MALL RATS | EXPLORING THE MUSIC WE SHOP TO | CADENZA, PAGE 8
STUDENT LIFE
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS SINCE 1878 VOLUME 128, NO. 48
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2007
Multicultural group performs at AC BY JOSH HANTZ NEWS EDITOR The Idan Raichel Project, a popular band in Israel, is coming to Washington University tomorrow night. The band is known for its messages of love, tolerance and diversity, and has a heavy Ethiopian musical influence as well as Caribbean, Middle Eastern, Latin American and Mediterranean. “If you look at the band, you see they’re all about celebrating differences and multiculturalism,” said senior Alex Freedman, head of the event. “We hope students connect with this appreciation for diversity. We hope they realize that each culture has something unique and special to offer. We can really learn from each other.” Going along with this theme, six multicultural dance groups, including Bhangra, AfikyLoLo and Lunar New Year Festival, will kick off the night with an hour-long performance before the band takes the stage. “The dance show is going to be lights out,” said Freedman. “If anyone else but Idan was up there, it would be the main event.”
Raichel himself, 29, comes from an Eastern European family that promoted music in his childhood, although not necessarily from a cultural perspective. He said that was why he became open to music from around the world, especially Gypsy and tango. While in the Israeli army, he joined a rock band and toured military bases. There, he learned how to produce live shows. After being discharged, he developed his knowledge and skill of Ethiopian music and in 2002, he joined the music scene with the Project. The other band members come from such backgrounds as Sudan, Suriname and Yemen. Juniors Sarah Yael Morris and Laura Seidenberg, co-chairs for the concert, related the band’s diversity to Washington University’s. “What’s so great about a school like Wash. U. is that we are so diverse and have the ability to be so diverse,” said Morris. “It is something that everyone can benefit from. It represents a lot of openness in respecting everybody’s different backgrounds and being able to understand people that aren’t just
like us. If we foster that at this level, it will affect changes at a broader level.” She added that integrating ideas of diversity with an actual multicultural concert is a great way to promote that message. “In bringing Idan to Wash. U., we are really facilitating a huge event that will hopefully make our campus multicultural not only in definition, but also in practice,” said Morris. Freedman agrees. “A lot of times on campus, diversity means bringing in talking heads and 10 students coming to listen to them, but they’re the ones that need that the least,” he said. “To have a musical experience and celebration like this—it is something totally different. It can be very powerful and very moving. It’s something that hasn’t been done at Wash. U. before.” While more than a dozen groups including Jewish Student Union, St. Louis Hillel and Congress of the South 40 are officially sponsoring the event, the chairs have also gained support from 23 non-Jewish cultural groups. “Many cultural groups have
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Israeli musician Idan Raichel will be performing in the Athletic Complex on Thursday night at 8 p.m. their own events and have their moment in the spotlight,” said Freedman. “But it’s always one group being showcased. That’s not what this concert is.” The University is the last of
Panel for peace draws crowd
the band’s four stops in America before it returns to Israel. The group has played at Brandeis University and in Miami and Chicago over the past week. Doors to the Athletic Com-
Local rapper Jibbs offers to open WILD BY MANDY SILVER SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
EITAN HOCHSTER I STUDENT LIFE
Shimon Katz and Sulaiman Al-Hamri speak to a crowd of over 100 people at Ursa’s Fireside on Tuesday, Jan. 30. Katz and Al-Hamri, who were brought to the University by Students for a Peaceful Palestinian-Israeli Future, are members of Combants for Peace and are now on a speaking tour of America. BY TROY RUMANS NEWS EDITOR An Israeli-Palestinian confl ict forum drew over 100 members of Washington University and the St. Louis community to Ursa’s Fireside on Monday, where an Israeli and a Palestinian discussed why they favored peace over militancy. The forum, hosted by Students for a Peaceful PalestinianIsraeli Future [SPPIF], featured Shimon Katz, an Israeli, and Sulaiman al-Hamri, a Palestinian, both of whom led a frank discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict. “It made me really happy to see all the people here. It’s good to know that people want peace,” said Andrea Ginsburg, a senior who attended the forum. “We’re taught to be scared [of the confl ict], and it helps to see real Palestinians and Israelis to break that down.” Junior Aviva Joffe, co-president of SPPIF, was impressed by the nature of the discussion. “I was really pleased by the event because people asked challenging questions. A lot of
what SPPIF tries to do is ask the hard questions,” said Joffe. “All attitudes should be shared and discussed, even those which disagree with us. The important thing is to sit and talk about it.” Al-Hamri and Katz presented unique views on the conflict, given their personal involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian situation. Al-Hamri spent four and a half years in Israeli prisons for his involvement in protests and demonstrations, before resolving to use non-violent methods to resolving the confl ict. “My family has spent a total of 25 years in Israeli prisons. We have paid the price in the confl ict, yet I remain committed to peace,” said al-Hamri. Katz acted as an officer in an elite Israeli Defense Force combat unit, until he also became interested in non-violent ways of living. Service in the army for an Israeli citizen is compulsory, however, which presents a predicament for Katz. “I do believe that as an Israeli citizen I am obliged to go to the army, just like I am obliged
