Newsletter of September 23, 2003

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.
Civitas home page
Check out this Special Event! It's Serious! It's Frivolous! It's our first.

UN Simulation for Parents, Teachers, Alumni, Friends of Civitas, and other [so-called] Grown-ups!

When and where?
Friday, October 24, 2003
7:00 - 10:30 p.m.
Clayton Community Center
$15 per person; Tables of 8 for $80.

What's it about?
Adults are always asking us to explain what the heck we do at UN simulations. Here's a great way to find out and have fun as you:
Debate UN-style resolutions [serious and silly].
Play current-events games; try our trivia quiz.
Help raise money for Civitas conferences, scholarships and other special events.

Who's it for?
It's for parents, grandparents, adult siblings and family friends, plus alumni of Civitas programs, teachers, and any other people out there who think Civitas programs are worth supporting. This event will combine somewhat serious debates on UN-style resolutions with a serious dose of silliness.

How will it work?
Each delegate selects a country to represent. [Register in advance to reserve your country, or pick one at the door.] We'll supply UN-style resolutions for discussion, modifying and voting. We'll have two serious resolutions and one or two silly resolutions.

Sign up now!
Register on-line or by phone or mail. To register, please click on link below.

Help us make it a success!
We're counting on friends like you to help us recruit participants and make it fun for everyone. Here's how:

Distribute sign-up forms to "grown-ups" who might be interested.
Send us email addresses of folks you know who might enjoy this event.

Student volunteers needed! Students, we need you to staff this event! We're turning the tables, with "grown-ups" as delegates and students as staff. We need volunteers to be ticket-takers, game referees, audience-participation helpers, refreshment servers, t-shirt tossers, setter-uppers and cleaner-uppers, too. Decorum! Decorum!

Make it your own party!
Come alone, bring a partner, or assemble a group of friends and reserve a table for eight in advance. We'll supply soft drinks, coffee and light snacks. Feel free to bring additional snacks for your group, or to share with other Friends of Civitas at your table. [Clayton Community Center does not permit alcoholic beverages.]

Need more info from a live human being?
Call us!
Call Gloria Bilchik, 314-567-6112 [day or evening].

Sign-up for "Grown-up" Model U.N. -- October 24, 2003
Friday Night Dinner & Movie -- This Week!

Our first "social event" of the year is this Friday evening, September 26, at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel. We will gather in the lobby of the Chase at 5:00 PM and head for dinner in the hotel or close by. Your cost will be $5.00; we'll pick up the rest. Later we will choose movies from the five theaters in the cine complex. The movies should be over by 10:00 PM and that is a good time to arrange for a pick-up ride.

If you are interested, please E-Mail us at [email protected] to let us know. Directions to the Chase-Park Plaza are available by clicking on the link below.
Directions to Chase-Park Plaza
43 Countries taken in High School Draft (New) -- (Photos)

Forty-three countries were selected by representatives of 16 high schools last Saturday at the Civitas Model U.N. COUNTRY DRAFT held at Crossroads School. Students now move on and represent these countries at the main session which will be held on Saturday, November 8, at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel.

Schools that participated and will be representing countries at the model U.N. include:

Collinsville H.S.

Jordan
North Korea
Pakistan (Security Council)

Crossroads School

Guinea (Security Council)
India

DeSmet Jesuit High School

Brazil
Haiti
Japan
Russian Federation (Security Council)

Hazelwood Central H.S.

Germany (Security Council)
Lithuania
Monaco

Home School

Bulgaria (Security Council)

Jennings H.S.

Belgium
Kenya
Spain (Security Council)

Kirkwood H.S.

Greece
United Kingdom (Security Council)

Lindbergh H.S.

China (Security Council)
Czech Republic
Israel
Palestinian Authority (non-voting)

Maplewood-Richmond Heights H.S.

France (Security Council)
Iraq
Morocco
Vietnam

Nerinx Hall Academy

Egypt

Normandy H.S.

Cameroon (Security Council)
Liberia
South Africa

Parkway South H.S.

Australia
Chile (Security Council)
Iran
Switzerland

Rosati-Kain H.S.

Angola (Security Council)
Cuba
Ireland

St. Louis University H.S.

Italy
Syria (Security Council)

Soldan International Studies H.S.

Mexico (Security Council)

St. Joseph's Academy

Bahamas
South Korea
United States (Security Council)

Schools that were not in attendance are not shut out. One hundred forty-eight General Assembly countries remain. Any schools wishing to represent countries may inform us by e-mail and we will confirm the selection(s). Each of these schools will also be entitled to designating one of their selections to be a Security Council member as well.

We want to remind all schools that they will need at least three delegates per country. This is because each country will be represented on three committees of the General Assembly: (a) The Political & Security Committee, (b) The Economic & Social Committee, and (c) The Human Rights Committee. Since most schools also have a country on the Security Council, they will need a fourth delegate for that country.

Below are links to the General Assembly and Security Council rosters. These are dynamic; they will be updated as changes occur.

There is also a link to photos from the Country Draft.
2003-2004 High School General Assembly Assignments for 2003-2004
Civitas U.N. Security Council Assignments for 2003-2004
Photos from Country Draft
Fall High School Model U.N. to be at Chase-Park Plaza

As you probably know, we had to do some "calendar shuffling" in order to find a more suitable date for our Mid-East Conference. This included changing the date of our Fall High School Model U.N. to Saturday, November 8.

