The Kentucky Derby is one of Kentucky’s most prized traditions. Every year thousands of people head to Churchill Down to watch the “greatest two minutes in sports.” This is a great sport, but there is one thing the horseracing is missing and that is women. For many years, men have dominating the sport of horseracing, but that is changing. This year alone in the Kentucky Derby, we can find Julie Koenig as the vice president of communications. She has done a great job at helping Churchill Downs Incorporated move to the next level. Also not, just in the office but on the racetrack is the trainer Jamie Sanders. She is the only female trainer and believes that woman have always been able to work a major role in horseracing; we (women) just have not been given a chance. Sanders not only trainees the horse but will ride them during working out. This is not the usual thing for trainers. This year she is the trainer for Teuflesberg who is entered in the big race. Time will only tell but one thing for sure is the face of racing is changing to adding on women to the group of an elite few.

If You Can't Speak It, Sing It Out!

Sometime words just can't explain life, and in songs we can live it. This is a list of songs about our world to day, and the changes that need to be made. I think that songs say what is often not said or forgotten. Enjoy!

Every student at Bellarmine University has to take an IDC (interdisplinary course). These courses are designed to have a classroom setting where there can be open conversations about tough subjects such as race, war, and also topics that are fun like pop culture or just life. The main purpose for the class at Bellarmine University is to advance the writing skills of the students. I have had Pat Carver for both my freshmen and sophomore IDC. The classes have been about social justice and multiculturalism. The students in my African American Experience sophomore IDC decided that we were going to use the final exam to try to make a real change on campus. Our efforts would take the place of taking a test or written exam. We decided to present a proposal to the board of dean's that a multiculturalism class be added to the core curriculum. This class would be taken during a student's first year at Bellarmine and would be a required course. Our class has spent the past two months doing surveys of students and staff, researching such courses at other universities and working on a letter and presentation for the board. We as a class believe that Bellarmine University students need this type of course, where there is open conversation about issues like race, sexism, sexual orientation, religion, disabilities, social injustices, etc. Our class feels passionately about bringing social justice to Bellarmine University. Our proposal was well accepted by the board of deans, and we have brought the issue to the attention of the people in power at Bellarmine University. They are willing to make this course not just a idea, but a course that will advance Bellarmine towards 20/20 vision.

Bye to Dr. Brown

Dr. Brown is leaving Bellarmine University at the end of the spring 2007 semester. Brown has been a visiting professor for several years. He was asked by President Joseph J. McGowan to come to the Bellarmine campus to teach about diversity. Brown has had a significant influence on our campus in the view of the students. He has helped to open the minds of students, testing their narrow-minded views. Students in his classes have learned about racism, diversity, and "whiteness". "Whiteness" is what Dr. Brown believes to be the issue at hand. This is not about white person or people causing racism, but instead, it is the concept of "white" that is the problem. This idea is power, privilege and wealth, which are controlled by the systems that keep others down. The systems are the government, religion, the corporate world, etc. Brown believes that there has to be a change in the systems, not just ideas exchanged among people, to make a true difference in our modern world. Brown is educating the next generation of leaders here at Bellarmine to not to just placidly fall in step with the systems that are in place, but instead to stand up for social justice. To celebrate Dr. Brown's time and teaching on our campus, Bellarmine had a "Get Down with Dr. Brown" party on Thursday, April 26 at 6:00 p.m. in Frasier. All were welcome to come and celebrate his contribution towards social justice on the Bellarmine campus. Dr. Brown will always be remember on Bellarmine's campus.

