Newsletter of January 10, 2006.

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Another Lively High School Discussion Last Saturday!

Civitas held its first discussion group of 2006 last Saturday, January 7 at Crossroads School. Most of our time was spent discussing a "suggested topic from the floor:" how and why do private institutions not have to abide by the same rules and regulations as public institutions. We discussed colleges, elementary and secondary schools, private clubs, etc. The conversation was spirited and enlightening. We have some excellent clips from the discussion in our video archive from the discussion (see link below).

We also discussed the comments made last week by Rev. Pat Robertson regarding "God striking Israeli Prime Minister with a stroke because Sharon agreed to divide up the 'holy land.'" If there were any Robertson supporters in the room, they did not speak up. We did agree to conduct some research this week to see if the level of contributions to Mr. Robertson's ministry change this week as opposed to last.

Our next discussion group will be at the conclusion of the Saturday, January 21 preparation session for our conference on "Reinventing the United Nations" [See next article.]

Once again, 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!

First "Reinventing the U.N." Prep Session on Saturday, Jan. 21!

Our first preparation session for the Civitas "Reinventing the United Nations" conference is one week from this Saturday. It will be at Crossroads School (map below) from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM on Saturday, January 21. The first 60 - 90 minutes will focus on background information for the conference; the final portion will be reserved for regular discussion.

Our preparation will include a look at the way in which the U.N. is currently organized and how that reflected the global needs of 1945 when the institution was created. We'll examine how the U.N. has been able to respond to issues of armed conflict, human rights violations, economic injustice, environmental degredation, and more. We will use this information in our next preparatory session on January 28 when we begin to look at suggestions for modifying the U.N. to meet the needs of the early 21st century.

Once again, the seminar will address the following:

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 42 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. The prep sessions are 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

Lisa Visiting Eleven Middle School Classes This Week

Civitas Middle School Model UN Coordinator Lisa Granich-Kovarik is visiting to less than eleven classrooms this week as she provides students with background information on writing resolutions. The schools include 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. Students will also learn more about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and how the difficulties of interpreting these rights in a multi-cultural world If you are a teacher and have any questions about Lisa's 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 11, 2006 (we incorrectly reported the date last week) session.

Middle School Country Selections for 2005-2006
Map and Directions to Crossroads School

If You Could Question Samuel Alito, What Would You Ask?

Currently, the Senate Judiciary Committee is conducting hearings on President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States. He is a controversial nominee. If you could ask him one question in an effort to learn more about what kind of Supreme Court justice he might be, what would you ask? [If you want to list more than one question, please feel free to do so.]

If You Could Question Samuel Alito, What Would You Ask Him?

Previous Survey Results!

Last newsletter's question was:

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?

Responses:

1. Yes 5 (63%)

2. No 1 (13%)

3. Not Sure 2 (24%)

COMMENTS ON THE ISSUE

Survey on Weather Management

Philip Knapp; S.L.U.H., 2009

Humans are already messing with the weather patterns through the simple expedient of global warming. Why mess around with things more?

Michael Mulligan, Jr.; S.L.U.H., 2008

It would only help increase the food produced in the United States and the amount of easily inhabited lands. Sure we might be "playing God", but other than that, there are no dangers of doing it. It is for the greater good to do so.

Anthony Keel; S.L.U.H., 2006

I don't get this question. No offense, but it sounds pretty stupid. Of course we would take the flood waters and put it in drought areas if we could, but that is like saying, "eat all your dinner, because the starving children in China could use it." It is physically impossible to do these things, but asking if they are good to do or not is nonsense.

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

If we could ship supplies to natural disaster areas would we? Simple answer yes(and we do!)...so yes if was possible. Let's for now though, try to think of ways that we can help these people in their time of need.

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