Lennon Wall - Spring 2015

At The Lennon Wall Anglo-American University Print, Spring 2015

AAU 25th Anniversary: Interview with AAU President, More Clubs Than Ever

Future of Cafe Diem

Getting Smarter Overnight

“Nobody is illegal” in the Czech Republic

Five Things to Do in Summer

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UPCOMING EVENTS AT AAU

At the Lennon Wall Check out full versions of all the stories in this issue with more images at atthelennonwall.wordpress.com.

Submissions are welcomed from the entire AAU community. Send feedback or questions to lennon.wall@aauni.edu. Every effort is made to ensure editorial accuracy but any errors of fact are to be corrected in the following issue.

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Editorial Staff:

Raushan Alice Zhubanova Martin Ranninger

facebook.com/lennon.wall atthelennonwall.wordpress.com

Contributors:

Breen Raevenn Mikesova Michaela Fediuk Viktoriia Ranninger Martin Glacnerova Katerina Shishkina Anastasia Hornaday Marissa Shlyapnikova Diana Kovtunenko Anastasia Zakurdaeva Kristina

Special thanks to Tomas Kebort for the cover photo.

Credits for photographs used in this issue to Anastasia Kovtunenko, Anna Nemcova and Hana Smidova

LIBRARY OFFERS FREE TRIALS TO THESE JOURNALS do not miss this unique chance

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IN THIS ISSUE: Future of Cafe Diem

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Students Addicted to Poker: True or False?

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Outside Your Comfort Zone

page 5

Interview with AAU President

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More Clubs Than Ever

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Writing: The Drug or The Cure?

page 8

“Nobody is illegal” in the Czech Republic

page 10

A Snow Job on Students

page 11

Opinion: How (Un)sustainable Was Your Dinner?

page 12

Tea Workshop

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Film Series: Guilty Pleasures

page 13

Naomi Foyle Visited AAU

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Pronoia Astrology

page 14

Ars Poetica

page 15

Five Things to Do in Summer

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Traveling on Budget

page 16

Getting Smarter Overnight

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In The Fog of Weed

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A Word from the Student Council President Adi Hadzic

As the semester is slowly coming to an end I would like to use this space to reflect on this year. What I can proudly say is that I am happy that this year’s Student Council initiated a new wave of events which we did not have in the years before and I think we have created a strong basis for the future generations that will be running this student body.

We managed to continue organizing events that have become a tradition at our school and that the students always look forward to. These events include the “Welcome Barbecue” which was organized in October in Kampa park as well as the International Day with a total of 12 countries represented.

I think a big turning point in the Student Council was in February when we started a cooperation with three other private universities in Prague in order to provide our students with new inter-university events. The whole idea was created by the Secretary of the Student Council, Martin Ranninger, who set up our first meeting from which we later on went to organize our first joint event “The Uni Music Night” which was held in April in Meet Factory. The Uni Music Night was to a great extent an ice breaker in the newly established cooperation and we are already working on some other events for the next academic year.

Another great success is that we have started organizing AAU Field Trips to different locations around the country.

So far we have visited the Karlstejn Castle and Czech Switzerland National Park. Next year we would like to take you to places such as Kutna Hora, Cesky Krumlov and the Terezin Concentration Camp.

One of the long term goals that I think is very ambitious but also reachable is to have one Student Council event per week which would offer our students a great variety of extracurricular activities with the fellow classmates. In addition to this I also have to say that I am extremely thrilled to see that we have had an increase in attendance overall in all the events that we have organized this semester especially since low attendance used to be a problem at the events that were organized previously at our school.

I cannot end this otherwise than to express my gratitude to my colleagues in the Student Council a big thank you to all our AAU students who had faith in us and came to all the events we have organized.

Thank you, it was truly pleasure.

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Future of Cafe Diem

By Katerina Glacnerova

The company running AAU’s cafeteria says it is lowering prices in answer to student complaints – even though it says it is already losing money. Zatisi Group, which runs Cafe Diem, said it would drop prices from the beginning of May, though at press time prices like 129-149 Kc for a lunch menu and 80 Kc for a sandwich remained the same.

“We are not doing everything for some big profit,” said Operations Manager Petra Kalosova.

“We want to make it work, especially because of our personal tie to AAU,” said floor manager Lucie Burleova. That personal tie is Dana Krautstenglova (mother of the AAU president), a minority stakeholder and a statutory representative of Zatisi Group.

AAU President Alan Krautstengl said he “openly declared” his potential conflict of interest before Zatisi Group was selected to run the Cafe. Moreover, he said he gave specific power to Vera Prevratilova, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, “to make any decision about evaluation and consequent continuing or discontinuing cooperation with Zatisi.

“I have not played, I am not playing and I will not be playing any role in the decision making process about the choice of the food and service provider in the AAU cafeteria as well as possible associated catering needs,” he explained further.

Complicating matters is that Zatisi group says one reason it is losing money is that it pays rent to AAU, and AAU says it does not.

Prevratilova said that Zatisi does not pay any rent to the school.

“The rent is not even part of the contract of the sublease,” she said.

Burleova on the other hand said that they do pay rent, however she is not sure how much. “The only thing I can say for certain is that we definitely do pay rent to the school,” she further explained.

“I am sorry, that everybody understands things differently than how they really are,” commented Prevratilova.

Prevratilova offered a possible explanation for the confusion.

According to her, the school has a right to spend 30 000 Kc per month for catering in the Cafe and Zatisi has to cover those costs.

However, the school has not used this opportunity until the anniversary of AAU celebration.

Students are mostly concerned about the food prices. An At The Lennon Wall Facebook survey found that 80 percent out of 30 respondents think that the food in the Cafe is expensive.

At the end of May, the university will distribute a Student Satisfaction Survey about the Cafe, which will be a key factor when determining the future of Zatisi at AAU, said Zdenek Johanovsky, AAU Director for Operations.

Based on these results, the school will negotiate with Zatisi and try to change the things that students complain about, he added.

According to floor manager Burleova, Zatisi’s expectations were also a little bit different. “We thought that we will sell much more hot lunches. In the most busy days, we sell around 40 lunches,” she

explained.

AAU has around 950 students, taking into account the number of students eating hot lunches at Cafe Diem, the result of calculation shows that only 4 percent of students eat hot lunch there.

The primary problem seems to be the food’s value for the price.

According to the survey 56 percent of 67 respondents think that the food is not a good value for money.

“The cold food is made here [at AAU], and the hot food is cooked at our base in Barrandov,” explained Kalosova.

Payment of rent for the Cafe is an issue that AAU and Zatisi do not agree on.

The survey’s results show that 73.33 percent of students think that the Cafe closes too early.

It is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday to Friday.

“There is a hole in the afternoon, when nobody comes,” said Kalosova. To be exact, it is not profitable for them to be open longer.

“Ideally, the opening hours would be longer,” commented Johanovsky.

However, Kalosova came up with an interesting solution for now that should satisfy both sides. A school gift shop will be opened during the summer, so a cooler could be added there and the sandwiches could be sold in the gift shop after the Cafe closes.

As the semester leads to an end, Kalosova proposed a new idea that might work even better: a more-coffeeshop-type of area, rather than a canteen.

“Coffee and sandwiches are definitely the best-sellers,” she added.The system would be similar to Starbucks: one person takes orders, one makes coffee, and the customers take the coffee from a dispensing point.

More details on what will happen next with the AAU’s Cafe Diem will be known at the end of May.

Students Addicted to Poker: True or False?

By Viktoriia Fediuk

It is tough making it through the day as an AAU student with enough money in your wallet. Cheap food, cheap lodging, cheap vacations and low paying jobs sometimes still leave you broke. So why not make big money the fast and easy way, by playing poker?

It goes without saying that students’ lives are clouded by financial troubles, and AAU students are no exception. Some try to find parttime jobs; some, however, turn to gambling, especially poker.

“I think it is in vogue in recent years,” said AAU student Krystof Laube. “It wasn’t so popular five years ago.”

All you need is a computer with an Internet connection and the will to learn to play the game well. Some see it as a way to help pay their way through student life, rather than getting a time consuming part-time job.

“I know a few people who play professionally and they gamble their money 365 days a year. I think it is a stressful life, but who would not want to go in a casino for 2-3 hours a day and bring back home a few hundred Euro,” said Jan Vicher, Student Council treasurer.

One AAU student anonymously shared his personal poker story: “I got involved [into poker] through my friend. I was always interested in that game, since I have watched the movie ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.' [The game] makes you think not only about the cards, but also about people, your actions, and take a risk when it is necessary. All these are really useful in real life.” Besides of all the poker advantages mentioned above, he won big money in poker tournaments — 13,000 Kc in one.

Online poker’s biggest attraction is that you can learn to play for free, and then only jump into the real cash games when you are confident with your ability.

Vicher, however, thinks that there is no point to playing poker without real money. “It is not Monopoly where you buy hotels and banks. The whole purpose of playing poker is to gamble and risk.

Without risking your own money, the whole game loses the point.

The more money involved, the more serious is the game.”

“I am not playing myself, but I understand why students do it – we all struggle with managing finances, and poker can solve the problem,” said third-year AAU student Diana Shlyapnikova. “I do not know anyone who got in trouble because of it at AAU, but I can easily believe that the game can turn into an addiction. It's fun and easy way of making money, but it's also too risky and dangerous in my opinion.”

Laube disagreed that students easily get addicted to poker. “I think it is really rare. I do not know anyone like this. Generally Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Holdem.jpg [students] get addicted to other things like alcohol, gaming, weed and porn,” Laube said.

