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Dear Arthur,
In this edition we have news about 6th and 8th grade
MUN sessions as well as an upcoming high school
discussion. We also reflect on the notion "rules of
war." We also have photos to show and another timely
poll.
In addition to reading our newsletters, you may also
want to visit our
web site by clicking here. We have a good deal of
current information, and through the year we will be
working on building up our archives from previous
years.
And the beat goes on.....
One week ago Richard Roth, Jr. was a very
busy man.
He is CNN's chief correspondent at the United Nations.
He has journalism in his blood; his father (Richard Roth,
Sr.) is a foreign correspondent for CBS News.
Ten days ago, Roth, Jr. had "face time" on CNN more
than a dozen times a day. Aaron Brown, Paula Zahn,
Wolf Blitzer, and others were constantly calling upon
his wisdom for what was going on at the United
Nations. Was there really a combined U.S.-U.K.
resolution? Were the French considering an option to
support military action against Iraq if the inspectors
were given 30 more days to do their work? How well
was Kofi Annan maintaining his neutrality during these
tenuous times?
Now Richard Roth, Jr. has "handed off the ball" to the
war correspondents. This may be particularly
frustrating for him since he was in Baghdad during the
opening days of Gulf War I.
What has happened recently is dramatic for Richard
Roth, Jr. It is also dramatic for members of the U.S.
armed forces; civilians in Iraq; and various Iraqi military
units.
For American civilians such as most of our reading
audience, our "day-to-day" life can continue as normal -
- if we choose. It can also be a time for us to express
our views on this war, on U.S. foreign policy, and on
the future of the U.N. We hope that citizens do not
slide into a "war is the norm" mentality. Lives are being
lost. Quality of life is being changed. The
consequences of this war affects people beyond Iraq,
the U.S. or U.K. We hope that you think about these
issues. We hope that with our discussion sessions and
on-line discussion forums we can provide opportunities
for you to express yourself.
• Link to Civitas Discussion Board
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6th Grade Model U.N. Wraps Up With Walkouts! |
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Each March, our Model U.N. program is highlighted by a
week of 6th grade sessions. In last week's newsletter,
we informed you of the session on Monday, March 17.
Below are accounts of the final three sessions last
week. We thank the University of Missouri - St. Louis
for being such hospitable hosts. Special
congratulations to JennTara Ward who
coordinated the 6th grade program this year under
adverse conditions!
About 300 students from thirteen different schools
participated in the four days of sessions. Below is a
brief overview of the last three sessions as remembered
by the Civitas staff.
On Tuesday, March 18, we had delegations from four
schools, Nottingham, Pruitt Jr. Military Academy,
L'Ouverture Middle, and Turner Middle. Although the
resolution was the same as Monday's (There is only one
resolution for all four sessions.), the amendments were
quite different. The General Assembly voted to increase
education for both genders, fund the program by first
world countries, and add on operative clauses three
and four. The fourth operative clause was most
interesting because it allowed women and children to
immediately evacuate from Iraq. Later, the chair
allowed a vote to "call off the whole war". It passed
with a vote of 81 for and 2 against.
The next day, Wednesday, March 19, there were also
four schools, Long Middle School, McKinley, Stevens,
and Northwest. The meeting place was moved from the
Millennium Student Center to the J C Penny building.
Wednesday's session was very involved because it
tackled issues like religious exemption for women and
segregated classrooms. Towards the end of the day,
Muslim nations held a walkout in protest of women
ignoring religious teachings and attending school. The
aforementioned countries did return to vote on the final
version of the resolution, which passed.
Thursday, March 20, was the final day of the sixth
grade M.U.N. The four schools that were present were
Nottingham, Yeatman, Stowe, and Compton-Drew.
Unlike the previous sessions, it was decided that only
girls would be affected by this resolution and it would
start at the preschool level. Other amendments
consisted of an export tax, the discouragement of girls
participating in sports, and whether or not developed
nations should be included in the program. South
American countries also did a walkout on the topic of
mandatory school.
Photos from all four days are available by clicking
on the link below!
• Photos from 6th Grade Model U.N.
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First 8th Grade Model U.N. Session Tomorrow |
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The first session of the 8th grade Model U.N. program
is this Wednesday, March 26, at the Creve Coeur
Government Center
click
here for map).
The schools participating in the first session are Queen
of All Saints, St. Gabriel, and St. Mary Magdalen.
The resolutions for the session are on the following
topics:
1. Decreasing Growth and Trafficking of Illicit Drugs to
Decrease the Poverty Rate.
2. Eliminating Child Labor
3. AIDS/HIV and other STDs.
4. Water
5. Unborn Children's Rights
6. New Energy Sources
The index to the 8th Grade resolutions is listed below.
The session will begin at 9:00 AM and run until Noon.
Snacks will be provided. We look forward to another
year of outstanding 8th grade sessions.
The next session will be on Wednesday, April 2.
Participating schools for that session are Cathedral
School and Mary Queen of Peace School.
• Index to 8th Grade Resolutions
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High School Discussion This Saturday |
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First it was about maintaining the peace; now it's
about ending the war. Modern psychology urges us to
look for "win-win" situations. Can that happen with
war? That question and many more will be on the
agenda for Saturday. We cannot give you a full
agenda since you the students are the ones who will
actually determine it.
In our last discussion, we almost discussed "choice" --
that is reproductive choice. There was some sentiment
to make that topic the focal point of our session this
Saturday. Once again, it's a complicated issues. As a
group, we're pretty good at keeping the emotions in
check and the rationality at a high level. Let's see if
we can go for it.
As always, the discussion will be at Crossroads School
(link to directions below). We'll begin at 9:00 AM and
go until 11:00 AM. The snacks will be terrific as always!
• Map to Crossroads School
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New Poll |
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The United States and the world in general are now
confronted with problems related to prisoners of war.
Efforts to ensure that they receive humane treatment
are based on certain "rules of war;" most of which
come from treaty conventions forged in Geneva,
Switzerland. The Question: Is the term
"rules of war" an oxymoron? [Note: an
oxymoron is a situation which is self-contradictory. An
example would be "jumbo shrimp."]
Your answer choices are:
a) Yes
b) No
c) Not Sure
• Link to Poll
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