Week in ReviewHope for the Indian? On Friday, April 11, the Rockefeller Center group Agora focused its weekly dinner discussion on Dartmouth's Indian mascot. The moderators advertised the meeting as a forum on 'offensive symbols' and distributed literature that took an ostensibly negative view of the mascot. Nevertheless, a balanced discussion ensued, with the majority of the students who spoke affirming that the display of the Indian is not necessarily offensive. Particular emphasis was placed on the meaning of the symbol to different groups—that what might be distasteful to some students might equivalently represent tradition or other sentiment to others. The dinner discussion provided hope that students might one day be able to proudly don the Indian symbol without inciting charges of racism or bigotry. Perhaps a renewed discourse on both the positives and negatives of the Indian mascot will replace the guilt-laden censorship that pervardes the College.
This past week, defeated New York gubernatorial candidate H. Carl McCall gave the Nelson A. Rockefeller Distinguished Public Service Award Lecture at the Rockefeller Center [see TDR 4/2/03]. In an address entitled 'Reflections of a Liberated Mind: Public Service and the Quest for Quality Education,' McCall emphasized the need for 'giving every child a first class education.' McCall accused Governor George Pataki of construing his 'leveling up' plan as an attack against the funding reserved for surburban schools. He suggested that every district should receive more money—presumably through higher taxes. Emphasizing that such a plan contributed to his record defeat, McCall bemoaned the impossibilty of 'talk[ing] forthrightly about issues facing public education.' As an antidote, he outlined the vague concept of developing a 'willing electorate,' a term that remained noticeably undefined throughout the address. In conclusion, McCall emphasized the importance of affirmative action, pausing to note that he obtained his Dartmouth education without such a program.
Freshmen residents living in the Choates recently received an e-mail from Community Director Joshua Farr concerning 'inappropriate posters placed on some bulletin boards with a celebrity photo and 'You're a Homo' in large print on the bottom.' Decrying the posters' 'lack of respect and sensitivity,' Farr desired 'to engage in a dialogue that is respectful and sensitive' and scheduled an 'open discussion' in the Brittle Lounge. Responding to concerns that such an e-mail sets an agenda by selectively vilifying certain offensive speech, Farr was quick to point out that, 'Free speech is legally limited by time, place, and manner.' No word on whether the 'Frats Rape' T-shirt currently displayed in Collis as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month will be the subject of a forthcoming email. Reassuringly, however, Farr insisted that he would 'definitely' remove the shirt were it placed on a residence hall bulletin board.
Katherine Lo, a sophomore at Yale University, recently ignited a campus-wide skirmish when she prominently hung an upside-down American flag in her dorm-room window. Distressed over the action, several male students, one brandishing a wooden plank, broke into her suite and stole the flag, and composed an allegedly inflammatory message on her door white-board, describing the killing of Iraqis and Muslims, and ending with the exclamation, 'I hate you, GO AMERICA.' Lo desired an immediate end to the war, motivating her courageous act of dissent. As she told the Yale Daily News, she hung the flag because she was 'very upset' about the Bush presidency and 'frustrated' about the Iraq invasion. Despite her valor, however, she recently relocated to an undisclosed campus location, citing her insecurity after the incident. As a gesture of solidarity with Lo and to strike a blow against 'violent intimidation,' about thirty activists hung upside-down flags in their own windows.The protest provoked further confrontation. Several other suites were penetrated, and while no more hateful messages were left on white-boards, many flags were tastefully righted. Activists are indignant and furious about the continuing conflict. Though the intruders have yet to be identified, activists demanded that the Yale administration take immediate action against intolerance and harassment. When such a rejoinder failed to occur, about twenty-five protestors occupied an administration building on campus and refused to leave. 'Blacks, Latinos, Arabs, Asians, and Whites. No racist war, no more, no more, defend our civil rights,' they chanted. Those attending the sit-in presented a list to the administrators demanding the recognition of seven other unspecified 'violent events' and immediate disciplinary investigations of the incidents. They also petitioned for further 'dialogue' between activists and the administration. The deans declined to accede to the demands, however, and the protesters were extracted from the building when it closed for the evening.
New Mexico State University is embroiled in a battle over the lyrics to the school fight song. Campus activists say the song promotes binge drinking because it includes the line, 'And when we win this game we'll buy a keg of booze and drink it to the Aggies 'til we wobble in our shoes.' The song was written in the late thirties. The university, with 24,000 graduate and undergraduate students on five different campuses, has proposed a referendum on the issue, with ballots being sent to the alumni organizations and current students. The director of alumni relations indicated that there was 'pretty strong opposition' to any changes to the song. New Mexico has one of the worst records in the union for driving while intoxicated.
