Newsletter of September 13, 2005

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High School Discussion this Saturday, September 17!

We want to thank all of the fine high school students who came to our first and second meetings and discussion groups the past two weeks. We extend special thanks to the faculty advisors who have brought us their wisdom as well. August brought us a terrible hurricane; September has brought us a hurricane of news. In our discussion groups, we have been discussing many of the key issues. Last Saturday, three Washington University students came to the meeting and described the model U.N. for high school students that the university will be sponsoring in March, 2006.

At the bottom of this article, we have links to photos and video from the meeting. We have noticed that some of our readers have had difficulty utilizing our video archives. We invite you to click here to access our video [if you have Real Player or Windows Media]

This Saturday, September 17, we will have our third discussion group. It will be meeting at Crossroads School (map below) from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM. We will review our preparations for the October 1 COUNTRY DRAFT and also present more ideas for recruiting new students from your schools.

Among the discussion topics that we can explore Saturday morning are:

1. The state of Missouri may shortly pass a law that will make it a crime for an adult to assist a minor in going out of state for abortion counseling. Do you favor such a law?

2. President Bush has now said that he assumes responsibility for any mistakes made by the federal government in responding to Hurricane Katrina. Do you think that he is "beating up on himself" or do you think that he is taking an honorable stand?

3. It is possible that only one of the nine members of the Supreme Court will be a woman. Do you think that the nominee for the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor's seat should be a woman?

4. A recent bill on school lunch nutrition that passed the California legislature says that French Fries are out but Pop Tarts are in. Do you agree?

These and other questions are ones that we will be exploring this Saturday. As always, the cost is free and the company is top-rate. We hope to see you there!

Map and Directions to Crossroads School

Photos!

Streaming Video!

Less than two weeks until first Middle School teacher meeting!

Our middle school program director, Lisa Granich-Kovarik, has been in touch with most middle school teachers. We want to remind you that our upcoming meeting schedule is:

1. Monday, September 26, 4:00 - 5:00 PM -- meeting for new or otherwise inexperienced teachers in the program. Agenda includes overview of the program. [Creve Coeur Government Center]

2. Monday, October 10, 4:00 - 5:00 PM -- meeting for all teachers. Agenda includes selection of spring dates for the Model U.N. sessions as well as country draft. [Creve Coeur Government Center]

3. Wednesday, November 16, 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM -- student and teacher workshop on how to prepare to be a Model U.N. delegate. [Chase-Park Plaza Hotel]

Last year was an outstanding middle school year under the leadership of Lisa. We are looking forward to even further improvement this year!
Map and Directions to Creve Coeur Government Center

Global Solutions, Local Connections Conference in Santa Fe!

College students, & high-school seniors and juniors--
We invite you to enter a contest to participate in a
national conference in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

"GLOBAL SOLUTIONS, LOCAL CONNECTIONS: MAKING THE GLOBAL LOCAL,
ONE ACTIVIST AT A TIME"

N O V E M B E R 4 - 6, 2 0 0 5

______________________________________________________________________________________

HEAR PRESENTATIONS AND JOIN IN DISCUSSIONS ON:

HOW & WHY THE U.S. SHOULD BE MORE OF A "GLOBAL TEAM PLAYER"
HOW THE U.N. MUST BE CHANGED TO BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE
WHY LOCAL ISSUES ARE ALSO GLOBAL ISSUES
THE CRITICAL WORK OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

PARTICIPATE IN THE SECOND ANNUAL MEETING OF THE
POLITICALLY ACTIVE CITIZENS FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS
__________________________________________________________________________

Citizens for Global Solutions of Greater St. Louis will provide transportation, registration, meals, & lodging at the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a college student or a high-school junior or senior to attend this national convention.
The conference begins at 8:30 a.m. Friday, November 4, so you should be able to leave St. Louis Thursday evening. It ends at noon Sunday, November 6, so you could be back by that night. Getting to & from the St. Louis airport is your responsibility.
If you want to be a contestant for this all-expenses-paid trip, write a 3-5 page typed essay (double-spaced) consisting of two parts. In the first part tell us about your background and why you would be a good person for us to send to this meeting. In the second part share with us your thinking about some of the problems our world community faces and how we might deal with them more effectively.
____________________________________________________________________

In exchange for this subsidy C/GS of St. Louis expects you to give us a brief written report about
the conference & what you learned from it. (This gets published in our local newsletter.)

Send your essay to:
Ronald J. Glossop, 8894 Berkay Avenue, Jennings, MO 63136-5004
or preferably by e-mail to:
Be sure to include your home address and home telephone number.

For more information, call (314) 869-2303.

Deadline: October 17, 2005. Winner will be notified by October 19, 2005.

Survey on "National Day of Prayer"

President Bush has called for a "national day of prayer" this Friday, September 16 as a sign of respect to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We have two questions for you: (1) Do you think that the "day of prayer" will be of benefit to any of the victims of Hurricane Katrina? and (2) Do you think that the "day of prayer" will be of any benefit to the people who are doing the praying? As always, we we also have room for your comments.

Survey on "National Day of Prayer"

Previous Survey Results!

Last newsletter's question was:

Survey on Showing Dead Bodies on Television and in Print Media

In light of the war in Iraq and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, there have been ample opportunities for the press to show photos or video of dead bodies. For the most part, the press has resisted. Do you think that the press should show photos or video of dead bodies?

Responses:

1. Yes 5 (35%)

2. No 7 (50%)

3. Not Sure 2 (15%)

COMMENTS ON THE ISSUE

Brett DeLaria; S.L.U.H., 2008

To put images of dead love ones is as bad as desecrating a grave. I understand that the revealing images do touch the heart, but there is a limit. By showing a dead body you are over utilizing the media, disgracing the person who died, creating just more pain for the families of the loved ones, and maybe even possibly showing how animalistic the media is by ignoring the right to die, and live in peace by plastering the image of a dead body to justify their specific position. By the way, the media is out is of control. Where did true journalism go to? I think if media stations (I will accuse both liberal and conservative view tended ones) would have kept to a fair non-biased report on news in the world we may not (I stress that) be debating the issue at hand. It's over do time the media is limited to an extent, and showing human bodies is just the tip of the ice berg of questions to be answered by the media.

Linda Hohenberger; Teacher, St. Gabriel School

Many times small children may be watching. Showing these dead people really does not contribute to the story. I feel it is done more for attention grabbing

Katie Fanning; Lindbergh High School, 2008

People are dieing. Not showing dead bodies doesn't change that fact.

Heidi Piatchek; Teacher, St. Francis Cabrini School

I certainly would not want my lifeless body shown all over the place.

Abigail Henderson; Fox High School, 2009

Of course they can say, "10,000 people dead," but to actually show dead bodies is horrible. There could be kids glancing while their parents watch the news, and their parents had never intended for their minds to be exposed to such gruesome pictures at their age. I think they could maybe take pictures and post them on their website saying, "Are you sure you want to proceed" or something, but on the news? How sick can you get?

Lisa Henderson; Fox High School, 2008

We have enough stuff on TV to corrupt the mind. Let's not add any more.

Additional Links

Photo Gallery
Streaming Video [Real Media]
Civitas Calendar
Civitas Intranets Site
Civitas Home Page
Maps & Directions
Previous Newsletters
Resolutions (High School U.N.) for 2004-2005
Checklist for Writing a Model U.N. Resolution