 Letter from the editor
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 23, 2010“The Daily goes weekly in the summer, and the limited print space is a double-edged sword. Without the day-to-day grind, we have more time to produce investigative stories, but less opportunity to bring you breaking news. Last quarter, we reported the effects of budget cuts to the UW in a five-part series and looked at three aspects of the HUB renovation. We also investigated the life and death of the man involved in the 2008 tragedy in Red Square. This in-depth coverage is the direction we want The Daily to take, and the summer gives us more time to make it happen.
Expect to see similar reporting on the ECC and Hall Health renovations, along with other issues that affect the U-District. We’re taking the opportunity to make better use of our website to provide breaking content in alternative ways and focus on the web design of our weekly stories. We also plan to use the extra time to expand our multimedia coverage, adding videos and sound clips to our investigative pieces online. Along with the new website that will launch this summer, you’ll see changes in the printed paper. The Weekender insert becomes the Arts & Entertainment section for the quarter. We don’t have continuous sports coverage, but we’ll keep you up to date with athlete profiles and UW Athletics news throughout the quarter. Our summer paper will continue the consistent coverage of campus news that we hope you’ve come to expect from The Daily.
With most of our staff continuing into the fall, we hope the transition back to a daily paper will continue what we start this quarter. We’re excited for the changes and to introduce you to the summer Daily.
-Lexie Krell
Editor-in-Chief”
Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza: Not just any old circus
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 14, 2010“As I waited for the show to start, I was inundated with the pervasive smell of buttered popcorn and I watched apprehensively as clowns ran up and down the rows pestering random members of the audience. Situated beneath the big top tent at Marymoor Park, Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza has all the makings of a traditional circus show.
But this isn’t just any old circus.
Kooza, named after the Sanskrit word “koza” which means “box” or “chest”, emulates the idea of a “circus in a box.” The show follows The Innocent, a clown dressed in child-like pajamas, as The Trickster, a clown that bursts out of a jack-in-the-box that The Innocent receives, takes him on a journey to meet all sorts of characters — and they all happen to be quite good at acrobatics.
Kooza elevates itself above any expectations you would have about a circus show with its spectacle. The intricate costumes, carefully-choreographed dances and elaborate set (complete with a mobile tower where the band is placed) live up to the Cirque du Soleil brand.
The show features many familiar acrobatic performances, including contortionists, a trapeze artist, and a high-wire act.
Of the 11 acts, the wheel of death took the cake. The act consists of two men performing acrobatic tricks as they are lifted and dropped by the vertical rotations of an almost ceiling-high contraption.
The silence in the audience was palpable as they watched the acrobats pushing the wheels to gain momentum — more so than when two members of high-wire troupe were riding a bicycle across the wire while a third member sat on a chair balanced atop their shoulders. And the squeals and gasps reverberated through the crowd as they watched the acrobats perform jump-rope tricks with the moving wheel barely below their feet. I felt my jaw drop once or twice.
With several heart-racing acts like the wheel of death and the high-wire, the creators of Kooza were wise to factor in some tension breaks: the clowns. Between acrobatic performances, the crowd is able to take a breather from the intensity by laughing at the slapstick, inappropriate and sexually frustrated clowns.
If audience participation is not your cup of tea, I wouldn’t recommend sitting in the first few rows. Overall, there were three acts that asked for volunteers from the crowd, and once in a while the clowns interact with the front-row viewers. During the show that I saw, one unfortunate (or fortunate) male in the audience was brought onstage and humped on the leg by one of the clowns — twice.
After you rub the dazzle of the show out of your eyes, you might realize that there’s one thing that Kooza didn’t give you — a real plot line. The audience is somewhat tricked into thinking that there is a story because the show ends the same way it begins (with The Innocent alone and flying a kite), but everything in between is a succession of acts that don’t really fit into a narrative. While those acts are spectacular, I didn’t really get a strong sense of theme development.
Kooza tickets are pricey. Non-peak prices for students range from $40.50 to $112.50. Friday night and weekend performances don’t have student prices; adult tickets range from $50.00 to $250.00.
If you’re game for one hell of a spectacle, Kooza could be worth the price.
Kooza is now showing at Marymoor Park till July 11.
Grade: A-
Reach reporter Joanna Nolasco at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
Newsworthy: 2009-10 in review
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 04, 2010“Whether you heard about couches burning on Greek Row or that President Emmert is leaving for the NCAA, chances are, what caught your attention caught ours too. These are a few of the issues that we saw affect campus the most this year.
H1N1 (Swine flu)
Fall quarter, Campus Health Services started distributing flu kits to residence-hall students and offering vaccine clinics on campus. As the vaccines were produced more slowly than expected and carefully distributed across the country, college campuses were some of the first locations to receive large amounts of the vaccines. Washington State University saw an outbreak of the virus in September, and the Hall Health Primary Care Center saw suspected cases at the UW.
UWPD
The campus police department changed its policy for sending timely warning notifications winter quarter, becoming more selective of when it informed students of local criminal instances. The department now sends significantly fewer notifications, limited to those incidents that pose an active threat to the community. The UWPD has explored alternative notification, such as sending e-mails to specific groups affected by an offense.
One of the department’s officers went undercover at a Student Worker Coalition meeting about the group’s May strike, upsetting members of the group. The UW administration said that the incident was not how the university wants to interact with students, and that it would not happen again.
“One more couch!”
Students started a bonfire following an April 6 power outage in the U-District. The bonfire on the median of Northeast 47th Street and 17th Avenue Northeast grew when students added furniture, including couches. As riot police moved into the area to disperse the crowd and extinguish the flames, students began to chant, “one more couch,” a phrase later used on T-shirts commemorating the event.
Amanda Knox
The UW student accused of murder in 2007 while studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, was convicted and sentenced to 26 years in prison in December. She is now appealing the verdict rendered for killing her roommate, Meredith Kercher. In addition to the original charges, Knox is being sued for slander against Italian police for saying that she was mistreated during interrogation.
Emmert leaving
Mark Emmert, UW president, announced April 27 that he will become the next president of the NCAA, a position he’ll take no later than Nov. 1, 2010. Emmert, who became UW president in 2004, oversaw a successful fundraising campaign and started the Husky Promise program. As the state’s budget woes deepened with the recession, Emmert’s $900,000 salary grew more contentious. Emmert, 57, graduated from the UW in 1975 with a degree in political science.
Wise and Nike
Phyllis Wise, UW provost, joined the Nike Board of Directors on Nov. 19, 2009, a decision that didn’t sit well with some students, staff and faculty. Some UW students have lobbied for Honduran workers to whom Nike owes severance pay, and they said Wise’s appointment is a conflict of interest. Emmert, who wrote a letter alerting Nike to this problem, defended Wise’s place on the Nike board. Orin Smith has been on the Nike Board of Directors since 2004, and was appointed to the Board of Regents in December.
UW Technology
After undercharging for services across campus, UW technology announced a roughly $40 million deficit winter quarter. A per-employee recharge fee for departments will help fund UW Information Technology, but a plan for the deficit has not yet been determined.
ASUW elections
This year’s student-government election had a host of candidates running for elected office — many more than last year. Campaigning also took a new direction with cross-promotion; candidates used themed drinks and meals, along with branded Wi-Fi passwords, to win votes by partnering with local businesses. Madeleine McKenna and Eric Shellan will be next year’s ASUW president and vice president, respectively.
Campus Sustainability Fund (CSF)
Earlier this month, the CSF was given $339,805 from the student Services and Activities Fee to fund proposals for sustainability projects from UW students and professors. The new program received half of its initial funding request, and a seven-student oversight committee will review the proposals. 5,511 students signed a petition in support of the fund, which was initially expected to cost students $5 per quarter.
Student Technology Fee
The ASUW Committee that allocates funds to technology-project proposals on campus requested a second round of proposals when it realized it had a $2 million surplus this quarter. Recently, there has been confusion about how much money the fund has accumulated over the years, and a task force has begun to rectify what it deems a lack of oversight of the fund.
Behind the budget
The effect of budget cuts on academics, diversity, student services and jobs, along with myths about the effects of the cuts, were the highlights of this series. The Daily tried to put the cuts in perspective, talking to the people and departments that have been the most strongly affected.
The life and death of In Soo Chun
The Daily learned more about the life of In Soo Chun, the former custodian who lit himself on fire in Red Square on Oct. 30, 2008, and died later that day. The 61-year-old had left a manifesto explaining his isolation, his departure from the university and his reason for committing suicide. The manifesto, along with UW records, revealed much about Chun’s life and the challenges he faced.
HUB renovation
The student-union building has started closing down this month, with services moving to their interim locations, history being preserved, and plans for the future of the building being discussed. Construction begins July 1, and the new HUB is scheduled to open fall 2012.
Reach Development Editor Andrew Doughman and News Editor Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.”
Free Speech Friday: June 4, 2010
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 04, 2010“In response to “Creation of artificial life an ethical dilemna” …
Dear Daily,
In Wednesday’s (May 26, 2010) Daily edition, the piece by William Ray,“Creation of artificial life and ethical dilemma”, shows an interesting yet debatable opinion on a new breakthrough innovation by science. The first man-made organism that has no relation to any other creature on earth has been created. Ray includes the reader’s thoughts when he questions the definition of “creating life” and if this is what was accomplished with this new discovery in research. The art of creation is left ambiguous. My favorite portion of Ray’s article is when he takes into account how “enormous [the implications] of this discovery [are].” Comparing the potentials of using this new tool by humankind to the developments that have caused humans to create atom bombs and nuclear power puts the reader in agreement with Ray’s position on scientific discovery. He proposes that with this science biology has “created a greater capacity for humans to do both good and evil.” !
This is a statement that completes the reader’s thoughts on such an incredible advancement. After reading William Ray’s article on artificial life, most will find themselves questioning the ethics behind research and if the discovery is worth the potential evils mankind can create with the tool.
Sincerely,
Nadya Ali
Undergraduate Freshman
Biology/ Pre-Medicine
In response to “Student debts could become next housing crisis” …
Anderson’s Thursday opinion column on student debt is misguided in its discussion of the sources of student loans. By placing “blame” on the students (for naively accepting loans), the university (for accepting students in the first place), and on private lenders (for lack of discrention), Anderson obscures the driving force behind the problem: rising tuition costs. It seems odd that one would discuss student debt without mention of rising tuition costs and the causes of such a rise. Additionally, not only is the government’s link to the large majority of current student loans ignored, but the article fails to highlight recent reforms in the student loan industry. Attached to the recent health care reform bill is a student loan reform provision that essentially cuts needless private banks out of the lending process all together.
Andrew W. Calkins
Jackson School of International Studies
Senior, 2010
I see on the news, Hammas sent a flotilla to run the Israeli naval blockade (established to stop the flow of explosives, rockets and missiles used on Israel proper) on the coast of the Gaza Strip. Their premise was to supply “humanitarian aid” to the Strip.
Israel offered to take the “aid” to the Palestinians through normal inspection routes prior to distribution; however, the offers were turned down.
When faced with warnings of boarding by Israeli Marines, all but one of the Hammas backed vessels turned around.
When legally boarded by the Marines, the last ship’s occupants (described as “Armed Activists” by the news wire) attacked and injured the Marine force. Video shows large-scale violence and mayhem against the Israeli defenders.
The Marines responded in turn by using lethal force and now Israel is painted as the Bad Guy.
A: Since when are “armed activists” not called terrorists?
B: If a similar flotilla were spotted heading for the mouth of the Potomac River, would President Obama repel our borders?
Or would he offer them citizenship, psychological stress therapy treatment, small business loans, medical care, food stamps, collage tuition and then register them as Democrat voters.
Konrad Lau
On May 28th, 2010, as I prepared to head out for school, I heard my mom talking on the phone about a major tragedy, and saying that it felt as if the end of the world had come. I grew curious and asked my mom what was going. She told me that two mosques in Pakistan, belonging to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community had been attacked. I was shocked at the news, and left my house in sorrow and disbelief that anyone would want to hurt such a harmless, peace-loving community. As my day continued I found out more and more about the event. Bait-ul Noor Mosque and Darul Zikr Mosque, both in Lahore Pakistan had been taken over by terrorists with automatic weapons and hand grenades while thousands were offering their Friday prayer services. No one was sparred, elders and children were all included as targets in the brutal attack. Over 90 people were killed, and over 100 injured. The act was obviously targeted at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, as both Ahmadi mosques were attacked at the same time, and all members were targeted.
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was initiated in 1889. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who came, not to ensue new religious laws, but rather renew the old religious laws of Islam. The Ahmadiyya Community is a very peaceful group of people, we live by the motto “Love for All, Hatred For None”. The Community has never displayed acts of violence, but instead have been victims of persecution in the East. In Pakistan, specific blasphemy laws were created against the Ahmadi Muslims prohibiting them from calling themselves Muslims. In 1974, Ahmadis were constitutionally declared non-Muslims. Even to this day, Ahmadis in Pakistan are not allowed to vote, unless they are registered as non-Muslims. In 1984, Ordinance XX was passed, which prohibited Ahmadi Muslims to practice their faith. Ahmadi Muslims could be arrested for saying the common Islamic greeting, “Assalamo-Alaikum” which means “peace be upon you”. Ahmadis are prohibited from called their places of worship “mosques”. Ahmadis are not even allowed to be buried in the same graveyard as other Muslims. All the dead bodies of the victims in this attack are being transported a few hours away just to be buried in a Ahmadi graveyard in Rabwah. When the country supports discrimination against religious minorities, then it is easy for them to become targets of terrorists. When the country is persecuting specific groups, then how will it ever progress?
I cannot even imagine how people must have felt, when the horrendous event was occuring. My parents were watching live coverage as people were trapped inside. Every few seconds gunshots would be heard, and people all around the world were watching in anxiety, knowing that one of their relatives might have been victims of that shot. The police did little to stop the attacks, many were too frightened to go inside. I saw a video in which a man is begging a policeman to give him his gun so that he, himself can go into the mosque because the police wouldn’t. Thousands of Ahmadis all around the world have personally been affected by this, many with relatives who were victims. One man was left to bury two of his sons, both victims. The mosques are covered in blood. No matter what the cause, killing innocent people is unjustifiable.
The blasphemy laws need to be outlawed in countries like Pakistan, because these laws do nothing more than promote intolerance. The government needs to take strict action against terrorists groups, to prevent them from attacking anyone, whether it be Pakistanis or Americans, or members of any other country. I pray that Pakistan moves towards becoming a peaceful country that allows their people to have equal rights along with freedom of religion and freedom of speech. I hope that as a citizens of the US, where these basic rights are greatly valued, we can help Pakistan progress.
Halla Ahmad
Commander-In-Chief Went AWOL
As a Navy veteran, I am appalled President Obama, our Commander-In-Chief, did not lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day 2010. Instead, he went on vacation.
The Commander-In-Chief has an obligation to fulfill his responsibilities to our deceased soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who gave their lives to keep this country free. He has a duty to respect our veterans and support our military forces who are currently fighting two wars.
‘ If a military member did not show up for duty he or she would be punished, including the possible loss of pay, a reprimand, a demotion, or in a theater of war operations, the potential exists for incarceration. Our Commander-In-Chief deserves to be punished, and the punishment is to make him a one term president.
Only two previous presidents missed laying the wreath at Arlington National Cemetery. Ronald Reagan was caught up in a prolonged economic summit in 1983 and George H. W. Bush was campaigning in 1992. Prior miscues by presidents cannot justify Obama’s dereliction of duty. He should have changed his vacation plans or taken time out to be at Arlington National Cemetery.
Our phantom Commander-In-Chief, who refused to wear an American flag in his lapel during the presidential campaign, and who did not place his hand over his heart for the national anthem at another campaign event, has just gone AWOL on Memorial Day 2010.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry, NH
Dear Gum Chewing UW peers,
For some, we remember back in grade school that gum and tamagotchis were not allowed. Gum was not allowed because students would “dispose” of it by sticking it the underside of desks, chairs, floors, etc. and tamagotchis were….just plain distracting. Luckily as adults attending a renown University, we are free to make our own decisions. We can eat what we choose for lunch, we can skip class if it is sunny outside, we can chew gum whenever and wherever we choose, and even play with our tamagotchis to our hearts content. However as adults we know that there are of course repercussions to our decisions. It is one thing to affect your own health and education with your own actions, but to deface UW property which other people use is unfair your peers, faculty, and the custodians. It is very unlikely that someone else would enjoy accidental contact with germ infested ABC gum so I suggest using one of the many garbage receptacles around campus. If for some reason a garbage receptacle cannot be found (try standing up and looking), simply just keep the gum wrapper and use it as storage until the time comes. Bottom line…you’re an adult; you wouldn’t do it at your house would you? But if you are for some reason compelled to stick your gum to something, try the Pike Place Market Gum Wall.
Louis K.
Senior, SAFS
In Defense of Israel
For anyone who follows the news, they know about the events that have unfolded in international waters outside of Israel/Palestine. It is one in a series of events that continues to divide UW, and the larger community the world over. I am aware that the issues that plague Israel/Palestine are complex and emotional but I feel that what has happened with regards to the Mavi Marmara flotilla should be viewed as what it is.
First off, IHH, or in English Humanitarian Relief Foundation, is a Turkish-based NGO. Many regard it as a humanitarian organization, while others view it as an extreme Islamist group which does far more evil than good. In fact, the CIA has recognized its ties to terrorist groups. IHH leaders were recorded prior to the events that occurred as stating their intent on this “humanitarian” mission: to challenge the blockade of Gaza.
Ignoring the group’s possible terrorist ties, there exists international maritime law which states that, as Alan Dershowitz put it, “If there is no doubt that the offending ships have made a firm determination to break the blockade, then the blockade may be enforced before the offending ships cross the line into domestic waters.” When IDF soldiers boarded the flotilla, as they were legally allowed to do, they were met with violence. Any act thereafter can be considered an act of self-defense.
If one draws into question the existence of a blockade in the first place, it is simple to realize that it is the direct result of Hamas’s violent actions. Not to mention violence directed at Israeli civilians. Article 42 of the UN Charter states “[a nation] may take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such action may include demonstrations, blockade, and other operations by air, sea, or land forces of Members of the United Nations.”
Lastly, Israel was simply asking the boat to dock in Ashdod, which all ships are required to do, and submit to an inspection. After passing said inspection, the humanitarian aid would be transferred by land. Despite the sad events that came to pass, Israel completed the inspection, seizing a sizable amount of weapons and expired medicine (which would be dangerous to patients), and attempted to transfer the goods to Gaza. Twenty truckloads of humanitarian aid were refused by Hamas. This is not too dissimilar to the event that happened a few weeks ago in which Hamas destroyed 30-40 Gazan homes, leaving these families destitute and without the means to rebuild.
My point is this: it is easy to vilify Israel and it is done all the time. The current condition of the Gaza people is a horrendous one. But let’s be clear—Gaza must be freed from Hamas and other terrorist organizations. Even Egypt closed the tunnel connecting to Gaza for fear of infiltration of extremist groups with ties to Iran. When innocent Israeli citizens can be sure that imports into Gaza won’t be weapons intent on harming Israel, the Palestinian people have a chance at autonomy.
Shalom, Salaam,
Laura Reader
The daily is almost done. I know it was fun. Some articals were small and I would read them all. The long one’s were exhausting but they were the frosting, on the cake that you bake. The Daily is a bakery. You have not foresaken me, with your quirky lines better than the New York Times. We have awesome athletics, I bet they do a lot of kinesthetics. Thanks to you we know where the sports teams go. The opinions that we had, were pretty rad. I know they’ll never stop coming until the Daily is done running. I will miss the Daily dearly, you made me see things clearly. I learned about things going on around school, you made me look so cool because I knew what was going on and what I was reading wasn’t a con. They were cold hard facts and nothing ever lacks, in you paper. Like a skyscraper, your reputation is notable. You found sound many people who are quotable. To sum it all up, I wanna say wassup, and a great big thanks, regardles of your ranks, amongst yourselves. I put The Daily on shelves. There they will stay, until I go away. Congratulations on being awesome.
Laura Lee Dootson
Undeclared Major
Freshman
Last Monday, I walked into Red Square seeing the signs “Warning: Genocide Photos Ahead”. I thought that kind of signs were provocative and inappropriate. I was wrong. The photos they displayed in the middle of Red Square were sickening. I understand that the project is aimed to raise awareness of abortion, but I just cannot comprehend the logic behind displaying those pictures and comparing abortion to genocide. The organization could have hosted a talk at Hub lawn or display the pictures somewhere else. Instead they chose to force the photos into everyone’s face. I felt violated by those pictures, because they were shoved down my throat. There are also children walking around in UW, and no parent would want their kids to see this kind of image. I do not think that the photos served the purpose the organization intended. Most people, pro-life or not, were offended and angered by the images. I think that the project itself is for a good cause, but the way they are conveying the message could be improved.
Siu Yeung Ip
Class of 2011”
Film Review: Get Him To The Greek
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 03, 2010“hen Forgetting Sarah Marshall was released two years ago, it introduced American audiences to the scene-stealing British comedic personality Russell Brand. Playing the drug-rehabilitated yet sexually promiscuous rocker Aldous Snow, whose personality and background were modeled after the actor, Brand proved himself to have an irresistible screen presence that left us all wanting more. Fast forward two years later to Get Him To The Greek, a spin-off featuring Brand’s character, and you’ve got yourself a regular case of too much of a good thing.
The story opens with Aaron Green (Jonah Hill, having played a different character in Marshall), an ambitious intern at Capitol Records, who gets assigned to travel to London to bring rocker Aldous to Los Angeles for a 10-year-anniversary concert of his legendary performance at the Greek Theatre.
Seeing Hill play a down-to-earth character who essentially serves as the audiences’ eyes is a refreshing change for the rising actor, but the innocence of Aaron is quickly corrupted by Aldous, who is now back on drugs and seemingly sets out to make the trip to Los Angeles as bumpy and obstacle-ridden as possible.
Helmed by Marshall director Nick Stoller, Greek is a massive visual spectacle of a comedy that, unfortunately, falls short of the charm and intelligence of its predecessor. The diversity of the locations the film takes place in, which includes New York and Las Vegas, does little to hide the lack of substance of the plot.
An uneven side-story about Aldous’ ex-girlfriend and their son attempts to highlight some of the character’s demons, but is cut up throughout the film in an awkward manner that leaves little impact on his ultimate emotional journey to find meaning in his life.
The film’s massive scope is also realized by its abundance of celebrity cameos, including comedian Aziz Ansari, pop singers Katy Perry and Christina Aguilera, and even Harry Potter’s Tom Felton. While most of these appearances are short and add very little to either the plot or the humor, they are nevertheless well-fitting with the flashy celebrity glamour that the atmosphere of the film strives to establish.
Apart from gross-out humor, the film often relies on the over-the-top antics of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, who plays the wealthy record executive who employs Aaron. While Combs’ character would have played out nicely had it been a short cameo, the loud-mouthed and aggressive approach the writers chose to take with him starts to drag quickly, which becomes an apparent problem as his role continues to grow throughout the story.
The film would have been a complete mess had it not been for stars Hill and Brand. With Hill playing the young and emphatic Aaron in contrast to Brand’s dark and twisted Aldous, the unlikely duo make a terrific comedic pairing that would have flourished tremendously had the storyline been a little more grown up and not have relied on tired antics such as hallucinogenic drug scenes and montages of crazy, drunken nights.
While Get Him to the Greek doesn’t have the strong character-driven scenes and likability of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, it does give viewers a wild and aesthetically colorful ride through the life of a modern (albeit semi-fictional) rock star. Unfortunately, not even a couple of well-performed musical scenes with Brand can overcome the fact that a film with a lot of rock ’n’ roll doesn’t quite go a long way these days.
C
Reach Weekender Editor Ivan Vukovic at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
Album Review: Blitzen Trapper
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 03, 2010“From the Strokes to Kings of Leon, and any project involving Jack White, many bands have been labeled “saviors” of rock and roll. And it’s not hard to see why: With modern pop music largely an auto-tuned disaster, people want something that harkens back to the good-old days of classic rock. You know, back when the music was real, man.
Blitzen Trapper has never entirely fallen into this category. The Portland, Ore., sextet wear their influences on their sleeves (Neil Young, the Grateful Dead, the Beatles), but their classic-rock-inspired sound always seemed truly their own — Furr, their last album, managed to incorporate blues, folk, country and psychedelia without missing a beat. Destroyers of the Void, their fifth full-length, is decidedly more focused and less experimental, with the band fully embracing their brand of folksy Americana.
That’s not to say that Blitzen Trapper plays it safe. The album opens with the a capella harmonies and harpsichord that kick off the title track, which coalesces into a multi-part rock opera of sorts. “All my petty crimes and curses, they are destroyed,” sings frontman Eric Early during the song’s Abbey Road-inspired middle section. And while the song packs a lot of ideas into its six minutes, they never seem forced.
After the genre-hopping “Laughing Lover” comes “Below the Hurricane,” another highlight. It features layers of 12-string guitars and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young-esque harmonies, and Early’s vocals and harmonica work recall a less-nasally version of Bob Dylan.
One of the odd things about Destroyers of the Void is that despite all of the sonic possibilities that a six-piece band brings to the table, the whole thing relies heavily on Early’s songwriting abilities, which are hit-and-miss. Early is capable of writing very good songs — the title track from Furr, for instance. However, his stream-of-consciousness, stanza-based style tends to put the focus squarely on his lyrics.
The problem is that Early isn’t a great lyricist. His shortcomings are best exemplified on “The Tree (Alela Diane),” with its cheesy rhyme schemes and half-assed nature imagery (“The great and winding tree / Splits the earth from sea to sea”). Overall, it sounds like a bad parody of a late-60s, flower-power folk song. “The Man Who Would Speak True” has similar problems, but at least here, Early condenses his ramblings into a concise narrative.
Luckily, the album comes to a strong finish. With its plunking barroom piano and pulsating strings, “Lover Leave Me Drowning” is a winner, as is penultimate track “The Tailor.” The album ends on a high note with the piano-pop of “Sadie,” on which Early contributes some genuinely heartfelt lyrics: “You better think twice when you find your love is gone / And like the sun, it waits for none.”
Ultimately, Destroyers of the Void manages to succeed because of the band’s staunch conviction to their classic-rock aesthetic, their confidence compensating for Early’s unfocused lyrics. And maybe the next time rock needs a messiah, Blitzen Trapper should be in on the discussion.
B-
Reach reporter Andrew Gospe at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
Star-bred Fate
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 02, 2010“Dear readers,
Our time has come to an end. I am sure, with my excellent tutelage behind you, you are equipped with the necessary skills to interpret the heavens’ glimmerings yourself. This truly is the end, dear readers, for you’ll not be hearing from me again: I am a Pisces.
Aries March 21 — April 19
You will feel better about yourself today, Aries, when both of your hands are removed from their casts.
Taurus April 20 — May 20
You may abhor the idea of oily foods, Taurus, but be thankful, when you get a dish too much so, that you don’t live on the Gulf of Mexico.
Gemini May 21 — June 21
William Clayton, a notable clerk and scribe of Joseph Smith, once wrote, “The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they’re going to be when you kill them.” Strive, Gemini, to be a clerk like that when you grow up.
Cancer June 22 — July 22
The stars will salute you tonight, Cancer, which you could see but for the cloud cover.
Leo July 23 — Aug. 22
If you see a shooting star that wobbles, Leo, don’t be frightened; you still get your wish, unless the shooting star is just the refuse cast into the atmosphere by the international space station. You’ll know you’ve seen that when your wish doesn’t come true.
Virgo Aug. 23 — Sept. 22
When you are admonished for wishing something today, Virgo, by that nagging phrase “be careful what you wish for,” simply state that one of the unforeseen consequences may just leave that person incapacitated for a great length of time.
Libra Sept. 23 — Oct. 23
When admonishing Virgo for wishing something stupid today, Libra, be sure to have a peculiar encyclopedia entry memorized to recite immediately if Virgo is upset.
Scorpio Oct. 24 — Nov. 21
The stars would like to give you one of their favorite jokes, Scorpio: “How many astronomers does it take to change a light bulb?” The answer is, of course, none, as astronomers aren’t afraid of the dark.
Sagittarius Nov. 22 — Dec. 21
If the rain in June is getting you down, Sagittarius, remember, there’s still rain in July to come, and it is your fault that your expectations of when summery weather occurs don’t match reality.
Capricorn Dec. 22 — Jan. 19
A stumble may prevent a fall, Capricorn, especially if you stumble upon a link to pictures of your significant other and someone else together.
Aquarius Jan. 20 — Feb. 18
You will take your fortune into your own hands, Aquarius, as you sort through Pisces’ entrails. Congratulations on being able to add haruspex to your resume.
Pisces Feb. 19 — March 20
Despite urging to improve your communication skills, Pisces, communication, except by extispicy, will be unfortunately impossible for you following a brief accident involving a cup of oil and two figs.
Reach diviner John McLellan at starbredfate@dailyuw.com.”
Responsible fun is key at Sasquatch
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 02, 2010“For most of the year, it seems that many self-proclaimed “upstanding” students view drug users as degenerate bums hell-bent on getting high. Under the harsh light of popular societal judgment, illicit-drug use is a taboo subject, provoking grimaces from teachers, senior citizens and parents.
But last weekend was different from all other weekends. Besides the fact that Monday was a national holiday, Sasquatch Music Festival cranked up the volume and blew the minds of those in attendance, including a number of UW students.
For some, this occasion marked the first time they used illegal substances, as they are abundant at large-venue music festivals.
It’s bizarre how a combination of hipsters, indie music and hard drugs can turn otherwise-drug-free youth into dope fiends for a weekend. A miniature vacation from the real world for a couple of days seems to provoke an appetite for partying, one that is subdued for the rest of the school year.
With the temporary absence of real-world responsibility comes the burden of responsible partying.
Using hard drugs and then dancing to music in a festival setting is a novelty that’s quite appealing to a number of people, but moderation is the magic word that can mean the difference between a fun-filled weekend and a fun-filled weekend where a few people end up in body bags.
The carefree vibe that defines Sasquatch and other festivals is exactly why people feel that they can responsibly enjoy the “exotic fare” that is traded on the campgrounds.
Last weekend, I witnessed otherwise-ordinary people dance with banshee-like enthusiasm, a mental state usually reached with the assistance of amphetamines or psychedelic drugs.
The substances are so out in the open during the festival that many naively assume it’s okay to use them, as they enhance the already-high-spirited atmosphere.
Although I can’t condone illegal-drug use, I won’t argue against innocent experimentation in a setting so conducive to a positive mind-altering experience.
Zealous water drinking and avoiding the buzz-killing grip of The Law are some of the most important precautions that must be taken in the name of responsibility.
As caffeine is peddled behind espresso counters and prescriptions for anti-depressants are handed out like candy at doctors’ offices, there is no question that we’re a medicated people with a common malady: life. At Sasquatch, many substitute socially acceptable medications for a weekend without fear of stigmatization.
Of course, not everyone indulges in illicit activities while at the festival; it’s just that those who do usually feel morally obligated to talk about it, since any other community would deem it stupid or even heretical.
The use of any mind-altering substances requires an air of caution that must be in the back of every user’s mind.
People should be allowed to have fun, just not too much. Lack of moderation and responsibility can lead to dangerous situations, things that music-festival organizers try to avoid.
Reach columnist Al Jacobs at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Heroes and Monsters
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 02, 2010““Clak! Clak! Clak!” shouted an army of skeletons on the lawn in front of Denny Hall. Pedestrians walked by, smiling and staring at the spectacle. Others stood mesmerized, while some took photographs on their phones.
As javelins were thrown through the air and a knight swung his sword, two UWPD officers dismounted their bikes to investigate.
“What’s going on here?” one of the officers asked.
Desta Yarrow, a healer from the province of Taus, was in the middle of reviving a fallen adventurer. Yarrow stopped reciting her spell so that she could reply to the officer as Rebecca Slingwine, a UW student.
“We are live-action role-playing (LARPing) as part of a class here at the UW,” Slingwine told the officers.
“It looks like fun,” one of the officers said. After expressing an interest in playing, they left. And then Yarrow, portrayed by Slingwine, went back to healing.
Slingwine is a senior majoring in biology and Japanese. She started her first two weeks of CHID 496A similar to her classmates, by reading, discussing and watching two documentaries about LARP. Afterward, on online message boards and in class, they discussed the kind of characters they wanted to play and how to actually build the character they envisioned.
Thus, through the power of Slingwine’s imagination, Yarrow came to life around the third week of the quarter as a healer from Taus who prefers to wear brightly colored, flouncy skirts and shawls.
“Her body language is open and friendly, and though she’ll fight back if she needs to, she doesn’t like to start fights, either,” Slingwine wrote of Yarrow online.
All players are encouraged to develop brief character histories for their in-game personas, on which they can further elaborate, in person and online.
According to Yarrow’s history, she left home to train at the House of Healers. After improving her craft, Yarrow’s family assumed she would return to serve their small village like every other woman in her family before her. However, Yarrow wanted more than to live a life that was exactly like her mother’s. Her older sister managed the town’s clinic very well, so she felt no need to stay.
Knowing that the people she loved and had grown up with were well cared for, she decided to stay and serve the House of Healers, which meant she could travel outside of Taus, meet more strangers, heal them and make a difference in their lives.
Slingwine enjoyed how students were allowed to develop their own aspects for their character.
“With Desta, I can take on this different persona and look at the world in someone else’s eyes.”
The story and mechanics behind Archaea
Adventurers, or player-characters (PCs), venture through Archaea to achieve their goals with the option to join pre-made organizations, such as the House of Healers and The Hall of the Knights. By joining an organization, players get certain perks and advantages, like spells and money. Organizations have specific rules and requirements, which prevent reckless behavior, like unwarranted killing.
While PCs strive to fulfill their goals, they have to be conscious of the history and current events of the high-fantasy world.
The current campaign occurs in the Realm of Archaea, where something unusual happened on the Day of Dawn.
“At the height of the moon, the skies streaked with fiery white light, thin and gossamer, leaving lines of brilliance like glittering strands of spider silk. The shower lasted exactly three minutes and then vanished,” the Elder of the Realm said on the message board.
After this unusual event, people in Archaea started finding stones, many of which were confiscated by the crown.
“Rumors filled every tavern, hall and commons,” the Elder said. “The stones were magical and would lead one to great power or treasure. The stones brought luck to those who found them. The stones were a hoax perpetuated by some Fool’s Day prank.”
PCs began the adventure after having discovered some of the stones. The overarching plot of venturing through Archaea is to find out what the stones mean.
To uncover the mystery of these stones, students dressed up in medieval garb every Thursday for two hours in front of Denny Hall.
Instead of throwing Frisbees, they wielded padded weapons, such as swords and axes. Instead of reading textbooks, they read spellbooks. Instead of a traditional classroom, they entered the world of Archaea, where players could be whoever they wanted.
The transformation was facilitated by TA Edmond Chang, who was the Elder of the Realm.
“Ed is essentially God,” Slingwine said.
As Elder of the Realm, Chang has control over the non-player characters (NPCs).
“NPCs are like the extras to the movie set of the game,” Chang said.
While PCs are venturing through Archaea, Chang gives instructions to NPCs on how to interact with the PCs.
NPCs can sometimes be helpful.
“There’s a fire-thing! There’s a fire-thing!” a group of Darklings, played by NPCs, warned the adventurers.
“Save us from a fiery death!” fleeing villagers screamed.
One NPC joined the group of adventurers as an academy mage who was able to tell them how to defeat the approaching Fire Elemental.
NPCs have also appeared as zombies, skeleton armies and Darklings who ambush and confront adventurers, demanding money or wanting to start trouble.
“Ed has control of the NPCs, but I’m not sure how much he controls and how much he creates,” said Alexx Schulte, who plays the knight Xan Atriedes.
A lot of what happens is a result of the player’s creativity and motivation in creating a character’s personality.
“Sometimes he calls us [PCs] over and tells us information and sends us back,” Schulte said. “‘Oh, you notice this … or they look like that, or we’re in a town and hear rumors.’ Little stuff that we can’t physically see. Tiny bits of knowledge that helps us role-play.”
Chang helps with character development. He allocates experience points and money to all of the characters.
Money can buy items, such as potions, and improvements, such as better weapons.
Experience is needed for skills like Yarrow’s Restore Flesh or Arche of Body. Her level-seven Arche of Body enables her to revive players who have been dead for less than a minute.
Schulte’s character Atreides is a knight from the Sarus province who comes from the nobility, which helps him receive resources and exclusive information. One of his skills is called “street-wise,” which allows him to hear rumors and talk to shady informants.
Awarding a player five to 10 experience points for each event is about average. But since students have fewer than eight classes to play their events, Chang sped up the process by awarding 10 to 30 experience points to each character for every class.
As their experience grows, characters like Atreides and Yarrow aspire to venture peacefully, but that’s not always an option.
Fight club
“Battles usually begin when we’re either ambushed or notice something from the distance that comes closer,” Schulte said. “We usually negotiate, but that fails.”
Yarrow has an oath of no-violence, Slingwine said. She’s passive-aggressive and only does things to protect the poor and sick.
One day, her oath was tested by a Fire Elemental who took Atreides, their strongest knight, hostage.
“Because I’m a knight, I’m supposed to run in and protect everyone,” Schulte said, “I got burnt to a crisp several times.”
At one point, the Fire Elemental had two knees on the ground, one hand on his sword, and the other on Atreides, which was burning him to death. He was really powerful, Slingwine said. So everyone was very hesitant at first.
Yarrow, in her yellow fluffy skirt, was frustrated.
“As Rebecca, I’m not bad in combat,” Slinewine said.
A convergence of Rebecca and Yarrow occurred as she flung her scarf off the top of her head and grabbed another warrior’s sword.
The Fire Elemental swung his sword and hit her face.
I was lucky it hit my head, because it doesn’t count, Slingwine said.
If he had hit her arm, she would have received a critical wound, which would have disabled that limb, thus limiting her to the use of one sword.
Her glasses fell off. Even though she could have called a hold — a pause in the game — for safety reasons, she decided not to, because at that point, warriors were rushing in, giving her time to pick up her glasses and charge the Elemental with two swords. In the end, the adventurers defeated the Elemental and saved Atreides.
While the adventurers continued to celebrate their victory, there was another monster waiting for them outside of Archaea.
Invisible monsters
Slingwine said that while they play, some people try to heckle them.
“There’s definitely a stigma, which is really sad, because it’s fun and enjoyable,” Schulte said.
Senior Andy Chow, one of the more experienced players, is really good at responding to the teasing.
He usually asks the hecklers if they want to join.
The stigma of live-action role-playing has been used in juxtaposition to other forms of role-playing.
“It’s better than being locked up in a room playing [World of] Warcraft,” said Ben Johnson, a senior who watched the players’ adventure. “At least they’re outside interacting socially.”
Slingwine understands the stigma but doesn’t let it bother her.
“It’s weird; obviously, most people don’t dress up,” Slingwine said. “I don’t see it as any weirder as someone dressing up and going to a Husky game. In a way, they are LARPing.”
Players realize the outside world cannot always be separate from Archaea. The characters were traveling through a dungeon one day when a pedestrian approached. Their dungeon was someone else’s footpath.
“Mundanes!” the players yell at each other, so they would all know to get out of the way. Mundanes are what players call non-players or people who are not dressed funny, Slingwine said.
“Mundanes are the most powerful creatures in Archaea because they can disbelieve,” Slingwine said.
The disbelief of live-action role-playing is one of the lessons Chang hopes the class teaches the students.
“My goal is to think about how games can be analytical and critical, how games can tell us about the world around us,” Chang said. “One goal of the class is to realize that live-action has a stigma. It’s about challenging those stereotypes and realizing how live-action games tells us about the different roles and personas we play in real life.”
A question of normativity enters into the consciousness of the players, as LARP challenges them to think about their own personas.
“There’s a temptation to perceive LARPing as this crazy thing,” Slingwine said. “But I have a job. I make money. I make eye contact when I talk to people. I do other things, I’m not just this freaky person.”
There seems to be this pressure to grow up and make something of yourself, Slingwine said. People who play are perceived as useless, but it’s a great way to be creative.
“It’s a lot of fun to give yourself permission to run around,” she said. “I think we lose that in America as we grow up, that ability to play.”
Many of the students plan to continue LARPing. Players who are more interested in the battle aspect of Archaea are turning to Amptgard, an older system that focuses more on fighting and large-scale battles.
Slingwine hopes to convince others that LARPing is an acceptable creative outlet. Currently, she and other students are interested in creating Archaea UW, a registered student organization that would help organize the playing of Archaea at the university.
Reach reporter Kevin Wong at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
 Battle Royale
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 02, 2010“1. There’s Steve Emtman, Bob Houbregs, and Marques Tuiasosopo. But is UW softball ace Danielle Lawrie the greatest Husky athlete ever?
Christian: If you’re talking about individual accolades accumulated compared to what other individuals did in their respective sports, then yes, you have to go with Lawrie. She’s a two-time National Player of the Year, has a chance to win two national titles and has become a household name on the Seattle sporting scene. That’s not easy to do for a softball player. But if you’re talking in terms of just the best raw athlete, that’s a discussion for another day.
Allen: Possibly. To start more than 40 games in a season and to do it extremely well is an impressive feat that nobody will probably ever top at the UW.
Maks: I’m going with Brandon Roy here. Danielle Lawrie was the best player on last year’s national-championship team and figures to guide the UW to another title. But — don’t hate me for stating the obvious — success at the NBA level is always going to trump success in college softball. Roy has developed himself into a top-15 NBA player and has helped turn the Blazers around. It’s going to be tough for any UW athlete to top that.
Jacob: Greatest? Oh yeah. In a sport where dominating pitchers and no-hitters are commonplace, Lawrie still stands out. Between Houbregs, Emtman, and Tui, there’s one national title. Lawrie’s well on her way to doubling that.
2. Lakers, Celtics. Here we go again. Who’s your NBA Champion, in how many games, and your MVP?
Christian: Lakers in 7, because the basketball gods will not allow Rasheed Wallace to beat L.A. in a playoff series. Sigh.
Allen: I hate both teams, so I naturally don’t want either team to win. But if I had to pick a team, I suppose I’d go with the Lakers. Kobe will have a monster series and win the MVP.
Maks: If Pau Gasol plays well, it’s the Lakers’ series to lose. Lakers will win it in six, with Kobe as the MVP. Why? Because unlike Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol knows how to play in the post, will force the Celtics to double team him and can find his teammates for easy buckets. Because Kevin Garnett isn’t healthy anymore. Because Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player in the world and is playing his best basketball.
Jacob: My NBA Champion is LeBron James, for teaching us that the only thing more exciting than playoff basketball is narcissistic, petty power-grabbing. That being said, the Lakers will teach the national media that the best point guard in the NBA should probably be able to shoot a little, and L.A. will win in 6. Which sucks, because Doc Rivers is the man.
3. Do you think Lance Armstrong took some type of PEDs at one point in his career?
Christian: Yes, but does it matter? Either he’s going to get nailed with a positive test, or he won’t. Until then, the speculation is just that. Floyd Landis’ word doesn’t mean a whole hell of a lot.
Allen: Probably? Hasn’t everyone in every sport in the past 20 years taken some kind of PED? Whatever.
Maks: I’ve never taken a PED and injected it into Lance Armstong’s buttocks, or swapped urine samples with him, so I’m not really sure. But I’m all for Lance Armstrong using PEDs, as long as he continues to piss off the French.
Jacob: Yeah. I think the drugs that cured his cancer probably really enhanced his performance.
4. Kendry Morales broke his leg on home plate after celebrating his walk-off home run against the Mariners last weekend. Thoughts?
Christian: You hate to laugh at that, because it’s going to have a big impact on the Angels’ season, but … no, wait, I don’t hate to laugh at that. It’s funny. Ha.
Allen: Hilarious. I mean, you hate to see that happen — except against the Mariners — but that’s one of those things people are going to look back on and laugh at. Kind of like how Adrian Beltre got hit in the ‘nads on a ground ball and ended up on the DL with a torn testicle. He still, to this day, doesn’t wear a cup.
Maks: Biggest break the Mariners have gotten all year.
Jacob: Proving once again that texting is killing us all, my first thought was literally, “LOL.”
Reach all sports reporters at sports@dailyuw.com.”
2010 grads will prove value of higher-education investment
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 02, 2010“For myself and many other members of the class of 2010, the reality of graduation hasn’t quite set in. Term papers still must be written, studying sessions labored through and finals completed.
Once we reach the light at the end of the tunnel, however, the “real world” will finally be in sight.
It’s a certainty that 2010 grads will accomplish many great things. Some will start new successful businesses in Washington and throughout the world, or improve the companies of today. Some will become the doctors and lawyers of the future. Others will become world leaders in fields such as engineering, technology and so much more.
While, for many, the search for a job may seem unclear at the moment, one thing is clear: Graduates are not the only ones who stand to benefit from their degrees.
In fact, research shows that our state government down in Olympia should be thrilled to see students walking the stage and receiving their diplomas at commencement on June 12. Researchers from UC Berkeley recently conducted a study in order to find the value college graduates add to a state’s economy, and thus the tax-revenue pool. The goal: To determine the return on investment that states reap for funding university education.
The study focused on California and concluded that for every dollar the state government spent on higher education, it got $3 back.
What accounts for this huge return? College graduates tend to earn a higher income, and thus pay more to the state in taxes. They also have a much lower rate of incarceration and are less reliant than the general population on costly social services. Finally, through college, they gain skills and knowledge that aid innovation and expand the economy in general.
Why is it, then, that in tough budget years, it seems higher education is always first on Olympia’s chopping block?
First of all, the state constitution requires ample funding of certain services, such as basic education. Legislators must fully fund basic education over other possible expenditures. Beyond that, cutting university funding is simply the politically easy choice for lawmakers. Since older citizens are likely to vote more regularly than college students, they have more political sway. Thus, legislators pay much more attention to the concerns of their older supporters.
While cutting education funding may be the politicians’ easiest route to re-election, it is not best for the state’s long-term economic and fiscal health.
The bottom line is that if our state government wants a more productive, self-sufficient, law-abiding citizenry, it’s absolutely essential to adequately fund state universities. Legislators in Olympia deciding how much to slash out of the UW’s budget should remember this fact.
So, class of 2010, let’s go out into the world and prove what we’re capable of. Hopefully, when Olympia sees us in action, they’ll finally get the message and fix funding for future classes.
Reach columnist Chris Jordan at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Emery causing a ripple in politics and pot
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 01, 2010“Canada’s so-called “Prince of Pot,” Marc Emery, made a deal in which he incurred a five-year prison sentence for pleading guilty to 2005 drug charges of selling cannabis seeds over the Internet to U.S. citizens. After being extradited from Vancouver, B.C., the marijuana activist appeared in Seattle’s U.S. District Court after he admitted to conspiring to grow marijuana. Although he is supposed to be sentenced in August of this year, prosecutors may withdraw if judges agree on a different sentence.
However, while considering his situation, we must ask the question: Is Emery’s current arrest and impending imprisonment about pot or politics? As a widely recognized and extremely outspoken libertarian and marijuana activist, Emery is open about his involvement in cannabis legalization groups, to say the very least.
The Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) press release about Emery’s 2005 arrest reads as though the DEA is bragging that his arrest was “a significant blow to the marijuana-legalization movement” because “hundreds of thousands of dollars of Emery’s profits are known to have been channeled to marijuana-legalization groups active in the United States and Canada. Drug legalization lobbyists have one less pot of money to rely on.”
While this statement seems to reflect the decidedly political motivations of the DEA, extradition of Canadians is pretty commonplace, especially in the cases of those accused of selling or smuggling drugs across the border between the United States and Canada. And while Emery’s arrest was for selling seeds, not the actual lucrative drug, this still constitutes drug trafficking into the United States.
Since Emery is considered one of the 46 listed as the U.S. attorney general’s most-wanted international drug traffickers, and the only one from Canada, the United States has been putting pressure on Canada to expedite him to a local court. But because Emery was so open about his approval and involvement in marijuana subculture, Canada wasn’t interested in prosecuting him. Only under extreme pressure from the United States did they recently push the issue of his extradition to a Seattle district court. And, according to CNN, he gains about $5 million in profits annually by facilitating the transfer of cannabis seeds throughout the United States and Canada via the Internet.
While sentencing in Canada is generally less harsh, distribution and trafficking of drugs like marijuana carry higher, heavier punishments than growing — a maximum of seven years for conspiracy to manufacture or grow and a maximum of life imprisonment to traffic. However, Emery will receive a much harsher penalty in the United States than he would in Canada.
From Emery’s expedition and trial we can examine not only the effect of drug trafficking and outspoken advocacy, but the politics that seem to trail inevitably behind his indictment.
Reach columnist Emily McFadden at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Campus watch: Tanning, cocaine and Palin’s speaking price
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 01, 2010“The hazards of tanning, illicit drug use and Sarah Palin’s speaking fee were just some of the news from college campuses across the nation this week.
University of Minnesota finds definitive link between tanning and melanoma
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have found a definitive link between indoor tanning and the risk of acquiring melanoma, a form of skin cancer.
According to the a website displaying the study, which employed more than 2,000 Minnesotans, tanners are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma than those who don’t use indoor tanning beds. For frequent users — those who used indoor tanning for 50 or more hours, for more than 100 sessions, or for ten or more years — this likelihood increases by 2.5 to three times.
“We found that it didn’t matter the type of tanning device used; there was no safe tanning device,” wrote DeAnn Lazovich, the professor who led the project, on the website. “We also found — and this is new data — that the risk of getting melanoma is associated more with how much a person tans and not the age at which a person starts using tanning devices. Risk rises with frequency of use, regardless of age, gender, or device.”
The study is novel because melanoma was only tentatively linked to tanning before.
“Most reports were not able to adjust for sun exposure, confirm a dose-response, or examine specific tanning devices,” she said. “Our population-based, case-control study was conducted to address these limitations.”
Dartmouth students suspended for cocaine
At the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Dartmouth College, three members were arrested on felony charges after a May 13 cocaine incident. These three members were suspended from the fraternity for their conduct.
Officials at SAE’s national headquarters are conducting an investigation into the incident, and they announced the suspension one week ago via the SAE website.
“At this time, the chapter’s status has remained the same,” SAE’s associate executive director Brandon Weghorst said in an e-mail to the school paper, The Dartmouth. “They are an active, recognized chapter.”
Senior Phil Aubart, a member of the fraternity, was commended by the national headquarters for reporting the incident.
“We pride ourselves on being true gentlemen, and doing the right thing is not always easy or popular,” Weghorst said. “[Aubart] absolutely did the right thing by calling out his brothers whose values and actions defy what we stand for.”
Aubart had previously tried to quell cocaine use in the house, but was unsuccessful.
The national headquarters said they will “take additional actions” if necessary.
Palin to receive $75,000 to speak at California State University fundraiser
Two sources at California State University have confirmed that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will be receiving $75,000 to appear at a Cal State Stanislaus foundation fundraiser at the college next month, the Los Angeles Times reported.
There has been uproar about Palin’s scheduled speech because officials would not disclose her compensation. Some had reported she would be paid as much as $100,000 to speak at the event. The group putting on the fundraiser was sued this past month for violating the California Public Records Act by failing to disclose Palin’s compensation.
After two students found part of the contract in a campus dumpster, state Attorney Gen. Jerry Brown looked into the foundation’s finances. This part of the contract also required “plenty of bottled water and bendable straws” for Palin.
The event, which is $500-a-plate, is expected to raise $150,000 to $200,000, but the foundation insists that Palin’s speaking fee will not be paid with public money.
Officials at the chancellor’s office would not confirm the fee.
State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, who is in the process of pushing legislation that would require foundations to follow the California Public Records Act, thought Palin’s fee was disheartening.
“It’s rather disappointing that Sarah Palin is asking for nearly $100,000 to speak at this anniversary event when we’re looking at state increases in student fees, cancellations of classes and the fact that this money could be going to scholarships,” Yee said to the LA Times in response to the fee disclosure. “She could do wonders for all of us … by taking this money and donating it back to the foundation.”
Reach columnist Kristen Steenbeeke at news@dailyuw.com.”
Apples and bananas
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 01, 2010“In my last column of the year I want to make sure that sex is still on everyone’s mind and finals aren’t getting in the way. This week, and those after it, you can laugh at sex and how ridiculously unpredictable it can be. Read on for true stories from other people and from me about some eventful encounters. Have a great summer. Go to the beach, try exciting new things, and make sure to act silly sometimes (no one likes a cantankerous young adult).
Khalfa: It creaked and groaned a lot, but what can you expect from a bed I got off Craigslist? The afternoon of movie-watching with my special lady friend had turned into an afternoon of fooling around. Foreplay turned into hot, animalistic sex. At one point, I proudly tackled her down on the bed, and it was at this moment the bed chose to collapse below us into a pile of mattress, wood slats and blankets. We clambered up out of the wreckage to look at the damage and figure out what to do. After making sure we were both fine, we looked at the bed, which was in need of much fixing. Fifteen seconds later, we decided to screw it and just keep doing it on the broken mess.
Jessica*: Trying not to get caught was exciting, and something I had always wanted to do. I was hooking up with a guy in the handicapped stall of the men’s room in a library. But, a guy came into the bathroom, sat down in the neighboring stall and started pooping really loudly. We spent the next few minutes holding our breath, trying not to burst out laughing. Finally, that guy left, and we were able to sigh with relief. But after, a person walked in and needed the stall we were using.
Ryan*: Discovery Park was cold during this summer day. We were going at it in a makeshift driftwood tent we found on the beach. A little kid ran up and peaked through the holes in the tent and began asking questions like, “Did you guys make this teepee?” and, “Are you guys playing Indians?” Mid-sex, we had to respond to this curious little fellow’s examination while trying to keep him away from the entrance. Good thing we were still wearing most of our clothes, because soon his brother came over to see what was going on, and he was just as curious. Fortunately, their mom came over and told them to, “Leave the nice people alone,” and pulled her kids in the opposite direction.
Nayomee*: I always thought Lenny Kravitz was white until I saw a poster of him (listen to the song Fly Away and you’ll know what I mean). I was at my boyfriend’s house, and we were having sex on his sister’s bed, cowgirl style. I looked up at the ceiling and stopped in complete and total shock at the poster above us and said, “Lenny Kravitz is black!?” Sadly, that killed the moment, because my boyfriend was laughing too hard to continue.
*Last names have been omitted for privacy.
Reach columnist Noé Khalfa at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Virtual TA
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 28, 2010“Outsourcing the responsibility of grading to companies is becoming a trend at some colleges in the United States. With decreases in budgets and professors becoming overloaded, the appeal is clear.
“I can see the appeal of outsourcing grading,” said Mel Wensel, director of academic services for the department of English, via e-mail. “Grading papers can be an onerous task — it’s the thing I miss least about teaching. And, as more colleges and universities are forced by severe budget cuts to increase enrollment and class sizes, people really are frustrated about how to continue teaching writing skills — something that does require good, consistent feedback in a timely manner.”
One company, EduMetry, has a Virtual-TA service advertised as providing timely feedback and assignment scoring, and allowing the professors to focus on teaching and researching. Their clients include the University of Houston in Texas, with an enrollment of roughly 54,000 — slightly larger than that of the UW.
They claim that more students succeed when professors focus on student learning rather than on giving frequent feedback on assignments.
The graders are required to have at least a master’s degree and pass a writing test on their ability to give written feedback. Graders are also trained in using rubrics on sample assignments. In some cases, they send in examples of their grading to get the professor’s approval or critique.
Graders embed comments in each document, and professors can review and edit the evaluation before returning assignments to students. The estimated rate by Virtual TA is $12 per assignment for each student.
While no UW departments outsource grading, some do use online programs.
The chemistry department utilizes online teaching tools, including WebAssign homework and a new program they are planning to try this summer, Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS).
“When you’re dealing with numerical answers, it’s a pretty reasonable thing to do right. I mean, [with] a paper or things like that, things would become trickier,” said Phil Reid, professor and associate chair of the chemistry department, about the use of electronic grading.
ALEKS prepares students for classes and offers tutorials when they enter incorrect answers. When students are expected to have base knowledge going in to a class, ALEKS is designed to prepare them, leveling the knowledge at the beginning of the quarter.
However, Reid said programs like ALEKS and WebAssign are no substitute for quiz sections, classes and tests graded by TAs.
Many critics of Virtual TA claim that there is no personal relationship or contact between the students and assessors. The grading is not able to account for what was discussed in class, for example.
“However, this is no replacement for firsthand knowledge of the students and the individual progress they are making in the course, or for familiarity with the intellectual contexts that have been established in the classroom, and certainly not for the type of disciplinary expertise that faculty bring to the table,” Wensel said via e-mail. “… It is alarming to imagine how ‘efficient’ or ‘cost effective’ outsourced grading may seem.”
Some people feel, however, that alternatives to outsourced grading, such as increased funding for education, exist.
“Frankly, we wouldn’t even be seeing this type of thing if higher education were sufficiently understood, valued and funded, so that faculty and TAs were not overburdened,” Wensel wrote.
Reach reporter Brianna Butterfield at news@dailyuw.com.”
Free Speech Friday: May 28, 2010
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 28, 2010“UW Leadership,
Twice since I began attending the UW, I’ve been confronted by offensive, misogynist messages in Red Square. For the second time in my experience here, a group of religious extremists has put up photographs intended to shock people. This group then attempts to associate their offensive propaganda with the plight of oppressed people in the world who are suffering under genocide.
The question I have for the leadership at the University is this:
Why?
Are these religious fascists paying the UW to turn our square into anti-women bulletin board? Would the UW allow other messages of hate to take over the square? Will I be confronted by a KKK march soon? This is a secular university, why would we allow hateful, religious propaganda to take over our square?
Again why?
I don’t wish to suppose that I know the answers to these questions; I pose them in earnest.
Disappointed,
Joshua
Dear president of the University of Washington
to whom it may concern,
Ever since I started a 2 year research fellowship at the UW the University has been much more of a intellectual home to me and my family than any other University I have gotten to know (I am currently holding a junior faculty position at the Department of Anesthesiology & Critical Care Medicine at the Humboldt University Berlin, Germany).
Yesterday`s exhibition by the “No Abortion.org”-Group on the UW main campus is a serious challenge to my belief in the UW as one of the most stimulating institutions of sciences and knowledge.
The group`s exhibition compares the most horrible crimes ever committed - the German Holocaust and planed mass murders during 1933-1945 - to the abortion of unborn children.
As I am - together with generations of my fellow countrymen - forever in deep guilt for these crimes, torture and more than 5,000,000 murders committed by my ancestors in Nazi Germany, I cannot accept that the University of Washington provides a venue to this group equating abortion with arguably the worst atrocity in world history. The “No Abortion.org” group by making its case, in effect, adds to the denial of these nameless murders during the Nazi era by comparing them to the right of abortion. No woman ever deciding to undergo an abortion, for whatever reason, should be made to think herself in the company of the Nazi regime.
I strongly urge the President and the University of Washington to reconsider giving a most public forum to the denial of the German Holocaust.
Sincerely,
Dr. Philipp Pickerodt
In response to “Starbucks promotion reminds Seattle of losing Sonics” …
Kevin,
Thank you for your article today about the hypocrisy of the Starbucks’ “We love Seattle” M’s Ticket give away. For them to even do this means that they are feeling the lack of love around town. Starbucks needs a come to Jesus moment and should put some real money behind getting a team back, reparations for what they did. All we have to do is renovate the Key. We could call it Starbucks arena or The Latte House of Hoops and Hockey. Or forget sports how about the JAVA JAM HOUSE. Maybe then we can attract better concerts to downtown Seattle. I am sorry but Elton John is not a bid deal.. Didn’t he cancel anyways.. or was that Billy Joel. Dinosaurs anyways. Regardless, this is clearly another attempt by Howard to pee on the fans legs and tell them it is raining.
Thank God for Sonicsgate and writers like you.. Thank you.
Colin W. Baxter
In response to “Starbucks promotion reminds Seattle of losing Sonics” …
Kevin,
I’m a Sonics fan who will never go to starbucks again because schultz sold us out to oklahoma. A couple friends and I just made a video expressing our displeasure with schultz and his company. (Youtube “Lost Our Supes Without a Fight) Great article!
Bill
In response to “Starbucks promotion reminds Seattle of losing Sonics” …
I agree with most of what Kevin Wong wrote in his article “Starbucks promotion reminds Seattle of losing Sonics” but I would attribute much more blame for the Sonics going to Okie City to Howard “I was born in New York City” Schultz. Remember this is the same guy who tried to cleave off a piece of a Seattle city park to add to his own property. He got caught and I don’t think he’s ever forgotten/forgiven the people of Seattle for his own compromised situation. Seattle doesn’t ever need to apologize to Schultz. And another thing; he didn’t try at all to find local ownership. He went straight to the Okies because they would pay anything, unlike Seattle. Make no mistake, this was all about revenge for Schultz against Seattle and he got it. It was only when it was far too late for Ballmer and others to do anything about the situation that talk of new local ownership came up. Schultz had already made the deal and Clay Bennett wasn’t backing out of the deal. Way before Sc!
hultz aquired the Sonics I hated his burnt coffee. It’s just way easier to not buy his crap. I wish everyone else would do the same. As far as I’m concerned, he can take his cruddy company and all his baristas and move to New York. Good riddance. signed: Richard B. Ellenberger, Campus Mailing Services.
Opinion on GAP
I understand the purpose of the Genocide Awareness Project, however, Cooper states that “it has a modest goal.” I do not agree that these images are modest. Despite the warning signs, the images immediately draw my attention as I walk into Red Square. Cooper continues, saying, “Most of the signs you see don’t draw a conclusion—they just make statements and pose a question.” However, these images create more anger, more disgust, and more protests against G.A.P. I respect the opinion of G.A.P. and do not believe that they have to change the way they display their message. However, I think that the images should not be put in such a place like Red Square because thousands of individuals walk through there everyday. I believe that there is another place where the Genocide Awareness Project can display these images. This would allow students the option of observing the images rather than being forced. I believe then students would be less opposed to having G.A.P. on ! campus. Red Square is not the right place.
Michelle Bui
Class or 2012
Engineering
In response to “HUB remodel good, ECC remodel not so much” …
Dear Daily,
I would like to applaud the editorial “HUB remodel good; ECC remodel, not so much.” If the Ethnic Cultural Center’s goal is to “promote an inclusive and educational environment” then it’s most tangible aspect, its physical locale, needs to be with the rest of the population. By duplicating lounges, theaters and other facilities that the HUB provides, it simply encourages those who use its services to continue to separate themselves.
By interacting we become closer, prejudices are expelled and we can face the future without the hindrance of neighborly suspicion. The onus here is equally on the majority (to be open) and on the minority (to participate). A separate building for the ECC deprives both the majority and minority populations of exposure to each other, and the image of the minority as the outsider is propagated in both group’s minds. This will be to the detriment of us all, for the challenges we could all be facing together will remain the challenges we all face separately.
The HUB is the perfect location to foster interaction and dialogue. Open to all, it should be the focal point of our social community. Why not bring all the programs and clubs and offices that the ECC uses into the HUB and then use the money saved by only remodeling one building to, perhaps, lower tuition rates? As the editorial staff correctly stated, by choosing to remodel both buildings and continuing to keep the ECC separate, the UW is missing a golden opportunity.
Jeffrey Gordon
Junior
Near Eastern Languages and Culture
A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
40 years ago, students at The University of Washington (UW) organized a student strike in response to the killing of students at Kent State and Jackson State and in protest of the US escalation of the war in Vietnam and the bombing of Cambodia. The strike was part of a national week of student strikes at colleges and university’s across the country.
After the murder of students at Kent State on May 4, a mass rally was held on the UW campus with an impromptu march that took over Interstate 5 from the UW to downtown Seattle. By May 10th, thousands of students had voted to strike. The students were successful in shutting down large portions of the campus for the entire week. The strike committee published a newsletter and lists of daily activities on campus in support of the strike.
The students took steps to create the “New University” complete with seminars on topics like “How Imperialism Works”, “Women’s Liberation” and “ROTC History and Current Status”.
Steve Ludwig, a leader of Students for a Democratic Society on campus at the time and a leader of the student strike commented, “It really changes your self-concept, to be part of something like that. And to realize that what you do can make a difference. I’ve always kept that with me.”
Two years earlier the groundwork for this upheaval was laid by the Black Student Union (BSU) at UW when they occupied administration buildings in a successful campaign to increase opportunities for minority students.
In an interview describing the struggle, current King County Council member Larry Gossett reflected, “We did some research and found that of the 2400 course offerings at this big school, there was not one class that used a book written by an African American person, nor was there one class that even had an article, much less a chapter or book, that talked about the Black experience in America.”
Similarly, Aaron Dixon noted that with only 35 Black students on the UW campus, they needed a Black Student Union. After working in the BSU with Larry Gossett, Dixon went on to found the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party, the first outside of Oakland. From his involvement in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee through his 2006 Green Party Senatorial run against Maria Cantwell, Dixon has been a grassroots fighter for justice in Seattle.
To commemorate this radical history and to hear the experiences of activists from this era, a number of student groups are bringing together a panel of alumni to discuss this radical chapter in UW history. The panel, featuring UW alumni Larry Gossett, Aaron Dixon, Py Bateman, Steve Ludwig, and Dean Paton among others, will bring this history to life for a new generation and to discuss lessons for today. The event is sponsored by the International Socialist Organization, the College Greens, Students Organizing for LGBT Equality, the Q Center at UW, the Black Student Union, MECha de UW, First Nations, and Associated Students of UW.
Photo displays and documents as well as oral history’s from participants in all of these struggles can also be found on the the Pacific Northwest Labor and Civil Rights Projects website here http://depts.washington.edu/labhist/
The event will be held on Wednesday May 26 at 7pm in Bagley 131 at The University of Washington in Seattle.
Today, students at the University of Washington are fighting a battle to maintain funding for financial aid, to keep classes open, and to retain the number of faculty and teaching assistant’s to keep class sizes from exploding. In this effort, students have had a day of action on March 4th that drew out nearly 1000 students, staff, and faculty for a picket and march through campus and the community. More recently, the Student Worker Coalition called for a student strike on May 3rd that was significantly smaller. The question of next steps is being discussed and debated all over campus. This event provides an opportunity to hear about this important history and hopefully learn some lessons that can be used to go out and make new history.
Erik Wallenburg
Staff, UWMC”
Campus crime blotter: Noise complaints, stolen tires and optimistic offenders
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 28, 2010“Stolen laptops in dorm rooms and a trespasser at UW Tower are just some of the offenses that affect the UW community that this weekly crime blotter aims to keep readers up to date on.
Saturday, May 15
A UWPD officer responded to a report of theft in Mercer Hall at 7:30 p.m. A resident told the officer that while she had been taking a nap, her computer was stolen. She said she thought her door had been locked but woke up when she heard the door close. She did not identify any suspects. The officer met with a witness who stated that he observed two suspicious males near the north entrance of the building about 10 minutes before the resident noticed her laptop was gone.
While the incident seems similar to one reported on May 12, in which a resident of McCarty Hall woke up to find a man in her room stealing her laptop, Commander Jerome Solomon of the UWPD said that at first the department thought the cases might be related, but upon further review it was determined that they are not. In response to concerns that the suspects were “tailgating,” or following residents into the building, Solomon said students should be aware of their surroundings.
“You have to go with your instincts, but it’s always good practice to be aware if someone’s coming in behind you,” he said. “If you see something suspicious, call 911.”
Sunday, May 16
UWPD officers responded to a noise complaint at a house in the U-District at about 1:30 a.m. According to the police report, the music was so loud that residents of the house could not hear them knocking on the door, so they entered on their own. Three subjects were cited for a residential noise violation.
Monday, May 17
UWPD officers responded to a report of someone sleeping on a retaining wall on the north side of the UW Tower at 8:35 a.m. The officers contacted the man, who had a shopping cart and several bags with him, and told him that he was not allowed to sleep on the wall. The man yelled, “I hate demons!” but complied with the officers’ requests. The subject had been contacted three times in the past by the UWPD for trespass. Before leaving, the man asked the officers about getting a job as a police officer with the UWPD and asked for directions to the station.
A UWPD officer responded to a report of vandalism at the Brooklyn Building. He found white spray paint on the side of the building.
A subject contacted the UWPD about picking up property impounded there. An officer checked the subject’s information and found an outstanding warrant. The subject was taken into custody and transported to the King County Jail.
A UWPD officer responded to a report of a bike theft at Lander Hall. A student met with the officer and said that he locked his bicycle to the bike racks on the east side of Lander for about 4.5 hours. When he returned, the front wheel of his bicycle was gone. Nothing else was reported missing.
Wednesday, May 19
A UWPD officer responded to a report of fraud at the Magnuson Health Sciences Center. The officer met with a woman who said that two unauthorized purchases were made with funds from her bank account. Upon investigation, the officer found that both transactions were in Gurnee, Ill., the first at Walmart and the second at Gamestop.
The UWPD and Seattle Police department provide the information for this column.
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
U-District prohibition
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 27, 2010“The University of Washington Police Department (UWPD) made 24 arrests for DUIs and 33 arrests for liquor-law violations, including minors in possession, between January and May 2010.
The State of Washington has actively controlled and restricted the sale and consumption of alcohol specifically in the U-District in one way or another since 1895.
Then, that control meant prohibitive rules that outlawed all alcohol in the U-District. Today, it means agreements between retailers and the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) to restrict the sale of certain strong and cheap beers and wine, and proposals requiring patrons at bars to have horizontal driver’s licenses.
Jason Kilmer, chair of the Washington State Substance Abuse College Task Force and research assistant professor in the UW Psychology department, said several recent studies support the idea that the availability of alcohol directly impacts consumption statistics. In particular, he cited a 1996 article by social scientists Frank Chaloupka and Henry Wechsler, which focused on alcohol consumption on college campuses.
“This study suggested that when a larger number of businesses sold alcohol within 1 mile of campus, there were higher levels of drinking and binge drinking among both underage and older college students,” he said.
1895 - 1950
Spurned by pressures from local temperance movements, the Washington State Legislature passed RCW 66.44.190 in 1895, which made the sale of alcohol within 2 miles of the UW campus illegal. Anyone found guilty of breaking this law was subject to a fine ranging from $100 to $1,000, a significant sum of money in 1895, and anywhere from 6 months to a year in jail.
During the next hundred years, several changes were made to the law. The state Legislature chose to retain its 1895 policy after prohibition was repealed nationally in 1933, but reduced the restricted area to one mile from campus, or roughly the bounds of the U-District. At the time, the Blue Moon Tavern on Northeast 45th Street and the original Red Robin on Eastlake Avenue were the closest bars to the UW campus.
“It shall be unlawful to sell any intoxicating liquors, with or without a license on the grounds of the University of Washington, or within the district bounded by the Lake Washington Canal on the South, Eighth Avenue Northeast on the West, East 52nd on the North and Lake Washington on the East,” the legislation said.
1951 - 2005
In 1951, the law was amended to allow permits to sell and consume liquor to nationally recognized veteran’s clubs in the U-District. In 1967, the boundaries of the restricted area were reduced to only the grounds of the UW campus, and bars began sprouting up on the Ave.
For the next 30 years, the Washington State Legislature retained the right to restrict the sale of alcohol on the UW campus, making only a few subtle amendments. When the law was repealed in 2003, power to govern the sale of alcohol on campus passed to the Board of Regents, which restored the previous restrictions, making the sale of alcohol on campus legal only in certain circumstances.
2006 - Present
While originally, prohibitive laws and practices in the U-District were created to uphold the moral standards of temperance activists, the City of Seattle decided in 2006 that regulating the sale of alcohol might also help solve problems seen on a daily basis in some Seattle neighborhoods.
“We had problems with inebriated individuals just hanging out in bus shelters all day,” Teresa Lord Hugel, chair of the U-District Chamber of Commerce, said.
To combat problems such as these, the City of Seattle and the WSLCB joined forces to create Alcohol Impact Areas (AIA), regions in Seattle where they had identified public drunkenness as a significant problem. The first AIA identified was Pioneer Square in 2003, followed in 2006 by the Central Core AIA and the North AIA, which includes the U-District.
Prohibition policies have not gone without resistance through the years, however. A poll conducted on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s website in 2006 found 51.4 percent were not in favor of expanding the AIAs. Almost half of those respondents specified that they felt the legislation targeted the poor and would hurt small businesses.
In 2006, the board approved a request from the City of Seattle to ban certain alcohol from the U-District.
Banned products include fortified alcohol, malt liquor and similar drinks. Businesses in AIAs are not allowed either to sell single cans or bottles to be taken off premises, or to sell beer or wine to be taken off premises between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.
“Most of the chronic public inebriants are homeless,” Karen McCall, senior legislative policy analyst at WSLCB, said. “In some areas in Seattle it was a real problem; that’s where the Seattle Alcohol Impact Areas are.”
McCall admitted that especially in free-ride areas like Pioneer Square and downtown Seattle, people can simply ride the bus to where they can buy fortified alcohol, and then come back.
UWPD Sergeant John Bolding echoed that idea, saying that alcohol-prohibitive policies like the AIAs don’t always prevent underage students and others from finding alcohol or bringing it to the U-District.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” he said.
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Neighborhood Watch
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 27, 2010“Capitol Hill
1Love Annual DNB Battles with DJ Dara
This Friday is the Grand Championship of the local drum ‘n’ bass (DNB) battles as DNB DJs go head to head, or drum machine to drum machine, to name the best DNB DJ in Seattle. Ireland-born DNB legend DJ DARA is headlining the show.
Friday, May 28
8 p.m.
$10
Neumos
925 E. Pike St.
Vegas or Bust! (21+)
The proceeds from this benefit performance go to helping local burlesque dancers attend Las Vegas’ Burlesque Hall of Fame. The show will feature Vegas attendees, such as Sydni Deveraux, Indigo Blue, Shanghai Pearl and many more.
Friday, May 28
9 p.m.
$12 general adv.; $25 VIP adv.; $15 general day of show; $30 VIP day of show
Oddfellows Hall
915 E. Pike St.
The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle
Julien Temple’s 1980 film follows the Sex Pistols’ manager, Malcolm McLaren, as he tries to get his fistful of respect in his role in the manipulating music industry. The “fictional documentary” watches as the Sex Pistols rise to and fall from fame through McLaren’s eyes. The film forum website said the people at the forum believed the screening to be fitting, since McLaren recently passed away.
Friday, May 28, through Sunday, May 30
7 and 9 p.m.
$6–9
Northwest Film Forum
1515 12th Ave.
Downtown
Jim Norton
Along with being the author of several books, one of which is titled Happy endings: The Tales of a Meaty-Breasted Zilch Norton is also a stand-up comedian with an outspoken sense of humor. Experience his humor first-hand at the Showbox this Friday.
Friday, May 28
6 p.m.
$29.50 adv.; $33 day of show
Showbox at the Market
1426 First Ave.
John Butler Trio
The Australian jam band is touring in support of its new album, April Uprising.
Friday, May 28
8 p.m.
$28-33
The Moore Theatre
1932 Second Ave.
Fiddler on the Roof
See the popular, Tony-award-winning musical about a man in 1905 Tsarist Russia dealing with five daughters who are slowly straying away from the faith and customs he has instilled in them.
Tuesday through Sunday, May 25 to May 30
Tuesday through Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
$30.50-73.50
The Paramount
911 Pine St.
Candide
Written by the philosopher Voltaire in 1759, Candide was adapted for the stage with music by Leonard Bernstein. For its own performance, 5th Avenue is offering discount prices for students: Tickets are $10 with student ID.
Tuesday, May 25 through Sunday, June 13
Tuesday and Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday, 1:30 and 7 p.m.
$25.50-93.50; $10 with student ID, 50-percent off with promotional code “France” and no student ID
5th Avenue Theatre
1308 Fifth Ave. S.
Ballard
The Minus 5 (21+)
Scott McCaughey has spent the past 30 years enchanting listeners, founding The Young Fellows and supporting such notable bands as R.E.M., Wilco, and Robyn Hitchcock. Now, he’s got his own band, the Minus 5, and word has it this group is showing off pop country-rock at its absolute best.
Friday, May 28
9 p.m.
$10 adv.; $12 day of show
Tractor Tavern
5213 Ballard Ave. NW
Fremont
The Real Dr. Patch Adams’ 65th Birthday Party
Patch Adams, M.D., the visionary health-care activist and clown, will turn 65 this Friday. He, along with a talented lineup that includes Country Joe (from Country Joe and the Fish) and Shana Morrison, will be on stage to benefit the Gesundheit Institute, Adams’ very own project dedicated to revolutionizing health care.
Friday, May 28
8 p.m. to midnight
$25
Fremont Studios
155 N 35th St.
Wallingford
Jessika Kenney
Part of the continuing Wayward Music Series, dedicated to the finest modern, postmodern, avant-garde and experimental examples of today’s music. Jessika Kenney is a soprano, and she, along with violinist Eyvind Kang, tar player Parvaneh Daneshvar and pianist Dawn Clement, will be performing music inspired by Persian poetry.
Friday, May 28
8 p.m.
$5-15
Chapel Performance Space
4649 Sunnyside Ave. N.
University District
Opening Celebration: 2010 University of Washington MFA Thesis Exhibition
The College of Arts & Sciences and the Henry Art Gallery come together to celebrate the annual UW School of Art graduate exhibition. Pieces were selected by students and their thesis committees.
Friday, May 28
6:15 p.m.
Free
Henry Art Gallery
Author Signing: Candace Dempsey
Journalist Candace Dempsey presents her findings surrounding the mystery of the murder leading to the arrest of UW student Amanda Knox with her new book Murder in Italy: The Shocking Slaying of a British Student, the Accused American Girl, and an International Scandal.
Thursday, May 27
7 p.m.
University Book Store
Dead Man’s Cell Phone
The Undergraduate Theater Society presents a story of meditation on life, loss and love. Written by Sarah Ruhl and directed by senior Mike Jones.
Thursday, May 27 to Sunday, May 30
Wednesday, June 2 to Sunday, June 6
8 p.m.
UW students, $5; general public, $10
Tickets available at the door and online at brownpapertickets.com.
The Cabaret Theater in Hutchinson Hall
Reach reporters Ashleen Aguilar, Robert Frankel, Kristen Steenbeeke & Weekender Editor Ivan Vukovic at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
GAP not open to conversation
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 27, 2010“When walking across the UW campus, there seem to be only two types of protesters: those protesting university-centric problems, like budget cuts, and those making extremist political statements.
Continuing the pattern, the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) returned to our campus this Monday, continuing their offensive entwining of abortion and genocide imagery.
The GAP, a migrating anti-abortion project, puts images of violence and genocide next to images of abortion to be displayed on college campuses.
The Lynden LaRouche supporters that crop up around campus are similar, with their Barack Obama-with-a-Hitler-mustache image they use as another simple visual metaphor which makes a comparison to Nazism.
There are many problems with comparisons to Hitler and the Holocaust. To start, because Hitler has been built up in the popular imagination and popular history as one of the ultimate evils, it is very easy to attack something just by linking the target to Hitler in some way.
This tactic is so common that it has its own Internet law: Godwin’s law, which basically posits that the longer a conversation goes on, the likelier a comparison to Hitler will be made. Because of its overuse, the tactic has lost a lot of its meaning.
Beyond its overuse, comparing anything to the death of 6-million Jewish people and 5- to 11-million others (homosexuals, Romani, people with disabilities and other opponents) is bound to be a stretch.
Regardless of your political sensibilities, how can you compare Obama with someone who is responsible for more than 10-million deaths? How can you compare a woman’s decisions about her body to an attempt to end a whole race of people?
Extremist imagery like the LaRouche and GAP images really only serve to attract attention, and offend and alienate most people.
No one has the right to go through life without being offended, but these issues are so divisive that everybody has already taken a side. The only thing they do now is make the dissenters angry because of the unfair comparisons of women to Nazis or Obama to Hitler.
What is the point of putting these extremist demonstrations up? The GAP has the right to protest in any way they want, but I wish they would consider that their extremist demonstration is accomplishing little more than making passers-by angry.
The GAP’s images aren’t there to facilitate rational discourse; they’re too strong for that. The debate about abortion is a debate about where life starts. By putting images of death next to images of abortion, the anti-abortion position is already assumed. Discussion is not open but is pushed to and starts at the extreme end — that abortion equals murder.
A few years ago, PETA juxtaposed pictures of animals in slaughterhouses with pictures of the Holocaust. This is nearly the exact same method that the GAP is using, and even though I’m more sympathetic to PETA’s goals, I can still say that their methods are not helping them achieve those goals.
All they were doing is making their cause seem like extremists incapable of rational discourse and drawing comparisons that will make many people bitter.
Reach columnist Christopher Andersson at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Film Review: Prince of Persia
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 27, 2010“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is based on the 2003 video game of the same name. Depending on who you are, this could raise a number of alarm bells:
If you played the game, then you’re probably worried about it getting butchered in translation, as Disney tries to market it to the Pirates of the Caribbean crowd. If you’re familiar with films that are adaptations of video games, you’re probably worried that the end result will be a confused and generally awful movie. If you’re not familiar with the game, then you’re probably thinking that the film is going to be a plotless, joyless romp through generic action-adventure territory.
Well, let me begin by saying it’s not the travesty I was expecting. And no, it’s not a masterpiece of film, either. Prince of Persia, however, is a thoroughly familiar, but supremely enjoyable action film that does manage to get the job done right. It’s a good popcorn flick that’s also a pretty benign example of the big-budget Hollywood extravaganza we’ve come to suffer through these past few years.
The story begins as the three princes of the Persian Empire are laying siege to a holy city. After sacking the city, Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) finds a unique dagger and decides to keep it for himself. However, when the Persian king is suddenly murdered, and Dastan is blamed for the killing, he must go on the run with the mysterious princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) in order to clear his name.
Along the way, Dastan learns that the dagger he picked up has special properties. It holds within it the Sands of Time, and for a minute, the holder can control the flow of time. As the Persian forces grow nearer, he and Tamina begin a desperate quest to hide the dagger from treachery in the Persian royal family before the Sands can be released, wreaking havoc on the world.
Ever since Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, films of this nature tend to have a lot of swooping shots of rolling countryside and chaotic battles. Prince of Persia wisely avoids this trope — for the most part, anyway — instead presenting the action in a mostly up-close-and-personal style. Director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) knows that this suits the film very well, especially considering its source material.
As many players of the video game may contest, The Sands of Time video game was an immersive experience, allowing the player to combine elegant acrobatics with lethal combat maneuvers with only the taps of a few buttons. The film is aware of this fact, and Newell, along with cinematographer John Seale’s camerawork, allows the audience to experience delicately filmed long shots of Dastan’s awesome mix of martial arts and parkour.
While this is more good than bad, it does sometimes feel like you are watching someone else playing a video game. I’m tempted to blame Jerry Bruckheimer for this, since the man has made a career out of producing eye-rolling action sequences and identical plotlines, the problem never gets too distracting.
The film does not strive to be a complete retelling of the video game, so it allows itself some indulgences. The script toys endlessly with the tried-but-true summer-movie formula, interjecting moments of drama or violence with a smug sense of humor. Dastan’s and Tamina’s burgeoning sexual chemistry is played up quite a bit, and it’s successful, thanks mostly to the actors playing those parts. Wacky sidekicks are thrown into the mix, and the battles are exciting and lengthy.
Prince of Persia really does a good job as a film meant solely for pure entertainment, and its awareness of this fact, and its subsequent lightheartedness, illuminates what’s so deeply wrong with similar Hollywood blockbusters, such as the self-important Clash of the Titans or the bombastic Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Prince of Persia is, in a word, fun, and, although the violence can get pretty brutal, it’s one of those pictures that the whole family can enjoy.
So if you’re looking for some fun at the movie theater this weekend, you should check out Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. If you go in with an open mind, and you enjoyed the Pirates of the Caribbean films — I, personally, found Prince of Persia to be superior — you’ll probably have a good time with the prince.
B
Reach reporter Robert Frankel at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
Editorial cartoon and rants and raves
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 27, 2010“Rants
According to The Washington Post, a Washington, D.C., man died suddenly on Tuesday morning shortly after being taken into police custody — his death was probably caused by the man eating crack cocaine.
U2 has canceled their U.S. and Glastonbury tours after the lead singer Bono underwent spinal surgery to prevent paralysis, BBC reported.
Raves
Software programmers have developed a Canon Hack Development Kit, which reprograms some basic features, reported The New York Times. An Iowa photographer used it to to take pictures similar to satellite images on his point-and-shoot camera.
According to The New York Times, “smart” vending machines are popping up all over the world. Many vending machines have touch screens and sensors that will not charge your credit card until the product has been dispensed.”
Artist Spotlight: Candace Dempsey
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 27, 2010“Italy is often regarded as having one of the richest storytelling traditions, a fact local journalist and author Candace Dempsey holds in high regard.
“I come from an Italian-Irish background,” Dempsey said, “and both of those are storyteller [cultures]. But they’re oral traditions, and I wanted to write it down.”
Dempsey has known for most of her life that she is a storyteller. One of the first stories she ever wrote, at age 8, documented the drive between Pullman and Spokane.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in English from Washington State University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Oregon, Dempsey realized her desire and became a professional storyteller.
In 2007, after encouragement from friends, Dempsey created a blog called Italian Woman at the Table. Falling back on her love of all things Italian, she wanted to share that love with her readers.
“I was going to write about the Italian experience,” Dempsey said. “I was so fascinated by that. Anything that was Italian, I wanted to write about. So I started my blog just for fun.”
After returning from a trip to Italy, Dempsey learned about the Halloween 2007 murder of British exchange student Meredith Kercher and the suspected involvement of UW student Amanda Knox.
At that point, Dempsey’s blog took a different turn.
“I became obsessed, because every day there was some colorful new character, some twist in the plot,” Dempsey said. “I would look at each new development and check it against what I could find out myself.”
Dempsey interned at The Spokesman-Review in Spokane at the beginning of her career. She was the reporter for the court and police beats, and Dempsey said this training was beneficial for following the Knox case.
She was taught to check all her facts independently of the information the police offered, and she was shocked to find that fact-checking is not a common practice in Italian newspapers.
“I was surprised that people would get so angry with me [for verifying facts], when that’s what a reporter is supposed to do,” Dempsey said.
But her accuracy and fairness while examining the evidence made her one of the most knowledgeable American journalists on the case. Dempsey was also one of the first to remind the public that Knox hadn’t been convicted when the case began, and some anonymous online commenters maligned her for that stance in the comments section of the blog.
“I did argue for Amanda’s right to a fair trial and her right to tell her story in open court,” Dempsey said. “Everyone deserves those rights.”
The Italian culture-focused blog was hosted for a short time on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s website before Dempsey devoted it to the Knox case and true crime.
“I met Candace at [a Society of Professional Journalists] event and invited her to blog (as an independent publisher) on seattlepi.com,” wrote Michelle Nicolosi, the executive producer of the site, in an e-mail.
Dempsey recently stepped back from the blog and pieced together case evidence in Murder in Italy.
“It’s different from my blog in that it’s not day-by-day, looking at the evidence,” Dempsey said. “It’s actually spinning a tale.
“When I make points in the book,” she continued, “it’s never my intuition, it’s not mere suspicion. … I’m quoting actual documents or court transcripts.”
Murder traces the almost two-and-a-half years since the crime, from the daily routines of Kercher and Knox, as told by their housemates, through the trial and potential appeal processes.
Dempsey is now touring the Pacific Northwest promoting the book. She’ll be reading at the University Bookstore tonight at 7 p.m.
“I love talking to readers,” Dempsey wrote in an e-mail. “I met one couple where the husband thought Amanda was guilty and the wife felt the opposite. And they couldn’t wait to finish the book. They were enjoying debating the evidence.”
Reach reporter Ashleen Aguilar at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
On the record
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 26, 2010“As a recession gripped the country, as some heralded and others bemoaned the death of the newspaper, the media industry grew in Seattle. But during the past five years, media start-ups have opened more often than they’ve closed.
That trend, however, has not caught hold at the UW.
While there are dozens of new publications providing news for Seattle residents, only one UW publication has opened during the past five years. That means there are just a few publications serving a university with a student population equivalent to the population of Olympia, Wash.
What’s more, the student population is doing a lot more than the citizens of Olympia. The UW has thousands of events every year and hundreds of student groups. It rakes in billions in research dollars as a matter of course. Every college and school buzzes with innovation and new ideas.
Frankly, students deserve more than The Daily.
The one new UW publication, Ruckus, takes offense with The Daily claiming to be the “student voice.” They’re partially right.
The Daily is a student voice. It’s not the only student voice. There should be many more student publications out there. The Daily falls under the university’s Office of Student Publications, but for all practical purposes, it could be called the Office of the Student Publication.
The UW has The Daily and Ruckus. That’s it. Ruckus operates out of the sub-basement of the HUB, where they print their semimonthly news publication on a copy machine. (Hey, it’s a start.)
They’re doing it because they feel there’s a need. The Daily, they say, kind of sucks.
“It’s not something we’re excited by or we feel has vitality,” said Ian, from Ruckus.
Well, he’s got a point. Not everybody cares about what The Daily prints. They’re kind of heavy on that boring stuff like tuition, budgets and fees.
In Seattle, there’s a news site for the interests of nearly every resident. For those in West Seattle, there’s the West Seattle Blog, now competing with the West Seattle Herald. In the realm of city and county politics there’s Publicola, an online politics blog, that regularly reports stories before Seattle Times staff writers do. Think Tim Eyman sucks? Well so do the bloggers on HorsesAss.org. In fact, Eyman inspired the blog’s name.
The people behind these websites are able to do what they do because it costs almost nothing to launch a publication. Gone are the days of darkrooms and printing presses. A laptop and a cheap digital camera will do.
The Daily can’t possibly cover all the UW communities well. Other students ought to jump in and tell the stories of the communities The Daily does not reach.
Reach Development Editor Andrew Doughman at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Weird world news: Papal protection, a book 221 years overdue and sex offenses in China
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 25, 2010“Condoms portraying a religious icon, an overdue library book from a founding father and arrests for a Chinese sex club are some of the stranger headliners from this week in world news.
AMSTERDAM — A Dutch sex shop gave away 2,000 “pope condoms” this weekend as an attempt at a strike against the Roman Catholic church, Reuters reported. De Condoomfabriek (The Condom Factory) wished to make a statement about sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies in retaliation to the Vatican’s opposition to contraceptives. The condom wrapper displays the image of a papal figure with an uncanny resemblance to Pope Benedict, albeit with the face removed. The image is framed with the words “I SAY NO! We say YES!” Last month, the issue of a “pope condom” also created controversy following a memorandum by a British civil servant who suggested Benedict should launch a papal-brand condom during his forthcoming visit to the United Kingdom. Britain’s Foreign Office apologized for the incident.
NEW YORK — A library book that had been borrowed by former-U.S. President George Washington has finally been returned to New York City’s oldest library, 221 years later, Reuters reported. Washington checked out the book from the New York Society Library when the library was located in the same building as a federal office. He borrowed The Law of Nations, by Emer de Vattel, on Oct. 5, 1789. The return came as a result of the library restoring its 1789-1792 charging ledger, which contains the borrowing history of other figures such as John Adams, Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. The book was revealed to be missing when an article in The New York Daily News made its status public. “A few days after learning of the situation, staff at Washington’s home in Virginia, Mount Vernon, offered to replace Vattel’s Law of Nations with another copy of the same edition,” the library said in a statement. Prior to the return of the book, the overdue fee for the item was calculated at about $300,000.
CHINA — A college professor has been jailed for running a sex club, Reuters reported. Computer-science instructor Ma Yaohai, 53, was sentenced to 3.5 years for failing to plead guilty to hosting orgies, which he insisted disturbed no one. “What we did, we did for our own happiness,” Ma told Chinese media at a news conference in April at his home, where 14 of the 18 “swinging games,” as he referred to them, were hosted. Ma started the club as an online group in 2007. Those who participated included taxi drivers, sales clerks and office workers, 18 of whom have also been charged for up to 2.5 years in jail. The arrests were made following the discovery of five of the members having a “swinging game” at a hotel room in August. “People chose to do it of their own free will, and they knew they could stop at any time,” Ma added. “Marriage is like water. You have to drink it. Swinging is like a cup of wine. You can drink it if you like. If you don’t like it, don’t drink it.”
Reach Weekender Editor Ivan Vukovic at news@dailyuw.com.”
Genocide Awareness Project returns to campus
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 25, 2010“The Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) returned to campus yesterday.
Encircled by fences, the display features large poster boards that juxtapose images of aborted fetuses with pictures of genocide, war and ethnic cleansing. The photo-mural is intended to provoke discussion on abortion, said Don Cooper, a member of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, which is responsible for the traveling exhibit.
“It has a modest goal. We want people to see the humanity of the unborn and the inhumanity of abortion. We want them to see who the baby is and what abortion looks like. Most of the signs you see don’t draw a conclusion — they just make statements and pose a question,” said Cooper, pointing to an image of a child killed in Rwanda that was paired with a picture of an aborted fetus.
While students recognize the group’s right to express its views, many question the display’s public location. An anti-GAP group organized on Facebook and asked students to wear red in protest. Other students avoided Red Square to silently oppose the images.
“There are a lot of people who just want to yell at us. But we have a lot of good conversations with people who are actually seeking the facts. It’s pretty well divided …” said GAP representative Kerry Daly. “One time there was a group that came out and was shouting and chanting. And a year ago, we did have some woman throw some things at the sign.”
GAP has often been accused of provoking students to react aggressively. Last year, one student egged the exhibit and another drew on the presentation boards with a marker. Some allege that GAP, which chronicles many of its filed lawsuits on its website, funds its traveling exhibit with the settlement money.
When asked about the project’s history of lawsuits, Cooper said: “Any money that comes from that, we don’t see a penny of it. … Fortunately, we don’t have to go to court too much. Usually it’s enough to let people know that we will.”
Cooper added that GAP recently sued the Los Angeles County police department $25,000 for unjustly moving aside a billboard truck that displayed similar images.
“They’re free to show these pictures, but they should also be aware that this is a college campus, and they should try and work with the community,” said senior Krista Hiatt who viewed the exhibit yesterday.
GAP began in 1999 and has visited the University of Washington several times since. The first year it arrived in Red Square, a mob of students staged a sit-in, and the university moved the exhibit to a more clandestine location. GAP later successfully sued the university for infringement of its freedom of speech.
“I feel like a lot of the students on campus are very open to hearing both sides. Pro-life is big on campus as well as pro-choice. But this particular display is kind of graphic and [can be] seen as offensive. Their tactics are not the way to go about it,” Hiatt said. “This isn’t a very reasonable way to have a debate. This isn’t a very intelligent way to have a debate. It lowers both the feeling of genocide, which is so important — we need to be upset about it — as well as abortion, which we need to be thinking about in serious terms. But it brings them both down to a low level.”
Hiatt, an art student, understands the purpose of the thought-provoking visuals but said the graphic display turned students off to listening. Hiatt recalled that a Jewish friend who saw the exhibit last year had become emotional, not because of the intended message, but because of the “monopolization of images” — particularly those of Holocaust victims.
Cooper confirmed that the images were poignantly placed. Fetuses aligned with a quarter that reads: “In God We Trust,” are supposed to evoke irony and hypocrisy, and above all help students visualize the medical procedure.
“It’s quite inappropriate to put it in the center of the school and talk about genocide when there is real genocide going on …” said senior Thuch Malual’Deng, from Sudan, as he gestured to the juxtaposed images. “I do not believe in abortion either, but this is just gross. … Some people do it because they have to, even in my own country where abortion is not possible, [exceptions] are still made if you have to. These people are too extreme for me.”
Jürg Koch, an assistant professor of dance, said he worked in a building near the display and worried that it was escalating — each year the poster boards towered higher than they had in previous years. He also noted that this year’s images included many pictures and quotes by President Barack Obama.
“I’m shocked to see this display so closely linked to Obama. That’s actually why I came closer. All these images, all these posters include Barack Obama,” Koch said. “What is this link that they’re trying to establish [with] showing images of lynchings of black men predominantly? It’s just appalling.”
Koch said that the group was entitled to its opinion, but wondered if there was a better location for the provoking images.
“In theater, where I come from, you have to declare if you use offensive language, and the audience can make a decision about whether they’re going to subject themselves to offensive language in a performance…” he said. “There’s no way of avoiding this if you don’t want to be exposed to this. … I think the university has too lenient a policy for this hate speech. … If you have hate speech in your presentation, then you don’t belong here. Find another way to articulate it.”
However, members of GAP believe that, rather than hate speech, the exhibit is intended to promote dialogue about the issue of abortion.
“GAP is focused primarily on starting a conversation,” Daly said. “What’s taught in schools and the media is pretty much one-sided. You occasionally hear the pro-life side of the story. Most people think that the question has already been decided, but 3,600 babies a day killed, we feel is worth speaking up for.”
Reach reporter Celina Kareiva at news@dailyuw.com.”
The death and life of In Soo Chun
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 25, 2010“On Oct. 30, 2008, an ambulance shuttled a dying man to his deathbed while police officers lingered in Red Square to collect evidence. The blackened clothes, red-plastic gas can and lighter told the story of In Soo Chun’s suicide. His backpack — the one that carried the gasoline, the one he’d refused to relinquish months ago — tells the story of his life. The Daily discovered through public records that the 61-year-old former custodian left behind a 128-page manifesto entitled Battle for the Freedom, in which he’d written of his isolation, his estranged family, the job from which he had been fired and the reason he chose to burn himself alive.
His story begins nearly two years ago. It starts and ends with a backpack.
In Soo Chun lived alone and lugged a 20-pound backpack to and from the UW every weekday, like any student. Except Chun was a custodian in his 60s, and his backpack contained court documents for lawsuits he filed with the Supreme Court.
On June 9, 2008, he slung his backpack over his shoulder, flicked his lighter for a smoke and departed from the Miranda Apartments on Northeast 43rd Street. He reported to the campus observatory building a little before 5 a.m. He’d worked the same 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. shift for two-and-a-half years.
His supervisor, Roman Ariri, clocked Chun in on time. Chun plodded to Padelford Hall, backpack strapped over his shoulders. He was one of the few on campus early that Monday morning and one of three custodians in Padelford.
He’d bickered with the two others, and his argument with one that morning would propel him toward suicide.
Laine Noah, Ui-Hak Chong and Chun always worked early in the morning. That way, they would finish waxing the floors with chemicals before faculty and students began to arrive.
Chun tended to the third floor, home to the math and statistics departments. He would push his custodial cart down the halls, his backpack always nestled among cleaning supplies. After waxing the floors, he’d duck inside offices and relieve professors of their recycling and trash. He would smile and say “good morning” to the staff in the math library while he stacked chairs on desks so he could corral the dirt beneath into his dustpan.
He sometimes found trouble. A graduate student had complained Chun had stalked her. Both Noah and Chong had argued with Chun.
Before working in Padelford, Chun had bickered with his Korean co-workers in Suzzallo Library; they were speaking Korean, and Chun had berated them for not speaking English while working.
The problem with the Padelford telephone
Chun had his next confrontation on June 9. It began when he spotted Noah on the third floor. Managers had earlier instructed the two custodians to keep apart.
A Custodial Services record tells the story: Noah stepped inside an empty office to use a telephone. Chun followed him. “Leave me alone,” Noah said.
“Wait, I want to talk to you,” Chun said.
“Leave me alone,” he repeated. “I need to finish unlocking the doors.”
“Why are you using this phone? There are lots of phones in the hall.”
“I’m going to call Ron.”
Chun stood in the door frame while Noah called their manager, Ron Ahina. Noah’s account involved Chun blocking the door and brandishing a mop. When Noah hung up, Chun ceded the exit, and Noah left.
That afternoon, Ahina crafted a “formal counseling plan.” He named Chun the aggressor and requested he attend a July 2 counseling session. He mailed Chun a note because Chun didn’t own a phone.
Chun walked to his apartment, where he lived alone amid dozens of boxes laden with documents. Ahina’s letter awaited him. He read it and wrote back that he would not attend if Ahina both labeled him the aggressor and mediated the counseling session. Their back-and-forth would continue, the cast swelling to include other managers, the UW ombudsman, Chun’s union, other custodians and the human-resources department.
At the heart of it all was Chun’s backpack.
The Staff of God
Chun’s manifesto provided his interpretation of the labor and management dispute.
He wrote that Ahina was wrapped up in the university’s drug and prostitution business, and that CIA agents and paramilitary operatives for the Korean government infested Custodial Services. Chun alleged various librarians, office assistants and math professors working in Padelford were Korean government spies. He believed they were fronting as university employees when, in actuality, they were Korean agents monitoring him.
The manifesto indicates Chun knew of his mental troubles.
“I was seriously suffered with a thought disorder and a brain slash and a sudden black-out and memory loss and other symptoms since 1987,” he wrote in his manifesto.
In Chun’s mind, the government had crippled him. They had implanted microchips in his head, and the CIA disabled him with radio waves. They’d afflicted him for two decades.
Why?
Because, he believed, he was the Staff of God, the pliant tool that the Bush and Clinton families used to engineer their electoral success. This plagued Chun, and he wrote of the pain in his manifesto: “I was very much suffering with the hunger and the serious dementia for the last two decades. It is more cruel than the animal world.”
But Chun arrived every morning on his best behavior.
“He’d come in and greet me,” said Sandra Martin, a Padelford math-library employee. “He was always pleasant.”
He said “good morning” to the librarians, and they replied, “Good morning, In Soo.”
No mention of brain waves or CIA agents — just polite conversation. Managers wrote that Chun met or exceeded expectations in 13 categories during a 2007 evaluation.
“He was a really good janitor and kept everything really clean,” said Cheryl Bissett, administrative coordinator of the statistics department.
Chun’s custodial closet was next to Bissett’s office. He would read the Bible during breaks. She said he sometimes would stare into space, looking very lonely.
“I told him I thought he should go to a church because other people there could help him,” she said.
But he’d left his Korean church in Shoreline years ago after he began to suspect the congregation was spying on him.
The 20-pound burden
When Chun arrived to work July 10, 2008, his supervisors Ron Ahina and Roman Ariri were waiting to tell him they’d reassigned him.
Ahina presented Chun with two choices: Lewis Hall or the North Physics Laboratory, the building downhill from the McMahon and Haggett residence halls.
Chun wrote that his supervisors dangled his keys in front of him and said, “In Soo, you go to Lewis Hall or you go home!”
Sending someone home violated university policy. Management hadn’t fired Chun with those words — termination is a multistep process — but Chun elected to go home. Later he wrote that this was the day he’d been “constructively discharged” from Custodial Services.
Again, the backpack revealed his reasoning. He couldn’t accept either assignment because neither building had an elevator.
Chun carried his 20-pound backpack everywhere. He safeguarded court papers inside it. He’d filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court alleging that the U.S. government had abused his mind for decades. The government had denied him, but he had resolved to press the case.
He latched the documents to him; the backpack had become as indispensable as keys or a wallet. In Padelford Hall, he rode the elevator to the third floor with the backpack safely atop his custodial cart.
“Lewis Hall … did not have elevators. If I worked at the Lewis Hall, then I had to carry the 20 pounds backpack on my shoulder for eight hours,” Chun wrote.
So he refused the reassignment and stalked out of the office.
An American dreamer
When Chun clocked off at 1 p.m., he would return to an empty dwelling. He’d brought his family — a wife and son — to America in 1977, leaving the teaching profession for a new life. He was a U.S. citizen by 1983, but this triumph rang hollow.
He never could get a job in the United States that afforded him the same respect as a teaching position. Teachers hold sway in Korea; their culture reveres education to a high degree.
In the United States, Chun labored without respect at menial jobs.
He and his wife divorced during the ‘80s. Chun never remarried. His only son wanted nothing to do with him, and those who knew Chun consistently described him as a “loner.”
He’d gone to several colleges and universities in Seattle, but never attained a degree.
A vow of violence
By July 15, 2008, Chun had made pleas to the UW ombudsman and his union, the Washington Federation of State Employees. His managers tried to schedule a new counseling session involving Custodial Services, the union, the ombudsman and Chun.
But Chun declined, instead requesting a vacation. His manager, Ahina, granted the request. The logic: Perhaps Chun just needed to relax.
Chun took his vacation from July 18 to Aug. 13.
In the meantime, Ahina made sure his supervisors at Facilities Services — Director Gene Woodard and Assistant Director Sattia Sear — were clued in. Irene Hrab, from the university’s human-resources department, handled Chun’s case. She suggested possible termination if Chun didn’t report to work Aug. 14.
Sure enough, Chun ignored work Aug. 14. Managers duly sent him letters asking why he didn’t report for work. They received no reply.
Nine days later, Aug. 25, Chun showed up on the university’s bimonthly payday. He said he’d been fired and wanted his last paycheck. Ahina told him he hadn’t been fired and that he should come back to work. But Chun declined.
When Chun walked into the Facilities Services office in the Northlake Building, Sear tried to tell Chun he would be fired for job abandonment if he didn’t return to work. Chun wouldn’t hear it. He said management had “constructively discharged” him the day they tried to mandate an undesirable reassignment.
He had reached an impasse with his managers. He left the Facilities Services office that afternoon convinced the school had wronged him. It would be the last time any staff member saw him alive.
He filed a request with the Washington State Employment Security Department to receive unemployment benefits. They denied him after checking with the university and finding that job abandonment qualified Chun for nothing.
After that defeat, Chun made a choice.
“If the United States government disregarded law and justice again and I don’t get the redress from the government before August 2008, then I will proclaim my freedom and my rights by immolation myself.”
In need of help
Chun had avoided help for years.
His former teacher at Seattle Pacific University (SPU) had worried.
“I thought he was quite obviously in need of some kind of help,” said Reed Davis, an SPU political-science professor who remembered Chun from a class in the ‘90s. “The problem was he was always well dressed and groomed. He was eminently polite and pleasant, but he would go through those delusional periods.”
A Hall Health doctor had once scanned Chun’s brain to prove the absence of any microchips. Chun wouldn’t believe it.
“[The doctor] told me that there are no foreign material in my brain or skull,” he had written. “I have a conviction that the microchips are traveling in my body, and they are sometimes appear on the surface of body, they are sometimes latent. If I get a more sophisticated test, it will find some microchips.”
He ignored the doctor’s advice to seek psychiatric help.
His last days: “Father, glorify me in your presence”
No UW employees had seen Chun since Aug. 25. But he didn’t fade away. The university’s Safe Campus group was busy preparing a violence prevention plan — for the UW.
“We know that he’s received news that he doesn’t like. He could come back to the workplace, and he might be angry,” said David Girts, Safe Campus director, during a 2009 interview. “We’ve all heard stories about disgruntled employees who come back and start violence.”
He paused. Then: “There’s no reason to think he would do that.”
Girts’ office, Safe Campus UW, distributed Chun’s photograph to the Facilities Services main office. They also scheduled a violence-preparedness conference for Facilities Services employees.
This, Girts said, was a routine “contingency plan.” Chun’s managers said he wasn’t dangerous, but the university wasn’t taking any chances.
Following the 2007 murder of Rebecca Greigo in Gould Hall and the Virgina Tech shootings, administrators created Girts’ office. The UW Police Department began to offer services like NightRide and NightWalk. The university had a new message: If you feel unsafe, we’ll help you out. If you’re upset, call CareLink counseling services and you’ll have five free sessions.
But Chun had been fired. He’d refused CareLink services. His union no longer represented him. His family had long ago left him, and he had forgone church attendance for years.
Nobody knew how Chun felt or what he did. His employers did know that Chun had ignored their letters for months; he might be angry with his firing, they reasoned. Indeed, UW Human Resources had received a 20-page rebuttal against his firing that Hrab, the human-resources employee, called “troubling.”
So Girts’ office called a meeting for Tuesday, Oct. 28, to address safety concerns.
But Girts’ concerns would become irrelevant two days after that. Chun signed his manifesto Thursday, Oct. 30, and reported to Red Square at 1 p.m. with his backpack, this time laden with gasoline.
The last lines of his 128-page manifesto are from John 17:1.
“Father, the time has come, Glorify your Son, that your son glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent, I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began -------.”
In Soo Chun set himself on fire in Red Square on Oct. 30, 2008, and died soon after.
News Editor Lexie Krell contributed to this story. Reach Development Editor Andrew Doughman at news@dailyuw.com.”
The Daily Headliners: A season of surprises
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 25, 2010“We were nothing but a ragtag group of journalists making our first attempt at playing organized sports in the IMA softball Rainier league.
It was tough for sure, with us having to put a paper out every school day, but for The Daily Headliners to make the Sweet Sixteen and go 4-2 overall is pretty good for a bunch of non-athletic, injury-prone chums from Communications 132.
“I wasn’t surprised,” team captain Christian Caple said. “I knew we had some players. All our guys were capable of hitting the ball over some people’s heads, and I thought we had good infield defense for the most part. And we had people who could run and catch the ball with good fundamentals. I certainly thought we were above the average caliber of what we would see.”
Sure we were disappointed to get eliminated in our second playoff game, but it was a good ride and something I’m sure future Daily employees will continue to take part in.
As far as how our season went, it was pretty eventful.
As journalists, we like to complain a lot. And we did plenty of complaining during the season. Granted, it was well-grounded complaining. Thus, we had plenty of beef with a few umpires.
But not all of our moments were gloomy.
In fact, I’d wager we had more positive experiences playing IMA softball than negative ones.
For one, some of our non-sports staff surprised everyone by buoying the team at times this season.
Editor-in-Chief and outfielder Casey Smith hit three home runs in one game against Emerald City Platinum, clearly determined to run up the score as high as possible.
Even outfielder Marlee Gross, a page designer, helped the team out in major ways. She batted at least .900 over the season — we didn’t keep exact stats — by running out a lot of check-swing singles. She also made a couple of impressive catches in right field in our final game of the season. Not bad for someone whose last experience playing softball was with a tee in front of her.
“It was really exciting, the first catch I made,” Gross said. “It was like the first play I made in the field all season. I didn’t know whether I should throw it into the infield, because I can’t throw it that far.”
But a few other major highlights stand out.
In our third game, the entire sports staff spent more time looking at our cell phones, getting updates on Terrence Jones, than on the game itself.
Our team also made some pretty impressive plays in the field.
Caple, who played shortstop, and second baseman Taylor Soper, helped turn more than their fair share of double plays, earning them the nickname, “double-play twins.”
“On the surface we aren’t twins, but underneath we are,” Soper said. “I was ready every single play, and I always wanted it. We always say ‘turn two, turn two,’ but we never thought we were actually going to. It took a lot of work. It took two good players to do it.”
Soper and Caple were also crucial in an almost unheard of 8-4-6-1 out at home against the Keystone Killers.
That’s center fielder Jacob Thorpe, to Soper, to Caple, to Nicole Ciridon, our star pitcher, for the out at home.
“I think the other team was completely speechless after that happened, and I think our team was too,” Soper said. “I don’t think we believed what we had just done. It was straight out of the Husky playbook. And they probably don’t even know how to do it, either.”
Regardless, we battled through injury. “We sit behind desks all day, so we’re not exactly star athletes or ready to even be playing intramural softball,” said News Editor and outfielder Lexie Krell.
And, we battled through some rough officiating. “It’s unfortunate,” Caple said. “You prefer to get every call that you earn.”
But with one of the best pitchers in all of IMA softball in Ciridon, maybe it’s not a surprise we finished with a winning record.
The IMA softball playoffs will go without us, and the championship game will be played tomorrow at 6 p.m. If you think our season sounds exciting, make sure you’re there tomorrow to witness intense IMA softball action in a championship that takes place just once a year.
We did all right. And I’m sure The Daily is looking forward to seeing you on the field for IMA softball next spring.
Reach columnist Allen Wagner at sports@dailyuw.com.”
UW professor fired
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 24, 2010“The UW fired research assistant professor Andrew Aprikyan Friday after a seven-year legal battle with the university stemming from an accusation of research misconduct.
In a Friday hearing, presiding judge Joan DuBuque ruled against the petition Aprikyan filed that asked the King County Superior Court to stop the university from firing him pending further review of his case.
DuBuque said that in order for her to grant an injunction preventing the termination of an employee, Aprikyan and his attorneys would have to prove that there is no other legal way for them to address the negative consequences of the termination, such as suing for damages.
“If I were to accept what the petitioner has indicated … it would mean that in every case involving a research scientist that the court would have to grant a preliminary injunction, because the reality is that the impacts of the decision to terminate would be the same for every research scientist,” DuBuque said. “So the request to issue a preliminary injunction is denied.”
Aprikyan’s appointment with the university was officially terminated Friday, Norm Arkans, UW associate vice president for media relations said.
The UW began investigating the alleged misconduct in 2003 by appointing a scientific advisory committee to review the blood-related research in question and find scientific evidence to prove or disprove the accusation of misconduct. The committee, appointed by Paul Ramsey, dean of the UW School of Medicine, determined that Aprikyan had fabricated data in two of three manuscripts under review.
A faculty adjudication committee next reviewed the case, disagreeing with the scientific committee by concluding that the university did not produce enough evidence to prove that Aprikyan had intentionally falsified his research findings.
UW President Mark Emmert reversed the faculty panel’s decision on January 22, saying that the panel did not have sufficient expertise to judge whether or not the evidence was sufficient. On March 4, he ordered that Aprikyan’s position be terminated.