to pay taxes,” said Katz. “So, I work to fi nd a middle path that will allow me to remain true to my values.” Though the two come from starkly contrasted backgrounds, both espoused the importance of peaceful cooperation. “It’s a duty to retaliate against an occupation–-whether for national motives or religious motives, but it is also a duty to do so peacefully,” said al-Hamri. For the most part, the attendees of the forum appreciated the diverse backgrounds of the two speakers. “It was nice to hear directly from the [combatants] involved, instead of the media,” said Tyson Meyer, a member of the local community who attended the forum. Not all present agreed with the way in which the Combatant’s message was framed. Following the presentation, Sophomore Michael Safyan handed out a pamphlet entitled “Big Lies: Demolishing the Myths of the Propaganda War Against Israel.” “Historical revisionism is lying about things of the past,”
said Safyan. “Revising the past by impugning my ancestors is not an acceptable grounds for a sustainable peace.” Safyan’s pamphlets were not sanctioned by any campus organization, and while he was allowed to hand them out, he was asked to stand outside Ursa’s. The event was sponsored by Combatants for Peace and Brit Tzedek ViShalom, The Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace. Amnesty International, Wash. U. Students for Israel, Skina, Model UN and the Muslim Student Association also co-sponsored the forum. Al-Hamri is the Palestinian coordinator for Combatants for Peace. He co-founded the movement in April 2006, and is currently on a 22-city tour throughout the United States. He has a master’s degree in American studies from Al-Quds University and a bachelor’s degree in social work and psychology. Katz will be beginning studies for an M.A. in clinical social work at the Yeshiva University in New York to pursue his goal of nonviolent service for the state.
The groundhog’s boxing showdown Reviews: Norah Jones and more Will St. Louis be doomed to more dreadful weather? Is spring’s relief in sight? Rachel Tepper has some thoughts on what Groundhog’s day has in store. Forum, Page 4
This week in Cadenza, reviewrs have their takes on Norah Jones’ new disc, “Catch and Release,” and “Smokin Aces.” Cadenza, Page 7
plex open at 6:30 p.m. The opening dance show begins at 7 p.m. and the band goes on at 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale in Mallinckrodt during the day and at the door for $5.
St. Louis native and former boxer, Jibbs, approached Team 31 with a bid to open WILD in late April, as confirmed by Team 31 co-chairs sophomore Randy Lubin and junior Pehr Hovey. The co-chairs said that the spring show’s headliner has already been secured, but declined further comment as to the specific artist. According to Hovey and Lubin, contracts with the opening bands will not be signed until March. Mike Kociela, managing director of Entertainment St. Louis, a third party contractor for Team 31, independently confirmed Jibbs’ bid, citing the rapper’s interest in “building a connection with the local college market.” Entertainment St. Louis has aided Team 31 in booking and producing the annual shows for the past five years. “Jibbs’ management ap-
proached me looking for college dates. I suggested Wash. U. and they were interested,” said Kociela. While Kociela placed the odds of Jibbs’ Wash. U. performance at 50 percent, he stated that Jibbs’ offer was low compared to other openers. “He shot us a very reasonable price,” agreed Lubin, who added that “for such a low price, there is no real downside.” Jibbs gained popularity after adapting the nursery rhyme “Do Your Ears Hang Low” into the hit song “Chain Hang Low.” The rapper, who is 16, began rapping at age eight after he caught the attention of his older brother, DJ Beats. Like Will Smith, Jibbs does not cuss in his songs. In August 2006, “Chain Hang Low” became the most popular rap download on iTunes. Jibbs’ debut album, Jibbs Featuring Jibbs, was released in October of that year.
University earns C- in sustainability report BY BEN SALES SENIOR STAFF REPORTER Washington University ranks below average in sustainability among its peer institutions, according to a recent study. Out of seven categories, the University earned one B, four C’s and two F’s, which average to a C-. “The report was put together with the goal of providing clear information about different schools’ programs on sustainability on campus,” said Mark Orlowski, the executive director of the Sustainable Endowments Institute, which puts out the evaluation. “Students and administrators could refer to it as a resource to learn about what schools are doing [and] what the best practices are.”
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Orlowski’s organization, which is based in Cambridge, Mass., looked at seven categories in their nationwide evaluation of 100 schools. Washington University earned a B in Food and Recycling and C’s in Administration, Climate Change and Energy, Green Building and Investment Priorities. The University earned failing grades in Endowment Transparency and Shareholder Engagement, areas that measure how the University manages its outside investments and corporate influence regarding sustainability. James McLeod, Dean of Students, said that although the University is not where it wants to be in terms of sustainability, it is in the pro-
See SUSTAINABILITY, page 3
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