WOMEN’S TENNIS
DRAKE’S NEW ALBUM With Drake’s new album, “nothing is the same” Page 6
Duhawks clinch a spot in postseason Page 11 September 26, 2013 — Vol. 92, Issue 2
Student Union seeks communication Legendary by JERRY HUGUELET
|
for the Lorian
As we start our new year, we must look at where we’ve been and where we’d like to go as a Loras community. It is our 175th and this is an important year. Student Union has also done an analysis of where we’ve been and where we would like to go as an organization. In doing our analysis, we have discovered that the campus community needs to work on communication. Every family, school, organization, and business struggles with communication, and because we are a smaller campus, we believe we can be much better at communicating and collabo-
rating than we currently are. I promise you that the Student Union will work hard to better communicate with the entire Loras community as well. In saying this, it is our hope that the Jerry Huguelet Student Union becomes a place where students, faculty, and staff can gather with suggestions, questions, and concerns about campus life. We will do our best to provide answers. We can only accomplish this with your help. We need you to hold us
accountable and work with us to make this vision a reality. I look forward to working with everyone on campus as we embrace our 175th year: the year of greatness.
by CASSANDRA BUSCH
Loras hosts celebration for International Day of Peace by SEABELO MONTWEDI
|
staff writer
Every year Loras hosts the annual keynote for Dubuque’s celebration of the United Nations International Day of Peace. This year’s theme was “Civil Rights in a Culture of (non)violence.” The celebration was intended to mark the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. The celebration brought another remarkable speaker, Rev. Phil Lawson, who was an activist and leader during the civil rights movement who remains active in peace and justice work. Lawson, who is a nonviolence advocate, touched on the ideas of domination, oppression, nonviolence, hopes for peace and working towards change. In talking about domination, he said that society has been misled to believe that it is necessary to have power over others in order to be successful. “Being in a dominate role does not lead us to live a life filled with good deeds,” said Lawson A central theme that Lawson touched on was the idea that the opposite of oppression is not freedom. The opposite of oppression is community. Much of Lawson’s talk was highlighting how necessary this community is. He constantly referred to the idea that each everybody needs one another. Lawson also focused on how difficult resistance to oppression can be. “We can try to help a scorpion that is trapped, but it will probably sting you because of its nature. But just because something’s nature is to sting does not mean you should change your nature to help,” said Lawson. Lawson used this analogy to illustrate how easy it is turn a blind eye or encourage oppression (directly or indirectly) in the cases that it is possible one will suffer. Rev. Lawson urged the audience to take a stand for what’s right despite the
“We can try to help a scorpion that is trapped, but it will probably sting you because of its nature,” says Rev. Lawson.
civil rights activist speaks
photos by MARK FUENTEBELLA
Rev. Phil Lawson speaks to the Dubuque community about the potential of nonviolence in the world today.
consequences. of being denied human needs,” said “We should not give up our nature of Lawson. In concluding his speech, Rev. Lawhelping people just because we might son expressed that although the Unitbe stung. If we are afraid the rest of ed States is struggling with racism, our lives because of the unknowns, the violence, and oppression, there is still unknowns will never be solved,” said hope for peace. He Lawson. says that our idea Lawson went on to of violence is contalk about the issue Being in a dominate role structed by the meof nonviolence which does not lead us to live a dia which makes us is the heart of this year’s theme. When life filled with good deeds. believe that there is more violence than violence is brought Rev. Phil Lawson ever, when in realup, most people think nonviolence activist ity, “violence and about physical viocrime has been delence. However, Rev. creasing.” Lawson points out The audience was that there is more to violence than just moved and greatly inspired by Rev. physical violence. Lawson’s speech. Betsy Schmitz, a “Being nonviolent is providing peoLoras student, expressed how touched ple with food, healthcare, shelter, and she was by the speech. a dignified life. We cannot get wrapped “His story touched my heart because up in politics when people in our comwe need to drop the stereotypes of peomunities are suffering from the violence ple living in our communities,” said Schmitz. David Cochran, a Loras professor of politics, both introduced the speaker and facilitated questions and discussion afterward. “His remarks connected the importance of nonviolence in such [civil rights] movements, then and now,” said Cochran. “He focused on the need to discern injustice and take action resisting it. He tied his nonviolent activism for peace and justice to his Christian beliefs. I thought his talk was very good – wise, inspiring, and moving.”
“
,,
|
news editor
This week’s Common Time included a guest speaker that was able to tie together the message of tolerance and equality that first-years have been receiving in their MOIs this school year thus far. However, guests of all ages were encouraged to attend, and the message was able to resonate with them as well. Morris Dees is a chief trial attorney based in Montgomery, AL. Dees began his own law practice in Montgomery in 1960, after obtaining his law degree from the University of Alabama. Since then, he has gone on to win numerous unprecedented cases for equality regarding civil rights, and has been working hard to communicate the message of tolerance and acceptance to people all over the United States. Besides being an attorney, Dees is a writer as well. He has published three books: Hate on Trial: The Case Against America’s Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi, Gathering Storm: America’s Militia Threat, and his autobiography, A Season For Justice. A TV special was also based on Dees’ victories in the legal system against the Ku Klux Klan, titled “Line of Fire.” Other than these accomplishments, in 2006 Dees was also honored as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America by the National Law Journal. Dees began his speech with a proposition regarding Loras playing Alabama in football. After the chuckles had subsided, he moved into more serious territory. He began with his youth, when he attended a small school in Alabama. His family owned cotton fields, and so in the summers he worked the fields alongside the African A TV special was Americans. In September of also based on 1948 after Dees had Dees’ victories in gone back to school, the legal system he was outside with against the Ku his class to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Klux Klan, titled As they were raising “Line of Fire.” the flag, he looked out into the nearby fields and saw the African-American youths that he had worked alongside that summer, and wondered why they were not in school as well. When he asked his teacher, she remarked that they should be. Dees thought about this as they recited the Pledge, and the words, “One nation, with liberty and justice for all.” This moment has stuck with him ever since. This was one of the first times that Dees thought about equality for all people, but certainly not the last. The next portion of Dees’ speech was a story of him going one step beyond mere concern to help those being oppressed by prejudice. This time, Dees took action. Regarding advancement in the fight for equality, Dees said, “There is nothing really to fear, only to look forward to. I didn’t understand this until I had the chance to work with some recent immigrants.” Dees worked with Vietnamese immigrants that were in need of legal assistance. They had come to America in need of work and income, and some became fishermen down in Texas. They brought broken fishing boats, fixed them up, and proceeded to go out onto the water to fish. Resident white fishermen became jealous and tried to get Texas legislature to pass a law denying the Vietnamese fishing licenses. Their requests were denied, so they turned to the Ku Klux Klan to intimidate these immigrant fishermen to get off of their water. The Ku Klux Klan burned their boats and threatened the Vietnamese, until they stopped fishing and started to sell their boats. continued on page 2