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OLD GOLD&BLACK W A K E

F O R E S T

U N I V E R S I T Y

T H U R S D AY, A P R I L 1 6 , 2 0 0 9

VOL. 92, NO. 28

“Covers the campus like the magnolias”

Launch of microfinance site announced

Outside the Bubble... Hijacking by Somali pirates continues Pirates off the cost of Somalia seized two freighters on April 14, two days after U.S. Navy Seals killed three pirates who had been keeping a U.S. captain hostage. One of the freighters was Greek-owned while the other was Lebanese-owned. Operation Allied Protector, a NATO anti-piracy mission off Somalia, and Combined Task Force-151, a U.S. led international task force, have been patrolling the region.

Alumnus’ project to serve as international lender marketplace By Caitlin Brooks | News editor

Standing well over 6 feet tall, James Beshara (‘08), founder and CEO of Dvelo.org, towered imposingly over the heads of poor borrowers in the slums of Cape Town, South Africa. Beshara, a former economics major, followed a calling inspired by a trip to Africa in 2007 to work with the Kuyasa Fund, a small microfinance bank in South Africa upon graduation

Anti-Obama ‘tea party’ protests mark US tax day Critics of President Barack Obama marked national tax day with “tea party” protests that Republicans called the birth of a grassroots opposition, but Democrats dismissed as a fraud. The demonstrations, styled on the famed 1773 Boston Tea Party revolt against British colonial taxes, came as Americans rushed to meet the annual deadline for filing income tax returns. Protests featured tea bags, iced tea and other tea-related props, complete with a planned re-enactment of the original dumping of tea into Boston harbor.

Obamas welcome first dog to White House The Obama family welcomed Bo, a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog, to the White House on April 14. The dog is a gift from Massachusetts senator Edward Kennedy. The name Bo was picked by Malia and Sasha Obama because their cousins have a cat named Bo and Michelle Obama’s father was nicknamed Diddley, as in singer Bo Diddley.

Woman attacked by polar bears at zoo A woman was attacked by polar bears at the Berlin Zoo on April 10 after she climbed a fence and jumped into its habitat during feeding time. One polar bear bit her multiple times before she was tossed rescue rings by zoo workers. She then fell back into the water and was attacked by another bear. She was eventually hoisted to safety but was severely injured.

in 2008. Microfinance is the practice of providing small loans to lowincome, disadvantaged entrepreneurs in the developing world who would otherwise not have access to the capital needed for their entrepreneurial ventures. The practice, which was began in the 1970s in Bangladesh by a man named Mohammad Yunus (who Beshara won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his efforts in microfinance),

has become extremely popular as an approach to alleviate poverty. “It’s (microfinance) one of the most sustainable approaches to poverty litigation,” Beshara said. “With aid donations, its either feast or famine, when times get rough, donations dry up, making it more or less futile. “ Its really the markets in these countries that have driven the economies, not charity.” Attracted by the prospect of experiencing a micro-finance program first-hand and doing research for his own brain-child, Dvelo.org, Beshara found himself acting as a loans collector for Kuyasa. “I went to this country to help these

One Earth

University expresses commitment to environment through Sustainability Week and Earth Day By Haowei Tong | Photo editor On April 18, the university will host the 4th annual Piedmont Earth Day Fair, a triumphant finish to the campus’s Sustainability Week. The past few days have been filled with environmental awareness activities, sponsoring everything from biodiesel to sustainable food. The Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC) has partnered with a number of other organizations in coordinating these events. The fair, a Zero Waste Challenge event, will include more than 140 booth spaces and 120 exhibitors. There will be a stationary green car parade featuring gasoline, hybrid, natural gas, electric, biodiesel and solar vehicles. Panel discussions will be held throughout the day, and all natural refreshments will be available. “I volunteered at the Earth Day Fair last year, and it was a blast. At the children’s booth we had a soil project and made stone necklaces. The kids loved it, and

so did I. This weekend’s booth should be great as well,” junior Liz Haight said. Another fantastic feature of the week’s theme will be painted cardboard trash bins at “Seize the Quad” tomorrow night. The bins will serve to separate trash from recyclables, including plastic and aluminum. Students decorated the receptacles earlier this week. On April 13, green transportation displays were spotted

