Newsletter of October 4, 2005

Civitas Home Page

High School Country Draft Goes Very Well; France Selected First!

The 2005-2006 high school country draft was held last Saturday, October 1 at Crossroads School. Lindbergh High School had the first selection and chose France. It was the sixth time in fifteen years that France was the first country to be taken from the board. Other Security Council countries were among the first picks, but the United States was the twenty-third country to be taken (by S.L.U.H.)

The country draft was in preparation for our November 19 Model U.N. session at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel. We may well also have another model U.N. session in the spring.

Following the draft, we had a short workshop on how the model U.N. operates. We went over basic information such as responsibilities of delegates, how the committee system works, how to balance the needs of your country versus those of the world, and how to use, but not abuse, the simple rules of the sessions.

Finally we had a simulation in preparation for the model U.N. In this case, students took on the roles of school board members and other interested parties in a discussion over whether a school district should terminate its contract with a vending machine company that was selling "junk food." Students did an outstanding job of staying with their roles and presenting cogent arguments. Unfortunately, time ran out and we were not able to come to any solution. However, that is often how both the United Nations and a model U.N. work. Hopefully on November 19 we will be productive as well as wise.

First, we want to once again thank the many fine high school students and teachers who came to the country draft. Students and teachers from other schools are welcome to still select countries for the Model U.N. Below this article we have a link to the list of countries that were selected and which schools drafted them. There are still 161 countries available for other schools.

At the bottom of this article, we have links to photos and video from recent events.

Map and Directions to Crossroads School

Photos!

Streaming Video!

General Assembly Rosters for 2005-2006

Middle School Teacher Meeting next Monday, Oct. 10

A most important meeting for Middle School teachers will be held next Monday, October 10, at the Creve Coeur Government Center (map link below) from 4:00 PM - no later than 5:00 PM. The two most important items on the agenda will be (1) to settle upon the six dates for the Spring model U.N. sessions, and (2) for teachers to select the countries that their students will be representing (country draft).

After this meeting, there will be one remaining major activity in the Fall: the Wednesday, November 16, 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM -- student and teacher workshop on how to prepare to be a Model U.N. delegate held at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel. We will have more information about the workshop at next Monday's meeting as well as subsequent newsletters and mailings from Lisa.

Should any teacher have any questions, you can contact:

1. The Civitas office [(314) 367-6480) or [email protected]] or
2. Lisa Granich-Kovarik [(314) 865-4704 or [email protected]].
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.
Link to Conference Web Page

Survey on Dress Codes for Teachers

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the following last Sunday:

"Flip-flop sandals. Holey or tight jeans. Body piercings. Sloppy T-shirts. Plunging necklines and impossibly short skirts.

It's not just student dress that's caught the attention of school leaders and parents. What some teachers wear to class these days is also inspiring debate.

"It comes up all the time," said Annice Brave, a Bethalto School Board member and Alton teacher. "People will approach me about a teacher they think is dressed inappropriately. It's usually that they think they are too casual or too provocative."

Do you think that schools should have dress codes for teachers?

Survey on Dress Code for Teachers

Previous Survey Results!

Last newsletter's question was:

Survey on Rebuilding Casinos in Hurricane-hit areas

Among the structures demolished in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were a number of casinos in Louisiana and Texas.

Some people feel that casinos should be among the first facilities rebuilt because they provide jobs and needed tax revenue.

Others feel that the casinos should be among the last items to be rebuilt because housing, schools, hospitals, etc. are more important and with few tourists in the areas in the near future, casinos will be mainly patronized by poor people who can least afford to lose money when gambling.

Do you think that casinos should be among the first facilities to be rebuilt in the hurricane-hit areas?

Responses:

1. Yes 1 (11%)

2. No 8 (89%)

3. Not Sure 0 (0%)

COMMENTS ON THE ISSUE

Comments on Rebuilding Casinos in Hurricane-hit areas

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

Well this is a hard topic in my opinion. I believe that the casinos should be among some of the first part of reconstruction effort. The casinos are one of the main parts of the economy in that area. Just last night I watched on the news a man fixing his house who works at one the casinos destroyed in Biloxi, MS. He says he is going to stay, but has no idea what he'll do for a job. By reopening and building these casinos I think it will begin to help a cash flow re-enter being able to provide revenue for families in the area, help get jobs back on track and decrease the unemployment rate in the area. By having revenue flowing in the people can begin to repair and rebuild, and the taxes on the business will be able to help pay some of the reconstruction effort. We have been hit hard by Rita and Katrina, but we can't let these dampen our will to continue on. United We Stand, and again it has been reiterated in this disaster. One final thing is I believe we need not focus on who didn't do what right now (blame game), but begin to focus on to put take part of a quote from JFK, "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." Let's ban together and repair the lives of fellow our fellow Americans.

Maurice Harris; Knox College, 2008; Metro High School, 2004

Let's think common sense, people don't live in a casino, people live in houses and to put casinos interest over people is ridiculous. As a conservative, I am pretty sickened by that and if conservatives mentioned this, well they don't count as true conservatives, not compassionate conservatives.

Crystal Williams; Dominican University, 2008; Maplewood-Richmond Heights H.S., 2004

People need to focus on rebuilding their lives where the hurricanes have hit. Casinos are out to make money, not to give it away. In the spirit of making money, of course the casinos want to rebuild quickly. However, gambling is not essential to day to day life. Food, water, and shelter are. Although, the casinos did employ thousands of people, rebuilding casinos before taking care of the basic needs of people is foolish. People who were gamblers before the hurricanes are still gamblers, except now, the tangible evidence of their lives are gone (food, water, shelter, clothing, etc.). They need all the money they can get to make a life for themselves and their families. Hurricane Katrina and Rita have left physical destruction, and let's not forget, emotional victims. We need to emotionally support and help those people, not tempt them with the possibility of winning money. Besides, money does not solve all of your problems.

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
General Assembly Countries
Security Counci Countries