19 Sep 2018 by Driftwood

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

THE COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS Volume: 62 Issue: 4

SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

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How transparency can limit effective governance BY HOPE BRUSSTAR Editor-in-Chief Congress’ every move is subject to public scrutiny, and according to James D’Angelo, this can be a bad thing. On Thursday, Sep. 6, he gave his talk “How Government Transparency Limits Effective Governance” for the first time. “I’ve [researched] congressional transparency … over the last five years,” said D’Angelo. Government officials always risk being targeted by rulers and citizens alike. Currently living in Uganda with his wife, D’Angelo noted that Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni recently imprisoned politician Bobi Wine for speaking out against him. In the 1600s, King Charles I of England arrested many members of parliament, and the votes would change drastically in his favor when he attended parliament sessions. Representatives also risked being targeted by their constituents, whether confronted by mobs that wanted to hang them or chased across the country by a few armed individuals. When America’s founding fathers held the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention to discuss and draft the framework of the government, they assigned guards to the doors and covered every window. Said James Madison, “No constitution would ever have been adopted … if the debates had been made public.” And written in the constitution itself is Congress’ right to secrecy: “Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings … excepting such such parts as may in their judgement require secrecy.” The Constitution itself “never stated that names should be attached to votes,” said D’Angelo. Much later, in 1970, President Nixon’s administration brought forth the Legislative Reorganization Act, which opened the doors of Congress to constituents and introduced a state-of-the-art, million-dollar electronic voting system. Suddenly, every representative’s vote could be easily tracked. Also as of 1973, large Jumbotrons were installed, giving long lists of names and color-coding them based on how they voted. Madison once said, “It was best for the convention to sit with closed doors. By secret discussion, no man felt himself obliged to retain his opinions any longer than he was satisfied of their propriety and truth, and was open to the

-Photo by Stylianos Papardelas D’Angelo demonstrated the eﬀects of lobbyists on the House of Representatives. force of argument.” D’Angelo pointed out that now, Congress could not be farther from this state. In House records, “There is no evidence of anyone changing their minds,” said D’Angelo. “It was all partisan — it was all the opinions they had walked in with.” Thus Congress’ only function is now voting, and it is no longer useful for the exchanging of information and opinions in order to come to agreements. D’Angelo then reviewed a series of changes that occurred within government and society after the Legislative Reorganization Act was passed. Federal tax rates, originally quite different for each economic class, converged to relatively similar tax rates for every class. Said D’Angelo, the incarceration rate “has gone through the roof” since the 1970s. He stated that “prisons don’t work,” but when the things said in Congress are open to the public, no representative will be willing to say in front of his constituents that he chooses to be more lenient on crime. “People always think crime is worse than it is,” said D’Angelo. “Lobbying firms really take off after 1970,” added D’Angelo. This was because lobbyists — originally corralled to the lobby — could be more successful when they had access to the interior of the House of Representatives, especially when they were able to see which votes needed to be changed with bribes. “No one’s gonna give you money if they can’t confirm the vote,” said D’Angelo. Therefore, a secret ballot prevents bribery. “Open up

the votes, and money’s flying in to change the votes.” However, the money often is not used as a way to pay for a representative’s vote, but rather as a means to fund the negative advertising campaigns with which lobbyists and other politicians can threaten a representative, should they not vote the way the lobbyists want. “Almost all dark money goes to one thing,” said D’Angelo. “It goes to negative advertising … the [lobbyists] don’t beg anymore. They just go, ‘We’re watching you.’” “I thought that [transparency involved] measures taken by the government to increase accountability … D’Angelo’s argument is that transparency actually undermines the legislative process and benefits powerful lobbying groups more than regular citizens,” said Adam Poyner, a senior math edu-

cation major. After 1976, a factor known as the “Mean Party Difference” also increased — meaning partisanship was on the rise. Also, as D’Angelo pointed out, because meetings of Congress are televised and heavily photographed, grandstanding is much more a problem. This occurs when a politician gets a chance to speak, but instead of trying to use the opportunity to understand other points of view better by asking questions or trying to clarify main points of a bill, he uses it to preach about his party’s agenda. “There is no one asking questions anymore,” said D’Angelo. On television, he claimed, no representative will say they didn’t understand a word, or ask for a brief summary of the bill in question. Because the ballot is not secret, and anyone can check the way a