The Experience of a Lifetime

Many college students have experience moving away, leaving their families, and gaining independence. Even with these freedoms, most of the time mom and dad are only a call away. For exchange and international students, this is another story. These students are experiencing moving away, leaving their families and friends, and are in a new environment all at once. The main difference is mom and dad are not a phone call away.
Exchange and international students are taking a chance by studying in another country to have an experience of a lifetime. These students have to go to class and work like other students, but also have to learn the culture and be apart of a culture different for their own. Caroline Berger and Michaela Gutl are exchange students from Austria and this is a little about their experience studying at in the US at Bellarmine University.
"I have loved having a chance to study in the US, even if I came with pre-judgements of the country, but I have gotten to understand the culture and why and how things happen here. It was hard at first coming here on my own, but I have made great friends and have grown so much. It is a lot of fun here and I have met really great people. I am happy I made the choice to be here, I took a chance and have loved every minute of it," said Gutl.
"Studying in the United States has always been one of my biggest dreams and for me it came true. In the beginning I missed my family and my friends a lot, but I met so many lovely people here at Bellarmine with whom I had the best time of my life! I am so happy that I came here to Louisville, I would have missed out on a lot!" said Berger.
The step may have been harder for them to come to another country to study, but the experience is one in a lifetime.

Bellarmine University has many opportunity to study aboard for more information to go:

http://www.bellarmine.edu/cas/foreignlanguages/studya.asp

Music crossing international borders

In today’s pop culture, more and more artists are making the transition between entertainment in other countries and in America. A prime example of this is Shakira, who started out in Spanish pop culture and has become such a hit in America that she received seven nominations for her video “Hips don’t lie” in this years MTV music awards. Fifty years ago, American culture would not have allowed a singer from another country to become so popular, because of the prejudices against a culturally differing entertainer. However, it’s amazing to see how many artists today, in all facets of entertainment, have crossed the line, many times bringing a new perspective of their differing culture to American televisions. These revolutionaries include Carlos Mencia, Wanda Sykes, Kiefer Sutherland, Penelope Cruz, Russell Crowe, Gloria Estefan, and Nia Vardalos. Comedians like Carlos Mencia and Wanda Sykes have both brought their own flavor to their late night television shows; actors and actresses such as Russell Crowe and Nia Vardalos have given us spectacular performances; and the music created by such artists like Gloria Estefan and Shakira demonstrate that America (at least in the entertainment industry) has grown as a country and continues to welcome others and open its arms wider and wider with each passing year.

WHY?

Why do we let injustice happen?

Because we don't even see it in our country. We are blind.

Europe and Apple: digital music players

Many countries in Europe, including Germany and France, are joining the Nordic-led drive to force Apple Inc. to make iTunes and its digital music store compatible with all digital music players.

Currently, songs that are bought via iTunes music store are designed to work exclusively with Apple’s iPod. The iPod also generally cannot play copy-protected music sold through other online stores. Apple, with iTunes, and the iPod, is the market leader worldwide for digital music.

Starting in June of 2006, European countries, including Norway, Denmark, Britain Belgium, Poland, and Sweden have claimed that Apple is violating contract and copyright laws in their countries. Recently, Germany and France, two of the biggest European giants in digital music sales, have also joined the fight against Apple. In the fall of 2006, France passed a law requiring sellers of digital music players and online music services in France to open up their technical standards and become entirely interoperable.

However, the new French law will have little immediate effect. The law actually has a lot of room for interpretation in the French courts. There is also a loophole in which Apple and other digital music providers can overcome the law by striking individual deals with artists and record labels.Apple is also being investigated by the European Commission because Britain is accusing Apple of overcharging for its iTunes songs as compared to other online music retailers. Users in Britain are charged 79 pence, or $1.45, for most iTunes tracks, users in Britain are charged 99 euro cents, or $1.25, while users in America are charged $.99. The other major online music retailers usually charge closer to 99 US cents for most tracks.

Apple is arguing that opening its format would encourage pirates. In a letter, Apple indicated that it was not willing to change its business model by opening its iTunes downloads to other digital music players.

So far, Apple sales are up in Europe. Apple stated that it has been working to expand its iPod sales in Europe and said during its quarterly annual report that its advertising and sales efforts were “paying off.”

A Student Studying to Make a Difference in Her Home County

Malenga Studies in America
Malenga came to America for her college degree because, as her mother says, she was becoming too narrow-minded. By coming to America, Malenga has a chance to find who she is and receive an education that she can take back to Malawi.
“Studying in America has actually opened my mind because my mother felt I was too tunnel minded, narrow-vision, and that it would help me understand who I was and in relations to the rest of the world,” said Malenga. “It has made me more aware of what options are available elsewhere in the world and how important one’s home county is.”
Like other students who study abroad, it took Malenga leaving her home to appreciate where she is from. In addition to the education she will gain in America, she will go back to Malawi with an identity she believes America has given her.