“Since many [AAU] students like to risk and test their ability, poker seems to be an ideal game to see how one is doing in comparison to others,” said former SC member Radovan Fafilek.

According to studentpokerpro.com students prefer to play poker for a few reasons: Social advantages. Poker is an increasingly popular game, and there are endless opportunities to meet other characters that share the same interests as you.

Poker is flexible. In comparison to a job, where you have a little control over how much you get paid, in poker everything depends on you. No boss. No commute. Besides, you can make more and more money as you progress.

Anyone can play. There are no qualifications to participate, neither through online poker sites nor in casinos.

It is educational. A player can learn skills that will be handy in other areas of life, like learning to read people, becoming disciplined, taking risks, and spotting patterns.

It is fun. Players know how much fun it can be to outplay your opponents by the way you bet, check, raise, call and bluff.

However, an exorbitant amount of groundwork is required to even try playing poker for a living and have any glimmer of hope of coming out ahead. “I found the rules, read them and started to play,” said experienced poker player Yuriy Lakatosh. “At the beginning I played badly, like every player till the moment I found my own stealth.”

A beginning poker player is terrible for a long, long time before seeing any progress and sometimes that state lasts forever. The difficulty level of poker oscillates too, and not always as a function of time. “Some people estimate that 80 percent lose in the long run in poker,” noted According to Quora, a contributor on slate.com, “But a more accurate statistical guess is that only 5 percent win at poker in the long run.”

Some argue that it is purely a game of luck. “Poker is sometimes like a game of chess. You really have to think hard about your next move.

Sometimes heads-up (part of game when only 2 players are involved and other players have lost their chips) can take five minutes and sometimes an hour,” said Vicher, who was also last year's poker tournament organizer. “It depends what are the circumstances and how good are the players. Luck plays an essential role in life and it is not different in poker.”

Outside Your Comfort Zone

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By Marissa Hornaday Being an American abroad can be intimidating. Not everybody will understand your language, you will be a minority, and you will not have everyone catering to your every want. Apparently, coming from a country known as “the melting pot” of cultures does not make it easier to adapt to new ones outside the United States. Some Americans do not adapt well and can often mistake Europeans as rude if they are not treated like they are used to back home.

“I see Americans who act very disrespectful and think they can just walk right into places and be treated like they are better than everyone else,” said Katrina Ritchey, an American AAU exchange student.

American AAU student Kenley Gassaway said Prague was a very appealing study abroad destination because it is beautiful, centrally located for travel around Europe, and cheap. However, AAU student Nicole Hornaday worried how she would be treated as an American in Prague before coming here.

“One of my friends who had recently visited Prague told me to be prepared for people to be rude to me because I am American,” she said. “He told me that he asked for tap water at multiple restaurants and that each server seemed annoyed by this and gave him terrible service.”

Nicole added she also had a friend studying abroad in Paris who said she had to learn how to speak French if she wanted to receive good service. “Since living here in Prague for a few months I have noticed that this is just a part of their culture,” Hornaday said, “but it did concern me and make me question whether or not I would be treated differently simply because I was American.”

America prides itself on hospitality and customer service, so it takes some adjusting to realize that no offense should be taken if someone does not go out of their way to offer help. Veronika Sinkulova, a full-time Czech AAU student who has been living in Prague for 15 years explained a little bit about the Czech culture.

“Czechs like their own space, they like their everyday routines, and if something comes and disrupts it, it makes them uncomfortable,” said Sinkulova. “So when someone comes and needs help, even when it is a Czech person, the majority will not usually help. It is horrible, but it is very much about the Czech nature.”

Lindsay Porter, another AAU student, said she was offended when she went into a local store and was refused service by the Czech worker because he did not want to speak English. “I walked in and tried to be so nice, and he yelled, ‘No English!’ I tried to communicate what I wanted but he did not want to help me,” said Porter. “And then he just got on the phone and started talking, so I left.”

Porter explained that she usually tries to begin conversations with the Czech greeting “dobry den” but that sometimes she does not remember to do so. This time she walked in just saying ‘hello.’ “He might have helped me if I started by saying ‘dobry den’,” Porter admitted, “but he was unnecessarily rude.”

AAU student Natalie Martinez remembered a similar incident. “I was at Tesco and I asked one of the employees where I could find cinnamon. I showed her the word in Czech, which I had translated on Google Translate. She just looked at it, shrugged her shoulders,

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and walked away,” said Martinez. “The next second I saw her walking with another customer helping them look for something.”

Sinkulova explained that it is not only Americans but tourists in general who are treated this way.

Americans should consider that often Czechs are required to learn English in order to adapt to tourists, which is not always an easy task.

“They should know that we try to speak English for them,” Pavel Novak, owner of a small Prague market, said. “I don’t speak good English and it is hard when an American comes in speaking fast and I cannot understand.”

Many Czechs learn English from a young age because it is important if one wants to be successful in such a heavily touristed area, said a Czech AAU student who wished to remain anonymous.

“We do not really have a choice,” said the student. “Just as Americans and others have pride for the country they come from, so do Czechs, but since most people do not speak the Czech language we are almost forced to adapt ourselves to the English-speaking culture in order to get a good job.”

The student suggested that Americans should try to understand and respect that by learning English, Czechs are stepping out of their culture to make tourists feel more comfortable.

Most AAU American exchange students interviewed said they realize the importance of showing respect and feel embarrassed when they notice other Americans walking into Czech stores acting “demanding and entitled,” as exchange student Natalie Thompson put it. “Maybe I have been that obnoxious American who has walked into a place expecting them to speak English to me, but I always try to at least say hello in their language to show respect for their culture,” Thompson said. “Some people may not even realize that they are doing it but I think Americans need to be more considerate about how they are acting.”

American Katrina Ritchey shared a simple piece of advice for all travelers.

“I remember reading a quote before studying abroad and it was how you have to remember that these places were not meant to be comfortable for you but to be comfortable for the people who actually live here,” she said. “It is not your home, it is their home, so it is your duty to work with that person and make yourself comfortable with them.”

“People here are more cold,” Sinkulova concluded, “but if you take the effort and try harder than usual to get closer to a Czech, you will be rewarded with opened arms and endless love.”

Interview with AAU President Alan Krautstengl

By Anastasia Shishkina You started as a Professor of Mathematics and taught at several universities in the United States before you became the President of AAU in 2005. Why did you choose a career in academia in the first place?

Making a career in academia has been a natural process for me.

I earned a M.Sc. in Mathematics at Charles University in Prague.

However, I’ve always been attracted to the life, history and philosophy of the United States. Shortly after the fall of communism I considered continuing my education in the USA. In 1990 I went to the States and, for the first 4 months, I worked as a waiter in a resort in the Catskill Mountains, Upstate New York. With the money I made I travelled around the U.S. and visited several universities looking both for a place where I could study further and for financial support. Аt Kent State University (OH) I was fortunate enough to meet Richard S. Varga, the youngest full professor of Mathematics in the history of the United States. Right after having received a Ph.D. at Harvard, he was designing mathematical models used by nuclear submarines for the U.S. navy and then he wrote a book called Matrix Iterative Analysis which became “the Bible” in the field. He was interested in

the research I did and I became his student. Working with him was challenging but it opened many doors for me, including the possibility to continue working in academia. I got an M.A. and Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics at Kent State University and in my dissertation I was able to solve a 25 year old open problem from Numerical Linear Algebra. It helped me to win a competition from among 200 applicants and become Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Case Western University (OH). Later I continued teaching at Black Hills State University (SD) and as an Associate Professor at the University of Puerto Rico (PR). My family and I decided to return to the Czech Republic when my wife was pregnant with our second child.

I taught at different universities in Prague and for two years was a Vice-President of one of them. When, in 2005, the position of President of Anglo-American University opened, I applied for it without knowing anybody there and happened to get the job! The field of Applied Mathematics is closely connected to business, industry and finance. For instance, at Case I was an advisor of a biomedical Ph.D. student working on a project of designing an artificial heart, and I had another engineering student designing precise car parts for a motor company. We had joined seminars with NASA. My field is universal and it gave me connections to different practical areas which is beneficial in an academic career as well.

It is impossible not to talk about our recent move to the Thurn and Taxis palace. What were your expectations of the new campus, did they meet with reality? And what were your first impressions of the palace?

Several years ago it became apparent that the old AAU campus, the palace of the Knights of Malta, didn’t meet the needs of the university. Also, the financial conditions could have been more favorable. One of my duties as President is to look for another option if something is overpriced because at the end of the day you have to work with the tuition paid by our students. And, of course, we need-

I’ve always been attracted to the life, history and philosophy of the United States. ed more space. I remember how one of my colleagues said: “I saw the place, it’s too much like a palace so it won’t be suitable for a campus,” and I asked her to show it to me anyway. When I saw it I thought: “This is it,” and really wanted to make the move happen.

Close cooperation with Prague 1 helped us a lot. I have to salute the courage of the current mayor of Prague 1 who wanted to use the palace either for educational or cultural purposes. However, if it had been turned into a museum, the income for Prague 1 wouldn’t have been enough to cover the expenses. Prague 1 has invested over 150 million CZK in the reconstruction and we are paying them 9 million CZK per year, which eventually will cover the reconstruction. It is slightly more than we paid in the previous place but for over double the size, and the palace exceeded my expectations. There are some flaws, but overall it is fantastic! We are very proud to be here and we also hope that it will attract new students. One of the first conditions which I insisted on was that the nicest rooms will be converted into classrooms because the students are the purpose of our existence.

