OneWorld Fall 2011 Issue 10 by OneWorld Magazine

WE LIVE

ONEWORLD ISSUE #10

Cover Photo

Dear Readers, This issue marks the tenth publication of the liveOneWorld magazine. Over the past six years, we have reported on threats to human dignity both at home and abroad. We have sought to highlight issues that receive little attention and tend to fall outside the general publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view. While we often focus on conflicts and challenges facing peoples in distant nations, it can be easy to forget about the struggles that go on just outside the boundaries of our campus. When we closely look around our own neighborhood, we witness these very struggles, and we realize the need to have personal encounters with those living on the margins. For this reason, we have chosen to highlight the myriad of social concerns found within our campus and the city of St. Louis. More importantly, we have tried to take the time to listen to those who have lack a voice in our community. Awareness is only the first step. We hope the magazine encourages you to step outside your comfort zone and meet people with whom you do not interact on a daily basis. Many of the issues presented are disquieting and require urgent action. On our website, you can find local organizations that are actively working to solve the very issues presented in the magazine. In this effort, we extend our gratitude to Donna Bess Myers, our advisor, for her advice and assistance. We would like to thank Dr. Kent Porterfield for his continued mentoring and support. Furthermore, we would also like to thank our departmental supporters, the Division of Student Development, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Cross Cultural Center without whose support and guidance the publication of this magazine would be impossible. liveOneWorld, The Editorial Team

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To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Homeless man rests against a building in Columbus Square, St. Louis. Photo by Geoffrey Gallaway.

ONEWORLD ISSUE #10 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF NEELAYSH VUKKADALA MANAGING EDITOR JULIA BRUCKS LOCAL SECTION EDITOR ERINN MCKUNE INTERNATIONAL SECTION EDITOR LAURA CASEY PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR SANJANA SHAH RESEARCH EDITOR SARAH ALLABASTRO COPY AND CONTENT EDITORS SWATHI CHIDAMBARAM MARY SHANNON OUTREACH COORDINATOR JOSEPH WOTAWA, S.J. LAYOUT CONTRIBUTORS KELCEY TOWELL COELI O’CONNELL STAFF WRITERS OLIVIA WHITE KATE ESSIG FOUNDER AND VISIONARY JESSE SULLIVAN

editorial team 4 liveONEWORLD

PRUITT-IGOE

Cover photo of mural on Delmar Boulevard by Sanjana Shah.

contents

6 WHAT’S UP

12 24 TRAFFICKING ISRAEL-PALESTINE

BURSTING THE SLU BUBBLE

NORTHSIDE

LIVE THE OATH

CULTURAL DIVIDE

PRODUCT DUMPING

ARAB SPRING

FRANCE

26 5

what’s Up? Sparing some time for the homeless

by KATE ESSIG

Kate is a Sophomore majoring in English.

Meet Paul Jackson. Paul is a fixture near the cross-walk at Grand Avenue. His denim overalls, lanyard and catchphrase, “Does anyone have a penny, or anything, for the homeless?” are all familiar to Saint Louis University students. He is a well known face on campus, but just how well do we know Paul Jackson? Paul is friendly. He describes himself as shy, Baptist, forty-four and homeless. But he was not always without an address; in fact his first home was only minutes away from SLU’s campus. He was born and raised in South City, near 14th Street and Choteau. His story is one of struggle. Paul was one of twelve children to a single mother, he dropped out of high school after the tenth grade, has had one failed marriage and two stints in the penitentiary. But eventually, with the help of a St. Louis non-profit, Paul Jackson’s story becomes one of hope. In the fall of 2007 Paul explained that he was, “tired or being tired.” It was with luck that he discovered WhatsUp Magazine, an organization devoted to providing homeless men and women with an opportunity to earn an honest wage doing an honest job: selling magazines. The concept is simple. WhatsUp Magazine is a quarterly publication that covers topics like the environ-

ment, labor, public health, local news and more. It is produced by WhatsUp founder, Jay Swoboda, a tiny task force of volunteers and twenty to twenty-five homeless vendors. Together they write the articles, produce the magazine and distribute it around the St. Louis area. This seemingly simple concept is not unique to St. Louis or even to the United States. Countries like England, Scotland, Germany and Sweden all have cities involved in the street news movement. The newspapers vary in content, circulation, appearance and title, but the basic idea is the same: street newspapers empower the homeless by being a “hand up” not a “hand out.” They offer employment to the economically disadvantaged and a way for the homeless to help themselves without depending on the help of others. The street newspaper movement was brought to St. Louis by Jay Swoboda. Swoboda is part real estate developer, part graphic designer, part sustainable energy expert and the founder of WhatsUp Magazine in St. Louis. He began the magazine after receiving a summer service grant upon his graduation from Washington University. Swoboda started WhatsUp in St. Louis after speaking with Aaron Goldstein, the editor of the WhatsUp magazine in Boston. “I kind of jokingly said, ‘Ah, I should start one of these in Saint Lou-

is.’” Swoboda explained, “And [Aaron] said, ‘Definitely. That’s exactly what you should do.’” A venture that began as a summer project has now lasted almost ten years and employed close to 800 homeless men and women in the St. Louis area. The homeless employed by WhatsUp assist directly in the sale, production and advertisement of the magazine. Unlike other jobs, being employed by WhatsUp offers immediate assistance to those who need it. It does not require weeks of classes, an extensive application process or months of on-the-job training. In as little as a day, homeless men and women can find gainful employment at WhatsUp without having to jump through any hoops. “I try to get vendors to use WhatsUp as a stepping stone, as a launch pad to something else,” Swoboda explained. And for some vendors, WhatsUp becomes just that. He recounted many success stories, telling of one vendor who went on to employment at US Bank and another who is now happily married and living in South City. “WhatsUp magazine provides social support, an extra person in your corner,” said Swoboda, as he talked about vendors who have gone on to success after WhatsUp and stayed in touch by call, text and Christmas card.

“You don’t have to give me anything, just say, ‘How you doing?’ Recognize me.” 6 liveONEWORLD

Paul Jackson sells magazines on Grand Avenue. Photo by Anu Gorukanti.

