December 2013 the liberal arts besieged

The Hill Chapel Hill

GRADUATE JOB PROSPECTS 8

Political Review

ACADEMICS VS VOCATIONS 10

Vol. 13 Issue 3 December 2013

BOSNIAN EDUCATION 13

The Liberal Arts

The Hill Chapel Hill Political Review

Vol. 13 Issue 3 EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Jon Buchleiter, Brendan Cooley ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR Nikki Mandell INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Carol Abken NATIONAL EDITOR Richard Zheng STATE & LOCAL EDITOR Dain Clare ONLINE EDITORS Ethan Robertson, Nicholas Yetman, Emily Foster DESIGN EDITOR Mary Burke ASSISTANT DESIGN EDITOR Tyler Vahan TREASURER Tess Landon HEAD OF MARKETING Brian Braytenbah MARKETING STAFF Russell Davis, Ethan Robertson

STAFF WRITERS Grayson Berger, Camille Bossut, Brian Braytenbah, Elizabeth Brown, Nicholas James Coukoulis, Giulia Curcelli, David Farrow, Adriana Golindano, Jamie Huffman, Cori Johnson, Tess Landon, Sarah Lunenfeld, Conor Lynch, Ian McLin, Alex Montgomery, Katlyn Moseley, Hinal Patel, Sumeet Patwardhan, David Pingree, Samantha Sabin, Alexander Schober, Brian Shields, David Snedecor, Jessica Stone, Avani Uppalapati, Jennifer Waldkirch, Eishante Wilkes, Alfre Wimberley, Savannah Wooten, Matt Wotus COLUMNISTS/BLOGGERS Brian Bartholomew, Camille Bossut, Derrick Flakoll, Allie Higgins, Robert McCauley, Nancy Smith, Zachary Williams ART STAFF Rini Bahethi, Karishma Lalchandani, Jennifer Waldkirch, David Wright DESIGN STAFF Giulia Curcelli, Julia Meder

FACULTY ADVISOR Ferrel Guillory

The Hill - Chapel Hill Political Review 3514E Frank Porter Graham Student Union Chapel Hill, NC 27514 thehillpr@gmail.com This publication was paid for in part by Student Activities Fees at a cost of approximately $2.00 per copy

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Cover art by Rini Bahethi

From the Editors On October 25, 2013 the Pope Center released a report criticizing the curriculum of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The report is representative of a broader effort to reevaluate the purpose of the U.S. higher education system. Important questions are being raised about the role of our education system in preparing graduates to enter the workforce in an increasingly globalized word. As members of a university that prides itself on a strong liberal arts curriculum, we chose to examine some of the particularly poignant issues related to higher education within our state, nation and around the globe.

Jon Buchleiter & Brendan Cooley

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Table of Contents

Photo by: Jon Buchleiter

State

6 7 7 8 9

Defending the Humanities An Incoherent Curriculum?

Privatizing Job Recruitment Job Prospects Persisting Protests?

International

4 5 10 12 13 14

Around the World - Global Campuses On Point - Exporting Education Academics vs Vocations Segregated Schools Schoolhouse Terror Sectarian System

National

15 16

Role of the Web Authority over Education

Perspectives

17 18 19 19

Book Review — The Allure of Order Debating Gen Eds Mind the Gap Liberal Arts Is....

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International

Around the World American universities export education

Texas A&M Peace University Nazareth, Israel MSU Dubai Dubai, UAE

NYU Shanghai Shanghai, China

Yale-NUS College Singapore

Texas A&M Peace Unveristy

Texas A&M established a campus called Peace University in the city of Nazareth in Israel in fall of this year.

The project has been headed

by Bob Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M system. The campus will enroll up to 5,000 students comprised mainly of local residents. University officials hope the school will educate both Arabs and Jews and foster peace between the two groups. Peace University’s success will rely onf growth and high applicant rates in the coming months and years.

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Michigan State University Dubai

Michigan State launched its campus in Dubai in 2008.

By the 2010-2011 academic year they expected to draw between 400 and 800 students.

Instead, only 85 had enrolled and MSU chose to cancel the undergraduate program.

While cutting the undergraduate programs is a tough blow to MSU’s efforts in Dubai the university has not given up in the region. They continue to host graduate programs at a facility hosting a consortium of 30 other universities from around the globe.

Yale-NUS College

Yale has partnered with the National University of Singapore to establish a highly selective school on the island of Singapore. The effort is Yale’s first satellite campus and in its first year the school attracted over 11,000 applicants.

Of this applicant pool around 4% were accepted and of these approximately 150 matriculated to the school. While these numbers are promising, Yale continues to come under fire for its decision to base this campus in Singapore, a country known for stifling freedom of speech and expression.

NYU Shanghai

The NYU- Shanghai campus is part of New York University’s global network with its first class beginning studies in fall of 2013. In its inaugural class the school welcomed just fewer than 300 students half of which are from China and half from around the globe. NYU’s initiative in Shanghai hopes to grow to approximately 2,000 students.

Furthermore, local government support meanrs the new campus promises to generate both increased profits and prestige for NYU as it expands its global presence.

International

On Point American universities expand abroad, with decidedly mixed results David Snedecor, Staff Writer

In 1990, only 10 American universities had international branch campuses; now, there are over 80 such campuses located in 39 countries across the globe.

This prodigious growth has been fueled by the increasingly competitive nature of the higher education landscape, as universities fight to stay relevant in an era of globalization. Their hope is that the branch campuses will raise their international profile and enhance their prestige, which will in turn allow them to attract more top-tier international faculty and tuition-paying students.

In addition, these campuses serve as a source of much-needed revenue, as many countries have been willing to foot most of the bill in exchange for an American university, still the gold standard in high education, within their borders.

University leaders, obsessed with this glamorous vision of their university’s future, have spent the past decade feverishly increasing their global presence and so far, the results are less than promising.