See Earth, Page A3

Graphic by Bobby O’Connor/Old Gold & Black

Student films examine child labor in Ghana By Caroline Edgeton | Life editor

“My father died,” said local Ghanaian and househelp Ayiku, 18. “And at the funeral, a woman took pity on me and told me to stay with her until I found a husband.” This is the way many children and teenagers in Ghana begin their life in being househelps, or better known as domestic child laborers. An almost Cinderella type story, only a Prince Charming or a better life is not necessarily guaranteed in the end. On April 14, the university’s Museum of Anthropology screened two short student films on the topic of househelps in Ghana. Seniors Kristin Eberman and Kevin Duck spent five weeks recording footage and interviews while staying at a hostel in the West African country. Generally, a househelp ranges from a child to a young adult living without his or her parents due to death or neglect and subsequently taken in

by another family that desires help around the home. The type of help requested can be anything from sweeping the floors and cooking the family’s meals every night to heavier outdoor work. Instead of strictly using footage they recorded individually to make their films, Eberman and Duck decided to compile everything they filmed together and make their own separate films on the subject, instead. “We did this to have a more creative experience with the project,” Duck said. Given that both students were using the same material to make their short films, there was some overlap with interviews used and information provided. Regardless of this aspect, both films maintained individuality in style and focus. Eberman, a sociology major and international studies minor, presented

See Films, Page A5

Margot Lamson/Old Gold & Black

The Museum of Anthropology screened two films on child domestic laborers in Ghana, better known as househelps.

Life | B5

INSIDE:

Light at the end of the tunnel

Brieflies

A2

Police Beat

A2

Spotlight

B2

Learn about all the TV shows you can look forward to once classes and finals are finished.

The Hot List

B6

In Other News

Sudoku

B6

• TA shares insight into first year in the U.S. | A2 • Professor investigates national security | A3

Sports | B1 Deacs Inconsistent After winning consecutive ACC series against Duke and Virginia Tech, the baseball team lost 10-4 to UNC-Greensboro April 15.

people and I ended up intimidating them for this organization,” he said. This intimidation served a real purpose for the continuance of the organization, and the benefit of debtors – the more loans that are paid back, the more loans can be distributed, but it was hard to convince Beshara’s clients of his altruistic intentions. No one likes the tax collector. “In Wheeler no way could I

See Dvelo, Page A5

Lecturer to address sex and war By R. Hunter Bratton | Asst. opinion editor

The last event in the “Women and Militarism” lecture series, sponsored by the women’s and gender studies department, is slated to take place April 22 in Pugh Auditorium. As the concluding speaker of the series, Ann Wright, retired Army Colonel and retired State Department Official, plans to bring her background of knowledge regarding gender issues and their particular application to the United States military to the university in her lecture, “Camouflaged Rapes: United States Military Cover-ups.” Wright comes as the final lecturer of the Women and Militarism speaker series, with previous lecturers including Stan Goff, retired Army Wright Master Sergeant, who led a discussion titled “Sex and War.” Goff ’s presentation, which shared its title with his recently released book, attempted to draw connections between the paternalistic nature of the capitalistically driven system within the United States and pornography. Additionally, he argued that the military personnel are challenged just as much, if not more, by ethical dilemmas regarding gender equality. With the specific purpose of “exploring the dangers of military service that are specific to women,” the women’s and gender studies program invited Goff to speak on April 2 in DeTamble Auditorium of Tribble Hall and Wright to speak this upcoming week in the Benson Center. After almost three decades of dutiful service in the Army and the Army Reserves, because of her convictions and open opposition to the Iraq war, Wright resigned in March 2003, saying with retrospection, “Your job is to implement the policies of an administration, (and) if you strongly disagree with any administration’s policies, and wish to speak out, your only option is to resign.” “I understood that and that’s one of the reasons I resigned,” said Wright, “to give myself the freedom to talk out.” Although not directly related to her reasons for resignation, since leaving her position with the army, Wright has become greatly involved in uncovering sexual abuse, harassment and male chauvinism within all branches of the military. Moreover, Wright’s dedication to this hotbutton issue encouraged further investigation

See Women, Page A4

Opinion | A6 Foil of civil rights? Kelly argues that Congressman Ron Paul is a proponent of racist attitudes and beliefs.


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