Malawi, what can Malenga do to help?
In Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, students who study outside the county usually do not return home. They do not return home because the students believe there is nothing for them in Malawi to have a successful future. The reasons for this are the poverty and AIDS in Malawi. Malenga is one of the few who wants to go back to make a difference in her community.
“Knowing that our government is corrupt and that people live desperate lives without any help because of the HIV situation,” Malenga said. “I just want to be able to put our heads together, the locals and myself, to relate to them on their level and see what we can come up with to make their lives a little more bearable. See what we can do to improve the general living standards of the average Malawian.”
These are a few goals and aspirations that Malenga has for her country. Fellow international student Jean Edwards said, “She is the only person I have met that has been so keen on going back to her home. It is true that it is a very odd thing that she wants to go back to Malawi, because even in my county (Sri Lanka) most people want to leave.”
For both Edwards and Malenga, being in America has helped them see why other students are not willing to returning home. Their counties struggles seem overwhelming. Malenga does not let the problems of Malenga keep her from going back to help.

Problems Malawi is Facing
Malawi faces problems with poverty, hunger, corrupt government and disease. According to Malenga, the two main problems are malnutrition and HIV. These two problems combine in a chain reaction in Malawi.
“People are too poor to feed themselves and those with HIV are dying and leaving their children to care for themselves,” Malenga said. “The older able bodied children will have to work the fields to feed the other children and grandparents. Children have to mature fast at a very young age and with no paternal guidance. The rift that HIV causes by killing off the productive age is crumbling the work force. People having higher education standards are moving out to other counties and the rest are dying of AIDS causes the economic distress. We have a generation gap that needs filling and that is our biggest problem.”
The struggles Malawi is facing are not going to be fixed by one person, but there needs to be a starting place. Malenga knows that the problems cannot fix themselves. Her peers and teachers see her willingness to not give up.

Teacher Sees Great Expectations in Malenga
Malenga’s is a Sociology major. According to her professors, she has been an asset in class because she is able to bring a viewpoint from her own experiences and culture in contrast to American culture. Dr. Kurt Bergstrand, chair of the Sociology department, believes that she will use her education to make a difference in Malawi.
Bergstrand said, “She seems really committed to AIDS in Africa, which is a huge issue. She has been doing a lot of research, above and beyond that people normally do in a research class.”
He agrees that the education that she is receiving, not only at Bellarmine University, but also the experience of being in America will help her.
“I think the main thing is giving her a theoretical base for studying cultures around the world, but also in the classes she is in now. She is gaining the knowledge of research, and the tools that she can use to study and understand problems in her culture, like AIDS and other problems of development.”

The Black Student Union

The View of Bellarmine Campus
As I walk to lunch on the Bellarmine campus, each person that I pass is white. It takes me reaching the steps and the smells of Kosters until I see someone of a different color or nationality. A question raises in my mind. Why is only a small percent of the Bellarmine population made up of minorities? This experience extends into my classes as well. In some classrooms, everyone – including my teachers – is white. Bellarmine strives for diversity and social justice, but it is difficult to find evidence of its existence on campus. There are only a hand full of classes, clubs, and organizations offered for social justice and multiculturalism. Bellarmine University does a good job of offering chances for international studies and learning about the international community, but there is more to multiculturalism