In response to Emmert’s decision, Aprikyan filed a petition for judicial review. The first part of this review occurred Friday, at a hearing in which Aprikyan’s attorney, Rick Gautschi, argued the university did not follow rules regarding the investigation of scientific misconduct or the termination of an employee as listed in the Faculty Code, among other things, and therefore did not have the right to fire his client because they did not give him a fair trial.
“It must have been eerily reminiscent to him of something he had witnessed all too often growing up in the Soviet Union,” Gautschi said. “Public trials where an accused person who had allegedly committed crimes against the state was given the opportunity for a fair trial, but everybody knew that the verdict would be guilty, and the verdict was always guilty.”
Gautschi expanded on his comparison of the UW to the legal system of the Soviet Union.
“There was no presumption of innocence, in fact there was no presumption of guilt,” he said. “Guilt was predetermined prior to the start of the trial. There’s a term for that kind of proceeding. It’s called a show trial.”
Gautschi asked the court to set aside Emmert’s order to terminate Aprikyan’s appointment at the UW, saying the decision was unfair.
“This is what the respondents are asking this court to do, to place its stamp of approval on a decision by President Emmert that makes a mockery of the basic principles that underlie the system of justice in this country,” he said.
Louis Peterson, UW’s attorney in the proceeding, argued that the court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case because Emmert, Provost Phyllis Wise and other listed respondents were not notified properly of the petition, and because the university itself was not named as a respondent to the petition.
“There is a significant issue about the failure to join the University of Washington as a party to this preceding,” DuBuque said
Peterson also argued the UW acted properly and followed the Faculty Code in response to the alleged misconduct.
“Dean Ramsey spent over 100 hours of his own time reviewing the record comprehensively, and he wrote a comprehensive decision in which he found seven instances of unequivocal scientific fraud,” he said. “Under the law, that’s the final decision of the University of Washington.”
The court agreed with the UW’s legal team and declined to grant the injunction preventing the university from dismissing Aprikyan.
Aprikyan’s case will return to King County Superior Court on November 15, when the court will determine whether he is guilty of scientific misconduct. If he is found not guilty during the November hearings, Aprikyan plans to seek damages from the university.
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
[Behind the Curtain] The process of performance: Part 1, Auditions
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 24, 2010“The students waiting on the third floor of Hutchinson Hall on April 1 were full of excitement and nerves. One by one, students filed into Room 303 and had only a few minutes to secure themselves a callback. It was the start of auditions for Dead Man’s Cell Phone, written by Sarah Ruhl, which is the latest production by the Undergraduate Theater Society (UTS).
With a sign-up sheet divided into five-minute segments, students filed in one at a time to give a short monologue of their choosing. Some got additional direction; others were thanked for their time and exited quietly. Audition times and breaks were run by stage manager and senior Conner Rich.
The waiting room was full of emotion. Some actors thrived under the pressure, excited to showcase their talents. Others fought over who should go next in an effort to delay their own auditions.
“It’s one of my favorite parts,” said assistant director and sophomore Bobbin Ramsey, who enjoys the energy the actors bring to the room. “This is the launching point for what is going to be a fabulous production at the end.”
Ramsey knows how nerve-wracking it is to be put on display. She tried acting when she was younger, but decided she wasn’t good at it. Now she works as a stage manager and occasional assistant director and feels confident in her skills behind the scenes.
Taryn Pearce auditioned for one of the highly competitive spots on the cast. Her audition piece was a monologue from Where’s My Money by John Patrick Shanley, something she calls “a snarky little comedic piece.”
“You kind of tailor your monologue to the character you think you would be best suited for,” Pearce said.
She read the play beforehand and liked the mother character, Mrs. Gottlieb.
Pearce is a veteran of two other UTS productions; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Stone Cold Dead Serious. When she was a freshman, Pearce tried out for every production because, she said, it was the smart thing to do. Now a senior, she selects the plays that she auditions for. She selected this one because she liked the play, and the director, Mike Jones.
Acting in Dead Man’s and wanting to work with Jones were common motivators for many students to audition.
“What drew me to this one [was] the director,” said senior Colleen Bjurstrom. “The director and the play was a great combination.” Bjurstrom likes the rhythm of Ruhl’s plays and the how the comedy is “a little off.”
“I read the script a long time ago and really liked it,” Ramsey said. “It is very abstract.”
She worked with Jones last year on his production The Pillow Man and volunteered to be the assistant director for this quarter’s production.
“As the director, I see myself as being the outside eye and guide more than direct,” Jones said.
That might be the key to his success as a director.
“He produces interesting work,” Pearce said.
Pearce believes that finding a play and a director that he or she likes is what should come first for an actor. Money should be third, and while actors don’t get paid for working in UTS productions, Pearce is still glad to have two out of three.
At the end of every season, the directors send out an application for three plays they want to do the next year. Dead Man’s was one of the plays Jones wanted to direct.
“I have this creative fascination with death,” Jones said. “Not just what death means, but what death doesn’t mean.”
He liked that Dead Man’s was a kind of modern fairy tale with an adventurous twist. Jones found that the play had a number of layers and elements. The script made him consider whether a lot of time is spent wondering what makes someone “good” and what love is in the modern age.
Now that Jones has the chance to direct his play, he had to narrow the field. With 55 people auditioning for six roles, a lot of cuts needed to be made.
Jones said UTS is a very insular community, which makes it harder to make cuts.
“Six is incredibly small, and to have the high volume of people auditioning — this is going to be harder,” Jones said.
Many people have the misconception that not getting the coveted callback is a rejection or reflection of their acting skills, or lack thereof. That is not the case for Jones and the four other members of the selection panel.
Sitting behind the table, Jones is joined by Ramsey, Rich, Co-assistant Director Stephanie Haire, and Erin Simpson, who coordinates the props. While the panel is trying to get the right person for the right roles, part of the audition process is based on how the person looks.
“A lot of it is based solely on if this person looks like how I visualize this character,” Jones said.
Jones had almost a year to prepare for this production. He read and reread the play several times and has an image in his head of how the characters look.
Acting skill is also a factor. For those Jones has not worked with before, he may ask the actor to redo the scene with a slight change. For example, during an audition, he asked one actress to redo her scene and play it as if she were drunk.
If someone can take that direction and redo the scene without getting rattled, Jones said they might have what it takes to be on stage. How a person interprets playing a scene drunk is very telling about themselves as an actor. The selection panel looks at if the actor is swaying, staggering or falling down; how extreme is the slurring of the speech?
The panel believes there is a fine line between acting and overacting. With so few roles to fill, Jones and his crew can afford to be selective. Out of the 55 auditioning, only 20 to 25 students will get called back. From there, they have to fill two male and four female roles.
After a few hours of auditions, Jones and the group had built up their list of callbacks. Some people were immediately on the list, while other names were being held until the end to see where they stood.
“We’ve had a lot of good people come in,” Ramsey said. “Auditions are everyone doing their own thing. Callbacks are direct competition.”
Reach reporter Peter Sessum at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
U.S. track stars visit Greek philanthropy
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 21, 2010“The Pi Beta Phi sorority’s slam-dunk contest, part of its Arrow Games philanthropy this week, attracted two unexpected guests from the U.S. national track team Tuesday.
Ed Wright, national-track-team high jumper from the Bay Area, and Norris Frederick, a high jumper and long jumper who graduated from the UW in 2008, both stopped by the contest after their manager informed them about the event.
The slam-dunk contest is one part of Pi Beta Phi’s week-long philanthropy, Arrow Games, in which teams participate in activities to earn points. This year, 28 teams participated, with registration costs going toward First Book, a non-profit organization that provides new books to children in need. A flag-football tournament runs throughout the week as part of the competition, with events like the slam-dunk contest and an ice-cream feed also held for teams to earn points.
Each team selected one participant to show off their slam-dunk skills, with Pi Beta Phi seniors scoring each participant on a scale from one to 10. The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity won the contest.
The track-team members were in attendance by chance. Amanda Dootson, sophomore and Pi Beta Phi vice president of philanthropy, was contacted by the team’s manager earlier that day about the competition.
“I got a call from their manager at about 3 p.m., expressing their interest in the event,” Dootson said. “I explained to him more about the event and where the proceeds go, and we met up later at the house and brought them down here.”
The Delta Upsilon fraternity initially planned to host the event, but after the post of the basketball hoop collapsed under one of the track stars during a slam dunk, it was moved to Psi Upsilon’s basketball court.
Arrow Games has raised roughly $3,600 so far, not including T-shirt sales and a silent auction that will end later this week.
Reach reporter Erin Flemming at news@dailyuw.com.”
Relay teams to remember cancer victims
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 21, 2010“Senior Danielle Barash will recognize her aunt and others who have been affected by cancer by walking the track at Husky Stadium this Saturday with about 3,000 other participants in UW’s Relay For Life.
“My primary motivation is my aunt,” said Barash, who is the top individual fundraiser for this year’s event. “She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma as a teenager, recovered and got a second life, but passed away of complications at 35, about 10 years ago. It was probably the first time I found out what cancer was.”
UW’s Relay For Life has 215 teams this year, mainly composed of UW students and alumni, along with high-school students and non-profit-organization teams, which raise money throughout the year for the American Cancer Society.
The stories told by participants underline how cancer is ever pervasive, with 1 in 3 people diagnosed with a form of cancer in his or her lifetime.
Barash individually raised almost $12,000 this year by sending out e-mails to friends and family, describing her story to others and asking for their donations.
“To raise money, I write a letter that essentially explains my experience with cancer, and how cancer doesn’t discriminate and affects people of all ages, shapes, sizes,” said Barash, who will participate in the relay for the fifth time this year. “Some of the people who have been affected by cancer have been some of the healthiest people I have known.”
The event starts Saturday at 2 p.m., with the first lap walked by cancer survivors, and lasts until 8 a.m. Sunday.
“The theory is that cancer never sleeps, so for 18 hours, neither will we,” said Darrah Kauhane, one of the UW Relay for Life chairs. “We will keep on fighting and walking against this disease so that we can eradicate it.”
The goal of the event is twofold: First, to raise money to fund cancer research, with most of the money going to local research institutions like the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Center. Second, to raise awareness about cancer and early detection, and to bring people together in the fight against cancer.
UW’s Relay For Life this year has raised more than $200,000 and brought together more than 2,800 participants. It is the biggest event hosted by the UW Campus each year and receives a large amount of support from UW fraternities and sororities, with more than 40 Greek houses raising more than $160,000 collectively.
“I see Relay For Life as a really powerful experience that culminates your efforts of fundraising by getting you to do something visual to equate to your fundraising,” said Joseph Hegge, the team leader of Beta Theta Pi’s team. “It gives you a face to put with fundraising.”
“I think that the actual participation in the event, with walking the track, and meeting people who are actually willing to go out and say, ‘This is my way of saying I want to be a part of this fight’ — that makes the event physically and mentally symbolic,” said Vera Hoang, a UW freshman and the team leader of AcroDawgs. “It’s a night that makes you think of the difference you can make … you have to be there to experience it.”
Reach reporter Evelyne Kolker at news@dailyuw.com.”
Professor has “last word” with senior class
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 21, 2010“After 18 years of work as a police officer in Mountlake Terrace and years of experience as a lecturer in the sociology and law, societies and justice programs, professor Jonathan M. Wender got the opportunity to give “The Last Word” to the senior class of 2010 last night.
For the past six years, the Alumni Association has sponsored “The Last Word,” giving seniors a chance to vote for their favorite professor to give a “totally uncensored” speech on anything.
This year, about 20 percent of the senior class filled out an online poll to see who would give the last word. Kimberly Cartagena, a senior communications and sociology major, voted for Wender.
“He is so funny; he is hilarious, and he makes the lectures memorable with crazy examples,” Cartagena said.
Wender brought a large helping of excitement as he walked into the room, immediately exclaiming, “No mic, no nothing,” and proceeded to turn on a blank overhead projector as he imitated a student texting, which he said was payback for all the times students texted in his classes.
Shortly after his introduction and a few jokes about “exoticizing the familiar,” Wender began to talk about the importance of projecting one’s self with relation to the word “hope.”
Projecting is the act of casting something forward, he said, as he projected his voice and tossed a chair across the stage.
Hope is future-oriented, he said. He drove the point that hope is one of the greatest things a person can have, because it gives people the ability to think about what will happen in the future, which then gives people the ability to change the present.
At the end of the lecture, the floor opened up questions for Wender. When asked if there was only one true love for a person, Wender looked at his wife, whom he married this year, and answered: “There is one. Yeah, only one.”
On a more serious note, Wender discussed the scariest situation he ever faced while being a police officer; he said he’d had a gun pulled on him by a man who he later learned murdered three people.
In the end, Wender emphasized the importance of having hope and giving hope to others.
“The capacity to hope is one of the greatest things humans can do,” he said.
Reach contributing writer Reid Backstrom at development@dailyuw.com.”
Free Speech Friday: May 21, 2010
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 21, 2010“In the spirit of being an English major/teacher-to-be, in this week’s letter I will be doing a writing workshop. Three lucky writers have been selected who have published in this paper in the recent past. Let’s do some work on your arguments.
Our first writer is Aaron Freeman with his letter from Free Speech Friday two weeks ago, in response to my own previous letter. First, Aaron, realize that my position is that Emmert not be allowed to “avoid” budget cuts, and than my goal is more complex than “avoiding them” myself. I’m no economist, but you may want to brush up a bit with the real world (and seriously, what “real world” experience do you have with the selection of extremely highly paid executives?) You claim that we need someone with Emmert’s “talents” (whatever those are), thus we pay greatly. However, this demand for a highly paid professional panhandler, is created by a small number of people in the administration—it does not arise naturally from the setting of an institution of higher education. All I have suggested is that the needs we have for a President on this campus be decided by as many people as possible, this is called democracy. The other option is blind faith in those who will decide, which seems fine, until you feel the squeeze. This squeeze, which you would like to blame on the “economic recession” is certainly an unavoidable reality, which is why all who are affected should be deciding how we proceed. And please Aaron, before you point fingers at the recession/depression/downturn, realize that it was not an act of nature, and those responsible are being held responsible by our government—try reading the headlines. Furthermore, that it will “undoubtedly pass”, and leave us right back where we started is a big claim, and not something that I want to wait around for. You may be content to “suck it up” indefinitely, but I am not.
Next up is William Ray, with his piece entitled “Losing Emmert will impact the UW negatively.” William, first of all, I can’t find a single reason in your piece to support your title. Oh, found one—that Emmert led an “unsuccessful” campaign against budget cuts (or maybe still is...?) Basically, your argument boils down to this: those interested in change on this campus have “castigate[d]” Emmert, so he took off. This much seems true to me, but doesn’t any effective public figure face opposition? Isn’t their ability to gracefully handle opposition a big factor in their effectiveness? What do you call someone who runs away when they are challenged? The only other thing of substance you have to offer is that being nice to administrators will attract talented people and, presumably, encourage strong performance. I’m not sure how you interact with people, but I demand that those around me earn my respect. Honestly, if someone in the administration steps up to resolving the disparity between what is best for students and what is happening here, I’ll bake them a fucking cake.
And finally, we have Casey Smith’s staff editorial titled “Emmerts strong leadership will be missed.” Seriously, Casey, I don’t want to imply that you might have some self esteem issues, but—Emmert is not God, and you did not meet him, I did. You watched him give prepared statements in a controlled environment. This is like saying that you’ve met the actors who play your favorite characters because you’ve watched their movies. You have no idea what the man actually does. Your story, about Emmert’s quick quip to the challenge he received, proves nothing. Imagine if he had asked how many people brushed their teeth that morning, how many people would have stood? In any case, I’m sure that those people would be willing to have a conversation about their salary, Emmert is not. Let’s see here, oh yeah, the other piece of evidence that you cite is how much older Emmert looks since taking office (probably something you heard about US presidents once). People age. I may have just rocked your world, but we are all getting wrinklier, even you. Six years is a while. Pull up some photos of Michael Jackson and see how well your argument applies.
Scott Yeager
I have noticed in the last few months the installation of waterless/flushless urinals in men’s rooms. Above many of these devices are chrome placards stating the use of the new device “will save 40,000 gallons of water per year”.
While I certainly am no genius, I can operate a calculator, have been operating urinals for nearly 60 years and that sounded like a lot of water!
From prior experience (shall we say “first hand”?), I have read on a number of old fashioned plumbing devices “.9 gallons per flush”.
So I took the 40,000 gallons and divided by 365 days and got 109.6 gallons of water per day.
Then I divided our 109.6 gallons by 8 working hours and got 13.7 gallons per hour.
Then I divided 60 minutes by 13.7 gallons per hour and got 1 gallon (flush) every 4.38 minutes!
The facility I am referring to had two of these devices so…somebody is trying to tell me one of those devices is being used every 2.2 minutes of every day for 365 days a year?
The one thing I know for sure is this current “Green” fad is producing a lot of BS in some places.
Don’t ask me to believe it all just because it is stated on a nice chrome placard.
Konrad Lau
Sedro-Woolley
In response to “Stripping for charity” …
I just wanted to say that one of the photographs taken by The Daily for the Undie Run Article today is just plain unfortunate... The top photo has a guy right in the center with his hand down his underwear. It’s kind of gross, so hopefully the Daily can pay attention to some of those things in the photos in the future!!
Sincerely,
Beth Gawne(a junior at the UW)
Hello! I am writing this letter to ask for the Daily to write more articles about the world outside of the University. I know the Daily is designed to be a student focused newspaper, with articles about the University and University life, but I would also appreciate reading some articles about international affairs and/or domestic affairs. Especially concerning to me is the lack of coverage on some current day issues of great importance, like the oil “eruption” off the coast of Florida that will scar the South-Eastern U.S. coast for years to come and will probably destroy many peoples’ livelihoods (even more than Katrina did). I would really love to see more articles about it. Also, issues like the crisis in Europe (Greece is in dire peril, Portugal and Spain look iffy) or a discussion of the current primaries for candidates of the various parties (Republican, Democrat etc.) that are happening would also be interesting. Also, the University has many RSOs - Talking more about!
RSOs on campus, or having a small section with RSO news would be nice - they could talk about what they are doing, or send in notices for collaborative calls or fund-raisers for things like helping people deal with the South-East Coast oil spill. Now, I know the Daily needs ad revenues, but a small section would help raise awareness for the Daily and RSOs mutually, and could only help the Daily continue being one of the best student-run newspapers in the United States.
Sincerely,
Matthew P. FitzGerald
Junior, University of Washington-Seattle
In response to “Star-bred fate” …
Horoscopes fuel my fire. It is a comfort to know what to expect in the upcoming week. The horoscopes in the daily lay the foundation for what is to come. However, lately I have to come to realize that these horoscopes make zero sense. Where do your predictions come from? Could you please sight your sources? Or do you just put your hand into a bag and grab at random? I know that not everyone believes in what is written, but it is also known that some people too. For example, today the person sitting next to me read that they are going to probably die. Disconcerted, she broke down into tears. I would just like to make sure that the Daily is aware of the emotional effect it has on people. Through the horoscopes is just one small example.
Laura Lee Dootson
Student (graduating 2013)
Un-declared major
In response to “Sometimes it’s okay to plug in and zone out, even on vacation” …
Dear Daily,
This letter is in response to the article “Sometime’s it’s okay to plug in and zone out, even on vacation” by Rebecca Kuensting printed in the edition for May 20th, 2010. This article reminded me of the most depressing aspect that existed when I went a study abroad trip in Spring 2009 to Rome and then down south to Calabria in Italy with the Italian Department. In Rome I shared an apartment with the 4 other guys on the trip, and every night I would come back and they would be clustered around the table with their lap-tops enjoying the only space that had wireless connections. This was incredibly depressing – when I experimented staying in the apartment, they stayed on their laptops for incredible stretches of time (i.e. the whole day) – we were in one of the oldest and most interesting cities on the planet, and much of the time my co-guys spent was in my opinion wasted on computers rather than exploring the place. Going on a study-abroad trip is not a “Vacation!” and I take offense to that. The program I was on had 30 or so spots for more than 100 applicants – we weren’t there to enjoy our computers or our music, we were there to experience the city and live for a brief moment outside of the tunnel-vision perspective of the United States. I didn’t bring my laptop, and was exploring till 2 A.M. practically every day. Eat well and drink water to not get tired.
Matthew P. FitzGerald
Junior, University of Washington-Seattle
International Studies Major
Everyone seems to be geared up to celebrate the passing of the old HUB building. Room is being made to accommodate the building of the new and improved HUB. Bright and airy designs, etc. will be featured. But for people in the disability community, especially those who are wheelchair users or those with other mobility issues, there was sadness and frustration. It appeared as if the idea of accessibility had not wholly taken root in the design of the new HUB. It appeared as if the participation of people with disabilities on the planning committees had been overlooked and was for naught. It seemed as if the only way to be heard was to raise voices in protest and appeal to the campus at large.
From the outside it looked good, the entrances were all flat. But get inside the main entrance, and there you have those mobility busters: steps! Or the other option was the social disadvantage of having to go to an alternate entrance to enter the building in an accessible location. It’s kind of a drag to always have to say “Meet you inside” or have conversations end because you can’t enter or exit a place quickly and fluidly as your abled compatriots can.
So imagine the elation of the disability community to find that all of their hopes for the new HUB were not in vain. The word is that the area right inside the main new HUB entrance is going to be equipped with ramps on either side of the steps to allow those students who need it a place to enter the facility readily along with the rest of the student. This shows more of what can be seen as being in tune with not only the letter of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) law, but the spirit of it as well. Kudos to everyone who was a part of the discussions that resulted in making this happen. It is this kind of change that makes me have hope that the University of Washington can become a place of welcome and inclusion for all.
Cynthia Sessoms
Student Disability Commission Director
Eavesdropping on Emmert
A funny thing happened the other day. I was sitting outside at Shultzy’s, grading papers, when a group of gentlemen – three younger and one older – sat down at the table next to me and started talking about UW. I recognized Jake Faleschini, departing president of the GPSS, so I assumed it was an informal meeting over beers with some fellow GPSS officers and a UW administrator. Since I’m a writing teacher, I’ve honed the fine skill eavesdropping. Before long, my ears perked up at a comment regarding a new job in Indianapolis and some business concerning the NCAA. I looked over, more closely now, and realized this was no ordinary UW administrator, but the Man himself, Mark Emmert.
I won’t recall the entire conversation I overheard as this group of distinguished public servants finished three half-liters of ale apiece, but I was particularly struck by a quick conversation (very brief, indeed) regarding why students aren’t more politically active in their local communities, namely at UW. Emmert was stumped. One of the younger fellows thought it was due to the lack of mandatory “civics” classes. I bit my lip and help my tongue.
I don’t doubt Emmert is a nice guy. And from what I observed in the back of Shultzy’s, he seems like a good drinking buddy (he even picked up the tab!). And I’m sure I would enjoy watching a ballgame with him at our soon-to-be-renovated Husky Stadium. But such qualities do not a good president make. In all honesty, I think it’s pretty low for Emmert to cut and run when the UW needs a strong leader. What example does this set for students trying to cultivate a passion for public service? Considering the anti-socialist rhetoric rippling across our country right now, embodied in the tea party movement, public institutions are not going to have it easy in the near future. So when the money’s tight, abandon your post and take a job that pays double.
The problem isn’t UW’s lack of civic classes. The problem is clearly much larger, more unruly, very real, and fundamental to the vitality of our PUBLIC university. It’s about educational vision and academic virtue. It’s about the role of a public university in a democratic society. It’s about making a responsible commitment to the citizens of this state: no matter how poor, how disenfranchised, how downtrodden, there is a place for you amongst the best and the brightest.
But the best and the brightest don’t seem to notice their education being compromised. Maybe it doesn’t matter; because they’re already on the way to a healthy financial future. But as the past few years have shown, what might look healthy on the outside is often broken on the inside. In a recent Daily article (“Regents speak to ASUW senators about search for president,” 5/19/10), UW regent Kristianne Blake is quoted, saying, “Mark has done a good job deciding what cuts need to be made to preserve the same level of academics, and we’re going to try to find someone who will fit into the university structure who will do the same.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the new president of the NCAA is a Dawg at heart; but more than a charming purple-and-gold personality, the UW needs a leader who won’t merely “fit into the university structure” of making cuts that jeopardize the academic integrity of this university. We need a president who will fight against those cuts on behalf of a conviction stronger than school pride – the kind of conviction that doesn’t just bark, but knows how and when to bite.
Arendt Oak Speser, PhC
University of Washington
Department of English”
ASUW addresses lack of endorsements for new director of organizational relations
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 21, 2010“Although Jonathan Yan won the position of Director of Organizational Relations during the ASUW election, he’s about to manage four ASUW groups whose directors and members largely endorsed another candidate.
His opponent Rory Raabe, current assistant manager for Rainy Dawg Radio, had more connections with the enterprises than Yan. Yan, however, says he can build those relationships.
“My strength is definitely my interpersonal skills and my ability to connect with people and foster strong relationships,” he said.
Yan also said his responsibilities as Zeta Psi recruitment chair and current ASUW Associate Director of Community Relations have prepared him for his role as Director of Organizational Relations.
Many employees at Rainy Dawg reacted negatively to Yan’s campaign speeches, during which he said he would make changes to Rainy Dawg Radio if elected.
“He was really aggressive in arguing changes to Rainy Dawg, which was presumptuous of him, since he’s never been to the station to talk with staff to see what we think,” Raabe said. “Creating a hi-def radio station is not something he has authority to do. He wasn’t being realistic.”
Yan, however, said members of the current Board of Directors, including Maggie Bennett and Tim Mensing, are currently working on redefining the role of oversight of the Director of Organizational Relations. This would allow Yan more leverage with the enterprises.
Jason Baxter, manager of Rainy Dawg, is involved in the discussion to change the position.
“I’m not really worried about it,” he said. “It won’t be substantially different from years past.”
He added that he didn’t think the position had a lot of power to begin with, that it was largely communicative between the enterprises and the Board of Directors.
The Director of Organizational Relations is a liaison to the four enterprises of ASUW, which are four student-run businesses. Next year, Yan will be the liaison to the ASUW Bike Shop, Rainy Dawg Radio, the ASUW Experimental College and ASUW Off-Campus Housing Affairs.
Among these groups, many employees supported Yan’s opponent, Raabe, during the election.
Yan, a sophomore, said the knowledge he’s acquired through his accounting and marketing majors will help him be an effective director.
That knowledge has some concerned. Lauren Boubel, manager of the Bike Shop who endorsed Raabe, said she’s concerned with Yan’s “grandiose ideas” about applying business concepts to the student shop.
But despite these hesitations about Yan, she said her concerns “are just based on hearsay.”
“Jonathan has a lot of potential,” she said. “He is coming in guns blazing, which is great. I’m just concerned about the way he’s approaching things, but it could be good for a change.”
Kyle Hargus, music director at Rainy Dawg, endorsed Raabe and said communication between the board and the enterprises would’ve been easier had Raabe won.
“But at the end of the day, the goal of the office is to serve the students, and that’s what I hope Jonathan does,” he said.
Reach contributing writer Katherine Erickson at development@dailyuw.com.”
Editorial cartoon and rants and raves
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 20, 2010“Rants
According to the BBC, a Canadian doctor who has treated celebrity athletes has been charged with supplying illegal drugs to his patients. The physician is accused of supplying unnamed NFL players with human growth hormone.
A gay couple in Malawi was convicted of “unnatural acts and gross indecency,” reported The New York Times, after they held an engagement ceremony. Each man could face up to 14 years in prison.
Raves
A new columbarium in Singapore supplements funeral ceremonies with a $2 million sound and light system, and a laser light show that will be added soon, Reuters reported.
The Capitol Hill Block Party will be expanded to three days for the first time in its 14-year history this year, The Seattle Times reported. Take that, troubled economy!”
Research insider: Polluted air, Google’s flu bug and hacking cars
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 19, 2010“This column keeps track of the UW’s scientific community and the student and faculty research that takes place here each week.
Evidence connecting air pollution to cardiovascular FAILURE strengthens
The American Heart Association (AHA) has updated its scientific statement that links air pollution to heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular death.
Due to further scientific evidence gathered over the past five years, the AHA recommends limiting exposure to such pollution, especially for those with high cardiovascular risk.
The statement was published in the AHA journal Circulation. It included two co-authors from the UW — Dr. Joel Kaufman, professor of medicine, epidemiology and environmental and occupational health sciences; and Dr. David Siscovick, professor of medicine and epidemiology.
Furthermore, the statement points to fine, particulate matter from fossil-fuel combustion as a cause of cardiovascular disease.
Kaufman told UW News that air pollution can lead to heart disease by causing blood pressure to increase slightly. He said if a person lives within a football field’s distance of a major highway, his or her blood pressure could be increased at all times, and he suggested that people with heart disease not exercise outdoors when the air-quality index recommends against doing so.
Google Flu Trends important, not perfect
Google Flu Trends, which uses “search data to estimate current flu activity around the world in near real-time,” is 25-percent less accurate than the Centers for Disease Control’s national surveillance of lab tests, according to a UW study led by clinical fellow Dr. Justin Ortiz.
The findings, being reported in New Orleans this week at the American Thoracic Society 2010 International Conference, suggest Google’s method is the problem — the influenza virus doesn’t always result in influenza-like illnesses.
However, Ortiz says Google Flu Trends is still valuable, since it’s almost an immediate surveillance system.
“Google Flu Trends influenza surveillance provides an excellent public health service because it provides nationwide influenza activity data in a cheap and timely manner,” Ortiz told CNET.com. “Nevertheless, our study demonstrates that its data should be interpreted with caution and that other surveillance systems more accurately reflect influenza activity in the United States.”
Car hacked
Researchers led by UW assistant professor of computer Science and engineering Tadayoshi Kohno and UCSD Professor Stefan Savage have found that computer systems in modern cars are very vulnerable to attack, BBC News reported.
Electronic control units (ECUs) are found in modern vehicles and control several car components. By creating a software called CarShark, researchers monitored the ECUs and inserted fake packets of data, since it’s believed modern vehicles have about 100 megabytes of binary code.
Their research found that nearly every system in a car, from the engine to locks and brakes, was fragile. For instance, in one test, researchers hacked an instrument panel, turning it into a clock that counted down from 60 seconds. When it hit zero, the engine shut off and the doors locked.
Results are set to be presented at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Security and Privacy conference today in Oakland, Calif.
Reach columnist Bryden McGrath at news@dailyuw.com.”
Feeding awareness
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 19, 2010“Home for Don Elwell is a neatly folded tarp aside a boulder on the Alaskan Way Viaduct; amid the hustle and bustle of Seattleites, seagulls flying overhead, Elwell has found refuge.
But home is also where the heart is, and for Elwell, that’s the Indian reservation he left five years ago after irreconcilable conflicts arose between his father and him. No one could have predicted things would end up this way; a skilled artist and president of an Indian folklore club at a boarding school in Utah, Elwell seemed set up for success.
After high school, Elwell worked as a bartender.
“I was good at my job, and every day was an opportunity to listen to someone’s story over a drink,” Elwell said.
Now the only connection Elwell has to his past employment is an occasional paycheck from his boss — a “sympathy check,” he explained. Elwell gets by on these payments and his monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment, as his resources are worth no more than $2,000. While he claims to be actively searching for a job, homeless shelters have been an option he’s kept on the back burner; it’s an option he is reluctant to act on, as he may be ineligible for SSI payments. The SSI eligibility rulebook states, “If you live in a publicly operated community residence that serves no more than 16 people, you may get SSI.”
And he has all the more reason to take advantage of homeless shelters now: Elwell just received notice that he has 72 hours to remove himself from the premises. The city has prohibited the homeless from residing in this area.
UW freshman Christine Scullywest has organized outings to feed the homeless every Friday since the start of the year. Several students gather together to purchase sandwiches, chips and beverages from the local 2 Convenient convenience store in Terry Hall. The members walk around the area close to the viaduct and interact with the homeless. It’s typical for the members to sit down with the homeless and hear their stories.
Just outside of Elwell’s spot is the Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, a men’s homeless shelter where a line of men anxiously await entrance.
The gospel mission prides itself on its holistic approach, helping “men turn their attention toward the future and long-term change [through] residential drug and alcohol recovery, life-skills training, educational opportunities, job readiness and spiritual development.”
Most of the occupants have found themselves in the shelter for reasons separate from the “assumed.”
“The reality of homelessness is that it isn’t just about drug use,” said mission volunteer Knox Burnett. “It’s about relationships, the support structures or lack thereof.”
Director of Union Gospel Mission’s Women and Children’s shelter Stacy Cleveland notes that in the past two years, there has been a significant increase in the amount of Seattle homeless visiting homeless shelters.
At the women-and-children facility, 90 percent are victims of domestic violence, and few have completed high school.
“It should be known that these are people who aren’t coming from the streets; they’re coming from dangerous circumstances,” Cleveland said. “The street might actually be a step up for them.”
But not everyone is quick to jump on the opportunity that exists within Seattle homeless shelters. Elwell surely isn’t alone.
“People tend to be scared to enter homeless shelters if they’ve never been homeless before,” Cleveland said.
The Christian undertones of the mission have, at times, turned homeless people away from Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission.
“This is a dual operation,” Burnett said “We offer programs and church services. But many make the mistake of thinking that because it’s a Christian organization that occupants have to be Christian. Anyone and everyone is invited to the chapel to sleep.”
Scullywest has come recognize the regulars; Willie Samm is among them.
Samm is completely blind and is able to recall who Scullywest is based solely on her voice. Circumstances are a bit different this time visiting Samm. While in the past he has camped out by the Alaskan Way Viaduct, today he is in line at the Union Gospel Mission waiting to be served food.
“I don’t plan to stay here long term,” Samm said. “I’m just getting some food and heading back.”
It isn’t uncommon among occupants to make the stay a short one. While the shelter provides a two-month program and a 12-month one for women needing domestic or recovery programs at the Women and Children’s shelter, the mission doesn’t turn anyone away from coming in and out.
Earlier this year, The Seattle Times’ article on the King County One Night Count found that an estimated 6,000 people live in the county’s emergency shelters and transitional-housing programs, and The Washington State Employment Situation Report recorded that more than 94,000 King County residents were on unemployment in December.
This 2.7-percent decrease in homelessness is a mark that the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness (in its fifth year) is making steady progress. The plan acts to move the homeless from shelters to supportive housing units that are linked to social services. However, officials say there might not be a cure-all for something as prevalent as homelessness.
“Homelessness is an ambitious problem that cannot be solved with a 10-year plan,” said Joshua Okrent, a spokesman for the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, in an interview with The Seattle Times. “It’s about doing what we can.”
Maybe the issue won’t disappear in the next year — or even five years, for that matter. But Scullywest thinks the least we can do is realize that this is an issue affecting everyday people.
“Over the past couple of months, I have learned that the stereotypes that most associate with the homeless are not always true and that every person has a unique life story,” Scullywest said. “Don is motivated to get a job here in Seattle, and he also has a vast array of personal hobbies as well.”
Reach reporter Colin Gorenstein at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Balancing act
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 19, 2010“You’ve probably heard or read about a collegiate student-athlete who is an all-league, first-team type of player. They’ve got that 3.8 GPA with a double major. And all the while, they manage to uphold a steady social life, sometimes including a significant other.
Though rare, these talented people with incredible time management skills exist at nearly every Division-I college.
But then there’s senior Richard Lee.
Married with a 3-year old daughter? Check. A sociology major graduating this spring? Check. One of the country’s best golfers?
No question.
To put it into perspective, understand a typical day during the golf season for Lee. The Bellevue native wakes up around 6 a.m. and arrives on campus at 6:40 a.m. for morning workouts with his teammates on the fourth-ranked UW men’s golf team.
After workouts, it’s class from 8:30 a.m. until around 12:20 p.m. Without much time to spare, he grabs a bite to eat, and then heads straight to practice.
“I don’t really have any spare time to do anything else,” says Lee, a 2010 All-Pac-10 Second Team selection. “That’s why it is really important for me to manage my time well.”
After practice, Lee doesn’t head to the library or doze off in a dorm. Instead, he heads back home to eat dinner, get some studying in, and see two of the most important people in his life: Christine, his wife of four years, and Israella, their 3-year-old daughter.
Especially during the season, it can be hard for Lee to find time to spend with his family. He credits his wife — whom he met when he was 10 years old — for understanding that this whole process is a part of a bigger picture, and a bigger goal.
“It’s good, because my wife understands what it takes,” said Lee, who hopes to turn professional in the future. “Obviously, I want to spend time with my family, and I try to as much as I can, but I also have studying to do and all that stuff. It’s tough in that aspect.”
Lee’s path to the UW was just as extraordinary as his current schedule.
During the middle of his sophomore year at Newport High School, Lee decided he wanted to get serious about golf and moved to the Philippines. He started to golf every day and all the time.
“My mindset was that if I practice every day and play every day, I’ll get better,” he said.
But for Lee, golfing became a grind, and soon enough, he was burnt out. Two years later he was back in the States and didn’t have enough credits to jump back into high school. He took the GED exam and chose Bellevue Community College as his next destination.
For two years, Lee took classes at BCC and tried his hand on the newly instated golf team. As a new program at a community college, the competition wasn’t first-class, but that didn’t mean Lee wasn’t improving and becoming a better player. Though he spent a majority of the time as the No. 1 golfer, it wasn’t a breeze.
“There were always five or six guys that could win a tournament, so I was still competing with those guys,” Lee said. “I still had to play well to win. It was a good way for me to get better and learn.”
It was then that Lee — who had always wanted to play college golf — decided to become a Husky and transferred to the UW to play for head coach Matt Thurmond.
The fact that Lee was already married with a child wasn’t something that made Thurmond think twice. In fact, the ninth-year head coach saw it as a positive thing.
“I’m from BYU, where on the team that I was on, there was a bunch of married guys, so it didn’t seem as weird to me,” Thurmond said. “You’re dealing with 18-to-22-year-old kids with all their college stuff, so to have a guy that has his priorities [straight] is so refreshing to add that to the team. I’m looking for guys like Richard who you can add to a team. He makes everyone else realize that it’s more than just the party you’re going to or how late you’re sleeping in everyday.”
Lee’s golfing career started to blossom once he stepped on campus. As a junior, he had seven top-10 finishes and was named to the All-Pac-10 First Team while helping the UW to a Pac-10 Championship.
With a year of Division-I golf under his belt, Lee turned it up a notch this season. The All-American has played 34 rounds — tied for most on the team — and is second on the team with a 71.68-stroke average. He fired a 64 during the first round of the Pac-10 Championships and topped off his performance on the final day with a 40-foot putt on the 18th hole to clinch the UW’s second-straight Pac-10 Championship.
Lee says his better play this year has been because he’s learned a lot during the past few years. He has learned what he needs to do to be successful, and over time, Lee has matured to become one of the nation’s top collegiate golfers.
His coach says that this season, Lee’s mental state is what has helped him become the golfer he is.
“He’s in a real good place mentally at this time,” Thurmond said. “I think there were some difficulties going on in his life during this time last year. He had a great year last year, but didn’t finish the way he would have liked. Now, he seems really focused and is settled in his life; he knows what he’s doing, when he’s doing it, and how he’s going to do it.”
There is no doubt that Lee has served as a role model and mentor of sorts for his teammates. Fellow senior All-American Nick Taylor says Lee is “definitely very mature,” and that everyone on the team respects him.
“He just earns it from how he acts,” Taylor said. “He does what he needs to do and does it on time. He doesn’t command respect or anything; he just earns it.”
Though he’s married and has a daughter, it doesn’t mean Lee isn’t still a 23-year-old at heart. Lee says he “gets weird and goofy at times,” but when it comes down to it, “I think guys can trust me for advice, like an older brother.”
Lee will have one more shot to leave his mark on UW golf in the coming weeks, as the Huskies host the NCAA Golf Regionals that begin tomorrow at Gold Mountain Golf Course in Bremerton, Wash. When this season concludes, Lee will play in six or seven tournaments this summer before heading to the PGA-qualifying school in the fall.
The senior says he’ll miss the team aspect of college golf and his teammates. And though it might seem like Lee isn’t a college kid anymore, that is one of the things he’ll really miss when he graduates.
“I just love coming here every morning and seeing the campus,” the senior said. “Just the college lifestyle, I’m definitely going to miss that. And being part of the UW school itself … I think I’ll miss that, and it’s something I’ll cherish the rest of my life.”
Reach Sports Editor Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Weird world news: Floating castles, mistaken medication and gold to go
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 18, 2010“Bouncy-gyms-made-rafts, misused Benadryl and an ATM that dispenses a different form of currency were some of the stranger occurrences this week in world news.
ITALY — A trio of three young British men crossed Lake Garda in a large inflatable bouncy castle, The Metro reported. The two-hour quest consisted of both paddling and letting the wind carry them through the five-mile lake, guided through a regatta by police. The three young Londoners, Jack Watkins, Chris Hayes and Dave Sibley are now the first to cross the lake in such a vessel.
“Great Britain has such a great tradition as a seafaring nation, and we really feel we have played no role at all in adding to this,” Hayes said to The Metro. “That said, it was possibly the most fun we have ever had, and we really never believed this most frivolous of dreams would ever be realized.”
The trip was made possible as part of a contest from the car manufacturer Honda, which gave people the chance to live their dream trips as part of a documentary, with those selected traveling and being filmed in a Honda CR-Z hybrid coupe.
U.S. — The FDA has recently started urging consumers not to swallow Benadryl Extra-Strength Itch-Stopping Gel after numerous reports that people have been chugging the lotion, MSNBC reported. Between 2001 and 2009, at least 121 people have reported ingesting the gel, believing it to be other types of over-the-counter Benadryl products meant to be swallowed. In an example warning, the patient-site consumersafety.org reported how a man had grabbed the wrong medicine from the kitchen cabinet. “One small swig, and he knew he had made a mistake,” the site reported. “He threw it up, and his lips were numb for two hours.”
ABU DHABI — Beneath the Emirates Palace hotel, a “Gold to Go” ATM has been installed that dispenses pure gold to its wealthy patrons, Reuters reported. The machine, coated with a thin layer of gold, presents its customers with 320 items to choose from, including customized coins and bars that can weigh up to 10 grams. The machine was first tested in Germany, and entrepreneur Thomas Geissler believed that the United Arab Emirates would be the premier location to launch the device.
“The reason we chose Emirates Palace is because it really fits with the surroundings here,” Geissler said to Reuters, speaking of the hotel, which has gold-coated ceilings. Through a computer system, the machine also updates the gold price every 10 minutes to keep up with international market values.
“On the first night, we had a lot of demand,” Geissler said. “One customer even bought one item of every product we have.”
Reach Weekender Editor Ivan Vukovic at news@dailyuw.com.”
Tightening the boundaries
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 18, 2010“Students received a timely warning e-mail on May 4 about a bank robbery on University Way Northeast. But when a man robbed the Key Bank in University Village on April 20, no warning was sent. While the two crimes may seem similar, the UW Police Department (UWPD) has started following stricter criteria for which incidents warrant notification.
“Sometimes you can go to the far extreme if you don’t … understand the nuances of what is required,” UWPD Chief John Vinson said. “The circumstances seem very similar, but they are different in terms of the spirit of the law.”
After meeting with the Office of Student Life and the UW’s media communications office starting fall quarter, the UWPD decided to follow stricter criteria for notifying students of crimes. Students now receive significantly fewer e-mails, and the UWPD has begun using alternative forms of notification.
When deciding what information to release to students about campus crimes, the UWPD — along with other college police departments in the country — has to follow the guidelines of federal law in the form of the Jeanne Clery Act. The Clery Act requires university police departments to put out timely warnings of criminal incidents that represent an ongoing threat to university communities, among other requirements. The term “timely” is never defined in the act.
“The decision was made to reevaluate our process to ensure that we were adhering to the requirements of the Clery Act and the Clery Act regulations,” Vinson said.
Vinson said the UWPD was following the rules and requirements of the Clery Act before, but that it was releasing timely notifications for crimes that were not active threats to the community.
These increased standards significantly decreased the number of timely warnings students received this year compared to last year, but Vinson says many notifications from past years did not meet criteria for an ongoing threat to students.
“Year to date, we’ve had four timely warnings disseminated,” he said. “Last year, we disseminated 15; of those 15, five talked about arrests that were made.”
If an arrest has been made in a crime, it does not qualify as an ongoing threat, and Vinson said it should not merit notification of a criminal incident.
Another newly enforced standard, involving the proximity of the crime to university-owned buildings, determines whether an ongoing threat is present and if a timely warning notification should be released to students.
According to the Clery Act, if a crime occurs “adjacent” to campus, and also meets the criteria of an ongoing threat, then a timely warning notification must be sent to students. While it may seem ambiguous, Vinson said this measure of distance is actually very specific.
Vinson said “adjacent to campus” means the streets and sidewalks across the street from campus boundaries, or campus buildings. Therefore, the UWPD is under no obligation to notify students of crimes even two blocks from campus or a university-owned building. Vinson said, however, that if a crime occurs a few blocks from campus and does represent a threat to the UW community, the UWPD will issue a warning.
“If it’s a situation that we feel does create an imminent and ongoing threat to our campus community, then we go beyond that,” he said, “which is what we’ve done in the past.”
While some students may be disappointed they may no longer be notified about less-serious crimes off campus, the ASUW student safety committee agrees with the decision to reevaluate the standards for issuing timely warning notifications.
“What we feel is that the perception of crime in general affects students’ view of how safe this campus is,” Tunny Vann, ASUW director of community relations said.
Vann said the committee has been asking the UWPD to use stricter guidelines for releasing timely warning e-mails for some time.
The Clery Act also requires schools to maintain 60-day incident logs. The accuracy of the log on the UWPD’s website depends on how fast an officer can finish an incident report, Vinson said. When an incident report has not been completed, the incident is listed as “Department Classification.”
Vinson said this doesn’t mean the case is classified, only that it has not been entered completely into the log. Some cases take longer to file than others, he said.
“One thing I don’t want, which hasn’t happened yet but we want to make sure it’s avoided, is … those more serious crimes or situations falling by the wayside,” Vinson said.
He stressed that very serious cases, such as assaults, are always completed before the responding officer leaves for the day.
With the stricter criteria, the UWPD is developing new strategies to inform students about crime trends, including UWPD Crime Watch bulletins.
Sergeant John Bolding, of the UWPD Support Services, said the bulletins can inform students, faculty and staff of crimes that may target specific parts of campus.
“It’s more of a targeted environment,” he said. “If we start getting a lot of car prowls in certain parking lots or certain areas of campus, we just want to notify that particular population.”
Bolding said notifications such as the Crime Watch bulletins and timely warning notifications can aid the UWPD in its efforts to apprehend suspects.
“We have had some situations from notifications where somebody recognizes the description of the person we’re looking for, and that has led to timely apprehensions,” he said.
While many of the notifications of criminal incidents sent out last year were warranted, Eric Godfrey, vice provost of student life, said too many notifications could leave students numb to the idea of crime on campus.
“It’s a very delicate balance between wanting to inform the community and not wanting to saturate the community and desensitize them,” he said.
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Editorial cartoons and rants and raves
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 18, 2010“Rants:
According to The Christian Science Monitor, riots in Bangkok regarding the assassination of the opposition party’s leading candidate have caused 34 deaths.
A contract firefighter has been charged with committing multiple arsons around the Colville Indian Reservation, KING 5 reported.
Raves:
AFP reported that former-U.S. President Bill Clinton is raffling off a day with himself to help pay for his wife’s campaign debts from 2008.
According to The Associated Press, a tube stuck into the Gulf Coast is beginning to divert oil from leaking into the ocean.”
Relating to a global language
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 17, 2010““Could you imagine 50 students in one class looking at their teacher at the front of the class as if he or she were an actor?” asks Chonwipa Fuangkarn, a participant in this summer’s International Teaching English as a Foreign Language (I-TEFL) program. “I am that English teacher in Thailand.”
For professionals such as Fuangkarn, who teach English to middle- or high-school students in countries such as Thailand, China and Korea, the struggle is not learning English vocabulary but how to present the vocabulary to students and develop the skills to engage them.
“The teaching atmosphere of Thai classrooms is totally different from what you all have here in the states,” Fuangkarn said. “One of my jobs is to open my students’ mind and to make them understand the language, culture and everything about the other side of the world.”
This summer, the UW Educational Outreach International Specialized Programs will be introducing a new program for foreign students, or ”participants,” as the program likes to refer to them. The I-TEFL program is a 120-hour, four-week intensive certificate program for non-native speakers of English who teach English in their country or teach other subjects in English. I-TEFL participants have already obtained a high level of English fluency — equivalent to a graduate student — and the program is meant to help them gain more confidence in teaching English.
“We’ve understood that when [the participants] learn English, there’s a lot of memorization and translating from their own language to English, so when they come here [to the program], they learn how to communicate better,” said Lisa Kim, an instructor in the English Language Program who will be teaching I-TEFL this summer.
Participants must read the course textbook before leaving their country so there is more time to practice the methods taught in the book. The program includes coursework on modern teaching methodology that will help teachers develop resources and activities they can use in classrooms in their home countries.
Most of the participants are required to study English for at least six to seven years, and many already have experience living abroad. In addition to attending lectures and workshops, participants will observe and interact with experienced UW English-language instructors, develop new ideas for their own lessons and visit local schools.
“We are going to take them to the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center,” Kim said. “[It’s] a place where new students between 12 to 18 years old study English before going to high school. Our participants in the I-TEFL program will get hands-on experience by going to the center, joining students and observing the class.”
Besides visiting classrooms and developing lesson plans, participants will be videotaped. The videos will help participants gauge their pronunciation and accent so they can critique and improve their skills. The ability to get feedback from instructors as well as other participants is helpful, because they will be able to connect with the class and become more effective teachers. Participants can develop their own teaching methods and share their experiences with others.
“The I-TEFL program gives participants the chance to get into this environment and meet people from different cultures doing the same things as them and share teaching techniques with each other,” Kim said.
Although the program is available to non-native speakers of English from any country, East-Asian students have displayed a high interest in the program. For countries such as Korea and China, the I-TEFL program is flexible. Ministries and governments from those areas can send their students abroad to improve their professional skills, or students can come on their own to study.
“In other countries where English is not the main language, English is taught as a foreign language, but in the United States and other English-speaking countries, English is then called ‘English as a second language,’” Kim said. “One of the challenges with English being taught as a foreign language is that your life is communicated in your home language.”
Many I-TEFL applicants value the professional benefits from the program. Having a certificate that shows they completed an intensive program in an English-speaking country is a highly valuable experience, which will make participants more desirable for graduate schools and the job market.
“Students with a high English proficiency earn better jobs and make more money and contribute to the economy,” said Lillian Brunner, assistant coordinator of International Specialized Programs. “So, the governments have more of an incentive to encourage English learning at a higher level, which is what the I-TEFL program does.”
Since English is becoming a global language, and in many countries it is the language of the sciences and business, learning English is a way for people around the world to relate to one other and find a common ground. All major universities and upper-level institutions now have coursework in English as a component of their program. However, countries are having trouble finding suitable teachers that are qualified for their specific needs.
There is a difference between being able to speak English and being able to teach and present subject matter in English in an effective and interesting manner. The growing trend of English education has shifted away from English education to education in English.
“For countries such as Korea, there is a need for teachers to not only speak English but to be able to discuss math and science in English and go to conferences and speak in subject areas in detail,” said Cheryl Wheeler, director of International Specialized Programs.
For international students who come to the United States to study a specific subject in English and then return to their home country to teach in that subject, I-TEFL will be a relevant program because it will give professionals the ability to gain successful tools for teaching, presenting at conferences and publishing in international journals.
“I-TEFL program is the way that can improve my vision and my teaching skills so that I will be able to give my students a worldwide point of view and enough skills in order to live successfully in the 21st century and be a potential human resource of my country,” Fuangkarn said.
Reach reporter Charlotte Anthony at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Staff editorial: Beware the watchdogs
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 17, 2010“To all newly elected officers of the ASUW Board of Directors for the 2010-11 school year,
Congratulations on your recent victories in last week’s elections. You campaigned hard, spread yourself all over campus and used original (albeit sometimes-questionable) marketing tactics, and now eight of you have secured yourself positions for next year.
Now the hard part begins, and we’re not going to make it any easier for you.
You have publicly promised proactive and innovative strategies for addressing some of the biggest issues on campus, including rising tuition and student fees, the stabilization of endangered programs such as the U-PASS, crime in the U-District, the transparency of your association’s various entities and more.
Often these promises are filled with nothing but political buzzwords that are used as a means to get elected. However, rest assured that your promises won’t be forgotten, so we hope you’re prepared to follow through on them.
In such a critical time period, when the upcoming school year will see many of the aforementioned battles played out, The Daily’s goal will be making sure you’re held accountable for the strength of your efforts, or potentially, lack thereof. Don’t be surprised to see us evaluate your progress several times next year.
This means we expect to see your “buzz marketing” ideas applied in measurable ways. We expect to see your views on what student fees should be going toward line up with those of the rest of the campus. We expect to see you rally your association and get not dozens, but hundreds of students down to Olympia next year on a regular basis. We expect to see your programming reach out to all areas and demographics around campus. We expect to see participation and awareness of ASUW surge next year, despite the closure of the HUB and your move down to the faraway Condon Hall.
After all, that is what you told everyone you would do.
You’ve seen the online comments on our articles accusing ASUW of being exclusive and relevant only to its members. Change that mentality. Those accusations stem from the average student’s lack of awareness of how ASUW is impacting him or her. Give that student a reason to have that awareness. The 5,217 votes cast in the elections are a far cry from capturing the full attention of the campus, which needs to be one of your biggest priorities if you wish to live up to your titles as student leaders.
Our request to you: Do your jobs, and do them better than anybody has before, because the climate of the current times has called for it. You’ve presented your visions, collected your votes, and are now in a position where your only two options are to either excel or disappoint. Take your pick.
We’ll be watching.
This is the opinion of The Daily’s Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is: Editor-in-Chief Casey Smith, News Editor Lexie Krell, Opinion Editor Ashleen Aguilar, Copy Chief Maddie Hall, Lifestyles Editor Nicole Ciridon, and Weekender Editor Ivan Vukovic.
Editorial Board meetings are always open to students. Meetings are held every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the Daily newsroom, Communications Building, Room 132. Check out dailyuw.com/community for topics of conversation. Reach the Editorial Board at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Then and now: An office fire, a new campus-safety service and synchronized swimming
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 14, 2010“Campus arson, safety programs and an alternative swim team were the topics of several articles printed by The Daily this week throughout history.
Arsonist sought in university fires — May 18, 1989
A string of three fires in the Electrical Engineering Building raised suspicions of an arsonist on the UW campus. The fires, all of which happened within several weeks of one another, resulted in more than $15,000 in damage. The first fire was traced to a small pile of burning papers outside professor Yongmin Kim’s office door. Originally labeled an accident, the Seattle Police Department reconsidered when a second fire was set in front of his temporary office shortly afterward and another occurred in the building’s basement.
Funding approved for campus escort service — May 9, 1989
After years of discussion and escalating crime rates, the university implemented an after-hours escort service for students on campus. The $20,000 pilot program went into effect in fall 1989 and was funded primarily by the ASUW Task Force on Crime Prevention. An additional $40,000 was raised by Student Affairs once the three-month pilot program was successfully completed. The program ran five days a week, from dusk to midnight. Initially, the service did not have vehicles but provided personnel to accompany students to their destinations. Though it was well-received on campus, the program risked extinction because of $80,000 in cuts to the Services and Activities Fee. Fortunately, reductions were absorbed by small adjustments to the spring schedule. Today, the escort service has been expanded to the surrounding neighborhood.
The ‘other’ Washington swim team is in sync — May 10, 1989
Although never featured on ESPN or Northwest Sports Television, the UW synchronized swimming club was a part of campus athletics since the 1950s. While the Silver Fish did not compete against other schools, the 40-person team performed at Seafair and occasionally Green Lake.
“Some people think of it as a granny sport. You’d be surprised at the amount of strength it takes to tread water,” said teammate Angel Brauer.
Swimmers must stay afloat while following their teammates and the beat of the music. Unlike other sports, participants are also judged on their appearance. Goggles are not permitted, and hair and makeup are just as much a part of the performance as the routine itself. Unfortunately, synchronized swimming is gone from the UW, along with the entire men’s and women’s swim programs, which were cut in 2009 because of a $2.8 million deficit in the athletic department.
Reach columnist Celina Kareiva at news@dailyuw.com.”
Two campus-wide renovation projects, ECC update, online-course pilot project
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 14, 2010“The UW Board of Regents meets once a month to make decisions that affect the campus community. This month, the regents approved the budget for two campus-wide renovation projects, reviewed an update of the Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC) expansion, and approved the extension of an online-course pilot project.
Safe Campus project
The Board of Regents approved $8 million of state funds to be used for modifying the fire-alarm systems of 150 buildings across campus.
This endeavor, called the Safe Campus Fire and Life Safety Monitoring and Notification System Project, will provide central monitoring of the alarm systems for 144 buildings on campus and six new buildings currently under construction. The new central-monitoring system will broadcast mass notification to at least 90 of these campus buildings in the event of public-safety threats, according to the proposal.
The new system will replace the existing Central Fire Alarm Receiving System, which was installed in the 1960s.
“The system’s mechanical components are beyond their useful life and no longer cost-effective to maintain,” the administration and the finance, audit and facilities committee wrote in the proposal.
The target completion of the project is June 2011.
Smart Grid Project
The Board of Regents approved a $9.3 million budget for a project that will monitor campus-wide energy usage.
The UW Smart Grid project has several components. Smart meters will be installed in 148 campus buildings, selected generation facilities and the campus medium-voltage power-distribution system. Among other components, 32 building automation systems and 8 building lighting systems will be modified to send data to the smart grid; a private campus intranet network will be expanded to collect energy data; and two computer hardware and software systems will be purchased to analyze campus energy usage, according to the proposal.
“The upside potential for this project is integration into student life, research, education and the position of the university around sustainability and clean energy is enormously important,” said President Mark Emmert during discussion of the project. “It will give us very high visibility in this arena … It’s far more than just an energy retrofit.”
The Smart Grid project will be funded by a combination of sources, including a grant from the Department of Energy, university building funds, Seattle City Light funds, state-treasury loans, and donations.
The project was first introduced to the Board of Regents in November 2009 and is expected to be completed by May 2012.
ECC expansion update
While the current budget for the ECC expansion — funded by student fees — is $15.5 million, the Capital Projects Office is working with the design team to lower the total cost to $13.95 million — 10-percent less — in response to prior cost concerns expressed by the Board of Regents.
The expansion entails the demolition of the current 10,000-square-foot, single-story ECC building, and the construction of a new 25,000-square-foot, three-story building in its place.
In spring quarter 2012, a $90 student fee to fund the ECC, HUB and Hall Health projects will be implemented — an estimated $11 of which is allocated specifically to the ECC expansion.
The new ECC building will be occupied by March 2012.
Online-course pilot-project extension
In February 2009, the Board of Regents granted approval of a pilot project that would charge an additional $350 fee to undergraduate students for each online class they take. While initially granted just for the current academic year, the board approved extension of this financial model for the pilot project into the 2010-11 academic year.
“The extension of this pilot would help us determine the usefulness of online courses in a broader spectrum of disciplines, its role in large lecture classes, and the differences between its effectiveness in lower- and upper-division courses,” the academic and student affairs committee wrote in the proposal.
The $350 fee is used for online-course development, instruction and administrative costs of the classes with at least 40 students.
The feedback from students regarding this year’s online-course pilot project was generally positive, according to the proposal. For example, 76.2 percent of student respondents indicated that the online-learning course as a whole was “good” or “excellent.” However, a majority of student respondents indicated that they would rather not pay the extra fee, believing that online learning courses cost less.
Reach reporter Joanna Nolasco at news@dailyuw.com.”
Free speech Friday
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 14, 2010“A Letter in Support of Vote Big
The current model of ASUW is failing the average student. The student union should be at the forefront of issues that affect all students: tuition, state funding, affordable housing, financial aid, access to opportunities, text book prices, teaching quality, etc. Unfortunately the average student cannot even name what it is the ASUW does.
With elections right around the corner we have the opportunity to inject new ideas and new energy into our stagnant union. This gives us the opportunity to redirect union activities to work for us.
Chris Teeny and Shauna Stadnik, candidates for president and vice president respectively, running as the Vote Big ticket promise to do just that. They both bring fresh perspective to a stale organization. They both share a vision of bringing more students into the ASUW community by making ASUW more relevant to the other communities which already exist on campus.
Chris said at the recent RHSA/IFC/Panhellenic forum that the way he would measure the success of the ASUW was by the percentage of students who could explain what it is that the union does when asked. This is precisely the attitude that our president must have. No one should be satisfied to represent a constituent who doesn’t know what their leader does. Chris and Shauna share that drive to connect ASUW to the students that they would represent.
A vote for Chris Teeny and Shauna Stadnik is a big vote. So, Vote Big, Vote Teeny and Stadnik.
Timothy Shigeta
Senior/Industrial Engineering
Stick to the Issues
After reading Thursday’s article on the One Campus coalition, I found myself feeling a deep sense of disgust at the way the student government campaign is being run. While I understand the importance of building voter and name awareness, it shouldn’t be the main focus of campaigns. Rather than arranging for cross promotions, giveaways, and lawn signs, campaigns should focus their efforts on voter education, differentiating themselves based on their policies. As I see it now, the student government elections are nothing but an overgrown popularity contest with a big resume builder as the prize. While I wouldn’t consider myself especially politically active, I would be interested in voting if I actually knew difference between any of the candidates. I would greatly appreciate it if, as the schools paper, The Daily would publish a voters guide, comparing the candidates/coalition’s positions side by side across a variety of issues.
Charlie S.
In response to Safia Farole’s letter to the editor …
I am writing in response to Safia Farole’s letter on Free Speech Friday on May 7, 2010, regarding South Park’s attempted depiction of Muhammad. Farole asks Mr. Taylor a question: “would you be advocating that South Park creators are exercising their right to free speech if they ran an episode in which one character denied the Holocaust or in which a Black person was called ‘nigger?’”
I will answer for him. Yes. Does this mean that I deny the Holocaust or that I support black people publicly being called “niggers”? No. It means that I support free speech regardless of whether I agree with what is being said. The Constitution guarantees the right to free speech because people will try to take that right away. Our Constitutional rights are most important and must be most fervently defended when they are being threatened.
Obviously there are some cases, such as speech which incites violence, where the Constitution does not and should not protect speech. This is because the speech is causing a criminal act. The depiction of Muhammad is not a criminal act. In fact, Farole says that the depiction of Muhammad should “be held in a similar regard” to hate speech. Farole does not clearly explain why; it is implied that the depiction of Muhammad is equivalent to hate speech. This is false. There is nothing inherently hateful about the depiction of Muhammad. There is no dismissal of unspeakable slaughter as there is in Holocaust denial. There is no use of a word which has been used explicitly to insult a particular ethnicity as there is in calling a black person a “nigger.”
The only crime that would result in allowing South Park to exercise free speech would be the potentially violent response of select offended Muslims, such as the violence following the publication of cartoons depicting Muhammad in a Danish newspaper in 2005, where Danish embassies were set on fire in several Middle Eastern countries. Who should one side with if this situation arose? Cartoonists who depict an image, or individuals who react to this with violence and destruction?
Alex Estes
Sophomore
Philosophy
In response to “Increasing U-PASS fees sign of a dying program” …
If you’d actually read the available information, you’d know that the increasing U-Pass fees are not signs “of a dying program”. On the contrary, the U-Pass is a victim of its own success. It got its start being subsidized by on-campus parking fees. This worked well as long as there were a lot of people paying for parking. In recent years the number of SOV trips to the UW has declined, meaning that the funding base for the U-Pass is dropping out from beneath it. Why would we choose to kill the U-Pass when it has proven to be so effective? I urge the University to not take a step backward: continue to encourage alternatives to driving, even if it means charging all students a nominal fee.
Jake VanderPlas
Astronomy Department
In response to “Increasing U-PASS fees sign of a dying program” …
The U-PASS was created during a time of unprecedented congestion in the U-district. The university created the program in 1991 in an attempt to reduce overall trip time and parking shortages. It worked; parking lots such as the E1 lot are now half empty! The U-PASS program has been nationally recognized as an outstanding and innovative traffic management program and has been a model for numerous universities around the country.
It cannot be denied that our U-PASS is in trouble. The current price of 99 dollars is an unsustainable cost for students and further price increases will only decrease participation in the program. However simply eliminating the program is not the answer. Instead, we should require the U-PASS for all students and staff at a much lower price of 35 dollars.
A similar concept is applied to the membership rates of IMA. A 35 dollar fee is added on to our tuition each quarter. If the IMA building membership was optional, you would see many students opt out of the fee which would then increase the price of gym membership. Participation would decrease and the IMA building would have to start cutting programs, hours of operation, etc. Instead, the IMA is regarded as an excellent amenity and many students are fitter, happier, and less stressed out because of their time spent there. You don’t even think twice about paying that 35 dollar fee!
Commuters who are given the U-PASS without option are more likely to hop on an express bus than take their car. If you’re like me, and live within a few blocks of the UW, you are still going to recoup the costs of a 35 dollar pass with only 7 bus trips per quarter. Do you like going to the gym late at night? Studying at Odegaard? Guess which program funds the Nightride? The U-PASS! Do you like the discounts at local merchants? U-PASS! Even if you don’t utilize these programs you should recognize that other people do. I have never used the career services, attended a CLUE session, or have even been to office hours, but I know that many people rely on these programs and I would never want to see them cut just to save me a fraction on tuition.
For the same price as a nice dinner with your significant other, you can have access to all of the public transit agencies in the Seattle metropolitan area. We need to require the U-PASS for all students. It’s the only way to keep our award winning program sustainable. Letting the program die would be the most regressive transportation decision made in the last 20 years. Without the U-PASS, traffic and parking nightmares will return to our campus. Think 45th and Montlake Ave are bad now? Add another 10,000 cars to the rush hour commute. I can’t believe we are even thinking about letting this program die.
Scot Rastelli
Senior
Environmental Science
Urban Design and Planning
In response to “Increasing U-PASS fees a sign of a dying program” …
Gavin Verhey’s opinion piece in the Daily on May 11th is particularly one-sided, and would perhaps be more convincing if it were a little more balanced. While he makes a legitimate case of the cost of the program, he belittles and neglects its value. How many cars does this program get off our streets? How many more parking spaces would we need on campus without this program? How much gasoline is saved?
While I prefer to have programs that are completely self-sufficient, these are broad benefits that benefit everyone at UW. To find the right pricing-model for the U-Pass program (or any other system), it is important to consider both the costs and the benefits.
Ryan Littlefield
Research Scientist
In response to “Increasing U-PASS fees a sign of a dying program” …
Dear Editor of the Daily:
I write in response to Gavin Verhey’s editorial, “Increasing U-PASS fees sign of a dying program.” Despite some vague assurances that certain fees would disappear along with the U-PASS program, Mr. Verhey’s question, “Is [the program] worth it?” remains unanswered. I believe the program is worth it, and here’s why.
The truth about American transportation is that almost all of it is subsidized. We all know that the government subsidizes transit fare to keep it affordable, and the U-PASS program is another example of subsidization, providing incentives for transit, carpool, and other under-used yet equitable forms of transportation.
But why are buses and carpools under-used? Because of trillions of dollars in subsidies for private vehicle usage over the last six decades or so. The nation’s highway and infrastructure system and characteristic sprawling residential settlement patterns didn’t just show up - they were part of a conscious and deliberate plan to settle America in a certain way, equating mobility and independence with a garage for every home and a car in every garage.
We’d like to think of transportation choices as one of economics - we’re presented with a number of options at various prices, and we choose the one that suits us best. Unfortunately, single-occupancy vehicle travel suits many of us best because of decisions made in the past, not some “free market” where everyone has equal access and opportunity.
The market is further distorted because the true costs of gasoline, vehicle ownership, parking, and highway infrastructure are all masked by a complicated net of subsidies and programs designed to keep out-of-pocket costs cheap for drivers, while shifting costs to other agencies we don’t normally think of as related to transportation. A recent study in the journal Energy Policy calculated that the U.S. has paid over $7 trillion in defense spending over the last thirty years to maintain a reliable level of oil imported from the Persian Gulf. Not to buy the oil - just to make sure it’s there for us to buy. And we need look no further than our own Gulf of Mexico, now absorbing an additional 210,000 gallons of crude oil every day, to see that the present day costs of fixing these problems is nowhere near the environmental, public health, and agricultural costs to future generations if we do not.
It’s time we started making decisions that recognize our impacts on future generations. I know, I know: the U-PASS can’t plug an oil spill or make peace in the Middle East, but it’s an opportunity for members of the UW community to contribute to safe, affordable, and accessible transportation options for themselves, their neighbors, their colleagues, and future generations.
An increase in transportation fees isn’t a sign of bureaucracy gone amok or a policy gone wrong; it’s a sign that the world’s a complicated place and that public policy creates winners and losers. We may never know the true costs of transportation, but it’s time we acknowledge that we aren’t the ones paying them.
Zachary Howard
Note: The author is a GPSS representative of the Student Transportation Taskforce.
In response to “Wise addresses budget programs at town-hall meeting” …
The explanation of Activity-Based Budgeting is misleading. Rather than allocating funds based on levels of “activity,” such a system determines budget “in terms of the cost of that organization’s (department’s) products and services.”* Essentially, this model applies a corporate profit motive to education. It is not salient to quantify the outputs of our University’s departments. Thoughts and ideas which propel humankind forward will be squandered by the drive towards cost effectiveness. I understand the necessity of budget cuts. The school has lost $100 million in state funding over three years and however much else in personal donations and private grants. However, the application of this model can have only negative effects for those departments which produce knowledge rather than research. Both are equally important.
We are witness to the concerted effort to corporatize our University, and the decision to implement Activity-Based Budgeting should terrify us. This model will not continue higher education as we have come to know it. Not to paint too broad a generality, but in this recession we have seen the failings of profit driven motivations to truly provide human necessities. Education must be a beacon on the hill, illuminating the human spirit, human potential, human curiosity and drive towards understanding. We all need to reevaluate the stifling apathy prevalent throughout the campus, and understand our complicity in the reconstruction of our school’s administration.
*Definition source: http://www.ndma.com/resources/fc-4869.htm?gclid=CO7Wis6RzqECFQpLbQod8zqMJA#4905
Other definitions can be found at: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/abb.asp
Jonathan Humphrey
International Studies
Economics
In response to “The Daily’s election 2010 Editorial Board endorsements” …
Dear Ashleen,
I just wanted to respond to your article about the editorial board’s opinion about which candidates were best for each ASUW position and why. While I respect the editorial board’s right to voice their opinion, I believe that it privileges certain candidates over others. I believe that this article discourages students from doing research on other candidates by presenting all of the positive information about only one candidate per position. Students should make educated, informed decisions about who they vote for. The Daily has a lot of influence over many students and should have an obligation to equality.
On another note, the Daily represents the student body as a whole, so shouldn’t the Daily present information about all candidates equally? In the future, I hope that there can be an article expressing how important it is not only to vote but also to be educated and informed about who they are voting for. Perhaps the Daily could also interview the candidates running for president and ask them all the same questions and publish their responses to give students more information.
Thank you,
Daniel Stochel
Sacrifice a redwood for the new HUB
The sign on the east side of the HUB—NOTICE OF PROPOSED LAND-USE ACTION—bears the ominous phrase: “to remove five exceptional trees.” The City of Seattle defines an exceptional tree as one: “…that: (1) is designated as a heritage tree or (2) is rare or exceptional by virtue of its size, species, condition, cultural/historic importance, age…” One of the trees the UW Capital Projects Office evidently wants to destroy is a magnificent, healthy Coast Redwood [Sequoia sempervirens] standing proudly at the northwest main entrance of the HUB. Be sure to admire the tree before it is cut to the ground and converted into chips and mulch. Surely the architects and this office could have adjusted the footprint of the new HUB—another undistinguished pile of glass and brick—a few meters to save the tree. If you want to see how Capital Projects laid waste to another verdant glen and the landscaping installed a few years ago during the renovation of Johnson Hall, check out the atrocity a-building just to the west of Johnson.
Sempervirens? not on this campus.
Darrel Cowan
Professor, Department of Earth & Space Sciences
In response to “Bad for business?” …
The article “Bad for Business?” published on May 7, The Daily presented only one side of the issue at stake. It failed to question if the TUBS building was anything more than a graffiti covered building. The article even goes so far as to claim that the building contributes to increased crime rates and hooliganism.
The TUBS building is a work of art, not vandalism. Everyone and anyone is free to contribute to its’ ever-changing decorations. Thus, it is a quintessential example of free speech and democracy in action.
Such a cultural icon should never have its’ social importance downgraded simply from a biased article. What The Daily failed to recognize was the unique and important role the TUBS building plays in the U-district community. Not only is it a healthy and creative outlet for inspired artists, it also evolves to reflect our community.
The TUBS building has been judged too quickly. If you are in doubt, please, take a break from your day to visit it. Look at it and the intricacies of the artwork upon it. See how it is in fact a magnificent mural. If you are lucky, you may even see an artist in action.
Most of all do not push for the removal this art.
Grace Muzny
Sophomore
Pre- Arts & Science
In response to “‘A little civic thinking, that’s the homework’” …
Dear Andrew,
I just read your article (A little civic thinking…) and I have no problem with your argument but I think you might want to focus a bit more on word choice. Japanese-Americans did not “sacrifice” for the war effort (well, unless you are speaking of the 442nd or other Japanese-American units that fought in the war), they were “sacrificed” on the cross of racism and nationalism. Your language makes it appear that planting a victory garden and being placed in an internment camp were a similar level of sacrifice. I do not think you are going to find anyone who volunteered to have their jobs, homes and possessions taken from them so they could live in a prison. Word choice problem number two is found in the sentence, “ The Puyallup fairgrounds hosted a J-A internment camp.” Yes, there were carnival rides and a petting zoo too. That is a somewhat less loathsome equivalent of saying that the Nazis “hosted” the holocaust at Auschwitz. So, yes, Japanese-Americans sacrificed alright, but certainly not in a “hey, let’s all pitch in and win this war” kind of sacrifice. I can’t imagine that revisionism will go over well with anyone who was placed in such a camp. But otherwise, your editorial makes a good point.
Rick Mulcahy”
Campus Crime Blotter: Brawling near By George, broken windows, and lots of burglary
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 14, 2010“From stolen medication to fights in Red Square, this weekly crime blotter aims to keep you up to date on recent crimes and offenses that affect the UW community.
Friday, April 30
Officers responded at about 2 p.m. to a brawl reportedly involving a large group of people associated with the Polynesian Student Alliance’s Poly Day at Red Square near the George Washington statue. The first officer responding to the fight immediately requested that all available UWPD units respond to control the crowd. Two of the responding officers contacted a juvenile involved in the fight and determined that the subject had an existing warrant for harassment. The subject was later arrested for assault.
Monday, May 3
A UWPD officer responded to a report at the UW Plant Shop. At some point between April 29 and the afternoon of May 3, two tool bags were stolen from a UW facilities van. There were no signs of forced entry into the van. Most of the stolen tools have “U of W” engraved on them.
Tuesday, May 4
A UWPD officer responded to a report of a burglary at Guthrie Annex 1. The officer contacted one victim, who stated that the suspect(s) entered offices of the Psychology Clinic through a broken window and took an Apple computer keyboard and mouse from his office. Another victim stated that a filing cabinet containing personal documents, information about her clients, and a petty-cash checkbook from Wells Fargo in the name of the Psychology Clinic Revolving Fund had also been taken. A third victim stated that nothing was taken from her office, but that her file cabinet and desk had been rifled through. The case is still under investigation.
A UWPD officer responded to a report of a stolen laptop in Kane Hall. The victim stated that he left his laptop in a room for an event at Kane Hall, and that the room was locked overnight. The victim provided UWPD with the serial number of his laptop. The case is under investigation.
A patient at the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) contacted UWPD from the UWMC Plaza Cafe after her bag, containing seven bottles of prescription medication, a living will, and a jacket, was stolen. The victim left the bag with another person, who at some point left it unsupervised, and she came back to the cafe to find the bag missing. A doctor told UWPD officers that the medication was to help with the patient’s chemotherapy treatment.
A UWPD officer responded to a car prowl in the W26 parking garage at 5:17 p.m. A subject told the officer that someone broke the driver’s-side window in his car. The suspect searched the car but took only a bag of change. The damage is estimated at $307.
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Editorial cartoon and rants and raves
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 13, 2010“Rants
The Seattle Times reported Kurt Lidtke, a former local art dealer, is a suspect in a plot to resell expensive pieces by such artists as Rembrandt and Northwest painter Morris Graves. Lidtke was arrested Tuesday.
Charles Brown, from the Department of Agriculture, predicts the western United States will be crawling with grasshoppers this year, according to The Oregonian. Population cycles and drought contribute to this being the worst grasshopper year since the 1980s.
Raves
Reuters reported that a Beijing man who was “murdered” 10 years ago recently reappeared in his hometown. His American name: Jack Bauer.
Archeologists studying Mayan ruins used new “lidar” technology (light detection and ranging) to map the topography of about 80 square miles in only four days, The New York Times reported.”
Armed and ready
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 13, 2010“Before the end was in sight, before the national championship and before Alyson McWherter was entirely sure of just exactly where she fit in on the Washington softball team, there was a note.
It was written by McWherter to head coach Heather Tarr during a trip to UCLA last season, the first indication that the Huskies’ now-rock-solid center fielder was having a little bit of trouble balancing all of her obligations.
McWherter is in UW’s ROTC program, see, and is still a softball player, and a student, and so she needed some validation from her coach that what she was doing was OK, that her contributions on the field were enough and that everything was going to be fine.
“She did such a good job of not showing that it was wearing her out that it was just normal Aly,” Tarr said. “But it was wearing her out. That was when she came to me and communicated, ‘I need this and that, and I’m going to be OK. But if I don’t get this and that, I don’t know what I’m going to do.’”
More on that in a minute. Because what you need to know now is that those days are firmly entrenched in the past for the senior outfielder, who will graduate in June as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army after completing the requirements for UW’s ROTC program.
It’s hard to talk to McWherter without marveling at all that she’s done at this school, anchoring one of the nation’s best outfields while winning a national title and learning how to command army squadrons when she wasn’t shagging fly balls.
And then there’s that schedule.
“This year it’s sort of slowed down,” McWherter said. “But last year, it was pretty big.”
By big, of course, she means that ‘sleeping in’ meant waking up after 6:30 in the morning. And this was during the summer, before her school classes even started.
McWherter rattles off the week’s duties as if she’s putting together her grocery list.
Briefings. Operations orders. Morning orders. Planning. Spot checks. Training. Classes.
Then came Thursdays, when she would arrive at 5:30 a.m. to practice everything she’d planned for throughout the week.
Fridays were for after-action reviews, which was basically a time to go over everything they’d done the day before.
“Some weeks you’d be just your average Joe, and then other weeks you’d be a squadron leader, or a platoon leader, or a team leader, and you’d have different responsibilities throughout the week,” McWherter said. “Those were pretty busy. You just add that in whenever I had spare time from softball.”
Spare time. That was Tarr’s concern, too. McWherter approached her about signing up for ROTC between her freshman and sophomore seasons, using a couple of meetings with some ROTC supervisors to convince the coach that she could handle both that and softball. The Army, after all, runs in McWherter’s family, and it was important to her to be a part of it, too.
“We need you to be fully committed to softball, because you’re going to have a chance to be our starting center fielder,” Tarr told her.
“I couldn’t even fathom how she was going to be able to do all of this.”
There were times when McWherter wondered the same thing. Was waking up at 4 every morning after a full day of classes, training and softball really worth it?
“I definitely had a couple nights where I was like, ‘what am I doing?’” McWherter said. “I did have nights, trust me, where all you want to do is pick up the phone and say, ‘that’s it, I’m done. I don’t have time for this anymore.’”
She did a good job of keeping it to herself, though.
“I feel like she does a good job of separating that when she comes here and she plays,” pitcher Danielle Lawrie said. “She was pretty good at not letting that affect what she is.”
It seems that weekend in Los Angeles is when it all came to a head. But Tarr assured her center fielder that all was well, that her efforts in both areas were more than sufficient.
And so this is a story of perseverance, a reminder that in the world of high-school athletes holding college fan-bases hostage with elaborate and drawn-out recruiting processes, in a world where our 41-year-old heroes are napping during games and you’re left to wonder just what exactly is wrong with sports these days, there are still people making major contributions in ways that make you wonder why you ever doubted them.
“That cliche statement, whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, really came into play last year, and ultimately helped define the type of individual I am now,” McWherter said. “Because I had to convince myself it was worth doing and that in the end it was all going to be worth it.”
It was. McWherter got into the branch she wanted, and she’ll be stationed with the third infantry division in Fort Stewart, Ga., the same place her dad was stationed way back when.
Her obligation is four years of active duty, and she’s not sure what she’ll do after that, though she says that she won’t shy away from the opportunity to go overseas if it’s presented. It’s something she has perspective on, since her dad was in Iraq when she was in high school.
First, though, there’s that small matter of winning another national title.
“Sometimes, [ROTC] does put [softball] in perspective a little bit,” she said. “But I think if anything, that just makes me love [softball] more, because you can go out and have fun, just enjoy it. I think if anything, I’ve enjoyed it more. I haven’t looked at it as much of a job as I used to. You still give everything you have, but it’s more fun.”
That’s part of the reason why her teammates appreciate her so much. Bailey Stenson, a fellow senior who also played alongside McWherter during summers while the two were in high school, says it’s obvious that McWherter’s leadership skills have carried over onto the softball field.
“We’ve always had a really good talking connection,” Stenson said. “I can say one word, and she’ll catch the ball and she’ll say, hey, good talk, good talk. If she ever tells me, back, back, back, I don’t even have to look at the ball, I know I’m going to catch it because her communication is so clear. She’s a gem of an outfielder.”
A gem hardened by a college experience unlike almost all others.
“A lot of successes came from the hard work I put in, and looking back, I don’t regret it,” McWherter said. “I would do it over again in a heartbeat, no matter how hard it was.”
Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Battle Royale
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 12, 2010“1. If you were Don Wakamatsu, what would you do if you saw Ken Griffey Jr. sleeping in the clubhouse?
Christian: Pull up a chair, ask him for an Ambien and join him. Anything is better than watching this team play baseball.
Allen: Haven't you ever seen Mr. Baseball? If somebody's not paying attention, Tom Selleck (cq) lights his shoes on fire!
Maks: First off, I think it’s pathetic the Mariners front office brought him back for another year. And I think it’s equally pathetic that he’s now in worse shape than he was last year. Way to respect the game. Yeah, I understand that Griffey is one of the all-time greats, but how does what he accomplished 10 to 15 years ago help the team this season? Besides boosting the team’s anemic attendance numbers a tad bit on bobblehead nights, it doesn’t. Call me a hater, but I sure as hell wouldn’t let him suit up the next day.
Andrew: I’d shrug it off. After all, it’s not like he’s missing much. But is anybody really surprised that the re-acquisition of Griffey, otherwise known as the “re-sign-an-aging-former-superstar-to-put-fans-in-the-seats” plan, turned out like this?
2. Are you bored of the NBA Playoffs?
Christian: Yep. But it’s going to get better once the conference finals start. Nash vs. Kobe and LeBron vs. Howard? Let’s hope so. Though it would be worth it for the Cavs to lose this series to the Celtics just to see if LeBron shakes anyone’s hand or not.
Allen: I’ve been bored. Whoever asked this question is clearly a Blazers fan whose team got eliminated in the first round. Now you know how I feel, not having a team — all year.
Maks: A bit, and I agree with those who think the best-of-seven format is kind of dragging things out unnecessarily in the first round. On the other hand, there’s the Boston-Cleveland series and the impending Suns-Lakers series to look forward to.
Andrew: I realize that I’m probably in the minority here, but no. Despite all the sweeps in the second round, there have been some good matchups so far (Cavs-Celtics especially). Even so, it’s hard to forgive the NBA for subjecting us to Charlotte Bobcats postseason basketball and seven games of Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks.
3. Would you rather attend a Summer Olympics or a World Cup, and why?
Christian: Summer Olympics, hands down, if for no other reason than the United States actually wins a majority of the time.
Allen: Y’know, this is a tough one. I think some events in the Summer Olympics are worth attending, and the opening ceremonies are, for sure, but the overall experience of the World Cup is hard to match. I was in Korea in 2002 when it hosted with Japan and in 1988 when Seoul hosted the Olympics. But of course, I don’t remember a thing from 1988, being half a year old and whatnot. So I guess experiencing the World Cup firsthand makes me a little biased.
Maks: I’d much rather attend a Summer Olympics for the men’s basketball games. I could only pretend to care about soccer for so long.
Andrew: The Summer Olympics. I don’t appreciate soccer nearly enough to attend the World Cup.
4. Steve Sarkisian said the UW football team will run onto the field to Eminem’s “Till I Collapse” again this season. Thoughts for a different song, or are you content with that?
Christian: That song is cool with me, though I don’t think it works too well with the outdated acoustics of Husky Stadium. Seems like Eminem is more suited for the in-your-face style of basketball introductions. Heavy metal is always my preference when it comes to football, though “Enter Sandman” has been used to death in situations like these across the country. Maybe “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC?
Allen: What if they collapse early? Then aren’t they done? I’d go with anything by the Talking Heads.
Maks: I’d be content if someone accidentally played “I Touch Myself” while the team was running onto the field.
Andrew: It’s fine, I guess, if that’s what the players want. Although you’d think that with all the music that comes from Seattle, they could find something better. “Purple Haze” comes to mind.
Reach all sports reporters at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Pulu could use a time-out
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 11, 2010“Former UW defensive end and student Andru Pulu got lucky. After beating the living hell out of a fellow student athlete and pleading guilty to second-degree assault charges, he faces six months in jail on work release.
His four-leaf clover is his former status as a promising student athlete.
Although football coach Steve Sarkisian and the UW will not claim him as one of their own any longer, he still enjoys some of the privilege that comes with the UW varsity-football-membership title.
Any other man of Pulu’s strength and size would surely have received a harsher penalty than being unable to hang out with his friends for six months for knocking someone unconscious, then stomping on the victim’s head. There’s also the anger-management and alcohol-dependency treatment programs Pulu is required to participate in. These are like a time-out for a kid who was name-calling on the playground.
This will be good for him, I think. The penalty is just harsh enough to say, “This behavior is unacceptable from a student athlete,” while implying that there is still hope for the assailant’s “rehabilitation.”
When the university pays for you to go to school to play a game, they expect a return on their investment: sacks on opposing quarterbacks and pass-rushing, not a drunken fracas that opens up roster spots on both the football and soccer teams.
I want to be on Pulu’s side, but when I recall reports of the crime, I am left feeling disgusted. When the judge asked why the charge was only assault in the second degree, the prosecutor responded that Pulu only kicked the victim in the head once, whereas a minimum of six kicks to the head are required for first-degree assault, and the effects of the injuries sustained by the victim aren’t considered permanent.
Facial reconstructive surgery and physical therapy can make the superficial effects go away, and the brain and nerve damage suffered from the incident are supposedly recoverable.
Sure, inflicting this much pain on another human being is brutal, perhaps even barbaric, but I highly doubt that the situation would have played out as violently as it did if alcohol were not involved. It’s too bad Pulu has to attend anger management and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings after the fact. A lesson in responsible drinking could benefit most college students, especially student-athletes, who make university money by hitting their opponents.
Ultimately, Pulu will come out OK. This incident is the first time he has found himself at the mercy of “the Law,” and work release sounds like the better way to go in terms of rehabilitation, as the Department of Corrections is about as effective as an illiterate English teacher.
All student-athletes can learn from this case, and I hope none ever has to find himself in such a compromising situation. The criminal-justice system has made an example of Pulu by delivering a figurative slap on the wrist, as it seems that there is more hope for a student-athlete who commits a crime than a common criminal.
Reach columnist Al Jacobs at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Weird world news: Strange sales, a dedicated driver and mouth-watering aromas
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 11, 2010“Activity in the volcanic-ash market and burger-scented candles are some of the stranger pieces of international news from this week.
ICELAND — Volcano enthusiasts now have the opportunity to purchase jars of the ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano online, The Metro reported.
“I got the idea from a friend who lives abroad who asked me to send him some ash in an envelope, and I thought there must be thousands of people out there who want to remember what happened,” seller Sofus Gustavsson said. Gustavsson has made 160g jars available online for approximately $110 at the website nammi.is. All profits from the sales of the ash will go to the local ICESAR safety organization, which has been assisting in the cleanup process following the volcanic eruption in the country.
SEOUL — A South Korean woman has emerged victorious in a tale of perseverance by successfully earning her driver’s license after 960 tries, The Associated Press reported on Yahoo News. According to the Yonhap news agency, 69-year-old Cha Sa-soon had taken the written portion of the driving test on a daily basis since April 2005, and she passed it last year. She recently passed the driving portion, on her 10th try, and is now ready to purchase a vehicle and get behind the wheel. Cha was quoted as saying that she wishes to buy a small, secondhand car so that she can visit her son and daughter, as well as for her vegetable-selling business.
NEW YORK — Many are unaware that May is National Burger Month, but fast-food chain White Castle has decided to celebrate by creating burger-scented candles, CNN Money reported. Created by Nest Fragrances, the candle scent is described as “steam grilled on a bed of onions.” The limited-edition candle comes in a ceramic holder designed similarly to the chain’s hamburger packaging.
“When I think of truly superior aromas, I think of the aroma of a freshly grilled White Castle hamburger — life just doesn’t get better than that,” said Laura Slatkin, founder of Nest Fragrances, in a statement. “We have captured that exact essence in our White Castle candle!”
The product, which was first available for sale last Monday, has sold out.
Reach Weekender Editor Ivan Vukovic at news@dailyuw.com.”
The Daily’s election 2010 Editorial Board endorsements
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 11, 2010“Voting for next year’s executive board for the ASUW began at midnight last night and will run through Wednesday. The Daily has devoted today’s opinion section to the election process, breaking down the Editorial Board’s top choices for ASUW office next year.
The Daily’s Editorial Board is composed of senior staff members in the newsroom who work as section editors. The Editorial Board represents the opinion of the newspaper as a whole, and one of a student newspaper’s most important jobs is to act as a watchdog for student government. Since most students will hear about ASUW’s efforts through The Daily, we felt it was appropriate to share our expectations for next year’s elected student leaders. After the filing date for candidates passed, the Editorial Board sat down and looked through the job descriptions of the eight positions being competed for. We looked at the level of performance from past years’ student leadership and what measurable progress has been made, but more importantly, we looked at what could have been done better. The Daily held an open forum for all of the candidates on April 30 and asked questions specific to each candidate’s platform. Each candidate was then discussed and voted on, position by position. The following endorsements, which came out of those discussions, were written by various members of the Editorial Board.
President:
Madeleine McKenna
With her experience as the current ASUW Vice President having contained efforts in recruiting volunteers and initiatives in direct and impactful student issues, such as the U-PASS and lobbying efforts in Olympia, McKenna possesses both the experience and familiarity with ASUW and campus issues needed to serve as president.
While other candidates, such as Sam Martin and Chris Teeny, promised a vision of a revamped ASUW, their lack of both familiarity with the association and specific ideas to change it makes them less qualified for a position that demands knowledge of the inner workings of the student government. Similarly, Kyle Fuller’s and Beto Soto’s lack of previous significant engagement with budgetary issues give McKenna an edge when it comes to relevant skills that would transfer into the president position.
While she stands as the strongest candidate running for the office, McKenna will still be met with a wide array of challenges, including presenting innovative and detailed ways in which ASUW’s efforts in lobbying, crime prevention, campus unity and representative accessibility are expanded and refined.
Vice president:
Eric Shellan
After lengthy discussions and multiple rounds of voting, the Editorial Board endorses Shellan for vice president.
All the candidates have impressive resumes, but ideas for improving the management of the ASUW next year set some candidates apart, particularly Shellan and Shauna Stadnik.
Shellan expressed that, if he were elected, he would ensure the students he appoints to committees would be invested individuals looking for more than a resume-builder. The ASUW has a representative on the Board of Publications who oversees The Daily, and we understand the impact these appointments can have on the campus community. With his extensive experience organizing students to lobby in Olympia as the assistant director of the ASUW Office of Government Relations, we believe Shellan has the necessary experience to make good on his promise to ensure that members of the ASUW are there, first and foremost, to serve.
Stadnik presented the idea of creating a blog for ASUW volunteers that would allow her and the UW community to oversee the work of the different branches of the organization. She served as the Elections Administration Committee chair last year, but we feel that Shellan has more direct experience working with volunteers.
Dalia Amin and Sarah Chow both have extensive experience within the ASUW, but we do not feel that they have distinct visions for how to improve the organization next year.
Director of community relations:
No endorsement
This year, The Daily will not endorse a candidate for the position of director of community relations.
Pasha Kazerouni missed two attempts to address the Editorial Board and convince us we should endorse him. We feel Yong Cho does not have enough experience to do the job adequately and did not demonstrate he was qualified at The Daily’s candidate forum. The Editorial Board does not believe the current director of community relations, Tunny Van, has excelled in his role. He has not improved the position, and he has neglected the tradition of weekly meetings with The Daily to keep us informed of ASUW events, policies and meetings.
The Editorial Board believes the student government’s professional public information officer has perhaps the most power to do what candidates have so often stressed during this campaign: increase government transparency. The ideal candidate would send press releases regularly, keep news media informed of meetings, and link those in government with those on the outside. We would endorse a candidate who we feel possesses the skills and experience to act as a spokesperson for ASUW, and we cannot write with confidence that any of the present candidates will excel as the student government’s director of community relations.
Director of operations:
Sarah Round
As the current ASUW Senate vice-chair, it is as though Round spent this year preparing for her candidacy for director of operations. After speaking to the Editorial Board, Round seems to understand the duties associated with the position. She has studied the ASUW Constitution and bylaws, reviewed procedures of the Judicial Committee and recognized the importance of accurate record-keeping. She outlined specific plans for the upcoming academic year, such as increasing ASUW transparency and connecting the Political Action Network to students. Though Round runs unopposed, the Editorial Board is confident she is a highly qualified candidate for the role.
Director of diversity efforts:
Ben Lealofi
With his strong presence and familiarity with diverse groups on campus, the Editorial Board believes Lealofi is the best candidate to be next year’s director of diversity efforts.
Whoever holds this position must effectively promote all diverse groups represented on campus. The Editorial Board believes this position should be filled by an approachable individual who has an efficient working relationship with the eight commissions and other student groups. Aside from being knowledgeable about the groups this position will serve, the ideal director must know how to plan and implement successful and educational programs that benefit the community. The UW needs a passionate and motivated person to improve diversity efforts on campus and maintain consistent relationships with student groups.
Lealofi’s opponents, Ty Huynh Chhor and Kyle Rapinan, lack the familiarity with the diverse groups associated with this position. Although Chhor is active with Husky Promise and the Khmer Student Association, the Editorial Board feels Chhor’s diversity efforts have been centered around ASUW programs rather than culture-based groups outside of ASUW. Rapinan’s efforts with the YMCA and Queer Youth Space are notable but do not demonstrate the ability to create the campus presence needed to be an effective director.
Lealofi is the current Pacific Islander Commission director and has worked closely with several on-campus entities — including the Q Center and Office of Minority Affairs/Diversity — to plan events and programs. Lealofi’s strong relationships and programming experience are much-needed assets for this position, and we believe he is best suited to execute the duties of the director of diversity efforts.
Director of programming:
Jocelyn McCurtain
The Editorial Board did not have an easy choice for who to endorse for director of programming. All three candidates revealed an in-depth understanding of the position, and they all have interesting ideas they would like to implement next year. After extensive discussion, we endorse McCurtain for director of programming.
At The Daily’s ASUW candidate forum, Sam Weinstein spoke to her experience with Homecoming Royalty, Winterfest and other RHSA programming. She expressed her wishes to make all UW students feel included at ASUW programs. Evelyn Jensen has worked with the current director of programming and feels optimistic about the HUB’s move to Condon Hall.
McCurtain, however, has extensive experience creating a wide variety of events for the Committee Organizing Rape Education, and this year, she organized a concert and a 5K run demonstrating her ability to execute a diverse platform of programming. More than that, though, McCurtain has a plan. After the HUB closes, she will look to take advantage of the close proximity groups will feel in Condon. McCurtain says she will see that events are scheduled in alternative spaces, like the Ethnic Cultural Theatre and Mary Gates Hall, with bigger events in Kane. McCurtain hopes to organize Quad fairs for groups who normally promote themselves on the HUB lawn. She believes this will be the area where students will spend the most time and that it is a natural space for tabling and promotion. Most importantly, and above the other candidates, McCurtain knows the importance of extending programming beyond fall quarter.
McCurtain is The Daily’s choice for ASUW director of programming.
Director of organizational relations:
Jonathan Yan
A lot of debate has been raised over the campaign for director of organizational relations.
This position performs all necessary oversight of the ASUW’s four enterprises: Rainy Dawg Radio, the ASUW Bike Shop, Off-campus Housing Affairs and the Experimental College.
Rory Raabe is the current assistant manager for Rainy Dawg Radio and has an understanding of how the enterprises operate. Nick Booher, another candidate running for the position, has coordinating experience from working with Housing and Food Services. Both candidates have said they feel certain enterprises, such as Rainy Dawg, adequately serve students as they are now run, while other enterprises, such as the Experimental College, could be more inclusive.
But Yan is the only candidate who has expressed a clear vision for how the four enterprises should serve students with the HUB unavailable in the fall.
Yan has consistently expressed his vision to cross-promote between the enterprises, making them more accessible and visible to students — qualities we feel have been lacking for the general student population in the past. We think the enterprises can better serve the student population given the funds they are allotted, and Yan is the candidate who most recognizes this need.
Director of faculty, administration and Academic Affairs:
Jedediah Bradley
Bradley runs unopposed, but the Editorial Board feels his past experience in ASUW and his current post as the ASUW Senate chair have prepared him for the upcoming challenges as the director of faculty, administration and Academic Affairs. Bradley’s agenda reports specific projects he hopes to further next year. He has reportedly worked closely with the current director of faculty, administration and Academic Affairs, Jason Padvorac, to find alternative solutions to expensive textbooks, an undertaking he promises to continue next year. Bradley also has plans to mediate more small-group and large-group meetings with politicians in Olympia to advocate for the student voice. More importantly, Bradley recognizes the duties, strengths and limitations to his position, and he has experience working through those limitations to achieve results.
This is the opinion of The Daily’s Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is: Editor-in-Chief Casey Smith, News Editor Lexie Krell, Opinion Editor Ashleen Aguilar, Lifestyles Editor Nicole Ciridon, Development Editor Andrew Doughman, Copy Chief Maddie Hall, and Weekender Editor Ivan Vukovic.
Editorial Board meetings are always open to students. Meetings are held every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in The Daily newsroom, Communications Building, Room 132. Check out dailyuw.com/community for topics of conversation.”
‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy outdated
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 11, 2010“Walk by Clark Hall and you might see an ROTC student exercising vigorously on a pull-up bar. Words such as discipline and integrity come to mind.
But integrity has many synonyms, such as honesty. And if we choose to describe our current military structure with this definition, then it becomes even harder to understand why the United States continues to enforce a policy that encourages officers to lie.
Under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) policy, Sara Isaacson, a senior at the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, now has to repay the military $80,000 in scholarships for coming out as a lesbian, according to campusprogress.org.
Isaacson has been receiving an ROTC scholarship since she started college, before she had even come out to herself as a lesbian. Thus, she initially identified herself as a heterosexual to the ROTC.
Isaacson told Campus Progress that she started becoming more aware of herself as a lesbian in November, when she was seriously considering what actions to take in terms of the DADT policy and law.
“Integrity is one of the seven Army values and is something that they train us to live by every day, every second, whether someone’s watching or not,” Isaacson said in a Campus Progress interview.
Because of this value, Isaacson walked into her commander’s office in January and handed him a memo that said she had recently come out as a lesbian.
Lt. Col. Monte Yoder told her that the policy does not prohibit gay or lesbian people from serving, but it does prohibit them from doing so openly.
Because of the letter, Isaacson has been dropped from the ROTC program. In addition, her battalion is asking her to repay the Army the $79,265.14 in scholarship money she had received during her seven semesters as an out-of-state student at UNC.
Issacson’s story is yet another example of why the DADT policy needs to be repealed.
The policy may have been built on good intentions when it was issued in 1993 by President Bill Clinton to prevent harassment and military “witch-hunting” of secretly gay, lesbian and bisexual service members. But the policy takes the wrong approach to addressing discrimination.
When thinking about one form of discrimination, it’s imperative to consider other forms as well. Racism, for example, cannot be solved by being color blind, nor can it be solved by having everyone sound or look the same.
Asking black people to hide their blackness by wearing veils over their skin is perhaps just as inappropriate as demanding that gay people wear figurative veils over their identities by remaining silent about their sexual orientation.
In addition to preventing harassment, the law also stems from the fear that an openly lesbian or gay service member would negatively impact unit cohesion, combat readiness and troop morale.
But instead of ignoring differences, wouldn’t it be better for unit cohesion if service members learned to embrace and appreciate the differences of their team, or at the very least to tolerate them?
Troop morale would be much better if individuals didn’t have to lie. Certainly they would feel better knowing that they could actually believe in the virtue of integrity that the military tries to instill in them.
The DADT policy doesn’t work; consequently, the United States continues to lose money and skilled service members.
According to Human Rights Campaign, the military spends an estimated $22,000 to $43,000 per person to replace those who are discharged under DADT. Since the 1993 enactment of the DADT law, more than 13,500 have been discharged, including more than 300 linguists and nearly 800 specialists with high-demand skills.
President Barack Obama has long opposed the DADT policy, but because of the war and health-care debate, action to repeal the policy has been delayed. The good news is that he renewed his interest in working with Congress to repeal the policy in his State of the Union address in January.
The question now is not will the policy be repealed, but when.
This week, the National Defense Authorization Act is being drafted on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., which could have a significant impact on the current DADT policy. Hundreds of veterans from across the United States will be lobbying for the repeal on the National Veterans Lobby Day, May 10-11, just before the bill is passed.
With their voices and those of many others, perhaps Congress will finally dispose of this archaic policy.
Reach columnist Kevin Wong at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Campus watch: A withdrawn job offer, tragedy in Virginia and disrespectful patterns
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 11, 2010“Accusations of discrimination at Marquette University and the death of a lacrosse player in Virigina are some headlines in this week’s news on college campuses across the nation.
Marquette University under scrutiny for withdrawing offer to SU sociology professor
Marquette University in Milwaukee withdrew its offer on Thursday for sociology professor Jodi O’Brien of Seattle University to serve as the dean of one of its colleges. Some students and faculty allege the offer was rescinded because O’Brien is openly gay and often writes about sexuality.
The New York Times reported that the Rev. Robert A. Wild, Marquette’s president, claimed that the decision was made based on information they found in her writings, in which they saw “strongly negative statements about marriage and family.” These included articles on topics like “Queer Christian Social Movements.”
In an e-mail to the Journal Sentinel, O’Brien wrote that she was “stunned” and “disappointed.”
“This is a travesty that will have long-term impact for our ability to retain and hire high-quality faculty,” Nancy E. Snow, a philosophy professor who helped O’Brien hunt for houses, said to the Sentinel. “It’s a public disgrace and an embarrassment.”
The Sentinel reported that about 100 students protested the decision in front of Marquette’s Alumni Memorial Union on Thursday afternoon.
University of Virginia lacrosse player charged in murder of Yeardley Love
A University of Virginia lacrosse player has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend and fellow lacrosse player after she was found dead in an off-campus apartment.
His girlfriend, Yeardley Love, was found by her roommates at 2:15 a.m. on May 3, when they assumed she had died from alcohol poisoning. Love’s body showed signs of physical trauma, which prompted a murder investigation. The accused, senior George Huguely, was arrested around 6 a.m.
“That she appears now to have been murdered by another student compounds this sense of loss by suggesting that Yeardley died without comfort or consolation from those closest to her,” said UVA President John Casteen in an e-mail to students. “We mourn her death and feel anger on reading that the investigators believe that another student caused it.”
On May 8, 2,000 mourners gathered to remember Love, yelling together in a cheer that she often used on the field.
According to The Washington Post, investigators said Huguely shook her violently during an argument and ended up slamming her head against a wall. Huguely’s attorney said the death was an accident.
Study finds that students target young, inexperienced professors in instances of incivility
If you’re a young, female professor, you better put your serious face on; according to a new study presented at the American Educational Research Association and reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education, these types of professors are the main targets for disrespect from students.
Researchers looked at various types of incivility in the classroom, including passive behavior (sleeping or cell phone use), disruptive behavior (arriving late) or bad behavior directed at the instructor.
The oldest, most experienced faculty members were found to have experienced the least incivility. While 16 percent of faculty members said they did not experience incivility at all, 24 percent of those were men and 9 percent were women.
“There has actually been a decrease in uncivil behavior in that I grow older and more frightening,” one survey subject said.
The study was conducted by several professors of education at the University of Redlands.
Reach columnist Kristen Steenbeeke at news@dailyuw.com.”
The underground
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 10, 2010“Following my quick resignation from the club, I began searching for new — and perhaps less promiscuous — ways to make some extra cash. Like many of us, my first stop was The Daily’s classifieds section. One ad stood out immediately:
“Wealthy executive looking for attractive, intelligent, U of W student for travel, dinners and meetings. 3 to 4k per month part time. Car provided. user@domain.com.”
Initially, I assumed this was simply a lonely man’s attempt at securing a gold-digging girlfriend, or worse — a serial killer looking for his next naive female victim. Either way, I wasn’t really in the mood for either adventure. Maybe it was the fact the ad was published by my school newspaper, or the tickets for Sasquatch I couldn’t afford, or the joint I smoked later that night, but at some point during the night, something pushed me to reply to this man’s request.
He gave me his name, which I immediately Googled, of course, and assured me he was really looking for a companion, an assistant. The terms of the ad were indeed correct: I would receive a car and a monthly stipend of $4,000 to spend on whatever I wished in exchange for my company three times a week. After exchanging a few e-mails, it was decided we would meet up at a local upscale hotel the following night for an interview.
Don’t get me wrong — I was terrified. Obviously, meeting up with a strange man who potentially wants to use you as his sex slave is not a good idea. But since all my instincts said this man was harmless, I put on my most professional dress along with my game face and headed over.
After riding up to the fourth floor of the hotel, as was our designated meeting spot, I was greeted by a big, empty, dark space.
“This is going to be the dumbest way to die,” kept repeating in my head. Following a brief phone call and a pop of a Xanax, I was calmed to learn I was in the wrong hotel. Thank God.
As my taxi pulled up to the right place, I saw a David Duchovny doppelganger smoking a cigarette seductively. My heart raced as I quickly fantasized him becoming the Richard Gere to my Julia Roberts, taking me from college life to upscale Seattle chic.
Alas, Mr. Duchovny sank into the shadows as another man walked to my door. He was Charlton Heston, right before he died. Not Dumbledore old, but certainly not George Clooney. I was politely escorted up to his penthouse suite, which was incredible, to say the least.
Despite his archaic age, he certainly did have taste. Works from local artists covered the walls, a million-dollar glass chandelier descended from the ceiling, a drawer filled with $100,000 in cash (for emergencies, he said) and beautiful jewelry. He had a movie theater, a personal gym and fireplaces in every bedroom, and it quickly became evident that he got off on impressing me. Eew.
Perhaps trying to help relax me, the Old Guy offered me a drink. He pulled out a bottle of Crown Royal that was 20 years my senior, and I pretended to be interested in his talk about real estate, the stock market and his ex-wife. He tried to touch my knee a few times, to which I recoiled in horror and disgust. Seriously, the guy had liver spots.
A little buzzed, we got in his Mercedes and went to dinner with his friends, where the men and their wives all had at least 30 years on me. The waiters at our restaurant knew what he wanted and brought numerous drinks to me without question. While eating the best chicken I ever tasted, the Old Guy told me he was interviewing three other girls from the UW in addition to me. I felt myself wishing I could talk to these other girls, find out their motives for going on a date with a 63-year-old man.
Before getting in the cab to go home, the Old Guy slipped me $200 and a farewell I’ll never forget.
“Look,” he said to me with pity in his eyes, “you’re a very cute girl, but I usually like a woman who comes on to me a little more. I just don’t think you’re as open sexually as I would prefer. I hope you understand.”
Giving a look of appreciation whilst stifling my laughter, I rushed into the cab and leisurely counted my money.
I may be a little wild, but getting paid to have sex with an old guy? No way. However, I can’t help but wonder: Who did he finally pick? Does the Old Guy’s current “companion” walk silently among us? I suppose we all have secrets.
Next week: The Best of the Best – Lolita recommends some of the best restaurants, Seattle activities, music and movies you may never have heard of.
Reach contributing columnist Lolita at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Students dine with health professionals to raise funds for Guatemalan villages
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 08, 2010“In a remote village in the Huehuetenango region of northwestern Guatemala, an entire village is enjoying a game of soccer with its first real soccer ball, thanks to UW junior Emily Jones. Jones has been sponsoring a girl named Maricela for five years through Adopt-A-Village in Guatemala.
Now, Jones is working with a group to raise money for Adopt-A-Village through a “Dinner with a Doctor” fundraiser this Saturday, May 8. In addition to being a fundraiser, the event provides a chance for pre-health undergraduates to network with a range of health professionals.
“How often do you get the opportunity to sit down and have dinner with 15 different health professionals in one night?” said Jones, who is co-activities coordinator for Hand2Hand, the UW pre-health philanthropy and community-service club that is sponsoring the event.
Students will have the chance to eat dinner, catered by Buca di Beppo’s, with a range of health professionals — nurses, dentists, doctors — and ask questions to help them choose areas of focus.
“Students will get to hear the bad and the good of the field,” said Kevin Jeong, president of Hand2Hand. “They’ll get real talk from people that experienced it all, in addition to helping out the people in Guatemala.”
Harborview Medical Center’s Chief of Surgery, Dr. Ron Maier, will be the keynote speaker for the night. He will give advice to students about choosing the right path in the health-care field and insight into his job as chief and how he got there.
“It’s an amazing opportunity for students to get exposure,” Jeong said.
All proceeds from the ticket sales and donations from the event will go directly to Adopt-A-Village in Guatemala. This grassroots, education-focused non-profit works with indigenous Mayan villages that are in extreme poverty. Its recent achievement was the establishment of the Mayan Center, a residential high school serving 150 different indigenous villages. The center provides a range of educational services, such as mathematics, languages and vocational skills.
“They don’t take any administration fees, and because Emily has been involved with them for several years, the charity has more personal value,” said Lauren Tran, co-activities coordinator.
In addition, her uncle has been volunteering for the organization as Communications Director for eight years. He goes back twice a year to deliver school supplies and textbooks and returns to Oregon with arts and crafts made by the women of the village, which he then sells in the states.
“We didn’t want it to be some random organization,” Jones said.
Reach contributing writer Rebecca Lee at development@dailyuw.com.”
Campus crime blotter: A minor in possession, clean burglars and a bank robbery on the Ave
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 08, 2010“From laptops to stolen top hats, this weekly crime blotter aims to keep you up to date on recent crimes and offenses that affect the UW community.
Saturday, April 24
While conducting a routine party check at the Alpha Phi Epsilon Fraternity, UW Police Department (UWPD) officers cited two subjects with charges of Minor in Possession of Intoxicating Liquor.
UWPD officers responded to a report of burglary at the Hughes Penthouse Theatre at 8 p.m. The officers contacted a witness who said the suspect broke a window to enter a backstage bathroom. The only item reported missing from the theater was a felt top hat, used as a prop, estimated to cost about $15. Also, it appeared that the suspect used the bathroom’s shower before leaving.
Monday, April 26
A staff member reported that her wallet was stolen in the 7N staff lounge at the UW Medical Center (UWMC). Only staff members have access to the lounge. A credit check showed that the card had been used to buy gas near the university the night it was reported missing. The incident is still under investigation.
A UWPD officer responded to a report of vandalism at Condon Hall. Upon arriving, the officer met with a witness who showed him graffiti on the building. The suspect(s) used red-spray paint to write the word “cast” in two places, and drew a picture of an animal described in the incident report as a “rabbit/pig.” The estimated cost for repairs is $500.
Wednesday, April 28
A student living in Terry Hall reported that his wallet was stolen when he left his door unlocked while using the restroom. No other valuables were reported missing from the room.
Sunday, May 2
A UWPD officer responded to a report of a stolen laptop in the HUB dining area. A student said that he left his laptop and power cable on a table when he left the building, and when he returned the laptop was gone. The laptop was reported to be worth $1,200.
Tuesday, May 4
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) and UWPD responded to a bank robbery in the 1300 block of Northeast 45th Street. The suspect is described as a white male in his 40s, 5-foot-9, of medium build with light brown hair and no beard. He was wearing an off-white baseball cap, a gray sweater and light-colored pants. The FBI and SPD are investigating the event.
Bicycle thefts are still on the rise on the UW campus. Between April 24 and May 1, another six bikes were stolen on campus. The UWPD is encouraging students to use U-locks instead of cable locks, and to put the lock through both wheels and the frame, if possible, to deter bike thieves.
The UWPD and the SPD provide the information for this column.
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Bad for business?