Many institutions have enthusiastically rushed into these agreements without fully thinking them through, and have been forced to cancel as a result. Both Michigan State University and George Mason University recently opened branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates, and both closed their doors within three years of opening.

Even campuses that have seen modest success, such as those in Dubai’s International Academic City, are suffering from disappointing enrollment numbers. These projects are also often get

Photo courtesty of Mitch Altman

bogged down by unforeseen construction and regulatory delays. For instance, Duke University’s Kunshan campus in China was originally supposed to start accepting students in 2012 but now is scheduled to open in 2014.

Furthermore, these enterprising universities are facing some intense criticism from within. Many alumni feel that branch campuses, with their limited course offerings and troubling lack of quality tenured instructors, will dilute the value of their elite degrees. Many faculty members have serious misgivings towards the countries into which are expanding. Yale University’s venture to establish a campus in Singapore has been vehemently protested by its faculty, who point to the country’s well-documented discrimination against women and LGBT minorities. Singapore also does not tolerate any sort of political dissent, which has forced Yale to prevent all political protests and political party

organizations from forming on its campus there. This move, so clearly at odds with the university’s liberal values, illustrates the daunting challenges that come with exporting American education to other countries.

More and more university leaders are starting to understand those challenges, and have come to regard international expansion as nothing but a cash grab that comes at the expense of a university’s integrity, values, and quality. There were enough such leaders at NYU for them to vote John Sexton, the president, out of office after he spent a decade attempting to make NYU into a truly global university. Some universities, however, such as UNC-Chapel Hill, recognized the downside from the beginning and chose to abstain from this educational gold rush. Although some of these international campuses might eventually flourish, it’s starting to look like that was the right decision.

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North Carolina

Illustration by: Karishma Lalchandani

Defending the Humanities Politicians stress science over the arts, but higher education leaders are pushing back Alexander Schober, Staff Writer Over the summer, a major committee, the Commission of Humanities and Social Sciences, was formed. Their goal was to spread the importance of the “endangered” liberal arts education to the government and institutions by increasing research funding around the country. One of the co-chairmen of this committee was the president of Duke University, Richard H. Brodhead. Brodhead told the New York Times, “People talk about humanities as if they’re a waste of time. But this facile negativism forgets that many of the country’s most successful and creative people had exactly this kind of education.”

The report released by the Commission of Humanities and Social Sciences claims that the Obama Administration is overemphasizing the value of science, thus diminishing the number of valuable minds established by a well-rounded, liberal arts

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education. The dean of the School of Education, Dr. Bill McDiarmid, agrees with this sentiment, and adds, “The humanities provide us with pathways to understanding who we are and where we came from, as well as the skills and tools to think about where we should be going as society. Literature, the arts, philosophy, foreign languages, and other humanistic fields open up new worlds to us and help us see our experiences from new perspectives, increasing our understanding of ourselves and others and deeply enriching our daily lives.”

Ironically, President Obama received a liberal arts education himself.

In fact, most politicians studied at liberal arts colleges. Governor McCrory is one of these politicians with a liberal arts background, but in January he blasted liberal arts education. He told Bill Bennett, a former U.S. Secretary of Education: “If you want to take gender

studies that’s fine, go to a private school and take it. But I don’t want to subsidize that if that’s not going to get someone a job.” This statement resulted in a firestorm of criticism towards McCrory and several small protests at UNC-system schools.

According to The New York Times article, only 7.6% of degrees awarded to students graduating in 2010 were in the humanities. At Harvard University, one of the top liberal arts institutions in the world, the number of students majoring in liberal arts fields fell from 36% to 30% over the last 50 years. Although that drop is not all that staggering for a long time period, it certainly shows a trend, especially in a flagship school of liberal arts education.

However, the value of a liberal arts education cannot be overlooked. The other co-chairman of the Commission of Humanities and Social Sciences, John W. Rowe, former chairman of the energy company Exelon, emphasizes the pragmatic values of humanities. In a survey, he claims that 51% of business leaders regard a liberal arts education as “very important,” and 74% of these leaders “unequivocally want it for their children.”

North Carolina

An Incoherent Curriculum?

Professors, students, respond angrily to Pope Center report on UNC curriculum Jennifer Waldkirch, Staff Writer The University’s curriculum is coming under fire by a report by a conservative think tank, the John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy, which calls the general education requirements “far from optimal” and “incoherent.” The Pope Center argues too much time is spent by students in classes that may not prepare them for careers and, more important to their argument, pushes an agenda that is too liberal. The current system of education, they say, “tends to promote particular political beliefs and intellectual trendiness.”

The writers of the report suggest that required courses be based in a more Western or “American foundation.” One alternative suggested is a required political course that “would address students’ ignorance, so that when they vote or discuss concepts such as capitalism or liberty, they actually know what they’re

voting or talking about.”

Yet critics of the report believe that the writers have their own political agenda. The report lists a selection of UNC classes that the authors believe represent a misguided direction in higher education.

The list includes classes like Bioethics in Afro-American Studies, The History of Hip Hop Culture, The Ethnohistory of Native American Women, and Sex and Gender in Society. Many of the programs listed focus on racism and gender issues.

While the report from the Pope center argues that “a good general education program should elevate a student’s sense of what it means to be moral, good, or just,” advocates for UNC’s curriculum argue that’s just what the programs offer.

In response to criticism of programs like hers, Robin Gary, a professor of Sex and Gender in Society and head of the sociology department at UNC, argues

that “sociology and women’s studies are important because they examine the world we all live in and teach us to question what is viewed as ‘natural’...I invite the authors of the report who feel that this topic is ‘trivial,’ to come to my class, speak to my students, and see just exactly how and why this should be a required course and not just an elective.”