Forming of the BSU
There are 70 plus organizations and clubs on Bellarmine’s campus. Some are for majors, honors, and special interest, but the BSU (Black Student Union) is about bringing together the African Americans on this campus for social change. The Black Student Union is an RSO that allows students to engage in open conversation about racial and social issues faced today on and off our campus. Like many RSO’s the BSU was not formed over night. The organization started last year with a group of students who wanted to form a group for African Americans in the Bellarmine community. Krystle Maycock, the treasurer of the newly form BSU, shared how the organization came to be an RSO.
“It was initiated by many students way before I came to Bellarmine by campus groups last year. It was a bunch of students that came together and that had never happened before. Alecia Prince was the one who organized everyone with the adviser Claudette Berry,” said Maycock.
Many of the original organizers feared the difficulty they would face trying to get the group registered as an RSO, including producing a constitution and the bylaws that all RSO have to have.
“We knew it was going to be a struggle to be an RSO on campus. We know also there wasn’t a BSU on campus before. I think they were lenient on becoming an RSO because there wasn’t anything for us (African Americans) to do,” said Maycock.
Alecia Prince, the president of the Black Student Union states, “We wanted something that provided unity.” Prince worked with other students to form the constitution and goals of the organization. She wanted something for mainly black students on campus to know that they are a part of Bellarmine and not to fall behind the “whiteness” of the campus culture.

The Goals of BSU
Exploring and interviewing those in the BSU, it is evident how passionate they are about being apart of the organization and want to see it become a force on campus. Some of their goals are stated in their constitution, such as to form unification within the African American community and to improve the quality of life for black students on campus.
Maycock added, “We don’t want it to be only for the black students. We want it to be for all students and they should feel free to come and join our meeting and be a part of what we are doing.”
“Our goal is to bring together the black community, also the university as a whole. Just not to put the blacks in one particular area, we want the whole university to come together and attend our events and show respect,” said Maycock.

Events for the BSU
For a new RSO on campus the Black Student Union has had several events such as meetings, a Black History Month dinner, bowling, and other events in February.
Melissa Hyles, secretary of BSU said that the first BSU meeting, “was a true experience for me because we were able to get passed all of the barriers and come together as one. The amount of members showed that there was a need for a group like this on campus. It was a great event that showed unity.”
“Throughout the month of February we had a few events, we had a dinner on Feb. 28 that was held in Frasier. It was taking the place of Koster’s that day and we had entertainment such poetry, dance, and singing”
The dinner was their most attended event and let Bellarmine know they are an organization willing to make a difference for social change on campus. In the future, the BSU plans to have speakers and conferences on campus. The BSU is becoming on force on Bellarmine campus.

32 plus gunman dead at Virginia Tech

President Bush called it the "deadliest campus violence ever" in this country.

Thirty-three Virgina Tech students and faculty were murdered on April 16, 2007. The massacre started around 7 a.m., and lasted for two hours.

Photo by Alan Kim, Roanoke Times via AP

Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old resident alien from South Korea, legally purchased the 9mm Glock 19 pistol and 50 rounds in early March. Read more about Cho's purchase here.

Two people were killed at approx. 7:15 a.m. on Monday morning in the school’s West Ambler Johnston dormitory. Police were called and on the scene in minutes, but they did not find the gunman. However, Virginia Tech officials did not feel the need to shut down the school.

Virgina Tech President, Charles Steger, stated in a press conference that all believed the worst had been over, that there was no reason to suspect any more shootings would occur.

Steger said many of Virginia Tech's more than 25,000 students already were headed to campus or to classes when the first shootings occurred, and that notifying them immediately about the incident would have been difficult and impractical.

"We did as well as we could," Steger said.

A little over two hours later, a total of 33 people, including the gunman, were dead, and at least 15 others injured.

Students at Virginia Tech are questioning if officials could have done more. Only until the second shooting at Norris Hall, where classes were being held, had begun did officials send out a school-wide email urging students to "be cautious." Many wondered why officials didn't warn students about the potential danger after the first shooting, at least until authorities caught the shooter.

"I'm still in a state of disbelief about this," said Justin Shaw, 20, a business major. "We have a strong sense of pride in this school. We all thought it was a safe place and I think we still do. But why didn't they cancel classes right after the first shooting?" Read more about students' responses here.

Cho, after killing two students at the dorm, crossed the 2,600-acre campus and stormed Norris Hall, where he chained the doors behind him to keep anyone from escaping.

Cho then went from classroom to classroom and shot everyone he could. Derek O'Dell, 20, a biology major from Roanoke, said Cho entered his classroom, opened fire with a handgun, then calmly reloaded and fired another eight or 10 rounds.

Cho, O'Dell said, never said a word. "It just seemed totally random," he said.