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 08, 2010“Few examples of graffiti in Seattle compare to the Tubs building at the corner of Northeast 47th Street and Roosevelt Way Northeast. The building, vacant since 2007, is now almost entirely covered with graffiti. Business owners in the U-District are used to seeing graffiti like this on a daily basis, and a new review of city graffiti policies will examine their experiences.
“It’s an eyesore,” said one local business owner, who asked to remain anonymous out of concern that their business would be targeted for vandalism. “It affects our business … if people see something like this, they may think that [the neighborhood] is not safe.”
Customers often complain they are afraid to park their cars in the area because of the extreme graffiti, he added.
This, however, is one eyesore that the City of Seattle can’t remove with its Graffiti Nuisance Ordinance, because the owner of the building allows people to graffiti there.
“There’s really nothing that we as a utility can do to enforce the ordinance in this case,” Julie Vorhes of Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) said.
If the owner of a building in Seattle gives permission to graffiti his or her own establishment, the City of Seattle cannot legally require removal of the graffiti.
In response to the concerns of business owners and residents such as those in the U-District, and the seeming ineffectiveness of current anti-vandalism laws, Seattle City Council members Tim Burgess and Tom Rasmussen requested that the Seattle City Auditor’s office conduct a review of Seattle’s practices for dealing with graffiti.
Part of this review is an online survey run by the office.
“The survey is part of defining the entire problem,” Claudia Gross-Shader of SPU said. “We’re trying to find the costs and impact [of graffiti] to local businesses and homeowners.”
One reason for concern, the councilmembers stated in a letter to the auditor’s office, is recent sociological research into the “Broken Windows” theory, which suggests that neighborhood disorder, such as graffiti, leads to increased crime rates in an area.
The letter included two studies outlining the negative effects of litter and graffiti on neighborhood crime rates.
Graffiti is also a problem on the UW campus, costing Facilities Services roughly $40,000 annually, said Jon Hooper, Facilities manager.
Sterling Luke, a UW Facilities Services employee who removes graffiti on campus, explained the university’s simultaneously pronounced and invisible graffiti problem.
“It’s huge,” he said. “This morning I think I did about ten … we take care of it before you guys wake up and get to school.”
Students may not see much graffiti on campus, Luke said, because UW Facilities Services places priority on cleaning up offensive stickers, felt-pen drawings, spray paint and gang graffiti before students arrive on campus.
“I look at it as a nuisance,” he said. “All the money I use to clean it up could be put to better use … that money could be put toward something that could help the [university].”
While the UW and the City of Seattle have employees dedicated to cleaning up graffiti, private business owners in the U-District and the rest of Seattle are on their own.
The Seattle Graffiti Nuisance Ordinance requires that all private citizens and business owners clean up any graffiti on their properties within 10 days of receiving official notification from Seattle Public Utilities, or face fines of up to $5,000. The permission-related loophole exempts the Tubs building from such action.
“It’s 50 or 60 bucks every time we have to paint over the graffiti,” said another U-District business owner, who also asked to remain anonymous. He said he finds fresh graffiti and vandalism outside his business almost daily.
When completed, the auditor’s survey and the larger review of graffiti in Seattle will include information about the effectiveness of anti-graffiti laws and ordinances, cleanup strategies, and recommendations for methods of educating residents and community organizations about graffiti issues. The online survey will run until May 10.
The auditor’s office will present its findings from the survey as well as the overall review on neighborhood graffiti to the Seattle City Council on June 1.
Until then, business owners in the U-District will have to continue the almost-daily activity of cleaning up graffiti on their properties, and living with the consequences of graffiti, such as on the Tubs building, that they can’t control.
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Free speech Friday
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 07, 2010“In response to I-1077 is a bad idea — and unconstitutional, to boot …
Dear Editor:
Russ Wang is totally wrong about Initiative 1077!( Daily April 28) Washington State has the most regressive tax structure of any state in the U.S.! The poorest people pay 20% of their income in state taxes, while the richest pay only 3%. Further , because the state is so dependent on sales taxes,the bottom falls out of the budget in times of crisis, like now. We need a stable source of income based on a progressive principle---the ability to pay. Wang says that 1077 is founded on “base instincts”. What is base about wanting the rich to pay more of their fair share? The wealth concentrated at the top actually comes from the labor of workers at the bottom. Who contributes more to society---the person who picks your food, cleans your floors, teaches your children, cares for the sick----or the corporate executives and bond traders who make money off of gambling in derivatives? Right now, two thirds of those polled support 1077. If we don’t buy into the self-serving arguments of the rich and their backers, we’ll enact this very small step toward equity.
As far as the tax later spreading down the income scale, we’ll need to
stay vigilant to prevent that---But a small tax on the rich shouldn’t be
stopped now because the poor might be taxed later. In fact the poor are
already overtaxed and 1077 would redress this , at least a little.
Steve Leigh, UW staff
Taking Back the Night: Observations and Sentiments
Very few events posses the poignancy, the power, that is required to
fundamentally alter how I see the world. I would have never suspected
it, but CORE’s Take Back the Night Rally proved to be one of these. I
had heard of the event the day before, but I had no compelling reason
to attend. Yet somehow I found myself at the doors of the Ethnic
Cultural Theater last Thursday. The rally was about to begin inside. I
paused briefly at the entrance, and then stepped into the theater.
Moments later, the event began. The leaders of CORE took to the stage and spoke
briefly about the program, quickly yielding the microphone to three
different groups of musicians. As the last notes of the Beatles’
“Blackbird” faded, the CORE director announced an open microphone
session. Members of the audience were then welcomed to publicly share
how sexual violence had affected them.
A wave of uncertainty and curiosity swept through me. For a few palpably awkward moments, the
stage sat empty. Then, a young woman rose to her feet, shuffled across
the aisle, and walked to the stage. She introduced herself and began to
give a candid account of how, while intoxicated at a Cinco de Mayo
party, she was raped by her roommate’s ex boyfriend. A girl in front of
me began to cry softly midway through her speech, and a friend gently
consoled her. The speaker finished and returned to her seat amidst a
wave of applause. When the clapping ceased, the theater laid silent
save for the faint but audible splashing of teardrops on cold concrete.
The cycle continued. Woman after woman stood from the audience and walked
up to the stage, sharing their experiences. They were a diverse group,
of all backgrounds and ethnicities. Some had been molested during
childhood, others raped in high school, many in college. A few had
taken their attackers to court, but most did not, or could not, seek
justice. Many spoke of forgiveness and moving forward, others vented
their frustration and hatred. Yet there were common threads in their
stories. All of them told of the shame and fear they had experienced,
but there was also a tragic sense of guilt; as if they had not been
wronged, but were instead guilty of a crime. The courage, the sheer
force of will that it must have taken to stand in that auditorium is
beyond my imagination.
Being in that room was one of the greatest privileges of my life, and it impacted me personally. The
trust and openness, the intimate anonymity, that I experienced was
unforgettable. One of the speakers had not even told her parents she
had been raped, yet she spoke openly about her anguish to an audience
of supportive strangers. More importantly, rape victims were no longer
silhouettes on poster, but close enough to touch. Before then, I knew
virtually no victims of sexual violence. Hearing their stories left an
indelible mark me and drastically increased my awareness of rape.
Twice that night, I heard calls for a perfect world. This was not a utopia,
but a world in which a passed out and naked woman would be tucked into
bed by a friend and watched over through the night. Sitting in the
audience on that night made me want, more than anything else, to be
that friend for someone.
I know our lives will intersect again, those women and mine. They will sit beside me in class and walk past me
on campus. They will be the same women, but then, they will have their
emotional Kevlar strapped on tightly. They are intelligent, beautiful,
vivacious, and they conceal their wounds well. We may not always be
able to see rape victims, but I assure you, they are out there. They
are our family, friends, neighbors, and classmates. We owe them, and
all potential victims, a perfect world.
Kiehl Sundt
Freshman
In response to “Drought in ‘River of Lights’ senior-gift fund” …
As co-chairs of the 2010 Senior Gift Council we would like to take a moment to respond to Mr. Verhey’s critique of our choice for the 2010 gift. He suggests that people could donate to a better cause, that our gift isn’t visible enough, and doesn’t fit with the spirit of a Senior Gift. First off, the Senior Gift isn’t meant to be self aggrandizing, despite what Mr. Verhey assumes, the goal is not to “provide any kind of recognition” or “leave a memory” of our class. Rather our goal is to give back to the University in a way that encompasses the value of the University to our class and to ensure that others enjoy an even better experience than our own. The gift is meant to embody the spirit not only of our class but of University as a whole; it is meant to foster and create a better environment for future generations, even if it isn’t as visible or overt as previous gifts.
As a council we spent multiple months deliberating and deciding over what we believed were the biggest needs on campus; also included in this discussion was where we felt our gift could make the biggest impact. We did consider scholarships (including study abroad and normal scholarships) given the rising costs of tuition. However, given the current economic climate we were leery of endowing a scholarship that would turn out low dividends initially due to the volatile nature of the stock market; we wanted to use our funds to create a more immediate impact. Furthermore, we wanted a gift that would be accessible to all people, rich and poor, of all ethnicities and nationalities; we believed a gift should represent all of the individuals in the class, a level of equality not reachable by endowing a scholarship. We did look into contributing a monument or creating a local art endowment, however, the cost of these projects exceeded both our wildest hopes and aspirations for our fundraising. The only way the Husky in front of the Hub was made possible was because a Council member that year donated her artistic ability and time. Furthermore, we felt that given the problems on campus an artistic piece was not fitting.
We ultimately decided on a project centered around safety. This was driven by a general sense of concern among Council members and students as a whole regarding the increasing levels of crime in the U District and the notion that students should never feel unsafe in their own neighborhood, let alone their own campus. Given the Daily’s superb coverage of the increasing crime and concern over student safety we feel Mr. Verhey would have appreciated our efforts. We looked into multiple areas where we could improve safety. We talked about expanding the campus night ride program; however with our expected contributions they couldn’t actually expand the hours or routes. We looked into adding a police officer, but again we were limited by our expected contributions. We also looked into creating more call boxes but those were both prohibitively expensive and also were considered more reactionary then a proactive answer. We settled on lights because we believe that by reducing the dark and dimly lit areas on campus we can help people feel safer walking around their own campus at night. Our gift is not flashy or highly visible, but we feel that it addresses a vital need and will make the University a better place for future generations. We hope that people will continue to donate to the River of Lights, but that being said, it is more important to donate your time, energy, or money to any part of the University in order to continue making it a world class institution. Go Dawgs.
Joshua Hansen-King & Jess Marie Tollenaar
2010 Senior Class Gift Council Co-Chairs
In response to “The RainyDawg Debate” …
Every since I heard about RainyDawg Radio a couple months ago, I have been a big follower of it and hoping that it survives these hard financial times. This radio station provides a great opportunity for UW students to express their music with the community and pursue any creative ideas they have that will help advance the radio industry. I had a hard time agreeing completely with either one of the ASUW candidates, but they both made some claims that I could support. I believe that the OneCampus candidate was misinformed when he said that the radio has a very low listenership, but I agreed with him when he said that the radio has the potential to expand with their current funding. I disagree with the Husky Nation candidate for saying that the radio station has enough listeners, but I support his claim that the radio station is a great resource for those interested in the field of music and broadcasting. I’m really relieved that all of the candidates are in favor of preserv!
ing the radio station. My goal here isn’t to talk bad or endorse any of the candidates, but to inform everyone to educate themselves about the candidates before they decide who to vote for. Figuring out which ticket is going to present you with the best opportunities and which candidate will be open to your creative ideas is the real key to the ASUW election.
Eamaan Tabatabai
Sophomore, Civil Engineering
In response to “South Park creators shouldn’t bend to radicals” …
Hello,
I would appreciate it if this message could be passed along to Andrew Taylor. I am commenting on his article “South Park Creators Shouldn’t Bend to Radicals” which appeared in the Daily today (4/4/10).
In his article Mr. Taylor recommends that Muslims in general(particularly the fringe “Revolution Muslim” group) should get over it and stop being sensitive over any characterization of prophet Muhammed. He makes this claim based on the freedom of speech endowed to American citizens, including South Park creators. I have one question to ask Mr. Taylor: would you be advocating that South Park creators are exercising their right to free speech if they ran an episode in which one character denied the Holocaust or in which a Black person was called “nigger” publicaly? My point is: there are just concepts in life that are not open to free speech, regardlss of how we like to throw around this amendment. Muslims ask that any characterization of the prophet not be regarded as “free speech”. Just like denying the Holocaust or calling a Black person “nigger” in public are considered forms of hate speech (and are not statements governed by freedom of speech), Muslims ask that their opposition to depicting the prophet be held in a similar regard. I understand this is an opinion column, but I’m just giving Mr. Taylor some input into how he can improve his jounalistic skills - by presenting both sides of the story.
Safia Farole
In past quarters, I have been a volunteer note taker for the University of Washington Disability Resources for Students (DRS), and I understand the importance of having resources available for people with disabilities. I am concerned that Seidel feels like a second-class citizen by having to use a side door due to current accessibility problems. Personally, I prefer using alternative entrances to buildings. These entrances are often less crowded, making it easier to slip into classes. The article continues, noting that universally designed buildings would not have stairs and would have one entrance for all. With our current economy, it is not feasible to eliminate stairs from buildings. It is simply not practical to take away this option for entering. Logistically speaking, one entrance would funnel all people into one hallway, causing traffic jams as people attempt to simultaneously enter and exit the building. While I strongly support the implementation of accessible entra!
nces for buildings like those of the renovated HUB, I also believe that universal design should not cause a costly logistical nightmare for those entering and exiting the buildings.
Tara Horne
Sophomore, Industrial Engineering
For the past couple of years the comment feature on YouTube has puzzled me. The ability to leave comments on any video posted by contributors was probably meant to provide a way for people to share their thoughts on feelings on the best and worst of the internet’s videos. While the comments on “keyboard cat” videos are civil the comments on any video remotely political or controversial in nature are interspersed with emotional, anger-filled shouting matches. I can’t wrap my head around why YouTube insists on keeping it. The comment feature, which should give an outlet for constructive and rational discourse, has been bastardized by the anonymity of the internet so that on many videos only ignorance and entrenched opinions exist.
This “YouTube effect” has crept into the Daily’s Free Speech Friday opinion section on occasion. The offenders (I won’t name names so as to not be a hypocrite) generally respond to articles with unsubstantiated emotion-based arguments. I would like to ask any would-be arguers to avoid responding in this way and try and be more positive and constructive. This habit is especially worrisome for a collegiate newspaper. If rational, logical thinking fails here, where else will it be found?
Aaron Freeman, Freshman
In response to the implication of the title, “Choose Your Ticket” …
As ASUW Board of Director elections draw near and with each passing day the storm of “vote for this ticket” propaganda rises, I would like to remind the student population of what exactly a ticket is. It is simply a collection of candidates who have pooled their money together in order to campaign more effectively. All that statement implies that a ticket has evolved simply as a monetary mechanism as endorsing a separate candidate can exist outside a joint campaign effort. This monetary alliance is further evident by the lack of reference to a ticket in the Election Association Committee (EAC) rules or in the candidate registration form. If the ticket was anything more than a joint campaign effort, like a political party, whatever happened to last year’s ticket? Let me show you the money; as you may already know, according to EAC rules, each regular board member is allowed to spend a maximum of $350 on their own campaign, the vice president $400, and the president $500. Alone that is not a lot of money, but as full ticket that joint campaign budget is upwards of $3000; six times more than what the president can spend independently.
That is all fair and true; however, what does that mean for you, the voter? Why should you care? The simple fact is that individuals on a ticket may or may not be the best candidate for the position, just a candidate that is willing to contribute between $350 and $500 toward a joint cause. The danger is due to a larger campaign budget and name association, a lesser qualified candidate may succeed in getting the position over another more qualified candidate simply due to exposure. The board is not a group package and the board members are not the president’s staff; they each have their own roles that exist entirely outside that of the president’s stated mission. These positions are independent of other members of the board and act accordingly, regardless of what a campaign ticket may imply. They receive a salary ($8,000 - $14,000 a year, not including bonuses and discretionary funding: see the budget online under “ASUW Records”), a desk or an office, and a title; all with or without the approval of anyone else on the board. They are simply your choice in who is best for the position. Do not leave it to a ticket, a joint monetary effort, to decide who will make decisions for you in the future.
Therefore I encourage you to think outside the framework of a ticket and examine each candidate carefully. Though it is possible I am mistaken and the candidates of Husky Nation, Team Legacy, Vote Big, and Vote One Campus are on a ticket together because of similar ideals, are those necessarily your ideals? Each job description is so vastly different from one another that a simple collective ideal or a uniform trait may not be enough to justify voting for the group package. I have an agenda and a platform of my own from which I can judge candidates; find what your agenda is and vote accordingly. Research your vote; the forums may be past, but your voice is still going to be heard and the impact of your decision will last indefinitely.
The take home message is this; avoid the temptation to vote for an entire ticket out of laziness or loyalty and do not fall into the trap of believing a ticket is a group package deal, but rather vote for candidates that are running in this campaign because of who they are as individuals. Be educated; choose your candidate, not your ticket.
Joseph Salama
Junior, Physiology
ASUW Commuter Senator.
In repsonse to “Girls of the Pac-10” and “No day like today” …
Dear Daily Editorial Staff,
I have a question for you regarding The Daily articles on Monday, April 26th: Why did you choose to put the article about Playboy auditions on the front page, and the piece about SARIS’s anti-violence/sexual assault training [“No Day Like Today”] in the back? The latter had much greater substance and relevance to both women and men at the UW, informing us about an important program and resource to promote safety in our community. In contrast, “Girls of the Pac-10” just seemed like an excuse to put a full color panty-shot on the front page. Which just ended up reinforcing the same objectification of women’s sexuality practiced by Playboy. Personally I think that The Daily, with it’s wide, diverse audience, has a responsibility to ensure that its content doesn’t contribute to the negative “isms” of our society: (hetero)sexism, racism, classism, etc. I’m not saying that an article about UW women auditioning for Playboy has no merit, and I don’t want to criticize the women who participated. But you definitely didn’t need to print that photo, much less on the front page.
Annnalisa Steinnes
Alumna ‘02
Geography
A Letter in Support of Vote Big
The current model of ASUW is failing the average student. The student union should be at the forefront of issues that affect all students: tuition, state funding, affordable housing, financial aid, access to opportunities, text book prices, teaching quality, etc. Unfortunately the average student cannot even name what it is the ASUW does.
With elections right around the corner we have the opportunity to inject new ideas and new energy into our stagnant union. This gives us the opportunity to redirect union activities to work for us.
Chris Teeny and Shauna Stadnik, candidates for president and vice president respectively, running as the Vote Big ticket promise to do just that. They both bring fresh perspective to a stale organization. They both share a vision of bringing more students into the ASUW community by making ASUW more relevant to the other communities which already exist on campus.
Chris said at the recent RHSA/IFC/Panhellenic forum that the way he would measure the success of the ASUW was by the percentage of students who could explain what it is that the union does when asked. This is precisely the attitude that our president must have. No one should be satisfied to represent a constituent who doesn’t know what their leader does. Chris and Shauna share that drive to connect ASUW to the students that they would represent.
A vote for Chris Teeny and Shauna Stadnik is a big vote. So, Vote Big, Vote Teeny and Stadnik.
Timothy Shigeta
Senior/Industrial Engineering
To Whom It May Concern:
In the Monday, May 3rd edition of The Daily, Jonathan Yan, a candidate for ASUW Director of Organizational Relations, was quoted as saying, “[Rainy Dawg Radio] is the second-highest payroll, but it hits a target audience of less than 15 listeners a day. We have to hold them accountable for that.” I feel compelled to set the record straight—many of you likely glanced at Yan’s quote, bolded as it was, and assumed it to be the most truthful or significant aspect of William Dow’s article.
This is simply untrue.
It’s my understanding that Yan believes he got his figure (“less than 15 listeners a day”) from a presentation I gave to the ASUW Board of Directors on Thursday, April 1st. My presentation—which included a wealth of data, statistics, and evidence on how Rainydawg Radio is a crucial campus resource—made no mention of such a figure. During the Q&A following my presentation, I was asked by Ehsan Aleaziz, the ASUW Director of Operations, to summarize listenership statistics related to the station. While I explained that our internal apparatus for aggregating and organizing listenership data (on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly scale) was irreparably damaged during our most recent server failure, I said that listenership doubled from 2007-2008, and has remained consistently high, and—I’m quoting here from the BOD minutes of the April 1st meeting—“[the] show that has the most listeners probably has a number of listeners in the high 20s, but it fluctuates and depends song to song.” To further clarify: DJs are able to track, live, the number of listeners to our digital stream (we just lack the capability to compile this information in metrics and timetables, and the number constantly refreshes). As such, we can watch listeners log on or off the stream, based on their reaction to a particular song that’s being broadcast. This kind of instant feedback is very rewarding, and it’s my perception that, on average, a given show can have as many as 20-25 listeners at once for a particular song, though many shows have many more listeners, and some have fewer. The number of listeners to our digital stream during a live broadcast fluctuates wildly, and does not necessarily reflect the overall listenership statistics for that day (it gets even more complicated, if you can believe, as I’ll explain momentarily).
Rainydawg turns over hundreds of listeners daily, and listenership statistics are inherently misleading anyway, since many of the station’s fans and casual listeners download broadcasts after they air live, through our website’s invaluable digital archive. Also, as others have pointed out, our current system doesn’t even track multiple listeners across one IP address (UW dorms share an IP address). When presenting to the Board, I wish I’d made an even greater effort to emphasize how much more esteemed, popular, and listened-to the station is than many assume—especially candidates for Director of Organizational relations, something I’ve noticed after three years of working for the station and observing ASUW elections.
The reach, influence, and community-building strength of Rainydawg Radio is not limited to the knowledge of candidates who have never met with, spoken with, or consulted the station management. Our goals and vision are some of the most salient and visionary of any ASUW entity or enterprise. Furthermore, the trend of comparing Rainydawg to other radio stations (academic, non-academic, and commercial) is a precarious one. Rainydawg was created to provide new community-building opportunities on the campus, and to serve as an educational extracurricular resource for students interested in the broadcast and music industries. Despite being one of the youngest stations in the nation, Rainydawg has been a rousing success on both of those fronts. Its primary purpose is not to serve as a successful radio station on the level of more commercial and well-established stations (though the station management has been working hard to achieve such a level of quality and prestige), and the station does not—and cannot—make profit. To try and force business-world expectations onto Rainydawg would be misguided and unproductive.
On behalf of Rainydawg Radio, I’d like to ask you all to look past the political declarations, erroneous claims, and negative perception of the station. You will see that we are one of the most diverse, promising, and unique internet stations out there, and a terrific and necessary campus resource. Or better yet, tune in for yourselves. We’re on the cusp of many exciting changes at the station, including a relaunch of our website at www.rainydawg.org, a relocation to Condon Hall, and the transition to a new management team. This is on top of a number of promising recent developments, including the creation of our Local Music Podcasts, two free “Live at Rainydawg Radio” compilations, and a handful of collaborative cross-entity events like Tune In, Tune Up and the Rock, Riot and Run. I’m certain Rainydawg’s future is bright; it’s something that DJs, listeners, staff, and the ASUW have been working hard for the past three years to guarantee.
Please tune in. I think you’ll like what you hear.
-Jason Baxter
General Manager, Rainy Dawg Radio”
The UW will put Nike in its place
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2010“This past week, the Student Labor Action Project hosted two women from so-called “sweat shops” in Honduras. Nike, they said, contracted with factories that are illegally withholding severance pay after illegally shutting down the factories when the workers tried to form unions.
These would be sad stories if they were not concocted by left-leaning, Communist radicals bent on the destruction of nothing less than all the values and good things America stands for. The student body of this university can assume these two women must be actresses recruited from our state’s substantial Hispanic population and paid off by evil Decepticons and Socialist Slytherins to slander the job-providing captains of industry at Nike. It could be no other way, because if there were a problem, our diligent and benevolent university administrators would have dealt with it already.
In December 2009, President Mark Emmert recognized Nike as in violation of the UW’s Code of Conduct in a strongly worded letter to Nike, insisting it change its practices. If there were still a problem, one can imagine how swiftly our Provost, Phyllis Wise, a true American hero, would act to fix the problem.
“Oh, Wise Provost, whither dost thou go?” a student might ask, employing heroic tones fit for addressing true American heroes.
“Thither, to yonder Nike Board of Directors meeting I go,” the provost would reply, who composes all of her sentences in the manner of a true American hero. “Whilst there, I shall set right the egregious wrongs, the Phyllistine crudeness Nike has done unto its peasants.”
“With haste dost thou go, Wise Provost?”
“Surely with haste, young scholar. Fleet-footed Nike might retreat, but elude me he shall not. Lux sit!”
She would enunciate the university’s motto — let there be light! — and illuminate all shady labor practices. With the swipe of her signature across an executive order suspend its contract with Nike. Inhuman labor practices would suddenly disappear as the provost’s withering glare and incessant attention shames Nike into acting justly.
Behind her back, the provost would clasp the university’s pocketbook shut. Nike would get not a penny, but the normal student wouldn’t notice such subtleties. Instead, the provost’s benevolence and magnanimity in the face of the university’s budget woes would awe him. He would understand inherently that the university always does the right thing, even when it is not convenient to do so, and thus would ignore the money deal, the talk of contracts and the political sniping that goes on behind closed doors. He would know that if the problem remains unsolved, the university will find a different, more ethical contractor to which it can give the right to print the Husky brand and from which it can purchase Husky athletic-wear made by workers earning living wages at a cost still affordable to Husky fans.
Surely, if the UW knew of a truly grave situation in which Honduran workers making UW garments received no severance pay and some died as a result, the UW would act swiftly to either fix the problem or find a supplier whose business model didn’t trivialize worker deaths through small concessions like offering worker retraining classes. We, the students, can trust those in power to always do the right thing. All the time.
Anyone who thinks the letter to Nike is not enough is so clearly a fringe anarchist, a rabble-rouser and a misguided misanthrope that his complaints wouldn’t even deserve 15 inches of column space in the student newspaper.
Reach Development Editor Andrew Doughman at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Proposed tax increase beneficial now, unnecessary later
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2010“King County Executive Dow Constantine proposed a sales-tax hike for King County on April 28 that would preserve public-safety and health programs currently threatened by budget cuts.
Constantine announced that the 0.2-percent sales-tax hike for King County will be voted on in August. The increase averages out to $40 per person each year, according to a news release from King County.
The tax would preserve funding for up to 82 positions at the sheriff’s department, 36 deputy prosecuting attorneys, King County Superior Court programs, funding for public-health centers and other programs.
Constantine had previously promised not to raise taxes in a recession during his campaign, but his recent actions go against that promise.
I doubt he was trying to be deceitful during his campaign, as promising to not raise taxes and then going back on that vow will harm how the public views him. More likely is that Constantine is trying to preserve programs, and he changed his mind about the necessity and usefulness of a tax increase.
Some may also wonder whether Constantine putting public-safety and health programs in the crossfire of the debate is a good idea.
“If voters approve, the county will be able to preserve the current level of critical public-safety and health services. If voters do not approve, they will have chosen a lower level of these services,” Constantine said in a King County news release.
Instead of asking the voters for more taxes for the general fund, he is specifically invoking the tax as a means to protect public-safety services, such as the police force. This may seem like a cheap ploy, but naming specific programs legitimizes the increase.
“Government spending” is abstract and easy to dislike because of its nonspecific nature, but “paying for public-safety programs” is not. As long as he’s not trying to mislead the voter (there is little reason to think so), then Constantine is just making the decision clearer and more concrete for the voter.
Beyond Constantine’s promises and tactics, the real problem with this increase is that it continues the local government’s unsustainable tax and spending patterns.
In times of economic growth, there is money flowing, and in democratic Washington, the government typically expands. While some expansion is necessary, the size of the government often becomes too big to be sustainable when the inevitable recession comes.
If you’re not hitting big enough budget surpluses during the good times, then the recession will force your hand with bigger shortfalls. It’s doing so right now to Washington state.
This tax is necessary to help preserve beneficial programs now, so I think it is important. Generally, though, adding taxes during a time of recession is a bad idea. In the future, the politicians of Washington state and King County should work out budgets that can ride the rise and fall of the market, instead of expanding with the rise and imploding with the fall.
Reach columnist Christopher Andersson at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Pop Culture Crackdown: Nicholas Sparks
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2010“So I have this plan, right? In which I write a melodramatic novel. Two characters fall in love. One is named Veronica or something. The other is named Nicholas Sparks. They love each other so much that they would die for each other — jump in front of a bus, maybe, or swim into a whirlpool filled with ravenous sharks. And actually, when I say they would die for each other, I mean Nicholas Sparks would die for Veronica.
And then I kill him off, for the dramatic effect. I’ve decided that he dies because his head got a bit too big and, you know, just rolled off his body. A touching love story, really.
I’m sorry, was that too overzealous of me? Did I, perhaps, take that one too far? Well, take that as a lesson, Nicky. You may have all females ages 12 to 100 nestled under your thumb, but not everyone worships your uber-romantic, money-making schemes of novels.
Perhaps I should back up. For a while, I simply bottled up my dramatic hatred for Sparks’ novels and novels-turned-movies, but when I stumbled upon an article in USA Today about a Sparks book reading with a few choice quotes, I just couldn’t take it any longer.
I will provide you with several examples.
Number one, the comparison to ancient literature that has stood the test of time: “I write in a genre that was not defined by me,” Sparks said. “The examples were not set out by me. They were set out 2,000 years ago by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. They were called the Greek tragedies.”
Number two, Sparks again compares himself to quality literature: “A Farewell to Arms, by Hemingway. Good stuff. That’s what I write,” he said. “That’s what I write.”
He then goes on to tell USA Today’s reporter about how terrible of an author Cormac McCarthy is. For those who don’t know, McCarthy wrote the 2006 novel The Road, which went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. But really, Pulitzer schmulitzer. They clearly just don’t respect Sparks’ unique style of writing.
The article only gets worse from there. Not only does Sparks cite his favorite coming-of-age novel as his own sappy A Walk to Remember, he also insists that he is writing in the genre of love stories, not romance novels. Apparently, there’s a difference.
The problem with Sparks’, ehem, “love stories” is that they follow what I like to call the “Ingredients for a Cake So Sweet that You Puke Up Rainbows Afterward.” Of his most famous novels-turned-movies (A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe, Dear John, The Last Song), there are varied combinations of ingredients. Add: one girl, one boy. For extra flavor, make one of them either really moody or really rebellious. Add: one death, two or three if you have the ingredients for extra tissues. Add: love letters. Add: some really mild sex scenes that may or may not include old people in a nursing home. Add: up to six dramatic conflicts, including but not limited to: moving away, class differences, war, father-son issues, mother-daughter issues, senility, leukemia, autism, dead kittens. Stir. Don’t put in the oven too long to preserve gooiness.
But beware. Continue to eat that sweet, gooey cake and a multitude of things will occur: One, you’ll begin to wallpaper your house with Kleenex. Two, the brain cells you lose will never, ever return. Three, you’ll suddenly begin to fear the death of all of your loved ones.
And that, my darling readers, is why I must kill off Nicholas Sparks in my next book.
Look for it on the shelves in March 2011, and check out the motion picture starring Britney Spears making her comeback as Veronica, Sparks, of course, as himself, and Cormac McCarthy as that angry guy with a pitchfork.
Reach reporter Kristen Steenbeeke at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
Film Review: The Secret in Their Eyes
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2010“At an Argentine station, a woman is seen running after a departing train. A man on the train notices her. We don’t know who they are or how they know each other, but he gets up and races to the rear of the train as she falls behind, only to find her helpless on the platform, fading with distance.
This image will echo throughout the film The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos), this year’s Best Foreign Language Oscar-winner from Argentina. She is Irene Hastings (Soledad Villamil), a judge, and he is Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darin), a retired criminal attorney and her former colleague. Years ago, they worked together on a case involving the rape and murder of a young woman, and now Esposito wants to write a novel about it. He and Hastings have not seen each other in years, and when he informs her of his intent, she us supportive of his efforts.
But the course of time has left many things undone and even more unsaid. As Esposito trudges through his memories of the case, he begins to awaken all of his sleeping emotions left over from the past and finds himself once again investigating many of the case’s unsolved mysteries.
To simply call The Secret in Their Eyes a police procedural, a legal thriller, a romantic drama, or a character study would be doing it a grave injustice. It is all of these things and more; but above all, it is an excellent film. Although I can’t agree completely with the Academy’s decision to give it the Oscar and not Haneke’s The White Ribbon, I understand now why the decision was made.
The film, from writer-director-editor Juan José Campanella, offers a long and perfectly paced glimpse into the essence of time and memories. It is a densely plotted work that offers many deep insights into human nature, but it balances its melancholia and grittiness with a wonderful sense of humor and never becomes heavy-handed or castigating.
The Secret in Their Eyes is a film that looks outstanding and feels welcoming, even given its dark subject matter. The cast, led by excellent Villamil and Darin, is supplemented by flawless performances from Javier Godino, Pablo Rago, and especially Guillermo Francella, who has an Oscar-deserving role as Pablo Sandoval, Esposito’s alcoholic friend and court clerk.
From a technical standpoint, the production is nearly flawless. Editing is tight, the music is a perfect auxiliary, and the production design is incredibly detailed. But the camera work is absolutely jaw dropping. Filmed in a modern, neo-classical style, cinematographer Félix Monti makes excellent use of shot construction and framing in most scenes; but the one scene that will have everyone talking is that of the soccer game. Very much like the climactic scenes of a Roman Polanski film, Monti somehow pulls off an extended shot (one filmed without the use of a cut) in an overflowing stadium that moves from the sky above the arena down to the bowels below it. It’s one of the tensest, most thrilling chase scenes I’ve ever seen.
The Secret in Their Eyes is an easily accessible film that is open to many levels of interpretation. The film’s delicate and dark balance of humor, violence and romance helps it pull through a deeply disturbing twist in its final act without overpowering the rest of the film.
But the film loses none of its power, and the film’s finale will certainly challenge many viewers without provoking them. At last we know the secret in their eyes, but also that the very same eyes truly are the windows to the soul.
A-
Reach reporter Robert Frankel at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
Book Review: Tell-All
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2010“Set in the middle of the 20th century where the year is placed by what major hit is dominating the radio, Tell-All is a short yet complex story written like a movie script.
Once the envy of Hollywood, main character Katherine “Miss Kathie” Kenton stared in roles from Ms. Claude Monet to Ms. King Arthur during her heyday, and was courted by similarly famous gents including business owners and fellow movie stars. Now, love stricken and heart broken, she goes from honor show to award ceremony reliving her glorious run through the admiring eyes of her peers.
The narration is achieved by house maker Hazie Coogan who considers herself an interracial role to the overwhelming success of Miss Kathie, despite the fact that her role within the house is little beyond the duties of maid. After five marriages that ended rudely in betrayal or death, Hazie sees it as her duty to protect Miss Kathie from further heartbreak.
Enter Webster Carlton Westward III, a gallant 20-something man with “root beer” brown eyes. Beginning subtly in the opening scene, Webster’s affection for Miss Kathie grows quickly and, against Hazie’s best efforts, his charming persistence eventually wins over her whimsical heart.
Just when the story seems headed for monotony Hazie uncovers a tell-all biography about Miss Kathie, which she refers to as a “lio-graphy” because of its manipulation of intimate details, tucked away in Webster’s bag. Not extraordinary in its own right, the discovery becomes alarming when Hazie realizes the biography is finished, pending the death of Miss Kathie, which has also been written. Keeping one step in front of each evolving murder plot, Hazie and Miss Kathie are caught dodging the cruel and continuous schemes. Ultimately, in a twisted and frightening conclusion, we find that nothing is quite how it seems.
Part zany, part shrewd, with a thoroughly well-crafted plot and surprisingly deep characters Tell-All is a terrific read. From A-lister’s to no names, sophisticated if at times pretentious name-dropping makes you feel apart of the vintage Hollywood scene. In the first moments, an onslaught of characters left me feeling like my environmental-economics textbook might be less confusing, but if you can push on and embrace the unique screenplay structure, you will be immersed in a mind game that makes it easy to understand how Chuck Palahniuk created stories such as Pygmy and Fight Club.
Flashing back and dissolving from scene to scene, the movement is openly sporadic but surprisingly enjoyable. Beyond the unique style, Palahniuk imparts endearing moments of “take-home advice” with lessons on life and love. If you’re prepared for something different that will undoubtedly push your comfort zones, you, like myself, will find yourself applauding Palahniuk in his refreshing off-the-cuff approach.
A-
Reach reporter William Denman at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
Album Review: LCD Soundsystem
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2010“Three minutes and seven seconds: That’s the amount of time you have to prepare yourself before the last 62 minutes of LCD Soundsystem’s third, and perhaps final, album will surely melt your brain.
Nine-minute opener “Dance Yrself Clean” begins with James Murphy’s ramblings blended in with low-key synths and some rattling somewhere in the distance. Then, at that three-minute, seven-second mark, the drums blast off out of nowhere while pulsing synthesizers explode. Hallelujah.
It’s rather glorious, and it’s only the start to This Is Happening, the follow-up to 2007’s modern-day classic Sound of Silver.
Whatever you want to call it, Murphy has perfected this mix of dance, electronica, pop and punk. Nothing here shoots for the mainstream; it’s a wonderfully unique collection of nine brilliantly conceived songs. That’s right, there’s still someone out there willing to make a real album, not just a crapshoot of singles mixed with efforts that didn’t pan out. Murphy’s 65 minutes deserve to be listened to from start to finish, multiple times.
Lead single “Drunk Girls” is the only song here under 5.5 minutes. It’s definitely marketable (note to self: Try to get the chorus out of my head some time within the next year), but much too witty for radio: “Drunk girls know that love is an astronaut / It comes back, but it’s never the same.” Instead, Murphy’s creations are a refreshing break from the nauseating charts. For instance, “You Wanted a Hit” features a two-minute intro, harkening back to days when music — even dance music — was an art form. In it, Murphy proclaims, “You wanted a hit, but that’s not what we do.”
“One Touch” is a David Bowie-esque tune that throbs behind Murphy’s electronic production. The theme continues on “All I Want,” an unmistakable homage to Bowie’s “Heroes,” with the same famous whining guitar. Some might say it’s an attempt at recapturing the mood of LCD’s best song, “All My Friends.” But the song-writing is all about longing, with Murphy singing, “All I want is your pity / All I want are your bitter tears.” Whatever the case, it’s one massive experience.
Another obvious winner is “Pow Pow,” a ridiculously funky, giggle-worthy and stabbing piece of music. In it, Murphy’s best lyrical moments come in throngs. From the comical: “Your time will come, but tonight is our night, so you should give us all of your drugs.” To the hilarious: “We have a black president, and you do not, so shut up, because you don’t know s--- about where I’m from that you didn’t get from your TV.” Murphy sounds so sure of every little detail, especially on the closer “Home,” which shuffles out with a controlled, intense energy. A fitting end, to be sure.
Regrettably, if Murphy is to be believed, this really could be the last work done under the LCD Soundsystem name. Even worse, it could mainly be remembered as such, which is a shame, because like its predecessors, and maybe more than them, This Is Happening is all of these things at once: extremely cool, fun, smart and perfectly constructed.
So dance your little heart out. I’d like to think Murphy wouldn’t want it any other way.
A.
Reach reporter Bryden McGrath at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
Republicans and Democrats debate emissions and concealed carry
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2010“The Young Democrats and the College Republicans discussed emissions trading and gun control at their quarterly debate yesterday. The Young Democrats threw their support behind “cap-and-trade” emissions trading and keeping guns off campus, whereas the College Republicans advocated for job creation in place of cap-and-trade and supported carrying concealed weapons on campus as a crime deterrent.
Two members of each organization sat anxiously at the front of Gowen 301 as the debate came to a start. College Republicans Samantha Bowman and Lauren Pardee opened the emissions-trade debate, arguing that it creates an unnecessary economic burden on companies, slower economic growth and higher prices on consumer goods.
“The increase in cost is just not something our economy can handle,” Bowman said. “We should be focusing on more issues … like creating jobs”.
Junior Wilson Faust and sophomore Tyler Rigsby recognized that cap-and-trade could lead to slower economic growth.
“A green economy doesn’t have to be a successful one,” Rigsby said.
The College Republicans dismissed the Democrats’ statement, and Bowman said an expected $9.9 trillion decrease in GDP, a loss of more than 2.5-million jobs and a $1,000 yearly increase in energy costs for a family of four is “not something we need right now.”
Faust and Rigsby also argued that the effects of global warming to the environment would be much greater than the effects of cap-and-trade on the economy and that the College Republicans’ estimate of $9.9 trillion was false, saying the program is likely to cost $22 billion.
“If we don’t do this now, [global warming] is only going to get worse,” Faust said.
Young Democrats Travis Wichtendahl and Dusty Wight opened the second debate, which was about gun control in public places.
While Wichtendahl and Wight did not argue against the Washington legislature allowing the carrying of concealed weapons, they said keeping guns off college campuses eliminates threats, and they advocated continuing the UW’s current policy.
“It would be illogical for Washington to change its permit-issuing policy in any way, except to add the requirement of a safety course of demonstration of capability [to handle a gun],” Wichtendahl said.
While both groups agreed that a course on gun safety to potential gun owners would be beneficial, College Republicans Andy Marsolek and Will Hagen argued that the UW should enforce Washington’s legislation on carrying concealed weapons.
“Concealed weapons are a sure way to deter criminals from campus,” Marsolek said.
Though competitive hostility was sparked between the two groups, both said they consider the debates positive events.
“This is what college is about,” said David Corrado, former Young Democrats president. “We’re supposed to learn and consider other people’s experiences and viewpoints. I think it’s beneficial to reach across the aisle and exchange ideas.”
Reach contributing writer Angela Moorer at development@dailyuw.com.”
Jacobsen Observatory competes for grant
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2010“Students have the opportunity to help the Jacobsen Observatory receive a $125,000 grant that would help restore the 115-year-old building.
As part of the Seattle-Puget Sound Partners in Preservation Initiative, 25 historic places in the Seattle-Puget Sound area, including the Jacobsen Observatory, have been nominated to receive the grant. If the building is chosen, the grant would be used to fix the balcony and roof of the observatory. Facilities Services would replace both so that they are sturdier and can hold weight. Neither meet safety standards as is.
The Preservation Initiative will give away a total of $1 million. While the top vote-getter will receive $125,000, it has yet to be determined how the remaining funds will be distributed among other top nominees.
“We’re hoping to get the observatory back to where it was when it first opened,” said Ana Larson, astronomy senior-lecturer and director of Jacobsen Observatory.
The Jacobsen Observatory was built with the leftover materials from Denny Hall in 1895. Since, the observatory has functioned as a facility for learning about the universe. At least 20 students volunteer in the observatory.
“It’ll give us, the volunteers, an opportunity to go up to the roof and sweep it if needed,” outreach volunteer Liz Williams said. “There’s a shutter on the first floor that opens up to the roof, and we’d like to be able to open that up again. Also, sometimes people will get on the balcony while we’re not there, and while it’s not ideal for them to be there, we’d at least like to make it safe.”
Larson said that beyond the physical restoration of the building, the grant will help the observatory reach more students.
“I see this potential restoration improving not only the roofing and balcony, but also the amount of undergrad participation here in the observatory,” Larson said.
Senior Thomas Gomez has been a volunteer at Jacobsen Observatory for two years and believes that the restoration is important because it’s a public building, just as it is a campus building.
“The building serves the community; we’re bringing science to people,” Gomez said. “Little kids come in here and decide they want to be an astronaut when they grow up. It’s important that this place looks presentable.”
Volunteers have been unable to open the dome, which has in turn, made the usage of the transit telescope impossible. Gomez sees the grant helping the accuracy of findings.
“If the roof is fixed, this will allow for many more telescopes and eye pieces to be used,” Gomez said. “These might help us to detect more faint objects in space.”
The Jacobsen Observatory is presently ranked 24 out of the 25 nominees. From April 15 to May 12, participants can vote once daily for the place they would like to see receive preservation funding, and the winner will receive the grant. The University Heights Community Center is another U-District building competing for the funding.
Reach reporter Colin Gorenstein at news@dailyuw.com.”
Creative campaigning
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2010“ASUW campaigning has become unavoidable. Among the signs, signature dishes and drinks, Wi-Fi password at Cafe Solstice and sunglasses, the elections have spread throughout the UW community.
While other tickets have chosen more subdued and traditional campaign tactics, One Campus has chosen a more aggressive route, and not everyone is thrilled about it.
Blaine Bowman, a UW sophomore, said she was starting to get annoyed by their campaign in comparison to other tickets, and feels it has become unavoidable.
“It’s really pervasive, and I’m wondering if they’re turning people off because of it,” Bowman said. “For some reason, it’s just not something I’m getting fired up about.”
What some consider annoying, others feel is good marketing. Kyle Fuller, Husky Nation’s presidential candidate, said One Campus is very creative and doing things differently by thinking outside the box. Fuller said that while their tactics have gotten voters’ attention, her ticket has chosen a more grassroots approach to getting Husky Nation’s name out.
“We’re doing more of a one-on-one approach rather than mass advertising,” Fuller said. “People want to hear about the issues and where we stand, not about the kinds of gimmicks we can do.”
Chris Teeny, the presidential candidate from Vote Big, said that a lot of people on campus don’t really care or know about the ASUW, so One Campus’ strategies are a great marketing skill and a step forward in engaging the student community.
“I don’t think they’re being too extravagant or in people’s faces,” Teeny said. “I don’t know how great the return will be, given the time, money and effort they’ve put into [their campaign], but they’re using pretty innovative tactics.”
In past ASUW elections, campaign strategies have typically been limited to public forums, signs and T-shirts. However, given the competitive nature of the elections this year with four tickets and an independent presidential candidate running, One Campus has adopted a new edge.
Madeleine McKenna, One Campus’ presidential candidate, said that unexpected tactics get people’s attention and that the ticket is trying to be more creative and think outside of the box.
“People get tired of seeing the same old campaigns, so adding that extra element makes it fun,” McKenna said. “It doesn’t speak to the issues we stand for, but it’s meant to say, ‘Oh, that’s different,’ or ‘That’s original.’”
Some of their strategies, however, may be more controversial. These include a personal plate at Hawaiian BBQ, a signature drink at Finns, and Cafe Solstice’s decision to make their Internet password “One Campus.”
One Campus isn’t the only ticket benefiting from businesses in the U-District. Team Legacy is also utilizing the cross-promotional technique by offering a signature drink at Yunnie Bubble Tea. Beto Soto, the Team Legacy presidential candidate, said the partnership decision was not influenced by One Campus, and declined to comment on their campaign strategies.
“We wanted to encompass all students and build relationships with businesses at the same time,” Soto said. “Bubble tea was a good option, because we didn’t want to tarnish Team Legacy’s name by going the alcoholic route.”
Archita Taylor, chair of the Elections Administration Committee, said that as long as no money is coming into the campaign, it doesn’t count as a donation or something to be accounted for. However, Taylor said that since cross promotions like this have never been done in campaigns before, the ASUW Judicial Committee will probably have to look over the interactions this year.
“There’s no precedent for it, since it’s such a different way of campaigning,” Taylor said. “It will be interesting to see if that comes up as an issue [in the Judicial Committee] and how they choose to handle it.”
The venues they’ve looked to for cross promotion aren’t upset, and the Hawaiian BBQ owner, whom everyone calls Chang, says he is happy with the collaboration and that people “were ordering [One Campus’] dish.” Ultimately, however, voters will be the ones to choose if their strategies are effective or not.
“I’m biased toward what I feel is too aggressive, but ultimately it’s up to the voters to decide,” Fuller said.
Voting begins May 10, and the election results will be announced May 13.
Reach reporter Katie Burke at news@dailyuw.com.”
Cinco de Mayo
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2010“Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla in 1862. The clash marks a chaotic period in Mexico’s history, when the country had just gained its independence from Spain and was struggling to maintain its sovereignty. As French troops closed in on the capital, a small army of peasants and locals assembled outside the city of Puebla. The outnumbered militia held its ground, and the victory, though short-lived, is still recognized to this day.
“Cinco de Mayo is an episode that illustrates the type of problems that Mexico has always confronted in trying to maintain or preserve its independence vis-à-vis the intervention of world powers,” explained Lauro Flores, a professor of Spanish and Portuguese studies.
And while the country did not win its independence until November 1910, May 5 is lauded as a symbol of national priwwde. The victory represents the fearless patriotism of a struggling people.
“Particularly for the Mexican-American or Chicano students, this celebration is imbued with pride,” Flores explained. “It is also an opportunity to educate themselves and others about their own history, about something that by and large was not included in history books in this country until very recently.”
Beto Soto, the director of the La Raza Student Commission, wanted to emulate this pride in the Cinco de Mayo celebrations that took place on the HUB lawn Wednesday. Salsa lessons, a jalapeño-eating contest and a piñata were among the activities offered. Soto added to the festive atmosphere with traditional decorations and a taco truck. And while club fairs and student booths often dot the HUB lawn as the weather warms up, Soto encourages his peers to educate themselves about the historical significance of the holiday.
“We’re not here to tell people that this is how you celebrate it,” Soto said. “But we want people to know that it’s not just a holiday to get drunk on.”
Soto said the holiday is celebrated to varying degrees within different communities. Many Chicano students grew up in families still rooted in their Mexican heritage. Others view it as a figurative celebration. Regardless of students’ personal traditions, Soto wants to address some of the misconceptions surrounding Cinco de Mayo.
“I think that Cinco de Mayo has been ‘corrupted,’ as some of my colleagues have put it,” Flores said. “Cinco de Mayo is now seen simply as a day when people eat corn chips and drink Corona beer. This trivializes the issue. I’m happy to see that students are taking this opportunity to understand the real significance of Cinco de Mayo, beyond beer, guacamole and chips.”
Soto wants to use the holiday as a platform for other concerns within the Latino and Chicano student population.
For Maria Jimenez, who grew up in Eastern Washington in a mostly Hispanic population, one of those concerns is creating a sense of community for the growing minority group.
“In Eastern Washington, where the population of Latinos is pretty high, they do a big celebration [for Cinco de Mayo],” she said. “A whole street closes down, and we have a fair and food and dancing and concerts …. Stepping onto this campus, it was so huge, and I don’t see many people of color that I identify with, who share my traditions and culture and beliefs.”
She eventually found her niche with Unidos de Semanos, a multicultural organization for young women on campus. They sold tamales and tabled yesterday afternoon to raise awareness about the community-oriented student group.
While Hispanics comprise only about 5.8 percent of the student body and 5 percent of this year’s faculty new hires, the community is more intertwined with the campus than some might suspect.
“It’s important for me personally because I come from a family of immigrants,” junior Andres Munoz said. “My grandparents came from Mexico. It’s my own history, and I think it’s important to people on campus, because many of the workers on campus are immigrants. And really, many of the students come from immigrant families as well. Immigrants affect our lives every way, shape or form, from what we see to who cleans our bathroom, and in a lot of ways we don’t acknowledge or understand that.”
Munoz considers himself an activist for immigrant rights. He organized marches in support of immigration reform and hopes to study U.S.-Mexico relations. Though he doesn’t have a solution to the immigration issues that face America today, he wants to engage his peers in the conversation and the fight for greater representation.
According to a study by the Pew Research Center, 12.7-million Mexican immigrants lived in the United States in 2008, 17 times as many as in 1970. More than half, 55 percent, of these Mexican immigrants are believed to be in the United States illegally. Current events reopened the discussion on immigration reform. For instance, Arizona Immigration Law SB 1070 arguably strengthens border control by allowing state officials to inquire about a person’s immigration status based on “reasonable suspicion.” The recent legislation has resulted in nationwide protests.
Munoz explained that cultural celebrations like Cinco de Mayo help bring these issues to the forefront.
“It gives us a chance to educate others on what our heritage is and what we come from,” he said. “And it gives others a chance to see who else goes to school with them … La Raza students face a lot of discrimination in the classroom. Their history is not often talked about, except in certain classes. And there’s a lack of Latino faculty to teach our own history.”
La Raza translates to “the race,” a term used to describe the cultural pride and richness of Latino Americans. Above all, Soto wanted the Cinco de Mayo festivities to be celebratory and hoped to share this pride with his peers.
Reach reporter Celina Kareiva at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
South Park creators shouldn't bend to radicals
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 05, 2010“It takes a lot for a society to have a cartoon that jokes about a flood of urine, people becoming “jewphins” and eating someone’s parents in a bowl of chili to give us a lesson on proper censorship.
A couple of weeks ago, the Comedy Central cartoon South Park celebrated its 200th and 201st episodes by trying to refer to Muhammad uncensored. But Comedy Central blocked it when the group Revolution Muslim gave a veiled threat that the creators of the show would end up as Theo Van Gogh, a filmmaker who was killed after making a documentary about abuse against Muslim women. In order to avoid any hostility, Comedy Central censored every utterance of the word “Muhammad” from the episode.
This really shouldn’t have happened.
What South Park was trying to do was to show that they could just show Muhammad in a cartoon without having to be offensive. Other Danish cartoons showed Muhammad wearing a bomb for a turban. South Park wasn’t going to show anything like that. The show was trying to make the point that everyone should calm down. It’s just a picture of someone.
Comedy Central took it too far when they cow-towed to the demands of Revolution Muslim. It took away from the message of the episode and brought to light how threats on someone’s life can lead to censorship.
Some censorship can be good. I don’t think all of it should be eliminated. For instance, in the same cartoon, when a character swears, the curse is often bleeped out. I don’t mind that. The word is crude and not essential for the message.
Censorship for obscenity or crudeness is acceptable, but not including a depiction of Muhammad just because a blog doesn’t agree with what they are saying is not.
This sent the dangerous message that threatening someone with a different point of view works. The episode wasn’t designed to be offensive in any way toward Muhammad, but just because a fringe group decided to start sending threats from a blog, it was pulled. I mean, the U.S. government doesn’t bend to terrorists; why should cartoonists bend to a radical blog site?
What Revolution Muslim should realize is that in the end, it’s just a cartoon. No one is being persecuted, no one is insulting the religion, and no one is getting hurt. It doesn’t have to come down to threats to get rid of a cartoon.
So, everyone should take a deep breath and realize it’s just a cartoon. No one should get too upset over it.
That episode wasn’t that good, anyway.
Andrew Taylor is a senior at Shorewood High School in Shoreline, Wash. He has been an editorial intern at The Daily since fall 2009.
Reach editorial intern Andrew Taylor at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Research insider: Mortality rates, Facebook data collection and ocular injections
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 05, 2010“This column keeps track of the UW’s scientific community and the student and faculty research that takes place here each week.
Analysis of global adult mortality released
A new study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation investigating global health-mortality from 1970 to 2010 appeared April 30 in The Lancet, a weekly medical journal.
The United States dropped from 34th in the world in female mortality in 1990 to 49th and from 41st in 1990 to 45th for male mortality. With these new rankings, the United States has now fallen behind all of Western Europe and countries such as Albania, Chile and Tunisia.
During the past 40 years, women’s health has improved more than men’s. While adult mortality in men has fallen by 19 percent, adult mortality in women fell by 34 percent.
Other highlights of the study include that, among adults, the lowest risk of death was identified in Iceland for men and in Cyprus for women. But inequalities have been revealed as well, with mortality rates in Southern Africa higher than mortality rates in Sweden from 1751.
Mortality rates are higher than they were in 1990 in 37 countries. Since 2005, mortality has declined thanks to new HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa.
UW News reported that the findings are the most comprehensive assessment of mortality ever produced. Censuses, surveys on household deaths and sibling-survival histories are just some of the ways that the group determined mortality rates.
Facebook at the Grand Challenges Summit
On Monday, the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges Summit, hosted by the UW’s College of Engineering, wrapped up at the Washington State Convention Center.
Facebook data scientist Jonathan Chang called the social-networking website, which boasts more than 400-million users, a “great tool for science,” reported TechFlash. Chang said that Facebook’s enormous data set benefits social scientists.
According to The Seattle Times, Chang gave a humorous example of data that showed people regularly mentioning the word “party” on Saturdays and “hangovers” on Sundays. Facebook has also conducted surveys correlating users’ moods with positive and negative feelings in status updates.
New treatment for diabetic macular edema
Fifty percent of patients with diabetes-associated swelling of the retina who received ranibizumab (Lucentis) eye injections had substantially improved vision after one year, according to a new study in which the UW was a participant.
Only 28 percent of people had improved vision with the standard procedure of the past 25 years, laser treatment.
“For over 20 years, laser coagulation has been the main treatment for diabetic macular edema,” Dr. James Kinyoun, professor of ophthalmology and director of the UW clinical site, told UW News. “Now, ophthalmologists have a treatment that not only is more effective in decreasing vision loss, but also in improving vision already lost to diabetic macular edema.”
The study was supported by the National Eye Institute and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Reach columnist Bryden McGrath at news@dailyuw.com.”
The Underground
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 03, 2010“In the club, there’s this sort of false-anonymity code everyone silently abides by. It’s as if the dancers and patrons are similarly nameless, and morals, families and dignity are all checked at the door. However, in reality, this is nothing but an illusion.
After a few weeks working at the club, I began to notice a tall man in a business suit attending frequently. He would often spend hundreds of dollars on dances in one night. One Monday night, he admitted to me he was a married professor.
Even though the club closes at 3:30 a.m., there was always some place to go or something to do afterward. On a Friday night, I found myself talking to a gorgeous, tall, blond man in his mid-20s who was in town with a group of his male friends. It was immediately decided he was to be “mine,” and another waitress friend would go for his best friend when we left work to go hang out at his house.
It was a risky move going to some man’s house I didn’t even know — this should better illustrate how good looking he was.
We got there around 5 a.m. and started drinking and talking. While I knocked back shots of Grey Goose and enjoyed the company of my Californian, the three of them did lines of cocaine off the coffee table. Before I knew it, my girlfriend convinced me to “perform” for them and teach them some stripping moves.
As the clothes started coming off, I suddenly had the feeling we weren’t going to be heading to separate rooms. I suddenly found myself in the middle of a drunken, cocaine-filled orgy. Now, don’t get me wrong: While group sex is something I’ve never participated in yet, I’ve always found it appealing.
It’s just that this girl wasn’t my type. After kissing her mouth, which tasted like liquor and sweat, I had no desire to put my tongue anywhere south. During a moment while everyone else was busy with one other, I slipped into the bathroom to call my best friend, Sophie, for advice.
Sophie’s in the Big Apple pursuing her Broadway dreams, but it’s all well, because she’s insanely talented. It seems theater people are always more open and kinky sexually, plus she’s a little slutty. Thus, I wasn’t surprised when after my frantic explanation she replied, “What are you doing? Get in there and get some!” Ah, what are best friends for.
After spending some time preparing myself for the sexual journey to come — pun intended — I left the bathroom to find the three of them passed out on the floor. I watched the sun come up on the back porch with the rest of the Grey Goose, a cigarette and a sense of relief. I dodged sleeping with an ugly, cocaine-crazed girl, which is quite a feat if you’ve ever been there.
After a while, the club just got less and less entertaining. Suddenly my rowdy, fun friends became haggard, men-hating drug addicts. I felt myself subconsciously treating men I met at school as potential clients, sizing up how I could take advantage of them within the first few minutes of conversation.
Ultimately, that’s why I left the job. I could deal with the sex, and drugs and drama, but being unable to form real relationships with guys is a deal breaker. I like being young and innocent to all the cruel things life will eventually do to me, especially when it comes to love.
But being poor was getting old fast, and as everyone knows youth, desperation and charisma are never a good combination in the city.
Next week: “He might be too old for you if he can use his AARP discount card at dinner.”
Reach contributing columnist Lolita at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Poor sleep schedules often increase stress levels
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 03, 2010“It’s getting to be that time of the quarter: The birds are chirping, the sun is shining (sometimes) and we’re all beginning to find ourselves crushed under a pile of assignments and job applications. With the stress of school, work and relationships, we can often find ourselves letting certain other necessary aspects of our lives slide to the wayside. More often than not, we neglect our bodies’ natural need for sleep in the struggle to succeed at other more outwardly important aspects of our lives.
While stress can affect your sleep schedule, lack of sleep can cause stress. We should be getting between six and eight hours of sleep every night. Many of us rarely do. This destructive cycle can only be broken through a conscious effort to fit adequate time for rest into one’s schedule. Time-management skills come in handy here because of the delicate balance between too much time spent sleeping and too little. Too much sleep can leave us feeling groggy when it counts, and too little can increase feelings of stress as well as result in many more long-term disadvantages.
Dragging ourselves out of bed, glassy eyed and bedraggled, to our 8:30 a.m. physics tutorial day after day after only four or five hours of sleep can add up to worse side effects than accidentally falling asleep over a textbook in Odegaard. Sleep deprivation can lead to severe health disorders in the long run. In addition to affecting our ability to manage stress, it impairs our ability to problem solve and monitor emotions. Extreme sleep loss can even result in hallucinations, weight gain and depression.
I recognize that the occasional late-night study party is necessary for survival sometimes. But I do know that the vast majority of late nights are spent in less-productive ways. By focusing on getting a good night’s sleep instead of mindlessly trolling Facebook, we can improve many facets of our lives. And self-regulation is the only way that we can ensure that we get enough sleep on a nightly basis.
Part of getting a good night’s rest is establishing an environment that is conducive to it, which can seem hard with dorm- or roommates. But earplugs or eyeshades can help to make the atmosphere much easier to sleep in without actually changing much else. Alternatively, exercising two to three hours before you plan to go to bed for the night can help your body relax. If physical exercise is already part of your daily routine, why not try working it in to help your sleep schedule as well?
Explaining the side effects of sleep deprivation might not make anyone sleep any more than warning people of the negative effects of alcohol. However, knowledge is half the battle. If we find ourselves wondering why we feel so boggled by a simple homework question, we will see that the answer lies simply in a good night’s sleep.
Reach columnist Emily McFadden at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
For the love of God
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 03, 2010“During an average Friday afternoon, it’s likely you’ll spot senior Kurt Kaiser in the Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints institute lounge, barefoot on the couch, surrounded by faces of approval and adoration. Hovering above his favorite couch is just one of many images of Jesus Christ that line the institute’s walls. Even Kaiser himself is astonished to discover an image of Jesus he has never seen before upon each visit. There’s one image, however, that never seems to go unnoticed. Instead, it consumes Kaiser with grief each time he passes it, permeating preadolescent memories of alienation.
“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the title reads. As the glaring words “Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan,” catch his eye, Kaiser is reminded he may never achieve this covenant, because he is gay.
Kaiser said there are two things that define him the most: Mormonism and homosexuality.
And incidentally, the combination of these two lifestyles has created quite a dilemma for both Kaiser and fellow congregants.
Kaiser said it can be difficult to reconcile the two and not entirely stray from biblical teachings.
“There isn’t really a middle ground in Mormonism,” he said. “If you are gay, you should be celibate or marry a woman; gay men shouldn’t hang out with other men.”
But if there’s one thing you should know up front, it’s that Kaiser has never been willing to compromise happiness for religion. The term “same-sex attraction” has been used in the ministry to refer to people like Kaiser. He feels there is a connotation that comes with this term, one of modifiability — that one can suppress one’s homosexual tendencies.
In the Mormon faith, in order to reach the highest level of heaven, a person must be married. Kaiser admits he probably knows more closeted than out gays, many who are Mormons who have chosen to suppress their sexuality in order to remain wholly pious.
“I don’t want to get married to a man to screw up this sacred religion,” Kaiser said. “I want to get married to a man because I grew up being told the most important thing in life is to find happiness and love. And maybe I won’t have a wife, but I still want the white picket fence and the minivan.”
Kaiser recalls reading the Proclamation when he was 13 years old and sensing he was different. However, it was not until his junior year of college that he entirely embraced his sexuality and publicly came out. And he wasn’t alone when he did it.
Kaiser and fellow member of the church UW alumnus Mark Johnson were romantically involved beginning Kaiser’s freshman year. Johnson had recently returned from a two-year mission in Baltimore, Md., when they met during a Friday luncheon. The relationship sprouted during the same time Kaiser was dating a female congregant, someone he repeatedly told himself he would end up marrying. Kaiser and Johnson decided they would both come out via Facebook, which Kaiser joked was awfully “classy” of him.
“We literally pressed ‘post’ and hopped on a plane for a two-week Europe trip in hopes of escaping the initial judgment,” Kaiser said.
And with a few minor exceptions, the congregation didn’t judge.
“I think it was because many congregation members knew me before, and they knew me after,” Kaiser said. “I was still the same person.”
This process of coming out would, of course, involve telling his parents, both converts to the Mormon faith. Kaiser emphasized his parents certainly were not condemning, but his mother initially told him that dating a woman would be much “easier,” and she continues to tell him this.
Kaiser said he still has a close relationship with his mother, whom he speaks with practically every day. However, both struggle with the publicity of his sexuality.
“Every time I post something on Facebook hinting about my sexuality, my mom says, ‘Why do you have to be so out there?,’” Kaiser said. “I’m still not friends [on Facebook] with some of my relatives on there, because I‘d rather not broadcast my sexuality to them, and my younger siblings don’t know.”
Kaiser admits at the point he realized he wanted a husband, the religious aspect of Mormonism had waned for him, and the cultural or community aspect of it was what remained. He felt an obligation to the community to be there.
“When no one knows a gay person, they think gay people are this or that, a scary other,” Kaiser said. “But when they start talking about how marriage should be preserved between a man and a woman, it’s no longer ‘other’ — it’s saying Kurt can’t get married.”
Disagreements on marriage intensified when Proposition 8, California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, surfaced and the Mormon community became actively involved to articulate its disapproval. The president presiding over the church, Thomas Monson, who is regarded as a godly figure among congregants, was a vocal opponent of the cause. And, as Kaiser put it, “The Mormon community took his word as God’s word.”
This was not the only time Kaiser’s sexuality interfered with his religious pursuits: When Kaiser consulted with the bishop about embarking on his mission his first year of college, he confessed that he had been romantically involved with Johnson. It was decided he would be denied the opportunity to partake in the mission.
Kaiser met junior Gianluca Lou through the Q Center’s Queer Men’s Group, and they later became roommates. Their sexual orientation was not their only commonality. Like Kaiser, Lou was an active member in a religious community.
Lou was raised as a Roman Catholic and attended mass at the Cathedral of Milan in Italy, experiencing a completely different political climate. This was a very conservative diocese, and homosexuality, Lou describes, was very “hush-hush.”
“It’s very different in Italy,” he said. “Essentially, they’re not tolerant. [In] Seattle you can walk down the streets holding your boyfriend’s hand without feeling like you’re going to be killed.”
He remembered Alessandra Mussolini, a member of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s coalition, making the derogatory comment, “Better to be a fascist than a faggot,” on public television and that everyday citizens saw no wrong in exclaiming, “Gays should be burned in front of the church.”
These scarring images still haunt Lou to this day.
When Lou was 15, he realized he was gay but made up his mind that he would not act on it. So when he did come out that same year, he didn’t just surprise his parents; he surprised himself.
“To be living fully in Christ is to be living fully in yourself,” Lou said. “One’s moral system should not be divorced from the religious principles they subscribe to.”
His mother was accepting of the news, but his father remained silent — a silence that to this day, Lou cannot categorize as “apathy” or “disapproval.” As long as Lou doesn’t talk about it, he said it’s fine.
Lou received some backlash for coming out publicly. He clearly remembers a specific student in his 11th-grade Spanish class saying to his face that homosexuality was unnatural and disgusting.
“I really don’t think I was confident enough at this point to challenge anyone who told me I couldn’t be gay,” Lou said.
So he remained silent.
In Lou’s last year of high school, he got involved with a small Anglican church in Milan called All Saints. The church used scripture, tradition and reason to unlock core religious meaning. When it came to homosexuality, Lou recalls they were far more “progressive.” But even so, this progressive atmosphere would not come close to matching that of the United States’.
When he moved to the United States to attend the UW, he wasn’t excited — he was afraid.
“I was initially afraid, because I thought I would be the exception [to the tolerance] and be gay-bashed,” he said. “I couldn’t help but be a bit skeptical of how tolerant everyone was here.”
Lou was later confirmed in the Episcopal Church, the Anglican presence in the United States, at Covenant House. He attends church at both St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and St. Mark’s Cathedral, both of which are Episcopalian congregations.
Lou describes the congregation as very accepting. Human sexuality is a topic that is addressed head-on among its congregants, not danced around, he said. Church members participated in gay-pride parades during his time at the church.
While he’s enveloped in a religious community that accepts him for who he is, he still notes that ignorance abounds. The priesthood’s pedophilia scandals highlighted in the news, Lou said, caused some to associate the incident with homosexuality in the church.
“It’s disgusting that people think they can just generalize the priesthood,” he said. “The head priest was gay, the deacon was gay and most tenants are, but this has no bearing on pedophilic tendencies.”
Bible literalists have also taken the Genesis story of Sodom and Gomorrah to be a statement about homosexuality.
“There is a quote I like to use [said by an English bishop], ‘Where Christ went, there was a revolution. To where I went, there was a cup of tea,’” Lou said.
He uses this quote often in describing portions of the bible that have been largely misunderstood when taken literally, and how society is rapidly changing.
Ignorance, however, seems to be something both Lou and roommate Kaiser have accepted will be present no matter where they’re living.
“I really do feel privileged to live in the United States, regardless,” Lou said.
The two friends hope to model how it is possible to be gay and lead a pious life. Lables unattached, Lou and Kaiser are just people, striving for the same happiness and religious fulfillment others are.
“With all of this hatred within religion, I can’t help but wonder at what cost we’re ‘doing good,’” Kaiser said.
Reach reporter Colin Gorenstein at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Legislators and students discuss budget at WTF forum
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 01, 2010“UW students met with lawmakers Thursday at the Where’s the Funding? forum to discuss budget cuts and the future of state funding at the UW.
The ASUW Office of Government Relations assembled a panel including Frank Chopp, the 43rd-district representative in the Washington State Legislature; Margaret Shepherd, director of state relations for the UW; Mike Bogatay, executive director of the Washington Student Association; Leslie Goldstein, the executive policy adviser for Gov. Chris Gregiore; and Andrew Doughman, a reporter and editor for The Daily, who all fielded questions from students. Topics ranged from financial aid to taxes and tuition.
The first question asked of the panel, by Jono Hanks, director for the ASUW Office of Government Relations and moderator of the event, set the tone for the entire forum: “What do you think about the long-term trend in Washington state of disinvesting in our public universities?”
“A very short answer to that is that it’s unfortunate,” Goldstein said. “I think we can honestly say there’s been some disinvestment in public services in general because of what happened this year.”
Students also submitted questions about the future of the Husky Promise program, which guarantees free tuition to students from low-income families, asking if it could become a broken promise to students as a result of future budget cuts.
“I don’t think this is a time when anything can be taken for granted,” Goldstein said.
Panelists reminded students that the Husky Promise program is not only dependent on the choices made within the UW, but also within the state Legislature.
“We often at the university think of the Husky Promise program as a University of Washington program; it’s not,” Shepherd said. “The Husky Promise program would not be possible without the Washington state Legislature and without the taxpayers of Washington State.”
The panelists agreed that state and university budget cuts are not going away anytime soon and discussed the viability of several suggested ways to increase funding for academics and financial aid at the UW, including a salary cap of $150,000 for high-level UW staff.
While it could possibly save the UW millions of dollars every year, Shepherd, as well as the other panelists, said that such a salary cap would not be a practical way to channel funding to academics.
“What is the problem we’re trying to solve?” Shepherd asked. “This group of individuals [who would be affected by a salary cap] brings in and generates around $600 million in grants, in services and support at the university … We want to make sure that we talk not just about cost but we also talk about value.”
They also answered several questions about taxes and the possibility of reforming state tax law to help fund public institutions like the UW. This year, the state Legislature raised $800 million in new revenue through new taxes on alcohol, water bottles and other products, part of which could be used to help fund state-need grants, Chopp said.
However, those taxes that raise state revenue are in danger.
“We’re hoping the public doesn’t repeal those taxes,” he said. “If they repeal those taxes, the state-need grant will get cut by $180 million, or some figure like that.”
While they spent much of the forum discussing the negative effects of budget cuts to the UW and the complicated nature of finding solutions to the problem, panelists applauded students for their time spent working with the state Legislature to help preserve as much funding as possible for the UW and encouraged them to continue lobbying their legislators.
“I think students made a major difference at this legislative session,” Chopp said. “It’s the most contact I’ve had with the student body here for the last 15 years.”
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
‘Friday night lights’ spring game to wrap up spring practices
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 01, 2010“It may not be televised on ESPN or attract a crowd of more than 90,000 like Alabama did two weeks ago, but tonight’s UW spring football game is sure to offer a number of intriguing storylines.
Spring football wraps up tonight at 6:30 p.m. with a game the team has coined “Friday Night Lights.” For fans who haven’t attended any spring practices, tonight’s game serves as a perfect opportunity to see the improvements the Huskies have made.
“It’s just a chance to show everyone what we’ve been working on this spring,” said junior wide receiver Jermaine Kearse, who is questionable with a foot sprain.
Tonight’s game concludes an overall-successful spring campaign for the Huskies. A number of different players stood out, and competition was alive at various positions. Fans will have a chance to see the same players in competitive action tonight.
Among those who have impressed is freshman running back Deontae Cooper, who hails from Perris, Calif. Cooper has wowed coaches and fans all spring, and especially during last Saturday’s scrimmage, when the freshman ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
Another competitive fight this spring was for the No. 2 quarterback slot. Senior Jake Locker is the obvious starter, but sophomore Keith Price and newcomer Nick Montana have both looked good this spring — neither outplaying the other. Montana will lead the No. 2 offense tonight, and Price will back up Locker, who won’t be playing the entire game.
“Jake will play until we feel he’s gotten enough reps, and then Keith will go,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said after yesterday’s final spring practice.
On the other side of the ball, the success has been just the same. Safety Will Shamburger — who Sarkisian called the “most improved of the spring” — and linebacker Alvin Logan have stood out, while veterans Mason Foster, Cort Dennison and Cameron Elisara have improved as well.
“There’s a lot of good things that came about in the last 15 days,” defensive coordinator Nick Holt said. “The biggest thing was that we stayed healthy, and the guys all got better at their trade, so we just keep on rolling here.”
The format for tonight’s game is a bit different from your normal college-football matchup. There will be four, 15-minute quarters, with a running clock that stops only on change of possessions or for special circumstances.
The No. 1 offensive unit will be paired with the No. 2 defensive unit on one team, while the No. 1 defensive unit will be paired with the No. 2 offensive unit on the other side. The coaching staff will be split up evenly to both sides, with offensive line coach Dan Cozzetto leading one team and Holt leading the other.
Sarkisian plans to bounce back and forth between the two teams. The second-year head coach didn’t want to break up the No. 1 offensive and defensive units for tonight’s game, especially after they have practiced all spring against each other.
“I want to give our guys the best opportunity to go out, perform, play well and show how far they’ve come,” Sarkisian said. “I just felt like that was the right thing to do.”
A football game isn’t the only thing on tap. Unlike in past spring-football games, fans will have a chance to get involved this year. There will be everything from a tug-of-war with the UW Strength staff to a hot-dog-eating contest — all things that Sarkisian said were never done while he was at USC.
As for the winner of tonight’s game, there seem to be a few things on the line, but nothing Sarkisian could openly say yesterday.
“There are side things that I think that are going on,” Sarkisian laughed. “It’s internal.”
But what wasn’t so unclear was what Sarkisian wants to see tonight.
“I really just want to see our guys play and be successful,” he said. “And I know what I don’t want to see: false starts, offsides, holding and pass interferences. I want to see our guys play a really good, clean football game, and I want to see them having fun.”
Reach Sports Editor Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.”
April 30 Free Speech Friday
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 30, 2010“In response to Scott Yeager’s Letter to the Editor…
As a student who has been and will continue to be affected by the budget cuts, I can honestly say I sympathize with those who are desperately seeking a way of avoiding them. However, I am alarmed by the idea of slashing President Emmert’s salary (or even dropping it to zero altogether!) that some are beginning to champion. The answer to the university’s financial woes does not lie in cutting his salary. As any student with an elementary understanding of economics can tell you, the demand for President Emmert’s considerable talents necessitates his considerable salary. Paying our president well is a by-product of the excellent educations we receive under his leadership (and if you don’t agree with this last part, why are you a student here?). My experiences with the real world have demonstrated to me that if the university could get away with paying President Emmert less for his necessary services, it would.
It isn’t fair that many students will have significant portions of their careers at the UW deeply impacted by the economic downturn, but life isn’t fair either. We need to point fingers at what is actually culpable for the university’s budgetary woes – the economic recession. The recession will undoubtedly pass, and when it does our budget will improve. Until then, we must “suck it up” and work with the hand that we’ve been dealt. Harassing President Emmert (or Olympia) about issues beyond his control or demanding naïve cuts won’t solve anything.
Aaron Freeman
Freshman
In response to “Reusing and recycling paper may reduce the forests”…
Let me just start by pointing out the fact that this is not an opinion article. Or if it is, your title is irrelevant to the one opinion you actually provide here: that we need to reduce or eliminate damaging or useless subsidies. Are you proposing that we forego recycling until these problems are solved?
Based on your prior writing, which has a decidedly conservative lean, I can only conclude that this is some implicit shot at environmentalists and liberals at large. It seems like some not-too-subtle ploy to undermine the sustainability message of these individuals. But that may be giving you more credit than you’re due, because it really looks as though you have no idea what your intended message is.
If this is about recycling, what is your opinion on recycling? If it’s about property rights and agricultural subsidies, why is it even bothering to mention recycling? It seems like you are searching for some reason to oppose the efforts of those of us who actually care about the environment (and yes, having read your previous articles I can safely exclude you from that group), but you couldn’t make a choice about how you wanted to do it. Unfortunately, you decided to try to make both arguments simultaneously and both of them fall flat on their face.
Shane Phillips
Senior, Biochemistry
In response to “Behind the budget: Part 1”…
My name is Jason Franks and I am a MS Student in the Applied Math Department. To help me pay for school I was hired for a TA position in the Physics Department. I have taught the 122 freshman lab for all three quarters this year. Every quarter I am responsible for the grading and lab instruction of five lab sections, totaling approximately 120 students under my supervision. Every quarter I have learned every single one of my students’ names the first day. Every quarter I have responded to my students’ emails same day. I have one on one time with each and every student during labs and my study center hours. Yes, the Physics department had to shorten the labs from 3 hours to 2 and move more of the work online, but I think the labs are better for it having taken the 3 hour labs. Budget cuts are and never will be an excuse for a TA to fall short of aspiring to be their students’ best instructor, and it pains me that just yesterday one of my students told me I was the first TA he’d had to ever use names.
Jason Franks
In response to “I-1077 is a bad idea --- and unconstitutional, to boot”…
I applaud UW Regent William Gates, Sr., for his public support of Initiative 1077/1098. He’s actually doing something about education and health services cuts and a state tax system rigged against small businesses and low-income families. The initiative proposes a 5% tax on income over $200,000/year (9% over $500,000). Revenue would go into an “Education, Health Services, and Middle Class Tax Relief Trust.”
This would eliminate the B&O tax on small businesses, reduce property taxes slightly, and provide $700 million annually for education and $300 million for health services, helping low- and middle-income families help themselves. This would restore funding for things like childhood vaccinations and low-income health insurance. The proposal includes a provision requiring any change in a state income tax to be approved by referendum, protecting against creeping taxation. More information is available at washingtonpolicywatch.org.
The legal precedents cited by Russ Wung were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court decades ago, so this initiative could become law after the review of a modern court.
Furthermore, the King County Superior Court recently ruled that the state’s education funding system is “not currently correlated to what it actually costs to operate this State’s public schools,” therefore, the current level of education funding is unconstitutional.
I urge the other regents to publicly support this, to put their money where their mouth is with respect to education funding as Mr. Gates has.
Francis Gaze
Senior, Economics
In response to Martin Jarmick’s editorial cartoon for April 29…
Dear editors,
I am writing this email to address Martin Jarmick’s Thursday editorial
cartoon. I think I get the joke, if you can call it that. But the
least funny part of it is the insensitive depiction of a physicist who
I can only assume to be Stephen Hawking. The caricature isn’t even
accurate. Does anyone at The Daily know that Hawking is almost
entirely paralyzed? That he has been wheelchair-bound for longer than
many of us have been alive? At least get the story right when you
ridicule someone’s disability.
What is the underlying message? Astrophysicists can seem otherworldly
when they take about extra dimensions and exploding suns. Someone with
scientific interests would probably find that fascinating or
awe-inspiring. The attitude of this cartoon, however, appears to be
one of discomfort and alienation and somehow that discomfort
translated into an offensive caricature of Stephen Hawking. This
cartoon conjures a mindset that makes me want to cringe.
Jarmick is probably a fine cartoonist but he completely missed the
mark on this one. I assume it wasn’t his intent but there is only
mean-spiritedness in this cartoon.
Sincerely,
Pascal Clark
Graduate student
Electrical Engineering
In response to The Daily’s Housing Guide…
I was incredibly disappointed with your Housing Guide. I feel that most of the articles were irrelevant (shouldn’t we know what to pack by now?) or contained information we could have found by talking to ASUW’s housing entity Off Campus Housing Affairs. I know you referenced their office in one article, but all the other useful tips could have come straight out of their handbook. It seems counterintuitive for The Daily to produce subject matter without collaboration from a student-funded organization dedicated to the very same purpose. The edition was filled with advertisements and contained very little information necessary for students to make wise housing choices.
I also did not appreciate the flow chart about housing options. The implication that residence halls lack community and group organizations completely undermines everything that RHSA and Residential Life work for. As a hall council officer for two years in Stevens and Mercer, I am offended that your staff would make this generalization. The Daily has a strong voice in the campus community, so even a small dismissal such as this influences the perception of the residence halls. It is unfair to the dedicated students and staff of RHSA and Res Life to make such a comment.
As for the housing fair, I did not see any “UW housing resources” that were advertised in the Letter from the Editor. OCHA was there, but not in collaboration with The Daily. The entire venture was more of a money-making opportunity for you than a resource for students. I hope in the future to see greater communication efforts between The Daily and other campus organizations as well as more substantial content.
Ciara Clemons
Junior, Speech and Hearing Sciences
Well, that was easy. Or, perhaps my recent interactions with Mark Emmert (see last week’s free speech Friday if you’re unfamiliar) had nothing to do with his completely unanticipated, surprising to everyone, “rat leaving a sinking ship”, departure. In truth, few people will ever know the real reasons, but I find it hard to believe that there are any “challenges” at the NCAA that compare to the challenges we face here now at UW. Straight up greed, and mounting pressure to actually address the challenges that exist here--these seem to me to be the most sensical reasons for his departure. In any case, Mark’s actual commitment to education, particularly at this institution, has been made clear.
Like most days, I’m sitting in the lobby to the President’s office, and, like most days, he’s not home. This is unfortunate, because today, some very nice people from the campus group SLAP, who are fighting to maintain the quality of education here, are coming to see him. It’s amusing to watch this all go down. I arrive shortly before the group, and warn the receptionist to expect company. Things proceed according to some kind of procedure; the word is spread that something is coming. A megaphone amplified voice approaches, its calls answered by a host of voices, the sound of feet climbing the stairs.
They arrive, carrying bunches of black balloons, and someone steps forward to deliver demands. Another voice takes over announcing injustices. I ask the police officer what he’s doing here, if he’s just in case things get out of hand. He replies that this group is thankfully peaceful, and radios in a status update to the others on standby. Demands are made and echoed, and the balloons are released—casting a shadow on the office. The concerned file out, and, again on the radio, reinforcements are relieved.
With peace restored, those left try to figure out what to do with all those balloons. I suggest that they be kept as decoration, “they’re the wrong color,” I’m countered. While simply letting them go—to float into a half clear sky—is considered, it is decided that they should be popped.
So, in the conference room in which Phyllis is about to have an important meeting, I wield a knife kept for lunch breaks, and help the President’s administrative staff pop about a hundred black balloons. “I’ll just pretend it’s my ex-husband’s head.” Like bubble wrap, there’s something cathartic about the experience. I save the last one from the slaughter, free it from its ribbon, and release it to bounce out of reach, just outside Emmert’s door. And, just like that, things are just about back to normal.
We have a vacancy. And, despite what procedure might be, or what anyone has to say, we are responsible to fill it. Emmert will be replaced, and this shift is the single largest opportunity that we have to redefine the culture on this campus. I intend to find out how this process will proceed, and I intend to ensure that it is as transparent, accountable, and democratic as possible. We need to find a strong leader who is committed solving the challenges that we face here, and we cannot assume that someone else will do it for us.
An Open Letter from the UW Faculty Senate:
Over the past six years President Mark Emmert has served with distinction as the leader of the University and its Faculty. During this time faculty leadership and President Emmert have participated frequently in discussions covering a broad spectrum of topics ranging from revamping the academic side of our athletic program to budgets and faculty salaries. These dialogues have led to substantive improvements in many areas of our academic program and policies.
President Emmert can be proud of his tenure. His open and articulate piloting of the University through last year’s budget collapse was calming, thoughtful, and provided direction for the ship of state in very turbulent waters. More broadly, UW and its community gratefully share the fruits of President Emmert’s success in maintaining or expanding student financial aid, promoting research, connecting to the public, and remarkable skills in fundraising.
Throughout his tenure President Emmert has been a strong, insightful, and engaged leader of a very proud and complex university. We have admired President Emmert’s unceasing respect for his colleagues with an unrelenting commitment to and optimism for the future of the institution and our students. All of us view President Emmert’s departure with a mix of regret, good will, and fondest wishes for his future success.
Bruce Balick, Chair of the Faculty Senate
JW Harrington, Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate
David Lovell, Immediate Past Chair of the Faculty Senate
Marcia Killien, Secretary of the Facult”
Minority citizens should not have to live in fear
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 29, 2010“In Phoenix, Ariz., a Latino and lifetime American citizen named Adbon makes his living as a commercial truck driver.
Last week, Abdon was stopped and questioned by police officers who suspected he might be in the country illegally. After providing his Social Security number, the police were still not satisfied and demanded that he show his birth certificate. Like most people, however, he keeps documents like that stored safely at home and could not immediately provide it.
Abdon was handcuffed, arrested and taken directly to the immigration office.
While it may be tempting to believe that mistakes such as this are merely isolated incidents, they are likely to become more frequent as a result of Arizona’s new immigration law, the toughest in the country.
The new law has attracted a firestorm of media attention because it requires police officers to question anyone if they have a “reasonable suspicion” that that person may be an illegal immigrant. Anyone who cannot verify their identity as a U.S. citizen must be immediately arrested.
While illegal immigration certainly presents a problem that must be addressed, Arizona’s approach is an invitation to abuse and demonstrates the dire need for comprehensive reform.
The obvious question that the new law raises is what exactly constitutes a ‘reasonable suspicion’ that a person may be undocumented. Is it skin color? Is it accent? Is it something else? So far, no one has provided a satisfactory answer.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s response is simply that “We have to trust our law enforcement.” When asked for a warning sign that might raise a red flag for police officers, Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.) mentioned “behavior,” but also that law enforcement “will look at the kind of dress you wear … right down to the shoes.”
Certainly, the idea that police are required to question and arrest people on the basis of their shoe type is a scary one for Hispanic Americans and legal immigrants. Many of them, like Abdon the truck driver, have deep concerns that under the new law, they will be targeted due to their ethnicity. These fears are well founded, based on the ambiguous language of the legislation; there is great potential for the abuse and error.
Many people in this country have demanded comprehensive federal immigration reform for a long time, such as the 8,000 students and local residents who rallied in downtown Seattle several weeks ago. The Arizona case clearly shows that if Congress fails to act, individual states will adopt what President Barack Obama rightly called their own “misguided” solutions.
Eleven million people living in America illegally is certainly a problem: We are a nation of laws, and the laws must be obeyed. At the same time, we must stop demonizing these people. Most of them are here because they want the opportunity to have a better life for themselves and for their families.
This is precisely why a solution that both protects the borders and provides a gradual path to citizenship makes sense. Those undocumented immigrants who have committed no crime, paid taxes, paid fines, learned our history and how to speak English should be able to go to the end* of the legal-immigration line without being kicked out of the country.
Our minority citizens should not have to live in fear of being arrested for the way they look. The United States is simply not the type of nation that embarks on a witch hunt aimed at kicking out 11-million people, most who love this country. Our ancestors were all immigrants, too, after all.
Reach columnist Chris Jordan at opinion@dailyuw.com.
*Correction: This was incorrectly printed as, "...and how to speak English should be able to go to the beginning of the legal-immigration line without being kicked out of the country." The Daily regrets this mistake.”
Battlefield competition
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 29, 2010“During the past seven months, senior Stephen Leverkuhn’s Monday mornings started with a 15-mile run. Tuesdays were spent running stairs at Husky Stadium with a 40-pound rucksack, and there was that 9-mile march in full gear on Wednesdays. This all happened before the sun came up, five days a week, every week since early November.
Along with 10 other UW students in the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program, Leverkuhn was preparing for the 2010 Sandhurst Competition held earlier this month. The UW team came back as the second-best ROTC program in the country and finished 12th overall out of 49 teams, not all of which were ROTC groups.
Held in West Point, N.Y., the competition is an international event with teams of students attending from as far away as Afghanistan and Chile.
Participants competed in a time-based event, performing multiple challenges designed to test physical and mental capabilities on a 7-mile course. The Sandhurst trials encompass eight areas, including first-aid administration and an obstacle course mimicking real battlefield situations.
Each area had a few instructions for the team.
“It was my job as a team commander to approach the situation and look at the task, condition and standard,” Leverkuhn said. “All we had were penalties to work with, to plan how to execute the event, minimize those fouls and expedite the process.”
Leverkuhn said teams were docked using a time-scale. Any wet gear during the rope-bridge-crossing event resulted in a 30-minute infraction, but teams were given rewards for saving ammunition during the shooting round.
The UW ROTC team was invited to compete for the first time this year, after their performance at the regional Best Ranger Competition at Fort Lewis early fall quarter.
Leverkuhn and his team took first place in that competition out of 32 ROTC programs in their regional affiliation and were one of eight ROTC programs invited to Sandhurst.
Unlike Sandhurst, the Best Ranger Competition had set rules, limitations and no team-arrangement restrictions.
“One of the main differences with the Sandhurst Competition is it’s much more open-minded,” Leverkuhn said. “It’s a lot more challenging mentally; they don’t tell you how to do anything.”
Sandhurst has limitations on the number of members in a brigade group, requiring only nine students, with two alternates. Of those nine, there must be at least one female and at least one each of freshman, sophomore, junior and senior on the team.
After the win at Fort Lewis, the ROTC program was notified in early January they had been invited to New York to compete.
For senior Cellec Coleman, three months was enough to solidify the bonds between the members and work through the challenges at Sandhurst.
“It’s a giant team event,” Coleman said. “The competition was like a mind game. It’s a lot of physical and a lot of mental, and they meant for it to be a thinking game.”
Coleman said the competition was built around a system of team unity, and members had to have strong team skills to succeed in the challenges.
The UW Army ROTC program has been around since 1884. Coleman said that because this was the first invitation to a major international competition, their team didn’t know how to prepare perfectly.
“All we had to work with was what we had learned from other schools,” Coleman said. “That wasn’t much, and we didn’t really know what to expect, so we just trained.”
Under the direction of Capt. Brian McCoy and Sgt. 1st Class Michael Burke, the Sandhurst team trained five to six days per week for three months in preparation for the competition.
McCoy and Burke used experience from past deployments to help prepare the team for the trials the encountered in New York.
“We tried to convey that the competition is designed to think through problems logically but under high-stress situations,” McCoy said. “They’re trying to simulate what it may be like later in [the students’] careers.”
He said that through the ROTC program, students gain skills to become future leaders, and the problem management needed during Sandhurst develops that.
“Through Sandhurst, they’re able to make quick and timely decisions under austere conditions, and they were able to achieve success,” McCoy said.
In New York, McCoy and Burke were forced to leave the team a day before the trials started because of the competition’s policy. Soon after, Leverkuhn took his role as team captain.
Beginning with a shooting competition on Friday, the groups were driven to an unknown location and told to clear the area of hostile parties, in the form of targets, without endangering citizens.
Leverkuhn said the UW ROTC began at Sandhurst with a rough start, almost 60 minutes behind the leading team and in 40th place, after using most of their ammunition.
But the following day, in a little less than five hours, the UW team finished the competition in 12th place and as the second ROTC team out of the eight represented ROTC groups.
“My job was to delegate and facilitate as a team captain,” Leverkuhn said. “We had to read the situation and devise a plan. You can train to run, but it’s different when you’re there and given a situation, and we did well.”
McCoy said the team would like to represent the UW and its region again next year on the international level, but Sandhurst is an invitiation-only event that’s based on competitions like the Best Ranger Competition.
For now, the UW Sandhurst team has bragging rights after an award-winning showing during the competition. The members of the team may have a lot more stairs in their future.
Reach reporter Nick Visser at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Then and now: Live-in administrators, progressive classifieds and diverse majors
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 29, 2010“From an administrator who lived in McMahon to campaigns for gender equality on campus, find out what The Daily reported this week through history.
McMahon “Live-in”: a prof, his wife and four kids – April 24, 1970
Between the mini-fridges, piles of dirty laundry and multiple TV sets, the standard college dorm has barely enough space to house the students who call it home. When Aldon Bell, former associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, moved his wife and three children into McMahon hall, residents were uneasy about the administrative presence. Bell claimed that by temporarily exchanging his Bellevue home for the cramped living quarters, he could better get to know the students he served.
“It’s given me a chance to talk to students without it being such a formal occasion,” Bell said. “It’s also given me a better understanding of dormitories, which seem to represent a significant part of the university community. There are what — 6,000 students in dorms now.” Bell said that he felt dormitories were treated as student hotels, and that by experiencing dorm life, he could create a homier environment.
He also asked his peers about their perceptions of the university and if they had any pressing concerns they’d like to share with the administration. After a week of the communal living, Bell packed up and returned to his comfortable lifestyle. Several professors from the educational-psychology program also made overnight visits to the dormitories. Today, there are about 5,400 students occupying the residence halls on campus. One can only wonder if any of today’s deans would share a triple with the residents of Lander Hall, even for just two or three days.
Women’s “Secondary Status” – April 30, 1970
In 1970, the ASUW Women’s Action Commission launched a campaign to end what Director Lynn Bruner called a “caste system” of “second-class women.” She began by persuading the UW Board of Publications to stop separating “Help Wanted” advertisements by gender in The Daily. Bruner argued that the ads discriminated against women and breached equal-employment laws.
The commission paired with the GPSS Committee on Sex Discrimination to conduct a study on workplace bias and established the Day Care Committee to develop child-care facilities for female faculty and students. Bruner also created an orientation program for entering freshmen women. By tackling a range of gender issues, she hoped “to do away with the present-day attitudes of treating women economically and socially as a separate caste.”
Final okay awaited on new ethnic studies degree – April 28, 1988
The UW was one of the first universities on the West Coast to introduce an ethnic-studies degree into its curriculum. The interdisciplinary major was met with some resistance by students who questioned whether merging the various majors would adequately prepare students.
“The idea that [Chicano studies, Asian-American studies and Afro-American studies] belong together intellectually is new at being accepted,” said ethnic-studies professor Rick Olguin. When the announcement was first made to expand the program, campus protests erupted. Some feared that the new major was an attempt to eliminate some of the more-specialized programs within the ethnic-studies department that students had fought to attain. The university later revised the proposal so that students could still major exclusively in one area of ethnic studies. The cumulative major was introduced in fall 1988 and included courses in sociology, psychology, history, literature and other disciplines. Today, the department has more than 20 faculty and staff members.
Reach columnist Celina Kareiva at news@dailyuw.com.”
Star-bred fate
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 29, 2010“Dear readers,
More than 200 years ago today, James Cook arrived at and named Botany Bay, Australia. Ultimately, this discovery allowe for the creation of a penal colony, the first attempt at colonization by non-indigenous peoples. Cook later died in a fight with Native Hawaiians, who then prepared his body by disemboweling and baking it to remove flesh from bone, a process similar to the one used to preserve saints’ remains in Europe in the Middle Ages. Our theme this week is exploration.
Aries March 21 - April 19
Let your hands, eyes and mind explore the world, Aries, lest you fall into routine and lose feeling.
Taurus April 20 - May 20
In the pillar of creation, the Carina Nebula stars form, Taurus, and those stars will finally destroy the pillars that created them. The stars just want you to understand their position, not murder your parents.
Gemini May 21 - June 21
While exploring your parents’ attic back home, Gemini, be mindful to not open things that look like you shouldn’t. No one wants to stumble upon Polaroids of their parents’ wild-’70s swinger weekends.
Cancer June 22 - July 22
If it weren’t for the exploration of our stars, we never would have made it to the moon, Cancer. Or perhaps that Fox special revealing the moon-landing hoax was real?
Leo July 23 - Aug. 22
Retired astronaut Frank Borman said, “Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.” And he spent 19 days, 21 hours and 35 minutes in space, much closer to the divine inspiration of the stars than you shall ever be, Leo.
Virgo Aug. 23 - Sept. 22
You will explore the inside of a toilet tonight if you let yourself become too encouraged by the insistence of your friends to consume more alcohol than is desirable. Be mindful.
Libra Sept. 23 - Oct. 23
If you understand, Libra, why are you still sad? The stars think you may still be too invested in their glimmerings, and they recommend therapy.
Scorpio Oct. 24 - Nov. 21
Explore Capricorn’s bedroom today, Scorpio, to put to rest your fears.
Sagittarius Nov. 22 - Dec. 21
Photography great Ansel Adams once spoke these words: “In wisdom gathered over time, I have found that every experience is a form of exploration.” Better still if you haul an 8-by-10 camera up the mountains you explore.
Capricorn Dec. 22 - Jan. 19
Go to the bargain store and buy the oddest assortment of random things to leave about your room, Capricorn. It will pay off.
Aquarius Jan. 20 - Feb. 18
If you really want to explore a bear’s den, then plan to deal with bears. Preparation is the key.
Pisces Feb. 19 - March 20
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go,” said T.S. Eliot. Perhaps the stars mean for you to shoot for your dream? Or perhaps you’ll just go too far and ruin everything.
Reach diviner John McLellan at starbredfate@dailyuw.com.”
Neighborhood Watch
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 29, 2010“University District
WTF? Where’s the Funding?
Students, legislators, lobbyists and reporters come together for an interactive Q-and-A session regarding tuition, financial aid and funding.
Thursday, April 29
6:30 p.m.
Free
HUB Auditorium
Open Floor: W3AVE
Eighteen urban artists come together for a night of artistic production, where they will be split up into three teams of six, each of which will produce a canvas mixing the talents of multiple artists.
Thursday, April 29
7 p.m.
Free
Henry Art Gallery Auditorium
UW Spring Game
The Washington Husky football team takes part in their annual spring game, where fans can get a look at next year’s team.
Friday, April 30
6 p.m.
Free; open to the public
Husky Stadium
3800 Montlake Boulevard
Downtown
This Providence
See the Seattle-based band as headliners for the first time on the aptly named ’Bout Damn Time tour. Opening acts include The Bigger Lights and The Audition.
Saturday, May 1
7 p.m.
$12 adv., $14 day of show
Showbox at the Market
1426 First Ave.
NPR on Location with Rosanne Cash
Michele Norris, host of NPR’s show All Things Considered, will facilitate a night of music and conversation with country singer Johnny Cash’s eldest daughter, who followed in her father’s country-music footsteps with a number of chart-topping singles in the 1980s.
Sunday, May 2
8 p.m.
$35-45
The Moore Theatre
94 Pike St.
People for Puget Sound: Kurt Hoelting
Whidbey Island sea-kayaking outfitter and wilderness guide Kurt Hoelting will talk about his new book, Circumference of Home, in which he writes about his decision to trade his car and air transportation for a kayak, a bike, and walking.
Friday, April 30
7 p.m. $10
1119 Eighth Ave.
The Stranger’s Fourth-annual Gong Show (21+)
It’s a twist on the typical talent show — a panel of judges from Seattle’s alternative news weekly The Stranger will watch as a number of unique acts perform for up to four minutes. If the panelists don’t like it, they hit the gong. The grand prize includes a slew of different treats, including $300 cash, tickets to Teatro Zinzanni and gift certificates galore. The show will be hosted by David Schmader.
Saturday, May 1
Sign-up at 8 p.m., show at 9:30 p.m.
$8
The Crocodile
2200 Second Ave.
Ballard
BURP (Ballard Urban Picnic)
Help begin a tradition, and come to the very first annual Ballard Urban Picnic, or BURP. Mobile food wagons from Dante’s Inferno Dogs and Veraci Pizza will be there, as well as stands for skillets, crepes, and even parfait ice cream. There will be live music, and the Ballard-based Pacific Brewing Company will provide a beer garden, where proceeds will go to the Ballard Food Bank. There will be a free outdoor movie in the evening.
Saturday, May 1
Noon to 9 p.m.
Free
Ballard Commons Park
5701 22nd Ave. NW
Fremont
The Power of Voice
This new workshop at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center is for anyone with an interest in spoken-word poetry. Participants will be able to write and develop new poems in a workshop setting with other like-minded poets and practice and perform their work in front of a live audience. The class is taught by Jasun Plaedo Wellman.
Friday, April 30
4 to 6 p.m.
$10 per session, or $50 for six weeks
Fremont Abbey Arts Center
4272 N Fremont Ave.
Wallingford
Seattle Tilth Edible Plant Sale
Gardeners of all ages and skill levels will be able to choose from more than 20 varieties of peppers and 50 varieties of tomatoes, not to mention a number of rare organic vegetables and a huge selection of other culinary herbs and edible plant life. Drought-tolerant perennials will also be available. All of the plants are hand selected by the experts at Seattle Tilth and are guaranteed to grow well in the Seattle climate.
Saturday, May 1
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Free
Meridian Park (behind the Good Shepherd Center)
4649 Sunnyside Ave. N
Capitol Hill
Wild River
This Great Depression-era fairy tale follows a government agent as he tries to save a backwoods beauty and her cranky grandmother before a dam floods their Tennessee farm. Montgomery Clift and Lee Remick star in director Elia Kazan’s 1960 political piece.
April 29
7 and 9 p.m.
$6-9
Northwest Film Forum
1515 12th Ave.
Cady Wire (21+)
The Seattle-by-way-of-Brooklyn band Cady Wire support their latest alt-country release, Ten Acres. Ryan Purcell and Jones Family Fortune support.
April 29
9 p.m.
Price: TBA
The Comet Tavern
922 E. Pike St.
No … You Shut Up – Lauren Weedman
Comedienne Lauren Weedman can be seen in such productions as Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, Date Night (starring Steve Carrell and Tina Fey) and HBO’s Hung. In her new one-woman act, Weedman tries to learn to trust herself as a partner and new parent even though everything around her seems to be going wrong.
April 29 to May 8
8 p.m.
$20
Richard Hugo House
1634 11th Ave
Jackie-O MotherFucker (21+)
Portland-based experimental-rock quintet Jackie-O MotherFucker has a 16-year history of pushing the boundaries with sonic collages and minimalism. They’re scheduled to play with Blood Red Dancers, Geist and the Scared Ensemble, and Brother Raven.
May 1
9 p.m.
$8 adv., $10 at the door
Chop Suey
1325 E. Madison St.
Cinco de Mayo at Bimbo’s
Celebrate the Mexican holiday with burritos and an all-day happy hour at Bimbo’s Bitchin’ Burrito Kitchen.
May 5
Noon to 11 p.m.
Bimbo’s Bitchin’ Burrito Kitchen
1013 E. Pike St.
Reach reporters Ashleen Aguilar, Robert Frankel, Kristen Steenbeeke & Weekener Editor Ivan Vukovic at weekender@dailyuw.com”
Meet the cadets
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 29, 2010“In addition to UW Police Department (UWPD) officers, students may see some familiar faces patrolling campus next year.
The internship program is designed for undergraduates interested in pursuing careers in law enforcement. It gives students an insider’s look at the life of a patrol officer. Modeled after a similar program at Washington State University, it offers students, or “cadets,” the opportunity to participate in scaled-down versions of classes they might take at a police academy.
“It’s a way for students that are interested to get a little more exposed to see if it’s really something that they want to do, and if it is, it helps them further get on that track,” said Officer Tom Warwick, the program’s adviser. “Whenever they do start getting out and applying for jobs in police departments, they can say, ‘I really have the interest, I’ve shown it by doing this.’”
Through their classes, cadets learn the basic skills of a patrol officer, including defensive tactics, handcuffing and building searches. Senior Katherine King said she often gets to ride along with on-duty officers through the program.
In one class this year, officers sprayed cadets with pepper spray. In a police academy, this test certifies officers to carry pepper spray. For the cadet program, this exercise was simply designed to teach students about the effects pepper spray has on a subject. Cadets do not carry pepper spray in the program.
“That was a really intense process, the same process [UWPD officers] went through, when they went through the academy,” Cadet President Bo Ward said.
In addition, Warwick said the UWPD plans to have cadets from the internship start patrolling campus in pairs next year.
“It’s more as eyes and ears,” he said. “They’re not out there to go out and be a security guard or to interfere with things, but to report things as they come about.”
The cadets would wear minimal uniforms, a polo shirt and slacks, while on foot patrols through the UW campus and would carry police radios. Despite their connection to the UWPD, officers say the cadets would not have authority over other students.
“What we’d be asking the cadets to do when they’re out on foot and observing would be no different than we’d ask any student to do if they saw something suspicious, and that would be to call 911 and report what’s going on,” UWPD Commander Jerome Solomon said.
Ward does not want the public to associate the program with the campus vigilante group that became well known earlier this year and said that the cadets would not be involved in confrontations.
“I really want to stress that … we don’t want to be associated with that at all,” Ward said. “As far as recruitment goes, we don’t want people to think they’re getting into something where they’re going to be doing that, because they’re not.”
Rather than being an extension of the UWPD, while on patrols, cadets would get a chance to practice observational skills that they learn in class, Warwick said.
Also, cadet foot patrols may help the UWPD become aware of crimes in areas of campus that are less accessible to officers in patrol cars.
“They do a little foot work, patrolling in the dorms and stuff, but as far as walking through the quad, they don’t do that,” Ward said. “But if we’re walking through there, we can cover more ground.”
While the internship currently receives no funding from either the UWPD or the UW, officers plan to expand the program in coming years to include training for real-world scenarios to help prepare cadets for foot patrols.
Next year, the internship will accept up to 15 students as cadets. The application deadline for next year’s program is May 7.
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Healthy minds don't look at war
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 29, 2010“This past weekend’s War and Global Health conference assembled expert perspectives. Influential individuals, such as Chris Hedges, a wartime journalist who has published books including War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, gave the keynote speech and attests: “War and conflict have marked most of my adult life.” An exhibit in Odegaard provides access to Hedges’ experiences by depicting consequences of war on mental health. Inadvertently, it has elicited a contentious discussion about which subjects are allowed to occupy public space in the library.
Distributed between the first, second and third floors of the library, Global to Local: Narratives of War, Resilience and Peace will be on display until June 15. The exhibit is a combination of factual information, artwork by Jews and Arabs, and photographic journalism from the Gaza Strip during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, a 23-day military attack that began Dec. 17, 2008.
The photographs have been the source of friction. Originally, 24 were displayed, but half were brought down following a decision made by the library’s administration. The photographs, taken by Gaza photographers Eman Mohammed and Khalil Hamra, the 2010 Robert Capa Gold Medal recipient for the “best published photographic reporting from abroad,” depict stories of life in the Gaza Strip. The exhibit’s website (adaptinternational.shutterfly.com) shows several photographs that are no longer on display in Odegaard. Among those: a blood-splattered street and a crowd carrying what appears to be a dead child wrapped in the yellow of a Fatah flag.
The original photographs on display portrayed war without resilience or peace, said Jill McKinstry, director of Odegaard. Criteria for selection from the university libraries exhibits guidelines stipulate that, “When the topic is controversial, an objective presentation is required.”
Defining objectivity has been the struggle with this exhibit. The library received responses and complaints about some of the original images depicted, including descriptions such as “horrifying,” said McKinstry. However, Houria Kerdioui, a French-Algerian school teacher in Seattle who saw the exhibit before it was amended, said that death was suggested rather than explicit.
Ultimately, the photographs tested the cohabitation of the university’s vision with that of the curator. McKinstry said that the library administrators, upon consultation, wanted to avoid a misrepresentation of the exhibit’s purpose and that the images were, “too physically [and] graphically difficult for people to view.” The curator, Amineh Ayyad, believes that the reduction restricted her ability to communicate how violence is perpetuated. Both agree that temporarily removing the exhibit allowed them to participate in a dialogue necessary for understanding the other’s position.
Panelist of the War and Global Health Conference Meg Spratt said that the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma weighs the graphic nature of images with the social good they will produce. Speaking on her own behalf, she said that some graphic images don’t tell a story, but “I err on the side of letting people decide for themselves.” Her co-panelist, Janet Johnson Bryant, Liberia’s “Iron lady of media,” emphasized the contextual effect of photographs: “If you have students from Palestine, it could be traumatizing for them.”
Victor Beaufrere, a senior in finance at the UW, whom I found awaiting a study group next to the photographs on the second floor, commented: “It is kind of absurd to stop people from seeing things like that.” However, he also added that it is “up to the library how they run the exhibit.”
Odegaard has been using its space for displays since 1986 and has featured topics ranging from street children of Calcutta to the first anniversary of 9/11. It remains that while the exhibition space is a curator’s to arrange, it follows a subjective guideline, adhering to the vision of the libraries and the university by extension.
Until a few days ago, the amended exhibit was not complete. A recently added photo essay by Ayyad documents work of the Palestine Medical Relief Society and Israeli counterparts in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. McKinstry reflects: “Right now, we have an exhibit that informs. …People coming to see it will be moved by the collaboration of Arab and Jewish medical professionals working together.”
Thayer Hastings is an international-studies student at the UW. Reach guest columnist Thayer Hastings at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Artist Spotlight: The Team
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 29, 2010“2001’s Rock Star, one of Mark Wahlberg’s lesser-known films, is about a super-fan who gets the chance of a lifetime: He is chosen to be the new lead singer of his favorite band. One moment he’s part of the crowd, and the next moment he’s on stage singing with musicians he had been looking up to only weeks before.
Rap duo The Team, made up of UW senior Josh Hauck and Western Washington University junior Tim Satterwhite (also known as F1RST and SRN, respectively), have found themselves living this Rock Star moment.
“It’s crazy, ‘cause I went to the Cool Kids concert and Dyme Def was there,” Hauck said. “I was literally front row, giving these guys high-fives and handshakes while they’re on stage. And now we’ve got a concert coming up with [Dyme Def]. So literally, it’s like going from the crowd to opening shows.”
The Team is slated to open for Dyme Def’s Look Good Feel Good tour in Bellingham, Wash., on April 29.
They may only have a couple of concerts under their belts, but Hauck and Satterwhite both have long histories of working and developing their craft.
Hauck’s mother encouraged him to enter his poetry in competitions when he was younger, and through them, he learned to write in a narrative fashion. Several of The Team’s songs reflect Hauck’s descriptive style.
“We had a buddy who went through some problems,” Hauck said. “When I wrote [the song “Addiction”], people were like, ‘You’re just trying to spread drug use,’ and I’m like, “No, that was just how I … pictured him in my mind. This was how I dealt with it at the time.’”
Though Hauck said he would like to write songs about harder topics, most of songs the Team members write are about just trying to have fun.
“When you hear most of the songs, it’s really me trying to be as clever as I can whenever I’m writing,” Hauck said.
It might take a few listens for the meaning behind his lyrics to sink in, but when they do, they hit home.
“We made a song like eight months ago,” Satterwhite said, “and we were listening to it, and it goes, ‘We keeps it real cool, you musta heard like dijon.’ And I listened to it three days ago, and I was like, ‘Mustard! That’s what you meant!’”
Where Hauck’s lyrics are supported by a deeper meaning, Satterwhite’s are light and comical.
“[Satterwhite’s] lines, you’re gonna hear it and you’re just gonna laugh. He’s gonna be the reason why we get heard,” Hauck said.
Satterwhite began rapping in second grade after exploring various music genres in his elementary music class. He wrote a rap for the class and recorded it with his step-brother, a rapper and producer called Anoninmous.
“He’s been awesome helping us out, whether it’s trying to come up with a chorus or a hook and how to sing on it,” Hauck said.
Living nearly two hours away from each other can be hard on the duo when they are trying to write, but Satterwhite comes to the Seattle area often.
“When [Hauck] has a verse, he’s like, ‘We’ve got to get it … now!’” Satterwhite said with a laugh, and they will call “emergency music sessions.”
They have plans to release three mix-tapes this summer. Two are going to be made up of new tracks, but the third will be a compilation of popular songs with original lines substituted for the verses. Cassidy Gray, a friend of Hauck’s, will play acoustic guitar and sing the choruses of such songs as “Creep” by Radiohead, “Silly Love Songs” by Paul McCartney and “Jumper” by Third Eye Blind, among others, on the third mix-tape. Each track will go back and forth between The Team rhyming on the verses and Gray singing the original choruses, creating an interesting intersection between genres.
“This way, the people who listen to hip-hop music will listen to [our] hip-hop music,” Hauck explained, “but the people who don’t will listen to [the third mix-tape] because it’s gonna be so different. We’re just trying to get as many flavors of music … and that way, we can get more people listening.”