This date did not work out with Forest Park Community College, but we were able to work out a fine arrangement with the Chase Park Plaza for the event. We will have one room (the Khorassan West) for up to 150 students; three rooms suitable for seating fifty for the Political & Security Committee, the Economic & Social Committee, and the Human Rights Committee. We will also have a room for the Security Council that can seat twenty delegates.

One of the fine aspects of having this 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM event at the Chase-Park Plaza is that students will be able to go out for their own lunches. There are more than a dozen restaurants within short walking distance of the Chase.

We'll provide you with more details as we get closer to the session.

Civitas Calendar

First Middle East Conference Prep Session Goes Very Well (New)

The first preparation session of this November's Civitas Conference on the Middle East was last Saturday, September 20, at Crossroads School. Almost all of the 35 students currently signed up for the conference were in attendance.

We presented an overview of the conference, discussed country selections, and the foci of each of the three committees [1] Oil, Water, Power; [2] "Isms"; and [3] Peace. Students submitted requests for countries and committees. We had previously indicated that we would announce those selections in this newsletter, but it will take us a little more time to make final selections. We appreciate your understanding.

Students from the following schoolswill be attending:

Crossroads
DeSmet
Hazelwood Central
Home Schools
Jennings
Kirkwood
Lindbergh
Maplewood-Richmond Heights
Normandy
Parkway South
Rosati-Kain
St. Louis University High School
Soldan International Studies High School
St. Joseph's Academy

Other good possibilities are Collinsville High School and Nerinx Hall Academy.

If you wish to sign-up for the conference, you can click on the link below.

Our second and final prep session will be on Saturday, October 4, 2003 at Crossroads School (map below). Application form for Mid-East Conference
Link to Index of Information on Mid-East Conference
Directions to Crossroads School
New article on Iraq by Jon Sawyer, keynote speaker for Conference (New)

Jon Sawyer, Washington bureau chief of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and keynote speaker for our Mid-East Conference on November 21-22, 2003, had a most interesting article in last Sunday's Post-Dispatch on how U.S. rhetoric and policy towards Iraq has changed in the past twelve months. We provide you with a link to the article below.

Jon Sawyer article on U.S. & Iraq
Also in the paper was......
A letter to the editor last Saturday from Civitas staff member Gloria Bilchik. It read as follows:

After months of rhetoric calculated to "justify" our war in Iraq by linking Saddam Hussein to 9-11, President George W. Bush has now stated that there is no such link. All along, Bush has used language that connected the dots between Saddam and 9-11. Now, suddenly, he makes a statement that completely contradicts his previous assertions.

While his bellicose remarks leading up to the war came in highly publicized speeches to the nation, Bush delivered this essential piece of information in an offhand, decidedly nonpublic way.

This information should be headline news. But it has not been treated that way. Here we have what, in the Clinton or Nixon years, would have been seized upon as a "smoking gun," and yet the news media have let it pass virtually unnoticed. Worse, media outlets have failed to put the statement in proper context. I have seen several reports that characterized Bush's statement as "in conflict with what 69 percent of Americans believe." This characterization completely misses the point: The reason that such a high percentage of Americans believe Saddam was responsible for 9-11 is not because they arrived at that belief independently, but precisely because the Bush administration kept telling them that it was so.

Civitas to Sponsor Workshop on Applying to College (Repeat)

For the second year, Civitas will sponsor a workshop for high school on the process of applying to college and maximizing your potential to receive financial assistance.

Joan Graviss, college counselor at Crossroads School; Jane Schoenfeld of the Independent Schools Placement Service; and Faith Sandler and/or Angela Blake of the Scholarship Foundation will be presenters. While the program is primarily directed towards high school seniors, "underclass-persons" are welcome to attend as well.

The program will be on Saturday, Ocotber 4 at Crossroads School (map below) from 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM. It will follow a morning discussion and prep session for the Middle East Conference.

Several high school students from the Class of 2003 worked extensively with our panelists following the workshop last year and were most pleased with the colleges to which they were accepted and are now attending. We invite students who feel that they might benefit from another perspective on the college process to attend the workshop.

Directions to Crossroads School

Survey on Connection Between Saddam and Sept. 11, 2001

President George Bush stated last week that there is no evidence of a direct connection between Saddam Hussein and the events of September 11, 2001. At the same time, it was reported that 69% of the American people believe there is a connection.

Do you think that there was a direct connection?
Link to Survey on Connection Between Saddam and September 11, 2001

Link to Poll on Civitas Intranet Site

Previous Survey Results (New)

Last week's survey was:
In 2001, it appeared that the federal government was going to run budget surpluses for as far as the eye could see. Now the picture has changed. In the fiscal year beginning this coming October 1, we may well see a deficit of $400 billion -- billion with a 'b'. Now a trail of red ink stretches out as far as the eye can see. Our question is:

Do you think that the federal government should live by the same principles in balancing its budget as an individual person or family does?

Responses % #

1. Yes 67% 10

2. No 13% 2

3. Not Sure 20% 3

Total: 15

Crystal Williams, a senior at Maplewood-Richmond Heights High School, wrote the following about the deficit:

I keep trying to figure out how the government has so much money to put into rebuilding Afghanistan and Iraq when unemployment in the United States is higher than it's been in years. Also, our economy is in recession. Seems to me that the government should be focusing more on "fixing" the problems in the U.S., before it tries to save Middle East. The government could also start telling the truth to the American public and stop deceiving us about WMD and terrorism.
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