Now we have a symbiosis of historical beauty and modern technology in the building, new cables and projectors don’t interfere with the beautiful chandeliers.

One of the major accomplishments of 2015 is the institution’s recognition as a Candidate for Accreditation by the WASC Senior College and University Commission that is responsible for academic accreditation of western American colleges and universities and foreign institutions of American origin. What does the accreditation mean for the university in general and students in particular? What benefits does it provide?

The Candidacy does not legally assure eventual accreditation.

However, it is a major step. We’ve already passed Eligibility and now are a Candidate which constitutes formal affiliation with WASC. The next step is full Accreditation. The WASC commission has already expressed the belief that AAU has all the capabilities to get accredited. Typically an institution has a period of 5 years between Candidacy and Accreditation to improve. Interestingly, when we were given a report about what the Commission thinks has to be developed, unlike other universities which usually contact WASC when they are ready, we were simply informed that the team will visit us again in March 2016 and the vote about the final accreditation will take place in June 2016. It means that by Christmas we need to send them a report about our progress. Our time is short: we need to work very hard together. It’s either going to be a phenomenal success or a failure! If AAU gets accredited it will mean that the diplomas of the students will become extremely valuable.

The university will have the same accreditation as Stanford, Berkeley and Chapman. It will make a difference on the job market. One thing is to have a degree and another thing is what type of a degree you have. The WASC accreditation will automatically increase the value even of those diplomas which were given before the accreditation took place, and those who will get a diploma after a positive vote will have a WASC accredited degree. For the university, the process of accreditation is beneficial itself. We had to enhance a lot of areas which had a positive effect on everybody in the community. Of course, this will attract more quality students from all over the world.

Could efforts to be accredited be run by the wish to get more U.S. full-time students?

First of all, I don’t see anything wrong with getting more degree-seeking students from the U.S. AAU is and has always been open for students from all over the world. I’m against any positive or negative discrimination based on the place of origin. For me, a good student from Kyrgyzstan is better than an average student from the United States, a good student from the U.S. is better than an average student from Ukraine, a good student from Ukraine is better than an average student from Russia and so forth. We want to have quality students. Nationality, gender, and race are completely irrelevant. A university should be a place to bring different nationalities together and show them that they have something in common. Of course, we would like to have more quality full-time American students because now the majority of them are study-abroads. Although cooperation with CEA is beneficial for the university and exchange students spread the good word about AAU in their mother universities, it is very important that we keep the ratio of degree-seeking students to the study-abroads heavily in favor of the former because we don’t want to become a transit place. We want to have more quality students without compromising the quality of admissions. In 10 years this university can easily have over 5000 students! We only need enough qualified faculty and enough space.

Is the tuition fee going to increase in connection with WASC Accreditation?

The level of the tuition is determined by the Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of the President. Eventually we should raise tuition in order to attract high profile international faculty. You can’t increase tuition without any ground behind it – WASC accreditation would be the ground. But in my opinion, increasing the tuition will be just fair because other universities offering a comparable level of education are much more expensive. This is not on the agenda right now and we wouldn’t like to affect current students. However,

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if you are building a Mercedes you don’t sell it for the price of a Volkswagen Golf, otherwise you wouldn’t have the money for the quality parts of the Mercedes.

With the expansion AAU is able to host more students. Don’t you think that facilities such as the library and computer lab should have been enlarged as well?

There are a lot of suggestions, complaints, and possibilities to do things differently. No choice is perfect. Once we enlarge, this could be an option. We would also like to have a separate room for members of the faculty who do research. Currently we only have an open space for chairs of the departments. One should also consider the fact that many students have their own laptops and use the AAU wi-fi connection. The computer lab is mostly to be used for instruction. But when the changes are to become necessary, we’d like to get an input from everybody, not only from the administration. The upcoming Breakfast with the President is one of the means to learn opinions of the students. I always believed that having direct contact with the students is beneficial. It might bring up some issues that I’m not aware of and give me a chance to explain why certain things are done in certain ways even though we all can agree that they could’ve been done differently. We can find new solutions together.

How do you view the relationship between the university, its neighborhood, and the city? Do you think we should develop stronger bonds with Prague 1?

There should be a very respectful and transparent relationship.

This is the key. It should be friendly, but most importantly clear and beneficial for both sides. Eventually we plan to expand the campus and want to even use some buildings for dormitories! We maintain a fair relationship with Prague 1 and are proud of it. The city has been spending 1 or 2 mln CZK per year just to prevent the Thurn and Taxis palace from falling apart. Now they don’t have to spend money for simply keeping up the building thanks to our transparent relationships.

AAU is following the Anglo-American model of education.

However, unlike U.S. colleges, AAU lacks official sports teams which could foster school spirit among students. Instead, we have a lot of student clubs becoming more and more active. How else would you like to foster the community sense at AAU? I’m happy to see the increasing initiative from the side of our students! We should definitely encourage extracurricular activities.

However, this is the job of the Student Council to come up with such ideas. I personally was very glad about the newly established Chess Club because I used to play chess myself professionally in high school. Speaking from the administration, any meaningful proposal will be certainly met with a positive response. I think our own dormitories would foster school spirit. I would also like to see closer cooperation between AAU alumni and current students, one-on-one guidance is a great idea. We are on great terms with our alumni. For example, I just received a touching email from our former student who is now a Czech ambassador to Denmark excusing himself for not making it to the 25th Anniversary Celebration and saying how proud he is to be a part of AAU. Instead of reinventing the wheel, we could get inspired by fine American and British universities in terms of keeping up school spirit and use their experience.

Mr. President, we would like to end on a light note. How many bow ties do you have?

I don’t know exactly… (laughs) Maybe ten!

To read the full interview visit our website!

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More Clubs Than Ever

By Raevenn Breen Students at our multicultural university who bump into people from different places every day may share the same interests and not even know it. This year’s doubling of campus clubs, however, gives more variety for everyone.

The new campus opening this winter allowed room for more clubs and social activities, Student Council President Adi Hadzic said.

“It is a great opportunity for students to learn more about the people they study with as well as participate in activities which they enjoy doing in their free time,” said Hadzic.

The new clubs are the AAU Program Board, the Chess Club, the Cooking Club, Photography Club and the Yoga Club, which are all run by students. The other six clubs - the Basketball, Football, Dance, Film, Volunteering and Diplomatic clubs have existed for more than a year. However, the Diplomatic and Volunteering clubs have not met this semester, according to Martin Ranninger, Student Council secretary.

Marco Pascucci, the Chess Club’s founder, said he decided to open the club because of a long passion for the game. The first club session a few weeks ago saw a total of eight people attend.

“It was great to see some people turn up although I would have loved to see a few more come,” said Pascucci. “Chess is a great game and although it is intellectually challenging, it is also very fun to play.”

“I created this club not for intellectuals but for people from all backgrounds, even those who have never heard of chess before,” he added. “It’s a great way to get people to learn about this ancient board game and to become acquainted with one another.”

Another new club, the AAU Program Board, organizes student trips in addition to those offered by the Student Council.

AAU Program Board spokesperson Pavel Mares said he wanted to create a club that focuses on students being involved in activities outside the university in order to promote student bonding.

“The Program Board focuses on activities suggested to us both by our board members and by students at the university,” he said. “Our club basically focuses on promoting student life away from the hard studies they have to do and get a breath of fresh air.” A recent Prague Sea World trip drew 25 students, he added. “It was a great start.”

One student, Simone Bertolone, an IR major at AAU who attended the Sea World trip, said he appreciated that it was free thanks to a sponsorship from Cobbler’s Bakery. He said the club was doing well and he would like to see more trips like these. A recent hiking trip to Czech Switzerland filled an entire coach with about 60 people, and at press time a go-karting trip outside the city center was taking place.

“Our main aim is to get the best prices for students while also providing them with a memorable experience with the Program Board, and we have done so and will continue to do so,” Mares said Other students are joining the Yoga Club, run by Ibrahim Timurtas, an AAU M.A. student. “I have been doing yoga for many years

now and I thought sharing my knowledge of yoga with students would promote their fitness, health and flexibility,” he said.

“Yoga focuses on the mind and body, and always pushes people to try new techniques and reach hard goals,” Timurtas said. “It is essentially a workout and a form of relaxation for people who are stressed and looking for a release.” It also helps with study habits, he added.

“A healthy body and mind stays much longer in focus.” The club has held nine sessions so far.

To see more clubs related photos visit our website!

Writing: The Drug or The Cure?

By Anastasia Shishkina Anthony Marais is a Composition professor at AAU, but he is also a musician and a writer. His first novel, which took him 10 years to write, is called The Cure, and you can borrow it from the AAU library. The following talk was about his novel and writing in general.

Where did the inspiration for writing The Cure come from?

My biggest inspiration came from other writers, from discovering Oscar Wilde, Thomas Mann, Dostoyevsky, and what became many others. Those people gave me some of the happiest days of my life.

I was reading Mann when I started writing my novel, and I thought: “How do I repay him for this joy?” I figured the best way to say thank you to a writer is to continue the tradition of writing. You try to take the baton and run with it to the next guy or girl on the track.

What was the motivational moment for you to start the novel?

What got me writing was that three of my friends dropped out of university while getting their master’s degree. It disturbed me because they were good students and intelligent. From my perspective, they seemed to be better students than me. It intrigued me: What makes someone drop out of university? I mean some of the most talented, intelligent and creative people just don’t make it. Why? Perhaps the reason is ego—the basic antagonism between the arts and sciences. While the arts foster a cult of the ego with their emphasis on individual expression, the sciences tend to restrict the ego with their emphasis on form as a marker of academic ethos. This is the irony of my life, because I’m currently doing to my students what I tried so hard to break away from. Restricting egos! Academic writing entails tempering one’s individual voice to achieve an air of authority. But hopefully my students all know this is just for the class. Please, don’t let it damage you in real life! I love passion, and it scares me when I see people without passion for anything.