Cho was said to be a "loner." He had also written two plays which had raised red flags to the administration long before the shooting had occurred. Read more about Cho's personality and his writings here.

You should also read about Liviu Librescu, a Jewish Holocaust survivor, aged 76, who saved students lives while giving up his own.

Virgina Tech Slideshow by Yahoo! News.

"Schools should be places of safety, sanctuary and learning," President Bush stated in his national address Monday about the shootings. "When that sanctuary is violated, the impact is felt in every American classroom in every American community." Read all of Pres. Bush's commentary here.

Read Virginia Tech's college newspaper tribute here.
Read a partial list of killed: VA Tech's list; USA Today's list.
Interactive Video, Campus map, and Timeline, by USA Today

MAJOR UNIVERSITY SHOOTINGS

Aug. 1, 1966: Rifle sniper fire from the University of Texas tower in Austin killed 16 people and wounded 31. Gunman Charles J. Whitman, 25, was shot dead. May 4, 1970: Four Kent State students were killed and nine injured by Ohio National Guardsmen who opened fire during an anti-war protest. Dec. 6, 1989: Gunman Marc Lepine, 25, killed 14 female engineering students at the University of Montreal's Ecole Polytechnique Engineering School in Montreal, Quebec. He then turned the hunting rifle on himself. Nov. 1, 1991: Five people were killed and one seriously wounded by University of Iowa graduate student Gang Lu, who then killed himself. Jan. 26, 1995: North Carolina lacrosse player Kevin Reichardt and Chapel Hill resident Ralph Walker were killed in a shooting spree near campus. Law student Wendell Williamson was found not guilty by reason of insanity and is confined to state mental hospitals. Aug. 16, 1996: Three San Diego State University professors were killed when graduate engineering student Frederick Martin Davidson opened fire with a handgun while defending his thesis. Jan. 16, 2002: A dean, professor and student were killed and three wounded by recently dismissed student Peter Odighizuwa, 43, at Appalachian School of Law in Grundy, Va. Oct. 28, 2002: Failing University of Arizona Nursing College student and Gulf War veteran Robert Flores, 40, walked into an instructor's office and fatally shot her. Minute later, armed with five guns, he entered one of his nursing classrooms and killed two more of his instructors before fatally shooting himself. Sept. 2, 2006: Douglas Pennington, 49, killed himself and his two sons, Logan Pennington, 26, and Benjamin Pennington, 24, during a visit to the campus of Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W. Va. Sources: USA TODAY research; Associated Press

What is Racism?

On Martin Luther King weekend this year, Clemson University students held a "gangsta" party, where white students dressed up as "gangstas," by wearing baggy clothing, having malt liquor taped to their hands, wearing grills (jewelry for teeth) and some white females had padded their backsides to look bigger.

These students came under fire after pictures of the party ended up on facebook.com. It seems that this party and the actions of these students had angered the majority of the 1,100 black students that attend Clemson, out of 17,000 students total.

Students at Clemson that attended the party stated that they didn't know that what they were doing was racism. According to one student, who attended the party, no one who attended the party is racist. However, he could understand how some of the actions of students could be seen as a "racist act."

In the hit movie "Hotel Rwanda," (which is about the genocide of an estimated million people which occurred in the African country of Rwanda) a scene reminded me of what the young man said above. The Western nations, including America, did nothing to help with the genocide. When a reporter asked a British government official about the genocide, she insisted on saying at there were only "acts of genocide." The reporter asked how many "acts of genocide" it would take to make "genocide." She fumbled around for an answer, but had none.

So how many "acts of racism" does it take for it to become racism?

Maybe this gansta party, and other gansta parties around the country (I know of two that have happened this year in which Bellarmine students took a part in) aren't really acts of racism, but acts of stereotyping.

Gangsters, at least how they are portrayed in movies, music videos, and the media, are predominantly black. Gangsters who are white dress in an urban hip-hop style. I've never watched a movie where gangsters dress in business suits or in jeans that sit at the waist and a polo shirt.