But Swoboda assists his vendors by doing more than just offering them a job selling magazines. He helped one vendor create a resume and send in job applications. He helped another vendor with his credit report, and another he helped find an apartment. He helped Paul Jackson get a car. When Swoboda’s name was brought up, Paul passionately spoke about Swoboda’s “good moral spirit.” Not because he founded a magazine, but because he cared. In speaking with both Swoboda and Paul the sentiment was the same: human kindness is the best currency. Swoboda explained, “I am of the opinion that panhandling is the first cry for help, and if you respond to that in a human way, people change their mind about man, they think maybe the world isn’t a horrible place... everyone isn’t out to get me.” Panhandling is about more than asking for nickels and dimes: it is about asking a community to recognize the reality of homelessness. Swoboda continued, saying, “You don’t have to give money, you can give human kindness. You can stop and have a conversation. You can interact with them as dignified persons. Ultimately, the best

thing you can do is smile and say, ‘Hey, good luck to you.’” Paul Jackson has been a presence on SLU’s campus for two years. He comes back here month after month because he likes it here. He likes the environment because, he said, “it keeps my mind.” The only complaint he has about his time on our campus are the instances when members of the SLU

What’s Up has employed close to 800 homeless men and women in St. Louis. community walk by without making eye contact, without nodding or smiling or saying hello. “Give me some recognition,” Paul asks, “You don’t have to give me anything, just say, ‘How you doing?’ Recognize me.” The goal of WhatsUp magazine is to do just that: to get people to rec-

Students walking by Paul Jackson. Photo by Anu Gorukanti.

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ognize the realness of the homeless. It gives homeless men and women a way to interact with disparate communities, communities that have not experienced homelessness or the realities of the economically disadvantaged. Vendors sell WhatsUp magazine all over the St. Louis area, reaching out to a diverse spectrum of communities with the same mission and message: to communicate the plight of the homeless. As Swoboda said, “What WhatsUp is about is just like its name- What’s Up. Starting a conversation and changing perspectives.” WhatsUp magazine gives men and women like Paul an opportunity to do more than make a few dollars a day. It gives the homeless and non-homeless the opportunity to interact with each other in a positive, perspective-changing way. And while he admits he would not say no to a Chick-Fil-A sandwich, and it is true that conversation cannot cure poverty, “Being recognized,” Paul says, “is a start.”

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NORTHSIDE by OLIVIA WHITE

Olivia is a Sophomore majoring in American Studies and International Studies.

An outsider finding his or her way around the city of St. Louis might pass through certain neighborhoods and preemptively describe them as “ghetto.” Boarded up homes, vacant lots and unkempt yards make a neighborhood seem forgotten. City leaders might call these areas a problem that needs to be fixed. Many developers would call these areas an opportunity, somewhere to invest resources to rebuild and reimagine. But the residents of these neighborhoods would call it by another name: home. The wounded neighborhoods of St. Louis develop by chance but through a series of policy changes and population movements. Urban decline in St. Louis began in the early 20th century but accelerated following World War II when people began to move out of urban areas and into the suburbs. The federal building of highways along with the increasing dominance of the car aided this process. Blue-collar jobs left the city influencing a “white flight” of the individuals working these jobs. The 1970s’ and ’80s’ policies of neglect failed to address the issues facing cities which included homelessness, unemployment and crime. The neighborhoods in North St. Louis are a result of this neglect. In 2003 developer Paul McKee began buying properties in the Old North St. Louis, JeffVanderLou and St. Louis Place neighborhoods. The original name of his real estate enterprise was Blairmont, named after the first holding company that began buying property in North St. Louis, Blairmont Associates LLC. Between 2003 and 2007 eight different groups that Paul McKee had incorporated owned properties in these neighborhoods. In the first two years of this project, no one knew who was behind the property acquisition. In 2005 Michael Allen, current Director of the Preservation Research Office, discovered that Blairmont As-

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sociates owned the James Clemens Jr. mansion on Cass Avenue, a historic structure that is rapidly deteriorating. He found it strange that this group owned a mansion as well as abandoned homes in the area. Later that year he saw Paul McKee’s name linked to campaign donations made to the 19th ward Democrats in the name of these companies. Originally McKee denied his involvement with these companies, but in December of 2006 he had to disclose his ownership for financial reasons. Paul McKee currently owns 1,200 parcels of land and his plans for the neighborhoods are based on a theory of mixed use development. His plan includes preservation of historic structures, residential areas and four major commercial centers; two for manufacturing and office space, and the other two for retail areas as well as parks and green Fspace. The whole development would cost eight billion dollars to complete. When his plan, NorthSide Regeneration, was revealed, Allen describes three different initial reactions to the plan from people in the affected neighborhoods. The first he described as fear and opposition. People worried about property values decreasing as these lots were purchased and then neglected, and others simply opposed the plan. The second reaction was from a group of people who supported the plan and believed the neighborhoods needed and have been waiting for this kind of development. The final response, shared by many in the neighborhoods, was disbelief of the plan. The residents, who have seen plans similar to McKee’s fail before, did not expect his plans to actually come to fruition It is undeniable that Paul McKee’s plan would bring capital and jobs back into the neighborhoods that have a great need for them. One problem is

that in its current state of stagnation, his plan has halted any developments from occurring in the neighborhoods. Dr. Benjamin Looker, urban historian in the American Studies Department said, “After decades of disinvestment and anti-urban policymaking, I think many neighbors would welcome new affordable housing, decent jobs for local people and context-appropriate construction. At the same time, NorthSide Regeneration has simply sat on a host of boarded-up buildings, some of which could otherwise be added back into the area’s housing stock. To some degree, this has frozen local efforts in place, and it’s caused significant frustration.” Anna Sutkowski, a sophomore in the School of Social Work said, “My problem with his plan is that he’s not really involving the community. You can see from history that when you just throw something at people it doesn’t really work out.” The Old North St. Louis Restoration Group has been vocal in its opposition to McKee’s plan since its development. Working since 1981 to revitalize the neighborhood of Old North, the group restores historic structures, builds community amongst the residents and works on residential development. When the group first heard of McKee’s plans, they were vocal in meetings with Mayor Francis Slay about what they expected from McKee. Among the things they expected of him was to not demolish historic structures and to maintain his properties. This eventually led the alderman, McKee and Mayor Slay to exclude most of Old North St. Louis north of Howard Street from his plans. He will not have government support for intervention in the remaining 62 properties that he owns south of Howard Street in Old North. Currently Paul McKee faces legal issues for trying to use millions of dollars of state tax credits to pay for his