Cassandra Hartblay and Maggie Morgan-Smith, co-instructors for UNITAS, an anthropology course that “explores issues of social and cultural diversity,” asked their students what they thought of the Pope Center report. Students “were personally offended that their hard work to learn about diversity, oppression, and serving the broader community as citizens would be considered trivial.”

As conservatism in North Carolina begins to target public university system, there is some worry that the funding and support behind courses like Gary’s may disappear. Supporters of UNC’s curriculum believe that diversified education is a step toward an equal and fair society and removing courses that reflect this ideal would be a major step back.

Privatizing Job Recruitment McCrory seeks to turn parts of Commerce Department into nonprofit corporation Hinal Patel, Staff Writer With a still improving economy and a high unemployment rate, NC Governor Pat McCrory plans to implement a new job recruitment policy. He hopes that this new plan will combat the state’s economic problems. While this seems like a great idea on the surface, his plan has drawn a great deal of criticism as this type of policy has failed in many other states.

According to Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker, who unveiled the new plan, North Carolina has lost more than 40% of its manufacturing jobs

since 2000. During the rollout of the policy, she went on to discuss why it would be beneficial for the state.

The plan seeks to move various divisions of the Department of Commerce into a public-private non-profit corporation. Supporters believe that this will allow for a more coordinated and structured way in which businesses can be recruited to come to North Carolina. They also believe that this plan will make it easier for businesses to expand. As a result of this, many commerce department employees will begin

working for a new nonprofit at the start of the new-year.

Critics claim that this plan has had little positive impact in the states that have implemented this sort of program.

In fact, they claim that this has led to the abuse of taxpayer money and has allowed for little accountability. One such example is Indiana. While Indiana has one of the best such implemented plans in the country, the state nonetheless has been criticized for allegations of bribery.

Decker and other officials say that they are aware of the pitfalls and will put the necessary restrictions in place to avoid abuse of the system. She believes that this will be different from other states and that it will truly be a solution to the economic problems facing the state.

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North Carolina

Job Prospects STEM careers on the rise, but students, professors find value in broad education Matt Wotus, Staff Writer With the recent hikes in tuition among public universities around the nation, liberal arts education is increasingly criticized. By contrast, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields are seen as more and more valuable.

Unemployment rates indicate those who major in STEM fields will be better off than those who obtain a degree in the liberal arts, according to a 2012 report by Georgetown University. Among recent college graduates who majored in mathematics and engineering, the unemployment rate was 6 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively. In comparison, the unemployment rate of those who majored in humanities and liberal arts was 11.1 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively.

While having an easier time finding a job and a better salary are both benefits of obtaining a degree within STEM fields, the benefits of getting a liberal arts degree are present as well, just not glaring. In a survey by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, among over 300 CEO’s and non-profit group leaders, a majority said they would recommend

McCrory, questioned the value of certain liberal arts disciplines earlier this year. Dr. Courtney Rivard, professor of English, said she disagrees McCrory’s statements because the humanities are the basis of any career path a student chooses to take. “I would say that any job that you take requires cirtical thinking, and without humanities teaching students those fundamentals of how to understand an argument and how to construct your own argument, you’re not going to be able to succeed in any career path you might take,” she explained.

In contrast to UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University is a university that takes a more occupation-focused approach to education, such as the new UAV program, where undergraduate students get to build their own drones, and take classes on configuration or remote sensing. Mary Claire Clark is a medical textile technology major at NCSU, and she agrees with McCrory, as she said she doesn’t think the government should subsidize something like gender studies because it isn’t practical.

“I think the academy is supposed to teach students about the world, their place in it, and the career they choose to have.”

—English Professor Courtney Rivard getting a liberal arts degree in the 21st century. Of those surveyed, around 80 percent said knowledge in both the liberal arts and STEM fields is important, regardless of choice of major.

North Carolina’s governor, Pat

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“Learning to function in the real world [and] getting a job,” Clark said, “are the benefits of being at a practical approach school.”

But Dr. Rivard doesn’t think higher education should be just about training

Unemployment Rates of College Graduates:

6% 7.5% 11.1%

Mathematics Majors

Engineering Majors

Humanities Majors

people to get a job. “I think the academy is supposed to teach students about the world, their place in it, and the career they choose to have,” she said.

Kathryn Grace Almon, a freshman biology major at UNC, agrees with Dr. Rivard. “While getting a job is the stereotypical end goal, people come to college for the experience to prepare for a job and to become the best citizen of their community,” Almon said.

Almon said she decided to attend a liberal arts school as a biology major is because you end up combining the liberal arts with the STEM field. “I felt Carolina would give me an opportunity to study everything I wanted to…and not just know how molecules interact, but how people interact on a global scale,” Almon added.

North Carolina

Persisting Protests?

Moral Mondays organizers continue protests through other means Elizabeth Brown, Staff Writer This summer, the phrase “Moral Monday”—the name given to the weekly nonviolent protest staged by a coalition of progressive organizations—seemed to be on everyone’s lips. The movement put North Carolina in the national spotlight—so where is it now?

While there are no longer thousands of protesters marching and holding signs ouside of the Legislature Building in Raleigh many of the organizers behind these marches are still fighting. “To begin, Moral Monday is far from an isolated event,” says Matthew Hickson, a community organizer working with North Carolina Student Power Union, a student advocacy group representing the UNC

system. “Moral Mondays were merely an escalation, in response to the dire conditions in NC, of the work that the HKonJ [Historic Thousands on Jones Street] coalition has been participating in for some time.” Hickson and other NCSPU members attended multiple Moral Monday demonstrations over the summer.

The Historic Thousands on Jones Street coalition, commonly referred to as HKonJ, is a group organized since 2006 under the leadership of Rev. William Barber, president of North Carolina’s NAACP chapter.

It combines the efforts of liberal organizers, community and religious leaders and other influential progressives with the goal of implementing a detailed fourteen-point agenda in the state’s legislature. Up until the 2012 elections, the group had had great success, passing legislation including the Racial Justice Act, expansion of same-day voting, and a bill providing compensation to victims of the state’s eugenics program.