Hauck and Satterwhite hope people see how strong their friendship is through their music and that they both are just looking to have a good time. With a couple of concerts and a little Rainy Dawg support behind them, The Team members see their music career falling into place.
“The world is in synchronicity, is what I like to say,” Satterwhite said with a laugh. “I might as well go do the lotto, ‘cause things are just going for me right now.”
Reach reporter Ashleen Aguilar at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
Album Review: The Hold Steady
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 29, 2010“You almost feel bad for The Hold Steady. Despite releasing one great album (Boys and Girls in America) and a couple of very good ones (Separation Sunday and Stay Positive) since their formation in 2003, they have seen relatively little commercial success. When compared to the recent triumphs of other hardworking, classic-rock-reverent bands like Spoon or The National, their lack of mainstream appeal is particularly glaring.
Heaven is Whenever, their fifth LP, further refines their unique brand of hyperliterate bar rock, which has earned them a strong cult following and numerous critical accolades. The songs are mostly straight ahead and midtempo, featuring classic-rock-inspired guitar riffs with splashes of organ and piano.
I’d be remiss not to mention Craig Finn, one of the most inventive lyricists in rock today. There was some speculation that the band’s sound might shift after the departure of keyboardist Franz Nicolay, owner of one of the most epic mustaches in rock today, but his absence is hardly felt. Heaven is Whenever is an essential Hold Steady album, and it’s clear throughout that this is Finn’s band.
Even so, Hold Steady songs are never really about Finn. Much like Bruce Springsteen, he writes character sketches, weaving dense narratives about Big Important Rock ‘n’ Roll Themes: sex, violence, youth, drugs and heartbreak. He also pens some pretty memorable lines. On standout track “The Weekenders,” Finn displays some serious vitriol: “The theme of this party is the industrial age / And you came dressed as a train wreck.”
Best of all, the music is nearly as smart as the lyrics. While classic-rock revivalism occasionally weighs the band down, Heaven is Whenever finds The Hold Steady expanding their sound. “Barely Breathing,” with its jagged guitars, horn section and saxophone solo doesn’t sound like your typical Hold Steady song, but it’s one of the best on the album. Also surprising is lead track “The Sweet Part of the City.” Their last album, Stay Positive, opened with a wall of overdrive; this song features steel guitars and a country twang, and almost functions as an autobiography: “We were bored, so we started a band / We’d like to play for you.”
Heaven is Whenever really hits stride in its second half. Title-track-of-sorts “We Can Get Together” finds Finn feeling nostalgic over distant horns, ghostly background “oohs” and tinkling pianos: “Heaven is whenever / We can get together / Lock your bedroom door / And listen to your records.”
It’s followed by the album’s strongest track, “Hurricane J,” a near-perfect slice of vintage power-pop that’s right in the band’s wheelhouse. Seven-minute closer “A Slight Discomfort” overstays its welcome, but this is the rare record that actually gets stronger towards the end.
Now in their seventh year, The Hold Steady have reached a point where many bands hit a brick wall artistically. Heaven is Whenever avoids this problem emphatically: It’s as good as anything the band has ever recorded. And who knows, maybe it will even earn them a few more fans.
A-
Reach reporter Andrew Gospe at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
ID fraud won't be curbed by new proposal
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 28, 2010“Imagine being on your 21 run, the traditional 21st-birthday bash. You walk into a bar and the bouncer refuses to let you in, not because of your age, race, gender or sexuality, but because of the orientation of your driver’s license.
Leave your imagination behind, because this could become a reality for anyone who is 21 years old or older.
The Washington State Liquor Control Board (LCB) recently proposed a rule that would make vertical licenses invalid for buying alcohol.
Even if you’re over 21 years old, the new rule could affect you. I renewed my driver’s license a few weeks before my 21st birthday, so I have a vertical license that’s good until 2014. However, if the new proposal passes, I can forget about buying alcohol until I wait my turn at the DOL to pay $25 for another renewal.
Compliance from business owners is not an issue. Many report that they will follow the new proposal if it’s passed, regardless of the age of the customer.
Tony Mekvinch, manager of Kai’s Bistro and Lounge, has no problem with the proposal.
“If that’s the rule, then I have to follow it,” he said.
Part of getting a liquor license or becoming a server is training to distinguish fake IDs from real ones, Mekvinch said. Nothing really changes. If the new rule is implemented, there’s nothing to do but follow it.
LCB spokesperson Brian Smith claims that the new rule is meant to prevent sales to underage drinkers. The proposal is a response to requests from restaurants and bars that were already refusing to accept vertical driver’s licenses.
Not everyone supports the claim, though. Kiersten Mueller, bartender of Big Time Brewing Company, refuses to accept the justification of the board.
“It’s unfortunate because the whole idea of the ID is to actually look at it. People will be encouraged just to look at the picture and hand it back to them,” Mueller said. “You need to actually look at the ID.”
Mueller and others believe that the LCB’s intention of curbing underage drinking is just a facade to cover up their more important agenda of increasing revenue.
Minors borrow IDs from family and look-alikes. People make fake IDs. A mandatory standard of horizontal licenses will not significantly change any of these common factors.
Another potential aspect of the proposal is to give freshly turned 21-year-olds a 30-day grace period, allowing vertical licenses to be valid for about a month.
The enforcement of the new law should make things more simple for businesses, yet the LCB thinks it might be a good idea to provide an exemption period.
Although the grace period can be seen as a testing-out or transitional phase, bringing up the notion of a grace period suggests that the board is unsure about the proposal’s legitimacy.
The LCB is listening to public feedback until April 28, which should tell them how arbitrary the new proposal is so they can move onto better ways of improving liquor policies in Washington.
Reach columnist Kevin Wong at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Campus watch: Controversial student-group funding, a Taylor Swift sing-along and media mayhem
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 28, 2010“From Supreme Court cases to a ploy for a hug from a country-pop star, here’s the news from college campuses across the nation this week.
Christian Legal Society case reaches Supreme Court
A case between University of California’s Hastings College of the Law and the school’s Christian Legal Society (CLS) reached the Supreme Court Monday in a lawsuit that alleges Hastings’ disregard of the group’s rights.
Almost six years ago, CLS filed a lawsuit against the school, arguing the group should be allowed to make members adhere to their “Statement of Faith.” Hastings’ non-discrimination policy requires the CLS to allow gays and those who have engaged in premarital sex to join, which goes against the statement. Because the group didn’t comply, they didn’t get funding allotted to other clubs.
Now, the case has reached the Supreme Court, which will determine future policy for religious groups in schools.
According to The Washington Post, the group has argued that Hastings’ policy goes against the Constitution’s “guarantee to free speech, association with like-minded individuals and exercise of religion.”
However, Hastings believes that the group is attempting to receive special treatment, whereas other clubs and organizations receive funding and comply with the policy.
Students campaign for a hug from country star Taylor Swift
Two students at Auburn University in Alabama have only two things on their agenda, according to their website: to “hug Taylor Swift” and “die happy.”
The two men, Michael Wekall and Ryan Leander, say their favorite quote is one by Taylor Swift herself.
“I’ve always been a hugger,” she said. “If we all hugged more, the world would be a better place.
Swift noticed Wekall and Leander’s efforts and issued three challenges. The first was done in a personal video message, in which Swift told them to help an old woman cross the street. The second was to use Swift’s favorite number, 13, in a creative fashion. The third challenge came on April 23, in which Swift said she would send the boys an e-mail with a time-based challenge at 12:30 p.m. on April 26.
According to the blog The Boot, Swift flew to Auburn to deliver the hugs and an impromptu concert yesterday.
University of Maryland study says students are “addicted” to media
According to smartplanet.com, a study at the University of Maryland called “24 Hours: Unplugged” found that college students are “addicted” to media use.
The study consisted of 200 students who abstained from media use for 24 hours. After that period, the students were asked to describe how they felt during that time.
The words they used to explain their feelings were similar to those of people addicted to drugs. Without media, students felt “jittery,” “crazy” and “in withdrawal.”
Students were able to choose any day between February 24 and March 4.
The study concluded that students are not only unwilling to part with their media devices, but they are also physically incapable.
“Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort,” one student wrote. “When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life ... the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable.”
Reach columnist Kristen Steenbeeke at news@dailyuw.com.”
Weird world news: Stolen pastries, sexual standards and tectonic troubles
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 27, 2010“From theft in the U.K. to cleavage in Iran, here is the stranger international news from this week.
YORK, U.K. — A 65-year-old man spent 50 years feeling guilty about stealing a packet of Jaffa Cakes from work and decided to track down his former boss to reimburse him for the stolen treat, The Metro reported. John Bibby had been working at a holiday camp shop in East Yorkshire in 1960, when he stole the cakes from his boss Les Simpson. Half a century later, the guilt drove him to track down Simpson and drive 50 miles to present him with a new box of cakes and confess to the crime.
“You forget so much over the years, yet this just stuck in my mind,” Bibby told the Yorkshire Post. “I still felt guilty and decided it was finally time to own up, so I tracked Les down and phoned him up.”
Simpson, however, said his former employee didn’t have to worry about the crime, stating, “I don’t even like Jaffa Cakes, I don’t like oranges.”
JAKARTA, Indonesia — There has recently been a ban on men with enlarged penises getting jobs as police officers in Indonesia, Reuters reported. An applicant “will be asked whether or not his vital organ has been enlarged,” police chief Bekto Suprapto said. Another police spokesperson said the ban was a result of unnatural sizes causing “hindering during training.” The Jakarta Globe quoted a sexologist who said locals are known to achieve enlargement by using a technique that involves wrapping the penis with leaves from the gatal-gatal (“itchy”) tree, causing it to swell up “like it had been stung by a bee.”
IRAN — After a cleric claimed that promiscuously dressed women cause earthquakes, a campaign on Facebook known as “Boobquake” was initiated to prove him wrong, The Metro reported. Cleric Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi said, “Many women who do not dress modestly … lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which increases earthquakes.” As a result, more than 30,000 women joined the aforementioned group, which was started by Jennifer McCreight, who wanted to put a scientific test to the cleric’s claim by urging women to wear cleavage-revealing outfits on April 26 to prove that immodesty will not create any tectonic movements. McCreight told The Metro, “With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I’m sure Sedighi can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn’t rumble.”
Reach Weekender Editor Ivan Vukovic at news@dailyuw.com.”
UWPD student cadets nothing more than hyper-vigilant civilians
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 27, 2010“The line between student and police officer is beginning to blur.
The new UW Police Department (UWPD) cadet program offers students a chance to be introduced to the police world on familiar ground by patrolling the UW campus.
Cadets go through a regiment just a notch down from actual police training, teaching members how to deal with many of the adverse situations that come up while on patrol. Cadets are taught everything from how to handcuff people to what it’s like to be pepper-sprayed on their way through the program.
Beginning next year, the cadets will have the opportunity to patrol campus to act as the “eyes and ears” for certified policemen, said Officer Tom Warwick of the UWPD. Their duty will be to report, not interfere with, criminal activity.
It’s a good idea, in theory. The greater UW campus could use additional patrols to help spot theft, deal with shady characters and make students feel safer when walking around campus at night.
The problems come in when you look at the details of the operation.
With all of this training, you would think the cadets would have a way to protect themselves and actually prevent most crimes from occurring.
Naturally, they don’t.
No gun? Probably for the best. No taser? Definitely reasonable. But not even pepper spray? That seems like something they could carry which is minimally dangerous if used incorrectly.
Instead, the cadets are totally vulnerable and non-confrontational.
Right now, their plan is to radio any problems to police officers. While that might be okay for something like breaking into a building, how well does something like that work if you catch someone being mugged or a bike being stolen?
The response time to a police radio call is just too slow to make a difference.
The police force would like cadets to just step away, write down what the criminal looked like and radio in the information. The force doesn’t want them to have any authority; they want cadets to act as students who have keen eyes to detail.
That would be okay — if cadets looked like everyday students. But they don’t. When the patrolling aspect starts, cadets will have a uniform to wear, which would set them apart from everyone else.
You can’t just give someone a uniform and not provide them some kind of authority. The two go hand in hand.
Not only does having an official uniform create a visible assignment of power above that of a student, but it also creates danger.
Cadets are easy to identify and highly vulnerable. If I were a criminal who wanted to deal a blow to the police department, and I knew there were patrols of students walking around campus that were unarmed, it would be like a wolf hunting chickens on farmland.
If the police are putting cadets through police training procedures, then they should be considered mature enough to also be able to carry some form of weapon.
Cadets are not going to go around pepper-spraying their friends for fun — they’re going to use it to defend themselves if attacked.
Until cadets are given a way to defend themselves, they are little more than informed citizens who put themselves in danger each time they don a uniform.
The cadet program has a lot of potential, but under the current system, having cadets around is like installing security cameras without putting any tape in them. They’re on campus to pose a threat to crime but can actually do very little about it.
Reach columnist Gavin Verhey at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Taking back the night for victims
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 27, 2010“Every April, the ASUW Committee Organizing Rape Education (CORE) celebrates Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Awareness (SARVA) month with a series of events designed to raise awareness of sexual assault on and off campus.
Last Thursday, the University of Washington hosted its 16th annual Take Back the Night Rally, SARVA month’s penultimate event, with a series of performances, speeches and an open mic to spread the word about and empower victims of sexual violence.
The Take Back the Night campaign began as an outcrop of the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women in Brussels, Belgium, in 1976. Since then, it has become an internationally recognized movement, with people from Seattle to Sydney raising their voices annually against all forms of power-based violence.
Recognizing this, along with the sheer number of people who experience this type of violence — about one in six women and one in 33 men, according the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) — I expected this event to draw a variety of participants from the students, faculty and staff of the University of Washington. After all, according to RAINN statistics, about 3,300 undergrads at the UW alone have been affected by sexual violence.
However, although this event was extremely powerful, the size of the auditorium housing the Take Back the Night Rally seemed to reflect a staggering lack of campus awareness of this common issue. Although this event has gained followers over the past 16 years, the Ethnic Cultural Theatre holds only 177 seats, and not all of these were filled.
I wonder how many of the people in attendance are already members of the UW Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Information Services or CORE, or were there to support those directly involved in the production. While the dedication and emotional involvement of these people was unmistakable, the numbers in attendance seemed to reflect the terrifying assumption that many people continue to make: Until something happens to you, sexual assault does not exist.
Rape and sexual assault represent the most under-reported crimes, earning them the title “crimes of silence.” This should not be so. Why do these survivors of sexual or power-based violence, time after time, hear that they are at fault? Short skirts or alcohol do not justify an assault.
Speakers in the open-mic portion of the event featured 11 brave women and three brave men willing to share their reflections and feelings about this event or their own personal experiences with rape or sexual abuse. A resounding theme in this portion of the event seemed to be the feelings of guilt, shame and responsibility piled atop their feelings of violation and lack of control by others unrelated to the incident.
The event closed with a candlelight vigil, followed by a moment of silence. During these moments, the small, silent crowd in the Northeast Campus Parkway median overpowered the drone of passing cars and Terry-Lander residents. While sexual violence is common, it is not inevitable. Powerful action must be taken to move the campus community as a whole to recognize this issue.
Reach columnist Emily McFadden at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Staff editorial: U-District Daily
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 27, 2010“If the limitations of The Daily’s print edition leave you longing for more U-District-related news, the following announcement should come as a welcome supplement.
The Daily has partnered with Next Door Media to manage and generate content for Next Door Media’s newest hyper-local neighborhood news blog, UDistrictDaily.com.
Here at The Daily, we’ll still be your primary source for UW-related news, serving the campus community with breaking news and event coverage of everything university-related. But if you’re searching for more coverage of events, business changes and legislative happenings regarding the larger U-District neighborhood, this new Web venture should be to your liking.
Wondering why that restaurant you used to go to closed down? We’re on it.
Why is traffic stalled on the Montlake bridge? We’re there.
What’s the easiest way to get tickets to that UW sporting event this weekend? We’ll tell you.
I’m in charge of managing the site this quarter, my final one at the University of Washington. It’s a new experience for me, but a welcome one. Updating a daily news blog is an essential skill for a reporter to have, and I’ll be learning the ropes as I go, using my experience at The Daily and elsewhere as a way to make judgment calls on relevance and news value as it pertains to the inhabitants of the U-District.
Of course, the whole reason this venture has worked so well for Next Door Media is because of you, the people who read the blogs and send in news tips and story ideas. That kind of relationship with readers is the cornerstone of any neighborhood news source, and UDistrictDaily.com will be no different. Readers can send tips and breaking news alerts to tips@udistrictdaily.com and are free to send news of upcoming events and other happenings for us to add to the site’s event calendar.
This isn’t merely an extension of The Daily’s coverage. It’s not a place for me to speculate about Jake Locker’s throwing motion or to provide running updates from the weekend’s softball game. We’re focusing on news that is of direct interest or concern for members of the U-District neighborhood, the goal being to provide local coverage of this specific area that can’t be found elsewhere.
Of course, you’ll see Daily stories linked on a semi-regular basis. The paper does an excellent job of covering issues in the neighborhood, since the student population is an integral part of the U-District, and there’s plenty of overlap between UW news and U-District news. But our focus with the site will be news that impacts the entire neighborhood community, and not just UW students.
We’ve already seen how popular these sites are in the Seattle area. MyBallard.com has turned into a household name in the Ballard community, and all of Next Door Media’s neighborhood blogs are generating the kind of traffic that validates our belief in this type of coverage.
And, as always, feedback is crucial for our development as seasoned neighborhood bloggers. Here’s that e-mail address one more time: tips@udistrictdaily.com.
We hope you’ll join us.
Reach U-District Daily Site Manager Christian Caple at opinion@dailyuw.com or
tips@udistrictdaily.com.”
Opening the conversation
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 27, 2010“At the age of 16, Jennifer Lorene Johnson survived a crippling car accident that left her severely injured. It has been six years since the accident, and Johnson is now a senior majoring in speech and hearing science.
“Disabilities can come in different shapes and forms,” she said. “I don’t look like I have disabilities when people see me sitting in classes.”
This “double-standard” about handicapped or disabled students has existed in society for years, but what people fail to recognize is that many of these students are as able-bodied as everyone else. The UW has resources to make sure these students can experience college just like any other student on campus.
“Campus life is fine for me,” Johnson said. “I have difficulties going down the stairs, though. It is incredibly embarrassing when people stare at me. I would hold people up. I guess the most difficult part of campus life is the stairs for me.”
Like many students, Johnson wants to experience college by exploring and doing things on her own.
“The disability student organization and the Disability Resources for Students (DRS) on campus are really good,” she said. “It gets frustrating at times, but I want to take things into my own hands, and I don’t really want to rely on anyone.”
As a result of her convictions, Johnson said she doesn’t really use the Disability Services Office (DSO) or the DRS for school.
The DRS goes through a set of procedures before they start working with students. Documents are required to verify student disabilities. Once the documents are submitted, academic accommodations are made.
The accommodations available to students range from accessible furniture in classrooms to sign-language interpreters.
“The one thing that frustrates me about the disability accommodations is that some accommodations are unavailable because of paperwork,” Johnson said. “It’s not fair for people who have a disability that isn’t discovered yet.”
The DSO’s mission is “to provide leadership to the university community in achieving employment and educational, programmatic and physical access for individuals with disabilities.”
They provide services such as coordination of disabled parking or transportation, also known as Dial-A-Ride. They have access to interpreters and real-time captioning for certain areas. But the DSO and the DRS are not the only available services on campus.
The Access Technology Lab (ATL) in the Mary Gates Hall Computing Resource Center is a section of the computer lab dedicated for students with disabilities so they can have easier access to various technologies.
The ATL has computers, software and the ability to turn Microsoft Word documents into Braille. The UW has a long tradition of achieving its goal of being able to cater to all students.
“The ATL in its current form has changed over the years,” said Dan Comden, access technology consultant of the ATL. “We’ve moved from the showroom in Parrington to the basement of the HUB to the Suzzallo Library in 1994. It has now been 10 years since it has been located in the Mary Gates Hall.”
Senior Ryan Benson works for the ATL and has been the Web designer for several years.
“I manage the website about 99 percent of the time,” Benson said. “I update the website and help keep it updated,” Benson said.
Comden said he tries to hire students with disabilities at the ATL because it is strongly catered to them, and they are the ones that use them most.
“When a student comes in on a regular basis and has good skill sets with the technology, I usually offer them the job and ask them if they would like to work a few hours and help others,” Comden said.
Benson said the resources provided on campus are useful. But because he has been on campus for several years, he doesn’t need many of the resources, because he knows his way around.
“It’s helpful to new students,” Benson said. “I guess it makes it easier to navigate on campus with someone who knows where certain things are located.”
Like other upperclassmen who have already decided a major, Benson usually takes all his classes in one building.
Another popular resource amongst students with disabilities is the Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking and Technology (DO-IT) Center. Unlike the other resources, the DO-IT center provides a transition from high school to college, and from college to the work force for people with disabilities.
“The DO-IT program is for the Washington state and has been established since 1983,” said Jennifer Eears, a student worker at the DO-IT center.
The DO-IT program accepts 20 scholars a year, and from that 20, about 15 percent of the students attend the UW.
“It is a mentorship and internship program for students with all types of disabilities,” Eears said. “It has an application process, and a board of advisers admits who gets to be part of the program.”
The number of students admitted depends on the amount of funding the program receives each year.
To push to breakdown the stereotypes surrounding disabled students has increased during the past few years. Students, including Johnson and Benson, just want to experience college life.
“I try not to hide,” Johnson said. “I always try and introduce myself on the first day of class and share my story and am open for questions. It’s better than having people just wonder what is wrong with me when I occasionally shake in class or walk funny.”
Like many other students, Benson is involved in student organizations and works on campus.
“I guess what I’d want to say is, don’t judge,” Johnson said.
Comden said resources are available on campus for students with disabilities to help them adjust to college life like other students.
“The first and foremost importance is to realize that all students here are here to be students,” he said. “The UW’s role is to try and make our offerings equal so that if students need to use certain things, like computers and special equipment, they can go to places where all the other students are going as well.”
Reach reporter So Hyoung An at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
The underground
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 26, 2010“College kids are broke. For many of us, beer and Frosted Flakes is a typical Thursday dinner (or lunch, for those on Greek Row).
And for those of us who are footing the UW bill ourselves, wanting to buy extras can only lead to one thing: entering into the work force. This isn’t the best time to be looking for entry-level work. Thus, after coming back from winter break, I found myself applying for menial jobs, only to be beaten out by 50-year-old, out-of-work men.
However, I began to see the same waitressing advertisement over and over again. It promised competitive pay, flexible hours and good tips. When I finally decided to call the number, I was invited to interview with the manager that night. I arrived at the location and walked in, only to be greeted with a wall covered with signed pictures of naked girls. I was applying to work at a strip club.
At some point in the near future, you will be confronted with an opportunity to go outside your comfort zone. The way I see it, you have two choices: stay safely inside and experience the most thrilling parts of life through characters on television, or take a calculated risk.
My first night at the club, I was terrified. I had the option of wearing anything above mid-thigh, and I chose a simple black dress with heels (although I would soon learn the motto of “less is always better”). As a waitress, I was instructed to escort men to their seats and get them a non-alcoholic drink. If a man wanted to talk to me for more than a few minutes he had to buy me a “ladies drink,” and I would pretend to be interested in his life for 10 minutes in exchange for $10.
In the beginning, being in the club was exhilarating. About 10-15 waitresses worked per shift, and making friends was easy. A few of the girls went to the UW like me, but many were just in need of easy money or had moved into town recently. The “dancers” at the club would get completely naked, so alcohol was not served, but it floated around and was plenty available. I would leave the club with upwards of $200 a night, many from smitten men who fell under the spell of my high-school cheerleading skirt.
Waitresses were (aggressively) encouraged to participate in the Waitress Contest, a twice-a-week talent event in which five waitresses have the option of stripping to their bra and panties with the chance of winning $100. While some girls were terrified at this idea, I was immediately enticed.
After winning the contest and feeling the exhilaration of being on stage, the thought of dancing began to be more appealing. Though I was still very disinclined, my managers would often tell me that I would do great, how I could make a lot of money doing something so “effortless.” Winning the contest a second time pulled me in more, and the pressure from my managers intensified. I felt myself looking at the dancers leaving with $1,000 a night and thinking, “I look better than her. I could make twice as much.”
Next week: The club, part two — Unexpected orgies, 8-inch heels and the one thing that’s priceless.
Reach contributing columnist Lolita at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Free Speech Friday: April 23, 2010
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 24, 2010“Dear editor,
President Obama travelled to Kennedy Space Center this past Thursday to promote his plans for NASA. His plans include cancelling the Constellation Program (which would have enabled us to go back to the moon) and relying on private companies to ferry astronauts into low earth orbit.
No amount of positive spin by the president can convince me that this policy is a good idea, especially when it comes to having NASA rely on private companies for transportation. To date, there is no private spaceflight company which has developed a rocket safe for a human crew, let alone actually sent said crew into orbit. Yet the president wants to entrust these companies with transporting astronauts safely instead of NASA, which has years of experience doing so. The justification for this handover of responsibility is even more mindboggling. According to the president, the Constellation Program was over budget and behind schedule. He doesn’t seem to realize that Constellation was underfunded from the start, nor does he realize that a project involving the construction of a rocket capable of delivering payloads and crew to the moon isn’t cheap. The entire Apollo Program, for example, cost close to $150 billion after adjusting for inflation.
I find it highly ironic that the president is doing this after promoting himself as someone who will spur job recovery and promote the sciences. Rather, cancelling the Constellation Program, coupled with the retirement of the Space Shuttle, is expected to cause the loss of over 10,000 skilled jobs across the nation. Once those workers are gone, they will take their technical skills with them. A majority of congress, as well as two dozen of the Apollo astronauts, oppose President Obama’s plan for this exact reason and for everything else I have listed. For his sake, and for the sake of American technical expertise, I hope that the president does not implement this short-sighted space policy.
Stewart Jacobs
Sophomore, Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering
In response to Martin Nix’s Letter to the Editor…
Mr. Nix,
I am also offended and disagree with Brian Cox’s writing but your letter last week was not only insulting but a tremendous display of technical ignorance. Your knowledge of nuclear energy looks like something from a bad Wikipedia article and maybe some extremist websites. You did not list your major but I would hazard a guess that you have not taken a single chemistry, physics, or engineering class that focuses on nuclear energy (or maybe on any subject). Maybe you should actually learn about the technical details behind different energy sources before you advocate one or another. Perhaps nuclear energy is not the best choice for the United States, it certainly has a high level of technical complexity to make it safe by our countries standards, but your demonization of it was ridiculous. Also, your stipulation that engineers don’t invent things that help the general populace is asinine. Do you drive a car? Have you ever flown in an airplane? Have you ever had an X-ray or other medical scan? Your dehumanization of engineers and Republicans for that matter was disgraceful.
Isaac Statnekov, Senior, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering
If we were really committed to “Saving the Earth” and passing a global styled Cap and Trade agreement, how do we handle the egregious crimes committed this week by Iceland?
Shouldn’t the Icelanders take responsibility for the dirt and filth they are belching into our atmosphere?
While we are on the subject, why haven’t I heard one reporter giving the real “dirt” on this event…how much carbon are they really emitting?
I’ll bet they are releasing more carbon in a month than the entire population of the planet does in a year.
Will we survive?
It seems to me someone really should pass a law.
Konrad Lau
I would like to remind those of us who have been living in the U District for longer than this academic year how many “incident reports” from the UW police department we used to get. Unless my e-mail account has permanently relegated these alerts to my junk folder, it has been several months since an incident report has been sent out. The number of overall incident reports has also definitely dropped this year. This is a huge difference from the academic year of 2008-2009 when incident reports seemed to be sent out once a week at least. There are several likely causes of this. Vagrancy in the U District and on the Ave is dropping. This is unlikely. The UWPD could also be neglecting to send out incident reports as crimes occur. This is also unlikely. The most likely cause for this drop then seems to be the increased success of the policing efforts of the UWPD. The promises made to crack down on crime after a string of eyebrow-raising crimes occurred on and around the Ave last year (the gunman with clown paint on the lower Ave springs to mind) are undoubtedly being fulfilled. I have never really felt unsafe in the U District but the UWPD deserves the thanks of the entire University for their hard and dangerous work. Thank you very much for everything!
Alexander Fuller
Sophomore, Political Science
I just wanted to thank Mr. Cloud for writing about his important issue. At a time when it is difficult to find paid experiences where one can develop skills vital for a future career unpaid interships should be supported and not condemned. While they do not bring in a salary they are much cheaper than university education and for many they may be more beneficial.
Jordan Storhaug
In response to “Undercover officer a fine example of community policing”…
Mr. Doughman,
While I applaud your stab at satire, I find that you piece, “Undecover officer is fine example of community policing”, falls flat on it’s face. By not exaggerating your point enough, and actual putting in some semi-serious comments in favor of “Tani’s” actions, you’re prod at Big Brother has little effect. As far as I can see, neither Student Worker Coalition, nor the UWPD Officer did anything illegal. While the Officer’s motives could be questioned, it appears she was simply attending a public meeting and voicing her opinion. Are off duty police officers forbidden from participating in public forums? I suppose, if you belong to a uniformed service you should have to have your name, rank, and social security number tattooed on your forehead, so that any common civilian will know that anything they say will be reported right back to “The Man”.
The one part of your rant I did enjoy, was the suggestion of spies infiltrating The Daily. As a member of the UW NROTC unit in 2006, I infiltrated The Daily disguised in civilian clothing, and posed as a sportswriter for over a year, just so I could keep an eye on you lefties. You should probably stop writing all your secrets on the walls. It might actually make people laugh. I had a great time in my time at UW and I hope that you will send some investigative reporters to infiltrate the tin-foil-hat-wearing La Rouche mafia. Also, you can never be too prepared for a squirrel uprising. I suggest carrying a slingshot.
Keep up the good work
Peace
James Schleicher
UW and Daily Alum
Class of 2007
In response to “Undercover officer a fine example of community policing”…
Dear Mr. Doughman —
Sen. McCarthy was not an American hero — he trampled the constitutional rights of Americans in an investigative mockery, feuled by paranoia and alcoholism, generating a climate of fear across the country. He was censored by the Senate in 1954 by a vote of 67 to 22, a rare act in our government’s history. He destroyed lives and promoted mindless zealotry.
Agents of the state, including police officers, have no right to infiltrate legitimate meetings of its citizens and subert their goals.
Sincerely,
Brett Siler
This week, I managed to find some time to look at the University Week magazine that we get electronically. And I saw that the Disability Studies department seems to be coming of age. With a donation from a estate of Harlan Hahn, they will be able to either partially endow a chair in Disability Studies or support scholarships for students who are doing work in disability studies. That was like a breath of fresh air in this time of budget cuts. Every time I pick up a copy of the Daily, I feel like there is some new loss. Not that the paper controls the news, but the grim reality is inescapable.
I was pleased to see this good news as a counterpoint to dire budget shortfalls. Sometimes I feel that issues having to do with disability tend to take a backseat to other concerns, despite the fact that people with disabilities are affected by all of the same issues that everyone else may be. Sometimes things such as budget cuts and reduced staff may affect people with disabilities disproportionately. Closures of computer labs affects us all. But closure of those that are used by people with disabilities because they have the adaptive technology, larger screens and knowledgeable staff is a bigger blow within the community of users with disabilities. Larger class sizes and less staff (or larger student to staff ratios) with which to interact to get things done in the area of disabilities (such as accommodations) or no staff (in the case of the people who used to print the campus accessibility guides) impacts us, the people with disabilities within the UW community greatly.
I hope to be able to see more bright spots on the horizon for the Disability Studies department in particular, and the community of people with disabilities in particular. Things that might be on my wish list include some (most have none) or more disability content in classes across disciplines. The Anthropology department chair has begun an exploration of this in her own courses. In this way, the issues that confront us may be seen outside of the disabilities studies or medical curriculum and not pushed under rug as something that does not concern everyone. I would love to see more people become aware of the intersections between disability and other categories of difference. It would be marvelous to see our UW community filled with a growing number of disability allies, especially as they learn that disability is not a respecter of age, gender, socioeconomic status, race or sexual orientation and may become a reality for many. It would thrill me to see more people come for the Hump Day Hookup to play games and talk and meet people from 3:30-5:30 on Wednesdays in HUB 201. I will be motivated by seeing people come out for the Tunnel of Oppression and commenting. And I will be energized by seeing participants from across the university participate in the Disability month activities during May.
But, as that pragmatic optimist that I am, I take one day at a time. All of the above mentioned things are possibilities that are within the realm of reality. So hopefully I will see them happen. But right now, what I would like to see is a small token that will send a huge message. I would like to see the Disability Studies faculty get an office where they can meet with students and work toward building and disseminating the increased knowledge base around disability. I would like to know that they are seen as a legitimate and accepted discipline within the UW family. And by extension I would like to know that all of the people with disabilities and those who work on behalf of people with disabilities are respected and valued on this campus. This would make me believe in the goals of awareness and inclusion.
UW, make me a believer.
Cynthia Sessoms
Student Disability Commission Director
School of Social Work Masters Candidate
So, I met Mark Emmert. This is, as far as I can discern, something that not many people on this campus can say. However, nearly everyone that I’ve spoken with about the man has some opinion of him, and the few who do not (generally members of community surrounding campus) quickly formulate one upon being given some simple facts. Beyond the marginally informative, and painfully non controversial pieces published by this paper, it is not especially clear--by any kind of quantitative or even qualitative barometer, as far as I can tell--how the people of this campus feel collectively about the single most pressing issue regarding the man: his far too fatty, $1.2 mil, $1,200,000, corporately supplemented, all expenses paid, king of the fucking castle, salary.
Here is what I do know, however. The work done by this paper regarding Mark’s salary does, almost by default, get people talking, and he is no exception when it comes to the favorite working person’s past time of complaining about the widening gap between those on the bottom and those on the top. The issue is a simple one, really, which is masked by layers of complexity in all different forms in all different kinds of organizations (university, corporation, student club, whatever). There is a disconnect between those who make decisions, and those who must carry them out. If you work for HFS, like many of us do, you probably already understand what I’m saying; if not, look around you, and start thinking about how the power structures that you interact with constantly are set up. Decisions trickle down from the dark and abstract cloud of ‘administration’, and your immediate supervisor (likely the most important person in the entire system that you have immediate access to), dutifully enforces them. The people who make these decisions will likely never actually step into your workplace, have no idea what your job is actually like, and, if there is a complaint, it may be submitted to your boss, who will forward your prayers upward (or rather, your emails onward).
What does democracy mean here if--the workings, consistently, of our workplaces look much more like the despotism we love to think we have transcended (as the classic elementary school myth goes)? Think about the classic monarchy triangle diagram (authority on the Y-axis, group size on X), with the king on top, his buddies a step below, their buddies below that, and eventually ending with everyone else in the widest category at the bottom. If we flip the triangle over (so the point faces down), and invert the axes (shrinking group size up the Y, relative power indicated by width), it produces an interesting comparison with the first. If we think about individual power as the power of a given group from the second triangle divided by group size from the first, we see that a divide by zero situation is approached at the top, while a zero divided by many situation is approached at the bottom. There is no ladder--there is a pyramid, with less and less real estate closer to the top. To affect change, one must influence those high enough to make the necessary decision, and, as the story goes, audiences with the king are notoriously hard to get.
But, none of that applies here, at this university... right? Surely we don’t have a king who calls the guards to toss out the clever peasant who manages to get before him. Well, I’ll let you decide if the allusion fits.
I decided that, rather than complain to my fellow peasants, who all seem to agree with me, I would take my complaint to the single person with sufficient authority to resolve it alone, and at least let him speak for himself. The idea came to me while waiting for a friend at a lovely campus cafe, and, when he showed up, we wandered over to the admin building to find the appropriate office. Upon finding it, I informed the receptionist at the first checkpoint that I was there to see Mark Emmert, now. To be fair, I was a bit pointed, expressing no concern for the fact that he might be in a meeting, or on the phone, or having a party in his office, I insisted on speaking with him immediately (which, given the pressing nature of the issue, felt only right). Unfortunately, the general opinion is that you cannot just waltz in and talk to Mark, and pity was about the only thing genuine expressed by anyone I’d dealt with to that point.
We were asked to sit and wait, being told that someone would see what could be done. Shortly after, I noted the approach of a uniformed police officer, among the chaotic bustle, and finger pointing whispers of “he’s right there,” which I answered with “hi.” The officer, who was much more reasonable than most, asked if we could talk elsewhere, which I resisted--to compromise with the nearby stairs. After being told, again, that my presence was futile, I offered to leave, but only with an appointment. Instead, I got an email address.
Rather than email, I decided to keep coming back, and returned on day two. This time I simply confirmed that my intentions were known, and that filling a chair, in that particular lobby, is not a criminal act. Then, I proceeded to do some reading; an hour passed, and I left. On day three, I returned, sat to read, and was promptly greeted: “Hi Scott, let me go talk to Janice (his human day planner), he has a break coming up, and he’s going to come out and talk to you (I guess he didn’t want to have to kick me out of his office). So, a bit nervous, I waited, and composed myself.
We assume--or the illusion exists--that important people are tall. So, towering over Mr. Emmert, offering him my hand and name, I felt a bit weird. We shook hands, he not bothering with an introduction, and I got right to the point: “I’m here to demand that you take a pay cut.” He asked where I would set his salary, to which I responded: zero, but it shouldn’t be decided by me. How then? he asks, to which I reply: a campus-wide vote. That they tried that in Soviet Russia with no success, was his reply. Why do you need all that money? I ask. That’s none of your business, he responds. How much would the university have to reduce your salary before you would go look for a job somewhere else? I don’t think that’s relevant to the discussion that we’re having, I’m sorry, we disagree, I’m busy, have a nice day.
And apparently, those few minutes of Glenn Beck talking points and babble about the superiority of the free market contained everything that need be said. When I asked him on day four to not call me names, like “communist”, he accused me of putting words in his mouth, and said that he wasn’t sure what my point was. He will now not even answer my letters. Please, go meet the guy, and say whatever you have to say to him. There’s free coffee up there!
Scott Yeager
Once upon a time, a man asked a prominent geochemist at the university if there was a technology available to sequester carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, perhaps as a means to ward off catastrophic changes to our climate. The geochemist thought for a while and shook his head in solemn resignation. Neither of them realized this advanced technology already exists in the form of the most abundant protein on the planet: Rubisco.
Thankfully, the technical knowledge required for its mass production is already widely dispersed among peoples; it grows quite readily, given adequate soil, water and sunlight.
Dylan Thomas Mendenhall
School of Forest Resources”
Campus crime blotter: Graffiti, broken windows and camping violations
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 24, 2010“From stolen laptops to camping violations at the By George Café, this weekly crime blotter aims to keep you up to date on recent crimes and offenses that affect the UW community.
Tuesday, April 13
A UW Police Department (UWPD) officer responded to a report of vandalism at UW Medicine’s Roosevelt Clinic on Tuesday morning. While on routine patrol, a security guard found spray paint on a brick wall in the southwest area of the building. Repairs are estimated to cost about $175.
Wednesday, April 14
University police responded to a report of vandalism at the Drama Scene Shop at 3941 University Way NE. Upon arrival, the officer noticed a broken window on the east side of the building. Nothing was reported missing or stolen from the building.
A student reported that her MacBook laptop was stolen in the Odegaard Undergraduate Library. The student reported that she asked a nearby student, whom she didn’t know, to watch her laptop while she left the library to make a phone call. When she returned, the laptop was gone. According to the police report, she insisted that the nearby student did not steal her laptop. A UWPD officer responded and filed a report, but no suspects were identified.
Friday, April 16
A UWPD officer responded to a report of a theft in Terry Hall at 8 a.m. A resident told the officer that he left his door unlocked when he went down the hall to use the restroom, and upon his return five minutes later, he noticed that his key ring was missing. The resident checked the Terry Hall lost and found office and his room prior to contacting the UWPD. No suspects were identified in the theft.
A UWPD officer responded to a report of a car prowl in the UW Tower parking garage. A woman called building security when she found that her car’s left-rear window was broken and her gym bag had been stolen. The contents of the bag were valued at approximately $150.
UWPD officers contacted a man sleeping on the floor of the By George Café entryway, near the elevators. The officers told the man, who had several personal items and large bags around him, that he was trespassing on university property. The man did not have any weapons, drugs or outstanding warrants, but he had been previously contacted by the UWPD for trespassing outside of Odegaard Library. Officers gave the man a verbal warning for a camping violation and criminal trespass.
The UWPD provides the information for this column.
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Vertical limit
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“People with vertical licenses may have to buy a new driver’s license before they buy alcohol if a related proposal is adopted by the Washington State Liquor Control Board (LCB).
The board has proposed a rule change that would render vertical driver’s licenses invalid for buying alcohol, even if the license is valid and the owner is 21.
Under the new rule, the only acceptable forms of ID to purchase liquor would be valid horizontal driver’s licenses, passports, military ID cards and tribal ID cards.
LCB spokesperson Brian Smith said the new rule, which is meant to curb sales to underage drinkers, was proposed in response to requests from restaurants and bars that were already refusing to accept vertical driver’s licenses.
“We’ve been hearing from some restaurants that this would be a better policy,” Smith said. “They don’t want to sell to a minor — it puts their [liquor] license in jeopardy, it puts their livelihood in jeopardy … [the rule] would make it easier for anyone working at a retail establishment to make sure that they’re not selling to a minor.”
Smith said that the proposal did not contradict existing laws governing the drinking age and identification.
“The way we see it, you can use your existing vertical license for driving, but the horizontal would be required for buying liquor,” he said.
Junior Julia Tidik took issue with the proposal.
“I don’t even understand the point,” said Tidik, who has a California driver’s license that she uses to purchase alcohol. “It doesn’t seem like there should be any legal standing [behind the proposal].”
Smith was not able to immediately comment on whether out-of-state licenses would be affected, saying that the proposal did not address the issue.
Some students questioned the motives of the proposal.
“It’s easier for people checking IDs, but it’s not that hard to check a date,” said junior David Roman. “… to me, it doesn’t necessarily sound like a rule to limit underage drinking, it sounds like a way to get people to buy a new ID card … it’s a funding issue.”
Though some students voiced concern that the new rule would effectively end the tradition of the 21 run, Smith said that it may include a 30-day grace period starting from the licensee’s 21st birthday, during which vertical driver’s licenses would still be accepted.
Local restaurateurs are divided on whether or not the proposal would do any good.
“If there’s a change, I understand why there’s a change,” said Marty Hillis, manager at The Ram. “… It would probably be easier for everybody if everyone had a standard ID who wanted to drink.”
Hillis said the restaurant currently has its own policy of having management double check vertical licenses.
Don Schulze, owner of Shultzy’s, called the proposal “silly.”
“You could fall into the impression that as soon as they hand it to you, it’s a valid ID just because it’s horizontal, and that’s not the case,” he said. “I think it’s a waste of time.”
Both Schulze and Roman speculated that the new rule was proposed to bring in more revenue for the state through new license purchases, a claim Smith denied.
“This is a liquor-regulation revision,” he said. “No conspiracy.”
The board is holding a public comment period on the proposal until April 28, when it will review the rule.
Reach reporter Tiffany Vu at news@dailyuw.com.”
Student safety audit identifies hazards around campus
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“The ASUW Committee on Student Safety sent a survey to students in February and received 994 responses about safety on campus. In response, the ASUW took part in its first auditing — or “safety walk” — Monday.
The group investigated potential safety hazards around the periphery of campus, including Northeast Campus Parkway. The area near Terry and Lander Hall was a popular choice among survey participants when they were asked about the on-campus location in which they felt most unsafe. Participants took notes on lighting, signage, sightlines, emergency services, disability accommodations, maintenance, personal safety, and other aspects of areas on campus.
Tunny Vann, Director of Community Relations, said that the “Broken Windows theory” guided him during his auditing.
“If the area doesn’t feel like it’s being taken care of, it will give the impression of being unsafe,” Vann said.
The theory says that places that appear neglected are prone to more safety risks. Vann jotted down notes about graffiti, litter and construction sites — all “broken windows” on campus.
Construction sites, specifically, came back as one of the leading concerns among student participants in the survey. Students felt the abandoned sites were prime places for criminals to dwell. Excessive bushes and shrubbery were also noted in the auditing process as places where criminals could hide.
One of the large focuses in the auditing process was on lighting. In order to simulate a day in the life of a UW student, it was decided that the auditing would take place at various times during the day — both in the afternoon and the late evening, as lighting changed. Participants checked for the distribution of lights, obstruction of light and the quantity of light sources.
Abigail Pearl, ASUW representative and organizer of the initiative, took geography and women studies fall quarter. Pearl found many of the course’s lessons to be applicable to the UW at large. One specific project that the class worked on involved observing places on campus deemed to be unsafe. When Pearl became an ASUW committee member, she decided to convert the classroom project to a larger scale by conducting the safety survey and the campus-safety audit.
The results from the original survey suggested that a large portion of participants felt at great risk when in close proximity to the homeless.
“The amount of notes about homelessness in conjunction with safety was pretty telling,” Pearl said. “We can’t necessarily eliminate [homelessness], but I hope to at least educate people about poverty — the human aspect of homelessness.”
The next auditing group will meet Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the HUB to audit the interior of campus. The results will be presented to the Office of Student Life, the UW Police Department, and Facilities Services, among other departments, by the end of the quarter.
Reach reporter Colin Gorenstein at news@dailyuw.com.”
Research insider: Maternal mortality declining, wildfires on the rise and new UW rankings
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“This column keeps track of the UW’s scientific community and the student and faculty research that takes place here each week.
Deaths during childbirth declining worldwide
According to The New York Times, new research indicates that deaths from childbirth and pregnancy may be declining.
The study, produced by the UW and the University of Queensland in Australia and published in the medical journal The Lancet, found that about 342,900 women died from childbirth or pregnancy in 2008, down from 526,300 in 1980.
Maternal mortality was analyzed in 181 countries from 1980 to 2008. Researchers found that more than half of all maternal deaths in 2008 came from six countries: Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Reasons for the decline include improvements in education for women as well as general improvements in China and India. The new study conflicts with past research compiled by researchers at UNICEF, Harvard and other institutions. Three years ago, their research found there were at least 535,900 deaths in 2005. However, researchers of the newest study compiled three times as much data.
Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the UW, told the Times, “There has been a perception of no progress. It really is an important positive finding for global health.”
Pacific Northwest in danger of more wildfires
A new study reported by UW News indicates that, if the Pacific Northwest’s temperatures increase by about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit, the area burned by wildfires each year could double or triple.
UW’s Climate Impacts Group projects that that type of temperature increase could happen 40 years from now. Some researchers suggest that making forests climate-resistant may include getting rid of surface fuels and thinning more heavily.
The research was conducted by the UW and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
UW science-related programs rank high
Annual rankings of graduate and professional programs were released by U.S. News & World Report on April 15, with a number of UW science programs ranking as some of the best in the nation.
UW News reported that, for the 17th consecutive year, the UW ranked as the best primary-care medical school in the nation. As for research medical schools, the UW School of Medicine tied for sixth. Its doctoral programs in genetics, genomics and bioinformatics came in fifth.
For the 19th year in a row, both academic specialties of family medicine and rural medicine were ranked first for the quality of teaching medical students. Other medical specialty programs were also ranked, including AIDS, internal medicine, geriatrics, pediatrics and women’s health.
Biostatistics ranked third, and computer science ranked seventh. Specialties in the computer science program, including artificial intelligence, systems, and theory, all ranked.
Earth science programs in geology and geophysics/seismology ranked 10th. In addition, education ranked 10th, with specialties in curriculum and instruction, elementary education, and special education ranking as well.
Reach columnist Bryden McGrath at news@dailyuw.com.”
No Perez, no problem for UW soccer
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“The Washington women’s soccer team opens up its spring season this evening against Seattle Pacific at home.
The Huskies, who finished 2009 with a 12-6-4 record, are looking to better that mark in the fall, this time without forward Veronica Perez, who moved on to play in the professional ranks.
“[Perez] was a special player for us,” head coach Lesle Gallimore said. “It’s not so much filling the void, it’s a matter of just saying, ‘It’s great we had her, and this is what she did that was special, now what do we have that is special about our team?’”
Gallimore said she sees this fall as a time for her more experienced players to step up.
“We have enough veteran players now that have had some really good experience in the playoffs the last two seasons that it’s now their time to shine,” Gallimore said.
Gallimore is entering her 17th season at Washington, which is the longest tenure of any coach in the conference.
“I can tell you from training at the end of November through now as we start games, there are some players that have stood out consistently,” Gallimore said.
There are numerous players who have caught Gallimore’s eye, and five upperclassmen in particular: junior forward McKenna Waitley, sophomore forward Alex Webber, sophomore midfielder Kate Deines, junior defender Kendyl Pele, and junior midfielder Jane Mitchell.
“They have really started to prove themselves and show us why we recruited them in the first place, and what they’re going to do to make our team special now, post-Veronica,” Gallimore said of the five players.
The team is coming off a second-round loss in the NCAA tournament to 2nd-ranked Portland. However, like any team, the Huskies will try to have a short memory and look to push on with a mix of veterans and youth.
“We have a freshman class right now, and they all have different things that they brought to the table this past fall,” Gallimore said.
Although her five freshmen did not necessarily get consistent playing time in the fall, the spring will be an opportunity to get a jump on this coming season.
“They are going to get a lot of playing time in our five spring games,” Gallimore said. “They’ve all trained very well, they are looking to have an impact if they can, and sort of stake their claim as to what their future is going to be for the 2010 season before the 2010 recruits get here.”
As far as a break-out season goes, Gallimore had no hesitation: Mitchell will be the player.
“[Mitchell] has been a great role player and started to show us glimmers of being a dominant player at the end of last season,” Gallimore said. “It was at the end of her junior year, which is sort of later in her career than I think she could have blossomed.”
That doesn’t take away from the excitement her coaching staff shares.
“But with that said, we are thrilled to death that she has the time left that she does,” Gallimore said.
Washington, with a somewhat limited roster for the spring, is looking to come together as a group and take advantage of these games by working on attacking using different formations and pace.
After tonight’s match against Seattle Pacific, the Huskies will take on Gonzaga on Sunday afternoon at home.
Reach reporter Mark Morgan at sports@dailyuw.com.”
LED lights may improve safety in U-District neighborhoods
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“An audit conducted by the Husky Neighborhood Assistants (HNA) north of Northeast 45th Street in January found that four streetlights were flickering, 14 were burnt out and 15 were missing bulbs altogether. In an effort to address streetlight concerns in the area, Seattle City Light will be replacing or repairing all malfunctioning streetlights in the U-District through the end of the summer.
“I was shocked at some of the areas that either had lights out or were just really poorly lit,” said Elizabeth Higgins, director of Community Standards and Student Conduct. “And I do think that it directly correlates to how safe a person feels in a space, and then how likely they are to be a target for crime.”
This month, Seattle City Light began replacing bulbs and repairing lamps in the area between Denny Way and North 65th Street, which includes the U-District.
This summer, City Light plans to replace the traditional yellow-colored, high-pressure sodium bulbs with LED lights in residential neighborhoods north of Northeast 45th Street to improve visibility and safety, leading a national effort to promote the use of LED street lamps.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that Seattle City Light’s plan to gradually install LED streetlights will serve as a model to help instruct other cities in ways to conduct their own changeovers to LED lights.
The area from Denny Way to North 65th Street includes 20,000 streetlights. This summer, 5,000, many of which are in the U-District, will get LED bulbs, said Scott Thomsen, senior strategic advisor for communications and public affairs at Seattle City Light.
Thomsen said the LED bulbs have a lifespan of up to 12 years, compared to the four-year lifespan of the sodium bulbs.
Besides the lifespan, which saves energy and maintenance costs, LED street lamps have other advantages over traditional bulbs, Higgins said.
“When you look at those high-pressure sodium lights, there’s a halo around them,” she said. “And with these [LED lights], the light is flat … so there’s no bleed into the sky, so it’s a dark-sky-compliant light.”
This lack of “light spillage,” as Thomsen said, makes the LED lights more energy efficient and effective.
Also, because of the design of the LED bulb, the street lamps won’t flicker or burn out as with traditional bulbs.
“I’m sure you’ve seen around the U-District lights flashing on and off, and LED lights … [are] made of individual units, and so one or two units may go out, but the whole light won’t go out,” Higgins said, “It will just get dimmer, but it will never turn off.”
While LED bulbs are expected to work well in residential neighborhoods, Thomsen said the Seattle Department of Transportation (DOT) needs to determine that they provide enough light for busy arterial roads.
LED bulbs are more energy efficient and cost-effective than traditional high-pressure sodium bulbs, but Higgins said it is their reliability that will improve safety in residential neighborhoods in the U-District.
“The LED lights will be much safer for our community in terms of having a consistent lighting source in areas where students are predominantly walking,” she said. “So I’m really excited about seeing that come to the U-District.”
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Earth Day activities abound around campus
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“We celebrate weird things.
April 18 marked the second-annual Velociraptor Awareness Day. According to the event’s Facebook page, Velociraptor attacks are among the leading causes of death for males aged 27 to 29. The event, which began on Facebook, was an opportunity for vigilant individuals to learn ways they can stay safe from lurking raptors.
While you may not think these prehistoric beasts are deserving of their very own observance day, there are countless cases of even crazier holidays.
For example, although its origins are not known, many people observe June 18 as International Panic Day. The idea is to act overly worried and concerned about even the tiniest things: “Ahhh! There’s a gnat in my room! Ahhh!”
Of all the silly days that people on this planet observe, there’s one in particular that legitimately demands participation from us all: Earth Day.
For many students here at the University of Washington, “going green” is a given in everyday life. For others, participation in such an event as Earth Day would be akin to joining hands with, “Birkenstock-wearing tree huggers.”
But Earth Day is one that should be recognized by all people, green crusaders and skeptics alike. As humans, we are divided on many fronts: religion, politics, race and nationality, just to name a few. But if there’s one thing that should unite all of us — regardless of belief or background — it’s the beauty of this floating space-rock we call home.
Needless to say, UW students won’t have to look far for opportunities to participate in Earth Day activities on campus.
We are lucky to attend a university that has a reputation for environmental leadership. The Sierra Club ranked the UW No. 2 in the nation on a list of earth-friendly college campuses. More recently, a broad, grassroots coalition of students has come together in an effort to establish a Campus Sustainability Fund that would support student-run sustainability projects.
The Green Coalition (made up of such groups as WashPIRG, SEED, Earth Club and the Sierra Club, and supported by ASUW), is hosting a huge Earth Day festival on the HUB lawn. The events will range from a solar-powered concert to an art display and will be aimed at raising awareness for environmental issues and empowering students to get involved.
This is the perfect opportunity if you are interested in joining groups that do meaningful work to preserve the environment. However, even if getting active is not your thing, there are still many small, easy ways you can give a nod to planet Earth.
Sign a petition for green energy from your computer. Buy a reusable canteen. Take the bus instead of driving. Turn off unnecessary lights. Shop with a reusable bag. At the very least, go outside and take a walk! We live in an amazing area where there is so much natural beauty to be admired and appreciated.
So while you are practicing your Velociraptor-attack prevention techniques for next year, don’t forget that there is another important observance day that demands our attention.
I hope Earth Day helps many UW students get in touch with their inner activists. At the very least, it should be a reminder that we have a beautiful home, and every one of us can do something to protect it.
Reach columnist Chris Jordan at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
4-20 U-District panel advocates for marijuana legalization
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“On a day recognized by many as a marijuana holiday, a panel including a lawmaker, a judge and an activist advocated for the legalization of marijuana use at a talk in the U-District on April 20.
The 43rd District Democrats convened the panel at the University Heights Center to discuss how far legislative action should go, be it decriminalization or legalization. The event brought Teamsters, medical-marijuana users, elected officials and community members to support change to marijuana law.
Hosted by Dominic Holden, news editor for the alternative Seattle newspaper The Stranger, the panel was unsurprisingly liberal.
“I believe that marijuana possession should be legalized, regulated and taxed,” said panelist Pete Holmes, the Seattle city attorney who promised not to prosecute for marijuana possession for personal use during the 2009 election.
Other panelists included Washington State Supreme Court Justice Richard B. Sanders, who has repeatedly ruled in favor of medical-marijuana usage — twice being the lone dissenting vote — and state Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welle, who recently sponsored a bill to expand medical-marijuana accessibility. The governor signed it into law April 4.
Activist and attorney Doug Hiatt, also on the panel, is championing the campaign for Initiative 1068, which legalizes all use of marijuana. He spoke in the place of Jeffrey Steinborn, who co-authored the initiative and is also a legalization advocate.
Panelists largely agreed with efforts to decriminalize marijuana.
“Even though I prefer to have full legalization with regulations and taxing, I think it is more likely to do that incrementally and to first achieve decriminalization,” Kohl-Welles said.
She supports marijuana regulations to maintain public safety and taxes on marijuana to raise revenue. Holmes, too, is in support of regulation.
“The only way I can protect patients is to get marijuana legalized,” Hiatt said.
His initiative is a “complete repeal on prohibition” without the regulations and taxing that Kohl-Welles supports. He said that when the state becomes involved, their actions are inevitably controlled by the federal government, so Kohl-Welles’ strategy is impractical.
The two, though, are not in opposition to one another and support each other’s efforts, despite the contradiction. All the panelists were for legalization. Seattle voters passed an initiative in 2003 to make possession the city’s “lowest law enforcement priority,” when the marijuana is intended for personal use. The policy has had no evident effect on youth marijuana usage and has not visibly increased crime or worsened public health, according to city reports.
UW Police Department Commander Jerome Solomon said that officers “tend to use discretion for smaller amounts” of the substance when considering submitting for prosecution. This is why some offenses on campus result in confiscation and warning, while others are passed along to county or city prosecutors.
Massachusetts passed a decriminalization law in 2008, joining 13 other states around the country. It is possible Washington could follow with this November’s ballot initiative.
But to Holmes, legalization is the inevitable end, saying, “decriminalization is at best a temporary fix, anyway.”
Reach contributing writer William Dow at development@dailyuw.com.”
The Bottom Shelf: Ex Machina
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“In the past few months, I’ve found comic books — or graphic novels, if you prefer — to be an appealing medium of entertainment. Like so many students, I spend an unhealthy amount of time at the computer. It’s nice for my eyes to take a break from gazing at glowing rectangles to instead read colorful, glossy pages of illustrations and text.
Conveniently, within Odegaard is a bookshelf full of comics — one of the library’s lesser-known gems. Until now, I’ve selfishly refrained from heralding its existence as to prevent it from getting too picked over.
One series that particularly stands out amongst Odegaard’s collection is Ex Machina, created by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Tony Harris. Though the series is ongoing, the first seven collected volumes, which contain issues one through 35, are available at the library.
Ex Machina chronicles the adventures of Mitchell Hundred, who gave up life as the superhero known as The Great Machine to succeed Rudolph Giuliani as mayor of New York City.
Vaughan abandons chronological storytelling to weave in bits from Hundred’s past, most notably seen in the accident in which Hundred attains the super-human power to communicate with machinery.
As is the case with every superhero-origin story, Hundred’s power is both a gift and a curse. His abilities allow him to operate a jet pack and to jam enemy firearms with his mind. However, The Great Machine’s early attempts at crime fighting draw more criticism than praise from New Yorkers. He means well, but he often causes more harm than good when intervening in crime.
That is, until an airplane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Without hesitation, The Great Machine takes flight and arrives just in time to use his powers to perform the greatest feat the world has seen: He diverts United Airlines Flight 175 and saves the south tower.
This revision to the 9/11 tragedy is a bold risk on Vaughan’s part, but it pays off because he writes it so well and because it makes for such fantastic fantasy.
The Great Machine emerges from the wreckage as an American icon and easily wins the postponed mayoral elections as an independent candidate.
Ex Machina offers political and social comedy through the lens of Mayor Hundred’s attempts to tackle issues facing his city, which include homeland security, racial profiling and same-sex marriage.
The fast-paced comic weaves behind-the-scenes political strategy, superhero action and witty dialogue to create a story like no other.
One of Vaughan’s better-known works is the brilliant globe-trekking adventure Y: The Last Man, which is about a plague that wipes out all the males on the planet except for Yorick, a young escape artist, and his pet monkey Ampersand. Also well-known is Runaways, which has become a beloved part of the Marvel Universe. Vaughan was also a writer on Lost for seasons three through five.
As geeky as it may sound, Odegaard’s comic section is one of my favorite resources at the UW. The shelf at Odegaard provides a mix of the standard superhero comics you’d expect while also incorporating less-action-packed illustrated adaptations of literary classics such as Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past and Kafka’s The Trial.
If you think you’d like to give comic books a try, then this is the perfect place to visit — and Brian K. Vaughan’s Ex Machina is a great series to get you started.
Reach reporter Andrew Mitrak at weekender@dailyuw.com”
Star-Bred Fate
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“Dear readers,
Today is the 40th anniversary of the first official Earth Day, given the name Earth Day 40. This is also the 140th birthday of Vladimir Lenin. Don’t be sad, Libra: I’ll be sure to point out exactly how this relates to the celestial bodies, but just for you.
Aries March 21 - April 19
In your quest to save the Earth, Aries, it will become increasingly apparent that you will always remain a part of the problem. Ever read Rainbow Six? You’re guaranteed to fail at killing a good portion of the population, so just deal with it.
Taurus April 20 - May 20
Henry David Thoreau said, “Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.” Well, he spoke too soon on that one, eh, Taurus? Have fun on your next plane trip.
Gemini May 21 - June 21
Perhaps you should spearhead real efforts to terra-forming other worlds as you aren’t doing much to help this one last, Gemini. Or you could realize the perpetual continuing of your race isn’t that important.
Cancer June 22 - July 22
Have the green fever, Cancer? Read The Green Rain, by Paul Tabori, for a real taste of what it means to be green.
Leo July 23 - August 22
Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “I really wonder what gives us the right to wreck this poor planet of ours.” To get the answer, ask someone who has taken environmental ethics. Or go see Avatar.
Virgo August 23 - Sept. 22
Does Earth Day make you feel better or worse about yourself, Virgo? Does recycling help? Does turning off the lights? Maybe you should re-evaluate the reasons for caring.
Libra Sept. 23 - Oct. 23
Oh. Libra, shucks! Due to last week’s large eruptive solar prominence, things are entirely out of place for you. The other stars do have this to say to you, however, to ameliorate this inconvenience: The constellation Lyra will appear above the north-northeastern horizon between 10 and 11 p.m. and marks the radiant point of the Lyrid meteor shower, which you may catch a glimpse of before dawn tomorrow.
Scorpio Oct. 24 - Nov. 21
Go save the planet, Scorpio! But do it in better style than Captain Planet. By our powers combined … and all that.
Sagittarius Nov. 22 - Dec. 21
Boycott Earth Day, Sagittarius, and when your friends ask why with that petulant look on their face, tell them that making Earth Day one day a year marginalizes the environmental effort and that you strive to be green every day. Then they’ll feel bad, and you’ll have won yet another pointless argument.
Capricorn Dec. 22 - Jan. 19
Dennis Gabor wrote in Inventing the Future, published in 1963, “Till now, man has been up against Nature; from now on, he will be up against his own nature.” And so far, man’s nature is winning … global warming, etc. Perhaps you can stem the flow?
Aquarius Jan. 20 - Feb. 18
Buy a compostable drink at the HUB, buy a reusable eco-friendly water bottle. Buy eco-lights and eco-insulation. Buy eco-this and that, but never reuse what you already have, because it’s anti-Earth. (Think about it.)
Pisces Feb. 19 - March 20
Gandhi is attributed with the following: “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” However, if you contribute to overpopulation in your lifetime, the former will no longer be true. Get goin’!
Reach diviner John McLellan at starbredfate@dailyuw.com.”
A snapshot of diversity
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“Dalia Amin wanted to give students a forum to express their perspectives on diversity. To do this, she challenged them to capture it in a photo.
Amin, the ASUW director of Diversity Efforts, received 11 applications by the April 5 deadline for the Diversity through Photography competition that was open to all students. Amin worked with Sarah Duff, director of the Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC), to organize the competition. Applications included an 8.5-by-11-inch photo and an explanation of how the photographer’s choice demonstrated diversity. The reception to announce the winners was held last night at the ECC.
Amin said she sees students taking pictures around campus every day, which inspired her to hold the competition.
She said that students beyond her own diversity efforts on campus applied, including communications and photography students.
“A lot of students outside of my area have applied, outside of the commission of directors even, students who love photography. … It’s not about just the photography or the skills, but the mission of this project,” Amin said. “Every person is diverse or unique in their own way.”
One of the participants, Maria Kleiber, submitted a picture of a national park in North Dakota that she took during a road trip.
“I talked about how the picture kind of demonstrated exploration and exploring yourself, and exploring the country,” Kleiber said.
Judges represented the five organizations funding the event, including the ECC, Joint Commission Committee, Resident Hall Student Association, Graduate and Professional Student Senate, and the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity.
The first-place winner, Julius Tan, won a new digital camera last night for his photograph of the corner where the ECC stands. Tan has been involved with the ECC for years.
“It took all that time walking by that street to understand what that corner meant to me,” Tan said.
The second-place winner received a $50 gift card to the U-Bookstore, and third place earned a UW mug with a stuffed-animal Husky inside.
The entries will be on display for two weeks in the ECC as a gallery for students to see, after which time they will move to the ASUW office in the HUB. Amin said she hopes the photos will move with the ASUW to Condon Hall next year to spruce up the concrete walls.
“I hope next year’s diversity director keeps it going,” Amin said about the future of the competition.
Reach reporter Brianna Butterfield at news@dailyuw.com.”
Q&A: Nash Edgerton
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“Nash Edgerton has seen his share of filmmaking. In fact, he’s been either a stuntman or a stunt coordinator for well over 100 films to date. He’s also written and directed his own short films, and now he’s the director of his first feature-length film, The Square, an inspired film noir that has garnered praise from critics around the globe.
The Daily had the opportunity to sit down with Edgerton and ask him a few questions.
The Daily: Many critics have been comparing The Square to the works of the Coen brothers, especially Blood Simple. How do you feel about this?
Nash Edgerton: It’s very flattering. I guess it’s because [Joel Edgerton and I are] brothers, and we’ve made a film. I guess it’s a film noir, but really we’ve only made one film. Let’s see where we are in 10 years’ time. I really liked Fargo, Blood Simple and No Country for Old Men. The Big Lebowski, too.
TD: Who and what are some of your cinematic influences, besides the Coen brothers?
NE: Directly, my friends I make films with at Blue-Tongue Films. Your friends make something good, makes you want to make something good. All the guys, my brother too. But I do really like P.T. Anderson, Jaws, Deliverance, Back to the Future, Reservoir Dogs. I really love Let the Right One In.
It’s inspiring to see a film you really like. When you see one that blows you away, you’re like, “Man, movies can be really good.”
TD: How did you first get into the stunt-work business?
NE: I got the idea one night and looked up “stunt” in a phone book. I was just a persistent kid. I called them and told them I wanted to meet people and go onto the sets. I would get coffee, fold boxes; whatever I needed to do to hang out on film sets. It became my film school.
TD: And from there, you got into writing and directing.
NE: When I was looking for other stunt jobs, I would get ideas for short films or sequences. I started getting more ideas for more and more short films, and soon I wanted to make bigger movies. I’ve always liked storytelling, and I’ve always loved film.
Stunts are like being a sportsman: You can’t do it forever. You can’t just get hit by cars and fall down stairs all the time, because you’re going to get old, and it’s going to start affecting your body.
TD: How did The Square come about?
NE: The film is based off of my brother’s idea. He had it one night and wrote the plot down on a piece of paper. He’s always interested in those two-paragraph crime reports without details in the newspapers.
One particular article he found was about a guy who found a skeleton of a baby while digging the foundation for a building. There weren’t any other details. So he started writing this story about a guy in an extraordinary situation.
TD: What was your greatest difficulty while filming The Square?
NE: Having it being my first film. It was the nature of containing the story in my head while shooting it out of order.
It was also pretty exhausting and overwhelming. It was very consuming. When I made shorts, I could do other things. But with The Square, it was like going through a relationship. It was still fun, though.
TD: Where did your short film Spider come from?
NE: My own dark mind, I guess. [laughs] I used to have a rubber spider I’d torture my mum with. I’d hide it in the kitchen. And in Australia, there’s a spider called a huntsman spider that sometimes gets into cars. They’re not very harmful, just big and furry. One actually got on my brother’s leg when he was driving once, and he lost control and had to pull over. And from there, I had this idea that I wanted to get out on screen.
TD: Many critics are interested in seeing what’s next from you. Any hints?
NE: I’m writing a film at the moment, and it’s quite different from The Square. It’s more like my shorts. There’s no title yet. The Square is contained in one town; this is more like a road movie. But I definitely want to make more films.
The Square opens tomorrow, April 23, at the Landmark Varsity Theater on the Ave.
Reach reporter Robert Frankel at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
Neighborhood Watch
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 22, 2010“University District
UW Earth Day Celebration
UW’s Green Coalition celebrates Earth Day with a day of activities and events, including a solar-power concert, a green art exhibit and guest presentations.
Thursday, April 22
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Free
HUB lawn
Take Back The Night Rally
ASUW CORE celebrates Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Awareness Month with performances, speeches and an open-mic portion.
Thursday, April 22
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Free
Ethnic Cultural Theater
Meet and Greet with Russell Brand and Jonah Hill
The stars of the upcoming comedy Get Him to the Greek stop by the UW to mingle with students, following a sold-out advanced screening of the film on Thursday night. No ticket required for this event.
Friday, April 23
1:30 p.m.
HUB Floor 1 Lounge
Ballard:
Dan Bern
Meet Dan Bern. A few years ago, he was the “new Bob Dylan.” Now, he’s become a master of crafting catchy pop rhythms with a genuine funniness to them. Get an earful of his music and his humor this weekend at the Sunset.
Friday, April 23
7 p.m.
$12 adv.; $15 day of show
Sunset Tavern
5433 Ballard Ave. NW
Fremont:
Hop Scotch Spring Beer and Scotch Festival (21+)
For two days, experience the finest beer, wine, and spirits Seattle has to offer, featuring more than 80 beverages. The experience benefits the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF); admission will get you a 5-ounce commemorative glass and five beer- and wine-tasting tokens.
Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24
Friday: 5 p.m. to midnight; Saturday: 1 p.m. to midnight
$20 adv.; $25 at the door
Fremont Studios
155 N 35th St.
Wallingford:
Pterodactyls
The folks at Stone Soup Theatre are bringing you the play Pterodactyls, a (very) dark comedy by Nicky Silver. It’s about skeletons: those that lie in a family’s closet, and those that lie in the backyard. Check it out. It opens tomorrow night.
Friday and Saturday, through May 8
7:30 PM
$15-25
Stone Soup Theatre
4035 Stone Way N
Downtown:
Aqua Teen Hunger Force
For a night of silly humor, see the live versions of two characters in Adult Swim’s famous cartoon series — Dave Willis, the voice of Meatwad, and Dana Snyder, the voice of Master Shake.
Thursday, April 22
7 p.m.
$25
Showbox at the Market
1426 First Avenue
Russell Brand
After coming by the UW for a meet and greet to promote his new movie Get Him to the Greek, the British actor and comedian will make a stand-up appearance at the Moore.
Friday, April 23
8 p.m.
$33 adv., $35.50 day of show
The Moore Theatre
94 Pike Street
Band of Skulls (21+)
The British alternative-blues rockers are new to the scene but already have one of their songs featured on the popular Twilight: New Moon soundtrack.
Thursday, April 22
9 p.m.
$12.50 adv., $15 day of show
The Croc
2200 Second Avenue
Seattle Poetry Slam’s 2010 Grand Slam
Interested in literature? Go check out the top-eight performance poets in Seattle compete for a spot on the national team that will go on to the national competition in St. Paul, Minn.
Sunday, April 25
7 p.m.
$15 adv., $10 under-21
Town Hall Seattle
1119 Eighth Avenue
Capitol Hill
Greil Marcus
Music journalist, cultural critic and author Greil Marcus is slated to make an appearance at Elliot Bay Book Co. promoting his latest work, When That Rough God Goes Riding: Listening to Van Morrison.
April 22
7 p.m.
Elliot Bay Book Co.
1521 10th Ave.
As Tall As Lions
Alternative rockers As Tall As Lions stop in Seattle on their national tour promoting their 2009 release, You Can’t Take it With You. Bad Veins is supporting.
April 22
7 p.m.
$12 adv.
Neumos
925 E. Pike St.
Amelia Reeber
Seattle-based alternative-dance choreographer Amelia Reeber presents her fascinations with time, the narrative of the body and relationships with space, landscape and imagination, in her new solo piece, “this is a forgery.”
April 22 to May 1
8 p.m.
$15 general; $12 students
Erickson Theatre
1524 Harvard Ave.
Still Bill
Still Bill is an inside look at the music man behind such hits as “Lean on Me” and “Just the Two of Us.” The closing film in the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival will be paired with a concert featuring local musicians and a documentary short called Compton in C Minor.
April 25
6 p.m.
$20
Museum of History and Industry
2700 24th Ave E.
And The Wiremen
The Brooklyn-based indie-jazz band, led by Lynn Wright, mixes genres from all over the world to create its unique sound. Suicide Jack and Eric Apoe support.
April 25 at 8 p.m.
$8
Comet Tavern
922 E. Pike St.”
In your face
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 21, 2010“It’s all back: the shiny bald head, the intensity, and the expertise in defense.
Defensive coordinator Nick Holt returns for his second year to lead a much-improved Husky defense into the 2010-11 season. Starting from last spring, the former USC defensive coordinator has brought about many changes to the new-look defense, mentally and physically.
But one thing that hasn’t changed much in Holt’s second year is the in-your-face intensity. Whether Holt is nearly halfway up the 50-yard line screaming at a referee or simply pulling one of his players aside on the sideline, Husky fans have become well aware of the passion Holt brings to the field, both in practice and on game day.
And just because the players now know what to expect from Holt doesn’t mean the intensity isn’t as meaningful or powerful as it was last year.
“He’s still all in your face,” senior safety Nate Williams said. “If it’s your first, third or eighth year with him, I’m pretty sure he’ll be just as intense compared to the first year.”
While it might get their hearts beating a little faster in practice, Holt’s passion is all for the better, his players say. This holds true especially when the defense might not be performing to the best of its abilities during game day.
“We all love it, though,” Williams continued. “I feel like that’s what you need to be a successful unit; you need an intense coach like that to get everyone pumped up. When the momentum has changed to the opposing team, Coach Holt is always the first one to get in your face and get everyone riled up. I love it, and I’m excited.”
The numbers don’t lie: Bringing in Holt to revamp the Husky defense has led to success. During his first year, the UW defense gave up 12 fewer points per game and 62 fewer yards per game than it had the year prior. No longer were teams embarrassing the Huskies by putting up 30, 40, and sometimes 50 points on the board.
Now Holt — a 1986 graduate of Pacific — will be looking to further improve a Husky defense that has a lot of promise for the 2010 season. Williams, along with Mason Foster, Cort Dennison and Cameron Elisara, are players Holt sees stepping up so far.
“Those four guys have really stepped up in taking it to another level as far as their play,” Holt said last week at spring practice. “That’s what I feel really good about. We need to bring everybody else up to the next level, too.”
Holt says now that he’s been with the better part of the defensive unit for nearly one year, it has helped speed up everything from drills, to meetings, or tempo in practice.
“Everything is at a higher pace in the second year,” the San Jose native says. “You can really move forward more quickly with your coaching and teaching, that’s the biggest thing of the second year in your programs.”
Not only do the players feel more comfortable, but the coaches do, too. Every member of last year’s coaching staff is returning, including secondary coach Jeff Mills, who echoes the general consensus that overall, things can get done faster and the team can progress faster with the coaching staff returning.
“With the training we’ve done in the offseason, we’re now bigger, faster and stronger,” Mills said. “We are arriving [to spots] a step sooner than we did before.”
With spring football already halfway over, Holt has seen things he has liked. Players have begun to pick up the harder concepts, and underclassmen are showing a lot of promise. While some of the younger players have not completely bought into the program, that Holt and the rest of his staff have laid out, the defensive coordinator says the majority of the players are on board.
“The young guys haven’t; they don’t know anything yet, because they are so inexperienced, but most of the kids that have been around have bought in, and that makes it a lot easier,” Holt said. “They believe in what they’re doing.”
Reach Sports Editor Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Predictive-analysis software invasive
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 21, 2010“In Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film Minority Report, the future was filled with people in fish tanks who predict “future crimes,” which were then projected on the coolest computer of the past decade. Well the future is here. And it is scary.
According to Yahoo News, the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice has implemented IBM predictive-analysis software to predict and prevent people from becoming criminals. A press release from SPSS, the company that created the software, said the Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom already uses the program for predicting re-offending criminals.
This program works by putting a person through a series of variables such as home environment, past criminal behavior, gang and peer networks, and categorizing the subject from a number of outcomes to see if he or she could easily become a threat to the public. Basically, it is a very complex Excel spreadsheet, only it is said to work in “real time” to combat crime.
Predictive analysis is starting to become a very big industry. IBM has already invested more than $12 billion into this type of prediction software, hoping to sell it to more cities and police departments.
But who or what decides these factors for predictive analysis? This machine is just a way to discriminate on a wide scale, even before the criminal has done something wrong.
London already has a system of cameras set up all over the country that tracks and follows people’s movements in the streets, called CCTV.
In July 2009, the British newspaper Express reported that the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, proposed that cameras be set up for “problem families” for 24-hour surveillance of children in that household.
Let’s say IBM has a way to expand the predictive software to follow people’s behavior as categorized within the CCTV network. Then the problem families could be put into the software, evaluating each person at home to see how likely he or she is to commit a crime.
Now is the time when someone might respond, “Why don’t you just put on your tin foil hat?” To that I ask, why aren’t you wearing one yet?
If this software is implemented in the United States, it would shred the “right to due process” promised in the 14th Amendment, and it also impairs the right to free will. This type of environment — if a person meets a certain criterion, they become a suspect — is far too extreme in any sane situation.
Technology is reaching the point where everyone at IBM needs to take a step back and see if they really want to open up this Pandora’s box.
Andrew Taylor is a senior at Shorewood High School in Shoreline and has worked as an editorial intern for The Daily since fall 2009.
Reach editorial intern Andrew Taylor at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Campus watch: Police brutality, the end of a Nike contract and an unsealed lawsuit
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 21, 2010“From a violent video to the other UW ending its contract with Nike, old issues are being brought to the surface this week in campus news from across the nation.
Duke University video of beating inspires police investigation
When video footage surfaced of police beating a University of Maryland student at a March 4 riot at Duke University, Prince George County Police launched an investigation into the actions of their own staff. The FBI will also be looking into the case in order to determine whether the “use of force would also violate federal civil-rights laws,” according to Justice department spokesperson Alejandro Miyar.
The video shows student John McKenna, 21, approaching a police officer and being thrown against a wall and beaten with batons. Another student, Benjamin Donat, was also beaten. Both of these students had their charges dropped. Other students who were part of the riot, however, could be suspended, expelled or punished.
One officer, who was recorded as saying that the beating was provoked by the students’ assault on the officers, has been suspended.
“I feel like it shouldn’t take a video for [officials to take action],” freshman Curtis Holmes said to UM’s paper, The Diamondback. “You want to take a positive outlook on your [police] force, but you never know.”
University of Wisconsin-Madison to end contract with Nike
Chancellor Biddy Martin of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has announced that the school will no longer hold its contract with Nike, after the company failed to pay severance to its Honduran employees after closing several factories in January 2009, The Badger Herald reported.
According to the Herald, Martin offered the company 120 days to solve the problem, the last of those days being Thursday, April 8. After discussions in which she attempted to work out the problem with Nike, the decision was made to end the partnership.
Other schools in the country have also expressed interest in discussing the issue with Martin, including the University of Montana, Georgetown University and the University of Washington. However, Purdue University has decided to continue working with Nike.
After the meeting in which it was decided to end the contract, the committee called several Honduran employees to ask for their personal stories. According to the Herald, one worker, Gina Cano, said that because of her history of unionizing, it is difficult for her to find another job. However, if Nike had paid her severance, she feels she would have been able to re-establish herself.
“You are making our words louder, so that Nike can no longer ignore us,” Cano said.
Case against Brown University unsealed
A federal judge has unsealed the case of a student at Brown University who sought “unspecified damages” from defendants in a case that accused him of rape.
According to The Brown Daily Herald, the complaint accuses the university and a number of different university employees of “acts ‘tantamount to criminality,’ breach of contract, false imprisonment, libel and six other counts of civil misconduct.” It also says that the university had other motives — apparently, the father of the female student was an alumnus who donated large sums of money to the university.
The defendants also claim that the male student was “detained unlawfully” and pressured to leave the university.
The plaintiffs filed a motion to unseal the case on March 29, arguing that the case should be made public and that the defendants did not have a right to seal it.
However, the unsealed case will likely drop some of the Brown defendants, as well as some of the charges, the Herald reported.
Reach columnist Kristen Steenbeeke at news@dailyuw.com.”
Paying for or passing on the U-PASS
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 19, 2010“The U-PASS is in trouble.
The ASUW Transportation Taskforce says the program has to be saved, and we agree.
Many students rely on the U-PASS to commute to and from campus, and the reduced student rate the program offers is preferable to general Metro fares. But the U-PASS is becoming too expensive, both for the students and for the administration. The program needs to be able to sustain itself.
The number of students who chose to keep their U-PASS declined from 85 to 72 percent after the price nearly doubled last year. With the price for bus fare increasing again this year, the cost of the U-PASS is expected to increase, too.
Two solutions have been proposed by the task force: mandatory purchase of the U-PASS, where students wouldn’t be able to opt-out of the $99 each quarter, similar to the IMA membership, or a mandatory fee paid with quarterly tuition that would subsidize the program.
Of the two options, we don’t support requiring students to buy the U-PASS. With tuition on the rise as it is, asking students to purchase an expensive bus pass they may not need or want is not reasonable. For those students who depend on it, however, something has to be done to stabilize the program.
We’d like to hear more about the mandatory fee.
This would require students to pay $25 to $35 to help subsidize the program each quarter, and the U-PASS would likely remain at an additional $99. If this fee covered NightRide service for all students, we think the benefits would be worth the cost.
Students without a U-PASS cannot take the NightRide shuttle home without purchasing a $1 ticket on campus during the day. If the fee could subsidize the cost of the shuttle for all students, we’d pay it.
Students who exercise late at the IMA often partake in NightRide, as do night-owls studying at Odegaard. In The Daily’s case, some of us don’t leave the newsroom until around midnight Sunday through Thursday, and we keep our U-PASSes to get home safely each night. We worry about the students who don’t.
While calling UW Police Department NightWalk security guards is also an option, we think that NightRide is a convenient, scheduled service for students who might otherwise walk home alone.
If this fee could simultaneously help students get home safely and stabilize the U-PASS for others, we support it.
The question is whether the NightRide service would be extended to everyone who paid the fee, or only to those who purchased the additional U-PASS. We hope the task force works with Transportation Services and the Board of Regents to explore this option.
They say you can’t put a price on student safety, and we don’t feel the need to opt-out of that.
This is the opinion of The Daily’s Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is: Editor-in-Chief Casey Smith, News Editor Lexie Krell, Opinion Editor Ashleen Aguilar, Lifestyles Editor Nicole Ciridon, and Weekender Editor Ivan Vukovic.
Editorial Board meetings are always open to students. Meetings are held every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in the Daily newsroom, Communications Building, Room 132. Check out dailyuw.com/community for topics of conversation.”
Internship opportunities invaluable - paid or not
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 19, 2010“In today’s world, it’s very enticing for businesses to try and use unpaid internships as a way to pick up free employees.
While you have to be careful when looking at internships, you can’t set your internship sights too high either.
Internships are not known to provide the most glamorous positions.
In your head, a potential internship can seem like an easy way to try your hand at being part of the inner-workings of a major corporation.
As the scenario plays out in your mind, you’re sitting at your exciting Microsoft internship working on a brand-new project and advising your managers on crucial executive decisions.
So when you end up taking that Microsoft internship and find yourself entering data into spreadsheets instead of working side by side with Steve Ballmer, it can seem like a little bit of a letdown.
Just because you aren’t assigned to glamorous projects doesn’t mean the potential to learn a lot from an internship isn’t there.
Internships are supposed to provide you with experience in a difficult field, that’s true. There’s a reason your local Dairy Queen isn’t offering internships. If you take a software-developer internship to improve your coding skills and end up mopping the bathroom floor, there’s a problem there.
But at the same time, some of the most valuable “experience” you could ever receive doesn’t come from working on a new, exciting project. It comes from just being around the workplace.
Internships are a way to explore avenues for a permanent job, and there is no better way to get a feeling for what the job is like than being around several people who work there day in and day out.
By being part of the workplace, you can see what the workload people have to deal with is, how much people enjoy their jobs after the “exciting new job” honeymoon wears off, and gauge how much the people around you would make you crazy if you had to work there five days a week for a year.
Most importantly, you have the opportunity to make contacts.
While your internship might be a fleeting three months, the contacts you make on the job can last your entire working career.
Regardless of whether that Microsoft internship actually works out, being able to contact people in the company who have their own ideas, expertise and an even larger list of contacts can be invaluable. If you’re looking for a job, it’s likely they will have heard about some open positions — or about startups that could use an able worker.
That’s the kind of information that can be useful for the rest of your working life.
When you’re looking for summer internships, you can’t be too picky about the guidelines. As long as it seems like the internship could advance your skills, and you aren’t being taken advantage of, there will be plenty of opportunities for it to make an impact on your career path.
Reach columnist Gavin Verhey at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Huskies take two of three from Ducks, now in 1st place
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 19, 2010“Win enough of these best-of-three series, and you’ll find yourself at the top soon enough.
The Washington softball team already knows that. And now the Huskies are looking down at the rest of the Pac-10, in first place all by themselves after taking a 1-0 win from Oregon yesterday in Eugene, Ore., to win the weekend series two games to one.
The win was also Washington’s 800th in program history, but more importantly, it made the Huskies 7-2 in conference play this season and gave them a one-game lead over the resurgent Ducks.
“Obviously, yes, we would have preferred the sweep, but Oregon’s a good team, and they gave us a good battle,” UW head coach Heather Tarr said. “We’re happy to come out of it with the series win.”
Oregon (30-8, 6-3 Pac-10) did snap UW’s six-game winning streak with a 4-0 win Saturday, using a three-run sixth inning to break open what had been a tight game to that point. That win followed the Huskies’ 9-2 drubbing the day before.
Danielle Lawrie (24-2) again pitched every inning of the weekend, bouncing back from her second loss of the season on Saturday to pitch a two-hit shutout in UW’s win yesterday. The Huskies scored what held up as the winning run in the sixth inning, when Jenn Salling reached on an error to lead off the frame before scoring three batters later on a passed ball.
Despite losing the series, the Ducks proved just how much they’ve improved from a year ago, when they missed out on postseason play. Their four-deep pitching staff gave the Huskies’ offense trouble both yesterday and Saturday, limiting UW to 10 hits in the final two games.
Samantha Skillingstad pitched five innings for Oregon to earn the win Saturday, and the Ducks came back yesterday with Jessica Moore, who pitched 5 1/3 innings of five-hit ball and almost did enough to hold the Huskies without a run for the second consecutive game.
“They’ve got a deeper pitching staff,” Tarr said. “They have two pretty good backup pitchers that they use as closers. They probably have the deepest pitching staff of anybody in the country.”
Washington (35-4, 7-2) stays on the road next weekend against California, which features former Huskies infielder Jace Williams. Next weekend also marks the unofficial halfway point of the Pac-10 season.
“We want to continue to get better every weekend out,” Tarr said. “Everybody’s a different challenge.”
Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Talking Points
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 19, 2010“Abdulrhman Beb said he had been searching for a conversation partner but could not find one. Although the English Language Program (ELP) has been matching UW English native speakers with international students learning English for nearly 10 years, the most highly demanded languages are for students who speak European languages such as Spanish, French or German, and those who speak the less-demanded languages have difficulty finding English-speaking partners.
“Out of the 400 students, 100 of those are Arabic speakers. However, there are not that many students taking Arabic classes for everyone to have a partner,” said James Evans, director of the international and English language programs. “One of our biggest concerns is that our students don’t meet UW students, because they only take classes with other students learning English. We have many students that speak Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic, but only one student from Spain.”
The UW International and English Language Program began offering English language instruction since 1977. The international students spend at least four hours a week studying English to improve their speaking, writing and reading skills. These non-matriculated students are placed according to their English level and are here to study English to improve their Test of English as a Foreign Language scores so they can study in English-speaking universities or find a better job in their home countries.
Conversation partners serve as “sympathetic interlocutors, which means that they listen and make an effort to understand even though there is mispronunciation and improper word choice,” said Susan Benson, a professor of Arabic.
Although conversation partners are not required, they are strongly encouraged because both sides benefit from the exchange. Conversation partners are set up through an application online at the ELP’s website, and students are matched based on location, age, gender, and language preferences.
Erika Maskal, a sophomore studying the Arabic language, describes that meeting with her partner Hala Al-Rasheed has “really helped with my pronunciation, because when you are in a class with 30 other people, it’s harder for the professor to listen to you individually and help you perfect your speech.”
Maskal said that at first there was a huge cultural barrier, but that was what they bonded over the most. Al-Rasheed could tell Maskal what it was like to live in Saudi Arabia, and Maskal taught Al-Rasheed about American culture.
“You learn through osmosis, being around a native speaker. You learn the slang and the accent better,” Maskal said. “Languages are really hard to learn from a book, and meeting with her has helped me speak more quickly. I don’t have to search for the words as much when I am in class.”
Conversation partners generally meet once a week for an hour and speak for 30 minutes in English and 30 minutes in the other language.
“I have noticed a difference with those students who have conversation partners in my classes,” said Cherie Lenz-Hackett, a lecturer for the ELP Program. “Their speaking is more fluid, their listening is better, and even if they don’t understand what people are saying, they have ways to clarify. By having a conversation partner, their ability to navigate a conversation is better.”
Ayid Alqahtani, who is originally from Saudi Arabia, said although he likes being in the United States, it is a very different culture.
“Saudis think Americans are dangerous, buy drugs and have guns, because of movies, but now, after sending citizens here, people realize it’s not true,” Alqahtani said. “The first thing that is different is the food. When I went to the HUB and saw a chicken sandwich with lettuce and it was cold, I can’t eat it. The vegetables are uncooked, and the meat is cold. I don’t eat anything from America, I end up cooking for myself.”
Alqahtani, like many other Saudi Arabian international students, is here on a government scholarship that sends students to other countries to continue with education. The Saudi government covers all fees and tuition for school and also gives students a sum of money per month.
“Our students just want to meet with people their age and find out what people their age do here,” Lenz-Hackett said. “They want to compare their preconceived notions from magazines and movies and compare with what they see.”
Reach reporter Charlotte Anthony at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Have a nice day
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 19, 2010““B,” as he calls himself, is as much of a fixture outside of Chipotle on the Ave as the students in line during the dinner rush.
Except B isn’t there for a steak burrito. He is soliciting help from his wheelchair.
“I’m asking for help to live, to find resources to keep me from doing that,” he said, pointing at a man who was more aggressively asking for money from two college-age students.
That other man’s behavior may be banned if Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess has his way. He has proposed citywide legislation he says would curb “aggressive solicitation.” The council plans to vote on the proposal today, and Mayor Mike McGinn has said he will try to veto it.
Although downtown may seem like the most obvious place for enforcement, Burgess said he has heard many complaints from the U-District and Ballard.
But there are some in the U-District who say the proposal will unfairly punish the homeless.
Matt Fox, the director of operations at Rising Out of the Shadows (ROOTS), a U-District youth shelter, helped draft a letter to the city condemning the bill because it is “overly broadly written,” and it “circumvents the due-process progression.”
The proposal would ban the use of intimidating conduct when asking others for money or valuables. For example, it would ban solicitors from using abusive language, blocking someone’s walking path or asking repeatedly for money after someone has said no. The legislation also makes it illegal for solicitors to approach someone using an ATM or paying for parking.
Penalties include a $50 fine or community service.
Fox said people could become criminals if the police fine them $50 for aggressive solicitation and they can neither pay the fine nor attend a court hearing. He also said Seattle should use pre-existing laws barring aggressive panhandling before making a new law.
Burgess, a former Seattle police officer, wrote that he knows about the current laws, but that the city is “approaching a dangerous tipping point” where perceptions of an unsafe city could negatively impact the area.
His legislation, he said, would prevent this without criminalizing the homeless. Those who aggressively panhandle may do community service rather than pay a fine, and the city attorney does not always prosecute, he said.
Burgess said the bill would help Seattle businesses and make residents feel safe as they walk Seattle’s streets. To that end, police have increased foot patrols downtown, but not in the U-District.
Teresa Lord Hugel, director of the U-District Chamber of Commerce, said homeless people aren’t the problem in the U-District. Rather, it’s people who ask others to sign petitions or solicit funds for organizations who are the problem.
“Generally speaking, [the homeless] are not aggressive,” Hugel said. “They are not trying to call significant attention to themselves. … They are just trying to get by.”
The Chamber of Commerce, however, supports Burgess’ proposal. Hugel said the bill could stop those who verbally badger and physically confront passers-by outside of places like the University Book Store.
The bill passed out of committee by a vote of 3-1. Some have discussed increasing services for the homeless in tandem with the bill, but the council has decided nothing yet.
Burgess has, however, amended his bill to require the police chief and city attorney to annually report enforcement and the bill’s effectiveness.
Burgess said the bill would still allow most panhandling. The legislation “is aimed at a very specific behavior that causes fear,” and the police may not issue many citations because of the ordinance, he said.
Reach contributing writer William Dow at development@dailyuw.com.”
Free Speech Friday: April 16, 2010
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 17, 2010“In Response to: Different democracies react differently to immigration (April 7th)
Over the course of my time as a student I have been inclined to look forward to Russ Wong’s reflective commentary, and my disagreements on many of his points notwithstanding, I value his concise analytical approach. Nevertheless, his article on the idea of immigration seemingly fell short of his customary standards. While the U.S. is indeed a fairly tolerable society relative to other democratic societies I cannot agree with his assertion that American culture is “…marked more by fusion born out of diverse influences than by diversity per se…” Implicit in his claim is the idea that one can isolate these two entities and evaluate them independently. We cannot do this because the quality of our fusion in the U.S. is wholly dependent on the degree to which we are diverse. Thus, while the legacy of the U.S. is largely a coming together of various ethnicities and interests, I hesitate to agree that this is more representative of American culture than diversity in itsel!
f. There is a mutual relationship between diversity and fusion and the sustenance of America’s culture is noticeable because of the delicate balance between the two. Indeed, this seeming equilibrium of “coming together” and at the same time acknowledging our differences is what has made our democratic society relatively resilient. Furthermore, you also conclude that some Western European democracies, such as France, are morally justified in imposing illiberal restrictions on immigrant traditions because of a need to protect their value systems. Does this then presuppose the idea that France is justified in blocking claims of first-class citizenship laid by French-born children of immigrant parents who retain a non-French culture? Similarly, to justify the standing of policies that ban women’s hair covering by stating that it places undue threat on the “host” society’s value systems, gives credence to the notion that risk-free practices external of the country!
’s beliefs cannot justifiably exist if the government deems !
it so. France may still retain their larger system of law but that doesn’t mean that it must negate a minority set of cultural traditions and to do so is unjustifiable.
Amin Montgomery
Political Science
Senior
In response to Brian Cox...
Hey Engineer. There is very good reason why Republicans were kicked out. It is the Trillion Dollar Gulf Oil War. Like it or not, the USA has been using the military for mercenary reasons to get foreign oil. Iran has bitter memories of covert CIA operations in the 1950s and 1960s to install the Shah of Iran, and Latin America remembers Operation Condor, all that to protect geologic oil. Frankly, if you stop making enemies, maybe you will not have enemies. Did you know Saddam and Bin Laden were CIA trained! This nation needs to stop these murder-for-oil programs. Bluntly the US military needs to focus on REAL nation security threats like incoming meteorites, hurricanes and tornados, droughts and climate change, plagues and famine, and yes, oh yes, health care. Republicans, and admittedly sometimes Democrats, do use the military not for national defense but greed. It is and will stop. The Republican party for decades has been hostile, repeat hostile to Solar and Wind technologies. The Reagan administration deliberately repressed the 1980 patented BioDiesel (Brazil, Expende Parente). It is a little known fact that underground saltwater can be used to grow algae in deserts to make diesel fuel, enough to power the USA. In order to protect fossil interest, technology like this has been repressed. President Obama is definely pro-solar energy, Bush and Cheney were hostile! Somehow the USA seems to have a few Trillion dollars a year to spend on military, but somehow money for getting the nation off foreign oil dependency is absent. There is too much promotion of dangerous energy sources, like nuclear power, at the expense of people Making Their Own Energy! The military industrial complex has gotten to be so greedy it is diverting money from state and local governments, even Social Security, for defense contracts. The wonderful thing is the Internet. Now when lies (ie. Pentagon) are said, someone can set up a web page. People are on to the game, and it is time Republicans got the message, or Get Out! So got a message, let’s see engineers engineer better inventions to help people, including people without money! Unfortunately engineers engineer too much to help rich people waste more energy. Or come up with better ways to blow up the world! Cut it out Engineer!
Martin Nix
Ranting about Rants and Raves
I enjoy the Daily, I think it is a quality publication that has relevant news to me as a UW student. However, there is one vexation that I have with the Daily that I am going to express here. My issue is with the Raves and Rants section that is printed in the opinion section each day. Most days, there are two raves and two rants. Usually, one rant and one rave are obscure and funny stories that I would not have otherwise heard about and are something I get a good snicker out of. The other two are usually headline news stories that appeared in last week’s major news publications. I’m pretty sure no one goes to the Daily’s Raves and Rants section to stay updated on current events, especially since by the time the stories get published in the Raves and Rants they are no longer current. Here is an example of what I am talking about.
In the Tuesday, April 13th 2010 edition of the Daily the Raves portion of the Raves and Rants read as follows:
“According to the Los Angeles Times, the United States and Russia have signed a treaty that promises both superpowers will scale back nuclear arms.
Seattle author Ariel Meadow Stallings wrote a book for brides with ideas for unusual weddings, according to the Seattle Times. Stallings said one of her favorite weddings was ‘Wedding: The Musical’ by a theater-loving couple.”
The second one is a rather whimsical piece of news that, most likely, no one that reads the Daily has heard about (this case may be an exception since it was from a story in the Seattle Times). It is also something that readers would find slightly amusing. However, the first one was on the front-page of every major newspaper last week and by the time it got published as a rave in the Daily it was just old news that everyone has heard about and is not amused by in the least. I’m not sure what the the Daily’s conception of the Raves and Rants section is but I personally don’t think it is the place to be publishing week-old front-page news headlines. Reading those types of news bits causes me to loose faith in the people at the Daily as competent news reporters. I look to the Raves and Rants sections for comical bits of news that I otherwise would not hear about. I am starkly opposed to it being a place to publish week-old front-page headlines.
I hope the Daily will consider a change in their use of the Raves and Rants space, leaving the front-page news stories out of it.
stark raving mad (not really that mad I guess),
Lucas Simons
sophomore
international studies
To the Editor:
I strongly object to the Daily including the shift in Scrabble’s rules to include proper nouns under the “Raves” category in Monday April 12th’s paper. Scrabble’s rules were designed to help children and adults expand their vocabulary and refine their spelling skills. Changing the rules in this manner brings the game down to the lowest common denominator. Sure, they will still offer a “Classic” version of the game, but generations of future kids will learn to play by the new rules where things like “TBoz” or “Azkaban” will earn them victory.
Yes, dumbing down the game expands its market appeal and will get more people playing, which is a clear goal of the game’s manufacturer, but is this something to celebrate? Surely not. Especially not in the pages of a newspaper which relies on its readers’ literacy.
Now, I know that I’ve responded much to seriously to such a silly thing as the “rant/rave” section in the Daily, but I have many years of memories attached to learning new words and spellings so that I could eventually challenge my family members at the Holiday Scrabble game. I wouldn’t want to take that away from future generations of kids.
Jono Hanks
Political Science
In response to “Look elsewhere if your degree isn’t good enough”
Your story reminds me of my own journey as a UW student. When I was accepted to the UW my parents did not tell me what to study, but they did want me to choose a stable career and like many freshmen I chose medicine. I wanted to please them, I wanted the status, and I wanted the money. After a year of college I realized that I was going to have to work too hard for something I did not want.
I wholly agree your advice and to all the undecided or undeclared students out there, my advice is to follow your dream – not the money.
Eric Knigge, Junior, Material Science and Engineering.
In response to “Corporations should take safety seriousely”
Andrew Taylor is exactly right in this article. The ruling FEC vs. Citizens United frames corporations with the same rights as people and removes the vital campaign finance laws to control their influence. Although people ultimately vote to elect our leaders it is widely known that politicians with the most money hold a tremendous advantage in campaigns. Taylor is right in his assertion that if corporations are people, they must be held accountable for the safety of their workers. Lacking safety equipment, unsafe chemical exposure, etc. should no longer be viewed as “accidents” but as negligance and if harm comes to workers as manslaughter. They also should be held to fair tax laws, a recent USpirg study concluded that average individual pays 500$ in taxes to offset corporate tax breaks, and then even more in superfund environmental cleanups and in picking up pensions when a business goes under. Corporations are a vital part of our economy, but if unchecked their influence will dominate our political system and drown out the voice of citizens concerns for a clean environment, worker safety, health care, fair benefits, the right to unionize, small business support, consumer protection etc. Washpirg is going to be working hard this quarter to get bills through Congress that limit the worst effects of this ruling and will need UW students to show that they care about this ruling as well.
-Kyle Murphy
In Response to: “One More Couch!”
As a four year member of the UW Greek System I admit that I am frustrated and saddened by the recent couch bonfire incident. Many of the participants have been quick to point out that there were no major laws broken. However, this is not the standard to which we should hold ourselves. When legal is the only standard to which a community holds itself we end up with problems like predatory sub-prime mortgages.
A majority of the problem that this event has created was the message that it sent out to the community. When you join an organization your actions are scrutinized to a greater detail. They also speak for everyone else who is a member, and for the values of the organization as a whole. The message that the community received from the couch burning was that UW students are selfish, immature, and so unimaginative that when the power goes down they can’t think of anything more constructive to do than consume alcohol and burn things. It’s true that only a fraction of those in attendance had been drinking, but the community heard “Greeks and alcohol.” No major laws were violated, but the news reported riot police.
The Greek community was designed to build character, leadership, and community. The best way for us as a community to get back on track with those values and repair some of the public relations damage is to step up and acknowledge that the action was wrong. An action which leads to the arrival of 40 police officers is irresponsible. Burning things to entertain yourself is immature. Stop pointing to the legality of your actions, mature a little bit, and get out there for the street clean and take some pride in your proclaimed values.
Timothy Shigeta
Senior/Industrial and Systems Engineering
So, I have been reading the Daily all week long in order to write a relevant opinion piece about disability and I have been completely without inspiration. I take ownness of this, sure. As a writer, I should be able to be inspired on the fly, without much stimuli to induce my talent, but alas, I haven’t been able to find one thing in the Daily that I can discuss from a disability-oriented standpoint. I think this is mainly because of two reasons: opaqueness and lack of representation.
Our peers with disabilities are just that, our peers and our equals. They experience the same things that we do, have the same novel opinions we have, and are usually as spontaneously knowledgeable and unknowledgeable about things, depending on topic. When it comes to experiencing burning couches, closing sources of community in our school, and rants and raves, the opinion of a student who, say, uses a wheelchair, or has a learning disability, is likely to be just the same as a student who doesn’t use a wheelchair or have a learning disability. Students across demographics can come to consensus or disagree, which makes the intersectionality more important than the difference.
Another issue is that we don’t have student representation of people with disabilities. How can we really expect to know how the disability rights advocacy community on campus feels about something if they’re not speaking up and making themselves heard? I think this is a concern for everyone in the Student Disability Commission. In order to ameliorate this situation, we’ve come up with a narrative project, but we are low on interviewees! Any member of the UW community that is interested in participating in this project can contact the SDC for more info on their ASUW SDC Facebook page or uwsdcinterns.wordpress.com.
Christina Philipp
Intern
Student Disability Commission
After almost two full years of Humans vs. Zombie Tag at the University of Washington, I would like to point out how well our school has done in hosting it. I struggle to think of a student organization with a larger presence on campus. The level of enthusiasm and commitment I have witnessed from players has been mindboggling. For a game that draws its success from the enthusiasm of its participants, I couldn’t ask for anything more from the hundreds of “HvZT” faithful. But our success isn’t strictly due to the support of students – the university’s faculty, staff, and police department all deserve the thanks of every HvZT participant. The university has done nothing but support us, even though we have done our fair share of disrupting normal university life during our low moments.
As I near the end of my Humans vs. Zombie Tag career, I feel it is necessary to thank the students and the university. With your continued support, HvZT will prosper for years to come.
And if you’re reading this, President Emmert, I would like you to know that we have a place reserved for you if you were ever inclined to sign up. Bring $2 for the bandana.
Andy Fulton
HvZT Co-Founder
UW Sophomore
Reduce Oil Consumption To Counter Russian Resurgence
During the past few years Russian oil revenues have generated a surplus of $500 billion, and Russia is using this money to rebuild and expand its military after many years of neglect.
The refurbishment of the Russian military has been accompanied by a revival of the cold war, and we are in the midst of a resurgence of Russia and its totalitarian machinations.
The foray into Georgia is an example of the mentality of the Russian leadership, and Russia might be rekindling a close relationship with Cuba, including the reopening of a sophisticated electronic intelligence gathering operation in Lourdes, Cuba. Russia has conducted talks with Cuba, Syria and Vietnam on the use of naval bases, has sent naval forces to visit Venezuelan ports, and has promised to help Chavez develop a nuclear “energy”(???) program.
As the largest consumer of oil in the world we have to continue to reduce our oil consumption, which will help our economy and the environment, exert downward pressure on oil prices, and decrease the revenue going to Russia and other foreign countries. We need fuel efficient vehicles, more alternative energy sources, increased domestic oil and natural gas production, and more nuclear power plants.
Donald A. Moskowitz
Londonderry, NH
Dear editor,
President Obama travelled to Kennedy Space Center this past Thursday to promote his plans for NASA. His plans include cancelling the Constellation Program (which would have enabled us to go back to the moon) and relying on private companies to ferry astronauts into low earth orbit.
No amount of positive spin by the president can convince me that this policy is a good idea, especially when it comes to having NASA rely on private companies for transportation. To date, there is no private spaceflight company which has developed a rocket safe for a human crew, let alone actually sent said crew into orbit. Yet the president wants to entrust these companies with transporting astronauts safely instead of NASA, which has years of experience doing do. The justification for this handover of responsibility is even more mindboggling. According to the president, the Constellation Program was over budget and behind schedule. He doesn’t seem to realize that Constellation was underfunded from the start, nor does he realize that a project involving the construction of a rocket capable of delivering payloads and crew to the moon isn’t cheap. The entire Apollo Program, for example, cost close to $150 billion after adjusting for inflation.
I find it highly ironic that the president is doing this after promoting himself as someone who will spur job recovery and promote the sciences. Rather, cancelling the Constellation Program, coupled with the retirement of the Space Shuttle, is expected to cause the loss of over 10,000 skilled jobs across the nation. Once those workers are gone, they will take thier technical skills with them. A majority of congress, as well as two dozen of the Apollo astronauts, oppose President Obama’s plan for this exact reason and everything else I have listed. For his sake, and for the sake of American technical expertise, I hope that the president does not implement this short-sighted space policy.
Stewart Jacobs
Sophomore, Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering”
Day of silence raises awareness for LGBT community
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 17, 2010“Students at the UW and across the nation will voice their opinions today on the harassment of the LGBT community — in silence.
According to the event’s Web site, The National Day of Silence is an opportunity for students to address the harassment and bullying of LGBT individuals in schools. Students of all sexual orientations and genders are encouraged to participate. The goal of the day is to bring attention to the issue, letting victims of harassment know they are not alone and encouraging schools to confront the problem.
The day was founded in 1996 by a small group of students at the University of Virginia and has since become the largest student-led action toward creating safer schools. Students of all levels participate by taking a personal vow of silence for the day, addressing others only in written form.
The Day of Silence is recognized annually at the UW. Many students choose to participate by remaining silent for the day, while some wear event wristbands and the color red. The UW Students Organizing for LBGT Equality are providing the wristbands and speaking cards, which students can use to explain their silence.
UW students will “break the silence” at 5 p.m. by meeting in Red Square to shout and make noise, signifying the end of the day.
Sophomore Mario LeMafa, an organizer of the Day of Silence at the UW, said he understands those who might not feel comfortable participating.
“[In high school], I was afraid to participate; I wasn’t out,” he said. “I’m focusing on myself and what I can do for the cause, but I’m not necessarily looking for others to participate if they don’t want to.”
Despite the efforts of the Day of Silence during its 16-year existence, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network reported in their 2007 National School Climate Survey that nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students reported verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school, and more than 30 percent of them reported missing school out of fear for their personal safety.
LeMafa recognized that, as in other places, LGBT discrimination still exists at the UW, recalling times when other students have ignored him or said hurtful things.
“We made progress, but to this day the progress is … not where we ought to be as a nation,” LeMafa said. “In the larger picture, we are not there, we are not at the vision we have for the future, but we get there in steps and strides.”
Reach contributing writer Angela Moorer at development@dailyuw.com.”
Campus crime blotter: Missing BMWs, street fighting and a swastika in the dorms
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 17, 2010“From stolen BMWs to offensive residence-hall graffiti, this weekly crime blotter aims to keep you up to date on recent crimes and offenses that affect the UW community.
April 6
UW Police Department (UWPD) officers responded to a report of a stolen car from the W6 parking lot near Northeast 40th Street and Northeast Campus Parkway. Officers noted that the car, a BMW, had not been towed away by any local towing companies. The incident remains under investigation.
April 8
UWPD officers responded to a report that a swastika had been posted in the third-floor hallway of Terry Hall. The officers reported that no suspects were found in the area.
April 9
UWPD officers responded to a report of a stolen Toshiba laptop in Savery Hall. Authorities currently have no suspects in the theft.
April 10
UWPD officers responded to a fight in the 4700 block of 19th Avenue Northeast. One subject was injured and the second was arrested. The case is still open pending further investigation.
The UWPD provides the information for this column.
Reach columnist Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Prosecutors appeal for tougher sentence for Amanda Knox
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 16, 2010“As the deadline approaches for UW student Amanda Knox to file her appeal, prosecutors in the case requested a tougher sentence yesterday in an appeal of their own.
“While we are obviously disappointed that the prosecutor has filed an appeal regarding the sentences of Amanda and Rafaelle, we are focusing on submitting the appeal documents for Amanda on Saturday,” said Cassandra Knox, Amanda Knox’s stepmother, via e-mail.
Amanda Knox and former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito received 26- and 25-year sentences, respectively, in the Dec. 5, 2009, decision. Both were found guilty in the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, who lived with Amanda Knox while they were studying abroad in Perugia, Italy.
ABC News reported that prosecutors Giuliano Mignini and Manuela Comodi said in the appeal that judges in the case failed to consider an important “aggravating circumstance,” which would likely have lead to life imprisonment. Judges in the case wrote that the offense was not premeditated and that Amanda Knox did not feel animosity for Kercher. Prosecutors argued in their appeal that a motive was not identified in the sentencing, which in the Italian justice system can be grounds for an increased sentence, ABC reported.
Additionally, ABC reported that the appeal objected to the attenuating circumstances considered in the case. The defendants’ ages and lack of previous criminal records, among other character attributes, were noted in the original sentencing report.
The deadline for appeals in the case is April 20, at which time the court system will schedule the new trial that is expected to begin this fall.
Reach News Editor Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.”
Notice less UW crime e-mails?
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 15, 2010“The UW used to send e-mails about crime near campus. They used to do it a lot, actually. Now they hardly do it at all. Ever since winter quarter started, I’ve been wondering what happened to those “timely warning” e-mails.
Turns out the university’s policy changed. Several administrators decided to clarify when they need to send those “timely warning” notifications.
Don’t get me wrong, they still have to do it. It’s legally required under something called the Clery Act (1990). The policy change happened when some administrators realized they were doing more than the Clery Act required.
Now you will no longer automatically hear about a crime at Brooklyn Avenue Northeast and Northeast 52nd Street. Even though students live in these areas, university administrators are not required to send a notification for off-campus buildings. But they still might.
“If it meets the threshold of presenting an ongoing threat to the campus community, then we would err on the side of caution and provide that information,” said John Vinson, police chief at the UW police department.
That key word is “ongoing,” Vinson says.
He gave me a scenario:
Imagine a shooting at some type of entertainment establishment right next to the highway, not exactly what you’d consider campus. Anyway, you’ve got your shooter and your victim. Both are drug dealers. The police arrive and arrest the shooter.
“It’s an isolated situation; one bad guy shoots an ex-spy,” Vinson says.
Do they release that information?
No. The shooter is in custody, and there’s no ongoing threat.
“Say there was a gunman on the loose — that’s a different scenario,” Vinson says.
In that case, they’d probably send out a UW Alert, the system that sends text messages and e-mails in the event of an imminent threat.
