that one of her reports had appeared as “Exhibit J” when Nicaragua sued the US in the World Court in 1984 for illegally putting naval mines in Nicaraguan harbors. For Quainton, too, the media played a memorable role in his tenure as US Ambassador to Nicaragua. He remembers his initial arrival in Nicaragua after his appointment under Reagan, stepping off the plane at Sandino International Airport in Managua on March 15, 1982 and being met with a barrage of media cameras and microphones. One reporter asked him to comment on the state of emer-
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gency that had been declared in Nicaragua while he was in transit. Unbeknownst to Quainton, CIA-backed Nicaraguan rebels had blown up two major bridges during his flight there. “I was completely blindsided,” he recalls. “Our relationship with the Sandinistas pretty much went downhill every day from there.” As evidence, Quainton points to the framed political cartoons from Nicaraguan newspapers on the wall of his office in the School of International Service, caricatures of him with Sandinista leaders. Quainton remembers Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega as “aloof” and “hard to know.” “Ortega is not,” Quainton says with diplomatic understatement, “a very nice man.”
“I wouldn’t say the information we provided was neutral. Things were so politicized. It was important to provide information that was more accurate, less one-sided. I saw myself as an honest broker, a patriot.” Cartoons of a different kind illustrate one reason for the tense diplomatic relations, according to Cohn. In 1984, a member of the advocacy group Witness for Peace approached her with a comic book-style “Freedom Fighter’s Manual,” which encouraged Nicaraguans to sabotage the Sandinista government by cutting power lines, throwing Molotov cocktails at police stations, damaging automobiles and stealing government food supplies. An Associated Press reporter confirmed that it had been published by the CIA for the rebel group. Over 85 newspapers picked up the story and severely undermined the credibility of the Reagan Administration’s official position that the US did not seek to overthrow Ortega. Investigations into the first manual revealed another CIA manual, this one advocating assassination. After the publication of the comic book story and Reagan’s landslide re-election, the political climate changed. “It became a lot more difficult to challenge the administration,” Cohn says. And challenging the administration became the goal of her organization. “I wouldn’t say the information we provided was neutral. Things were so politicized,” she recalls, “it was important to provide information that was more accurate, less one-sided. I saw myself as an honest broker, a patriot.”
Meanwhile, Quainton too was beginning to understand the stubbornness of the White House’s position on Nicaragua. Strongly influenced by CIA Director William Casey’s preference for regime change, Reagan’s position, according to Quainton, amounted to: “As soon as Ortega goes, we’ll talk.” Quainton said, “They figured — correctly — that I was somewhat more sympathetic than Washington.” This was partly due to the State Department’s general preference for negotiation, and partly due to what Cohn jokingly refers to as the “Sandal-istas” — American groups, often religious, that traveled to Nicaragua to demonstrate in opposition to the poorly concealed US support for the contras. Quainton recalls these groups as being “very outspoken, very emotional.” Despite perceptions by such visitors that Quainton was too much of a hard-liner, by 1983 it was clear that he and Reagan were not “on the same wavelength.” Quainton had been contacted by a senior White House official, who told him to report more bad news about the Sandinistas. “I can’t do that. We report all the news,” he replied. In October, a bipartisan commission on Central America, led by Henry Kissinger, visited Nicaragua on a fact-finding mission, culminat-
Quainton had been contacted by a senior White House official, who told him to report more bad news about the Sandinistas. “I can’t do that. We report all the news.” ing in what Quainton calls “a disastrous day for diplomacy.” After asking Quainton if he had to “shake hands with that son-of-a-bitch,” Kissinger went into a meeting with Ortega in a foul mood, and, after listening to Ortega deliver a long diatribe against the US, walked out of the room without saying a word. Having been pressed repeatedly by the commission on whether Reagan agreed with the State Department’s attempts to negotiate with Ortega, Quainton was not entirely surprised to receive a call from the Deputy Secretary of State a few months later announcing that the president was going to make some changes in Nicaragua. Six months after learning he had lost the president’s confidence, Quainton left Nicaragua and became the ambassador to Kuwait. Being given another appointment after being fired is unusual in the State Department. “More typically, when you leave, you’re done,” Quainton said. But Secretary of State George Shultz argued that Quainton had done nothing wrong and did not deserve to be punished. In Quainton’s words, it was a matter of Reagan “looking for a different style of ambassador, someone who was going to be much more hard-line.” Despite traveling to Nicaragua a dozen times between 1982 and 1988, Cohn does not recall ever meeting Quainton there, though they are now friendly colleagues, both teaching in SIS. The Central American Historical Institute was not very interested in the official US position that they would have gotten from the embassy, she recalls dryly, noting that their research interests lay more in the direction of the border regions with Honduras where the contras were based. She is still angry about Reagan’s covert and, she argues, impeachable support for the Nicaraguan contras. Quainton is more sanguine. He says his experience in Nicaragua didn’t change his perception of representing US interests abroad. In his subsequent ambassadorships to Kuwait and Peru, there was much less of a gap between public opinion and White House policy. No cheerleader for either Ortega’s government or the US backing of the contras, throughout his time in Nicaragua Quainton remained dedicated to making sure both the good and bad aspects of the Sandinista governance made it back to the States. A commitment to communicating the nuanced truth guided both Quainton’s and Cohn’s experiences in Nicaragua. Far from being content to toe the Reagan Administration’s line — and despite considerable pressure to do so — each sought to present the complexity of the situation to the US government and the public. The experiences of these AU professors remind us to be critical of official policies and the way they are remembered and to be sensitive to the context and source of information. s
Elizabeth Cohn, Professor in the School of International Service; Anthony Quainton,
Erin Lockwood is a senior majoring in international studies and economics.
Distinguished Diplomat-in-Residence and former US Ambassador to Nicaragua
WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » SPRING 2011
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FIELD REPORTS
In-depth examination of the issues that matter
TWO CITIES, ONE STRUGGLE
REFLECTIONS ON HIV/AIDS IN CAPE TOWN AND DC By Tahmina Ahmed // Illustration by Hannah Karl
My name is Audi. I was born in Cape Town, South Africa. I am 37 years old. I grew up in a township in a family of six children. I now have three children. My name is Sarah. I was born in Washington, DC. I am 42 years old. I still live in the same neighborhood where I was born. I am married with two children. These women are living 7,907 miles apart, unaware of their link: they are both HIV-positive. When I think of South Africa, images that come to mind are the World Cup, tin shacks and malaria. When I think of DC, I think of power, a hub of activity and important people in suits working to change ideas into laws to transform the nation. These are the fabrics of two distinct cities with on common thread: HIV/AIDS. I spent two weeks this past December in Cape Town as a participant in an AU alternative break, studying the rights of HIV-positive patients. I was unsure of what to expect, but I was aware of the immensity of the problem: there are approximately 5.6 million people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa — more than any other country in the world. For a disease to be considered an epidemic, it must affect at least one percent of the population. The frightening reality is that HIV affects 10.8 percent of South Africa’s population. It is estimated that next year, 400,000 people will die from AIDS-related illnesses. South Africa is unfortunately a perfect breeding ground for the virus. One frustrated nurse in a local clinic, Gloria Mrwetyana, explained the plethora of problems contributing to the epidemic: “There is tuberculosis from overcrowded communities, patients may be unable to pay for the taxi or bus fare to come to the clinic and get tested or treated, they may not be able to refrigerate their medications, there is no one to bring children or the elderly to the clinic, there is poor
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sanitation, unclean water, poorly cooked food, unprotected sex, many rape cases and high drug use.” Doctors are pressed by the mountain of responsibilities and the inability to tackle each problem every time. But this virus is not merely a scourge existing thousands of miles away. DC faces a similar battle: one out of every 20 adults is HIV-positive, over ten times the national average. In fact, DC has the highest HIV rate of any US city. But, unlike in South Africa, where AIDS has
“There’s much talk about prevention, but almost none about the stigma related to HIV. Unless we address that stigma, it is unlikely that prevention efforts will succeed.”
