In addition to reading our newsletters, you may also want to visit our web site by clicking on the link below. We have a good deal of current information, and through the year we will be working on building up our archives from previous years.
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First Student Meeting for 2003-04 on Saturday, August 30 (Repeat Story from Last Week)

This has been an odd summer for St. Louis. It has not been particularly hot; the Cardinals are in contention but really have not played well during any part of the season; and the early date of Labor Day (Sept. 1) means that many schools will be starting earlier than ever.

Civitas' "Fall Season" begins early as well -- on Saturday, August 30. We will have a discussion group and informational meeting at Crossroads School (link to directions and map below).

We will post a list of possible discussion topics as we get closer to the event. With regard to the information that we will pass along during the meeting, it will be about our Fall Model U.N. conference, our Fall Conference on the Middle East, our Spring focus on Urban Studies, and our ongoing focus on Campaign 2004.

We want our discussions to be both informative and informal. If we can combine conversation that sheds light on issues with some good humor, we'll reach our goal. We hope that you will join us for our first gathering of the new school year.

Directions to Crossroads School

Fall Conference on Middle East on October 17-18 (Revised)

The first major international conference of the school year for high school students will be our "Conference on the Middle East." It will begin at 3:00 PM on Friday, October 17 and end at 5:30 PM on Saturday, October 18. The conference will be at a new venue: the Doubletree Airport Hotel. We will have very good conference rooms, excellent eating and rooming facilities, and an extremely helpful staff.

Students who want to participate in the conference must come to at least two preparatory sessions on Fall Saturdays and also commit themselves to some research time prior to the conference. We are looking for students who want to really engage in the issues of the Middle East and who are willing to "think outside the box."

With this week's newsletter, we have a link to a sign-up sheet for the conference. Applying to participate will not guarantee a student a slot in the conference, but it will be an excellent first step for a student to take.

We also have available a basic initial description of the conference. It can be accessed by the second link below. More information will be available next week.

Application form for Mid-East Conference

Link to Index of Information on Mid-East Conference

Civitas Photos Now Available in On-Line Photo Gallery (New)

Civitas has entered into a new working agreement with "MyCapture.com" to make photos from events available to any student, parent, teacher, or friend of Civitas who would like to have photo prints or photo imprints on novelties such as mouse pads or coffee mugs.

We currently have well over 100 photos from this summer's Urban Studies program. Beginning with our Saturday, August 30 initial discussion group with high school students, we will have numerous photos of virtually every Civitas event.

The photos are contracted out for photos, so there is a charge. When you click on any photo in the gallery, you can click below to see the charges that apply. At the present time, you can only order by using a credit card (Civitas never sees this informtion). If you are uncomfortable using a credit card, contact Civitas and we will order it for you after receiving some other form of payment from you. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Link to Civitas Photos

Urban Convergence Conference Coming Up (New)

Metroplis St. Louis is sponsoring a conference on the future of St. Louis the weekend of October 3-5. It is called Urban Convergence.

At this point, we just have preliminary information, but we should have more by next week. In the meantime, you can go to the link below to get existing information

We are looking for any student who is interesting in participating. You don't have to commit yourself to the entire weekend; in fact we have a discussion group and prep session for the Mid-East Conference on Saturday morning. If you are interested, please E-Mail us at civitas@swbell.net. We will have an application form on line next week.

Link to Metropolis St. Louis

Survey on Future Policies for Utility Companies (New)

It has only been within the past fifteen years that public utilities such as electricity producing companies have been deregulated. This means among other things that they can set their own rates and also choose how much money to invest in improvements and expansion of their equipment. The "Great Blackout of 1965" occurred when utilities were regulated; the "Great Blackout of 2003 (unless there is a greater one in the next 114 days) occurred when utilities were deregulated. Our survey today is whether or not you think that future policy towards utility should include more emphasis on regulation and government oversite.

Your thoughts on Future Policies for Utilities

Link to Poll on Civitas Intranet Site

Previous Survey Results (New)

Our previous survey was, Do you think that the "celebrity politics" that is emerging in the California gubernatorial recall election is good for the political system? "No" was the winner.

Responses % #

1. Yes 15.38 % 2

2. No 53.85 % 7

3. Okay 23.08 % 3

4. Not Sure 7.69 % 1

Total 13

More information about Civitas