plan. His case is currently in the hands of the Missouri Court of Appeals. When asked what he envisions for the future of these neighborhoods, Allen replied he would like to see less intensive or smaller interventions that work at a scale that is more sustainable and responsive to public input. He acknowledged that this kind of less intensive intervention is already happening by default because of the difficulty of financing such a large project. He worries though that because of the condi-

tion of the economy, McKee will not have the money to restore the historic buildings that he promised to before the brick thieves and arsonists destroy them. The effectiveness of urban solutions can only be judged by how well they treat and respect the people affected by them. Tall new office buildings, retail centers, jobs, clean streets and more money cannot be measures of success if they are brought to fruition at the expense of displacing peo-

Abandon Building in North St. Louis. Photo by Gretchen Landgraf.

ple or destroying remnants of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history. Paul McKeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plan would bring money and commerce back into these neighborhoods but would do so at the expense of the identity and history of Northside neighborhoods. Collaborations between developers, residents and historic preservationists have the potential to build a future for these neighborhoods that celebrate the important aspects of their past instead of destroying them.

Photo by Breahn Foster/Flickr.

SEX TRAFFICKING

by ERINN MCKUNE / LOCAL SECTION EDITOR Erinn is a Junior majoring in Social Work.

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A LOCAL REALITY Picture a female: a niece, cousin, sister, daughter or friend. Now picture a situation: the Internet, the streets and strip clubs. Hypothetically, place that female in that situation and assume she is under the age of eighteen. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, however, this “hypothetical” is a reality for 300,000 child prostitutes in the United States. This number is growing daily. The Enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) defines sex trafficking as “a modern-day slavery in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act is under the age of

the Internet. There are over a hundred websites in which individuals, namely men, can visit the site and purchase the services. Craigslist, a website commonly used to purchase a multitude of services and products, removed their adult services and erotic section last year after being accused of facilitating this exploitative behavior. The Covering House is “a place of refuge and restoration for girls under the age of 18 who have been sexually exploited or sexually trafficked.” This home is not yet open, but will be the first of its kind in St. Louis and is directed specifically towards individuals who have been trafficked. “Each will receive all inclusive care and assess-

began active work,” said Rhoades. The importance of the initiation of this movement in St. Louis is that there is no central case management network in the city. Without this centrality, it is difficult to effectively provide help to victims and eliminate this injustice. The Healing Action Network is currently facilitating advocacy through speaking, service training and educating corporations, such as hotels, on domestic commercial exploitation so that they may better recognize if this behavior is occurring within their corporation. Due to funding, however, actual case management with victims has not begun.

“Many of the victims are between the ages of 12 and 14.” 18 years.” While this trafficking is present on all ends of the United States, from New York to New Orleans to San Francisco, the Midwest recentlys has become a hotspot. Highway I-35 divides the country from Texas to Minnesota, allowing access to highways leading out to the coasts. “Truckers load [the women and girls] into their trucks and transfer them to other trucks. The drivers park so close together that when the girls are moved they don’t even touch the ground,” said Laura Gardner, Director of Communication and Events for the Covering House. Only 10% of this trafficking is physically done on the streets, while the rest is done via other means such as

ment of needs such as counseling, group therapy, etc.,” said Gardner. “It will give them a family.” Working with the Covering House in the pursuit of eliminating this reality is the Healing Action Network, an agency geared towards change through awareness, support and advocacy. The founder of this mission, Katie Rhoades, is completing her masters in social work at Washington University in St. Louis in order to obtain professional skills to complement her experience in this field. Rhoades is a survivor of sex trafficking who began this mission about five years ago. “I knew I needed and wanted to be part of helping people get out. I took time to fully heal before I

Rhoades explained, “Without funding, we have no safe network. We don’t have services for the victims. So, [the victims] are going to go back to their pimps because they don’t know what else to do.” This lifestyle has been coerced and conditioned for these children, many of whom range from the ages of 12 to 14, and advocacy of the issue is vital for the success in this area. Rhoades said, “The children cope and deal with the world they are in. It doesn’t mean they are delinquent or bad it means they have to survive and they are behaving in a way in which they are able to.”

The Promise Of Pruitt-Igoe

The Cycle of Urban Decay and Redemption

by OLIVIA WHITE

Olivia is a Sophomore majoring in American Studies and International Studies.

On 33 acres on the lower north side of St. Louis an urban forest grows with only the assistance of nature. It has been called the “unmentioned modern landscape”. Rumored reports of wild dogs, bees and other animals inhabiting the area have spread. This primitive, wild environment is a 180 degree change from what formerly inhabited this space, an orderly row of towering buildings and over 2,000 people. The Pruitt-Igoe site that once belonged to St. Louis now belongs to nature, and city officials are still trying to figure out how to get it back. The Pruitt-Igoe public housing project was on a 57 acre site confined to the plot of land within Cass Avenue, Carr Street, Jefferson Avenue and 20th Street. It was constructed with

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funds from the 1949 Housing Act that provided money for “slum clearance” and urban renewal. The 33 identical 11-story buildings were completed in 1954. Pruitt-Igoe was built based on the philosophy that high-density, highrise public housing was the solution to substandard housing in urban slums. Though initially successful, after its peak of 91% occupancy in 1957, occupancy rates began to decline the following year. The decline in residents affected the Public Housing Authority’s ability to maintain the property because costs were going up while less and less rent money was being collected. Conditions steadily became worse at Pruitt-Igoe as crime and vandalism increased, the police presence disappeared and shanty construction and building materials

made Pruitt-Igoe a seemingly unhappy and unsafe place to be. The first building to be demolished was in 1972 with the last building standing until 1977. In recent years, the city and its people have begun to confront the history of Pruitt-Igoe and reimagine the site’s future. One man who has a plan for the Pruitt-Igoe site is an artist by the name of Juan William Chavez. The name of his project is the PruittIgoe Bee Sanctuary and he describes its purpose as encouraging public dialogue about the creative uses and possibilities of urban abandonment by confronting history. His plan includes a memorial of Pruitt-Igoe, honey supers (commercial beehives) and a greenhouse classroom. When asked how he began to study