Vinson’s story seemed pretty understandable. He had me convinced. Then I heard him say this:
“We want to provide information to our community. But we also don’t want to over-saturate or desensitize our community unnecessarily.”
If crime happens in our neighborhood, we should know about it. The UWPD will be meeting with the ASUW twice during May. Our student government needs to reassure students and make sure the police will keep students well appraised of the crime endemic in their neighborhood.
The more reality — crime, in this case — that confronts us, the more we as students and community members have to take ownership over it.
Vinson told me he’s looking at Twitter and other social media as messengers to deliver crime information to students.
Let’s hope he does more than look.
Reach Development Editor Andrew Doughman at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Corporations should take safety seriously
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 15, 2010“When I go out into the working world someday, I would like to hope that whoever I work for will put my safety before the bottom line. However, I’m not so sure at this point.
Last week, 29 miners died in an explosion in the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. It was the largest mining disaster in this country. The New York Times reported the Upper Big Branch had more than 100 safety violations. Massey Energy, the company that owned the mine, fought these violations, and according to the Times, Massey’s CEO, Don Blankenship, spent $3 million in a mix of lawyers’ appeals and campaign contributions to get rid of them.
When the Supreme Court ruled in the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that a corporation was deemed a person in terms of campaign financing, many were in uproar. It went against a previous precedent, overturning the famous McCain-Feingold campaign-finance-reform law.
With the new laws made by the Supreme Court, Massey, and companies similar to Massey, can fund campaigns to try and prevent more legislation for safety regulations for miners. This means more danger for the miners, especially those who often don’t have any other choice in terms of a job.
West Virginia tried to combat this. According to The West Virginia Gazette, stiffer penalties and tighter regulations were put in place after a different mining accident in 2006. However, many coal companies appealed the validity, delaying the process as much as they could. On average, coal companies appealed two-thirds of the violations.
Massey appealed three fourths of the fines, clogging up the system to prevent any punishment. It’s obvious Massey has too much control over the system right now, let alone with the power to buy and sell campaigns.
If the Supreme Court thinks that corporations have the same right as a person to fund campaigns, shouldn’t they be held liable for the same laws, too?
When companies are able to buy and sell the outcomes of elections in the lawmaking process, they should be subject to such laws also.
England already has such a law in place: the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act (2007). In the event of a work-related death at a company, any safety oversights or negligence could translate to criminal offenses for upper-level management. Charges can range from negligence to manslaughter, with penalties going to those who were directly responsible for these gross mistakes. There are different requirements in determining whether a death was unavoidable.
When a company like Massey has more than 100 violations, it stops becoming unavoidable. The accident at the Upper Big Branch Mine could have been prevented easily if they kept safer practices and took time to beef up safety within the mine.
If a law similar to the one in England existed stateside, Massey and many company executives like Blankenship would face trial for the active blocking of safety of the miners.
Corporations that play loose with the rules have to start paying for their mistakes. A company that doesn’t consider the safety of its people and only thinks about the bottom line should face some kind of recourse.
Andrew Taylor is a senior at Shorewood High School in Shoreline and has worked as an editorial intern for The Daily since fall 2009.
Reach editorial intern Andrew Taylor at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Neighborhood Watch
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 15, 2010“University District
Howard Robertson: Poet in Residence
Writer of five published poetry books and winner of several awards, poet Howard Robertson presents his work at the Henry Art Gallery.
Saturday, April 17
11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Henry Art Gallery: Stroum Gallery
Samarabalouf
The jazz trio from Amiens, France — inspired by Django Reinhardt — performs a concert full of musical pyrotechnics.
Saturday, April 17
8 p.m.
$33; tickets available at meany.org
Meany Hall
Andrew Young
The Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs presents a lecture on ethics and leadership from a former John Edwards adviser.
Monday, April 19
5:30 p.m.
Free; registration required: 206-543-0549
Kane 210
Ballard:
becOMing – a love story
Local artist Gideon Kramer has created a series of art inspired by his relationship with his wife, Ruth. Kramer is a designer, artist, inventor and builder, and all of his myriad talents will be on display at the Center on Contemporary Art.
Monday through Friday; now through May 8
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
CoCA
6413 Seaview Ave. NW
Three Sisters
The Ballard Underground presents Anton Chekhov’s epic three-hour play, first produced in 1901. The play focuses on three sisters, possibly inspired by the Brontë sisters, who live in a provincial Russian town and dream about their return to Moscow.
Thursday through Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.
$12-15
The Ballard Underground
2220 NW Market St.
Fremont:
Olympic Sound Collective (21+)
The Olympic Sound Collective is a band that brings jazz out of the lounge and onto the dance floor. Their music is a fusion of soul, jazz and funk. This band has been a local staple for a few years now, and they show no signs of losing heat. They’ll be joined by Soul Senate, DJ Slinger, and Black Cherry Crush.
Friday, April 16
9 p.m.
$7
Nectar Lounge
412 N 36th St.
Golden Robot Army (21+)
Huskies with an adventurous taste in music should look no further than Golden Robot Army, a self-described “electroacoustic/powerpop/rock” band. Joining them will be the alt-rock band Your Invisible Hands and the folk-rock band Horace Pickett.
Sunday, April 18
8 p.m.
$6
High Dive
513 N 36th St.
Wallingford:
Folk Music at the Gypsy Cafe
Come see folk artists Jeremy Serwer, Sammy Witness and Charlie Beck live at the Gypsy Cafe and Pub. It’s free, and all ages are welcome – and as a matter of fact, so is your dog. Seriously. Folk music + your dog = fun.
Friday, April 16
9 p.m.
Free
The Gypsy Cafe and Pub
3510 Stone Way N
Sparkly Kitty (21+)
Live at the Seamonster Lounge are some songs you may not have heard for a while. Are they oldies, or just a few years old? Who knows – why not come and find out? Besides, there’s no cover charge.
Sunday, April 18
9 PM
Free
Seamonster Lounge
2202 N 45th St
Capitol Hill
Elliott Bay Books Reopening
Elliott Bay Book Co. is celebrating the opening of their new Capitol Hill location with a block party. In addition to the music and food, author Anchee Min will read from her new novel Pearl of China.
April 15
4 p.m.
Free
Elliott Bay Book Co.
1521 10th Ave.
Jay Steensma
Steensma was an artist plagued with manic-depression before his death in 1994, and the dichotomy between melancholy and happy is apparently emoted in his art. The Northwest artist’s surviving life partner, Ree Brown, also has work on display.
April 15 to 25
4 to 10 p.m.
Free
Vermillion
1508 11th Ave.
Fleeting Beauty: Japanese Woodblock Prints
These woodblock prints, created during the isolated Edo Period in Japan, feature unique visions of geishas, actors, peasants and Mount Fuji, among other images. The prints were announced as future gifts from collectors Mary and Allan Kollar.
April 15 to July 4
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
$5-7
Seattle Asian Art Museum
1400 E. Prospect St.
Dark Time Sunshine (21+)
With one member residing in Chicago and the other local, the music from the hip-hop duo spans genres and cultures. They’re celebrating the release of their debut album, Vessel, with such talent as Jake One, Mash Hall, Tilson, Helladope, Night Fox, and DJ Swerveone.
April 16
8 p.m.
$10
Neumos
925 E. Pike St.
Bearracuda Seattle
With DJs Matt Consola and Sam Storicks tag-teaming the turntables, Bearracuda Seattle calls all bears, cubs, beefcakes, chubs and beards for a San Francisco night at Chop Suey. April 16
9 p.m.
$8
Chop Suey
1325 E. Madision St.
Minus the Bear
Local experimental-rock heavyweight Minus the Bear is scheduled to hang out at a classic Seattle record store, Sonic Boom, to promote their upcoming release Omni.
April 17
2 p.m.
Free
Sonic Boom Records
1525 Melrose Ave.
Mädchen in Uniform
The third film in the GLBT Innocence Lost film-screening series, this 1958 classic follows an orphaned teenage girl who falls in love with her tenderhearted teacher.
April 17
7 p.m.
$9-10
Northwest Film Forum
1515 12th Ave.
Bronze Fawn (21+)
This local instrumental-rock group blends genres such as shoegaze and progressive rock to form something completely different. The trio is promoting their recently released album Life Among Giants. Judgment Day, You May Die in the Desert, and Aerglo support.
April 21
8 p.m.
$7
Comet Tavern
922 E. Pike St.
Downtown
On the Town
When a group of sailors is finally given a chance to dock and explore the land, they take advantage of the day they’re given to gallivant around the Big Apple, looking for romance in this musical with music by Leonard Bernstein. College students may purchase tickets for any Sunday through Friday evening, April 11 through May 2, for $10. Tickets must be purchased by April 23. Use the promotion code STUDENT over the phone at 206-625-1900, in person at the box office, or online at 5thavenue.org. Four-ticket limit. Student photo ID required when attending performance. Offer excludes Pearl section and previously purchased tickets.
April 11 through May 2
See 5thavenue.org for various times
$22-45, $10 with student promotional ticket
5th Avenue Theatre
1308 Fifth Ave.
All Balanchine
Pacific Northwest Ballet puts on three separate ballets by the Russian choreographer George Balanchine, with music by Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi and Hindemith.
Thursday through Saturday, April 15, 16, 17
7:30 p.m.
$25-102
McCaw Hall
321 Mercer St.
Florence + the Machine
The award-winning U.K. band will only be in the U.S. for a little while, so take your chance to see them play the Showbox this weekend.
Thursday, April 15
8 p.m.
$20
Showbox at the Market
1426 First Ave.
Brian Regan
Comedian Brian Regan has appeared on a number of talk shows as well as many Comedy Central specials in his time. His tour has visited more than 80 cities each year since 2005.
Friday, April 16
8 p.m.
$39.50-45
The Paramount
911 Pine St.
HIM
The first Finnish band to go gold in America (i.e., to sell more than 500,000 of one album) is touring in support of their new album, Screamworks: Love in Theory and Practice. Special guests include We Are The Fallen, Dommin, and Drive A.
Saturday, April 17
8 p.m.
$29 adv., $31 day of show
Showbox SoDo
1426 First Ave.
The Posies (21+)
The Bellingham band comes back to play their 1993 album (which was recorded in Shoreline, Wash.), Frosting on the Beater, in its entirety, as well as selections from their upcoming album release.
Saturday, April 17
8 p.m.
$20 adv.
The Croc
2200 Second Ave.
Third-Annual Urban Poverty Forum
According to the event’s description, Seattle’s poverty rate (11.8 percent) is even higher than the entire state of Washington’s (10.6 percent). This forum will bring together various members of the community in order to discuss how to decrease the levels of poverty in the city. It will also include music, dramatic readings and a number of panelists. Sunday, April 18
1 to 3 p.m.
Suggested donation: $5
Town Hall Seattle
1119 Eigth Ave.
Norah Jones
Jazz singer-songwriter Norah Jones is touring in support of her fourth studio album, The Fall, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in its first week.
Sunday, April 18
8 p.m.
$46.50-57
The Paramount
911 Pine St.”
Logan adjusting to linebacker, could make immediate impact
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 15, 2010“It’s been a long, winding road for UW junior Alvin Logan.
Originally from Aurora, Colo., Logan was recruited to the UW by former head coach Tyrone Willingham to play wide receiver. Somewhere along the line, he got moved over to defense to play safety.
But don’t look for him in the defensive backfield. Right now, Logan is in the middle of a tightly contested battle at outside linebacker.
Two of the three linebacker spots are set in stone. Senior Mason Foster is a leader of the defense and has started games every year he’s been at the UW. Meanwhile, junior Cort Dennison played remarkably well last year when E.J. Savannah was hurt, and he has already established himself as a starter next fall.
That leaves one linebacker spot open. Logan is fighting with Victor Aiyewa, also a converted safety, as well as Matt Houston, for the honor of starting in the season opener against BYU. It could be a two-man race, however, since Aiyewa has been pulled out of contact drills with a shoulder injury.
Logan is an intriguing option with his wide-receiver/defensive-back speed. In Saturday’s scrimmage, he recorded two sacks and another one in Tuesday’s practice, showing that, at least, can give the Huskies a pass-rusher in the Chris Stevens mold. And now, according to linebackers coach Mike Cox, when Logan hits someone, they feel it.
“He’s changed his body a lot, actually, which has helped,” Cox said. “Now he’s a little bigger. He’s about 225 to 230 pounds, when before he was 205 or something like that.”
Along with his added size, Logan’s coaches and teammates believe he has the attitude required to play linebacker. Linebackers can’t just be smart — they have to have a little “nasty” in them as well.
“I like playing football in general, but defense is really fun for me,” Logan said. “I definitely loved being physical at wide receiver, blocking and all that, so defense was a good move for me.”
Although his days at wide receiver are behind him, Logan believes his time on offense was well spent. Having played wide receiver in the past, it’s easy for him to put himself in an opposing receiver’s cleats and think like him.
“You can tell the tendencies from a wide receiver’s stance,” Logan said. “Or if he’s breaking down. Having played offense helps me a lot to understand what the offense is doing.”
His athleticism and knowledge of the game haven’t gone unnoticed by the powers that be. Head coach Steve Sarkisian likes what Logan brings to the table.
“Obviously, he has the stature that fits the mold for us,” Sarkisian said. “In our scheme, you’ve got to be athletic to play linebacker. You’ve got to be able to run, shed blocks, come over the top and rush the passer. He’s got the right qualities.”
Although he has the athleticism and knowledge to play linebacker, it wasn’t easy at first. This will be the first year in Logan’s career that he has had the same coaches, and learning a new position while learning a new scheme is very difficult. Luckily for Logan, the other linebackers have been helping him along.
“Alvin’s really smart,” Foster said. “Most of the time, you just have to give him little hints about when to shoot the gap, things like that. He gets the schemes really well.”
Even with Foster’s help, it took a while for Logan to get the swing of things.
“Linebacker’s a tough position, so it took him a few weeks to get into it,” Foster said. “But he’s starting to get into his groove now, making a lot of plays, rushing the passer well. Alvin’s a great athlete; he’s one of those guys that could play anything.”
Sarkisian said both Logan and Houston are very good players, but they have different strengths. While Houston is very physical, Logan is very quick. Whoever can become good at both first will go a long way toward determining who starts in the fall.
Reach reporter Jacob Thorpe at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Film Review: Kick-Ass
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 15, 2010“There’s a new movie in town. It’s called Kick-Ass, and … did I mention that it’s awesome?
Well, it is awesome, and refreshingly so. Kick-Ass pays homage to everything we know and love about superheroes — their traits, their foes, their conflicts — and turns the dial far, far past 11. It is so full of ruthless energy and unbridled excitement that, for the first time in years, I walked out of the theater feeling as if I could take on crime myself.
Based on Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s short comic series of the same name, Kick-Ass centers on Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), who decides to shed his loser persona for that of a masked vigilante he names Kick-Ass. As it turns out, Dave’s read one too many comic books, and his journey to become a real-life superhero is at times both misguided and pathetic.
But during one of his rare successes, he is caught on video defending a man from a group of thugs. He instantly becomes a YouTube sensation, drawing the admiration of millions — as well as the attention of super-evil Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong) and the mysterious pair Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz, in a film-stealing role).
Just like the majority of superhero-origin stories, Kick-Ass is primarily about the search for self-empowerment and self-fulfillment. It views these themes differently from other superhero films by assuming that the players in the film are susceptible to modern trends. Social networking and modern media play a big part in the story, adding a unique dimension to the implications of being a superhero in the YouTube generation.
Don’t be fooled, though, because Kick-Ass is not, nor is it meant to be, a particularly profound film. This is no Dark Knight, so there’s not much muddled philosophy, and the film goes light on the brooding. It does benefit greatly from this, but it is, in select instances, thought-provoking and even satirical. Still, neither the mood nor the flow of the film is interrupted.
Kick-Ass is gratuitously violent and completely over-the-top, but it’s also an extraordinary amount of fun. It initially plays out with a hilarious yet decidedly twisted sense of humor, and then slowly adds more gravitas to its events as the climax approaches. Luckily, there is always a strong balance between the two, so nothing really feels uneven.
References to the superhero genre in general are everywhere, but the film plays the tropes so well that they effectively come off as the film’s own and not as allusions to others in the genre, such as the 1978 Superman to the more-recent Batman films. To this extent, the film feels very much like a Quentin Tarantino project, only less cerebral. The story is very well done, and all of the characters have nice development arcs. The dialogue is genuine, and the pacing is expertly set.
Directed and co-written by Matthew Vaughan, the director of the sharp 2004 crime thriller Layer Cake, Kick-Ass is very much a wonder to simply watch. From the shot compositions to the lavish use of warm colors and inky blacks, the film brings to life a comic book world not done so vividly since 2005’s brilliant Sin City.
It should be noted, however, that Kick-Ass is, on a certain level, a deeply disturbed film. Hit-Girl, bound to become a cultural icon, is easily the most foul-mouthed and homicidal 12-year-old in the history of ever. Supreme violence is the name of the game, and it is often played for laughs. Some plot elements are very dark.
But in the end, Kick-Ass is an outstanding action flick and a cool superhero picture, and it is the first great time I’ve had at the movies this year. Get in line, ladies and gentlemen: Kick-Ass really is a kick-ass experience.
A-
Reach reporter Robert Frankel at weekender@dailyuw.com.”
Star-bred fate
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 14, 2010“Dear readers,
American coot. Tit. Swallow. Brown noddy. Masked booby. Birds names are fun.
Aries March 21 — April 19
IC 418 resents the name Spirograph Nebula for its implication of childishness. The tits just shake their heads and chick-a dee dee dee all the way home. The lesson, Aries? Be grateful for your name.
Taurus April 20 — May 20
Either a bird will land on your hand and help you make a garment to wear, as in Cinderella, or a bird will land on your hand and poop, as in Robin Hood: Men in Tights. The latter is more disgusting but also much more likely.
Gemini May 21 — June 21
If the first thing you think of when you hear the word “bird” is the basketball player Larry Bird, you are old. True statement. And probably too involved in sports.
Cancer June 22 — July 22
Nikita Khrushchev said, “If you cannot catch a bird of paradise, better take a wet hen.” Khrushchev ignores a viable third option, which may be your only one, Cancer: to abstain from the metaphorical bird-catching race entirely.
Leo July 23 — Aug. 22
The next time you see a booby, Leo, whether in a magazine or through a telescope — so as not to disturb them in their natural habitat — note how odd it is when they stand up, especially the blue-footed ones.
Virgo Aug. 23 — Sept. 22
If you tend to go out on a limb, Virgo, doing so while imagining yourself as a bird would be more dangerous. (Birds weigh less, on average.)
Libra Sept. 23 — Oct. 23
Salvador Dali is attributed with the following quote, Libra: “Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.” Does that make you a penguin?
Scorpio Oct. 24 — Nov. 21
Despite rigorous advertising campaigns, the beaches of Brazil don’t have any tits. No, really, look at the habitation zones for them. Change your summer vacation?
Sagittarius Nov. 22 — Dec. 21
What ever happened to courier pigeons? Don’t you agree, Sagittarius, that there is something sexy about a cipher rolled up into a small, hollowed-out bone connected to a bird’s leg?
Capricorn Dec. 22 -
Jan. 19
Feed birds excessively near where your enemies reside, so that their vehicles will be covered in bird excrement. It works, and anyone who sees you doing it will just think that you’re a nice person. Double bonus!
Aquarius Jan. 20 —
Feb. 18
You may find more of a resemblance to the Latin name for the brown noddy, Aquarius: Anous stolidus, which means unmindful and impassive (or stolid). And, like the birds, you also seek safety in enormous numbers. Don’t stick out, don’t be unique, just keep hiding.
Pisces Feb. 19 — March 20
Trevor Dunn could have been describing you when he said, “I feel akin to the Platypus. An orphan in a family. A swimmer, a recluse. Part bird, part fish, part lizard.”
Reach diviner John McLellan at starbredfate@dailyuw.com.”
Look elsewhere if you're degree isn't good enough
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 14, 2010“Some may question my sanity as I argue that an undergraduate liberal-arts degree isn’t good enough to “make it” in the competitive circus of capitalist America. If there’s no way to get a foot in the door without graduate school, it may be time to consider some other places where a bachelor’s degree is not only acceptable, but lauded.
What I’ve picked up from my high-achieving peers is that an undergraduate degree just isn’t good enough anymore for a comfortable life in the United States.
If that’s true, consider that only about 1 percent of the world’s adult population holds a college degree, according to Jeanne Ballantine, author of Our Social World. If a B.A. isn’t good enough here, it has to be good somewhere. I have Argentina in mind.
While I was in Buenos Aires last year, I saw numerous schools exclusively offering English classes. It looks as if people all over the world wish that they could speak, write, and have the same command of English as Americans do. If I can’t make it by exercising my right brain for money in the United States, I’ll leave my dreams of SUVs and golden retrievers behind for teaching English abroad.
The rapid growth in the developing world calls for more college graduates chock-full of ideas to nurture that development. A fresh look at competition and favorable exchange rates could behoove some of us.
As of fall 2009, the census reported about 15.9-million students enrolled at colleges and universities across the country. It seems a little absurd competing with all of these students for jobs that perhaps don’t even exist yet.
Do students view college as a high-end vocational school rather than an institution founded on the principles of critical thinking and the open exchange of ideas? According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a liberal-arts curriculum is “aimed at imparting general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities.”
In other words, learning for the sake of learning.
All too often, we look at our present endeavors as a means to a glorious end, but with the turbulent economy and dynamic job market, I stand by my decision to explore different disciplines. They could prove to be useful someday.
Students of the liberal arts are well-rounded enough to sell their versatile critical-thinking, reading and writing skills — things that are invaluable to employers in changing industries.
Considering the unlikelihood of realizing the quintessential American dream, my aim is just to find a career that doesn’t make me crazy and makes me happy — if I’m lucky. At this point, I’m just looking to avoid grad school but still live well, something my liberal-arts B.A. should be able to afford me.
Newsweek editor Jon Meacham put it wisely, “The liberal arts prepare people for a good life, not just the good life.”
If I find that my degree isn’t good enough for one employer, I’m going to find a different employer. If the requirements are too demanding for domestic employers, maybe I’ll even find a different country.
I’m simply trying to reassure all of those who feel apprehensive about pursuing liberal-arts and fine-arts degrees to do what you like to do. Remember, if you can’t do it here, I’ll be in South America. Call me.
Reach columnist Al Jacobs at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Polish plane crash devastating, but likely an accident
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 14, 2010“Imagine what would happen if Air Force One crashed carrying two presidents (one current, one former), the first lady, the House minority leader and majority whip, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, the director of the FBI and a couple dozen undersecretaries, generals, admirals and legislators.
That’s pretty much what happened to Poland last weekend.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski was the most prominent casualty, but in addition to their commander-in-chief, the Poles lost the chief of their general staff and all four military service heads. Every one of the top officials in the Polish military establishment except for the minister of defense was killed.
The Polish delegation was flying to Russia to participate in a joint observance of the 1940 Katyn massacres, in which tens of thousands of prominent Poles, including doctors, civil servants, captured military officers and academics, were murdered by the Soviet government.
Ironically, many of those killed last weekend, including Kaczynski, were prominent leaders of the peaceful uprisings that overthrew Poland’s Soviet-backed government in the late 1980s.
Vladimir Putin, ex-KGB agent, former president and current prime minister of Russia (and undoubtedly the most powerful man in the country), has very publicly made clear his nostalgia for the Soviet era, and his foreign policy has reflected a feeling that Russia is entitled to exercise elevated influence over its former satellite states.
These circumstances, as well as the location of the plane crash, may seem suspicious to many. The sympathetic Russian response, which has been received very positively in Poland, could be read either at face value or as a cynical ploy to improve relations while eliminating a significant portion of Poland’s more nationalist officials.
However, concluding that a Russian assassination plot was behind the crash is extremely premature.
One major confounding factor is Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. Although closely tied to Putin, Medvedev is not an ex-KGB agent, and his public persona is much less belligerent than his predecessor’s.
Though not a purely independent force, he has still shown himself to be much more than a sock puppet for Putin. It would be entirely out of character for him to go along with a plot to assassinate Kaczynski.
Putin himself is hardly a reckless man, and it would take an element of madness to authorize such a brazen operation: If he had done so and the truth been revealed, the fallout would be catastrophic.
The circumstances of the incident are also widely agreed upon: The Polish plane was attempting a very difficult landing in foggy conditions, with relatively poor navigational equipment by modern standards.
Furthermore, Russian agents would have had to sabotage the plane at its point of takeoff in Poland; a crash in Russian territory might make a cover-up easier, but such a high-profile incident would attract too much international attention to the crash site. Overall, the Russians have a pretty good case here that the accident was a case of human error.
If the senseless death of so many prominent Poles today compels Russians to comprehend the crimes of their Soviet predecessors 70 years ago and maybe even pushes the Obama administration to stop mistreating one of the most steadfast allies of the United States, perhaps some good may come of this disaster.
Reach columnist Russ Wung at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Stepping up: Nate Williams
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 14, 2010“Things have changed for Nate Williams.
In 2007, fresh out of Kennedy High School, the now-senior safety made just one start his first season. His sophomore year, he had career-high 76 total tackles, and last season, the Renton native became a more seasoned veteran, recording 62 tackles in 11 games while serving as a mentor for a youthful secondary core.
The former 3A state player of the year and blue-chip recruit says while he still has the same drive as he did in his freshman year, his attitude is different now because he’s viewed as one of the team’s leaders.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say that my drive has changed at all, but I can now say I’m one of the leaders on the team, so that’s a pretty big role to live up to,” Williams said. “The main thing that’s changed with me is just my confidence. My attitude and my confidence level, those two are really the main two things that have changed this year.”
Attitude isn’t the only thing that is different this year: For three of his years at Washington, Williams had different defensive coaches. Schemes had to be relearned, and finding a comfortable groove on defense wasn’t always a simple thing to do. It’s taken a while, but finally, the senior can breathe easier. Defensive coordinator Nick Holt and the rest of his staff are all returning for their second year, which simplifies the entire process for both players and coaches.
“Having the same coaching staff with us for the second year in a row, I think that takes a lot of the pressure off a lot of the guys,” Williams said. “We know what they’re like, and they know how we operate with things like meetings, the weight room, and on- and off-the field-stuff. It will be a lot smoother now, and I’m excited for the year.”
Williams enters his final year as a Husky under the spotlight. His coaches have big expectations for the veteran fourth-year player in terms of leadership, on and off the field.
“We have very, very, very high expectations for Nate Williams,” said Holt, who enters his second year as defensive coordinator. “He’s a really good football player, a good leader and knows our defense. We expect him to have a great senior year.”
Secondary coach Jeff Mills says the unique experience Williams had last year — playing alongside three other freshmen in the secondary — forced him to elevate his game and improve his somewhat-groomed leadership skills. Those skills, in turn, have proven to be very valuable for Williams, especially for this coming season.
“He has natural leadership skills, but I think [playing alongside freshmen] brought them out even more,” Mills said. “He became more vocal by necessity because of the youth around him. It’s very important that guys follow our senior leadership, and he’s really taken charge this offseason and in the spring.”
Williams has had only one interception in his career at the UW, a number he hopes will increase during his senior season. And as a secondary last season, the unit had only three interceptions. Williams says he wants that number to go up as well.
“We have really high expectations, and we want to lead the Pac-10 in a lot of the categories,” the senior said. “For the secondary, one of our main goals is to get a few more interceptions. Last year, we only had three, so that’s definitely one of the main points we want to improve on in our game.”
According to his coaches, Williams is one of the most respected players on the team by his peers and is an all-around “great person.” When asked if they are expecting Williams to be a leader this fall, both Mills and Holt responded the same exact way: “No question.”
And it’s no question that the success of next year’s secondary is largely dependent on the senior’s ability to perform and lead on and off the field. At the same time, while Williams has a big role next season, coaches are hoping he keeps everything in perspective.
“Hopefully he doesn’t try too hard and he just lets it happen,” Holt said. “He just needs to keep on working, keep taking in coaching, and good things will happen to him.”
Reach Sports Editor Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Legislature passes budget
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 14, 2010“After months of debate and a 30-day deadline extension, the 2010 legislative session adjourned at 1 a.m. yesterday. From state funding for the university to financial aid and tuition, the session resulted in several decisions that affect the UW.
Another cut to state funding
The 2010 supplemental operating budget cuts 6.3 percent of state funding for all Washington-state public institutions. These cuts are in addition to those passed in the 2009 legislative session.
For the UW, that equates to a $20.5-million cut in state funding, in addition to the $214-million cut from the 2009-11 biennial state operating budget.
“The additional cuts to the UW this year are significant,” said Margaret Shepherd, UW director of state relations and lobbyist for the university. “The additional 6-percent cut on top of last year’s cut are going to certainly impact the university and impact its students, but the cuts were not unanticipated. … The Legislature had a lot of difficult decisions to make this year, and this was one of them.”
The cuts to the state’s higher-education institutions total about $90.2 million this year, one of many state-service cuts proposed to address Washington’s $2.8-billion budget shortfall.
The Board of Regents will review the university’s new budget proposal for the 2010-11 academic year in May, and it will be voted on in June. State appropriations currently account for about 45 percent of the core educational budget of the UW.
“It’s a very deep cut, and the administration won’t be able to manage that cut without affecting education,” said Jono Hanks, director of the ASUW Office of Government Relations and ASUW lobbyist.
Financial aid: some wins, some losses
The Husky Promise is one that can be kept, at least for next year.
With the almost-$800 million in revenue projected from the newly passed business and sales taxes, funding for the State Need Grant was preserved. The State Need Grant is the largest state source for financial aid and a key component of the Husky Promise scholarship program.
However, not all financial-aid programs were left unscathed.
The state Work Study program was cut by 30 percent.
Additionally, a number of smaller state-funded financial-aid programs were suspended, including the Health Professional Loan Repayment and Scholarship Program, the Future Teacher Conditional Scholarship and Loan Repayment Program, and the Higher Education Coordinating Board child-care grants. The Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) advocated for the continuation of these programs.
“[GPSS] is thankful for the 70-percent reinstatement for state Work Study,” said Sarah Reyneveld, GPSS vice president and lobbyist. “Conversely, we’re upset with the fact that child-care funding was suspended for this next year, in addition to some of the smaller programs … For graduate students to be able to pay for daily expenses as well as to be able to afford tuition, small stipends like the child-care grant are important. … It’s disappointing for us to see that the cuts to financial-aid programs seem to disproportionately affect graduate students.”
Tuition model stays the same
With the failure of the Senate bill that proposed giving tuition-setting authority to the Board of Regents, the tuition oversight will continue to come from the state Legislature. The board will not be able to raise tuition more than 14 percent for the coming year.
Possible revenue from state lottery
A Senate bill passed yesterday could provide new revenue for higher education in the future.
Senate Bill (SB) 6409, sponsored by Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup, proposes the allocation of some revenue from lottery sales into education, among other public services.
About $73 million in projected revenue from lottery sales will be allocated into higher-education financial aid. However, this year, the sum does not represent an increase to financial aid, as it replaces previous state funding.
UW student lobbyists are hopeful that this new measure will generate additional revenue in future years.
“Passing [SB 6409] is a victory, and we will be able to grow the fund in future years,” Hanks said. “The lottery fund is less susceptible to fluctuations in the economy than the general state fund, so it’s a more stable source of revenue.”
Possible loss of building funds not passed
The first draft of the House of Representative’s supplemental budget initially proposed the transfer of funds from the student-building-fee accounts of all public higher-education institutions into the state general fund. This proposal failed.
If the transfer had been passed, it would have essentially been another budget cut to the UW, Shepherd said.
The proposal asked for about $18.3 million from the UW’s building-fee account to be transferred, 60 percent of which comes from student tuition.
“Our message has been that the tuition that students pay should benefit the institution that students attend,” Shepherd said regarding the UW’s argument against the building-fee-transfer proposal.
Most of the account has already been earmarked, not only for capital projects, but also for building-maintenance and safety projects.
Gov. Chris Gregoire has 20 days from when the budget was passed to sign the legislation into law.
Reach reporter Joanna Nolasco at news@dailyuw.com.”
Keep it clean and concise
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 14, 2010“For many, the importance of a resume can often be overlooked and seen as insignificant in the tedious process of finding a job. a general recap of your education and work experience, plus a few references, and you’re good to go, right? Not exactly.
In fact, despite all your experience, or lack thereof, a resume can still make or break your chances of getting an interview. according to the UW Career Center’s “2009-2010 Career guide,” a resume is a “marketing piece, not a history piece.”You want to sell yourself to the employer while still being brief enough to remain relevant and interesting.
“I would say it’s best to target [your resume],” said Victor Snyder, the Career Center’s senior career counselor. “A good way to do that is a summary of qualifications.”
For a summary of qualifications, Snyder recommends using a four-to- six-bullet-point format to relate yourself to the particular job you’re applying for. Keep in mind the skill words and keywords used in the job description, and use them as a guide on what to emphasize in your bullet points.
even if you don’t have a lot of directly related experience, targeting the specific needs of a job with the skills you possess can make you stand out from a herd of other general resumes. If you have little prior work experience, Snyder said the main things to include are computer experience, foreign-language proficiency, related school projects and student organizations you’ve been involved with.
“Sometimes students don’t notice they have done coursework that may be applicable in the work world,” he said, “These projects are the application of their learning ... employers like to see that.”
While employers like to see a variety of your skills, there are certain things better left unsaid.
“No personal information, like age or marital status, and definitely nothing negative,” Snyder said.
He said that GPA, while not required, would be OK to include on a resume if students have a 3.0 or above. If your GPA is lower than that, it may do you more harm than good.
As far as the physical layout of your resume, the UW Career guide suggests keeping it “clean and concise,” and if possible, at one page. Poor spelling and grammar are obvious deal-breakers, so have another pair of eyes proofread it. Also, make identifying information – like name, phone number and e-mail – stand out so employers can find it easily.
Snyder suggested using between a 10- and 12-point font, plain paper, and to avoid templates, which can make it more difficult to update your resume in the future.
Also, dates of past work and education should always be included, because it “shows employers you’ve been doing something with your time,” Snyder said.
Snyder and his co-workers encourage students to take advantage of the Career Center and its resources, including the Career guide, which is available on their Web site. Students can use the Web site of the UW spring Career Fair to sign up and have their resumes put in a “resume book” that will be given to more than 120 employers.
Reach contributing writer Angela Moorer at specials@dailyuw.com.”
Evenly matched
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 14, 2010“A burly bouncer guards the entryway of a club in Belltown; the bass sound of the newest hip-hop track fluctuates with the opening and closing of the door; party-goers line the street, shivering, smoking and socializing. Inside, the club is dim and packed, its three bars the center of attention. Bottles of alcohol set off the decor, illuminated by the bright lights behind them. Meanwhile, 5 miles north, a white ping-pong ball narrowly misses its target, bouncing to the floor and rolling toward a cooler of beer.
The drinking culture affects all generations, but with binge drinking — excessive alcohol abuse that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to more than 0.08 grams percent — being the highest among 18- to 20-year-olds, it’s important to know the effects of such a choice.
“I think that people who aren’t 21 yet, or who don’t have a lot of experience with alcohol, are less familiar with their tolerance,” senior Marsha Olson said. “With age, you sort of learn not to go crazy when you drink.”
When it comes to drinking, people are usually defined either as a lightweight or able to hold their liquor. Developing a high tolerance begins when someone needs more alcohol to achieve the expected effect of feeling buzzed or drunk. But these feelings are the body’s way of warning you that you’ve had too much to drink.
You learn that one more drink isn’t necessarily going to make everything more fun, Olson said.
The article “Perspectives on Tolerance: Implications for the College Setting,” by Jason Kilmer, the assistant director of the UW Health and Wellness for Alcohol and Other Drug Education, and graduate student Eric Pedersen, states that the warning system in a person with a higher tolerance will not respond until a “higher than normal level of intoxication is reached.”
Both believe tolerance does not affect a person’s BAC. So while a student with a high tolerance may not feel the subjective effects of intoxication, they still reach the same BAC as another student of the same sex and weight who drinks the same amount of alcohol in the same time frame.
A study by The University of Chicago Medical Center found that when a person with a higher tolerance is given a task requiring motor skills, he or she has the same impairment as someone of a lesser tolerance.
“That person with higher tolerance may have a false sense of security … since his or her sense of impairment does not seem to be accurate,” Kilmer said in an interview. “We often point out that a person without tolerance at least recognizes how impaired he or she actually is. That person gets the cues that signal that it is time to call it a night. The person with tolerance may not.”
There is a way to have more fun without any negative consequences, Olson said.
Many current research findings build off of physiologist Ivan Pavlov’s early studies.
“Pavlov demonstrated how conditioning works in his studies with dogs,” Kilmer said. “Put food in front of a dog, and the dog will salivate. Now, put food in front of a dog and ring a bell. Ringing a bell has nothing to do with salivating. But, do it enough times, and merely ringing a bell will result in salivation.”
The bell symbolizes what Pavlov called a conditioned stimulus, while a cue that elicits salivation is a conditioned response. His results apply to a person’s consumption of alcohol. Since it is a depressant, it slows down the central nervous system.
“The research suggests that in response to cues associated with drinking alcohol, the body will, in time, try to prepare to receive alcohol by speeding up central-nervous-system functions,” Kilmer said.
This reaction is called a conditioned compensatory response and is what leads researchers to say a person is developing tolerance. Tolerance can vary due to a change in cues, a new environment or setting. Vacations, a shift in drinking behavior and influences from friends are some common cues students face.
Kilmer stresses the importance of the absence of these cues.
“This has big implications for new settings or new environments — any tolerance students have in familiar settings may not ‘follow’ them to a new set of cues,” he said.
A lack of signals can result in an increased risk of an overdose, injury, blacking out or passing out.
Graduate student Antika Emyaem believes people drink more because their friends pressure them to. She thinks that if you are yourself, you will stop drinking when you get too drunk.
When you go out and you see someone wasted at the bar, you know that happens anywhere, but you cannot tell someone about his or her tolerance; they have to learn themselves, Olson said.
Reach Lifestyles Editor Nicole Ciridon at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
A convenient resource
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 14, 2010“Whether seeking a part-time job during the school year or looking for something more permanent after graduation, students search for ways to distinguish themselves from their peers. luckily for UW students, the Career Center is a short walk away and ready to help with resources and skills for finding jobs.
located on the first floor of Mary Gates hall, it is a valuable resource for any student seeking a job or searching for a career path. Below are a few examples of what a student could learn from visiting the Career Center:
Career planning and Counseling: Students can sign up for 15-minute drop-in appointments or schedule a half-hour session to discuss career interests and options, find resources to research employers, identify skills and strengths, practice for interviews and more.
Workshops: Designed by members of the career counseling staff, these workshops help answer students’ questions regarding their careers. These last 50 minutes and cover topics such as creating resumes, finding summer work and learning how to effectively network.
Career fairs and events: A great opportunity for students to seek out jobs and enlarge their network, the Career Center hosts several fairs through the year. The UW spring Career Fair takes place today from 3 to 7 p.m. in the hUB Ballrooms. More than
115 employers will be looking to fill several job and internship openings, including RealNetworks Inc. and the Food and Drug Administration.
With the economy still recovering, every little edge counts when attempting to stand out from the job-seeking crowd. The Career Center provides the knowledge and skills needed to successfully pursue jobs, and students do not have to pay anything to take advantage.
The Career Center’s Web site is home to huskyJobs, a free listing of jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities. Students can upload their resumes and cover letters to the site and apply to jobs online with little hassle.
Reach contributing writer Michael McDonald at special@dailyuw.com.
For more information about the Career Center, visit their Web site at careers.washington.edu or add them on Twitter at UWCareerCenter.”
The Global Brigade
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 13, 2010“During fall quarter, junior Emma Mayberry was deciding what combination of vaccines for typhoid, yellow fever, hepatitis types A and B, and malaria she wanted. She was preparing for a trip to Panama with Global Law Brigades (GLB). But the trip didn’t happen, because there were not enough members in the group.
Global Brigades was founded in 2003 by a group of students from Marquette University who wanted to help developing nations in Central America. During the past six years, the organization has grown to include eight branches — fields of study such as law and dentistry — with six of them at the UW. Members have traveled to Panama, Honduras and Costa Rica.
Mayberry is the president of GLB’s UW branch. The branch is the first of its kind and was established during a trip to Costa Rica in conjunction with Seattle University.
She has been trying to organize a brigade since the beginning of fall quarter and planned to travel to Panama during winter break, but GLB couldn’t get the seven members needed to form a group.
“Brigades was organized on the campus in 2008 between a group of mostly juniors and seniors, and last year, a lot of the members graduated, so we’ve had a really low turnaround,” Mayberry said.
To form a brigade, a branch needs enough members to appropriately help the community they’re visiting. The program is fee-based, with in-country costs at around $900, excluding airfare, for about a five-day program.
Fundraising tends to play a large role in offsetting some of the costs, but Mayberry feels the two months she had prior to winter break just weren’t enough to recruit members and get the ball rolling.
They’ll have an auction benefiting brigadiers early next month, including a football signed by Superbowl-winning quarterback Joe Montana.
“It’s difficult to create a brigade if you don’t already have members,” Mayberry said. “[The] UW is such a large university and has so many opportunities that students can only divide themselves so far. Even a crowd of 50,000 can be thinly dispersed between student groups.”
Sophomore Julie Mendel, vice president of GLB, thinks it’s difficult to advertise the GLB because they cannot solicit so many groups.
“For us, it’s harder, because we can draw from many majors, and the business and medical brigades can specifically draw people from their programs.”
After some additional work, GLB reached the number of students needed to form a brigade and will be traveling to Panama with SU again early this summer. The group of 14 will undertake a project within a local community or continue one of its longer-term projects.
Global Brigades has grown to more than 100 schools across the country, and larger projects are sometimes undertaken that turn into a piggyback effort, with different schools working on foundations set down by the prior brigadiers. Doing so allows groups to make a lasting impact rather than just work on a project.
Senior Austin Wessling is the co-founder of the UW’s Global Dental Brigades chapter. Established in 2008, they haven’t had the same difficulties as GLB in forming brigades. During the summer, they will travel to Honduras with the UW chapter of Medical Brigades in a group of more than 90 students.
“We provide various services, which include educating families and children about the benefits of proper oral hygiene, passing out toothbrushes and toothpaste and offer dental check-ups to individuals living in Honduras but not limited to this country,” Wessling said. “In the past two trips, we provided dental care to over 200 patients within rural communities that lacked access to a dentist.”
Dental Brigades is a mixed group of UW dental students and pre-dental students. Participants provide medical exams and oral-hygiene tips to as many local residents as possible during the trip, sometimes extracting a tooth or two. But it’s the environment that presents the real challenge.
“We’re there for a five-day trip working in battlefield conditions,” Wessling said. “There’s usually no electricity, no running water, and we just try and help 60 to 70 people a day during nine-hour shifts.”
They are traveling with the other brigades to maintain a stronger presence and help a larger community.
Dental Brigades is a tight-knit group of about 20 students who want to help, Wessling said.
All of the UW brigades function as student-run RSOs and have their own constitutions, organizational structures and budgets. The UW branches do not receive funding from the university and have no connection with departments on campus.
Senior Lindsey Ward will be traveling with GLB this summer, and she wanted to find a volunteering opportunity that provided more than academic knowledge.
“My friend went on the medical brigade with a school in Boston,” she said. “She had a really eye-opening experience and got to see the types of communities these people live in and the needs they have and figured out how to meet these needs, and I hope for a similar experience.”
But even though there are many volunteering opportunities on campus, she had a difficult time finding one that fit her needs before landing a spot in the Law Brigades.
“I was looking for a community-service opportunity that was kind of unusual,” Ward said. “I feel like I had a plethora of opportunities around campus. It’s harder than you would think to find opportunities outside of the country.”
After many vaccine injections and a few doses of anti-malaria drugs, more than 100 UW students will travel to Central America this summer through Global Brigades. The programs are still young, and there are some branches that haven’t reached the UW. The global fight against poverty is far from over, but Global Brigades members are fighting with all the strength they possess.
Reach reporter Nick Visser at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Strip club near Safeco Field won't cause problems
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 13, 2010“Safeco Field has a new neighbor. She won’t keep her clothes on or turn down that darn racket until 2:30 in the morning.
Dream Girls, the Déjà Vu chain’s newest strip club, opened its doors April 9. Chances are, you’ll spot the towering sign of nearly naked “baseball babes” on the side of Safeco Field before noticing the hole-in-the-wall venue with the modest, aqua typeface just doors down from Home Plate front gate.
It’s no surprise that the club is already generating lots of conversation; the community has been fighting in opposition of its establishment since 2008.
It was then the Mariners challenged the city to deny the owner of the chain, Roger Forbes, the privilege of attaining a permit. The Mariners, who evidently pride themselves on having a “spectator-sport facility,” saw having such provocative entertainment right outside the park as a violation of city code. The team even claimed its existence would have “adverse impacts repugnant to a family-entertainment environment.”
You can probably guess how this story ended. The city dismissed the Mariners’ request, and later, a judge ruled that the city was in no position to deny permits.
So how are community members reacting, exactly? Some parents have vocalized complaints that Safeco is no longer a family-friendly vicinity and that they are reluctant to bring their children. Others claim this new establishment is not an obstruction and that the business should, by all means, exercise free enterprise.
Here’s the thing: While the club might have the intent of drawing baseball fans (one image reads “Visit us after the game!”), intent only becomes reality with our consent. That is to say, we ultimately have the choice of visiting the venue or not.
Parents, I promise you that walking back to your car and having your child catch a quick glimpse of cleavage will not result in immediate death. If worse comes to worst and they inquire about the scantily clad woman hovering over them, you might have a brief conversation with them. The conversation may very well involve explaining to them the concept of women receiving a salary for swinging on a pole and removing their clothing. And please note that this is all assuming that a family has to pass this building on its way to and from Safeco at all.
Moral opposition to the business aside, the strip club has an equal right to establish itself within this community. I’m inclined to believe that the club will keep to itself. Sure, its location was not a coincidence; the business hoped to draw in Safeco’s customers. This should probably be reiterated: draw in, not prey upon. Peter Buck, the club’s attorney and spokesperson, told the Seattle P-I that the club would uphold a “very strong moral standard.”
Strangely enough, Buck saw this investment as a favor to the community. The alcohol-free club, he hoped, would serve as a place for baseball fans to sober up before getting behind the wheel and driving home. (And receive $20 lap dances, but we won’t get into that.)
People inevitably shudder at the idea of strip clubs; there’s a deep-seated moral code we carry with us that a strip club seems to radically conflict with. Is the controversy really about location, or is location one more factor lending itself to our fundamental opposition?
I promise you, Seattlites, that until we’ve been presented a cause for rebellion — until nude women run around Safeco Field thrusting their bodies at seated baseball spectators — it won’t hurt us any to sit tight and go on with our lives. You can still eat your overpriced hot dogs and watch the Mariners lose in peace.
Reach columnist Colin Gorenstein at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Campus watch: Accelerated degrees, mid-semester closures and 100-percent college acceptance
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 13, 2010“From three-year-degree programs in Illinois to a Georgia school that had to close mid-semester, here is the news from other campuses across the nation.
University of Illinois proposes three-year degree program
At the University of Illinois, they aren’t wasting any time graduating students. Recently, President Stanley Ikenberry proposed that the board of trustees come up with a model for an “accelerated” degree program, which would allow at least 1 in 5 students to graduate in just three years.
“Time is money,” Ikenberry told the Chicago Sun-Times. “One of the hidden costs of college is forgone income.”
But the question of whether it will actually save money is debatable. The Sun-Times reported that tuition rates won’t drop, considering the course requirements for graduation wouldn’t be reduced. The shorter amount of time spent in housing, though, is what would save money.
The program may require students to work during summer and winter breaks, including the summer after high school, for some.
Some school officials are concerned that the plan might cheapen students’ educational opportunities. Diane Dean, assistant professor of higher-education policy at the university, told the Sun-Times that some students may take longer to finish simply because of a change in major or taking time off to work.
However, Ikenberry felt differently.
“What you do with your time makes all the difference in the world,” he said.
College in Georgia closes before semester’s end
Students at Southern Catholic College in Dawsonville, Ga., will get an early summer this year, after it was announced that the private college would close for the remainder of the semester.
In an e-mail, the school cited budget issues and asked students to gather their belongings and say goodbye between April 11 and 15.
“Efforts to raise money for the new school have not met expectations, making it impossible for the college to continue through the end of the semester, May 13,” the e-mail said.
Despite the early release, students will still receive full credit, and graduating students will be awarded their diplomas. It is still undecided as to whether the school will reopen in the fall.
The Rev. Shawn Aaron, president of the college, apologized in the e-mail for the issue.
“Words cannot express how profoundly sorrowful I am at this situation,” he wrote. “Yet I also know that Our Lord has proven himself stronger than death and therefore stronger than our pain, weaknesses and circumstances. We must continually turn to him for strength.”
African-American charter school boasts 100-percent college-acceptance rate
At Chicago’s Urban Prep charter school, all 107 students in the first graduating class were accepted to a four-year college.
Chicago’s graduation rate for African-American boys is 40 percent; each student who graduated from Urban Prep was an African-American boy.
“I say we give [the students] shields and swords,” founder and CEO Tim King said. “The swords are hopefully this great education. They know how to read and write and add.… Equally important, and perhaps more important, are these shields: resiliency, self-confidence, self-awareness.… Hopefully we have instilled these things, really woven them throughout the curriculum.”
While many students come from rough families and experience gang violence, the school allows them to focus on college.
“It was like family to me,” senior Cameron Barnes said.
Reach columnist Kristen Steenbeeke at news@dailyuw.com.”
Weird World News: Airline toilet fare, bridges for sale and missing cobras
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 12, 2010“From deceased airline passengers to a bridge open for bidding to be destroyed by Hollywood, here are some of the stranger occurrences from this week in world news.
LIVERPOOL – A German woman who was recently arrested under suspicion of trying to smuggle her husband’s corpse onto a plane insists that he was still alive when they reached the airport in Liverpool, Reuters reported. Sixty-six-year-old Gitta Jarant told Bild newspaper that she hopes to get her husband’s remains back from Britain to be cremated before returning to Berlin. Her husband, who was a retired pilot, was pushed through the airport in a wheelchair while wearing sunglasses before the check-in staff became suspicious of his appearance. Jarrant told the newspaper that her husband had been alive at home and that she was not a smuggler.
DUBLIN – The European airline Ryanair recently announced plans to charge fliers to use the on-board lavatories, AOL News reported. The international airline giant reportedly floated the idea around for several months without anybody believing that it would seriously be implemented.
“Are the stewardesses now giving out change or tokens? It’s terribly ill-conceived,” Steven Soifer, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work told AOL News. This new policy follows Ryanair’s recent partnership with Boeing to reduce the amount of bathrooms planes have from three to one.
“It is a human right to freely eliminate yourself,” Soifer told AOL News. “It’s conceivable that people could be stuck on an airline for 15 to 20 hours. The idea of having only one bathroom in a situation like that is … strange.”
TAMPA BAY, FLA. – A decaying, 2.6-mile-long bridge in Pinellas County, which has been shut down for a year, has officials dismayed by the $13 million it would take to demolish it, leading them to hand over the reins of blowing up the bridge to Hollywood film studios, The Telegraph reported. The idea was put forth by County Commissioner John Morroni, who told the St. Petersburg Times, “See if there is anyone, any kind of filmers, that would like to come down and blow up that bridge for a movie.” This is not the first time Pinellas County has offered Hollywood the chance to blow up a decaying structure. The Telegraph reported that in 1991, the producers of Lethal Weapon 3 paid the county $50,000 to film the tearing down of an old city hall.
MUELHEIM – Authorities in the German city of Muelheim spent three weeks on a hunt to find a missing snake, which in the end turned out to be dead — and it cost them $133,700 to do it, Reuters reported.
“We had to do everything in our power to find this cobra,” Volker Wiebels, spokesperson for the city council, told Reuters. The highly poisonous cobra escaped from its container in March, leading fire services to clear out the entire apartment block and remove all of the furniture in the owner’s apartment, as well as seal all the doors and windows to the building while laying out sticky traps across the building. The snake was found dead on the roof of the building last week.
Because it was considered a public hazard, taxpayers will likely be covering about 40,000 euros of the expenses, with the remaining costs laid on the snake’s unemployed owner, who paid 70 euros for the animal at a reptile trade fair. “The snake may have been cheap, but unfortunately, what happened next wasn’t,” Wiebels told Reuters.
Reach Weekender Editor Ivan Vukovic at news@dailyuw.com.”
Sotomayor’s race not a factor in her jurisdiction
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJan 01, 2010“The greatest mistake of those who would seek to end racism has been to continue thinking of other people, and themselves, in terms of race. So it has been with national newspapers, which trumpeted the “Hispanic woman” nominated to the Supreme Court, as opposed to the more relevant but less sensational label “appeals court judge.”
Such emphasis, however, appears to be in keeping with Sonia Sotomayor’s attitude and that of the administration. Her obvious 2001 quote has already been quite heavily scrutinized: “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
Put aside the peculiar spectacle of seeing anyone describe their own experiences as “rich” and themselves as “wise.” What informs such a statement?
It is the same folly that has plagued us for years in the term “people of color,” which glibly suggests that all “non-white” people can be grouped together in any meaningful way. This is rather like dividing all forms of agriculture between the categories “rice” and “crops of color,” the latter encompassing any plant that isn’t rice. If such a division sounds so crude as to be meaningless, that’s because it is. So too with this fatuous classification of humans “of color.”
The term also subconsciously insults white people by suggesting they are not “of color” and are therefore colorless, with all the negative connotations the word carries.
These attitudes inform what Sotomayor seems to believe: Race is somehow related to life experiences, wisdom and better judicial decisions, while those boring white men are supposedly too wrapped up in their suburban privilege to have a comparable conception of justice.
Yet, after being confirmed for the Second Circuit following some controversy in 1998, she claimed that she had been pigeonholed as a liberal because of her race, saying: “It is stereotyping, and stereotyping is perhaps the most insidious of all problems in our society today.” It goes both ways, your honor.
Our ideal should be to follow the suggestion put forward by Chief Justice John Roberts: “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” This is not a tautology, but a reminder that thinking of others in terms of race in any way pollutes our minds with preconceptions. All forms of race-consciousness in the public life — from slavery to Jim Crow laws to interracial dating bans to affirmative action to racial pride groups to the notion of “diversity” based on skin color — are the poisonous fruit of this poisoned tree, and all must be discarded before racism can be crushed.
Sotomayor’s nomination should be scrutinized based on her legal ability. It’s too bad that these concerns have been relegated to a sideshow, while the powers that be blather on about skin color, “empathy” and other irrelevancies.
This race-conscious “social justice” silliness obscures Sotomayor’s relatively unsurprising judicial history. She is certainly not the most extreme person that could have been put forward for the Supreme Court. The consensus is that she is a mainstream leftist like the justice she is replacing, though the two jurists will differ on some issues.
She will likely be confirmed, and that is neither a travesty nor a cause for celebration. It would have been better, however, if the process were less drenched in counterproductive identity and class-warfare politics.
Reach columnist Russ Wung at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Kids in the Back: UW student’s debut hip-hop album reminiscent of Blue Scholars
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJan 01, 2010“The Northwest hip-hop scene has been home to a wide array of aspiring artists and producers alike. Take for instance Rockwell Powers (Zach Powers). The Tacoma resident by way of Alaska has kept his musical endeavors fresh, working with a six-piece band, 10th & Commerce, as well as doing solo work as a rapper. In his most recent project, Powers links up with Seattle producer and UW student Ill Pill (Paul Matheson) for a collaborative effort titled The Kids in the Back.
From the opening track, which lends some insight to Powers’ musical journey — backed by a solid beat from Ill Pill — it’s apparent that the duo gets some of their inspiration from the Blue Scholars. This notion becomes even clearer on “Next Level,” where Pill channels his inner-Sabzi for a high-energy song that is definitely ready to rock the live stage.
Using features sparsely throughout the album, the duo strikes gold on the track “Funny” alongside Ballard emcee Grynch. With one of Ill Pill’s powerful beats on display, Powers and Grynch proceed to reminisce about the naysayers who didn’t believe in them.
Showing his lyrical versatility, Rockwell Powers makes himself relatable with the track “Okay,” in which he recounts the sadness and pain found after breaking up with a past girlfriend. Over subtle piano keys, Powers skims through unsent letters to his lost love, struggling with whether he was right in making the decision. Finally finding some clarity a year later, he rhymes, “Nothing lasts forever, people grow apart / I’ll remember what we had and take my heart.”
While tracks like the laidback “Late Believers” show signs of greatness, The Kids in the Back is not without its mishaps. On “Trust Me,” Powers attempts to get sentimental, but to no avail. Pushing for a more philosophical stance with “Faith,” Rockwell touches on his spiritual woes concerning religion. Though he receives a soulful chorus from singer Peter Baldwin, the track is seemingly incomplete in content and execution.
Lyrically, Powers has some work cut out for him. For instance, an otherwise grooving track, “Wreck Mode” lacks wordplay direction, as at one point he compares himself to a whale. Then, on “Hoodied Up,” Powers leaves a strong hook hanging with a handful of verses ready to be skipped over.
Though far from flawless, The Kids in the Back is a good indication of the skills Rockwell Powers has honed in his short rapping career. At 21 years old, Powers has the potential to go from an aspiring rapper to a formidable emcee, and his latest project is a step in the right direction.
Rockwell Powers will be performing June 5 at the China Clipper Club Café in Olympia alongside rapper Macklemore, as well as at Grynch’s EP release party at the Nectar Lounge on July 12.
Reach columnist Edwin Ortiz at arts@dailyuw.com.”
Campus crime blotter: Stolen checkbooks, geese shootings and missing dehumidifiers
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJan 01, 2010“From vandalism-by-sharpie to graffiti at the art gallery, this weekly crime blotter aims to inform readers about offenses on and surrounding campus. While in-depth articles may be written about specific incidents, this column provides a brief overview of recent crimes that impact the UW community.
Tuesday, May 26
Police found unintelligible graffiti on the corner of the Henry Art Gallery. The damage is estimated to be $50. Authorities also discovered spray paint on a wall of the W-45 parking garage the same day with an estimated damage of $300.
Wednesday, May 27
Officers found spray-painted graffiti on the side of Schmitz Hall with an estimated damage of $150.
A woman reported that a co-worker struck her on the shoulder with his elbow in retaliation of a harassment complaint the victim previously made. The suspect said the incident was an accident.
Officers responded to the Union Bay Wildlife Area after receiving a report of a dead goose. The animal had a bullet wound from a small-caliber gun and was turned over to Seattle Animal Control and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. Authorities were not able to locate a suspect.
Thursday, May 28
Someone used a marker to write on the sign of an anti-abortion demonstrator during a protest in Red Square. The suspect was followed and identified by the complainant, and charges are pending upon further investigation.
Seattle police officers responded to a fraternity house in the 4500 block of 18th Avenue Northeast after a 22-year-old man, who appeared to be under the influence of alcohol, fell from a third-story window ledge. Medics provided emergency care to the victim, who sustained serious injuries. His current condition is not known.
Friday, May 29
Police received a report that a de-humidifier was missing from Loew Hall. The cost of the stolen device is estimated at $1,300.
A student returned from the restroom in Suzzallo Library to find her backpack missing. Officers found the backpack and its contents in the Gerberding Hall stairwell without the victim’s wallet, which was in the bag. The estimated loss is $60.
Citizens notified authorities of a fight in an alley near the 5200 block between 16th and 17th avenues northeast. Officers stopped three individuals and found a stolen checkbook on the person of one of the suspects. The owner of the checkbook was contacted and believes it was stolen during a party at his residence.
The UW Police Department and the Seattle Police Department’s online blotter provided the information for this column. The online blotter represents a sampling of the hundreds of incidents the SPD responds to each day.
Reach editorial assistant Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.
Sidebar Information:
The 60-day crime log with basic details about cases handled by the UWPD can be found at washington.edu/admin/police/statistics_reports/.”
Virtual TA
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJan 01, 2010“Outsourcing the responsibility of grading to companies is becoming a trend at some colleges in the United States. With decreases in budgets and professors becoming overloaded, the appeal is clear.
“I can see the appeal of outsourcing grading,” said Mel Wensel, director of academic services for the department of English, via e-mail. “Grading papers can be an onerous task — it’s the thing I miss least about teaching. And, as more colleges and universities are forced by severe budget cuts to increase enrollment and class sizes, people really are frustrated about how to continue teaching writing skills — something that does require good, consistent feedback in a timely manner.”
One company, EduMetry, has a Virtual-TA service advertised as providing timely feedback and assignment scoring, and allowing the professors to focus on teaching and researching. Their clients include the University of Houston in Texas, with an enrollment of roughly 54,000 — slightly larger than that of the UW.
They claim that more students succeed when professors focus on student learning rather than on giving frequent feedback on assignments.
The graders are required to have at least a master’s degree and pass a writing test on their ability to give written feedback. Graders are also trained in using rubrics on sample assignments. In some cases, they send in examples of their grading to get the professor’s approval or critique.
Graders embed comments in each document, and professors can review and edit the evaluation before returning assignments to students. The estimated rate by Virtual TA is $12 per assignment for each student.
While no UW departments outsource grading, some do use online programs.
The chemistry department utilizes online teaching tools, including WebAssign homework and a new program they are planning to try this summer, Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS).
“When you’re dealing with numerical answers, it’s a pretty reasonable thing to do right. I mean, [with] a paper or things like that, things would become trickier,” said Phil Reid, professor and associate chair of the chemistry department, about the use of electronic grading.
ALEKS prepares students for classes and offers tutorials when they enter incorrect answers. When students are expected to have base knowledge going in to a class, ALEKS is designed to prepare them, leveling the knowledge at the beginning of the quarter.
However, Reid said programs like ALEKS and WebAssign are no substitute for quiz sections, classes and tests graded by TAs.
Many critics of Virtual TA claim that there is no personal relationship or contact between the students and assessors. The grading is not able to account for what was discussed in class, for example.
“However, this is no replacement for firsthand knowledge of the students and the individual progress they are making in the course, or for familiarity with the intellectual contexts that have been established in the classroom, and certainly not for the type of disciplinary expertise that faculty bring to the table,” Wensel said via e-mail. “… It is alarming to imagine how ‘efficient’ or ‘cost effective’ outsourced grading may seem.”
Some people feel, however, that alternatives to outsourced grading, such as increased funding for education, exist.
“Frankly, we wouldn’t even be seeing this type of thing if higher education were sufficiently understood, valued and funded, so that faculty and TAs were not overburdened,” Wensel wrote.
Reach reporter Brianna Butterfield at news@dailyuw.com.”
U-District prohibition
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJan 01, 2010“The University of Washington Police Department (UWPD) made 24 arrests for DUIs and 33 arrests for liquor-law violations, including minors in possession, between January and May 2010.
The State of Washington has actively controlled and restricted the sale and consumption of alcohol specifically in the U-District in one way or another since 1895.
Then, that control meant prohibitive rules that outlawed all alcohol in the U-District. Today, it means agreements between retailers and the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) to restrict the sale of certain strong and cheap beers and wine, and proposals requiring patrons at bars to have horizontal driver’s licenses.
Jason Kilmer, chair of the Washington State Substance Abuse College Task Force and research assistant professor in the UW Psychology department, said several recent studies support the idea that the availability of alcohol directly impacts consumption statistics. In particular, he cited a 1996 article by social scientists Frank Chaloupka and Henry Wechsler, which focused on alcohol consumption on college campuses.
“This study suggested that when a larger number of businesses sold alcohol within 1 mile of campus, there were higher levels of drinking and binge drinking among both underage and older college students,” he said.
1895 - 1950
Spurned by pressures from local temperance movements, the Washington State Legislature passed RCW 66.44.190 in 1895, which made the sale of alcohol within 2 miles of the UW campus illegal. Anyone found guilty of breaking this law was subject to a fine ranging from $100 to $1,000, a significant sum of money in 1895, and anywhere from 6 months to a year in jail.
During the next hundred years, several changes were made to the law. The state Legislature chose to retain its 1895 policy after prohibition was repealed nationally in 1933, but reduced the restricted area to one mile from campus, or roughly the bounds of the U-District. At the time, the Blue Moon Tavern on Northeast 45th Street and the original Red Robin on Eastlake Avenue were the closest bars to the UW campus.
“It shall be unlawful to sell any intoxicating liquors, with or without a license on the grounds of the University of Washington, or within the district bounded by the Lake Washington Canal on the South, Eighth Avenue Northeast on the West, East 52nd on the North and Lake Washington on the East,” the legislation said.
1951 - 2005
In 1951, the law was amended to allow permits to sell and consume liquor to nationally recognized veteran’s clubs in the U-District. In 1967, the boundaries of the restricted area were reduced to only the grounds of the UW campus, and bars began sprouting up on the Ave.
For the next 30 years, the Washington State Legislature retained the right to restrict the sale of alcohol on the UW campus, making only a few subtle amendments. When the law was repealed in 2003, power to govern the sale of alcohol on campus passed to the Board of Regents, which restored the previous restrictions, making the sale of alcohol on campus legal only in certain circumstances.
2006 - Present
While originally, prohibitive laws and practices in the U-District were created to uphold the moral standards of temperance activists, the City of Seattle decided in 2006 that regulating the sale of alcohol might also help solve problems seen on a daily basis in some Seattle neighborhoods.
“We had problems with inebriated individuals just hanging out in bus shelters all day,” Teresa Lord Hugel, chair of the U-District Chamber of Commerce, said.
To combat problems such as these, the City of Seattle and the WSLCB joined forces to create Alcohol Impact Areas (AIA), regions in Seattle where they had identified public drunkenness as a significant problem. The first AIA identified was Pioneer Square in 2003, followed in 2006 by the Central Core AIA and the North AIA, which includes the U-District.
Prohibition policies have not gone without resistance through the years, however. A poll conducted on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s website in 2006 found 51.4 percent were not in favor of expanding the AIAs. Almost half of those respondents specified that they felt the legislation targeted the poor and would hurt small businesses.
In 2006, the board approved a request from the City of Seattle to ban certain alcohol from the U-District.
Banned products include fortified alcohol, malt liquor and similar drinks. Businesses in AIAs are not allowed either to sell single cans or bottles to be taken off premises, or to sell beer or wine to be taken off premises between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.
“Most of the chronic public inebriants are homeless,” Karen McCall, senior legislative policy analyst at WSLCB, said. “In some areas in Seattle it was a real problem; that’s where the Seattle Alcohol Impact Areas are.”
McCall admitted that especially in free-ride areas like Pioneer Square and downtown Seattle, people can simply ride the bus to where they can buy fortified alcohol, and then come back.
UWPD Sergeant John Bolding echoed that idea, saying that alcohol-prohibitive policies like the AIAs don’t always prevent underage students and others from finding alcohol or bringing it to the U-District.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” he said.
Reach reporter Natalie Johnson at news@dailyuw.com.”
GAP not open to conversation
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJan 01, 2010“When walking across the UW campus, there seem to be only two types of protesters: those protesting university-centric problems, like budget cuts, and those making extremist political statements.
Continuing the pattern, the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) returned to our campus this Monday, continuing their offensive entwining of abortion and genocide imagery.
The GAP, a migrating anti-abortion project, puts images of violence and genocide next to images of abortion to be displayed on college campuses.
The Lynden LaRouche supporters that crop up around campus are similar, with their Barack Obama-with-a-Hitler-mustache image they use as another simple visual metaphor which makes a comparison to Nazism.
There are many problems with comparisons to Hitler and the Holocaust. To start, because Hitler has been built up in the popular imagination and popular history as one of the ultimate evils, it is very easy to attack something just by linking the target to Hitler in some way.
This tactic is so common that it has its own Internet law: Godwin’s law, which basically posits that the longer a conversation goes on, the likelier a comparison to Hitler will be made. Because of its overuse, the tactic has lost a lot of its meaning.
Beyond its overuse, comparing anything to the death of 6-million Jewish people and 5- to 11-million others (homosexuals, Romani, people with disabilities and other opponents) is bound to be a stretch.
Regardless of your political sensibilities, how can you compare Obama with someone who is responsible for more than 10-million deaths? How can you compare a woman’s decisions about her body to an attempt to end a whole race of people?
Extremist imagery like the LaRouche and GAP images really only serve to attract attention, and offend and alienate most people.
No one has the right to go through life without being offended, but these issues are so divisive that everybody has already taken a side. The only thing they do now is make the dissenters angry because of the unfair comparisons of women to Nazis or Obama to Hitler.
What is the point of putting these extremist demonstrations up? The GAP has the right to protest in any way they want, but I wish they would consider that their extremist demonstration is accomplishing little more than making passers-by angry.
The GAP’s images aren’t there to facilitate rational discourse; they’re too strong for that. The debate about abortion is a debate about where life starts. By putting images of death next to images of abortion, the anti-abortion position is already assumed. Discussion is not open but is pushed to and starts at the extreme end — that abortion equals murder.
A few years ago, PETA juxtaposed pictures of animals in slaughterhouses with pictures of the Holocaust. This is nearly the exact same method that the GAP is using, and even though I’m more sympathetic to PETA’s goals, I can still say that their methods are not helping them achieve those goals.
All they were doing is making their cause seem like extremists incapable of rational discourse and drawing comparisons that will make many people bitter.
Reach columnist Christopher Andersson at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
[Behind the Curtain] The process of performance: Part 1, Auditions
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJan 01, 2010“The students waiting on the third floor of Hutchinson Hall on April 1 were full of excitement and nerves. One by one, students filed into Room 303 and had only a few minutes to secure themselves a callback. It was the start of auditions for Dead Man’s Cell Phone, written by Sarah Ruhl, which is the latest production by the Undergraduate Theater Society (UTS).
With a sign-up sheet divided into five-minute segments, students filed in one at a time to give a short monologue of their choosing. Some got additional direction; others were thanked for their time and exited quietly. Audition times and breaks were run by stage manager and senior Conner Rich.
The waiting room was full of emotion. Some actors thrived under the pressure, excited to showcase their talents. Others fought over who should go next in an effort to delay their own auditions.
“It’s one of my favorite parts,” said assistant director and sophomore Bobbin Ramsey, who enjoys the energy the actors bring to the room. “This is the launching point for what is going to be a fabulous production at the end.”
Ramsey knows how nerve-wracking it is to be put on display. She tried acting when she was younger, but decided she wasn’t good at it. Now she works as a stage manager and occasional assistant director and feels confident in her skills behind the scenes.
Taryn Pearce auditioned for one of the highly competitive spots on the cast. Her audition piece was a monologue from Where’s My Money by John Patrick Shanley, something she calls “a snarky little comedic piece.”
“You kind of tailor your monologue to the character you think you would be best suited for,” Pearce said.
She read the play beforehand and liked the mother character, Mrs. Gottlieb.
Pearce is a veteran of two other UTS productions; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Stone Cold Dead Serious. When she was a freshman, Pearce tried out for every production because, she said, it was the smart thing to do. Now a senior, she selects the plays that she auditions for. She selected this one because she liked the play, and the director, Mike Jones.
Acting in Dead Man’s and wanting to work with Jones were common motivators for many students to audition.
“What drew me to this one [was] the director,” said senior Colleen Bjurstrom. “The director and the play was a great combination.” Bjurstrom likes the rhythm of Ruhl’s plays and the how the comedy is “a little off.”
“I read the script a long time ago and really liked it,” Ramsey said. “It is very abstract.”
She worked with Jones last year on his production The Pillow Man and volunteered to be the assistant director for this quarter’s production.
“As the director, I see myself as being the outside eye and guide more than direct,” Jones said.
That might be the key to his success as a director.
“He produces interesting work,” Pearce said.
Pearce believes that finding a play and a director that he or she likes is what should come first for an actor. Money should be third, and while actors don’t get paid for working in UTS productions, Pearce is still glad to have two out of three.
At the end of every season, the directors send out an application for three plays they want to do the next year. Dead Man’s was one of the plays Jones wanted to direct.
“I have this creative fascination with death,” Jones said. “Not just what death means, but what death doesn’t mean.”
He liked that Dead Man’s was a kind of modern fairy tale with an adventurous twist. Jones found that the play had a number of layers and elements. The script made him consider whether a lot of time is spent wondering what makes someone “good” and what love is in the modern age.
Now that Jones has the chance to direct his play, he had to narrow the field. With 55 people auditioning for six roles, a lot of cuts needed to be made.
Jones said UTS is a very insular community, which makes it harder to make cuts.
“Six is incredibly small, and to have the high volume of people auditioning — this is going to be harder,” Jones said.
Many people have the misconception that not getting the coveted callback is a rejection or reflection of their acting skills, or lack thereof. That is not the case for Jones and the four other members of the selection panel.
Sitting behind the table, Jones is joined by Ramsey, Rich, Co-assistant Director Stephanie Haire, and Erin Simpson, who coordinates the props. While the panel is trying to get the right person for the right roles, part of the audition process is based on how the person looks.
“A lot of it is based solely on if this person looks like how I visualize this character,” Jones said.
Jones had almost a year to prepare for this production. He read and reread the play several times and has an image in his head of how the characters look.
Acting skill is also a factor. For those Jones has not worked with before, he may ask the actor to redo the scene with a slight change. For example, during an audition, he asked one actress to redo her scene and play it as if she were drunk.
If someone can take that direction and redo the scene without getting rattled, Jones said they might have what it takes to be on stage. How a person interprets playing a scene drunk is very telling about themselves as an actor. The selection panel looks at if the actor is swaying, staggering or falling down; how extreme is the slurring of the speech?
The panel believes there is a fine line between acting and overacting. With so few roles to fill, Jones and his crew can afford to be selective. Out of the 55 auditioning, only 20 to 25 students will get called back. From there, they have to fill two male and four female roles.
After a few hours of auditions, Jones and the group had built up their list of callbacks. Some people were immediately on the list, while other names were being held until the end to see where they stood.
“We’ve had a lot of good people come in,” Ramsey said. “Auditions are everyone doing their own thing. Callbacks are direct competition.”
Reach reporter Peter Sessum at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Armed and ready
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJan 01, 2010“Before the end was in sight, before the national championship and before Alyson McWherter was entirely sure of just exactly where she fit in on the Washington softball team, there was a note.
It was written by McWherter to head coach Heather Tarr during a trip to UCLA last season, the first indication that the Huskies’ now-rock-solid center fielder was having a little bit of trouble balancing all of her obligations.
McWherter is in UW’s ROTC program, see, and is still a softball player, and a student, and so she needed some validation from her coach that what she was doing was OK, that her contributions on the field were enough and that everything was going to be fine.
“She did such a good job of not showing that it was wearing her out that it was just normal Aly,” Tarr said. “But it was wearing her out. That was when she came to me and communicated, ‘I need this and that, and I’m going to be OK. But if I don’t get this and that, I don’t know what I’m going to do.’”
More on that in a minute. Because what you need to know now is that those days are firmly entrenched in the past for the senior outfielder, who will graduate in June as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army after completing the requirements for UW’s ROTC program.
It’s hard to talk to McWherter without marveling at all that she’s done at this school, anchoring one of the nation’s best outfields while winning a national title and learning how to command army squadrons when she wasn’t shagging fly balls.
And then there’s that schedule.
“This year it’s sort of slowed down,” McWherter said. “But last year, it was pretty big.”
By big, of course, she means that ‘sleeping in’ meant waking up after 6:30 in the morning. And this was during the summer, before her school classes even started.
McWherter rattles off the week’s duties as if she’s putting together her grocery list.
Briefings. Operations orders. Morning orders. Planning. Spot checks. Training. Classes.
Then came Thursdays, when she would arrive at 5:30 a.m. to practice everything she’d planned for throughout the week.
Fridays were for after-action reviews, which was basically a time to go over everything they’d done the day before.
“Some weeks you’d be just your average Joe, and then other weeks you’d be a squadron leader, or a platoon leader, or a team leader, and you’d have different responsibilities throughout the week,” McWherter said. “Those were pretty busy. You just add that in whenever I had spare time from softball.”
Spare time. That was Tarr’s concern, too. McWherter approached her about signing up for ROTC between her freshman and sophomore seasons, using a couple of meetings with some ROTC supervisors to convince the coach that she could handle both that and softball. The Army, after all, runs in McWherter’s family, and it was important to her to be a part of it, too.
“We need you to be fully committed to softball, because you’re going to have a chance to be our starting center fielder,” Tarr told her.
“I couldn’t even fathom how she was going to be able to do all of this.”
There were times when McWherter wondered the same thing. Was waking up at 4 every morning after a full day of classes, training and softball really worth it?
“I definitely had a couple nights where I was like, ‘what am I doing?’” McWherter said. “I did have nights, trust me, where all you want to do is pick up the phone and say, ‘that’s it, I’m done. I don’t have time for this anymore.’”
She did a good job of keeping it to herself, though.
“I feel like she does a good job of separating that when she comes here and she plays,” pitcher Danielle Lawrie said. “She was pretty good at not letting that affect what she is.”
It seems that weekend in Los Angeles is when it all came to a head. But Tarr assured her center fielder that all was well, that her efforts in both areas were more than sufficient.
And so this is a story of perseverance, a reminder that in the world of high-school athletes holding college fan-bases hostage with elaborate and drawn-out recruiting processes, in a world where our 41-year-old heroes are napping during games and you’re left to wonder just what exactly is wrong with sports these days, there are still people making major contributions in ways that make you wonder why you ever doubted them.
“That cliche statement, whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, really came into play last year, and ultimately helped define the type of individual I am now,” McWherter said. “Because I had to convince myself it was worth doing and that in the end it was all going to be worth it.”
It was. McWherter got into the branch she wanted, and she’ll be stationed with the third infantry division in Fort Stewart, Ga., the same place her dad was stationed way back when.
Her obligation is four years of active duty, and she’s not sure what she’ll do after that, though she says that she won’t shy away from the opportunity to go overseas if it’s presented. It’s something she has perspective on, since her dad was in Iraq when she was in high school.
First, though, there’s that small matter of winning another national title.
“Sometimes, [ROTC] does put [softball] in perspective a little bit,” she said. “But I think if anything, that just makes me love [softball] more, because you can go out and have fun, just enjoy it. I think if anything, I’ve enjoyed it more. I haven’t looked at it as much of a job as I used to. You still give everything you have, but it’s more fun.”
That’s part of the reason why her teammates appreciate her so much. Bailey Stenson, a fellow senior who also played alongside McWherter during summers while the two were in high school, says it’s obvious that McWherter’s leadership skills have carried over onto the softball field.
“We’ve always had a really good talking connection,” Stenson said. “I can say one word, and she’ll catch the ball and she’ll say, hey, good talk, good talk. If she ever tells me, back, back, back, I don’t even have to look at the ball, I know I’m going to catch it because her communication is so clear. She’s a gem of an outfielder.”
A gem hardened by a college experience unlike almost all others.
“A lot of successes came from the hard work I put in, and looking back, I don’t regret it,” McWherter said. “I would do it over again in a heartbeat, no matter how hard it was.”
Reach Sports Editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Vu, other Huskies set big PRs in only home meet
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJan 01, 2010“It was a sunny day on the shores of Montlake for the Ken Shannon Invitational on Saturday, and the Washington track and field team made the most of the agreeable weather as UW athletes set a number of personal bests in Husky Stadium.
One athlete who performed a lifetime best on Saturday was pole vaulter Ryan Vu. Husky Stadium has been good to Vu, who had his best vault a year ago in this same meet. Vu managed to clear 17-7, which ties him for No. 8 all time at UW and puts him No. 12 on the NCAA’s descending-order list.
This performance is particularly encouraging for Vu, given that the conference championships are just a week away. Vu has been experimenting with some new techniques and seems to have gotten the hang of it just in time.
“I’ve had pretty good practices these last few weeks,” Vu said. “My coach and I were thinking that I needed to try new things and was ready to jump big by the end of the season. We’ve been working on a few things, and the weather was great. I also had a bunch of old teammates and coaches from high school come out, which was really exciting.”
Freshman Michael Miller also had a big personal record (PR), shaving nearly a second off his 800-meter time to finish No. 2 with a time of 1:51.97. Meanwhile, redshirt freshman Rob Webster Jr. had a big PR in the 5,000-meter, shaving 15 seconds off his best time with a 14:32.56.
Vu said Washington had a little extra motivation, which may have contributed to all of these personal bests.
“I think everyone was a little disappointed about getting killed by Washington State,” Vu said. “We didn’t do nearly as well as we were hoping. Everyone was hoping for a big breakout [on Saturday], and all the cards fell into place. The meet just turned out perfectly for everybody.”
Freshman Dan Sanders won with a PR of 54.35 in the 400-meter hurdles. Jake Vetter fought off a gusty headwind to PR in the 110-meter hurdles with a 16.11, while redshirt freshman Greg Drosky set a PR in the steeplechase with a 9:18.79.
Freshman Julian Bardwell had a big day in the jumps, finishing No. 2 in the long jump with a 22-7 1/4 as well as setting a PR in the triple jump with a 47-3 1/2. Another triple jumper to set a PR was Clayton Johnson, who went 48-9 for the win.
This was Washington’s only home meet of the outdoor season, also meaning it was the only chance for friends and family to come see the Washington athletes compete. This energy could have been another factor contributing to the plethora of PRs set.
“It’s so big having everyone come out,” Vu said. “It’s kind of like a home-court advantage, like in any other sport. Track isn’t as glamorous as other sports. There’s not always a huge crowd that travels, but for this meet, there is a crowd, and it gets you amped up. You want to go out and prove that you appreciate all the help and encouragement from all these people who’ve helped your career.”
On the women’s side, Breanna Huschka set a big, 6-second PR in the 1,500-meter with a 4:39.43. Grace Green also PRed in the race with a 4:38.16. Meanwhile, senior Nicole Vielma set a PR of 39-3 3/4 in the triple jump.
Reach reporter Jacob Thorpe at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Free Speech Friday: June 5
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsOct 13, 2009“In response to “What’s the worst that could happen: Marijuana is legalized,” by Jackson Rohrbaugh. May 28:
Shouldn’t adult citizens have the freedom to choose what goes into their own bodies in the privacy of their own homes? Why are alcohol and cigarettes the only legal intoxicant?
Imagine if the United States was once again the “Land of the Free” instead of the most incarcerated nation in the history of human civilization.
Imagine if the American people could feel safe and secure in their own homes and on the streets of our cities and towns throughout the United States.
Imagine if we had no “drug-related crime.” Imagine if our overall crime rate was a small fraction of our current crime rate.
We once had such a situation here in the United States. Prior to the passage of the Harrison Narcotics Act of 1914, the term “drug-related crime” didn’t exist. And drug lords, drug cartels or even drug dealers as we know them today didn’t exist either.
Back then, all types of recreational drugs were legally sold to anybody with no questions asked, for pennies per dose in grocery stores and pharmacies.
Did we have a lot more drug addicts then, compared to now? No.
We had about the same percentage of our population addicted to drugs according to U.S. Federal Judge John L. Kane of Colorado.
For the sake of our children, can we re-legalize our now-illegal drugs and sell them through licensed business establishments? This would put the drug dealers and drug lords out of business overnight.
Darral Good
Seattle, Wash.
If health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. Like any drug, marijuana can be harmful if abused, but jail cells are inappropriate as health interventions and ineffective as deterrents.
The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages have been counterproductive at best. White Americans did not even begin to smoke pot until a soon-to-be entrenched federal bureaucracy began funding reefer madness propaganda.
Marijuana prohibition has failed miserably as a deterrent. The United States has higher rates of marijuana use than the Netherlands, where marijuana is legally available to adults over 18. Students who want to help end the inter-generational culture war otherwise known as the “war on some drugs” should contact Students for Sensible Drug Policy at Schoolsnotprisons.com.
Robert Sharpe
Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy
Another reason to re-legalize the relatively safe, socially acceptable, God-given plant cannabis that doesn’t get mentioned is that it will lower hard-drug addiction rates.
How many citizens try cannabis and realize it’s not nearly as harmful as taught in DARE-type government environments? Then they think other substances must not be so bad either, only to become addicted to deadly drugs. The old lessons make cannabis out to be among the worst substances in the world, even though it’s less addictive than coffee and never killed a single person, while cigarettes kill more than 1,000 Americans daily.
The federal government even classifies cannabis as a Schedule I substance along with heroin, while methamphetamine and cocaine are only Schedule II substances. For the health and welfare of the United States’ children and adults, that dangerous, irresponsible and inaccurate message absolutely must change.
Further, DARE instructors teach that cannabis is bad and should be prohibited, yet unregulated sales of cannabis force buyers into contact with people who often sell harder drugs.
Stan White
Dillon, Colo.
In response to “Tent City III not such a bad idea,” by Chris Jordan, May 20:
In reading Chris Jordan’s article, I was glad to see some researched information regarding Tent City III (TC3). Regardless of the facts however, I still feel TC3 should not be hosted at the University of Washington. Jordan omits one of the primary factors in hosting TC3: the safety and comfort of TC3’s residents.
With such overt discontent with the proposal from many UW students, it would not come as a surprise if some students opposed to it would treat the residents poorly or take action to make them feel uncomfortable or unwanted. Even if students treat the residents with respect, I don’t feel that studying them and walking through their camp on “educational visits” is appropriate. These are people, not animals in a zoo to be pitied or become the topics of our research projects.
Furthermore, although crime rates have not increased near TC3, as an orientation leader last summer, the number-one concern I heard from parents of incoming students was safety. Convincing them that their son or daughter will not be negatively affected by the residents in any way is a near impossibility. TC3 not only hurts the scenic appeal of the UW, it could also affect enrollment and retention due to parental control.
Lastly, I pay thousands of dollars out of my own pocket each year for an unperturbed educational experience. Call me selfish, but I’d rather not have homeless people living on campus. UW is not a charity. It’s an educational institution. There are better places to host TC3.
Jason Barber
Junior, political economy
I know I’ve already commented on this subject before, but I find this situation so frustrating! What is the purpose of hosting a tent city on campus? Jordan tries to explain in his story that students and faculty can observe homelessness more closely, but that seems ludicrous to me. All of Seattle sees homelessness every day downtown, on the corners of major intersections, and even outside grocery stores asking for donations as you’re trying to buy food for your family. This sounds almost like a petting zoo! “Let’s put this camp of homeless people on campus so we can watch their everyday lives, thanking God that we aren’t them and feeling sorry for their situations.”
Thankfully, Jordan does provide some insight as to the numerous questions I’ve had since the proposal. But, there’s still the question as to the economic impact that we are making by hosting a tent city. What happens when Seattle’s homeless hear that we would love to have them living on campus?
Sure, supporters might like to guarantee that the 100 individuals in the camp might not bother students for donations or pose a security risk. Can they also vouch for the numerous homeless people who will wander on campus to partake in our free-giving amenities?
Also, how does the UW hosting a tent city help those 100 individuals get out of homelessness? The answer isn’t hosting a tent city so we can feel good about ourselves while watching others in distress. The answer is students and faculty lobbying for city and state intervention in providing a comprehensive system that helps homeless people receive the mental, physical and economic help that they need.
Finally, I find it distressing that all of these senates (GPSS, ASUW, UW Faculty) had these meetings to discuss and vote on this topic, yet myself and many others never heard anything about when and where these meetings were to happen! Even The Daily failed to inform us; the paper only reported after the fact. With a Facebook group against this proposal at much more than 2,000 strong, this really sounds like an agenda being pushed under the table without student input or knowledge.
David Richards
Senior, biology
Though I am a member of the Health Services 573 class working to bring Tent City III to campus, I write as a member of the university community and as someone who worked in homeless services for three years.
The backlash against our class’s proposal to bring Tent City III to campus provides rich examples of precisely why it is so important to do so. Many of our experiences with the homeless have been limited to volunteering at a soup kitchen or being asked for money on the street. In these situations, we alternatively see the homeless as “unfortunate individuals” who should be helped by charity and philanthropy, or we ignore them entirely and pretend not to see. It is important to recognize that these limited interactions help us compartmentalize the problem of homelessness and dehumanize those experiencing it.
As much as we hate to imagine it, homelessness is something that could happen to you, to me or to our loved ones. And as much as it’s uncomfortable to think about, homelessness has its roots in fundamental structural problems of our society. If we continue to say we are “not against helping” the poor or the homeless while maintaining a “not-in-my-backyard” attitude, we will never learn enough or be motivated enough to promote meaningful change.
Bringing Tent City III to the UW will be safe and virtually cost-free. It will give students a chance to sit and talk to individuals experiencing homelessness, human being to human being, and to discuss the issue of homelessness in classes and understand the broader context.
Let us engage in meaningful conversation and discuss the ways that hosting Tent City III could not only provide shelter for 100 Seattleites in need, but also promote the educational mission of our wonderful institution.
Natalie Stahl
Junior, MPH, School of Public Health
I implore you to take a look at the argument surrounding the implementation of Tent City III on campus. Many of the articles that have been submitted seem to be in support. However, please take a look into the opposition as well. You may not agree with us, but if the numbers from competing Facebook groups tell you anything about the ratio of support vs. opposition, there is a stark difference. Currently, the numbers stand at about 4-1 in opposition: about 2,268 to 1,112. The opposition is real, and ignoring that would be a grave mistake.
All in all, I mean no offense, and thank you for the hard work that you are putting in to give UW students their daily campus paper.
Brittany Becker
Junior, international economics
In response to “Groups plan to protest Gates as commencement speaker,” by Rachel Solomon, June 2:
It recently printed in Rachel Solomon’s article, “Groups plan to protest Gates as commencement speaker,” that the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at the UW was going to protest the commencement speaker, Robert Gates. This is patently not true.
The MSA is purely a religious organization, and we strive to be apolitical. Our goals are to educate the UW community about Islam and provide for our diverse membership. Endorsing political rallies is not in our mandate.
I understand this is a student newspaper, but accurate reporting is appreciated. I request that The Daily print a retraction because this reckless coverage has negatively affected our reputation.
Zakariya Dehlawi
MSA senior adviser
Senior, computer engineering
UW president’s lack of response
Last Tuesday, the Demilitarize UW Coalition presented UW President Mark Emmert with a list of demands. The document we presented outlined the history of the CIA and its role in destroying democratic movements around the world.
We demanded that the UW kick CIA agent and visiting professor Tim Thomas off of campus and end the Institute for National Security Education and Research (INSER) program, which teaches students to spy on one another and makes them report to intelligence services during exchange programs abroad. The program has faced opposition from students, faculty and numerous departments, while the UW tries keeping the program as secretive as possible.
We have yet to receive a response from Emmert on this issue that has very important implications for students and the university community as a whole. Democracy Insurgent, one member of the Demilitarize UW Coalition, believes that open debate on such programs should be allowed and made public and that Emmert and the UW administrators have consistently and undemocratically kept this dialogue from taking place.
The UW should be transparent. What the UW funds and supports should be left to the students, faculty and workers. Supporting a program that has a history tainted by gross human-rights violations, and which has actively engaged in supporting undemocratic practices both here and abroad, goes against those ideals.
Adam James
Senior, political science
Democracy Insurgent
Free speech and our tuition
Freedom of speech implies equality between those of all viewpoints. Before the First Amendment, we all stand as equals. This equality engenders open dialogue, and that dialogue in turn, sharpens our intellects and provides opportunities for social change.
Freedom of speech is the inalienable right to assent or dissent. With freedom of association, it is the right to collaborate with others to express shared ideals or, for that matter, to refuse to collaborate. It is this last right which I believe the UW has failed to uphold.
Each full-time student at our university is required to pay a $108 Services and Activities Fee along with their tuition, a part of which goes to the student government. It doesn’t matter whether you are a graduate or undergraduate student or whether you choose to be a member of ASUW or not. You are required to pay the same fee. Those who participate in student government are then allowed to vote on what ideas your money will be spent to support.
This wrongs students in two ways: First, it requires them to support the views of an organization they may strongly disagree with; and second, it deprives them of the richness that a viewpoint-neutral distribution system would provide. Furthermore, it violates a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling (University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth) which requires that mandatory fee programs being used for student speech activities must be distributed in a viewpoint-neutral (and not merely majority-rule) fashion.
I do not mean to suggest that those involved in student government are deliberately harming the students at large; most of the student leaders I’ve interacted with (both undergraduate and graduate) seem intent on sincerely trying to serve students. But, I am suggesting that the Services and Activities Fee distribution system we use at this university compromises the legal rights of some students and the best interests of all students.
I have brought this issue to the attention of ASUW, but after considering my arguments, they chose to dismiss my complaint. I also discussed this issue in person with several GPSS officers.
I also submitted a statement to the GPSS expressing my objection to their use of my fees on constitutional grounds and offering them a final opportunity to respond, if they wished, before I would submit a complaint to the administration regarding their organization. In response, I received a very curt, dismissive e-mail from the GPSS president. Therefore, I have submitted a request to the administration for a refund of the part of my Services and Activities Fees that goes to such entities.
I realize that the amount of money involved per student per quarter is small. The monetary value of any refund I may receive pales still further before the cost of obtaining it. I have already spent hours upon hours, and some money, in seeking redress. But I simply will not turn my eyes any longer while my speech rights are violated. I have determined that I will do what I can to change the system at this school and, even if I fail at that, to make a bold statement for my beliefs, my freedom. For me, it is a fight for principle.
Rebecca Faust
Senior, linguistics”
On the case
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsOct 13, 2009“The day we turn 18 has long been the milestone of entrance into society as an adult.
“Part of being in this society is that we will all have to enter into a contract at some point,” said Carole Grayson, the director and staff attorney at Student Legal Services (SLS). “It makes me feel better that I am helping with the process.”
SLS is a Student Affairs program that provides legal advice, representation and education to students who are enrolled at the UW.
“Many people see us just because they want that extra assurance that they are going in the right direction, and I think we can really provide that confidence for people,” said Katie Schmidt, an SLS intern.
Located on the ground floor of the HUB next to the U.S. Bank, the SLS office aids students in a variety of legal situations. Some of the most common cases are landlord-tenants disputes, credit problems, divorces, traffic tickets, simple criminal matters, and will or estate planning.
“College students inevitably face a lot of legal issues from DUI to MIP and divorces,” said Katie Schmidt, an office intern. “Students are away from family where there is not the same support as if they were at home. We can be a good network for people, someone to run things by, like legal help or ideas.”
Grayson, who has been a lawyer since 1978, has found that “when people are represented, there are always better outcomes.”
However, there are cases that SLS cannot accept. Cases involving the UW will not be represented by SLS because the program is funded by the Services and Activities Fee.
Cases like bankruptcy, immigration or personal injury cannot be handled because of the legal interns’ limited license to practice law.
The staff consists of Rule 9 legal interns that have completed two years at the UW School of Law. This means the interns have been granted a limited license to practice law under supervision of an attorney under Rule 9 of the Admission to Practice Rules. In addition to Grayson, lawyers from private practices also supervise the law students.
“Law school teaches you how to think and how the law is written, but you don’t understand the dynamics of working with the client,” said Schmidt, who is finishing up her first year with SLS. “We aren’t attorneys, but I think we really care about our clients. We are really invested, and we don’t have as many case loads.”
The office also has opportunities for undergraduates hoping to get their feet wet in legal advising.
Korngold, one of two office managers, has been working with SLS throughout the four years of her undergraduate career.
“I am the first face that people see when they walk in the door,” Korngold said. “I do everything that’s not giving legal advice.”
Korngold, who has recently been accepted to the UW School of Law, feels that just being in the office environment offered by the SLS has been a tremendous learning opportunity.
“This job is as little or as much as you put into it. I have a lot more experience with legal issues. I know the processes. I know some things that the average person would not know,” she said.
Although SLS holds to the professional responsibilities of any law firm, the office and the services it provides cater to those in the university community, many of whom may find it difficult to afford other legal help.
Private law firms can charge $200, or more, per hour for consultation with an attorney.
“It happens that people go to a private attorney and end up paying way more than they need to,” said senior Miriam Korngold, an SLS office manager.
An eligible student has access to a free 40-minute consultation about one specific issue. Any further consultation about the same issue after that initiates a one-time $10 administrative fee, in addition to $15 per hour of service. However, there is no limit on the amount of time a student may visit SLS during their enrollment to discuss separate, unrelated cases.
There is even a possibility for students who have extreme financial hardship to apply to have their fees waived or reduced.
Also like any private law firm, SLS guarantees confidentiality.
“We deal with faculty or other significant and sensitive matters. We tell them up front that whatever they tell us stays in the office,” Schmidt said.
The technical terms used in the legal system can be incomprehensible to some, therefore, Grayson feels that her role as a lawyer involves much more than representation in court.
“From my earliest days in college, I always thought of myself as an educator. As lawyers, we educate our clients,” Grayson said.
But the education does not stop with the clients. Through different legal cases, the SLS has had to educate all parties involved. Landlords have had to learn about their responsibilities as property owners — to the benefit of SLS clients.
Despite being on a college campus, Grayson says that the clients range in age from 16 to late 50s and that part of what makes SLS unique is its ability to bridge youth with experience.
To Grayson, the experiences shared with each wave of interns give her a chance to reflect on her own law-school memories.
“It’s energizing to look at all this through the eyes of the intern. They have this way of seeing the universe with fresh eyes,” Grayson said.
Though a student’s first run-in with the law may be stressful, their first consultation with an attorney does not have to be.
“We can relate. We are students as well. We know the stressful times of the year,” Schmidt said. “We are more casual, and people can feel comfortable. We can give them the truth without having to live up to this height of expectation.”
Reach reporter Adrienne Kishimoto at features@dailyuw.com.”
Dark matters
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsOct 11, 2009“In an unusually cheery lab on the sixth floor of the Health Sciences building, two rows of 10 bodies slept under white sheets. On their third day of orientation for the UW School of Medicine, 80 medical students were about to meet their first patients.
Mitra Barahimi’s eyes flitted from face to curious face as she and other first-years prepared to strip off the airy coffins.
“I’d heard so many things about it before having actually seen a cadaver, but it sort of felt surreal because they’ve been so processed that they don’t even look real,” Barahimi said. “I kept having to tell myself there used to be a human life behind this body.”
Over the next six weeks, Barahimi and her peers will dissect the cadavers that live in this lab. For many, this anatomy and embryology course marks the first time they’ve touched the icy limbs of the dead. But, as their profession dictates, it won’t be the last. Medicine is a field most intimately acquainted with the human body and, more specifically, death – a phenomenon the rest of us politely tuck into the backs of our minds until a tragedy jolts it awake.
All of these students will encounter a patient who’s dying, a patient they cannot save, likely even on a daily basis. But for now, secure within the sympathetic walls of a classroom, they are here to learn.
“This is what these people wanted,” Barahimi said. “They’ve donated their bodies, so I took solace in the fact that they wanted to be our teachers.”
The first task the teachers submitted themselves to was an incision across the chest bone, where the skin was peeled back to expose the sternum.
Nathan Furukawa, another first-year medical student, and the three others in his group were a bit timid, so they decided to rotate the use of the scalpel, each performing a portion of the cut.
But they’re students, and they often stumble through the steps. Body parts are occasionally dropped on the floor, or certain anatomical anomalies trigger chuckles or inspire crass nicknames. But fourth-year medical student Linda Ding considered humor a way to cope with the stress of the job.
“There’s a lot of dark humor in the cadaver lab that helps us make it through this really hard, trying time,” Ding said, recalling her own experiences. “I think if you ask any medical student, they’ll tell you some jokes involving the cadavers. And it’s terrible that we do that, especially because we’re supposed to respect these bodies—and we do — but it’s just a defense mechanism for ourselves, as well.”
With one year until graduation, Ding has chosen her specialty: surgery. After finishing a four-week rotation in the surgical ICU at Harborview, though, she found she was more vulnerable to the shock of breaking bad news to families than dealing with death itself. Though only charged with reporting general information, some worried relatives pressed her for more answers, wondering if their sister or husband or child would wake up. Most of the interaction was left to the doctor.
“When I was standing there listening to this discussion, I did not envy the resident or attending’s position because, most of the time, it’s not what the family wants to hear,” Ding said. “It made me very uncomfortable, but I realized one day I have to be in that position. So, I try to focus on how the doctor is phrasing it so I know what to say.”
Interacting so casually and frequently with death has spurred the students to ruminate on their own mortality, an unpleasant but inescapable thought. Experiences in the labs and in the field excise the mythical nature of death and repackage it in a sterilized, formaldehyde-laced container.
Ding admitted that she’s extremely anxious about death.
“It’s one of the things I fear most,” Ding said. “I’m not going to go around thinking about it all the time, but, if I really were to sit down and reflect, I think I do have a lot of internal anxiety. So, I wonder if my choice to go into medicine, specifically surgery, has something to do with wanting to prevent death.”
For a group of people largely in their carefree twenties, it’s still a delicate topic to dominate a discussion.
The medical students, feeling so appreciative toward the donors in their anatomy courses, also wondered if they’d sign away their own bodies to medicine.
“I couldn’t answer that question at the time,” Ding remembered. “I thought, ‘I don’t know if I could let my body get cut up like this.’ It’s not neat. We’re not surgeons; we’re medical students, and we don’t know how to dissect. We’re learning.”
Furukawa, though, has contemplated returning the favor to another batch of medical students one day.
“At that point, it’s no longer me,” Furukawa said. “It’s just a shell. That’s not for a while, though. I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.”
Furukawa concluded with a nervous laugh, perhaps masking deeper emotions. The conversation then turned serious, and it became clear that part of handling a subject still so intangible is not knowing exactly how you’ll react when a heart stops beating – whether with anger, with tears, or with a sensitive yet distant smile for the optimistic family pacing the waiting room.
“It’s tough; death is something that’s not a joking issue,” Furukawa said. “But at the same time, there’s a lot of potential for commonality that can come out of it. We all share some key life experiences: We share birth and we share death. Everyone dies. I hope it’s something I’m able to find a way of understanding, because I certainly haven’t found it yet.”
Reach Lifestyles Editor Rachel Solomon at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
UW volleyball team tops Arizona, ASU
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsOct 11, 2009“The No. 3 UW volleyball team proved once again that it is a national championship contender, picking up two more victories over the Arizona schools this weekend to extend its unbeaten streak to 14.
After returning home for the first time in more than five weeks, the UW volleyball team swept both No. 18 Arizona and Arizona State. The Huskies have yet to drop a single set this season. The UW runs its record set win-streak to 42. The previous record was a 36-set streak, held by the 2005 national championship team.
The Dawgs were tested Friday against Arizona State but found a way to win, pulling out a 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 victory. Junior Kindra Carlson had 13 kills, while sophomore Bianca Rowland hit .600 with 10 kills and four aces.
The win against ASU didn’t come easily, as the Huskies held slim leads (22-21 and 24-23 in the first set) before they came through with a 25-23 win. The Sun Devils were up 17-13 at one point in the third set, but junior Becky Perry returned from an ankle injury with her team down and propelled the UW team to a 25-22 third set win and its 13th consecutive victory.
After saying Friday’s performance was “flat,” head coach Jim McLaughlin was impressed with Saturday’s 25-15, 25-13, 25-16 crushing of Arizona.
“I liked the intensity we came out with,” he said of Saturday’s match. “We came right out of the chute and started well. We put pressure on them, and we were good on both sides of the ball.”
Against Arizona, the UW hit a season-high .413 and held the Wildcats to .094. Senior Jill Collymore wowed the crowd again with her crushing serve and finished with 14 kills and four aces. McLaughlin was pleased with the efforts of senior Airial Salvo, who hit .562 and ended up with 10 kills and 10 digs.
“Salvo was big time,” McLaughlin said of the senior, who transferred to UW from Utah in 2007. “She blocked well, served well, dug well — she’s a very complete volleyball player. I expect that from her all the time.”
Senior Tamari Miyashiro, who was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week for Sept. 22-28, placed her name in the record books again, passing UCLA’s Chrissie Zartman for third place in career digs. Miyashiro had 20 digs Friday and moved up in the rankings with 15 more digs Saturday.
It was the first time since Aug. 29 that the UW played in front of their home fans. The home crowd’s presence proved beneficial for the Huskies.
“We think we have the best environment in the country,” McLaughlin said. “We have intelligent fans, and we have a responsibility to play well when we’re in front of them.”
With two more Pac-10 victories, confidence is sky high for the Huskies. But Collymore pointed out that confidence doesn’t come from the specific opponents that the Huskies defeat.
“Every time you [win], you could say it’s a boost in confidence,” said Collymore, an outside hitter. “But our confidence comes from knowing that we can execute what we want to do and not so much the people we beat.”
The players figure to be tested next weekend as they pack their bags again and travel to the Bay Area for matchups against two tough Pac-10 opponents, Cal and Stanford.
“We enjoy the trip, and we get fired up for it,” McLaughlin said. “It will be an ultimate challenge, but these kids like that.”
Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Dark matters
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsOct 05, 2009“In an unusually cheery lab on the sixth floor of the Health Sciences building, two rows of 10 bodies slept under white sheets. On their third day of orientation for the UW School of Medicine, 80 medical students were about to meet their first patients.
Mitra Barahimi’s eyes flitted from face to curious face as she and other first-years prepared to strip off the airy coffins.
“I’d heard so many things about it before having actually seen a cadaver, but it sort of felt surreal because they’ve been so processed that they don’t even look real,” Barahimi said. “I kept having to tell myself there used to be a human life behind this body.”
Over the next six weeks, Barahimi and her peers will dissect the cadavers that live in this lab. For many, this anatomy and embryology course marks the first time they’ve touched the icy limbs of the dead. But, as their profession dictates, it won’t be the last. Medicine is a field most intimately acquainted with the human body and, more specifically, death – a phenomenon the rest of us politely tuck into the backs of our minds until a tragedy jolts it awake.
All of these students will encounter a patient who’s dying, a patient they cannot save, likely even on a daily basis. But for now, secure within the sympathetic walls of a classroom, they are here to learn.
“This is what these people wanted,” Barahimi said. “They’ve donated their bodies, so I took solace in the fact that they wanted to be our teachers.”
The first task the teachers submitted themselves to was an incision across the chest bone, where the skin was peeled back to expose the sternum.
Nathan Furukawa, another first-year medical student, and the three others in his group were a bit timid, so they decided to rotate the use of the scalpel, each performing a portion of the cut.
But they’re students, and they often stumble through the steps. Body parts are occasionally dropped on the floor, or certain anatomical anomalies trigger chuckles or inspire crass nicknames. But fourth-year medical student Linda Ding considered humor a way to cope with the stress of the job.
“There’s a lot of dark humor in the cadaver lab that helps us make it through this really hard, trying time,” Ding said, recalling her own experiences. “I think if you ask any medical student, they’ll tell you some jokes involving the cadavers. And it’s terrible that we do that, especially because we’re supposed to respect these bodies—and we do — but it’s just a defense mechanism for ourselves, as well.”
With one year until graduation, Ding has chosen her specialty: surgery. After finishing a four-week rotation in the surgical ICU at Harborview, though, she found she was more vulnerable to the shock of breaking bad news to families than dealing with death itself. Though only charged with reporting general information, some worried relatives pressed her for more answers, wondering if their sister or husband or child would wake up. Most of the interaction was left to the doctor.
“When I was standing there listening to this discussion, I did not envy the resident or attending’s position because, most of the time, it’s not what the family wants to hear,” Ding said. “It made me very uncomfortable, but I realized one day I have to be in that position. So, I try to focus on how the doctor is phrasing it so I know what to say.”
Interacting so casually and frequently with death has spurred the students to ruminate on their own mortality, an unpleasant but inescapable thought. Experiences in the labs and in the field excise the mythical nature of death and repackage it in a sterilized, formaldehyde-laced container.
Ding admitted that she’s extremely anxious about death.
“It’s one of the things I fear most,” Ding said. “I’m not going to go around thinking about it all the time, but, if I really were to sit down and reflect, I think I do have a lot of internal anxiety. So, I wonder if my choice to go into medicine, specifically surgery, has something to do with wanting to prevent death.”
For a group of people largely in their carefree twenties, it’s still a delicate topic to dominate a discussion.
The medical students, feeling so appreciative toward the donors in their anatomy courses, also wondered if they’d sign away their own bodies to medicine.
“I couldn’t answer that question at the time,” Ding remembered. “I thought, ‘I don’t know if I could let my body get cut up like this.’ It’s not neat. We’re not surgeons; we’re medical students, and we don’t know how to dissect. We’re learning.”
Furukawa, though, has contemplated returning the favor to another batch of medical students one day.
“At that point, it’s no longer me,” Furukawa said. “It’s just a shell. That’s not for a while, though. I don’t plan on dying anytime soon.”
Furukawa concluded with a nervous laugh, perhaps masking deeper emotions. The conversation then turned serious, and it became clear that part of handling a subject still so intangible is not knowing exactly how you’ll react when a heart stops beating – whether with anger, with tears, or with a sensitive yet distant smile for the optimistic family pacing the waiting room.
“It’s tough; death is something that’s not a joking issue,” Furukawa said. “But at the same time, there’s a lot of potential for commonality that can come out of it. We all share some key life experiences: We share birth and we share death. Everyone dies. I hope it’s something I’m able to find a way of understanding, because I certainly haven’t found it yet.”
Reach Lifestyles Editor Rachel Solomon at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
UWPD focuses on community policing, begins sector patrols
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsOct 02, 2009“When uniformed officers are seen on campus, whether it’s a traffic accident or an emergency, people often assume that a disturbance has occurred. To counteract this notion, the UW Police Department (UWPD) has created an initiative that focuses on connecting officers with the community, expanding their model of community oriented policing campus wide.
“We’re trying to get away from the notion that police officers are only there to respond to various calls for service,” said UWPD Chief of Police John Vinson.
As part of the department’s community policing initiative, officers will be assigned to patrol one of four sectors on campus. The new zoning is designed to establish relationships between officers and the community.
“For the most part, the sector will be their primary patrol area,” Vinson said. “The expectation is that they will be in those areas … getting to know the students in those respective areas, providing an additional resource or contact to the police department.”
The sectors are divided based on statistics of criminal activity over the past three years and the number of calls for service in each region. Officers will be chosen for the areas based on a variety of factors.
“Officers will be assigned based on desire and familiarity with the area, but also based on where the lieutenant feels they may fit best,” Vinson said.
During an emergency, or when officers in one sector are all responding to calls, however, the individual closest to an incident will respond, regardless of his or her assigned sector.
“The community should probably expect that they’re going to see more of our officers out and about,” said UWPD Lt. Craig Wilson. “We are requiring them to get out and meet the occupants of the buildings.”
Previously, officers conducted initial investigations and then deferred incidents to the UWPD’s detective unit for follow up, but as part of the new program, they have the additional duty of following many incidents from beginning to end.
“We feel by having the officers follow up for misdemeanor offenses, it will allow them to stay really connected with what’s happening in their specific sectors,” Vinson said.
The department’s detectives are now mainly responsible for investigating felony offenses, and reorganization within the department may be necessary.
“We’re going to be doing some evaluations over the next few months of assignments and duties, and we’ll review and determine how many detectives we need to retain,” Vinson said.
With the additional duties and responsibilities, the department expects a transition period as officers adjust to the program.
“I think one of the main challenges will be ensuring that the complaints are being followed up on in a timely manner,” Vinson said. “Because this is a different approach to our community policing initiative, we understand we will have some minor challenges along the way.”
The UWPD has already taken steps to increase visibility on campus and foster communication between police officers and students. In early July, the UWPD began the community policing initiative by stationing an officer at a desk in the HUB. The officers are there from 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., Monday through Friday, primarily to interact with students.
The sector patrols are the UWPD’s next efforts to promote communication between the police force and the UW community.
Chris Boe, operations manager for the UW Medical Center’s Public Safety Department, is hopeful that the program will be an asset to security in the building. Due to its size and population, the medical center is the location for a large number of incidents on campus.
“They tried a similar thing a number of years ago, so it would be workable,” Boe said. “The biggest thing I’d be interested in is [having] officers who become much more familiar with the area and the people within that sector, rather than situations where the officer isn’t necessarily as familiar with the layout of the building, etc.”
As UWPD officers become more familiar with the people and buildings on campus this quarter, they are expected to interact with the community outside of responding to incidents.
“Don’t be alarmed,” Vinson said. “The more eyes and ears out there, the better for all of us.”
Reach reporter Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.”
Crime Blotter: Hijacked Husky tickets, a fraudulent Egyptian egression, relinquished reefer
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsOct 02, 2009“From burglarized fraternities to parking garage fights, this crime blotter addresses crimes on and surrounding campus over the last month of summer. While in-depth articles may be written about specific incidents, this column provides a brief overview of recent crimes that impact the UW community.
Saturday, Aug. 22
Officers confronted two suspects behind the bushes on the east side of Denny Hall when they saw the individuals removing something through a window. The suspects claimed they were “making repairs” and ran toward 15th Avenue Northeast, eluding authorities. Officers returned to the scene to find a broken window and a computer that belonged to the university on the ground. The property was returned, and the estimated damage is $100.
Friday, Aug. 28
A claimant reported receiving six fraudulent checks from the Bank of America, totaling $1,862.09. After verifying that the checks were fraudulent, the Bank of America began their own investigation. There are no suspects at this time.
Wednesday, Sept. 2
A suspect conducting a strong-arm robbery of a UW student fled from police and was later detained at Northeast Campus Parkway and University Way Northeast. The suspect was identified by the victim and taken to jail.