D’Angelo demonstrated that after 1970, federal taxes began to converge.

representative voted in Congress, D’Angelo claimed that representatives are therefore vulnerable to threats on their career. Not only are they subject to negative ad campaigns against them during the next election cycle, but entire parties can threaten to undo the hardest work of their political career. “These members are terrified of not getting what they want done,” said D’Angelo, and therefore such threats can be potent. “Even if you believe bribery is a problem, the secret ballot prevents that,” D’Angelo repeated. “Corruption relies on transparency.” He gave an example in a CNN article titled “Kochs pledge millions to GOPers in 2018 — if they vote no on health care bill” from March 2017. This, D’Angelo pointed out, was a particularly flagrant circumstance of corruption. About 14 students and faculty attended the talk, given in the fourth floor of the Earl K. Long Library. Poyner called it an “illuminating presentation.” “I especially appreciated his closing argument that the first step in making improvements … is to educate the public about … the necessity of secrecy in some areas of governing,” Poyner concluded. The lecture is one of seven in the Honors Program Fall 2018 lecture series, entitled “The Virtues of a Free Society.” Said Chris Surprenant, Director of the Honors Program, “I’m especially thankful to the UNO Student Government Association [for funding] — not just this year, but the last six years since I’ve been here.”

-Graph by currydemocrats

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

NEWS

Manafort’s plea agreement and cooperation with Mueller

The rundown and what it could mean for the future of the Russia investigation, simply explained

UPCOMING EVENTS! Alumni Career Panel Sept. 19, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Homer L. Hitt Alumni Center Ballroom

The Opioid Epidemic Sept. 19, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm University Center 208

Video Game Tournament: Madden 19 Sept. 19, 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm Privateer Place Clubhouse -Photo via Wikipedia Paul Manafort’s team previously sought a deal that did not involve cooperation in the Mueller investigation.

BY CRYSTAL MCCAY News Editor During the week of Aug. 20, President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found by a jury to be guilty of eight counts of tax evasion and bank fraud. Manafort reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors on Sept. 14 that carries with it significant questions about the future of the Russia investigation. First, a breakdown of the plea deal, and next, a discussion of its meaning for the future of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe. Trump and aides have noted on a number of occasions their confidence in Manafort’s holding up to Mueller’s investigation. In the words of Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s attorney, “There’s no fear that Paul Manafort would cooperate against the president because there’s nothing to cooperate about, and we long ago evaluated him as an honorable man.” Indeed, Manafort previously put forth that he would not cooperate with the special counsel’s investigation. But with four former Trump aides, Michael Cohen, Michael Flynn, Rick Gates, and George Papadopoulos, having plead guilty to charges relating to the investigation, and with Manafort’s negotiations with federal prosecutors resulting in a plea deal, a different scenario is taking

shape. The deal brought on a new set of issues to consider. The agreement would help Manafort avoid a second trial next week, but would require that he cooperates with Robert Mueller in his investigation as it moves forward. Said former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Cramer, “This is a 70-year-old guy who has never seen the inside of prison. It’s one thing to intellectually wrap your mind around going to jail for a decade. It’s another thing to stare that square in the eye, which is what Manafort’s doing tonight.” This development has drawn much discussion, because as Trump’s former campaign chairman, Manafort was very closely involved with a range of the administration’s actions during the campaign, and it is speculated that he could potentially offer consequential information to Mueller in the future. Trump has referred to such an act of “flipping” as something that “ought to be outlawed.” Doctoral student and teaching assistant in UNO’s Department of Political Science Deborah Toscano said on the overall direction of the investigation, “I’ve always thought ... that, rather than some sort of collusion, this is about money laundering, or finances or some sort of bank dealings Trump has with