Did you have a mentor at the beginning of your writing career?

I started on my own, but early on I met a mentor—an American writer living in Frankfurt—a professional who had written many books and lived from his craft. I remember the first thing he told me

about people writing novels: “Most don’t finish.” And I remember thinking: “Okay, I don’t care if my book is bad. I’m going to finish it anyway!” He was a great inspiration. He read my early drafts and very kindly marked them up with red ink. Young writers may not get it yet, but red ink is a gift!

10 years is a long time to write a book. How did the process of writing go? Did you put the novel aside and then return to it?

I started as an amateur and made a lot of mistakes at first. That’s why it took me 10 years to finish it. To be honest, I didn’t follow the rules I teach in class today. My book was written in the “Milos Forman” style: write as much as you can and then cut, cut, cut. What at one point had swelled to around 400 pages was eventually cut down to 236. It happened from my lack of experience. I “shot” too much “footage,” and later I was thinking: “How come nobody can finish reading it?” You see, it’s not easy to produce a book someone can read from cover to cover. That’s what makes me excited. Maybe it’s because of my Hollywood childhood, but I’m fascinated by storytelling. I wrote 50 pages at the beginning that constitute most of Part I (the book has 4 parts). Then I put it down. After about a year I got a new girlfriend who read those 50 pages, and then something nice happened. Having a reader energized me, and I decided to try to get back to it. Now I added an antagonist to the story, a Mephisto-like character named Herr Eberhard, and the plot took off! I started to mold the story around him, making sure to weave him into the first 50 pages, hiding him in a corner or lurking in the background. In one of the first scenes, he’s in a cafe laughing at Robert. The Cure should probably be read twice to catch most of these details. Well, this phase of writing the novel ate up the next nine years!

What does the name of the book mean?

I chose it for three reasons: first, to refer to a cure for an illness—in this case, my protagonist’s life crisis and his subsequent escape from all his responsibilities. And for Robert, death is the cure for escaping the stress of life—that’s the dark irony. The second meaning of the title came from the story’s setting: Wiesbaden, which in German is called a “Kurort”—a “health resort” or “spa town” where Europeans would come for a couple of weeks to “take a cure”—basically, drinking lots of mineral water and taking baths. The third meaning is meant to reflect the “generation X” side of the story and comes from a 1980s rock band called “The Cure” in which the lead singer’s name is Robert, too.

Tell about the main character of the story. Is there a connection between you and him?

My character Robert became a kind of shadow of myself, my nightmare me. He is trying to run away from all his life troubles.

Robert’s problems are existential, the problems of a young person with a lot of freedom, problems of choice. I never described him physically, only internally, which was one of my literary tricks. I describe all the other characters except for him, hoping that my readers can project themselves onto him. However, I’m happy to say I’m not him! Robert drops out of university and Tony allowed himself to be humbled, jumping through all the hoops to finish his degree. Tony has less bravado than Robert—and is hopefully a little less crazy.

Did something interesting happen to you while writing the novel?

I had a bunch of really bizarre coincidences while writing the book. For instance, the name Bardo Eberhard is simply a composite of the names of two friends of mine: Bardo Bornheimer and Brent Eberhard. Well, years later, I was reading Carl Jung’s essays about

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death and rebirth, and learned that the Tibetan Book of the Dead is, in fact, called the “Bardo Thödol” and the 49 days of wandering in a state between death and life are called the “Bardo experience.” Go figure!

Why did you decide to finish The Cure with Robert’s death?

Robert is doing everything wrong and the character will be punished for that. I’m trying to get the reader to identify with my protagonist, but at the same time I’m a moralist—even if I like ambiguity. I definitely connected it to Kafka’s The Trial. Robert’s death is simply “meant to be”—“es muss sein,” as the Germans say. But for many years I didn’t have him die in the end; he just disappeared. Then something in me said, “No, everything is leading to his death!” It’s as if the story demanded it. So from that moment on, I really worked hard to allow the story to take that inevitable direction, but leave the reader surprised all the same. The reader should be shocked, but then quickly realize that it was obvious: he’s been drinking too much spa water, drinking magic potions, totally neglecting himself and not listening to any of the warnings people keep giving him. In fact, no more than 20 pages into the book, the character Jürgen explicitly tells Robert: “You will die”—and no reader ever picks that up! Well, I guess a few will now.

Did you discover something new about yourself while writing The Cure?

There’s surely a lot of me in The Cure that I’m not conscious of. I’ve certainly got issues with authority: I’m very cautious about cult leaders, gurus, strong personalities, leaders, fathers, mothers—you name it, I’m suspicious of it. The character Herr Eberhard is not the giver of answers; he is just plain scary! Perhaps this skepticism is a leftover from my punk rock youth.

How did writing change you?

Throwing myself into the creative world enabled me meet professional artists. Writing has changed my life. The amazing thing about writing a novel is that nobody tells you to do it; you just start doing it and then one fine day you notice that you’re calling yourself a writer. It’s weird, but there’s something great about that. For me, writing is reaching out to the people who inspire me. The Cure is saying: “Goodbye, my dear anthropology friends!

Is there anyone else out there?” Real literature should be based on a belief in people, wanting to connect them. It’s the idea and the ideal of humanism. Writing a novel is pure idealism. I’m trying to connect cultures and bring people closer together through my books. On some level literature is a religion to me. After all, is religion not based on the book? And isn’t literature just a continuation of a great collective intellectual project that has been developing for the last 4,000 years?

How did it feel on the day of publishing of The Cure?

It’s a big kick. It’s great. It’s a massive relief, because writing a novel can take a ridiculously vast amount of time. It can take 10 years! And once it’s published, you finally get to share it with people—you get to give readings and sign books. My book is like a baby to me. Orson Welles said that all artists are women at heart. Well, if this is true, then I was pregnant for 10 years! And as soon as junior popped out of me, my whole life turned upside down: it was no longer about me; it was now about “the book.” I had given birth to this little thing that can’t walk. I’m still nursing it today. It’s really like a mother-and-child relationship: Baby comes first!

If you had a chance, would you change something in the novel?

Yes, totally! Once a book is published you can’t change it anymore. The game is over. Walt Disney confessed that he couldn’t

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watch his own movies because all he saw were the mistakes. And than the English one—or at least shorter. I’m obsessed with cutting one of the reasons he built Disneyland was that finally he could un- and have come to believe that somewhere in all the hacking, slicing dertake a project that could still be changed after opening day. But, and chopping is the “Holy Grail” of storytelling: that is, the secret alas, books are not like amusement parks; they’re like movies: once trick that keeps readers gripped to a story. Translating is amazing. presented to the public, there’s no way back to the drawing board.

The Austrian writer Stefan Zweig said it’s the best school for writers.

So if you want to become a writer, Would you make a movie based just translate for 10 years and your on The Cure? brain will start working like a writer.

I would love to! Wiesbaden is a Multilingualism is good—and I’d say photogenic city, and I would love to many of our students at AAU are alsee that city put to music and givready on their way to becoming great en drama. Many scenes in the book writers! function like scenes in a film: many Any more advice for beginning chapters open with a feeling of a writers? clapperboard and someone yelling “Action!” I could imagine the movJust do it! And don’t worry if it’s ie as a European production, because bad. Keep doing it anyway. Rememit’s not really an American story. The ber that most writers don’t finish. cast, crew, and director could all be Embrace your idealism and don’t European—all except one American: give up! My strategy—for whatever Two of Marai’s books - both available in the AAU Library it’s worth—is to stick to writing one Robert. book people can read rather than five As a teacher of Composition I unfinished books that nobody can read. and II could you tell what is the connection between academic and creative writing?

How do you see the future of the world of literature?

If I would teach a Creative Writing course, I would simply tell Great! I’m an optimist. Every generation produces writers, almy students that everything we were doing in academic writing was though from the historical present it can be hard to find the best working on the author’s voice. And what happens in creative writing among them. That’s why art appears to be better in the past than in the is that we have to start adding other voices to the picture: the various present. Because looking back into history we are no longer inundatcharacters who all need to speak with their own voices. So now we ed by the 95% of bad movies, books and music that come out every get to use slang, experiment with colloquialisms, be humorous, and day. Accordingly, the past looks rosier. But the 5% of artists who will even be sexy. It takes a lot of effort to make characters sound distinct make our world richer are there—as we speak. Nowadays they may from one another—and especially from your own voice. For instance, be writers who create screenplays or poets who become rock stars. in my book I tried to make Robert sound more American than I per- It’s all about the spirit, the idea that one can benefit others through ceive myself to be. words. I truly believe that as long as there are people there will be literature. And there will always be literature as long as we remain true What is the best thing about writing? to Plato’s three appeals of art: truth, beauty, and goodness.

There’s nothing like writing. It’s definitely the hardest art form.

I’m convinced of that. I’ve watched so many people around me who wanted to do it, but they couldn’t—couldn’t “finish,” as my mentor “Nobody is illegal” in the Czech Republic said. The best thing I can say about writing is that it doesn’t go away.