Pruitt-Igoe he described that “initially when I started to rediscover PruittIgoe, especially in its current form, I was really curious about the site and I took a lot of photography.” He began thinking about how the site could be used in its current condition. He compares the ongoing decline in the bee population through colony collapse disorder, the process through which worker bees leave the hive, to the population losses of St. Louis. The bee community is an extension of what Pruitt-Igoe could have been. He said the site could “still function as a site for community because bees represent community.” In 2010 he began documenting the site through film and photographs and researched the history of PruittIgoe. The next step in his process is creating a website to display his proposed model of a park/bee keeping site. Chavez would also like to start a mentorship program through the arts and bee keeping for the children in the

surrounding neighborhoods. The Pruitt-Igoe Now competition offers another way of reimagining this block of Old North. The project, announced in June 2011, calls for proposals from people of all different walks of life including artists, writers, architects and designers. It asks individuals or teams to submit proposals that envision a new future for the site and that answer the question, “What is Pruitt-Igoe now?” The competition submissions are due in March 2012, the 40th anniversary of the demolition of the first Pruitt-Igoe tower. A committee of jurors will select the three most inspiring plans and their creators will win a cash prize. Honorable mentions will also be recognized. Chavez, who began his plans before the Pruitt-Igoe Now competition was announced, will not be participating. He says that his project has different goals than those of Pruitt-Igoe Now and that he is not interested in a competition that has a cash prize.

Sophomore Alexa Phillips, who has done extensive research on Pruitt-Igoe, said, “I think it’s just an area taking up space, but something great could be there. It’s about time something was done.” When asked why she thinks it has taken so long to get people talking about this she said, “People tip-toe around the subject because they do not want to upset anyone. People don’t want to upset former residents or the city by bringing up something that might have been a failure.” Chavez expressed similar sentiments when he said, “My interpretation of how this city addresses issues in St. Louis is that they don’t address them.” He thinks that because a lot of trauma happened on the site, the city tries to shy away from it. His plan attempts to transform Pruitt-Igoe’s history through problem solving. “Pruitt-Igoe had a really bad beginning,” he said. “But it could have a really inspiring ending.”

The leveled remains of the massive Pruitt-Igoe complex that once included 33 eleven story buildings. All photos of Pruitt-Igoe are courtesy of Saint Louis University Library Special Collections.15

UNITY AMIDST DIVERSITY Respecting Identity. Respecting Dignity. Respecting Persons.

by KATE ESSIG Kate is a Sophomore majoring in English.

Across campus, on buttons stuck on backpacks, plaques hung on walls and flyers handed out in the quad, Saint Louis University students have been given a challenge: Live the Oath. What the buttons, flyers and plaques are referring to is the Oath of Inclusion, a student creed that was launched in April 2011 and is slowly seeping its way into the campus culture. The Oath of Inclusion came about in response to a series of bias incidents that took place on SLU’s campus in the spring of 2010. Student Government Association Vice President of Diversity and Social Justice, Kripa Sreepada, explained, “We realized our community is very broken, and there were some pretty heartbreaking things that were stated during the whole ordeal.” In response to the bias incidents, the SLU community rallied to support the victims and took measures to promote a more inclusive atmosphere. A list of demands was presented and among those demands was the call for a student creed. “SGA thought that the student creed should come from the students themselves,” Sreepada explained. The oath was crafted by a task force of around forty students involved in various organizations across campus, and the oath spent almost a year being drafted and redrafted, before taking its final form. Since its official launch in April of 2011, the Oath of Inclusion has found its way into the lives of students through a variety of different portals. The “Live

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the Oath” campaign has featured biweekly videos that are sent to the entire student body, diversity dialogue at SLU101 Orientation, a visit to Bonne Terre prison to speak with students in the Prison Education Program, advertisement on the quad and more. When asked about the success of the Live the Oath campaign, Sreepada was optimistic, saying, “There’s been a

“Its purpose is to start a conversation, ask questions, and shift perspectives towards a more inclusive community.” lot of rallying support behind it.” First year students in particular have adopted the Oath as their own, as freshman George Theotokatos can attest, saying, “It’s comforting to go to a university that values diversity so much. It makes you feel as though anything you do, the community at SLU will still welcome you.” While it is excellent that students are rallying behind the Oath of Inclusion and finding SLU to be a safer, more inclusive community because of the em-

phasis placed on diversity, some questions still linger. Arguments against the oath say that words written on paper, no matter how craftily they are tacked down, are still only words. These hesitations are understandable. How does a document heal a hurting community? How does one measure the success of such a venture? The success of the Live the Oath campaign is not quantifiable and will never be quantifiable, but the purpose of the Oath of Inclusion is not solely to produce tangible results. Its purpose is to start a conversation, ask questions and shift perspectives towards a more inclusive community. Student Government Association President Matthew Ryan commented, saying, “We recognize that students have issues with the implementation of the oath, and the oath is not a cure-all. But we also think that if students can take this as their own, even if it helps how we treat someone for five seconds, it’s worth it.” Over the last two years the Oath of Inclusion has grown from a concept into a campus crusade. It’s mission? To find unity amidst the diversity on campus, and to show that while SLU students may not have everything in common , we can always share a common commitment to each other. While the Oath of Inclusion may just be a step towards combatting deep-rooted divisions, it is a step in the right direction.

At the Parade of Nations, students bear the flags of the countries represented at SLU. Photo by Anu Gorukanti.