become a part of everyday reality, it is easy to remain oblivious to this raging epidemic in DC. Tools and knowledge are available to combat this disease. In fact, according to Reuben Granich, an HIV/AIDS researcher at the World Health Organization, if everyone in the world was tested for HIV, the disease could be eliminated globally in 50 years. Why does this disease, which has the potential to be erased from medical history in our lifetime, still rage on? The root of the problem is the stigma associated with being tested for HIV, being HIV-positive and even for using condoms. I experienced this stigma first-hand while observing Mrwetyana, a nurse at a local clinic in Cape Town. She took the medical and personal histories of each of
her HIV-positive patients and came across some heart-wrenching stories. The first patient was a 42-year-old woman, well-dressed in a purple blouse and with a successful job in — ironically — a pharmaceutical company that produces HIV medication. Mrwetyana inquired if her family knew about her HIV-positive status. The woman told the nurse she was abused by her husband, who told her to keep her sexually transmitted disease quiet. When she finally divorced him after years of abuse, her family shunned her for bringing dishonor to the family. She is currently raising two children on her own without any support from her family. The next patient was a pretty young woman who stopped taking her HIV medication because she was too embarrassed to do so in the presence of her family. She said she had just given birth to an HIV-positive child. Her calm demeanor as she shared this news was shocking, especially because it was preventable. There is medication available for pregnant women that reduces the risk of transmitting HIV to their infant to only two percent. Domestic abuse perpetuates the disease further because when a woman asks her partner to use a condom, he assumes there is mistrust in the relationship. We met with an incredible group of women who formed a nonprofit organization called Sisters4Sisters, which aims to raise awareness about domestic violence and its impact on the spread of HIV. The organization offers support groups, emergency accommodation and shelter for women that need it. Stigma and domestic abuse are part of the vicious cycle of HIV in DC, too. Dr. Sohail Rana, a member of Howard University’s Department of Pediatrics, believes the “stigma associated with HIV is now worse than the disease itself.” In an appearance on AU’s radio station, WAMU 88.5, she talked about how this stigma killed her eighteen-year-old patient, Angel. Angel contracted the disease at birth and with the proper medication, she could have lived a longer life. But her family made her feel dirty, rejected her and left her to face the disease alone. She refused to take her medication, and as a result, her HIV progressed to AIDS, ultimately resulting in her death. “There’s much talk about prevention, but almost none about the stigma related to HIV. Unless we address that stigma, it is unlikely that prevention efforts will succeed,” Rana said. Recent survey results about DC residents’ perceptions of HIV/AIDS are shocking: 30 percent said that they would not feel comfortable sitting next to someone with HIV on a bus; 20 percent said they
“Instead of viewing our relationship with South Africa as one of charity, the US needs to see the relationship as a partnership, and learn from South Africa’s active approach to HIV awareness.” would be uncomfortable sending their child to a school with an HIVpositive student. How can we acknowledge this stigma and overcome it? First, we need to realize that Cape Town and DC are not so different. The US heavily funds HIV research in South Africa, but South Africa seems to be much more active than the US in combating HIV and the stigmas associated with it. Condoms are distributed at clinics and public facilities, billboards are displayed encouraging people to get tested, and radio stations urge listeners to begin the new year by finding out their HIV status. But the US, AU sociology professor and alternative break advisor Bette Dickinson stated, “is advanced at hiding up. HIV is a silent killer that we don’t talk about. This must not be swept up under the rug.” Instead of viewing our relationship with South Africa as one of charity, the US needs to see the relationship as a partnership and learn from South Africa’s active approach to HIV awareness. While the US has more generalized goals, conceived with the hope of helping the nation as a whole, South Africa has more specific, concrete goals with the intention of helping individual communities and people. They have more grassroots organizations that are focused on specific aspects of HIV, like creating vaccinations or helping marginalized HIV-positive groups like mothers and senior citizens. The collaboration of these groups is transforming communities, creating a strong movement against HIV. A US-South Africa partnership can serve to actually defeat the disease, with each country working together and learning from the other. HIV is a fairly new disease — it has been around for fifty years and both Cape Town and DC have come far in fighting it. Imagine how much further we could progress in the next decade if we band together. s
Tahmina Ahmed is a freshman studying public health.
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ROOTS OF REVOLUTION
STUDENT INSPIRED BY ARAB SPRING Story and Photo by Ashley Dejean
Inspired by the recent uprisings in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, Farida Nabourema, a junior in SIS, decided to take action for the people in her home country of Togo. For over a year, the opposition has held protests every Saturday, claiming the 2010 election was fraudulent. Seeing a way to potentially unite and mobilize all the Togolese people standing in opposition to the government, a message that reaches beyond a single political party, Nabourema decided to take action. “If they recognize the victory’s only going to profit that group, it’s not going to change anything,” she said. “That’s why we launched the group ‘Faure Must Go! Togo Libre.’ We said that this is a national cause, it’s not a political party cause, it’s a national cause of all the Togolese who feel that government is wrong [and] that the president shouldn’t be our president in the first place.” Despite being abroad at AU for her education, Nabourema has played a substantial role in this movement. She created a Facebook group on Feb 24, 2011, which has grown quickly, gaining over 2,000 supporters in one month. Two days after its launch, Nabourema posted a letter she wrote with a friend, Woali Ahlijah, demanding President Faure Gnassingbe step down by April 26, one day before the 51st anniversary of Togo’s independence. “I think we have the right to dismiss him,” she said. “We have the
“I think a lot of governments are looking at how they might — especially governments that might not be particularly popular or have a long history of repression as the Togolese government has — be able to prevent this kind of large, popular uprising.”
power to dismiss him if we don’t want his rule anymore. We can join our forces and ask him to go.” Nabourema’s letter was initially approved by 11 Togoloese activists in the US. The dismissal has since been approved and adopted by the ANC (the main opposition party), FRAC (the opposition coalition), PSR, ADDI and Sursaut Togo with the support of the workers’ union, according to Togolese opposition newspaper L’ALTERNATIVE. Nabourema said more groups have signed on since. This declaration dismissing Gnassingbe was read during the March 12 protest
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and approved by the 7,000 protesters in attendance. According to Nabourema, 5,000 people signed the letter that day to dismiss the president. The opposition decided to make the letter a petition to democratically legitimize the dismissal to the rest of the world. The head of the workers’ party, Claude Ameganvi, is currently heading this effort and hopes to get between 500,000 and one million signatures. Since publicizing the statement of dismissal, Nabourema has received attention from the Togolese government. She said that the Prime Minister of Togo, Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo, asked her to attend a meeting with him while she visited France over spring break. She refused, saying that the government might destroy her image by photographing the meeting and creating the perception that she had been bought off. Shortly after, the meeting was cancelled. *** According to Nabourema, Togo is the oldest dictatorship in the world. Officially, though, Togo is recognized by the international community as a republic. In 2010, the presidential election was deemed fair for the first time in over 40 years. Despite this, the Togolese opposition coalition — called the Republican Front for Change — has protested this election every Saturday since its occurrence, claiming fraud and demanding that the government recognize the victory of their candidate, Jean-Pierre Fabre. “[The elections] were significant in that for the first time, the opposition rallied around one leader, whereas before they really split their vote because the opposition didn’t come together,” said Dorina Bokoe, a research associate for the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention. “I think that there was a feeling that they would fare a lot better than they did.” The State Department’s profile on Togo suggests that division between the opposition parties played a major role in the loss by putting forth seven candidates. However, less than six percent of the vote went to other opposition candidates — not a negligible number, but not quite the 17 percent Fabre needed to win. While the international community deemed the election fair, it conceded irregularities like the government having “clear control” over the electoral commission. Bokoe explained that some of the opposition actually withdrew their membership from the commission because they felt the government had too much control of the process. Fabre explained in a video interview with the BBC that the military raided the party’s headquarters, taking all of their equipment as they were going through the election results to prove fraud. According to the BBC report, the spokesperson for the special election commando unit said the raid was a response to an opposition march that went ahead despite a government ban, not an attempt to destroy evidence.