Can you imagine Eminem in an underground club, ready to go on stage in GAP jeans and a pink polo shirt? How about this scene: Flava Flav without his clock, his hat, or his grill ready to pick his next girlfriend on "Flava of Love." I don't think so.

I can't help but wonder if students at Clemson would have gotten upset at a "White trash" party. Or a "Hillbilly bash." Or a "Redneck riot."

These parties all fall into a stereotyping cluster, and not racism. I think that the students at Clemson could have picked a much better date; Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday should be celebrated, yes, but not in this manner. In fact, I'd be willing to bet money that the reason that this party was the one "gangsta" party that got busted nationally is because it was held on such a carelessly picked date.

Video Newscast on Clemson party.

Bahamas and the Culture

To have a chance to experience another culture is a great opportunity and learning experience for those who take the time to observe their surroundings and ask questions. While many American students went to Florida beaches for sun and fun during spring break, some went even further and visited another country. I was fortunate enugh to visit the islands of the Bahamas during my spring break this year. The people of the Bahamas have a culture that is very different frim the one here in America. In the capital city of Nassau, I was lucky enough to be able to interact with the local Bahamians.

Nassau is nothing like cities in the United States. For an example, everything is imported to the island city because there are no factories. The two main economies are tourism and banking. Banking is important because there is no tax in the Bahamas, and many people hide money there to avoid the taxation in their own countries. By far, tourism is the biggest contributor to the economy of the island. This has a tremendous effect on the islanders and how they live their lives. Most people in Nassau rely totally on the tourist and their money.

I took a tour of the island with a local as the guide. He showed a great passion for the beauty and the culture of the island. He also showed us the disturbing poverty that exists there. This tour was important in giving me a sense of what life is like in the Bahamas. It was Sunday morning when we arrived, and everyone was in church. The tour gudie told us that religion and church activties are very important to the people, but when Monday rolls around, they become different people. Many Bahamians grew up living in tax-free homes paid for by the goverment where drugs and alcohol abuse is a major problem. He said there was just so much one could do to help under the long-existing circumstances.

In exploring the island, I found that the people of the Bahamas are proud of their history and are happy to share. I experienced that culture and enjoyed being a tourist in the country. There were many beautiful sites and exciting things to do there, but I most enjoyed learning about the culture of the people of the Bahamas firsthand.

Bellarmine, Darfur, and Angelina Jolie

The multiple Oscar winning actress Angelina Jolie has been using her star power in a powerful light in the last few years. Jolie was named a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador in August of 2001. (UNHCR is a UN agency which currently helps 20 million refugees in approx. 120 countries.) Since then, Jolie has focused a large amount of energy in reducing the world's hurting population.

In fact, just a year after her appointment as Goodwill Ambassador, Jolie won the world's first "Church World Service Immigration and Refugee Program Humanitarian Award." She received the award for "her work and dedication as Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR... she has mounted an impressive record of personal commitment, travel, financial contributions, and resources on behalf of millions of persons..."

Jolie is a powerhouse, having the resources and commitment to personally make dozens of trips to underdeveloped countries so that she can see for herself how people live and what kind of help each specific situation needs. In just the first year of being a Goodwill Ambassador, Jolie visited Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Namibia, Cambodia, Pakistan, and Thailand.

Jolie's latest and greatest commitment seems to be to the Darfur region of Sudan. There are presently over 180,000 Sudanese refugees living in refugee shelters in neighboring Chad, because they are escaping militia attacks in their native Sudan.

Jolie started to push in 2004 for UN support and help in the Darfur region. In June of 2004, Jolie toured the refugee camps and make-shift shelters of thousands of people, and immediately called for funds to bring some relief for the refugees.

Soon after Jolie's efforts, the UN decided that the Darfur region needed at least $236 million to help the displaced persons of Sudan.

It is estimated that over a million people have been displaced because of the conflict in Sudan.

Recently Jolie has begun to release her own personal journals of her travels to countries in need. Her first journal entry, called Justice for Darfur, was published in The Washington Post, and has a cutline that reads "The writer is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees."

Celebrities aren’t the only ones concerned about Darfur.

In March, a small group of Bellarmine students decided that they were going to make a difference after watching two documentaries on the Darfur at the Muhammed Ali Center.

