Driftwood The community newspaper of the University of New Orleans
Volume: 58 Issue: 21 What’s Inside:
March 25, 2015
driftwood.uno.edu
UNDERSTANDING THE MUSLIM EXPERIENCE
NPHC benches are historical gathering spots
Find out what the painted benches next to the amphitheatre represent page 4
Katrina@10 summit recognizes 10 year anniversary Learn about upcoming events to commemorate Hurricane Katrina page 5
Students share their cultures at International Night
The largest student organized event on campus was well attended page 6
Christy Lorio/ Driftwood Ayah Saleh, Biology Junior, Taskeen Begum, Education Junior, Mariem Khan,Biology Sophomore, and Hera Riaz,Senior Biology
Controversial scholar addresses Palestinian question at UNO address One of a kind plantation pays homage to the forgotten
Slaves are finally given a voice at Whitney Plantation page 9
Players ejected and suspended after altercation
Helmets fly at Privateers-Cardinals baseball game page 11
Christopher Li Driftwood Contributor Norman Finkelstein, a controversial Jewish American intellectual who defends the rights of Palestinians, received a standing ovation when he spoke to a 270 person audience at the University of New Orleans on March 13. Finkelstein advocated a pragmatic two-state solution based on the 1967 borders according to international law. “It’s prudent to take the risks for a strategy that might work versus as strategy that has no possibility of success,” Finkelstein said. Finkelstein sharply criticized Operation Protective Edge, which Israel launched last summer, and which went on for 50 days according to
both Finkelstein and the Jerusalem Post. Finkelstein called the operation, “the most murderous, and the most destructive,” of the eight operations Israel has conducted in Gaza over the last decade. For nearly three hours, Finkelstein challenged justifications for Protective Edge, which he said was acknowledged by Human Rights Watch to be a war crime that killed 1200 Palestinian civilians. Finkelstein was also critical of many Arab governments as well as President Barack Obama, whom Finkelstein called “the enabler-in-chief of the massacre.” Not all audience members sympathized with Finkelstein’s position. Early in the lecture, three hecklers stood up and accused Finkelstein of spreading hatred and
lies. The hecklers were escorted out by police when they refused to hold their comments for the question period after the lecture. Finkelstein said the hecklers reminded him of his own tactics when he protested against the Vietnam War, and he asked the audience not to condemn them. Finkelstein later asked that dissenting members of the audience should be given the first opportunity to pose questions. When asked for his view on the rights of Israelis, Finkelstein said, “If you’re talking about a Jewish state, a refuge, a state for the Jews, doesn’t that mean that the state is going to be discriminating against non-Jews because it’s called a ‘Jewish state’?”
Continued on Page 2 See Finklestein
Student Perspective Ayah Saleh, a member of UNO’s Muslim Student Association, shares her experiences of being a Muslim American What I love about UNO is everyone is friendly and open-minded to all kinds of cultures, religions, people, etc... This is probably due to the diversity that UNO has on its campus. We have people from all around the world, people from all walks of life. The professors and students are exceptionally nice. I’ve only had one discriminative encounter by one student ... I actually personally outside of school feel otherwise. I feel like I come across both open-minded and close-minded people [off campus], it’s not like the friendly environment we have on campus. Believe it or not, I’ve been told to go back to my country before, which hurt to [no] end ... I was born and raised in the U.S. My dad’s an engineer and professor and my mom’s a school teacher. I feel no different than average hard-working American families. I do get the occasional stares and not so friendly looks. These things used to get to me, to the point it has driven me to take off my hijab, in hopes to stop the stares, racist remarks and fit into society. But a year later, I put back my hijab and told myself, I shouldn’t have changed myself to please people with closed-minds. I learned to tell myself THEY are the problem, not ME. I feel stronger and more brave for putting back on the hijab. I was doing an internship at a hospital, drawing blood from patients and one patient I had came in with her husband … Once they found out I was Muslim ( I wasn’t wearing the hijab at the time), the lady grabbed my hand and told me “I want you to know I’m really glad you’re in this country and you’re just as American as the rest of us.” It’s as if this kind stranger knew what I was going through, as if she knew I was [just] told to go back to my country. We had a really long conversation, and during the conversation I mentioned to them the reason why I took off my hijab. Her husband, who was an average hardworking police officer, told me “Never ever take off your headwear to please society and close-minded people, they are the problem, not you.” They gave me a hug and cried and told me everything will be okay. This older married couple are the true example of Americans. This country is one big melting pot, and as Americans, we should embrace the diversity and beauty in others. And I am proud to say I am both Muslim and American.
Continued on Page 2 See Perspective