By Katerina Glacnerova and Kristina Zakurdaeva You can put it down and come back years later—and it’s there paIn the past three months, Czech citizens showed concern regardtiently waiting for you. It’s the greatest gift to yourself, because you ing the issue of xenophobia, which triggered the rise of political acend up with a psychological portrait of yourself at a specific moment tivism. in life. You suddenly can see yourself in a new kind of mirror. You get Recent shootings in Paris and Copenhagen encouraged discussion to know things about yourself that most people forget with time. With on various levels of society and divided it in two polar views. Both The Cure I captured myself at the age of 29—a strange year, indeed, sides of the argument surprisingly agree that Czechs are not exactly for many of us. I’ll be 70 one day—Who knows what I’ll be like?— xenophobic; however, they are still unwelcoming and closed towards and I will be able to open a shoebox and pull out this 236-page mental foreigners. photograph of myself at 29. I’m sure as I change this image will look stranger and stranger over the years. I started out as the young Robert “Nobody is illegal,” shouted around 300 attendees of a demonstraand I’ll end up as the old Herr Eberhard. This is life. tion “Refugees Welcome” held in Prague February. The demonstration was organized What is writing to you? by a self-described Writing is a drug; it’s like heroin. It has all the negatives of addicleftist initiative “No tion—and all the positives. You get an indescribable joy from creatto Racism” and the ing. Like somebody injects a happy drug into you. Art can make me Consortium of Mihappy forever. Life is filled with stress: relationships break up, illness grants Assisting Orstrikes, disasters happen, but at least I know I can always fall back on ganizations in Czech art. It’s really our most faithful friend (and it lives longer than dogs).

Republic.

On my worst days I can pick up a book or watch a movie or listen to The demonstramusic, and suddenly realize that I’m not alone—and so lucky to be tion’s goals were to alive. promote religious What are you working on now? freedom, provide Currently I’m translating The Cure into German, as well as editlegal assistance to ing it for a second edition. As my students can attest, I love cutting the refugees, spread their political agenda and decrease anti-Muslim away redundant words and passages. In fact, just this past month I tensions, according to CMAO spokesperson Magda Faltova. Various made a massive 6-page cut to the German version—and it felt great! religious and age groups came to support the movement. “It can bring I hope when we’re finished that the German version will be better new ideas,” said Lucka Piklova, who was there with friends. Accord-

ing to Faltova, the demonstration is a response to the “We Don’t Want Islam in the Czech Republic” movement, which is trying to eliminate Islam in the country.

Artur Fiser, the anti-Islam movement’s spokesperson, is convinced that accepting refugees is a security threat to Europe. “The main goal of Islam is the same as the Islamic State’s – to impose a worldwide caliphate,” said Fiser.

However, he suggested that providing assistance on the spot in the conflict zones is more effective and less costly.

The movement is concerned with alleged European islamization and the establishment of Sharia Law. However, an anonymous Muslim attendee of the anti-racism demonstration rejected any connection between Islam and ISIS’ agenda.

According to her, the perception of Muslims in Prague has worsened in the last six years. “People do not directly insult me [for religious views]; however, the way they look at me is often unpleasant,” she said.

Fiser disagreed stating that Muslims are the victims of their faith and should either convert to another religion or become faithless in order to live peacefully in Europe.

Where to draw the line between freedom of speech and incitement of hatred was also the main question raised at a panel discussion on the post-Charlie Hebdo events at AAU. Panelists expressed their concern with the rise of radical Islamic activism in Europe and mentioned anxiety among citizenry.

Those events have contributed to misperception of Muslims in Europe and triggered an incredible increase in support of far right parties, also revealing problems with immigration policies of the EU. After long negotiations, the Czech government accepted 15 Syrian refugee families in January 2015. At the demonstration, Amnesty International promoted a petition to accept another 100 Syrian refugees.

A Snow Job on Students

By Michaela Mikesova

Last month various AAU students answered surveys posted on the school’s Facebook page about a job/internship offer for this summer. According to the students, the surveys, created by Amore Agency and Southwestern Advantage, said little to nothing about the offer, and so they wanted to give it a try and filled it out.

One student who asked not to be identified for this story filled out a survey and was contacted by a Prague manager of Amore Agency via Facebook. She was suspicious, but wanted to know more about the company’s offer. She immediately felt that the interview was odd because it took place at Starbucks, a public cafe. The manager was enthusiastic about the job offer, and the student said she felt so much energy from her that it was easy to believe her. Then, the lady started to introduce the company.

“She told me that this company works as a marriage agency. Basically, the women from post-Soviet countries create their profiles, and males from Europe and the USA can chat with them,” she recalled.

Her job would be to replace those women, who cannot chat in English. The manager assured the student that it was not a sex chat job.

In fact, she realized immediately, she said, that it was a sex chat job. She would get 50 percent of the total fee paid by the men for each conversation depending on the time spent chatting and the number of men chatted with. Unlike some students she knew who answered the ad, she refused the job. Some who did take the job never got paid, said the anonymous student.

Another “easy money-maker,” seemingly from first impression, is Southwestern Advantage, based in Nashville, Tennessee, which posted a survey last month on AAU’s Facebook page inviting students from all over the world to join their summer marketing internship.

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Many more AAU students responded to this one than to the Amore post. Those who left their phone numbers received a call from the company’s “Associate Sales Leaders.”

“It was obvious from the call that they wanted me to come and hear more about it,” said one AAU student, who found a salary of 7,500 USD within three months of working more than interesting.

Another student said that there was no specific information provided via the phone call.

Source: http://www.southwesternadvantage.com

“It felt like he was convincing us to want to go,” the student said.

Students came to the building of Technical library in Prague 6, where they met the person they spoke with on the phone. They were told that SW Advantage offers a door-to-door sale of books for children on different school levels, as well as Internet-based quizzes and information. Their books are sold separately – for example a book of Honors, Math, Biology, English literature, etc. The price for one book is 109,95 USD, and 19,95 USD/month for Internet-based quizzes.

“The leaders did not forget to mention again that an average salary of a student working for SW Advantage is over 7,500 USD for the three-month internship,” remembers one of the interviewed students.

After the demonstration of products, the students needed to decide whether or not they like the products and work overseas. They say why they think they are the right people for this job. Practically, it is easy to make the sale leaders think that the student is the best for this job.

“To my question if it was some kind of work and travel system he said just ‘work and work,’ which was the first unappealing thing that started all those disadvantages of their offer,” one of the students complained.

Then, the truth behind this well-paid internship came out. The leaders said that students have to pay for the insurance (1,500 USD) to a GEC company that SW Advantage cooperates with, the plane ticket, and have at least 500 USD in their pockets for the first month of their internship. Additionally, they may need to pay for stay in host families they need to find themselves.

Furthermore, students are told that they meet 30 families on an average day. They call them or knock on their door, present the products to them in their house, and sell it. There is an average number of 2,5 books sold in one day. As one of the students later on spoke to a person from VSE, who experienced it, she said: ”What the leaders did not say was that they choose the area where students will be selling their books. And if the students go to a poor neighborhood, there is no chance they could sell a greater amount of books to get rid of the debt they are already in.”

If the student sells a book, they get paid for the 40 percent of its cost, or 43.98 USD. It is unlikely that these first three months can pay for the expenses the student paid (average 4,000 USD) before the internship.

The students would need more experience in selling and communication to have the expenses and earnings equalized. On average, students need to do the door-to-door sale at least three times (nine months total) to earn few bucks in their pockets, said the representative. In other words, students are forced to pay for their internship and provide their work for an experience.

With these kinds of summer jobs and internships, students need to be aware that whatever sounds too good can be far from the reality.

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Opinion: How (Un)sustainable Was Your Dinner?

http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/food-carbon-footprint-diet

By Martin Ranninger Since 1970, thanks to a peace activist John McConnel, every April 22 people celebrate the Earth Day. Protecting the environment, raising awareness on environmental issues, honoring the Earth, and creating a more sustainable future were some of the reasons for launching a modern environmental movement.

We all know the drill — use energy efficient light bulbs, take shorter showers, support the clean energy, get a hybrid car, and follow the three Rs (reuse, reduce, recycle). But could there be something that has a significant impact on the environment and we could practice it on a daily basis? The answer is yes, and it is right in front of you. To be specific, it is on your plate. More and more studies are arguing in favor of a plant-based diet as the most environmentally friendly and least resource-demanding diet.

To begin with, I would like to shortly share my story towards veganism. Growing up in the Czech Republic, there had always been lot of meat and dairy products on my plate. When I moved to Prague to study at AAU, I challenged myself to a meat-free month. One month turned into several months and I felt good. At that time, I was still consuming dairy products but as I became more interested in nutrition and health aspects of one’s diet, I slowly began to reduce dairy products and eggs.

As for the ethical side of the plant-based diet, dairy products seem to me equally unethical as meat, if not more. Several behavioral studies are highlighting the disruption of a strong relationship between a cow and a calf. And why is that? For many of you, as was for me, the following could be bewildering. In order for the cow to lactate (= produce milk), it is artificially impregnated. After birth, the calf is taken away from the mother so that it would not be “stealing” the milk from dairy industry. At around fourth or fifth cycle of impregnation, the cow’s body, being under immense pressure to produce more and more milk, becomes unprofitable for the industry and is shipped to a slaughterhouse. In the natural environment cows can live up to 15 to 20 years, while the standard here is cut to one forth of its natural life span.

People may also question whether the plant-based diet is heathy.

It is indeed and it was confirmed by many dietary associations. For instance, a position of the American Dietetic Association is that, “Appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.”

Every five years the USDA updates its Dietary Guidelines for Americans, with the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee providing information on, “current scientific evidence on topics related to diet, nutrition, and health.” This year’s report was the first to consider

environmental impacts of one’s diet. Agricultural business accused the report of being misleading and lacking sufficient scientific evidence.