OATH OF INCLUSION We as students form a diverse and vibrant university community. We do not enter into this community by proximity, but by virtue of a shared Jesuit vision - to pursue higher truths, obtain greater knowledge, and strive for a better world. In this endeavor, we do not succeed by our individual ambitions, but by our discovery of each other. We find higher truths when we seek to understand the complexity of our neighborsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; identities, we obtain greater knowledge when we consider the perspectives of our fellow students, and we begin to strive for a better world when we build a stronger community. As a student and a member of the SLU community, I will live by this oath. I will embrace people for the diversity of their identities, creating a community inclusive of race, ethnicity, sex, age, ability, faith, orientation, gender, class, and ideology. I will challenge my worldview through education inside and outside the classroom. I will show that I am proud to be a Billiken by enriching the culture of our University. I will foster a community that welcomes all by recognizing the inherent dignity of each person. I will work for social justice in the Saint Louis community and beyond. This is the SLU I believe in. This is the community I am building. This is our SLU.

The Great Divide

分界線 by ANITA CHENG Anita is a Senior majoring in Investigative Medical Science and International Studies.

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Annually, graduating international students are given a survey about their overall experience at Saint Louis University. Their number one complaint is not being able to meet American students. Although SLU’s international student population represents over 80 countries, the largest of these populations is by far the Chinese. When asked about his experience of meeting domestic students, Tommy Zhang, a sophomore from Shenzhen, China studying International Business, described how many Americans have misconceptions about China, unable to see the good changes that have occurred in his country: “They only know about chopsticks, Kung Pao chicken and communism.” Fortunately for Tommy, the curiosity of his American floor-mates combined with his outgoing personality allowed him to correct these misunderstandings about his culture. Tommy became more than just acquaintances with these guys – they even invited Tommy to join their fraternity. A quick glance of SLU’s campus, however, shows that Tommy’s story is uncommon. More frequently, Chinese international students remain in their own social circles. Comparing her experience as an international student in China and her observations at SLU, Emily Shoemaker, a senior Information Technology Management and International Business student who studied in Beijing during the fall of 2010, noticed how students in China are more willing to embrace the culture of American students; domestic students here seem more likely to withdraw if the culture of Chinese students makes them uncomfortable. To consider whether the cultural difference between domestic and international students is the only factor deepening the divide between the two groups, Chinese Americans on campus were interviewed about their experiences with connecting to Chinese international students, given their common heritage. “I do find it difficult to be friends with international students because I feel so Americanized,” said Cheryl Liang, a second generation Chinese American student. For students like Amy Sun, a senior studying Investigative and Medical Science, who was born in China then moved to the U.S. at a young age, there

is a “great dynamic in that we share many cultural roots, we can converse in Mandarin, we already have an implicit understanding of each other... [however] my mandarin skill gets me by, but is nowhere near where I would like it or enough to hold deep conversations.” Anu Pulikkan, a senior domestic student studying Philosophy, thinks that “it is intimidating to approach a group of international students, just as it is difficult to approach any other group of students who already have a shared culture...the language barrier exacerbates this factor.” To explain this language barrier and the phenomenon of Chinese international students aggregating together, Tommy believes that «because of SLU›s language standards, some Chinese international students do not come equipped with the foundational skills to be confident in conversing with American students... we end up hanging out with other Chinese international students because we don’t have enough to talk about with American students.” Regardless of ethnic background, the unanimous reason students point to as the cause of the divide is a lack of opportunities for domestic students and international students to meet each other outside of the classroom. Upon closer examination of whether there are such programs to connect domestic and international students available, the list is longer than one would think. The Honors Department started the International Partnership program during the spring semester of 2009, pairing up domestic honors students with international students to familiarize them with American college. The Global Initiatives Club was started this fall semester, also pairing up domestic students and international students together to encourage both parties to learn from each other’s cultures by attending social outings together. Organized by the Office of International Services, the International Ambassadors program is the newest addition to this list. Through this initiative, domestic students who serve as “international ambassadors” will contact incoming international students before they set foot on campus, easing their transition.

This list is certainly not comprehensive; well-established student organizations, like the International Student Federation, also host social outings for international students, frequently inviting domestic students to join them. With the growing number of opportunities to connect with international students, the question of why the large gap between the domestic and international students exists remains. “Students [at SLU] have little incentive to go out of their way to meet international students. It doesn’t fit into the popular portrait of American college life,” said Emily when she commented on the general attitude domestic students have towards international students. In response to the impression domestic students may have regarding Chinese international students having minimal desire to meet Americans based on their tight-knit homogeneous circles, Tommy explains that “we did not travel all the way from China just to meet more Chinese students...we are just more shy and less open than our American counterparts so it is more difficult for us to initiate the conversation.” Despite the intimidation factor, Anu believes that “as the host, it should be our responsibility as the domestic students of SLU to extend hospitality to our foreign guests.” In fact, the Asian and Pacific Islander demographic is the second largest only after the Caucasian population at this university. Through developing friendships with them, the opportunities to not only network but also to expand one’s world view are endless. Because of globalization, the traditional portrait of American college life that Emily described earlier is changing with the demographics of college students in the United States and in the microcosm of SLU. The new groups and initiatives on campus are paving the way for domestic students to get to know the international student living down the hall, or sitting next to them in the classroom. By being curious and open to this learning experience, more Chinese international students will graduate from SLU with stories like Tommy’s and more SLU domestic graduates will leave with a connection halfway across the globe.

多元化 19

PRODUCT DUMPING

Each year, SLU students team up with the TOMS campus club and walk a mile without shoes. For a moment they get a glimpse of what life is like for millions of people across the world who walk without shoes every day. TOMS addresses this problem with their one-for-one campaign that gives a pair of shoes to someone in need for each pair bought in the United States. The name TOMS is actually short for “shoes for a better tomorrow,” the mission of TOMS shoes. In 2010, TOMS gave over 1 million pairs of shoes to children in need. So with such great success, why wouldn’t you buy a pair of TOMS? The answer can be tricky. While TOMS shoes is a well-intentioned company like many other aid organizations, its impacts go far beyond the footprints left by its shoes. In 2007, the New York Times ran an article about CARE, one of the world’s biggest charities, and its recent

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decision to turn away federal funding because its work in food aid was seen as inefficient and potentially damaging to local economies. In addition to this situation, there are many other concerns surrounding foreign aid. However, this information is only available in scholarly writing. The issue at hand is not whether what we are doing is good or humanitarian. Instead, as Dr. Knut Roder, professor of African Politics at Saint Louis University in Madrid mentioned, “we donate free [goods] to countries that instead could do with us developing their industry.” Many researchers have found that giving free goods to developing countries undermines local economies and inadvertently keeps the cycle of poverty going. An article by Garth Frazer claims that clothing donations in Africa could explain a 40% decline in apparel production and 50% loss in jobs from 1981-2000. But why is this the case?