Saturday, Sept. 5
A female with an open can of beer was confronted during the UW vs. LSU football game and cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol before being released.
A female walking in the E9 parking lot was pushed to the ground as two men stole her football ticket from her back pocket. The victim was not injured, and the suspects were not found.
Wednesday, Sept. 9
A UW student reported that $389.75 was withdrawn from his Bank of America account for an Egyptian Airlines ticket. The victim reported that he did not authorize the charge and is working with the bank to resolve the incident.
Saturday, Sept. 12
UW staff were checking a room that was scheduled to be vacated when they found a handgun and marijuana, among other belongings. The items were transported to the UWPD, and a detective was contacted to follow up with the suspect.
Monday, Sept. 21
While responding to a possible assault in the S1 parking garage, officers found a person holding his head with several lacerations to his ear and hands. The man reported that a verbal confrontation escalated into a fight, and witnesses reported that the individual started the incident. Officers were unable to determine the victim in the crime.
Wednesday, Sept. 23
A student interrupted a burglary at his apartment in the 4000 block of 12th Avenue Northeast at 7:10 p.m. He was punched in the face as he tried to stop the suspects, and they fled the scene with the victim’s belongings.
Thursday, Sept. 24
Residents of a fraternity in the 1600 block of Northeast 47th Street attempted to confront a suspect burglarizing their house. The suspect fled, and officers responded to the scene around 3 a.m. A K9 search of the area did not yield any results, and the incident is being investigated by the UWPD.
The UWPD provides the information for this column.
Reach reporter Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.”
Big spenders
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsOct 01, 2009“As students, we are neither financially independent nor cozy in the safe haven of our parents’ economic protection. If we work, we funnel every paycheck toward textbooks and tuition. The college lifestyle is one of Top Ramen, Craigslist shopping and overall frugality.
“A college education is a very expensive investment,” said Lewis Mandell, a professor of finance in the Foster School of Business. “Many students are forced to borrow to pay for all or part of this investment and take on large amounts of debt early in life.”
But student debt, often accumulating in the thousands, is nothing to be glamorized. Convinced that I was an exception, I decided to document my expenses. So, for one week, I kept track of every dollar that left my pocket.
After calculating my expenditures for the week, I discovered several disturbing trends. One: I’m broke. And, two: I’m hardly the penny-pinching martyr I considered myself.
“You have to know what you’re spending your money on,” said Kyra Worrell, outreach adviser for Student Fiscal Services. “Then you can figure out what to cut out.”
Per Worrell’s advice, I began the week by consciously evaluating each purchase. But, as the days slipped by, I grew sloppier, splurging on lattes in the morning and movies at night.
By the end of the week, I’d spent $910.76. I was shocked and embarrassed by my ability to amass so much debt. Between rent, dining out with friends and investing in season football tickets, I was nearly $1,000 poorer.
Had I continued to blindly spend my money, it would cost me $7,474 a quarter to finance my expensive lifestyle. Something had to be done.
Learning to budget money is essential to building a stable financial future. Student Fiscal Services suggests finding a method that will work on an individual basis. Numerous budgeting sheets are available through the Internet, though tallying your expenses by hand is also an option.
After computing monthly income, decide what your financial priorities are. Rent, tuition, groceries and utilities are likely to top the list. Once you’ve subtracted your fixed expenses, set a certain amount aside to deposit into your savings account.
“[I don’t have] a set budget, but I keep track of how much I spend,” sophomore Jillian Zemanek said. “So some weeks, I won’t spend hardly any money; then the next month, I know I can spend a little more.”
Credit cards are an area where students lack the most knowledge. In a 2008 nationwide survey conducted by Jump$tart Coalition, college students scored 62 percent on a financial literacy test.
“Young adults are exposed to a variety of complex and potentially dangerous financial products, such as credit cards,” said Mandell, who helped administer the survey. “And, mistakes made when a person is young can haunt them for many years.”
Worrell explained that credit cards serve as a temporary loan. They may make certain things more attainable, but they don’t change your socioeconomic status.
Most “beginner” credit cards are intended to ease students into the responsibility of borrowing money and thus have a cap on how much you can spend. Exceeding that limit can reveal hidden fees, and early mishaps may have long-term consequences.
In order to manage money effectively, simple tasks can be incorporated into your daily routine.
“Get [money] out of sight and out from under your control,” Mandell said.
If you’re easily tempted and find yourself swiping your plastic every chance you get, it may be best to leave your credit card at home.
Setting up an online account allows you to transfer money, pay off credit cards, and check your balance at any time of day. Because online accounts keep a detailed record of your expenditures, you can more easily spot identity theft and mysterious purchases.
There are also simpler strategies for saving money. As college students, we are in a lively social setting and may find it hard to turn down a dinner out with friends. Suggest eating in and renting a movie. And, don’t feel obligated to indulge in a weekly shopping spree just because your friends can afford it.
“Most people discount the pain of future repayment at an unreasonable level, so the pleasure of immediate gratification from a purchase always wins out,” Mandell said.
Unfortunately, these minor expenses contribute the most to student debt.
According to an article by Washington Policy Watch, the typical UW senior graduated with $16,481 in student-loan debt in 2008. This number is predicted to increase in the coming year as budget cuts limit financial aid and drain family incomes. With the fixed 6.8 percent interest rate for Federal Stafford Loans, the average student would expect to pay $200 each month for the next 10 years.
In order to save on loan payments after you graduate, take the simple steps now and know that how much money you earn doesn’t determine how much you have. The decisive factor is your financial savvy. And, like learning to do laundry or mastering the microwave meal, managing your finances is one of the many life skills we accumulate along our college career.
In the following weeks after I calculated my expenses, I was able to create a budget that fit my income and lifestyle. And, as painful as it was, it took acknowledging my financial situation to correct my costly habits.
Reach reporter Celina Kareiva at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Public option critical to reducing health costs
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsOct 01, 2009“As UW students flock back to school this week, their representatives in Congress will have recently flocked back to their D.C. offices after an August recess marked by angry town halls and endless health-care ad wars.
President Barack Obama’s signature domestic agenda item has faced a tough road, and no doubt his own strategy and execution is partly to blame. By failing to explain what health-care reform means to those who already possess insurance, the President left a vague plan open to attack.
Such Republican scare tactics and outright lies (see “death panels”) have unfortunately had an impact. They’ve inflamed the passions of anti-Obama activists on the right and sewn doubt in the minds of many Americans about health insurance reform.
The key sticking point in this debate has been the inclusion of a government run “public option” that would compete with private health insurance. While support has declined for the Democratic plan in general, a CBS poll in September showed support for a public option strong at 68 percent. Another poll published in September found that 73 percent of doctors support the public option.
Republicans have used confusion over this proposal to paint the entire reform effort as a “government takeover.” They have constantly claimed that Americans will be forced from their private insurance into a “big government plan.”
I find this to be a strange argument because, as I understand it, you can’t be forced into something that is by definition an option.
The public option is intended to provide competition to private insurance by giving Americans more choices. If people choose to abandon their private insurance for a public option, it’ll be because they make the decision that they can get better care at a lower cost with that plan. It won’t be because the evil, socialist government forced them to do it.
We can all agree that the goals of health reform should be to lower overall costs and increase the quality of care. We can also agree on the general principle that more choice for consumers and competition in the marketplace leads to both lower costs and an increased quality of the product being sold. That’s what the public plan will do; provide another choice to consumers and force private insurers to compete.
For those who suggest that the public option would drive private insurers out of business, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that only 11 to 12 million people will sign up for it. Not to mention the fact that reform will require everyone to have insurance, similar to the way everyone is required to have auto insurance. With roughly 45 million Americans currently lacking any plan, private insurance companies will be signing up new customers faster than they can take them.
And for those who suggest that the public option would be too costly, the President has said that it must be self-sustaining and funded by those who pay to use it.
We should set up a health-care system that is uniquely American; one that combines the best aspects of our own system (high quality care, innovation) with the best of other systems (universal coverage, lower cost). That’s why Obama is not proposing a government takeover, he’s proposing a government option that will pay for itself and provide more health insurance choices, and thus competition.
If the public option does not survive into the final bill, we will have lost a great tool for controlling health-care costs.
Reach columnist Chris Jordan at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Miyashiro sets digs record
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsOct 01, 2009“Maybe the nerves of its Pac-10 opener at Oregon would rattle the UW volleyball team. Maybe McArthur Court’s third-largest crowd ever would crack them. Or, maybe facing another top-10 team was too much for the Huskies.
Not a chance.
Senior libero Tamari Miyashiro set a new record for career digs, and the No. 3 Huskies continued their impressive winning streak this past weekend, sweeping both Oregon schools and winning for the 12th consecutive time. The Dawgs are now 12-0 and still have not dropped a single set.
“Going into two tough environments on the road to start the Pac-10, I think we played well,” head coach Jim McLaughlin said.
In perhaps their biggest match of the season thus far, the Huskies faced then-undefeated No. 7 Oregon in their Pac-10 opener. Oregon’s third largest crowd of all time of 3,500 fans showed up to see the big match. The hostile environment was a true test for the Dawgs, who had already beaten No. 4 Florida and No. 9 Minnesota on the road.
Yet, the Huskies didn’t flinch. On the offensive end, junior Kindra Carlson led the Dawgs with 13 kills, and Miyashiro anchored the defense with 18 digs and three aces as the Huskies went on to win 25-18, 26-24, 25-19. The Huskies held the Ducks to a season-low .143 attack percentage.
“It was awesome,” sophomore Lauren Barfield said of the Oregon match. “Oregon is always hard to beat because not only are they a good team, but their fans were into it. You get there, and it’s the most intense environment ever. To win on their home court for the [Pac-10 opener], plus be on the road and win, that was awesome.”
After the big win against Oregon, the Dawgs took a short drive to Corvallis to face Oregon State. They didn’t miss a beat, as senior Airial Salvo had her second double-double this season with 11 kills and 15 digs as the Dawgs picked up another sweep, winning 25-21, 25-15, 25-21.
Sunday’s match was also historic. Miyashiro, who was also named Pac-10 Player of the Week for the first time, broke the UW career digs record, which was previously held by former Husky Candace Lee. The senior picked up 15 digs against Oregon State, upping her grand total to 2,048 digs.
“I don’t really feel different,” Miyashiro said of breaking the record. “It’s quite an accomplishment because Candace was a great libero. However, you try to stay focused on the bigger picture. We have big goals ahead of us. I still approach practice how I usually do and approach everything the same way.”
The Dawgs will try to continue their dominance this weekend as they welcome the Arizona schools to Hec Edmundson Pavilion. It has been a month since the UW played a match at home, and the players are excited to finally return home.
“We are just so happy to be home at least longer than four days,” Miyashiro said. “It’s nice not having to travel and get on a plane or bus. We’re excited and looking forward to it for sure.”
Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Editorial cartoon and rants and raves
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsOct 01, 2009“Rants:
According to CNN Money, Lexus and Toyota sold 3.8 million cars with floor mats that could cause the accelerator pedal to stick, potentially leading to a fatal crash. A safety recall will soon be launched.
Mother nature attacked again. According to MSNBC, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck off of Samoa and generated a large tsunami. As of Tuesday night 14 people died.
Raves:
Disney is offering free admission to Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. or Disney World in Orlando, Fla. for one million guests who complete a day of volunteer service in 2010, according to MSNBC.
Researchers at the University of California Berkeley are getting closer to reading people’s minds. According to WIRED, “the researchers translated recorded patterns of neural activity into pictures of what test subjects had seen.” But mind-controlled computer programs and other such advanced neuroscience is still decades away.”
Toxic Blackberries, poison Apples
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsSep 30, 2009“A tale spun to students — often by worrisome mothers — is that reading too much on a computer or from a cell phone will cause an early need for glasses. Another old adage is that typing too much will lead to carpal tunnel syndrome.
Cliches about how technology is slowly killing us are everywhere, but they leave much room for embellishment. Technology may not be the hazard many believe it is, but it can still cause minor issues that shouldn’t be ignored, especially among a student population accustomed to toting heavy backpacks through the Quad with their thumbs glued to their gadgets. In truth, using your computer should be no riskier than walking down the street — as long as you keep your posture in mind and a bottle of lubricating eye drops nearby.
Thellea Leveque, an ophthalmologist at the UW Medical Center Eye Clinic, clarified that no hard evidence suggests increased reading from any source warrants a trip to the eye doctor. But the eyes remain a problem area for many students, such as freshman Audrey Lam.
“My eyes just get so dry,” Lam said. “That’s my big problem.”
Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) is a dry-eye issue caused by staring too long at a computer screen, and it is on the rise. Leveque noted that she sees it in the clinic one to five times every day.
“During prolonged computer use, the blinking rate is reduced,” Leveque said. “Tears also evaporate more quickly when they aren’t being replenished by blinking.”
Dry eyes usually lead to an uncomfortable and gritty irritation. A simple solution is a bottle of artificial tears. These are similar to eye drops, but Leveque said they provide better lubrication than redness relievers. The formula for artificial tears is more akin to the tears produced naturally.
CVS also can lead to sensitivity of glare and high contrast on the computer screen.
“You have to be careful what kind of screen you get on your computer,” said junior Kelly Kirby. “I got an LED [light-emitting diode] computer. It was energy-efficient, and the lighting is a lot better than a standard laptop.”
Fortunately, glare sensitivity usually doesn’t lead to permanent damage. Leveque compared it to being outside on a mild-weathered day without a jacket: While you may not experience long-term damage, she said, you are still uncomfortable.
Adjusting the height of the computer screen solves this problem. A good rule of thumb is placing the bottom of the screen at about chin height. Rather than having a high screen, which widens your eyelid, a computer screen at chin height keeps more of your eyelid closed and your eye better lubricated.
When you are looking at something near your face, your eyes cross a bit. When you are looking at a computer at too close a distance for too long, the muscles crossing your eyes can tire. Looking at something far away for a few minutes every hour lets your eye muscles rest and readjust.
Another myth is that keyboard use and carpal tunnel syndrome are inextricably linked. Christopher Allan, a hand and wrist surgeon at Harborview Medical Center, debunked this, citing that recent studies found no connection between the two. As for the fabled “Blackberry thumb” — a strain injury spurred by too much text messaging — Allan said this trendy malady is mere fallacy.
If your fingers do get sore from too much Facebook Chat, Allan noted there really is no quick fix. A day of rest from texting or typing is all your fatigued phalanges need.
“In the same way running strengthens your knee and leg muscles, typing can actually strengthen your fingers and joints,” Allan said.
Unless you are consistently using an extremely improper technique, the motion of typing and texting will actually fortify your hand muscles as you perform the activity rather than wear finger cartilage down.
Shaun Reynolds, a family chiropractor at Ultra Chiropractic, agreed that movement is one of the best preventative measures for back pain, as well.
“An important distinction to make is hand and wrist injuries result from overuse,” Reynolds said. “Injuries in the spine result from lack of use.”
The lack of motion during long lectures or cram sessions can contribute to back problems just as much as heavy backpacks or poor posture. Reynolds said the exchange of fluid between the spinal discs and the surrounding fluid keeps the vertebral joints lubricated and healthy.
Keeping still slows the fluid exchange and can lead to pain and misalignment.
Misalignment and stresses put on peripheral nerves are major causes of back problems. Reynolds said protruding the head forward just one inch puts 10 pounds of pressure on the neck. Not only can the strain lead to back pain, but other organ systems can also be affected.
“The weight of one dime on a nerve can reduce the transmission of information [through the nervous system] up to 50 percent,” Reynolds said.
In looking to keep your back healthy, Reynolds emphasized two main points. First, students should always be aware of their posture, allowing their spine to take its natural S-curve, and be careful their heads don’t lean forward. Secondly, students should take advantage of the breaks professors give during two-hour lectures to stretch and move around.
As contemporaries of the age of information, it is impossible to get away from technology. It may not cause all of the treacherous symptoms mothers warn about, but it can play a role in minor injuries that, if left untreated, could turn into major problems. To heal these ailments, just go back to the basics. Stretch weary muscles, rest tired eyes, and follow the best piece of advice mothers have given children: Go outside and play.
Reach reporter Ashleen Aguilar at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.”
Johnson: A receiver who almost wasn't
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsSep 11, 2009“Athletically speaking, James Johnson was once convinced he bore more resemblance to hulking NBA veteran Ben Wallace than to any wide receiver.
“That’s a random guy, but that’s what I played like. I played center. I was always the biggest guy on the team,” the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Johnson said earlier this week.
No longer the biggest kid around as a freshman in high school, Johnson would set his sights on football at Valley Center High School, located outside of San Diego. But despite becoming an all-state wideout three years later, only San Diego State’s coaching staff recruited Johnson to play on the offensive side of the ball in college.
Even as late as last fall, schools like Washington State, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Colorado and Utah wanted him at cornerback instead.
Why the lack of interest? It’s a question that still baffles first-year UW receivers coach Jimmie Dougherty, who kept tabs on Johnson from his sophomore year onward while an assistant at the University of San Diego.
“I was like, ‘Shoot, I wish I could have recruited that kid to play for the University of San Diego,’ but we couldn’t get him,” Dougherty said. “I said, ‘That kid’s going to be special in the Pac-10 some day.’”
If his six-catch performance against No.11 LSU Saturday night was any indicator — the first grab resulting in a touchdown after Johnson shed standout LSU safety Chad Jones — it’s hard to imagine Johnson being better suited for anything else.
Admittedly, Johnson says he’d probably have settled for playing in Oregon’s defensive backfield had he not received a scholarship offer from Washington.
Simply put, “I just had to get out of California,” Johnson said.
Growing up as the youngest of 14 children and living in Inglewood, Calif., the odds were stacked again Johnson from the start. So in seventh grade, his mother sent him to live with older brother Greg Taylor, a defensive backs coach at Palomar College.
“Where we were living at the time, there was a lot of riff raff,” Johnson said. “A lot of my brothers got into the wrong things. She didn’t want that for me. She wanted me to live with my brother. She knew that good things could happen.”
And slowly, they did.
Taylor, now 31, enrolled his younger brother at Valley Central High School in a rural area of Southern California. Until his sophomore year, Johnson was the only African American student there. Aside from some initial challenges, Johnson says he met some of his best friends there including his high school quarterback Tyler Bernard, now an ASU baseball player.
At home, Taylor, a former SDSU player, made sure his brother was keeping up with his schoolwork and helping out around the house.
Under Taylor‘s direction, Johnson continued racking up accolades on the football field. He took part in track and qualified for state in hurdles and was a successful basketball player — SDSU recruited him for that too.
“A lot of who I am today and the way that I play is a resemblance to what he taught me,” Johnson said. “I love him to death. I probably wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t at my life at the time.”
It wasn’t until a visit from newly hired UW coach Steve Sarkisian during December of his senior year — relatively late in the recruiting process — that Johnson was offered another opportunity to play receiver.
And it wasn’t long before Johnson took a liking to the charismatic first-year head coach.
“I didn’t trust anyone else,” Johnson said. “All the other schools, no offense, they have good coaches, but I just didn’t feel like in my gut, in my heart, that I found a place I could go and succeed at. I hadn’t found that until I met coach Sark.”
Johnson arrived on campus early this summer for voluntary workouts, mastering the offense before the start of fall camp. On the third day, the true freshman was already making one-handed touchdown catches in traffic, making over the shoulder grabs in the end zone and managing to hang on for a touchdown despite getting thumped by safety Greg Walker.
It was an effort that got Johnson noticed in a hurry.
“We obviously have a long way to go, but if we were playing Saturday he [Johnson] would play, that’s for sure,” Sarkisian told reporters that day.
And about a month later against LSU, in front of 70,000 fans and the entire country, Johnson got the start against one of the better secondaries in the country. He responded by turning in the best performance a UW freshman receiver has had in eight seasons.
“I just think he goes out and plays and it doesn’t matter who, what, when, where or how,” Sarkisian said. “‘This is what I’m supposed to do, here’s the ball, let me catch it and go make my play.’”
His older brother Greg had a game to coach and couldn’t make it to Seattle last Saturday, but he did catch the ESPN broadcast. His reaction to Johnson’s game?
“He just said, ’Continue to keep getting better. Don’t just catch six [passes]. Catch 12. Score two touchdowns,’” Johnson said.
“He’s telling me to keep my nose on the grindstone. Continue to work hard. Stay humble and hungry.”
The Ben Wallace hairstyle, however, is optional.
Reach reporter Maks Goldenshteyn at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Sarkisian ushering in new era of Husky football
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsSep 04, 2009“In the lead up to what’s been called the dawning of a new era, and amid the bright lights of Husky Stadium, the ESPN cameras and the packed house, the man most relieved to get things underway is probably the one on whom all of UW football’s fortunes ride.
“I’m pretty impatient. I’m a pretty impatient guy in general,” said head coach Steve Sarkisian, now nine months on the job. His task is to reinvent the culture within the program and restore the buzz around it.
If that seems like a lot for one guy to handle, it should be understood that Husky fans starving for wins expect no less. But if there was ever a pressure to succeed, he’d be the one applying it.
Along with impatience, restlessness is also in Sarkisian’s nature – in a good way.
“I keep looking for stuff to do,” he said earlier this week. “We keep watching film and I keep bugging [defensive coordinator] Nick [Holt] and [offensive coordinator] Doug [Nussmeier], ‘What about this, what about that?’
“I want to know what we’re going to do in short yardage on offense and defense, how we’re going attack them in the red zone, how we’re going to pressure them on third down.”
It’s a meticulous approach that Sarkisian says won’t change after this game, next week, or the week after that. And that’s a good thing, considering the mindset former mentor and USC head coach Pete Carroll said he’d take with him to Husky Stadium come Sept. 19.
“We’re coming after him, I want you to know that,” the Trojans head coach said.
After the abysmal 2008 season and current 14-game losing streak, Carroll’s team won’t be the only one. But the last thing Sarkisian wants to hear about is 0-12.
“We don’t talk about last season,” he said matter-of-factly at the start of fall camp.
Instead, Sarkisian says he’s urging members of his team not to dwell on the past, both in regards to last season and times of adversity on the field this time around.
One player that should benefit from that advice is quarterback Jake Locker, who couldn’t have foreseen his first two years as a starter at Washington going the way they did.
“Obviously what happened last year and in years past hasn’t been what anybody who’s my age or older had signed up for,” said Locker, who has two years of eligibility left. “There’s a new attitude and a new way we do things around here.”
Sarkisian is extending his policy toward players like linebacker E.J. Savannah, who had a falling out with former coach Tyrone Willingham and decided to quit the team before the start of last season. Now he’s being reinstated.
Also given a fresh start is tight end Chris Izbicki, who was charged with two alcohol-related misdemeanors last summer.
Sarkisian said he’s wiping the slate clean on up to a dozen players after the way they played last season, intensifying the competition for playing time.
As for himself, Sarkisian says he’ll be getting increasingly excited as kickoff time approaches. Part of that involves planning a pre-game speech for his players as they prepare to take on a visiting LSU team that no one thinks they have a shot at beating.
“Just as you’re a kid and you dream of things, as a coach you dream of that first time you’re in the locker room with your team,” he said. “You dream about that first pre-game speech, your best Jim Owens, or Don James, or Knute Rockne impression you can make.”
Reach reporter Maks Goldenshteyn at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Hempfest: Seattle event provides culture with substance
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsAug 19, 2009“Food, politics, music and hemp converged in Seattle’s downtown parks last weekend during the 18th annual Seattle Hempfest.
The event filled the Elliott Bay, Myrtle Edwards and Olympic Sculpture parks with bands, speakers, activists and vendors selling hemp products Aug. 15-16.
Since 1991, Hempfest has attempted to raise awareness and support for political movements to help legalize medicinal and recreational marijuana not only in Washington state, but throughout the United States. The original Washington Hemp Expo started in Volunteer Park, with only about 500 attendees. It has grown steadily over the years into the two-day event that spanned three parks with hundreds of vendors, four music stages, and thousands of attendees this year.
The theme for this year’s festival was “A Decade after Prohibition, a Hempen Future” and focused on the future possibilities for legalized marijuana and commercial hemp farming. At its roots, Hempfest is still a political rally.
Between bands on the main stage, guest speakers discussed the politics of legalizing marijuana. In the past, the festival has featured travel writer Rick Steves and actor Woody Harrelson.
After an indie-pop performance by the band Half Acre Day, Seattle city councilmember Nick Licata spoke about the steps Seattle has taken to make policing the possession of marijuana a low priority for law-enforcement officials. This initiative was apparent from the atmosphere and feeling of the entire event. Officers were present throughout the festivities, monitoring the event as they would any other.
A distinct, wafting scent drifted with the breeze, and people acted friendly as they roamed the tents and food stands set up by eager vendors. One stand brewed hemp coffee, while others sold clothing and bags made from the legal variation of the marijuana plant. The prospect of peace was prominent, and it showed that one of the goals of the event was to end the conflict surrounding the use of marijuana.
However, the push to legalize marijuana wasn’t the only political stance taken at Hempfest. People representing pro-choice groups and vegetarian and vegan activists collected signatures and promoted their causes.
Beyond the politics, music and Seattle culture were significant parts of the event.
UW alumna Suzanne Garret watched Half Acre Day at the main stage and stayed to see a jazz performance by the Shanghai Woolies after the speeches.
“This is my first Hempfest,” she said. “I’m here to absorb the music and hear what Seattle has to offer.”
The constant stream of music was mixed with the political issues presented by the speakers, and comedians who took the stage had a voice on the issue as well.
While it offers a variety of booths and entertainment — and some drug paraphernalia — Hempfest doesn’t let you forget that it’s the politics the event is aiming to change.
Reach reporter Ella Williams at arts@dailyuw.com.”
Retailing presidential politics
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsAug 19, 2009“The pre-election consensus is dead — and good riddance.
Just half a year ago, huge swaths of the press were declaring a new era of big, “compassionate” government. People were supposedly willing to pay huge sums for stimulus packages and universal health care, and Barack Obama’s massive approval ratings implied support for his agenda. Recent events and polls have suggested that while many die-hard Obama supporters are still (understandably) die-hard Obama supporters, there is nothing approaching a consensus for the president’s “nanny-statism” among the general population.
Voters were promised an administration worthy of many positive labels — “realistic,” “pragmatic,” “centrist” and “bipartisan.” Many radical centrists (the ones who will usually disagree with anything anyone says if it has a partisan tinge) somehow found in Obama someone they could support simply on faith. They crowed over the “historic” moment, and heaped praise upon his character.
What they got was a presidency stuck in campaign mode. The White House has over-sloganeered and gaudily promoted its initiatives while aggressively impugning the character and motives of its critics — most memorably in the recent call for reporting of “fishy” information about health-care reform. These are tactics that are certainly within the bounds of taste for a candidate, but they are alarmingly coarse for a head of state.
Perhaps these vulgar antics will make voters question the dubious assertion (by Charles Krauthammer, of all people) that Obama has a “first-class intellect and a first-class temperament.” Whether or not he does, Obama has surrounded himself with people who clearly lack such traits; they are behaving more like party hacks writing fundraising letters than presidential staffers.
In recent years, many George W. Bush supporters grew irritated with him for failing to challenge critics of his policies and make a case for his own actions, which left conservative commentators to try to do it for him. Obama’s supporters would be understood if they feel rather the opposite — that their man has carried the cheesy circus of retail politics into the White House in an unbecoming fashion.
The eye-popping size of new spending- and trillion-dollar deficit figures has helped give Republicans, who were absorbed in infighting and recriminations following the election, something to rally around. Independents, who went for Obama by a small but significant margin in the election, are also having their doubts. While Democratic infighting has also been well publicized, it would appear that Obama continues to serve a parallel unifying purpose to most of these liberals, as well. With each party well poised to denounce the other instead of fighting among themselves, the character of the debate has become more rancorous but also somewhat healthier.
In this instance, the opposition may succeed in achieving what oppositions are supposed to achieve: stopping the party in power from going hog-wild and larding up the government to please its constituent groups. That’s no guarantee of any particular election outcomes (especially given congressional electoral math and a dearth of decent Republican presidential candidates), but it does mean that the “we-won-the-election-so-we-can-do-whatever-we-want” mentality of congressional Democrats and the administration has been checked, and the imaginary “Bipartisan Big Government Consensus” among voters never truly existed.
That’s good for the country, regardless of the ideological underpinnings. Consensus is never something we should truly desire in a democracy, except when the barbarians are at the gates.
Reach columnist Russ Wung at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Former common-book author’s new novel provides perspective on life
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsAug 19, 2009“Probably like many Americans, reading about genocide in Africa was not high on my list of things to do this summer. With wars still raging overseas and a recession at home, it’s hard to understand why people, especially college students, should bother to read about terrible events that are now safely in the past and seemingly far away.
I didn’t quite know the answer until I finished Tracy Kidder’s searing story of loss, sacrifice and, ultimately, redemption, in Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness.
Unless you have taken a class with required reading on the subject, the 1994 Rwandan genocide is not something you may know much about.
I came to this book with very little knowledge about what had transpired there. Reading about one man’s real-life struggle humanized the statistics that come with the genocide we sometimes hear about, far too casually, in the news.
In Kidder’s book, readers encounter the simultaneously horrifying and amazing tale of Deogratias (literally, “thanks be to God”), or “Deo,” for short, a medical student from a large Tutsi family who made a pulse-pounding escape to New York City in May 1994, some six months after genocide erupted in his country, Burundi, that boarders Rwanda.
Arriving in the city with $200, no English and a smile, Deo battles poverty, language and cultural barriers, loneliness, depression and grisly nightmares.
One thing leads to another, and he finds himself encountering a series of people who begin to help him.
First, a kindly older couple (a retired professor and his artist wife) take him in, giving him a safe place to stay, and then, by turns, Deo finds himself enrolled in Columbia University; he then makes it into medical school again, first at Harvard, then at Dartmouth.
Along the way, he discovers that his parents have, in fact, survived, and Deo starts to come to terms with the horrors he has witnessed — among them, the gruesome murder of most of his family, including his younger brothers and his grandfather.
Some of his memories — and they are recounted in detail — will make you sick to your stomach. The closest thing I can think of reading about is the Holocaust and its survivors.
Kidder structures his narrative into two parts; the first focuses on Deo’s arrival and initial life in New York, while the second is an extended look back on Deo’s time in Burundi, followed by his more recent visits home. Along the way, there is an interesting tie to Kidder’s profile of public-health pioneer Paul Farmer (in Mountains Beyond Mountains, the 2006 UW Common Book), whom Deo meets and eventually works for.
The author does his job admirably, telling Deo’s sometimes convoluted tale gently and accurately. There are some helpful “historical notes” in the back of the book to help orient the reader to the complex geopolitical and ethnic forces at work in Burundi and Rwanda. One flaw in the book is the lack of a map.
I won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say that Deo has a lot of guts and is currently doing some very impressive things back in Burundi. Deo’s story will remind you that you have it pretty good. Seeing how one man endured so much mindless hate, and chose not to hate in return, was both humbling and encouraging.
His story helped me put the economic recession and the anxiety of getting a job into perspective. With that in mind, this is not a casual or easy read, but it’s necessary.
Reach Opinion Editor Will Mari at arts@dailyuw.com.”
Campus Crime Blotter: Arson, stalking, hazardous skateboarding
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsAug 19, 2009“From bicycle collisions to trespassing in the Music Building, this weekly crime blotter aims to inform readers about offenses on and surrounding campus. While in-depth articles may be written about specific incidents, this column provides a brief overview of recent crimes that impact the UW community.
Wednesday, Aug. 12
Officers received a report of a suspicious person from an individual who locks rooms in the Music Building at the end of each night. While attempting to secure one of the rooms, the employee noticed a suspicious male. Police responded after he refused to leave and trespassed him from the building when it was discovered that he had received a previous warning for being on the premises.
Two bicyclists collided at the intersection of Brooklyn Avenue Northeast and the Burke-Gilman Trail. The Seattle Fire Department (SFD) treated both parties on the scene.
Thursday, Aug. 13
Authorities and the SFD responded to three fires in the 4000 and 4100 blocks of 12th Avenue Northeast. Papers stuffed under the siding of one of the houses indicated an act to fuel the fire. Evidence was collected, and there are no suspects at this time.
An individual returned to his van in the E1 parking lot to find the rear passenger side window shattered and several tools stolen. The estimated damage is $400.
Friday, Aug. 14
Officers responded to a student who reported being stalked by a former girlfriend. He received roughly 20 calls a day and asked the suspect to stop, at which point she sent him a threatening message that caused him to call authorities.
Saturday, Aug. 15
Police stopped two skateboarders riding at Memorial Way Northeast and Stevens Way Northeast. After asking the suspects to exit the road over the loudspeaker, one of the individuals continued down the road, weaving across the yellow line. The officers turned on sirens and apprehended the suspects. The suspect said he was unable to stop because of a recent surgery and was cited and released on the scene.
The UW Police Department provides the information for this column.
Reach Arts Editor Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.”
New student regent selected
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsAug 12, 2009“Last week, four UW student regent finalists finally got the news they’ve been waiting four months for, with Gov. Chris Gregoire’s office selecting second-year UW law student Ben Golden as the 2009-2010 student regent.
“Since I found out, I hit the ground running,” Golden said. “It’s been exciting. I come from a student-government background, so I have a lot of advocacy ideas, but I want to be patient, listen to both sides of the administration, faculty and the student voice.”
A panel comprised mostly of students had selected four students from a pool of 15 applicants and forwarded their applications to the governor’s office back in late April. Since then, it’s been a waiting game for the finalists.
“[Our] applications were forwarded to the governor’s office,” Golden said. “Four months of nerve-wracking waiting, and on Aug. 3rd, I heard the good news.”
Each student regent position is supposed to last from July 1 until June 30, but the governor’s office had delayed the decision of selecting a student regent, allowing the former student regent, Jean-Paul Willynck, to serve an extra 34 days.
This year’s student regent will have a tough agenda ahead of him. While the former regent, Willynck, had taken a role in voting on 14-percent tuition hikes due to historical 26-percent budget cuts to the university, Golden will play a role in administering those cuts.
“It’s going to be a very difficult year,” said Jake Faleschini, the UW Graduate and Student Professional Senate (GPSS) president and member of the panel that selected Golden as a finalist. “There’s going to be a lot of communication that needs to take place between the three of us, and there’s going to be a lot of strategizing ... and learning how not to undermine one another.”
Faleschini added that not only will Golden need to be able and willing to listen to the student body as the university implements a lot of the budget cuts that took place last year and departments feel pressure to cut costs, but next year’s student regent will also have to make a case for the university and the importance of getting state funding during these economic times.
Willynck penned an op-ed in the Seattle P-I emphasizing the university’s need for state funding, and Golden will be expected to seek similar avenues of advocacy for the university.
Before handing off the torch, Willynck gave Golden some wisdom he has accumulated from his year in the position. He told Golden to listen to both sides of an argument — something Willynck did when student, faculty and staff groups and coalitions demonstrated in protests and rallies. Willynck would sometimes be there listening to what they had to say, speaking to student groups with a megaphone, and balancing the rationale of student groups with those of the regents.
“Listening is so critical because it’s not you leading an organization; it’s you helping to lead an organization,” Willynck said. “I’ve been talking with Ben to realize the responsibility that you hold as a member of the Board of Regents. You are one of 10 people who help to govern the university, and that’s a huge responsibility.”
Before his appointment, Golden has spent the past few months attending monthly Board of Regent’s meetings and gaining a sense of what to expect from the position and what will be expected of him.
“ASUW and GPSS presidents are ex-officio members of the board, and there’s one student regent member, but there’s more than three opinions and voices on the university campus, so I hope to be an intermediary for students who are pushing issues on campus to have direct access to the regents,” Golden said.
Golden isn’t new to administrative positions or student advocacy. In the past, he’s served as the ASUW’s director of government relations where he fought for lower tuition as well as managed a state legislative campaign. He’s also currently in a summer externship with the King County Prosecutor’s Office writing briefs in The Appellate Unit, which handles appeals in its criminal division.
“I have experience in Olympia talking about tuition issues,” Golden said. “I have the background of a student advocate, and now I have to look at what’s best for the university and what’s best for the state. So, I have a difficult task ahead of me.”
Golden has already met and established relationships with some of the student government leaders. He is now scheduled to meet one-on-one with the other regents.
“I’ve got a lot of meetings set up for the next month; I’ve got a lot of learning to do, a lot of reading to do, and we’ll go from there ... I’ll make this my primary commitment, and hope my friends and family understand if I’m MIA for the next year.”
Reach News Editor Eric Staples at
news@dailyuw.com.”
Holt revs up defense
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsAug 12, 2009“UW football fans should hope first-year defensive coordinator Nick Holt can coach as well as he can talk.
Holt, asked at Friday’s press conference preceding the beginning of fall practices if there were advantages to returning most of the players from a defense that gave up 39 points and 452 yards per game last season, didn’t dance around the question.
Instead, he answered it the same way anyone who watched this team play last season would have — which is odd because he didn’t have to watch any of it. The 0-12 record told him all he needed to know.
“The 0-12, quite honestly, means they were terrible,” Holt said. “The guys that did play, OK, they’ve been in a D-1 (Division 1) football game. They’ve played in a big stadium. They’ve played in front of 70,000 people. They’ve been booed. They’ve had water thrown on them. They’ve been in the fire. Have they done well? Obviously not. So we need to find the guys that can do well in that atmosphere.”
That’s the challenge facing head coach Steve Sarkisian, Holt and the rest of the Huskies’ brand new coaching staff this season. That task began Monday with the beginning of fall camp, a 29-practice period that will determine who will play where, who has improved, and who is going to attempt to lead the Huskies back toward respectability.
For now, though, they’ll settle for winning a couple of games. That’s a process that was set in motion during spring practices — the only 15 times Sarkisian has seen this team on the field, but he’s glad to be back out there.
“They’ve obviously had a great summer of conditioning,” Sarkisian said. “A lot of guys have changed, and I’m trying to go in as a head coach with an open mind. It’s open, the competition’s on, and in my opinion, the cream is going to rise to the top for our football team.”
Some of that cream seems to already be in place. Jake Locker will run the offense and is the natural leader of this team heading into his third season as the starting quarterback. Chris Polk, who started the opener last season as a true freshman before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in week two, is considered the guy to beat out for the starting tailback spot. And the linebackers — Donald Butler, Mason Foster and E.J. Savannah — seem pretty well set and could be the most solid unit on the team.
But the secondary — save for cornerback Quinton Richardson and strong safety Nate Williams — will see a lot of competition, as well as the offensive and defensive lines, with the exception of defensive end Daniel Te’o Nesheim, who will likely compete for All Pac-10 honors.
“How good they really are, you don’t know,” Holt said. “But now, we’re really going to find out because we have some numbers and it’s for real. It’s not just giggles and playing spring ball and having fun. We’re getting ready to win football games.”
Offensively and defensively, there are question marks in nearly every department because that’s what happens when you’re coming off an 0-12 season. But perhaps the most interesting and important progression will be the one Holt will attempt to make with the defense. Locker’s presence on the field this season will boost the offense on its own, and it has been the defense that has fallen under the most scrutiny the past couple of seasons.
Look for more energy and speed, Holt said.
“These guys are having fun out there, flying around,” he said. “That’s what you can expect from this defense. Whether we’ll stop anyone, I don’t know that yet. But they’ll have fun.”
Reach reporter Christian Caple at
news@dailyuw.com.”
The great American road trip: Why we need to keep our borders open, and be patient with the process
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsAug 12, 2009“Yesterday afternoon on a drive home from the Oregon Coast, my family’s car passed a heavy truck carrying five SUVs marked with the insignia of the Department of Homeland Security. The truck was heading north, and I hazarded a guess that it was on its way to the Canadian border to reinforce security there.
What was once the longest undefended border in the world has become a series of border checks at which long lines form to enter and exit the United States. I had expected to see this northbound truck headed in the opposite direction, toward the U.S.-Mexico border around which two conflicts are currently raging.
There, the game of cat and mouse continues between migrants illegally crossing the Senora Desert and U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s patrols and the Minuteman Project, a volunteer group. Across the fences, bloody drug wars are raging in northern Mexico.
President Barack Obama has been criticized lately for his lack of initiative in changing the country’s border and immigration policies. He spoke Monday from the Mexican city of Guadalajara, with a terse answer to the criticism.
Juggling a worldwide economic recession, partisan infighting in Congress, and widespread opposition to his universal health-care initiative, as well as foreign policy issues from Honduras to Afghanistan, Obama has had little time to reflect upon the direction so many Homeland Security vehicles are heading.
His response — “I’ve got a lot on my plate” — sums up his presidency to date. He went on to disparage the lack of time he has had to approach immigration and border issues:
“Now, am I going to be able to snap my fingers and get this done? No, but ultimately, I think that the American people want fairness. And we can create a system in which you have strong border security and an orderly process for people to come in. But, we’re also giving an opportunity for those who are already in the United States to be able to achieve a pathway to citizenship so they don’t have to live in the shadows.”
Like much of his rhetoric, Obama is making an attempt to appeal to our better angels while calling for patience as he attempts to sort through what he deems to be the most pressing crisis. I have not had the occasion to cross the Canadian border since the new travel requirements, including passports, were introduced in post-9/11 United States.
Having traveled through Europe, which until recently had some of the most closely guarded national borders in history but is now synonymous with openness and the free movement of goods and peoples, I find the current state of the U.S.-Canada border disheartening.
It is a sad fact of our foreign policy as well as national psyche that we have so restricted the movement of Americans and Canadians across the border, or any foreign nationals in our airports, train stations and seaports. This is the legacy we as a nation created for ourselves during the Bush administration and how we continue to restrict ourselves.
Reversing the flow of Homeland Security vehicles is as much individual Americans’ responsibility as it is President Obama’s, though he certainly is the one who will make the definitive signature. In Guadalajara, Obama stated that those of us wishing to ease immigration and border-control policy will have to wait until 2010. So be it.
The various types of “change” each of us are expecting will have to come when the president can devote the time he needs for each one. The economy and Congressional unity being what they are, that may mean waiting until 2010 or even later.
So instead of accusing Obama of not doing enough quickly for reforming immigration policy and redirecting the security trucks, we should do what we can locally. Marshalling support to demonstrate opposition to the status quo and creating solutions is the best we can do.
When Obama does come to address these self-defeating and restricting policies, he will be able to listen to U.S. citizens who have educated themselves and who can supply him with viable answers and solutions. My answer would be fewer SUVs and more government-funded education programs in Canada and Mexico.
Reach columnist Conrad Zeutenhorst at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Drug paraphernalia, missing change and armed robberies
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsAug 12, 2009“From confiscated marijuana pipes to auto theft, this weekly crime blotter aims to inform readers about offenses on and surrounding campus. While in-depth articles may be written about specific incidents, this column provides a brief overview of recent crimes that impact the UW community.
Monday, Aug. 3
Authorities responded to a trespass in the 1101 Café and booked the suspect into King County Jail after he kicked and spat at police officers upon their arrival.
An anonymous caller reported that a large window had been shattered on the first floor of William H. Gates Hall. The 9-foot-by-6-foot window is estimated to cost $3,000 to replace.
Thursday, Aug. 6
An officer confronted a person sleeping in the bushes by the C10 parking lot on the north side of Stevens Way. The suspect was read a criminal trespass warning and left campus without further questioning.
Officers found a marijuana pipe on the person of an intoxicated subject by the West Campus parking garage. After failing to respond to authorities asking if he needed help, a medic unit was dispatched to the scene. The individual was not charged with a crime, but the device was confiscated for destruction.
A man in the process of lighting what appeared to be a marijuana pipe in the 4400 block of the Ave was confronted by authorities. After responding that he was indeed smoking marijuana, the suspect’s pipe was confiscated and he was given a verbal warning.
Police responded to a call about $4 in change that was missing from a vehicle that had been parked by the UW Medical Center valet service.
Friday, Aug. 7
A truck parked in the E1 parking lot was stolen between the hours of 5:30 a.m. and 2:40 p.m.
Two victims were robbed at Northeast 50th Street and Roosevelt Way Northeast at about 3:15 a.m. The individuals were intoxicated after partying and invited two unknown males to continue partying with them. Once in the victim’s vehicle, the suspects robbed the individuals at gunpoint. One victim escaped the scene, while the other was attacked and treated for facial injuries at Harborview Medical Center.
The UW Police Department and the Seattle Police Department provide the information for this column.
Reach Arts Editor Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.”
Army study may improve the Foster School’s MBA program
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsAug 12, 2009“The Army Research Institute (ARI) and the UW’s Foster School of Business are working together on a study to determine what makes certain leaders stand out among other leaders.
The ARI awarded a $700,000, three-year contract to the Foster School to examine data from a study focusing on leadership growth and development in U.S. Army officers from the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) graduating class of 1998.
It will focus on identifying characteristics, life experiences, leadership styles and personality traits that lead to outstanding leadership performance.
“West Point is seen as an incubator for leadership development,” said Bruce Avolio, executive director of the Center for Leadership and Strategic Thinking at the Foster School of Business, who will lead the study. “They are known for the development of ethical leadership and providing outstanding leadership for the rest of the Army.”
The study, Baseline Officer Longitudinal Development Study (BOLDS), collected data on a sample of approximately 900 cadets beginning in 1994 when the class arrived at the academy as freshmen. The longitudinal, or long-term, study will continue for another year.
Avolio said the structure at the USMA provided a controlled environment because the participants started their careers at the same time, in the same institution, and all entered into their careers with the same rank, second lieutenants.
Jay Goodwin, ARI contract officer for BOLDS, said the Army may use the study’s findings to change its officer development system at West Point.
“If we identify a specific experience or skills as significant factors in developing leadership but normally occur late in the officers’ careers, the Army may choose to examine possibilities such as exposing the officers to those experiences earlier in their career,” he said.
Avolio said the study’s benefits are two-fold: The findings could also improve the Foster School’s Masters of Buisiness Administration (MBA) program.
In fact, West Point graduates have established a reputation for leadership in changing climates, and success for today’s MBA candidates will be determined by their ability to adapt to the current recession and a struggling financial market.
West Point graduates do not necessarily apply their leadership exclusively to serve the military.
“Perhaps, 40 percent of the participants in our sample are now working in government and in corporate America,” Avolio said. “They produce leaders beyond the Army — for the greater society.”
The two schools share many leadership-developing strategies.
West Point cadets are put in leadership positions with increasingly challenging roles while at the academy, something that the Foster School has begun to implement with its MBA program by building on a student’s experience and requiring them to take up leadership roles such as class officers, case competition participants, and in internships and fellowships.
“Everyone in the daytime MBA program can find at least one leadership role,” Avolio said.
Another way the Foster School and West Point incorporate similar leadership development practices are their mentorship programs. At West Point, military officers with years of experience teach many of the courses. In the Foster School, MBA candidates connect with respected members of the business community, such as senior executives.
Avolio said the Army’s ability to adapt to unforeseen situations and circumstances left a positive impression on him.
“The army is an organization that is pretty amazing at getting things done,” Avolio said. “They are thrown into situations that a private corporation would look at and require six to nine months to conduct planning. The military force is extremely adaptive.”
Avolio hopes that the leadership study will allow the Foster School to bolster its own leadership-developing strategies.
Reach reporter Michael Truong at
news@dailyluw.com.”
Trafnik balances crew, design
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 04, 2009“For UW women’s varsity crew member Hanne Trafnik, balancing the load of work as a design major with rowing hasn’t always been easy. But the sophomore from Wuerzburg, Germany has drawn a brilliant blueprint for success.
Coming from a medium-sized city with a river flowing through its center, Trafnik picked up rowing at the age of 12. It wasn’t long before she saw how her height and natural athletic ability could allow her to become something special in the sport.
She saw success early, winning two German national championships in high school before helping guide her four boat to a gold medal at the Junior World Championships. This victory came as a pleasant surprise to Trafnik, who recalls the experience fondly.
“It’s just something that you don’t expect to happen, and then it happens and you’re like, ‘Oh wow, I just won a gold medal,’” she said. “It was definitely one of the best moments in my life.”
With such an accomplished résumé, American colleges expressed interest in the young German, who narrowed her choices down to Ohio State and Washington. The UW women’s crew, which was in a bit of a struggle at the time, was able to land Trafnik, who turned out to be the only high-profile recruit for the Huskies that year.
Having never been to the United States before, Trafnik came in with preconceived notions about her new home that she needed to initially overcome.
“Germans really think Americans are really cliché … just, well, I don’t want to say dumb, but I guess that’s what they think in a whole environmental and political respect,” she said.
Although she began learning English in the fifth grade, Trafnik struggled initially to fully grasp the language in its entirety and some of the differences in the way the crew program was run.
These early hurdles made for an up-and-down kind of start, but now, two years later, she feels very comfortable.
“I’m not really homesick,” Trafnik said. “At the beginning, for me, I felt like I was on a vacation. I didn’t even know I had been gone for so long. Then, like, halfway into the year, I wanted to go back just because there was so much pressure here with school and the season starting and making the boat. But in general, I really feel like this is my home.”
Dealing with her new setting, Trafnik turned her attention to crew and school, excelling at both. As a freshman, she quickly climbed the ranks past the novice boat to the junior varsity eight and is now the six seat of the first varsity boat.
“She’s just a really skilled rower, and she’s used to performing at a high level,” said women’s head coach Bob Ernst.
While her performance on the water has impressed her coach, her noticeable dedication to school is what Ernst feels is most special about her.
“I think she’s doing a really remarkable job of, first of all, going to school in her second or third language,” he said. “And at the same time, doing a really arduous major and keeping up with a [Division]-1 sport. I think it’s incredible.”
Catching just about five to six hours of sleep per night, Trafnik hopes to see her hard work thus far pay off both in crew and in design. She hopes to eventually become an industrial engineer after college, but as for her near future, she’ll be returning to Germany for the summer to try out for the country’s Olympic national team.
Reach reporter Scott Eisen at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Fashion forward: Take advantage of the sun: find your fashion-forward beachwear
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 04, 2009“My friends, the weather is finally how it should be in June. Sunny, bright afternoons are followed by warm and comfortable evenings. Screw the temperature being in the 60s; that was so last week. Meteorologists report that the rest of this week will be in the 70s and lower 80s, which means it’s time to hit the beach. However, for those of you who wish to remain fashion-conscious while baring most of your flesh, there are a few key pointers I have for you to embrace the sun stylishly and uniquely.
As I peruse the countless fashion magazines littering my apartment floor, analyzing the swimsuit trends for women this summer, there’s one thing I’ve noticed that’s constant: a true lack of color. This could be due to designers’ shift toward a universal and economically sound style that’s affordable and easy for all. Whatever the case may be, the only colors popping up have been black, white, pewter and maybe some yellows, although very few.
If darker and dimmer shades for swimwear aren’t in your favor, then you could also begin to consider the eclectic use of shapes appearing in certain swimsuit spreads. Classic, overused two-pieces are out; it’s all about the modified one-piece. For example, a halter-top one-piece with a crease that travels between the breasts and down to the navel, a strapless swim dress that has the entire back sheer, or a two-piece that has one shoulder strap and a midsection belt made entirely out of safety pins. Call me crazy, but it’s out there. As far as accessories go, sheer, long, Grecian-like dresses are perfect for a quick add-on to any swimsuit, whether it be two- or one-piece, and, like I said earlier, it’s best to choose a solid neutral color like black, white or nude.
For men, I swear by the good fashion goddess Coco Chanel. I couldn’t disagree more with board shorts. They are overused, baggy and make already tiny legs look smaller. Plus, we go to a school in the Pacific Northwest, not southern California. We surf with wetsuits up here. Time to mature with your wardrobe, gentlemen, and choose something to lie out in the sun that’s classic, sophisticated and a little bit more — dare I say it — sexy.
Like the aforementioned color tip for the ladies, guys should also focus on blacks, whites, grays and neutrals such as beige. Real men wear trunks. Don’t be afraid to should off your (chicken) legs and tan them as well. However, if you’re going to go swimming with a tighter set of trunks — like briefs or army-cut — I couldn’t advise getting a pair that is white. White nylon plus water equals transparency. Catch my drift?
I know there’s a lot of stress put upon us college students for finals and theses, but every studious individual needs a break now and again. And with Seattle being sandwiched between two large bodies of water — Puget Sound and Lake Washington — there are dozens of ways to enjoy the sun on some sand while remaining in style.
Reach columnist Ben Schock at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Departures: Japanese film unexpectedly uplifting
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 04, 2009“4/5 Stars
In Japan, it is called nōkan. This ancient ritual, known as “encoffinment,” is used to prepare the bodies of the dead so their family can offer one final goodbye before cremation.
Such is the central topic of Yōjirō Takita’s Oscar-winning film, Departures. Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki), a cellist in a Tokyo orchestra, loses his job when the orchestra dissolves. With no prospects, he and his wife, Mika, move to his hometown. Answering an ad to “assist departures,” Daigo is soon a central part of the NK Agency’s business of encoffinment and finds himself coming to terms not only with his life but also with death itself.
As heavy as it may seem, Departures is not a downbeat film. Thanks to Takita’s skills as a director, along with his magnificent cast, the movie is fairly witty. There are many unexpected laugh-out-loud moments scattered throughout the film, lightening what would otherwise have been an oppressive tone.
It is, at times, a very powerful film. The great respect and intimacy during the film’s many encoffinment scenes are both affecting and moving; both Daigo and his boss, Ikuei Sasaki (the magnificent Tsutomu Yamazaki), show great care and affection during the process, and the film reacts accordingly to the ritual.
Departures is characteristic of Asian cinema through its stunning use of cinematography and music. Takeshi Hamada’s camera views each act of encoffinment with just the right amount of reverence and curiosity, and Joe Hisaishi’s string-centric musical score is one of the best things about the film. It is painfully beautiful, full of the pathos and gravitas that must come with the task of encoffinment.
Where Departures falters is in its embellishments. The dramatic flourish is seen a little too frequently. Sometimes, it is used as comic relief, which is ironic considering the film’s theme. Other times, it’s used seriously, and this can prove to be a distraction. The music soars too high during some scenes in an attempt to heighten the emotion of an already effective scene; the camera sweeps too much to squeeze as much grief as it can into a single shot and some scenes progress for too long, succeeding not in added power but only in becoming dull.
However, where the film works well is in its portrayal of the characters and how the viewer comes to associate with and care for them. In one notable scene, Daigo plays the cello for his associates at the NK Agency, and it is not the music that is powerful, but the deep and subtle reactions of Sasaki and his secretary.
Although Departures won the Best Foreign Film award at this year’s Academy Awards, it is difficult to believe it really is the standout from last year, especially considering Israel’s Waltz with Bashir. And yet, the film is a grand and emotionally moving experience. Just as with life and death, Departures is full of laughter and tears.
Reach reporter Robert Frankel at arts@dailyuw.com.”
ASUW leadership transfers with final meeting
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 04, 2009“As spring quarter draws to a close, so does the current ASUW session.
The final weeks of the quarter have consisted of meetings between current ASUW leaders and next year’s officers to ensure a smooth transition as the association goes into its 107th session in the fall.
Members of the incoming board of directors, elected in mid-May, have been holding meetings with current officers to prepare for their upcoming jobs.
Among these is Tunny Vann, who will serve as next year’s director of community relations. He met with current officer Gerald Corporal to make the transition to his new position.
“As far as my transition was concerned, it was more of an ask-questions, share-knowledge type of thing,” Vann said. “We talked about the position, the groups involved with the position and the big issues that I may have to face next year.”
One part of the transition of power for the director of community relations position involved picking up the reigns of the Crime Prevention Committee, which Corporal currently chairs.
“As part of our transition, Tunny and I co-chaired the meeting,” Corporal explained. “This committee is a re-activated ASUW committee, so one of my biggest projects this year was setting it back up, and my closing contribution to this project is successfully handing it off to Tunny [Vann] so that the committee can start contributing next year.”
Along with the board of directors, the new officers for the ASUW Senate, who were elected during last week’s meeting, are also preparing to take on their positions for next year.
The new senate officers include Sarah Round, who will be replacing Vice Chair Lydia Bylsma, and Bryan Dosono, who will take over for Membership Coordinator Drew Blincow.
Senate Chair Jon Solomon will be replaced by sophomore Jed Bradley.
“As the senate leadership, we are looking to change up a few things at the beginning of the year,” Bradley said. “We are focusing on senate recruitment and retention at the beginning of the year, as well as making the transition to becoming a senator smoother and more welcoming.”
To prepare for fall, Bradley has been reviewing rules, bylaws, the ASUW Constitution and Sturgis parliamentary procedure. He has also met with the other incoming officers and incoming board of directors.
The position of senate clerk, which is a hired rather than elected position this year, has yet to be filled.
Interviews for hired ASUW positions are continuing through the end of this week.
Tuesday night’s senate meeting saw the transition of power between the incumbent senate officers and the incoming leaders. Solomon opened the meeting, and Bradley adjourned — the first public act of next year’s officers.
As they leave their jobs, current ASUW officers have begun to reflect on their time with ASUW.
“You get to see the amazing work that students of this school do,” Corporal said. “You get to see how other organizations are governed. Most importantly, you get to see firsthand what the student body cares about because you’re actually out there. It’s an amazing experience, and this will definitely go down as one of my favorite jobs ever.”
Reach reporter Ivan Vukovic at news@dailyuw.com.”
Town hall meeting: Students express concerns, educate about hosting tent city
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 03, 2009“Last week, the movement to bring Tent City III (TC3) to campus hit opposition in the form of a Facebook group. Yesterday, supporters of the movement set up a table and distributed fliers to promote their cause outside Provost and Executive Vice President Phyllis Wise’s town-hall meeting, while both sides spoke at the forum.
“This is kind of a tactical move because we saw on the opposition Facebook group that they were planning a rally, and they were planning to come to the Phyllis Wise’s meeting today and to have a number of people voice their opinions,” said Abigail Pearl, president of Students for Civic Engagement on Homelessness and a supporter of TC3 coming to campus. “We were surprised that the opposition didn’t have a bigger presence here today.”
Wise said the issue of bringing TC3 to campus has been presented to UW President Mark Emmert. Supporters hope to receive an answer by the end of the school year.
While 217 people from the opposition confirmed online that they would come to the meeting to voice their concerns, only one student spoke against bringing TC3 to campus during the forum. Roughly 20 people appeared to table in support of TC3.
“We maybe have a different level of organization than the supporters, but I don’t think that’s important,” said graduate student Christopher Moss, who spoke at the meeting. Moss opposes bringing TC3 to campus. “I think we can support our point of view based on facts and not just how many people show up wearing T-shirts.”
Some members of the opposition saw the town-hall meeting as an opportunity to have their voice heard by the UW administration after feeling underrepresented by resolutions passed by both the ASUW Senate and Graduate and Professional Student Senate in support of bringing TC3 to campus.
Supporters of TC3 didn’t plan to address the issue during the forum to keep the focus of the meeting on the budget, but they ended up responding to the opposition and presenting information to Wise.
“We, as a student organization, didn’t feel that it was appropriate to go into the budgetary meeting to discuss TC3 coming to campus because it will have negligible effects monetarily on the UW and won’t take any funds away from the general budget, so it was an inappropriate forum to discuss it,” Pearl said.
Opponents of bringing TC3 to campus also had some of their questions answered during the forum.
“In terms of budgets, I think that the supporters of Tent City have made it clear that it is funded by private donations, and I feel much better about that aspect of it,” said senior Stephen Barr, who attended the meeting. “There are still various safety concerns that have yet to be addressed, and I hope that there will be a proper forum for students, parents, faculty and staff to talk about these concerns before a decision is made.”
Students pressed for Wise’s personal opinion on the issue, but she declined to give it when asked if hosting TC3 would be educational for students.
“I think the whole issue of homelessness … is something that we study in the classroom,” Wise said. “Whether or not Tent City is one of the key ways to learn about this is the question.”
Reach editorial assistant Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.”
Alcohol-free party still a party
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 03, 2009“This past weekend, my housemates and I hosted two very different parties. While the purposes of the parties and the separate groups of people who came to them varied greatly, there was one thing that they both lacked: alcohol. To some, the idea of a party without alcohol might sound like an oxymoron; how can it be a true party without any intoxicants? As it turns out, it is possible for large groups of people to have a lot of fun without beer, wine or any other adult beverage.
I don’t drink for religious reasons, but I have been in a variety of social settings where alcohol was being ingested — sometimes quite copiously. Most of the time, I have fun at these gatherings and have been able to observe others who also seemed to be having a good time — both the drinkers and the abstainers. However, the night almost always ends with at least one fight, somebody crying and several things broken. From my experience, when drinking is the main course of a party, some type of pain will be the dessert for the majority.
With what I have seen of the desultory sort of fun to be had at these types of gatherings, I am always surprised by the responses I receive to inviting people to alcohol-free parties. It seemed that the vast majority of my invitees balked outright at the notion of a dry party. When I told one of my friends that there would not be any drinking, he instantly responded in a pseudo-apologetic voice that he would not be able to make it. He said it jokingly, and we laughed about it, but then he stayed true to his word and did not show up.
I’m not sure why a lack of alcohol is a deal-breaker for party attendance. For most of us, it was at least until high school before we attended a party where drinking was the main focus. I remember with fondness a lot of fun parties as a child, where the idea of drinking did not even enter our heads; I am sure that this is true for you as well. I think that it stands to reason that if we were able to have fun as children at parties without alcohol, then we should be able to do so now, as well.
Perhaps there is a stigma about parties without alcohol being less mature or boring. However, being mature enough to drink does not mean you should. Anyone who has gone to a liquor-induced event quickly discovers that maturity often flies out the door as alcohol slides down the throat. Sometimes, abstaining from what you are allowed to do is the most mature decision of all. As for being boring, I reflect back on a riotous event this past weekend that involved a soccer-ball piñata, a metal broom and an uneven yard.
I am not trying to push a prohibitionist agenda here; I just think that there needs to be a paradigm shift among our generation regarding alcohol. If you find drinking enjoyable, then that is your prerogative, but I feel that there are horizons that should be broadened regarding weekend activities in general — specifically parties.
Reach columnist Jenessa Markland at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Liberal
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 02, 2009“It’s not hyperbole to say that appointing a judge to the Supreme Court will be among the most important and influential actions of Barack Obama’s presidency. No surprise then, that it has stirred up the very worst in the Republican Party.
They’ve claimed that she’s an affirmative-action choice because she was selected for her gender and heritage. While they’ve made themselves look like incredible bigots in the process of arguing this, they’re actually right. Obama did pick her because she’s a Hispanic woman, and it was a great move.
The debate has turned nasty very quickly. Karl Rove has already called nominee Sonia Sotomayor stupid. Actually, he merely suggested that he knows a lot of stupid people who went to Ivy League schools. Say, I wonder whom he was thinking of?
But this isn’t the worst of it. Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh and Tom Tancredo have all loudly denounced her as a racist for suggesting that her experiences as a Hispanic woman would positively influence her decision-making ability.
Of course a justice’s life experience is going to shape her decisions on the bench; this is a good thing. Even conservative Justice Sam Alito testified that his ethnic heritage and the history of discrimination against members of his family would give him helpful perspective.
Any way you look at it, race is a factor in this nomination. I don’t mean it’s the only qualification or the most important. There are tons of people qualified to serve on the Supreme Court. Obama clearly picked a Hispanic woman from among this group because it’s good for the court, good for the country and yes, its good for him politically. The subject of affirmative action is a whole other discussion that has played out many times before. Lets just say, in this case, I think it’s the way to go.
It can’t be denied that Hispanics are an attractive voting base for national elections, especially in the West, where Democrats have successfully been gaining ground over the past two cycles. By putting the first Hispanic woman on the Supreme Court, Obama will do a lot to cement the Democratic hold on the Hispanic vote.
That’s what makes the character of Republican opposition so hilarious. By trashing her as a racist, suggesting she is unqualified and saying she beat out a good white guy, the Republicans are completely alienating the only Hispanic people they have left in their party.
This is just the latest round in the ongoing struggle on the part of the far right to purge their party, the only vehicle for future power of anything that would get them elected again. They just don’t want anyone non-white, non-Christian or anyone who pays their taxes with pride instead of bitterness.
Sotomayor is sure to be confirmed by a decent margin in the Senate. This makes the harshness of the opposition largely pointless. The best part, however, is that the Republican fight is going to be even better for Obama than the pick itself. And hey, she’ll make a good justice, too.
Reach columnist Greg Ryan at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Groups plan to protest Gates as commencement speaker
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsJun 02, 2009“Graduating seniors will fling their caps into the air next weekend, celebrating their accomplishments in higher education and symbolizing their entry into a world beyond textbooks, GPAs and the dreaded all-nighters central to finals week.
But some students feel there is a political stain on this year’s ceremony. The selection of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates as the class of 2009’s commencement speaker has spurred students dissatisfied with the cabinet member’s war record to protest.
“Robert Gates has, for the last year and a half, led the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has killed thousands of civilians, thousands of American troops,” said Elizabeth Fawthrop, a member of the International Socialist Organization at the UW and a graduating senior. “We see both of those things, and the war on terror more broadly, as immoral.”
Democracy Insurgent member Veryl Pow cited the secretary’s involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal in the 1980s and what Pow believes to be the increased militarization of campus — with CIA Officer Timothy Thomas presently acting as a visiting researcher — as reasons for protest.
This dispute follows controversy surrounding President Barack Obama’s commencement speeches, which he delivered last month at Arizona State University, the United States Naval Academy and the University of Notre Dame. The latter was met with anti-abortion rallies from Catholic leaders and students.
Although this year marks the first time the UW will host a sitting member of the presidential cabinet as commencement speaker, Gates’ high-profile status is inconsequential to Pow.
“To me, Robert Gates is a nobody,” he said. “I’m very ashamed he’s affiliated with America.”
Student and national groups joining the International Socialist Organization and Democracy Insurgent include the Bail Out the People — Not the Banks! movement, Socialist Alternative, World Can’t Wait, the Anti-War Collective and the Muslim Student Association.
The protesters plan to convene at 11:30 a.m. June 13 in front of the IMA. Following a small rally, they plan to march to Husky Stadium and, after a brief demonstration outside, plan to enter the stadium and claim seats in the audience or, for some protestors, with the rest of the graduates.
“During the actual speech, we’re going to have our backs turned to protest his speech and the fact he was awarded the honorary degree by the Board of Regents,” Pow said.
UW spokesperson Norm Arkans, who recalled a similar protest in 2002 against former Secretary of State Madeline Albright’s commencement speech, noted that there is a fine line between expressing disapproval and respecting the festive occasion.
“If [turning their backs] is what they’re up to, then that makes some sense,” Arkans said. “It’s a way to show your individual disapproval, but it’s also a way not to interrupt the proceedings.”
Fawthrop explained that students planning to protest were required to sign a contract stating they would not stand up or speak during Gates’ speech.
“This is a special day for us and for our families,” Fawthrop said, “but what we’re trying to say is that the UW should have done better.”
Reach reporter Rachel Solomon at news@dailyuw.com.”
Torture is wrong: Recent scandals have undermined US image abroad
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2009“On April 21, an extremely rare event occurred: Dick Cheney emerged from the shadows.
However, it was not to offer his advice to our new president or congratulate him on any of his early successes. Cheney came forward to appear on Fox News and defend the Bush administration’s policy of torturing detainees.
Since Cheney’s performance on Fox, the debate over torture has arisen in several of my classes. In lectures and quiz sections throughout campus, students have considered the question: Is torture ever justified?
I hope your answer to this question is a resounding “no.”
One principle we should accept as we conduct our foreign policy is that having more friends and fewer enemies in the world is a good thing. Getting people to admire and believe in the United States is preferable to being hated and despised.
A tarnished image abroad is dangerous for our national security. The resulting widespread anti-Americanism helps lead to the conditions in which terrorism and militant extremists thrive. Recruiting efforts for these groups are naturally more successful in countries hostile to the United States.
On the other hand, when the United States is viewed as a benevolent global leader — as opposed to a hypocritical bully — the country is made safer. Other nations are more likely to support our policy objectives and cooperate in intelligence-sharing to fight common threats. Also, it’s much more difficult for terrorists to find recruits among pro-American populations.
Abu Ghraib and the waterboarding torture scandals have undermined U.S. moral leadership in the world, tarnished our image abroad and made us all less safe.
Not only does torture hurt our national security, but it simply doesn’t work. Many U.S. interrogators from different generations and conflicts have come forward to say that the information gathered from torture is often inaccurate and that there are better, more effective ways to get even the toughest opponents to talk.
Supporters of torture often resort to the “ticking-time-bomb scenario” to make their justification. Suppose a terrorist is in custody, and he has crucial information about the location of a nuclear bomb that is about to explode in a major U.S. city. They argue that torture would be justified in order to save American lives. They point out that as early as 2002, waterboarding and other techniques have foiled numerous terrorist plots.
Former CIA al-Qaida interrogator Jack Cloonan told U.S. foreign policy that the ticking-time-bomb situation is “a red herring. In the real world, it doesn’t happen.” In a 2008 interview with Vanity Fair, when asked if these techniques had in fact foiled any terrorist plots, FBI Director Robert Mueller’s response was, “I don’t believe that has been the case.”
The bottom line is that arguments in support of torture techniques such as waterboarding are highly suspect. Torture is morally wrong — and illegal under international law. It tarnishes the image of the United States in the world. It creates more enemies and hatred toward us. It fuels the recruitment efforts of terrorists, and it is ineffective at extracting accurate information.
And if there is any question as to the legality of techniques such as waterboarding, it is washed away by the fact that the United States convicted several Japanese soldiers of war crimes after World War II — precisely for the use of that torture technique against our own soldiers.
We don’t have to become like terrorists in order to defeat them.
Reach columnist Chris Jordan at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Beating boredom on a budget
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2009“Maybe your spring schedule is much too easy. Maybe you’ve got a penchant for procrastinating on your homework. Or, maybe the lure of sun outside is so strong that you feel you must flee your dorm room or apartment this weekend instead of suffering through one more Facebook quiz that insightfully deduces which wild animal represents your inner spirit.
There’s only one minor problem: You’re broke.
Though Seattle maintains a host of costly attractions, the city is also sympathetic to those with skeletal bank accounts.
If you’re searching for something to do that’s a little more exciting than traipsing to Gasworks or Alki Beach for the umpteenth time this quarter, try any of these more offbeat activities. You hear some music, hit the waves, peruse some artwork — and not part with a blessed cent.
Wake up early one Sunday morning and hop on a bus headed downtown to South Lake Union. Each Sunday, free boat rides are offered to the public at 2 p.m. Sign-up begins promptly at 10 a.m., so beat the rush and arrive early to secure a spot.
There’s no need to be present while waiting, so spend part of the afternoon at Volunteer Park, which is on Capitol Hill, about a 30-minute walk away. Sure, you may toss a Frisbee around the Quad on occasion, but now it’s time to throw with the big dogs at a pickup game of Ultimate Frisbee.
Beginning May 10, the park will host laid-back tournaments from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday.
“Ultimate Frisbee is great,” said senior Heather Underwood. “It demonstrates intense athleticism, values ‘spirit of the game’ and fosters incredible team camaraderie. It’s also a lot of fun, a great workout and all skill levels are always welcome.”
You may even make a new friend, said senior Clair Suver.
“What I love most about Ultimate is the people,” she said. “There are people with such diverse backgrounds that I probably would not meet if we didn’t play with or against each other.”
But the main draw of playing competitive Ultimate Frisbee at scenic Volunteer Park is that it’s a lot of fun.
“Almost everyone comes to play Ultimate to have fun,” Suver said. “Of course, at the higher levels, they play to win. But even then, it’s not at the expense of sportsmanship or the love of the game.”
You can conclude the evening on a tranquil note. At 9:30 p.m. every Sunday, Compline, the all-male choir at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral on Capitol Hill, performs for free.
“It is Zen, coming from my limited understanding of the word Zen,” freshman Trevor Gratz said of the program. “It is a very relaxing way to start the week.”
Now in its 53rd year, the choir chants the Office of Compline, the final monastic service of the day. Worshippers and music lovers alike flock to Saint Mark’s to listen to the soothing, dulcet and sometimes haunting tones of the choir.
One can sit in the pews or find a spot on the ground to lie down and close your eyes.
“Oh yeah,” Gratz added, “don’t forget to stay for the organ. Go upstairs to the balcony.”
For a different type of musical experience, City Hall presents free noontime concerts beginning May 7. Seattle Presents offers performances from violist Mara Gearman, guitarist Bill Horist, the world-fusion band Children of the Revolution and many more.
If visual art is more suited to your style, liberate your inner art critic and go museum hopping. At different times, Seattle’s many museums offer free admission.
“I’ve wanted to make use of those free visits ever since I first heard of them,” said sophomore Peter Vigh. “But, I haven’t had time.”
The first Thursday of the month is free at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM).
“There’s a really interesting exhibit at the SAM right now on early American art,” junior Scott Glasgo said. “[There are] lots of paintings of historic figures and moments — George Washington, signing of the Declaration of Independence — as well as furniture and silverwork, some made by Paul Revere.”
That featured exhibit, titled Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, will be on display until May 25. The permanent exhibits are also worthwhile.
“Since [the SAM] renovated back in 2007, they have some great permanent collections,” explained sophomore Kalei Combs. “One of my favorite spaces is a room filled with decorative porcelain. The way it is illuminated, it almost feels like you are inside of a jewelry box.”
In June, Combs said, an exhibit called Target Practice: Painting Under Attack 1949-78 will open, containing works from nations deeply impacted by World War II, such as Italy, Germany and Japan.
“I love that the SAM is always getting new and exciting exhibits, but it is also nice that they have a strong permanent collection as well,” Combs said.
At the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, admission is also free from 5 to 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month.
If you’re looking for a way to spend your Friday night, engage your brain at “Friday Night at the Meaningful Movies,” a weekly event featuring films that are, well, meaningful. A sampling of some past pictures includes Dr. Strangelove, The Visitor, and a host of enthralling documentaries on topics ranging from nuclear power to election fraud to the Iraq war.
The movies begin at 7 p.m. every Friday night at Keystone Congregational United Church of Christ.
However, if you don’t want to stray too far from the UW, complimentary activities abound right here on campus.
The Henry Art Gallery and Burke Museum offer free admission for students.
“The Burke has a good exhibit on coffee right now,” Glasgo said, referring to Coffee: The World in Your Cup, which is on display until September 7. “The rest of their collection is a really good display of Northwest culture.”
There’s no need to take out a small loan to finance your after-school plans. In this city, you can put down your homework and give your debit card, and your brain, a rest.
Reach reporter Rachel Solomon at features@dailyuw.com.”
ASUW, grassroots efforts defend swimming program
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 06, 2009“UW athletic director Scott Woodward has said that there is almost no chance the UW swimming program will return in any form at any time in the foreseeable future.
But that’s not stopping student legislators and a grassroots Facebook effort from trying to save the teams that were cut Friday as part of athletic-department budget-trimming.
An ASUW resolution condemning the discontinuation of the UW’s swimming program was drafted yesterday by senior senator Andrew Everett and will be reviewed by the ASUW steering committee today.
The resolution requests that the UW Athletic Department do everything it can to save the swimming program, and also asks that the resolution be submitted to UW President Mark Emmert and Woodward upon its passage.
Everett said the continued success of the swimming program during the past couple of seasons — despite the fact that the teams forfeit points due to the lack of a diving team — shows the program’s worth.
Although it’s not likely the legislation will change Woodward’s decision, Gerald Corporal, ASUW director of community relations who co-sponsored the resolution, said that one of the main goals of the resolution is simply to ensure that the UW’s student voice continues to be heard by the administration.
“I think that’s the intent; to make known to [Woodward] that students don’t approve of it,” Corporal said. “It’s just a statement in general that ‘please, make sure you communicate with students’ and, in this case, the student-athletes that are being affected by this. Don’t just make an executive decision and throw it on us.”
It’s also important, Corporal said, because this is the first resolution of any kind that has dealt with budget cuts. The UW is facing serious cuts in many departments, as well as the prospect of significant tuition increases.
The issue is even inspiring off-campus action. Doug Djang, a junior swimmer at Seattle University, has created a Facebook group in support of the UW swimming program. The group, titled “Help Save University of Washington Swimming,” had about 2,800 members as of last night.
Djang thinks the UW Athletic Department could be starting a concerning trend. The group page’s description includes a plea from Djang for people to help prevent the same thing from happening at other programs around the country.
“I don’t want to see any other swim teams die,” said Djang, who is friends with many of the UW swimmers and swam competitively against the Huskies in the past.
Mark Prothero, a former UW swimmer and now a criminal defense attorney, is working with Djang to rally support for the cause. He organized a meeting scheduled for tonight with a group of swimming alumni and other supporters of UW swimming to discuss a plan of action.
Prothero, who swam at the UW from 1974-78, said the common thread of the group is that all members are interested in seeing the construction of a new aquatic facility.
“Our first hope is to organize some of that passion and energy and figure out a short-term plan or response,” Prothero said.
The president of the Northwest Swimming Association and the former president of the United States Swimming Association will also be in attendance, Prothero said.
Reach sports editor Christian Caple and reporter Maks Goldenshteyn at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Opening eyes
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 05, 2009“Amnesty International at UW (AIUW) is determined to get people’s attention about human-rights issues — and as strange as it sounds, hosting keggers and cake walks are two of the ways they do it.
“Amnesty International is a human-rights organization that works to bring awareness to, and lessen the effects of, human-rights violations in other countries and the U.S.,” said junior Melanie Nguyen, president of AIUW.
The group relies on hosting events to spread the word about the issues members care about.
“We mostly create events: bring speakers and have movie screenings, keggers and cake walks to raise awareness and funds,” said Nguyen.
Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the U.S. branch of the organization, has five core issues, as they call them, and a number of other issues that they monitor as well. The five core issues are Counter Terror With Justice Campaign, Darfur Campaign, Death Penalty Abolition Campaign, Campaign for Individuals at Risk and Stop Violence Against Women Campaign.
The school chapters are free to focus on any of these issues they wish, and AIUW’s has had two main focuses for this year.
“Two of the campaigns we have been focusing on are the Stop Violence Against Women and the plight of the Hmong people in Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand,” said junior Rosa Lehman, AIUW’s secretary.
AIUW’s first focus has included working with a woman who opened a women’s shelter in the United Arab Emirates, trying to raise funds and awareness of it.
The second focus is that of the Hmong people, which, while a major international issue, is somewhat less well-known among students, said Nguyen. According to AIUSA’s Web site, the Hmong are a people group originating in southeast Asia. After suffering severe persecution in Laos because many opposed the government that took power, many Hmong fled and sought refuge in Thailand. Now, some are being forced to return to Laos, likely to brutal treatment at the hands of Laos authorities. AIUSA and AIUW are both working to raise awareness and public outcry about that fact.
“We’ve … been working on behalf of the Hmong people, to prevent them from being deported back to their country where they’ve been illegally persecuted,” said Nguyen.
AIUW holds events throughout the year to raise awareness of these issues.
Their biggest event of the year is coming up May 18-22. Human Rights Awareness Week is a weeklong event that seeks to educate and involve a greater part of the UW community in human-rights issues.
Lehman said that the club has several events planned for that week, including speakers, an art day, an open mic night, movie screenings, a Jeopardy!-style game and more.
“Everyone should fight for human rights,” said John Cobian, a member of AIUW. “And everyone should come.”
Nguyen said that despite the fact that AIUW has had a difficult time this year finding people committed to working with the club, she is hopeful that she will be able to find more. She also mentioned that AIUW is hoping to collaborate with other on-campus human-rights organizations to have a broader effect on the UW.
“I think human rights are really important, and people need to be made aware of things that are happening so they can take an active role against it,” she said. “We have a lot of people on the mailing list, but only 10 or so who are really active. We’re always hoping for more, and I really think people will get involved when they see what we’re all about.”
Sometimes, she said, all it takes is one person’s passion to make a difference.
“I had a long-term friend who was involved,” said Nguyen. “He had a huge passion for human rights, and I got that from him. It’s up to each person to find something that they’re passionate about and go for it. Make a difference, as much as you can.”
Each of the officers talked about the issue they were most passionate about.
Nguyen and Lehman talked about human rights for women, domestically and globally, and the Hmong situation in southeast Asia.
For junior Kristen Garcia, the big issue is human trafficking, when people, usually women, are bought and sold for labor and prostitution.
“It’s just so wrong,” she said. “No one should have to go through that, and the people responsible need to be found, stopped and held accountable.”
Most of the members of AIUW have only been involved with the club since the beginning of this school year, and all plan to stay involved next year. Nguyen is hopeful that the continuity, and the experience, will help AIUW have a more visible presence on campus next year.
She said that her biggest desire is that people would learn to think outside of themselves and their little world and understand what is going on around them. To her, that is the key to getting people involved.
One of the biggest misconceptions about human rights, said Nguyen, is that it is a foreign issue. She explained that many of the issues that the AIUSA focuses on are problems here in the United States. In fact, with the exception of the Darfur Campaign, all of the core issues have some kind of U.S. element, some bigger than others.
“It isn’t just a Third-World problem, way off on the other side of the world” said Nguyen. “It’s a problem everywhere.”
Reach features editor Randy Ferreiro at features@dailyuw.com.”
Beyond the B.A.: The abyss
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 05, 2009“The countdown has begun. This week marks the start of the final five weeks of the quarter. It also marks the deadline for many graduate students to present their committees with first (or sometimes final) drafts of their culminating papers or projects. Something remarkable happens when that document changes hands. We, the sleepless and likely unwashed graduate students delivering our magnum opus, are suddenly cured of our project-based myopia. In a resounding crash, finally able to take in our circumstances, the real world thunders down around our shoulders. We blink; when did the birds start chirping and when did the sky become blue? We revel for exactly 15 seconds in how good it is to be alive and not behind a desk. Then, as the aperture of our tiny computer-screen-drained eyes expands to absorb the spring, our knees buckle, and we are struck down with the vertigo that comes with the realization that we are standing at the top of an economically crumbling ivory tower, and it is a long way down to reality. It is then that we remember every Career Center e-mail we spent the last two to five years deleting. We recall every summer fellowship opportunity we did not quite have time to apply for. We sheepishly resolve that after this higher-level graduation, we will be more reticent about the possibility of moving back into —or continuing to live in — our parents’ home than we were after undergraduate life ended.
Now is the summer of our discontent, and we have begun to panic. As we grow shaky gazing into our Magic 8 balls to determine the future, we gather in packs and organize happy hours to discuss the life ahead of us. The refrain is often the same, “I suppose I’ll temp while I apply to Ph.D. programs.” Everyone nods until someone mentions the harsh truth. Temp where? We will be competing with all of the highly qualified people who have been laid off during the past few months. Apply where? Most schools this year accepted very few — if any — doctoral candidates because of funding constraints. Those that did accept had little in the way of financial support to offer. Five more years of teaching assistantships, or worse, the lack thereof, makes for a bleak forecast.
This week, I had a shocking wake-up in my graduate program’s career office. I met with a career counselor for feedback on an application I had prepared and inquired about how many of my program’s graduates found work within six months.
“Six months is the tricky part. Most of our students find jobs within a year, but some are still looking. Often, it’s about the effort you put in. When we ask students how many jobs they’ve applied for in the past few months, some show us a list of 30 positions. That is the number they should be applying to every one to two months, not over half a year,” the counselor stated matter-of-factly. As I heard this, I swear the window iced over like some horrible vision of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. My program is full of mid-career professionals and motivated people who are driven to succeed, and even we needed to step up our game. Groan. Where were the open arms I was hoping for? Was it possible that companies might not be falling over themselves to hire me once I had my master’s degree in hand?
To help those who are about to hit the waterfall, or who are lucky enough to have a year left, I have some advice from observing those who will be successfully engaged in the working world come July. First, use the Career Center to polish your résumé until it shines, and learn the mechanics of cover letters and interview strategies. These skills — though ungraded — will benefit you for the rest of your life. Second, figure out what you want: Some career offices have values workshops that work to help you figure this out. If you prefer to ponder this on your own, I recommend the classic What Color is your Parachute by Richard Nelson Bolles. Third, network with your favorite professors — those who’ve really inspired you — and ask about what their friends in the field, who did not go on to academia, are doing. You may discover there is a perfect type of job out in the world that you never knew existed.
There is no shame in riding your mom’s couch if you use the time to your advantage. If you can’t find a job, consider creating one. Volunteer in leadership roles in your neighborhood or community, or start your own program for volunteers. People will know who you are, your work ethic and your strengths. They may have suggestions for job opportunities or have ideas about how to turn your endeavor into something that pays enough to sustain you. In the same way, you could start a business for yourself and some equally lost friends. If you fail, you are no worse off than taking an extra year of graduate school loans. Nobody will think less of you because times are tough.
If you succeed, you’ll have an interesting job on your own terms that you can share with people you care about. You might even find you have a knack for entrepreneurship and sell your business to start a new one.
Of course, another option is to cut and run. See the world or just see the United States before it becomes flat. Remember, however, that as a graduate student you owe more to your adventures than simply visiting Irish pubs in every continent and learning “Waltzing Matilda” from your mates at the youth hostel. Apply something you’ve learned toward helping, or at least not hurting, the places you visit. Hunt in the Grand Canyon or in the Himalayas for inspiration and adventure, and come home when you have a plan. Because the clock is running out for the times in your life when it is fun to be poor and living out of a suitcase, you might as well enjoy them while you can. When you return, or when you come upon or create a place that can be called home, sit down and start applying for jobs — one a day every day for however long it takes.
Reach columnist Elizabeth Brady at features@dailyuw.com.”
Safe success in the future of thoroughbred racing
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 04, 2009“The hot-button issue in the world of sports during the past several years has been the proliferation of performance-enhancing drugs. From baseball to track, the concern has been in maintaining the purity of competition — allowing humans to compete against one another based on God-given ability and the efforts of their hard work — rather than the efficacy of their juice.
The sport with the biggest steroid abuse of all is thoroughbred horse racing. Through a series of horrific tragedies during the past couple of years, equestrians have started to realize that the biggest concern with performance-enhancing drugs is the detriment to health and safety, not competitive quality.
In 2006, Barbaro, the then-undefeated bay colt trained by Michael Matz, won the Kentucky Derby by 6 1/2 lengths — the largest margin of victory in 60 years. The elation from this historic victory had people talking about Barbaro potentially being the first winner of the Triple Crown — the most coveted prize in horse racing that requires winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in a period of about five weeks — in nearly 30 years.
These hopes vanished within the first few seconds of the Preakness. After a false start, Barbaro was reloaded into the gate. Unbeknownst to race officials and his jockey, he had just shattered his right hind leg in 20 places. Once the gates opened and the horses were off, it became immediately apparent that something was wrong, and the jockey pulled him to a halt. Several surgeries and a year of slow complications later, Barbaro was finally put to rest.
Last year, the filly Eight Belles became only the 40th filly to run in the 134-year history of the Kentucky Derby. Coming down the stretch, she was neck and neck with the favorite Big Brown. As they approached the finish line, he pulled away and took the roses. But as Eight Belles was cooling down, and her owners were soaking in the moment of coming in second, the mighty girl collapsed. She had shattered both of her front ankles during the race and had to be put down on the track.
The overwhelming issue that has led to these recent heartbreaking stories is that the horses that are being raced are too young. All of the horses in the running for the Triple Crown are 3-year-olds who are far from being fully developed. Even more troubling, these horses have typically been racing competitively since the age of 2. It would be like putting elementary-school kids against one another in the 400-meter race at the Olympics.
After being around horses nearly my entire life, I’ve been able to witness firsthand the physical immaturity that still exists in these young horses. They are still practically babies at this age. In order to overcome these natural barriers, the horses tend to be given performance-enhancing drugs. This does wonders to the muscular development, but nothing to the skeletal strength. This does nothing but put increased strain on bones that are still growing and have yet to fully mature.
Having competed in equine sports for many years, I know the joys that can come from working with these incredible creatures. Deep bonds form between you and your animal partner that allow you to achieve great success. I have no doubt that the trainers, owners and jockeys feel passionate about their horses and hate to see hardship fall upon these friends that have given them so much. But further responsibility needs to be taken by these individuals to ensure the well-being of these animals.
Finally, a display of this arose Saturday at the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby. Jeff Mullins, the trainer of the odds-on favorite colt I Want Revenge, noticed some tenderness in the steed’s left front ankle. After consulting with the staff veterinarian, he decided that there was a risk of injury and scratched the horse from the race. Until the National Thoroughbred Racing Association creates a nationalized standard of conduct and a commissioner position is assigned to oversee the operation of the sport, there need to be more instances of personal accountability.
Events such as the Kentucky Derby are rich in tradition and provide the world with some of the best stories of true underdog glories. Everyone knows the story of Seabiscuit and the uplifting feeling he brought to a nation in depression. Soon, everyone will know the name of Saturday’s winner — and perhaps our modern-day Seabiscuit — Mine That Bird, who was the second-biggest upset in Derby history at 50-1 odds.
The sport can still maintain this prestige and merriment while placing further emphasis on putting animal safety first — by abolishing steroid use and considering an increase in the minimum age of racers.
Reach columnist Jeff Dickson at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Job hunting? Find your passion
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 04, 2009“Spring is finally here, in temperature and in name. Many people have been cleaning their rooms, their desks and their cars, but not me. I’ve been doing a deeper cleaning — a cleaning of my mind. Clearing it of all the thoughts of doom and gloom that have amassed over the last year. Those are the ones that went something like, “I will be jobless next year.” “I will be poor and unable to buy shoes next year.” “I’m untalented.” “I’m a failure in life,” and so on.
Yes, it’s true that it’s hard to find a job. Fewer companies are hiring, and many people are being laid off. But I’m not a failure. And neither are you. Just because the economy isn’t booming the way it was four years ago when I first came to college, doesn’t mean I have to give up, merely that I have to try harder.
I’ve realized lately that my method of job searching was completely flawed. I would apply to dozens of jobs mindlessly, hoping that I would catch the attention of an HR person somewhere and land some position or another. Oh, how wrong I was.
This may not have been such an epiphany if I had taken the time to read a self-help book or two, but nevertheless, I’ve finally reached an understanding. The best way to take your next step is to know what you’re passionate about and pursue it. Think about it this way, are you more likely to date a guy who is in the “looking for” section of his Facebook page chooses “anything I can get,” or the one who pursues you and only you? Don’t be the “anything-I-can-get” person when it comes to determining your future, it’s just not attractive.
Many people have trouble knowing what their passion actually is. I’d suggest paying more attention to everyday activities. Think about what makes you truly happy. Think about what excites you. Think about what you can do for the rest of your life. Think about what makes it easy to get out of bed in the morning, and do everything in your power to make that the thing you do for the rest of your life.
For me, this savvy came last week when I worked so hard I almost killed myself. I was so busy that I forgot to eat. I lived off of three hours of sleep for three nights in a row. But I was happy — the kind of happy that I want to be for the rest of my life — the kind of happy you can only be when you are pursuing your passion.
I won’t tell you what my passion is; I’ll wait for you to recognize me when I’m famous. But I will tell you this: Spring is a time to rid yourself of berating thoughts and a time to make your dreams come true. Find out what you want to do and chase it. Type your résumé on lavender-scented paper, stop into your dream office and ask for an informational interview. Do whatever it takes. You won’t regret it when you’re old, gray and still fulfilled every day.
Reach opinion editor Natalie Sikavi at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Dead in the water
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 04, 2009“UW athletic director Scott Woodward gathered members of the UW men’s and women’s swimming teams in an athletic department office Friday morning. Nobody knew why.
And in three minutes, Woodward delivered the news that still has many members of the UW’s swimming teams shaking their heads.
The men’s and women’s swimming programs are being discontinued at the UW, and the people most impacted by it still can’t believe the news.
“I thought it was a little unprofessional,” senior Shandra Case said about how the news was delivered. “In my mind, I think [Woodward] is a little cowardly. I feel like he just delivered it and then ran and didn’t stay to see the effect it had on the athletes.”
Men’s team captain, Jon Banker, said Woodward’s words rang hollow and lacked passion.
“[He] came in and said, ‘We’ve got some bad news for you,’” Banker said. “He went through the motions of what he had to do to communicate that the program’s over. He had very little emotion committed to the delivery. It was really just the things people would expect him to say. ‘I regret to inform you.’ Those kinds of phrases. It didn’t feel like he regretted informing us of anything.”
Woodward told The Daily yesterday that isn’t true.
“To [ask], ‘Is there anything I regret [about the meeting]?’ No, I don’t,” Woodward said. “But I do feel badly that they feel like I did this with dispassion. I did it with great remorse and great regret.”
There was no further explanation as to why the decision was made, Case said, other than Woodward saying that it was simply due to budget cuts and a lack of revenue last season from the football program.
All questions, Woodward told them, were to be directed to their coaches.
“Girls started crying,” said Erez Fern, a junior who moved to Washington from Israel to swim on the UW team. “Everybody was really shocked and saddened. Didn’t know what to say … Everyone was basically devastated. Swimming is a sport that’s a little more demanding than others. It takes over your life. It’s who you are. People came to college for four years of swimming, dreaming of it for their whole lives.”
Woodward said he thought it best to simply deliver the message and let the coaches be the ones to console the athletes. This was not a decision made without emotion, he said.
“This week was weighing heavily on me,” Woodward said. “A lot of stress, a lot of high blood pressure. And we thought that was the best way to go about it. It was by no means any way to be disrespectful or to show any semblance of dispassion.”
None of the athletes saw it coming.
“I was just really surprised and definitely blindsided because we’d had a really great season this year,” said Liz Johnson, a senior who will graduate in the spring. “Everything [head coach] Whitney [Hite] brought to UW has not only impacted just the swim team, but all the other sports too. So I just couldn’t believe they would choose the swim team to cut.”
However, Banker said that UW coaches and officials had been working with Woodward before the announcement was made, trying to come up with cost-cutting alternatives that didn’t require any program cuts. The elimination of the swimming programs is expected to account for about $1.2 million of the $2.8 million the athletic department hopes to shave from its budget. Woodward confirmed that he had been in discussions with Hite and other administrators regarding the issue.
“They’ve worked very hard to save our program, and Scott Woodward just said no and put his foot down on the issue,” Banker said.
Woodward said the decision was a last resort.
“I don’t want to equate this to death, but these are like Sophie’s choices,” Woodward said. “This is not something that I take lightly. We had a tough situation where we had a swim team that can’t be fully competitive because we don’t have a diving team. It was one of these decisions that you hate making but you have to for the good of the athletic department.”
The UW’s lack of adequate swimming facilities was also discussed in the school’s official release announcing the cuts.
But Banker tells anyone using that argument to look at the team’s performance at the NCAAs. The men’s team placed 16th, their highest NCAA finish in 30 years. The women’s team placed 15th, the second-best national finish in the program’s history. Both teams, as standard procedure, forfeited points associated with diving.
“Do we need a new facility ultimately? Yes,” Banker said. “But is it something that warrants us cutting the program now? No. It’s just madness to use that as an excuse.”
Of the 34 swimmers on scholarship — 19 men, 15 women — 23 have eligibility remaining. All existing scholarships will be honored, and the UW will allow other swim programs to contact anyone wishing to transfer.
That’s a route Russ Mahan, a sophomore whose decision to come to the UW was based “80 percent off of swimming,” is considering.
“I’m not exactly sure if I’m going to do that or not,” Mahan said. “Not sure where. It just happened [Friday], so I’m kind of taking in what happens.”
While the UW athletic department is self-reliant, the university is facing serious cuts across the board.
That, coupled with a decreased return on the university’s endowment investments, led to his decision, Woodward said.
“Since we are a self-sustaining operation with no funding assistance from the university or the state, [we] must find ways to reduce expenses and increase revenues in these difficult times,” Woodward said in the statement.
Five men’s swimming teams and eight women’s teams remain in the Pac-10.
Other Pac-10 schools could soon feel the ramifications of the cuts, too, since the conference requires a minimum of six teams to take part in a sport in order for it to be sanctioned.
“We don’t know what this means yet,” said Tammy Newman, a Pac-10 men’s swimming and diving championships administrator.
Newman said the committee that deals with swimming will meet next week to discuss, among other things, what to do in light of the shortage.
Friday’s announcement marks the second time this decade that the UW has discontinued its swimming program, which began in 1932. The first discontinuation of the program came in 2000 under former athletic director Barbara Hedges. She later reversed her decision after public outcry.
Woodward said it’s highly unlikely that swimming will return this time around. This leaves 34 student-athletes without a team.
“It’s kind of hard to quit swimming,” Fern said. “You usually decide something like that alone, not when forced to do it by someone else.”
Reach sports editor Christian Caple and reporter Maks Goldenshteyn at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Campus Watch: Riots galore
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMay 04, 2009“Riot at the library — “It was amazing … until I got maced”
Chattanooga, TENN. — The library was more than just a place to study last Thursday at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (UTC).
Students fancying a study break spread the message of an impromptu flash rave at Lupton Library via text and Twitter.
Initially, the fun was quite innocent, marked by the usual dancing, yelling and glow-stick waving. The party grew wilder when some students decided to jump off the canopy in an attempt to crowd surf.
The campus police responded to the commotion, armed with mace as they stormed the library. When students did not follow orders to dissolve the party, the police opened their canisters of pepper spray on the unruly crowd.
The students immediately fled, and five arrests were made.
A video surfaced on YouTube soon after the incident, depicting students hurling bottles at police officers.
“I know that some of the students believe this was a harmless gathering,” Assistant Vice Chancellor of University Relations Chuck Cantrell told Associated Content. “But when you try to force your way into a building and jump off buildings, then you’ve gone beyond harmless fun.”
Student Matt Davis summarized his sentiments toward the riot via tweet.
“It was amazing … until I got maced.”
Bonfire sparks riot at Kent State
Kent, OHIO — In other riot news, a bonfire at Kent State University raged last weekend at the school’s fifth annual College Fest.
At about 8:30 p.m., the seemingly innocuous bonfire caused a stir when inebriated students began tossing objects such as couches out of windows and into the pit. The flames soared an estimated 25 feet, licking dangerously close to power lines.
When police arrived to put a cap on the out-of-control event, students reacted by defacing and removing stop signs.
In an attempt to curb the furor, police shot rubber bullets and deployed tear gas at the rebellious swarm.
After a girl was arrested for underage drinking, the students then retaliated by throwing rocks and bottles. More than 50 people were ultimately arrested, most for failing to disperse.
“I expected the cops to be walking around making sure no one got hurt,” freshman Ross Eisenberg explained to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. “I never thought they’d be shooting tear gas.”
The university issued a statement that they were “disappointed in the events that have occurred” and found student behavior “inexcusable.”
Reach columnist Rachel Solomon at news@dailyuw.com.”
How the NBA has gone soft
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 23, 2009“If you watched Game 1 of the Cavs-Pistons series on Saturday, you saw LeBron James do his thing, and the Cavs romp at home, and Detroit wither late like everyone thought it would.
And if you were paying close enough attention, you saw something that would have made old-school NBA players cringe.
James bolted down the floor on a fast break, like he always does, caught a pass just before the free throw line and exploded for one of his patented, rim-rocking dunks — like nobody was even there.
Except Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey was there. And all it would have taken was a hard, clean foul, and James would have had to take two free throws to get his points.
But Stuckey was too scared making contact with the NBA’s prodigal star, and instead, ended up a footnote to yet another ESPN-worthy LeBron jam.
Something tells me Erick Dampier would have handled the situation differently. More on that later.
Fast forward to Game 2 of the Spurs-Mavericks series, when Jason Terry sent his hip into Tony Parker as Parker drove to the hoop. Parker flopped like a wounded salmon. Whistle. Flagrant foul. Two free throws and the ball.
For a hip check? What happened to this league?
Guys are afraid to commit hard fouls on superstars, even if they’re being murdered in a playoff atmosphere. And when there is some contact on a play that would otherwise yield a ferocious dunk or easy-transition bucket, everyone wants a flagrant foul called.
So that’s why yesterday’s news that Dampier called out Parker shouldn’t make you shake your head and shouldn’t make you mutter things like “thuggery” and “bush league” under your breath.
This is good for the league. Trust me.
Regarding Parker, Dampier told The Dallas Morning News: “Every time he drives the lane, we have to put him on his back. The first foul has to tell him he’s in for a long night.”
Parker, mind you, torched the Mavericks for 38 points in Game 2, and he made six lay-ups, four of them in the first quarter.
If a guy is killing you like that, it’s frustrating. Especially if it’s a 6-foot-2-inch guard who is operating in the paint like he owns it.
So why not knock him on his ass once? Nothing dirty, just let him know that he’s not getting anything easy around the rim — make him think twice about driving the lane.
There should be no such thing as a breakaway dunk with a man back on a fast break. Stuckey could have easily hacked LeBron at the free-throw line, sent him to the line, and sent the message that even superstars don’t get free points in this league.
And Terry did the right thing by bumping Parker onto his backside. Officials need to let these guys play and let them defend their basket with a little more aggression — within reason, obviously. But the way these games are officiated hasn’t been within reason for years.
We’ll see how they handle Dampier if he chooses — as he should — to play the game the way it should be played.
Reach sports editor Christian Caple at
sports@dailyuw.com.”
From the gridiron to the classroom
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 23, 2009“Former UW linebacker Ink Aleaga focused on only two things in high school: sports and college.
He’s still involved in both now, but in a very different sense. As an academic adviser in the Student Athlete Academic Services (SAAS) department, located in the Conibear Shellhouse, Aleaga works with half of the players on the UW football team, the men’s and women’s swimming teams, the gymnastics team and the softball team.
Much like a career adviser in Mary Gates Hall or the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), he helps students choose classes and complete requirements for their degrees. Aleaga also serves as a mentor for student-athletes, as his background in athletics allows him to relate to the students he works with.
“He really cares about this university and education,” said UW cornerback Quinton Richardson. “He’s always stressing about how important school is over football.”
However, Aleaga’s younger days didn’t always suggest a career in academia.
“Ink grew up in a rough part of Hawaii in the housing projects,” said Alejandro Espania, a UW EOP adviser and longtime friend of Aleaga’s. “But he was able to not get wrapped up in some of the things other kids did.”
Instead, Aleaga spent much of his time playing sports and trying to do better in school.
“Growing up, I was pretty much in remedial classes all throughout my childhood education and throughout high school,” Aleaga said.
He faced another trial after graduating, when he didn’t pass the Proposition 48 requirements to play football at the collegiate level.
According to the NCAA Champion Magazine Web site, Proposition 48 then required student-athletes to meet a minimum high-school GPA of 2.00 and score at least 700 (out of 1600) on the SAT test.
Aleaga sat out for a year, studied and got help from a teacher at the private high school he attended in order to meet the requirements to play for the UW.
After playing football for the UW, where he also double-majored in sociology and American Ethnic studies, Aleaga then played in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints for three years before suffering a knee injury. While in New Orleans, he developed relationships with veteran players and coaches who offered much more than sports advice.
“They didn’t just teach football,” Aleaga said. “They taught about life.”
CAREER AND MENTORING
In 2000, Aleaga returned to Seattle and accepted a part-time position with the UW football team as a mentor for incoming Pacific Islander and Polynesian athletes. He then served as an academic coordinator until he was promoted last year to his current role as academic adviser after receiving his master’s in education from the UW.
“I know what these students are going through. I can definitely relate,” Aleaga said. “They have a lot of pressure on them. Imagine being the best from where you came from. Then when you come to the collegiate level, everyone is just as good as you are. Sometimes it can get demoralizing.”
Aleaga said he became a mentor because he always had mentors guiding him through his life, and he believes that mentors are essential for everyone. He personally attributes much of his success to the people who guided him.
One of Aleaga’s most important mentors, Ed Taylor, current vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, has known Aleaga since he was a freshman at the UW.
“What is most impressive about Ink Aleaga is that which is seldom written about and seldom rewarded,” Taylor said. “He is humble, intelligent, humane and is a servant leader. Ink was a brilliant athlete, but his true brilliance can be witnessed in his day-to-day work and interactions.”
Former NFL tight end and student-athlete academic coordinator Rod Jones said that he and Aleaga are like shadows of one another.
“I don’t know how I’d do it without him,” Jones said.
CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Aside from providing assistance to student-athletes, Aleaga is also an active member of the UW community. He is specifically involved in the UW’s efforts to increase the number of Pacific Islander and Polynesian students attending and graduating from the UW.
According to the UW undergraduate admissions Web site, Pacific Islander and Polynesian students make up less than one percent of the UW undergraduate student body.
Culture and expectations are two main reasons that number is so low, Espania said.
“It’s a process that goes all the way back to the family,” he said. “Oftentimes, they are the first person in their family to go to college.”
Another contributing factor to the low percentage, Aleaga said, is that not too many people know about the Pacific Islander presence on campus.
As outreach, Aleaga is facilitating an anthropology class that focuses on leadership for Pacific Islanders. He faced many of these same challenges during school and has used his struggles to help student-athletes have successful collegiate experience.
Aleaga said he wants to remain in athletics in his future endeavors.
“Athletics have given me a foundation,” Aleaga said. “Everything I have learned is from athletics, from life skills to succeeding in college.”
For now, Aleaga is enjoying his position as an academic adviser because he is able to help student-athletes and work closely with them.
Even Aleaga’s family has become involved in his work; his kids even call some of the student-athletes their uncles and aunts.
“We have become like a big family,” Aleaga said. “It’s good to have young children come around and look up to these students.”
Reach contributing writer Jessica Pak at development@dailyuw.com.”
Community addresses concerns in light of shooting
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 23, 2009“On Monday, Seattle police arrested a suspect in a shooting that occurred Friday night at Northeast 42nd Street and the Ave.
The university community was rattled when the shooting caused several buildings and residence halls to be locked down, but UW students and staff were not the only ones affected — the shooting sent ripples through the community.
“This incident was very close to us in a lot of ways,” said Kristine Cunningham, program director for ROOTS Young Adult Shelter.
ROOTS is an emergency shelter for young adults between the ages of 18 to 25. The shelter, located in an alley at 1415 N.E. 43rd St., has felt a heightened sense of fear and worry since the incident, which took place just down the street.
The building where ROOTS is located was at one time situated next to a parking lot, providing a more open feeling to the area. Cunningham said the construction of Russell Hall at the corner of Northeast 42nd Street and 15 Avenue Northeast, which began last year, has decreased the light in the area at night.
“Guests wait in the alley to get into the shelter,” Cunningham said. “It is hard for folks to have egress; there is no place for them to go.”
The alley is essentially transformed into a long, dark tunnel when the sun sets.
“I think that alley is a big problem,” Cunningham said. “Even before [the shooting] happened, it would make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.”
ROOTS is not the only facility in the U-District that has felt an impact from the shooting.
“Our kiosk stays open until 7:30 p.m.,” said an office assistant at a local church, who asked to remain anonymous because of safety concerns. Her desk faces the street, and she is the first one in charge when people wander in. “There are not a lot of people we can turn to to ask for help when need be.”
“Part of our job is security guards,” said the other woman working, who also wished to remain unnamed for the same reason.
She said she witnessed her boss being beat up by a visitor when the person was asked to vacate the church. The women have had to call 911 on numerous occasions to have people removed from the church.
In light of the recent shooting and residents’ increasing concern for their safety, Sgt. Sean Whitcomb of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) media unit said that the SPD is “trying to make [information] more accessible to the community.”
“We are trying to get as much stuff to those who are interested,” he said. “It is an information push.”
These informational sites include the SPD crime blotter, spdblotter.seattle.gov, a Web site dedicated to reporting neighborhood crimes in a timely fashion to increase the safety of residents. The SPD also plans to launch a Twitter account to warn residents about crimes in their area.
Reach reporter Karleen Scharer at news@dailyuw.com.”
ASUW candidate forum moves elections into full swing
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 23, 2009“Last week, campaigning for ASUW elections officially commenced, with 10 candidates competing for eight positions. Since then, campaigning has been mostly limited to T-shirts and Facebook groups — until last night.
Last night, the candidates made their first public appearance at a forum that took place in the HUB, hosted by the Residence Hall Student Association (RHSA), the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the Panhellenic Association.
“These forums give an opportunity for the candidates to speak to the general student population,” said Thai Dang, IFC president.
Each candidate was given the opportunity for a three-minute opening speech, followed by three questions from leaders of the host organizations and then questions from the audience.
This year, six of the eight ASUW board of directors positions are unopposed. There are multiple candidates running for director of diversity efforts, as well as ASUW president.
With most of the positions facing a lack of competition, the majority of the candidates this year will have their legitimacy challenged not by an opponent, but rather by the student body.
“Even though the forums are targeted to reach different classifications of students, they are open to the public,” said Shauna Stadnik, chair of the ASUW Elections Administration Committee (EAC). “We want to encourage students to attend a forum and get civically engaged in this year’s elections.”
Each candidate spoke about a variety of issues, ranging from presence of board members on campus to how budget cuts could be affecting operations.
Gerald Corporal, ASUW directory of community relations and presidential candidate, spoke about the importance of the board of directors as representation of the student community.
“I care about every single student, every single program,” Corporal said. “The reason why we are doing this is because we want to serve students.”
Corporal also said that tuition increases, campus safety and lack of student enrichment are the three most prominent issues on campus.
Tim Mensing, the opposing candidate for ASUW president, expressed his interest in expanding the presence and transparency of ASUW across campus.
“Instead of asking the student body to come to us, we will come to you,” Mensing said.
He also noted his desire to see ASUW board of directors meetings taking place in various locations across campus in an effort to attract increased involvement.
RHSA will be making its endorsement decisions based on candidate speeches and answers to audience questions from last night’s forum. The decisions will be announced at the RHSA general council meeting today at 4:30 p.m. in Lander L-135.
Last night’s forum was the first of a series of public appearances ASUW candidates are scheduled to make leading up to the elections during the week of May 13, which will be conducted online.
“Future forums will be hosted by different organizations, and so the style of the forums will differ,” Stadnik said. “The forums all target different populations on campus. The one today was meant to reach out to the Greek community and residence hall residents.”
The next public election-related gathering will be a candidate’s fair hosted by the EAC, which will take place during the afternoon of April 30 on the HUB lawn.
“These forums are important because they allow candidates to voice their platforms and goals,” Stadnik said. “We try to provide multiple opportunities for students to meet the students who want to work on their behalf and represent them.”
Reach reporter Ivan Vukovic at news@dailyuw.com.”
World Report
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 21, 2009“Representatives from 23 European Union countries walked out of the main hall at the United Nations’ anti-racism conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, after a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad’s controversial remarks came early in his 30-minute speech, which he began by calling Israel “a totally racist government in occupied Palestine,” and also said that Israel’s formation “left an entire nation homeless under the pretext of Jewish suffering.” The delegates returned after the speech ended.
The walkout was not the first protest the conference experienced that morning, even in the short span between the beginning of Ahmadinejad’s speech and the disputed comments. Just as Ahmadinejad began his speech, French protesters wearing clown wigs tossed clown noses at the Iranian president, letting loose with cries of “Racist!”
Eight nations, including the United States, Israel, Germany and Australia, decided to boycott the five-day event and not send any representatives.
This was similar to the fate of the United Nations’ last conference about racism, which took place in South Africa in 2001. That event was also boycotted by the United States and Israel and ended with a resolution that the United States still protests to this day, claiming its limitation on religious criticism infringed upon free speech.
Iranian-American journalist charged with espionage
In the span of just a few days, Iranian-American journalist Roxana Siberi was tried and convicted of spying against Iran for the United States, then was publicly declared innocent by President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and then was told by Iranian Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi that she had the right to a fair appeal.
Siberi was sentenced Saturday to eight years in prison for the crime of espionage against Iran. A dual Iranian and American citizen, Siberi had been living in Iran for six years and reporting for the BBC, NPR and FOX News when she was arrested in January. She was originally charged with attempting to buy alcohol, then accused of operating without press credentials — hers were revoked in 2006 — and, two weeks ago, that was turned into an espionage charge.
She was tried and convicted behind closed doors in the Iranian Revolutionary Court.
Reach columnist Morgan Gard at news@dailyuw.com.”
Moderate
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 21, 2009“In the midst of economic turmoil and a drug war in Mexico, the U.S. government must now contend with a new menace that is threatening world stability: Somali piracy.
While President Obama’s decision last weekend to authorize force against the Somali pirates may have been successful, it is ultimately only the beginning of a long-term military effort.
This was not an isolated incident; this year alone, pirates have attacked dozens of vessels in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian ocean and held more than 300 innocent sailors hostage until yesterday. Phillips just happened to be the first sailor kidnapped from a U.S. vessel. He was courageous to the core and offered himself up as a hostage in exchange for his crew to remain safe. A native of Vermont and a die-hard Red Sox fan, he is a modern-day American hero. This was a hostage crisis of the most extreme nature.
His rescue proved dramatic; about two weeks ago, Phillips was freed as U.S. Navy snipers shot three of the Somali captors dead. Now, we must deal with the crisis at hand. It begs the question, have we stood up to a bully or merely awakened a sleeping giant? There’s no question about it; it’s a struggle similar to fighting terrorists. President Obama is urging the U.S. government to work with our allies to fight a new kind of villain.
A lot of options have been laid on the table, such as arming crews, an international moratorium on ransom payments and a system of World War II style escorts and convoys. Ultimately, however, the best solution will probably be to use the military, with its rapid reaction, deadly force, exclusion zones and inspections.
Some question whether military action is the right move — some attribute terrorism to poor economic policy in third world countries — however, this is, at the very least, absurd. They argue that these Somali pirates do so because it is their only alternative to poverty and starvation. This is completely illogical. If the incentives for piracy are economic, then a decreased likelihood of booty ought to decrease it, yet nobody seems to expect this to happen.