However, the 2012 elections brought an end to the slow tide of liberal reforms, as Republicans swept up the General Assembly and Republican

Pat McCrory won the governor’s seat.

As they began to implement intensely conservative policy, from cutting Medicaid and passing voter I.D laws to restricting abortion access and repealing the Racial Justice Act, HKonJ created the Moral Monday movement began in reaction.

“It’s possible to understand the current position of Moral Mondays as being just a piece on the timeline of the HKonJ work,” says Hickson. Indeed, smaller Moral Monday demonstrations have been scheduled across the state all throughout the fall, including a rally in Charlotte that drew

“[HKonJ] is far from a temporary or dying movement” -Matthew Hickson

an estimated two thousand protesters.

Hickson reports that HKonJ’s eighth annual march, occurring this February, is expected to exceed its largest ever turnout by at least twofold. “That is far from a temporary or dying movement,” he says. “HKonJ has lasted longer that two-thirds of small businesses survive.”

While the protests that saw over 900 protesters peacefully arrested is no longer at the center of national attention, it’s far from over. As the first wave of arrested protesters begin to go to trial, the movement may once again draw attention. Either way, the organizers of Moral Mondays aren’t showing signs of giving up. As Rev. Barber stated in an interview with NPR after the final Moral Monday rally, harkening the words of Dr. King, “Our fight is not momentary. It has a long view. We still believe the moral lock of the Illustration by: David Wright universe bends towards justice.”

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International

v

American and German education systems provide alternative pathways to economic success

The American public education system assumes that the same educational experience can enrich students with varying backgrounds and interests.

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David Farrow, Staff Writer For a country so focused on freedom, the United States offers little choice in regards to public education. With the exception of subject-intensive schools, the American public education system assumes that the same educational experience can enrich students with varying backgrounds and interests. This model places great value on higher education in a university setting.

The American system exists in stark contrast to the German education system. The German education model provides students with the choice between the traditional path and a specialized, vocational focused path. Within the German model, students not interested in or qualified for university studies can opt into a program combining specified, in-classroom training with on-site job experience.

These programs balance education and work, mandating that students spend three to four days a week in the classroom with the rest of the time spent working. The areas in which a student can work are not restricted to manufacturing or engineering jobs, instead encompassing jobs in sales, marketing, shipping, agriculture, pharmacology, and accounting in addition to traditional blue-collar jobs.

The German model has provided tangible benefits to both students and society as a whole. Both student entry and graduation rates have been rising in higher education. In 2012, 42 percent of German youths entered into a traditional, academic-oriented higher education institution and 21 percent of young people matriculated into vocational training programs, compared to only 26 and 15 percent in the respective categories in 1995. The increased entry also carries with it an increased graduation rate, with 30 percent of German youths graduating

International

s

from academic programs and 14 percent completing vocational training compared to only 14 percent graduation for academic programs and 13 percent completion of vocational training in 1995.

The success of the education system has translated to diminishing unemployment rates throughout Germany. Focusing on German youths, the unemployment rate for German youths was only 7.7 percent in February 2013, much lower than the 16.2 percent in the United States and the 23.9 percent in the rest of the Eurozone. Through giving students a choice and teaching the knowledge and skills necessary to seamlessly integrate into the work force, German public education has made a positive impact on the lives of young Germans by engaging them in the education process and opening up vocational opportunities.

Despite its apparent success, the German model has not gained traction in the United States.

Although technical schools and community colleges attempt to provide vocational training, American culture is still resistant to the German system and looks down on vocational training as a fallback for those who have failed in higher education. The German educational system fulfills the needs of many students, but the U.S. system continues to emphasize the value of a university-centered higher education. With the median annual earnings of a high school graduate at $26,000, about half of the $50,000 of the average man with a high school diploma 50 years ago, traditional public high schools alone do not ensure economic success for many Americans. College may be both financially unfeasible and too academically rigorous for many students with dropout rates rising to 40 percent and the number of graduates burdened with debt increasing from 23 to 29 percent in the last ten years. However, the benefits of a college education in the American system are still demonstrated by the economic success of most graduates. College graduates on average earn approximately a $1 million more over their lives than those who possess a high school diploma.

While the German education system is effective at ensuring a level of well being for a wide array of students the American system continues to offer economic opportunity to college graduates.

The German education model provides students the choice between the traditional path and a specialized, vocational focused path.

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International

Segregated Schools Bosnia and Herzegovina faces significant challenges to education integration Savannah Wooten, Staff Writer For the citizens of BosniaHerzegovina who lived through massive conflict and ethnic cleansing in the early 1990s, day-to-day life takes on an eerie “calm after the storm” feeling. While life operates smoothly on the surface, citizens remember the pain and devastation of the war between the country’s three primary ethnicities after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. Divides fall between the Muslim-majority Bosniaks and Catholic Croats. Even now, 20 years after the reconciliatory peace accords brought ceasefire, nationalistic overtones continue to mar the future of the recovering nation.

One of the most apparent remaining divisions lies in the Federation of BosniaHerzegovina’s public education system.

Students throughout the country receive their education through a program colloquially termed “two schools under one roof ”. In short, students officially attend the same school but are taught separate curricula based on their ethnic identity.

BBC recently recorded the realities of the country’s educational separation in a documentary of a day in the lives of two young girls in Kiseljac, BosniaHerzegovina. The girls live close-by and are the same age, yet have never had the chance to meet in school. The first student, Nada, heads to school for the first half of the day and learns geography, math, the Bosnian language, a foreign language, and religion. She has classes, lunch, free time, and after-school activities with the other students in her class, all of who are ethnically Bosnian and predominantly Muslim like herself.