When goods are dumped on an underdeveloped market, the local economy must compete to stay alive. Local businesses simply cannot compete with free goods. As a result, these small farmers and craftsmen decide to quit their businesses and work because of the aid given. They also become wholly dependent on aid to provide the goods they can no longer buy because they are unemployed. The lack of sustainability is a major problem that accompanies the aid of many western nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that pride themselves on helping the world’s poor. Often it is a way of getting rid of things the west does not want and putting a positive spin on its effects. This problem is exacerbated by a lack of international law to prevent this activity. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has no explicit laws against goods dumping. Instead, there is just a provision that if nations see another na-

REPERCUSSIONS OF FOREIGN AID by MITCH GARRETT Mitch is a Junior majoring in Political Science and International Studies.

Photos by Sanjana Shah.

tion selling products abroad well below current market prices, they can be reported and the case will be investigated by the WTO. This may work decently with businesses that are competing, but it would be a PR nightmare to call out an aid organization for giving too much to the poor. The bottom line as explained by Dr. Roder is, “the WTO also does not stop Western market protectionism, while at the same time not stopping the destructive dumping of the West’s subsidized cheap products.” Organizations like TOMS shoes who give free goods for various noble reasons can often end up hurting communities more than they help. Currently TOMS and its giving partners give shoes to 23 countries including the United States and countries in South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. These shoes are hand delivered and shipped from three factories around the world. A solution to this problem of for-

eign aid may lie in the building of more factories rather than the giving of free goods. Factories create jobs, money and avoid import costs. Jacob Geller of the Boston University Economics Club published an article stating that the shipping of goods comprises nearly one-third of Malawi’s import costs. This means that the free items sent to Africa are in fact less beneficial than anticipated. These costs can be cut drastically and economies can grow if companies such as TOMS begin to invest in factories rather than the products themselves. For entire countries, Dr. Roder suggests, among other things, that we “enable them to buil[d] up their infrastructure, offer education systems, forgive debt and buy their produce.” But what can a student do about changing an entire corporation’s structure? Short of being the next Blake Mycoskie or starting a worldwide nonprofit, there are things every student

can do to help create jobs in the developing world. The most important step is to buy fair trade merchandise. Fair trade merchandise is mostly made in developing countries, but neither by children nor by underpaid adults. It is a movement to create factory jobs which invest in local economies rather than dumping free goods and depressing them. Anything which has been labeled by Fair Trade USA has undergone rigorous critiques which ensure that its workers are paid living wages and no child is used in production. As suggested by Dr. Roder, buying the produce and goods of developing nations is one of the many steps to end the cycle of poverty. Next time you look to help out the poor of your community or the world, look beyond giving handouts but instead help them climb the latter out of poverty.

TUNISIA

President Mebazza sets July 24 as the date for elections to choose a constitutional council with the intent of drafting a new constitution. The Tunisian secret police force, used by Ben Ali’s regime to suppress dissidents, is disbanded and the RCD is dissolved by court order.

LIBYA EGYPT

Tunisian street vendor, Mohamed Bouazizi, sets himself on fire after poor treatment and humiliation by government officials. This sparks heated protests in response to violence by government officials, rampant unemployment and a general lack of human rights throughout the nation.

DECEMBER

The “Day of Revolt” occurs, in which Egyptian activists protest against poverty, unemployment, government corruption and the rule of President Hosni Mubarak that has spanned three decades. The protests quickly turn violent and several are killed while hundreds are arrested. Mubarak fires the cabinet but refuses to step down, despite international support for his resignation. Mubarak appoints a vice president, Omar Suleiman, for the first time since he took office in 1981.

2010

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President Ben Ali fires the government with the promise of new government elections. Ben Ali then flees to Saudi Arabia. Fouad Mebazaa, President of the Chamber of Deputies, is appointed interim president. Incidences of looting and violence prevail as anarchy reigns without a stable governing body. The Democratic Constitutional Rally (RCD), Ben Ali’s party, is dissolved. Tunisia issues an international warrant for Ben Ali’s arrest.

JANUARY

The national council convenes in Benghazi and becomes the self-proclaimed governmental authority for Libya. The U.N. Security Council imposes a no-fly zone over Libya. NATO begins air strikes to protect civilians from government attack. Several international organizations call on Gaddafi to relinquish his position.

FEBRUARY

Protests continue as Tunisians find that too much of Ben Ali’s old regime is still present. This leads to Mohamed Ghannouchi stepping down to be replaced by Beji Caid Sebsi as Prime Minister.

Human rights lawyer Fethi Tarbel is arrested by government officials while working to free political prisoners, inciting riots in Benghazi and elsewhere throughout Libya. Libyans hold their own “Day of Rage” in which protestors take to the streets. The Libyan government authorizes the use of air attacks against such demonstrators, causing several officials to resign in response. The U.N. Security Council places sanctions on Colonel Gaddafi and brings the treatment of anti-government protesters in Libya to the attention of the International Criminal Court.

MARCH

Egyptians support the constitutional reforms that are set to make way for elections in the near future.

Mubarak promises not to run for re-election but again refuses to step down. Fights arise between Mubarak supporters and protesters. Thousands more flood Tahrir Square. Mubarak concedes that he will resign in September; however, intensifying protests force him to resign as President of Egypt immediately and concede control to the military. Protesters begin clearing out of Tahrir Square.