Somalia is ultimately the quintessential failed state, but the pirates don’t need a state — piracy is their state. The pirates are smart and are the maritime wing of a warlord society that rules Somalia, which, in turn helps its citizens starve. Before the United States can help Somalia re-establish itself as a nation, it must defeat the pirates militarily. It is the only solution.
Reach columnist Katie Paff at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Liberal
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 21, 2009“The capture by pirates of Captain Richard Philips of the Maersk Alabama off the Horn of Africa and his subsequent rescue by the U.S. Navy has cast a spotlight on the growing problem of piracy in the region and the ways we should combat it, but has failed to generate significant attention for the true culprit in this crisis. The only questions being asked are about how to treat the symptom of piracy and not the disease of poverty and lawlessness.
It has been the greatest question of the entire postwar era — far more important than capitalism versus communism.
“Development,” “nation building,” “liberalization,” “good governance” — all of the theories, buzzwords, interventions and good intentions have come and gone and largely failed. In vogue now is the idea that everything the First World has done over that last century to help the poorer people of the world has delivered far more harm on the balance. This harm is, of course, itself dwarfed by the deliberate destruction and exploitation perpetrated on most of the planet by the wealthy and powerful minority.
Even if there was agreement on the causes of poverty and lawlessness in places like Somalia — where those four teenagers had such meager prospects for a legitimate future and so little to lose that they turned to piracy — we would only be marginally closer to a solution.
Though Somalia possesses an internationally recognized government, this government does not possess Somalia. It is less a country and more of a geographical area with ambitiously specific borders. Within those borders, there is such a crisis of basic sustenance and security, and such a deficit of opportunity and surplus of weapons as to make taking on a container ship seem like a neat idea.
The poverty and powerlessness in Somalia has a hundred twins with a hundred different faces all over this world. Barack Obama’s message of hope was taken by many in the Third World to apply to everyone, not just Americans. Something — many things — about Obama resonated with the world’s poor and disenfranchised peoples. Yet, solving the problem of global poverty was, among all those hopes I have for the world, left uninspired by Obama’s election. Changing the direction of U.S. global economic policy or reforming our dubious aid strategy would pit his administration against all of the most powerful and moneyed interests in government.
The three simultaneous head shots which killed the three pirates holding Philips demonstrate how in each individual encounter with an enemy, the U.S. will always prevail, even while struggling in the large war. The solutions we have heard for dealing with the piracy crisis — and sometimes with Somalia itself — have concentrated on the use of this amazing power we possess. Thinking we can fight our way out of every problem is an American legacy we should be loath to repeat again. Unfortunately, addressing the issue properly would be to end poverty, spread democracy, and ensure safety, plenty and equality for all people. So far, no one has figured out how.
Reach columnist Greg Ryan at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Conservative
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 21, 2009“Somalia may be the best example of what the world was like before governments. It is a nation so bereft of anything we would naturally associate with nations, that the word barely even qualifies. It has no real central government, rather, a collection of ruthless warlords vying for power. Women have essentially no rights but are still apt to outlive the males by six years because men keep killing each other.
We in the United States were recently forced to acknowledge the harsh reality of such a world when several of our citizens were kidnapped on the Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates, and the story that ensued should teach us some lessons about the realities of life in a dangerous world.
We all know how the story ends, of course. Navy seals, on the orders of President Obama, simultaneously shot three pirates and rescued the ship’s captain, becoming instant heroes and endowing Obama with the gravitas of strong leadership. Let us not forget, however, that when leaders make decisions, they are often life and death decisions, not life or death decisions.
This means that when someone lives, someone else has to die; an American citizen is alive today because three other men are dead. They may have deserved it, it may have been necessary, but they are nonetheless dead.
In contemplating this, I couldn’t help but remember a story from the Bible. When David asked God for permission to build a temple, God forbade him to do so because he fought to defend the people of Israel from evil. It was not morally wrong for David to shed blood, but in some sense, spiritually defiling. This, I believe, is the price presidents and warriors alike must pay. This is why I believe that soldiers are truly heroes, because by serving in warfare, they have voluntarily given up their innocence so that we can maintain our own.
The first lesson is for Obama: Being president of the United States is not a blessing, it is a burden. This victory will not be enough. We will need to establish a major naval presence in the East African region. We will need to continue to engage these pirates on the high seas and in their shore bases because they will continue to attack our citizens until the high casualty rate renders the prospect unprofitable for them.
The reason why our leaders and military were able to act is because the ship crew acted first. They realized that though we have leaders who make decisions, often we must take matters into our own hands. They captured one of the pirates, and the captain sacrificed his freedom for his crew.
In normal society, we are trained to be passive in the face of violence. This ignores the philosophical truth that whenever two people are together and one is passive and the other is violent, violence, not peace, will be the result. When faced with evil, we must be prepared to abandon passivity — to abandon, our own innocence in order to protect our friends. We can be proud of what happened this week, but when we are done patting ourselves on the back, this incident teaches a sober lesson we are often too quick to forget.
Reach columnist John Fay at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
UW running backs look to improve
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 20, 2009“If there’s something Husky football fans shouldn’t be worried about, it’s the talent and depth of this year’s running game.
A healthy Chris Polk headlines a backfield that is a little more experienced than last season and is full of talent. Sophomore Terrance Dailey, last year’s leading rusher with 353 yards, should be a big factor, while sophomores Curtis Shaw and David Freeman, along with newcomer Demitrius Bronson, should all provide help to a deep backfield.
“The running backs are going to be good,” Polk said. “We all do something better than the other. Everyone does a little bit of everything.”
Polk, a redshirt freshman from Redlands, Calif., figures to be a big part of the running offense after playing only two games last year due to injuries. Polk returned to spring practice last Friday after being sidelined for a lower-leg injury in the beginning of spring workouts. Coaches are happy to see Polk back on the field.
“I think he’s got some special abilities, and he’s looking good,” said first-year running backs coach Joel Thomas.
Bronson, a freshman from Kent, Wash., has had a successful and surprising spring thus far, racking up big run after big run and impressing players and coaches.
“D.B. is a great running back, and he’s a workhorse,” said senior fullback Paul Homer. “He’s just really strong and dedicated, and it shows out there on the field. He’s doing really well.”
Thomas said that while he doesn’t have much film on either Polk or Bronson, he’s been happy with their efforts thus far. He’s hoping to continue to develop the two players and keep the competition level high.
“They [Polk and Bronson] have shown some really nice things, and it’s my job to continue to develop them,” he said. “The main thing is that I want to continue to create competition for this group. If you’re the number one guy, you’d better be looking over your shoulder because someone better be approaching.”
The Huskies have three or four running backs who have the ability to become starters. While all could possibly start at the running back position, coaches are looking for someone to stand out.
“They’ve all shown they have innate ability on certain things to do something special,” said Thomas. “[But] we just need a guy that is going to prove that he’s going to be special all the time. Ultimately, that’s the guy that’s going to be the starter in the long run.”
Thomas was the running backs coach at Purdue before joining the Husky coaching staff in January. He spent 2002-2003 as the running backs coach at Louisville, where the Cardinals were ranked 10th in the nation in rushing offense (228.2 yards per game). Thomas played at Idaho from 1995-1998, where he ran for 3,929 yards and 51 touchdowns, both all-time Vandal highs.
“He is much more hands-on,” Polk said. “When you hit the hole, he’s right behind you. He’s more down to earth, and we can connect to him.”
If all goes well, fans can expect a skilled backfield next season that will bring depth and experience to an important position.
“We still have a lot of work to do, and we’re excited to get that work done,” said Homer. “We’re excited to get this thing turned around and get it going [back to] where it was.”
Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Taylor dominant at U.S. Intercollegiate
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 20, 2009“It’s not common to win by 15 strokes, have two players shoot 7-under par on the final day and have your top golfer claim his fourth medalist honor of the season, but the men’s golf team did just that at the U.S. Intercollegiate this weekend.
Junior Nick Taylor shot a final round 63 en route to his record fourth medalist honor of this season, and the Huskies won their fourth tournament of the year at the Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif. Their total score of 804 was 15 shots better than second-place USC.
Taylor, a native of Abbotsford, B.C., is now tied with former Husky Brock Mackenzie on the all-time list for victories.
Along with Taylor, fellow junior Darren Wallace matched Taylor’s Sunday performance with another 63 and finished second overall, just one stroke behind Taylor. Sophomore Tze Huang Choo finished off the top-three sweep for the Dawgs by shooting a 70 on Sunday for a total of 200 (65-65-70) and a third-place finish.
Rounding out the dominating performance was junior Chris Killmer (72-70-71), who finished tied for 40th, and junior Richard Lee (66-73-78), who finished tied for 56th.
The No. 8 Huskies should feel good about their chances at the Pac-10 championships next week as nine of the ten Pac-10 teams were competing this weekend at the U.S. Intercollegiate. The Pac-10 championships begin April 27 and will be played at the Seattle Golf Club.
The No. 43 women also played well this weekend at the Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational at the Scarlet Course at Ohio State University. The Dawgs shot a total of 911 and finished in third place behind No. 31 Ohio State (895) and No. 22 Kent State (905).
Coach Mary Lou Mulflur was happy with the way her team played but noted that the Dawgs had the same inconsistencies that have been bothering them recently. A few players play well one day while others play well another day, but the team hasn’t been able to put up good scores across the board.
“It’s the same challenge we’ve had the last few weeks,” she said. “[But] we feel like we’re ready to break through, and we’re hoping that we can get everybody clicking.”
Sophomore Anya Alvarez, who had struggled the past few weeks, was impressive this weekend with a four-over total of 220 and a third-place finish overall.
“She’s been playing really well,” Mulflur said of Alvarez. “It was nice to see her get going and back on the right track.”
Following Alvarez was junior Molly Aronsson (T13), freshman Sadena Parks (T20), junior Christina Yoon (T37) and sophomore Karinn Dickinson (T40).
The Huskies will look forward to the Pac-10 championships, which begin April 24 at the Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto. Last spring, Dickinson came away with medalist honors at the Peg Barnard Collegiate, which was also played at the Stanford Golf Course.
“It’s a course we know really well,” Mulflur said. “We really enjoy the course, so we feel like we’re well-prepared.”
Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Trying to be heard: One student’s journey to the Capitol steps and back
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 20, 2009“OLYMPIA, Wash. — Ben Joselyn’s cell phone rings.
“Hey,” he greets his friend on the other line. “I’m on the steps of the Capitol building about to pitch my tent. Just looking for a good spot.”
The UW freshman, who plans to camp out this weekend in Washington’s capital, embodies an activist spirit seemingly lost at the UW over the years.
In 1968, the Black Student Union stormed history classes and arranged a sit-in within then-President Charles Odegaard’s office to dispute racist curriculum.
Following the Kent State shootings in March 1970, 7,000 UW students marched west on Northeast 45th Street toward I-5, effectively impeding the traffic current.
UW students were also involved in the 1999 anti-WTO demonstrations.
But now that legislation threatens to yank 30 percent of the UW’s funding, instead of thousands, there’s just one — and a tent.
Joselyn begins to unpack his tent, drawing little interest from the few state employees scattered on the Capitol steps. It is, after all, Friday and only 9:30 a.m. The air is laced with mist and the wind is chilly — arguably not the most ideal of conditions for a Capitol protest. But for now, at least, the steady drizzle from earlier this morning has subsided.
While he feels it was absolutely necessary for him to embark on this journey, Joselyn admits he’s unsure about state laws restricting such action.
“My mom told me to call if I needed them to bail me out of jail,” Joselyn says. “And my future roommates don’t really want a police record on our housing application.”
But political activism, however radical, seems to be genetic in Joselyn’s family: His grandmother ran campaigns, and his dad once torched a model submarine stuffed with his dead Christmas tree in an effort to shoo recruiters from campus.
Even as a kid, Joselyn was aware of government affairs; he recalls very specifically George W. Bush’s first presidential election. And just last year, Joselyn worked on the campaign of Phyllis Huster, a Democrat who ran for 5th District senator but was defeated by Cheryl Pflug, a Republican.
Joselyn intends to major in what he dubs “world service,” or, he said, “Finding, through knowledge, a way to make the world a better place.”
While connecting tent poles, Joselyn manages to attract the attention of two Washington state troopers lingering by the door of the Legislative Building. They look him over, mutter to each other and disappear inside.
For the moment, Joselyn is unfazed, cracking jokes and feeding off the adrenaline that whisked him the 60 miles from Seattle to Olympia.
“By the way, I’ve only pitched this tent, like, twice,” he says, justifying his brief struggle with its setup. “I’m regretting this for that aspect of it. I’m having a good time otherwise.”
Once the tent is erected properly, Joselyn drapes his yellow banner — “Is my education worth having to live in this tent?” and “Cutting education is like clubbing a child in the kneecaps” — across its top.
It is now about 10 a.m. and before Joselyn is able to find a cozy spot inside the tent to begin his homework, the state troopers descend to deliver an initial warning.
Joselyn is polite and cooperative, insisting he’s “just here trying to be heard.”
The troopers nod their understanding, assuring the student they’ll get back to him on the legality of his protest.
“You’re kind of lopsided here,” adds Trooper Jennings, gesturing to Joselyn’s banner before he leaves.
Joselyn critiques his handiwork. The banner flutters in the slight breeze, obscuring parts of the message.
“Yeah, I didn’t do good math in mapping it out,” he explains, adjusting the sign so the words remain legible.
The state troopers return a mere five minutes later to dispense a verdict: The sign can stay, but the tent must be dismantled, as the Capitol building is private property.
Yet, humor is not entirely lost on these enforcers of the law.
“Maybe you can cut a hole in the banner for your head,” Jennings suggests, “walk around with it.”
As the troopers depart once again, Joselyn remarks that he lasted longer than he anticipated.
“Getting arrested really doesn’t say anything at this point,” he says. “If there were a lot of people and it was more concrete, maybe. As it is, no one’s really passing by.”
Soon, however, people do start to pass by. After Joselyn packs up his tent and manages to hang his banner from a railing, a school tour group climbs the stairs, inquisitive children pointing and gossiping about the strange man with the sign.
One woman skims the sign, uttering an audible “Oh!” as she promptly turns her head.
Others ponder more deeply the message Joselyn is intending to communicate.
“It’s powerful,” says Marissa Tsaniff, a Capitol tour guide. “It definitely makes you stop and think for a minute.”
Later in the day, Joselyn meets with representatives from his district to discuss tuition payments being siphoned into the general fund for Washington state.
“My representative said directly to me, ‘It’s something I consider a problem, something we’re going to fight against, and if it’s not removed from the budget, I won’t vote for it,’” Joselyn says. “I felt incredibly heard. I felt like coming here was a success, if nothing but for that moment.”
He spends the rest of the afternoon observing action on the legislative floor, eventually deciding to trek back to the UW in the evening. The Legislature isn’t in session over the weekend, and Joselyn feels a sense of accomplishment after being able to speak with legislators face-to-face.
“I applaud and respect those who take the time to travel to Olympia to express their views on legislation,” wrote state Rep. Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, in an e-mail. “This in-person activism makes an impact on lawmakers.”
Joselyn believes that if others take action — as so many once did — there may be some hope in alleviating the harshness of the budget cuts. He encourages others to make their own political voyages if they want their voices heard, but claims that activism can be a very personal, individualized medium.
“I don’t want anyone to rally to my message,” Joselyn says. “I want them to rally to their own.”
Reach reporter Rachel Solomon at features@dailyuw.com.”
Ending piracy means fighting against extortion
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 20, 2009“When threatened by a criminal, many people respond with neither fight nor flight, but by giving the criminal what he or she wants. Many argue that this is the best individual response. By giving in, that person can avoid physical injury. Unfortunately, criminals alter or amplify their behavior to take into account victims’ responses.
When criminals expect members of the public to give in when their person or property is violated, their inclination to commit crime rises. In the long run, handing over your wallet instead of either running or fighting back means more and more wallets are going to get stolen. Every person who makes what they see as a rational individual choice is contributing to the problem in the aggregate.
So it has been with the case of the Somali pirates who have been plaguing the Horn of Africa in recent years and who made headlines last week when they attempted to hijack a U.S. ship. Too often, shipping companies and sovereign powers — particularly European and Middle Eastern nations — have simply paid the ransom money demanded. While this may increase the safety of hostages in the short run, it also makes the pirates more inclined to commit further kidnappings and hijackings.
The problem of piracy is not new. Although pirates in the age of sails focused more on loot and less on hostages, their behavior is not altogether different from that of today’s pirates — they rob merchant ships for material gain.
Piracy was only defeated when world empires mustered the political will and military firepower to hunt down and kill or capture the pirates. Public hangings and other severe punishments made a pirate’s life a lot less appealing. There’s no enjoying loot at the end of a noose.
Last week’s rescue of Captain Richard Phillips by the U.S. Navy should mark the beginning of a similar strategy for combating modern pirates. Three snipers simultaneously shot and killed each of the hostage-takers in an impressive display of marksmanship under relatively poor shooting conditions. Such incidents will serve as a warning to other would-be swashbucklers. An increased naval presence would further reinforce this message.
For now, other pirates are responding with bluster, proclaiming that they will kill hostages sooner rather than later and, not surprisingly, hurling abuse at the United States — the only country whose navy dared to call them on their bluff.
They would like to keep the world’s shippers cowed and paying endless ransoms, but the reality is that the pirates don’t really have the option to kill their hostages. Without any human bargaining chips to deter a military response, the pirates would quickly be slaughtered.
Fighting a war on piracy is not as complicated as fighting a war on terrorism. Unlike terrorists, pirates seek money and fear death, making them rational actors. While paying ransoms may be the path of least resistance, it will only make the problem worse by reducing the pirates’ perception of risk and increasing their rewards. Fighting the pirates will reduce the number of pirates and increase the real and perceived risk of engaging in piracy.
Therefore, the answer must, as it was in the 18th century, be the unaccommodating one. In the long run, the only acceptable response to pirates is to show them no mercy.
Reach columnist Russ Wung at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
In days gone by: a look at this week in history
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 20, 2009“From The Daily:
April 21, 1942:
In a story titled “C-C-Clinic Helps S-S-Stutterers,” The Daily reported that professor James Carrell was going to be offering courses to help students with “speech deficits.” The story started “’D-D-Do y-y-you l-l-love m-me?’ The tongue tied student saying these words may be t-t-timid.”
I guess political correctness, or even general compassion, hadn’t yet come into vogue.
April 25, 1989:
According to this day’s edition of The Daily, a lab in the Electrical Engineering Building went up in flames as a result of a smoldering cigarette left on a couch in the lab. The fire caused an estimated $200,000 of damage.
April 26, 1979:
In a story titled “Talking computer shares ability with disabled,” The Daily reported that UW engineering student Carlos Naranjo had developed a computer program that allowed a disabled woman to speak through a machine. Messages typed using a keyboard were displayed — phonetically — on a screen and then translated into sound, which was produced by a synthesizer.
Common phrases were assigned to single keys, and phrases could be combined into complete sentences.
Naranjo undertook the project after suffering a severe head injury and temporary loss of speech himself.
Source: The Daily archives
Around the World:
April 20, 1999:
It was 10 years ago today that two teenage gunmen, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, went on a shooting spree at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. The pair killed 12 fellow students and one teacher, wounding an additional 23. At the time, this was the worst school shooting in U.S. history, and was a shock to the school, the city and the nation.
April 21, 753 B.C.:
This is the traditional day of the founding of Rome by the twins Romulus and Remus. According to legend, the twins were the orphaned sons of Rhea Silvia, princess of the mythical city Alba Longa, and Mars, the god of war. The infants were seen as a threat to the king’s throne and were sentenced to be drowned in the Tiber River. Instead, they survived and were suckled by a wolf until they were found by a shepherd and raised by him and his wife. Once they grew up, Romulus and Remus learned their true identities, returned to Alba Longa to kill the wicked king (their uncle, of course), and founded a city on the site where they were suckled by the wolf. In true legendary fashion, they got into a fight in which Romulus killed his brother and then named the new city “Rome” after himself.
April 24, 1953:
Today marked the knighting of Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill by Queen Elizabeth II. As you probably learned in high school, Churchill was the prime minister of England who saw that country through World War II.
April 25, 1719:
Daniel Defoe’s novel The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is published. The book is based on the real-life experiences of various shipwrecked sailors, plus Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor who was marooned on an island for four years in the early 1700s. In the book, Crusoe is shipwrecked and spends 28 years on a deserted island.
Source: history.com/this-day-in-history
Reach features editor Randy Ferreiro at features@dailyuw.com.”
Columbine remembered: UW students reflect on 10th anniversary of Columbine shooting
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 20, 2009“Katie Searing was 11 when it happened; her mom was driving her in the car when the breaking news came over the radio.
“I did not think it was true,” said Searing, now a UW junior. “But then you heard it on every radio station. It was such a foreign concept that something like this would happen in a place like Colorado.”
Ten years ago on a Tuesday morning, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into their high school in Littleton, Colo. The two went on a killing spree, carrying out a mission they had been planning for almost a year. Less than an hour later, the two young gunmen had killed 12 students and a teacher and wounded 23 others before ending their own lives. The event would come to be known simply as Columbine.
David Beck, a 32-year-old research scientist at the UW, was an undergraduate college student at the time of the shooting. He vividly remembers the moment when the initial news report came over National Public Radio. Sitting in his office, the massacre struck a deep chord with Beck, bringing him to tears.
“I was just enough older than the Columbine high schoolers that I could realize the angst of youth is temporary,” Beck said. “But those actions were permanent.”
Ken Ploeger, a senior majoring in English, did not realize the significance of Columbine until a few years later.
“Most of us were not old enough to understand,” Ploeger said of his peers. “We were only in the fifth or sixth grade.”
However, as Ploeger moved into high school, the event gained significance, and programs were implemented that he believed were reflective of the tragedy.
For Ralph Fascitelli, president of Washington Ceasefire, an organization dedicated to reducing gun violence, Columbine was a profoundly terrifying event.
Ceasefire is holding a candlelight vigil tonight in Green Lake to commemorate the Columbine High School massacre and also highlight gun control.
“At the time, one of my kids was in high school, the other in junior high school,” Fascitelli said. “It was every parent’s nightmare.”
Since Columbine, Fascitelli joined Washington Ceasefire with the hope of preventing something like Columbine from occurring again.
“Schools are meant to be a safe place for your kids,” Fascitelli said. “But on that day, those parents’ kids did not come home.”
The vigil begins at 7:30 p.m. with speeches by Fascitelli and King County Councilmember Dow Constantine. It will be followed by a candlelight walk around Green Lake.
“A lot of the time we get caught up in trying to build a life,” Ploeger said. “Events like Columbine start you thinking about the people that matter.”
Reach contributing writer Serena Solomon at development@dailyuw.com.”
Weird world news: Jedi police officers in Scotland, a real life “Benjamin Button”
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 17, 2009“TIANJIN — Zhao Liang, measuring 8 feet 7 inches tall, may now be the tallest man in the world. He recently went to the hospital for tendon pain in his left foot that he has been experiencing for three years. This injury prevented him from continuing to train as a basketball player in 2006.
His parents, both of average height, were concerned for their son as he sought employment with a circus troop, playing saxophone and performing magic tricks.
Doctors at a Tianjin hospital recognized his potential as a record-holder after measuring him to be 3.9 inches taller than the current holder of this title, Bao Xishun.
Liang is awaiting official recognition from the Guinness World Records.
SCOTLAND — Strathclyde recently had its police force list an unusual religion on its officer records. According to the updated files, eight officers practice the religion of “Jedi.”
These files were meant to monitor “six strands of diversity,” encompassing age, disabilities, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation.
Strathclyde has the largest police force in Scotland and is now the only force of the 55 polled U.K. forces to list any Jedis.
INDIA — Surgeons have discovered a medical rarity in a 26-year-old man inhabiting the body of a toddler.
Jerly Lyngdoh, who lives with his parents, measures 2 feet 9 inches tall, appearing in every way to be a toddler, with the exception of his adult teeth.
Lyngdoh’s case is considered to be a glandular defect, as his body failed to secrete growth hormones. Though his parents continue to dress him in baby clothes, he is still 4 inches taller than China’s He Pingping, the world’s official shortest man.
COLORADO — A woman has been arrested on animal cruelty charges after adhering an 8-month-old puppy to a refrigerator with packing tape and binding its paws and snout with hair ties.
The event took place after a domestic dispute between 20-year-old Abby Toll and her boyfriend, 21-year-old Bryan Beck, when he failed to get rid of the puppy after it defecated in the apartment and bit her.
When officers arrived to the apartment, Toll informed them that she taped the dog to the refrigerator and that this was not a usual occurrence. Officers did not accept that her intent to get rid of the dog justified the means of subduing it during the interval of its residence with her.
Toll faces felony charges of animal cruelty and domestic violence, along with misdemeanor charges of criminal tampering and third-degree assault. Beck also faces charges associated with the domestic dispute.
Reach columnist Matt Jackson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Free Speech Friday: April 17
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 17, 2009“In response to “Iowa decision a positive step toward rights for all couples,” April 8, by Chris Jordan
I believe people should get to choose who they want to receive the benefits they’ve earned, such as health insurance and inheritance. It is essential to have those you care most about there in the hospital with you. For these and many other reasons, I’m fine with civil unions. But the column by Chris Jordan is full of errors that need to be corrected.
First, this is a republic! You might remember that from saying the pledge of allegiance as a kid in school. The major issue is that a few judges changing the law is not how a republic works. This is not the way to change the system. This is a much bigger issue than gay marriage. The republic is being distorted and changed by a few people. This only leads to an oligarchy, which isn’t good for anybody.
Second, you asked, “How exactly does allowing happy, committed gay couples to enjoy equal rights attack ‘the good of children’ and families?” Many children are put into good, loving and happy homes through Christian adoption agencies.
Already, Catholic Charities of Boston has halted all adoption operations in the state in response to Massachusetts’ change-of-marriage laws, which, in compliance with the state’s anti-discrimination laws, require that only agencies placing children in homosexual-led households would get licensed by the state,
This great adoption service that brought so much joy to children and has positively changed their lives will no longer exist due to gay marriage. Don’t be so blind as to not look past the immediate consequences. Some couples genuinely want to be married. Unfortunately, many use this as means to persecute and take away freedom of religion.
Third, “It doesn’t mean churches would be forced to recognize gay marriages.” I’d like to know where you get you research from? You should cite or give specific examples as a journalist. You’re not the only one, as it seems to be the trend these days. There is a very real threat against churches’ ability to continue practicing their religions. Pastor Ake Green preached a sermon in his church from the New Testament saying that homosexuality is sinful. Then came a criminal prosecution against Pastor Green for allegedly violating Sweden’s “hate-speech” law prohibiting expression criticizing a minority group, in this case, persons who engage in homosexual behavior.
He was sentenced to prison for a period of 30 days for preaching his religion in his church. Luckily, the Swedish Supreme Court reversed this decision. This is what happens when the definition of marriage is changed.
This also leads to the bigger picture. Look at all the dictators in the past 100 years that used “hate speech” as a blanket excuse to condemn anything they didn’t like. It’s a powerful phrase used by dictators to manipulate their way into power.
I hope people out there will look into the long-term consequences of what’s happening in our republic.
Jen Pollard,
Sophomore, biology
In response to “Health class encourages UW to host tent city,” April 8, by Katie McVicker
As a UW student and a resident of the U-District, I would like to express my outrage at the idea of the UW hosting a tent city. I believe that tent cities don’t help the homeless whatsoever, they merely enable homelessness. They allow people who would otherwise be trying to find a job and a place to live to get accustomed to homelessness, and even become comfortable being homeless.
Some people who live in tent cities remain there for years, living off the goodwill of others and not giving anything back to their community. These are not just empty accusations. I was in the audience at the tent-city forum in Kane Hall and got the opportunity to ask questions and chat with residents of the camp, including a tent-city leader who was a key speaker at the forum. This individual has been homeless since 1996.
He has stated that he is homeless by choice. When asked if he would accept a low-wage job, he replied that he would not and that he is waiting for a job in the field of computer science. When asked if he would accept a room for rent in the U-District for $400, he replied that he would not and that he would prefer to live in the tent city. When asked why he expects the UW to provide him with land, water, electricity and bathroom facilities, he replied that it was because the UW was so wealthy and had so many resources. The other two tent-city residents had nearly identical stories. They were not willing to work minimum-wage jobs, and they wanted to remain living in the tent city.
The reality is that the residents living in the tent city are living there because they want to. It is very possible to pay rent and buy food on minimum wage. I’m doing it, and quite a few of my friends are doing it. The residents of tent city are not willing to do this. So my question to you is, why should we reward their irresponsibility by providing them with a free place to live?
Kuzma Kovzun
Senior, biochemistry/psychology
In response to, “Changing the rules: Interfraternity Council implements updated Risk Management Policy,” April 10, by Michael Truong
The new Interfraternity Council (IFC) alcohol policy gives the appearance of reduced risk of overconsumption, but it does nothing to decrease the real problem, and in some cases, may increase risks.
The fundamental issue with overconsumption is not the alcohol content of the drink, it is the desire to overconsume. I have a hard time believing it has anything to do with booze having an alcohol content greater than 8 percent when I hear people say, “I’m gonna get so f---ed up tonight!” They want to drink, so they do.
The hard alcohol will still be here. Instead of at the bar, it will be upstairs in rooms. Guys can go upstairs and drink all they want. Girls who dislike beer — especially the crap served at parties — will seek out guys willing to give them shots and/or mixed drinks, potentially putting them in rooms of unfamiliar guys consuming drinks less regulated than those previously served at party bars. Is this really a safer situation?
For those wise enough not to wander upstairs with sketchy frat boys, they will solve the problem by going to a house where they know the guys and drink before going out (universally referred to as “pre-partying,” but known at our beloved UW as “pre-funking”). While most will stop at a good buzz before going out, this policy increases the odds that partiers will “pre-funk” harder to avoid having to deal with the lame drink offerings the IFC allows, and thus increases the odds of overconsumption.
Some fraternities broke the old rules. “Dry” houses had parties. Premixed drinks were served at bars. Parties were had without filing the appropriate paperwork. That is just how it was … and how it is. These rules will be broken, whether upstairs or down. The addition of more rules just makes life harder for the houses that followed the original rules, but it does nothing to the houses that always broke the rules, the greater source of alcohol problems in the first place.
Unfortunately, this policy is already in place. I am disappointed that the IFC created something so out of touch with reality. This policy will not solve problems of overconsumption. It will merely appease the pressures on the IFC from police and university officials, but then again, maybe that is all it was intended to do.
Either way, you will find me behind a closed door upstairs, drinking something else.
Gregory James Hammond
Senior, Earth and space sciences
Government by the students, for the students?
The student government, the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW), should be a government by the students, for the students and of the students. The ASUW is only able to meet that last condition, and it typically does so with mediocrity and apathy.
While we, the students, have not been keeping watch, our elected advocates have capitulated to the UW administration’s agenda of cementing control over all tuition rates. They have given them a blank check to raise tuition arbitrarily. To President Emmert and Provost Wise, we students are a piggy bank whose broken pieces have been super-glued back together too many times. Instead of fighting tooth-and-nail for low tuition and increased financial aid in this economy, the ASUW has copped out.
How could this happen? Let me illustrate the inner workings of your student government. The Student Senate is a futile exercise. They define themselves by working at a snail’s pace to come up with “student opinion” that has no relevance beyond framing the agenda of the president, board of directors and the lobbyist. Worse yet, they are kept in the dark to relevant information and are led like lambs to the opinions they endorse.
They have no teeth to check the power of the entrenched leaders that are grandfathered into ASUW leadership. Indeed, they are a self-selecting bunch, as almost none are elected and all of them are simply cherry-picked from what the ASUW defines as campus communities. Gerrymandering is rampant, with each group, commuters, Greeks, student organizations, diversity commissions, etc., getting special seats with no regard to whether or not they earned their right to represent students.
The ASUW board of directors is a circus that becomes more ludicrous each year. Elections are a joke; I have either witnessed or been told of flagrant violations of election rules, spending limits and the doctoring of receipts for the past four elections. I am sure the history of this rank-and-file corruption extends farther back. When someone has been “caught,” they get slapped on the wrist and are allowed to keep their illegally won position anyway.
The elections are not even a worthy representation of what students think. The number of people who vote rarely reaches 4,000, which is only 10 percent of our student body. The U.S. presidential election does better than that. Whether or not we elect anyone of particular quality has no bearing on how well the board does its job. The entities of the ASUW — the Experimental College and the bike shop, especially — have been running into the ground for years. Ask the employees; many of them would be glad to tell you just how bad it is.
All of these people could care less about students. Being on endless numbers of committees and rubbing shoulders with vice provosts and deans, all of this looks really good on their résumés. Student leaders presume this will give them an edge in politics in the future. The vetting process for any employee or appointee is by a group of peers, all of whom are also involved in the ASUW. Our student government is a fun little club where students can practice parliamentary procedure and play politics, as if it resembles the reality of government and political wrangling at all.
This election, when someone offers you a button or T-shirt that they should not have been allowed to buy, ask them whether or not they were complicit in the proposal to hike our tuition 14 percent and make higher education unattainable for more students. Ask them if they are really working for you, the full-time student who works 40 hours a week and still cannot afford school.
No wonder nobody ever votes in the election — the ASUW is not a legitimate body. After decades of radical student activism that put fear in the hearts of the UW administration, the ASUW has abandoned its watchdog post. Our student leaders can run on an illegitimate mandate from the student body to boost their chances for an unpaid internship for the summer.
If a student asks you to vote for them in this spring election, ask them if they are going to fight for you. Make them work for your vote.
Doug McManaway
Senior, law, societies and justice”
Will's Word of the Week: Khaki
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 16, 2009“It takes a great deal of nerve for a color to assume the name of a piece of clothing. Call it a fashionable takeover of the highest lexicographical order, but that’s exactly what khaki is all about. I must thank my always-inspirational friend Lisa Esperum for suggesting this week’s word.
As the American Heritage Dictionary defines it, khaki describes a “light olive brown to moderate or light-yellowish brown.” It’s also the name of a rough-and-ready (and typically cotton) cloth made from this same color or uniforms of this same shade.
It comes to us from the Urdu word “khāki,” meaning “dusty,” from the Persian word “khak,” meaning “dust,” and it was adapted by the British army in the mid-19th century for its field uniforms, at first informally in India, and then eventually throughout the British empire. As the Oxford English Dictionary elaborates, khaki was composed of “stout-twilled cotton,” or “khaki drill,” but also sometimes of wool, a variant known as “khaki bedford.”
Sir Henry “Harry” Burnett Lumsden (1821-1896) is credited as the inventor (or at least the popularizer) of military khaki. This plucky army officer began his eventful career early. Born on the East India Company ship Rose on the Bay of Bengal, he spent his early years in India, was educated in England and then returned at age 17 to his first job, as an ensign (essentially a junior lieutenant) in a colonial infantry unit.
As the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography relates, Lumsden quickly distinguished himself with a skill for languages and a hearty penchant for gutsy soldiering. So much so, in fact, that in 1846 he was tasked with creating a new unit that would serve in the Punjab, on the always-active northwest frontier where British India met Afghanistan in a wild-and-woolly menagerie of tribes, deserts and mountains.
Lumsden’s elite Corps of Guides “were chosen from the warlike frontier tribes who knew the terrain of the border hills — in his own words, men ‘accustomed to look after themselves, and not easily taken aback by any sudden emergency.’” Lumsden directed that his hand-picked men adopt the practical khaki, and their reputation soon preceded them in many an engagement.
As a particularly proactive peacekeeping force, the Corps of Guides under Lumsden developed a hard-earned reputation as a highly-trained, courageous force that more often than not saved the day. Lumsden was also noted for his personal, action-oriented diplomacy and administrative skills, and he was later promoted to full general, eventually retiring to Belhelvie Lodge, his family’s ancestral home in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
All that being said, a good early example of khaki as used in written English can be found in a July 11, 1883 article in the London Times, “Marksmen … in the case of some of the Indian team, in the light serviceable dust-coloured khakee” (the latter being a variation of our word).
Incidentally, “a khaki” can be a synonym for a soldier dressed in such a uniform or used in reference to just the pant (or trouser).
I do hope you found this somewhat-abridged story of khaki interesting, even if you don’t happen to wear a pair terribly often. If you have word ideas for next week, please send them to me, and, until next time, cheers!
Reach columnist Will Mari at features@dailyuw.com.”
Hidden Seattle: Pratt Fine Arts Center
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 16, 2009“Situated slightly behind a bustling construction site in Seattle’s Central District, a modest gray sign is the only indication of the Pratt Fine Arts Center’s existence. Guarded by several towering trees, its main building resembles an old brick warehouse rather than the home of several first-class art studios. In stark contrast to the loud hammering and sawing sounds of the construction site, Pratt is silent. Only upon entering the building does the place come alive.
According to its Web site, Pratt’s mission is to be “an arts education and resource center dedicated to promoting creative development and artistic engagement to the local and global community.”
Pratt has four main studios; one each for glass, printmaking, sculpture, and jewelry and metals.
Two bright orange and yellow buildings house Pratt’s printmaking studios. There, several antique presses and photo exposure units are housed.
While each of Pratt’s studios is available to rent for a fee, Pratt offers Free Friday Access, when students can use studios for free on Fridays, said Karen Rudd, Pratt’s marketing and PR manager.
Today, Pratt’s hot shop — the glassblowing and glass casting studio — is full of several people working on glassblowing projects.
Artist and sculptor Jeanne Ferraro places a hot pipe on a metal platform to cool until it is comfortable enough to handle. Others are focused on their own projects, each wearing an expression of deep concentration.
“Sorry, I can’t talk,” Ferraro said. “I just need to concentrate on this.”
Pratt provides access to industrial equipment that is too expensive or impractical for most people to own.
“Something like this is really rare,” Rudd said. “This much of a facility and this being available for everyone is rare.”
Pratt offers year-round classes and workshops in a wide range of mediums, including stonecarving, woodworking, glassblowing, metal sculpture, jewelry and metalsmithing. Last year, Pratt offered 612 adult classes with prices ranging from $100 to $700.
“Our introductory-level classes in each studio are the most popular classes,” said Rudd, who started at Pratt as a student in 2001.
Pratt also offers a Master Artist Program and a Visiting Artist Program, where students can learn from nationally and internationally renowned artists.
At Pratt, advanced artists attend classes alongside beginners who may have never picked up a paintbrush. Because the classes are meant to teach technique, the difference in skill level works, said Rudd.
In a partnership with the UW, Pratt began offering UW students enrolled in Art 333: New Materials and Process the opportunity to use its facilities this past January.
From 2:30 to 5:20 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, the class is limited to 14 students.
“It is a survey class, meaning that we try to cover a number of different glass-forming methods,” said Mark Zirpel, an assistant professor at the UW. “Last quarter, we touched on plate-glass fabrications, slumping, fusing, kilncasting, moldmaking, sand casting and lampworking. As UW has no glass facilities of their own, it was thought a working relationship with Pratt would be a way to introduce UW students to glass from day one. Our plan is to begin to put together our own facilities over the next couple of years. So far, so good.”
Pratt was founded in 1976 as part of a city program, Rudd said. The goal of Seattle’s Department of Parks and Recreation was to provide visual arts training for those living in the area.
It was around this time Seward Park Clay Studio and others like it became vital elements in the visual arts community. After Seattle withdrew funding for the programs, Seward Park’s studio became self-supporting while Pratt was established as a private not-for-profit organization in 1982.
Pratt does everything but ceramics, which the Seward Park Clay Studio covers, Rudd said.
At Pratt, things are either hot or cold — literally. While the hot shop can, at times, be sweltering, the cold shop and the outdoor stonecarving area can be quite chilly, depending on Seattle’s ever-changing weather.
As expected of an art studio, numerous pieces of art are on display around Pratt’s studios. Several intricate glass pieces lay on a shelf and a nearby table, while a large bat-looking structure hangs inside Pratt’s sculpture studio.
A display of martini glasses lines a wall in the hot shop.
The glasses were made and donated by students and big-name artists for Pratt’s upcoming auction.
Now in its 27th year, Pratt’s annual Fine Art Auction will take place May 16, and the proceeds will be used to support Pratt.
“The night before the auction, we erect tents and invite people to see about 700 pieces of artwork,” said Rudd.
Pratt also offers other ways for people to get involved in the arts.
Aside from the auction, Pratt offers free lectures and exhibitions, which are held at Pratt and the Pratt Gallery at Tashiro Kaplan Studios in the Pioneer Square neighborhood.
For Rudd, Pratt is more than just an art studio.
“I’m an artist, and I believe that making art is one of the most powerful and transformational individual acts,” Rudd said. “So I believe strongly in Pratt’s mission of giving everyone the opportunity to make art.”
Reach special sections editor Nicole Ciridon at features@dailyuw.com.”
Campus crime blotter: Car break-ins and burglaries
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 16, 2009“From stolen disabled parking permits to vandalized vehicles, this weekly crime blotter aims to inform readers about offenses on and surrounding campus. While in-depth articles may be written about specific incidents, this column provides a brief overview of recent crimes that impact the UW community.
Wednesday — April 8
A GPS system and disabled parking permit were stolen from a vehicle in the Triangle Parking Garage. A rear window was broken, with the damage and stolen property amounting to $425.
Later that night, a female student at Northeast 41st Street and 11th Avenue Northeast was knocked to the ground around 11 p.m. and had a backpack containing a wallet and laptop stolen when she was attacked from behind. The suspect fled the scene, and the incident is still being investigated by the Seattle Police Department.
Thursday — April 9
A student left belongings unattended during a lab in the Chemistry Building and returned to find her personal items missing. The value of the stolen property exceeds $3,000.
Friday — April 10
A car window was broken in the E4 parking lot, and a wallet, backpack and $80 were stolen from the vehicle. The case is being referred to the UW Police Department Detectives Division.
Saturday — April 11
A burglary occurred in the 4500 block of 18th Ave. N.E. Authorities apprehended the two suspects while they were going through the apartment. Both are juveniles and were sent to the Youth Services Center.
Tuesday — April 14
A female student was at University Way Northeast and Northeast 41st Street around 8 p.m. when a suspect approached her and asked for $20. The victim refused several times, at which point she was punched in the face. The suspect was arrested shortly thereafter and medics treated the victim at the scene.
The UWPD and the Seattle Police Department’s online blotter provide the information for this column. The online blotter provides a sampling of the hundreds of incidents the SPD responds to each day.
Reach editorial assistant Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.”
Mariners may be better than you think
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 15, 2009“Show of hands: How many of you actually thought the Mariners would be 5-2 heading into their home opener today?
None? Well, that’s a surprise.
Sure, the 2009 Seattle Mariners aren’t going to kill opposing pitchers, and there are a lot of question marks in the bullpen, but they aren’t as bad as last year. Trust me.
If things go their way and they continue to play like they have, there’s no reason why the M’s can’t win the AL West.
Now, I didn’t actually pick the Mariners to win the West, but I had a hunch that this division would be extremely close this year, with injuries hitting the Angels, pitching still a major problem for Texas and Oakland still trying find the best combination to win.
What’s that? You don’t trust me? Why not? Haven’t you seen Franklin Gutierrez out in center field?
The outfield defense has improved to the point that it will save tens of runs this season if the optimal group of Gutierrez, Endy Chavez and Ichiro is trotted out there every day.
Gutierrez has already made a couple of fantastic grabs out in center, and he alone might have helped the M’s win two games this season by saving runs.
Defense is severely underrated in baseball, with much of the focus on who drives in the most runs. A saved run is just as good as a scored run, and you should expect the Mariners to take this approach for most of the year.
What’s that? You’re with Steve Phillips in thinking that this team is going to be worse than last year?
That’s just not possible.
Their offense isn’t going to score a whole lot — which is why defense is so important — but they should be able to manufacture enough runs to go on a few winning streaks this year.
Plus, the Mariners will automatically win five to 10 more games this year by simply not playing Richie Sexson, Jose Vidro and Miguel Cairo on a daily basis.
Even the starting pitching should see some improvement if Felix Hernandez can develop and Erik Bedard doesn’t throw over his personal (and ridiculous) 100-pitch limit.
Then there are the veterans.
Ken Griffey Jr.’s return is almost like a well-written novel or Hollywood movie: it’s classic, it’s huge for Seattle, and it will be extremely enjoyable to watch.
But more importantly, Griffey’s addition, along with Russell Branyan and Mike Sweeney, will add some firepower to a lineup that saw far too many weak ground-outs and pop-outs last season.
These guys aren’t the best athletes anymore, but yes, they can still hit.
Sorry? Wait, who is Chris Jakubauskas? Well, to be honest, I never heard of him until this year either.
But he, along with Mark Lowe, Shawn Kelley and Brandon Morrow could form a solid bullpen corps that features fastball heat and slick secondary pitches.
The only concerns are control issues and lack of experience, but my guess is that those will sort themselves out by the All-Star Break.
So there you have it, your 2009 Seattle Mariners.
Nobody expects them to win anything this year, but please, feel free to be pleasantly surprised when they do.
Reach columnist Allen Wagner at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Cease-fire in Sri Lanka, protests in Moldova
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 14, 2009“Sri Lankan government calls for 48-hour cease-fire against terrorist group
The Sri Lankan government declared Sunday that it would observe a two-day cease-fire against the Sri Lankan militant group called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The Tamil Tigers, as they are more commonly known, have waged a violent secessionist campaign in northern Sri Lanka since 1976. They are currently declared a “terrorist organization” by 32 countries and have carried out more suicide bombings than Hamas and al-Qaida combined.
Though called a cease-fire, this move by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa is actually a call for the military to halt offensive campaigns and only fire when fired upon for 48 hours. The pause in fighting comes alongside the Tamil and Sinhala New Year, occurring yesterday and today.
The pause only affects a certain part of the disputed territory, a five-mile strip of land in the small island country’s northeast corner. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 civilians occupy the area, and the Sri Lankan government hopes that civilians will use this time to flee the area. The Tamil Tigers have been accused of barring thousands from leaving the region but claim that the civilians have stayed by choice; 50,000 have escaped that region since January.
Rajapaksa has called for the Tamil Tigers to surrender after almost cornering them during a recent offensive.
Disputed election causes riots in Moldova’s capital
Violent protests in Moldova — spurred mostly by students on Twitter and Facebook — have caused the Constitutional Court to order a recount of last week’s hotly disputed election.
In the election, which took place last Sunday, Moldova’s ruling Communist Party won about 50 percent of the vote, giving them 60 seats in Moldova’s 101-person parliament.
This larger-than-expected win caused opposition leaders to accuse the Communists of rigging the vote, including, but not limited to, putting the names of deceased residents on electoral lists.
The election has been accepted as generally fair by both the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, but the intensity and size of the protests led President Vladimir Voronin to acquiesce to opposition demands and request a recount. The disputed voters’ lists will also be examined.
More than 10,000 Moldovans marched on the capital in Chisinau Tuesday after a similar protest Monday ended peacefully. On Tuesday, the young demonstrators brutalized the capital building, causing police to react with water cannons and tear gas. One protestor was killed in the resultant confusion.
Reach columnist Morgan Gard at news@dailyuw.com.”
UW secondary has a lot to prove
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 13, 2009“Near the end of the 2008 football season, Husky fans watched in dismay as opposing quarterbacks found players wide open downfield for 80-yard pass plays, while running backs sprinted untouched through the secondary for 50-yard runs.
This year, the UW secondary hopes to toughen up by starting with the basics: acting as a team.
“We’re trying to get tougher as a whole unit,” junior safety Nate Williams said. “Last year, it was more of the corners doing their own thing and the safeties doing their own thing. Now we’re on the same page.”
Williams added that the safeties, cornerbacks and linebackers are learning what each position should be doing. By playing as a unit instead of in individual positions, confidence comes more naturally.
“Personally, that makes me more confident in my cornerback,” said Williams, who led the secondary last year with 76 tackles. “He knows what I’m doing, and I know what he’s doing.”
The battle for corner and safety positions figures to be competitive. Gone is former cornerback Mesphin Forrester, who led the team last year with two interceptions. Sophomore Quinton Richardson and juniors Vonzell McDowell Jr. and Matt Mosley saw time last year at the cornerback position, but many new faces, such as Anthony Gobern, Adam Long and Justin Glenn, may help defensively.
At the safety position, Williams and senior Tripper Johnson should provide leadership, while sophomores Victor Aiyewa and Marquis Persley will add to a position that coaches hope to improve by focusing on fundamentals.
“Whether it’s the safeties or the corners, they have to learn their coverage, their fundamental footwork and their fundamental football reads,” defensive coordinator Nick Holt said.
The secondary will have its hands full with receivers from the likes of LSU, USC and Notre Dame. Holt said that the corners and safeties will need to stay on top of the deep ball and be aware of the posts. He also said the secondary is working on everything from footwork to tackling.
“We are spending a lot of time with our team this spring on our tackling mechanics and learning leverage and angles,” Holt said. “We do that stuff every day; it’s an everyday process.”
Demetrice Martin takes over as the secondary/cornerbacks coach. Last year, Martin was an assistant at Mt. San Antonio in Walnut, Calif., and helped the Mounties to a 12-2 record. Prior to his time at Mt. San Antonio, Martin worked under Holt at USC in 2007 as a graduate defensive assistant.
Jeff Mills is returning to Montlake as the new secondary/safeties coach. Mills was a graduate assistant for the Dawgs under Don James in 1990 and 1991. For the last 10 years, Mills has been either an assistant head coach or a defensive coordinator.
“He knows the game a lot,” Williams said. “He teaches us a lot every day, and, like all other coaches, he’s very energetic.”
In spring practices, the secondary has looked upbeat and active. Persley intercepted a Jake Locker pass during Friday’s practice, which led to numerous high-fives and chest bumps from his fellow teammates and coaches. But the Huskies have a lot to prove after last season, during which they gave up big play after big play.
“Last year obviously was a pretty tough year for us,” Williams said. “We really got hurt on the deep balls and the runs. We have a lot to prove, and we are definitely up for the challenge.”
With new intensity and a new attitude, players and coaches are optimistic that Husky fans will see a better secondary.
“Hopefully we develop a good, solid, tough secondary that you can count on, that eliminates the big play, and a secondary that is really sound on their fundamentals,” Holt said.
Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.”
From snack time to circle time: UW students help prepare preschoolers for academic success
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 13, 2009““I need your eyes and ears,” Alexis Piper announces to 18 babbling, bouncing preschoolers. “And your mouths zipped.”
It’s 2:30 p.m. — circle time. The kids are defiant, the room a tornado of activity. The children glimpse the rare Seattle sun peeking through the window and know recess draws near. It’s impossible to keep from fidgeting.
“What about your nose?” one inquisitive child asks.
Now, it’s a competition.
“What about your eyebrow?” another adds, challenging the first.
And the classroom erupts into noise again, each child suggesting a different body part.
This preschool classroom at the Denise Louie Education Center is part of the Jumpstart program at the UW. Piper, a UW sophomore, is a team leader for the program, which connects undergraduate mentors with low-income students in an effort to prepare the kids for academic success.
“When [Jumpstart] was just launching, I thought it was a really dynamic program,” said senior site manager Ruby Linsao, who has been involved with Jumpstart at the UW since its 2003 inception. “It’s at both ends of the spectrum; kids who are just beginning their schooling and college students, who are at the other end.”
Jumpstart is a national non-profit organization based in Boston. The program at the UW, which is one of 74 across the United States, boasts about 90 corps members, the title given to student volunteers who devote their entire academic year to a classroom in one of five Head Start preschools.
Corps members are assigned a partner child, who they help learn letters, develop social skills and develop a love of reading.
Statistics reinforce Jumpstart’s mission.
“Low-income kids get less one-to-one reading time with adults, so they’re not as prepared,” Linsao explained. “When they enter schools unprepared, they stay behind.”
One-to-one reading is a critical aspect of early childhood education and one of three major elements of Jumpstart. The other two are circle time, when children gather to sing songs and play games, and choice time, when the entire classroom is opened up for play.
At the end of the school day, most college students are anxious to traipse home, indulge in a quick nap or procrastinate on homework. Jumpstart’s corps members, rather, are thrilled to enter a different kind of learning environment; an environment where picture books and snack time, instead of lectures and exams, characterize the curriculum.
“It’s just one of those things where it’s so different from the classroom settings in college,” Piper said. “It’s so refreshing.”
Once the kids settle down a bit, they scurry to stake out corps members’ laps, the prime seats during circle time. Piper leads the class in “The Moose Song,” a display complete with enthused chanting, wild hand motions and a set of moose antlers fashioned out of construction paper gamely donned by each child.
The silly song is replete with rhymes excellent for honing literacy skills. Even when the children are having fun, they are learning.
Before corps members are allowed to channel their inner preschooler through a game of make-believe or dress-up, they are required to complete 30 hours of training. Thirty additional hours will need to be logged before the end of the year.
“We talk about problem-solving with children, adult-child interactions and how to have a conversation about [books],” Linsao said.
The sessions also offer instruction on early childhood development, focusing on how children develop physically, cognitively and emotionally.
Kristy Hogue, Jumpstart’s volunteer coordinator, explained how sometimes students express an interest in Jumpstart but may not be able to dedicate an entire year to the program.
Because Jumpstart only accepts applications for corps members in September and October, individuals drawn to the program in the middle of the year need another service outlet.
That was the predicament Hogue found herself in after one year spent as a corps member.
“It was great to work with children and see them progress over the year,” Hogue said. “But some people can’t commit to a whole year. I applied for the position of volunteer coordinator, and this is my second year.”
Hogue’s job is to recruit outside volunteers who donate their time on a short-term basis. This year, those volunteers partnered with the First A.M.E. Child and Family Center to help disinfect toys, paint classrooms and organize teachers’ learning materials, Hogue said.
Each year, the Denise Louie Education Center also hosts a Children and Families Festival, coming up May 30, that is open to the Seattle community. Jumpstart corps members and volunteers plan five or six learning activity stations for the kids.
Involvement in Jumpstart has altered career plans for some students. While many corps members enter the program with the goal of becoming teachers, others often find themselves wanting to pursue teaching, even if their course of study is on an opposite academic pole.
“We’ve had people join their junior year and decide to change their major from biology to early child development,” Hogue said. “One senior changed and took a full summer quarter to complete the requirements.”
From the smiles on the kids’ faces, and the frowns that take their place when the clock signals their mentors’ departure, it’s more than apparent that Jumpstart succeeds in making a difference and leaving a memorable impression.
“When you’re around kids, their problems are so much simpler than ours,” Piper said. “It really puts things in perspective.”
Reach reporter Rachel Solomon at features@dailyuw.com.”
In days gone by: a look at this week in history
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 13, 2009“From The Daily:
April 16, 1925:
In an article titled “Rifle Teams Banquet” on the front page of The Daily:
“Meeting for the last time this year, the girls’ and men’s varsity rifle teams, which won first and second places in the intercollegiate tournament, held a banquet … last evening.”
Why don’t we still have rifle teams? That’s something that would actually be fun to follow.
April 16, 1968:
Under a photo on the front page, The Daily reported that ASUW President-to-be Thom Gunn jumped into Drumheller fountain upon election “to wash all that political crud off.”
So, ASUW candidates, you should probably plan your goofy publicity stunt now, just in case we elect you.
April 13, 1993:
The headline said, “House democrats call for 30-percent tuition increase.” And yeah, that’s as bad as it sounds. Then-Rep. Gary Locke defended the increase as “very modest.” The government also made plans to cut back on financial aid — oh, yeah — higher tuition and lower aid. Compared to those figures, Gregoire’s 14-percent tuition hike looks good.
Oh, wait. No, it doesn’t.
Around the World:
April 14, 1865:
Only five days after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, disgruntled Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth shot and mortally wounded President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Booth had intended to throw the United States into total disarray, but succeeded only in rallying the Union around their slain leader.
April 15, 1947:
Jackie Robinson becomes the first black Major League Baseball (MLB) player. Robinson played for the Brooklyn Dodgers for 10 years, facing harsh racial discrimination throughout his career. In 1997, 50 years after he first took the field with the Dodgers, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig retired Robinson’s number, 42, from Major League use. It was the first time a number had been retired league-wide.
April 16, 1943:
Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman accidentally consumes lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). The drug had been created by Hoffman in 1938 to research lysergic acid’s medicinal value. Hoffman reported strange physical and mental effects, including slight dizziness and hallucinations. “I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors,” he said. The drug is now commonly referred to as “acid.”
April 18, 1521:
Martin Luther, appearing before the Diet (assembly) of Worms, defies Holy Roman Emperor Charles V by refusing to recant his writings. Luther, of course, was the swearing, drinking monk who started the Protestant movement against the Catholic Church and from whom descended modern Lutheranism.
Reach features editor Randy Ferreiro at features@dailyuw.com.”
Bill to reauthorize tuition-setting authority for Board of Regents sparks opposition
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 13, 2009“Tomorrow, a bill reauthorizing the governing boards of state universities to set tuition rates for all students, except resident undergraduates, is expected to take one more step toward Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire’s desk.
With the passage of Senate bill No. 5473, the UW Board of Regents would be reauthorized to set tuition rates for nonresident undergraduates, and graduate and professional students for the next six years.
The bill has inspired strong lobbying efforts both in opposition and support. UW student lobbyists have testified against the bill in six public hearings.
“Our motto is to either cap or kill it,” said GPSS Vice President and student lobbyist Dave Iseminger.
“Capping” tuition rate increases would put a limitation on how high the Board of Regents can raise tuition, while “killing” the bill would give the state Legislature authority to set tuition instead. The state Legislature already sets tuition rates for undergraduate resident students.
Lobbyists opposing the bill question the accountability of the Board of Regents.
“The Board of Regents is an unelected board that answers to no one,” said Director of ASUW Government Relations and student lobbyist Richard Lum. “Their terms are long, and they can serve several of them.”
Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-26th District, thinks a competitive market among institutions for nonresident graduate and professional students will ensure accountability.
“I don’t think the institutions could, if they wanted to, jack up tuition beyond all belief and still continue to fill enrollment slots,” said Kilmer, one of the sponsors of the bill, in a recent House Ways and Means Committee hearing.
Since the bill would only stay in effect for six years, the state Legislature will have the ability to look back after the bill has expired and evaluate whether or not institutions have abused their authority.
“It’s important … to give the institutions the ability to maintain flexibility and quality for these programs and institutions,” Kilmer said. “I am very sensitive to ensure they’re not abusing this authority.” Iseminger and Lum are also concerned about the predictability of tuition-rate increases under the authority of the regents.
“Families and students struggle with what the rate of [tuition] increase is and [whether or not] they can afford it,” Iseminger said during a committee hearing on the bill. “This bill continues the practice of giving families less time to prepare to absorb these increases.”
To make tuition more predictable for all students, Iseminger and Lum would like to see the state Legislature setting tuition for all categories of students, not just resident undergraduates.
According to a tuition history document provided by the UW’s Office of Planning and Budgeting from the years 2003 to 2009, resident undergraduate tuition rates fluctuated between increases of 6.1 to 7.2 percent annually. During the same time period, nonresident undergraduate tuition rates increased between 4 to 11.1 percent.
The Board of Regents first began setting nonresident undergraduate tuition in 2003.
Randy Hodgins, director of state relations for the UW, said this was due to an adjustment period.
“We tried to adjust those amounts to market rates,” Hodgins said. “Our tuition rates are now competitive with our national peers in virtually all categories but medicine, dentistry and pharmacy, where UW’s rates are actually lower than average.”
Hodgins said he doesn’t understand the fear of letting UW administrators set these rates and that the institution has used the authority responsibly and will continue to do so in the future.
Reach reporter Eric Staples at news@dailyuw.com.”
America’s unprotected back door: the new terrorist threat
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 13, 2009“It’s late December in the United States, and the bitter heart of winter for most regions. Snow is piled several feet high in cities like New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Suddenly, without warning, the power grid for the entire East Coast shuts down. As the hours go by, the cold slowly begins to penetrate. As the hours turn into days, thousands of people begin to succumb to the freezing temperatures.
Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, something has gone horribly awry in a water-treatment facility. Several hundred thousand gallons of sewage has contaminated the freshwater system irreparably. Days, maybe even weeks, go by with millions unable to access fresh water, making Katrina look like a high-budget reality TV show.
These horrific scenarios are not the theoretical effects of the mythical “CIP-device” from the show 24. They are the very real potential damages we could incur from a very different form of terrorism that is not receiving appropriate attention.
Cyber-terrorism has largely been a term used by Hollywood and sci-fi junkies to describe theoretical scenarios that make for blockbuster action movies. Ideas such as a “fire sale,” the concept of crippling the infrastructure of the nation using nothing but a keyboard and wiz-kid hacker, has historically been nothing more than an excuse for Bruce Willis to jump out of F-22’s and yell “yippee-kai-aye!”
Until now.
Last week, an article in The Wall Street Journal revealed that spies, believed to be Russian and Chinese, have hacked into many U.S. infrastructure systems. Everything from the power grid to water-treatment facilities showed signs of penetration. Once they have entered the system, the hackers gain control over all the electronic aspects of the compound, as if they were a secret administrator. Considering nearly every aspect of these companies is now electronically operated, hackers can control virtually everything while remaining largely undetected.
Even more disturbing was the discovery of what the spies had implanted in the system: hidden software that could destroy critical components if the command was given. If these attacks were indeed from international powers, these “e-bombs” if you will, could be used to hold our nation hostage. The threat of implementing the destructive devices could be used as blackmail to get the United States to perform certain unfavorable international actions, or be used to severely hinder our basic functions if we were ever at war with China or Russia.
This is the future of terrorism. The new threat does not come in the primitive form of raw physical destruction, but rather like a sly virus with the sophisticated finesse to erode from the inside out.
We have been so concerned with guarding our front door against suicide bombers and Islamic fundamentalist groups that operate out of caves and still traverse on camels, but we have left our back door wide open to high-tech terrorists.
Like any shift in tactics, the concept of cyber invasion is not a new one. For years, private citizens have endured the irritants of cyber crime. But the use of this method to attack the government is just now starting to gain popularity among the community of the most destructive minds. In 2006, only a few thousand of the 20,000 cyber attacks reported were against government-related entities. But in 2008, just two years later, more than 20,000 of the nearly 65,000 cyber breaches were against the U.S. government.
This is a very real threat. The number-one priority of the federal government has been, and always will be, to ensure the safety of its citizens. Instead of wasting billions to bail out companies that have failed the game of capitalism, funds should be more heavily diverted to safeguard against these extraordinary infiltrations that threaten the security of our most basic needs.
If we cannot rely on our safety and security, everything else will become trivial.
Reach columnist Jeff Dickson at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
A ‘Polish sausage’ gets bitten off, dead man elected
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 11, 2009“POLAND — A fight between friends turned ugly when one man bit off the other’s penis.
Marian Milczarek, 53, entered a confrontation with Wojciech Sowinski over the borrowing of a trailer. The assault began with Milczarek being beaten with chains, but Sowinski then pulled down Milczarek’s pants and started biting his genitalia, severing and swallowing the penis.
Milczarek was rushed to the hospital, though the police and medics never recovered the severed body part for reattachment.
Sowinski faces 10 years in jail.
MISSOURI — Voters in Winfield, Mo., re-elected their deceased mayor for his fourth term.
Because of pre-printed ballots and absentee voting, Harry Stonebraker won with 90 percent of the votes for mayor in an election reminiscent of the 2000 Senate race. During that race, Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash but secured a win over his opponent just weeks later.
The town expected his posthumous win, citing his leadership during a 2008 flood crisis as one of the reasons for his popularity.
Stonebraker was a lifelong resident of Winfield.
SWITZERLAND — Scientists have documented the first recorded case of a phantom limb capable of being seen, felt and moved.
A 64-year-old stroke victim was left with a paralyzed left arm, but her brain recognizes an illusionary third arm. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) done by scientists at the Geneva University Hospital show that the phantom limb can be moved, that the woman has a visual sense of the limb and that her body responds to the phantom hand’s touch on her own skin.
The research team at the Annals of Neurology believe that their study of this case could produce valuable information about the missing link between phantom limbs and out-of-body experiences.
STATEN ISLAND — A former pastor is facing accusations of stealing nearly $85,000 over the course of three years from parishioners to pay for plastic surgery, Botox and drugs.
Rev. William Blasingame resigned from St. Paul’s Memorial Episcopal Church in January, citing his leave for “medical reasons.”
The allegedly stolen money was intended for the upkeep of the church grounds and to be used for parishioners in need.
Blasingame faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of second-degree grand larceny and possession of stolen property, though his attorney calls the allegations “a bad mistake.”
COLORADO — A man coughed up an inch-long nail during a medical examination and was unable to account for the foreign object.
During a recent MRI, doctors realized that Prax Sanchez, 72, had a metallic object in his face. Moments later, he coughed up the nail, though isn’t able to provide any explanation for why or how it got there.
Doctors say the nail may have been in Sanchez for up to 30 years, and the MRI’s magnetic force possibly dislodged it, allowing Sanchez to expel it from his body.
SWEDEN — A Japanese pop star dressed as a pineapple was recently robbed.
During the shooting of a music video in Sweden, three young men beat up 41-year-old Hideki Kaji, who was dressed as a pineapple for a segment of his video, and robbed him of camera equipment valued around $25,000 while the crew was on break.
Kaji was left with a cut lip and lost a dental implant.
Reach columnist Matthew Jackson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Pohlman, Huskies travel to LA for two-game series
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 11, 2009“Maybe now that center fielder Kimi Pohlman is hitting .375 and starting every game as a freshman for the Washington softball team, she can be satisfied with playing one sport, focusing all of her energy on softball instead of bouncing between track, basketball and soccer.
But even Pohlman — an all-everything, four-sport athlete in high school — didn’t anticipate that she’d be making this kind of contribution this early.
“I kind of expected to come in and maybe pinch-run every once in a while,” Pohlman said.
Instead, Pohlman has played in 35 of the Huskies’ 36 games, starting 30 of them. And she’s locked down the No. 2 spot in the lineup, adding more speed at the top of the order behind Ashley Charters.
All that for someone who played just one season of high-school softball, and that was after she’d already secured a scholarship.
Pohlman honed her diamond skills exclusively on the club circuit before that because her high school, The Bear Creek School in Redmond, wasn’t big enough to field a softball team.
That was fine with her, mainly because it allowed her to run track; she was a two-time Washington Class 2B state champion in the 100-meter dash. And a two-time all-state selection in soccer. And an all-league performer in basketball, as well as her team’s leading scorer.
So choosing just one sport to continue at the Division-1 level wasn’t as easy for her as it is for most athletes.
“I would have liked to play basketball,” Pohlman said. “Or soccer. I’d definitely play all three if I could.”
Pohlman’s emergence as one of the UW’s more consistent hitters may be due in part to the fact that UW head coach Heather Tarr urged Pohlman to transfer to Eastlake for her senior year of high school. Tarr thought Pohlman could use the extra at-bats before the summer, so she’d be in gear by the time she got to Washington.
The switch also meant sacrificing her spring track season.
“It’s a testament to her to getting herself to where she needed to be when she got here, to start playing and be able to give up her track season and some state titles in track to play softball,” Tarr said.
Tarr makes sure, while praising her standout freshman, to offer a reminder that this is just the beginning for Pohlman and that her progression as a softball player isn’t anywhere near complete.
Both Tarr and Pohlman know what’s coming, and Pohlman understands what she has to do to get there.
“It’s definitely a big time commitment to adjust to,” Pohlman said. “Everyone’s just really, really good. You really have to work hard.”
The Huskies travel to Los Angeles today to begin a two-game series against UCLA.
Reach sports editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Nurturing development: UW business students help Panamanian families plan for the future
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 11, 2009“For 18 UW business students, a cup of coffee is now a lot more meaningful.
During spring break, the students traveled to a remote location deep in the Panamanian jungle to help a local coffee-growing community, while using the business principals they have learned at the Foster School of Business.
“We went on this trip to put our business skills to the test. We wanted to see if what we learned in the business school means anything,” senior Katherine Kleitsch said.
The students forfeited the opportunity to enjoy the luxurious accommodations of typical college spring break destinations to help seven families in San Pedro, Panama cultivate the fruit that produces coffee beans.
The students are members of a group called Global Business Brigades (GBB), a UW club dedicated to helping some of the world’s poorest communities. GBB depends on the intelligence and ingenuity of its members to collaborate with local community members in identifying sustainable tools, training and resources, instead of providing one-time handouts.
It is the difference between “sustainable development” and simply “development,” said senior Vanessa Lopez, GBB program director.
“While visiting Honduras and Panama, I saw a lot of NGO projects that are left half-done or abandoned by the community because an organization will come in with good faith to make a change, but they don’t educate the community on how to replicate what they’ve created or teach them how to use it,” Lopez said. “You’ll see unused buildings or even sewer systems gone bad because the community didn’t understand how to maintain it.”
The only pre-planned part of the trip was the transportation to and from the community and the living arrangements — in an open classroom which was in a building with no closable windows. The students arrived in Panama with no idea as to how they could help the families. The lack of a pre-determined plan was intentional.
“There was no mandatory structure. Because there wasn’t much structure, we could do what was most beneficial to the community,” Lopez said.
Upon interviewing the Panamanian families, the students learned a major coffee company in the region was undercutting the families. The families realized they needed to increase the value of their coffee beans to get a higher return on their coffee.
But without knowledge of business fundamentals, the families were trapped in a cycle they did not know how to escape.
“A per-unit concept of cost was foreign to them. They would sell and buy between different weights. They would refer to units of measurements in terms of buckets; they hadn’t thought about the per-unit cost of the coffee they were selling,” Kleitsch said.
Though the Foster School teaches sound business principles, it does not teach the methodology of rural coffee farming. The students had to learn about the process of coffee farming. During their eight-day immersion, the students worked alongside the families to gain an intimate understanding of their situation.
Besides hauling heavy bags of sand to flatten land, there were also hikes through thick forest with their machete-wielding hosts.
“I have family in Eastern Washington, so my idea of a farm is of trees lined up in rows. They took us into the jungle with machetes and their trees were scattered around the jungle,” Kleitsch said.
The students learned from extensive interviews that the coffee-cultivating process involves four main stages, and the beans can only be sold during the first, second and fourth stages. The beans generate the highest return at the fourth stage, but the families did not have the equipment or the means to reach that step.
The students had neither cell phone reception nor Internet access to conduct research or reference business theories. The quality of their recommendation depended on the collective knowledge of the students.
“We were put in a situation where there was an immediate sense of urgency and a sense of impact,” senior Alex Berg said. “We had to be extremely resourceful. We had to reach down and think outside of the box. It wasn’t just coffee farming. It was coffee farming on this farm, for these people, for this family.”
Many students said that their experience in Panama was the first time they have had the opportunity to apply the lessons learned in classrooms at the UW.
“This experience gave me a deeper understanding of the topics we learned in business school because I could see the people and families who were directly affected by some of the problems we discussed in my classes, and I could connect dots between them and the class discussions. It develops context, but it also grounds you,” Kleitsch said.
After a long, emotional debate over a possible solution to the families’ problems, the students presented them with a proposal and assistance to help them through the first three stages of the process, but told the families they had to determine how they would reach the fourth stage.
“In the end, it was all about collaboration. They ultimately came up with the final solution,” Berg said.
After only eight days in the sweltering humidity of the Panamanian jungle, the students helped the families create their own sustainable plan that will allow them to increase the profit on their beans by 386 percent, with the potential to increase profits to 571 percent within three to five years.
Though the students taught the local families a way that they can realistically escape the cycle of poverty, some of the students said they learned as well, returning with a deeper understanding of the world.
“We really learned more from them than they learned from us. They introduced us to their families. They showed us their farm and their food,” Berg said.
Berg, who has volunteered on mission trips with other service groups, said the GBB trip to Panama stands out from her other experiences.
“This is the first trip I’ve been on where I feel like I’ve made a genuine change. We increased their knowledge and not just capacity on their farm,” she said.
Though the trip was a lot of work, both physically and intellectually, there was some time for reflection.
“I took a minute to step back and look at our situation: We were a group of business students in the jungle,” Berg said. “We were dirty, tired and had this hovering sense of hopelessness, but everyone was trying to make this happen. This was not your typical business school situation.”
Reach reporter Michael Truong at features@dailyuw.com.”
Free Speech Friday: April 10
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 11, 2009“In response to “Firearms, Facebook and fear of rejection,” by Rachel Solomon, April 6
Ms. Solomon quoted John Woods (a student at Virginia Tech at the time of the shooting) in saying that, “The idea that somebody could stop a school shooting with a gun is impossible. It’s reactive, not preventative.”
In part, Mr. Woods is correct. Weapons in the hands of students, faculty or even campus security are no guarantee that a malevolent individual won’t begin killing people indiscriminately. Perhaps such a calamity can’t be prevented. But it can certainly be stopped. If such a policy could have kept the Virginia Tech death toll to 31 instead of 32, wouldn’t it have been worth it?
My heartfelt sympathies to Mr. Woods in the loss of his girlfriend.
Ryan Edwards
Junior, electrical engineering
According to a new CBS/New York Times poll, which came out on Monday, President Obama’s approval rating is now at an all-time high of 66 percent. I must say, that’s pretty darn impressive. Or at least it would be if the poll wasn’t completely skewed in favor of Democrats. You see, there’s this little thing called sampling that accompanies every poll like the one mentioned above. Sampling reveals the percentage of respondents by party affiliation, as they disclose whether they’re Republican, Democrat or Independent. In the CBS/New York Times poll, the sampling breakdown was 39 percent Democrat, 23 percent Republican and 31 percent Independent. The remaining 7 percent either refused to answer, or said they didn’t have an affiliation.
As you can see from the numbers, there is a 16 percent gap between Republican and Democrat respondents. Unfortunately, this gap isn’t anywhere close to representing reality, as the polling firm Rasmussen shows. According to Rasmussen’s most recent data from March, 38.7 percent of Americans classify themselves as Democrats, 33.2 percent as Republicans and 28 percent say they’re not affiliated with either party. That’s a 5.5 percent split between Republicans and Democrats, and not a 16 percent split, as the CBS/New York Times poll shows.
How do I know that Rasmussen’s numbers are right, and the CBS/New York Times poll numbers are wrong? Because Rasmussen nailed the 2008 presidential election in terms of accurately gathering data about the American peoples’ political affiliations. In its most recent poll before the presidential election, Rasmussen showed that the party identification advantage for Democrats was 6.5 percent. On election night, exit polling proved Rasmussen’s data to be correct, as the party ID advantage over Republicans ended up being 7 percent (39-32 percent). Now, unless the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have ended, the economy is no longer in recession and the price of gas is at a dollar, there is simply no way the Democrats could have gained 9 percent since the election to hold a 16-point advantage in party ID among the American people.
Similarly, there’s no way that only 23 percent of Americans currently classify themselves as Republicans. If that were the case, then President Obama’s approval rating figures wouldn’t be nearly as polarized as they are now. A recent Pew Poll found that Obama had the most polarizing early approval rating figures of any president in the last four decades. Likewise, as of Wednesday morning, Rasmussen’s daily presidential tracking poll showed that while 35 percent of voters strongly approve of the way Obama is performing his role as president, 29 percent also strongly disapprove. If Republicans only made up 23 percent of the political population in the United States, then these numbers would be much different.
At any rate, at issue here is not whether or not the president is popular.
It’s obvious that he is. The issue, rather, is the bias of media outlets like CBS and The New York Times, who continue to carry Obama on their backs while marginalizing Republicans. We saw this happen over and over during the election, and we’re going to continue to see it happen over the next four years. I thought the post-election honeymoon phase between Obama and the media might be over, but it’s quite apparent that CBS and The New York Times want to have one last — or several last — dances with President Obama.
Nick Jacob
Political science
In response to “Health class encourages UW to host tent city,” by Katie McVicker, April 8
As I was reading this article, it felt like I was reading the April Fool’s Day edition of The Daily. I mean, is this legit? The UW might house a tent city? This is ridiculous!
First of all, one of the “proposed” sites is the Quad. So we can say goodbye to the beautiful cherry blossoms and well-kept landscape, not to mention a traffic nightmare for one of the busiest sections on campus.
This article says that tent city residents wouldn’t be allowed in campus buildings unless invited, but where exactly do you propose they go to the bathroom then? If you say outhouses, even better!
Now our Quad will have several outhouses to add to the destroyed scenery, not to mention the smell.
Also, in a time when the UW is having to lay off faculty, cut classes and admit less students due to economic turmoil, this “Community Development for Health” organization wants the UW to take on the burden of providing electricity and water to a tent city! Outrageous!
Finally, I don’t want to be lambasted by homeless people asking me for money when I’m walking between my classes all day long! This might be fine for students whose parents pay for everything, but I, for one, take care of all of my bills, including housing and tuition.
So, “no, thank you.” If this organization proposing this nonsense really cared about the homeless, then they would be advocating at the mayor’s office and the Washington state Legislature, demanding that some program be put in place to help these people recover and live in a stable environment. But asking for the UW to take on this burden without the consent of its students or faculty is beyond the pale.
David Richards
Senior, biology
In response to “Trying to get by: New initiative aims to restrict illegal immigration to Washington state,” by Katie Paff, April 7
I am the former “dimensions” editor of The Daily (1959-1960), and after reading Katie Paff’s article on illegal immigration, I felt compelled to compliment her for writing a good article. Too often today, one learns more than one wants about the journalist and too little about the topic at hand.
I do think that there is another dimension to the immigration topic that needs, especially today, more perspective, and that is the impact illegal and legal immigration is having on the sustainability of our societal structure. Immigration is the dominant factor influencing our continuing, rapid population growth, and that is the factor exacerbating our too many unsolvable “growth” problems, and our rapid and clearly unsustainable resource depletion and ecological degradation; both of which are our most basic life-providing factors.
Also, it is interesting to note the unlikely combination of groups pushing for unlimited immigration: corporations (Microsoft, Boeing, the Ford Foundation, etc.) as represented by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in unity with ethnocentric leftist groups. The former push for an assumed, unlimited growth while seeking cheap labor, and the latter take advantage of an avenue to power (among other reasons).
Of course, the advocate of further illegal immigration, Ortega, was essentially right when he is quoted saying: “The system provides incentives for illegal immigration. And then the same system benefits from it, yet punishes them. It’s insane. If we had a better immigration system, this wouldn’t happen.”
There are many corporate-financed, legislative “lures” bringing the millions of illegals here. Ortega doesn’t note that these are the costly “benefits” (education, medical care, subsidized housing, welfare, etc.) that bring them, and the “punishments” are not close to causing them to want to return or discourage those additional masses from seeking to come here. And the “better system” he wants is one that would incentivize and attract even more millions.
The initiative would enact something much more effective than border walls and whatever creates accusations of “profiling,” and that is enactment of E-Verify legislation. Without easy access to jobs provided by people seeking extraordinary profits through accessing cheap labor, illegal immigrant entry through our already porous borders would drop off significantly (as it did in Arizona last year when similar legislation was passed).
And if that occurs, those students hoping to enjoy at least some of what has given their parents’ quality of life may be available to them also. But without real reform of our present porous policies, they will soon learn just what unsustainability really means.
Richard Pelto
Kenmore”
Changing the rules: Interfraternity Council implements updated Risk Management Policy
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 10, 2009“For party-goers in the UW Greek community, the party scene is changing.
In an effort to better protect students, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) finalized a decision last month that prohibits beverages with an alcohol content higher than 8 percent from being served at parties, which are defined as gatherings of 24 people or more.
Though the updated policy is new to the UW, it brings the UW Greek community closer to common practices in place nationwide at colleges and universities with comparable Greek communities.
“We wanted to be proactive and better protect our members and their guests,” said Nick Feldman, vice president and public relations officer of IFC. “The big issue was to reduce over-consumption — by limiting the strength of alcoholic content, we lessen the risk of over-consumption. This was a proactive way of protecting members.”
The idea to update the policy originated with the IFC Executive Board in fall 2008 based on a concern about the risks associated with the presence of hard alcohol at major parties.
“[Fraternity] chapter presidents carried an enormous amount of responsibility due to the high amount of risk,” said Cori Hammock, UW Greek adviser. “The outgoing executive board was concerned about the amount of risk associated with hard alcohol. They felt the situation was set up for accidents that could lead to major consequences.”
Discussions between chapter presidents continued with the new executive board during last quarter. The idea initially faced resistance from many chapter presidents but gained support as discussions continued, and chapter presidents agreed that the responsibility to reduce risk outweighed preserving the presence of hard alcohol at parties.
The discrepancy between the UW and nationwide policies came to light during the presidents’ retreat in February.
Many of the presidents were surprised by the answer they received from an outside facilitator when one of the chapter presidents asked how the UW Greek community compared to other schools.
“The [UW Greek community] was viewed as being a wild, untouchable place,” said Scot Rastelli, president of Phi Kappa Tau.
The negative perceptions of the UW Greek community were partially the result of the notion of lax alcohol policies and problems with over-consumption.
The presidents agreed to support updating the risk management policy during the retreat in February, and the agreement became official during a joint presidents’ meeting in March when the written language was finalized.
A similar change to risk management policies took place nearly two decades ago when kegs were banned from fraternity parties.
“I am sure the decision to ban kegs was also met with resistance, but nowadays, no one thinks twice about it,” Rastelli said.
Law enforcement officials are aware of the updated risk management policy but will not enforce compliance because the ban on hard alcohol is an IFC policy and not within the jurisdiction of the UWPD, which performs periodic checks of registered fraternity parties. Police can notify the IFC and university of any non-compliance issues.
“We support any decision to restrict alcohol,” said Ray Wittmier, UWPD assistant chief. “They were creating their own security risk [through the presence of hard alcohol]. When you isolate the incidents where someone gets hurt or someone gets victimized, we find that alcohol is almost always involved.”
Hammock emphasized that the risk management policy has 16 paragraphs, and the recent update only clarifies one of those paragraphs.
“I haven’t seen a decrease in parties because we’ve taken away hard alcohol,” Hammock said. “What I’ve seen are better relationships with police. I’ve seen chapter presidents feel a little better now that they are accountable for fewer risks.”
Reach reporter Michael Truong at news@dailyuw.com.
»Nick Feldman is a reporter for The Daily and was interviewed because of his position within the Interfraternity Council. The Daily normally does not quote employees in stories.”
The Last Dickens: The mystery of Charles Dickens’ final novel
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 09, 2009“On his current book tour in promotion of his historical novel The Last Dickens, author Matthew Pearl brings with him an unusual prop: a Charles Dickens action figure. Pearl, who spoke at the University Book Store last week, brought along the Dickens toy for reasons beyond pure kitschiness, as he explained to the U-District audience: “Commercializing or selling Dickens is nothing new, as you’ll discover if you read my book.”
The Last Dickens, released last month by Random House ($25), is set at the time of Dickens’ death in 1870 and traces Boston publisher James Osgood’s search for the rumored missing half of the great author’s unfinished last work, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
Pearl’s novel is very much a mystery itself, including numerous shadowy figures, disguises and plot twists that keep the ending as unpredictable as that of Drood.
Although largely fictional, The Last Dickens does include a wealth of factual information about Dickens, Osgood and the American publishing industry at the time. Pearl seems a credible source as a former Harvard literature student who has taught at both his alma mater as well as Emerson College.
The novel follows three distinct narrative threads: Osgood pursuing the conclusion to Drood, British officer Frank Dickens (Charles’ son) combating opium smugglers in India, and Charles Dickens’ American book tour two years earlier. As The Last Dickens progresses, Pearl cleverly weaves each of these elements together into a single, well-imagined historical mystery.
Though split between different times and places, Pearl’s novel focuses primarily on Osgood and his publishing war with Harper & Brothers — today, HarperCollins — a focus that Pearl said helped get the project funded.
“When I pitched the book to Random House, I told them I thought they’d like it because a publisher is the hero,” Pearl said at the University Book Store reading.
Though The Last Dickens is his first book to feature a publisher as its protagonist, it is certainly not the author’s first historical novel about a 19th-century writer. Pearl’s two previous best-selling works, The Poe Shadow, set at the time of Edgar Allan Poe’s death, and The Dante Club, about the group of poets who translated Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, present similar historical elements and fictional themes.
Dickens serialized many of his novels, including Drood, which meant many of his fans had already read the first installments of his last, unfinished work at the time of the author’s death. This produced much debate over how Dickens intended to end the mystery, which Pearl said greatly motivated his latest novel.
“I think there’s something particularly distressing about an unfinished book,” he said. “And, naturally, we, the readers, try to finish it, which becomes fun in a way.”
Reach reporter Joe Darda at arts@dailyuw.com.”
Confronting the silence: Students march to end sexual violence
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 09, 2009“The gray that filled the Seattle sky yesterday did not dampen the spirits of the students, faculty and staff who participated in Confront the Silence, a march against sexual abuse and relationship violence.
The march, put on by ASUW’s Committee Organizing Rape Education (CORE), began at the HUB Lawn yesterday and proceeded through various paths on campus. CORE is a student group committed to ending sexual assault crimes through education.
“We all have the right to be free from violence,” said CORE Director Jackie Mayer during a speech prior to the march. “We all have the right to be heard. We all have the right to reclaim those rights if they are violated.”
Yesterday’s march was the first of CORE’s events for the nationally-recognized Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Awareness (SARVA) month.
“Growing up, I had a lot of friends who were sexually assaulted,” Mayer said. “I myself am a survivor, and I decided to do something about it.”
In the past, CORE hosted SARVA events for only one week, but this year, members have embraced nearly the whole month of April.
“We felt that a week was too compact, and this year, we have other student organizations that have helped,” Mayer said. “Even with the budget cuts and funding, we are still being heard.”
Melissa Tumas, a sexual assault and relationship violence specialist at the UW, spoke about the significance of sexual assault on campuses, and said that one in four to one in five women become victims of rape or attempted rape during their time in college.
“Women are four times more likely to be raped during college than any other time in their lives”, Tumas said.
Ten percent of victims are males, she said.
She explained that sexual violence is not bound by race or ethnicity and that it affects every group of people. Yesterday’s march and the events planned for SARVA month are also meant to break down inaccurate perceptions of sexual assault victims.
Many assault victims do not come forward and do not feel comfortable talking about their experience, Tumas said.
“We live in a culture and society that doesn’t support survivors,” she said. “It keeps people silent and makes them feel like they are to blame for what happened … not every survivor goes to the police.”
ASUW President Anttimo Bennett was also present for the event and spoke about his personal connection to the cause.
“My mother was a victim of relationship violence, and it is great to see the UW community caring about such an important issue,” Bennett said. “College campuses can be a catalyst for changing and supporting this community.”
SARVA month will continue through April 23 with student demonstrations and exhibits, ending with the Take Back the Night Rally, which will be held in the HUB Auditorium.
The Take Back the Night Rally serves to empower survivors of sexual assault and includes poetry and open mic testimonies from victims, many of whom share their stories for the first time.
The rally will then move through campus as participants take part in a candlelit march to Red Square.
“Educating myself, I feel like I’m promoting change,” said Julie Hubbs, a senior women studies major who is volunteering with CORE for SARVA month. “It’s the first step to change, even though it’s small.”
Reach reporter Adrienne Kishimoto at news@dailyuw.com.”
Trying to get by: New initiative aims to restrict illegal immigration to Washington state
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 08, 2009“Along with war and economics, illegal immigration has been a hot topic in politics for years. Though it has remained on the back burner recently in lieu of economic issues, it has come to the surface again in Washington state in the form of I-1043, an initiative that, if voted into law, would make it much harder for immigrants to come illegally to Washington — and for employers to hire them and get away with it.
Essentially, the initiative would do three things: give employers the right to turn illegal immigrants in to federal immigration authorities despite “sanctuary city” policies in certain jurisdictions, require employers to instantly verify immigrants’ employment eligibility using the online service “E-Verify,” and require identity and residency verification before employees received taxpayer-funded benefits or were issued a driver’s license.
In order for the initiative to reach the ballot in November, supporters must gather 250,000 signatures by July 3, said the bill’s sponsor, Wendell Hannigan, a member of the Yakama Indian Nation and a strong advocate of stricter immigration laws. Hannigan said he feels illegal immigration is a huge problem, especially with the current economic downturn.
“With the way the economy is right now, there are a lot of desperate, legal people out there who need work,” Hannigan said. “They’d take that work in a heartbeat in order to feed their families and pay their bills.”
Hannigan also mentioned the budget shortfall, attributing part of the cause to illegal immigration.
“I’m not going to say that the budget crisis we’re experiencing in Washington — also in California — is entirely due to the illegal immigrants, but they have contributed to it,” Hannigan said. “They try to claim they’re not receiving benefits, but there are ways they can sneak around the system and get them. For example, when they hurt themselves on the job, many file for worker’s compensation for medical expenses but disappear back to Mexico and continue to receive payments down there.”
Also working on gathering signatures is Craig Keller, a leader of Respect Washington, an organization dedicated solely to passing I-1043. Keller echoed Hannigan’s opinion, citing statistics about illegal immigrants receiving federal benefits.
“Basically, our goal is to accomplish a restoration of hiring ethics and honesty in employment practices,” Keller said. “If illegal aliens aren’t here for work, they’re not going to be here to draw taxpayer-funded medical benefits and education money. That would solve the bulk of the problem. It’s not right ethically, and it’s certainly costing us a lot of money.”
Luis Ortega, a UW junior, Latino Student Union member and Mexico City native, takes issue with the argument that illegal immigrants don’t pay taxes.
“By far, that argument is a myth,” Ortega said. “They buy products and pay sales tax. A lot of them have tax ID numbers and get loans. They continually contribute to the economy and generate millions of dollars from the agricultural industry. If they were to suddenly all disappear, the U.S. economy would definitely feel the hit.”
Keller said an identical effort was made last year to bring an initiative to the ballot under I-409 — however, it failed to reach the ballot after garnering only 42,000 signatures. Now, he’s giving it another try.
“Right now we’re dependent on donations and the generosity of individual citizens to fund our work,” Keller said. “I can only hope we can have more people write us some checks to help us on our way.”
One thing Keller is hoping will help the initiative’s cause is the fact that so many Americans are out of work in this struggling economy.
“One of the main reasons that we have an international boundary is to protect the citizens we have and to help them earn a livelihood,” he said. “That’s not a xenophobic thing, it’s just why we have borders. I heard [about] a Bellingham factory where 20 illegals were detained. The very next day there were over 100 people lining up for those jobs. The bottom line is illegal immigration [is] disadvantaging our native population — there’s just no way you can compete with the low wages they take.”
On the other hand, Ortega said he thinks Keller’s argument is flawed. He said Keller is trying to find a simple solution to a very complex problem.
“The system provides incentives for illegal immigration,” he said. “And then the same system benefits from it, yet punishes them. It’s insane. If we had a better immigration system, this wouldn’t happen.”
Ultimately, what drives these immigrants to come to the United States — legally or not — is a quest for a better life for themselves and their families, Ortega said.
“They are people just trying to make a living,” he said. “If there was an easier way to do it, they would. These parents are just trying to give their kids a better life and save them from a life of poverty and crime. What parent wouldn’t do the same”
Reach reporter Katie Paff at features@dailyuw.com.”
The most awkward place on earth: Why must elevators be so terrible?
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 08, 2009“Hed: The most awkward place on earth
Sub: Why must elevators be so terrible?
Imagine a tiny room with one — occasionally two — sliding doors. There is lighting — always artificial — seldom accompanied by any natural light and never any furniture. Sometimes, there may be decorations, but they, like any music that may be playing, will be tasteless and wretched. There will always be buttons, and these will light up when pressed; a relationship is to be found between the frequency of the door’s opening and the number of pressed buttons.
Entry into this unpleasant little room is facilitated by the pressing of another set of buttons on the wall beside the room’s sliding doors. Why anyone would want to enter these horrid little rooms is beyond me.
They are called elevators, and they are both physically dangerous and the setting for society’s most painful and stifling awkwardness.
Think of the social taboos of an elevator and the unspoken rules associated with them: Stand facing the door. Don’t make eye contact. Don’t talk, except to request the pressing of a button. Be awkward. Feel squished.
My little brother, Nicholas, and I recently rode an elevator with our mother — our co-riders included a horde of people representing all walks of life. A demented noise — which I expect was a clearing of the throat from a particularly caricature-like individual — plunged my brother and me into silent agonies of hysteria.
It isn’t that we’re cruel people who enjoy laughing at involuntary coughing fits — rather, we deal with awkwardness and discomfort by laughing. No place better deserves these compulsive spasms of mirth better than elevators, and, as a result, Nicholas and I are nearly unable to participate in elevation.
Even when none of the elevator participants commit the faux pas of coughing, or a breach of any of my previously outlined elevator regulations, these little rooms are palpable with their discomfort. I think it may be accurate to say that any time Nicholas and I have been in an elevator together, we have nearly expired with the anguish of awkwardness.
What makes an elevator ride such a painful experience? It is the harsh and illogical firmness of society’s conformity to these painful regulations.
The agonies I face whenever transitioning from one floor to another by means of a device that could give out and plunge me to a smashing death at the bottom of a dark shaft could be alleviated if people ceased the present elevator etiquette.
Here is what should go down when going up — or down, I suppose: Face any wall but the one with the door. Make as much eye contact as possible with your fellow floor-climbers. Converse with them. Sing a little bit. Get everyone to jump just as the elevator is about to stop. Give out cupcakes and soda, or chips and guacamole.
Perhaps these suggestions are a bit extreme — who has the practicality to carry enough chips and avocado dip to feed up to 10 people?
What we should do, though, is allow fun and joviality to infect the territory of a frigid and forced ignorance of those around us. Instead of staring at the sliding door — eyes wide with the fear that you might draw attention to yourself or have someone initiate human interaction with you — engage with someone yourself.
Smile, compliment a cute bag or baby and maybe stand a few degrees off parallel with the door. Find a way to melt the tension. Either that, or Nicholas and I may just burst into fits once we reach our desired floor — and perhaps, even before the doors close.
Reach columnist Matt Jackson at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Health class encourages UW to host tent city
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 08, 2009“The University of Washington campus might soon be home for some of Seattle’s homeless.
Last night, students from Community Development for Health, a two-quarter UW public health class, held a meeting in Kane Hall to promote hosting one of Seattle’s tent cities for the homeless, Tent City III. Students are hoping to set up a campus location by the end of the school year.
There are two tent cities operating in King County, Tent City III and Tent City IV. They are not related to Nickelsville, which was housed in the U-District earlier this year.
Tent City III has had 35 hosts since it was established in 2000 and can house up to 100 residents. Such encampments in Seattle are normally located in church parking lots or lawns and can operate legally in a single place for about three months with the city’s permission. Seattle University hosted the city in 2005, but the tents are currently situated at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill.
According to the Housing Development Consortium of Seattle, on an average night, more than 7,900 people in King County are homeless. Due to the recent economic downfall and lack of affordable housing and entry-level jobs, the health class students believe it’s the UW’s responsibility as an academic institution to help with the problem.
“In the face of this mounting crisis, guardians of the public well-being should step to the forefront through education, engagement, collaboration and action,” said Noah Barclay-Derman, a student in the global health department. “Tent City III residents need a location and recognize the resources and support UW could provide, as well as the opportunities for students to engage pressing social issues at multiple levels.”
No campus site has been specified for the camp’s possible location, but a class committee is considering places like the Sylvan Theater, near the Burke Museum or parking lots like W-2 or W-14.
Sahar Banijamali, a graduate student working to get her master’s degree in public health, said the students are looking for an area with low traffic that will not be an inconvenience to UW students.
Banijamali said that depending on where tent city is located, parking may become a problem or campus lawns may be damaged, but she thinks the benefits of housing a tent city overcome the negative effects.
“The tent city residents are pretty self-organized, and they have a lot of rules,” she said. “One of their big projects is trying to give back to the community. They have a litter pick-up program for the area around them, and in areas where a tent city is located, crime actually tends to decrease.”
An elected council of tent-city residents governs the city and enforces a strict code of conduct, banning drugs, alcohol, weapons, and physical and verbal abuse. Tent-city residents would not have access to campus buildings unless specifically invited to events, but the university would have to cover the cost of residents’ electricity and water use.
“At a tent city, you can establish a routine, and you can begin to get back a little bit of what you’ve lost,” said Anne Rider, Tent City III executive committee member and resident. “I have been very grateful for its presence in my life.”
Out of 667 UW students and faculty members surveyed for an ongoing online questionnaire created by the class, 55 percent support an on-campus tent city location.
No formal request to host Tent City III has been sent to the UW administration thus far, but a similar proposal was rejected in 2005. The class is gathering more information from the campus community before making a proposal to UW President Mark Emmert, who was not in attendance last night.
Reach reporter Katie McVicker at news@dailyuw.com.”
Men’s golf finishes 7th at US Collegiate
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 08, 2009“The Washington men’s golf team entered the final day of the United States Collegiate in third place, only six strokes behind first-place Stanford.
However, a disappointing final round of the tournament left the Huskies wondering what could have been, as they wasted an opportunity to show the rest of the country that they can compete with top teams.
The UW faced some of its toughest competition yet, as nine of Golfweek’s top-10 teams were in the field. Despite two solid days of play, the Huskies couldn’t come up big on Tuesday.
The Dawgs finished tied for seventh place (887) after struggling in the final round. The Huskies shot a final round 302, 15 shots more than their first-round total and four shots more than their second-round total.
Junior Nick Taylor led the way yet again, shooting a 7-over 221, and tied for 17th individually. Taylor was named the Pac-10 Player of the Month for March. It is his second such honor this year.
Right behind Taylor were junior Darren Wallace (222), sophomore Tze Huang Choo (228) and junior Richard Lee (228). Junior Chris Killmer finished strong with a third-round score of 70 but ended up shooting a three-day total of 229.
Despite a career-best, second-place finish by junior Molly Aronsson, the UW women’s golf team ended up finishing in sixth place at the Lady Gator Invitational in Gainsville, Fla.
“We didn’t play particularly well,” said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. “We never seem to get that one more score to make the day a little better.”
The Dawgs finished with a three-day score of 932 (309-312-311), 19 shots behind co-medalists Auburn and Duke.
Aronsson, a native of Shelburne, Vt., finished in the top 10 for the first time in her career, shooting a 224 (74-72-78). Playing in tough conditions, Aronsson performed well and nearly won medalist honors, falling just two shots short of medalist Amanda Blumenherst from Duke.
“She had a great week and played really well,” Mulflur said. “Next time she’s in that situation, she can go and take some of what she learned today.”
Following Aronsson were junior Christina Yoon (235), freshman Sadena Parks (239), sophomore Anya Alvarez (243) and sophomore Karinn Dickinson (246).
“We need to get a lot sharper competitively,” Mulflur said. “We have a lot of talent, but we just need to get a little sharper before our next tournament.”
Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Army reservist files lawsuit, alleges discrimination
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 08, 2009“A UW maintenance worker and U.S. Army reservist has filed a lawsuit against the UW, claiming that he experienced discrimination and harassment regarding his involvement with the Iraq war both before his deployment in 2006 and after his return in 2007.
James Lukehart has worked for the university since 1992 and has been a member of the U.S. Army since 1971; he currently holds the rank of lieutenant colonel.
“Prior to his deployment,” the suit reads, “a group of employees reporting to plaintiff condemned him for his military service and accused him of engaging in immoral, if not illegal, action if he deployed to Iraq as ordered.”
Upon returning from Iraq a little more than a year later, Lukehart was told he could not resume work for the UW until an investigation into allegations of misconduct on his part had been completed — allegations which had been filed without his knowledge, he claimed.
While in Iraq, the lawsuit reads, he was not informed that complaints were being filed against him and was not told he was being investigated.
UW workers are traditionally allowed to see information regarding complaints about them, either in the form of a full written report or by looking it up in their full employee profile, which all employees can access. Whether Lukehart should have been directly informed of the complaints against him would depend on how the complaints were filed, which has not been released.
At the conclusion of the investigation in December 2007, Lukehart was given the choice to either have his employment terminated or be demoted from facilities manager to maintenance manager and attend “an intensive counseling program.” He chose to take the demotion.
But this is only Lukehart’s side of the story, said UW spokesperson Norm Arkans. The UW has not yet had the chance to respond to the suit, but until then, the university’s official statement is that “[Lukehart’s] status here has absolutely nothing to do with his service in Iraq.”
This type of treatment of veteran servicemen and women is not widespread, but does occur, said Adam Lewis, a UW student who served in Iraq from February 2004 to February 2005.
“Comparatively speaking, Seattle tends to be a little less sympathetic of servicemen,” Lewis said. “[But] in my experience, the people I’ve met, they’ve all been very respectful. Almost everyone has been good to me.”
The university will respond to the lawsuit later this month.
Reach reporter Morgan Gard at news@dailyuw.com.”
Swinging to their own beat: UW club brings classy back
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 07, 2009“The most scandalous dance of the 1940s is staging a comeback. Students, beware: It’s energetic, fun, vigorous — and quite possibly recession-immune.
Swing Kids at UW, a registered student organization originally founded in 1997 and revived in 2003 after a brief hiatus, is a swing dance club that appeals to those who shun modern dancing or want to jitterbug back in time to a classier era.
“I’ve heard people describe it as being the opposite from when it started,” said club technical officer Elizabeth Korsmo. “Now, it’s all the people who want to go back to the ’40s.”
Swing Kids offers lessons for all skill levels and hosts “hep” (an old-time term for “cool”) movie nights, quarterly dances and weekly jams in Red Square — even amid torrential downpours.
Freshman Caitlin Bannan joined the group at Dawg Daze, pleased by its welcoming social atmosphere.
“I was looking into a lot of dance clubs,” Bannan said. “Swing Kids was really into having new people.”
Lessons are free for beginners and cover the basics of East Coast swing, Charleston and Lindy Hop in five-week cycles.
The lessons are taught by Swing Kids members and dance instructors who are active in the local community.
“It’s going to be hard at first, but once you’ve mastered the basics, it becomes really fun and really easy,” said Meranda Tuttle, Swing Kids president.
After five weeks of beginner lessons, students are eligible to become members of the club, which requires quarterly dues of $15. Member lessons take place at the same time as beginner lessons, though the curriculum is more advanced.
“You expand on the basics and get to learn cool tricks,” Tuttle said. “They try to help you improve your musicality.”
Members acknowledged that social swing dancing is often daunting for beginners.
“I’m a very shy person,” Korsmo said, “so the hardest thing is to go out dancing and ask people to dance.”
Once those heebie-jeebies disappear, dancing becomes a lot more enjoyable.
“A lot of people are self-conscious because when they start, they aren’t that good,” said Swing Kids member Max McCall, who has been dancing since February 2007. “Once you stop worrying about how you look, you become much better.”
Unlike a lot of modern dancing, etiquette is crucial. Korsmo explained the most important, though unwritten, rule of swing dancing: Treat people with respect. It’s considered rude to turn someone down for a dance, then dance the song with someone else. While saying “no” is, of course, allowed, be polite and sit out the song before finding a new partner.
Another matter of consequence is personal hygiene, a lack of which is noticeable by your partner during even the shortest of songs.
“Know that you might need to change your shirt — be prepared for that,” Korsmo said.
Overall, the members emphasized that swing dancing is a great way to socialize and meet new people, especially while dancing face-to-face — another seemingly ancient phenomenon absent much of the time from today’s contemporary dance clubs.
“I really like meeting new dancers and having the social contact,” Bannan said. “There’s a lot more talking going on. I feel like it’s a lot harder to talk while grinding.”
Tuttle spoke about how swing dancing requires more talent than the dancing you might observe at a club or frat party.
“It involves more technique and style,” Tuttle said. “It’s a whole lot more fun to watch; the atmosphere is entirely different.”
Swing dancing is also a bargain, with most venues charging $5 for up to four hours of dancing.
That’s far less expensive than a night at clubs Fusion or Starbar — which can run up to $20 — or even a trip to the movies.
“During the recession, it’s a good deal,” Tuttle said.
The members of Swing Kids enjoy the camaraderie of the group, often getting together outside of dances to bake, study or just hang out.
“Especially when I joined Swing Kids, it was a very strong community in itself,” Korsmo said. “Like when you join a sorority, only a bit more fun because there are guys, too.”
If you want a chance to strut your moves with these cats, the spring dance, festively entitled the Bunny Hop Ball, is being held this Saturday in the HUB West Ballroom. A live band will be playing tunes, and a beginner lesson will be offered to fine-tune steps before the music starts.
Getting started truly is the toughest obstacle, but once you’re out on that dance floor, it isn’t likely you’ll be stopping anytime soon.
“At one point in time, I hated the Lindy basic,” Tuttle said, referring to a swing step that is difficult for beginners to master. “Now, I can’t think of life without it.”
Reach reporter Rachel Solomon at features@dailyuw.com.”
Online friendships subvert reality
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 07, 2009“If you have any significant number of friends on Facebook, you’re treated every year to a virtual swarm of well-wishers descending on your profile to post birthday salutations. We revel, if only briefly, in this shower of attention. It subconsciously reaffirms the significance, or at least the distinctiveness, of our own existence.
It’s always somewhat amusing to see the popular media gush about “social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace.” Both are always mentioned in a single breath as the next big thing for 20-somethings.
To these, I would also add Steam, a video-game-download client that also has a nicely-integrated “friends” feature, and Twitter, which consists entirely of brief-text posts.
The original theory behind social networking was solid: You would look up people you knew in real life, add them to a list and use the site as a supplement to actually interacting with them.
That sounds a bit quaint, doesn’t it? It may well be that these sites are dumbing down social bonds rather than strengthening them.
Do you have old friends you haven’t seen in while? Add them, write two lines on their wall and forget about catching up over lunch. Social networking has become all about the present; with few exceptions, there’s no time or space for long-term plans or old memories.
Then there are the random friends, the people you’ve never met. The existence of the “random add” subverts the entire paradigm of social networking.
Myspace, with its profusion of band and porn star profiles, is probably the biggest offender in this regard, but Facebook has them too. Yuppies, total losers and gorgeous blondes with a thousand tagged photos. On the Internet, you can have it all.
I too, am subversive, linked into a network of delightful, but essentially unknowable people I’ve never met. Within limits, the vice is a nice diversion.
What is disturbing, though, is that many people view it as a social circle, as if one could ever count on random “friends” for anything in tough times.
Finally, there is the abridgement of the social networking medium itself — its transformation into an extended series of brief, mostly unfunny one-liners, particularly on Twitter and, recently, Facebook.
Someone in your news feed has a lot of homework. He also has been drinking. He’s endorsing political candidates using a copy-and-paste message. He’s a vampire or a mafia don in some application. He won’t stop spamming you with unwanted invites. And you can’t de-friend him because that’s the equivalent of socking him in the face with brass knuckles on.
Of course, not much of this would ever make for interesting conversation, but it suffices for “shares” or “tweets.” They are the self-absorbed detritus of human existence — the id unleashed at the altar to the mundane. Somehow, despite the thinness of this online blather, we often accept “shares” and their comments as a substitute for real interaction.
Social networking is like alcohol: Enjoyed with friends in moderation, it’s a great thing. Whatever my reservations about the social networking revolution, I still react to the words “I don’t have Facebook” the same way I might react to the words “I have the plague.”
If abused, however, social networking sites become a false existence. Never, ever forget that the Internet is a poor substitute for personal contact.
Reach columnist Russ Wung at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Firearms, Facebook and fear of rejection
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 07, 2009“Guns on campus
AUSTIN, Texas — A bill pending approval from the Texas state Legislature would allow licensed concealed gun carriers to tote their firearms on college campuses.
House Bill 1893, which has faced vocal opposition from the University of Texas (UT), recently underwent a public hearing where opinions from both sides of the gun debate were voiced.
Proponents of the legislation seek to avoid a “sitting duck” situation if a school shooting were to occur.
“Would you rather sit and just take shot for shot, or would you rather have a chance to fight back?” said Katie Kasprzak, a Texas State University graduate and spokesperson for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, to the Associated Press.
UT graduate student John Woods attended Virginia Tech during the April 2007 massacre, which claimed the lives of 32 students, including his girlfriend.
“The idea that somebody could stop a school shooting with a gun is impossible,” Woods told the AP. “It’s reactive, not preventative.”
The bill is awaiting a decision from the Public Safety Committee. Six other states are deliberating similar legislation.
Facebook in class
BIRMINGHAM, England – Birmingham City University has designed the perfect degree for the college student consumed more by Facebook status updates than academia.
Simply fork over $6,275 to graduate with a master’s degree in social media. The one-year program will teach courses in Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, arming its graduates with such communication skills as creating a blog and constructing a social network.
“It’s not for freaks or IT geeks,” program developer Jon Hickman told The Daily Mail. “The tools learned on this course will be accessible to many people.”
Student Jamie Waterman views the situation differently.
“It’s of no interest to me whatsoever,” Waterman said. “Virtually all of the content of this course is so basic it can be self-taught.”
Colleges woo students in poor economy
In this uncertain financial era, sometimes colleges, rather than students, are more upset by rejection.
This spring, schools are taking extra measures to woo accepted students who don’t want their wallets to suffer at the cost of a private-school education.
At Santa Clara University in California, the president, provost and 400 alumni were recruited to call admitted students, persuading them to check the “yes” box on their acceptance letters.
Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict have reportedly increased their budgets to fly in admitted students, according to USA Today.
Some families, taking the hint, are bartering for increased financial aid, asking colleges if they’ll meet an offer posed by another school.
However, while private schools vie for students in this dismal economic climate, public schools — the UW included — face enrollment cuts and tuition increases.
Reach columnist Rachel Solomon at news@dailyuw.com.”
Moderate
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 07, 2009“Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took a trip down to Mexico, where she was forced to acknowledge the role that the United States’ insatiable demand for drugs plays in the violence and carnage that has resulted from the drug wars.
Specifically, she said: “Our [United States’] insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the death of police officers, soldiers and civilians.”
She couldn’t be more right. It’s time the U.S. government recognized the nation’s role in fueling the fire and re-examined its drug — or more accurately, its anti-drug — policies. Let’s take a look at the situation: When he took office in 2007, President Felipe Calderon made it his number one priority to root out and destroy the drug kingpins in Mexico. Unfortunately, since most local Mexican police are so thoroughly corrupt, he decided to call in the army to engage in police action. Since then, violence has skyrocketed as these forces battle with the drug cartels, and there is seemingly no end in sight. Police are continually being murdered, and some regions are close to being completely controlled by the drug lords.
Estimates show that the number of Mexican (armed) men working for the drug cartels is around 100,000 — compared to the army’s 180,000 — but this doesn’t account for police corruption. Therefore, the potential for all-out civil war in Mexico is high.
While it may seem like a dramatic proposition — and certainly one that runs contrary to U.S. laws throughout modern history — the only viable solution to this problem may involve the legalization of drugs or, at the very least, to begin a dialogue about it. The idea is not entirely new; others have brought forth this concept before, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, William F. Buckley Jr. and former Secretary of State (under Ronald Reagan) George Schultz.
Perhaps the most convincing example is Jack Cole, who spent 12 years as an undercover drug officer with the New Jersey State Police and is a firm advocate of legalization. He founded Law Enforcers Against Prohibition (LEAP) in 2002, which includes members from the DEA, FBI and other departments of the government. Members of LEAP are united in the belief that the “war on drugs” is futile, and that the solution to the problem is to legalize them, control them and tax the hell out of them.
One notable point Cole has made is the following statistic: In 1970, two percent of Americans over the age of 12 had tried illegal drugs. Today, the number hovers around 46 percent. However, since then, we’ve imprisoned more people than any other country and spent about $1 trillion in an effort to “reduce” drug use. This “war” obviously isn’t working, and a new direction is needed to prevent the needless crime, violence and suffering caused by illegal drug trafficking.
While the United States may not be ready for legalization for quite some time, a substantial dialogue must begin.
Reach columnist Katie Paff at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Liberal
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 07, 2009“The failure of the U.S. government’s “war on drugs” has long been cliché. The billions of dollars spent to no effect, the prisons overcrowded with pot possessions, the racial and economic disparity, the gangs, the kids, the 80s … anybody feeling a flashback coming on?
We’ve heard it all before. Recently, during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Mexico City in March, we heard all that high talk again. Now, as we look back over the two weeks since she left our embattled neighbor and see no new vibrant national conversation about drug-policy reform and no bold new initiative by the Obama administration, the rhetoric is clearly coming down.
The drug war has finally jumped the shark, and I’m not hallucinating.
Clinton’s trip drew unprecedented attention to the problems facing Mexico’s crackdown on the drug cartels, but this half of the equation is not new. Our drugs have always come from Mexico. The new Mexican crackdown initiative, which has been erupting violently on the border and in Mexican cities, has been going on since early 2007.
Also old news is Clinton’s mea culpa on the part of the United States. The United States shares responsibility for Mexico’s drug problems and violence because we provide the demand for drugs and weapons. “Duh” was the response in this country from all but some cranks on the right. Yet, there was a feeling that it had never been stated so clearly — not by the U.S. government, anyway.
Could there be anything so obvious? The problem is the demand for drugs in this country. The failure of the war on drugs can be summed up as a failure to curb that demand. Instead, U.S. drug policy has declared war on the people who embody that demand, ruining their lives and perpetuating their addictions.
But, what of Clinton’s proclamation? For a moment, there seemed an opportunity to reorient our battle plan against the drug problem. Will anything come of this? The administration did not seem interested in taking the bait. Sending more money to Mexico for their war and putting troops on the border are consistent with the same old drug war we know and love. As long as we keep smoking the same stuff, we’re never going to find that better high.