Russia, or a loan that he owes them, or something like that. And I feel that Paul Manafort fits that link; he kind of connects that, because he had a lot of financial dealings. So I think he’s more of a connection to that than any sort of collusion.” Another point of discussion that has emerged relates to the issue of presidential power. Prior to the plea deal, analysts considered the influence that Trump’s potential pardoning power could have over Manafort’s decision to go forward with a deal. “What makes the Manafort case unique,” describes former federal prosecutor Patrick Cotter, “is that there is a shadow hanging over it, which is the presidential pardon power.” Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani’s statement to the Daily News that “things might get cleaned up with some presidential pardons” has drawn a range of responses on this subject. Toscano considers the subject; a similar theme has surfaced in her response. “My question was, is he trying to get a pardon from Trump? I’m just wondering how a pardon plays out after this is all done. If he thinks that he’s plead[ed] guilty, is there still a pardon for him on the table? If it means no jail time, then a pardon wouldn’t be necessary.”

Healthy Behaviors Around Alcohol and Drugs Sept. 20, 11:00 am - 1:00 pm University Center Atrium

Psi Chi Meet & Greet Sept. 20, 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Earl K. Long Library Quad

Little Women Off the Page: Adapting a Classic on Screen, in Comics, and Online Sept. 20, 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Liberal Arts Building 234

XA Olympics Sept. 22, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Amphitheater

Paper Lantern Night Sept. 22, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm Homer L. Hitt Alumni Center

Saints Game Day in the Captain’s Quarters Sept. 23, 11:30 am - 4:00 pm University Center Captain’s Quarters Student Lounge

NEWS

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

Model United Nations Team Going to China BY HOPE BRUSSTAR Editor-in-Chief For the first time in its history, the University of New Orleans Model UN team is leaving the country to participate in a United Nations simulation. During Thanksgiving week, 13 students and one faculty member will head to Xi’an, the ninth-largest city in China. “I am so excited about it, I speak about it almost every day to my friends and family,” said Leah Bordlee, the team’s treasurer. Students from various disciplines and ethnic backgrounds are part of the university’s delegation, which has been bisected this year to represent two different countries: Poland and Turkey. In Model UN, students act as delegates representing their assigned country, discussing matters of global imporModel United Nations delegates for the fall 2018 China delegation at their country reveal party. tance with the goal of creating versity, an event orchestrated in China can use a virtual private Said public relations officer solutions for the greater good. network to resolve the ban, but Kathleen Mendoza, “I knew part by Dr. Michelle Thompson, Usually, the delegation spends Associate Professor for the Desaid Thompson, “I’m a visitor this was something that was the spring semester preparing partment of Planning & Urban … I don’t want to break any going to help me build up my for a national conference in customs.” confidence in leading, public Studies. New York City, which lasts the “It all fell together very serenA Chinese translator will be speaking, and researching.” length of the trip, but this interpresent to facilitate the round The current Model UN team dipitously,” said Lamplugh. national conference is structable, wherein students will is comprised of students who Thompson visited the students tured differently, and students in class last Tuesday to prepare bring together their ideas and know each other from the New will have almost two full days questions about the United York conference in the spring. them for the culture shock and of required tourism, while the Nations 2030 Sustainable De“The people you end up workdiscuss the round table that the conference itself will also be velopment Goals, a list of 17 ing with eventually become delegation is scheduled to have only about two days long. with Xi’an students on Nov. 22, objectives the United Nations like family,” said Mendoza. “The upcoming trip to China wants to complete by 2030, Said Lamplugh, “Model UN a result of the new partnership is very exciting — and a little between the two universities. including ending all forms ... allows students to travel to stressful!” said team president “Every Google product is of poverty and hunger and a great place … with a group Daniel Lamplugh. “I think it’s banned,” Thompson informed finding a permanent answer to of like-minded and wonderful a once-in-a-lifetime experience the class. For the past several sustainable economic growth individuals … from across for our students, to be able to years, Model UN students have and energy production. the globe. I have slept on the represent both themselves, our used Google Drive almost exThe Model UN team has couches of people I have met university, and our country in clusively to share and collabobeen representing the universi- in Model UN that live in other Xi’an. rate on resolution papers during ty for almost nine years at the countries, and created some The University of New Orleof my deepest friendships the Model UN conference. national conference, and it has ans has also recently announced through it.” There is a way that those inside brought in handfuls of awards. a partnership with Xi’an Uni-

