Newsletter of January 3, 2006

Civitas Home Page

High School Discussion This Saturday; Also, more Info on Feb. Conference

Our first Civitas discussion group of 2006 is this Saturday, January 7, at Crossroads School from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM (link to map and directions are located at the bottom of this article). Over the past week, the news seems to have been dominated by the gravity of natural disasters and the frivolity (and frivolousness) of holiday celebrations. Neither type of story seems to lend itself to the type of "deep analysis" that we like to provide for Civitas discussions, so we are going to take a pass on suggestion subjects this week and go with our old-fashioned (we'll start some place and end some place else" method of determining the agenda.

To the relief of some and sorrow of others, we will not be discussing Stanley "Tookie" Williams this week!

At the discussion, we will also be providing more information for students about our February, 2006 conference on "The United Nations and the Future." Further information is also available in the story below.

If you would like to suggest any topics to us prior to Saturday's discussion, please e-mail us or call us at (314) 367-6480.

Links to photos and video from previous discussions as well as model U.N. sessions are located below.

Map and Directions to Crossroads School

Photos!

Streaming Video!

Enroll now for our February Conference on the UN and the Future

If you could start all over, what kind of international organization would you create? That's the big question you'll be trying to answer as a delegate to the Civitas Conference on the UN and the future, on Friday/Saturday, February 17-18, 2006.

If you'd like to help re-invent the United Nations, now is the time to sign up. More than 30 people have already indicated interest in the conference, and there's still room for more.

At the conference, you'll represent a country of your choosing, and you'll work with other country delegates to create a new "United Nations," [or an organization with an entirely new name] designed to address world issues.

You'll have a lot to consider: What's working at the current UN? What isn't? Why not? Would you create an organization with more limited goals than the current UN, or with broader goals? How would you organize it to be fair to large and small countries? Who would be eligible for membership? How would you structure voting? How would you get money for this organization?

We're looking forward to a thought-provoking conference, where nations with widely varying interests will try to find ways to work together.

Application forms are available on-line and in person [at Saturday discussion groups]. The cost for the entire conference is $60, which includes your hotel room, all meals and snacks, and conference materials. Financial aid is available.

We'll also have two or three prep sessions to help you get ready for the conference. At the sessions, we'll present background information that will help make conference discussions more meaningful. More details on prep sessions will follow.

Prep sessions are currently scheduled for:

1. Saturday, January 21, 2006
2. Saturday, January 28, 2006
3. Saturday, February 4, 2006

They will all be at Crossroads School and will run from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM in conjunction with regular discussion groups.

Prep sessions are a required part of the conference, but it is possible that we will be able to cover all necessary ground in two sessions and turn the third one into a full Civitas discussion group.

They will all be at Crossroads School and will run from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM in conjunction with regular discussion groups.

You can continue to access updated information on the conference by clicking on the link below. We will continue to update our conference web site as we get closer to the conference.

Conference Home Page Including Link to Application Form
Middle School Class Visits Begin in Earnest Now

Middle School Model UN heats up this month with classroom visits to all the schools in the program. During the week of January 9th, Lisa will be visiting Parkway South, Pattonville Heights, Remington Traditional, Queen of All Saints, Cathedral, St. Gabriel's, Hoech, Northwest Valley, McKinley Classical Junior Academy, and Bunche International Studies Middle School. It will be a busy week as students learn about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and how to write a UN resolution. If you have any questions about your scheduled visit (or you still need to schedule one) contact Lisa at [email protected] or 865-4704.

Also, don't forget about the next Middle School Model UN teachers' meeting on Monday, February 27! It will be at the Creve Coeur Government Center from 4:00-5:00 and we'll be choosing the resolutions that we'll be discussing during the spring General Assembly sessions.

We also want to thank McKinley Classical Junior Academy for submitting its country list of Belgium, Djibouti, Finland, Greece, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Morocco, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia for the May 10, 2006 session.

Middle School Country Selections for 2005-2006

Survey on Weather Management

If it was humanly possible to redirect some of the rain from the western United States to the parched lands of Oklahoma and Texas, do you think that it would be a good idea to do so?

Survey on Weather Management

Previous Survey Results!

Last newsletter's question was:

Please take a look at the tree pictured to the right. Do you think that it is most properly called: (a) a Christmas tree; (b) a holiday tree; (c) None of the above; or (d) Not Sure?

Responses:

1. Christmas Tree 11 (70%)

2. Holiday Tree 1 (6%)

3. Neither 2 (12%)

4. Not Sure 2 (12%)

COMMENTS ON THE ISSUE

Whether It Should Be Called a Christmas Tree or a Holiday Tree

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

Why do we have to change a Christmas tree to holiday tree?! This is political correctness gone too far and I've had enough of it. I understand if people don't share the Christian faith, but to tell people that you have to change the name of a tree to appease everyone is unfair!

Bobbi Clemons; Home School, 2004

It's a tree with lights or as I fondly call them; fire hazards.

Abigail Henderson; Fox High School, 2010

That depends entirely on around what culture this tree was placed.

Corey Wischmeyer; Metro High School, 2006

Well it makes sense for it to be a Christmas tree because the entire country was founded on Christian views.

Kyle Gunning; Hazelwood Central High School, 2008

The evergreen tree is a staple of the Christmas celebration, everyone knows it. Calling it something else is just ridiculous political correctness, it has gone too far. Will people of different faiths start putting the "holiday" evergreen trees in their homes? Odds are "NO," they won't. I'm all for diversity of faiths, but this is just ridiculous.

Brett DeLaria; S.L.U.H., 2009

I am extremely tired of all this war on the Christian holiday of Christmas!! For goodness sake do people have nothing better to do? What happened to respect for all cultures! We don't call a menorah a holiday candle stick! Or what about Kwanza, the holiday made up by a black professor in the 60s? Lately it is disgusting! I praise the companies, people, and anything that stands or is sticking up for Christmas! There are so many stories out there that are sad but true. Apparently a school district in Kansas can sing Chanukah songs, but not traditional Christmas ones like "Silent Night" because it has to do with...guess what? ... hint, 3 letter word...starts with G...GOD! Heaven forbid if we allow people to sing about Jesus and God, but it's okay to sing Jewish songs! Ridiculous! A CHRISTMAS TREE IS A CHRISTMAS TREE NOT SOME FAR LEFT IDEA THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO OFFEND SOMEONE AND SO THEY CALL IT A HOLIDAY TREE! DEFEND CHRISTMAS!!!

Alison Reed; Rosati-Kain High School, 2008

Ah, for goodness SAKES America! Shouldn't our buddies on Capitol Hill be worrying about more important things than what to name a piece of decorated lumber?? PC, not PC, whatever. Why don't they use the wood to build some homes for the Katrina victims? Frivolous Capitalists. ;-) Happy Yuleness to you all!

Additional Links

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