While Nada’s classes are ending, Mina, the second student, prepares for

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Croats Bosniaks Serbs Map courtesty of Wikimedia Commons

the next shift of the school day. The second shift is reserved for Catholicmajority Croatian students, where Mina is educated by and with other Croats.

Mina’s native language class is taught in “Croatian” rather than “Bosnian,” a negligible distinction due to the fact speakers of the two languages can clearly and easily understand each other and are often lumped together in a pan-Slavic tongue: Bosnian-Serbian-Croatian. Students are taught different histories designed by political leaders to favorably portray each ethnicity’s role in historical events.

This system was once an innovative solution established to help refugees ease back into their former lives. The “two schools under one roof ” phenomenon began as a strategy to lessen tension and to return displaced children to their interrupted education as soon as possible.

Immediately after the war, the Operation for the Security and Co-operation of Europe (OSCE) suggested children throughout the war-torn country return to school as soon as possible. While parents supported the idea of returning their children to their education, they did not endorse sending their children to school alongside the children of different ethnicities, their recent opponents. Despite the appeal that educating their children together would provide for a more stable future, it was decided students would

return to an altered school system that separated pupils into two primary groups by way of last name, ethnicity, dialect, and religion.

Although some parents and politicians argue educational separation is practical way of reducing ethnic tension, the international community and a wide majority of Bosnian citizens condemn the system and urge for reform. According to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Claude Kiffer of the OSCE Education Department warns the segregation of a generation will ultimately contribute to the exacerbation of existing tensions. The current federal minister of education, Damir Masic, agrees with Kiffer’s predictions. He states the current education system is “one of the biggest shames of the Bosnian society today” and that the ministry is “determined to put an end to this discriminatory policy.”

Masic and those attempting to bring change to the nation’s policies are fighting an uphill battle. Bosnia-Herzegovina faces many other pressing policy issues on the long road to full recovery. Finding a place for education reform in the national agenda may prove difficult. Regardless of the importance of desegregation and reintegration of the nation’s schools, it may take years before politicians will finally find a permanent solution for the country’s long lasting remedy-gone-wrong.

International

Schoolhouse Terror North African terrorists concentrate efforts on Western institutions in the region Alex Montgomery, Staff Writer In recent years, terrorist attacks directed against schools and other governmental institutions have disrupted various North African nations, particularly Nigeria. Radical Islamic organizations such as al-Shabab, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram have declared war on secular government and Western education. This past September, a bombing by al-Qaeda against a Christian church resulted in the deaths of nearly one hundred people. The al-Shabab-executed attack on Nairobi’s Westgate mall killed dozens of innocent shoppers.

A distinguishing aspect of these terrorist organizations is the diversification of their targets. The goal of these terrorist organizations has extended beyond interreligious warfare into the realm of government, with attacks directed against those associated with secular government and education.

The Nigerian-based organization Boko Haram has embodied these tactics. For years, Boko Haram, which translates to “Western education is sin,” has taken to brutal and ruthless acts of terror in order to spread its ideology. The organization’s most recent attack attracting worldwide attention occurred in late September, when militants invaded dormitories at Yobe State College of Agriculture and killed more than forty students.

According to The New York Times, Ahmed Bedu, a local, noted, “the bodies are too many … there is fear and anxiety … and panic in the faces of the people.” The priority for authorities in

Nigeria is a matter of prevention and motivation. Those such as Governor Ibrahim Gaidam have claimed, “This is not a religious war,” for “nobody can explain what they [Boko Haram] want.” According to former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, Boko Haram is “looking toward the creation of God’s kingdom on earth through violence against those they see as Islam’s enemies.” Institutions not based in sharia law have become their prime target.

Some of Boko Haram’s main targets are Western-based institutions, thus making targets of the educational and secular judicial systems on which healthy governments and development depend. Such attacks are crippling for the Nigerian education system. Parents hesitate to send their children to get a formal education, and schools being forcibly closed in order to abate terror threats and avoid the necessity for counter-insurgencies.

As the assault on the liberal arts education festers in the United States, it is worth noting this challenge pales in comparison to the extreme threat radical Islam poses to the larger notion of Western education in areas such as Nigeria.

Illustration by: David Wright

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International

Sectarian System Divisions in Lebanon raise questions about political stability Camille Bossut, Staff Writer Many of the sectarian tensions fueling the civil war in Syria also exist in Lebanon, which is highly sensitive to the political developments of its neighbors. Lebanon’s unique parliamentary republic, known as the political confessional system, showcases an attempt to balance sectarian tensions within a democratic system.

Despite the historical reasoning behind the confessional system, many Lebanese today question its viability and are exploring possibilities for reform. The dissolution of the confessional system could allow for better democratic representation and provide incentives for coalition building across sects.

Lebanon, the only Middle Eastern country with a Christian head of state, uses the political confessional system to curb sectarian violence through institutionalizing power sharing among its 18 recognized religious sects. Under this system, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the parliament a Shi’a Muslim.

While this system was put into place to ensure peace, in practice it is shown to hinder cooperation among politicians and results in ineffective governance. The confessional system values political stability at all costs, even at the expense of efficient governance by creating divisive factions that sometimes find it difficult to work together. It also undermines unity and cohesion through the rigid categorization of citizens along religious lines, forcing them to identity with a specific religion and vote in accordance with their professed faith.

This fragmented system legitimizes and institutionalizes religious sectar-

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ianism. Yet despite these problems, Lebanon maintains confessionalism partly because Maronite Christians have been hesitant to change the system, as it would force them to compete against other sects for power that has been historically theirs.

Many Lebanese fear attempting to change the system would risk political instability. The framework for the confessional system was laid in 1946 at the country’s independence from France, and established a parliamentary republic based on religious lines. It was solidified during the Saudi-sponsored Taif Accord of 1989, which officially ended its fifteen-yearlong sectarian civil war and cemented its sectarian divisions. While the Taif Accord slightly adjusted representa-

Beirut tend to be much wealthier than Muslims living on the outskirts and in the countryside. This economic inequality increases the chances of resurgent strife.