The spring 2018 University of New Orleans Model UN delegation within the United Nations Headquarters.

-Photo by Hope Brusstar

Financially, the University of New Orleans is playing a major role in making the trip possible, but fundraising is not finished yet. “We have been pursuing fundraising ... through local business donations, but we are opening a crowdfunding campaign to help ... make the trip a reality. If people would like to donate, we would highly appreciate it,” said Lamplugh. The crowdfunding site will be up soon at crowdfunding.uno. edu. Students interested in getting involved in the team for future semesters can contact them at unomodelnations@gmail. com. More information about the national and international conferences is available at nmun.org.

Photo courtesy of the Model UN team.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

FEATURES

Question of the Week

Has your academic advisor been helpful to you?

WITH CLAIRE SARGENT

Allie Vicknair Sophomore, HRT “My advisor has changed every semester so far, so I haven’t made a connection with any of them.” Nick Dorner Sophomore, Biology “I feel as if my freshman academic advisor was much more helpful than my current academic advisor.”

Logan Decker Sophomore, Physiology

Alexa Jo Bryant Junior, Anthropology “The freshman advisors seem to be more knowledgeable when it comes to the four year plan than the academic advisors.”

Has your academic advisor been helpful to YOU? We want to hear YOUR opinion. Check out our Facebook page @UNODriftwood Keaton Boudreaux Freshman, Accounting

“Yes, I had a positive experience when I last met with my advisor.”

“My academic advisor wasn’t very helpful last time I was advised.” Kristen Shelby Sophomore, Pre-nursing “My advisor has been fairly helpful so far.”

Davis Tran Junior, French “I changed my major partly because of my academic advisor.”

FEATURES

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

David Gaines brings a poetry slam to the Cove BY CLAIRE SARGENT Reporter Campus organizations Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship and Student Activities Council presented an open mic night at the Cove on Thursday, Sept. 13. Spoken word poet David Gaines kicked off the event by sharing his work for the first hour, then students came up to the mic to share their own work. The Cove was packed with students and faculty members who came to listen to Gaines and UNO’s own students share their work. Gaines is from Philadelphia, and he graduated from Pennsylvania State University. During his college career, he was involved in the Writers Organized to Represent Diverse Stories (WORDS) club on campus, where he says he became passionate about poetry. Gaines’ work is centered around social justice issues, such as racism. “At Penn State, I was one of the few African-American students on campus, and I wasn’t always treated fairly because of that,” he said. He told the crowd at the Cove that he could see that UNO was much

more diverse than his alma mater, and that made him feel very welcomed. Gaines’ work is also centered around other sensitive and personal subjects, such as addiction and death. In one of his poems, he explains how he and his friends were drinking under the age of 21, and it became such a problem that they went to jail and to the hospital due to alcohol addiction. In another poem, he tells the story of his younger sister’s death and how she lives on through his work. The emotion in these works was felt throughout the crowd and set the tone for students to come share their own work after Gaines left the stage. The Student Activities Council is the official programming board of the University of New Orleans, and they plan events for the entire UNO community. Students interested in joining the Student Activities Council can contact them via email at sac@uno.edu. The Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship aids students in their spiritual, mental, and academic lives. Those interested in joining the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship can contact them via email at unochialpha1@ Poet David Gaines shares poetry inspired by his life. gmail.com.