“I will go back,” she said. “And I know if I go back I might not come back for many reasons. I might not come back alive, I might be thrown in jail, I might not come back because things have changed. I will risk my life to go because I know it’s worth it.” pecially governments that might not be particularly popular or have a long history of repression as the Togolese government has — be able to prevent this kind of large, popular uprising,” said Bokoe, who works for the Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention. CNN reported that Togolese Interior Minister Pascal Bodjona denied that the proposed legislation intends to suppress uprisings, commenting that a piece of paper would not stop a revolution. The restrictions on protests may reach beyond just requiring government authorization, though. Nabourema said the government wants the power to send an informant to planning meetings for protests. The ANC called for a protest of the proposed legislation on Thursday, March 17, a risky decision since after the 2010 election, protests were restricted to weekends. The military used tear gas and rubber bullets on the protesters. No reports mention any deaths, but Nabourema says a close friend of hers was killed. Since then, the government has suppressed several other weekday protests in support of the movement to dismiss the president. Nabourema believes it is important not to give the government legitimacy by abiding by their restrictions. Nabourema believes the results of the election shattered the Tologese people’s hope for change, and the betrayal that followed devastated many. Gilchrist Olympio, who was once a leader in the opposition movement, joined the government just after the election, justifying it as an effort to move Togo forward. Nabourema’s disillusionment with Olympio, a venerated figure in Togo, was a turning point for her. “I just realized, why are we waiting for a messiah to come and deliver us, awaiting a leader to come out and help us?” she said. “Why can’t we be our own leaders? And that’s how I started to see that I could be a leader myself.” Nabourema may not be a messiah, but her unwaivering commitment to spreading freedom in her home country reveals an uncommon courage. *** Recently, the Togolese government proposed legislation that would require permission from the government to hold demonstrations. Many have speculated the inspiration for the proposal came from the recent uprisings in other countries. “I think a lot of governments are looking at how they might — es-
“As soon as people come out, they fire on them or they beat them or they arrest them to kill it from the beginning,” Nabourema said. She later explained that the military was arresting people in their homes who were not protesting, for no other reason than living in neighborhoods known for having anti-government sentiments. Attempts to reach Togolese government officials for comment were unsuccessful. *** Nabourema became interested in politics after seeing her father arrested for the first time. As a political activist, he had been arrested previously and even tortured, but not since Nabourema was born. “The military came into our house and they broke everything, pretending to be looking for guns,” she said. “They said that my father is a rebel and they searched our home. They had no arrest certificate to show [or] the legal document to search [our] house. They just came in.” The experience shocked her. “I knew he’s not a delinquent or somebody who stole or things like that,” she said. “I was shocked to see my father being arrested.” When her father returned a few days later due to pressure for his release from the US and German embassies, she started asking
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him questions about what he did and why he was arrested, which sparked her interest in politics. “He talked to me about everything: why we are so oppressed, what is going on, and he told me stories that were so awful. I never knew things like that were going on in the country since I was a child,” she said. “I wanted to fight with him. I wanted to enter his political party and he said ‘No, you are too young. You cannot be a member of my political party at age 13.’” While Nabourema’s father refused to let her openly participate in political activism, he encouraged her interest. One by one, he gave her illegal books and opposition newspapers to read before hiding them away again. *** Nabourema hopes the popular revolts of the Arab Spring will come to her home of Togo. The widespread support of the Saturday opposition protests suggests the Togolese people crave change, according to Farouk Banna, one of the 11 Togolese living in America who approved Nabourema’s declaration. He is the spokesman for the Committee for Motivation and Action for Freedom in Togo, which he described as an association fighting for peaceful change. Some question whether the revolutions will translate to the rest of Africa. “I’m not convinced that this is the right way of thinking about it, but you see a lot of arguments [saying] African politics are too fractured — especially fractured along ethnic lines — to have a broad-based support,” said AU Professor Niklas Hultin, a political and legal anthropologist specializing in West Africa. Togo consists of 20 to 30 different ethnic groups. Nabourema explained that there are ethnic issues in Togo, but sees them as minor in comparison to Gnassingbe’s dictatorial rule. Hultin also explained that a lack of a strong civil society may make a successful revolution more difficult. One element of a civil society is a free press, which according to the Freedom House’s 2010 report, Togo lacks. Perhaps the largest barrier, though, is the threat of violence. “The only factor that is holding the change is the brutality of the army, which has never hesitated to pull the trigger on the people protesting peacefully for change,” Banna said. “However, with recent events in the Middle East, there is hope that the international community will finally step up and ask Gnassingbe to step down as they have done in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.” Without much media attention, international intervention may not materialize in the low-profile country of Togo. “I don’t think Togo is alone in crying out for greater attention from the international media,” said Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies. “I think it is more likely that countries that are francophone, even though the protests have been ongoing and sustained, don’t have the same type of exposure to the Western media as other countries.” Another barrier to intervention may be looming on the horizon. Current oil speculation in Togo could potentially raise the stakes of political instability and quiet lingering questions of the government’s legitimacy. Several oil companies recently discovered oil off the coast of Ghana, making Togo’s shores a promising prospect for reserves. Oil
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notoriously accompanies corruption, and how the government chooses to use the oil revenue — for itself or its citizens — could have a significant impact on the country. “I think we cannot underplay the role that oil and oil interests play in determining the political economy and, overall, the progression of events,” Woods said. *** From the beginning, Nabourema knew that fighting for her people would have serious consequences, but she is ready to risk everything to bring democracy and freedom to Togo. “My father told me before I started this, ‘You are going to lose friends, you are going to lose family members, but you just have to know what you want,’” she said. “‘Are you ready to sacrifice everything for this?’”
“My father told me before I started this, ‘You are going to lose friends, you are going to lose family members, but you just have to know what you want.’”
In mid-March, Nabourema got her first taste of this reality when a friend was killed during a protest. “What we told ourselves before fighting was that if one of us falls, it means we have to double our energy, we have to be more strong for two reasons,” she said. “The first reason is because we don’t want any of our friends to die for nothing. You have to make their death worth it. The second reason is that because they’re no longer with us, it means they have one less person on board and we need to strengthen our group.” Nabourema stays strong, holding back her pain. “This is a revolution,” Nabourema said. “This is what it’s supposed to be. Some people have to fall for others to lead.” She hopes to return to Togo soon to show her people she cares for them and wants to take a more active role in the movement. “I will go back,” she said. “And I know if I go back I might not come back for many reasons. I might not come back alive, I might be thrown in jail, I might not come back because things have changed. I will risk my life to go because I know it’s worth it.” s
Ashley Dejean is a sophomore majoring in international studies. Mike Lally contributed reporting to this story.
FONKOZE IN RURAL HAITI
A MICROCREDIT SUCCESS STORY By Audrey Van Gilder // Photos by Audrey Van Gilder and Shoshanna Sumka
Thousands of independent NGOs operate in Port-au-Prince, but a glance at any mention of Haiti in the news doesn’t set much store in their success. One exception is Fonkoze, Haiti’s alternative microfinance institution. Its fourstep microcredit program has been making incredible progress empowering women through small loans, education programs and health services since 1994.
Port-au-Prince — home to over two million people — has hardly a square foot of unused land. It is a densely-packed maze of rubble, unpaved streets and fields of refuse through which Haitians must navigate.
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All participants in Fonkoze’s Chemen Lavi Miyo (CLM) program graduate living in houses with cement floors, sturdy walls, tin roofs and portable water purifiers. In the rural Central Plateau region, a CLM client and her children examine the construction of their new, improved shelter.
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A CLM Case Manager, responsible for measuring clients’ progress and facilitating their education programs, makes his weekly visit to a woman’s home in the Central Plateau. The lesson of the day was family planning.