Despite its flaws, political confessionalism is intended to distribute power among its diverse ethnoreligious landscape. According to Said Sanadiki, election program adviser for the U.N. in Lebanon, “sect divides Lebanon, but if you took sect away, the country would collapse.” The confessional system guarantees minorities a voice in government while preventing excessive foreign influence from affecting government decisions.

In light of ongoing events in Syria threatening to spill over into Lebanon, it is potentially dangerous to sacrifice the country’s fragile political stability by attempting to reform the political system.

While political stability provides the foundation for the Lebanese confessional system, it barely achieves and sometimes fails to uphold its

While this system was put into place to ensure peace, in practice it is shown to hinder cooperation among politicians and results in ineffective governance. tion for Muslims to 5:5 as opposed to 5:6 for Christians, the system still remains unrepresentative to the twothirds majority Muslim population.

Additionally, an upsurge of violence in late 2006 instigated by Hezbollah threatened to drag the country into yet another civil war. Fighting factions were invited to Qatar to negotiate the 2008 Doha Agreement, resulting in widespread relief throughout the Lebanese population.

Lastly, socioeconomic differences in Lebanon tend to fall along ethnoreligious lines—Christians living in

purpose. According to UNC senior and scholar of Lebanese electoral politics Joël Hage, “Lebanon’s young adult population is overwhelmingly in support of overhauling the electoral system. There is little consensus about what the reformed system should look like; however, a majority of young adults from all religious and non-religious affiliations do believe a shift away from confessionalism is necessary.” Given the situation in Syria, it is unlikely the population will support drastic political change until the contention subsides.

National

Role of the Web MOOCs and other forms of online education expanding in popularity Giulia Curcelli, Staff Writer Marketing, guitar, geriatric care, computer programming—formerly skills requiring in-person education, are now available for free in the form of massive open online courses, or MOOCs. YouTube has also become a platform for educational content, providing a wealth of creative, accessible material. Online learning options available to students today are rapidly gaining both popularity and potential. Still, many scrutinize the effectiveness of these forms of education.

Online learning can transform education, but its tools must be used strategically to create optimal outcomes.

Many of the nation’s top universities including Harvard, Princeton, MIT, and UC Berkeley are enrolling thousands through MOOCs. According to Educause Review Online, a typical course offered through Coursera, founded by Stanford University professors, enrolls between 40,000 and 60,000 students. These classes reach students across the globe, providing job retraining, teaching marketable

skills, remedying potential gaps in one’s knowledge, or supplementing a traditional university education.

However, the Educause study also reports only 50 to 60 percent of students who enroll actually begin the course. Only 15 to 20 percent complete peer-graded assignments, and only 5 percent of those enrolled complete the course. These numbers call the effectiveness of MOOCs into question, regardless of growing popularity.

Time acknowledges universities hesitancy to offer transferable credit for MOOCs because of limited data about their effectiveness. Doing so would reduce tuition costs for motivated students struggling to pay the increasing cost of college. Yet, in a study from the Chronicle of Higher Education, 72 percent of professors teaching MOOCs do not believe students who complete their online classes should receive formal credit. Nonetheless, most respondents view MOOCs as a positive development. While their effectiveness remains under scrutiny, MOOCs

have potential to alter the landscape of learning.

More informal content available on YouTube is establishing itself as a creative and unique form of learning. Jeffery Greene, professor at the UNC School of Education cautions against online video as the sole source of teaching because it students to actively seek out more information on a subject. However, students increasingly use YouTube to understand class concepts and teachers use them to engage students. Khan Academy, a prevalent educational channel, teaches everything from elementary school math to organic chemistry, declaring its mission to change “education for the better by providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere.” Other channels such as Crash Course take a different approach, utilizing humor and pop culture references to engage audiences in lessons about science, history, and literature. While less formal, online videos can supplement one’s knowledge. However, Greene warns access is not universal, “often the students who struggle to access these resources through non-digital means will also struggle to access them via digital means.”

As tuition skyrockets, the American education system is at a crossroads and online learning may play a key role.

Illustration by: Karishma Lalchandani

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National

Authority over Education Ongoing tensions fester over shared authority over education Sumeet Patwardhan, Staff Writer Our education system, as initially envisioned and implemented, was egalitarian – founded on the mission that everyone should have a common education regardless of background.

This mission, though universal, operated in a highly decentralized framework in which states and local authorities had much more authority over education policy than the federal government. However, modern educational criticism condemns the overexpansion of federal authority. But a historical and constitutional analysis reveals that the government merely acts within its jurisdiction.

To better understand today’s dialogue concerning U.S. education policy, it is necessary to look at the evolution of our education system. Our educational beginnings are most often referred to as private and religious, due to the smaller, more homogenous nature of the nation, but soon enough, publically operated schools began to emerge. Primarily created in response to increased immigration, publically operated schools offered a way to mainstream different cultures and religions towards a common education.

Specifically, the Department of Education was created in 1867 in order to give the federal government the ability and the information to help state governments implement these education policies effectively. In 1890, the passage of the Second Morrill Act gave the federal government the responsibility to support the original land-grant colleges and universities, increasing the role of federal funding in our educational system. Through transforming publically operated schools to publically operated and funded schools, education rapidly became widespread, making literacy

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virtually universal. Of course, any discussion of literacy in the time period before the Civil War and the Reconstruction era requires the explicit mention of a huge caveat – unequal access for African-Americans.