Attorney General Eric Holder did recently announce that the Justice Department would no longer prosecute marijuana cases in which the local marijuana laws were being observed, such as in the use of medical marijuana in California. This is an important step. But the optics are procedural, not revolutionary. Where was the calm, wise and convincing speech from the president, echoing the secretary of state and calling for change?
I would love to propose a long-game theory about the Obama administration’s good intentions on reforming drug policy, but I’m not sure I see it. Maybe there is a plan. Maybe Clinton’s remark was just the hit in a long-term, mind-expanding campaign the administration will unleash on the public over a period of years. Maybe that’s just a pipe dream.
Reach columnist Greg Ryan at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Conservative
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 07, 2009“One of the saddest realities about the human condition is that people are constantly being tortured, oppressed and brutalized by other people. In fact, it is for this reason that nations and governments exist — to protect those whom they govern from the excesses of their fellow men.
The mandate of the U.S. government is to protect U.S. citizens first, and its legitimacy can be judged by the degree to which it fulfills this mandate. Yet our government, like all others, faces a moral quandary about the degree to which its responsibility extends to those people who are not its citizens. Such is our problem when faced with Mexico’s drug crisis.
The most bizarre aspect of the Mexican crisis is that so many Americans are personally affected by it, but so few actually understand what is going on. In a nutshell, when he took office in 2006, President Felipe Calderon decided to make it a priority to crush the drug cartels that have been dominating much of Mexican society for decades. He then called in the military because he deemed the local police forces unreliable. The result has been a fierce clandestine battle between the Mexican federal government and the drug lords. Conservative estimates indicate that at least 9,000 people have been killed, more than twice as many as the number of U.S. fatalities in Iraq after six years.
The potential for this crisis to degenerate into a civil war is very real. It is estimated, again conservatively, that the drug cartels have some 100,000 men under arms, a pretty dangerous foe for a Mexican army of 180,000. One story that is particularly shocking is that the sheriff of Ciudad Juarez was murdered by drug gangsters for refusing to resign. The fact that these men could issue such an order, and enforce it with lethal power when it was ignored, indicates that some parts of Mexico are essentially de facto drug states. In these places, the government no longer has the ability to protect its citizens. Yet, if the Mexican government cannot protect its people, what must we do?
The one thing we must do is be honest with ourselves. The American left would be well advised not to delude itself into thinking that things in Mexico will be just fine if we just legalize all dangerous drugs and criminalize all firearms — which they wanted to do before this current crisis, surprise, surprise. It is true that drugs provide money for gangsters in Mexico, but if you legalize them, there are always new illegal items, like guns, to be smuggled through Mexico into the United States.
It will cost us to help the Mexican people: in money, in men and in time. Colombia was engaged in a drug conflict for 40 years before Mexico, and to help, we gave military advisors and billions of dollars in aid. Even so, it took decades for the situation in that country to noticeably improve, and it is still not wholly resolved. If our government really wants to make a difference in Mexico, we probably have to do everything we did for Colombia, at minimum. It’s a steep price, but it’s far more effective than simply making a few speeches and passing self-serving laws.
The most honest approach for our government is either to do nothing and allow Mexico to descend into chaos, or be prepared to do anything, even if it means to militarize the borders. It’s an unpleasant choice, but the reality is that when it comes to these sorts of problems, there are no easy solutions.
Reach columnist John Fay at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Staying safe under the needle
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 04, 2009“Gettng a tattoo on your ribs may not be as original as you think.
“Ribs have been really popular,” said Jason Middleton, tattoo artist at Deep Roots Tattoo and Body Piercing. He added that, for girls especially, lettering on the feet and wrists is becoming more common.
Gary Burke, owner of Mind’s Eye Tattoo, said that every third or fourth customer is getting a large tattoo on their ribs.
“We never used to do that,” he said.
Burke has also noticed an increase in requests for neck and hand tattoos, especially among first-time customers. He warns that those aren’t good places for initial tattoos. Until you’re used to what having tattoos is like, he says you shouldn’t get them in such visible places.
“But,” he says, “if you want to cancel out your chance of getting another job … OK.”
While ribs may be a new thing, Joe Who, owner of Pierced Hearts Tattoo Parlor, has noticed an increase in more traditional tattoos.
“The nautical star happens more than anything. People testing the water if they don’t really know what they’re doing,” Who said.
Though ink remains forever, the kinds of ink come and go, Burke said.
“It’s a vicious rotation. [Something] goes out today, and it’ll be back in three years from now,” He said.
Piercing, though not usually permanent, comes and goes as well. For the parlors that also offers piercings, the most common piercing, after the basic earlobe, is the nostril.
“It’s very seasonal [though],” said Chuck Who, Joe’s wife and co-owner. “As soon as the weather picks up, it’ll go back to navels.”
But don’t wait until the weather’s perfect: “If you’re planning to get a navel or nostril pierced, do it before summertime to give it time to heal,” said Deep Roots owner Rion Wickersham.
Dermal anchors are also becoming more popular, said Chuck. A dermal anchor is a piercing, resembling an ear stud, that is “anchored” under the skin, with the decorative portion showing. They are commonly seen on the face and the back of the neck.
No matter the tattoo or piercing, a damp and dark tattoo parlor is not the way to go.
Burke, Wickersham and the Whos are all also very concerned with health regulations and keeping customers — and themselves — safe.
As of 2002, there are rules for tattooing and electrologists having to do with sterilization and infection control procedures, said Patti Rathburn, health policy coordinator with the Washington State Department of Health. But, she said, there is no state-level enforcement authority. If there is a complaint against a particular shop, it’s up to local law enforcement agencies to deal with it, and violations of the codes are misdemeanor offenses. The rules also do not currently apply to body piercers, said Rathburn.
That means that each individual shop is almost entirely self-regulated.
“If you walk into a place and it doesn’t feel right, there could be a good chance it’s not right,” said Wickersham.
All three parlors either utilize single-use needles and ink tubes or sterilize them by autoclave. An autoclave is what doctors and dentists use to sterilize their instruments.
“Our standards [of cleanliness] are higher than the majority of doctors and hospitals,” Wickersham said.
It isn’t just the customers who need protection.
“I want to make sure that customers are safe, and that I am too,” Burke said. “I have to touch all the equipment, too.”
Very little, if anything at all, is saved or reused. All surfaces in the work areas are sprayed down with bleach before each job, and then covered with barriers — anything from saran wrap to garbage bags — to keep surfaces sterile.
Autoclaves are regularly spore tested, which means that they are sampled and tested to make sure they are in proper working order and are destroying all bacteria.
While shops have to self-regulate for now, there is legislation in the works to create at least a minimum of regulation, for instance, that all shops are at least required to have an autoclave, Chuck Who said.
“Over the last five years, there have been many attempts to increase regulation,” Rathburn said.
This year, there were two attempts. The first, started in the House of Representatives, would have applied the regulations now in place to body piercers. This bill was eventually folded into Senate Bill (SB) 5391.
SB 5391, if passed, will apply safety and sterility regulations to tattoo and body piercing salons similar to those found in hospitals. It will also regulate business licensing and requisite training for body modification professionals. The digest of the bill states that, “It is in the interests of the public health, safety and welfare to establish requirements in the commercial practice of these activities in this state.”
Rathburn said that the bill will also give enforcement authority to the Department of Licensing (DOL); individual practitioners will need to be licensed, as well as businesses. Complaints will then be dealt with by the DOL, which will allow a somewhat tighter rein to be kept on body modification parlors.
“They’re working on it,” said Joe.
The bill has passed in the Senate and was sent to the House Ways and Means Committee. It has yet to be scheduled for a hearing, and if it is not heard by 5 p.m. Monday, April 6, it will likely die and be attempted again next session, Rathburn said.
Reach features editor Randy Ferreiro at features@dailyuw.com.”
Huskies host two top-10 conference foes
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 04, 2009“The Washington softball team has become adept this season at burying teams early, ending games via the mercy rule eight times en route to a 28-5 record.
But in games decided a little later, the Huskies just can’t seem to hit with runners in scoring position.
They wasted a sterling performance by Danielle Lawrie against Stanford last weekend, as Lawrie threw 8 1/3 no-hit innings but was tagged with the loss — an 11-inning affair that Stanford won 1-0 — because the Huskies couldn’t string together enough hits to push a run across.
And the next day was more of the same. Lawrie tossed a two-hitter, but the UW was blanked by Stanford’s Missy Penna for the second straight game.
So it’s obvious what needs to change for the Huskies as they open their Pac-10 home schedule today against No. 9 Arizona, and then tomorrow and Sunday against No. 4 Arizona State.
Quite simply, they have to hit the ball.
“We were kind of in a lull last weekend with our bats,” senior Ashley Charters said. “But I think we’re going to bounce back this week and fire it back up.”
Washington has been shut out in four of its five losses, which has become the only way for anyone to beat Lawrie this year. She hasn’t lost a start in which the Huskies have scored.
But she’s not pointing any fingers, either.
“It’s frustrating on both sides,” said Lawrie, who hit a batter to force in the winning run last Saturday before allowing a two-run homer Sunday. “Giving up a home run, that’s tough. If that wouldn’t have happened, I look at it as maybe we would have been able to get a run across and maybe would have won, so I don’t look at it as the offense’s fault.”
It might not help that the Huskies still haven’t really settled on an every day lineup. Head coach Heather Tarr said that while there are about seven position players with starting spots nailed down, she’s still shuffling some things around to try to put the best nine in the lineup every day.
Still, she says it’s not time to panic.
“I think we’re just trying to keep it in perspective,” Tarr said. “We hit the ball [last] weekend. We just didn’t get the clutch hit. We had a lot of opportunities, just a couple people didn’t execute. It’ll come.”
Note: Former Washington head coach Teresa Wilson will make her return to Husky Softball Stadium as an assistant on Arizona’s staff. Wilson was forced out as UW head coach after a prescription-drug scandal in 2004. Tarr took over the next season.
Reach sports editor Christian Caple at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Free Speech Friday: March 3
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 04, 2009“In response to Free Speech Friday, March 13, by Steve Leigh
Steve Leigh is very, very upset that there is a state (Israel) for Jews who want to live there.
After World War I, one of the progressive ideas supported by President Wilson was self-determination for different peoples. Instead of being ruled by others, Hungarians would have a country of their own; so would Rumanians, Poles and so on. One of the objections often made to how European colonial powers divided up Africa and parts of Asia was that they ignored this principle, instead creating national and subnational boundaries without regard to more or less natural borders among people of different religions or ethnicities.
The United Nations was following the principle of self-determination when it declared in November 1947, that Palestine should become two states: one, in the area in which Jews were a majority, for the Jews, and a second, in the area in which Arabs were a majority, for the Arabs.
The Jews accepted the 1947 two-state solution. The Arabs did not, instead attacking the tiny Jewish state, much smaller than today’s Israel, which is very small as it is. The attack came from both within, Arabs already in Palestine trying to destroy it, and outside Israel, as military forces of seven Arab states attacked as well.
Israel was created, therefore, on progressive principles, and survived through the elementary principle of self-defense. Try to prevent those who want to kill you and destroy your country from doing so.
There are 21 countries plus the Palestinian Authority in the Arab League: 300 million people, 5.25 million square miles. There is one country for the Jews: roughly 5.5 million people in a country of 7.5 million, 8,000 square miles. It doesn’t seem to me that Israel is asking too much.
Paul Burstein
Professor, sociology
The Disneyland version of the Arab-Israeli conflict — the wicked, aggressive Jews versus peace-loving, eternally victimized Arabs — presented in The Daily March 13 by Steve Leigh and A. Ahmed affords a good opportunity to compare the ways in which the two peoples have handled their refugee problems.
In 1948, more than half a million Palestinians, ignoring Ben-Gurion’s assurance that “there is enough room for ourselves and the Arabs in Palestine,” fled the country. They were following the example and precept of their own leaders as well as the leaders of the five Arab armies that invaded the tiny UN-recognized state of Israel and urged Arab residents of the area to “get out, so we can get in.”
The governments of these same Arab countries, and the Arab world in general, have kept whole generations of their fellow Arabs homeless on the borders of Israel in refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Gaza. Hamas’ recent use of Arab civilians as human shields continues the Arab League’s long-standing decision to keep Palestinians, generation after generation, in squalid refugee camps as a weapon in their endless war against Israel. In a century of blood and shame, this exploitation of their fellow Arabs has been one of the most shameful episodes of all.
Israel’s Law of Return, which sticks in Leigh’s throat, was promulgated, contrary to his statement, when Jews were a large majority in the country. Under this law of the 1950s, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, Israel welcomed some of the world’s most injured and persecuted refugees, providing those who needed it with decades of medical treatment, support and sustenance. Israel also welcomed and settled more than 800,000 Jews who were forced out of nearly all of the Arab states in North Africa and the Middle East after 1947.
Since no Arab country shares Israel’s sense of responsibility for its co-religionists, no Arab country has passed a Law of Return or looked upon Palestinian refugees as bone of their bone, flesh of their flesh, children of the same God, but only as weapons in their battle against Israel.
Why are Arabs, who are born and live out their lives in refugee camps in Gaza, Lebanon or Jordan, not allowed to become citizens of the Arab countries they inhabit? Why do Palestinian refugees live in such dire circumstances?
The “root cause” of their misery is not Israel. It is the 60 years of Arab and Palestinian leadership policy aimed at making permanent the Palestinian people’s status as stateless refugees to use their suffering as a weapon against Israel.
The zeal of Leigh and Afrose, living comfortably in Seattle, to fight against Israel to the last Palestinian refugee is apparently not shared by the refugees or their children and grandchildren themselves.
Ben Dershowitz
Senior, industrial engineering
25 DVDs and a Video iPod
Barack Obama is Mr. Smooth. No really, I’m serious. The guy is the epitome of what it means to be smooth. I mean, you’d have to be smooth in order to fill out an NCAA tournament bracket on ESPN in the middle of a financial crisis. You’d have to be smooth in order to go on The Tonight Show and compare your bowling score to that of a score you might see in the Special Olympics. You’d have to be smooth in order to return a bust of Winston Churchill to the Brits, who gave it to President Bush after the 9/11 terror attacks. You’d have to be even smoother in order to give a visiting head of state, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, 25 DVDs as a welcoming gift, while giving his kids toy helicopters. And finally, you’d have to be on your absolute “A-game” in order to visit the UK and give the Queen of England a video iPod preloaded with your very own speeches.
Sure, one might be able to look past him filling out a bracket on ESPN, or even the Special Olympics gaffe, but it’s hard to look past Obama’s treatment of Gordon Brown and the Queen. Apparently, our president thinks our relationship with Britain is worth about $475; $225 for the video iPod, and $250 for the 25 DVDs, which were in the wrong format, by the way, making them unwatchable. And I may be being generous with my cost basis, seeing as he returned the Churchill bust. Regardless, if there was any doubt among the American people that the president might be in over his head, I hope it has been assuaged by now. Elections have consequences, America, and we’re now seeing the fruits of those consequences. We got suckered into voting for a catchphrase, which was delivered over and over again by an inexperienced first-term U.S. senator. We shunned the old, experienced guy in favor of the young, hip guy promising “hope and change.” I don’t know about you, but I haven’t felt hopeful since Obama took office, and I certainly don’t like the change I’m seeing from him. Who knows though, maybe at some point over the next 1,387 days, that will change. No pun intended.
Nick Jacob
Junior, political science”
114-year-old man busted for pot possession, Miss Universe vacations at Guantanamo Bay
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 04, 2009“PUTIAN, CHINA — A man underwent surgery to remove scissors from his esophagus earlier this week.
Kong Lin, 27, was using nail scissors to pick his teeth clean after dinner, when an unexpected joke made him laugh and swallow the four-inch clippers.
Attempting to cough them out, Kong lodged them deeper into his throat as they cut their way into his flesh.
Kong was taken to a hospital and put under local anesthesia to have them removed.
NIGERIA — A man claiming to be 114 years old had 6.5 tons of marijuana confiscated from him Tuesday.
Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) reported that it found 254 sacks of cannabis in the home of Sulaiman Adebayo just north of the commercial capitol Lagos.
The NDLEA chairman made a statement that this case indicates a large-scale growing effort beyond Adebayo’s involvement. Large-scale illegal marijuana farms in Nigeria smuggle goods across the border into neighboring countries.
Adebayo, who claims to have attended the inauguration of a famous hall in Abeokuta in 1895, stated that he thought the bags contained rice.
There has been no official confirmation of Adebayo’s age.
GERMANY — Children watching a youth-oriented cooking show received a jarring shock as the host electrocuted rabbits before slitting their throats and skinning them for food preparation.
The TV show Sarah and the Kitchen Children, hosted by Sarah Wiener, was using rabbits in honor of the approaching Easter holiday, but some of the 12- to 15-year-olds on the show began to cry as the rabbits were stunned with electricity before being butchered.
Wiener, believing that children should know from where their food comes, had the children help her skin the rabbits.
TEXAS — A Texas justice of the peace has been reprimanded for giving parents the option to either pay fines for school-dodging children, or spank their children.
The choice to either engage in corporal punishment or pay a $500 fine led the state commissioner on judicial conduct to rebuke Gustavo Garza for violations of judicial conduct, and providing a “safe haven” for child abuse.
This warning was not accompanied by any type of reprimand, though Garza could face repercussions should he continue.
Garza made a statement that the positive results of reducing school truancy outweigh the damages inflicted by spanking the offending children.
VENEZUELA — Miss Universe has proclaimed Guantanamo Bay to be “a lot of fun,” and “a relaxing, calm, beautiful place.”
Dayana Mendoza, of Venezuela, went on a recent visit to the prison camp and blogged about her “incredible experience” of rides around the razor-wire and minefield-surrounded camp.
Also commenting on the “unbelievable” beaches, the reigning Miss Universe said she didn’t want to leave the camp.
FLORIDA — A sick turtle took himself to a hospital for injured reptiles recently.
The 77-pound loggerhead sea turtle swam to the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital, where it was noticed by staff member Ryan Butts.
The endangered turtle had a bacterial infection, was underweight and very weak.
Staff cited this as the first time a sea turtle has come directly to the hospital’s doorstep for admittance.
NORWAY — A Norwegian church baptized a baby with lemon-flavored cola Tuesday.
Freezing temperatures caused the church to turn off the water, so Priest Paal Dale improvised by using flat lemon cola.
Intending not to inform the parents of the switch, Dale was obligated to do so after the parents noticed the lingering lemon scent.
It was not reported whether or not the family was upset by the unconventional christening.
Reach columnist Matt Jackson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Hidden Seattle: Theo Chocolate
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 02, 2009“I haven’t had my dinner, but it’s got to be dessert time somewhere.
It is only 10:30 a.m., and I am at Theo Chocolate company, nibbling away while following employee, or “theonista,” Kate Kraay as she moves from display to display, crumbling chocolate bars into samples.
Theo Chocolate was founded three years ago and is an organic and certified Fair Trade chocolate factory. The company calls Seattle — more specifically, Fremont — home, though it distributes to all 50 states through stores such as the Puget Consumer Cooperative and Whole Foods, as well as small neighborhood chocolate shops, said retail store manager Audrey Lawrence.
The Theo Chocolate store, housed only a floor away from its factory, sells chocolate and offers samples of its products. Kraay’s favorite chocolate is the Madagascar origin bar, which is made with cocoa sourced completely from that island. Because of the minerals in the soil, she said, people get hints of dark fruits such as black cherry.
“Let the cocoa butter rise up to your body temperature,” she advised.
I sat a piece on my tongue, resisting the urge to crunch, and simply let it melt. This lets the flavors emerge completely and is like sniffing and swishing wine across your tongue while tasting. The chocolate was dark and rich, with undertones of raspberry.
Theo Chocolate also gives tours through its factory, which is housed in a 100-year-old brick building at 3400 Phinney Ave. N. The building used to be a brewery, and before that, it was a barn for Seattle trolley cars.
Now it houses pallets of cocoa beans from countries such as Ghana and Venezuela, as well as a laboratory, roasting room and confectionery kitchen.
I toured the factory with a group of 24 students from Japan who attend the Northwest School, a private middle and high school in Seattle. After first learning about the history of chocolate, we slipped hairnets on and entered the 80-degree roasting room. We walked carefully around the gargantuan machines, keeping our feet between the yellow lines for safety reasons, and learned about the various equipment necessary to process the beans into bars and other confections.
For chocolate that in many cases has few ingredients, a lot of work and machinery goes into it.
First, there’s the labor of the farmers, who cut the cocoa pods off the tree’s trunk with a machete, then break them open and allow the fruit to rot away. The seed dries and dies on the inside, earning the classification of “bean.”
“It’s dead on the inside, but it sure does taste good,” said theonista Abby Culin, who led the tour.
Eighty to 100 beans go into just one of Theo’s bars.
“Every step of the process is very labor-intensive,” she said.
Theo’s Fair Trade certification means that regulators visit each source country to make sure there is no slave or child labor being used.
“We are really trying to give them a sustainable wage to live on,” Culin said.
Besides being laborious, the process is also slightly disgusting for such a delicious food item. However, chocolate wouldn’t be chocolate if it weren’t allowed to rot. In fact, the fermentation process, sometimes lasting for 10 days, gives chocolate its chocolate flavor.
While touring, we tasted cocoa nibs, chips of cocoa bean that are not sweetened in any way, and soon enough, a garbage pail was passed among the sour faces.
We passed from the roasting room, filled with the smells of the bitter chemicals released from the beans, into the confectionery kitchen, which gave me a sugar high just upon entering. There we tasted ginger, mint and lemon chocolates that didn’t pass the perfection inspection, while batches of caramel and ganache waited to go into new sweets. Waste chocolate is formed into sculptures, like the various Buddha heads that sat on the cooling conveyor, and bars that are sent to food banks. When each batch is finished, the pipes of the machines are cleaned with chocolate before a different batch is made because, as Culin said, “Chocolate and water don’t mix.”
After the tour was finished, Andy McShea, Theo’s chief operating officer and a biochemist, led me to their laboratory, or, as a sign on the door announced, their “super-secret laboratory.” It could have been a chemistry lab at the UW with its cream-colored machines and a white coat draped over a chair, except for the splatters of chocolate on a table and the test tubes and bottles of chocolate arranged on the counters.
A machine that resembled a washer or dryer was actually a centrifuge used to separate chocolate into parts for analysis. Another machine is used for DNA analysis.
McShea opened a cabinet and lifted out various test tubes, each containing one of a cocoa bean’s chemical compounds, such as acetophenone, nonanal and heptanal.
“What makes good chocolate doesn’t involve tubes,” McShea said.
The journey toward making chocolate production more natural, fair and healthy is getting better, McShea said, though Theo Chocolate is just a drop in the ocean of chocolate companies. However small a drop the company is, the theonistas seem to be having fun.
After munching on more chocolate, this time an orange chocolate bar produced just the day before, tour guide Culin said with a laugh, “It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.”
Reach managing editor Erinn Unger at
features@dailyuw.com.”
World Report: Disunity at Arab League summit, terror in Pakistan
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 02, 2009“Arab League summit
International conflict and disputes between leaders marred the 31st Arab League summit in Doha, Qatar this week.
The event’s unofficial theme of Arab unity was defied before it even began when only 17 of the 22 member states agreed to attend. Of all the absences, that of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was considered to be the most notable. Mubarak refused to attend because of a disagreement over Qatar’s stance in the most recent Israel-Gaza conflict.
Poor attendance was only the beginning of unity issues, however. Relations between the leaders of Libya and Saudi Arabia have been tense since 2003, when Saudi King Abdullah called Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi “a product of Great Britain and protected by the United States.”
Relations didn’t get any better when Gadhafi proclaimed himself “leader of the Arab leaders, the king of kings of Africa and the imam of the Muslims” at this year’s summit and returned Abdullah’s insult from six years prior.
Gadhafi then stormed out of the event to visit a museum, his aides said, but returned later to make peace with King Abdullah in a meeting facilitated by the Qatari emir.
The spotlight at the event was not on the conclusions reached or plans made, but instead the rather warm welcome the event gave to the president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, who currently has a warrant for his arrest put out by the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, Qatar has not signed the ICC charter, which obligates a member state to turn over a person wanted by the organization.
The Arab League released a joint statement at the end of the summit stating, “We stress our solidarity with Sudan and our rejection of the ICC decision.”
Bashir is wanted by the ICC for his involvement with the genocide in Darfur, which has killed as many as 500,000 people in that region since 2004.
Terrorist attacks in Pakistan
Armed gunmen stormed a police academy in Lahore, Pakistan Monday, beginning a siege that lasted eight hours and ended with more than 12 dead, raising fears of increased militant activity.
This was the second terrorist attack in Lahore for the month of March, following the ambush of Sri Lanka’s cricket team that killed seven.
Lahore is called the “cultural capital” of Pakistan and remained a peaceful, lively area while the rest of the nation “has been up in flames,” a security official said. While most of Pakistan has suffered coordinated suicide strikes, Lahore did not have a single bombing until January 2008.
The same official later theorized that “whoever wants to destabilize the country or the government would go after Lahore.”
It is suspected that the recent upswing in both the number of attacks and their boldness is a sign that the al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders in northwest Pakistan on the Afghan border have begun their move in making Pakistan the next Taliban state.
Some in the Pakistani government use suspected retaliation for the Mumbai attacks in December as a reason to blame India, as well.
The attack comes a week after President Barack Obama pledged increased civilian aid to Pakistan on the condition that the military step up its offensive on extremists. Last year, Pakistan’s main intelligence agency was accused of aiding terrorists groups in the country, a charge the Pakistani government vehemently rejects.
Reach columnist Morgan Gard at news@dailyuw.com.”
Adventureland: A believable coming-of-age comedy
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsApr 02, 2009“Adventureland is funny without much comic embellishment and touching without the typical conventions of the genre.
The characters feel more like real human beings instead of exaggerated caricatures. There are no stand-in representatives of group stereotypes, but rather unique individuals who act as if they are living a life of their own and not obeying the rules of a Hollywood screenplay.
The film centers around Jesse Eisenberg (James Brennan), an uptight college graduate who comes home to find that his parents will not be able to pay for graduate school. Abandoning plans for a trip across Europe, he grudgingly accepts a position at Adventureland, the local amusement park.
But Adventureland isn’t quite the place Jesse thinks it is, and before the summer ends, his life will be changed forever.
Writer/director Greg Mottola, who also directed Superbad, has created a complex comedy that finds its laughs in dry, subtle dialogue and situational irony instead of over-the-top conversation and heightened antics. The film is mellow and even contemplative. Lacking the frenetic adolescent energy of Superbad, it is a more mature picture. Adventureland is the movie that Zach Braff’s Garden State wishes it was. Funnier and more profound, Adventureland tackles a similar subject with greater wit and less pretense, making it more enjoyable and rewarding as a result.
Mottola’s script deserves as much credit as his direction; both the script and direction treat the characters and events on the screen less like artificial devices to be amused by and more like organic creations that also happen to be funny. This may be due to the fact that Mottola based much of the script on his own experiences working at the real Adventureland in Farmingdale, N.Y.
However, the actors in the film do a fantastic job themselves of portraying the diverse assortment of workers who run the park. Brennan’s Eisenberg is believable from his very first lines; he reacts with a fine display of disbelief and open-mindedness as his dreams grind to a halt.
Ryan Reynolds is surprisingly good as maintenance worker Mike Connell, and Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader are hilarious as park managers Paulette and Bobby.
The film is not without its flaws; some scenes meander for too long, and the drug-induced segment toward the end seems to appear for no other reason than the strange fact that it is requisite for comedies of this type to have.
However, the film sports an excellent soundtrack and is a joy to experience. It is not so much a movie about growing up, but one about realizing the responsibilities that come with doing so. Forget the “young adult” label — Adventureland is one of the best comedies of the new year.
Reach reporter Robert Frankel at
arts@dailyuw.com.”
Beyond the classroom: Alternative Spring Break volunteers do more than just teach
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 31, 2009“Some UW students returned from spring break with suntans. Some returned with sunburns.
Participants in Alternative Spring Break (ASB), however, arrived back on campus perhaps as sun-deprived as when they departed — but no skin tone could match the grins on their faces or the sense of fulfillment in their hearts.
During the week, one group of UW volunteers guided kids in rural and tribal communities across Washington through student-designed, environmental-education curricula. Another group worked with students on the process of writing, and helped the kids illustrate and publish their own stories.
“The lessons are all about trying to get them more engaged with science and environmental issues,” said environmental ASB participant Kristen Olsen, whose group traveled to the Quileute Tribal School in La Push. Another environmental group traveled to Brewster.
Some projects drafted during winter quarter by environmental ASB volunteers included crafting sourdough bread maps and experimenting with the effects of alcohol and tobacco on daphnia, which are microscopic, plankton-like crustaceans.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” said Olsen, a first-time volunteer. “I just know we were super, crazy-busy, but I loved every minute of it. The students were such a pleasure to work with.”
Literary arts was the focus for groups in Harrah, Tonasket, Toppenish, Forks, Neah Bay, Pascal Sherman and Curlew.
The young students were encouraged to develop poems and prose relating to the theme of “The Space We Call Home.” Volunteers described the responses as entertaining, silly and, at times, touching.
“We like to think the kids are engaged because we got so much out of it too,” Olsen said.
The kids were not the only ones who reaped the benefits of the lessons; often, volunteers learned as much as they taught. The younger generation seemed initially awed by the peculiar college visitors, but nonetheless, rapidly forged bonds with their UW mentors, inviting them to experience a unique way of life for a week.
“One of my favorite parts was when we were invited to a whale-welcoming ceremony that the Quileute tribe does,” Olsen said. “It was really great to see all the students dressed up. . . . It was a great community event, and we felt very welcome.”
Junior Cynthia Hsu discovered a similarly hospitable atmosphere in Forks.
“At the end of the day . . . my kids would give me a hug, even after the first day,” she said. “Little kids are really open to strangers and new things.”
The kids also tested their mentors, at times flouting rules and revealing a rebellious nature typical of elementary-age kids and middle-schoolers.
“The first through second-graders just throw themselves at you with hugs and love,” Olsen said. “[But] we also had to work on getting them to focus.”
Rebecca Mark, who volunteered in Forks, agreed that the kids’ short attention spans factored into the effectiveness of the project.
“It was difficult to get the kids to focus,” Mark said. “Some people just don’t like writing, but they eventually came around.”
Olsen mentioned that some of the teenagers she worked with flaunted a too-cool-for-school attitude, questioning the legitimacy of the seemingly “random” lesson the UW students spent an entire quarter compiling.
“We wanted to break through that and get them excited about science,” she said. “Every curriculum goes through rough spots. We really did try our best, and we were confident in the value of our curriculum. . . . There’s no crystal ball to see how [the children] will respond.”
Ultimately, that response was overwhelmingly positive.
For some volunteers, the short week helped carve out a path for their future. Olsen, a senior graduating with a degree in international studies, expressed regret that this was her only opportunity to participate in ASB. The experience proved useful, however, for determining her post-commencement plans.
“Currently, I’m on the wait list for Teach for America,” Olsen said. “In my mind, this very much simulated what Teach for America would be like.”
She added that ASB pushed her toward working with students who are not granted “as much access to the same educational resources [she] personally had growing up.”
Mark acknowledged that Teach for America, a program that places young teachers in under-resourced urban and rural schools around the United States, is a definite option in her future as well, while Hsu recognized the value of ASB in her own desired career.
“I’m thinking about being a pediatrician,” said the biochemistry and biology major, “so this kind of experience is very valuable.”
As a junior, Hsu is already planning for next year’s ASB.
“I definitely want to do this again,” she said. “I’d love to come back to Forks to be able to give these kids something they hopefully will remember.”
And remember it they will. Hsu and Mark shared some poignant anecdotes that demonstrate the strong impact they were able to make in such a short period of time.
“One of the kids came up to my friend and said, ‘This is the funnest thing I’ve done in a long time, and I hope it never ends,’” Hsu recalled. “One of the girls was like, ‘I want to go to college, too. I want to be a teacher, too.’”
A student presented Mark with a flower the second day, accompanied by a note affirming that the two were “best friends forever.”
The Pipeline Project, which encompasses ASB and other K-12 outreach programs, generally accepts applications for volunteers at the beginning of winter quarter and invites all who are interested to apply for ASB in 2010.
“It’s definitely worth the exhaustion I’m now feeling,” Olsen said of the hectic, yet satisfying, week.
Hsu was also content with the outcome of the trip.
“Not everything went smoothly,” Hsu said. “Everything was a learning experience.”
Reach reporter Rachel Solomon at features@dailyuw.com.”
Liberal
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 31, 2009“When Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca went before Congress in 1979, the company was in trouble. He convinced the House and Senate to give the failing car producer bridge loans by presenting a clear plan for a total overhaul of the company to return it to profitability. The loans were issued, the plan worked and the money was paid back to taxpayers ahead of schedule. What a guy!
Fast forward to 2008. CEOs from the major car companies flew into D.C. on their private jets to ask for bridge loans to get them through the tough economic times and plummeting car sales. Except this time, there was no clear-cut plan to overhaul the companies, and if there was, it was overshadowed by PR blunders and constant bickering with the auto workers’ union.
Fast forward to 2009. Having nearly used up the $17 billion in loans already handed out to them, Chrysler and General Motors (GM) are back for more. The government will likely issue another $21 billion in loans to the struggling companies soon. While it’s clear that the guys running these companies are no Lee Iacoccas, it’s also clear that we need to ignore their incredibly poor salesmanship skills and realize that what’s best for Detroit is still what’s best for the United States.
“It’s not government’s place to bail out failing companies.” “Let them fail!” “Where’s my bailout?” Talking with friends and family, I constantly hear these arguments. I certainly see where they are coming from. How can capitalism work if we simply save every company that isn’t efficient enough to compete?
While these considerations are important, they are only a few of many we must weigh. It’s irresponsible to simply stand on the principle of “bailouts are bad” without considering the consequences in these extraordinary times.
First of all, this is not a bailout — it’s a loan. If it works like it did in 1979, then it won’t cost taxpayers a cent.
If we decide simply that “bailouts are bad” and refuse to offer further loans to the autos, we must realize that they will almost surely fail. Because purchasing a car is a long-term investment — you rely on the company for parts, etc. — many experts agree that Americans won’t buy cars from a company that is bankrupt. It simply won’t happen. Bankruptcy will mean the end of Chrysler and GM, and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of jobs will be lost in these companies and the supply chain that feeds the industry.
I can’t imagine any worse news for the U.S. economy than the end of two iconic companies and the essential disintegration of our domestic manufacturing base. Many have argued that the cost to the government in unemployment insurance and lost tax revenue would likely approach or exceed the cost of issuing these loans in the first place.
In addition, the auto companies actually offer incredible opportunities for the future. Although they’ve been slow to innovate, we can’t ignore the fact that the American companies are starting to finally catch on to what kind of cars Americans want — see the Chevy Volt. Without these companies around when the recession ends, where are we going to create millions of green, American jobs building the cars of the future? We certainly can’t cede this enormous industry to the Japanese. No other country on earth would let its manufacturing base simply die off knowing the potential it has to drive the economy forward if it’s on the right track.
I agree that the path we are on with these loans is not sustainable. We can’t simply continue issuing new loans to Chrysler and GM every couple of months when they run out. If they cannot prove to the taxpayers that they are capable of competing with Honda and Toyota, then no amount of government money will ever save them. The jury is still out, but this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give them a chance.
To let the auto companies die would mean the death of millions of jobs, the further decline of the economy possibly into a depression and the inability of the United States to lead the way in production of clean, green vehicles. We need to give the autos another chance to prove they can help carry our economy and our cars into the future. It’s time for Congress and the president to get tough, and it’s time for the executives to get serious and do what’s best for their companies, their workers and their country. This is their last chance.
Reach columnist Chris Jordan at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
In days gone by: a look at this week in history
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 30, 2009“From The Daily:
March 30, 1976:
In an article called “Student pedestrians have ‘blasé attitudes,’” UWPD chief Mike Shanahan said, “People just can’t walk into the street as if the campus were one giant crosswalk. A person can be killed just as assuredly by a car travelling 15 mph as by a freeway collision. I’ve seen people crossing the street reading a book.” If you’ve driven across campus recently, you probably know what he means.
April 2, 1968:
The ASUW Ad Hoc Committee on Marijuana held its first open hearing. They heard testimony from doctors, professors and an ACLU lawyer on marijuana use, its effects and its legality. The committee was meant to help determine university policy on drug use in the dorms and on Greek Row.
April 4, 1990:
The Daily reported that John Cramer, a UW physics professor, had been nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. The award was for the best new science fiction or fantasy writer from the previous two years. Cramer was nominated for his 1989 novel Twistor.
Source: The Daily archives
Around the World:
March 30, 1867:
If you can believe it, the entirety of Alaska was purchased by the U.S. government from Russia for $7.2 million. That’s roughly 2 cents per acre. Secretary of State William Seward signed a treaty with Russia for the purchase after the Senate ratified the treaty by a margin of only one vote.
March 31, 1889:
The Eiffel Tower was dedicated in Paris. Architect Gustave Eiffel was on hand to deliver the dedication speech, and French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard was in attendance. The tower remained the tallest man-made structure until the completion of New York’s Chrysler Tower in 1930. Interestingly, Eiffel was the same man who designed that other great pillar of the New York skyline, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the French presented to the United States in 1886.
April 1, 1924:
Adolf Hitler is sentenced to jail for his role in the attempted Beer Hall Putsch. As the leader of the Nazi Party, the major group behind the coup attempt, Hitler was charged with high treason. Already a political force, Hitler used the time in prison (a pittance, really, since he was out within a year) to write his Mein Kampf and work on his public-speaking skills. After his release, Hitler’s honed skills allowed him to take over the German government within eight years. And we all know what happened after that.
April 2, 1513:
Ponce de Leon is credited with being the first European to land on and explore the Florida coast. He was searching for the Fountain of Youth, which may make it seem like he was not the most sensible person, but he did manage to cross the Pacific in a wooden ship, so he must have had some kind of sense, right?
April 3, 1882:
Famed bandit Jesse James is betrayed and killed by fellow criminal Bob Ford. James was famous throughout the Midwest for robberies, murders and being an all-around nasty dude. Ford killed James for reward money, shooting him several times in the back.
April 4, 1968:
Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on this day, while standing on the balcony of a Memphis, Tenn. hotel. King was hit in the neck by a single bullet fired by James Earl Ray, and the civil rights leader died an hour later, after being taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital. The assassination sparked riots in black communities across the United States.
April 5, 1614:
Matoaka, more commonly known as Pocahontas, a Powhatan woman from the area around the Jamestown colony, married John Rolfe, an English tobacco planter living at the colony. Pocahontas’ father, Chief Wahunsonacock (also known as Powhatan) allowed a peace between his people and the English that lasted for several years because of this union. And here you were, thinking she was some singing, dancing, English-speaking babe from a Disney movie.
Source: history.com/
this-day-in-history
Reach features editor Randy Ferreiro at features@dailyuw.com.”
Oceanography student dies in New Zealand car crash
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 30, 2009“Senior oceanography major Celia Kelly was a cheerful presence both in and out of the laboratory, known as much for her scientific mind as for her crazy dancing or penchant for changing her hair color.
On March 22, Kelly died when a Toyota carrying her and four others collided head-on with a Honda near Taupo, New Zealand. Kelly was riding in the back seat and was killed instantly.
Two other UW students, Marie Salmi and Jessica Gowen, were injured in the collision and are recovering in a hospital, said Arthur Nowell, dean of the UW’s College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences. The other car occupants were treated at the scene, while three men in the Honda sustained moderate injuries, as reported by Television New Zealand.
The students had traveled to New Zealand on a 10-day research trip for the Ocean 443 and 444 research cruise through the School of Oceanography as a component of their senior thesis.
Kelly was detailing the distribution of trace metals in the plumes created by undersea volcanoes in order to better understand how much iron they contribute to the ocean, said Susan Hautala, an associate professor who was present on the cruise.
Following the 10-day research trip, the students dispersed to explore New Zealand on their own. The accident occurred during this vacation.
Kelly’s love affair with the ocean began more than six years ago when she entered the Seattle Aquarium’s High School Volunteer Program. Working as an exhibit interpreter, Kelly had a knack for making the sea accessible to even the most adamant landlubber.
“The one overriding thing about Celia is that no matter what was going on in her life, she made it fun,” said Sue Donohue Smith, guest experience manager at the Seattle Aquarium.
Anitra Ingalls, Kelly’s academic advisor in the School of Oceanography, remembered that Kelly approached her the first week of her freshman year in college. Ingalls was impressed by Kelly’s inquisitive, dedicated nature and offered the young scientist a job in her lab.
“She had a level of curiosity and commitment to her work that is rare in a person of her age,” Ingalls said. “But ... I always knew she had a wilder side. She often showed up to work with a new hair color: hot pink, green, blue, orange, purple — you name it.”
Kelly’s friends were more familiar with this facet of her personality. Roommate Margaret Smith described a person who could always be counted on for a silly moment or a late-night nacho run.
Family was also fundamentally important to Kelly, Smith said. Much of her free time was spent driving cousins to football practice, visiting her grandmother or quoting films with her younger cousin Omari.
“There are many, many people who have been touched by her life,” Kelly’s cousin Chelsea Kelly said. “Her death is tragic, yes, but her life is inspiring.”
A memorial service, dubbed a “celebration of life,” was held Thursday at the Seattle Aquarium.
Reach reporter Rachel Solomon at news@dailyuw.com.”
Prosecution presents in Amanda Knox trial
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 30, 2009“Although prosecutors have been presenting their case in the trial of former UW student Amanda Knox that began more than two months ago, the road to deciphering the truth has just begun.
Knox traveled to Perugia, Italy to study abroad in 2007. On Nov. 2 of that year, Knox’s British roommate, Meredith Kercher, was found murdered in their residence.
Knox and former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, are now being tried for the crime. A third suspect, Rudy Guede, was convicted of murder last year and received a 30-year sentence.
Both Sollecito and Knox have denied wrongdoing in the case.
“Many of the witnesses heard so far have made mistakes that would normally show a witness to be unreliable,” said Knox’s friend and UW student DJ Johnsrud. “Many have contradicted either themselves or known information in very significant ways.”
The trial, which began in January, has focused on suspicions regarding Knox’s character and behavior after the murder. As witnesses have been questioned, testimonies that contradict known facts about the crime have presented an obstacle for the prosecution’s case.
“Other witnesses have provided testimony that, if true, would be very harmful to Amanda’s case, but for many of them, it took months to come forward,” Johnsrud said. “Additionally, some of these witnesses had done interviews with local media well before they [had] ever even talked to the police.”
The Italian court is held only two days a week and isn’t expected to reach a verdict until this fall.
In addition to longer trials, the Italian justice system gives defendants the right to contest information throughout the proceedings, which Knox has exercised in court.
“So far, the prosecution has not presented anything definitive that ties her to the crime,” Johnsrud said. “One would hope that if they’re going to take away 30 years of Amanda’s life, that they would have something a little more concrete than ‘strange’ behavior.”
Media coverage of the trial has been widespread, and the Internet has allowed some reporters to file stories before the conclusion of a day’s proceedings. The resulting coverage has not represented all testimonies and cross-examinations of the trial, Johnsrud said.
“Many of the reporters attending Amanda’s trial will leave early to get their report out,” said Johnsrud. “As a result, cross-examination of the witnesses so far has not been talked about very much in the media.”
Throughout the process, however, Knox’s supporters have remained hopeful.
“Both Amanda and everyone who supports her [have] been steadily gaining confidence in a favorable outcome from the trial,” Johnsrud said. “We’re growing more and more confident that she will be released.”
Reach editorial assistant Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.”
An hour that can save a life
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 30, 2009“A cross between a school bus, an RV camper and a hospital bed complete with nurses and technicians — that’s about what it looks like inside the blood bus. Parked around campus several times a year, these vehicles from the Puget Sound Blood Center are part of a coordinated effort to supply blood to Western Washington. Known officially as mobile donation centers, the buses hold drives all over the Seattle area. To get an authentic perspective, I decided it would be best to roll up my sleeves and enter the bus as a new donor.
Entering the blood bus parked outside of Schmitz Hall, I waited my turn behind other donors. The arrangement of beds, cabinets and equipment gave it the appearance of a space station, where no corner or cabinet was unlabeled or underutilized. Within a few minutes, it was my turn.
First, I filled out a form for first-time donors, asking for basic identification to be entered into the computer system. I then answered a series of questions about my health and behavior. Next, it was into the screening room, where my blood pressure and temperature were taken. In addition, the technician checked if I had anemia, a deficiency of iron in the blood. Passing all of these checks, I was prepped for donation. For me, the process was relaxing and relatively painless — aside from the slight discomfort of the needle.
The volunteer on duty, a gregarious man named Allan Seidenverg, gave me pretzels and juice after I was bandaged and ready to go. Seidenverg graduated from the UW in 1972 and eagerly recalled his years as a student in liberal arts with an emphasis on psychology. I was joined in the refreshment corner by three other donors.
Jane Doggett, a library manager at the Applied Physics Lab, is a frequent donor.
“It’s an easy thing to do,” she said.
Megan Davis, who works at the Financial Aid Office, felt that, in addition to being easy and convenient, giving blood was the “right thing to do.”
Caitlin Hansan, a grad student studying English literature, had just donated blood for the first time.
“I had always meant to, and today I had the free time,” she said.
Caitlin described her first donation experience as “easy and painless.” Having Type O negative blood makes her blood especially valuable because it is universally accepted by all other blood types, making transfusions easier.
The Puget Sound Blood Center has a goal of maintaining at least a four-day supply of blood to the hospitals and clinics in Western Washington.
That is equal to 4,100 units (pints) of blood. To maintain that number, more than 1,000 people have to donate a pint (about 500 milliliters) of blood every day, and that blood goes to anyone who has been injured or is receiving treatment for trauma and burns, cancer, blood and immune diseases, surgery, heart disease, or organ or bone marrow transplant.
Blood contains a number of important components that help keep us alive, including red blood cells, white cells and platelets. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body, white cells defend the body against infection and platelets form clots to control bleeding.
While all blood has these components, blood is categorized into eight main types: O positive, O negative, A positive, A negative, B positive, B negative, AB positive and AB negative. Blood types are inherited and represent certain characteristics of red blood cells. Donor blood and patient blood must match to prevent the possibility of rejection.
It takes — at most — an hour to go through screening, donate and take some time to refresh and enjoy the company of volunteers like Seidenverg. To donate, you must be 18 years old or older, weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health. You can donate blood every 56 days. The UW had 111 drives last year with 4,914 donors. Almost 50 percent of those donors gave blood for the first time.
If you are interested in donating blood to help your community, look for the blood buses on campus. After your first donation, you will receive a card in the mail with your blood type and the next date you are eligible to donate. If you don’t think you can handle giving blood, consider volunteering at one of the drives.
“The time it takes to get the blood needed to a patient can literally make the difference between life and death,” said Michael Young, director of communications for the Puget Sound Blood Center.
Reach reporter Jason Gordon at features@dailyuw.com.”
Freedom to seek the middle ground
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 30, 2009“Fahim Khodamani works for Emrose TV, a television network in Afghanistan. A week ago today he was arrested for broadcasting content deemed overly salacious by the new Afghan government. These images were not pornographic or erotically suggestive, but merely clips of women dancing in skirts.
By Western standards, such images are insignificant and can be found in any Hannah Montana rerun. But by the most recent precedent set in Afghanistan, put in place by the Taliban in the 1990s, these scenes far exceed the practiced standard. During its reign, the Taliban enforced an ultraconservative Islamic standard by requiring women to wear burqas and banning all forms of entertainment and television broadcasting that depicted otherwise.
Since the United States dethroned the Taliban in 2001, Afghan television stations have yet to be relieved of these shackles. Many networks chose to ease into a more diverse array of programming by airing content that censors or blurs any image of a woman exposing more than her face, which still appeals to the conservative roots. Others, like Emrose, made a vow to only air unaltered programs.
In a struggle to appease some citizens, the new Afghan government has made Khodamani the first man under this administration to be arrested for violating a law that prohibits content that is “not within the framework of Islam.”
Obviously, the new Afghan government finds itself attempting to find a balance between embracing the progressive ideals of the West and acknowledging Islamic fundamentalists. So the question becomes: What ideologies from each end of the spectrum do the government, and more importantly the democratic majority of the people, deem worthy to comprise a moderate law as the foundation of their new country?
Should the public depiction of scantily clad women be a Western influence on the new Afghanistan? No. In fact, a strong argument can be made for how this, along with the tolerance of such lewd individuals as Howard Stern, has led to an exponential decline in morals and manners among our nation’s youth. But the freedom to air such thought and sensory-stimulating images and messages should be one of the primary Western principles that makes up the base of Afghanistan’s government.
Only a free-market approach to the dispersion of ideas will allow the people of Afghanistan to openly select an appropriate moderation between Western progress and Eastern tradition. More importantly, this will allow the entire nation to enter into the 21st century. By delegating cultural decisions, such as appropriate attire and accepted broadcast material, to the personal level, the government will have time to consider ways to bolster the country’s economic and technological development.
Although there is a certain amount of cultural volatility associated with this freedom, which can result in periods of negative impacts, there is always a return to overwhelmingly accepted societal values. This can be seen in the current celebrity gossip of the United States. Our general embracement of relatively shallow idols, such as pop stars, has led to fewer utterances of “sir” and “ma’am,” but as soon as Chris Brown laid a hand on Rihanna, everyone denounced his actions and questioned her character for staying with someone who follows the Ike Turner book on relationships.
The most important lesson that needs to be realized by the new Afghan government is that freedom is the best course of action any establishment can take.
It is by no means a panacea, but it does disseminate personal responsibility to the individual and have the flexibility to promote ultimate progressive action — two of the most coveted results a government can hope to achieve.
The arrest of Khodamani for exercising this freedom is a step in the wrong direction. It is a move that demonstrates a reversion to control and fear. If the government of Afghanistan can take a step back and mount the courage to place its faith and future in the hands of its citizens, the nation and the entire world will be pleasantly rewarded.
Reach columnist Jeff Dickson at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Carbon dioxide is a true pollutant
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 30, 2009“Nearly 40 years ago, Congress passed legislation to control air pollution and clean up our skies. The Clean Air Act and its subsequent revisions have been widely successful at cleaning up the atmosphere and improving the quality of the air we breathe. After nearly a half-century of new scientific inquiry and discovery, we have a better understanding of the natural world. We need to update our laws to recognize and regulate anthropogenic carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases for what they truly are: pollutants.
Labeling carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as air pollutants might seem strange, but these gases have all of the characteristics associated with traditional air pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide or lead. These anthropogenic gases are emitted as a byproduct of human activity. They accumulate in the atmosphere and cause harm to humans, animals and plant life.
The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment report clearly lays out the case. The world emitted 49 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide anthropogenic greenhouse gases in 2004. Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere reached 379 parts per million (ppm) in 2005 and showed no signs of slowing. Climate change is already causing problems, such as ecosystem disruption and glacial melting.
Classifying all greenhouse gases as pollutants similar to carbon monoxide may seem unreasonable to some. Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring molecule that is a necessary component of plant life on this planet. How can it be a pollutant?
Other life sustaining compounds can become deadly. Vitamin A is a necessary component of our diets. Ingest too much Vitamin A, and it will become toxic. In the same way that the excessive intake of certain vitamins and minerals will hurt rather than help the body, excessive emission of greenhouse gases damages the planet.
It would also seem contradictory to single out anthropogenic emissions as pollutants when so many greenhouse gases have natural origins. Since carbon dioxide is released during respiration, it would appear to criminalize the very act of breathing. However, only greenhouse gases emitted above the amount the planet can handle fall under the definition of a pollutant.
The situational nature of an air pollutant is not unprecedented. The ozone is a necessity high above our heads in the stratosphere, where it blocks dangerous UV light from reaching the Earth’s surface. Move that ozone down to the ground, and it causes damage to human health and property.
This classification is also supported by a U.S. Supreme Court decision. On April 2, 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases fit the description of an “air pollutant” as defined in the Clean Air Act. While not requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement any particular program, it did settle the legal debate on whether the government had statutory authority to regulate these emissions as air pollutants.
Evidence collected over the past half-century overwhelmingly supports the idea that anthropogenic greenhouse gases are air pollutants and that government has the right to restrict their emissions. The U.S. EPA is already starting the rule-making process to regulate these gases, regardless of congressional action. This process has greatly reduced the concentration of many traditional air pollutants across the nation. However, newer programs such as “Cap and Trade” are better suited to reducing greenhouse gas pollution cheaper and more quickly than EPA command and control regulation. It would be a shame if Congress prevented this from happening due to political expedience and ignorance.
As the second anniversary of the Supreme Court decision recognizing the U.S. EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases approaches this week, we need to update our vocabulary. Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other compounds related to climate change are not just greenhouse gases anymore. They are air pollutants, and we need to start treating them as what they truly are.
Reach columnist Mike Noon at opinion@dailyuw.com.”
Campus watch: Barack, Baha’i and birth control
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 30, 2009“Baha’i student expelled in Iran
SEMNAN, Iran — Earlier this month, an economics major was expelled from Iran’s University of Semnan on religious grounds.
Baha’i student Minoo Shahriari was dismissed from the government-operated school after failing to identify with one of the approved faiths on a form, as reported by Iran Press Watch. After disregarding threats of harassment for her “error,” Shahriari found herself absent from class rosters and ignored by staff members when she pressed for an explanation.
“The person in charge completely ignored me,” Shahriari said in a report. “Eventually, he only said, ‘You must leave the university and Semnan at once. If you have a complaint, you can register it with the judiciary in the city.’”
Members of the Baha’i faith have been expelled from Iranian schools since the Islamic Republic was established in 1979.
Obama invitation meets backlash at Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Catholic community was rattled last week when the University of Notre Dame invited President Barack Obama to speak at the school’s May 17 commencement ceremony.
The nation’s most prominent Roman Catholic institution boasts a history of presidential presenters: Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush all addressed the Fighting Irish during their tenure.
However, Obama’s invitation has drawn criticism because of his allocation of federal funding for stem cell research and family planning groups that provide abortions — topics that conflict with the beliefs of the Catholic Church.
Alumni and bishops have expressed their outrage; Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix decried the choice as a “public act of disobedience,” as reported by the Associated Press.
With the exception of conservative student groups, the decision was well-received by the student body — 73 percent of student letters written to the school’s newspaper approved of the school’s selection.
Despite the backlash, Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown stated that the university does not plan to withdraw the invitation.
Cost of birth control to impact college students
A new bill seeks to make birth control more available to college students by lowering prices.
The Affordable Birth Control Act signed into law earlier this month seeks to do exactly what its title claims.
It will offer incentives for drug manufacturers to provide discounted birth control to college health centers as they did before the passing of the Deficit Reduction Act in 2007, which ended those benefits.
Since 2007, University Health Services (UHS) at the University of Michigan and Princeton University have supplied only generic prescriptions available at a much lower cost. This posed a problem for medications without generic counterparts, such as Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo and NuvaRing.
Now, clinics are awaiting a response from drug companies about price reductions.
“I’m just hoping they will think very positively about how we can … be able to roll back the price,” chief UHS pharmacist Gwendolyn Chivers told The Michigan Daily. “But that can’t be guaranteed because it will all revolve around the manufacturer.”
Reach columnist Rachel Solomon at news@dailyuw.com.”
Business students take home first in case competition
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 30, 2009“While other students were frantically studying for finals and planning for spring break, four students from the Foster School of Business were busy placing first in the international finals of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Cup, a case competition held in Vancouver, British Columbia March 14, for which they received $10,000.
Second-year MBA students Nick Casaril, Erick Rendon, Rhett Baldwin and first-year MBA student Robert Belcher were selected to represent the UW at the ACG Cup after placing first in a case competition held at the UW Feb. 21.
“The ACG cup is a regional competition that takes place in different areas, and this is the first time it was hosted in the Pacific Northwest,” Casaril said.
Case competitions allow students to gain experience by collaborating with teammates to apply their collective professional and classroom knowledge to solve a problem faced by an organization.
At the ACG Cup, the teams faced a scenario in which they advised a private equity group on whether a potential acquisition was a good value by analyzing the optimal price for the transaction and then structuring a deal that would satisfy both buyers and sellers. The scenario required the Foster team to conduct thorough analysis that included evaluating comparable data of similar companies and taking into consideration the difficulties provided by the current credit market.
Each member of the Foster team was able to apply an average of five years of professional experience to the scenario they faced in the case competition.
“The thing I enjoyed the most [about the ACG Cup] was the synergy that took place in the team environment,” Casaril said. “Everyone has a good piece of the puzzle or a certain element they bring to the collective success of the team. The end product ends up being something much richer and deeper than anything any individual could have produced on their own.”
Following the competition, judges said they were impressed by the level of analytical work executed by all of the teams participating, but it was the strong delivery of the presentation that separated the UW team from its competitors.
The ACG Cup judges included senior executives from private financial companies.
Casaril credited the Foster team’s strong presentation to the structure of the Foster School MBA program.
“In the first year of the MBA program, there is an emphasis on developing presentation skills,” Casaril said. “[First year MBA students] have a presentation in every class, sometimes multiple presentations.”
In addition to the success of the Foster School MBA case competition team, undergraduate teams from the Foster School have also recently placed first in case competitions in Thailand, Montreal and Washington, D.C.
“Undergraduate students have limited opportunities for internships before graduating, so being one of the few selected to represent the business school in a live business analysis is a great way to gain real world business experience,” said senior Vanessa Lopez, a member of the UW undergraduate team that placed first in Montreal.
Foster MBA students are required to have three practical experiences to supplement the classroom instruction they receive from the Foster School. These practical experiences can include business consulting, internships and participation in case competitions.
For MBA students, case competitions are more than an impressive item for a resumé. Casaril and his teammates also took advantage of networking opportunities that emerged throughout the competition.
“I benefited from the opportunities to talk to the competition judges and strong face time with actual practitioners of the craft,” Casaril said.
Reach reporter Michael Truong at news@dailyuw.com.”
UW students not deterred by recent travel alert
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 14, 2009“A travel alert issued recently by the U.S. Department of State warns about an upswing in violence and crime across Mexico, with an emphasis on the kidnapping of U.S. citizens. Despite the warning, some UW students traveling to Mexico for spring break have no plan to change their travel destination.
“My parents have told me about it and have tried to get me not to go,” said junior Erin Walstrom, who is planning to travel to Cabo San Lucas during spring break with a group of friends. “But we went last year so we kind of know our way around. There will be seven girls going, so we’re just going to make sure we stay together and hope everything goes okay.”
Recently, Mexican drug cartels — in some cases armed with automatic weapons and grenades — have met Mexican security forces, Mexico’s military and each other in an increasingly violent conflict near the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the travel alert released Feb. 20 by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Mexican and foreign bystanders have been injured or killed due to the violence, and in recent years dozens of U.S. citizens have been kidnapped across Mexico.
Crime such as robberies, homicides, petty thefts and carjacking are also on the rise throughout Mexico, with notable spikes in Tijuana and Northern Baja California.
Juarez is of special concern according to the travel alert. The city of 1.6 million people experienced more than 17,000 car thefts and 1,650 carjacking incidents in 2008.
“I’ve read some articles about the problems down there,” said senior Ian Lauth, who will be traveling with a group of friends to Puerto Vallarta on the central western coast of Mexico. “We’re all aware of it and we’re all going to be cautious; in the past we’ve been okay with members of the group going off on their own and meeting up later, but this time we’ll make sure we stay together as a group.”
The Bureau of Consular Affairs recommends that “U.S. citizens make every attempt to travel on main roads during daylight hours, particularly the toll (“cuota”) roads, which generally are more secure” and “[visit] only legitimate business and tourist areas during daylight hours, and [avoid] areas where prostitution and drug dealing might occur.”
Walstrom isn’t too concerned that her planned trip to Mexico will suffer from the strife.
“I mean it’s kind of scary, but I think that we’ll be fine as long as we stay conscious of what we’re doing, be aware and stay in the main areas,” she said.
Senior Vanessa Hooper, who has travelled to Mexico several times and has family there, will be traveling to Puerto Vallarta.
“I go to Mexico a lot and my Spanish is really good,” she said. “Locals generally think I’m just a really fair-skinned Mexican, so I don’t have to worry about being targeted. Plus I’m familiar with the area and I have family that lives two hours away, so realistically, if something happened, there would be help nearby.”
Her advice to students planning to travel to Mexico: “Be smart, don’t do drugs, watch your drinks and use the buddy system.”
The Bureau of Consular Affairs recommends that any U.S. citizens who experience an emergency while traveling in Mexico contact the closest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. A complete list of U.S. Embassies and Consulates is available at travel.state.gov.
Reach reporter Camden Swita at news@dailyuw.com.”
Springtime service
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 14, 2009“This spring break, Bobby Chien won’t be boarding a plane bound for south of the border to sip icy piña coladas and perfect her suntan.
Rather, Chien’s destination is a bit less exotic: She will be spending the week of March 23-27 volunteering in Tonasket, Wash. as part of the UW Pipeline Project’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB).
“I was just searching online for a community service project,” Chien said. “I came across the Pipeline Project and found the Alternative Spring Break. … Dedicating my entire spring break seemed like a really productive thing to do.”
That was four years ago. Chien enters this spring break as a seasoned team leader, poised to facilitate others’ involvement in the program.
ASB was founded nine years ago by Christine Stickler, director of the Pipeline Project, an outreach organization that matches UW undergraduates with tutoring and mentoring opportunities throughout the region. The goal for ASB is to connect UW students with K-12 students in remote rural and tribal communities, and engage the younger students in literary arts.
The initial response was overwhelming.
“Within two days, I had … 30 applicants,” Stickler recalled. That first year, 20 students and four towns participated in ASB. “We continually grew it until we reached 50 students, adding communities who heard about it.”
This year, 11 groups of five students will pack their bags for sites in Washington, including Forks, La Push, Neah Bay, Brewster, Harrah, Curlew, Tonasket, Paschal Sherman and Toppenish. The curriculum has also expanded at certain locations to encompass student-designed health care and environmental education, though writing remains the focal point.
During the week, children are guided through writing, illustrating and publishing stories and poems corresponding to a central theme. The works are compiled into a magazine, a treasured memento each UW student and new author can add to their bookshelves.
“The Space We Call Home” is this year’s theme. Stickler explained that the topic examines how we would communicate who we are to someone from outer space, and likewise how an extraterrestrial visitor might express their background to us.
“We’re exploring the notion of, ‘Have you ever felt like an alien? Have you ever felt left out?’” Stickler said.
It’s a universal message many can identify with.
Although the intention is that it will remain free to students, ASB has been unable to evade the effects of the recession.
“We have the teams engage in fundraising activities and piece together funding from a variety of sources,” Stickler said.
Students are encouraged to send letters requesting donations from family and friends.
Aside from those contributions, Enterprise rental car company is the primary sponsor, covering transportation by providing vans. The University Book Store also donates materials.
Regardless, ASB participants have found a cause they truly believe in, with many volunteers returning year after year.
In exchange for literary guidance and encouragement, the children offer the UW volunteers a glimpse into their culture. Stickler remembered a La Push closing ceremony in which she observed the local students leading UW students in a traditional tribal dance.
“It was so apparent the feeling was mutual,” Stickler said, a nostalgic tear welling in her eye.
Chien and ASB literacy arts student coordinator Kristin Quackenbush agreed that volunteers become involved in a multicultural swap.
“I think a misconception people have is they’re going in to give service,” Quackenbush said, who is leading a team to Curlew. “The reality of ASB is [reciprocity]. A lot of students receive more than they give.”
For first-time volunteers, a unique experience is about to unfold in those far-off corners of Washington. Though some of the newcomers anticipate hectic late nights, they eagerly await immersion in a new community.
Chuxin Huang, for whom this spring break will be the first spent in the United States, welcomes the opportunity to learn more about the children and about herself.
“I hope that through the time spent with me, children are able to reflect on their surroundings and learn more while having fun,” she said. “Meanwhile … I would like to achieve more skills about communicating with children.”
The ASB volunteers harbor no reservations about leaving their swimsuits and sunscreen behind this spring break. When asked if she felt as though she is missing out on one of the archetypal college experiences, Chien responded nonchalantly.
“There’s always plenty of time to hang out in the sun,” she said. “Vacationing in a sunny location; … it’s a nice break, but it’s not as fulfilling.”
Reach reporter Rachel Solomon at development@dailyuw.com”
Multiple options make Huskies dangerous
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 14, 2009“Have you ever gone to an ice cream shop and had the privilege of picking from a number of flavors that all taste great and make you happy?
As men’s basketball coach Lorenzo Romar paced up and down the sidelines of the Staples Center court yesterday against Stanford, he may have thought he was in an ice cream shop with the number of options he had on his Husky squad.
Game after game, the Huskies have managed to pull out victories that had fans asking how in the world the Pac-10 champions managed to beat another tough opponent.
And time after time the answer is that Washington has different players impacting the team in different ways.
One game, we’ll see senior Justin Dentmon make his trademark crossover to the rim late in the fourth quarter. In another contest, there’s senior Jon Brockman doing all the dirty work under the hoop when no one else wants to shoot the ball. Sometimes it’ll be junior Quincy Pondexter who feels the hot hand.
Thursday’s first-round match-up against Stanford in the Pac-10 Tournament was no different for the Huskies.
In the first 15 minutes of the first half, the Dawgs looked like they left their basketball skills in Seattle. No one could make a basket. The team made just six of its first 24 shots while Pondexter and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Isaiah Thomas combined to start 0-10 from the field. Luckily for the Huskies, Stanford was just as bad this afternoon, keeping the UW close for most of the first half.
And that’s when the ice cream shop opened.
Freshman Elston Turner reined in three 3-pointers in a row to close out the first half. Thomas caught fire to start the second half, scoring seven points in a row to give the Huskies a 50-43 lead. And after shooting 0-4 in the first half, Pondexter suddenly found his touch and finished with 11 points.
Yet again, the Huskies managed to stay with their opponent before one or two players started to change the game. While Stanford could only rely on Anthony Goods — 26 points — and Landry Fields — 16 points — for their scoring, the Dawgs had a number of reliable options.
Thursday’s game was a testament to the team’s incredible depth, not just on offense, but on defense as well.
Sophomore Justin Holiday provided active defense to aid the slumping Huskies in the first half, while Venoy Overton came ready to play with his trademark defense, pestering whichever Stanford player he was guarding.
With so many options on both sides of the court, the Huskies will go far this postseason. Too many teams rely on one or two players to win games; Washington, not so much. Because the Huskies have so many different players who can change the game, opponents won’t know whom to give the most defensive attention.
So, as long as the Huskies keep the same focus and poise they’ve been showing all year, they will be as tough to beat as any team in the country.
Let’s just hope the ice cream doesn’t melt.
Reach contributing writer Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.”
Injury by homemade sex toy, “cute ambassadors” from Tokyo and a wife for sale
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 14, 2009“MARYLAND — Power saws and sex toys have been proven unsafe for simultaneous use after a couple attempted to expand the variety of their sexual experiences.
Attaching the plastic toy to the power saw, the Maryland couple’s homemade device failed as the saw cut through the toy and wounded the 27-year-old woman.
Her partner called emergency services, and she was airlifted to the hospital. She has been released and is now recovering at home.
Investigators determined that the injuries were sustained in a consensual act and that no crime was committed.
TOKYO, Japan — In an effort to raise its international profile, three young women have been appointed as cultural envoys for the city of Tokyo. These “cute ambassadors” are intended to represent Japan’s long-held fascination with cuteness.
The three young women were chosen because their habitual style of dress represents different aspects of the “kawaii” (cute) culture. One dresses as a schoolgirl, another as a Victorian doll and the third in a polka-dot shirt with a bunny print. All three are inspired by anime and manga.
Japan sees this as a way to exploit the kawaii culture, which has already become influential in Asia and Europe.
The effort is to create a global mutual understanding, while showing the world that people like the ambassadors exist everywhere.
NEWQUAY, England — A rescuer attempting to save a seagull’s life ended up needing rescuing when she got stuck in mud.
The seagull was stuck in the mud of a dredged lake, so the zookeeper from the Newquay Zoo waded in to save it. However, she got so mired in the mud that it took 12 firefighters and paramedics to rescue her.
The seagull was retrieved from the mud but, as both of its legs were broken, had to be euthanized.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE, England — A self-employed builder grew so tired of his wife’s constant nagging that he put her up for sale.
The couple has been together for six years, and have been married for one year.
Gary Bates, 38, ran an ad that read: “Nagging Wife. No Tax, No MOT. Very high maintenance — some rust.”
Bates received nine or 10 offers to remove Donna, 40, from her current marital situation.
Donna Bates doesn’t admit to nagging, clarifying that she instead works to get him to do things she wants him to do.
She also made a statement that she is planning revenge and predicts that it will be sweet.
CHINA — In an effort to prevent drivers from falling asleep at the wheel, police in the Chongqing region of China have begun providing motorists with raw chili peppers.
According to Chinese superstition, spring is when people are at their sleepiest, so highway service stations are now equipped with peppers. Many feel that ingesting them makes drivers more alert.
China’s roadways are among the most dangerous in the world due to overloaded vehicles, speeding trucks, drivers ignoring traffic signs and drivers frequently failing to use turn signals.
Reach columnist Matt Jackson at news@dailyuw.com.”
Free Speech Friday: Mar. 13, 2009
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 14, 2009“In response to Religious forum, “What does your religion say about good and evil?” March 2
We are taught that honorable people do not cheat, lie or steal, nor tolerate those who do.
There is no evil, only criminal behavior. There is ethical behavior. There are gray areas in ethics and we are learning to teach ethics in our medical professionals, etc. The question of what is “moral” gets confused with what is “sinful” versus what is ethical.
I learned yesterday that before the Industrial Revolution, parents picked the spouse for their child. It was an economic and political affair. How about that for a choice of words?
Children were expected to work at farm tasks at an early age. They were looked upon as little adults.
What makes smart students write such BS? Why do we respect religious witch doctors who teach such nonsense?
Who invented terms such as “angel,” “Satan,” “our spiritual development,” “ultimate goodness” and “progress spiritually?” What about ghosts, witches, demons and UFOs? How about the fact that when I do spell check on this e-mail, “Satan” requires a capital letter but not “god?” Someone at Yahoo! must be playing with me, correct?
I think humans need to know if they are happy or not, and so we need a philosophy. Here is mine.
Dick McManus
UW alumnus, class of 1975
Free health care not a good idea
The first job I had after graduating high school was as a delivery man for the largest florist in Houston.
My duties included traveling to private residences, businesses, funeral homes and hospitals — Houston has one of the largest, most advanced medical complexes in the world. Most of the hospitals were a pleasure to deliver to, as they allowed access to the nurses’ station and I always enjoyed the labor and delivery floor. I could look through the glass at the newborn infants.
The worst place to go — even surpassing the funeral homes — was the Veterans Administration Hospital. They made me go to the patients’ room (four or more patients in a ward) and invariably there was always the stench of urine and someone moaning loudly or calling aloud for assistance. It did not matter what floor to which I was directed. I doubt things have changed much in the interim.
It seems to me that in our stampede toward “national health care,” we should all visit our local VA hospital and speak with a few of the registered patients there to find out how well they like the original form of U.S. “free” health care. Maybe a trip to a nursing home funded by Medicare/Medicaid would also make a nice side trip.
Margaret Thatcher said, “The only problem with socialism is that eventually, you always run out of someone else’s money.”
I say, where there is no competition, there is no excellence.
Konrad Lau
Sedro-Woolley, WA
Mark Emmert should take a pay cut
Last Friday, I overheard a conversation on the bus regarding Mark Emmert and the UW budget deficit. I usually don’t listen in on other people’s conversations, but this one was too good to pass up. The subject matter was similar to what had been on my mind for quite some time. The conversation was specifically about Emmert’s salary and the number of job cuts. For those that don’t know, Mark Emmert’s annual salary is $1.2 million, $905,000 of which comes from the UW. Out of the $905,000, he is given a base salary of $620,000, a deferred compensation of $250,000, a retirement match of $23,000 and a car allowance of $12,000. I am not saying that Mark Emmert’s salary is too high. As a matter of fact, if the economy were in a better shape, I think the UW should pay him more. Emmert has made significant contribution to the UW. To name a few, he established the Husky Promise program, brought in over $2.6 billion in funds in 2008, and played a part in helping establish the Michael G. Foster School of Business — his accomplishments should be recognized and rewarded.
However, for someone to simply accept a $905,000 salary when jobs are being cut due to the budget deficit is a little bit difficult for me to swallow. According to the town hall meeting March 3, the budget deficit is expected to result in 600 to 800 job cuts. If Emmert halved his salary, he could save up to 10 jobs. Although 10 is relatively insignificant to 800, 10 is still 10 more than zero. Ten is 10 more families with financial stability during this economic hardship. Many university presidents across the country are taking the responsibility in their own hands. Stanford’s president John Hennessy voluntarily axed his salary by 10 percent. WSU President Elson Floyd asked for a $100,000 salary cut and Eastern Virginia Medical School president Harry Lester, who only makes about $300,000 annually, is taking a 5 percent cut to his salary.
Instead of having the UW faculty — who only make about $164,000 — forgoing their annual pay raise, I think the president of the school should be the one stepping up to the plate.
Khoi Nguyen
Senior
Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
Why are we celebrating Jack Hamann's career?
Friday night, the UW Alumni Association sponsored what its Web site refers to as a “celebration” following a lecture by Jack Hamann. What exactly are they celebrating? A sloppy and obscene political whitewash of inconvenient local history.
The subject and crowning achievement of Jack Hamann’s career represents a classic case of the procedural journalistic sleaziness I fear no society could ever fully shake regardless of the empowered interests or perspectives it serves.
A few years ago, Italian American author Dominic Moreo published Riot at Fort Lawton, an in-depth study of the August 1944 riot at Seattle’s Fort Lawton installation that left an Italian prisoner of war hanging lifeless from a rope. It is immediately obvious why Jack Hamann was approached by local bigwigs to write On American Soil, a laughably far-fetched, politically motivated revision of the story when you read this sentence: The murdered Italian prisoner of war Guglielmo Olivotto was last seen by Italian soldiers being carried off by several of the hundreds of African-American soldiers who stormed the Italian barracks with knives, clubs and hatchets, hospitalizing dozens.
Hamann’s ostentatiously PC thesis — that Clyde Lomax, a white military policeman, seized upon a tiny window of opportunity with superhuman strength and speed to scare off Olivotto’s African American attackers and lynch Olivotto himself in order to frame the former — is not only stated as fact by local politicians, it is enshrined in local and federal government policy. Last summer, a pompous ceremony was held at Fort Lawton to shower plaques, medals and praise on the rioters, whom the Secretary of the Army and city officials declared to be “heroes” who “deserved the blessings of the angels.” The first rioter to attack the Italian barracks, African American soldier Samuel Snow, was even scheduled to be the guest of honor at the Seafair Torchlight Parade! Such transparent political gestures — Friday’s “celebration” included — represent a glaring insult to victim Guglielmo Olivotto, the Italian American community, the living relatives of Clyde Lomax and the law-abiding majority of African Americans, who need no reduced standards or whitewash to live honorable lives.
Seattle officials and media have a history of flagrantly whitewashing or suppressing murders of white people — Kris Kime, Mike Robb, James Paroline, Ed “Tuba Man” McMichael, etc. — by a tiny minority of African American citizens. Such dishonesty, some of it no doubt conscientiously motivated, has proven to be bad medicine for the illness of racial tension we’d all love to move beyond. If establishment media cannot learn to embrace the responsibility of reporting politically inconvenient news and local sentiments, it will have itself to blame when it is left behind.
Samantha Chase
Beacon Hill, Seattle
Fairness during the current economic crisis?
In one of my classes, I read Don Quixote by Cervantes. Justice is the force that moves Don Quixote in his adventures (reality vs. idealism). However, reality has a substantial impact in our lives. This morning at my clock station, I found a posted paper that explained the procedures for personal reduction and layoffs. Consequently, as a custodian at the University of Washington, I confront the reality of layoff.
The impact of layoffs for custodians will be enormous. For example, the average custodian makes between $24,000 and $26,000 gross pay for year. If the Facilities Services Department wants to save $1 million from its budget (annually), it needs to eliminate around 42 positions. Consequently, the impact for the University of Washington Facilities Services and for the workers (workload) will be tremendous.
Custodians arrive at 5 a.m. to the different university buildings around campus. They are the first to arrive and one of their duties is to report and solve some building problems. For example, flooding, elevator malfunctions, cleaning entrances, etc. Also, during inclement weather, custodians need to report at the university’s facilities, even if the university is closed (as the past December 2008).
Custodians receive one of the lowest salaries at the University of Washington. For example, custodians received a .25 percent salary raise in the last contract agreement. The average amount is $20 every two weeks or $40 per month. The raise will take place in July 2009. However, custodians will not receive the .25 percent raise. President Barack Obama and Gov. Chris Gregoire compromised to freeze their salaries and for those in their administrations that make more than $100,000 per year. The gesture is an act of solidarity with the average American worker. Custodians are one of the most diverse employees at the University of
Washington. However, the shadow of layoff can hit our department. Custodians often hear about sacrifices in our departmental meetings. But does the Facilities Services administration follow Obama and Gregoire’s example?
Finally, Don Quixote wants to impose justice and fairness through his adventures. On the other hand, I am using only the freedom of speech that the First Amendment guarantees me.
Carmelo Gonzalez
UW custodian
In response to letter to the editor by Edward Alexander, March 6
In his editorial “Israel Apartheid Week”, Edward Alexander dodges important questions about Palestine-Israel and the nature of Zionism, which is the ideological basis for the state of Israel.
Israel does not equate Jewish identity. Zionism is the belief that historic Palestine should become a homeland exclusively for Jews. There are many Jews who do not support Israeli apartheid. There are many Zionists who are not Jewish. Being a Zionist means supporting the demolition of Palestinian homes while families are still inside, keeping Palestinians imprisoned indefinitely without charge in Israeli jails and the construction of armed, gated, Jewish-only neighborhoods on stolen land.
Anti-Zionists call for an end to the state of Israel because it is defined by racial hierarchy. When anti-Zionists say that Israel must fall, we do not mean that Jews living in historic Palestine must be driven out. Rather, a new democratic government must be formed in all of historic Palestine in which every citizen, Jewish, Palestinian or other, has equal power.
The issue is intertwined with our struggles here, not only because our tax dollars support Israeli apartheid, but because we too are fighting for democracy and against white supremacy. The Demilitarize UW Coalition is demanding that UW divest from businesses that profit from Israeli apartheid.
We must take democratic control of our university to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Afrose Ahmed,
Demilitarize UW Coalition member
Professor Alexander’s essay “Israel Apartheid Week,” excellent as it is, omits important background to last week’s shameful bigotry against Israel, displayed on campuses around the world. Nary a mention is made of Zionism as the legitimate national movement of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland, going back millennia.
Or that on Nov. 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to partition British Mandate Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state. Omitted too is that the U.N.-divided Western Palestine (remember, Eastern Palestine had already been given to the Arabs — see Jordan) into Arab and Jewish states precisely to reflect the preponderance of Jewish and Arab populations and culture; to wit, the Jews were the majority in the sliver of land partitioned for the Jewish state. The great irony is that the Jews recognized the Arab state, but the Arabs recognized neither the Jewish state nor their own, instead choosing to invade the fledgling Jewish state at its birth.
Flash forward to 1967, when again the Arab world was braced, in the words of Egyptian leader Nasser, “to drive the Jews into the sea.” Never mind that Israel was able to miraculously avert its own destruction by preemptively striking its enemies. Where was the outcry for a Palestinian state on the territories of the West Bank and Gaza, controlled between 1948-1967 by Jordan and Egypt, respectively? Deafening silence.
“But what about those territories now, occupied by Israel for the past 41 years?” goes the refrain.
Again, collective amnesia rears its lethargic head. The causes of military necessities like checkpoints and a nonviolent separation barrier outside Israel proper are ignored. Forgotten too is the fact that these territories have been disputed since 1967, but more importantly, that Israel offered most of them to the Palestinians in 2000-2001. At Taba in early 2001, Israel’s most generous offer included over 96 percent of contiguous land in the West Bank, all of Gaza (subsequently relinquished unilaterally to the Palestinians in 2005), Palestinian control of their holy sites in Jerusalem as well as the Arab neighborhoods of eastern Jerusalem — where they could declare their capital — the right of return to all Palestinian refugees (and their several million descendants) to the new Palestinian state and $30 billion for those refugees. The counter-offer proved to be the launching of a terror war against Israel proper, known as the Second Intifada.
After sustaining hundreds of devastating civilian casualties from suicide bombings in cafes, buses, discos and other public places, Israel was compelled to reenter a West Bank that was already largely under Palestinian Authority control. Since there has yet to be a resolution to the hostilities, a state of de facto belligerency continues, made more problematic by the ascent of Hamas, avowed enemy of the Jews, sworn to their destruction (see the Hamas Charter), into the Palestinian polity. Witness the uninterrupted launching of ever-more-sophisticated rockets and missiles from Gaza, now effectively Judenrein.
Yet the bigger question remains: Why is Israel singled out and held to an impossible standard of perfection, when all around her real apartheids are daily occurrences? Where is the outcry from the “progressive” community about gender or religious apartheid in Saudi Arabia? Where are the gay community’s protests on college campuses against sexual apartheid in Iran, Sudan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen? Homosexuality in these countries is punishable by imprisonment, flogging, stoning, hanging or beheading. Or race apartheid in Sudan, where the enslavement of blacks continues unabated?
The sad conclusion to be drawn is that charades such as “Israel Apartheid Week” can only be explained by a wish to delegitimize the Jewish state prior to its destruction. The real message behind these invidious campaigns is to call into question Israel’s very right to exist. How infinitely tragic that “progressives” would align themselves with such malevolent forces dedicated to the destruction of the one state in the world, tiny as it is, of the Jewish people. It’s equally tragic that these same “progressives” urge upon Palestinians an all-consuming devotion to the destruction of their Israeli neighbor’s society instead of to the building of their own. In so doing, they have contributed mightily to the ruin of the very people whose welfare they claim to promote.
David Brumer
Alumnus, School of Social Work
Edward Alexander (3/6 Daily) never lets inconvenient facts get in the way of his opinion. Let’s look at some of his assertions:
“There have never been apartheid laws in Israel.” He ignores the West Bank, where most occupied Palestinians live. In the West Bank, there are checkpoints that only stop Palestinians. There are roads set aside for Jews only. Zionist settlements have much greater access to services and water than the Palestinian villages that still exist. Inside Israel “proper” (the pre-1967 borders), Israeli Arabs are second-class citizens, with, for example, fewer rights to buy land than Jews have. The state of Israel is proclaimed to be a “Jewish state,” which means that non-Jews by definition have fewer rights than Jews.
Jews throughout the world have the automatic right to become citizens of Israel. No other religious group does. The area of Israel proper only became a majority Jewish state when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled by armed force in 1947-48. Their descendents have no right to return to their former homes inside Israel. This is the ultimate apartheid — the minority of Palestinians who remained in Israel after most were expelled have formal rights. However the vast majority are excluded altogether. They are kept apart — how is this not apartheid?
Alexander then likens Israel to other states that he says define themselves as Christian or Muslim. There is one overwhelming difference: Israel proclaimed a Jewish state in a land that was not majority Jewish. To establish their state, the Zionists had to expel the vast majority of the then-current inhabitants — and forbid them or their descendents from ever returning. Israel is a colonial settler state founded on the expulsion, dispossession and oppression of the vast majority. Often the Zionists claim that the Arabs left voluntarily. Ian Pappe, an Israeli historian, debunks this definitively in The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.
However, if they left voluntarily, as the Zionists claim, why not let them return now? The reason is that the Zionists are committed to maintaining Israel as a Jewish state and a supposedly democratic one. They could not have a majority Jewish state if the expelled Palestinians and their descendents were allowed to return — so they forcibly keep them out to this day.
Of course, we should be critical of any state that defines itself by religious criteria. But Israel is in a league by itself in defining itself this way in a land where most people did not adhere to its religion.
Israel is unique in another way as well: It is by far the largest recipient of U.S. aid of any country. It does the bidding of U.S. imperialism. As Richard Nixon said, for the U.S., “it is cheaper than the 6th fleet.”
After the recent invasion and destruction of Gaza and the continued blockade against it, it takes a lot of gall to still defend the state of Israel. It takes willful refusal to face the fundamental facts of its founding and continuation.
U.S. taxpayers fund the continued oppression of Palestine. It is time that we support Israel Apartheid Week and build a strong movement against U.S. government complicity in Israeli crimes.
Steve Leigh
Program coordinator, Department of Health Services”
Preserving community
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 13, 2009“When UW Provost Phyllis Wise addressed the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (OMAD) Student Advisory Board March 2 to propose a new facility that would house the Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC), she did not expect to encounter a tension that eventually escalated to tears for some students during an emotional discussion about the proposed changes to the ECC renovation project.
Wise’s proposal included a new facility that would house the ECC, but would incorporate classrooms and a 500-seat auditorium. Students opposed the incorporation of classrooms, citing the need to have a safe place away from the main campus.
“I’ve heard [students] describe [the ECC] as their safe zone,” said Sheila Edwards Lange, vice president for minority affairs and vice provost for diversity at the UW. “They can go there and not encounter bias and discrimination. The ECC has always been a haven for students.”
The ECC was built in 1971 and designed to accommodate four student groups. Today, 62 student organizations are registered to use its facilities. The facility was remodeled in 2001 but is too small to accommodate the demand from student groups, such as the Indian Student Association, which occasionally holds meetings in the HUB because of difficulty requesting space in the ECC.
ECC directors began planning another renovation process in fall 2006. The original plan for expansion was to add an additional floor to the existing facility on Brooklyn Avenue. A feasibility study concluded that the current building is out of compliance with building codes and that the building cannot structurally support an additional floor.
“The study determined it would be less expensive to tear the building down and rebuild it than to add an additional floor and bring the building up to code,” Lange explained.
In November 2008, a plan was suggested to move the ECC to a space south of Schmitz Hall on Northeast Campus Parkway, a vacant lot identified as 34-W. The move to 34-W would allow the UW Children’s Center to expand into the current ECC location.
Students initially welcomed the 34-W suggestion because it would move the ECC closer to main campus, but not on campus.
Keeping the building off main campus is a priority for students who use the ECC. However, the proposal to incorporate classrooms in the new building came as a surprise to the Student Advisory Board.
“The addition of classrooms had not been a part of any previous discussions,” said Sabrina Fields, ASUW director of diversity efforts.
The suggestion of adding classrooms to the proposed 34-W site was the product of increasing pressure on the university to increase the number of available classrooms on campus.
Administrators plan to expand west of 15th Avenue Northeast, and have identified 34-W and the current ECC site as important locations for development.
The current plans focus on the implementation of mixed-use, multiple-use buildings such as dormitories with classrooms on the first floor and residential quarters on higher floors.
“These are challenging times,” Wise said. “The looming budget cuts and the increasing need for additional classrooms is becoming more clear. Our current shortage of classrooms is keeping us from providing a more enriching experience to students.”
The proposal of the 34-W site as a mixed-use building was intended to meet the goals of the ECC through an expanded facility, the goals of the campus through increased classrooms and the benefits of a single heating system and single electrical system.
Wise explained that the administration does not intend to take away from the ECC by proposing a mixed-use building.
“I’ve worked in circumstances with people who weren’t accepting or understanding of diversity,” Wise said. “I understand the concerns of the students, and I want to respect the needs of our diverse student body.”
The OMAD Student Advisory Board held a meeting Monday to vote on whether to support rebuilding on the existing site or moving to a mixed-use building on 34-W. The board voted 12-1, with one abstaining, to rebuild the ECC on the current site, even though it will cost more money and pose a challenge for how the ECC will continue to serve students during periods of construction, as they will have to find another temporary space to house their facilities.
“It is important that the sense of community associated with the ECC stays intact in the construction period,” Fields said. “The ECC is not just a building — it’s a community.”
Reach contributing writer Michael Truong at news@dailyuw.com.”
One Artist, Many Mediums: William Kentridge exhibit at the Henry Art Gallery
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 13, 2009“He’s known for his animated film, he dabbles in sculpture and he is internationally recognized for his performance art. He’s the master of mediums William Kentridge, and his work is currently on display at the Henry Art Gallery.
“William Kentridge has invented a body of contemporary art that reflects and expands the human spirit as it engages elements of man’s inhumanity to man,” the gallery’s Chief Curator Elizabeth Brown said in introducing the exhibit.
The exhibit, which opened Feb. 7, displays sculptures, drawings, animated films, photogravures, a tapestry and other works by the South African artist. The gallery also hosted a March 9 performance by Kentridge, entitled “I am not me, the horse is not mine.”
Pam McClusky, curator of African and oceanic art at the Seattle Art Museum, was impressed by Kentridge’s ability to create pieces that are at once relatable and unique. “You can read into its specifics or see it for its universal appeal,” McClusky said. “The work can often be specific to one city at a time, but I think it can be pertinent to all of us.”
Kentridge’s parents were a part of the anti-apartheid movement, and the exhibit carries undertones relating to that period in South Africa’s history. The exhibit presents many levels of interpretation for viewers to consider.
“He uses visual symbols very acutely, so you have a personal connection with the issues that he brings up,” McClusky said. “He’s extremely skilled at finding a way of capturing your attention.”
Working primarily in charcoal, Kentridge produces his animations by erasing and redrawing each scene to add elements and create subtle differences that animate the subjects. The pictures that are used to create his films are often displayed with the animations.
“The exhibition provides a faithful survey of Kentridge’s vast range of technique and content, introducing him to new audiences and deepening the comprehension of his fans,” Brown said.
While the sights, sounds and overall experience of the exhibit can overwhelm the senses, one can not help but respect the immense capability of an artist who works in such a variety of mediums. Whether it’s his films, performance art, drawings, sculptures, photogravures or embroidery that resonates most strongly with visitors, Kentridge’s work certainly provides a unique historical experience.
The exhibit will be displayed in the North Galleries of the Henry through May 3.
Reach editorial assistant Lexie Krell at arts@dailyuw.com.”
The Edge of Love: Forgettable film beautifully shot, poorly written
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 13, 2009“2.0/5.0
Loosely based on real events and people, The Edge of Love may attract many movie-goers by its supposed subject — the private life of Dylan Thomas. Those interested in a biopic of the Welsh poet will, however, be disappointed, as the film is less about Thomas than the turbulent friendship of his wife, Caitlin, and his childhood sweetheart, Vera Phillips.
Set in wartime Britain, The Edge of Love follows Dylan (Matthew Rhys) as he reunites with Vera (Keira Knightley) in London during the Blitz of 1940-41, before the arrival of the gregarious Caitlin Thomas (Sienna Miller). Surprisingly, given the circumstances, Vera and Caitlin hit it off, forming a friendship that consumes much of the film’s storyline.
With the reunion of Dylan and Caitlin, Vera quickly settles down with the austere Capt. William Killick (Cillian Murphy), a foil to the easygoing Dylan. After the captain enters another round of duty, Dylan, Caitlin and Vera head to Swansea, located in the Welsh countryside, where their relationships become even more tangled and dramatic.
Although Vera Phillips is not an entirely fictional character — at least the name is accurate — there is no strong evidence that the steamy love triangle portrayed in The Edge of Love ever took place. This did not, however, stop the filmmakers from weaving in famous Thomas poems as if they were written for and about the imagined situation.
The half-dozen poems, read by Rhys as voice-overs and dispersed throughout the film, unfortunately represent the only good writing in the film’s 110 minutes. The Edge of Love is littered with difficult-to-stomach cliches: “First love’s all right as it goes,” William tells Vera before leaving for Greece. “Last love, that’s what I’m interested in.”
If there is one thing besides Thomas that keeps The Edge of Love afloat — Rhys does provide an engaging depiction of the poet — it is the captivating cinematography. The shots of London pubs and rural Wales are beautifully captured, and the film makes smoking look so cool your lungs hurt just watching.
Of course, everything in The Edge of Love is a bit glossed. Caitlin and Vera certainly looked nothing like Miller and Knightley, nor Dylan like Rhys for that matter. And while the film is set in the midst of World War II, with the exception of one or two brief scenes, the main characters’ tumultuous romances remain front and center.
Although the film premiered in the United Kingdom at last year’s Edinburgh Film Festival, it debuts in U.S. theaters on a limited run this month, arriving at the Varsity Theatre March 20.
For those interested in the film’s literary reference or its historical wartime setting, The Edge of Love represents a forgettable cinematic experience, but one with plenty of unlikely romance, drama and pretty faces.
Reach A&E; editor Joe Darda at arts@dailyuw.com.”
Senate bill would expand protection against hate crimes
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 12, 2009“Although there have been no reported hate crimes on the UW campus for the past four years, there is no way to know if that means there were no attacks or threats made against transgender students. That is because transgender people in the state of Washington are not protected by hate crime laws.
In October 2008, several Washington State University (WSU) students were attacked because of their gender expression.
The attacks encouraged the Washington Student Lobby (WSL) to push for a more inclusive definition of sexual orientation, said UW student legislative liaison David Iseminger.
Senate Bill 5952 would expand that definition.
Currently, malicious harassment — a class C felony — includes crimes based on heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality. The transgender community is unprotected.
The new sexual orientation definition would match the terminology in the state’s labor regulations, found in RCW 49.60.040, an equal-opportunity labor law.
The key difference is the addition of the phrase “gender expression or identity” and its definition.
Now, hate crime laws refer to sexual orientation, which is defined as heterosexuality, homosexuality or bisexuality.
In RCW 49.60.040, sexual orientation is defined as “heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, and gender expression or identity. As used in this definition, ‘gender expression or identity’ means having or being perceived as having a gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression, whether or not that gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression is different from that traditionally associated with the sex assigned to that person at birth.”
“The point is that no one should be subjected to violence or to threats or intimidation because of simply who they are,” said Sen. Joe McDermott, D-34th District, the bill’s prime sponsor.
Hate crimes make campus feel less safe for all students, regardless of sexual orientation, Iseminger said. Iseminger represents the WSL and graduate students at UW.
“Safety isn’t a privilege; it is a right,” said Iseminger. “You can’t excel in an academic environment if you’re worried about your own safety.”
WSU junior Jackson Hogan, treasurer for the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Allies (GLBTA), felt that WSU administrators did not respond appropriately to the attacks, and said that the administration’s response to the assaults at WSU demonstrates that the Legislature needs to protect the transgender community.
“I was sorely disappointed in their lack of [administrative] support,” Hogan said. “I don’t think it helped increase anyone’s feeling of safety.”
So far, the bill has seen little opposition.
At the Feb. 25 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, five people testified in favor of the bill, and no one testified against it. It was passed out of committee with unanimous bipartisan support, and it has been sent to the Senate floor calendar.
House Bill 2219, the identical companion bill to SB 5952, died in the House Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness Committee.
“[If the bill doesn’t pass,] the message students will receive is that the Legislature feels that attacks based on race, color, religion or sexual orientation are especially heinous, but that attacks based on a person’s expression of who they are, are not worthy of that same moral outrage,” said Matt Holmes of the WSL.
Reach reporter Kaitlin Strohschein at news@dailyuw.com.”
Senate bill could pin Husky Stadium decision on King County
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 12, 2009“An airplane circling high above Hec Edmundson Pavilion before last Saturday’s men’s basketball game carried with it a message written in crimson: “NO HUSKY STADIUM BAILOUT TAX!”
The same anti-stadium funding sentiments could be heard during UW President Mark Emmert’s town hall meeting last week, at which he addressed the university’s budget situation.
Emmert, in the middle of explaining how tourism taxes were first levied to build professional sports stadiums in Seattle a decade ago, was interrupted by a man who reminded the Kane Hall crowd that the measures were initially voted down.
“Twice,” another voice quipped.
“I didn’t put the tax in place,” Emmert retorted. “You can yell at me if you want, but I have nothing to do with it. I didn’t even live here.”
A Senate bill introduced a week ago, however, could affect those who will live in and visit King County in the years to come.
Co-sponsored by Sen. Ed Murray, D-43rd District, and Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-36th District, Senate Bill 6116 would allow King County to decide what to do with the revenue gained from existing tourism taxes once they’re done paying off Qwest Field and Safeco Field beginning in 2013.
It targets the hotel-motel, restaurant and car rental taxes levied in King County.
The bill would give the county the right to fund a $150 million portion of the Husky Stadium renovation project, the KeyArena renovation project, youth sports, the arts and low-income housing, among others.
“This doesn’t guarantee that the stadium will be part of it,” said John Buller, PR coordinator of the Husky Stadium renovation project. “But it does guarantee that at least those elected officials who manage this stuff in King County would make this decision.”
The bill has since been sent to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Margarita Prentice, D-11th District.
Last year, Prentice sponsored a bill to fund the Husky Stadium remodel, citing safety concerns for the aging, state-owned facility.
“This is emergency kind of stuff,” Prentice told The Associated Press a year ago. “We just can’t keep putting people in a stadium like that and not have a safe place for them.”
But last month, Prentice told KING-TV that there is little support for stadium funding, whether for KeyArena or Husky Stadium, considering the state’s deficit.
It’s the kind of public relations battle Emmert and UW Athletic Director Scott Woodward have been fighting all along.
“You’ve got all of these [economic] issues we’re talking about today,” Emmert said. “And people say ‘and you’re building this football stadium? What are you, nuts?’ I understand that. I understand why those two things don’t look like they fit at all.”
Emmert and Woodward say renovating the 88-year-old stadium would stimulate the economy by creating between 5,000 and 7,000 jobs, and that the tax revenue wouldn’t begin to be tapped until 2014.
“I hope by then our economy has improved,” Emmert said.
Reach reporter Maks Goldenshteyn at sports@dailyuw.com”
Scratch. Toprock. Six-step.
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 12, 2009“The two students concentrated like guys hooking up new televisions. Clip in, clip out, a wire here and there. Cables are docked in ports and dials are turned. But these aren’t flat screens, they’re turntables and mixers, tools of expression. The needles drop into the groove and DJ Pryme and DJ Lou Rawk do the same.
It’s UW Stand Up, a recent gathering of the Hip Hop Student Association (HHSA) and the B-Boy B-Girl Breakin Crew Association (BBBCA), and a chance for those who specialize in different aspects of hip-hop culture at the UW to get together.
“Sure, DJs get gigs for clubs, battles etc., and emcees rock shows at various venues, whether it is their parents’ basement, or on center stage in front of 50,000, but they all share the same roots and principles,” wrote Alexander Chauhan in an e-mail.
Chauhan is a junior and the HHSA vice chancellor and resident stencilist.
“For some people, their means of expression might be making beats, so they tend to focus on that aspect, but this doesn’t mean that they don’t all stem from the same ideology and beliefs.”
The speakers at the event, including Michael Huang, president of HHSA, and Seung Kim, president of BBBCA, spoke to a small audience about bringing the elements of hip-hop together while people set up equipment.
Kim had never thought of joining with HHSA until Huang suggested it.
“He told me that HHSA has lots of other sources of hip-hop, but do not have dancers,” Kim wrote in an e-mail. “Therefore, we were perfect to combine with them as a filling of empty gap of our hip-hop project of UW. I am very glad that we have joined them and that we will create an even bigger wave of hip-hop to UW.”
To Chauhan, the hip-hop community in general is a community of a common appreciation of elements that define its members, namely creative expression.
“It is composed of people from all different nationalities and races, perspectives and thoughts, all coming together in various forms of expression, whether it be through dance, music, song and painting,” he wrote.
DJ Pryme, or David Monroe, a senior, licks his fingers before letting them do the walking over the 12-inch record spinning on his turntable. He uses his right hand to flick the cross fader in time with the beat. That turns the sound off and on, while he scratches the record with his left hand. His fingers skip and stop, kick and chirp the vinyl as he demonstrates a series of scratches for the crowd.
“A lot of it’s about hand control,” he said, as students lined up to try it for themselves.
“DJ’ing is definitely an art because it takes a great amount of both mental and physical skill to be good,” he wrote. “On top of that, you have to know about the many, many, many different types of music. Then you have to be able to physically control what you’re doing and mentally understand the structure of the music.”
The way a DJ moves his or her hand fluctuates the sound, and those ways have names. There’s the baby scratch, which is the simplest, Monroe said. Then the crab scratch and the flare — which includes a sticker on the record and turning one beat into two — and the rolling crab.
He pinched the fader, drumming his fingers against it, while he pushed and pulled the record with his fingertips. A circle started on the floor of Terry Lounge, and pretty soon there was a guy spinning on his head and throwing his feet to the ceiling.
Nahid Tewelde, a freshman, attended UW Stand Up and was watching the break dancing.
“They’re just using their bodies, which is amazing,” she said.
Her brother break-dances, but she said she would probably break her wrists trying to freeze. She signed up to join the Hip Hop Students Association.
“There’s music, but there’s also a culture behind it,” she said. “It’s something to get connected to.”
The UW Stand Up was meant to bring the four elements of hip-hop together — DJs, art, break dancing and emceeing — by bringing together the clubs.
The UW hip-hop scene, wrote break-dancer Khris Dizon in an e-mail, is like a big family. He is a freshman and is vice president of BBBC.
“We have a habit to sticking at what we like,” Dizon wrote. “UW Stand Up wants help unite DJs, break-dancers, emcees, etc. to show them we are very much alike.”
Dizon started break dancing when he needed a change in his life, and a path away from video games, which he felt weren’t the best hobby.
“[Break dancing is] a great way to get your head off the school environment,” he wrote. “Break dancing is a great way for me to relieve stress. I feel as if ... I didn’t pursue b-boying, I wouldn’t of ended up where I was now.”
Majoring in physiology, he splits his time between dancing and studying.
“If you really love something, you make time for it,” Dizon wrote. “However, we all know that our education always comes first before b-boying.”
It takes a lot of time to be a b-boy, plus hard work, determination and passion, and a little patience, he wrote. You have to work up to it, and with something so physical, there is always the chance of injury.
“You start sweating after the first set,” Dizon wrote. “After receiving a knee injury I was afraid that I wasn’t capable of dancing anymore. With determination and hope, I was able to work around my problem. The thought of losing what you love to do is pretty scary.”
The hip-hop community can be divided, wrote Kim, and the UW’s hip-hop scene is weak. However, with the clubs combining in events such as UW Stand Up, perhaps the beat will change.
“We would like to show not only random people, but also break-dancers that we all gather and work as one and that hip-hop is created,” Kim wrote. “Our goal is to stick each other together so that we show people what truly hip-hop is other than just break dancing or rapping or clothing styles.”
Reach reporter Erinn Unger at features@dailyuw.com.”
Campus bike thieves on a roll
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 12, 2009“As the weather improves, students commute by bike more and more frequently. They lock up their bikes on campus and at their place of residence, but all too often they return to find a severed cable lock littering the ground. This is a scenario the UW Police Department has heard many times before.
“Cable locks don’t work,” said officer William Bergin of the UWPD. “They cut it, and it takes a matter of seconds.”
Authorities have seen a recent increase in bike thefts, with roughly 43 stolen this quarter. Compared to the 107 bicycles Bergin estimates were stolen last year, this amount of theft has caused campus officials to take notice.
“Bike theft has definitely increased on campus,” said Lauren Boubel, a manager at the ASUW Bike Shop. “People come in once or twice a week to ask me if I’ve seen their bikes that have been stolen.”
While the UWPD takes measures to prevent bicycle theft, such as working with local retailers to prevent the resale of stolen property, many preventive measures are the responsibility of individuals.
“As far as recovering bikes, the chances are slim,” Bergin said. “The serial number and model make all the difference in the world.”
While many students attach U-locks to the center of the bicycle, proper use of the security device involves removing one wheel and securing it to the frame and rack next to the other wheel. This limits the space criminals have to tamper with the lock.
“I would like to see people be observant,” Bergin said. “Use U-locks properly, register your bike and if you see someone suspicious, call 911.”
The UWPD reports that bike thefts happen at all hours of the day, and that in the 20 seconds it takes to cut through a cable lock, it’s not uncommon for a theft to occur without any witnesses.
“I would hope that if someone saw a bike being stolen during the day, they would do something about it,” said sophomore bicyclist Peter Lambe.
Another option for students is to rent bike lockers on campus. UW Commuter Services is also working to provide more enclosed bike shelters, which are large cages that contain multiple bike racks and require an entry code. While one such enclosure is located at the UW Tower, Bergin said that budget cuts may limit expansion of the program.
One difficulty the UWPD faces is victims who report thefts but later decide not to prosecute the offense. If officers find the criminal and the owner of the bike has previously decided not to prosecute, the department is not authorized to apprehend the suspect.
“I urge people, when we take a stolen bike report, to prosecute,” Bergin said. “If you’re not willing to prosecute, there’s very little we can do, because without a victim, we don’t have a crime.”
Students can register their bicycles with the UWPD on the department’s Web site, or by filling out paperwork located at the ASUW Bike Shop in the HUB.
Reach editorial assistant Lexie Krell at news@dailyuw.com.”
Battle Royale
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 11, 2009“1. Were the Philadelphia Eagles right in firing a stadium operations employee for his criticism in a Facebook post of the team letting Brian Dawkins sign with Denver?
Taylor: Ah, the power of Facebook. I know some status updates are annoying, but to lose your job of six years because you voiced your opinion? A little ridiculous. This guy is 32 years old, a lifelong Eagles fan, and has missed one game in his six years working for the Eagles organization. Yeah, it was stupid thing to do, but you can’t fire a dedicated employee over something like that.
Maks: I don’t know if it was right, but the guy’s status was pretty hilarious and is worth checking out if you haven’t already. Though I do wonder if I’ll one day be clubbed, bound, gagged and shoved into an unmarked white van for my less-than-flattering words for Clay Bennett.
Honsen: Absolutely not. Sure, the guy criticized his own employers, but he is just a passionate and upset fan voicing his opinions, and he just happened to work for the Eagles. Philadelphia should not have taken their frustrations of a failed free agency out on one of their grunt workers.
Christian: Yes, but not because he slammed the organization. Because he’s an idiot and couldn’t even manage to spell “Dam Eagles R Retarted!!” correctly. If you’re going to insult someone’s intelligence, shouldn’t you at least make sure you’re using the proper spelling and grammar?
2. What does the World Baseball Classic need to do in order to attract more attention and become more popular?
Taylor: Baseball is going through a tough time right now, so it’s understandable that it’s not as popular as it was made out to be. I think the WBC is a good idea and it will eventually attract more attention than it is right now. Perhaps holding the tournament at the end of the year would be better timing, when baseball fans want a little something extra after the MLB season is over.
Maks: Two words: aluminum bats.
Honsen: Nationally, it’s not going to happen, even if all of the biggest stars are allowed to play. Americans are just too focused on their local teams. Globally though, there’s not much the WBC can do either, except hope that a lot of the other countries get much better at baseball — and fast — so they can make the tournament interesting to fans.
Christian: Make sure all of the best players are playing. Other than that, not much. Baseball just isn’t one of those sports that people feel any real national pride about. If it were, they wouldn’t be getting rid of it as an Olympic sport.
3. Terrell Owens signed a one-year deal Saturday with Buffalo. Considering his history as a clubhouse menace, is this a good fit for him and the Bills?
Taylor: When I first heard that T.O. found a new home in Buffalo, I was kind of confused. Buffalo? Really? Can you even name their quarterback? If he couldn’t get along with Donovan McNabb or Tony Romo, I’m sure he won’t get along with Trent Edwards or J.P. Losman.
Maks: I don’t know, I’m not Rachel Nichols.
Honsen: T.O. might have hoped for a bigger market, but he’ll do well in his first season in Buffalo because he manages to play well without being a distraction in make-or-break seasons with new teams. Owens only kills his own teams after they offer him a long-term deal.
Christian: Good fit for him because he’ll once more be paid to act like a buffoon and ruin another franchise. Bad move for the Bills. Trent Edwards better make sure that he doesn’t have any skeletons in the closet for T.O. to air publicly, should Edwards piss him off. Which he will.
4. The fight for the eighth playoff spot in the NBA’s Eastern Conference is closer than ever. Who do you think will get the final spot and why?
Taylor: Does anyone really care? We all know Cleveland or Boston will roll over them anyway. Speaking of the Eastern Conference, did anyone see Dwayne Wade’s performance Monday? Forty-eight points, 12 assists and a game-winning-steal-turned-3-pointer in the closing seconds of double overtime. My God, that’s good basketball. He seriously should be considered in this year’s MVP race with LeBron and Kobe.
Maks: Chicago keeps it. But in the West it looks like Portland will slide down to the number eight spot, for the simple reason that the Blazers are worse than Denver and Dallas. If it wasn’t for some Clipper plunging their finger into Amar’e Stoudemire’s eye, Portland would probably miss the playoffs all together.
Honsen: All of those teams gunning for the eighth seed are six games below .500 or worse. I say New Jersey gets it because they’re a good young team that is probably the least worried about screwing up their lottery pick in the standings after they get bombed by Cleveland or Boston in the first round.
Christian: The Knicks. Why not? I don’t plan on watching Boston or Cleveland sweep the No. 8 seed anyway, but if it’s the Knicks, at least Nate Robinson would have a chance to throw down a couple of cool dunks and make the SportsCenter Top 10.”
Under-reported
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 09, 2009“Study: One out of 31 people in United States are in prison, on probation or on parole
A new Pew Center on the States study has found there are more than 7.3 million Americans in the corrections system — or one in every 31 adults — costing the states $50 billion in 2008.
This rise hasn’t been due to “fate or even the natural consequence of spikes in crime,” the report stated. It was state policies that sent more people to prison and kept them there longer that was responsible for the rise, the study said.
The authors said that laws passed during the ’80s and ’90s put so many people behind bars that last year, for the first time in history, one in 100 adults were behind bars — one in 155 in Washington. This is a 274 percent rise in the number of prison and jail inmates during the past quarter century.
Corrections spending is the fastest-growing major expenditure of state budgets, outpacing education and transportation, and has quadrupled in the last 20 years, the report said. Washington state spent $917 million last year on corrections, up from $178 million in 1988.
The report argued that while lengthy sentences for serious and violent offenders is justified, the current budget crisis may be an opportunity to start rethinking sentencing guidelines for lower-level offenders, emphasizing stronger community corrections, like probation and parole, which several states have started to do.
“The fact that so many Americans, including hundreds of thousands who are a threat to no one, are incarcerated means that something is wrong with our criminal justice system,” David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union, said to the researchers.
Poll: World’s publics favor women’s equality
As many celebrate International Women’s Day, a widespread consensus of people around the world feel that women should have “full equality of rights,” according to an updated comprehensive poll conducted by the University of Maryland.
The poll, which encompassed 22 nations representing 60 percent of the world’s population, found an average of 86 percent agreed that it was important for “women to have full equality of rights compared to men,” with 59 percent saying it’s “very important.”
Ninety-seven percent of U.S. respondents felt equal rights for women were either important (77 percent) or very important (20 percent), along with similar large majorities in Mexico, Britain, Turkey, France, Indonesia and Argentina.
Large majorities of all the Muslim nations surveyed also felt equality was important: in Iran, 78 percent; Jordan, 83 percent; Azerbaijan, 85 percent; Egypt, 90 percent; Indonesia, 91 percent; Turkey, 91 percent; and in the Palestinian territories, 93 percent.
A majority of nations surveyed felt that the government should do more to prevent discrimination. Fourty-eight percent in the United States agreed, while 35 percent said the government was doing enough. A world average of two-thirds of respondents also agreed that the U.N. should do more to protect women’s rights.
“The idea that women should have equal rights is fairly new in the context of human history,” said Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org, adding that there’s a global consensus across cultures for both equal rights and government protection from discrimination.
Reach columnist Aditya Ganapathiraju at news@dailyuw.com.”
A haiku for you: beating boredom with poetry
by The Daily of the University of Washington - Latest NewsMar 09, 2009“Poetry is about economy and creativity — anyone who’s ever had a teacher mention poetry in an educational way knows this. One such high school teacher once told me — or rather, the entire class — that a poet never uses more words than necessary.
This always reminded me of a scene from Amadeus, in which Mozart’s first opera for the Viennese emperor is greeted by the royal criticism, “too many notes.”
Poetry, when done right, has not too many words.
This does not stop poets from excessive verbosity, but the key is to make any word feel necessary — and a light study of poetry has led me to believe that works of poetic brilliance are more about convincing others of their amazing status than really anything else.
The math-ematical pre-
cision and intense perfection of verse in some poetry is absolutely marvelous and leaves aspiring poets to sadly scribble their craft in hopes of ever attaining the level of mastery developed by the greats.
I neither love nor hate poetry. I’m rather indifferent to most of it, admiring the skill in some and scoffing the inaccessibility of others. Part of my non-passion for this artistic expression is due to a crappy teacher’s condemnation of some of my early work. She said it was pedestrian, trite and ordinary. Aside from this being my first experience of the word “pedestrian” in a context outside of people walking and “trite” in spoken language, this ruined my attitude towards poetry.
Like the best poets, I poured my soul into these pedestrian trifles. So I burnt them and never wrote poetry again — until I got horrifically bored in lecture one morning.
Haiku is an interesting form of poetic enterprise. It’s almost funny how brief a haiku is: three lines, with a syllabic pattern of five, seven and five. Mozart, with his excess of notes, could never write haiku. The t |