APRIL

The Tunisian government charges Ben Ali with manslaughter, drug trafficking and conspiring against the state.

Mubarak and his sons are arrested as suspects on counts of corruption. Demonstrations in Tahrir Square continue as Egyptians express displeasure with the halting pace of political change.

ARAB SPRING

A LOOK AT EVENTS IN THE ARAB REVOLUTIONS BY SHIVANI SINGH Army finally dissolves all protestors from Tahrir Square. Facing charges of killing demonstrators earlier in the year, Mubarak finally goes on trial in Cairo.

Sebsi cautions that elections might be delayed due to logistical and technical issues. Meanwhile, an independent group is formed to oversee elections scheduled on July 24, 2011.

JUNE

Rebel forces storm the Libyan capital of Tripoli and successfully capture Green Square. The search for Colonel Gaddafi continues but yields no results. The rebels offer a $1.3 million bounty for his capture as protesters advance on his hometown of Sirte. It is soon revealed that Gaddafi is in hiding and his family has fled to Algeria.

JULY

International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Gaddafi on crimes against humanity after his ordered air strikes on Libyan citizens.

AUGUST

Comprised of the United States, a large portion of Europe, nations of the Middle East and several international organizations, the International Contact Group on Libya formally recognizes the previously created National Transitional Council (NTC) as the official government of Libya.

Elections to the national assembly are conducted as preparations are made to draft a new constitution.

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

Colonel Gaddafi is killed amidst protests. NTC plans for elections to be held in the upcoming eight months and formally deems Libya â&#x20AC;&#x153;liberated.â&#x20AC;?

Sixty countries have now recognized the National Transition Council as the official governmental authority of Libya.

Elections are postponed to Oct. 23, 2011 by the interim government. Ben Ali, although still in Saudi Arabia in exile, is convicted of embezzling public funds and sentenced to 35 years in prison while still facing criminal charges on other counts.

2011

In May 2010, Maxwell Amon, a student from SLU, was attending school in Israel when the Gaza Freedom Flotilla attempted to break through the Israeli blockade of the Gaza strip. Amon’s school went into immediate lockdown. The conflict that resulted from the Gaza Freedom Flotilla led to the death of nine activists and left many wounded. “I have a vivid recollection of that, and it was a very rough scenario,” said Amon. He worried about the

A Look at the Israel-Palestine Conflict

Conflict The

Within

by KATERINA CANYON Katerina is a Junior majoring in International Studies and English.

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near future. “This is not a good situation. People are going to retaliate… I was worried when I went to pick up my dad from the airport… Certain things happen because you are in Israel. It’s a hotbed. Everybody wants the land.” Amon’s experience is just one of the hundreds of incidents of violence that occur in Israel because of the area known as the West Bank, which has been a source of conflict since the 19th century, long before the formation of the

state of Israel. Dr. Julia Lieberman, professor of Spanish and International Studies at Saint Louis University, has traveled to Israel many times over the past thirty years, and her experiences vary from one visit to the next. “I remember going to Jerusalem and walking around buying things, and the Israeli Arabs would make comments, friendly comments if we asked questions… To be frank, there was less tension [in Israel] than today,” Dr. Lieberman said of one of her earliest visits. Amon said that prior to the Flotilla, “I used to go to the old city, in Jerusalem, and we would go to Muslim Quarter and Christian Quarter, and as long as you go to the right places, there was always beautiful, peaceful interaction… Like we used to go to this one hookah shop run by Muslims… we’d chat. We’d run next door to this one coffee shop run by Christian Arabs, and they’d give us free scoops of ice cream and stuff. It was very cool.” Amon also pointed out there were places that, as an Israeli or a Jew, it was recommended that he did not go. After Israel’s establishment by U.N. mandate in 1948, many Palestinians fled to refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees, there are between 250,000 and 415,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. While many refugees remain in the camps, UNRWA estimates that 100,000 Palestinian refugees have emigrated to other countries in Europe and the Arab Gulf. Life is difficult for those who remain in Lebanon. Due to a thirty-five year sectarian feud in Palestine, the status of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is on hold. Refugees are not permitted to buy property in Lebanon. They are restricted to only certain areas. Many refugees are not permitted to have jobs or receive basic health care. Sandra Tamari of the St. Louis Branch of the Palestine Solidarity Committee spent time working and living with people in a refugee camp in Lebanon. She said, “It has been thought that granting citizenship to those refugees would throw off what they consider a very fine line in the sectarian balance. [The Palestinian refugees] are stateless. The Shatila… was built for a thousand refugees. Now there are tens of thousands living in the same area... There is

no way to spread out, so people build up.” Children and families suffer the most. “There is no infrastructure developed,” said Tamari. “The thing that affected me the most is realizing that the kids… have no place to play. The schools, run by the United Nations, are so crowded that the kids go to school in shifts. The pressure on families is huge.” Still, the Palestinians persevere. Tamari added, “The state of mind is one of definitely never giving up hope. I think that’s how people have survived for 63 years… from one generation to another.” Many refugees reconstruct their neighborhoods within the camps to resemble the village they came from. Tamari said, “They know the exact village of where their family lived, and they know the layout of the village, and who lived next to them. So the same families that were neighbors in a small village on the coast of what was Palestine would have fled together and would have settled together.” In September 2011, Palestine petitioned the United Nations for state recognition. The United States threatened to veto the bid, while the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced that it planned to support the bid. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held a press conference at the Council of Europe on October 6 in the hope of gaining support for his statehood bid. The return of the refugees to Palestine is a big undertaking; it will not be accomplished with the U.N. petition for statehood. Most agree that a Palestinian statehood would have little practical impact. Tamari said, “I think for most people living inside the Palestine under occupation, they see this as a symbolic move. They don’t see anything happening that will change their day-to-day lives.” Saint Louis University’s Professor of Political Science, J.R. LegueyFeilleux, asked, “What is statehood without a territory of your own?” Leguey-Feilleux explained what would be considered Palestine is now occupied by Israel. “[The Palestinians] wouldn’t want statehood to be limited to Gaza. They are in charge of Gaza, but Gaza is not a state. And beyond Gaza, you have the rest of [the West Bank], and that is occupied by Israel. Ultimately, a settle-