However, issues of unequal access encompass more than just race. For instance, the post-WWII era led to the GI Bill and other legislation aimed at providing funding to school districts located in military installation areas and helping veterans have access to higher education. The 1958 National Defense Education Act, enacted during the Cold War, incentivized improvements in science, math, and foreign language studies, as well as providing vocational technical training

counterpoint is that the education system is still decentralized. The federal government accounts for only 7% of primary and secondary school expenditure, as reported by the National Bureau of Economic Research. States and communities have complete control over the establishment of schools, curricula, and standards, and even accreditation is informal and private rather than centralized.

Opponents bring up “No Child Left Behind” as a demonstration of the unreasonable expansion of federal authority, but even NCLB does not control curricula through a “one size fits all” policy. Rather, it merely asserts the principle that standards should exist and states are allowed to craft their own standards accordingly. Indeed, even the alleged “inefficiency” of DOE funding is a fallacy – according to the DOE, administrative improvements have given the department a return of 99 cents on the dollar.

Moreover, only strict construc-

Observing this expansion of the federal role has prompted a backlash by states’ rights advocates. and graduate fellowships. Subsequently, the wave of reform continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s with bills such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Education Amendments of 1972, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, all of which worked to prohibit discrimination based on race, sex, or disability.

Observing this expansion of the federal role has prompted backlash by states’ rights advocates, arguing that the Tenth Amendment necessitates state and local control over education.

Though the Tenth Amendment does delegate unenumerated rights (rights not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution) to the states, the necessary

tionists of the Constitution would say that education is an unenumerated power. The Commerce Clause and the Taxing and Spending Clause affirm the principles of federal authority to regulate interstate commerce and promote the general welfare, which are the primary functions of education – a tool for increasing economic productivity and a means to enlighten the populace.

This historical background and constitutional understanding provide a great framework to understand the ongoing struggle between the federal government and states and local communities concerning authority over education policy and to enabling equal access and excellence.

Perspectives

Book Review The Allure of Order: High Hopes, Dashed Expectations, and the Troubled Quest to Remake American Schooling

by Jal Mehta

Brian Braytenbah, Staff Writer

Jal Mehta, an Associate Professor of Education at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education, writes about the history of rationalization in America’s schools. Mehta offers a historic overview of how America’s education system went from a patchwork of one-room schoolhouses controlled by local wards at the beginning of the 20th century to the present-day system of federal control and district uniformity. In the first

was centralized under the control of male superintendents, who introduced the Taylorist management models, financial accountability, and evaluations of teacher and school performances via standardized tests into the education system. In the 1960s and 1970s, school rationalization took place at the state level, where policymakers drew upon military and industry management techniques to hold schools accountable.

Federal accountability, the third period of the rationalization movement, began under President George H.W. Bush, continued to develop under President Clinton, and culminated with President George W. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” law. Mehta says the reform movements follow a “remarkably similar trajectory” consisting of the declaration of an educational crisis, the elevation of efficiency models and theories, the convergence of powerful actors from both sides of the aisle, and the failure of the teaching workforce to resist movements of change.

Also discussed in The Allure of Order is the teaching profession, which Mehta refers to as a “semiprofession.”

The teaching field has been unable to institutionalize as a profession, and as a result, unable to resist the imposition

Mehta feels ... America should focus on front-end accountability through attracting smarter people into teaching chapter, Mehta says the most important question he seeks to answer in his book is: “Why have American reformers repeatedly invested such high hopes in … instruments of control despite their track record of mixed results at best?”

Mehta identifies three periods in which external actors introduced standards, accountability, and order into America’s schools. During the Progressive Era, the power of schools

of accountability from external actors and forces. The history of teaching as a highly feminized profession and lack of strict entry requirements for becoming a teacher contribute to the “semiprofession” label of teachers. Mehta also identifies the unionization of teachers as somewhat problematic because it portrays teachers as being units of labor rather than full-fledged professionals, such as doctors and lawyers.

Mehta concludes the education sector has been put together backwards.

He feels that instead of having back-end accountability in the form of standards and testing, America should focus on front-end accountability through attracting smarter people into teaching, training them better, equipping them with better knowledge, and providing ongoing development and support.

Mehta’s analysis and critique of the education system is unique because Mehta – who has a Ph.D in Sociology and Social Policy – applies sociological theories throughout the book helping explain reoccurring cycles and trends in the American education system.

However, the policy recommendations Mehta offers are somewhat broad and theoretical. In the last chapter of the book, Mehta discusses a plethora of reforms and ideas, but it is difficult to come away with a strong sense of specific policies we should implement to improve the American education system.

Overall though, Mehta does an amazing job of offering a historic overview of rationalization in American schools.

His insights and findings are original and fresh. This book is a must-read for anyone concerned with the status quo of education in American society.

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Perspectives

The Ivory Tower Debating Gen Eds Zach Williams is a sophomore majoring in political science and information science

Allie Higgins is a sophomore majoring in journalism and mass communication

Education policy columinists weigh in on Pope Center report on general education curriculum at the University The Pope Center released a report entitled General Education at UNC-Chapel Hill in October that encountered criticism from the university community. Declaring general education courses are not, well, general enough in their content, the Center proposes trimming the number of courses that count as gen eds and retooling the types of courses needed for graduation. Its suggestions are not supposed to be popular; if UNC were to reduce the courses counting toward general education requirements, it would inhibit the ability to take easy or unsubstantial courses toward a degree. The Pope Center supports general education in principle but wants a more rigorous and relevant educational foundation for its students.

The Pope Center’s gen ed proposal is Western-centric, requiring courses on the American political system, American & British literature, and Western civilization. Narrowly focused classes the Pope Center deems unworthy, like “Introduction to Iranian Cinema” value, but should they be prioritized over courses that improve our understanding of the society in which we are currently a member? The Center’s proposal would not preclude interested undergraduates from enrolling in Iranian Cinema for one’s major or to satisfy personal curiosity. It would merely ensure a student would not avoid a more relevant class to take it. American literacy is not the Pope Center’s only emphasized revision; it recommends statistics and comparative religion at the expense of art requirements and an extra semester of foreign language.