The migration of Haitians to the nation’s urban areas has hurt the agriculture sector, ensuring that much of Haiti’s arable land goes uncultivated. The lack of credit available to farmers diminishes their ability to improve farming technology. WWW.AWOLAU.ORG » SPRING 2011
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The CLM program — catering to Haiti’s ultra poor women — is headed by Gauthier Dieudonne, pictured here. His goal is to help destitute rural families become empowered through education programs, access to health care, improved housing and start-up microenterprises.
In rural Fondwa, a coffee bean processing plant stands empty, abandoned long before the January 2010 earthquake. Community members do not expect it to reopen any time soon.
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The second step of Fonkoze’s microcredit program, called Ti Kredi or “little credit,” empowers women by providing them with business know-how and continued health and education services. The women pictured here had gathered to repay a loan with the proceeds of their individual enterprises and to receive a lesson in literacy from their Credit Agent.
For more information on Fonkoze’s operations, visit www.fonkoze.org. To learn about AU’s commitment to sending alternative break groups to Haiti, search Facebook for American University Haiti Compact: Higher Education with Haiti. Audrey Van Gilder is a sophomore majoring in international studies. Shoshanna Sumka is the Assistant Director of AU’s Center for Community Engagement and Service.
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FROM THE BLACKTOP TO THE BLACKBOARD
HIP-HOP’S GROWING ROLE IN EDUCATION By Kevin Kunitake // Illustrations by Max Gibbons
With two sets of turntables and a mountain of vinyls visible from the outside window, it’s clear that work at Words Beats & Life is a bit atypical. Located in a corner church in Columbia Heights, the office overlooks the church auditorium, which sometimes doubles as a WBL classroom and event space. What started as a hip-hop conference at the University of Maryland in 2000 has since evolved into a DC non-profit that aims to use hiphop to strengthen communities. Today, it’s graffiti. A potential student, about 12 years old, sits at a table looking over some forms and asks a staff member how to spell graffiti. “Is it G-R-E-…” “No, it’s G-R-A-F-F-I-T-I.” A couple moments later, he asks again. “You said it was G-R-E-F-F-I-T-I?” “No, G-R-A-F-F-I-T-I. You should get your ears cleaned.” “I did,” the student jokes in his defense. “Last week.” The idea of hip-hop culture being used to teach spelling might be a
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novel one. But it’s only part of the latest chapter in one of the greatest success stories ever told: the story of hip-hop. What started in the late 1970s as a counterculture movement in the South Bronx has grown into a multifaceted global phenomenon. Hip-hop has landed in South Africa, South Korea and just about everywhere in between. It has endured corporate commoditization and media denigration; it has challenged politicians and struggled with sexism. Hip-hop has always been controversial. Civil rights activist Delores Tucker lambasted it as “drug-driven, race-driven and greed driven,” while rapper KRS-ONE has lauded what he calls “Edutainment,” hiphop’s blend of education and entertainment. It may have taken over 30 years, but now hip-hop is reaching the academic world, becoming both a subject of study and a tool for education. *** AU recently hosted a panel titled “The Falsehoods and Misconceptions about Hip-Hop,” which illustrated the ground hip-hop has gained in academia. “It’s not the scary thing that you can’t have in the classroom,” said Paige Hernandez, one of the panelists. As both an artist and educator, Hernandez has helped curate workshops on the incorporation of
hip-hop into the classroom. Her choreography has been featured in multiple shows, most recently in DC/NYC’s Hip-Hop Theatre Festival, and her one-woman show, Paige in Full: A B-girl’s Visual Mixtape, is back in DC for a second run. One point the panel raised was that for a youth culture, hip-hop isn’t that young. Its originators are middle-aged. Kool Herc has health problems. Snoop Dogg is pushing 40. Rev Run and his teenaged kids have a reality show. The movement has grown up. The people who’ve been educated by hip-hop are now the ones teaching it. As it has matured, hiphop has expanded to new mediums like literature, theatre, film and academia. “It wasn’t my first English teacher,” said panelist Kyle Dargan, “but it was the first English teacher that I ever listened to.” Dargan, a professor of literature and creative writing at AU as well as editor and founder of Post No Ills magazine, was on the advising board for a book that came out last year called The Anthology of Rap. The anthology is composed of over 300 rap lyrics from the last 30 years. In his review for New York Magazine, Sam Anderson, a self-proclaimed hip-hop illiterate, called it “the English major’s hip-hop bible.” The anthology also made his Top 10 Books of 2010. Like Dargan, many are finding that hip-hop and academia are not that different. Current WBL editor Simone Jacobson spoke to the panel about her experience witnessing how hip-hop can help bridge education gaps. In 2010, Jacobson led a group of eight international hip-hop dancers on a four city US tour sponsored by the US State Department. A year earlier, she co-founded Sulu DC, a monthly showcase of DC-based Asian and Pacific-Islander American artists. Jacobson now works as director of The Cipher, a part of WBL that focuses on networking with other hip-hop-based organizations. The Cipher hosts teach-ins designed to develop programs and curricula based on hip-hop culture. The teach-in titled “Remixing the Art of Social Change: A Hip-Hop Approach” has plans to travel to Chicago by the end of 2011.
“Sometimes younger kids — and ourselves included — feel like we lose our identity in schools. H.E.L.P takes what the child already loves and embraces it.” Jeff Williams, AU students and DC Reads tutors, hosted a workshop about the program, focusing their presentation on the work of Nas. “Sometimes younger kids — and ourselves included — feel like we lose our identity in schools,” said Williams. “H.E.L.P takes what the child already loves and embraces it.” The H.E.L.P. program has been praised by both artists and scholars, including Raekwon, Cornel West and Barack Obama. In St. Paul, Minn., David Ellis, former Paisley Park Studio producer and Prince collaborator, has integrated hip-hop and education in the form of a school. The High School for Recording Arts, nicknamed Hip-Hop High, is part recording studio and part traditional school. Students are rewarded for good behavior and grades with time in one of the school’s recording studios, where they can champion and record their own music. The school is a safe haven for troubled students. Many have dropped out of other schools and are behind in credits. In 2010, about half of the students did not live with a legal guardian and one-fourth lived with a legal guardian with an addiction. “My vision initially for the school was to solve a problem that I saw in the community: a lot of young people were dropping out of school,” Ellis said in a video for the Minneapolis City Pages. “I knew through
Jacobson is also editor of Words. Beats. Life: The Global Journal of HipHop Culture. The biannual publication is the world’s only peer reviewed journal on the subject of hip-hop culture. The latest issue — “The Sex Issue” — addressed gender and sexuality. It featured work from Holly Bass, a poet-in-residence at Busboys & Poets, Kelly Zen-Yie-Tsai, a world-renowned spoken word artist, as well as other scholars, artists and poets. The DC Urban Arts Academy, the other side of WBL, has a more local focus. The Academy offers classes based on the four elements of hip-hop, challenging students to work both creatively and academically. Students learn skills such as DJ-ing or emceeing while also learning how to market themselves through portfolios, applications and resumes — skills that could be applied to either a record deal or college application. Hopefully both. Another DC based organization, H.E.L.P., Hip-Hop Educational Literacy Program, uses lyrics from artists such as Lauryn Hill, Common, T.I. and Rakim to promote literacy. Recently, Patrick MacMahon and
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their passion with the music industry and what they wanted to experience that it would be a great motivator.” When it opened in 1998, the school had 15 students. It now has more than 220 students and has sparked sister schools in Los Angeles, New York, and most recently, Portland, Ore. *** As hip-hop and formal education begin to intertwine, some remain skeptical. What does it mean when a rebel culture begins to integrate with the institutions it was created to rebel against? Hopefully, as people begin to see hip-hop’s value in the classroom, it won’t be reduced to just another teaching tool. Stephen Vassallo, a professor in AU’s School of Education, Teaching and Health, spoke to how Paulo Freire’s theory of critical pedagogy could possibly be applied to hip-hop’s growing role in education. Freire was a Brazilian educator who viewed conventional education as a way of reproducing and reinforcing cultural and social hierarchies. Rather than reproduce a “dominant culture,” Freire believed that education should draw upon the lives of the people being educated. For instance, in the classrooms of urban DC, Freire would probably argue that the poetry of Tupac would resonate with students much more than the poetry of Shakespeare. “Hip-hop is used as a means to teach an end point, a better end point,” said Vassallo, “but when does it become the end in itself?” As hip-hop finds its way into teaching curricula, it has the po-
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As hip-hop and formal education begin to intertwine, some remain skeptical. What does it mean when a rebel culture begins to integrate with the institutions it was created to rebel against? tential to build some common ground between teachers and students. It’s an uncultivated medium that can help create a dialogue between both groups. Educators might go through Tupac to speak about Shakespeare or Style Wars to get to Van Gogh. Education could be on the verge of a much-needed revamp. While this might be enough for now, it begs this question for the future: if Tupac can be used to teach Shakespeare, when will Tupac be used to teach Tupac? Instead of hip-hop being used to teach other subjects, when will other subjects be used to teach hip-hop? s
Kevin Kunitake is a sophomore studying print journalism.