-Photo by Claire Sargent

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

LPBFâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S 28TH ANNUAL LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN CLEANUP

Photos by Brennan Probst. On Sept. 15, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) hosted its 29th annual Beach Sweep, a day of community service that invited everyone to take part in keeping debris out of the lake by picking garbage up near Lakeshore Drive. Volunteers picked up litter for two and a half hours, then enjoyed a free picnic at the New Canal Lighthouse. The LPBF also has six other designated cleanup areas around the lake. Those who want to get involved in protecting the lake can visit saveourlake.org.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

ENTERTAINMENT

Free food on campus and in the city

BY CASSANDRA JASKIEWICZ Managing Editor

One of the biggest incentives that events offer in order to get more people to attend their events is free food. Stopping by an event even for a few seconds can allow for the chance to discover a new hobby, interest, or passion. Here are some events at around the city and on campus that are have free food for those who attend. The Feed the City Food Pantry gives away a lot of food and is located at Victory Fellowship on Airline Drive. It began to open its food pantry on Sept. 13 and will continue on every Thursday between 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 22 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Local Uproar is hosting a comedy showcase featuring some of New Orleans’ funniest people. More importantly, this event is offering free ice cream to go with their free show. It will be a great chance to meet up with friends and enjoy a show with some laughs. On that same day, the Vietnamese-American Student Association is hosting its

annual Paper Lantern Night at the Homer L. Hitt Alumni Center from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. There will be a ton of Vietnamese food to try as partygoers celebrate the Autumn Moon Festival. There will be singers, dancers and actors providing entertainment for all the guests. On Thursday, Sept. 27 from 12:15 p.m. To 1:30 p.m., the Diversity Engagement Center (DEC) will present the Stem Cultural Cafe, offering free food for those who attend in the University Center’s Gallery Lounge on the second floor. The DEC will offer displays, music and activities from various student organizations on campus. On Thursday, Oct. 17 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., the Zeitgeist Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center will host “The Story of New Orleans Creole Cooking” documentary with Dillard University’s African-American material culture program. This event is free to the public, and offers refreshments for those who attend.

Which bird are you? Part 2: Dr. Yaukey says to keep an eye out BY ERINN LANGILLE Copy Editor Despite the lingering heat of summer, at the University of New Orleans, signs point to the change in season. Students are deep into classes, and assignments are piling up. The natural world is also in transition: leaves are beginning to fall, flowers are going to seed. This also means the slow migration of northern birds onto the university campus, making pit stops or winter homes for a few months. Students can enjoy a variety of rare sightings on campus through the fall and winter, as both visiting and local birds make use of the unique landscape. Students should keep stay alert the way to those early classes. Dr. Peter Yaukey, author of “Birding Made Easy: New Orleans,” taught classes on the biogeography of birds for many years in the geology department at the University of New Orleans. He remarked that “large migratory movements of songbirds have sometimes been seen crossing the campus, associated with the lake shore. Many hundreds each of indigo buntings, eastern kingbirds, and American robins have passed in an hour or two on early mornings after cold fronts in the fall, apparently re-orienting after having been

wind-drifted.” Even local birds may be in the midst of seasonal changes. After summer breeding, many birds, both male and female, molt their feathers. Students who notice bedraggled-looking cardinals, blue jays and chickadees up in the trees should fear not. These birds molt once a year, losing for a few weeks their most distinctive features, like pointed crests or caps. Molting is a fragile and vulnerable time for birds; they are overexposed and not in top shape, so be careful. Other species trade summer plumage for winter plumage, which tends to be duller or differently patterned. The European starlings that congregate in huge flocks in the trees on campus are shiny and iridescent, with blue and purple on the feathers during the summer months, and yellow bills. In winter, they develop white spots, lose some of their iridescence and their bills turn dark brown or black. Changes in feathers may also be a result of aging, like that of some gulls. A spring chick’s feathers may be white, small-shaped and soft, turning black or dull brown over the course of some weeks. Students new to birding may have a hard time determining species with so many changes, but it is wonderful to observe a bird in all