ment will be dependent upon having it with Israel.” The landscape in Israel changes from day to day. Israel is steadily building more housing in territories beyond the 1967 division lines. These lines were acknowledged by U.N. Security Council Resolution 252 and represent the boundaries the United Nations accepts for both states. This is currently under dispute: on October 14, 2011, U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon demanded that Israel immediately stop construction in East Jerusalem, which is part of Palestine according to the 1967 division lines. According to Leguey-Feilleux, Palestine faces a significant challenge. “They had the occasion to become

a state at the time when Israel partitioned from Palestine, but they refused. Israel became a state, and they had several wars that were launched by Arab states, and Israel won those wars, and Israel became in charge of all of Palestine.” Leguey-Feilleux said because of this, Israel is not prepared to let go of the territories they occupied. “The main problem between Palestinians and Israelis is that there are no negotiations for the two state solution taking place right now, which both sides are interested in reaching,” said Dr. Lieberman. “The debate right now with regard to the Palestinians going to the U.N. is not about Israel being against the two state solution, but rather that the solution is reached through nego-

tiations and not unilaterally.” The U.N. petition for statehood will likely be vetoed by the United States, leaving the Palestinians stateless and homeless. Their situation within Israel is untenable, and their situation outside Israel is unacceptable. The diplomatic quartet, which consists of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia, are working to broker a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, but so far there have been no major concessions.

Progress was made in the past with the Oslo Agreement in 1993, but has since stalled. Because of this, LegueyFeilleux said that a solution “is possible when the circumstances are right.” But when will that be? No one seems to know.

La Grève

by LAURA CASEY / INTERNATIONAL SECTION EDITOR Laura is a Senior majoring in Political Science, French and International Studies.

There was nothing to breathe except tear gas. My face was a stinging mess of tears, saliva and mucus. I was not alone. I was observing with the other onlookers as hundreds of marginalized youth squared off with the French National Guard and the riot police. In the weeks leading up to this event, France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy, had been floating the idea of raising the retirement age and, therefore, the pension age by two years. The French would now not be eligible to retire until age 57. This change did not sit well in France’s traditional society. Moreover, many people saw this as an outlet to vocalize their frustrations with the current president and his administration. They took to the streets in numbers. One of my roommates, a French girl named Pauline, explained to me that striking and protesting in France is a “coming of age” ritual. It is something in which the French take great pride and effort. It is very organized. People will group with their unions or on their own and march in the streets. They will do this peacefully but they will do it with strength. In the weeks leading up to the day I watched the youth on the streets face the French National Guard, the streets had been filled with protesters all throughout France. Unfortunately, things took a bad turn when the organized masses and unions began to taper off and the youth took over. The youth, predominantly teens and young adults of North African descent, took the protests from marches to riots. This, according to Pauline, was not part of the coming of age ritual. This transition from protests to riots is also what brought me to Le Place Bellecour, a large town square, that day. Schools had already been shut down for a week, and there had been news reports breaking in and out of their scheduled times to update everybody on where the latest acts of violence (e.g. arson, looting, destruction of property,

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etc.) had been. The two largest centers of unrest were in a Parisian suburb and Lyon, where I was spending the year living and studying. Ethnic minorities added to the chaotic scenes that were erupting. In France and Southern Italy, there are large populations of immigrants and refugees from North Africa. These two cultures did not seem to get along well. This resulted in the minorities being marginalized. They were seen as a burden to the system and characterized as lazy and unwilling to fit in with the French and Italian culture. According to the World Bank report on BBC, besides migration within the Euro Zone, immigrants traveling from North Africa make up the largest, about 22%, of Europe’s immigrant population. During the riots, France created a diplomatic dispute with Italy, which had received over 20,000 illegal migrants from North Africa, after it refused to allow trains carrying immigrants to cross from Italy into France.

Despite the EU’s open borders policy that is codified in the Schengen Agreement of 1997, France refused to admit the immigrants because it insisted, “it will only allow in those with the financial resources to live in France independently – a requirement which rules out most of those who have fled to Europe.” According to an article by Allen Peter in The Telegraph, the government also cited security concerns that they believed to be legitimate with the influx of hundreds of migrants arriving without warning. So what is being done to ease the tensions? Diplomacy. Lyon is a city with large numbers of North Africans and is also a key location for U.S. diplomatic efforts. The U.S. Consulate held culture workshops, set up tutors to help the disadvantaged Africans and worked with sports leagues to promote understanding between the cultures. The hope is that these efforts will alleviate the tensions and keep the violence out of future protests.

French firefighters extinguish a fire from a car torched in the riots. Photo by Laura Casey.

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The support of liveOneWorld’s Sponsors and Equity Partners ensures that this will not only continue to grow, but will become a more sustainable and meaningful community project. To inquire about supporting us in 2011-2012, email oneworldmagazine@gmail.com.

SPONSORS The College of Arts and Sciences is happy to support OneWorld magazine.

The Division of Student Development In support of Saint Louis University’s Jesuit mission, the Division of Student Development is committed to maintaining an environment of mutual respect and dignity for people of all backgrounds and cultures. It is our mission to encourage and support a thriving and diverse community among our staff and students. We honor the differences in our community, whether they be, age, ability, race, religion, identity, sexual orientation or socio-economic background, and prepare our students to thrive in a multicultural, diverse society. Our efforts are grounded in cultivating awareness, inclusion and engagement through intentional experiences, events and programs that demonstrate our commitment to excellence.

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CALL TO ACTION We are already one, but we imagine that we are not. liveOneWorld exists to rediscover that, while we are many in our cultures, religions and struggles, we are one in our common humanity. We yearn to remove the barriers of ignorance and injustice, because the most basic and unchanging truth that unites us is the infinite value of the human person. LiveOneWorld emphasizes this unity by raising awareness of social injustice, inspiring action and transforming our hearts, minds and society.

LIFE’S MOST PERSISTENT AND URGENT QUESTION IS, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR OTHERS?”

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- MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR

Photo by Sanjana Shah.