An analysis conducted by Environmental Working Group compared agricultural products and came with captivating results. For instance, it mentioned that red meat causes 10 to 40 times more greenhouse gas emissions, compared to a vegetable and grain dish.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization assessed the carbon footprint of different diets and found out that around 18 percent of all global emission is caused by the animal agriculture, which is more than the entire transportation sector combined.

An average family uses approximately 1500 liters of water on a daily basis. However, this number does not consider the water that is required for our food. If all four family members had a cheeseburger for dinner, the amount of water per that day would rise to about 26500 liters.

This is because the production, processing and distribution of meat requires huge outlays of pesticides, as well as fertilizers, fuel, feed and water while releasing greenhouse gases, manure and a range of toxic chemicals into our air and water, according to Sarasota Jason from Earth Talk in Environmental Magazine.

Nitrous Oxide, a greenhouse gas, is roughly 260 times more destructive than CO2, caused by livestock of up to 65 percent.

Livestock is also the leading cause of deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest and accounts for 90 percent. Land use for livestock cover also near half of Earth’s total land, with understandably more land needed for a conventionally eating person.

By taking out animal products from my diet I also became an environmentalist. I am proud to say that today I am vegan for the animals, the environment and for myself.

Tea Workshop

By Anastasia Shishkina Japanese tea masters used to say: “A cup of tea is a cup of peace.”

AAU Student Council organized a peaceful relaxing evening by presenting a two-sessions “Tea Workshop”, which starts to become an annual tradition at the university. “ Te a - j a y ” who led the event started with saying, “My name is Tomas and I love tea.” To him, it is not just a beverage but a whole culture. He travels to China every year to enrich his knowledge about the drink and its effects on body, and learn the art of drinking tea first hand.

The workshop consisted of two parts. Preparing and enjoying a favorite kind of the tea followed degustation and comparing of different types of the beverage, such as Chinese, Japanese, and Indian.

The participants drank “naked” tea without sugar to feel all the levels of the taste and flavor to the fullest: fragrance, texture, aftertaste, and influence on the organism.

According to the “tea-jay,” tea is in many ways like wine. It can be made of different plants and have various ways of processing, and a special manner of naming. It is usually named after the area it was grown in and the tree leaves that were used in the making. However, those names are long and difficult to remember.

Therefore, business names are invented to make them user-friendlier. For example, Snow Buds, White Peony, Fenix Orange Blossom, Golden Needles, and Old Comrade were the names of the tea displayed at the workshop.

Thus, tea drinking becomes also an aesthetic ceremony.

Participants learned that views of traditional Chinese medicine differ from European views about the health effects of the drink. For instance, in China green tea is believed to have a cooling effect on the body, whereas black tea is believed to have a warming effect.

Yet, the influence is individual and one has to try a particular kind to find out how it will perform in their body.

Film Series: Guilty Pleasures

By Kristina Zakurdaeva

The AAU Library was full of students Friday, Feb. 27 and they did not come to study. Every two weeks film lovers of the university gather to get to know their professors better through the art of film.

AAU Film Club came up with the series Guilty Pleasures, where the professors can show their favorite film, “the one that we’ll never play in the class,” according to Anthony Marais, Composition professor, who held an opening speech Feb. 27.

As it happens sometimes, people love films that are “bad” in all senses or are plain weird, and they cannot explain why. They probably saw them in a certain period of time and the films helped them to get over hardships. This is the goal of Guilty Pleasures – to share this moment of enlightenment.

Douglas Dix opened the series with a small speech, where he described his perception of the series as something peculiar. Dix was planning to show “Mr. Arkadim,” “Vivre pour vivre” (Live for life) or “Red Sky at Morning.”

The final decisiontaken a few moments before the screening was “Wonder Boys.” The film evokes the memories of the time when life was out of control, supported by the creative crisis. It much resembled the period when he saw it, “however, I’ve never wore my wife’s pink wardrobe,” said Dix. The second film screening March 13 was the turn of professor Stephen Delbos to show his pick. Professor Delbos was struggling with the choice up until the last 30 minutes before the event, when, “the gods of Guilty Pleasures brought me down to Earth,” he said.

He introduced possible films that he wanted to present, including “Blood Sport,” “The Outsiders,” or “Thrashin’,” nevertheless, the movie that was screened was “Last tango in Paris.” “The film has the moments of genius and weirdness,” said Delbos.

As he later explained, he came across this film about six years ago and somehow it correlated with the hard period in his life and helped to get through it. “Maybe it was just what I needed,” he said.

It is possible to enjoy Guilty Pleasures every second and fourth Friday of each month. Library provides guests with snacks, drinks, and friendly atmosphere. According to Marais, “you are not allowed to analyze anything or anyone for their choice, whatever it is,” and this is the main rule of attending the series.

Rumor has it the Film Club is launching another exciting film series in fall semester!

Writer Naomi Foyle Visited AAU Library

By Anastasia Shishkina

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Even though the number of female science fiction writers has noticeably increased in the last decades, a woman in science fiction is still pretty unusual and requires certain courage. How did you come to this genre and writing in general?

Mainstream media creates the false impression that science fiction is a male genre and this is something we have to struggle against because from the latest available statistics at least 25% of US and UK SF writers are female. In the UK, however, Waterstones bookshop recently published a pamphlet promoting its science fiction section and of 113 writers mentioned only 9 were women!

Looking back, though, I personally didn’t even consider there might be a problem with being an SF writer, because I was aware of giants in the field Ursula K. Le Guin, Anne McCaffrey, Doris Lessing and Octavia Butler and also had a friend who knew the British SF writer Gwyneth Jones, so I had models before my own eyes. My experience in South Korea contributed to my passion for sci-fi.

When I moved to Seoul to teach English in the nineties I felt like I’d leapt ahead of the rest of the world technologically. Everyone had beepers for receiving messages, Korean scientists were working on cloning and it felt quite electric for my imagination. It all fed into my first book, Seoul Survivors. They say “the past is another county” and the future is too; perhaps if you travel to a different place it’s easier to imagine being in a different time.

In your last post at naomifoyle.com you speak about “the silvery Czech spores that seeded (your) science fiction fate.” What is the connection between your writing and Czech culture?

My best friend in Canada in grade eight was a Czechoslovakian girl Nora. She influenced me literarily with her imagination when we created the world of Zandonia together. I wouldn’t have been aware at the time, but now I think she must have known of the Czech SF tradition because her father was a lively intellectual.

As a child I loved fantasy: dragons, Ursula K. Le Guin, magic…

But my first memory of engaging in science fiction is of writing with Nora. It was just a speculation but it occurred to me that there is a connection between her and my coming to Prague now.

How does the inspiration come to you?

With poems it’s almost a physical feeling – like a little bubble that grows inside you and lifts your feet off the ground. Any experience can bring this inspiration. To write a novel is different – more like a snowball hurtling down a hill.

You are also a professional Tarot card reader – how is this connected to your writing?

The Tarot has given me a spiritual sense of a world beyond the material surface (interestingly, there are scientists who hold a non-physicalist view of the universe, and I am reading Rupert Sheldrake now to understand that view better). Reading Tarot also makes me more open to the mysteries at the heart of all religions.

Tarot has fed my interest in myth and give me many opportunities for cross-cultural exchange. Even though everyone who gets a Tarot reading comes to me from a different context, I can see that in our desire to be happy and fulfilled through work and relationships we are more alike than different.

Being a Tarot reader gives me faith in people’s ability to be open to each other and to the unknown.

To read the full interview visit our website!

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Pronoia Astrology

By Mona Quirke Dear readers, In honor of springtime and its themes of renewal and regeneration, this issues's column will be exclusively aimed at inspiring pronoia, a concept popularized by the brilliant astrologer Rob Brezny. Pronoia, described by Brezny as the “antidote to paranoia”, involves a feeling that the world is secretly conspiring to shower you with blessings.

ARIES At this time, I encourage you to play the role of the fool who, while appearing to be blindly walking into danger, is in fact blessed with the luck of one who trusts the unknown. Opportunities that involve unfamiliar territory, or sweeping changes, will turn out well for you now. Fill yourself with giddy optimism, put on your best walking shoes, and wait until autumn to start rethinking your decisions.

TAURUS This spring, I encourage you to accept invitations, particularly those that involve collaborations. Whether they are romantic, friendly, intellectual, or artistic, and especially if they make you slightly uncomfortable at first, the omens indicate that you cannot go wrong now by saying “yes” to well-meaning invitations. However, beware of invitations involving work or finance. It will be best if you stick to pleasure only.

GEMINI Represented by the symbol of the twins, it is no wonder your sun sign has traditionally been associated with all things that come in twos.

For instance, it is said that you possess two faces, which is occasionally understood as duplicity and untrustworthiness. This spring, I encourage you to battle all such preposterous stereotypes and assert your right to have as many faces as you please! The omens indicate that it would be particularly beneficial to explore the number three.

Look to Cerberus, the Greek hellhound, for inspiration.

CANCER This spring, I encourage you to revel in the gentle and quiet side of your nature. The omens indicate that it has recently been required of you to nourish the more aggressive and dominating aspects of your self. I give you full permission now to go in the opposite direction. Take long, meandering walks, meditate, smell flowers, talk to yourself, and most of all, feel no guilt for needing time alone. Tell them your astrologer said so.

LEO Difficult as it is to believe, even the sunny Leo disposition can dampen when lions don’t receive the kind of praise and encouragement they deserve. If you have recently been feeling less like the bold, gorgeous cat you are, and more like a stray kitten with matted fur, fear not! The omens indicate that you will soon return to your usual self, particularly if you remember to keep things balanced: pride without vanity, elegance without snobbery, and generosity without superiority should be your guiding principles at this time.