its various stages. Even long-time bird lovers have difficulty with identification as seasons, location and plumage change. As for wintering birds, Yaukey made these observations: “The athletic fields at [the intersection of] Elysian Fields [and] Leon C. Simon often attract flocks of American pipits in the winter … while trees on campus attract flocks of insectivores, generally dominated by yellow-rumped warblers, but with others mixed in — commonly including orange-crowned warbler and ruby-crowned kinglet.” Changes in the way the campus landscape is done can even affect the appearance or disappearance of visitors. As Yaukey explained, “The pond adjacent the library has attracted interesting species in migration or winter, including American woodcock and whitewinged doves. However, the vegetation is significantly cut back from when I saw those — maybe [its attractions are] not as good [to the birds] these days.” Students should keep an eye out for the various birds on campus — both the regular inhabitants and the brief visitors. Students and faculty at the University of New Orleans are surrounded by a rich ecosystem of avian life - they just need to know where to look.

-Photo by Erinn Langille. A yellow-Crowned Night Heron by the LA building at UNO.

ENTERTAINMENT

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

Poetry reading with Mohammed El-Kurd

Mohammed El-Kurd talking with Rose Ottallah, the president of Students for Justice in Palestine.

BY CASSANDRA JASKIEWICZ Managing Editor Poet Mohammed El-Kurd did a reading of his work on Sept. 14 at the University Center on campus. This event offered food and beverages and a chance to enjoy poetry with new people. Organized by the University of New Orleans’ Young Poet Society with president Dhuha Darweesh and Vice President Lilly Zwank, the event had help from the “Students for Justice in Palestine.” Mohammed El-Kurd is a Palestinian poet, but some may be more familiar with him from the award-winning documentary “My Neighborhood”, which he starred in when he was 11 years old. The documentary shows what happened to ElKurd when Israeli settlers took over part of his family’s home an East Jerusalem neighborhood, resulting in protests by many Palestinian and Israeli activists. Currently, he attends the Savannah College of Art and Design in the United States. He is a staff writer for Fallujah Magazine and has been published such places as Medium and The Guardian. His poetry addresses a wide range of topics from Islamophobia, gender politics and the many complexities that are tied to a Palestinian identity. He is working towards his first book, a collection of his poetry titled RIFQA, after his grandmother. Members of The Young Poet Society read some of their poetry to start off. This demon-

strated the talent at the University of New Orleans campus. The President and Vice-President of The Young Poet Society, and their Public Relations Officer, as well as the President of Students for Justice in Palestine, Rose Ottallah, read poems that they had written for the event.Then El-Kurd took center stage. El-Kurd read some his most popular poems: “This is Why We Dance”, “Figs Bitch” and then pieces like “America For Me” and “War Machines and Drag Queens,” performed for the first time in front of an audience. He contextualized each poem, providing insight into what inspired him to write, his thought process, and what made it important to him. El-Kurd described himself as a “reactionary poet” and a lot of his work showcases his response to the events he has lived through, witnessed or was told about. After he finished reading his work, the audience was allowed to ask questions about his poetry, his life, and his beliefs. Kathleen Mendoza, a sophomore at the University of New Orleans and the Public Relations officer for the Young Poets Society, described organizing the event and securing a speaker like Mohammed El-Kurd. “Well, surprisingly from hearing from Dhuha [the president of The Young Poets Society] she said it was a really easy process! He was really open about contacting us,”

Mendoza explained. “She DMd [direct messaged] and told him that she had been following up with his work for a while. So it was very surprising that he was so friendly. He told us his pricing, that he would need some place to stay somewhere and things like that.” The members of the Young Poet Society are very serious about choosing their featured poets, looking at message, meaning and beliefs to see if a poet is the right fit for them. Popularity doesn’t mean everything. “Dhuha wants people who definitely represent us and the University and what we believe. So she wouldn’t really go

-Photos provided by Cassandra Jaskiewicz

for someone just because they are popular or things like that. She genuinely wants people who have good message behind their work,” Mendoza said. The Young Poet Society hopes to make these kinds of poetry readings a yearly or even bi-yearly events. However, the funding and planning of the event was collaborative effort between Diversity Affairs, Students for Justice in Palestine and themselves. “We had done a fundraiser earlier last year, a snowball event….so we were able to afford it. As well we knew that it was a Palestinian poet, [so] we contacted Students for Justice in Palestine...we had lot of people help--it wasn’t just us.”