The Republican Minority Leader of the Massachusetts Senate recently introduced legislation that would compel anti-war protestors to pay the law-enforcement expenses of their demonstrations. Troubled by traffic-obstructing tactics that have recently clogged the already-convoluted Boston street-system, the bill would assess protestors with a fifty-dollar ticket for hindering traffic, and they could be arrested for repeated offenses or disorderly conduct. If convicted, activists would additionally have to reimburse police departments for costs. Senator Lees claimed that his legislation was common sense. War protestors, however, are outraged over such a suggestion. Jennifer Horan, a leader of the activist group 'United for Justice With Peace,' claimed that demonstrators have a right to protest wherever they want, because 'the roads are public space that our tax dollars pay for.' Massachusetts Democrats are also lining up opposition to the bill. On the floor of the Senate, Senator Jarrett Barrios equated Senator Lees with 'dictators like Fidel Castro,' and vowed that the legislation would go down to defeat.
Some college campuses are thrown into chaos by anarchy-loving protestors. Others are troubled by Final Four basketball losses—like the University of Maryland was two years ago. But here in New Hampshire, hockey sets off student rampages. After the University of New Hampshire Wildcats hockey team lost in the national championship to Minnesota on April 12, between 4,000 and 7,000 UNH students took to the streets of Durham. Fueled by alcohol and a passion for arson, eighty-four students were arrested on various charges by police. Eyewitnesses reported students 'trying to tip over cars, climbing into trees, hanging from telephone poles, throwing beer bottles and cans at police and fire personnel, and setting off fireworks.' Six police officers and several horses were injured attempting to restrain the rioters. Eventually, pepper spray was turned on students as they dragged furniture out of local businesses and attempted to set it on fire. Damage estimates range from between $30,000 and $40,000 as a result of the night's mayhem. University officials promise to reimburse the town for all costs incurred by the riot and expel all arrested students.
Four college students were sued by the recording industry for offering more than a million illegal music files. This was part of an expansion in the fight to end illegal Internet content swapping. The Recording Industry of America filed lawsuits Thursday in New York, New Jersey, and Michigan federal courts asking that the sites be shut down and that the company be paid up to $150,000 per song in damages. The file sharing systems, run by students at Princeton, Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, and Michigan Technological University, were found to violate musical copyright laws. The RIAA President, Cary Sherman, stated, 'these systems are just as illegal and operate in the same manner' as other banned programs. The students allegedly stored songs on a central server that was made available to all individuals with access to the school's networks. Even standard Web browsers could be used to download the songs. All the universities charged in the lawsuit have policies that prohibit using their networks for copyright infringement, but Michigan Technological University President Curtis Tompkins was irritated by the legal action, stating, 'Had you followed the previous methods established in notification of a violation, we would have shut off the student and not allowed the problem to grow to the size and scope that it is today.' In response, the RIAA stated that the 'massive nature' of the offenses necessitated legal action. This lawsuit follows a growing movement on the part of the entertainment industry to pursue copyright infringement. Last year 2,300 university presidents were sent letters from entertainment industry groups. The letters demanded universities take action against the illegal on-line music trade common in collegiate communities.
French President Jacques Chirac, one of the members of the so-called 'Axis of Weasels' experienced a bit of retribution last week. Users of Chirac's re-election website, www.chiracaveclafrance.net, were redirected to the homepage of the United Service Organization (USO), which declares: 'Proudly Serving The Men & Women Who Serve Our Country!' The USO denied that it had any part in the mischief, commenting, 'We don't know who did it, but it's not us. None of us knew Jacques Chirac had a website, none of us cared whether he did or not, and we've got plenty to do without playing games.' The pirated link was blocked a few hours later, but Chirac's personal website has yet to be restored. Mohammed O'Malley's Tearing down the remnants of the old regime, Kabul has built itself a new pub. Styled as the 'Irish Club,' the pub is the first bar to be built in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban. But this doesn't mean that Afghans will be able to regale in their freedom with a frosty Guinness -—due to regulation from the new government, only foreigners are allowed as customers. Afghans serve as staff, but all have been given 'Irish' names such as Kevin, Jimmy, Michael, and George to 'protect them from possible retaliation.' In the highly conservative Islamic country, the staff hopes to avoid extra attention. As 'Paddy' said, 'Our families know what we do, but we tell other people we just work in a restaurant or a guesthouse selling food and soft drinks.'
Inspired by the fanciful claims and entertaining manner of Saddam's official mouthpiece, www.ilovetheinraqiinformationminister.com has become an Internet sensation. In the first days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Mohammed Saeed Al-sahhaf's blunt optimism was a source of continuous entertainment for journalists and observers. Choice lines included his insistence that the Iraqis 'have destroyed 2 tanks, fighter planes, 2 helicopters and their shovels —We have driven them back.' When asked about the 'false' perception that the Iraqis were in fact losing, Saeed Al-sahhaf attributed fault to a surprising source: 'I blame Al-Jazeera—they are marketing for the Americans!' The site has spawned parodies that describe everything from Pickett's Charge to a Yankees baseball game in the manner of Minister Al-sahhaf. The infatuation with Saeed Al-sahhaf is bound to be short-lived, however, as, in the euphemistic language of a previous version of the website, he is currently on 'administrative leave.'