The Pope Center’s proposal may be politically unfeasible, because humanities professors have a vested interest in protecting their niche classes, but its message is spot-on. Instead of ensuring every graduate is an informed citizen of the United States and the world, UNC is currently allowing students to take an arbitrary variety of courses. The Pope Center’s plan would help assure the quality of a UNC degree and raise its value in the workforce.

Full disclosure: I worked as a summer intern for the Pope Center, though that is hardly a conflict of interest since I am the conservative “duelist” in this regular column.

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The Pope Center, a conservative non-profit that analyzes higher education policy, released a report in October leveling numerous criticisms against the general education system at UNC. The report argues there are too many gen ed course options available, allowing students to choose entertainment over education. Further criticisms claim courses focus on narrow, irrelevant topics, and argue the service learning requirement is “full of political messages.” The report has not been well received by the UNC community, as it condemns the sound general ed system thousands of students adhere to each year.

While the report is thorough and straightforward, it ultimately attempts to alter a system designed by some of the state’s best educational leaders. The Pope Center’s main criticism, that too many general ed courses are available to students, overlooks the critical fact there are thousands of students who chose Carolina because of its open environment and strengths in a wide array of subjects.

When courses concentrate on specific eras and areas, students are able to strategically think about the tasks at hand.

The Pope Center argues the current system will not prepare students for careers in the real world because courses are too specific in scope. But when students start their first jobs, their bosses will more likely ask them to research and solve a specific problem rather than develop a remedy for a broad problem.

Gen ed classes at UNC ensure students will be able to critically analyze specific situations with detail and care, while also learning to link them to the broader picture.

Finally, through statements like “not all history is equally valuable” The Pope Center pushes a Western-focused general ed system. This hardly seems practical, in an age when “Western” and “Eastern” boundaries are blurring more each day with pervasive globalization.

Students at Carolina currently enjoy a curriculum allowing for personal growth, strategic thinking, and freedom in studies. Changes can always be made to improve dynamic systems, but the current general ed program at UNC creates valuable educational experiences for the school’s students.

Perspectives

Round the Bend Mind the Gap Brian Bartholomew is a sophomore majoring in economics and political science

The Affordable Care Act works in two main parts. Workers without employer-based coverage will gain access to subsidized private insurance through health care exchange marketplaces. Those too poor to qualify for the exchange premium tax credits but currently lacking health insurance will gain coverage through a Medicaid expansion.

Medicaid has traditionally covered low-income demographics, leaving large swaths of the population uninsured. The Affordable Care Act rewrites eligibility standards for Medicaid, setting a minimum threshold for eligibility at 138% of the federal poverty line. While this is targeted at previously-unsupported individuals such as childless adults, it would also benefit mainstay demographics—here in North Carolina, Medicaid currently covers parents only up to a mere 46% of the poverty line. The terms of expansion funding are generous, with the federal government bearing 100% of costs through the first three years and a minimum of 90% thereafter.

While the Supreme Court ruled the ACA constitutional, it complicated matters by allowing states to opt out of the Medicaid expansion. Now 25 states, each with Republican control of either the legislature or governorship, are expected

to reject the expansion. This is especially problematic because these states, many of them in the South, are home to the most acute concentrations of poverty. They host a bulk of the nation’s low-income uninsured, and many will be unable to attain insurance without the Medicaid expansion. The blow will hit doubly hard because of cuts in a key uncompensated care subsidy, made in anticipation of increased Medicaid revenues and marketplace-based private insurance.

By refusing to expand Medicaid, the coverage gap is hanging wide open.

People making too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little for ACA exchange subsidies are left out in the cold. The result: an estimated 4.8 million people, once again slipping through the cracks. In the midst of the rhetoric surrounding the enactment of the ACA it is important not to lose sight of the remaing problems in expanding health insurance coverage.

Two Cents Liberal Arts is...

Nancy Smith is a sophomore majoring in Arabic studies

Liberal arts programs across the country have come under fire for inadequately preparing students for the workforce. In North Carolina, governor and graduate of small liberal arts-oriented Catawba College, Pat McCrory said, “some of the educational elite have taken over our education where we are offering courses that have no chance of getting people jobs.”

He further emphasized money should be given to universities “not based on how

many butts [are] in the seats but how many of those butts can get jobs.” Women’s Studies majors were instantly outraged he would notice their butts first, and not their intellectual depth.

The debate on the relevance of a liberal arts education should be taken seriously.

With 23 liberal arts schools in North Carolina alone (three of them funded by taxpayer’s dollars) and roughly 251 liberal arts colleges nationwide, Americans need to know now whether they should be lauded as centers of knowledge or burned to the ground and the soil spread with lime.

Fortunately, I go to a school that is a bastion of liberal thinking, where I have examined the work of Isidore-Stanislas Helman and read the poetry of Rumi (and if you know who either of those men are, I already know where you stand on the liberal arts). My firsthand experience confirms several reasons why we should continue to cultivate a deeper understanding of learning. Without liberal arts majors: 1. The prestigious sports of hacky

sack, frolfing, and Quidditch would precipitously decline in popularity 2. Thrift stores and Goodwills everywhere would be forced to close shop 3. What would ex-premed kids do?

4. No home for students named “Tuesday” and “Sky” 5. Streaking would become socially unacceptable again 6. The Forces of Darkness would cover the Earth (see also: Math) 7. All degrees would be total B.S. The honest truth is real-world applicability is pretty overrated and all success is relative. In fact, the only things essential to living the American dream are a Ron Swanson Pyramid of Greatness and a solid Twitter game. If you need anything more you’re high-maintenance and deserve to be miserable in your Biomedical Engineering Major. So rage on, purveyors of social justice and champions of sustainable plastic dining ware; you keep the light in our lives and coffee in our Starbucks cups.

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