The audience waiting for Mohammed El-Kurd to start his poetry reading.

She said. Everyone seemed very pleased with the turn out. “We were kind of iffy!” Mendoza said, “We weren’t sure if many people would want to come and listen to a poet they might not know! It was definitely better than what we expected!” If students want to keep up with El-Kurd and his works his Twitter handle is _MohammedElKurd and his book is should be published sometime this year. If you want to keep up with the events that the Young Poets Society is planning they hold meetings every Thursday at 12:30 p.m. in the University Center’s Gallery and all are welcome to attend.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

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Editorial

OPINION

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

On campus censorship

No one should be stopping students from speaking their beliefs, but often this gets confused with the idea that people have to be forced to listen to them. People shouldn’t be subjected to abuse, harassment or harm. Events, presentations and debates are welcome to take place, but no one is required to attend these events. Students are welcome to take the stage, but the same goes for the audience. They have the right to stay or go in response to the message that is being disseminated. In most cases, ignoring the speaker’s message is just as much of a hindrance as denying the speaker a podium. Freedom of speech on campuses is regulated in a very different way than in other public spaces, through the use of speech codes. These speech codes are university regulations that prohibit some verbal communication and expression

that would normally be protected by the Constitution if such speech or expression happened in society at large. Often, these speech codes can be written into university policy, or simply be determined by the will of the university. The University of New Orleans (UNO) is no different; it also has speech codes that limit students’ verbal expression. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) takes this problem of campus censorship head-on. They issue warnings to universities — a red light, yellow light or green light — to indicate that university’s treatment of freedom of speech. According to FIRE, UNO has earned a red-light rating for some of its speech policies. UNO’s policy regarding discrimination, harassment, and retaliation inhibits freedom of speech to the point of instating guidelines for what student organizations should

post on social media. Colleges are often regulating students in ways that government law would not. An institution that has earned itself the red-light rating generally has at least one or more policies restricting freedom of speech, or goes as far as to not allow public access to the speech-related policy. UNO only has one policy that fits this description, but having one policy that inhibits freedom speech is already dangerous, in terms of FIRE’s rating system. An institution that has a yellow-light rating has speech-related policies that could be interpreted as a way to suppress speech or help speech. This is a more complicated rating, but it would fall under policies that relate to sexual harassment and verbal abuse, as they are not something that can be easily defined. Finally, universities with green lights have policies that do not seriously threaten campus

Column

Destitution and wealth concentration BY CRYSTAL MCCAY News Editor Economic inequality and poverty are increasingly referenced in political and social discourse today. Many conversations draw attention to the widening wealth gap in America and emphasize its status as an unprecedented economic circumstance. The purpose of this piece will be neither to discuss theory as to the underlying cause of this disparity nor to estimate the ethical permissibility of such a system; this writing will examine a historical literary depiction of sheer destitution and discuss the likelihood that such a scene could unfold in our modern society. The aim of this discussion will be to prompt sensory thought on the sights and sounds of a desperate scene of poverty and to put our current national and global circumstance in perspective with events in history. The themes of poverty and abundant wealth extend back hundreds of years into history and have been written on by scores of authors and historians. One such prominent example is Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, a classic work of historical fiction that explores a the French Revolution during its kindling and commencing stages. Major themes in the French Revolution include extreme poverty, the plight of the peasantry, and the tyranny of the affluent. In one of A Tale’s early chapters, Dickens illustrates a highly desperate scene as impoverished people react to some spilled wine on a street. What is depicted is sheer chaos that is unleashed when some destitute townspeople are drawn to a broken wine cask. “Some men kneeled down, made scoops of their two hands joined, and sipped, or tried to help women, who bent