CLICK IT OR PICKET?
ACTIVISM IN THE INTERNET AGE By Zac Deibel // Illustrations by Max Gibbons
We’ve all been there: you sign into your Facebook account and see a dozen new invites to groups, events and associations that you have never heard of from people you don’t talk to. It seems everyone has a cause, and they’re using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to tell you all about it. There is even an application within Facebook called “Causes,” where users can browse different groups sorted by categories like “animals” and “education.” Or, if you can’t find a spot on any of the 500,000 user-created bandwagons, you can simply make your own — free of charge with a click of your mouse. It makes activism easier, simpler and more accessible for anyone with an Internet connection. Admittedly, online activism usually revolves around more mundane issues than traditional street protests. A Facebook group to elect a student government president isn’t the same urgent social statement as the Civil Rights protests of the 1960s. Still, the potential for social networking to spark social movements is a hot topic, and technophiles have given Facebook and Twitter enormous credit for the recent protest movements in the Middle East and North Africa. In his review of Evgeny Morozov’s book Net Delusion, Lee Siegel of The New York Times wrote on Feb 4 that in both Tunisia and Egypt, “social networking allowed truths that had been whispered to be widely broadcast and commented upon.” Others have pointed out the influence social networking has had on governments worldwide. Some say that social networking and the Internet provide convenient means of oppressing a populace. Siegel’s colleagues in China, Edward Wong and David Barboza, reported on Jan 31 that the Chinese government had enforced Internet censures immediately after news spread of Facebook groups sympathetic to the Egyptian cause. It is this kind of manipulation of technology to which Morozov refers in Net Delusion; he assures his readers that access to Internet media alone does not beget liberation. *** Facebook activism hasn’t been limited to foreign crises. The up-
heaval in Wisconsin after the state government announced measures to bar unions’ collective bargaining abilities was permeated by social networking. As University of Wisconsin students gathered in a physical demonstration of solidarity, students across the country joined in the “Virtual Vigil,” where clicking the “Join” button turned homebound users into active participants. It is this sort of “active inaction” that characterizes the term “slacktivism.” Implying a degree of laziness, critics contend that an individual pledging collusion via a computer screen has serious implications for the credibility of movements for social and political change. AU sophomore Mariam Aziz was born in Egypt and was compelled to immediately react to the anti-government demonstrations there. She organized protests outside of the Egyptian Embassy in DC and has spoken out in support of the uprisings. She said social networking “played a significant role in starting the revolution, but definitely not in directly causing political change.” Aziz believes in the role of social media in activism, but confirms its limited ability to affect true political change on its own. She does recognize social media’s benefits in organizing without overstating its effect on policy: “Activists use it to spread the word about events or an entire revolution!” Malcolm Gladwell of The New Yorker wrote in October that there are two major differences between the Civil Rights Movement and today’s social media-infused activism: the “risk factor” and organization. Gladwell contends that social media and the Internet have eliminated the “risk factor” from social activism. Rather than joining time-consuming, dangerous bus boycotts or confrontational protests, people can join a Facebook page from the comfort of their home, free from the judgment of their peers. Gladwell also discusses the importance of “strong-tie phenomena,” which he describes as the personal connection necessary for a successful, influential movement. Activism through social media, he contends,
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“manages acquaintances,” and isn’t characterized by strong, valuebased connections between participants. In his classic sociological study Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam echoes these sentiments: “Because of the paucity of social cues and social communication, participants in computer-based groups find it harder to reach consensus and feel less solidarity with one another.” Instead, it seems that “slacktivists” focus on general concerns more than specific issues, the protest of which would be unlikely to attract public scrutiny. In other words, online movements have begun to accommodate “fad disasters,” creating causes that will be accepted by all, while no serious gains are possible. Gladwell offers the Save Darfur movement on Facebook as an ex-
ample. As of October 2010, Facebook’s most popular group within the “Causes” app had 1,282,339 members, its second most popular group claimed 22,073, and its third most popular group had only 2,797 participants. Respectively, members had donated an average of nine, 35 and 15 cents per participant in each group. Gladwell observes, “Facebook activism succeeds not by motivating people to make a real sacrifice but by motivating them to do the things that people do when they are not motivated enough to make a real sacrifice.” However, the argument that Facebook activism eliminates the risk factor is directly contested by the recent events in the Middle East. Many journalists and analysts agree that social media was an important component of the protests. Had it not been for “We are All Khaled
“DON’T CALL IT SLACKTIVISM” AND OTHER WORDS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVISTS Earlier this month, AU’s new Social Media Club held its inaugural Social Media Learning Summit, featuring discussions on media literacy and the use of social media in education. In one session, a panel discussed the key points of slacktivism — or lack thereof. The panelists agreed on one principle: so-called “slacktivism” is just activism with different tools. The panelists included Alan Rosenblatt, director of social media strategies at the Center for American Progress, Asher Huey, a new media political consultant, Angelo Carusone, campaign director for Media Matters for America and founder of the Stop Glenn Beck effort, Christie Garton, editor and blogger for USA Today, Sarah Kessler, reporter for Mashable, Josh Koster, managing partner at Chong & Koster and AU alumna Megan Yarbrough, online campaigns associate at M+R Strategic Services. “People are using the Internet to learn
about politics. That’s not worth dismissing as slacktivism,” said Rosenblatt during the panel. Carusone’s StopBeck.com campaign is a prime example of how social media is utilized for a cause. StopBeck.com uses Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to push sponsors to stop supporting Glenn Beck. On April 6, Fox News announced it will not be renewing Glenn Beck’s contract for his daily program, likely due in part to pressure exerted by StopBeck.com and other social media devices. Huey, a blogger for Change.org, has found social media creates a new form of activism. “Slacktivism is demeaning and was created by people who doesn’t understand the tools to use it,” he said. “Politicians — especially old-school politicians — are terrified of social media.” Panelists agreed, saying that those who created the rules of social media do not understand social media.
LINKING OUR WAY TO A BETTER WORLD: KEY TWEETS Panelists: Angelo Carusone (@stopbeck), Christie Garton (@usatkindness), Richard Graves (@ richardgraves), Asher Huey (@asherhuey), Sarah Kessler (@sarahfkessler), Alan Rosenblatt (@drdigipol), Megan Yarbrough (@misshealth)
@DARYNCAMBRIDGE In some countries what “we” (in US) think of “slacktivism” is actually quite high-risk and a powerful form of resistance.
