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Forecast, Page 2
Thursday, Th d M March h 11 2010
Issue 111, Volume 75
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COURTESY OF CATHERINE ROCA
Catherine Roca, center left, and Sandrine El Hage, center right, flash some school spirit while attempting to drum up support for their campaign to lead the SGA’s 47th Administration. Roca is running for president, while El Hage is vying for vice president.
ROBERT GARCIA THE DAILY COUGAR
Student Government Association presidential and vice-presidential candidates James Strickland and Michael Perkins said they want SGA to take more action when helping students.
Agenda increases pride Duo to change culture By Paulette Ehmer THE DAILY COUGAR Campus safety, student cohesiveness and increasing school spirit are all issues Student Government Association presidential and vice-presidential candidates Catherine Roca and Sandrine El Hage want to improve. Roca and El Hage said they encompass the passion and dedication needed to be successful leaders in SGA. Roca and El Hage both said they are determined to transform UH’s nonconventional campus into a traditional campus environment while maintaining and embracing its diversity. In regard to security, Roca and El Hage would like to reallocate the University’s resources to increase the number of officers patrolling the campus.
They said, if elected, they will work to increase the activity and visibility of the police force such as patrolling on bike and foot. “Police officers should be a deterrent for criminals,” Roca said. “They should be there before the crime happens to prevent it rather than showing up to fill out the report.” Roca and El Hage said UH lacks school pride and student cohesiveness, and this may be because it is a commuter campus. In hopes to restore and build student unity, Roca and El Hage have founded the Pride Group. The group aims to reach out to students and incorporate University resources to bring awareness to issues most important to students such as the light rail, campus safety and parking. see ROCA, page 3
By Robert Garcia THE DAILY COUGAR The goal to see the Student Government Association become a stronger advocate for student’s needs and rights is central to the agenda for presidential candidate James Strickland and vice-presidential candidate Michael Perkins. Recent frustrations with the UH Financial Aid administration fueled Strickland’s desire to run for the position. Strickland and Perkins, both out-of-state students, said they experienced lengthy delays before receiving their financial-aid funding needed for tuition and books. “I did everything right and was told so by the Financial Aid office, but everything kept getting delayed,” said Strickland, a math and finance junior.
Protestors speak out against aggression
see STRICKLAND, page 3
Face-veil proposal outrages students By Safiya Ravat THE DAILY COUGAR
By Hiba Adi THE DAILY COUGAR Last year, more than 40 cities participated in Israeli Apartheid Week, and this week, Students for a Democratic Society of UH are observing it in Houston. Israel was established as a sovereign state in 1948, after the holocaust and World War II. As a result, Palestinians were forced to move out of their homes and into the West Bank and Gaza regions. This attracted much international attention, and the conflict is still going on today. The week-long SDS events have
Strickland contacted SGA in an effort to resolve the issue, but felt the group could have offered better assistance. “When I asked one of the senators about it, I found out the only thing they did with my request was to forward the email to the Financial Aid Office,” he said. “It just seems to me that the SGA is too passive and doesn’t stand up for students’ needs when it comes to administration issues.” Perkins, who is also a math and finance major, said he didn’t receive his financialaid funding until three weeks following the end of that semester. “I’d go (to) the Financial Aid Office every week, and each time I was told everything was fine and approved for my funding and that I’d have my money any day,” he said.
KENDRA BERGLUND THE DAILY COUGAR
On Tuesday, a group of student protestors stood outside the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library. The students voiced their discontent with America’s aid to Israel. included lectures, demonstrations and film screenings aimed at raising awareness about Israel’s controversial policies toward Palestinians and to gather support for the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.
Lecture attendees said the testimonies of people who have been to the region supplied a lot of insight. This includes stories from Houstonian Sally Tawfik, who shared see APARTHEID, page 3
A full black dress covered her entire body. From head to toe, nothing could be seen. All that was visible of Reehab Ramadan were two eyes peering out from beneath her veil, telling her story. “I have a neighbor who described me to her friend,” said Ramadan, a computer science senior. “She was saying how she could see my character and personality by just looking at my eyes. She could see it (despite) the cloth on my face.” Ramadan, a Muslim student who wears the full face-veil or ‘niqab’ in Arabic, said the cloth defines her as a person.
“The niqab is a part of me,” Ramadan said, “If I had to take it off due to some legislation, they would be stripping me of my identity.” Ramadan’s words came in response to the French government’s January proposal for a ban on the face-veil. Once drafted into law, the restriction applied to schools, hospitals, public transportation and government offices. The legislation said the face-veil was a challenge to French values of equality. French President Nicolas Sarkozy showed support for the ban, claiming the face-veil was “not welcome in France.” His political party leader, Xavier Bertrand, said it is “simply a prison for women see VEIL, page 7