VIRGO Your gifts of perception and insight serve you well in analyzing and assessing the people and situations in your life, but omens indicate that you may soon be placed in a position of un-knowing. You will be called on to act without adequate information, to make decisions without knowing the consequences, or to observe without making

judgments. I also predict that while such experiences may be uncomfortable at first, you are well-equipped to handle them. In fact, you may find yourself full to the brim with excitement.

LIBRA This spring, you may find yourself unusually adept at communication and transmission of information in general, particularly if you remain true to your Libran nature, which is inclined towards balance. All attempts to find harmony between seemingly opposed forces, ideologies, or even options (hmmm.. burger or salad?) will run particularly smoothly for you now. Also, if you employ your speech or writing towards such noble aims, omens indicate that you will be most successful!

SCORPIO I give you full permission, and in fact encourage you, to take very good care of yourself this spring. You have exerted your considerable energy and willpower for the sake of helping others, and the time has come to... well… take a vacation. Be it a literal trip to a foreign land, or just a week of staying in bed and not answering phone calls or emails, omens indicate that you are both deserving and in need of some self-nurturing. It would be particularly beneficial to spend more time outdoors, breathing clean air and walking through meadows picking wildflowers.

SAGITTARIUS The time is ripe for taking hold of the steering wheel—or in your case, the pen, paintbrush, microphone, or asparagus spear. Wherever your creative interest lies, omens indicate that you are now primed to receive inspiration, but also to take control of your creative output.

You would also benefit from focusing that creative energy in a single-minded way, meaning choosing one particular creation and giving it your all.

CAPRICORN The omens indicate that this spring should be a time of symbolically “laying down your sword”. If you have been battling in any sense of the word—either with others, yourself, or some external forces or circumstances, calmer days are on the horizon. It is not necessarily the case that you will be victorious, but rather more likely that you will realize that there is no need to battle. You will also benefit immensely from releasing any stagnant emotions related to old conflicts. It is time for renewal, after all!

AQUARIUS This spring, I invite you to delight in the tiny signs of joy and goodness that surround you. The most precious gifts this season will not be bold and extravagant, but rather more like the first snowdrops of early spring, shyly poking out of the still-cold ground. Lucky for you, such small blessings will abound this season. Just make sure you are paying attention.

PISCES Improvisation is the word of the season, Pisces. I encourage you to “freestyle” as much as possible, in your work, in your personal life, and most particularly in your creative activities. The omens indicate that you have done sufficient “background work” so to speak, to ensure that your improvisations will succeed. Like a trumpet player who has gotten to know his instrument so well he can make it do things nobody else has ever done, you will have full mastery of your experimentations.

Ars Poetica At the Lennon Wall proudly presents a new project created by AAU poetic talents!

Our students got a chance to share their poems with the community:

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Five Things to Do in Summer

By Diana Shlyapnikova Festivals Starting in June, Prague will be filled with the sounds of music, aromas of delicious food, and thousands of lights - festivals will be held throughout the city.

The Microbrewery Festival at Prague Castle takes place on June 12-13. Beer-lovers have a chance to try brews from over 60 microbreweries from all over Czech Republic. The price per person is 350 Kc, which includes a tasting glass, catalog and free tasting.

For geeks and simply curious people Prague will host the annual Museum Night for the 12th time. On Saturday, June 13, 39 museums and galleries will welcome everyone for free from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

All you need is to choose the route and explore it by no-charge bus.

‘This year will be the third time I participate in Museum Night,” said AAU student Irina Alifanova. “It is already a small tradition for me, and I always find something new to see there.”

Another well-known celebration, Holi Color Open Air, will occur on June 20. Originated in India, this festival has spread as far as the United States and Malaysia. That Saturday from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. people will unite in Kotva, Prague 4, to share music, dance, and visual stimulation.

Music Concerts Prague often hosts the best performers in the world. Whatever music you may love, this summer you’ll find a concert for the soul.

Electronic music artist David Guetta will rock O2 Arena on Friday, June 5, with his new album “Listen.”

Although, Prague is known as an electro-musical center, this summer it will host one of the biggest jazz festivals in Europe, Bohemia Jazz Fest. Over the past nine years, the festival’s open-air events have drawn more than 70,000 jazz fans. During ten summer days, July 9-19, you will have an amazing chance to listen to the best Eastern European jazz performers for free.

Finally, the greatest summer music joy goes to rock fans. Legendary KISS will perform all their greatest hits to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band. The concerts will be in O2 Arena July 8.

But right before, another rock fest will blow Hradec Kralova July 4-6. The Rock for People fest will bring more that 30,000 rock fans together for 21st time. This summer, the festival brings Asking Alexandria, Faith No More, Limp Bizkit, Three Days Grace, Hollywood Undead, and Bastille.

It is a medieval time!

Various Medieval Festivals will be launched across Czech Republic all summer.

Festival of Pernstejn Manor will be held in two locations: in Nedvedice and Pernstejn Castle on July 4-6. The beautiful 700-year-old castle will open its doors for three days. Local culture will be presented through dancing, music, theater performances and equestrian tournaments – all possible choices for students, who would like to see more of European history and explore the country.

Another two big event reconstructions, Battle of Mnisek and Royal Procession from Prague to Karlstejn will be held on July 4 and 6, respectively. The first one recreates the conquest of Mnisek Castle by the Swedes during the Thirty Years’ War. The second will recreate the transfer of the Emperor Charles IV’s jewels from Prague to Karlstejn.

Get on the field Always wanted to play war games? If you have a group of four friends and 196 USD, you definitely should take a helmet, camouflage pants and ride a tank! Prague Tank Battlefield — where the Hollywood movie “Lord of War,” starring Nicolas Cage, was filmed — offers everyone a chance to ride a real tank on a specially designed area, visit a local garage with military vehicles and tanks with a guide, and have a free round of beer for the whole team for 49 USD

per person.

Moreover, all interested can shoot one of the most famous weapons of modern time – the AK47 Kalashnikov. The trip cost includes a personal coach, weapons and bullets and lunch after the adventure.

For students, there will be special discounts through the summer.

Go extreme Finally, for extreme adventures lovers, tandem skydiving with, for example, Sky Service company, can be the best option. The training time is very short, so anyone can try it as soon as he wants. Moreover, for extra money you can get a video or photos of your flight.

For those who find skydiving too extreme, Skydive arena, located in Letnany, allows everyone to try flying in more secure atmosphere – in a 14 meters high glass wind tunnel. With speeds up to 270 km per hour, you actually get the feeling of real skydiving.

Traveling on a Budget

By Anastasia Kovtunenko

Being on the other side of the world with one credit card blocked and another simply not working for unknown reasons, 18 USD in the wallet, and still another week of staying abroad helps you start thinking critically about where each coin goes. Wouldn’t it be better to start this thought process before the trip begins?

In fact, you can economize on everything from transportation to meals, and still enjoy your vacation even with a tight budget.

Transportation: to get the best airfares, be flexible. You can save a fortune if you are willing to have second, third and fourth choices of not only dates but also destinations, thanks to huge fluctuations in airline prices.

According to an At the Lennon Wall survey, Skyscanner.com is AAU students’ first choice website when looking for flight tickets online. Students also like Aviasales.ru and Studentagency.cz.

The Skypicker.com and Airixo.com websites offer lists of the cheapest deals from the Czech Republic depending on the approximate dates chosen. The French web page Jetcost.com gives a list of all the airlines’ rates on chosen dates and compares the prices, times of the travel, and changing flights.

When traveling to neighboring countries, consider either a bus or a train. Most AAU students prefer buses for their lower costs but train lovers say they will pay more for greater comfort and speed.

Student Agency usually has “first-minute” bus and train tickets.

When booking tickets more than a month in advance, a return ticket will cost 500 Kc (about 20 Euro) less than a regular “Flexi ticket.” The company also gives a 10 percent discount on bus or railway routes to students with a valid ISIC card. Ceske Drahy, the Czech national railway, on the other hand, provides discounts only for Czech students and does not accept ISIC cards.

In order to save a bit more, book night buses or trains to cut accommodation expenses and save hours of actually being at your destination — but think first about the way you will be sleeping on a bus.

Getting to the city center: after reaching the final destination it is always recommended to have a route to the city center already planned.

It is always appealing to take a taxi from the airport, especially seeing a long line of yellow vehicles waiting in front of the terminal exit. To avoid an urge to get a cab look up public transport connections, shuttle buses or a speed train: the price will be more reasonable.

A map of the city and a hotel location saved on the phone or written down on a piece of paper will save the priceless time abroad.

In case of emergency it is okay to ask for help. The nearest hotel receptionist will gladly share a city map and explain how to get to the center.

Accommodation: out of the variety of accommodation options, 77 percent of AAU students surveyed said they preferred hotels and

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hostels. Booking.com and Hostelworld.com are the most demanded sites on Google search, and the first ones to pop out.

Fewer students chose bed and breakfast (B&B) and Couch Surfing (CS). Staying at a B&B is an alternative to the classic hotel stay, which is sometimes more expensive. Usually located in private homes, they offer far fewer bedrooms than hotels. However, sometimes they are located in renovated old houses or mansions with antique furnishing and original décor.

Couch Surfing, a hospitality exchange website, gives an opportunity to travel to the most exotic places at no cost. Only 12 percent of AAU students use CS regularly.