@RANACHRONISM One pitfall of social media is you have a limited time to make your case. And audience has own intuitions
@BIVINGS what’s next: You gotta put some money into your social media campaigns… and embrace mobile
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Huey uses different social media tools in different ways; for Facebook, he finds he can build email lists based off of what people like, whereas with Twitter and blogs, he sees direct advocacy and results. On Twitter, Huey has around 1,200 followers, which he notes is a pretty small number comparatively. “Online tools engage so many more people,” said Huey. The group of activists, bloggers, students and teachers at the Social Media Learning Summit agreed: education is key for using social media to affect change. The same enthusiasm for activism that past generations had can be translated today through Facebook and Twitter. Social media will not change the world. Those who change the world will be using social media. –Kelcie Pegher
Said,” the Facebook group dedicated to the innocent Egyptian brutally murdered by police, the Egyptian organization of young people in Tahrir Square would have been fairly inconsequential. The solidarity that was established through social media over a specific event was one of the main catalysts of the Egyptian and Tunisian protests. This mass solidarity suggests a new model of protest separate from Gladwell’s second point of distinction: the level of organization. Groups that affected serious change on social and political policy used hierarchies and structures that allowed them to efficiently pursue specific initiatives based on calculations and intense planning. Gladwell argues, “The things that King needed in Birmingham — discipline and strategy — were things that online social media cannot provide.” How true is this claim? If nothing else, those organizations centered on Wisconsin, the Middle East and even the Save Darfur campaign have shown the ability to mobilize thousands of people for their cause. Mobilization may look different now than it did in the past; Gladwell himself admits that the focus of social activism has shifted “from organization to adaptability.” These organizations have tapped a powerful resource that can instigate both popular support over a large area, as in the case of Wisconsin state government protestors and the Save Darfur movement, and physical support at home, as was the case in Tunisia and Egypt.
I think we have to recognize that it’s one of a series of tactics that needs to be part of a larger strategy,” she said. Pine points out that the responsibility of an activist group is to prove that their movement can be successful. In Pine’s opinion, “what really proves the effectiveness of the movement is the results it gets in terms of the people it can mobilize and the change it is able to make.” These “results” can’t come from Facebook alone. Pine and McNeill agree that the uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Bahrain were not “Facebook revolutions” or “Twitter revolutions.” Pine recognizes that
“If people believe that clicking on something or creating a Facebook ‘cause’ will actually make a change, then they’re becoming part of the problem. What that’s actually doing is giving them a justification for not doing something more meaningful.”
While they increasingly rely on “weak-tie connections,” as Gladwell calls these associations, perhaps social media establishes a new bond, which, unlike the Civil Rights Movement and other protests of the past, exists outside of “weak” or “strong.” Perhaps social activism is helping to bring people together, regardless of their previous acquaintance, establishing a basic unity inherent in humanity.
social media was a crucial component of the uprisings, but doesn’t believe “slacktivism” is a viable alternative to real action. “If people believe that clicking on something or creating a Facebook ‘cause’ will actually make a change, then they’re becoming part of the problem. What that’s actually doing is giving them a justification for not doing something more meaningful.”
***
However, social media shouldn’t be totally dismissed as a force of indolence in social action. It certainly has merits: better coordination, better organization, better communication. It has helped to affect political change as a tool of movements that use it to send a message. Though Gladwell and other professionals believe social media may cater to the growing culture of laziness and a generational lack of motivation, it is important to remember that their generation — that of Woodstock, the Freedom Riders and the New Left — was also con-
This could all be wishful thinking. At AU, professors and students alike are witnessing the rise of social media. Call them “cautiously optimistic.” Professor Bryan McNeil of the Anthropology department has experienced social networking activism firsthand in his advocacy work with coal miners in Appalachia. In McNeil’s experience, Facebook has been a force for organization and coordination. “I think that communication technology in general can be used very effectively to disseminate information. Social networking, as well as old-fashioned email, is really good at keeping a lot of people in the loop with different kinds of information.” Better organization is, undoubtedly, a benefit of using social networking as a tool for activism. Fellow Anthropology Professor Adrienne Pine agrees, to an extent. “I think it’s a really important tool, but
sidered lazy and incapable. We need not remind them that it only takes one protest, one movement, one “Cause” to make a change, and, if nothing else, Facebook can help. s
Zac Deibel is a freshman studying history.
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JABS AND JEST
Innovation, wit and cogent wisdom
PROFESSOR PROFILE
IRIS KRASNOW By Kelcie Pegher // Photos by Ashley Dejean
Want to see a woman who changes how feminists think and act? Meet Iris Krasnow, a professor at AU for the past 23 years. Her first book, Surrendering to Motherhood, described Krasnow’s decision to end her career as a national features writer at United Press International in order to spend time with her children at home and continue as a freelance writer. Krasnow has published four books, and has a fifth coming out in October. The scope of her work is broad: she’s interviewed Yoko Ono, Queen Noor of Jordan, Ted Kennedy and Billy Graham, among others. AWOL’s Kelcie Pegher sat down with Krasnow as she frantically spoke about journalism, what it means to be a feminist and snacking with Queen Noor.
So how did you become a professor at AU? When I was a national features writer for United Press International, I sat on an airplane next to an AU professor — John Doolittle. Louis Farrakhan was on our plane, and I went and talked to him. I met John Doolittle and he said, ‘What do you do?’ And I replied, ‘Oh, I’m a journalist,’ because I brought back all this information about these people; I’m just trained as a journalist — you just go up to people. So he said, ‘You have to come speak to my journalism class.’ That was in 1985 — so by 1988 I was teaching here as an adjunct. From 1988 to 1994 I taught almost every class you can imagine for SOC undergrads. My favorite, obviously, was feature article writing, so I started teaching feature article writing in 1994 and I kind of never left. In 1994 I became the academic director of Washington Journalism Semester and have been at that ever since.
What is Washington Journalism Semester? It’s the oldest experiential learning program in the country. Students from all over the world come to Washington for one semester from their home schools to be immersed in journalism by me. I
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have students this semester from Korea, Germany, from France, from South America and about twenty other schools in this country.
Many of your books focus on the idea of “psycho journalism.” What does that mean? After all the stories I’ve heard about relationships, I joke — but I’m very serious — that I’ve gone psycho from all these crazy stories. But early on in my journalism career, when I was at UPI, and even before that when I was at the Dallas Times Herald, I was always really fascinated by trends. Like tattooing, dating, monogamy is in, monogamy is out, speed dating. So I just started writing about relationships and started writing for the Washington Post regularly and I got such a great response from the Washington Post that those stories really turned into my books. I’m just really interested in relationships. When you get to the heart of people, it’s not about the fact that they’re lawyers or doctors. It’s about who they really are. I think that’s what I love about journalism: the ability to really excavate and get to the heart of the human spirit.
What makes a good story? The best journalism — and this is not going to change, no matter how the newspaper industry keeps evolving — is when you tell a story that is riveting and truthful and heartfelt. And that’s the heart of our field, and that’s why I really love to teach budding journalists. All you’re giving them is permission to be curious, painfully aware of what’s going on in the world — to be bold, to be adventurous, to be honest and to really live a life on the edge, and that’s sometimes where you want to be.
Your first non-fiction book, Surrendering to Motherhood, prompted a lot of criticism among the feminist community. How has that affected your writing? Well, the truth about controversy is it’s a wonderful thing. I mean, I was accused of abandoning feminism. I shared a podium with Betty Friedan here at AU and we had a very testy exchange, and she said something to me about setting the women’s movement back 50 years. The core of Surrendering to Motherhood is that when we as liberated, smart, professional women make the choice to have children, then we can choose to stay home for a few years and raise those children and still not be abandoning feminism. So for me to get a lot of feminist critique was good because it caused all the journalists to want to write about it. And also it really gave me an opportunity to get my point across, which is: I’m a committed feminist and I am to this day. When I was staying home with those four little children, I also kept a finger on the artery of my life. I wrote books, and I didn’t, like, abandon my career and bake cookies. But if I had abandoned my career and baked cookies for three or four years, the core principle of feminism is not to look to society to define you. It’s about an independent choice defined by your own self and soul that makes you feel powerful as a woman.