over their shoulders, to sip, before the wine had all run out between their fingers.” Dickens proceeds to create a tactile sense of deprivation and ruthlessness among the people of the city. This scene serves not only to foreshadow the devastation that will be brought about by the Revolution, but it also demonstrates the utter destitution and bloodthirst of the French peasantry. The desperation of the impoverished, despite being depicted in this context in a work of fiction, is arguably largely realistic. In our world today, the same kinds of sweeping wealth gaps that have fueled the anger of revolting classes in revolutions past still exists within and throughout nations, widening the divide among classes and intensifying social divisions between the rich and poor. Furthermore, countless populations are still burdened with the same kind of destitution described by Dickens in his wine cask scene. Millions of people in today’s world go without basic resources such as food and water for times of such length that it would not at all be surprising to see an event similar to the one described unfold should food or water be spilled upon the street. However, minding the world’s economic corruption and staggeringly disproportionate wealth, some regions would be more inclined to demonstrate this desperation than others. Developed nations such as the U.S., in contrast, entertain populations that are so well-fed that the challenge of starvation is displaced by the crisis of obesity. For those Americans who do not have proper access to food, various organizations attempt to provide those populations with adequate means for survival by creating food banks and founding charities. Many people in other countries are not

connected with such humanitarian assistance. The option to request the charity of an altruistic neighbor, in their case, is nonexistent, and in its place looms the reality that starvation is widespread and imminent. The abundance of and overindulgence in food in the United States is evidence that the average American has access to more food than he or she needs. This is a thought-provoking scenario to consider, at the very least. The economic stature of the U.S. is due in at least small part (among many other complex historical influences) to the ideal geographic region that the U.S. occupies, with generally moderate temperatures and numerous water sources, which in earlier times of economic development enabled land to be well-utilized and for populations to (eventually learn to after some tough colonial fails) efficiently hydrate themselves. The U.S. was much better geographically poised for success than, say, Chad, which is landlocked about about 50% desert. The behavior of climate and other natural factors greatly influences the availability of food and water to a nation’s population, making geographic location yet another reason why many populations throughout the world are more heavily vulnerable to famines and droughts of lethal proportions. In almost no circumstance could one feasibly project the large-scale occurrence of a scene such as A Tale’s wine-scrambling in the United States or any other developed nation today. It certainly is a mental exercise, however, to pause and consider the reality that nations stricken with such degrees of poverty do in fact still exist here beside us in our modern and illustriously wealthy world, and even among us here at stoplights and on street corners.

speech or expression. If a student has an incident with their school in which they feel their basic constitutional rights are being denied, FIRE will take their case. There are many examples of trouble with university speech code regulations. There is the case of Northern Michigan University, which would take disciplinary action against any student or faculty member that talked about self harm or suicide, regardless as to the intent of the speaker. It wasn’t until 2016 that the regulation was changed. Another example happened at Fordham University, when the United Student Government, as well as the Senate and Executive Board, approved a prospective Students for Justice in Palestine chapter. However, Keith Eldredge, Fordham’s dean of students, chose to overrule the United Student Government and deny the Stu-

dents for Justice in Palestine any recognition. The rejected group went on to write a letter to National Coalition Against Censorship about the problem. The university then reinforced their rejection of the group. Students must be critical of what they say and what they hear, but in order to create a well-rounded and knowledgeable opinion, first they must be exposed to new ideas and information. The only way to be exposed to new ideas and information is to risk seeing or hearing content that may be uncomfortable or even offensive. It is therefore a paramount responsibility of universities worldwide to ensure that flow of information is totally open, thereby doing their utmost to encourage the intellectual growth of their students. After all, a university’s number-one job is to make a well-rounded student.

DRIFTWOOD Staff

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018