Sophomore Erin Ott immediately got started on organizing a group on campus willing to help spread the word on the genocide occurring in Darfur.

“I’ve individually been researching and acting for towards an end to the genocide in Darfur and I found that the entire Bellarmine community should be aware of it. There are so many people unaware of the atrocities going on abroad,” Ott stated.

The Darfur region is located in the African country of Sudan. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website on Darfur explains how deeply the carnage runs.

The group seems to be making some headway already.

“So far a group of 10 to 15 students have offered to be part of a planning committee to help bring events to campus that would educate the Bellarmine community on the crisis,” Ott stated.

"We hope that the events inspire others to get involved and to act to end genocide in Darfur.”

The group has definitive plans to have a showing of “Escape from Darfur,” one of the two documentaries shown at the Ali center, at BU.

“We’re planning to get news coverage, both TV and newspaper, for the showing on BU’s campus of local filmmaker Andrew Thuita’s documentary ‘Escape from Darfur.’ It was one of the two documentaries shown at the Ali center,” Ott stated.

Ott continued, “We hope that in gaining a wider perspective of issues abroad, we can relate them to our situation at home and work together on something that can make a difference.”

For more on Angelina Jolie and her humanitarian works, check out these links:
Jolie calls for Urgent Aid to Sudanese
UN Works: Angelina Jolie's Story
Jolie: 'I cried constantly' over refugee work

Your Differences and Mine

Difference. "What makes us different" is a question that is constantly asked, but I think maybe the question "which differences matter" is a little more pertanint.

So answer that question. Which differenes matter? Does it matter that my favorite color is green? Does it matter that the only TV I watch is Gery's Anatomy? Does it matter that I'm a democrat? How about that I support the war in Iraq? Do these things matter?

Does it matter that over two million people have been affected in the Darfur region, located in Sudan, in the last four years alone? Does it matter that they're Africans? Does it matter when it's called genocide? Does it matter when it is genocide?

Differences. Schools and grades and shoes and grenades. Does the last one fit in? Maybe not here, not in Louisville, KY, not in the United States... but in parts of Asia, parts of Africa, parts of the world that we don't think about, not on a regular basis, and for many of us, not ever... yes.

An article about children. Which children? Does it matter?


"300,000 --There are an estimated three hundred thousand child soldiers around the world. Every year the number grows as more children are recruited for use in active combat.

Here you can listen to these children explain how they became soldiers, what stops them from leaving and how some have managed to build new lives for themselves."

Go here:
Children of War
For the Rest.

-peace

"does a baby wonder why?
do old dying men try to impress?
do animals descriminate?
Shouldn't bold underlined italics get its own button?
The standard is poverty, worldwide... not wealth.
In response to the question "what causes poverty..." - What Causes Wealth???
If u were given an undo button in life to use only once, what would u undo..."

This is actually an excerpt from a friend of mine's blog...but these questions stand out to me. I know they seem obscure and maybe a little out there... but if you take a minute and think about just one of these questions, you might be suprised at how much time you'd spend on them; including the "shouldn't the bold underlines italics get its own button" question. :)



So, about me...I hail from Germany originally:

Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit	Unity and law and freedom
für das deutsche Vaterland!	For the German Fatherland
Danach lasst uns alle streben	Let us all strive for that
Brüderlich mit Herz und Hand!	In brotherhood with heart and hand!

Part of Germany's National Anthem... pretty good stuff. (This part anyway. :P)

I've seen more places than I can count on all fingers...and toes. Social Justice, something which we will be discusing here, interests me, and I hope it gives you a little feeling of "Hmm... interesting" as well.
Just FYI, I'm a sophomore at BU, a communication major.

see you soon!

I am Leanne Belair a student at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. I am finishing my sophomore year, and have plans to study in Europe next year. I am a Communications and Theology major, and have no clue as to what I want to do with my career. I do know that I want to make a difference. I am from Atlanta, GA where my family and twin sister still live. I have always enjoyed meeting people from different cultures and backgrounds. I believe knowing that there are differences between people is the only way we find out, who we are as a person.