What have you found to be the secret to your success as a journalist? There are really only two questions in life. Here’s the deal: do you want more money or do you want more time? And for me I always wanted more time. Really the root of my success is a strong support
system of family. Family is however you define family — it might be a structure of best friends or it might be a warm and loving community from your university — but the most successful people come from a really solid anchor and core of support and love.
Do you think you would be equally successful without that family structure? My family has been the core of my writing. You know, I’m interested in a lot of things. I’m interested in empowering women, and I think one of the secrets of empowering women is to have work you love and people you love. Motherhood — for me at least — has been the most empowering. And teaching. Being able to give people this selfknowledge and self-esteem to go, ‘Wow! I can do journalism!’
What’s the difference between journalism 30 years ago and journalism today? Well, my Twitter-freak, social networking friends are going to shoot me, but I feel that the core tenets of journalism are not going to change: tell the truth, the truth takes time, ask great questions and listen hard for the answers. Be skeptical, be curious, be accurate, be responsible, be passionate. And know the worst thing you can be in journalism is wrong.
How have you found writing about trending topics and relationships is different than daily journalism? I’ve done it all — I’ve written daily beat, I’ve covered plane crashes, drug busts. But I think what’s different is I get to think about not what people are doing but why people are doing it. I’m not a five W’s, ‘Who, what, when, where, why,’ type of person. I’m a ‘Who, what, when, where, why, and who the hell are you?’
What is your favorite interview as a journalist? I will always think of Queen Noor and sitting in the palace of Amman, and she was pregnant with her fourth child. Her husband was with Yassar Arafat in the next room and she didn’t like him at all. The King of Jordan was having a really important political conversation 12 feet from us and I was sitting with the Queen of Jordan, our feet tucked underneath our tushes, drinking orange juice from silver goblets and eating almonds. I was talking to her about where she shopped and how she feels about motherhood and how she sometimes flies in McDonald’s for the kids and I remember thinking ‘Wow, I just can’t believe this is my job. I can’t believe I do this for a living.’ Some people sit on their butts and do legal briefs. I’m not knocking their professions, but I’d rather be drinking orange juice with the Queen.
Tell me about your next book. I have a fifth book coming out in October from Penguin Books called The Secret Lives of Wives. I interviewed 200 women across the country over the course of two years who had been married anywhere from 15 to 70 years and asked them, ‘What does it take to be married?’ Some of them revert to naughty behavior, but most of them were like ‘You need these five things to be married.’ s
Kelcie Pegher is a junior studying journalism.
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JABS AND JEST
APRIL 2011
Innovation, wit and cogent wisdom
AWOL NEWSWIRE GOOGLE GOES TOO FAR?
T ANONYMOUS MAKES A NAME FOR ITSELF
F
or members of a group that has adopted the moniker “Anonymous,” the world’s most powerful computer hackers have certainly taken on a higher profile role lately. Regarded as nothing more than a bunch of Internet pranksters until recently, a series of high-profile hacktivist attacks and public statements forced many pundits to take the group seriously. When MasterCard, Visa and PayPal ceased donation transactions to WikiLeaks, Anonymous briefly took down their websites and services in retribution. To show solidarity during the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings, the websites of said governments were the frequent targets of attacks. Then a cyber-security firm claimed to have identified the leaders of the group, but Anonymous responded swiftly and harshly. The firm and employees’ internal emails, confidential information and financial data were all publicized and sabotaged, prompting some employees of the company to go into hiding. More recently, Anonymous published confidential data from Bank of America detailing their efforts to stop WikiLeaks and Anonymous from releasing information about the company. Much is unclear about Anonymous, except that they are stepping into the political arena, and the use of the Internet as a tool of free expression and organization is central to their fight. As their recently published manifesto says, “Information is Power. Share the Power of the Information with other like-minded individuals. The more people we represent, the more Power we have, both as individuals and as Anonymous.” - Mike Lally
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he process of writing a research paper in college has been revolutionized with the advent of the Internet. While college students of previous generations would have pored over physical books for hours, it is possible today to conduct almost any research without leaving a computer. Google has recognized this trend as potential profit — they’ve uploaded fifteen million books onto GoogleBooks, an eBook database first launched in 2005. The Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers sued Google almost immediately after GoogleBooks was launched, claiming that Google’s “digitalization of books” would infringe countless copyright laws, according to NPR. Google eventually settled with the Guild, offering $125 million for rights to continue building a digital, online library while providing a cut of the money to copyright holders. Following the settlement, however, New York Circuit Judge Denny Chin stated that the settlement would “simply go too far,” affording Google a sizeable competitive advantage. Chin cited no specific infringement, indicating instead that, in general, the settlement condoned Google’s “wholesale copying of copyrighted works without permission” and could potentially damage many copyright agreements. Google has said it will work toward a different settlement with the Guild, one that will be accepted by the federal court system and will prevent the issue from going to trial. - Zac Deibel
WORLD’S SMARTEST DOG
A
psychologist in South Carolina and his border collie, Chaser, are pushing the limits of the possible, as they continue to expand the dog’s lexicon and syntax. The dog’s owner, John Pilley, began giving her new toys in 2004, and would name each one. Years later, when Chaser had learned over 1,000 names of different toys, Pilley moved on to more complicated grammar. He taught her three verbs (paw, nose and take), and demonstrated that when given a command to act on a certain toy, she suc-
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ceeded. Chaser also learned three common nouns (“ball,” “toy” and “Frisbee”) and was able to differentiate between the command to bring back a ball, toy or Frisbee from a collection of many toys and non-toys. Her success in attributing multiple names (i.e. “toy,” “ball” and whatever name for each specific ball) to individual objects is only overshadowed by her ability to logically deduce the names of unknown toys through the process of elimination. This calls not only for a re-thinking of the mental capabilities of dogs, but of all animals. Perhaps our perception of their intelligence has been hindered by our own inabilities to come up with innovative ways to communicate with other four-footed, feathered or finned friends. -John Bly
MLK MEMORIAL
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new memorial dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is being constructed on the National Mall. The memorial will be located near the Tidal Basin, directly between the Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson memorials. The final dedication of the memorial, set to take place in August, will come more than 40 years after Alpha Phi Alpha, King’s fraternity at Boston University, proposed the idea following his assassination in 1968. Ever since Congress and President Clinton authorized Alpha Phi Alpha to build the monument in 1998, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., National Memorial Foundation has faced a great deal of red tape. Many protested the foundation’s choice of sculptor, Lei Yixin, from China, on the grounds that an American should be selected for the job and because of China’s poor human rights record. Furthermore, in order for the foundation to use his name, likeness and writings in the memorial, King’s family requested that royalties be paid to the King Center, the group dedicated to the advancement of Dr. King’s legacy. Despite these concerns, over $110 million has been raised by the foundation, as it works to preserve King’s legacy in our nation’s capital. -Ethan Miller
BEHIND THE SWIPES
CONVERSATIONS WITH BON APPÉTIT EMPLOYEES By Gustav Cappaert // Photo by Colin Crane
If the rumors are true, AU students graduate having survived at least one year of laxative-laced cafeteria food served by drug-addled ex-convicts. Scott Krajna, a sophomore, told us that federal law requires cafeterias serving over 5,000 people to add laxatives to check the risk of food poisoning. And not just laxatives. Baby laxatives. Of the rumor, Tariq Coles, a freshman, said, “I have reason to believe it.” For the record, there is no such law and Bon Appétit denied the rumor. Does Bon Appétit employ ex-convicts? Workers I interviewed acknowledged that there are some with a criminal past, but temporary and full-time employees submit to a background check. The persistence of that rumor speaks to a serious divide between Bon Appétit workers and the students they serve every day. In an attempt to bridge that divide, I spoke to three Bon Appétit workers about their jobs, ambitions and gripes.