“You can kind of choose who you are going to stay with,” said AAU student Mario Ceselka. “You cannot do this in a hostel, where you are put in a room with random people and cant change it.”.

However, one should choose a host very carefully. Numerous news outlets report assaults and cases of rape. A recent Guardian newscast reported on the case of an Italian policeman who used Couch Surfing to drug and assault female travelers. However, the website tries to minimize risk the best it can.

Sightseeing for Free: planning sightseeing by searching for “free things to do” on Google will bring out a variety of activities that will not cost a penny.

In many cities museums are open for everybody on certain days free of charge: for instance, Prague’s National Museum is free every first Monday of the month.

Public transportation can be used as an alternative to traditional bus tours around the city. For the same price as you would pay for a tram ride, Prague’s Funicular Railway connecting Ujezd tram stop and the top of Petrin hill opens a magnificent view over Prague.

In New York City, the Staten Island ferry gives an opportunity to enjoy a very close view of the Statue of Liberty. Part of the city’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, it is free to ride. Old trolleys in Miami designed for tourists show the main historic sites and transport travelers through places of interest for free, too. Amsterdam ferries along the river are free as well.

Taking a bus tour around the city is a way to get a general overview of the most popular sights. A cheaper option is a “free walking tour” and every big city has one. “ I adore free walking tours due to the great opportunity to meet new people and feel at ease because pecuniary side is not touched,” said Anna Maroz, AAU Journalism major.

Food: when it comes to food, students save their money according to their abilities: either it is eating in McDonald’s and other fast foods, or buying food in supermarkets and making salads or sandwiches in the hotel room.

“Every evening we were going to the pub to find some boys to buy us food, drinks or whatever,” said AAU student Georgyi Pak about traveling to Berlin for five days on 50 Euros. “I know it sounds bad but it was the only way we could survive there.”

Getting Smarter Overnight

By Kristina Zakurdaeva Higher education demands higher attention and more responsibilities, especially with upcoming finals. Students are searching for new, advanced ways to cheat; science, though, has a generous gift for them – ‘smart drugs’.

Adderall, Ritalin or Modafinil are prescription-only drugs are supposed to cure narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They enhance individual’s attention, sharpen the mind,

boost memory, and give the sense of natural wakefulness for many hours. Students, thinking of the drugs as an advanced caffeine substitute, are taking them, however, completely disregarding its effects on the nervous system.

In 2013 the BBC network conducted an online survey among 761 visitors of the website, where 38 percent of respondents said that they have tried those cognitive-enhancing drugs. What is more astonishing that 92 percent of those who tried it, stated that they are eager to take the drug again. And year-to-year the number is increasing.

AAU Student Anna Savina shared her experience with the drug – Adderall, during her exchange semester in the USA. She used it before the important test to study. “It took me 2-3 hours (to go through the half of the course material), I was highly concentrated, when u start reading or writing under the Adderall u can’t stop, it’s like you are soaking the information,” she said.

After that it was impossible to sit and do nothing that’s why she managed to finish all the homework, do some sports and went clubbing for a whole night. After it she went to the test, for which she got A-. “I was so pumped, I was spinning in the chair trying to talk to people,” added Anna.

However, she warned that after the effect is gone people are getting depressive, extremely exhausted, hungry, and emotional. “Even a homeless cat in the street can make you feel like crying!” – said Anna.

AAU Provost of Student Affairs David Lipka admitted that the administration is concerned with a rising number of students abusing ‘smart drugs’, especially in the US, and trying to monitor the situation. Faculty members are still not sure if the drugs should be considered as a form cheating or not.

“Use of illegal substances on the campus may entail disciplinary hearing with penalties ranging from reprimand to expulsion from AAU,” he added.

The problem of punishment at AAU lies in absence of concrete policies and restriction from the administration. Nevertheless, a recently edited Codex is placing intoxication among non-academic misconduct.

Furthermore, a stumbling stone for the University is to what extent should the academic staff intervene into the personal life of a student. “We try to help students in difficult situations but on the other hand, we fully respect them as free and responsible people,” said Lipka.

For students with personal problems and struggles in any area of their life, which they would like to share with someone and get a professional counseling, AAU provides the services of a psychologist.

For the AAU students the service is absolutely free of charge.

In the US huge numbers of students are getting the drugs from their friends, who have an unlimited access to it because of prescription explained Anna. Some of them have ADHD or sleeping problems, and as long as it is a common problem for the American students, they would easily get the prescription.

However, Anna remarked that few of her American friends on exchange in Prague are struggling without it. “My friend even was trying to find it here for himself but he couldn’t,” she added.

On the other hand, AAU student Assel Biyeva said that actually there are some instances of using ‘smart drugs’ in Prague. Assel, who used to study at UNYP, said that there were some ‘smart drugs’ on the campus. “The guy has the disease (ADHD) and he’s just selling his prescribed drugs” to anyone, whoever wants, she said. Usually he pretends to have a casual talk about weather while the act of delivery,

In The Fog of Weed

By Martin Ranninger and Kristina Zakurdaeva

Spring in Prague is a special time not only because of nature's awakening but also because of the increase in drug abuse and related crimes.

Every spring, students from all over Europe come to Prague for cultural enrichment and for relatively cheap alcohol, which the city is famous for, given the fact that a pint of beer costs less than a glass of water. Moreover, most of the the young visitors take the chance to experiment with other widely-accessible drugs.

According to the anonymous survey conducted among 42 AAU students, 81 percent of the respondents stated that it is easy to get marijuana in Prague, not to mention that alcohol is sold on every corner. This loose approach is unusual and DRUG QUANTITIES GREATER THAN SMALL surprising for the students MARIJUANA more than 10g dry weight of the Northern European METHAMPHETAMINE more than 1,5 g states, who often chose Prague as their spring ECSTASY more than 4 tablets break destination.

HASHISH more than 5 g During the commuCOCAINE more than 1 g nism regime the governHEROIN more than 1,5 g ment did not bother to even acknowledge the existence of such substances and thus the country lacked any policy or prevention mechanism.

After the Velvet revolution the government formed drug laws with the help of sociologist and health professionals.

Lack of education on drugs can lead to misunderstanding and incorrect categorization, suggested one of the respondents. However, more than 57 per cent claim to know the local laws regarding distribution and usage of drugs.

AAU administration admits that right now there are no concrete Source: http://zpravy.idnes.cz/nejvyssi-soud-nove-stanovil-vetsi-nez-male-mnozstvidrog-p3j-/domaci.aspx?c=A140409_102935_domaci_jav

19 Source: http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llk23lZgNV1qc1ca1o1_1280.jpg

she explained and confirmed being a witness herself.

Another way to find those magic pills is via he Internet, which is popular in the United Kingdom. It is enough to type in a Google search and there would appear all sorts of websites that are offering help for a student to buy Ritalin or Adderall without prescription. No personal presence needed: you pay by card and the order is shipped right to your door.

Nevertheless, situation in the United Kingdom for many is confusing that majority of the universities do not regard ‘smart drugs’ as alarming sign and do nothing about them.

“We are not aware of any student taking this drug and if any students do have difficulties with their studies we encourage them to make use of our support services,” said a spokesman for Sheffield Hallam University.

Adderall is the most popular in the USA, however it is almost impossible to find it on the European continent, because it contains a mixture of amphetamine salts, which are not licensed in the area.

Modafinil is usually prescribed for sleep disorders; it is legal to buy it online, though it is illegal to supply it, without a prescription. However, Ritalin is a controlled drug that is soled only by prescription.

The British Ministry of Defense has become notoriously famous for its affiliation with extraordinary ‘smart drug’ use in early 2000.

The Ministry sent thousands of Modafinil pills to sustain its pilots and troops in Afghanistan and Iraq awake on the missions, according to the Guardian investigation report. However it caused more harm to the soldiers psyche than good.

Even though that drug-use for successful studies is not yet common in Europe and Czech Republic especially, it still is alarming sign for the Western world. “I think it is great we don’t have it here.

It would be a disaster!” concluded Anna.

policies regarding on-campus intoxication. However, such misconduct could result in expulsion from the University. Vice Provost for Student Affairs David Lipka said that the policies should be definitely reframed, this a new Codex will place the action into non-academic misconduct.

If a person is caught with “quantities greater than small” they may face criminal offense charges, resulting in fine of up to 15 000 czk.

Drunk students roaming the streets of Prague at night do not only annoy local residents, burden public authorities, but also cause damage to themselves and to property. Thirst for new feelings and

I do not like when I do not have a control over my body or mind that is also a reason why I do not drink alcohol or use drugs.

I’ve felt One With the Universe on mushrooms, saw the most beautiful sunset of my life on LSD and I’ve been blissfully happy and creative on weed.

Taken from the At The Lennon Wall survey

new state of mind were among the most popular reasons, why people experiment with drugs, according to the survey.

With the majority of people using drugs for recreational purposes, spending an average of 500 CZK per month, the prevailing opinion is that soft drugs should be legalised, almost 70 percent.

This attitude of pro-marijuana legalization can be observed in the annual “Million Marihuana March” which took place on May 9th, 2015 bringing together some 5 thousands people.

The question poses itself, how we as a society tolerate and to some extent even promote use of one type of drugs but criminalize others.

One might suggest that by preventing the person from using the drug of his choice, it causes discrimination against minority groups and the we can ask where all the “equal rights for everyone” initiatives are. http://i.lidovky.cz/15/051/lnc460/ELE5b1b0c_P201505080623401.jpg

Submissions are welcomed from the entire AAU community. Send feedback or questions to lennon.wall@aauni.edu.

Spring 2015, At The Lennon Wall team

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