Hostilities in Iraq have virtually ceased, but don't tell that to campus organization 'Why War?' Created to oppose unilateral U.S. action before the commencement of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 'Why War?' continues to hold weekly meetings, perhaps in the hope that President Bush's harsh rhetoric on Syria will facilitate future protests. On Friday, April 18, 'Why War?' hosted a teach-in dealing with, according to the April 21 edition of The Dartmouth, 'semi-war related issues.' The collection of speakers included a handful of professors and a local poet. Tellingly, the event was titled 'What Now?'
Former East St. Louis mayor Carl Officer—who sees himself as a 'black Winston Churchill'—was given a second chance after defeating his Democratic opponent, Eddie Jackson. Former Mayor Officer was voted out of office in 1991 at a time when the city's finances were at an all time low. When Officer lost the 1991 election, many residents of East St. Louis were happy to see his defeat. While serving, Mayor Officer had machine-gun toting bodyguards, was stopped while speeding in a convincted drug dealer's Jaguar, and used the City Hall phone to call 900 numbers. Conditions improved slightly after Officer's defeat, but now it appears that residents of the impoverished city of 30,000 have decided to give him another chance. Officer, a funeral home director, ordained minister, and mayor of the city from 1979 to 1991, stated that he was not surprised at his victory, because 'I did a good job' as mayor. Jackson, the endorsed candidate, waited for the certified results before deciding whether to contest the election. Officer acknowledged that the fact that he won a campaign in which he posed as a reform-minded outsider was ironic. He believes 'there has been some spiritual aspect' to his life. Some city residents are happy to see Officer return. Harold Sims, 55, the owner of a city fruit stand, stated that Officer 'got blamed for a lot of things that weren't his fault.He lives in this community. He's one of us.' In a speech given in the lobby of his funeral home, Officer set goals for his upcoming term, including pushing for a greater share of riverboat casino taxes. Officer will have a difficult time, since the city once again will face a million dollar deficit. Rev. Johnny Scott, a lifelong resident of East St. Louis, hopes that Officer has matured since his gun-toting political days. He said, 'The people here want their elected officials to bring about good government. I hope he will, the second time around.'
A deceased man's ashes were discovered seven years after his cremation in a Southern California Kmart. The police in El Monte, California recovered the container last November and have spent the past five months looking for family of the man, Jose Rivera. Failing to find any relatives, they are turning over the ashes to Los Angeles County Coroners Office. Unless someone steps forward and claims Rivera, the remains will be held by the county for three years and then buried in a common grave in East Los Angeles. 'We try our best to find families,' stated Deborah Peterson, coroner supervisor. She also said that Rivera's case is not all that unusual. Her office has received abandoned cremated remains before. Jose Rivera was cremated on May 9, 1996 and his remains were given to Yolanda Rivera, his wife, who has since disappeared. Attempts to locate her through family members have failed. Police officials do not know how the ashes ended up at the store. Kmart employees found the container and handed it over to the authorities. Detective Randy Lovelace, who handled the case, stated, 'It's like the weirdest thing I ever heard.'
A proposed tolerance statement for homosexuals at Texas A&M University has caused a bitter controversy at the College of Education. The faculty advisory committee will vote this week on statement mandating that faculty 'must celebrate and promote all forms of human diversity' including race, gender, and sexual orientation. Eight college professors wrote a letter objecting to the statement, writing that the Christian faculty should not be forced to 'celebrate and promote a lifestyle they believe is immoral.' Since submitting the letter, fellow faculty members have accused the Christian professors of 'bigotry.' Dean of the College Jane Conoley instituted a new policy that claimed the college "celebrates and cherishes gay, lesbian, and trans -gendered people." The statement grants homosexual faculty members special access to support groups and gives 'heightened scrutiny' to promotion and tenure of gay faculty. When some professors objected on religious grounds, Conoley said simply, 'Sacred texts should be used to guide our personal lives and not used in the judgment of others.' Some faculty members disagreed with the diversity statement, feeling the wording left little room for discussion. The college is writing a new one that will leave out the words 'celebrate and promote.'
The Phi Delta Alpha fraternity will be hosting the band Strangefolk for a two-set show on Friday, May 16 to kick-off Green Key weekend. The band will perform on the Phi Delt front porch, and will be open to the campus at no cost. The show is co-sponsored by the Tabard co-ed fraternity, who will hold a free barbeque on their lawn next door. Additionally, Strangefolk's charity organization, 'Strangers Helping Strangers,' will be collecting canned goods to benefit local homeless shelters. Phi Delta Alpha was temporarily derecognized in 1999 because of a series of misconduct incidents. The concert will be the first party the fraternity has thrown since their re-establishment in winter 2003. Strangefolk hails from Burlington, Vermont, though they have been touring the country for more than a decade. With a sound that fuses rock, folk, blues, and bluegrass influences, Strangefolk is renowned for their energetic live performances. Recently, the songs 'Spectacular' and 'Alaska' have brought much acclaim to the performers. The Strangefolk concert will also mark the resurrection of the Webster Avenue Block Party, which, prior to Phi Delt's de-recognition, was a popular Spring bash. During Green Key in 1999, the reggae troupe Toots and the Maytals played at Phi Delt. The band was the most expensive group ever to play at Dartmouth at no cost to students. |
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