Ana Carolina Ebanks Rodriguez In her native Honduras, Rodriguez was a public defender for the national government. For 12 years, she defended the accused until, in 2003, gang members threatened her and her family. She fled to Miami and, fearing for her life, ultimately sought political asylum in the US. Before she started at Bon Appétit, she spent two years working as a housekeeper for a family in Potomac, MD. When she asked for a day off, she was fired. Through a Honduran friend, Rodriguez found a job at Salsa, where she makes about $16,000 in a seven month session. With help from Cristina Rodriguez, an AU student she met through the CLASE program, she is gradually improving her English. She hopes to take an English equivalency exam on her way to pursuing a law degree. Rodriguez lives with her seven year-old son in Maryland.
Jerry Lee Lewis Lewis works in the back, washing pots and pans, but his attitude is up front. “I know all the basketball teams, volleyball teams, everybody knows me,” he said. Lewis gets close to students partly as a survival instinct. “A student can email and you get fired the next day,” he said, “but I’m good with all the students. I know their parents, their friends.” Three years ago, Lewis signed on with a temp agency, which is how most Bon Appétit employees start. Lewis pointed out that the workers in red are full-time while those in white are temps. Full-time seniority means priority when it comes to picking a job with Bon Appétit. TDR workers choose new positions every year, with different pay rates and responsibilities attached.
Walter The self-proclaimed “best player in the game,” Walter has been a sort of union representative for the temporary workers at Bon Appétit since 2008. Walter said he enjoys good relationships with full-time workers and management of the company, but com-
plained that permanent workers look down on temps. He admits that many temps last only a few days, here for the “free check.” Walter wants to help Bon Appétit improve their temp training classes.
Distanced politeness dominates the student-worker interaction. Neither party asks for a deeper relationship. Sure, students often complain that Tavern workers are cranky and workers sometimes feel that students are ungrateful. But for the most part, everything clicks along smoothly. There is potential for more. For a university striving for diversity, it doesn’t make sense to ignore the food service employees who interact with every student, every day. Starting conversations with people who seem invisible most of the time will build mutual respect and improve a currently lukewarm relationship. s
Gustav Cappaert is a junior studying political science.
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JABS AND JEST
Innovation, wit and cogent wisdom
THE AWOL BULLETIN BOARD Have something to say? Say it in AWOL. The Bulletin Board is designed to give a voice to AU clubs and organizations, but it’s open to everyone. We accept submissions of 250 words or less: send articles, press releases or diatribes to awolau@gmail.com.
MOCK TRIAL: WHAT IS IT?
D
o you know what it’s like to dedicate your life to the preparation of a trial over an incident that both sides know never happened? Well, there’s an activity on campus where exactly this takes place: Mock Trial. AU managed to field an unprecedented three teams of people who sacrificed many sleepless nights to the committed head coach, Professor Jessica Waters. The case this year was a civil case in which Andy Davis sued Happyland Toy Company for making a toy laced with GHB that his child swallowed. Each of the three teams prepared for a role as both the plaintiff and defense, and faced pitched battles in the courtroom over minute intricacies of the case. After months of practice, each team went to a regional competition where every team placed higher than any AU team in history. Our B team managed to rank high enough to go on to the Opening Round Championship Series, an accomplishment never before achieved by AU’s Mock Trial Team. After two intense days over the March 19 weekend, AU’s lawyers-intraining placed 24th and are now armed with the experience to beat next years’ competition and make a solid run at the national title.
NEW CLUB ALERT: AU PORCOLOMBIA
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U PorColombia is a new student organization whose overall goal is to shine a positive light on the beautiful country of Colombia. We want to raise awareness of the situation in Colombia, both positive and negative aspects alike, through academic, cultural and social events. In raising awareness, PorColombia seeks to break stereotypes and to share with both the AU and DC communities the diversity of Colombia. One of our many goals is to create and support networking activities with substantial involvement on academic, social, cultural and philanthropic activities. We aim to educate and raise awareness of present and future opportunities to build from abroad a stronger, safer and more dynamic Colombia. We hope to see you at our future events and meetings! – Cassie Morgan
– Matthias McCoy-Thompson
RUDE MECHANICALS SEASON WRAP-UP
R
ude Mechanicals has had a very strong 2010-2011 season. The season launched with Just the Two of Us: Shakespeare’s Best Pairs, the Rude Mechanicals’ variety show bringing together six scenes that highlight the relationships between some of the Bard’s most famous duos. E-Board Technical Director Becky Mezzanotte then directed The Maltese Bodkin, a thrilling modern Shakespearean adaptation that combined the film noir style à la Maltese Falcon with Shakespeare’s characters. Director Shannon Schenk brought together the annual winter show right before winter break. This year’s holiday play was Almost, Maine, a cute collection of loosely connected vignettes that provided a little insight into the heart of a small area in Maine too unorganized to incorporate itself into an actual town, hence the name “Al-
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most.” Spring semester started with a bang with Rude Mechanicals’ only full Shakespeare play of the season. Director Eliza Bertrand set her rendition of Twelfth Night in 1950s America in order to play with ideas of gender roles and expectations during an era that finally began addressing such taboo topics. And finally, as the grand finale of the season, David Marshall Bradshaw will be presenting his interpretation of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. This postmodern play follows the two minor courtiers in Hamlet, of whom nothing is heard after their very downplayed deaths, announced in the eponymous title of this play. This finale of the Rude Mechanicals’ 2010-2011 season will be performed in Kreeger Recital Hall on April 14, 15 and 16 at 9 p.m. with an additional matinee show at 2 p.m. on April 16. – Medha Marsten
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR BURMA
K
irk Acevedo is not your average AU senior. While most in his class are planning to get a job in the sector of their choice, Acevedo will trek 450 miles through Burma. Starting on Oct 15, 2011, Acevedo will walk from Mandalay to Rangoon, a trip that will take one month. Acevedo has dedicated the past few years of his life to Burma, and he is committed to making a statement for education in the country. In conjunction with his walk, Acevedo has started Scholarships for Burma, a non-profit organization through the Human Rights Action Center. He aims to raise $26,220 to provide college tuition for Ying Kawn Tai, a Burmese refugee who wishes to return to Burma as a teacher. Burma is a country that has suffered under dictatorial rule for decades, and by helping Acevedo help Ying, we can begin to make Burma a better place for all of its citizens. Scholarships for Burma is seeking donations large and small. But the best thing you can give us is your vocal support. Tell your friends about this campaign. At upcoming events hosted by Scholarships for Burma, we will be selling posters designed by Shepard Fairey (the man who brought you Obama’s HOPE posters and the OBEY Giant) of famous Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi for only $10. All proceeds go toward sending Ying to college and bringing Burma one step closer to freedom. More information about Scholarships for Burma can be found at www.scholarshipsforburma.com. Please like us on Facebook by searching Scholarships for Burma and follow us on Twitter @S4B2011. – Zachary Cohen
UP ALL NIGHT: AU RELAY FOR LIFE
T
he American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life is an inspiring event during which communities unite for a common goal: to find a cure for cancer. The events are held at high schools, colleges and other community locations and are between 12 and 24 hours long. At AU, the annual event is from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. in Bender Arena, and students stay up all night enjoying music, activities and friends, with at least one representative from each team walking the track the entire night. Why? Because cancer never sleeps, and so for one night, neither do we. It is a reminder that people who battle cancer do so 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is for these strong people that we relay. Although filled with
constant music and activities, the night is centered around celebration, remembrance and the desire to fight back. The evening progresses from a “survivor lap,” celebrating the victories of all cancer survivors, to a powerful luminaria ceremony, when participants take silent laps and remember those lost to cancer, to a final closing ceremony, reflecting our hope to inspire people to continue the fight against cancer. This year marked the third annual AU Relay For Life, which continues to grow each year. Over 700 students and community members united with a common hope in this truly inspiring event. Although there were many different reasons to be at the event, on Relay night, this campus came together to make a huge difference in one of the
Photo by Hannah Marin
most important fights of our generation. “Imagine a world with more birthdays. We’re making it happen.” – Corinne Abolafia
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